Always With a Book

k2reader November 17, 2024

Perfect Shot by Steve Urszenyi #bookreview #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: September 24, 2024 (Originally Published 2023) Summary: Special Agent Alexandra Martel has put her days on the battlefield behind her. Charming and disarming, relentless and lethal, she earned a reputation as one of the most renowned and decorated Army snipers in the service before stepping away. But when Alex, now an FBI special agent on loan…

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k2reader November 17, 2024

Murder Town by Shelley Burr #bookreview #series

Thank you William Morrow Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Murder Town in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: November 5, 2024 Summary: Gemma Guillory knows her once-charming town is now remembered for one reason, and one reason only. That three innocent people died. That the last stop on the Rainier Ripper’s trail of death seventeen years ago was her innocuous little teashop. She knows…

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k2reader November 16, 2024

Mini Reviews: Thriller Edition #bookreviews #thrillers #minireviews

Thank you Viking Books, partner for the finished copy of Someone in the Attic and William Morrow Books, partner for the finished copy of This is Why We Lied in exchange for my honest reviews. I purchased the audiobook of This is Why We Lied for my collection. These are two thrillers that I reviewed on my Instagram page the week they came out but realized I never shared…

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k2reader November 16, 2024

Month in Review: October 2024

October was another busy month. I’m still trying to figure out how to manage everything with the two new puppies…while they are a lot of fun, they have completely disrupted our normal routine around here! But, we are getting in lots of walks, providing the weather is good, so I am getting in some quality audiobook-time, so there’s that at least! I’m still chipping away at reviews and am…

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k2reader November 12, 2024

The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of The Fortune Seller in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: February 13, 2024 Summary: Middle-class Rosie Macalister has worked for years to fit in with her wealthy friends on the Yale equestrian team, but when she comes back from her junior year abroad…

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k2reader November 12, 2024

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison #bookreview

Thank you Over The River PR, #partner, for the advanced copy of A Very Bad Thing in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: November 1, 2024 Summary: From New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a taut thriller about one author at the pinnacle of her career, whose past threatens to destroy everything she has—and everyone she knows. A great writer knows when to deliver a…

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k2reader November 11, 2024

Mini-Reviews – Gothic Mystery Edition #bookreviews #gothicmystery #audiobooks

These are both books from my own collection. I borrowed the audiobooks from the library. I’ve got 2 reviews to share with you – one a reread & one a new-to-me book – both perfect for this time of year! ⁣ REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier Published: January 1, 2006 (originally published in Aug 1938) / Harper Collins Summary: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley…

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k2reader November 4, 2024

Drop Dead Sisters by Amelia Diane Coombs #bookfeature #bookreview

Thank you MB Communications & Amazon Publishing, #partner, for the finished copy of Drop Dead Sisters in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mindy’s Book Studio Published: November 1, 2024 Summary: “Compulsively readable, Drop Dead Sisters is perfect for readers who love shows like Bad Sisters and Dead to Me. A mystery about three estranged sisters who accidentally kill someone? Yes, please.” —Mindy Kaling Three sisters reunite on a family vacation and…

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k2reader November 1, 2024

Indigenous Reads Stack #bookstack #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

November is Native American Heritage Month & I have been collecting these books to read this month. I may not get to them all, but at least I have options. I also have a few audiobooks not shown but listed below. ⁣ 🐍 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ⁣Edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. ⁣ 🌲𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙖𝙬 𝙃𝙚𝙧⁣ by Marcie R. Rendon ⁣…

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k2reader October 31, 2024

The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche #bookreview

Thank you to Kathleen Carter Communications, Park Row Books, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Stone Witch of Florence in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Park Row Books Published: October 8, 2024 Summary: Ancient sorcery. Magic gemstones. Only one woman can save a city in ruins… 1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile.…

