Sandra BrannanRezensionen

This is the first book in a new series. I had never heard of the author but picked it up on a free bookshelf because it looked interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the book and it was fun having it take place in Ft Collins here in Colorado. I will read the next one. It is a mystery with a serial killer that poses his victims in poses imitating art. Interesting characters and killer. A good quick read which I like from time to time.

This was my first book in the LIv Bergen Mystery series. I liked it and it could be read as a stand alone. The suspense was real, the characters were well developed and the story held my attention until the end. I have a few complaints. The first was that the author gave us a lot of detail on facts that were unnecessary to the story, for example all of Liv's siblings full names and their meanings. Second was the fact that Liv was an FBI agent and yet was very naive about a lot of things. She withheld essential information that might have kept her and Streeter safe and aware of potential danger. Also for an FBI agent, she did a lot of things to put herself in danger like answering a door without checking who it was after being followed earlier in the day. She also knew there was a dangerous criminal on the loose and yet when she had a car accident she didn't take any safety precautions when dealing with the person who hit her thereby putting herself and her protection in danger. I just didn't buy a lot of the situations that she got herself into. I liked the book and will probably read more in the series but I wish the characters actions were more true to what they were supposed to be.
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Holy... I am so blown away by this book I'm not even sure where to start. I've been a massive fan of Sandra Brannan's mysteries since I first met Liv Bergen in book one. I've watched Liv grow, met her family, and fallen totally in love with her fabulous personality. To say I had high hopes for Noah's Rainy Day doesn't even begin to cover how I felt as I opened to the first page. Honestly though? I shouldn't have worried. There was so much to love here that it's going to be one hell of a task for me to explain how I feel.

First off I was so happy to see that Liv, one of my top five favorite female characters of all time, was just as vividly written and feisty as ever! What's awesome about this particular installment is that Liv is finally an FBI agent. Oh sure, all sorts of insanity happens around her constantly. Now, however, she can actually do something about it legally. I loved Special Agent Liv Bergen. Loved watching her get her feet wet, learn the FBI ropes, and solve the mystery. Liv hasn't changed at all, but now her skills come to the forefront and it's perfection!

Then there was Noah. Please pardon me while I gush, but Noah Hogarty is an absolutely wonderful protagonist. Living with severe cerebral palsy hasn't gotten Noah down. He's sweet, intelligent beyond his years, and so wonderfully positive. Everything about him screams life, and it's no wonder that Liv loves spending time with him. I was so impressed with the way that Sandra Brannan wrote this young character. Despite what life has handed him he is brave, strong and damn impressive. I loved Noah Hogarty, with all of my heart.

Oh and the plot! I could gush, and gush, but the point remains that there is nothing about this book that is slow. Each page brings a new clue to light, a new piece of the puzzle into the picture, and it was all I could do to keep up with the mystery. No spoilers here friends. You absolutely must experience it. Let's just say that I'll admit I was teary eyed near the end. There are just some books that have you so wrapped up in them that you cry when things finally end. Sandra Brannan remains one of my all time favorite writers, and I'm happy to recommend this whole series to you! Trust me when I say you won't be sorry you met Liv Bergen and her beautiful family.

Ahhhhh. Once again, Sandra Brannan has totally taken my breath away with her writing. Widow's Might brings back the Liv that I was waiting for, a completely twisted murder that kept me reading, and a fabulous cast of characters. What I love most about this books in this series are how easy they are to get into. Read a page, and you're already hooked.

It's hard to remember that this book takes place only a few short days after the last book ends. My favorite part about Liv's character has always been how strong she is, and that doesn't change here. She's slow to anger, quick to empathy, and a downright wonderful person. As an added bonus, we meet her sister in this book. Elizabeth is like Liv multiplied by ten. I completely adored her! A woman who gives any cause a hundred percent of her time and effort, she is just as strong as her sister, and even more stubborn. The two of them are a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure!

The romance is ramped up a bit in this third book as well, although it still does a fabulous job of staying in the background. Agents Pierce and Linwood are the polar opposites of one another, but Liv finds chemistry with both of these wonderful men. It's a a breath of fresh air to have a bit of romance thrown in between all the work that goes into solving the mysteries. Let me be the first to say that no matter which of these two men Liv chooses, I'm all for it! I'll take the other one off her hands any day.

