12.30.2024 - Close Your Eyes

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Amazon Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Teresa Driscoll.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4.5 stars!

Private investigator Matthew Hill just got the call that no parent ever wants to get.  His wife, Sally, was shopping with their 8-year-old daughter, Amelie, when she disappeared.  His worst nightmare has come true – Matthew left the police force years ago when a woman blamed him for her son’s death and promised that one day he would feel her pain.  Now the clock is ticking to find Amelie.

 

This was gripping from the very first page.  We’ve all experienced that moment of incredible panic when our own child suddenly isn’t where they are supposed to be, but the world usually rights itself quickly.  So you instantly relate to how Matthew and Sally feel.  Plus there is added guilt, because Matthew always feared this day would come.  I also liked the police investigator, Melanie, and how she desperately tried to do right for her friends, at a cost to her own personal life.  These two are return characters from Driscoll’s previous novels, but all are totally stand alone as well.  Couldn’t put this one down – can’t wait for more from this author!

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.  

12.9.2024 - The Next Grave

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest in the Columbia River Series by Kendra Elliot.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Detective Evan Bolton is gutted by his latest investigation.  His friend and mentor, retired detective Rod McLeod, has been murdered, his body left in the trunk of a junkyard car.  When McLeod’s daughter and grandson abruptly vanish, Evan knows it’s not a coincidence. Search and rescue canine specialist Rowan Wolff agrees as she and her dog, Thor, track the missing family.  The two cases converge in a puzzling twist. Evan discovers that McLeod has been reinvestigating old crimes—solved but not forgotten.  Did one of those cases have to do with Rod's death?

I read the first two in this series, but somehow missed the next ones, a mistake I will have to rectify!   You can definitely read this as a stand-alone though, because Elliot gives enough backstory on the characters and their relationships.  This is a fast-paced police procedural that kept me turning the pages to see how it was all going to turn out.  One of the big stars of the book is Thor, Rowan's search and rescue dog.  Amazing how dogs can be trained to aid in finding people.  The characters are realistic, and you can feel their emotions as you flip the pages.  Gripping - can't wait for more in this series!

12.7.2024 - A Mother Always Knows

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital ARC of second book in the Grace Morton series by Nicole Trope.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!

Grace is determined to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Cordelia, so she moved to Melbourne.  Grace also doesn’t trust what she knows of Cordelia’s boyfriend, Garth, so she gets a temporary assignment to work at his law firm.  But right away, Grace sees that someone else is following Cordelia and then Garth goes missing.  Has history repeated itself?

 

You could read this book as a stand-alone because Trope gives you enough backstory, but it’s much better read as a series.  Grace is such an intriguing character, donning different personalities and looks, doing whatever she needs to do for her child.  Cordelia never resolved the trauma of losing her father and doesn’t want anything to do with Grace, until she realizes that Grace is the only one who understands.  This is a twisty thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end!  

12.6.2024 - Your Dark Secrets

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest release by Elle Marr.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Addison is a public relations executive, charged with keeping celebrities in the right light and out of trouble.  When her biggest client is murdered before an award show, Addison's fate at the company turns sour.  Plus, the police begin investigating her.  Enter an old boyfriend, Connor, a disgraced private investigator whose image was tarnished by Addison, but is trying to recover.  They must now work together to figure out the mysterious death as well as keep themselves out of trouble.

This was a fun, cat-and-mouse type mystery, where you weren't exactly sure who you could trust and where allegiances truly were.  There's some reignited sparks between the two main characters, and I found myself rooting for them.  They are flawed but likable characters and it's a fun ride following them around the world as they find themselves trying to stay one step ahead of the law as they are forced to work together to figure out the truth behind some mysterious deaths.

12.5.2024 - Home is Where the Lies Live

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me an audio ARC of the latest thriller by Kerry Wilkinson, perfectly narrated by the cast of Matthew Spencer, Rebecca Lee, Julia Barrie. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!

It’s time for a neighborhood street party in Huntington Grove.  Let’s meet the neighbors - Freddie and Heidi just moved into Huntington Grove, but Freddie seems to be keeping secrets.  Willow’s husband is disappearing in the night, and her relationship with her teenage daughter is fraught. Dylan’s wife was murdered and now he’s the single dad to their young daughter.  Allison’s husband is away in Hong Kong, but there seems to be yelling coming from their house.  Everyone has secrets.

 

I love a good neighborhood/domestic drama as the basis for a thriller, because really, who knows what goes on behind our neighbors’ doors – or our own?  This book starts out with a literal bang and a call to the authorities from the party.  Then we go back to start exploring all those secrets.  This was fast-paced with great characters and a plot that will keep you guessing. Wilkinson nailed the gossip that goes on in neighborhoods, schools, small towns, and all that just added fuel to the many fires.  The narrators were great and added to the fun!