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k2reader October 30, 2024

The Split by Kit Frick #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Atria Books #partner, for the advanced copy of The Split in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: February 13, 2024 Summary: Jane Connor is resigned to being the “plain Jane” of her family—pragmatic and dependable—so unlike her beautiful and impetuous younger sister Esme. When Esme calls Jane during a flash summer storm,…

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k2reader October 29, 2024

Murder Road by Simone St. James #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Berkley Pub, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Murder Road in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: Berkley / PRH Audio Published: March 5, 2024 Summary: A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel. July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re…

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k2reader October 28, 2024

Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand #bookreview #audiobook #shortstory

I obtained this audiobook through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published: September 1, 2024 Summary: When her boyfriend bails at the last minute, a New York woman embarks on their couples’ cruise alone to find that maybe the person she was supposed to fall in love with was herself. After a string of bad dates and no prospects, Sophia Othonos has finally hit the jackpot: an actual…

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k2reader October 28, 2024

The Clinic by Cate Quinn #bookreview

Thank you Shelf Awareness/Sourcebooks #partner, for the advanced copy of The Clinic in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Published: January 23, 2024 Summary: From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth.…

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k2reader October 24, 2024

Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold #bookreview #series

Thank you to Bookouture, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of Twelve Secrets in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Bookouture Published: August 2, 2024 Summary: I should hate you. I should want you dead for what you did to my sweet, blue-eyed boy. But you’re the only person who can give me the answers I need. What really happened the night you killed him? It’s twenty years since my…

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k2reader October 21, 2024

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins #bookreview

Thank you Mariner Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Blue Hour in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mariner Books Published: October 29, 2024 Summary: The spellbinding new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Girl on the Train. An isolated Scottish island, accessible to the mainland only twelve hours a day. A famous (some might say infamous) artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared after visiting her…

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k2reader October 18, 2024

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press #partner for the finished copy of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: October 8, 2024 Summary: It’s never too late for new beginnings. On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs—an active senior community…

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k2reader October 18, 2024

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton #bookreview #audiobook #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley / Blackstone Audio Published: April 9, 2019 Summary: In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life – and heart – to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of Next Year in Havana. Beautiful. Daring. Deadly. The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz…

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k2reader October 17, 2024

What the Nanny Saw by Kaira Rouda #bookreview #series

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers The Pulse, Bookouture, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of What the Nanny Saw in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Bookouture Published: November 13, 2024 Summary: I keep all her secrets. She thinks she can trust me… Cecilia has it all. The house on the beach. The cute figure. The beautiful baby. But she’s a long way from perfect. She’s let me into her gorgeous house…

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k2reader October 14, 2024

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and MB Communications & Random House, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Puzzle Box in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Random House / PRH Audio Published: October 8, 2024 Summary: It is the Year of the Wood Dragon, and the ingenious Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo, Japan to open the legendary Dragon Box, a mysterious nineteenth-century…

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k2reader October 14, 2024

Month in Review: September 2024

September was busy…but good. I managed to get a lot of reading in, lots of audiobooks of course, but my book blanket has taken a back seat. It’s just too hard to work on that with two new puppies who are into everything! Oh well. Maybe I’ll get back to it at some point. I have steadily been working on both getting caught up on reviews and getting my…

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k2reader October 11, 2024

Dearest by Jacquie Walters #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @carriereadsthem_all & Mulholland Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Dearest in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mulholland Books / Hachette Audio Published: September 17, 2024 Summary: A new mom in need of help opens her door to her long-estranged mother—only to invite something much darker inside—in this “fast-paced and frightening debut” (Rachel Harrison) about the long shadows cast by family…

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k2reader October 11, 2024

Red River Road by Anna Downes #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Red River Road in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: August 27, 2024 Summary: Anna Downes’s extraordinary next thriller Red River Road follows a woman desperate to discover what happened to her sister on a solo road trip through the Australian outback. Katy Sweeney is looking for…