Clues are laid out in bits in pieces, always giving the reader just enough to be on the cusp of solving the murders, but never enough to quite get there. It's deliciously frustrating. What I most enjoyed about this particular book in the series (and missed in the second book) is getting a chance to see from the murderer's point of view. Having the opportunity to see into the twisted mine of "The Crooked Man" is a treat. Creepy, yet completely fascinating.

So yes, Widow's Might gets a huge five starts from me! It brought back everything that I was missing in the last book, and kept me reading well into the night. If you haven't yet started this series I highly recommend it! Liv is sure to steal your heart, as will all the other characters in this series. Full of twists and turns, Widow's Might is the stuff of late nights spent reading. I cannot wait for more!

Lot's Return to Sodom picks up a few months after Liv's last mystery, and drops the reader right back into the fray. Liv is slowly recovering from her brush with the De Milo killer. Everyone around her treats her like a frail being, and for a woman like Liv that's the most maddening thing of all. Soon enough though there is another mystery that just begs to be solved. A young woman has been murdered. Her brother is a suspect. Who better to uncover the answers than the feisty Liv herself?

I completely adore Liv Bergen. She is one of my all time favorite female characters. Feisty, loving, tenacious, and not even the least bit of a shrinking violet. Liv is amazing! So of course I was excited to jump right back into her life! Happily, despite her previous dance with death, this was the same woman that I remembered from before. As soon as she finds out that her brother is in trouble, she sets off to find out just what is going on. Never mind the consequences. This is family!

I have to say once again how much I really enjoy the way that Sandra Brannan writes the settings in her book. Liv is a small town girl. Raised to do hard work, and take pride in her surroundings. Her honest and heartfelt descriptions of the people and places around her really work well to immerse the reader in the story. I've never been to the Sturgis bike rally. Still, I could probably tell you a fair bit about the people who might hang out there, just based on what Liv sees. Locations, family and friends come to life in vivid color and it makes this a much more intriguing read.

There were a few minor things that made Lot's Return to Sodom a slightly different second installment. Small things that lowered my rating a bit. The first thing that struck me was the slower forward motion of this book. Liv's family and friends get a lot of face time, which makes sense since we are just being introduced to them, but also more difficult to follow some times. The other thing was simply the fact that this wasn't as gruesome of a murder. A little more clean cut if you will. Chalk it up to my love of the macabre, but there it is.

No matter what though, I still thoroughly enjoyed Lot's Return to Sodom and can't wait to read the next book! I will always love Liv. I will always be a fan of the way she puts herself out there for the people she loves. Above all, I will always be a fan of Sandra Brannan, her wonderful creator! If you haven't started this series yet, get going! The mystery is waiting.

For the first time since I started this series, it's actually been tough for me to write a review. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of both Liv Bergen and her creator. I love Liv's vibrant personality, and the fact that she's such a down to earth person. In fact, I don't even bat an eye at this point when one of these books is offered to me for review. I'm a fan of Liv Bergen, and I'm not afraid to admit it. This time around though, I have to say that it took me a long time to fully settle in. Solomon's Whisper takes a sharp turn from what I was used to previously. I'll explain below.

One of the things I always enjoyed most about Liv's stories was that they weren't your typical crime novels. Her cases have always been rather personal, whether she was protecting her hometown or her family members. There's something comforting about knowing the person that you're following has a firm foot in the mystery they are solving. It was refreshing to be able to enjoy a story that dealt with the FBI and not have to slog through a ton of infodumps or hunt down terms. It's why I fell in love with Liv's books. She was always so personable and brave.

That being said, this particular installment threw me off at first. To fans of the series, you'll remember that Liv is now working with the FBI officially. I was excited to see her in her new role. Eager to see where her new contacts and abilities would take her. The first third or so of the book centered around her settling in and, to be completely honest, took me a long time to get through. Those infodumps I wasn't missing before? They made their debut. It wasn't until Streeter gave Liv a case related to her, which I was hoping for, that things picked back up for me. Once again I was excited. Where would it take her?

