Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the disorderly writing to the characters and the convoluted story, I just couldn't get into this one. Perhaps the ARC was released before it should've been, and some necessary edits weren't completed to ensure a smoother reading experience? I'm not sure.

There were witty bits, the MC has a personality that jumps off the page, and the astrology girlies and fans will love the starry references, but this one wasn't it for me.

What a great book! I absolutely loved how twisty and clever this one was! I was totally engrossed from beginning to end and would definitely read from this author again,

Rachel Howzell Hall’s Fog and Fury is a compelling mystery that blends social commentary with a gripping investigation. Sonny, a former LAPD officer, moves to the quiet town of Haven for a fresh start but quickly becomes involved in the suspicious death of Xander. As she uncovers missed evidence and questions the local police, she also faces the town’s racial divides and the lingering influence of her ex-boyfriend, Cooper Sutton. Hall’s writing is sharp and immersive, bringing Haven’s fog-covered streets and hidden tensions to life. The novel’s pacing keeps the suspense high, and Sonny’s intelligence and flaws make her a memorable protagonist. Though the ending leaves some questions unanswered, it sets the stage for a strong sequel. Fog and Fury is a thought-provoking and atmospheric mystery that lingers long after the final page.

This was a decent thriller. It was engaging but there were times that the writing style was confusing. The multiple POVs and switching from first to third person was a bit choppy for me. I did enjoy Xanders POV the most.

It’s my first novel by Rachel Howzell Hall. The writing style took some time to get used to, and it took me even longer to get through the book. It has a lot of references to the pop culture. The author rises questions about the racial discrimination, biases and the system injustice.

The book is split into 4 parts and tells a story about Alyson Rush, Sonny, an ex-LAPD detective, turned PI. She has a lot on her plate, on top of the murder investigations, her career, relationships with friends and family, her failed (or not) love life. She has to figure out who’s the enemy and who’s an ally in the new town of Haven, where everybody knows everybody. Sonny is smart, loyal, determined, yet I couldn’t connect with her. Maybe we were in her head for far too long, and after Xander’s POV, I found it hard to get used to our PI lead. I adored Xander, a 17-year-old boy with a bright future ahead, he’s so young and full of dreams, and plans, reading about his death was truly heartbreaking.

I’m not sure how I feel about Sonny taking over Xander's case, she’s new, she just arrived, and you would think that the victim’s parents would want someone they know, someone they can trust, because it’s a tight community here in Haven.

Please note, I got the uncorrected proof and there were some inconsistencies in writing/editing. Certain parts are written from the first POV and then back to the third person, some of Sonny’s thoughts are written in italics, some are not. The text messages were a bit unclear, I couldn’t seem to figure out who texted who, where one text ends and the next one begins. Some of the brands would be all in upper case, some would be in lower, some are in italics, others are not.

I love the eye-catching book cover, and I pray this book gets a well deserved editing/proofreading before the release date, as it might be the reason why the book felt so heavy and chaotic at times.

And who knows, maybe we’ll see a screen adaptation, a miniseries maybe? I'd loved that!

Thank you #NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of #FogAndFury

Sonny Rush just moved to Haven, California after 1Oyears on the job with the LAPD. She is now a Pl and it should an easier gig than what she was doing in LA, but before she knows it, she's run into her wealthy ex in town, found a teenage dead body and things are getting more complicated and mixed up by the minute!! I will definitely be continuing with this series as I enjoyed reading about the mishaps of Sonny and the interesting town of Haven.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer books for this ARC

This is the start of a new series, the Haven thrillers. Stephen King’s Haven (the TV show inspired by “The Colorado Kid”), always a troubled town, was on the east coast of Maine; Rachel Howzell Hall’s troubled Haven is on the Northern California coast in the Emerald Triangle (a well-known cannabis growing region). As the novel starts we meet two new transplants to “Mayberry by the Sea,” Alyson/Sonny Rush, ex-LAPD detective, now joining her godfather’s PI business; and Xander Monroe, a 17 year old UCLA football prospect and star physics student, recovering from an ankle injury, but planning on completing his senior year at Haven high school. Sonny’s first task is finding Figgy, a missing goldendoodle. The troubles: Xander is found dead on a jogging trail and Sonny’s goldendoodle belongs to the wife and daughter of the guy she thought was single. Not the greatest welcome to Haven.

Sonny gets involved (but not to be paid) in the unusual circumstances of Xander’s death. Her now ex-boyfriend, Cooper Sutton, is a force to be reckoned within Haven; his wife is running for mayor. But other things are off. Every “suspect” in Figgy’s disappearance hates the Sutton family. There’s no mention of the teenager’s death in the local paper (a man throwing fries at his wife does get headlines); in fact, any mention of Black residents is absent. Haven is supposed to be H(e)AVEN, and the Sutton family has a stake in that.

