Robert B. Parker's Slow Burn by Ace Atkins

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Fire at a boarded up Catholic church is an unsolved case but Spenser is now on it.

Audio:  6 hours 25 minutes
Print:  320 pages

"Part & Parcel" by Abigail Roux

This latest installment in the "Cut & Run" universe finds Marine Force Recon team Sidewinder reunited again, this time on a quest left by their fallen comrade Elias Sanchez.  Nick O'Flaherty is recovering from injuries sustained in the book "Crash & Burn" with boyfriend Kelly Abbott trying his best to help.  With lots of down time, Nick decides to go through storage boxes and discovers letters from Sanchez addressed to the Sidewinder team, so he gets the guys together for a cross-country adventure that turns out to be more emotional than any of them had anticipated.

I was so glad to see Ty Grady and Zane Garrett again; they are the heart of the "Cut & Run" universe since the actual "C&R" series was about them.  This book focuses on Nick and Kelly's relationship but also gives us more insight to the other two Sidewinder members, Digger and Owen Johns.  Another plus - Ty brings along his two new kittens (which really wasn't plausible but still fun to picture).  This story is another winner for Roux.  Hooray for team Sidewinder!  270 pages (Kindle edition).

Moonlight Mile by Dennie LeHane

A gritty mystery featuring a husband and wife team of private investigators, Kenzie and Gennaro.  This is the sixth in a series by Lehane. The team is asked to search for Amanda McCready, a sixteen year old who has gone missing.  The twist is that Amanda had been kidnapped at age four, found by the investigators, and returned to her neglectful mother.  They take up the new search at the request of Amanda's aunt, who had kidnapped Amanda at age four to remove her from her mother's negative influence.  The search leads them into the underworld of Boston, peopled with identity thieves, meth dealers, crime bosses and the Russian mafia.  Plenty of plot twists, including a second disappearance of one of Amanda's friends, keep the plot moving to its violent conclusion.  368 pages

"Learning to Feel" by N.R. Walker

Overworked city doctor moves to rural, small town where he meets a free spirit artist who changes his life for the better.  Nathan Tierney is the doctor who moves from Boston to Belfast, Maine.  Trent Jamieson is the artist who is working on the house that Nathan gets with the new job.  The two men are from very different backgrounds (Nathan - middle class, intact family; Trent - orphan with no permanent home) but find something in the other that makes them better.  Trent's dog, Bentley, plays a key role in the story.  Well-written and moving.  218 pages (Kindle edition).

"Cross & Crown: A Sidewinder Story" by Abigail Roux

This book takes place in the "Cut & Run" universe but features Kelly Abbott and Nick O'Flaherty, two members of Marine Force Recon team Sidewinder.  These two played prominent roles in Roux's last book, "Ball & Chain."  It is now several months after "B&C" and Nick has returned to his job as a detective in Boston.  Kelly lives in Colorado but is visiting him for two weeks.  Just before Kelly arrives, Nick begins investigating a robbery/homicide.  There's a witness, but he claims amnesia and forms an attachment to Nick.  On top of that, retired CIA hitman Julian Cross is following the witness but is reluctant to say why.  Can Nick and Kelly figure out who the witness is before another killing?

This rather convoluted mystery involved lots of Revolutionary War history related to Boston, the Irish mob, Rosicrucians, and a possible cure for cancer.  Throw in Kelly and Nick's evolving relationship, Julian's unexpected appearance, and there's a lot to cover in 208 pages.  Unfortunately, it doesn't always fit together very well.  However, I still enjoyed seeing these characters again, especially Julian and his partner, Cameron Jacobs, from "Armed & Dangerous" and "Warrior's Cross."  Even Zane Garrett and Ty Grady from the "Cut & Run" series make cameos in phone conversations, so that made me happy.  208 pages.