books Archives - Sprinkles of Sand

Lisa Gardner writes crime novels and thrillers. She has written several romance novels under the pseudonym Alicia Scott, but I have not read any of those so cannot comment on them. However, I have read most of her thrillers and crime novels and they are excellent! She writes two series and several individual novels.

FBI Profiler series (Quincy and Connor)

Of the two series she writes, my favorite is the one with Pierce Quincy and Rainie Connor. Quincy is a former FBI profiler that now works as a private detective. Connor is a police officer who lives and works in Oregon. Quincy’s daughter Kimberly is a rookie FBI agent who shows up later in the series. The dynamic between the characters is very interesting and keeps you coming back for more. The cases keep you on the edge of your seat and are downright scary at times. Thriller best describes these.

D.D. Warren series

This series is about a Boston homicide detective D.D. Warren. She teams up with a police sniper named Bobby Dodge. I like these books a lot but to be honest, I can’t stand the character of D.D. Warren. I just don’t like her personality. However, the books and the cases are great. I find it strange that I like the series when I don’t like the main character but that’s the way it worked out. I think it’s a testament to the skill of the author.

Individual Novels

I liked all of her individual novels. However, my favorite is The Survivors Club. It’s about three women who were victims of a serial rapist and formed a club. After he (the rapist) is killed, before his trial begins, the rapes start again. She is incredibly creative with her storyline and it’s one of those keep reading no matter what time it is to find out what happens type of books.

Below is a list of her books that I have mentioned in this article. I did not include the romance novels on this list. Enjoy!

FBI Profiler series (Quincy and Connor)

The Perfect Husband
The Third Victim
The Next Accident
The Killing Hour
Gone
Say Goodbye

D.D. Warren series

Alone
Hide
The Neighbor
Live to Tell
Love You More
The 7th Month
Catch Me
Fear Nothing
3 Truths and a Lie
Find Her

Individual Novels

The Other Daughter
The Survivors Club
I’d Kill For That (collaborative mystery)
Touch & Go

Jen

Richard Montanari writes crime novels/thrillers. He has two series. The Cleveland series and the Philadelphia series. I have read the entire Philadelphia series and it is fantastic! I would categorize it as a psychological crime series. The two detectives are Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. Byrne has been a police detective for a long time. He is divorced and struggles with the toll that old cases have taken on him. His partner Jessica is younger, married and a mom. She struggles to find balance between her work and family. The novels alternate narratives between Byrne and Balzano.

They work for the Philadelphia Police Department in the homicide division. There are several characters that show up throughout the series. One of my favorites is Josh Bontrager. He was once a member of the Amish community. Montanari’s descriptions of Philadelphia are incredible and make the books even more appealing. I may be biased about that since I have spent a lot of time in Philadelphia. However, his descriptive details in general are wonderful. He is also very skilled at not making it easy to figure out what is going to happen. You don’t get all the details until the end.

I have not read his Cleveland series yet, but it is high on my reading list. Below is a list of the books in those two series. Enjoy!

Philadelphia Series