Unfortunately, this particular book doesn't deal with just one case. Instead, that one case branches off into multiple cases that are similar, and soon I found myself swimming in an overload of information. Names, dates, events, all blurred together into something that I just couldn't latch onto. It took me until almost the very end to feel fully immersed. Then that ending? It killed me. So much.

I can't say I didn't enjoy this read. I still had Liv, and I was able to see how she'd grown. For that, I was appreciative. Everything else just didn't feel like what I was used to. It seemed like too much was going on at the same time, to be honest. For Liv, and for our past together, I'll offer up three stars to this book. Solomon's Whisper is the first time our leading lady has been fully tethered to the FBI, and it's probably just my own bias that kept me from loving it. I know I'll still be back for more.

"In the Belly of Jonah" ticks about all the boxes for stuff I dislike in a mystery. Too many POV (4), awkward writing, a prologue, sly religion, and, probably worst of all, villain monologueing (that's a wonderful word from The Incredibles). This is the first book in the series which expanded to #6 in June. Maybe the others are better as Ms Brannan settles into her voice. I'm not going to test that theory though.

I received a review copy of "In the Belly of Jonah: Liv Bergen #1" by Sandra Brannan (Greenleaf) from author's publicist.

A Liv Bergen mystery set in the Black Hills of South Dakota. People are dying all over the place - some from previous novels - and Liv (a new recruit & dog handler for the FBI), Streeter Pierce (lead agent & potential love interest), and other FBI agents, Jack Linwood & Jenna Tate piece the mystery together. All murders involve men who had no family and left their land to a conservation group. Proof that revenge will eat you up when you let it. This was festering from the age of 7. Oh, dear. It was OK. Hard to keep track of all the dead people.

Liv Bergen is back to her childhood home, in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Here she is confronted with the murder of her brother’s girl friend, Meredith. The body is found right outside of the road leading to the family quarry. In order to help Jens she sets her course to find the killer and learn why Meredith died.

At this time, Sturgis is the Sodom of the Black Hills as it hosts the motorcycle rally attended by many of the outlaw bikers of America.
The County Sheriff thinks Meredith was caught up in the motorcycle rally and was murdered by a biker. The FBI resident agent, Shankley, agrees. However, FBI agent Streeter Pierce who has come from Denver to assist Shankley with another case, disagrees with him.

Streeter is searching for the Crooked Man, a shadow criminal who has murdered in the past. Shankley had gotten Streeter to Sturgis by suggesting Meredith was murdered by the Crooked Man.

Meantime while Liv is trying to locate Char, Meredith’s sister and solve Meredith’s murder. While waiting for Jens, she witnesses the death of another young woman involved with the biker gang Lucifer’s Lot. Now, Mully, leader of Lucifer’s Lot is on her trail.

A diverse cast of characters that are individual with different motivations. Lot’s for things going on here in Sturgis, it can get a little confusing. The description of the motorcycle rally is detailed and I can tell you I wouldn’t like to be in Sturgis when it is going on.

This is the fifth in a series centered around Liv Bergen, former limestone miner and now an FBI Special Agent in Colorado. The attentions of Liv, good-looking and talented, are coveted by two of the best and most attractive agents, Streeter Pierce and Jack Linwood. In this book, Liv has decided she has fallen in love with Jack, but she hasn’t told him yet; he is out of town on his yearly fishing trip.

In the meanwhile, Liv works on a number of child murder cases including the cold case of her niece Brianna and another more recent case obviously based on the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the child beauty star killed in 1996 in Colorado at age six.

Complicating the solving of these murders is the fact that those convicted or even suspected of the crimes have been murdered in ways resembling the ways the children were killed. Moreover, only the FBI has known the details of how exactly the crimes took place. Is there a vigilante serial killer in the FBI? And is Liv, by exposing more details and suspects as she works the cases, putting more people in danger?

I have to say I got a little confused during the dénouement, which was nevertheless very exciting. I believe one was supposed to be confused at any rate, because the whole idea was that during the whole very edge-of-your-seat situation, you didn’t know who were the good guys or the bad guys.

