Killer in the Band

Lovers in Crime Mystery, Book 3

By: Lauren Carr

Narrated by: Mike Alger

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's Summary

Joshua's eldest son, Joshua Thornton Jr. (J.J.) has graduated at the top of his class from law school and returns home to spend the summer studying for the bar exam. However, to Joshua's and Cameron's shock and dismay, J.J. moves into the main house at Russell Ridge Farm and Orchards, the largest dairy farm in the Ohio Valley, in order to rekindle a romance with Suellen Russell, the one-time leader of a rock band who is twice his age. Quickly, they learn that she has a deep dark secret.

The move brings long buried tensions between the father and son to the surface - not the least of which being J.J.'s inexplicable dislike for his stepmother Cameron. But when a brutal killer strikes, the Lovers in Crime must set all differences with Joshua's son aside to solve the crime before J.J. ends up in the cross-hairs of a murderer.

©2016 Terri Zaleski (P)2017 Terri Zaleski

I DID NOT EXPECT THAT KILLER!

Lauren Carr surprised me again! I love it when I cannot predict the killer. I am amazed with the twists this book had. Joshua and Cameron are featured in this book which seems like it has 2 unrelated cases. I love how the author ties things together. There is incredible imagery, humor, some endearing characters, unexpected twists, and an awesome ending. I do not like giving away spoilers in my reviews, and with that said, the ending is terrific.
Mike Alger did a great performance with this book. I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. This book is a standalone listen and part of a series.

Enjoyable!

Would you consider the audio edition of Killer in the Band to be better than the print version?

I really enjoyed the narrator's clear and appealing voice - kept me engaged. He did a good job of distinguishing between the different voices without being too obvious.

What did you like best about this story?

I was drawn into the story right off the bat and cared about the characters.

Any additional comments?

Definitely want to read all Lauren Carr's books!

Body in the freezer

Note: While this is Book #3 in the series, it works just fine as a stand alone.

This tale features JJ Thornton (who’s studying for his bar exam) and his father Joshua. His step-mother, Cameron, also has a significant role. JJ has reconnected with his first love, Suellen. Several years back, they had a relationship but Joshua didn’t approve and basically forced their love affair to end. Now that JJ has some experience and years under his belt, Joshua can’t easily object to his relationship with Suellen. So there’s some family angst and drama in this story but it’s well done and intertwined with murder and mystery.

A body was found in a freezer in an old dump site and it turned out to be a long lost musician. Cameron initially doesn’t have any leads. It looks like a cold case. But then she stumbles upon an eye witness to the night the musician (Dillon Matthews) disappeared. This opens a whole can of worms and more bodies appear. There’s another mystery running parallel to this one. Clyde’s wife was killed several months back. He works on Suellen’s horse ranch and apple farm. So the Thorntons are drawn into this mystery as well. Out of the two, enjoyed the dead musician story more.

Meanwhile, the Thorntons adopted daughter Izzie falls in love with the farm. She quickly makes friends with a rooster and all the dogs. Then there’s the horses of course. Poppy, a recent hire, is excellent with horses and Izzie thinks she’s awesome. Pretty soon, Poppy has Izzie helping out in the horse barn in exchange for riding lessons. Then there’s the troubled teen Noah who is also great with horses. I did find it a little unbelievable that Poppy would just spill her own troubled past to JJ when they’ve only known each other for a few days.

Clue by clue, the mysteries unwind. The body count climbs. Our heroes get to show off their detective and fighting skills. I especially enjoyed the vampire character and how things ended there. The last hour of the book did throw in some Christian moralizing, which I found a bit of a turn off. I don’t mind characters talking about their faith but I really felt the story was preaching at me instead of just doing some character development. It was nice to see that JJ and Cameron finally made a peace of sorts. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Mike Alger continues to give voice to these characters. This was one of his better narrations with the female voices being believable and not cartoony. All characters had their own unique voice. Alger even makes Joshua and JJ and Murphy (JJ’s twin brother) sound related but distinct. The pacing was good and there were no technical issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

Rockin' Along

Much of Killer in the Band revolves around family issues, specifically Joshua’s disapproval of J.J.’s decision to move in with a woman who’s much older. It’s a very unusual pairing and Joshua can’t help believing it’s inappropriate even when his son repeatedly insists he and Suellen truly love each other.

Years ago, Suellen was part of a rock band that broke up rather unexpectedly when the lead singer announced he was leaving to start a solo career. Since then, no one in the band has had any contact with him. Suellen now owns the family dairy farm, a very successful operation and J.J. is helping her run it along with Clyde Brady, the farm manager whose wife was recently murdered. Cameron has been working that case, without much success, when she gets called in to a very cold case, one that is going to become dangerous to people in the present day even after all these years.

