Thief’s Mark by Carla Neggers – Review and Giveaway

Posted 25 September, 2017 by Heather in Blog, Blog Tour, Book Review, Giveaways, Heather, Heather Book Review / 2 Comments

I love mysteries that are fast-paced with ever-mounting tension and high stakes. The book blurb for Carla Neggers’ latest installment in the Sharpe and Donovan series promised all of those things, but sadly fell flat for me as I tackled my first novel by this author. While there was a lot of backstory revealed for the characters, I think that to really appreciate the information you’d need to have read the previous books in the series.

FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan are wrapping up their honeymoon in Ireland by visiting her semi-retired art detective grandfather when they discover that his apartment has been broken into, but nothing has been stolen. As odd as that is for their grandfather, they’re called in to consult in England when an ex-art thief-turned MI5 agent is discovered with a murdered man on his doorstep, who turns out to be one of two men that had kidnapped him and murdered his parents 30 years ago. While Oliver York has run for the hills, his childhood friend and current gardener Harriet Balfour (who also happens to secretly be an ex-MI5 agent) takes control of the scene along with the butler. Thief’s Mark jumps back and forth between the English countryside, Ireland, Scotland, and the eastern coast of the United States as various agents for the FBI and MI5 try to trail the murdered man’s last week of life, as well as his last thirty years of life since kidnapping Oliver.

Thief’s Mark is heavy on character interaction through dialogue and less so on the action. It felt like this book explored the character dynamics that needed to be resolved from several books worth of encounters, and it bogged the flow down in places. I did enjoy the characters, but it felt like they sat around and talked a lot without moving the plot forward that much. This is a mystery that’s light on the romance and police procedural aspects, with little gore as well.

I give Thief’s Mark a 3.5 out of 5. The writing and characters weren’t compelling enough to catch and hold my attention for long, and it seemed like it took over 80% of the book for any real danger to the main characters to materialize. This was definitely a very slow burning book, and it’s just a personal preference on my part that I don’t enjoy slower developing stories. But once the danger hit, everything was fast and furious and the answers were flying along with a few fists. I really enjoyed the epic climax and resolution of Thief’s Mark.

Find THIEF’S MARK

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Carla Neggers

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 novels, including her popular Sharpe and Donovan and Swift River Valley series. Her books have been translated into 24 languages and sold in over 35 countries. A frequent traveler to Ireland, Carla lives with her family in New England. To learn more and to sign up for her newsletter, visit CarlaNeggers.com.

Connect with Carla Neggers

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win a one digital copy through Enthrill of DEFENDING HEARTS!

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Carla Negger’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for THIEF’S MARK:

Tuesday, August 29th: Clues and Reviews

Wednesday, August 30th: Lesa’s Book Critiques

Thursday, August 31st: Reading Reality

Wednesday, September 6th: Deborah Blanchard

Thursday, September 7th: Staircase Wit

Friday, September 8th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Monday, September 11th: Moonlight Rendezvous

Tuesday, September 12th: Run Wright

Wednesday, September 13th: A Holland Reads

Thursday, September 14th: Novel Gossip and Instagram

Friday, September 15th: Read ‘Till Dawn

Monday, September 18th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, September 19th: Buried Under Books

Wednesday, September 20th: Books and Bindings

Thursday, September 21st: Ms. Nose in a Book

Monday, September 25th: Bewitched Bookworms

Tuesday, September 26th: Mystery Suspense Reviews

Wednesday, September 27th: Book Nerd

Thursday, September 28th: What I’m Reading

Monday, October 2nd: A Chick Who Reads

TBD: Rainy Day Reviews

TBD: Jathan & Heather

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Heather

I'm a PhD chemist who loves sarcasm, music, and books-paranormal, mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, and romance. Most of my free time is spent at the martial arts studio these days--whether practicing Combat Hapkido or reading books while watching my son's Taekwondo classes, or even working up a sweat with Kickboxing for fun. Goodreads