Review: Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin

Lovely Dark and Deep

by Elisa A. Bonnin

Release Date: March 25, 2025

2025 Felwel & Friends

Ebook ARC; 400 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250888570

ASIN: B0CVVT4JMD

Audiobook: B0DZKZBR1X

Genre: Fiction / YA / Fantasy / Dark Academia

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Ellery West has always been home for Faith. After an international move and a childhood spent adjusting to a new culture and a new language, the acclaimed school for magic feels like the only place she can be herself. That is, until Faith and another student walk into the forest, and only Faith walks out.

Marked with the red stripe across her uniform that designates all students deemed too dangerous to attend regular classes, Faith becomes a social pariah, an exile of Ellery West. Except terrifying things are still happening to students, and the dark magic that was unleashed in the forest still seems to be at work. To stop it, Faith and the other Red Stripes will have to work together, risking expulsion from the magical world altogether.

 

My Thoughts

Lovely Dark And Deep is a dark academia novel, and I will admit I went into it with some trepidation as lately, I have found them to be fairly formulaic and predictable. However, I still love this type of novel and I am really glad I gave it a shot because I really enjoyed it. Yes, the exile and magic were fairly standard stuff, but for me, it was the relationships and the way the main character developed and evolved that I found intriguing and really made this book enjoyable for me.

 

Faith's journey is one that I resonated with as she grappled with trust issues, relationship problems, and always feeling like an outside, even with her own family. Upon returning to school as a senior, she is marked with the dreaded red stripe and has to deal with the whispers and suspicions as to what really happened in the forest the year before. What stood out for me within this fantasy story however, was the way the author developed the relationships Faith has with the other red stripe students.  I thought they were quite well written and a lot of the scenes were very emotional and raw. One of the students is autistic and nonverbal and I absolutely loved her character; in fact, some of my favourite scenes involved her as they were so raw and vulnerable.  I don't want to say any more about this character though, as I don't want to spoil anything and take away the emotional impact. The other characters were just as interesting and distinct and I enjoyed them all.  

The story moved along rather quickly and I had a hard time putting down this book. The author did a great job mixing the fantasy/story line with the character development, with neither one overshadowing the other. The magic system was interesting and I liked how the author touched upon how difficult it would be for these students to grow up in the mundane world, how easily misunderstood they would be, which is some of the basis of Faith's difficulties with her family.  We actually didn't get to see a lot of the classes, which suited me quite well, as that was not the focus of the story. And happily, while romance plays a small part of the story, it is only in the background and is included only as part of being a normal teenager. There were many themes worthy of discussion running through this story including found family, secrets, relationships, trust, faith, loyalty, betrayal, friendship, and a big one, misunderstanding.

 

Verdict

Lovely Dark and Deep was an enjoyable YA novel, one that I practically devoured in one sitting. This one didn't necessarily focus on academia life itself, but went deeper into the intricacies and complexities of it without going too deep, something that I appreciated. But the real highlight for me was definitely the character development and the relationships between the characters.  For those readers interested in a coming-of-age gothic fantasy that focuses just as much on cultural and personal differences as well as the dark academia, then this book might be for you.

Review: Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore

Deadstream

by Mar Romasco-Moore

Release Date: April 1st, 2025

2025 Viking Books for Young Readers

Softcover ARC; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593691885

ASIN: B0D8KFHC4F

Audiobook: B0D8MQGJBP

Genre: Fiction / YA / Horror / Supernatural

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

After surviving a car accident that claimed the life of her best friend, Teresa is now terrified to leave the safety of her bedroom. But one night, the safe world Teresa created starts to break down. A shadowy figure appears in the background of her favorite streamer's video, and his behavior mysteriously changes over the next few days before he dies in front of thousands of viewers. Teresa finds herself at the center of a life-and-death investigation as the world tries to figure out what or who this figure could be . . . especially as it begins appearing in the other people's streams, compelling them to "open the door" and let it in—including Teresa’s own. In order to save herself and the rest of the internet from this relentless entity, Teresa must venture outside of the mental and physical walls she’s created. But will she be able to conquer her fears before anyone else loses their life?

