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You Are Fatally Invited
Author: Ande Pliego
Publisher: Random House Publishing – Ballantine
Date Published: February 11, 2025Six prominent mystery writers are invited to a private island by an anonymous author, J. R. Alastor, whose works are well known even if he isn’t. And each writer is hiding a secret. This book is a wonderful debut by author Ande Pliego. It’s a little bit Agatha Christie locked room, a little bit Clue, a little bit Puzzle Box, and a whole lot of fun.
The book starts slowly, and you might be confused by some of the names (Ashton is so close to Alastor, and Ashton is also called Ash and Carter), but hang in there – once it gets going it never lets up! There are a lot of characters, but each chapter is titled with the writer’s name who is narrating. Sections are broken down by descriptions of mystery writing tropes, giving you a little prelude to what follows. Each night there is a different game/puzzle, organized by Mila, Alastor’s assistant. She’s been given an agenda, with no idea of the outcome. As the story proceeds, we see that Mila might be an unwitting player in the game, as are each of the writers.
And as one of the character’s t-shirts reads, “Don’t annoy the writer, they’ll put you in a book and kill you.”.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for an advance reader’s copy. -
The Widow’s Lie
BOOK TOUR
Author: Melanie Price
Publisher: Wendlebury
Date Published: December 26, 2024I discovered this author a year ago, and this book reinforces why she will always be an auto-buy for me!
If you thought it was just the widow lying, you would be…wrong! Everyone in this book seems to be hiding something. The irony is that Jacqueline moved on to this quiet cul-de-sac partly for the privacy, but then she snoops when her neighbor Anastasia moves in. You can practically see the curtains twitching, Jacqueline standing there with a cup of coffee, her eagle eyes on her neighbor’s property. There is one thing that Jacqueline is happy about, and that is that her daughter and Anastasia become fast friends. Much more than the moms, who are always trying to outdo each other. Anastasia seems to be undermining Jacqueline with her friends. And Jacqueline thinks her husband is a little too friendly with Anastasia.
The way Price weaves her tale, you can almost feel the cattiness of the exclusive community. The secrets are revealed with a true sense of the humanity behind them. I love how Price tells the story from both POVs, forcing us to take both sides as the story unwinds. But how can you know? Who can you trust? And that is what kept this reader glued to the pages.
Thank you to Love Books Tours for bringing me the best arcs of new-to-me authors!Background photo courtesy of Mari Madriz on @Unsplash
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Horrible Husbands
Author: Jessica Huntley
Publisher: Joffe Books
Date Publishing: January 23, 2025This book was like a runaway train… clickety-clack… clickety-clack… clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack….until it goes off the rails! But then we find it didn’t go off the rails, it just took a detour on a totally different track, and then, man! What a bumpy ride it was.
Never underestimate the power of the girls. Best friends since childhood, Lisa, Holly, and Penny have gone their separate ways, but remain in touch through WhatsApp. None of them have revealed the secrets behind the facade of their relationships, or how horrible their husbands are. But once they’re together for a reunion, it all comes out and the author takes a page from Strangers on a Train. With a twist. Because they’re not strangers at all, and their plans are much more complicated.
If you’re a fan of books that will keep you up all night, this book is for you!
Thanks to Joffe Books for an advance reader copy for review!Background photo courtesy of The Chaffins on Unsplash
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The Artist’s Way Toolkit
Author: Julia Cameron
Publisher: St. Martin’s Essentials
Date Published: January 14, 2025The Artist’s Way Toolkit is a readily accessible “how to” guide for releasing the creative process. It is based on four tools: Morning Pages (extended journaling), Artist Dates (something you do by yourself, for yourself), Walks (minimum 20 minutes, no earphones or companions – not even dogs!), and guidance.
Guidance might be the hardest concept to grasp, as it involves writing down the problem you need guidance on, then trusting that “inner voice”. However, there is a whole process to understanding what true guidance is.
There are a great number of tools to help a creator implement the process – affirmations, a 12-week checklist, guidance for teaching the process to others, ideas for artist’s dates, inspirational quotes, poems by Julia (“The Queen of Change”), and keywords and phrases. I like the term “fuse lighter” – “a person who sparks our creativity”.
