12.19.2024 - I Died on a Tuesday

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada/Doubleday Canada for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Jane Corry.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Twenty years ago, there is a tragic accident that leaves an 18-year-old Janie for dead on the street, hit by a van that then took off.  In present time, Robbie Manning, international singing star, is arrested for Janie's attempted murder.  Robbie has been waiting for the truth to come out for 20 years, but he's still terrified.  Who knows the whole story of what happened that day? 

There's a lot to unpack in this story, told from these two timelines from multiple POVs.  We hear from Robbie and Janie, as well as Vanessa, a victim support person, and the judge.  Everyone is holding secrets back for a multitude of reasons, and discovering all of them will take a bit of patience as they slowly merge.  What I really enjoyed was exploring how one wrong decision can affect so many people down the line.  I also enjoyed Vanessa's role as victim support as she helped witnesses navigate testifying.  This is a twisty one, with well-developed characters, and an intriguing plot.

12.18.2024 - Beautiful Ugly

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of the latest thriller by Alice Feeney.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 5 stars!

Author Grady Green calls his wife to share some exciting news as she’s driving home.  But as they are talking Abby gets out of the car and is never seen from again.  One year later, Grady is still devastated and desperate to know what happened.  He can no longer write and is not taking care of himself.  His agent gives him an opportunity to stay on a small Scottish island in a writer’s previous cottage to try and regroup.  But as soon as he arrives, he sees a woman who looks just like his missing wife.

 

Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.

 

I loved this one – Alice Feeney at her best.  A locked room-type mystery, taking place on a small Scottish island with only 25 year-round inhabitants.  The setting is almost another character, because you can feel the isolation, feel the weather coming off the sea, the cold damp feeling settling in your bones.  Plus, there is a group of characters that left you wondering who you could trust and what was real.  The audiobook was fantastic, complete with sound effects at the beginning of each chapter, immersing the reader even further.  I couldn’t stop listening to this one and loved every twist and turn along the way!

 

 

12.16.2024 - Raised by a Serial Killer

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Gallery Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this true crime memoir by April Balascio.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

In 2009, April was searching online for the truth about her father, Edward Wayne Edwards.  She was researching cold cases of murders that happened in the many towns they lived in as a family.  She came across the story of the "Sweetheart Murders," and memories of her father's possible connection came flooding back.  She picked up the phone and called the detective in charge.  

This is a gripping story of growing up in an abusive, dysfunctional family, and April's conviction that her dad could also be a murderer.  It's meticulously written and researched, brutally honest, and horrifying.  Told in alternating chapters detailing her dad's notorious criminal past and her recollections of her childhood, I appreciated how April told all the stories as she knew them.  Not only the mean, sadistic man who pitted his children against each other, brutalized them, played horrible pranks, but also his times of kindness and love.  It's hard to fathom those conflicting emotions, yet knowing the right thing to do was to pick up that phone.  She showed her strength and character; remarkable with the childhood she experienced.  April is a hero to many families by giving them some peace; here's hoping that she and her siblings have that same peace.

12.15.2024 - The Lost House

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this novel by Melissa Larsen, beautifully narrated by Saskia Maarleveld.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!

Forty years ago in Iceland, a young mother and her infant daughter were brutally murdered.  No one was ever charged, but the community was convinced it was the woman’s husband.  When he fled for the US, it proved his guilt to them.  In the present, Nora is working on a podcast of the story and the man’s granddaughter, Agnes, has agreed to fly from California to Iceland to participate.  Agnes is healing both physically and mentally from an injury and broken relationship, relying on too many pills to get her through the day.  She’s also grieving the loss of her beloved grandfather and is eager to prove his innocence.  When she arrives, Nora is swept up in a new story of another young woman who has gone missing and enlists Agnes’ help.  Are the two cases related?  

 

The stark Icelandic setting and weather were the perfect backdrop for this haunting tale.  The small town’s inhabitants have been convinced of the husband’s guilt and have no use for his granddaughter stirring things up.   But now there is not one case to investigate, but two, and there are plenty of suspects.  I loved having the audiobook to listen to while I read, especially with the different dialect and language.  The narration was beautiful and added depth to the story.  Perfect winter mystery!

12.14.2024 - All the Water in the World

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this wonderful book by Eiren Caffall, with the audiobook gorgeously narrated by Eunice Wong.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 5 stars!

This book is set in the near future, when climate change has devastated the world.  Nonie and her older sister, their parents and fellow researchers have taken refuge on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History in NYC.  They hunt and grow food in Central Park and only scavage the exhibits if necessary.  When a hypercane (a huge superstorm) breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape on the Hudson River, determined to find a new world to honor what they’ve saved.

I sometimes have a love/hate relationship with dystopian/apocalyptic stories, but the writing in this book, and the audiobook narration, made it perfection.  Told from Nonie’s point of view in the present, along with flashbacks letting the reader know what it was like before, this is an adventure story, a cautionary tale, and will make you think about what’s important to keep.  While the subject matter is fightening in its potential reality, the book is filled with hope, with community and people trying to help.  The writing was so beautiful, almost poetic, with lines to make you think, such as, “You never know in the darkness, who’s holding the light;” and “A building is just a body through which you live a life.  What mattered was the people we found and lost.”  I listened to the audiobook while reading, and the narrator’s voice was so haunting that it added layers to the story.  Highly recommended!

12.13.2024 - The Getaway

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Howling Unicorn Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Mina Hardy.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Claire is a married mom of an adult daughter, and her monthly getaway at a remote mountain cabin with Elliott is her perfect escape from real life.  But Claire feels that Elliott is getting a little too needy, so she plans on this being their last getaway.  When a snowstorm traps them in the cabin, things turn bad quickly.  

A short synopsis is best for this book, so that you can go along with all the twists and turns as you read it.  And there are certainly plenty of twists!  This book covers a lot of ground - it starts out romantic, then quickly turns into a mystery thriller once secrets starting coming to light.  None of the characters are real likable, but you'll still find yourself rooting for some of them.  It may be a little over the top, but it is a quick read and pure entertainment and I was all in!

12.11.2024 - What the Wife Knew

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Darby Kane.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Dr. Richmond Dougherty is a renowned surgeon, a tragedy survivor and hero.  He's also dead after a fall down the stairs.  His very sudden marriage to much younger Addison is only 97 days old, so all fingers point to her, now that she is a wealthy widow.  But someone killed Richmond before Addison had the chance to do it herself.

This was such twisty fun!  I loved Addison's snarky, dark humor, and her smart thinking and planning.  There are a host of questionable subjects, unlikeable characters, dysfunctional family relationships, and secrets galore - my kind of book!  The story unfolds through the POV of "Her" and "Him," both in the past and present.  It's suspenseful, perfectly plotted, with short chapters that will keep you turning the pages until that crazy ending.