Discussion: The books in this series are about crimes, but they are also very much about family ties, female empowerment, and romance. In addition, the books all have a focus on children and on religion - but only in the sense that Liv had a Catholic school education and thinks often in her head of her third-grade teacher Sister Delilah who might have admonished her now for her thoughts or actions, but who thankfully now can’t make her say Hail Marys (or she’d be saying them all the time).

The other unusual aspect of this series is that, very unlike lead protagonists in “hard-boiled” crime series, Liv is so nice and seeing-the-world-through-rose-colored-glasses that she doesn’t seem very realistic. However, it so happens that I met the author, and the voice of Liv Bergen is just like her. She is a lovely person - sunny and full of warmth. Reading her books feels like you’re spending time with her and listening to her talk, and makes you believe in the character, because yes, there really are people like that in the world.

Evaluation: The writing itself won’t necessarily wow you, but the main characters are so nice that they will win you over to the series.

Liv Bergen Crime Novels in Order:

In The Belly of Jonah

Lot's Return to Sodom

Widow's Might

Noah's Rainy Day½

solomons whisper 5 stars
Liv is back! this is number #5 in this wonderful series.
Liv who used to be a miner and is now an FBI agent and in love with...whoops!
better not tell, you can find out for yourself. Some wild and crazy things have happened to Liv and her family lately and Liv thinks it has been a little too much and maybe her being an FBI agent has put her family at risk.
While contemplating this she is offered a cold case by her boss Streeter (love the name!) a cold case involving her niece which then leads to another cold case and Liv is off and running!
meanwhile her boyfriend is acting strange and Streeter is too... Love the book, love the series I'm waiting for the next one!

Special Agent Liv Bergen is almost ready to resign from the FBI and go back to limestone mining. From an earlier case (i.e., Noah’s Rainy Day), in which a kidnapper had grabbed her nephew, she’s afraid she is actually bringing trouble to her family members if she stays with the FBI. Special Agent Streeter Pierce, a maverick in the field, tries to get her to stay; she’s got great instincts. What better way to get her to stay than offer her the opportunity to try a cold case, that of her niece, Brianna, who had been abducted and killed seven years earlier. She was only ten years old. Of course Liv wants the case. She’d love to be able to find the murderer and provide closure for her sister, Barbara. She agrees to another six months and begins working Brianna’s case immediately. Her investigation begins to pull her in other directions – that of other children who were abducted and killed – all of them in very brutal means. Further investigation begins to show that many of the murderers have also met with brutal deaths mimicking the way in which the children were killed. Do we have a vigilante at work? Is he or she an insider?

Other than the reference to Noah, I didn’t feel it was necessary to have read the other four books in this series. This story in and of itself is a good stand-alone. On the personal side of the characters, Liv Bergen has a romantic relationship with Special Agent Jack Linwood, who was away on a fishing expedition for most of this story. However, Liv and Streeter have an interest in each other that I feel the author will develop down the line in a future work in this series. For the most part, I enjoyed Solomon’s Whisper although there were a few heartbreaking moments considering the brutality of the children’s deaths and the families left to grieve for them. There were quite a few people to watch; most of the characters were fleshed out pretty well. I rated the novel at 4 out of 5.

http://www.fictionzeal.com/solomons-whisper-liv-bergen-mystery-5-sandra-brannan-...

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read the first three books in this series, it may have helped to clarify some of the relationships in the book but it wasn't really necessary.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like it as the subject is very upsetting but it is handled and written with a great deal of delicacy and skill. Although some of the ends were tied up a bit too neatly, overall it was a well-paced read.

Noah is a strong character even though he suffers from Cerebral Palsy and is unable to communicate in the normal fashion. His family have worked out a system that allows them to communicate with him and life is rather good. His aunt Liv is staying with the family until she can sell her house and she gets on very well with Noah, she treats him like an adult and gives him a special pin that records audio. She works for the FBI and is the handler for a search and rescue dog named Beulah.

When she finds a backpack whilst out on a training exercise with Beulah, she gets Noah to help her find out whose it is but before they solve the case, Liv is called out to the airport as a little boy as gone missing.

