Tag: Liz Strange

Guest Review: Missing Daughter, Shattered Family by Liz Strange

Posted July 15, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

When a brutal homophobic attack ended David Lloyd’s career as a police officer, his life was changed forever. Five years later David is running his own private detective agency, where a missing person’s case comes to his attention. Digging into the circumstances of her disappearance forces David to realize he has not dealt with what happened to him, and that he can no loner deal with his long-time partner’s fear of being honest about their relationship.
Solving the case might not only bring peace to a shattered family, but could finally put David’s own demons to rest.
David Lloyd is hired by a mother looking for her 23 year old daughter. Since the girl isn’t a minor and she has a history of drug abuse the police aren’t taking the missing persons report too seriously. David starts looking in the obvious places for Stella – old haunts and old friends but what he finds really doesn’t add up in his head. He starts to unravel a story that is so horrible and crazy that he can’t even believe it. On top of this David is dealing with his long time boyfriend who has never come out of the closet as well as his memories of the brutal attack he survived but is still haunted by.
The story started off pretty slow for me. I wasn’t sure if I was really going to like the book but it was well written so I kept going despite my misgivings about whether the story would really work for me. I was definitely glad I continued as the story picked up and one thing after another started happening.
I loved the intricacy of the characters and though there were many people involved in the tangled web that David had to push through I never got lost as to what was happening or who was who. Strange did a great job of clearly keeping the book on track. David’s relationship with Jamie had me on pins and needles as they worked through their issues. I was so glad that it all worked out in the end with both of them happy with the decisions that were made.
The story at times is hard to read as when the title says shattered family they are SERIOUS. The family is messed up beyond belief and it hurt my heart to read everything that the mom and Stella had gone through throughout the years.
Overall I really liked the book and was happy with the outcome. If you start the story and feel it’s a bit slow, just keep going, it’s worth the read.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from MLR Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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What I Read Last Week

Posted July 2, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Happy July!
Well, half of the year is officially over – what have I accomplished? Not a whole hell of a lot. lol I should feel bad about that but really, I SO don’t. 🙂
Let’s see, nothing much exciting happened in my neck of the woods last week. My new boss started TODAY. It was a pretty exhausting day just filled with information sharing and the grand tour and ya know, the info about where we keep shit. It was a good day so hopefully they will continue that way.
DFRAT is over! It was a great month and I loved participating in the Read-a-Thon. There are still giveaways going on, at least here at Tracy’s Place (I’m not sure about the other 3 blogs), so be sure and check those out if you’re interested. The ones that are still open are as follows:
On to what I read this past week:
My first book for the week was A Scandalous Affair by Karen Erickson. This story was about a woman who is immediately intrigued by a man that everyone thinks is a hardhearted bastard. The real truth is that he is hiding an embarrassing affliction and feels it’s just better to keep his mouth shut than to be thought a fool. Lady Pomeroy isn’t bothered by what other people say and since she’s a widow makes a move on the man she wants. It was a good story and I enjoyed it. I’ll be reviewing this later in the month. 3.75 out of 5
Next up was Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis. I’m slowly making my way through the couples of Lucky Harbor and am thrilled to say that this one was just as good as I’d hoped it would be. The book gave us Mallory who is the town good girl and Ty who is in Lucky Harbor to recuperate after a knee injury. Ty has no plans on staying but that doesn’t stop Mallory from trying a few bad girl moves on him. Cute, fun, funny, sexy – just a very good book. 4.5 out of 5
Next was Crux by Moira Rogers. This is book 1 in the Southern Arcana series and it follows Mackenzie Brooks as she starts a new job. Her boss, Nicole, has a feeling she’s on the run so she enlists her best friend, Jackson Holt to follow her. He finds that Mackenzie is rolled up in a huge plan by a cougar shifter to make MORE cougar shifters in order to then take over ALL the shifter. The story has great paranormal elements and a great suspense story. I liked the book and will definitely be reading more in this series. 4 out of 5
The Only Gold by Tamara Allen is such a good book. Jonah is an assistant cashier back in 1888 and expects to be promoted to head cashier as he’s been doing the job for the past year. When he walks into work, however, he gets introduced to Reid who has been given the job of head cashier. Jonah is crushed and more than pissed when Reid starts changing things at the bank immediately without even knowing how they’ve ALWAYS done it. Jonah and Reid have a contentious relationship but that doesn’t stop Jonah from lusting after Reid. The men eventually get together but then Jonah uncovers a plot to rob the bank and Reid’s smack dab in the middle of it all. I just adore Tamara Allen’s writing. Since I read Downtime I’ve been hooked on her. I normally don’t like historical m/m stories but she is really exception to the rule as she’s such a great author. The book is definitely worth the read. I don’t want to tell you anything about the story as it definitely needs to unfold as your reading but it was so good. 4.5 out of 5
Another Lucky Harbor book was next – At Last by Jill Shalvis. This story was about Mallory’s friend Amy who is the town bad girl and Mallory is trying to give Amy tips on how to be a good girl as Mallory wants Amy and Ranger Matt Bowers to get together. I’ll be reviewing this later this week so keep your eyes open.
Rules of Engagement by LA Witt has Dustin Walker meeting Brandon Stewart in a bar while playing pool. Dustin has NEVER been attracted to a man before but he can’t help but be attracted to Brandon. The two start a relationship but Dustin still has his doubts about why he’s with a man – not Brandon – just a man in general. When his family finds out and all hell breaks loose Dustin can’t figure out which way is up. Unfortunately both men get hurt in the process. Good story – loved both guys but especially Brandon as he just seemed the stronger emotionally and his character just worked for me. The end felt a bit rushed but it was good overall. 4 out of 5
Rain by LA Witt is a novella follow up with Dustin and Brandon. This takes place two years later and deals with family members from both Dustin’s family and Brandon’s family who have alienated the men due to their sexual preferences. Some things get worked out – some don’t, but it was great catching up with the guys and seeing them in the future. 4 out of 5
Last for the week was a book I read for Book Binge called Missing Daughter, Shattered Family by Liz Strange. The story is about a private investigator who gets hired to find a missing girl. He uncovers a boatload of information and of course not all parties involved are thrilled at having that info uncovered. He also deals with his partner of 5 years who is still in the closet. The beginning was very slow for me but it all picked up and ended up being a good book. If you like your mystery/suspense with a little m/m romance involved this would be perfect for you. 3.75 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
*crickets chirping*
Happy Reading!!

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