Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

 While I've been writing and editing my story for the Make Them Pay; Thriller Anthology , I've been reading the second book in Gregg Olsen's Detective Megan Carpenter series. This is probably the third or fourth book from Olsen that I've read in recent memory. He isn't my favorite author, but he is certainly one to pick up when I simply want to read something I am pretty sure I'll be able to get through without a lot of effort. Water's Edge promised that for me, which I absolutely needed after reading another book that slogged on, and on, and on, for what felt like forever. It was a relief to pick up a book with a clear, multi-thread plot, with enough clues dropped along the way to figure the mystery out along with the characters. By two thirds of the way through, I thought I knew who did it... but was wrong! Not only do we see our detective and her associate solve the serial murders plaguing Washington's northern coastline, but we also find out more ab...

Sophie Warner watches from shore as her husband rows their daughter out into the water. The three-year-old is entranced with her first experience crabbing. But then, the unthinkable. A man approaches, attacks Sophie, and she's never seen alive again. Author Gregg Olsen is a master of weaving truth within lies. Throughout the book I had several moments where I was sure who was behind Mrs. Warner's disappearance, but each time I had an "aha", my finger turned on another character. With so much to gain, and even more to lose, everyone seemed to have a stake in the kidnapping and murder of the young mother. The novel was so gripping, I had a hard time putting it down and spent most of the last 24 hours walking the house with my kindle in my hand, stealing a quick paragraph here and there as I went about my day. I even got scolded for reading through dinner, something we banned long ago to focus on our family time. "How dare you read at the di...