Whilst Liv is working the case, Noah realises that the little boy is next door with a neighbour that no-one likes. It takes a while before he can make anyone understand what he has seen and by then it's almost too late.

With a thrilling ending and a great story line throughout, it was one that I ended up staying up late to see what was going to happen next.

I'm going to see if I can find the first three from this series that's how much I enjoyed reading this one.

Originally Reviewed At:Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: ARC provided by the publisher
Reviewer: Heather


Widow’s Might is the third installment in the Liv Bergen mysteries. I’ll disclose that I have not had the chance to read the previous books, though I am sure I would enjoy them. With that being said, I would like to let everyone know that I wouldn’t say its necessary, but always recommended for awesomely written stories.


This suspense filled murder mystery begins in Liv’s home state where she has found herself thrown into a decade long investigation of the Crooked Man. Belluah, the prestige trailing hound, along with the FBI, she must help to piece together the motives, the cold trails, and protect one sweet, terminally ill, woman from the killer before he can strike her dead. Can Liv, the miner, step to the plate and take command of Belluah?


This was an awesome adventure that keeps the reader on its toes. You are given clues as you read through the story along with rich history on Custards Expedition and Little Big Horn. Entwined into it all is the plot. Rich and thick with suspense as each report comes in, new discoveries are found, or Belluah and Liv are chasing down fresh scents on cold serial cases of a killer who has killed every year for the last 12 years.


But there is more, much more to this tale than meets the eye. While the FBI has known that the murders are connected, there are some clues that only history can tell.


My honest opinion is that anyone 18 or older, loves mysteries, enjoys history, and likes a story that will suck you in…well yeah this book is for you. By the time I was finished {2 days}, I found myself wanting to read more. I also found myself thinking that it would make a great television show. That alone is a rarity since I don’t watch television a whole lot.

NOAH'S RAINY DAY is the fourth novel in the Liv Bergen series, although it's the first I've come across. Which could be quite a large part of my problem - I really could not work out who was who and what was going on. Was truly lost, and slightly baffled for the entire book.

The character of Noah is obviously carefully crafted to tug at the heart strings, as well as provide somebody to really barrack for. Even the bloodhound Beulah is a strong character, much stronger than the central character, Bergen, whose voice seemed strangely wishy washy. That wasn't helped at all by the fact that there is obviously a lot of back story to Bergen, her family (I lost track of who was who) and what connection there was somewhere between the missing boy's family and Bergen's family. Actually that's not true, I really couldn't see the point of it. But there's also the enigmatic lover Jack (who seemed a rather standoffish sort of a bloke for a "lover"), and the rather "convenient" element of having a kidnapped boy held in the house next door to Noah. To say nothing of senior officers stomping around on crime scenes, and some rather baffling flummoxing around by the investigation team.

NOAH'S RAINY DAY is probably one of those books that, if you've read the earlier ones in the series, works for you. It's also seemingly a series designed to give people somebody to really barrack for (assuming Noah, although Bergen's probably got her cheer-squad as well). To be honest I never really connected with any of them - and spent most of the book feeling somewhat like I'd shown up at a party in fancy dress, when that idea had been dropped by the hosts weeks ago.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-noahs-rainy-day-sandra-brannan

Meet Noah, a twelve year-old with Cerebral Palsy.

This was an unusual crime story, in that it was partly narrated by twelve year-old Noah, who suffered with Cerebral Palsy. Noah was unable to speak or move, but he was both intelligent and observant.
We know from the outset, that Noah ends up somewhere dark, smelly and cold, and curiosity about how this might happen is maintained throughout the book. We also know who has abducted the young boy known as Little Max, who was on his way across America to visit his mother for Christmas, so the novel is more of a character study than a who-done-it.

Noah's aunt, Liv Bergen, has recently been promoted to dog handler for the FBI and she is involved in the hunt for Little Max. Her bloodhound, Beulah, is an excellent search and rescue dog, who takes on a character of her own and plays an important part in the search.
Liv has a double love interest, to add a little spice to the story, and, as a reader, I found it hard to know who's affections to favour.

