Black Oil, Red Blood - Diane Castle

Title: Black Oil, Red Blood

Author: Diane Castle

Genre: Thriller

Published: February, 2012

Format: Kindle

Chloe Taylor was a successful lawyer. Until she found out that her fiancé (also very rich and successful lawyer) was cheating on her. So she left. She moved to a small town named Kettle, Texas. Now, she still wears her expensive clothes, but in a lack of  money, she eats Ramen every day.

The life in Kettle is not ordinary after all. Big Oil Industry giant PetroPlex is the mayor company in town. Almost entire population works there. Many of the people that work in the oil company are getting sick. Cancer is on the top of the illnesses. Chloe tries to prove that the cancer here is not accident or bad luck. It is caused by the pollution. The pollution that no one wants to admit.

The problems start when Chloe’s expert witness dies in suspicious circumstances. His files are missing, and no one from the attorneys doesn’t want to help her. The only person who wants justice is the local sheriff, but he doesn’t trust her. And the oil company hires her ex-fiancé for the case. What can be worse?

I couldn’t put my kindle down until I finished this book. Very serious subject was chosen for the plot. Cancer and the pollution are part of our modern-day life. Factories employ people, but also many of them do not care about the environment. On one side they help people, on the other side they hurt people. There were many turnovers in the story,  politics, murders, corruption. The characters were very well plotted. I loved the character of Chloe. She loves justice, she cares about people. There were also some very funny moments, but I won’t reveal more. If you love action, mystery, and political thrillers, and a little bit humor in it, than this is a story just for you.  

My opinion: 5 / 5

      

Invisible (Ivy Malone Mysteries #1) - Lorena McCourtney

Title: Invisible (Ivy Malone Mysteries #1)

Author: Lorena McCourtney

Genre: Mystery

Published: August 1st, 2004

Format: Kindle

Ivy Malone is not an ordinary senior citizen. She is LOL (Little Old Lady). After couple of little incidents, she realizes that she is invisible. Not really invisible, just that people wouldn't notice her in same way they would notice a beautiful young woman. When her best friend dies, and the woman who lives with her disappears, and after that found murdered, Ivy takes the things in her own hands. Who will ever suspect in a little old lady? Someone is vandalizing the graveyards. Ivy is there every night to catch the vandals (or just to write the registration plate).

I own this book just because it was free on Amazon.com. I didn't expect to be funny and entertaining that much. Mysteries are my favorite genre. And there were many funny moment and situations in the book. This LOL is very adorable. She lost her son and her husband, but she never lost her sense for humor and justice. She is not afraid to sit in her Thunderbird and drive all over the country to get what she wants. Very often her mind says "yes", but her body says "no". She always finds the way to push that "yes".

When I was a child, there was a tv show Super Gran, about a grandmother with super powers. Ivy Malone reminds me of Super Gran. She doesn't have super powers, but in her mind she can do whatever she wants. And she does. 

My opinion: 4 / 5

Nemesis-Jo Nesbo

Grainy closed-circuit television footage shows a man walking into an Oslo bank and putting a gun to a cashier's head. He tells the young woman to count to twenty-five. When the robber doesn't get his money in time, the cashier is executed, and two million Norwegian kroner disappear without a trace. Police Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case.

While Hole's girlfriend is away in Russia, an old flame decides to get in touch. Former girlfriend and struggling artist Anna Bethsen invites Hole to dinner, and he can't resist a visit. But the evening ends in an all too familiar way as Hole awakens with a thundering headache, a missing cell phone, and no memory of the past twelve hours. That same morning, Anna is found shot dead in her bed. Hole begins to receive threatening e-mails. Is someone trying to frame him for this unexplained death? Meanwhile, the bank robberies continue with unparalleled savagery.

As the death toll continues to mount, Hole becomes a prime suspect in a criminal investigation led by his longtime adversary Tom Waaler and Waaler's vigilante police force. Racing from the cool, autumnal streets of Oslo to the steaming villages of Brazil, Hole is determined to absolve himself of suspicion by uncovering all the information needed to crack both cases. But the ever-threatening Waaler is not finished with his old archenemy quite yet. (from Goodreads.com)

After I was hooked on Harry Hole series, I couldn't put this book down. It's even better than the first one. 

Three different stories, no one seems to see the connection. Twists around every corner. With every single page it makes you ask yourself what is going to happen next. The story with the gypsies from the Balkans is very well plotted. The robberies, the death of the former girlfriend, the gypsies , the author made an excellent connection. 

The title, "Nemesis", means revenge. Symbolic title.  In Anna's place there is an artistic piece, a statue named "Nemesis".

Who is revenging to who?

My opinion 5/5