I skipped over a lot of the spirituality parts of the guide, and may not be able to commit to all of the steps (3 pages each day not including dreams!), though I suspect a lot of that will come with practice. But for anyone who would like a quick overview of Julia Cameron’s very popular Living the Artist’s Way and Write for Life, the Artist’s Way Toolkit, this is a great way to jumpstart self-growth and creativity.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Essentials for both an eArc and physical copy. -
The Perfect Home
Author: Daniel Kenitz
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: January 14, 2025As someone who grew up on the OG fixer-upper shows and loves the dynamics of the couples on those HGTV reality shows who buy/sell/fix/flip homes, this book really struck a chord!
You know them – the shows with magazine-quality curated cushions, fixtures, knick-knacks, and unlimited budgets. Those shows where houses are finished in a week without the stars getting anything more than a strategically placed speck of drywall dust on their perfectly makeup-clad faces. I’ve always wondered what the backstory was of those couples who seem so…well…perfect! Well, this book goes there!
Before there was Dawn and Wyatt, there was…just Wyatt. A man who thought he was above the reality show audience, who just wanted to tell the uneducated masses about ways to enhance their homes. But then Dawn came along, the Lucy to his Desi, and America fell in love with them. Mostly with Wyatt, while Dawn provided the comedic relief. And then they become even more perfect when they become parents to twins.
But there is a danger to fame, and that is that once it’s achieved, how much is too much? Wyatt feels he has to find better and more dramatic ways to keep his audience engaged and up the viewer ratings, so while in the throes of withdrawal from a fertility drug, he hatches a plan that he thinks will be a surefire ratings boost. The “he said, she said” drama that plays out will have you on the edge of your seat. This is a standout debut novel from Kenitz and I read it in one “stay up late until it’s done” book fever!
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an advance reader’s copy! -
The Business Trip
Author: Jessie Garcia
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date Published: January 14, 2025The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
Holy cow! This is a debut author? Bravo!!
I really wish I could reveal spoilers, because I feel like I need to talk about parts of this book in more detail. But let’s just start with the idea of meeting your seatmate on a plane. When you think about it, you’re on a plane for maybe 2 hours, or more. You’re a captive audience and hopefully you’ve brought a book or are watching a movie on your device or the seat back. But you and your seatmate click. You find yourself revealing so much about yourself, because hey, you are never going to see this person again, right?
But then these two women go missing and the only thing they have in common is that they both texted friends that they had met a guy, Trent McCarthy. Presumably Stephanie has extended her trip to get to know Trent but her texts to her friends and co-workers just aren’t making sense. And since Jasmine let her one friend know she was fleeing her husband and would be in touch, no one except her abusive husband is missing her. I was scratching my head trying to figure out what was going on. And then the twist happened. And just when you think everything is tied up in a neat bundle…another twist!
I am a big fan of debut authors and I highly recommend this well done, fast paced book by Jessie Garcia!Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader’s copy.
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The Widow’s Lie
BOOK TOUR
Author: Melanie Price
Publisher: Wendlebury
Date Published: August 26, 2024Blurb
‘Welcome to the street!’ I say cheerfully as my new neighbor opens the door. But the moment I see her, my blood runs cold. I would know those bright blue eyes anywhere. She looks exactly like my husband’s ex-wife. The one who went missing. The one declared dead a decade ago…
I hurry back home, determined to get to the bottom of this strange coincidence. But my husband, Charles, tells me I’m just imagining things.
Anastasia is a beautiful young widow, and has moved to our idyllic, tree-lined street for a fresh start with her little girl. All my friends love our glamorous new neighbor, and my daughter, Matilda, wants nothing more than to play with her new best friend over the road.
Just as I’m about to accept my husband’s pleadings and put it down to paranoia, Anastasia says something that turns my world upside down. I can’t stop my hands from shaking and my heart from pounding. Does she know the one thing about me that she shouldn’t?
Now, I am sure Anastasia is lying.
And as my perfect life begins to crumble around me, I realize that my baby girl and I might really be in terrible danger.