As book 4 of a series involving Liv Bergen, I was occasionally confused about the back-story, particularly the reference to an incident at the Hanson cabin. Some of the family relationships were also left unexplained. However, the involvement of Noah in this book made up for any omissions and I would certainly read further books centred around Noah, Liv and Beulah.

Noah, a cerebral palsied child helps his aunt Liv solve a missing child case. Noah communicates with his younger sister and his Aunt who has become an FBI agent. When a millionaire's son disappears on a flight to visit his mother at Christmas Liv is called in to find Little Max.
Noah, who has excellent observation skills soon find the boy living next door, not the real mystery to this story. Instead, refreshing so, the mystery is can Liv find Little Max and her nephew before it is too late. The story got better as you realize that Noah, can communicate and be an active member of the "spy team"

I am often not a fan of books told from different points of view. Frequently a recipe for confusion..mine...lol

But in this case it totally works, perhaps because one of the characters, the charming Noah, is just wonderful. He may be trapped inside his body, but that does not mean he does not have a great deal to offer the world. Especially those in the world who take the time to figure out what he is saying, like his aunt, the also very good, newly minted FBI agent Liv Bergen.

A well written, entertaining book, the latest entry in a good series. And let me just say, I hope this is not the last time we meet Noah!

I enjoyed the author's first two books about when she worked at the family quarry (didn't read the 3rd), maybe because it was such an unusual setting for a female main character, but this one fell a bit flat in the second half. I was enjoying the first half and then suddenly everything was tied up quickly and done with, as far as the "whodunit" for the characters in the story, anyway. The reader already knew from the second chapter or so who did it.

I enjoyed Ms. Brannan's storyline about Noah and how he functioned living with Cerebral Palsy. It was interesting and informative, and I applaud her for sharing it in a work of fiction. However I had hoped for a more intriguing conclusion. The mood in the story switches abruptly and seemed to straddle the fence between whether to be a dark thriller with a pedophile plotline, or a PG rated story, complete with little Noah and his relationships with his younger sister and his Aunt's search-and-rescue bloodhound. Either story I might have read and enjoyed, but together it seemed to clash for me.

I still would recommend this book to fans of Ms. Brannan, edgy mysteries, & mild thrillers. 3.5/5

Noah is a twelve-year-old boy with severe cerebral palsy. He can’t talk or walk and he is nearly blind. But he has a vivid imagination and a loving family so he’s a happy little soul. His ambition is to become a spy like his Aunt Liv who is a newly minted FBI agent. He and his sister Emma have developed a way to communicate using their fingers and he and his aunt play games to improve his observation skills.

On Christmas Eve day, a small boy is kidnapped from the airport. Liv is called in to work on the case which means she won’t be home for Christmas. Noah notices that there’s a little girl next door at the ‘creepy’ neighbour’s house. Except he begins to suspect that the girl is really the missing boy but with his limited communication skills and the fact it’s Christmas, he just can’t get anyone to pay attention.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. It moves along at a pretty good clip and Noah is a very likeable character. However, there were times he seemed rather immature for his age. The book also changes voice and perspective so often that even the author seems to stumble over who is talking in the first person and whose story is in the third. As well, Liv is sharing the investigation with two male agents, one of whom she is having a relationship with and the other to whom she is attracted. There seems to be a whole lot of touchy-feely stuff going on between the agents which I would imagine would be inappropriate at any time in the FBI never mind a child abduction case. But, in all fairness, I’m not a big fan of romance in the books I read so I may not be the best judge of this.

Still, put aside these criticisms and this is a pretty good story with a fast pace and some enjoyable characters. It was especially nice to see a young disabled boy play the role of hero in the tale since too often they seem invisible in the real world. I really liked Noah’s family dynamic and, although, his parents clearly aren’t always able to understand him, they never underestimate him. This is a nice contrast to the little boy’s extremely wealthy parents who, though they also love their son, don’t make a lot of time for him. Despite its flaws, Noah’s Rainy Day tells a compelling tale and watching Noah risk his health and perhaps his life to save Little Max makes for a highly readable thriller.½

Noah is a 12 year old boy with Cerebral Palsy and a wonderful relationship with his aunt Liv and his sister Emma. Liv is new to the FBI but has been put on a high profile case of a missing 5 year boy Max. Throughout the story Liv works with a team of FBI and police and also her tracking dog Beulah to find Max. Unlikely help comes from Noah who although unable to walk, talk, or do much of anything else is able to figure out where Max is and help others find him. I loved reading the chapters written from Noah's perspective, and realizing how much he had to offer and how much he could do to communicate with others even though many saw him as incapable of anything. This was my first Liv Bergen mystery although it's the 4th in a series. The books don't need to be read in order and I plan to read more books in this series.

