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The Summer Party
Author: Rebecca Heath
Publisher: Aria & Aries
Date Published: January 5, 2023This was a taut thriller about a woman named Lucy who returns to clean out her Nan’s house a few month’s after she passes. Coincidentally, just before she arrives, a body is found near the cliffside of her childhood friend’s house. Even after all these years, her life is tied up in the lives and secrets of the wealthy family on the hill, as were her grandmother and grandfather’s. There is a love interest (well, a couple, a little too much giddy romance for me), and there are suspects (several).
I enjoyed the writing by author Rebecca Heath. I could almost feel the waves splashing, and see the gigantic house overlooking the cliff, hear the fountain, and see the lights in the window. And let’s not forget Hades, ornery but loyal “mountain of a dog” who is pretty good at telling friend from foe!
Thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aires for an advance reader’s copy.
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The Narrator
Author: K. L. Slater
Publisher: Bookouture
Date Published: January 6, 2023There are several plots running through this book:
- Eve is a single mom, trying to keep her awful ex from gaining custody of her daughter now that he somehow has money.
- Eve is a narrator for Phillipa Roberts, who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances
- Eve accidentally reads an early draft of a newly “discovered” Phillipa book, and starts to think there are clues to her disappearance.
I loved how the author had you suspecting everyone until the end. Of course, you must suspend disbelief for the outrageous ending, but it was a quick, fun read to get there! K. L. Slater is always worth reading!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader’s copy.
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The Widowmaker
Author: Hannah Morrissey
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date Published: December 6, 2022I loved Hannah Morrissey’s first book, Hello, Transcriber. So, in a similar vein, The Widowmaker calls upon the author’s experience, bringing a great deal of background knowledge to the story. The Widowmaker follows two seemingly unrelated cases: a cold case going back at least 20 years in which a wealthy man goes missing, and a current day case when a cop is gunned down in cold blood.
The story meandered a bit, alluding to burned down structures, a charred key, and a dark past, so it took me a while to understand what was going on. But as you get to know the characters, you start to feel for the main character, Morgan Mori, and what she has gone through in her life. After she gets tangled up in not one, but two crimes, she becomes the pivotal chess piece. But not everyone has her best interests.
This is a story that will stay with you long after you’ve read it.
Background image thanks to @LGNWVR on Unsplash.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced reader’s copy.
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The Family Trap
Author: Lorna Dounaeva
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Date Published: December 4, 2022Prudence has just retired and plans to spend it pottering about in the garden and taking long walks with her dog, Bob. She has a wonderful relationship with her son, Nathan, who has been seeing a girl he met at university. When Zoe turns out to be pregnant, that’s when the games begin!
Prudence really feels there’s something off about Zoe, but for her son’s sake, invites her to stay with them until the baby is born. Zoe is vivacious and engaged when she’s around Nathan and Pru’s friends find her charming. But she is expressionless or worse around Pru, who just has a very bad feeling about her.
I really related to Prudence – wanting to keep her son close, but not be critical of his girlfriend. Wanting to be close to the new baby, but unable to force Zoe to stay with her for the baby’s sake.
This was my second book by the author, and I felt this one resonated with me so much more!
Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books, and Booksprout for an advance reader’s copy.
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The Prisoner
Author: B. A. Paris
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date Published: November 1, 2022Thank you, B. A. Paris, for writing an intelligent thriller that that blew my mind!
I would never think that a book in which half of the setting takes place in the dark could be interesting, but Paris has managed to imbue this book with such a sense of realism that you actually feel like you are in the room with Amelie, The chapters move back and forth between the past and present, building suspense that grabs hold and you realize you haven’t taken a breath for a few seconds!
Amelie is a victim of circumstances, orphaned early and lucking into a job at a prestigious magazine. But she has no idea what kind of man her boss is, or the lengths he’ll go to protect his reputation. When he offers her a business proposal, her decision will toss her into a nightmare that leads to her kidnapping. She soon starts to think that she will be safer in her dark prison, than released along with her boss.
Many, many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader’s copy!
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The Last Party
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Date Published: November 8, 2022Holy bunch of suspects!
It’s no secret that there are many people who have a reason to dislike Rhys Lloyd. But there are secrets between the wealthy members of The Shore, the resort lodges he co-built. Then there are the secrets of the Welsh townspeople who once owned a small patch of the property The Shore sits on. But there are also secrets in the town of Cwm Coed, which sits directly across from The Shore.
All these secrets converge on the New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day, when Rhys is found floating in Mirror Lake. There are many reports of his behavior that conflict with the coroner’s report. What really happened to Rhys that night?
Leo Brady from England and Ffion Morgan from Wales are police on opposite sides of the dividing line between their countries, but must work together to find out the answer. I love that the author included Welsh dialect (with translations) that helped give the reader a feel for the pride that unites the community.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance reader’s copy.
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The Scam
Author: Evie Hunter
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Date Published: November 3, 2022BLOG TOUR
Summary
No one can be trusted….
