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The New Girl
Author: Alison Stockham
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Date Published: April 9, 2024The New Girl
The letterbox clatters and sitting on the mat is a piece of paper, in black and white, with everything needed to blow Anna’s perfect life apart.
A baby scan photo.
Anna and Jon have been trying for a baby with no success, so after years of disappointment, this feels like a kick in the teeth.
Who sent it? And why?
Anna’s thoughts fall on Grace – the keen young woman Jon hired at their printing business. Something about Grace isn’t quite right. She asks too many questions and makes Anna nervous but she can’t work out why.
And she can’t deny she sees the way her husband looks at her.
All she knows is this baby scan might tear her marriage apart…
MY THOUGHTS
Anna and Jon spend almost all their time at their design/printing company. Jon is concerned that the stress is keeping Anna from getting pregnant, and so he decides to bring in a young woman from his church who would like to build her design skills. That’s the first thing Anna disliked about Grace. But when a baby scan is pushed through her mail slot, she starts to get paranoid that someone has discovered her secret! It seems a huge coincidence that it happened right after Grace started, and Anna’s friend Kate adds fuel to the fire when she suggests that maybe Jon and Grace have more than a working relationship.
While the story started off slow and was more women’s fiction than a thriller, it was about secrets and lies, the long-term effect of keeping lies hidden, and how families adapt in difficult circumstances. The ending takes off though, and creates an emotional rollercoaster that will stay with you.Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/TheNewGirlSocial
Author Bio –Alison Stockham’s debut novel, The Cuckoo Sister, was a top 10 bestseller and was also longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize. Her second novel The Silent Friend was published in July 2023 and her third novel, The New Girl, will be published in April 2024.From a background in film and television production, working in film dramas and then TV documentary production for the BBC and Channel 4, Alison is now the events coordinator for Cambridge Literary Festival. She lives in the city with her husband, their children and their cat, who keeps her company while she works on the next book
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonStockhamAuthor
Twitter (48) Alison Stockham (@AlisonStockham) / X (twitter.com)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astockhamauthor/
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AlisonStockhamNews
Bookbub profile: Alison Stockham Books – BookBub
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The Gathering
Author: C. J. Tudor
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
Date Published: April 9, 2024This book was a great example of how to scare me without really scaring me! I really liked C. J. Tudor’s other books so I must have skipped over the vampyrs bit in the synopsis! But this is vampires done right – Tudor has humanized them and treated them like any other community of outcasts, showing the fear of the townspeople which is bred on myth, suspicion, and tradition. I loved the portrayal of vampires living among us, and I was thoroughly invested in the fate of the Colony.
Then we have the police procedural portion. Deadhart Alaska’s Police Chief Pete Nichols is required to bring in a detective from the Vampyr Anthology Department to determine if the killing of a young boy was vampyr related. This is not a traditional portrayal of a pretty young detective breezing in to save the town. Tudor’s detective Barbara Atkins (Fang Doc) is middle aged and as the former police chief, Tucker, tells her, “overweight and unfit”. And while Barbara’s job is to determine if there should be a “culling” of the Colony, she’s not one to make snap decisions or bow to pressure. She is skeptical of both sides’ version of events.
And Tudor’s skill was in making the reader skeptical as well as feeling compassion for both sides. So I am happy to continue to auto-buy C.J.’s book without reading the synopsis because I know they will be both readable and engaging!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for an advance reader’s copy. -
The Godchild
Author: Miranda Rijks
Publisher: Inkubator
Date to be Published: March 31, 2024It’s hard to review this book without giving too much away, so I will touch upon the themes in the book.
Responsibility
If you accept the responsibility of being a godparent, are you still responsible morally if you’ve lost ties with the child’s parent? Carina feels a moral responsibility, while her husband, Don, is not sure the family can support another mouth to feed with their one-wage earner family. Her daughter Tegan would rather not have to share her bedroom with a stranger, Alicia, while Arthur is infatuated with her and baby Arthur loves the attention.
Work
If you are responsible for an entire school, where do you draw the line between work and family? Carina must face that question when everything converges at once, creating emergencies both at school, at home, and in her personal life.
