The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Review - Memories of Murder, Yolanda Renee

Hello there, book lovers. Greetings from Spain! 

Spending many hours on planes helps with the reading. I have been reading blogger e-books in my travel downtime. Today I'm reviewing Yolanda Renee's Memories of Murder, the second in her Detective Steven Quaid murder mystery series. I don't know how many people will be reading blogs after the joys of Christmas feasts, but here we go...

Thanks to Armchair Squid who organises the monthly book reviews. The idea of the Coffeehouse is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers.  Please join us:

An Amazon review is more helpful than a blog review, so being short of time as I travel, I first wrote the Amazon/Goodread's review and am pasting an updated version below. 

The second in the series of the Detective Quaid Mysteries kept me riveted throughout. I'd enjoyed meeting the characters, artist Sarah Palmer and Detective Steven Quaid in the first book, Murder, Madness and Love, and found Yolanda Renee's writing style to be fast and furious as she takes the reader on a whirlwind ride as Sarah and Steven attempt to overcome obstacles to their relationship. This time the settings include Paris!

It is often a cliche to say you couldn't put a book down, but that is how these books affected me. I was often annoyed with Sarah's decisions in the first book, feeling her desire to be independent put herself and those around her at risk, and Sarah's independence continues to be a plot mover in the second book which I have just finished. Will the damage and pain she has suffered in the past allow her to accept help from those around her?

In Memories of Murder there is the ghastly spectre of Lucifer, the all-to-real demon who haunts Sarah's dreams, turning them into nightmares that she paints in an effort to make sense of what she is experiencing. Lucifer's desire is to have Sarah, and it is Detective Steven Quaid's mission to find Lucifer before he kills any more innocent victims on his quest to have Sarah. At times the macabre scenes are repugnant, so be prepared for blood and gore in the demonic rituals. (Side note: Yolanda adds explanations for these rituals at the end of her book).

Despite the gruesome machinations of Lucifer, the love story between Steven and Sarah is the central theme of the book. Their on-again of-again relationship is frustrating for the reader who just wants them to get over their distrust, their misunderstandings, their insecurities and their careers which put obstacles in the way of their relationship. There are those who seek to steal their love - Scott Chase is still determined to have Sarah, and Alice the Terrible, who was brought into the case as a professional to supposedly help Sarah, does everything she can to keep Steven away from Sarah and to have Steven for herself. What is annoying is that both Steven and Sarah allow themselves to be manipulated by those around them and believe the worst of each other, even though they love each other deeply. 

All through the novel with its central plot and sub plots, the reader wonders - will Sarah survive? Will Lucifer be brought down? Will Sarah and Steven come to trust each other enough to allow their love to win over all? How will such a driven couple ever let their love take precedence over their careers?

Read Memories of Murder to find out how/if they work their way through the obstacles.

About this author

I really wanted to be a drummer, or a race car driver. Obviously I'm neither, but they are on my bucket list, that and owning my very own fire breathing dragon!

I've always loved books and it was through books that I escaped and experienced all the things I'd only been able to dream about - through the stories, the characters, and the places created by talented authors. From Caroline Keene, Judy Bolton, Agatha Christie, Harold Robbins, Danielle Steele, and my all time favorite Stephen King. Now I read K J Larsen , Jennifer Hillier, Joanie McDonell, Maryann Miller, J D Robb, well, pretty much everyone and anyone who gets their words in front of me! I LOVE BOOKS!

I've always been a writer, always loved making things up - a crazy imagination is a good thing - or is it just being crazy?

You decide!(less)

• I have lots of Amazon Gift Cards to put to good use, so if you can recommend a great e-book for me to buy, please do so!
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Murder, Madness and Love Blog Tour - Yolanda Renee - BOOK REVIEW

Hi everyone!

I'm sure you've seen Yolanda Renee doing the rounds for her murder/mystery novel, Murder, Madness and Love. Today is my turn to host Yolanda. I asked to do a book review. 

