Detective Josie Fournier is back with her partner, Bob, investigating the murder or a professor at a college. It seems he was not the nice man he was made out to be but soon bodies are turning up and they are no closer to solving it. Josie is having issues with her family which could hamper her investigation.

I loved this and there was one page that made me go ‘gross’ which I loved! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review:

Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I enjoyed Dancing Girls so I really wanted to carry on with this series.

It was nice to see more of Jo's personal life in this book. In the first book, we focus more on the crime and the procedural aspects and we saw very little of Jo's personal life. In this book, we learn more about Jo's childhood, past and family. Jo becomes a much more rounded character in this story. We learn why Jo is the way she is. I really felt for her, What happened in her past would affect anyone. It was really heartbreaking. I could see how it was going to play out. I was praying I was wrong but knowing deep down that wasn't going to happen.

The beginning of this book was quite difficult to get into. There were a few too many suspects for me and I found it difficult to keep it all straight., At about 40% the pace does ramp up and I was then hooked. I didn't work out the twist at all, it really took me by surprise.

I'll be interested to see where the next book goes and to follow more of Jo' personal life as the series continues.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of M.M. Chouinard’s ‘Taken to the Grave’ in exchange for an honest review. I did buy my own Kindle/Audible combination on publication.

This is the second in her Detective Jo Fournier series and follows on from ‘The Dancing Girls’. In the course of three days there has been two murders connected to Oakhurst University. A Tarot card has been left close to both bodies.

As the body count continues to rise, Jo and her partner, Det. Bob Arnett, have to sift through the evidence and eliminate a number of potential suspects. In addition, Jo receives devastating news about her father’s health and is torn between her career and loyalty to her family.

The first book was quite light on personal information about Jo though here we learn much more about her background.

This was another excellent police procedural from Chouinard with plenty of twists and turns. It proved almost impossible to put down.

I enjoyed the first book very much and this only cemented my admiration for Chouinard. Roll on Book 3 coming next year.

Set in Massachusetts USA, this is a well-paced police procedural , featuring Detective Josette Fournier and her partner Bob Arnett. The second in the series, it reads perfectly as a standalone,with sufficient back story on the main protagonist, cleverly interwoven into the story as a subplot. Jo is a committed, career woman, with a tragic past that makes the job her life. She doesn't have relationships, only occasional lovers, and the reasons for this become clearer as the story progresses. She has a tense relationship with her younger sister that is forced into focus, when their father has health issues. This causes her additional problems, as she is the middle of a murder case.

The noir murder mystery is told from the detective's point of view, and also the antagonist's. Even with this additional view point, because of the numerous suspects, it is difficult to pinpoint the culprit. The police procedural element of the story is authentic. The murders are shocking, but not unduly, there is just enough detail to illustrate how driven the murderer is.

Jo Fournier is a good character, she is complex, and her emotional damage makes her interesting, and easy to empathise. The mystery is well-plotted with lots of suspects, and clues, I did solve part, but not all of the mystery, which engages the reader. The characters are believable and easy to imagine, and I look forward to reading their next case.

I received a copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Taken to the Grave by M.M. Chouinard is the second book in the Detective Jo Fournier series and while I absolutely loved the first book, The Dancing Girls, Chouinard definitely took everything I loved about The Dancing Girls and stepped it up a notch or two with the second installment in the series.

Detective Jo Fournier and her partner are called to a murder on the Oakhurst University campus. The victim, Professor Michael Wharton, isn’t exactly well liked and even his wife doesn’t seem to care he is dead. With a large suspect pool growing faster by the day, it will take a miracle to find the killer amongst the enemies the professor has made. But, when more bodies start showing up Jo will stop at nothing to find the killer responsible.

