-
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.
Find It Here -
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.
-
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
-
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.
-
If You Lie
Author: Caleb Stephens
Publisher: Thrillerscape Press
Date Published: November 1, 2024This is a thriller done right! Stephens ramps up the pace from page one and doesn’t let up!
I had to take a minute before I could write a review so that I could digest everything that happened. And a LOT happened.
Olivia receives a letter from her estranged sister Quinn, inviting her on a cruise to meet her “intelligent, kind, hot, and very funny” fiancé. What could go wrong?
The limo, the yacht with a glittering chandelier, the beautiful stateroom – how did Quinn go from her former life of poverty to become the graceful, designer-clad version of herself now? Xclivity. And if that reminds you of all the cults you’ve ever heard of you would be right! Weird rituals. a mesmerizing leader, and a missing person. Once Olivia realizes she’s not safe, she is ready to leave the boat.
“They came with knives.”
To me, that was the most chilling line of the book!
Olivia has a master plan and she’s enlisted some of the other passengers, but they are out-weaponed. I could not see a way out for her. Thank goodness the author meticulously plotted this book so that you are on the edge of your seat the whole way through.
Caleb Stephens is a new-to-me author and I immediately downloaded his addendum (QR code at the end of the book) to read the letter one of the passengers writes to her son. I don’t often read series, but I would definitely read a sequel to If You Lie! Do yourself a favor and read this book!
Thanks to Caleb Stephens and Booksirens for an advance reader’s copy! -
One More Lie
Author: Sheryl Browne
Publisher: Bookouture
Date Published: November 18, 2024BOOKS ON TOUR
College friends have managed to remain a friend group even though they all are holding onto guilt from an incident 20 years ago. It all comes back to Pippa and what happened to her on the beach – and who was responsible!
Someone knows what happened, and that’s the person who was there on the beach with Pippa that night. Was it the guy she had sex with (no one knew she had a boyfriend)? Was it a crime of passion, jealousy, or hate? Those are the questions Becky has been living with for the past 20 years, and now she doesn’t know who to trust. And now her friends are dying…one…by…one.
The book turns dramatically about 50% in and though you might guess some of the twists, you’ll stay for the taut action and the unexpected ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Books on Tour for an advance reader’s copyAuthor Bio
Bestselling Author, Sheryl Browne, writes taut, twisty psychological thriller. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies where she completed her MA in Creative Writing. Sheryl has also obtained a Certificate of Achievement in Forensic Science and – according to readers – she makes an excellent psychopath. Sheryl’s latest psychological thriller HER HUSBAND’S HOUSE comes to you from BOOKOUTURE. Her previous works include the DI Matthew Adams Crime Thriller series, along with contemporary fiction novels, The Rest of My Life and Learning to Love.
To find out more about Sheryl. go to www.sherylbrowne.com
If you would like to join her Bookouture Mailing List you can grab her short story 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗬 #FREE! https://t.co/bIigwwALCs
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Sheryl Browne here: https://www.bookouture.com/sheryl-browne
-
What the Nanny Saw
Author: Kaira Rouda
Publisher: Bookouture
Date Published: November 13, 2024BOOKS ON TOUR
Book Description:
I keep all her secrets. She thinks she can trust me…
Cecilia has it all. The house on the beach. The cute figure. The beautiful baby. But she’s a long way from perfect.
She’s let me into her gorgeous house as her nanny because now she’s on her own, she needs a little help with her baby daughter Peyton. She barely notices me. But I see everything.
While Peyton naps, I rifle through her drawers and discover the dark secrets in her past, the threatening letter from her ex-husband.
It’s a shame that Cecilia doesn’t have my powers of observation. If she took some time, she might just recognise me. I’ve been following her for a while, after all.