Sonny escaped LA after a shaky end to her police career. If she can find perfect peace in Haven, she’d find redemption and a new start. Solving Xander’s case would bring her both. She finds obvious missed evidence at the crime scene, which has her questioning the motives of the local police. But being one of only four Black people in a lily white enclave is not to her advantage no matter how intelligent and capable she is.

Rachel Howzell Hall consistently writes strong, confident, smart Black female protagonists with real life challenges. Sonny is another heroine with some faults and self-doubts, but she is memorable and deserving of a continuing series to star in. Hall also gives Haven an atmospheric starring role: fog-ridden, lethal curving roles, whispering secrets, an underbelly slithering out from beneath the picture-perfect Main Street. It’s an action-packed story, but it does end abruptly and leaves quite a few loose ends, presumably readying us for the sequel/next installment. I’ll be there. 5 stars!

Addendum: I became aggravated because this is the third time Figgy went missing and no one thought to attach an AirTag to her collar (and more AirTags need to be attached to Val).

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES The editor-in-chief of the Haven Voice has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Xander was found in a patch of poison oak — the author must know that poison ivy isn’t found in California. Himalayan Honey was a nice touch of poison knowledge, too

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I really like this author and her writing style. I love her feel love for California. This is another winner
Thanks for letting me read and review the book

Sonny is ready to start again. After 10 years as a cop in LA, Sonny moves herself and her mom to a small Northern California town called Haven to work as a Private Investigator and to be near her boyfriend. This all blows up in minutes when the boyfriend’s wife is her first client. As she investigates a missing dog, the twisted reality of Haven is revealed to be full of secrets, anger and the ignored death of a Black high school player.

Sonny is a fabulous character! I loved this book. It kept me reading every minute. I can’t wait the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this DRC.
#FogandFury #NetGalley

Like an Alex across off shoot to me. Not a bad thing at all but I think I’m moving away from detective/PI novels for now

*Thank you R.H. Hall and Thomas & Mercer for the, Fog and Fury ARC. My opinions are my own.

This book is amazing. The characters are so real and I was heavily invested in Sonny, her mom, and India. I can't wait for the next books in this series. The setting is described so strongly it becomes another character in the story. The idyllic town of Haven is enveloped in a sinister fog and the supposedly happy people of the town hide their secrets behind fake smiles. If you are a fan of gritty thrillers, I highly recommend this book!

Note: I tried to leave this review on BookBub, but the book is not up on their site.

Can you imagine having to leave where you have worked forever and moving to a town that hardly knows any crime? Well, Sonny is about to know all about this. As she is moving to a small town called Haven where the only thing that needs her help is a missing dog from a wealthy family. While trying to take care of her ailing mother, and help her godfather's PI business because you never know when you might need a PI she learns that the man she is dating might have some secrets of his own. We see just how Sonny balances all this while also having a case end up in her lap. What truly happened to the young man? Why is this beautiful town so willing to sweep things under the rug?

This is the first novel in a new mystery series from Rachel Howzell Hall, and it’s a great introduction to both the protagonist and the idyllic-on-the-surface town of Haven. As will surprise no one, there’s plenty of ugliness brewing below the surface of this town… This is a solid start to a new series. I enjoyed it.

Sonny Rush has recently relocated from Los Angeles to the small town of Haven, a picture-perfect, “safe” town. After years as an LAPD officer, Sonny has moved because of some incident in Los Angeles that the readers will only learn about as the story progresses. Connecting with her godfather, and former cop himself, she signs on as Haven’s second member of Poole Investigations. However, after the chaotic, fast-paced life of a police officer in the City of Angels, is there really much to keep a PI occupied in peaceful, idyllic Haven? Turns out: yes, there is.

With her first assignment — find Figgy, the goldendoodle — Sonny is quickly thrown into the politics and gossip of a small town. However, Rush’s cop instincts have her focus split as she follows the case of teenage athlete Xander Monroe’s death; found dead on a running trail, no witnesses, no apparent cause of death, everything Sonny hears and sees pings her spidey-sense. It seems as though the local PD are intent on closing the case as quickly and cleanly as possible — labeling it an accident, maybe drug related, but an outlier and unique instance. But is it? Like all the best PI characters, Sonny boldly sticks her nose into the situation, and takes it upon herself to conduct her own investigation (with far more skill and dedication than the locals).