 

12.4.2024 - Deadbeat

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this wild ride by Adam Hamdy.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Peyton Collard was a good man once, but his life changed after a horrific car accident.  Now he's divorced, drunk, and severely damaged,  Peyton is offered a life-changing sum of money to kill an evil man.  But as he goes on a vigilante journey that leaves a trail of bodies across California, Peyton wonders about the identity of his anonymous patron.  Soon, his questions become an obsession, and he embarks on a tense and potentially deadly investigation to discover the truth about the murders he’s committed.

This is like an action movie where you have to suspend some disbelief, but you are totally in for the ride, wherever it takes you.  This book is written in the first person, which made it even better.  You feel like Peyton is talking to you, asking you to understand him, and to put yourself in his shoes.  And you do think about where that line is on what you would do if you were desperate.  Peyton was trying so hard to be a good dad to his daughter, Skye, and he just kept making bad decisions.  And drinking and running his mouth, which of course, go hand in hand.  It's gritty, raw, with that dark humor that I love.  It has short chapters and I kept telling myself just one more because I didn't want to put it down.  Grab some popcorn and enjoy!

12.3.2024 - The Survivors

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Amazon Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Carole Mitchell.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Two cars collide on a winding cliff edge on the Irish coast.  In one car is Finn with her baby daughter; in the other, Kathryn with her own daughter.  Finn, whose mother just died, was on the way to meet her aunt, Maura, who lives in a remote cottage at the top of the cliff, appropriately named Misery Hill.  Both women struggle with the aftermath of the accident, and only Maura knows the whole truth.

Go into this one as blind as possible to fully enjoy the twists and turns.  We hear from all three women's points of view, including from Maura in the past.  There are secrets galore and plenty of family dysfunction to go around.   Both Finn and Maura are unreliable narrators because they were injured in the accident and aren't sure themselves of the truth.  The setting was so atmospheric and added to the mystery of this book.  I've been a huge fan of Mitchell's police procedurals; this book is different but I loved it as well.  

12.3.2024 - Bellevue

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and GP Putnam Sons for gifting me an audio ARC of the latest medical thriller by a long-time favorite, Robin Cook.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4.5 stars!

Mitt Fuller is a first-year resident at the iconic Bellevue Hospital, following in the footsteps of four other celebrated Dr Fuller’s.  Mitt is not quite prepared for his first days though, as one patient after another dies after being in his care.  Mitt has always had a secret sensitivity to the nonphysical, but he’s seeing things in the hospital that he’s not sure if they are hallucinations, sleep deprivation, or something else.  As things get worse, Mitt finds himself exploring for answers in the abandoned Bellevue Psychopathic Hospital.

 

Robin Cook’s books always teach you something as well as being intriguing thrillers.  This one was a bit more slow-paced, but that also helped the reader to become indoctrinated into the demanding physical and mental tasks of new residents.  You felt his sleep deprivation and how it affected him.  This book showcased the horrors of medical care in the past, and you will shudder many times to think of the poor patients.  This one is full of supernatural events, but I loved how the ending brought it all together.  

12.2.2024 - The Answer is No

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for gifting me a digital ARC of this novella by the amazing Fredrik Backman.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Lucas has found the secret to happiness - no people.  He's happy just the way he is.  But then people start appearing in his life.

Fredrik Backman is the hero for all introverts, and this book will resound soundly with all of them.  There is no one who writes with the same relatability, wit, heart and with the best characters to both teach and entertain us.  I loved every short page of this book - a must read!!

12.1.2024 - The Memory Library

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon, Harper Audio/Harper 360 for gifting me an audio ARC of this wonderful debut book by Kate Storey, beautifully narrated by the team of Jilly Bond and Imogen Wilde.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

For decades, Sally has been building a library.  Each year, on her daughter, Ella's, birthday, she adds a new book to her shelves with a handwritten note.  But Ella knows nothing about the library.  After a heated exchange with her mother 22 years ago, she fled to Australia and never looked back.  Now married and with a daughter of her own, Ella is forced to come back to London to care for her mother.  

I absolutely loved this novel - it's relatable, hopeful, full of community support and second chances.  Parenting is not always easy, and this highlights how miscommunication can cause irreparable harm.  Sally was a beacon of right choices though, never pushing her daughter but instead protecting her and her choices and keeping doors open.  Ella was so focused on her work in Australia that she lost sight of the important people in her life until she was forced onto a different path and perspective.  I loved her lines, "If I was queen of the world..."  Plus, if you love books and books about books, this one will be right up your alley.  The audiobook narration was perfect and I enjoyed both voices of these main characters (as well as the others).