Throwback Thursday: Dead Connection by Alafaire Burke

Author: Alafair Burke
First published in 2007 by Henry, Holt & Co.

When two young women are murdered on the streets of New York, exactly one year apart, Detective Ellie Hatcher is called up for a special assignment on the homicide task force. The killer has left behind a clue connecting the two cases to First Date, a popular online dating service, and Flann McIlroy, an eccentric, publicity-seeking homicide detective, is convinced that only Ellie can help him pursue his terrifying theory: someone is using the lure of the Internet and the promise of love to launch a killing spree against the women of New York City. 

 

To catch the killer, Ellie must enter a high-tech world of stolen identities where no one is who they appear to be. And for her, the investigation quickly becomes personal: she fits the profile of the victims, and she knows firsthand what pursuing a sociopath can do to a cop--back home in Wichita, Kansas, her father lost his life trying to catch a notorious serial murderer. 

 

When the First Date killer begins to mimic the monster who destroyed her father, Ellie knows the game has become personal for him, too. Both hunter and prey, she must find the killer before he claims his next victim--who could very well be her.

I have read and really enjoyed the last two books in this series.  I finally got around to going back to the beginning to see how Ellie got started.  In Dead Connection, Ellie is a rookie detective who is temporarily transferred to a homicide division to work on a potential serial killer case.  She goes undercover on an online dating site to try to catch the killer.

I really enjoyed this mystery.  I thought the whole story was well planned out with a big twist in the end. I really wasn't expecting the reveal in the end.  I like Ellie's character a lot.  Even in her rookie years, she still had the same determination and smarts that I found in her in her later books. It was nice to see she stayed consistent.

My only complaint with this throwback was not in the story itself, but in the audiobook.  The story is told form a female point of view (Ellie's) yet the narrator was a male.  That was just odd to me especially since he didn't have a great female voice when Ellie was speaking.  Not a big deal, but it still got to me a bit.

The next book in the series is Angel's Tip, so keep an eye out for it here.

Blog Tour: The Ex by Alafair Burke

Author: Alafair Burke

Publisher: Harper 

Date of publication: January 26, 2016

Twenty years ago she ruined his life.

Now she has the chance to save it.

In this breakout novel of suspense in the vein of Luckiest Girl Alive and The Girl on the Train, a woman agrees to help an old boyfriend who has been framed for murder—but begins to suspect that she is the one being manipulated.

Widower Jack Harris has resisted the dating scene ever since the shooting of his wife, Molly, by a fifteen-year-old boy three years ago. An early morning run along the Hudson River changes that, when he spots a woman in last night’s party dress, barefoot, enjoying a champagne picnic alone, reading his favorite novel. Everything about her reminds him of what he used to have with Molly. Eager to help Jack find love again, his best friend posts a message on a popular website after he mentions the encounter. Days later, that same beautiful stranger responds and invites Jack to meet her in person at the waterfront. That’s when Jack’s world falls apart.

Olivia Randall is one of New York City’s best criminal defense lawyers. When she hears that her former fiancé, Jack Harris, has been arrested for a triple homicide—and that one of the victims was connected to his wife’s murder—there is no doubt in her mind as to his innocence. The only question is, who would go to such great lengths to frame him—and why?

For Olivia, representing Jack is a way to make up for past regrets and absolve herself of guilt from a tragic decision, a secret she has held for twenty years. But as the evidence against him mounts, she is forced to confront her doubts. The man she knew could not have done this. But what if she never really knew him?

I am always a bit wary when books are marketed to be for "fans of ..."  Especially when it is a book that I didn't care for.  I am a fan of this author,b ut I was concerned I might not like The Ex because I hated The Girl on the Train.  If you haven't read either, I would say read this one, not that one.  The Ex was really good!  It's a very engaging, twisty mystery with likable characters.  This book would make a great movie!

In The Ex, Olivia is called by her ex-fiancee's daughter to see if she can get him free from jail.  He is accused of shooting and killing three people in the park.  One of whom happens to be the father of the kid who shot and killed his wife 3 years before.  Olivia is convinced that Jack is innocent and will do everything to get him free.  But with the evidence staked against him, she has a very steep uphill battle to climb.

One thing that I really liked about this book was that it kept me guessing.  Until the end, I wasn't sure if Jack did it or not.  I'm not going to spoil it for you, so you'll just have to follow the clues along with Olivia.  I really liked Olivia's character,  She is smart with tons of flaws, but is totally up front and honest about those flaws.  I like strong female characters like that.

I highly recommend this book.  With all of the secrets, twists and surprises, you won't be able to put it down!

About Alafair Burke

Alafair Burke is the New York Times bestselling author of ten previous novels, including the standalone thrillersLong Gone and If You Were Here, and the Ellie Hatcher series: All Day and a Night, Never Tell, 212, Angel’s Tip, and Dead Connection. She is also the coauthor of the Under Suspicion series with Mary Higgins Clark. A former prosecutor, she is now a professor of criminal law and lives in Manhattan.

