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Club Mysteries Book Reviews
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These Toxic Things, by Rachel Howzell Hall
“Old ladies keep the best secrets.” So true, and in These Toxic Things, you will discover all the ladies—young and old—are keeping secrets.
The story opens in Simi Valley, California. Michaela Mickie Lambert and her BFFs, Imani and Sasha, are living their best lives in the City of Angels. The only child of two professional parents, Mickie leaves her father’s accounting office to work at Memory Bank. There, she creates digital scrapbooks for people to cherish their memories. At twenty-four years old, the USC graduate in Narrative Studies, not only blossoms in her new career, but she develops an app called ROAD TRIP! where customers document the locations of their experiences associated with the photos.
Christopher Fenton, her boss and part-time lover, gives Mickie an assignment working with Nadia Denham, the owner of a curio shop called Beautiful Things. The shop owner has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and wishes to create a digital memory of her collection before she forgets how they were acquired. After a brief consultation, Mickie returns later that same day to Beautiful Things and finds Nadia dead from an apparent suicide.
Mickie doubts the enthusiastic curio shop owner committed suicide following their discussion that morning about creating a digital history. Riley, an employee at Beautiful Things, had Nadia’s body cremated, and Dexter, Nadia’s son, is strangely missing. Both have possible motives for wanting Nadia dead. Mickie soon discovers that the shop owners in the strip mall alongside Nadia are being pressured to sell their properties to build a fashionable shopping center.
To complicate matters, Mickie receives threatening texts and notes from an anonymous stalker. Are the threats related to Nadia’s death? Is there something in Mickie’s history that would lead someone to wish her dead?
Work, family and love collide as Mickie tries to unravel the mystery behind Nadia’s death and the identity of her stalker. As the author wrote, “… the city glints, clean and slick from rainwater and the teardrops of a million motorists.” With her BFFs, Sasha and Imani—not to mention a feisty restaurant owner named Anna—Mickie struggles to understand who is friend or foe while managing her volatile romantic life. Oh, did I mention a killer roams the streets killing young women, one of whom was a friend of Sasha’s.
Rachel Howzell Hall presents a masterpiece of unexpected twists and flips as thrilling as Disney’s Matterhorn. The subplots keep the reader on edge, anticipating a climax that delivers not once, but twice. When you believe the author has provided all the clues to the mystery, another secret is revealed, further elevating the suspense.
At over 400 pages, the book is long, but reads easily. I decided not to sleep until I uncovered who was stalking Mickie and completed the book in one day. The author provided a small clue at the beginning, which I recognized, but once I became entangled in the narrative, it still surprised me at the end. I found little likable about Mickie, except her love of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. But the author made her protagonist realistic and relevant to today’s world.
This is the second novel I have read by this author and I strongly recommend it to readers who enjoy mystery and suspense. Enjoy.
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
An abrasive tale of regret and revenge, where the author challenges racist homophobic paradigms.
“Chesterfield County… encompassed several small towns within its borders and enormous swaths of wilderness that remained essentially unchanged since before Captain John Smith told his first lie about his adventures in the New World.”
We begin at a funeral service for Isiah and Derek, two young men who overcame bleak childhoods raised by a single parent while their fathers served prison terms. Ike, the Riot, Randolph and Buddy Lee form an improbable alliance, searching for answers regarding the brutal murders of their sons. It starts as a straightforward tale of death, remorse and vengeance—at least until chapter six, when the author introduces the first of several plot twists.
The vicious assault on Isiah resurrects Riot, Ike’s dark alter ego, molded by gang violence and the Coldwater State Penitentiary. Anger fuels Riot’s crusade to deliver street justice. Meanwhile, Buddy Lee struggles with physical ailments while reflecting upon his poor parenting and neglect of Derek. Mya, Ike’s wife, plays a supportive role. Her silent affirmation approving of his quest. Christine, Buddy Lee’s ex-wife, unknowingly holds crucial information about the motive for the murders.
During their unlikely alliance, Ike and Buddy Lee discover several commonalities—including love for their granddaughter, Arianna. They vow to commit any sin necessary to guarantee the child’s safety. As the ex-con duo race across Chesterfield County, bodies accumulate like dung in a manure pile.
This book is not for the squeamish. It reminded me of reading Walter Mosley, where I enjoyed the narratives but became overwhelmed by the brutality of inequality. This novel speaks truth to the cultural inconsistencies present in a society crippled by injustice. It contains no overt sex, but the graphic violence may deter some. I recommend Razorblade Tears. No surprise it made the New York Times Bestsellers List. This is the second powerful novel by S. A. Cosby. If you enjoy it, consider Blacktop Wasteland.
Toxic masculity disrupts relationships, destroys families, and kills.
The Inheritance is the first book in the new Johanna Hudson mystery series, by author R. Franklin James.
Hudson and Lowell Legacy Consultants is a genealogy business formed by Johanna, our protagonist. The first line of the novel reads, “... clients don’t consider… that genealogy outcomes can be disappointingly unpredictable.” This statement is a prelude to the conflict weaving throughout the novel.
Trinidad, a housekeeper in Johanna’s east bay office, recommends Eloise Manley to Legacy Consultants. Raised in foster care, Eloise lived on the streets before regaining sobriety but not before surrendering her own daughter, Ruby, to adoption. A letter purporting to be from her biological family encourages Eloise’s interest in her ancestry. Shortly after hiring Legacy Consultants, someone murders Eloise.
Johanna continues investigating Eloise’s antecedents, especially once the police charge Trinidad with the murder. A lawsuit from a former client alleging malfeasance by Johanna’s deceased husband complicates her efforts to free Trinidad. R. Franklin James maintains a narrative thick with suspense. I completed this book in one night. Each chapter left me eager for answers, preventing me from closing the book until the end. If you are unfamiliar with R. Franklin James, I recommend The Inheritance. I gave it five stars on Goodreads.
Johanna continues investigating Eloise’s antecedents, especially once the police charge Trinidad with the murder. A lawsuit from a former client alleging malfeasance by Johanna’s deceased husband complicates her efforts to free Trinidad. R. Franklin James maintains a narrative thick with suspense. I completed this book in one night. Each chapter left me eager for answers, preventing me from closing the book until the end. If you are unfamiliar with R. Franklin James, I recommend The Inheritance. I gave it five stars on Goodreads.
