1.30.2020 - The Misfortunes of Family

Many thanks to NetGalley, Mira Books, and Meg Little Reilly for the opportunity to read and review her latest book.  I have enjoyed this author's other books and really enjoyed delving into her latest.

The Brights are a political family - John Sr is a recently retired US Senator.  He and his wife, Patty, have 4 boys, each struggling in their own way to live up to the family name.  Summer means spending time in the Berkshires with the family and the extras (I love that way of describing the sons' significant others).  This year, John Sr has allowed Farah, a documentary filmmaker, to spend the month with them filming their daily lives.  When a devastating family secret comes out right as the Senator announces his candidacy for governor, the family has to look a bit deeper into what being a Bright means.

While the Bright family occupies that elite, moneyed, power spot that our regular families can't relate to, there is still much to relate to in this book - after all, families are families, with all the good, bad and in between.  This book is written mostly from the viewpoint of the extras, Farah included, to allow us a bit more of an outsider's look into the family dynamics.  A great read!

1.28.2020 - The Names of the Dead

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Kevin Wignall for the opportunity to read this espionage thriller.  This is the first book I've read by this author; judging by this book, I've missed some good reads!

CIA agent James "Wes" Wesley took the fall when a mission went badly.  His team and country turned against him, his wife left him, and he ended up in a French prison.  Wes is granted early release from prison when his ex-wife, Rachel, is killed in a terrorism event in Spain.  His son is missing.  But Wes didn't know he had a son, nor did he know why Rachel was in Spain.  He sets off to find the people behind all these events before they find him.  Along the way, he meets Mia, an autistic woman, who helps him along in his journey.

This was a thriller but made even better by these characters, especially Mia.  Her honest way of looking at the world were so refreshing.  I also loved how Mia communicated thoughts to Wes with Bible verses.  The various places the pair traveled to were wonderfully written as well.

1.27.2020 - Behind Every Lie

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Christina McDonald for the opportunity to read and review her sophomore novel - 4.5 stars rounded up.  Probably would have given it 5 stars if I hadn't loved her first book, The Night Olivia Fell, quite so much.  Hard to compare to that - if you haven't read it, please do so!  But this was still a wonderfully-written thrill ride, with explorations again of the mother-daughter relationship.

Eva wakes up in the hospital after being struck by lightening.  She can't remember anything but discovers that her mother has been murdered and Eva was found just down from her mother's house.  The police are suspicious of her, especially because this isn't the first time that Eva can't quite remember what happened to her.  The story is told in the voices of Eva, as well as her mother, Kat, letting us discover the back stories of both women.  But this is also a thriller - who killed Kat?  Who is following Eva and who can she trust?

Great read from a wonderful author!  It was difficult to put this book down until I found out all the secrets and lies.

1.27.2020 - The Look-Alike

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Erica Spindler for the opportunity to read this fast-paced thriller - a great read!

Sienna Scott grew up in a home marked with her mother's paranoid delusions.  When Sienna was in college, she came upon a murdered girl - the killer was never caught.  Sienna's mom was convinced the killer meant to kill Sienna; her father sent her to Paris to live with her grandmother to get away from her mom's delusions.  Ten years later, Sienna returns home to help her brother care for her mom and to stop running away.  However, she starts wondering if possibly her mom was right and the killer really was after her.  But is she right or is she following down the path of her mom's delusions?

Even if you may guess the real culprit in this story, it won't keep you from guessing and changing your mind a few times!  This is a great thrill ride and another winner from this author!

1.23.2020 - The Empty Bed

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Nina Sadowsky for the opportunity to read and review the next book in her great Burial Society series - another 5 star read for me!

Catherine is again featured in this book as she seeks to help those who need to hide away.  She is in Mexico City with her latest job, hiding a family, when she gets a call from an ex needing help to find the wife of one of his employees.  This employee, Peter, and his wife, Eva, are on an anniversary trip from their home in London, trying to salvage their marriage.  Eva realizes that she is being followed, even though her husband doesn't believe her.  When Eva disappears from their hotel in Hong Kong, Peter calls his boss, Holland, who sets Catherine's team on their mission to find her.  Enter an FBI agent who becomes entangled in the story line as well.

All of these characters and events will keep you globe-trotting and guessing on who the bad guys really are and how it will all turn out.  A great follow-up to The Burial Society!

1.21.2020 - The Other People

Watch the trailer below...

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and CJ Tudor for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller.  5 stars - her books just keep getting better!

Gabe saw his daughter taken - he was following a strange car with lots of bumper stickers when Izzy's head popped up and she mouthed "Daddy!"  But it couldn't be - Izzy was home with his wife, Jenny.  He stopped to call her to be sure and the police answered the phone - Jenny and Izzy had been murdered.  No one believed that he saw Izzy and he was even blamed for their deaths.  Three years later, Gabe has quit life except for driving around looking for Izzy and the car.