Find out more about Alafair at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Alafair’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, January 26th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Wednesday, January 27th: A Bookish Way of Life

Thursday, January 28th: Curling Up by the Fire

Friday, January 29th: You Can Read Me Anything

Monday, February 1st: My Book Retreat

Tuesday, February 2nd: Luxury Reading

Thursday, February 4th: A Bookworm’s World

Friday, February 5th: Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, February 9th: Kritters Ramblings

Wednesday, February 10th: Dreams, Etc.

Thursday, February 11th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Friday, February 12th: From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, February 16th: Lessa’s Book Critiques

Wednesday, February 17th: Book Hooked Blog

Thursday, February 18th: JulzReads

Friday, February 19th: FictionZeal

Kari's Most Anticipated Reads for 2016

Blog Tour: All Day and a Night by Alafair Burke

Author: Alafair Burke

Publisher: Harper

Date of publication: May 2014

The latest story dominating New York tabloids—the murder of Park Slope psychotherapist Helen Brunswick—couldn’t be further from Carrie Blank’s world handling federal appeals at one of Manhattan’s most elite law firms. But then a hard-charging celebrity trial lawyer calls Carrie with a case she can’t refuse. Anthony Amaro, a serial killer convicted twenty years earlier, has received an anonymous letter containing a chilling detail about Brunswick’s murder: the victim’s bones were broken after she was killed, the same signature used in the murders attributed to Amaro. Now Amaro is asking to be released from prison.

Carrie has a reason to be interested. Her older sister, Donna, was one of Amaro’s victims. Determined to force the government to catch Donna’s real killer, Carrie joins Amaro’s wrongful conviction team with her own agenda.

On the other side of Amaro’s case is NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher, who, along with her partner, J. J. Rogan, is tapped as the “fresh look” team to reassess the investigation that led to Amaro’s conviction. The case is personal for them, too: Ellie wonders whether they got the assignment because of her relationship with the lead prosecutor, and Rogan has his own reasons to distrust Amaro’s defense team.

As the NYPD and Amaro’s lawyers search for certainty among conflicting evidence, their investigations take them back to Carrie’s hometown, where secrets buried long ago lead to a brutal attack—one that makes it terrifyingly clear that someone has gotten too close to the truth.

All Day and a Night is the fourth book that I have read by this author.  Ms. Burke is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.  Her stand alone books as well as the Ellie Hathcer series books are always engaging, fast paced and well written.  I really enjoyed All Day and a Night.  As usual, I was sucked right into the mystery and couldn't put it down.  

There are a few mysteries wrapped up in this story.  Ellie Hatcher is just the cop to sort through all of the muck and figure it all out.  I was kept guessing through most of it, although I did have my suspicions about one of the killer's identity.  I was happy to see I was right.  Aside from the mystery, we get to see more of Ellie and Max.  They have now been living together for a few months and their jobs are testing their relationship.  I loved the resolution to their conflict.  

This is another fabulous book from Ms. Burke.  I eagerly await her next one!

About the author:

Alafair Burke is the bestselling author of ten novels, including the thrillers Long Gone and If You Were Here,212, Angel’s Tip, and Dead Connection. A former prosecutor, she now teaches criminal law and lives in Manhattan.

and the Ellie Hatcher series:

Find out more about Alafair at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Alafair’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, June 10th: Kritters Ramblings

Wednesday, June 11th: From the TBR Pile

Thursday, June 12th: Booksie’s Blog

Monday, June 16th: Book Chatter

Tuesday, June 17th: Drey’s Library

Wednesday, June 18th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Monday, June 23rd: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, June 24th: 5 Minutes For Books

Wednesday, June 25th: Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Thursday, June 26th: A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, June 30th: cupcake’s book cupboard

Tuesday, July 1st: The House of Crime and Mystery

Wednesday, July 2nd: Mystery Playground

Thursday, July 3rd: BoundbyWords

Monday, July 7th: A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, July 8th: Lesa’s Book Critiques

Wednesday, July 9th: Peppermint PhD

Review: If You Were Here by Alafair Burke

Author: Alafair Burke
Publisher: Harper
Date of publication: June 2013

Magazine journalist McKenna Wright is chasing the latest urban folktale-the story of an unidentified woman who heroically pulled a teenaged boy from the subway tracks, seconds before an oncoming train. When McKenna locates a short video snippet that purportedly captures part of the incident, she thinks she has an edge on the competition scrambling to identify the mystery heroine.

She is shocked to discover that the woman in the video bears a strong resemblance to Susan Hauptmann, a close friend who disappeared without a trace a decade earlier.  What would have been a short-lived metro story sends McKenna on a dangerous search for the missing woman, a twisting journey through New York City that will force her to unearth long-buried truths much closer to home-to her own husband, who seems to know much more about Susan than McKenna could have ever imagined..


If You Were Here is the type of book that I would have loved to finish in one sitting.  If real life hadn't stubbornly intervened, I would have done just that.  That is how much this book sucked me in.  McKenna is finally on track with her life.  She has a job she loves and a happy comfortable marriage.  When she thinks she sees an old friend who vanished 10 years earlier on a video, her life takes a sudden path down a dark road.  As she starts to hunt for answers, strange things begin to happen.  The video disappears, she is accused of fraud in her most recent magazine article and subsequently fired.  The FBI is searching her work office and people start dying.   McKenna begins to suspect everyone, even her husband.