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k2reader October 9, 2024

Triple Cross by Alex Cross #bookreview #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Published: October 31, 2022 Summary: Detective Alex Cross hunts down a serial killer who’s murdering entire families—and who will next be coming for Cross. A methodical killer is targeting multigenerational families in and around Washington, DC—striking under cover of darkness, triggering no alarms, leaving no physical evidence of any kind. Alex isn’t the only one investigating. Also…

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k2reader October 7, 2024

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Penguin Books Published: January 31, 2012 (first published 2010) Summary: It is the sweltering summer of 1997, and Karen is a straight-laced, straight-A university student. When she meets the impossibly glamorous Biba, a bohemian orphan who lives in a crumbling old mansion in Highgate with her enigmatic brother Rex, she is soon drawn into their world — but something…

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k2reader October 7, 2024

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Briar Club in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my collection. Publisher: William Morrow/Harper Audio Published: July 9, 2024 Summary: A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the…

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k2reader October 6, 2024

Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / HarperAudio, for the ALC and Lavender Public Relations & Ecco Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Book and Dagger in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Ecco Books / HarperAudio Published: September 24, 2024 Summary: The riveting, untold story of the scholars, librarians, and university professors who were recruited as spies during WWII and helped turn the tide of the war At the start…

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k2reader October 6, 2024

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley #bookreview

Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of The Midnight Feast in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: June 18, 2024 Summary: Secrets. Lies. Murder. Let the festivities begin… It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor…

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k2reader October 2, 2024

The Doll’s House: A Short Story by Lisa Unger #bookreview #shortstory

I obtained this e-book through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published: September 12, 2024 Summary: A widowed mother, ready to give love another chance, moves into her fiancé’s old family home with her teenage daughter. But as they try to build a future together, the past refuses to let go in this haunting short story from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger. When Jules first meets the handsome…

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k2reader October 1, 2024

The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose #bookreview #audiobook #holidayread #novella

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio,#partner for the advanced listening copy of The Mistletoe Mystery in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Published: October 1, 2024 Summary: Molly the Maid has a whole new mystery to solve in this heartwarming novella from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest. Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child,…

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k2reader September 30, 2024

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Celadon Books #partner, for the advanced copy of The Sequel in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Celadon Books / Macmillan Audio Published: October 1, 2024 Summary: After the “insanely readable” (Stephen King) and “perfectly told” (Malcolm Gladwell) New York Times bestseller The Plot comes Jean Hanff Korelitz’s equally captivating new novel: The Sequel. Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business—that is to say, she’s taken…

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k2reader September 30, 2024

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Marysue Rucci Books #partner, for the advanced copy of The Night We Lost Him in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Marysue Rucci Books / Simon and Schuster Audio Published: September 17, 2024 Summary: Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal… Liam Noone was many things…

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k2reader September 30, 2024

Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass #bookreview

Thank you to Thrillerbookloversthepulse, Graydon House, #partner, for an advanced e-copy of Nothing Ever Happens Here in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Graydon House Published: February 11, 2025 Summary: Nothing ever happens in small towns… When Shelby Dawson survives a harrowing attack that should have left her dead, she tries to move past it—for herself, and for her family. Fifteen months later, with the help of her best…

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k2reader September 29, 2024

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and Berkley Pub, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Hitchcock Hotel in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Berkley / PRH Audio Published: September 24, 2024 Summary: A Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda invites old friends for a weekend stay at his secluded themed hotel in this fiendishly clever, suspenseful new novel. Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan.…

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k2reader September 29, 2024

Once More from the Top by Emily Layden #bookreview

Thank you to Mariner Books, #partner, for an advanced e-copy of Once More from the Top in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mariner Books Published: September 10, 2024 Summary: A propulsive, layered novel about the meteoric rise of a legendary pop star and the secret she’s kept hidden for fifteen years, for fans of Megan Abbott and Daisy Jones & the Six. Everyone in America knows Dylan Read,…