If she knew who I was then I don’t think I’d be so invisible. And she wouldn’t be so surprised one morning when little Peyton’s cot is found empty…
A completely gripping and unputdownable read that will have you turning pages deep into the night. Fans of Shari Lapena and Freida McFadden will be hooked by What the Nanny Saw.MY THOUGHTS
This is classic Kaira Rouda, a fun, over-the-top, domestic thriller! The author gives us a host of unlikeable characters to pick through and a couple of ambiguous ones as well. Because of that, we are just waiting to see who the bad guy turns out to be!
Facts:
• Lizzie was unappreciated in her job with the Johnson’s.
• Cecelia desperately needed help with her 5 month old, because her back injury prevented her from basic care.
• Cecelia is generous but naive.
• Paul, her husband who is in prison for attempted murder (of her), is a bad guy.
Needs context:
• Lizzie is an excellent nanny.
• Evan (Cecelia’s) partner and Peyton’s father, loves Peyton and cares about Cecelia.
Even though they are on my TBR, I didn’t realize Best Day Ever and The Second Mrs. Strom are book 1 and 2 in the series, respectively, but it didn’t matter, because Rouda describes enough background to make this book a standalone.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Books-on-Tour for an advance reader’s copy.AUTHOR BIO
Kaira Rouda is an award–winning, USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author of contemporary fiction that explores what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her novels of domestic suspense include The Widow, Somebody’s Home, The Next Wife, The Favorite Daughter, Best Day Ever, All the Difference, Beneath the Surface – optioned for a feature film – and Under the Palms. Her next novel, The Second Mrs. Strom, is out in August 2024, and Only the Nanny in November 2024. To date, Kaira’s work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Three of her novels have been named Amazon Editor’s Picks for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. The Next Wife was named a Suspense Magazine’s Best Book of 2021 Award, and a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense Novel and a 2022 Silver Falchion first runner-up for Best Book of the Year.
https://kairarouda.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KairaRoudaBooks
https://www.instagram.com/kairarouda/?hl=en
https://x.com/kairarouda?lang=en&lang=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@kairaroudabooksSign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Kaira Rouda here: https://www.bookouture.com/kaira-rouda
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0DC735YG3social -
Her Housekeeper
Author: Samantha Hayes
Publisher: Bookouture Books
Date Published: November 11, 2024Books on Tour
Description
I clean, I tidy, I fold.
I listen, I watch, I lie…
I told her I was the housekeeper, and why wouldn’t she believe me? What I lack in experience, I make up for in hard work. I do my best to keep this enormous house neat and stay on top of laundry. She’s a doting mother and a devoted wife, and I’d do anything to please her.
I fuss over her darling children, offering to take them off her hands when she’s looking frazzled. And when she returns home to find my bags in the hallway, she gives me a room when I tell her I have nowhere else to go. She’s so trusting, she always has been.
I thought she would ask me to leave the moment she caught me rooting through her belongings. Does her perfect family know her secrets? Does she know what I’m looking for, and why I’m really here? And once I find it, will she realise too late she’s in unimaginable danger? Or should I be the one running for my life?
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller from an Amazon No.1 bestselling author. Strap yourself in for a totally twisty page-turner that will leave you gasping for breath. Fans of The Housemaid, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will be flipping pages all night long!My Thoughts
Her Housekeeper was a tense thriller!
Gina didn’t really want to come back here, to this town where “it” all happened. But her home was destroyed in a fire and once Annie, her best friend, invited her, her husband, and their two kids to stay in her enormous house while she was traveling, it seemed like a great solution. But then Mary shows up proclaiming to be Annie’s housekeeper. You know that’s going to be a problem right?
