A New Year and a Book Review: Panic Attack

 Happy New Year one and all. I hope your holidays were warm and rewarding, despite the continuing challenge of Covid and its many variants. Perhaps this is the year it they will fizzle away and we can go back to normal living again. 

I mentioned before the close if the year I would have some good news to report. My second book in the Braga mystery series, Deadly Verse, will be published later this spring. I'll post more about it, closer to the date, but suffice it to say it takes place during "Braga Romana," the local festival in late May that celebrates Braga's Roman history. People dress up like Romans and all sorts of performances take place both on stages and plazas in various locations, as well as on  the street. Here are a couple of teasers:

                           

             

It's hard to believe we are already in mid-January! My husband and I enjoyed the holidays with very close friends here in Portugal - our first Christmas in Portugal, following our first anniversary in Portugal, following both our first birthdays in Portugal. (So 2021 was a year of "firsts" for us.)

Being book nerds, we spent a lot of the holiday period, except for our long daily walks, curled up with books. And since we read so many books, for awhile I'll be devoting both blogs ot some reviews. On my Victorian Scribbles blog, I'll be sticking mainly to the Victorian Era. On this one I'll review other assortments of good reads. Since I write mysteries when I'm not writing poetry or children's books, you can guess quite a number of these reads are mysteries.

So the first review I'd like to share is Dennis Palumbo's Panic Attack, a thriller that kept moving without let up until the very end. The plot that finally unravels is chilling in its implications and felt all too possible:

This is the 6th in a series that 
stars Daniel Rinaldi, the 
psychologist consulted by the
Pittsburgh police for victims of
traumatic or violent crimes. 

          The murder of a college mascot at a football game is the first in a series of what appear to be random killings. The intended victim’s panic attack is soon echoed by citywide panic as the killings continue. In the unfolding plot, a pattern emerges, suggesting the murders are not random at all. But what connects the dots? Despite a high body count, this is essentially a puzzle mystery with a myriad of twists and turns that kept me—and my husband—turning pages. 
          This was our first introduction to Daniel Rinaldi, the psychologist consulted by the Pittsburgh police to help victims of violent crimes cope with the aftermath of their experiences. Rinaldi becomes more than a consultant, however: His own inclination to find answers lead him to uncover a conspiracy chilling in its implications—and very relevant to today’s social upheaval. 

          It’s hard to get specific without giving the story away, but I found this a compelling read. The varied characters from different walks of life all seemed true to life. Descriptions of Pittsburgh were vivid and plunged a reader deeper into the story. The plot turns and the outcome were believable and suspenseful right up to the last. Not surprisingly, I’ll be shopping for more thrillers in this series.

If you are into mysteries and current events, I really recommend this book. Meanwhile, leave a line and tell me how your holidays went. Happy reading, and happy posting.