But I have a plan of my own. This “widow” has no idea how far I’ll go to keep my family, and my secrets, safe…
An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller that will have you glued to the pages and screaming at your Kindle at the jaw-dropping twist. If you love The Perfect Marriage, Gone Girl and anything by Lisa Jewell or Nicola Sanders, you’ll be hooked on The Widow’s Lie!
MY REVIEW
I love a book with a good unreliable narrator and in this book we have double the fun with Anastasia (Anna) and Jacqueline having opposing POV. Both are mama bears who will do anything to protect their daughters. So when their daughters become fast friends the day that Anna moves across the street from Jacqueline, it presents an opportunity and a dilemma.
Can Anna get close enough to Jacqueline’s husband Charles to find out who she really is without giving herself away? And can Jacqueline find a way to get rid of Anna, without revealing her own secrets?
In a twist you won’t see coming, the decision is made for them. And no one is safe.
Thanks to Love Books Tours for an advance reader’s copy from one of my newest favorite authors!
Author bio
Melanie Price is the author of page-turning psychological thrillers. She loves writing stories that will keep readers guessing late into the night! If you want to stay up to date with her newest releases, please follow Melanie’s Amazon profile.
You can also get in touch on her website, where you can download a copy of her FREE psychological thriller short story, The Husband’s Mistake.
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Lie Like the Devil
Author: Birgitte Margen
Publisher: Indie
Date Published: August 22, 2024The word that kept coming to mind while I was reading Lie Like the Devil was “intelligent”. The author has done her research to create a well-plotted fictionalized thriller/police procedural based on the real history of the Puritans and their beliefs based on scripture from the Geneva Bible (if you ever go to Salem, make sure you attend the story of the Salem Witch Trials at the Museum!). This dark thriller has:
• Cults
• Devils
• Ritual killings
• A serial killer
• Lots of suspects
• A super detective team
This book couldn’t have come at a better time for me! I had my first visit to Boston earlier this year, and the way that Margen used the city and surrounding area as almost another character in the book made it feel so real. I had to keep reminding myself I was reading fiction!
Thank you to the author for a e-copy of this book – I can’t wait to see what you do next!Background photo of Boston courtesy of Tiffany Chan on @unsplash.
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The Perfect Couple
Author: Ruth Ware
Publisher: Gallery Books
Date Published: May 21, 2024This book was written by one of my favorite authors and included one of my favorite tropes – a locked room mystery. So of course I was going to love it!
Five couples join a reality TV show, The Perfect Couple. Half of the participants aren’t sure what they signed on for, since they are mostly there to support their acting/fame-seeking partners. But one thing is for sure – despite the producer’s promises, this show will be as cutthroat as any other Survivor/Love Island-type show. Nico, who has talked his skeptical scientist girlfriend into coming along is the first contestant cut from the show. Despite her promise to leave before him, Lyla is already having second thoughts about this man who seems to not get her at all.
And then the storm hits.When the untested infrastructure fails, it truly becomes a survivor experience for the remaining couples.
And then…they start dying. On…by…one. (pun intended, ifykyk)
The whole time I was reading this book I felt like this was a scenario that could happen in this age of fast production, quick-to-fame social media, and reality shows. Ware has a knack for making you feel as drenched from the rain, dehydrated from the sun, and itchy from the mosquitos as our poor protagonists are.
Ware remains on my list of auto-buy authors!
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance reader’s copy.Thanks to Meritt Thomas @unsplash for the background photo
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My Darling Boy
Author: Helen Cooper
Publisher: Penguin Group Putnam
Date Published: December 3, 2024This was a heartbreaking psychological thriller about two families torn apart by the death of one mother’s child at the hands of another. Because of the subject matter, the other stories are almost lost in the thread of secrets, betrayal, and deceit.
It was a fateful New Year’s Eve. Robbie is killed by his best friend Leo. But was it murder or an accident? Either way, Leo is put away for manslaughter. In prison, he meets someone local to his hometown who takes him under his wing, but while in prison he also gets some unexpected news. On the day of his release, he is nowhere to be found. The secrets revealed in Chrissy’s frantic search to find her son start to snowball.Helen Cooper writes with great pacing that has you turning the pages!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advance reader’s copy.
Book Cravings 