I really enjoyed reading Taken to the Grave and found myself flipping through the pages right from the beginning. Chouinard has such a way of gripping you right from the first page with her highly addicting prose. Jo Fournier is definitely one of my top female detectives in a series and written so perfectly. While we didn’t delve too deep into her personal life in the first book, Chouinard trickles in more information in when Jo’s father has a health issues. Here is where we see Jo’s vulnerable side and for me, this is when Jo became more of a well rounded character and one I can easily like.

Taken to the Grave is a gripping and intense thriller that is fast paced and will keep you up well into the evening as you search through all of the clues right along with Jo Fournier to find a killer. Another five star read from the talented writer and storyteller, M.M. Chouinard

I loved the last book by this brilliant author, so when the new book came out in Detective Jo Fournier Series I jumped at the chance to read it. I was not wrong with this book. Taken to the Grave by M.M. Chouinard was just brilliant and I loved it.

The next instalment in Detective Jo Fournier series begins with Professor Michael Wharton, has been murdered in his office at Oakhurst University. Detectives Jo Fournier and Bob Arnett arrive at the crime scene. They interview his work colleagues and students Only to find out that Professor Michael Wharton is not liked by many and even is wife was not shocked or even upset to hear about his murder! There were so many suspects for his murder!

A young girl’s body is discovered in a park in the sleepy Massachusetts town of Oakhurst, This girl is the second innocent victim to turn up dead in three days. Just like the first, a tarot card has been left by the body. The meaning of the card: betrayal.

There's another murder to keep the Detectives on their toes and then the body count starts to rise! Detectives Jo Fournier and Bob Arnett are finding it hard to find things in common with all the victims before the killer strikes again.

Are they going to catch the killer before they strike again?

Is she and her team running out of time?

What is the meaning behind the Tarot cards that are left by the murdered bodies?

When a fourth body is found with a Tarot card close by the following day, Detective Jo Fournier knows she’s running out of time to crack the code and bring the killer to justice. Pressure from this case and her personal life are getting the better of her especially when she finds out her father is forcing her to choose between helping her family heal or the victims’ families get justice.

I loved this Book and had me gripped from the very first few pages.

I highly recommend this book.

Big Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

A fast paced police procedural featuring Jo as the lead detective investigating the murder of college professor.

My first book by author M. M. Chouinard had me turning the pages at a swift pace. The author wrote a convoluted tale around the murder victim with a flair that had me admiring the prose. I have to admit, I never knew college professors were a wily lot, made me look at my own professors with a suspicious eye. (Nina, are you listening?)

Jo was a complete character with strengths and vulnerability. She was quite empathetic with the suspects which had me looking at her with a newfound respect. Her bond with her partner was fun ad quite entertaining. Her family ties were shown, quite a different dynamic.

No niggles afflicted me. It was a smooth course with an expected reveal at the end. I loved this breakfast read of mine.

Detective Jo Fournier and her partner, Detective Bob Arnett, have their team working around the clock when several people on the staff and faculty of Oakhurst University in Massachusetts turn up dead. They know that the cases are related because of the tarot cards found in proximity to the victims. There are several immediate suspects but this spree killing may be related to some sort of vigilantism or is it revenge? NO SPOILERS

This is the second book I've read featuring Jo Fournier and it was every bit as fast-paced and entertaining as the first. I like the writing and the characters as the focus is mainly on the case investigation but we also learn a bit more about Jo's personal life. Jo loves her job and has come a long way back from a tragedy in her past and is good at what she does. The camaraderie on the team is evident and they work well together. The motives and complexity of the murders were explained from the point of view of the killer in various chapters but all is revealed in the conclusion. There were a couple of surprises along the way as well. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a great series and I loved finding out more about Jo and her family in this book.
Jo and Arnett are called to investigate the murder of a man who has upset several people recently. A tarot card is found at the scene and seems to be the killer’s calling card.
Another two murders take place soon afterwards Jo and Arnett realise the killer has a to do list of people they want to kill.
Jo also gets some bad news about her father and has to juggle the case and getting to see her father.
This book had me gripped throughout as I was intrigued by the killer’s choice of victims and needed to know who the killer was.
This is a great read and I’d like to thank to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Umm- the town of Oakhurst is not sleepy. There have been a LOT of murders there. Don't worry if you missed the first book, you'll be fine here as Detective Jo Fournier and her partner Bob Arnett investigate the latest in a series of ugly murders, some of which seem to be centered around Professor Michael Wharton. As veteran readers of the genre know, Wharton looks good on the surface but as Jo and Bob investigate further, they discover how many people dislike him and for good reasons. Then the other murders- and a tarot card is found at each scene. How does everyone connect? No spoilers on that one. Jo's personal life is in upheaval throughout but she powers on. I like her as a character but I fear the conceit of the small town (even with a university) has worn thin. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