Trust
Is there ever a time when you should believe a stranger over your own family? Carina is torn between Alicia, who appears to be good, smart, and mature, and her own daughter and son whose behavior is less than exemplary.
Once again, Miranda Rijks has written a fast-paced, engaging, and suspenseful novel!
Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books, and Booksprout for an advance reader’s copy.Background photo Photo by Mona Eendra on Unsplash.
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Remedy- Cover Reveal
Author: Emily Bridget Taylor
Publisher: Bijou Press
Cover Reveal: April 3, 2024
Date to be Published: June 22, 2024HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THIS COVER REVEAL?
Blurb
Fallen from the heights of love
to the depths of madness,
she flees to the endless,
wailing moor.
There is nothing here but shadows,
a lantern – her white dress flickering in the wind.
There is nothing here but shadows,
a lantern – and you.
In your hands are her confessions.
Between your fingers, a book of prayers.
Drink the shadows with her –
and you will taste the fullness of light.
Remedy is a collection of poetry for those who refuse to be extinguished. It is a story told in four parts, each part mending a different kind of pain. Remedy will take you by the hand through the falling, severing, healing, and resurrecting – giving you the courage to begin again.
“Taylor’s voice soars to new heights. Remedy is soul-food,
scars and all” – Scott-Patrick Mitchell, author of Clean
Author Bio
Emily Bridget Taylor is a poet, artist and performer. Her words and imagery are inspired by honey-filled days of light and love, and the dark hours between – the duality that is Life’s gift. In the wake of the pandemic, Emily began sharing her poetry online. What followed was a surprising, magical journey in which her words and images resonated around the world. Her poetry collection Remedy, art series Remedy for Walls and performance poetry touch on themes of love, trauma, self-care and healing. Her artistic calling is to dissolve shame in all its forms. Follow her journey at www.emilybridgettaylor.com and @emilybridgettaylor on socials.
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Still See You Everywhere
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date to be Published: March 12, 2024This is Book 3 (but can be read as a stand) in the Frankie Elkin series and I’d have to say this is the best one yet!
This is a locked room (island) thriller on an island that could have been a paradise. If not for the giant coconut crabs whose claws could break a limb. And the crab holes that could break an ankle. Oh, and the lack of Internet, real showers and bathrooms, oh and yeah, maybe the real reason Frankie is here – to find a 17 year-old teen who may have been kidnapped by a powerful and violent man. A task made doubly troublesome as it was set up by the death row inmate known as “the Beautiful Butcher”.
Anyone who has ever camped will relate to crunching along pitch-black paths with just a flashlight to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night while things scuttle through the bushes. Or the fear of a tropical storm whipping through and wiping out electricity. But unlike being at a campground, this private atoll is miles from anywhere, accessible only by light planes, and several days by boat if you can reach them by satellite radio. If the radio isn’t out of commission.
Gardner masterfully introduces us to the characters on the island, describing jobs and relationships and Frankie’s almost impossible task in a way that moves the storyline to a tense and fully satisfying ending.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advance reader’s copy!Background photo courtesy of Raphael Bick on Unsplash.
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This Girl’s a Killer
COVER REVEAL
Author: Emma C. Wells
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Date to be Published: September 10 2024Ask Cordelia Black why she did it. The answer will always be: He had it coming.
Legally Blonde grows up and gets a murder-y Dexter alter-ego in this laugh-out-loud, riveting debut thriller about Cordelia Black—a best friend, an astute businesswoman, and, in her spare time, a killer of bad men.
By day she’s an ambitious pharma rep with a flawless reputation and designer wardrobe. By night, she culls South Louisiana of unscrupulous men—monsters who think they’ve evaded justice, until they meet her. Sure, the evening news may have started throwing around phrases like “serial killer,” but Cordelia knows that’s absurd.
She not a killer. She’s karma.
She’s always been perfectly in control until her beautifully constructed system threatens to devolve into a comedy of errors when her best friend starts dating a man Cordelia isn’t sure is a good person.