 

My Thoughts

Deadstream was a modern ghost story that used technology as a medium to produce some frights. It also dealt with mental illness, suicidal thoughts, panic disorder, family dynamics, and in a loose way, explored the dangers of the internet and the dark net in our society. After a car accident, the MC suffers from panic disorder and has difficulty leaving the comfort of her room so she turned to social media and other online platforms to make connections with other people. When she streams a live video of something terrifying, she doesn't know what to think so she asks the community their thoughts, something that propels her own account to explode, leaving her susceptible to everything that entails in the online world.

 

I thought the book was fun and interesting, and I really loved the format. While I am not really all that familiar with the gaming side of things, I have seen enough when my son is online to understand Twitch and ARGs, etc..., so I liked how the author really highlighted the messaging and comments that would be made in such a scenario.  The story flipped from what was happening in Teresa's world to the online world, a flip that was easy to follow. Personally, I liked the formatting and though it was well done.

 

I think there are very few people who don't have social media platforms anymore, so this one certainly made me think about a lot of things.  While not overt, the theme of technology in our lives and how much we rely on it is subtly explored as well as the abuse.  Personally, I don't think the consequences of the technology was explored enough; I know it will be here to stay, but we really need to understand how much of our privacy is undermined by the technology and how much we are willing to put up with before we say, enough!  While the story was fairly predictable, and I don't necessarily think the horror went deep enough for what was occurring, it was still riveting. And when I say the horror didn't go far enough, I am not only talking about actual horror elements, although it was those too, but the effects of people who obsess about their stats and their numbers and will do anything to improve them.

 

I did think the mental health aspect was well done, and I appreciated the glimpse into anxiety/panic disorder/trauma that was explored in this book. While I don't think it is quite that easy to do the things that Teresa did, the author did write them well and with compassion.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more character development, not just from Teresa, but from some of the secondary characters as well as more in-depth formation on the relationships that are developed online.

 

Verdict

Deadstream definitely made me think about the technology that I use in my life as well as the friendships I have made online. The author highlighted how important these online platforms are for people who suffer from trauma and panic disorders, but at the same time, was warning about the consequences, so it begs the questions, How much time should we spend on our technology? How real is the online world? How do we learn to teach young people how to be critical thinkers when it comes to technology? While we know technology is here to stay, we do need to stay in touch with those around us and live in the real world. Lots to ponder, that's for sure. And while I don't think it went far enough and the character development was a bit lacking, I would recommend this book for anyone interested in a technological horror novel.

 

Review: Silent as the Grave by Rhys Bowen & Clare Broyles

Silent as the Grave (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #21)

by Rhys Bowen & Clare Broyles

Release Date: March 11, 2025

2025 Minotaur 

Ebook ARC; 336 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250890818

ASIN: B0D1P9HP38

Audiobook: B0DN8N9C8N

Genre: Fiction / Historical / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

With a newborn and two children, Molly Murphy Sullivan is tackling motherhood. Her dear friend and writer, Ryan O’Hara, is shooting a movie, one of the first to involve a real plot and actors. When one of the actresses is fired, Molly’s adopted daughter, Bridie, is called to replace her in the scene. Turns out she’s a natural and is asked to star in the rest of the film. 

The movie industry is still experimenting with ways to get the best shot. But soon, their special effects start to malfunction. After a few mishaps where no one is hurt, the special effects turn deadly. With rumors of a feud between studios, Molly believes these malfunctions are sabotage. 

 

My Thoughts

Silent as the Grave combined factual information on the early movie industry in New York with a mystery, and this worked very well. Fresh off reading the non-ficton book Daughter of Daring, a book about one of the first stuntwomen in Hollywood, I was thrilled to read more about the early movie days, this time on the opposite side of the US. There was a lot of discussion on women’s roles in the industry as well as themes involving money, technology, theft, secrecy, loyalty, and friendship.