As so often happens in a Lauren Carr mystery, the threads here begin to multiply and weave together until it all seems impossible to see the truth but that’s also what had me so engrossed I had to keep going to discover, along with Cameron and Josh, where all this was going to end…and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Oh, and we’re introduced to a new character who just might become rather important; she fits right in with all the animals, especially various horses.

Mike Alger continues to make me feel as though I’m right in the thick of things and I love his interpretation of the many characters. He’s a gem of a narrator.

Killer in the band

Killer in the Band (A Lovers in Crime Mystery #3) by Lauren Carr ended up being just as good as the first two books in the series. A lot of the time I find that the first book in a series often outstrips the rest of the books in the series by far, yet Lauren Carr managed to keep the continuing books in the series just as good as the first one. I loved the addition of Joshua’s eldest son, Joshua “J.J.” Thornton Jr. to the story as it added a new story element and a character that kept me wondering. I felt like I could not understand J.J.'s choices at first, but they played in to the story perfectly!

good murder mystery

My Thoughts…

When I sat down to write the review for Killer in the Band, the third book in the Lovers in Crime series, I thought really hard about what makes Lauren Carr’s books so good. It’s not like I haven’t read a good mystery before, but each time I read one of her books I know I will like it. So what is it?

Part of what makes her books so wonderful is the humor. You would think a murder mystery wouldn’t be very funny, but I have consistently found myself laughing out loud while listening to these books.

Sometimes, it’s the animal characters. Between the dogs, cats, and horses, the animals are a huge supporting cast and make up a lot of the charm in each scene. Each animal has its own personality with a lot to say, and finally in this book we meet someone who can talk to them. Well, maybe not truly, but she seems to understand animals better than most. I hope Poppy, the horse whisperer, stays around for a long time. If only to tell me why the cat keeps running out and scaring people.

Part of Lauren’s greatest comes from the plots. While similar in theme, a murder mystery, I have never felt like she was retelling the same story. Everything feels new and fresh, even when the case is decades old. She also seems to throw one more twist in even when you think you have it all figured out.

Conclusion…

Killer in the Band is just another installment in a fabulous series by an amazing writer. If you don’t believe me, check Goodreads. The average rating is stinking ridiculous for nearly every book she has written. I can’t wait to listen to book #4 and continue my journey with Cameron and Josh. Right now, I need to go get some ice cream, because there are only so many times a girl can be told about a sundae without needing one.

*Special thanks to Lauren Carr, iRead Book Tours, and Acorn Book Services for a copy of Killer in the Band in exchange for an honest review.

Killer in the Band

Killer in the Band is the third installment from Lauren Carr’s Lovers in Crime series. Even though it is part of a series, I believe readers can read it as a stand alone. But I do highly recommend not missing the first two books. I have loved this series and this one has become my favorite. Cameron and Joshua are such a fun duo.
In Killer in the Band, readers catches up with couple Cameron and Joshua. Joshua’s son JJ moves back home to live at the Russell Ridge Farm. Joshua and JJ has a complicated relationship and it does not help that JJ does not care for Cameron. Their worlds torn is upside down when a murder happens and JJ is implicated in the murder. Can everyone set aside their differences to solve who the real killer is?
I had the pleasure of listening to the audio version of this book of Killer in the Band. Mike Alger once again does a fantastic performance bringing Miss Carr’s story to life. Her books are so much fun and he definitely makes them shine.
Killer in the Band gets a well deserved five plus stars from me. I can not wait to read the fourth book from the series, The Root of Murder, to find out where Cameron and Joshua end up next. I highly recommend this one for readers who enjoy a unpredictable suspense and well written mystery with lots of laughs. I loved it and thought it was great.
I received the audio version of this book from the author. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

Good series!

I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audiocopy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

I had read this book about Cameron Gates and Joshua Thornton and was happy to listen to the audiobook, since I liked it the first time. Even though this is the third book in the series, it definitely stands on its own.

Killer in the Band is about Detective Cameron Gates solving some cold cases that affect members of the Thornton family. There are several stories occurring at the same time about the different members of the Thortons: murder mysteries, family discord, new friendships, and a May-December romance.

The characters are complex and, as usual in Lauren Carr’s books, there are many of them. She always makes it easy to keep them separate, though.

I like that the characters are all flawed in some way just like “real” people and that they try to overcome those flaws as the story progresses. My favorite characters, however, are the animals. From the horse who opens stalls to the rooster who attacks almost everyone, they bring humor to an otherwise suspenseful story.

I’ve listened to enough of Lauren Carr’s books that the narrator seems like an old friend. He does a great job narrating the stories, and I hope he continues to be the narrator in the future.

I definitely recommend Killer in the Band, whether you read it or listen to it, and look forward to reading more of Lauren Carr’s books.

Great mystery novel!

The Lovers in Crime series keeps getting better. Killer in the Band is Book 3 in the series, Lauren Carr is a very talented author.