71. Stay Dead by Anne Frasier

#2 Elise Sandberg, Savannah homicide detective
listened on Audible
20014 Thomas & Mercer
310 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 7/31/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.13 - 4910 ratings
My rating:  4.5
Setting: contemporary Savannah, GA

First line/s:  "The voice on the phone was hesitant."

My comments:  I loved the unusual way this book came together...Elise surviving a harrowing kidnapping, but we don't know of any of the details of the case or the crime.  They emerge slowly, intertwined with present happenings.  Very cool, and a good way to present the story.  I love these characters - all of them, even the bad guys!  The Savannah setting, the Gullah culture, the wonderfully written characters, and the touch of will-the-or-won't-they combine to make this a terrific read!

Goodreads synopsis:  New York Times bestselling author Anne Frasier takes readers back to her dark, enchanting Savannah—a place as terrifying as it is mesmerizing.     
          Homicide detective Elise Sandburg is traumatized after her run-in with a madman the press has dubbed “The Organ Thief." As Elise takes refuge in her deceased aunt Anastasia’s abandoned plantation to investigate and recover from her ordeal, she begins to question everything—from her dangerous line of work to her complex relationship with her handsome, tortured partner, David Gould. But with a madman on the loose, and her mother’s claims to still hear from aunt Anastasia, she may have more immediate problems on her hands. In Elise’s world, where cold hard crime mixes with the local Gullah culture, nothing is ever what it seems, and no one is above suspicion—not even the dead.

58. Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

# 2 Dr. Theo Cray
Listened on Audible
2018, Thomas & Mercer
312 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 6/30/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.36 - 4196 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary LA & Atlanta

First line/s:  "I'm playing a video game in which someone could actually get killed."

My comments:  Andrew Mayne thrusts you into the mind of a scientist, and reading these books are more than just solving mysteries.  You learn and hear a lot about science and technology that is perhaps "over your head," and a bit unbelievable (some may actually be so!), but entirely interesting and almost-believable.  And Dr. Cray is a really likable oddball.

Goodreads synopsis: Professor Theo Cray caught one of the most prolific serial killers in history using revolutionary scientific methods. Cut off from university research because of the shroud of suspicion around him after the death of his former student and the aftermath of catching his quarry, Cray tries to rebuild his life but finds himself drawn into another unsolved case.
       The desperate father of a missing child, ignored by the authorities and abandoned by his community, turns to Theo for help. The only clues are children’s drawings and an inner-city urban legend about someone called the Toy Man.
       To unravel the mystery behind the Toy Man, Theo must set aside his scientific preconceptions and embrace a world where dreams and nightmares carry just as much weight as reality. As he becomes immersed in the case, he discovers a far-reaching conspiracy—one that hasn’t yet claimed its last victim.