Gina catches Mary snooping, and worse, she gets a funny feeling about her. And that Tyler shows up. Mary’s son. Although Hayes never really says, he seems to be neurodivergent with some uncanny tech skills. You might guess some of the predictable twists, but as the story escalates, you won’t be able to put this book down!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Books on Tour for an advance reader’s copy.Author Bio
Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written over twenty thrillers, including the bestselling titles Date Night and Until You’re Mine. The Independent called her writing ‘fantastically written and very tense’ while Good Housekeeping said ‘her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.’ Samantha’s books are published in multiple languages (over twenty-two at the last count). In her free time, Sam loves painting watercolours, going to the gym and swimming. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.
https://www.samanthahayes.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaHayesAuthor/
https://www.instagram.com/samanthahayes.author/
https://twitter.com/samhayes -
The Wonder Drug
Author: Susanna Beard
Publisher: Joffe Books
Date Published: October 24, 2024So much for wanting to go to Iceland! This book totally had me feeling the mountains of snow, the cold weather, and the dark days.
Michelle is a divorced woman of a certain age, obsessed with wanting to look younger, and looking for something exciting. So she takes over for a maternity leave at a pharma company in Iceland. Her job is PR and as such she’s on a “need-to-know” basis with what goes on at the top floors of the company, where scientists are working on a top-secret, ground-breaking drug. That is until she is thrust into the role of whistle-blower by a chance encounter. What follows is a story worthy of any episode of Mission Impossible. Michelle is on the run, but not without help. I swear I winced and ducked every time Michelle did!
Thanks to Joffe Books for an advance reader copy for reviewCapsule photo adapted from and-machines on @unsplash.
-
Loving Mothers
BLOG TOUR
Author: Miranda Smith
Publisher: Bookouture
Date Published: October 3, 2024Blurb
A-sixteen-year-old girl goes out on a crisp fall evening and never comes home. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. Every mother in the neighborhood holds their children tighter. But two of these loving mothers are hiding something terrible…
Stella
Moving to this neighborhood was meant to be a fresh start for my son and me. As I sip wine at the block’s Halloween party, I can finally feel myself relax. But then the next morning I hear the terrifying news. A young girl is missing. Shelby is just sixteen, with beautiful blonde hair and bright blue eyes. And there’s a
rumor my son was dating her. I can’t believe he kept something like this from me, not after all the terrible things we’re running from. What else might he be hiding? And with another family torn apart, how far will I have to go to protect my son?Mary
My daughter was Shelby’s best friend. She should be distraught that she’s missing. But when I go to talk to her, I hear her giggling on the phone with Shelby’s boyfriend. And then I find her Halloween costume, stuffed into a bag in her closet, covered in blood.My heart pounds in my chest. Just down the street, Shelby’s family are going through the unimaginable. But I can’t let anyone look at my family too closely. If our secret comes out, it will destroy us all. And I will do anything to protect my daughter.
Even if it means blaming someone else’s child…Mothers will do anything for their children. But when all the lies are revealed, will any of these families survive?
A totally gripping psychological suspense about the dark secrets that lie behind perfect families. If you love Claire Douglas, Ruth Ware or Karin Slaughter, Loving Mothers will have you glued to the pages till the final jaw-dropping twist.
My Thoughts
Miranda Smith is a new-to-me author and I will definitely read more of her titles.
Loving Mothers gave me Stepford Wives meet Mean Girls meet Housewives of ____ vibes. Stella moves with her son to a new neighborhood to escape her horrible husband. She thinks she’s finally fitting in with the women. But on Halloween night, one of the local girls (Shelby) goes missing. To divert attention from her daughter Grace, Mary spreads a rumor about what Hudson did at his old school, and now there’s a witch hunt. Is Hudson more like his father as Stella fears, or is Grace keeping secrets? Both Stella and Mary know their kids are guilty of something. And when the final secret is exposed, it has an explosive impact on the perfectly curated neighborhood of Hickory Hills.
The characters of the four moms and three kids are well-developed, with separate personalities in this a highly readable thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Books on Tour for an advance reader’s copy.
Author Bio
Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children.
Featured Blogs
“I absolutely loved! Had me hooked from the very beginning… had my jaw hitting
the floor!… had me guessing the whole way through! Definitely recommend!”
Mrs.g508, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I couldn’t put this book down. The suspense & twists keeps you hooked in each
chapter! And wow – what an ending!!” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book Cravings 