Being the 21st book in the series, character development for Molly is not necessarily needed, but I did enjoy reading about her struggles with a daughter who is a bit difficult and demanding. When I say I enjoyed it, I mean I completely sympathized with her as I have a daughter who was like that as an infant so I completely understood when she was frazzled. What I particularly enjoyed was the development of her adopted daughter Bridie as she is now 14 years old and starting to really come into her own.  I love how she changes her mind about things every two minutes as this really reflects the young girl she is, trying to act grown-up one  minute, but behaving immaturely the next. I also loved the inclusion of historical figures Mary Pickford at the beginning of her career and Thomas Edison, who was known to be quite difficult to work with and was one of the reasons why so many directors left NY for Hollywood.

The plot includes a lot of information about the early days of the film industry, something that I enjoyed tremendously, but I did find the overall mystery to be somewhat predictable even if I enjoyed it. The themes of friendship, loyalty, family, and trust as well as the beginnings of a monopoly on a fledgling movie industry added depth to the story. However, the overall pacing to the story was still somewhat slow and did get bogged down in details at times, sometimes to the point where I wondered where the author was going with the information.  

Verdict

Silent as the Grave was an interesting and entertaining entry into this long-running series. While the pacing was a bit slower than usual, the early days of the movie industry and its stars was something a bit different than the usual story and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  There were lots of twists and turns, although if you are familiar with the books you may be able to pick them out, but the author has this way of making scenes emotional so you don’t really care if you figured things out. And while this is a long-running series, you could jump into this book and understand what is happening without having read the previous books.

 

Review: A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

A Killing Cold

by Kate Alice Marshall

Release Date: February 4, 2025

2025 Flatiron Books

Ebook ARC: 291 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250343055

ASIN: B0D12QMD6L

Audiobook: B0D481YRV6

Genre: Fiction / Suspense

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary
When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.

Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

 

 

My Thoughts

A Killing Cold had some interesting ideas, but honestly, I felt as if the author was trying way too hard to create this suspense and atmosphere through the cold and the snow, but lost focus on the plot and character development to the point that I started to lose interest about half way through the story.  

 

Let me just say that none of the characters were loveable, which is not always an issue for me.  I don't have to necessarily like the characters, but they have to have good motivations for what they do. And to be fair, a couple of them did have interesting backgrounds. But the focus on the family toxicity rather than the reasons for that toxicity was one of the weaknesses for me. Secrets and everything are good if they make sense within the context of a character's motivations, but with a huge attempt at trying to be clever and introduce this major plot twist, a lot of these motivations and interesting character developments got lost in the background. And I just couldn't connect with the MC; again, I don't have to like her, which I didn't, but understanding her motivations and believing in her relationships is important, something that I just couldn't do.  Perhaps the author's attempt to create this unreliable narrator just made a character with whom I couldn't relate.

 

The plot has one of those irresistible settings that I love: isolated mansions, snow, cold, forest, twisted characters, messed-up family dynamics, and mysteries, lots of mysteries. So, what happened? Too many tropes, too many cliches, all jumbled together into a mish-mash of a story that just didn't work for me. Theo was such a boring character and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what Theo and Connor saw in each other. And while I love messed-up family dynamics because...well, why not, this just didn't work. And I think it was simply because the author tried too hard to make the reader think one thing and then switch to another thing. This made character development unreliable and nauseating to follow.  And when you  have a sorry that is similar to so many other stories out there, it has to be believable and it has to have some good character development along with a believable ending. This was not that book.

 

Verdict

A Killing Cold was full of coincidences that triggered bigger events.  So, when you go down the road of coincidences, it really needs to be plausible to be believable, and unfortunately, this didn't work for me. It's not to say that there are not moments that are good, as there definitely were, so I see a lot of potential in this author's work.  However, when you have a bland MC whose memory suddenly starts coming back after twenty years of nothing, a family that's quite toxic, and events that make your mind spin but more in an eye-rolling kind of way, you realize how overblown and repetitive some of the things that happened were. Would I read another book by this author? Yes, I would as there were definitely some things that were done well and I loved the atmospheric descriptions.