I'm sorry it took so long to read this book,,,had some come in from the library that I had on hold that had to read,but I never forgot this one.The story is very inspiring and makes you cheer for the good guys.Not wanting to give away to much of the story,can't wait to read some of Sandra Brannan other books.Thank you library thing for introducing me to some one to keep a eye on.

I was not expecting the ride this book took me on. Not the kind of books I would pick up and read (Thank you LibraryThing). This is one of the best written books I have read in a long time. Great read and I will need to read the other novels.

Book Info: Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of thrillers, mysteries, suspense novels, the series
Trigger Warnings: child abduction, pedophile, suicide, attempted murder

My Thoughts: I think being trapped in one's own head and not able to communicate must be one of the most terrifying things ever. I remember that the first time I listened to the lyrics to “One” by Metallica it gave me the shivers. Noah isn't that bad. He is able to communicate to a certain degree. But how he keeps from becoming completely frustrated, how he manages to maintain his happy disposition, is something that is truly amazing to me. Cerebral Palsy is a very challenging illness, and it's obvious the author did a lot of research on the illness and how it affects people for this book.

There are a lot of triggers in this book, but it's a really good story. Unlike the earlier book in this series, I think this one could probably be read without having read the previous books as most of the important stuff is reiterated. However, this whole series is really good and if you like mysteries and thrillers, then you'll probably like them all. Just be aware that the first three books must be read in order to have the best appreciation for them. Recommended.

Series Information: The Liv Bergen Mysteries
Book 1: In the Belly of Jonah, review linked here
Book 2: Lot's Return to Sodom, review linked here
Book 3: Widow's Might, review linked here
Book 4: Noah's Rainy Day

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: From birth, Noah Hogarty has lived with severe cerebral palsy. He is nearly blind, unable to speak, and cannot run, walk, or crawl. Yet his mind works just as well as any other twelve-year-old’s—maybe even better. And Noah holds a secret dream: to become a great spy, following in the footsteps of his aunt, Liv “Boots” Bergen.

Now, freshly returned from training at Quantico, FBI agent Liv Bergen is thrown into her first professional case. Working side by side with veteran agent Streeter Pierce, enigmatic agent and lover Jack Linwood, and her bloodhound Beulah, Liv must race to find five-year-old Max—last seen at the Denver International Airport—before this Christmastime abduction turns deadly. Meanwhile Noah, housebound, becomes wrapped up in identifying the young face he sees watching him from his neighbor’s bedroom window, but he can neither describe nor inscribe what he knows.

And his investigation may lead to Noah paying the ultimate price in fulfilling his dream.

So fortunate to have received "Noah's Rainy Day" via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program! Author Sandra Brannan experimented with a few different formats for her latest book, two of which I felt upped the level of writing technique. The first of these was to give voice to a very intelligent 12-year old boy, Noah, who is inflicted with severe cerebral palsy and cannot speak. Brannan also gave her primary characters the first-person format with chapter changes so that we not only hear their voices but also their thoughts. This is Brannan's fourth in her Liv Bergen mystery series, and while I have not read her other books this is an excellent story about child abduction and the efforts of the FBI and local police to find the abductor. Brannan includes professional and emotional details that give incite into the workings of all involved in this process, but it is Noah's voice that steals the show, who solves the crime and is the hero; and because of his physical limitations there is a second layer to the mystery as the reader knows what Noah knows and his frustrations and efforts to relay his knowledge. In his efforts to help solve the very high-profile abduction of a five-year old precocious and winsome child, Noah also becomes abducted. And the chase is on... a virtual page-turner that puts the reader front and center with all the action.