Kate is a waitress at a service plaza where she frequently waits on Gabe.  She knows he lost his daughter.  She lost her father to a murderer when she was young and her sister left home and never came back.

Fran and her daughter, Alice, are on the run from the proverbial "bad guys."  She has many secrets and lives in fear that they will find her.

Eventually, these storylines will intersect.  I did not want to put this book down - there were just too many twists and turns and I couldn't wait to see how everything played out.  Don't miss this rea

1.19.2020 - When You See Me

Many thanks to NetGalley, Dutton Publishing, and Lisa Gardner for the opportunity to read. review and get back into this wonderful series - another 5 star thriller!  Even if you haven't read the previous books, there is enough backstory to allow you to read this as a stand alone and still get in on the action.  But it's a great series, so what are you waiting for?

Returning characters from different series - Flora Dane, Detective DD Warren, and FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy - combine to form part of a task force investigating bones found by a hiker in the hills of Georgia.  Things are possibly tied back to Flora's kidnapper, Jacob Ness, so her and friend, Keith, are included.  When they get to the mountains of Georgia, they find that there is much wrong in the small town of Niche and things just keep getting worse.  Who can be trusted?  And will they be able to stop all the evil?

Another heart pounding thriller from Gardner - just a must read!

1.17.2020 - The Tenant

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Katrine Engberg for the opportunity to read and review this thriller - I loved it and am so excited to read more!  This is the first in a series of police procedural mysteries taking place in Copenhagen.  Three books have been big successes in the UK - this is a translation for release in the US and is a great addition to the Nordic/Swedish crime series.  Fans of Jo Nesbo and Tana French will love this book!

We are introduced to Copenhagen detectives, Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner, as they are called to investigate the death of a young woman renting an apartment in a 3-story house.  The elderly man who lived above the woman found her and it caused him to suffer a heart attack.  The owner of the house, Esther, is a retired professor and a crime writer.  These characters become linked when there is another murder but exactly how?

I really enjoyed these characters - especially Jeppe - and am so anxious to read more!  I thought the mystery was well-written, even though it was a complicated, multi-faceted case.  So glad the US is being introduced to another great writer and crime series!

1.14.2020 - The Better Liar

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Tanen Jones for the opportunity to read and review her debut book - 4.5 stars and definitely an author to keep on your radar in the future!  This book was so smartly written and it kept me guessing, even when I figured a few things out along the way.

Leslie has stayed at home and done what was expected of her.  She is married to Dave and has a young child, Eli, plus a full-time job but still managed to take care of her father as he slowly died from cancer.  Meanwhile, her younger sister, Robin, left their hometown early and never looked back.  When their father's will is revealed. it stipulates that the money is to be split between the two girls, but that neither can collect unless they do it together.  So Leslie sets off to find Robin, only to find her dead.  But she meets Mary, a girl who looks similar enough to Robin that she could possibly pull off a switch so that they could both profit.

Told in viewpoints of Leslie, Mary and Robin, you gain insight into each story but you will still be surprised by the ending!  Few triggers - suicide, postpartum depression - but a fabulous debut!

1.13.2020 - The Last Sister

Many thanks to NetGalley, Montlake and Kendra Elliot for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - don't miss this one!  As with all of Elliot's books, they are tough to put down and you will feel the suspense in your bones!  4.5 stars rounded up.

When Emily was a child, she found her father murdered, hanging from a tree in their backyard.  Her younger sister, Madison, was inside sleeping and her older sister Tara, was at a friend's.  Their mother couldn't cope and committed suicide, leaving Emily and Madison to be raised by their 3 aunts.  Tara ran away after the incident and has never been back.  Fast forward 20 years, and Emily finds another person in town dead from hanging.  Two FBI agents, Zander and Ava, come to town to investigate and to see if the two crimes are linked.  The investigation opens all kinds of buried secrets.

Great mystery and characters - curl up in the cold weather and get lost in this book!

1.11.2020 - The Perfect Mother

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Caroline Mitchell for the opportunity to read and review her latest novel - I'm a fan of her police procedural based books and this was another winner!  4.5 stars!

Roz lives in Ireland with her best friend, she just lost her job, is broke and pregnant.  She had a tough childhood and she wants her child to have the perfect mother.  She signs on with an elite adoption agency in the US and soon a celebrity couple wants to meet her.  They pay all her expenses to bring her to NYC to meet and discuss plans, without yet revealing their names.  When she finds out that it is the "it" Hollywood celebrity couple, she's eager for her baby to have all the best.  The couple, Sheridan & Daniel, move her into their home where Sheridan rules her every move.  So much so that Roz soon feels like a prisoner in the basement suite.  And that's just the beginning of her worries.

This is a well-written thriller which will keep you gripped until you find out what happens to Roz and her baby.