 

Review: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman, #1)

by Olivia Waite

Release Date: March 18, 2025

2025 Tordotcom

Ebook ARC; 112 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250342249

ASIN: B0D1PKWVDR

Audiobook: B0D3QV2DY7

Genre: Fiction / Science-Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

 

My Thoughts

Murder by Memory is the first book in a science-fiction cozy mystery series, and I thought the premise was rather intriguing. I love science-fiction and there are not a lot of books that focus on murder mysteries in this genre, so this one sounded like something that would be right up my alley. While I was interested in the thought of going to a new planet and was fascinated by the ideas presented in this book, I was not really impressed with the overall story.

 

Personally, the concept of waking up on a ship and having no idea where one is or what is happening is what drew me to this book.  However, this was not the case with this story as the protagonist knew exactly what was going on, knew exactly who she was, knew exactly the problem, and the info-dump continued on. I would have liked to have learned this information as the story progressed as it would have been more interesting.  What it did was lower the overall mystery and suspense for me. And to be honest, this info-dump did not do character development any favours either. Because the MC knew exactly what was going on, I wasn't able to be in her head very much, nor was I confused as to what was happening because the MC knew what was happening the entire time.  It would have been more mysterious if the MC didn't understand what was happening and had to investigate.  Unfortunately, the MC felt quite one-dimensional; I would have liked more development, more quirks, more something to make her more appealing.

 

The mystery itself was sort of secondary to what was happening to the MC so I didn't find it that compelling. To be honest, it was kind of predictable.  There were a lot of very fascinating ideas and thoughts presented in this book, but the length of the book didn't allow for the exploration of those ideas. I know it's the first book of a series, but there also has to be some meat in the original story as well. You can't just present ideas and not develop them at all. 

 

Verdict

Murder by Memory presented some really cool ideas about the concepts of life and death, but didn't really have an opportunity to develop those ideas due to the length of the book.  While I know there will be other books in this series, I do feel like there has to be some substance in the first book as well, but to be honest, there was a lot of information dumping rather than allowing the MC to lead the reader into discovering it with the MC, not my favourite form of storytelling. And while I did find the mystery predictable and easy to solve, there was enough in this book to make me curious about the second book when it is released.

 

Review: Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian

Rose of Jericho

by Alex Grecian

Release Date: March 11, 2025

2025 Tor Nightfire

Ebook ARC; 352 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250874719

ASIN: B0D1PHGH25

Audiobook: B0D49Z62S6

Genre: Fiction / Horror / Historical

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2.25/5 Stars

 

Summary

Not all is as it seems in the small village of Ascension, Massachusetts. A mother wasting away from cancer is suddenly up and about. A boy trampled by a milk cart walks away from the accident. A hanged man can still speak, broken neck and all.The dead are not dying.When Rabbit and Sadie Grace accompany their friend Rose to Ascension to help take care of her ailing cousin, they immediately notice that their new house, Bethany Hall, is occupied by dozens of ghosts. And there’s something in the attic that neither want to investigate.New England in the 1880s is notoriously unwelcoming to the weird, and the villagers are wary of their visitors. As the three women attempt to find out what’s happening in the town, they must be careful not to be found out. But a much larger—and dangerous—force is galloping straight for them…

 

My Thoughts

Rose of Jericho is the sequel to Red Rabbit, and I really do feel that having read the first book helped me understand the characters and their connections in this book as it was definitely not explained at all.  Personally, I loved the premise of this book, thought it had a very strong start, but the execution of the second half of the book fell off sharply for me and left me struggling with the thought of actually finishing the book.  I thought the author didn't quite take it up to the level that it could have been with regards to the horror in the second half and I wasn't overly impressed with the character development.

