1.17.2019 - The Temp

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Michelle Frances for the opportunity to read and review her new book - loved it!  I was a huge fan of her debut novel, The Girlfriend, and this one won't disappoint.  I was hard pressed to put this one down and loved the twisty ending.

Carrie is a successful TV producer, happily married to Adrian, a screenwriter in her company.  They have the perfect life - wealthy, two homes, in love.  Until Carrie becomes pregnant and Adrian is not thrilled by the news.  When Carrie has to go on maternity leave, the perfect replacement is found in Emma, a bright, young girl.  But is she too perfect?  At home, unprepared to deal with a newborn and with no help from Adrian, Carrie feels like she is losing everything.

Lots of twists and turns in this one and I was glued to the pages - a great read!

1.14.2019 - No Mercy

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Joanna Schaffhausen for the opportunity to read the second book in this great series revolving around Ellery Hathaway.  I was so happy to get back to these characters and this book is even better than the first one.

Following up on Vanishing Season, Ellery is a police officer who finds herself off active duty because of the events  in the last book (no spoilers here!).  She's attending group therapy sessions for victims of violent crime as part of her required steps to get reinstated.  There she meets a rape victim whose story pulls at Ellery's heart and her investigative brain.  Another victim she meets is a burn victim who lost her small son in a fire.  Needing help and support, Ellery calls back on Reed Markham, the FBI profiler who saved her life.  Together they try to solve these crimes.

Put me down as one who is already anxiously awaiting the next book in this series - highly recommended!

1.10.2019 - As Long as We Both Shall Live

Many thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books and JoAnn Chaney for the opportunity to read this book - 5 stars for a wickedly fun, twisty read!

The quote from War of the Roses in the beginning of the book sums it up perfectly:  There are two dilemmas...that rattle the human soul.  How do you hold on to someone who won't stay?  And how do you get rid of someone who won't go?

Just like in the War of the Roses, this is a tale of love, marriage and all that goes along with it, especially when things go badly.  Matt and his wife, Marie, are hiking in the Colorado mountains when Marie falls off the edge.  Matt runs for the rangers and a search is started.  But the questions for Matt are just beginning.  When Detectives Loren and Spengler start investigating, they discovered that Matt's first wife also died in a suspicious manner.  Is he just unlucky in love or is it more?

I couldn't put this book down and loved all the twists and turns.  Highly recommended!

1.8.2019 - The Perfect Liar

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Thomas Christopher Greene for the opportunity to read his latest thriller - a very entertaining ride!

Max and his wife Susannah have settled into a small Vermont town with Susannah's teenage son from her first marriage.  They are so happy together.  Max has become very successful with his form of art and is also teaching at a college in Vermont.  Then the first note appears on their door - I Know Who You Are.  Both Max and Susannah are keeping secrets from each other that threaten their happy life together.

Enough said - you really want to go into this book not knowing too much ahead of time.  So sit back and enjoy the twisty ride.  4.5 stars!

1.5.2019 - The Dreamers

 thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Karen Thompson Walker for the opportunity to read her new book - 4.5 stars for a beautifully-written story!

In a small college town in California, a girl comes back to her dorm and falls asleep.  Her roommate, Mei, thinks she's just sleeping in and tiptoes around her in the morning.  But she doesn't wake up.  Not even the doctors can wake her up.  Soon another girl falls asleep.  Before long, the dorm is on lockdown while doctors scramble to figure out what's causing the illness and what to do about it.  Mei, who has never fit in at school, soon gravitates to another different student, Matthew.

Those affected by the illness are many - a single dad leaving his two girls alone, two professors and their new baby, the list goes on.  As does the mystery.  All of the sleeping appear to have more active brain movement than has ever seen before but what are they dreaming?  Is it of the past or the future or nothing at all?

The way this book is written is stunning.  I loved the parts about the new life growing intermixed with the chaos of the illness.

Highly recommended!

1.3.2019 - Her One Mistake

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Heidi Perks for the opportunity to read this thriller - it kept me glued until the end - a 5 star read!

A parent's worse nightmare - Charlotte is at a crowded school fair with her 3 children and a friend's daughter.  She turns away for a moment while the older kids go on a ride and just that quick, the friend's daughter is gone.  Panic sets in, of course, but no one can find Alice anywhere.  Charlotte has to tell her friend, Harriet, that her daughter is missing.  Harriet was exceptionally close to Alice and this was the first time she had left Alice with someone else - Charlotte was her only friend in town.  Soon both Harriet and the town turn against Charlotte.

Enough said because all the dynamics of these relationships need to play out as you read it for full effect.  There were moments when I gasped out loud at the plot twists.  The story is told in the voices of both Charlotte and Harriet in both Now and Before.

Highly recommended!

1.1.2019 - The Red Address Book

 thanks to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Sofia Lundberg for the opportunity to read and review this book - I loved it!

Doris is 96 years old and living alone in an apartment in Sweden.  She lives for her weekly Skype calls with her grandniece, Jenny, who lives in America.  When Doris was young, her father gave her a red address book and she has kept track of all the people who have made an impact in her life, for better or worse.  She also crosses off the name and puts "dead" beside those who have died, which at her age is many.  She realizes that all these people and her stories are important so she starts writing down her history with these people to give Jenny.

This is one of those heartbreaking yet uplifting stories that should make everyone sit up and pay attention to the older folks in their lives - those who made an impact on us and whose stories should not fade away.  I loved Doris and her stories!