My review

Time to meet up with Jo and it's always a pleasure following her around. 

The author gives us a lot of background information about her main character and it enables you to understand her a lot better. It must weigh heavily on her and it's something you can never forget. My heart went out to her.

In this second part you feel the police struggle and I did too. :) I could not point my finger in the direction of the culprit. One minute you were like 'it has to be X' and a moment later you were convinced it had to be Y or maybe even Z.

The author made your brain doing overtime and kept a few vital pieces of information very well hidden. Once these key elements were found, the lock to the 'door', behind which identity of the murder was concealed , sprang open.

Jo not only has to deal with perpetrators but also with personal issues. The murder cases, she has solved, but what has the future in store for her private life? Stay tuned. :)

This story is a very good workout for your grey matter. 4 stars.

Thank you, M.M. Chouinard and Bookouture (via Netgalley)

Jo Fournier #2

Jo and her partner, Bob are called out to Oakhurst University after the discover of Professor Michael Wharton's body. The Professor is ot a likeable man. Even is wife wasnt that upset to hear off her husbands death. The Professor had been accused of sexual assault y one of his colleagues. A student had lost his financial aid after he failed one of the Professor's classes. The list goes on. So there is a lom8list of suspects. Just as the investigation gets underway, another two bodies turn up. Will these bodies somehow be li led to the Professor?

Jo and Bob are under pressure from there boss to get these cases solved. The tension builds with each new death. There are clues and twists to solve. Jo is a smart cookie. She seems to rely on gut instinct to solve this case. The killer leaves a tarot card beside their victim. We are given a few likely suspects, but you know this has to be too good to be true, to guess correctly that one of them was the killer. I will admit, I was shocked when it was revealed who the killer was. The characters are well rounded and true to life. We get some background information on Jo's home life.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Bookouture and the author M M Chouinard for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the second book in this series, the first one being The Dancing Girls, where we were first introduced to Jo a great start to a new series, and this second book doesn’t disappoint. A police procedural, mystery, thriller, book.

Jo and her partner Bob, are called out when a body is found in an office at Oakhurst University, it turns out to be the body of Professor Michael Wharton, as Jo and Bob interview colleagues, it seems that the professor wasn’t very well liked, one young colleague had accused the Professor of sexual assault, another professor didn’t get tenure because of Professor Wharton, and a student lost his financial aid after he failed one of the professors classes. This means there are plenty of suspects to be investigated.

But before they have even really started the investigation, and within the span of three days they have two more bodies, could these deaths be linked with the Professors? Jo and Bob are put under a lot of pressure by their boss to solve these cases. With lots of twists and turns, revenge within the academic circles, job loss, infidelity and the stealing of intellectual property, there is plenty going on. But who is the serial killer? Will he or she strike again?

Jo has the added pressure of having to go home to see her dad who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and she realises how important family is and wants to spend as much time as she can with her family. Which is not easy keeping everyone happy it is at times a juggling act. She also has a lover who would like to take care of her but Jo doesn’t want to become reliant on a man.

It’s great to see the characters growing, and dynamics of Jo and Bobs relationship as partners on the job.

I look forward to more of these books in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest,fair and unbiased review.