 

The plot actually starts off rather strong, and I was invested in the first half of the book. The atmospheric writing was compelling and I was intrigued by the ideas that were presented; the running theme about what would happen if people simply did not die because Death himself was destroyed. Some interesting characters were introduced and I was interested in their stories and what would happen to them. However, about halfway through, the plot became more meandering than interesting and I started to lose interest as the plot became more disjointed. I think this was largely due to the fact there were no clear protagonists in this story, and while this can work, it needs to be done deftly, which did not happen in this book. I also think the horror element was softened when it should have ratcheted; people were starting to panic at what was happening and I think there would have been more dire consequences than presented in this book. 

 

There were definitely some interesting characters in this book, but the author did not make use of them to exploit the horror that was happening. What we got were situations that were more eyebrow raising than plot points, and although I waited patiently for everything to tie in together, this definitely did not happen. Some of the things simply did not make sense and the ending was anti-climatic as a result. And as I previously mentioned, the horror element was under-utilised and could have been amplified to show how terrified people were over what was happening, and to show the consequences of what being dead actually meant. There were some examples of that in the book, but I think the author could have gone a bit further so while the situation is horrific, this didn't make me turn the pages quickly or flinch in horror like some novels do.

 

Verdict

Rose of Jericho is very atmospheric and I thought the author did a great job with the descriptions of the time period. I was intrigued over the first half of the book, but was quickly lost by the meandering and disjointed plot in the second half of the book and thought the character development was lacking quite a bit. And while there were definitely some horrific moments, I don't think the author went far enough with the horror. However, if you like supernatural novels about Death and the consequences that exist when Death is no longer around, then this might be for you. I also recommend picking up his 'Scotland Yard Murder Squad' novels if you like murder mysteries.

Review: Daughter of Daring by Mallory O'Meara

Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's First Stuntwoman

by Mallory O'Meara

Release Date: February 18, 2025

2025 Hanover Square Press

Ebook ARC; 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-1335007933

ASIN: B0CFYF4B8Q

Audiobook: B0CMDZBRH6

Genre: Non-Fiction / History / Biography

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Helen Gibson was willing to do anything to give audiences a thrill. Advertised as “The Most Daring Actress in Pictures,” Helen emerged in the early days of the twentieth-century silent film scene as a rodeo rider, producer, performer and stunt double for iconic stars of the era. Her exploits were as dangerous as they were glamorous, featured in hundreds of films and serials—yet her legacy was quickly overshadowed by the increasingly hypermasculine and male-dominated evolution of action films in the decades that would follow her.

In this fast-paced and feminist biography, award-winning author Mallory O'Meara presents Helen’s life and career in exhilarating detail, including:

• Helen’s rise to fame in The Hazards of Helen, the longest-running serial in history

• How Helen became the first-ever stuntwoman in American film

• The pivotal and overlooked role of Helen’s contemporaries—including female directors, stars and stuntwomen who shaped the making of narrative film.

 

My Thoughts

Daughter of Daring is actually more than just a biography of Helen Gibson, but is an exploration of Hollywood and Los Angeles during the time period when Helen rose to prominence as a film star and a stuntwoman.  I appreciated learning about the development of the various Hollywood studios as well as learning more about the other women involved in the early days of the business.  It definitely enhanced the experienced and made the story that much richer as it gave you a good grasp of the situation at the time and what it would have been like for Helen to persevere during this time period.

 

First of all, this is an exploration of women in film and in particular, as stuntwomen, before the golden era of Hollywood in the 1930s.  It highlights the diversity of women working in the industry and how many were responsible for producing and developing film ideas and story lines, involving themselves as directors, producers, writers, screenwriters, film stars, stuntwomen, etc... It also highlights how the industry slowly became more male-dominated and pushed many of these women out of the industry throughout the years, highlighting the lack of involvement of women even in today's era. I thought we had become more progressive during the years, but this quickly taught me otherwise and I have realized we have such a long way to go. And the fact that it was often other women groups who were integral in the causation of a more male-dominated industry just drives me insane. I know that it happened, but reading about it just sets my teeth on edge, to know that women would create groups to censor other women, and to stop progression over the years because they held with old-fashioned ideas and thought progression was bad for people.  The censorship rules were absolutely crazy, but I'm not surprised. What surprised me more is how long it took for them to be created. And how much the public is manipulated by these films.  And I found absolutely fascinating the types of films that were made in the early days as I had no idea; everything dealing from infidelity to abortion to women's suffrage to abuse to LBGTQ as well as the serials which were so popular and exciting.

