Weekly New Book Releases: 2/25/2025
Mystery / Suspense / Thriller
Romance / Women's Fiction
Historical Fiction
Fantasy / Science Fiction
Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Body Parts by Caitlin Rother (Book Review)
Body Parts by Caitlin Rother
Publisher: Kensington / Citadel Press
Publication Date: February 5, 2025 (1st Publication: March 1, 2009)
Format: Paperback - 384 pages
Kindle - 7.6 MB / 384 pages
Nook - 5 MB / 416 pages
Audible - 12 Hours 21 Minutes
ISBN: 978-0806543918
ASIN (Kindle): B00FAHS2NU
ASIN (Audible): B08H9TC85X
BNID: 978-0786035120
Genre: True Crime
Buy The Book:
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Book Description:
Now updated with shocking details about the identity of Wayne Adam Ford’s first victim – revealed 25 years after her death – the brand-new edition of a true crime classic from New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother delves into the disturbing mind and brutal crimes of the Humboldt County serial killer now on Death Row.
“I hurt some people.”
With these words, a tearful man hinted at a deadly crime, leading investigators to uncover a horrifying saga of abuse, tragedy, and serial murder . . .
When Wayne Adam Ford walked into the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in November 1998 with a woman's body part in his jacket pocket, the 36-year-old truck driver wasn’t a suspect in any crime. After a lengthy investigation spanning four California counties and a sensational trial, he was convicted of the torture and murder of four women. His first victim, whom he dismembered, would remain unidentified for 25 years.
While serving honorably in the Marine Corps, Ford had learned life-saving techniques that gave him structure and purpose. But a severe head injury worsened pre-existing emotional problems, rendering him unable to suppress his dark sexual impulses. Knowing he would kill again; he enlisted his brother’s help to turn himself in.
Award-winning investigative journalist Caitlin Rother drew on previously sealed testimony and interviewed key players in the case, including Ford's brother and father, to write this intimate and psychologically resonant narrative. Extensively updated with the inside details of how Ford’s first victim was recently identified through DNA testing and forensic genealogy, this classic true crime story continues to haunt us.
My Book Review:
In her latest novel, Body Parts, investigative journalist / author Caitlin Rother takes the reader behind the scenes of a riveting true crime thriller for an in depth look at a highly publicized serial killer murder case set in Humboldt County, California.
In November 1998, Wayne Adam Ford turned himself into the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office with a woman's body part in his pocket, claiming that he's hurt some people and didn't want to do it anymore. What ensues is an extensive investigation spanning four California counties, a total of four female murder victims, and a trial that led to the torture and murder death row conviction of the Humboldt County Serial Killer, Wayne Adam Ford.
Body Parts was first published on March 1, 2009, and now with an updated version published on February 25, 2025, author Caitlin Rother provides new developments to the case, the identification of victim number one via DNA testing and forensic genealogy twenty-five years after her murder.
Body Parts is a riveting true crime story that easily draws the reader in from the start, keeping them captivated as the author weaves a thoroughly intriguing and intricate recounting of a sadistic sexual serial killer murder case.
The author provides the reader with a fascinating and richly detailed and in depth look into the back stories and lives of each participant; extensive research of the investigative and legal aspects of the case; and a photo insert.
You can't help but get drawn into this complicated, fascinating, and multi-layered story, it is a gripping dark account of the sadistic sexual serial killer murders wrought by Wayne Adam Ford. It is shocking and mind boggling that this sadistic sexual predator committed such heinous sexual torture and murders of four innocent victims. After an extensive and determined investigation and pursuit of justice for the four women's families, the reader follows a haunting tale of the senseless murders by a narcissistic man that eventually led up to his conviction and death penalty sentence.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this was one of the most disturbing true crime stories that I have ever read. I had no sympathy for this narcissistic serial killer, and I felt that turning himself in was solely because of his feelings of guilt and nothing more.