Dark, bold, and full of heart THIS GIRL’S A KILLER is a sly, propulsive thriller channeling deep, loyal bestie energy in a blood-splattered ode to found family.
Link to GoodReads giveaway: https://srcbks.com/4c5PxfB
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Listen For the Lie
Author: Amy Tintera
Publisher: Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio
Date Published: March 5, 2024Note: I read this book while listening to the audio, because I heard such great things about the narration. And it’s true! While I like to create a character’s voice in my own head, January LaVoy perfectly captures the snarky inflection of Lucy’s many tongue-in-cheek remarks. And while the inner voice that Lucy hears telling her to kill can be annoying to read, at Ms. LaVoy made it sound fiendishly haunting. Will Damron did a great job of distinguishing the male voices. Also, this book includes snippets from a podcast, and it’s so fun to hear it portrayed as an actual podcast.
On to the story: I can’t get enough of books about amnesia after trauma books, and Tintera gives us a real feeling of what it would be like to lose your memory. Are those scenes playing in your head bits of real memories…or are you just recalling what people have told you? I wasn’t sure what to do with the character of the podcaster Ben – was he a good guy, out to prove Lucy innocent, or was he just there to capture a story? The other character that stands out and will surely give you a chuckle is Grandma Beverly. She seems to be the only one who can tell the truth in this book!
Read this. It’s the author’s debut foray into writing novels for adults and it will bring a smile to your face 🙂
Thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for advanced copies of the eBook and audio filesBackground photo courtesy of Matt Botsford @unsplash
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My Perfect Family
Author: Melanie Price
Publisher: Wendlebury
Date Published: February 27, 2024It wasn’t the vacation she expected.
She didn’t expect to make up with her stepsister.
She didn’t expect to run into her ex-boyfriend.
And she certainly didn’t expect to wake up to a phone calling telling her that her mother was dead.
Price weaves all of these unexpected events into a thriller that will keep you guessing. Emily can’t remember what she did last night, and the rest of the family including her aunt, uncle, stepfather, step-sister, and her mom’s business partner are all acting shady. So of course, she puts her lawyerly skills to use to find out what happened.
If you like books that keep you guessing, this book’s for you!
Thanks to Love Books Tours for an advance reader’s copy.Background photo courtesy of Cole Patrick @unsplash
Buy Links
My Perfect Family on Amazon
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The Inmate
Author: Freida McFadden
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Date Published: March 5, 2024 (First published June 13, 2022)Whelp, I almost pulled an all-nighter to finish this book in one day. 2 a.m. people! That’s how invested I was in this book!
Freida McFadden, your writing is so twisted – in a good way, lol!
The book alternates between Brooke’s current situation (nurse in a penitentiary with a 10 year old son) and a night 10 years ago when she and her friends spent the night in a farmhouse belonging to her boyfriend.
SPOILER ALERT: I loved the nod to Rumplestiltskin near the end!
It’s definitely not hype: McFadden writes twisty-turny stories that will keep you up until the wee hours of the morning – I should know, lol!
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance reader’s copy.Background photo Alcatraz Island Ferry Terminal, San Francisco, United States courtesy of Carles Rabada @unsplash
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The Stranger in Her House
Author: John Marrs
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Date Published: February 13, 2024When I first started reading this book, I was like, “ho hum, another book about a dementia patient being conned.” I thought I knew where this book was going. But I should have known. I was reading a John Marrs book and he was not going to let me down that easy!
At about halfway through the book the twists just started coming and they didn’t let up! Each one could have been a story on its own. I winced every time poor Connie encountered another obstacle and I was rooting for her. Was she a bad person? Oh yes! But was she less bad than some of the other characters? By a long shot! Marrs writes a character who is so damaged that even when she tries to reform, her circumstances prevent it. I could easily suspend disbelief knowing that some of these scenarios could happen in real life.
Even when you think it’s the end of the story, there’s another convoluted twist and I’m sure I have permanent jaw pain from gritting my teeth as I stayed up into the wee hours so I could finish this book.
Book Cravings 