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There Should Have Been Eight
Author: Nalini Singh
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Date Published: November 21, 2023For me, two things combined to make this a truly suspenseful book – the descriptions of the mansion, and Luna’s impending loss of vision.
The author made me want to know about every twisting hallway and hidden room in this gothic family estate located across a bridge and miles from the nearest town. You can feel the tension mounting as a snowstorm sets in. Add to that the ruined wing, people coming and going, and people disappearing, and this reunion is seriously flawed. To top it off, cell reception is almost non-existent!
Someone is playing elaborate games, scaring Darcie by leaving her dead sister’s doll on her bed. When it shows up again, you have to wonder if Darcie is just manipulating the scene…or is someone really trying to freak her out?
You might be able to guess some of the secrets, you might even guess “who done it”, but the story is so well written that you won’t guess the why!
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this advanced reader’s copy -
The Christmas Holiday
Author: Mikayla Davids
Publisher: Indie
Date Published: December 2, 2023Meet the in-laws. How awful can it be?
Alicia has finally married the guy she’s been friends with benefits since college. She had no idea his family were as wealthy as they are so when she’s invited to spend the Christmas holiday with them at their lodge in a remote area in Ireland, we can feel her anxiety. There is already an underlying tension to what should have been a festive event. Her sleep-deprived sister-in-law tends almost 24/7 to her baby. Her father-in-law is becoming a bit of an ogre. In her effort to get in everyone’s good graces, Alicia commits one faux pas after another. Then her mother-in-law goes missing and author Davids really ramps up the suspense. Four people go out on the search party. Only two come back. Which two? And what is this family hiding?
This is a quick, well-thought-out mystery told in alternating chapters, with well-developed characters. After reading this title, and The Family Secret, Davids is quickly becoming an auto-buy for me.
Thanks so much to the author and Love Books Tour for an advance reader’s copy.
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The House Guest
Author: Alison James
Publisher: Bookouture
Date Published: November 1, 2023Wow! I have been very stingy with my 5-star reviews but I’m happy that I found The House Guest well deserving of that rating! This is an intricate but fast-paced story with well-conceived characters that reel you in.
Because of a trust that’s almost diabolical in the way it was written, Hugh, doesn’t own the beautiful, historic house he lives in with his wife Alexis, but has a life-long tenancy that can only be passed on upon his death to his heirs or other living relative. His goal is to have lots of kids and since he’s young and still has time to have kids, he’s not too worried. Until a distant cousin shows up on his doorstep. She doesn’t seem interested in the house once she learns she can’t sell it, but why is she hanging around?
There are a few chapters towards the end that repeat the same sequence seen through each of the main characters’ point of view. With each retelling, we get a little more insight into the motivations for each. And that’s when…the plot thickens…
Take the time to read this twisty book. You won’t regret it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader’s copy.
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When I’m Dead
Author: Hannah Morrissey
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date Published: October 31, 2023I would say it would be great to be back in Black Harbor, but oh what a bleak place! The way the author paints the town, you just know you would never want to live there, either by birth or accident. You can just feel the dreariness, poverty, and crime creeping around the edges.
Hannah Morrissey writes dark, intelligent thrillers but she’s not afraid of using humor to break up the bits between the gore. “Libby’s eyes land on a copper-colored vintage [wine] labeled Hallowine. She remembers sampling it once from her mother’s glass and immediately making a face. It tasted like licking the basement floor.”
While the adults in the book could have used a little more development, the teenagers were on point and included mean girls, victims, and secret connections. And because of Morrissey’s background as a police transcriber, the book had a good frame of reference for the police and medical examiner procedural. Are you able to guess the perpetrator partway through the book? Yes. Was it Morrissey’s intention? I believe it was.
I have liked all of the the author’s Black Harbor, and I know if Morrissey writes it I will buy it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advance reader’s copy.
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Gone Tonight
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date Published: August 1, 2023Ruth takes a mother’s love to its extreme. She will do anything to protect her daughter Catherine from her past. Catherine is a dutiful daughter, bound at the hip to her single mother. So when Ruth is diagnosed with a fatal disease, Catherine at first goes into a tailspin. Determined to see if her mother’s past can yield more information that will save her, Catherine plunges into an investigation her mother is unable to stop.
Sarah Pekkanen is a master at finding the twist, and then twisting it just a bit more!
Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader’s copy.
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The Lodge
Author: Sue Watson
Publisher: Bookouture
Date Published: October 24, 2023Sue Watson is an auto-buy for me, and this book had all the ingredients to keep me reading: a remote location, a snowstorm, a group of contentious people, and a murder (or two!).
I loved the descriptions of the setting in this book – a cozy cottage, the (too) warm fireplace, the steam coming off the hot tub, and the swirling snow. A nice romantic setting turned evil when Fiona’s mother-in-law decides to invite her and her kids, her ex-husband, his wife, and newborn. Fiona’s only going because her mother-in-law has indicated this could be her last birthday. But is that really her only motivation? And what the heck is Jenna doing there and why is she in everyone’s business?
Take the time to enjoy this fast read and find out the answers!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader’s copy.
Background photo courtesy of Long Luc on Unsplash.
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Alex Cross Must Die
Coming soon!
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The Boss
Author: James Caine
Publisher: James Caine
Date Published: October 15, 2023The perfect job or the perfect nightmare? That’s the question that Alice must decide in order to answer the question: how far would she go to keep it?
This book has all the moral dilemmas you might encounter at work: should you do personal errands for your boss, should you work late into the night, should you make friends with someone under your supervision, and should you let your boss get away with something that will make you hate her forever?
James Caine has managed to capture the creepiness of walking to a parking lot in darkness, working in a building alone at night, and driving through back country roads, in a quick, fast-paced book of psychological suspense with a unique storyline.
Thank you to the author James Caine for a “street team” copy of The Boss.Background photo courtesy of Dane Deaner @unsplash
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Her No. 1 Fan
Author: Abby Davies
Publisher: Apple Loft Press
Date Published: September 28, 2023I was happy that the author acknowledged Stephen King’s Misery as the inspiration for this story. Misery was one of those stories that just stayed with me and I think possibly Her No. 1 Fan will as well.
This is the story of how a young boy, raised from a young age under his stern and unstable grandmother, is mentally stunted and still living under her influence as a young man. He develops an infatuation with Rachel Brown who he believes is truly Doctor Elouise Sparks, the role she plays on a popular TV show. He believes he’s kidnapped her to perform a critical medical service. Throw in a remote location, a relentless snowstorm, and one determined fan, and Rachel knows she’s never getting out of there. Alive.
Thanks to Love Books Tours for inviting me on this tour. -
The Intern
Author: Michele Campbell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date Published: October 3, 2023What I liked about The Intern:
• The Harvard campus and court settings felt real.
• The characters were well-developed, complete with backstories.
• The storyline was fast-paced.
• I loved the insider knowledge of Harvard and the law (see Campbell’s bio).
The only thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars was the feeling that the storyline was a little far-fetched and that Madison (the intern) and Kathryn (the judge) had too many lucky escapes from the bad guys who were after them, the federal prosecutors who were no less easy on them. But the quick pacing, nail-biting scenes, and likable main characters (despite their flaws) made this an enjoyable, suspenseful read.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for another great read from Michele Campbell.Thanks to Christopher (@kismet) on Unsplash for the background photo of Harvard.
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