 I really liked the characters. McKenna was a strong female lead who fought back and tried to get to the bottom of everything, even when no one believed her.  I also liked Scanlin.  Even though he believed he was right about Susan, he was willing to go back and look at his original investigation to see if he had covered all of the bases.  The only part that I didn't like was the relationship between McKenna and Patrick.  I wasn't really sure through most of the book that either was very happy in their marriage, even thought I was told they were. 

I don't want to reveal too much about the plot because that would ruin the story.  There are a few twists that surprised me. The plot was very well planned out with the reveals just at the right time. The ending was great. I definitely recommend this latest stand alone novel by Ms. Burke.  It's an exciting, fast paced book that will leave you with your head spinning.

About the author:

Alafair Burke is the author of "two power house series" (Sun-Sentinel) that have earned her a reputation for creating strong, believable, and eminently likable female characters, such as NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher and Portland Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid. Alafair's novels grow out of her experience as a prosecutor in America's police precincts and criminal courtrooms, and have been featured by The Today Show, People Magazine, The New York Times, MSNBC, The Washington Post, USA Today, and The Chicago Sun-Times. According to Entertainment Weekly, Alafair "is a terrific web spinner" who "knows when and how to drop clues to keep readers at her mercy."

A graduate of Stanford Law School and a former Deputy District Attorney in Portland, Oregon, Alafair is now a Professor of Law at Hofstra Law School, where she teaches criminal law and procedure. Her books have been translated into 12 languages.

Learn more about Alafair at www.alafairburke.com

Review: Never Tell by Alafair Burke

Author: Alafair Buke

Publisher: Harper Collins

Audiobook: Brilliance Audio

Date of publication: June 19, 2012

Sixteen-year-old Julia Whitmire appeared to have everything: a famous father, a luxurious Manhattan town house, a coveted spot at the elite Casden prep school. When she is found dead in her bathtub, a handwritten suicide note left on her bed, her parents insist that their daughter would never take her own life.

I really need to start checking to see if a book is part of a series before I decide to read them.  I started Never Tell before I discovered that it was the fourth book in a series about NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher.  While I am usually very anal about reading books in order, I decided to try this one out anyway.  I'm am very glad I did.  I have to admit that the author did a great job of not making me feel like I was missing key information about the characters.  I was given enough background to feel comfortable enough with the characters themselves to just sit back and enjoy the book.


Ellie Hatcher is an NYPD detective who is sent to investigate a supposed suicide.  Her parents insist that she would never kill herself.  Despite her better judgment, Ellie agrees to investigate the teen's death.  This story is pretty convoluted, so I won't give anything away.  At first I was a bit worried that some of the things wouldn't make sense, but the author does a great job of tying them all together.  There are some pretty interesting twists at the end of the book that I loved!  I never saw them coming.


Never Tell is very well written and thought out.  I loved all of the characters. I liked the relationship between Ellie and her partner Rogan.  The relationship between Ellie and her boyfriend Max was comfortable and realistic.  After reading this one, I am going to be stalking my library for they first three in the series.  I want to get to know Ellie Hatcher better as a character and see how those relationships formed. 

The narrator, Eliza Foss, did a wonderful job with the story!  I have heard her before and was pleased to listen again.   I look forward to the next in the series.

 

Long Gone by Alafair Burke

Author: Alafair Burke
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: June 2011

How well do you know your boss?

After a layoff and months of struggling, Alice Humphrey finally lands her dream job managing a new art gallery in Manhattan’s trendy Meatpacking District. According to Drew Campbell, the well-suited corporate representative who hires her, the gallery is a passion project for its anonymous, wealthy, and eccentric owner.

Everything is perfect until the morning Alice arrives at work to find the gallery gone—the space stripped bare as if it had never been there—and Drew Campbell’s dead body on the floor. Overnight, Alice’s dream job has vanished, and she finds herself at the center of a police investigation, with the evidence mounting against her. To prove her innocence and uncover the truth, Alice must undertake a dangerous search for answers that entangles her in a dark, high-tech criminal conspiracy and forces her to unearth long-hidden secrets involving her own family . . . secrets that could cost Alice her life.


Long Gone was a lot better than I expected.  I will admit that I was pleasantly surprised as to how much I liked this book.  I almost gave up on it.  The book starts with several story lines that seem to not fit in with each other.   I decided that I was intrigued enough by one of the story lines to keep going with the book. I soon found myself engrossed!

 Long Gone is well written with a well planned plot.  I liked the way the story lines come together in the end.  Every time I thought I had it all figured out, another clue was thrown at me to throw me off.  I never knew who or what to trust.  Honestly, I don't want to give away any of the plot because I think it would ruin a good mystery.  Just read the synopsis and go with that for a teaser.

This is the first book I have read by the author and I know I will be seeking out his other works. This is a great book and I definitely recommend it to lovers of mysteries. You won't be disappointed.