1.9.2020 - Big Lies in a Small Town

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Diane Chamberlain for the opportunity to read and review her latest novel - 5 glowing stars for a wonderful book that I just didn't want to put down.

Told in two voices and two different timeframes, this is a beautifully written story about prejudice and secrets.   In 2018, Morgan Christopher is in jail in North Carolina for a crime she didn't commit.  Only 22 years old, she lost everything - her boyfriend, her future in art school, and her freedom.  A mysterious pair of women show up one day and offer her a deal - a get out of jail free card for restoring an old mural by a very short deadline.  Knowing nothing about art restoration but desperate for freedom, she accepts and is driven to Edenton to begin work.

In 1940, Anna Dale, from New Jersey, won a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton.  When she arrives, she is faced with pushback from the men in town that the local portrait artist was passed over for a young girl from New Jersey.  Armed with determination, Anna begins work on her mural, enlisting local high school students to assist her.

The melding of these two stories is so wonderfully written.  The prejudices of the day and time when Anna was working were very different yet still somewhat present in Morgan's world and both women had much to prove to others and themselves.  Highly recommended - don't miss this read!

1.7.2020 - Mr Nobody

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Catherine Steadman for the opportunity to read and review her sophomore book - I really enjoyed her first, Something in the Water, and this one was a good follow up.

A man is found on a beach with a head injury, no shoes and no knowledge of his name or background.  He is taken to the hospital where a connection with a nurse is the only way to calm him down.  He's originally called Mr Nobody but the nurse renames him Matthew.  A neuropsychiatrist, Dr Emma Lewis, is asked to consult on the case - running tests and evaluating him to see if he is lying or is a rare fugue case who has completely lost his past memories.  However, that requires Dr Lewis to go back to her hometown where she experienced her own trauma.  When she meets her patient, he seems to know things about her past that no one else should know.  How is this possible?

A good story with lots of interesting facts about memory and brain function too.

1.5.2020 - You Where There Too

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Colleen Oakley for the opportunity to read and review her latest book.  I was a huge fan of her previous book, Close Enough to Touch, so was excited to get an opportunity to read this book - I wasn't disappointed!  4.5 stars!

Mia and her husband, Harrison, have the seemingly perfect life - he's a doctor, she's an artist, they have a great relationship, and they are trying to start a family.  When they move from Philadelphia to a small town where everyone knows everyone, Mia is startled to see the man of her dreams - literally.  Mia has been dreaming about the same man for years and she meets him in the market and then finds that he has been dreaming of her too.  While issues happen in Mia's marriage, she feels pulled towards her dream man, Oliver.

You may have to suspend a little belief in the subject of dreams and psychics, but this is a wonderfully-written story of love, fate and choices.  Great read!

1.3.2020 - Dear Edward

Many thanks to NetGalley, Dial Press, and Ann Napolitano for the opportunity to read this wonderful book - 5 stars for an uplifting read!

The Adler family, consisting of dad, mom and two boys - Jordan and Eddie, are preparing to leave NYC for LA, where their mom has a writing job.  We meet some of the other passengers of this flight before we learn that the plane crashes, 191 people die, and Eddie is the sole survivor.  After recovering in the hospital, Eddie (now Edward) goes to live with his mom's sister and her husband, Laney & John, in New Jersey.

This is the story of survival - Edward doesn't know how to exist in the world without his family, and especially without his older brother.  This is also the story of all those who helped him gain his footing in his new world, especially neighbor, Shay, and his aunt and uncle.

I loved these characters - Edward and Shay of course, but also the cast of characters we meet, in alternating chapters, who were on the flight.  Lots of life lessons here and a wonderful ending to this story.

1.1.2020 - The Lion's Den

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Anthony Marra for the opportunity to read and review this installment of the short story series, Inheritance.  While I love Marra's books and writing, this one wasn't quite as good to me as the others in the series.

Michael is back living at home - to the outside, he's there to help take care of his dying father but he's also broke and unemployed and needed a place to live.  Michael has a complex history with his father - he wrote a tell-all about his father's leaking of sensitive information the led him to prison, causing him to be a hero to some and a villain to others.

The father-son relationship will always be somewhat complicated - this was a good short story about some of those feelings.

1.1.2020 - I Choose You

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Gayle Curtis for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Elise and Nathaniel bonded over a shared tragedy - both their moms died by suicide.  They are part of a support group of survivors.  This group also discusses the Suicide Watcher, a name given for someone who seems to be playing a game with people that ends up killing them.  Elise and Nathaniel are married and the parents of 3 children - when oldest daughter Ida is found murdered, it brings back all the old pain and throws suspicion on everyone.

I was excited to read this book - the premise sounded great.  Although it was still a good read, it just never stepped up to my expectations, mainly because there were too many characters, too much time jumping, and just too much.