Body Parts is a gripping and chilling account of a sexual serial killer murder case that is a must read for all true crime fans.
RATING: 5 STARS
Body Parts is a gripping and chilling account of a sexual serial killer murder case that is a must read for all true crime fans.
RATING: 5 STARS
About The Author
New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 14 books, ranging from narrative non-fiction crime to mystery and memoir. Her newest book is DEATH ON OCEAN BOULEVARD: Inside the Coronado Mansion Case (April 27, 2021). Her backlist includes HUNTING CHARLES MANSON; SECRETS, LIES, AND SHOELACES; LOVE GONE WRONG; DEAD RECKONING; THEN NO ONE CAN HAVE HER; I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU; NAKED ADDICTION; POISONED LOVE; BODY PARTS; TWISTED TRIANGLE; LOST GIRLS; WHERE HOPE BEGINS and MY LIFE, DELETED.
A Pulitzer Prize nominee, Rother worked as an investigative reporter at daily newspapers for 19 years before quitting the news biz in 2006 to write books full-time. Her journalism has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Daily Beast. She has done more than 200 appearances as a crime commentator on TV, radio and podcasts, ranging from "20/20," "People Magazine Investigates," "Nancy Grace," and "Crime Watch Daily," to shows on HLN, Oxygen Network, Investigation Discovery, C-SPAN, XM Radio and PBS affiliates. She also works as a writing-research-promotions coach and consultant.
Saturday, February 22, 2025
The Favorites by Layne Fargo (Book Review)
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Format: Hardcover - 464 pages
Paperback - 672 pages
Kindle - 3 MB / 433 pages
Nook - 2 MB
Audible - 13 Hours 36 Minutes
ISBN (Hardcover): 978-1784745486
ISBN (Paperback): 979-8217013944
ASIN (Kindle): B0D1QKJLYT
ASIN (Audible): B0D47SSRQF
BNID: 978-0593732052
Genre: Women's Fiction
Buy The Book:
Disclaimer: I bought a hardcover copy of the book via my subscription to Book Of The Month, and received a kindle edition from NetGalley.
Book Description:
To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.
An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating about a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice.
She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship. Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.
As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the "real story" through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary. But she can't stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy either. So, after a decade of silence, she's telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.
Inspired by the powerful love and hate that fuel Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, The Favorites is an exhilarating dance between passion, ambition, and what it truly means to win.
My Book Review:
In The Favorites, author Layne Fargo weaves an exciting women's fiction story about love, passion, ambition, scandal, and the determination to win in the world of figure skating.
Ice dancers Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha met at the local ice rink when they were kids. From the beginning of their partnership, they set their goal on one thing, the Olympic gold medal. Through trials and tribulations, highs and lows, and unprecedent success, Team Shaw-Rocha were the favorites to win Olympic gold in ice dancing, that is until a scandalous incident at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia brings a dramatic end to their partnership. On the tenth-year anniversary of the Sochi Winter Olympics, a documentary is released about the Shaw-Rocha partnership with salacious interviews and the unearthing of secrets about the pair from friends, rivals, and skating officials, Kat decides to stop the speculation and tell her own story.
The Favorites is a fascinating story that depicts the complexity of Kat and Heath's story. Their story is wrought with angsty drama, secrets, challenges, heartaches, betrayals, and their enduring bond of friendship/romance. I loved this story! If you are a fan of elite figure skating, then you must read this book! It was an exciting, dramatic, addictive look behind the curtains of the figure skating world. You can't help but get drawn into Kat and Heath's story, and how they took me on their journey to skate all the events leading up to the Winter Olympics.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I grew up as a diehard fan of elite figure skating. As I read this story, I felt like I was taken on one heck of an emotional roller coaster ride, and that this breathtaking story left me emotionally spent but wanting so much more. It just doesn't get any better than that.
The Favorites is a fascinating women's fiction tale that will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end!
RATING: 5 Stars
About The Author
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