 

Helen Gibson became a star in the midst of all of this and her story is fascinating as it follows both her rise and her downfall as the more male-dominated society came into power later in her career. As a star horse rider, she was athletic and was able to do stunts that few women could do at the time and became popular because of this. She put herself in danger quite a few times as some of the stunts she did were done without safety harnesses or crash mats. Her career had its ups and downs and I was fascinated by what happened to her (some of it her fault, some of it due to the increasing male-dominated industry), but the author exposed the behind-the-scenes of this time period in such a way that was utterly fascinating.   

Verdict

Daughter of Daring was a compelling narrative that I had difficulty putting down. I definitely appreciated Helen's narrative being women amidst the information given about the time period, but to be honest, I really enjoyed learning about the time period and the film industry itself as I found it fascinating. The author is a filmmaker and understands the frustrations of being a woman in the industry so I found her candour to be refreshing.  I definitely appreciated her writing about this time period though, and the forgotten women of the industry who were integral to its current success. 

 

Review: Head Cases by John McMahon

Head Cases (PAR Unit, Book #1)

by John McMahon

Release Date: February 28, 2025

2025 Minotaur Books

Ebook ARC; 352 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250348296

ASIN: B0D1PK6HYP

Audiobook: B0DDZB1NPR

Genre: Fiction / Murder / Suspense

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.75 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He also has a blind spot on the human side of investigations, a blindness that sometimes even includes people in his own life, like his beloved seven-year-old daughter Camila. Gardner and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.

When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action. A second victim establishes a pattern, and the murderer begins leaving a trail of clues and riddles especially for Gardner. And while the PAR team is usually relegated to working cold cases from behind a desk, the investigation puts them on the road and into the public eye, following in the footsteps of a killer.

My Thoughts

Head Cases is the first book in a new series, and it certainly began with an interesting scenario. I found the intricacy of the case intriguing and as a result, was glued to the pages and was quite fascinated by the team's investigation. Because this is the first book in a new series, there is a certain amount of time taken to introduce the characters and develop their unique personalities, something I appreciated. But while the case was definitely interesting, it did fall back and make use of some tropes I was hoping would be avoided. 

 

I really enjoyed the main character quite a bit. Gardner Camden is on the spectrum and I appreciated the author's research into this character's development; he was such a fascinating person to follow. Quite brilliant, but struggling with personal relationships, it was fascinating to see how his mind grasped concepts with which the rest of his team struggled, but completely missed nuances relating to social relationships.  The rest of the characters complemented each other very well and I really enjoyed learning about their unique quirks and talents. While this book focused more on Camden's relationships, I am guessing future books will reveal more about the other characters and I can't wait as the glimpses we got were fascinating. All of them are there for something they did in the past and the author gave us just enough to tantalize. 

 

The plot certainly began and ended with quite a bang, but the middle did slow down quite a bit.  I didn't mind too much as I really enjoy investigations and love learning about the political machinations of organizations the author wants to include in their books.  The themes of family, loyalty, secrets, and betrayal all found their place within the story line.  I also didn't mind that the focus was more on Gardner Camden than on the others as I feel the author will expand on the characters in future books.  However, I did wish the overall conclusion was a bit different than what it was as it was predictable and a bit tropey. I also didn't feel like the author took it as far 'into the dark side' as the subject merited.  It felt like the author was afraid to go too dark and the brevity sometimes felt off as a result.

 

Verdict

Head Cases was an intriguing first entry into a new series and I enjoyed the character development quite a bit. And while the plot was interesting and definitely had its high moments, especially the first thirty percent and the last twenty percent, overall I did find it somewhat predictable when the final outcome was revealed. I was really hoping it would have gone in a different direction. However, I did enjoy it and I will be looking out the second book when it is released.