Wendy Corsi Staub

This is one of those books that makes you want to throw it across the room -- not because it's tripe, but because it is so full of editing errors that it's hard to pay attention to the story.

There's a baby blanket that's key to the plot. The first time it's described as knitted. Later it's crocheted. And then it's knitted again. (Different crafts, Wendy!) A person is murdered and the person who finds the body notes a bullet hole in the back of the skull. Later in the book, the person is show more described as having been stabbed. More murders ensue, and at one point the identity of one victim is confused with the other -- by the writer! And finally, a hereditary physical oddity, also important to the plot, suddenly becomes a "scar" in the last 50 pages.

What the Everlasting Hell.....

The book has its own set of problems already, and didn't need to be further impeded by sloppy editing. It's fairly slow-paced for a thriller, and there is so much information telegraphed in advance that Western Union should probably get a cut of the royalties. There is a nice twist at the end, though the careful reader probably had at least a glimmer.

Essentially, it's a who's gonna do it, with a killer stalking teenage girls in a spanking new yuppie subdivision. Turns out it's not just a random wacko, but a murderer looking for a very specific girl. There are long-buried secrets, betrayals, philandering husbands, and teen-aged angst sprinkled in along the way.

If you're stuck at home with nothing else to read, this beats perusing the backs of cereal boxes. But not by much. show less

Although I didn't like the particular third-person style of Nightwatcher, the story caught me so that I checked out the rest of the trilogy. If you've ever watched Columbo, you already know how nerve-wracking it can be to know the killer ahead of time and what s/he is doing to fool the police. (If you haven't, do treat yourself.) This book takes place in 2011, and the killer is out to avenge a supposed suicide that was probably murder. The killer blames the arresting cop, the star witness, show more and the prison guard who was on duty that night. Because the killer has lost a loved one, the killer wishes the same fate on those three. One spouse is in a coma. One dies horribly, and the third is being framed for the equally horrific new murders.

Once again, Allison, the star witness, gets to find a friend's brutally murdered corpse. She has far more to lose in this book because she's now a wife and the mother of two little girls, Hudson and Madison, and a baby boy, J.J. We know those children are marked for murder. Allison figures that out, too, as does their loving father.

Rocky, the arresting cop, must try to help solve this case even while his personal world has fallen apart. The killer is playing the handsome, arrogant younger cop like a violin. We, the listeners, get to wait to see if Rocky can put it all together in time. (If I may boast, I'd like to mention that I'd already suspected one revelation back when I was listening to the first book.) My compliments to the author for making what might have seemed just character facts in the first book into something more important in this one. show less

My first book by WCS and may not be my last. At first I wasn't into it. Charlotte, our heroine, is a sop and she got on my last nerve. When the plot got underway she grew a bone structure and was less irritating. There isn't a whole lot of gore, violence or cruelty so I didn't have to skip or skim. I knew I was being set up for something, but I fell for some authorial misdirection and so even though it seemed contrived and almost out of nowhere, it worked.

Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub is a 2015 William Morrow publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Blood Red gets the new Mundy’s Landing series off to a great start with a psychological toned thriller that kept me glued to the pages from the first chapter to the last.

Mundy’s Landing is known by many as the setting for one the most puzzling unsolved mysteries of all time… The Sleeping Beauty Murders. There is even a show more museum of sorts, and every year amateur sleuths and crime buffs descend upon the town hoping to solve the mystery.

Otherwise Mundy’s Landing is a picturesque and peaceful place to live… until now.

Fourteen years ago, when her husband, Jake, was often working away from home, Rowan became close to her neighbor, Rick, a stay at home dad. One fateful day, the friendship nearly became a lot more, but Rowan was saved from making a monumental mistake by a batch of burning cookies and a smoke alarm.

Crisis averted, Rowan puts Rick out of her mind, and over the years learned she had adult ADHD, after her third child was diagnosed with the disorder. Now taking medication to control her impulsiveness, Rowan has settled into a normal, healthy life, teaching fourth grade and raising her children.

But, when a strange package arrives, with fourteen burned cookies inside, wrapped in a newspaper dated fourteen years ago, to the very day she and Rick nearly went too far, Rowan’s peaceful, mundane life is turned upside down.

There are several threads working at once here and all three are tense and upsetting. There is someone out there taunting Rowan, and that same person may be kidnapping and murdering other women, while Rowan struggles with trying to find out who is taunting her and why. We also follow Rowan’s son, who has a crush on a girl that could become the killer’s next victim.

I got so caught up in Rowan’s guilt, regret, and fear of discovery, that I sometimes forgot the real danger that lurked under the surface. Rowan was a potential victim, and in grave danger, but I occasionally lost sight of that due to her extreme distress over being found out and having her whole life upended.

But, I was also very curious about who was sending her these little packages and why it took them fourteen years to make a move. Was it Rick? Or one of the few people Rowan had confided in? Or someone Rick told? Or… Jake?

The reader has access to the killer’s inner thoughts, but we don’t know how he is connected to the players involved in this cat and mouse game, but we do know he has an affinity for redheads. In addition, we know before anyone else what he’s planning, but must sit by helplessly, as events unfold.

This is a crafty thriller, with outstanding pacing, bringing all the elements together, with a huge crescendo, that left me feeling like I had survived a harrowing situation myself.

While this story is most assuredly taut with suspense and mystery, it’s also a bit of a cautionary tale. Secrets and lies usually refuse to stay buried and will eventually find you out and the consequences could be deadly…
Overall, if this book is any indication, this series will be one to watch for. show less