Lauren Carr Chris Matheson Cold Case Series

I totally recommend the audios as well, the narrator makes the best voices, made me laugh a lot too, and pay attention to the extra info.

I just binged the 5 volumes and will keep the reviews individual, but this is one of the best mystery authors I've encountered in recent years. I flew through the 5 books as if I were watching Netflix and waiting for more episodes. The author combines humor with tension at the right time, which made me gasp and laugh out loud several times. The themes are always one step out of the box. Because it's a series of cold cases, we'll have more brainpower exploring the cases in a team with witty dialogue and less searching for fresh clues. Still, the cases are resolved side by side with present cases, and family issues are being solved a lot of good insight into great moral values. So let's jump into book 1.

BOOK 1 This is the volume where we learn who is who, and we are presented with a community. The main character joins a librarian book club only to find out they are all retired experts in the field of investigation who can't leave their retirement without solving crimes. This is a secret club, mostly because they are investigating real crimes, and their family must not know they haven't let go of their dangerous daily life. Because we have a team, the cast seems large, but the author quickly gives us distinct personalities, and we fall in love with them. Elliot is my favorite right there with Doris. They are both hilarious, and Chris is caught in the middle of it all.

The core theme of this case. We always start with a scene from the past to give us context. In future books, these are scenes from the main characters, which is awesome to see them as kids. With a german sheppard and a bunny who loves pink clothes and three young daughters, Chris navigates us through solving crimes. This one includes a hacker, a serial killer (present case), and a cold case murder. All interconnected. I never guessed the last major plot twist. Ends are always satisfying. What can make the stars go up or down is not the writing or the characters, but our affinity for the themes explored. Volume one and two have a more lighthearted humor approach when dealing with villains in some scenes, but it gets much darker, and we start fearing for our characters' lives as the series progresses.

I think my favorites were books 1, 5, 2, 3, 4 in that order. All 4 and 5 stars for me.

Great for Nora Roberts fans with a fun side of humor that is very Lauren Carr.

P.S - The german sheppard Sterling is a hero, and he knows how to change the radio station and even play cards, careful, no one can see how he cheats. ahahahah Tor is the best bunny.

Book 2 - Major plot twist at the start of this one. A character we thought to be dead is not. I mean, a major character that will mess up the new romance, family dynamics, and the author just is not afraid to kill her darlings and torture her characters, makes us turn the pages to the very last one with this second major plot that switches all again to a complicated emotional turn.

Don't skip prologues with this author. There is always a lot of very important information, and we have a window into the past. International spies, a woman who wants to be more than just a mom against society that expects her to have no career or do all without complaints, bad choices, dangerous villains, and I never guessed where the worst kind of betrayal comes from. I've finished the 5 books in a row, and I'm still thinking of that last reveal.

Bringing characters from other series is always something I love to see, especially when I love these characters (you can't go wrong with any of these series, from this author). These characters feel real, and I want to go to their towns and cities just to meet them, especially Doris, Elliot, and Sterling. Ended up being one of my top 3 favorites of this series so far.

I was sad for Chris' daughters for all that this murder implied, but the team of secret book club gueezer squad becomes a found family for all of them.

Great humor, it balances well the emotional part, perhaps volumes 1 and 2 have more humor, and it's light (not the murder scenes, they are very direct and brutal details), but the rest of the series becomes more dangerous, we fear for the characters more. The romance bit develops a lot, and it's a good ending for the entire emotional ride.

Book 3 - 4.5 AH! This one is by the authors. What a cool take on it. We start with a prologue that shows us Chris as a kid going to a book signing with his mom, who is the librarian where the Geezer Squad gathers to solve cold crimes in secret, instead of reading books. We see what happens during that signing, and we even get to meet one character (author) who is already deceased in another series from this author. So cool to see her interact with these characters, and because of that, we get to visit the main character of another series and their wealthy life, an amazing crossover with Christ and Helen. An author leaves a letter to Chris asking him to clear her name (which is something this character knows about because in each book he ends up in some predicaments that always force him to clear his name.) The author dies, and now there is only a cold case, a new murder, and a name to be cleared of guilt. These take the main characters (Chris, the retired FBI agent, his dog Sterling) and Helen, the current law enforcement, to chase the cold and new clues to solve this puzzle with the help of the best found family of hilarious retired people solving crimes. I love the humor of this author. I always laugh out loud.

I had some trouble keeping up with the logic of this one, and couldn't predict who did who but it didn't cool down my enjoyment of this series. I immediately jumped into book 3.

Book 4 - 4.5 Omg, we get a scare at the start, because it feels like Chris is the victim and we need to solve this main present case, but the author juggles the characters, the plots, and our emotions with expert skill, and we're pulled instead into one cold case that Chris had to leave in his past during his career.

But someone wants him connected to it again, so it's time to get the secret book club Geezers invested in solving this one. It won't be easy, we uncover a heist, a group of only women outmaneuvering and being one step ahead because. The thrill of stealing without being caught makes them pros in no time.

The brutality of the cold case focuses on a young woman, and we really want to see this one solved. I found this one darker, and series, to balance these parts, the author gives us her signature humor with Sterling, but also Elliot, and Doris, adding to the romance developing much more. Found family at its best.

This time, we fear a lot for the characters, as the danger comes too close to the family. There are side plots, too, that help with the tension and keep us turning the pages.

Book 5 - This and Book 1 are my favorites, no doubt. The author just keeps giving us better and better cases, with her signature humor and the best characters.

These books can be read individually, because each one is a cold and present case solved with intricate family issues, side plots, and humor, but I would recommend that you read them in order to get the progression of the characters' lives of the core family and of the found family.

It seems to have a lot of characters, but they are very easily distinguished by their personality traits. This time, we focus on Helen's past, story, and parents. One was missing, the other disappeared.

Although it's a hard one for her to deal with, having her sister around and all, Chris will always be there to support and help her solve it all. She discovers (with the trendy ancestry test, how to find their dad's family), and while they focus on that, the Geezers are occupied with the cold case of the one found in a barrel of oil.

Again, the author balances very well the sad, emotional, and even shocking details with humor, giving us awesome dialogue. Helen, being a law enforcement officer, discovers her dad's family is a horde of thieves and criminals, and her mom had some side escort secret business. Drugs, family conflict, a hint of Hollywood vibes, and a trip to solve it all. I couldn't put it down, and this is so far one of the most satisfying mystery series I've read, filled with solving puzzles, cerebral, a big cast of fun characters, awesome tropes that I don't mind seeing repeated (and some I hope to see, always in for a Sterling (dog) or Doris scene). Yes, the german sheppard is an essential character, one of the best.

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