4.23.2024 - A Game of Lies

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by an absolute favorite, Clare Mackintosh.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Let the games begin - on a Welsh mountaintop, seven hopefuls are competing to win a reality show.  However, the game isn't what any of them expected when they signed on.  Each of them are threatened with not only being eliminated but having their darkest secrets exposed live on air.  What will they do to keep those secrets hidden?  When one of the contestants goes missing, DC Morgan is called in to investigate.

I love everything Mackintosh writes and this one was no exception.  This is the second in a series featuring DC Morgan, her former partner, Leo, and of course, Dave the dog.  While you should definitely read The Last Party, this book could easily be read as a stand alone.  You can cut the tension in this book with a knife - not only between the contestants and crew, but between Ffion and Leo as well.  There are plenty of suspects and you'll be questioning everyone along with the detectives.  Dave is a wonderful character (dogs are characters, right?) and adds some humor and levity to the book.  Loved it - anxious for more in this series please!

4.23.2024 - Three Drowned Girls

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the first in a new series by a favorite, Emily Shiner, wonderfully narrated by Amelia Sciandra.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Detective Freya Sinclair is back in her hometown and not getting a warm welcome from its residents.  Unbeknownst to Freya, her parents were serial killers and she initially accused the wrong person, so many won't forgive her.  Minutes after returning to the police force, a young girl is pulled from the river. Before she can barely begin to investigate, another girl goes missing.  Just what is going on in the town?

I really enjoyed this police procedural.  Freya is a strong character, with a past that still haunts her, but Esther, who raised her is still a strong force in her life.  We don't learn too many details about her past, and I'm assuming those will unfold in the next book.  There were plenty of good characters - I liked both Candy and Brad, who work with Freya.  While the subject matter of missing and murdered young girls is definitely dark, it was not overly graphic.  Onto #2!

4.23.2024 - Tree Table Book

 

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Clarion Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by an icon, Lois Lowry, author of The Giver and many more.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 shining stars!

Sophie doesn't quite fit in with the other girls in her elementary glass, but her one favorite place is spending time with her elderly neighbor, another Sophie.  But lately, the elder Sophie is demonstrating some memory issues, and young Sophie overhears her parents talk about her son coming to take her for an evaluation with a possible move to an assisted living facility.  Young Sophie is determined to not let that happen.  She studies the cognitive tests that Sophie will likely be faced with, and starts practicing with her.  The one she struggles most with is remembering three words for a given amount of time - young Sophie uses Tree, Table, Book.  But those three simple words open up stories for both Sophies.

Oh my goodness, this book is beyond wonderful.  So many of us can relate to young Sophie - just not quite fitting in with the others, preferring to read instead of play.  And we can all relate to watching elderly people struggle with the effects of aging.  This book, in Lowry's trademark beautiful writing, gently shows us the value of friendship, of pausing and listening to the stories others have to share.  This is an absolute must read for all ages - highly recommended!

4.20.2024 - A Calamity of Souls

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by the wonderful David Baldacci.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

It's 1968 in southern Virginia, when a Black man, Jerome Washington, is charged with killing the elderly wealthy white couple he works for.  Jack Lee is a white lawyer who decides to represent Jerome, but fears that his legal skills may not be good enough to overcome all the odds stacked against his client.  Enter Desiree DuBose, a Black lawyer from Chicago, who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She enters into a partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Will they be able to prevent Jerome from going to the electric chair?  

This is such a powerful book.  Jack's speech after the trial is well worth the price of the book alone, and are words that each of us needs to really think about.  Because while some things have changed from the horrible racial division in this book, many have not, and we all need to step up.  Baldacci has once again created characters that make you feel about them and their experiences, which allow those bigger issues of power, racism and discrimination to feel so very personal.  I also loved that these characters had recognizable flaws that made them feel more human.  The courtroom scenes were gripping and wonderfully written.  Highly recommended!

4.20.2024 - The Last Guest House

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Caroline Mitchell.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

DI Alex McKenna, her partner, Matt, and her young son, George, head to the Isle of Skye for the weekend.  Matt's plans for a romantic weekend to see the aurora borealis soon turns into a nightmare when they discover that their hotel has double booked.  They check into the only hotel with rooms available nearby - The Loch House.  With a very sordid past and reputation, things feel wrong from the beginning when the proprietors take away their phones and present them with a list of rules.  Then the snow comes and they are trapped.

I really liked the way this story played out - we hear from multiple POV as well as transcripts from a true crime podcast.  As the plot proceeded, the podcast filled in the back stories in a way that felt very natural.  There were many creepy characters, as well as the creepy house itself, that left me chilled.  You won't know who you can trust.  Add a storm to a locked-room mystery and you have yourselves a great read!  Another winner by Caroline Mitchell!

4.17.2024 - You Know What You Did

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by KT Nguyen - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Annie has worked hard to keep her childhood trauma and resulting issues at bay.  But when her elderly mother dies suddenly, things seem to spiral out of control.  Annie finds herself in the middle of investigations into crimes where Annie doesn't remember details - or does she?  Is she having dreams or memories?

This is a wonderful book with a very unreliable narrator that will have you questioning everything as well.  It's a look into the refugee experience, childhood trauma, mental illness, and the bonds between mother and daughter.  Told mostly in the present, we go back in time to Annie's childhood experiences that have shaped her life and relationships.  I didn't see all those twists and turns coming - especially the very end!  Great read - kept me glued to the pages!

4.16.2024 - Between Two Trailers

  

Many thanks to NetGalley and Convergent Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this amazing memoir by J. Dana Trent.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Born to drug-addicted, mentally ill parents in rural Indiana, Dana was a preschooler when her father (the King) got her involved in dealing drugs.  Her mother, the Lady, expected Dana to be her keeper.  The only normalcy she got was with her extended family for brief respites.  Otherwise, it was a poor, chaotic, mentally abusive childhood.  Even in childhood, the emotional stranglehold her mother held on her kept her from living a more normal life.  Yet, despite all those odds, she became a college professor and minister.

I am always in awe of people who are able, through their own personal strength, to rise out of such horrible childhoods to become stable, healthy, productive adults.  So many people waste the many opportunities they are handed, while others have to fight and scrabble.  Dana's parents no doubt loved her, but between their own bad childhoods, poverty, and mental illness, they were definitely not equipped to raise a child.  Eye opening memoir for sure and many wishes to Dana and Fred for a very happy life!