Yolanda's novel is a suspenseful/romantic trilogy set in Anchorage, Alaska and Washington State. It's a love story with lots of twists! It features a detective, native Alaskan Steven Quaid, who not only loves his job; he is determined to have the white picket fence—wife and kids. The only problem is that he keeps falling for the wrong woman, and when he meets the right one, the protagonist Sarah Palmer, she's accused of murder. Steve believes Sarah is guilty of the murder of her husband and the title, The Black Widow, much deserved. What happens to change Steven's mind?

Tagline:

After a gritty detective becomes involved with a beautiful widow suspected of murder, rumor and obsession obstruct his quest for justice.

Click here to buy Kindle version

Blurb:

Sunlight blazes on an empty canvas.

Arctic winds gather snowflakes on a frosty window ledge as a statuesque form appears. She moves past a table littered with papers. Headlines splash news of murder, but it's the photo of another young woman with features mirroring her own that draws her attention.

A different headline peeks from underneath the Anchorage Times.

Wealthy Businessman Dies in Car Crash ... BLACK WIDOW SUSPECTED!

Graphic images swirl through her head and a tear rolls down her cheek. She drifts toward an easel and a trembling hand dips a sable brush into a palette of paint.

The Westminster doorbell chimes. The brush slips and blood-red paint stains the floor.

Detective Steven Quaid waits. His Tlingit, Indian features carved from granite, mask his Irish passion ...

Will he arrest her this time?

All fingers point to her guilt.

But, is she guilty of this cunning plot? Or, just a victim of circumstantial evidence?

The door opens ...

His eyes lock on hers ...

His heart races ...

Hers skips a beat.

Now to my review...

The novel starts with a murder of a beautiful woman in the snowy streets of Anchorage, the same night Steven Quaid and Sarah Palmer first spot each other across the distance. In a rare light moment, in an attempt to "vanquish the blackness of winter to another time", Sarah has rushed into the fresh snow to make snow angels. Despite his initial annoyance at a woman alone on the streets at midnight, Steven henceforth regards Sarah as his "snow angel".  

The chase is on to find the murderer of the first victim, Debra, and it continues relentlessly as other women die. Who is committing these murders? Steven knows they are irrevocably linked to the death of Michael Palmer and his 'black' widow, Sarah Palmer. Each of the women's murder scenes is accompanied by a note - From Your Dead Valentine. The detectives know the notes are aimed at Sarah Palmer. Each of the dead women look just like her.

The murderer leads the investigative team on a merry chase, with many red herrings along the way. The murders are occurring on the 14th of each month, so the rush is on to track down the murderer before February 14th, which is calculated as the date Sarah Palmer will die -- her wedding anniversary with Michael Palmer.

Sarah Palmer is in a predicament right from the start. She is being stalked by a murderer with a penchant for knifing victims and scaring her half to death with heavy-breathing phone calls and night visits to her bedroom, yet the press and some of the police hired to protect her believe she is the murderer of Michael Palmer. As Detective Terry O'Conner says: "...while the case has gone cold, secrets never stay secrets forever." "Black widows devour husbands and Terry feared she would strike again."

Anchorage is indeed in for "another bloody winter" as bodies are found and the detectives always seem to be a step behind. Even Steven "Hawk" Quaid is flummoxed at the identity of the murderer once he convinces himself that Sarah is innocent and he means to make her his wife when the mysteries are solved. 

I especially love novels where the settings are a character as they're so well wrought, but Yolanda pours her passion into her characters not her settings. The story is character driven from go to woah. I think the novel would have been much richer with more attention to detail -- Anchorage, Seattle, a Cliff House, Idaho -- so many amazing settings. 

Another minus was that at times the characters didn't react as real-life people would react in similar situations, and the dialogue didn't ring true all the time -- but there is a lot of dialogue between characters, so Yolanda can be forgiven a few blips.

Overall, a great debut novel. The best thing about this murder mystery is that I never worked out 'whodunnit'. If you read it, you'll know why. I can't wait for more.

Yolanda Renee is an author to watch.

Have a great week, everyone!

• Have you read Murder, Madness and Love? What did you think?

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