It’s a Summer of Love & Murder!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 … romance with Suellen Russell, the one-time leader of a rock 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.
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This is the only series by Lauren that I hadn’t tried so I had to give it a go. I really enjoyed her others and had a good vibe about this book. And, as usual, I jumped into the series somewhere besides the beginning.
Not having read the books that came before, I was worried if I’d be able to follow this plot. No worries. I did just fine, as Lauren dropped in references to past events in the right places without slowing things down.
It didn’t take me long to recognize some of the characters. I checked, and sure enough, I’d met them before in Lauren’s Thorny Rose Series.
J.J. Thornton has finished law school and returns home for the summer to study for his bar exam. Staying at his father Joshua’s house is a bit awkward as he doesn’t care much for his step-mother, Detective Cameron Gates.
Things become contentious between J.J. and his father when he rekindles an old romance with Suellen. There’s some past history revealed about the earlier romance that explains Joshua’s disapproval.
Cameron convinces Joshua to mend fences after J.J. moves in with Suellen, and they pay a visit to the orchard and horse farm that Suellen inherited. Soon, the whole family is involved in running the ranch.
But a cold case that has haunted Cameron rears it’s ugly head and soon the killer’s crosshairs are pointed at J.J. It’s a race to solve the crime before more wind up dead.
As with her other books, the character list is large. For those who aren’t familiar with them, Lauren includes a list at the beginning of the book to help you. I still look at it now and then to get my bearings.
And there’s another cast of characters you’ll come to know. There’s Commanche, the abused horse saved by Suellen. And Captain Blackbeard, the beautiful stallion. Suellen’s family has kept his bloodline going for generations. Can’t forget Charley, the cranky rooster. He’s a force to be reckoned with and only seems to tolerate, Izzy, Joshua’s and Cameron’s adopted thirteen-year-old daughter. Numerous creatures, great and small, play large roles in this story. For you furry friend lover’s this is a huge plus. It was for me.
And I would love to meet someone like Poppy, the horse whisperer, or should I say animal whisperer. She seems to be able to communicate with animals and they adore and trust her.
I enjoyed the cold case scenario and the author threw in some surprises that I honestly didn’t anticipate. Kept the suspense and intrigue at a high pitch.
I’ve said it before and now I say it again, I flew through this book, dying to know the end, and not wanting it to end.
Loved it.
A Killer in the Band is like another Halloween set up for the setting. Lauren Carr once again does it again with her book. You get pulled into this book from the beginning. There seem to be more murderers than the eye can see.
We learn about the Band that Suellen is the leader to. She gets a phone call from a friend in the band named “Cat.” Who could be the Killer of Dylan Matthews and Wendy Mathews? We fall for more mysteries and cold cases. Could all the cold cases be connected?
We also have JJ Thornton and his dad and siblings involved with Cameron Gates. Who would want to kill JJ and his family? His family helps him out along with getting a horse trainer to help with the horses. We also meet Izzy once again and her personally.
We meet Noah and a few others. Who killed Clyde’s wife? There are quite a few twists and turns as you turn the pages. I would suggest that if you have children you are okay with them reading about deaths for this as a lot of it. It is the decent clean book for children that are 13 and up.
If you enjoy one of Lauren Carr’s book. You will enjoy this one as well. I know for this another one that I enjoyed and wished to know more. You will be surprised at how it ends.