As she looks into Xander’s death, Sonny gets an accelerated introduction to the simmering (and some boiling-over) tensions within the community. All is not well in Haven, and Rush’s status as an outsider places her in the crosshairs of some of the antagonists trying to bend Haven to their will. This, despite her connection to her uncle, who is an established member of the community.

Like many such towns, there is a tension between the long-time residents, whose parents and grandparents helped establish the town; and the newcomers who are fleeing the big cities for a safe and beautiful new home. The town finds itself in a moment of transition — the wealthiest family in town, the Suttons, have grand plans for their community. They want to re-brand and re-vitalize the main street, offering “higher-end” options to residents and visitors. Here, of course, is the root of some of the tensions that ultimately boil over. Making the situation even more delicate is the fact that Cooper and Sonny had a long affair before she moved to Haven. Coop led Sonny to believe that he was on the road to divorce, but upon her arrival in Haven she sees that this is clearly a lie. This forms a distraction for Rush, and ultimately puts our protagonist on a bit of a collision course.

The author does a great job of showing readers the tension between “progress” and “standing still” — not just in small towns, but society in general. The flattening impact of contemporary business thinking, the erosion of individuality and distinction. Ultimately, this is a thriller that examines the reality that people and places are never what they seem, and that one should never judge based on surface appearances (nor first impressions).

The novel is well-paced, the mystery is revealed and investigated at a good clip. Hall’s writing is excellent throughout, and the characters are well-drawn. Overall, this is exactly what I’d expected from a novel by this author, and only reaffirms that each of her new books is a must-read for me. A great start to a new series, I’m really looking forward to the next book set in Haven. I think this will appeal to most fans of mystery fiction.

Recommended.

This is stated to be the first book in a series. The main Character is Sonny a cop who is joining her relatives PI business.

I will disclose This is one of my favorite authors formally reasons and this novels only made my favoritism more firmly cemented.

Sonny is a strong character with real human issues, making her easy for many to relate to. The book deals with real issues such as social justice. This first novel had good twists and turns and it did leave some loose ends which will easily get me to preorder the next in the series. this was a fun read that I fully enjoyed and can't wait to see what the next book offers.

Thank you NetGalley as well as Thomas and Mercer for the advanced readers copy of this title in exchange for an honest review

A small town thriller? Yes, please. This did not let me down. It's fun and thrilling and the twists are twisting. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this book.

I love small town mysteries. This book was very fun to read. A beautiful town, with lots of crazy people and corruption. Reminds me of Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen. Great pacing, good character development, and an overall interesting plot. Sometimes it was a bit outlandish, but in a fun way. I liked Sonny as she seemed relatable and realistic. I would read the next book in this series.

I am the early outlier on this one -- it was a little too chaotic of a plot for me! Great characters and potential and of course ends on a cliffhanger that will make me want to keep going, but the writing style was a little all over the place for me.

Alison is moving her mom to the idyllic town of Haven, California to become a PI at her godfather's firm after losing her beloved job as a cop with the LAPD. While the residents of Haven always claim its just "one letter away from heaven" it seems like they are willing to look the other way on a lot of stuff to keep up that image. Including the sudden death of a seventeen year old football star who just moved into town with his parents. The cops don't seem too interested in finding out if there was foul play involved in Xander's death -- but Alison sure is.

There were a lot of interesting parts of this plot, but I didn't feel like any one of them were explained thoroughly enough to get truly hooked. I felt like every new piece of information was a surprise but not in a "oh wow!" kind of way but in a "wait, what?" kind of way. Just ping ponged all over the place -- hoping book two will have a bit more structure!

I’ve not read this author before and I really enjoyed this book. I’m glad it’s the first in a series because I can’t wait to find out what else happens in Haven.

Picture perfect small town with deadly secrets?!? Threats?!?! Murder?!?! Everybody scetchy?!?! Yes please! This started slow for me with the investigation to the missing dog. Especially when there was also a local teenage football player found dead on a running trail. I just didn’t understand why are we wasting pages on the dog…until of course it all came together!!

This is the first book to a new series and I’m pretty sure I’m hooked! Mostly because I love the FMC. Sonny is very much a bad ass that doesn’t take non-sense and her mouth is slick. The character development on learning who she is and the journey of her dealing with the care of her aging mom, her love life trying blow up, and career changes were mastered by Rachel.

While I did some-what predict the ending, I couldn’t have seen that cliff hanger coming. I’m dreading the wait for the follow up seeing as though the pub date for this one is May 13th😩🫠

This is an author that I have recently discovered and enjoy reading her books very much. I am excited that this is the first book in a series. I found the characters likable and I can’t wait to see what happens to them next. I am hooked in this author and this series. I can’t wait for the rest of the books to come out.