Amongst the wealth and glitter of St Tropez, Sky Kennedy is living her best life, with the perfect man by her side. Rich and gorgeous, Karim has shown her a world she could have barely imagined, and she doesn’t want it to end.
So when Karim suddenly sends her packing back to the UK, Sky is shocked – what could she have done to upset Karim? And will she ever see him again?
Ryan Callahan has been tracking Karim for years and will do anything to bring the man down. He knows Karim is using Sky for his own ends and can’t believe another young woman has fallen for Karim’s lies. But maybe Sky could be the perfect bait to snare Karim once and for all…
But Sky’s no fool and she won’t be played by either man. Because maybe there is a twist in this tale that no one saw coming….
My Thoughts
Sky is used to being outshined by her confident and attractive roommate, so when the handsome entrepreneur at the nightclub chooses her over Nancy, she is constantly questioning why. After a trip to St. Tropez, the relationship starts to fall apart as Sky begins to question why Karim had to leave so fast, and why he hasn’t called or texted.
This is where the book went in a different direction than I expected when it becomes evident Karim is being surveilled by a special ops team charged with ferreting out a group of extremists that Karim is part of. However, Karim wants to leave the group, and Sky might be his ticket out.
While I don’t normally read books about this type of espionage, the way the story unraveled was intriguing and I loved that Sky had ulterior motives of her own. The story made much more sense as the pieces fell into place.
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance reader’s copy.
Author Bio –
Evie Hunter has written a great many successful regency romances as Wendy Soliman and is now redirecting her talents to produce dark gritty thrillers for Boldwood. For the past twenty years she has lived the life of a nomad, roaming the world on interesting forms of transport, but has now settled back in the UK.
Social Media Links –
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wendy.soliman.author
Twitter https://twitter.com/Wendyswriter
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wendy_soliman/
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/EvieHunter
Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/evie-hunter-572c1816-05f2-47c2-9c13-6d10a229670b
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What January Remembers
Author: Faith Gardner
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Date Published: November 8, 2022This is another great book in the Jolvix Episodes. Each can be read as a standalone. This one explores the not-so-distant future, when robots become lifelike companions, with perfectly smooth skin and anatomical correctness. For the Jagger adult kids, it’s a great surprise when their father purchases January, a frozen in time version of their mother who it was presumed committed suicide 10 years prior.
While January is still robot learning the nuances of language, she runs into her neighbor’s robot companion who has a complex view of life based on her longevity and readings of Emily Dickinson. They discuss their owners and the possibility of life outside the home.
In the meantime, in the setting of a Christmas time family reunion, drama ensues among the 4 children: Julianna (the peacekeeper), Jesse (troubled but the mom’s favorite), , a successful showoff, and , the most like her mother, still living in the guest house and living through addiction. They each have their own reason to believe their mother was murdered.
The best part of the book for me was how Gardner evokes both sympathy and fear through the characteristics she ascribes to January – a robotic inability to interpret things as other than black and white, along with our fear of the lengths with which tech can go wrong.
Thanks to NetGalley, Mirror House Press, and Booksprout for an advance readers copy.
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The Linchpin Writer
Author: John Matthew Fox
Publisher: Bookfox Press
Date Published: October 26, 2022Book Review
The Linchpin Writer: Crafting Your Novel’s Key Moments
By John Matthew FoxJohn Matthew Fox engages writers in discourse on the pivotal tools they can use to engage readers. At first, I thought this book would be a humble brag about the author’s accomplishments, but it was anything but, as I soon found myself gaining valuable tips, while chuckling at some of Fox’s anecdotes. He uses examples from published novels to show how to (or not to) create characters, emotion, and excitement in your stories. There are a lot of prompts for writing exercises. But my very favorite chapter was “How to Kill Your Characters”. Fox tells you when and how to disappear people in your novels, even though they may be fan favorites, “without enraging your readers”.
Background photo courtesy of Gülfer ERGİN on Unsplash.
Thanks to Book Sirens and the author for an advance reader’s copy.
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Forget Me Not
Author: Miranda Rijks
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Date Published: October 26, 2022Anything by Miranda Rijks is an automatic buy for me, and this one did not disappoint.
Forget Me Not felt authentic – I could feel the coldness of the blustering snow in the Swiss Alps, see the skiers slaloming down the mountainside, and feel Helen’s desperation as she searches for first her husband Paul, and then years later is shattered by another search on the mountainside.
I loved how the story revolves around the tale of Paul and what he does for love. Stupid boy.
And finally, I loved the elements of interior design, which Helen is trying to balance with everything else going on in her life. The delays, homeowner expectations, and clashes with contractors also ring true to life.
Thank you, Miranda, for coming through with another creative plot and suspenseful narrative.
Background photo courtesy of David Klein on Unsplash.
And thanks to NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Booksprout for an advance reader’s copy for review.
Book Cravings 