Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann, 320 pages

In the 1920's the Osage Indians of Oklahoma were quite wealthy.  Their land was oil-rich and they owned the mineral rights.  All was not rosy however.  Dozens of Osage Indians were murdered and somehow those cases couldn't be solved locally.

Finally, the Bureau of Investigation stepped in and found out who was behind at least some of the murders.  The why was easy - greed. 

In the first part of the book, author David Grann explores the story of one of the families whose members were murdered.   The second part details the investigation into the murders by the Bureau of Investigation, which became the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The third part details the authors own investigation into this story, the additional information he found and the closure he was able to provide to some of the families whose relatives were murdered. 

The Naturals Series (The Naturals, Killer Instinct, All In, and Bad Blood) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 1,472 pages

Cassie is considered a "Natural". At seventeen, Cassie is recruited to the Naturals program in the FBI, to become a profiler. Cassie is assigned to help with cold cases. She moves into a house with four other kids in Quantico, Virginia. Everyone has something that they are good at. Michael can read people's emotions, Lia is a human lie detector, Sloane is great with numbers and statistics and Dean, like Cassie, can read people. 

Cassie recognizes that a serial killer is killing women that look similar to her mother. Soon, Cassie is being targeted by that killer. It turns out that Cassie mentor, is her mother's younger sister as well as the killer. Soon, Cassie and the others are soon given active cases that tends to put them in dangerous situations. As the books progress, Cassie learns more about her mother's murder. 

These books had me hooked within the first chapter. These books are intense and they get into the minds of serial killers. I had a hard time putting them down. Heck, I read the first 3 books within a week! If you like the t.v. show Criminal Minds, this is book series for you. 

The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, 304 pages

"The Job" is book 3 in the Fox and O'Hare series by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg.

The books feature Kate O'Hare, straight laced FBI agent, secretly tasked to work with the con man she worked so hard to catch, Nicolas Fox.

Nick now works for the FBI, though very few people know that.  He helps take down bad guys through elaborate, crazy, hilarious cons with the help of a zany crew that includes Kate's bored, retired, elite military dad.

The books have laugh out loud humor and fun, if implausible adventures.  But who cares?  Just relax and enjoy it.

The Job: A Fox & O'Hare novel by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg 289 pages

Yes, this is the latest in the Nick Fox and Kate O'Hare series.  Fans of USA network's "White Collar" television series will love these books.  Nick Fox is a notorious high end thief and Kate O'Hare is the FBI agent who finally captured him.  This time they are after the leader of a global drug cartel who has changed his look, but not his tastes.  Nick has some tricks up his sleeve to lure him out, but in the meantime they need to find the thief who is making Nick look bad. Someone is pulling off sloppy thefts in a Nick Fox mask. How unprofessional!  The humoruous cast of characters makes this book a fun read.

The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout 178 pages

Finding myself without an audiobook to listen to while I did dishes, I turned to recent purchases from our library book sale.  Hooray!  I found a Nero Wolf book I had forgotten I'd purchased.  This one was not read by Michael Pritchard, who is my favorite reader of these books, but it was still very good.  Nero is hired by a woman to get J. Edgar Hoover's FBI men to leave her alone.  Her crime is that she bought many copies of a book called The FBI Nobody Knows and distributing them to people she thought should read it.  Wolf's ego can't turn the job down and the massive payment check piques his interest, as well.  It turns out that he may be able to accomplish the job for his client and solve a murder in the process.  Only a genius like Wolf would be able to bully the FBI into doing as he wished, but he couldn't be the effective genius he is without wise-cracking Archie Goodwin doing all the legwork.  As always, an enjoyable book from the Nero Wolf series!

Rage Against The Dying by Becky Masterman 307 pages

Brigid Quinn is a retired FBI agent, recently married and living the life of her dreams in the Arizona desert.  And then a man confesses to a series of crimes, an old case that Brigid worked but never solved and where she lost her rookie partner whose body has yet to be found. The killer has agreed to disclose the location of the body in exchange for life imprisonment rather than the death penalty. When the current FBI agent on the case tells Brigid she believes the confession is fake, Brigid is drawn back to the life in a big and not entirely sanctioned way.

Did I mention she is fifty-nine, white haired and married to an ex Catholic priest?

Brigid Quinn is one of the most engaging, and believable, tough and determined, needy and self- sufficient and just plain plucky protagonists that I’ve come across in a long, long time. She doesn’t give up, she does what has to be done and worries about the consequences later. I cannot wait until the next installment, it was that good.

Bait by Karen Robards 372 pages

I have noticed that quite a few patrons with the same reading tastes as me read Karen Robards so I decided to give her a try.  I am glad I did.  While she does not rocket to the top of my favorite author list, I will certainly keep an eye out for her titles.  In this book, Maddie Fitzgerald is having the best and the worst time of her life.  In New Orleans to land a major account for her fledging advertising business, she is attacked in her hotel room.  But this is not just any attack and Maddie is just not any victim.  Maddie is walking a tight rope, trying to keep her past and her future from colliding in the present.  It just makes things more interesting that Sam McCabe, the FBI very special agent in charge of keeping Maddie safe is HOT!  All Maddie wants is a dog, a man, and her life back.  What will she have to endure to get what she wants?  Read and find out.

 

 

 

Deadline by Sandra Brown (large print) 673 pages

Sandra Brown has done it again!  Because of her I have lost sleep, I just did not want to put this book down.  Dawson Scott is an award winning journalist. He has recently returned to the States after covering the war in Afghanistan, embedded with the troops, and is suffering from PTSD, having horrible recurring nightmares.  His new editor and nemesis orders him to cover some fluff piece, but instead, he is guided by his godfather, who is also a FBI agent, to cover a trial involving a story that began 40 years ago.  That was when FBI Agent Headly narrowly missed capturing anarchist Carl Wingert. Now, there is a murder trial involving Wingert's biological son, Jeremy Wesson.  Is Jeremy really dead?  How is Carl involved in this?  Will Dawson help bring closure to this 40-year-old story?  Will he lose his heart and gain a family in the process?  Read and find out!  You will not regret it.

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, 295 page

I liked this book.  It was a quick, easy, funny read, in typical Evanovich style.  Now, I do think that Janet and/or Lee have been watching a little too much of the USA network.  This books is about a con man, Nick, who is captured by a FBI agent, Kate, and the two of them are thrown together to go on a secret mission for the FBI to catch another con man.  Sounds like Neal Caffery and an episode of "White Collar" to me.  Nick is very worldly and charming.  He manages to pull off this "heist" and come out smelling like a rose.  Our reluctant heroine, Kate, former Navy seal and hardcore FBI agent is more comfortable with a glock than jewelry as an accessory.  She is forced into playing a spoiled heiress in order to pull off this con.  Nick and Kate get themselves into some interesting predicaments, but all ends well thanks to Kate's retired military father who comes to the rescue.  All in all, a fun read, not totally without merit as I did learn what a Toberlone bar is!