Detective Jo Fournier, on the search for a killer. A professor is found dead in his office with a Tarot card lying nearby. The race is on to find who done it before anyone else dies. Story is full of lies, deceit, betrayal and much more. Was hooked trying to figure out who done it, but was nowhere close. This was a pretty good book, loved the personal parts about Jo and her family and can not wait to find out more about her.
Thanks to Netgalley and MM Chouinard for the opportunity to read this book. This is a honest review.

Wow. I really liked this book. It captured me from the very beginning. I didn't know what to expect from this book but I was definitely blown away with how good it was. All the twists and turns had me guessing but proved me wrong. Great book with great characters. Looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jo and her partner Bob Arnett are called to Oakhurst University after the discovery of the body of Prof Michael Wharton, however, the investigation reveals that Prof Wharton was disliked by almost everybody, his own wife wasn’t overly sad that he was dead!!! With so many suspects for this murder, they had their work cut out for them…. A fantastically well thought out who dunnit scenario……

As the investigation goes forward, Jo is frustrated that the university politics is at the forefront and when more victims turn up, can she figure it out before the killer strikes again?

As and aside, I enjoyed finding out more about the lead character, Jo, her dad having been diagnosed with cancer so therefore getting more back ground information into her family dynamics…

If you haven’t already added this to your series lists, DO IT NOW…. Highly recommend it, its full of twists and turns, red herrings, you will be left guessing, everything you want in a book.

I was so excited when I got to read this book, the second in the series starring Jo Fournier.

Jo is on the case with her partner Bob. The two of them make a great team but they are really up against it with a lot of dead bodies turning up in a short period of time and their boss putting a heap of pressure on them to arrest someone, anyone! I got a bit annoyed at their boss - they can't conjure up a suspect out of thin air! Anyway....I enjoyed reading about the great working relationship that these two detectives had after so long partnering each other. I also really enjoyed reading the family get-together that Jo attended in New Orleans. The idea that everyone just pitches in and all the work gets done, is something that I love - many hands make light work etc.

There were a few likely suspects here and the tarot card aspect of the case muddied the waters as well, so this was a tricky one to solve indeed. The author did a great job of leading us through the case and to its conclusion, which had a bit of a twist.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

What a ride! The second installment of this series did not disappoint. I love a great police procedural series with a strong female lead, and this one is at the top of my list! The book begins with a bang, and does not let up until the finish. So many twists and turns! It was everything you can want in a book, interesting, great characters, seamless storyline and lots of twists and turns.
I can't wait for the next installment of the series!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
#netgalley #takentothegrave

When Professor Michael Wharton is Found murdered in his office at a local Oakhurst university, Detective Jo Fournier and her partner are called to campus to investigate his murder. At first it appeared that this professor was an innocent victim, but the more they talk to staff members and people who knew him, it becomes clear that Michael Wharton has made more than a few enemies.

A young colleague accused Wharton of sexual assault, another professor didn’t make tenure due to Wharton’s influence, and a student lost his financial aid after failing one of Wharton’s classes. There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of suspects in this case.

And then in the span of three days, two more victims appear and their deaths appear to be directly related to Wharton’s. If Detective Jo Fournier doesn’t solve the mystery fast, who knows how many lives the secret killer will take...

Taken to the Grave by MM Chouinard is book 2 in the Detective Jo Fournier series. I was excited for the next installment in this crime series, as I really enjoyed book 1. Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a letdown. I didn’t feel propelled to read further into the story and the chapters about Jo’s personal life bored me. I didn’t dislike this book, I just didn’t feel as engaged as I wanted to be. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and MM Chouinard for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

O.M.G. - what a great lead character. Jo is smart, savvy, dedicated and flawed.

As a detective she knows not to take evidence at face value - she follows her gut instincts to solve seemingly unconnected events and murders. I DID NOT FIGURE OUT THE TRUE BAD GUY UNTIL THE END.

I will be buying the other books in this series this coming payday!