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k2reader September 25, 2024

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy #bookreview

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Christmas Countdown in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Published: October 22, 2024 Summary: From the author of The Christmas Wager comes a charming holiday rom-com about a young, recently heartbroken woman who is tasked by her sister to complete Advent calendar challenges in the lead up to Christmas to reignite her belief in herself, the…

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k2reader September 24, 2024

Enemy of the State by Robert Swartwood #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers The Pulse, Blackstone Publishing, #partner, for an ALC of Enemy of the State in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Published: August 20, 2024 Summary: From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood comes Enemy of the State, the propulsive, thrilling, and much anticipated follow-up to The Killing Room … The world believed Daniel Burke was dead. At least, the few people in the…

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k2reader September 23, 2024

Hometown Vendetta by Traci Hunter Abramson #bookfeature #upcomingrelease

Thank you to the author for the gifted copy. Today, I’m featuring a book that is coming out next week. I met Traci back in May at Thrillerfest and then had the opportunity to actually spend some time with her last month at Bouchercon. I am thrilled to have this opportunity not only to have my hands on her latest book, but to help spread the word!!! This is the…

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k2reader September 16, 2024

The Summer of Love and Death by Marcy McCreary #bookfeature #guestpost

Thank you to the author for the gifted copy. Please join me in welcoming Marcy McCreary to Always With a Book. Marcy’s latest book, The Summer of Love and Death, came out last month. I hope to read it soon, but for now, please enjoy this guest post where she discusses how she came up with the title – something she is often asked at book events. Publisher: CamCat Books…

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k2reader September 16, 2024

The Examiner by Janice Hallett #bookreview

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Examiner in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books Published: September 10, 2024 Summary: Told in emails, text messages, and essays, this innovative pause-resister follows a group of students in an art master’s program that goes dangerously awry, from the internationally bestselling “new queen of crime” (Electric Literature) Janice Hallett. Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University’s new…

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k2reader September 15, 2024

Month in Review: August 2024

August was a month of adjustments as we brought home 2 new puppies! Welcome chaos!!! It’s been fun but hectic and I have never been so tired in my life! The puppies are super cute but can also be demons…but we love them anyway. Our older dog isn’t quite a fan just yet…hopefully once the puppies are a bit bigger, she will be more amenable to them! Needless to…

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k2reader September 13, 2024

Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jonasson #bookreview #translatedbook

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Death at the Sanatorium in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: September 10, 2024 Summary: Fresh off his career-changing standalone co-written with Icelandic PM, Reykjavík, #1 Icelandic bestseller Jonasson presents a riveting new thriller spinoff from The Darkness, soon to be a TV series. 1983 At a former sanatorium in the north of Iceland, now a hospital ward,…

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k2reader September 12, 2024

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and Berkley Pub, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of So Thirsty in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Berkley / PRH Audio Published: September 10, 2024 Summary: A woman must learn to take life by the throat after a night out leads to irrevocable changes in this juicy, thrilling novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Such Sharp Teeth and Black Sheep.…

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k2reader September 12, 2024

On the Run by Iris Johansen #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @NovelSuspects & Grand Central Publishing, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of On the Run in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio Published: September 3, 2024 Summary: #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen introduces a bold new heroine—and her search-and-rescue dog—as Kira Drake begins an international search for an elusive killer. Kira Drake has come to Paris…

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k2reader September 9, 2024

Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Agony Hill in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my collection. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Brilliance Audio Published: August 6, 2024 Summary: Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a new historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor’s…

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k2reader September 9, 2024

Mud Season by Sarah Stewart Taylor #bookreview #shortstory

I obtained this e-book through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: June 11, 2024 Summary: Enter the world of 1960s Bethany, Vermont in this suspenseful short story featuring characters from the forthcoming Agony Hill. It’s mud season in Bethany, Vermont. As spring nears, the thawing ground and melting snow-pack has created muddy, impassable roads. It’s not unusual to see a driver pushing their car or going for help.…

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k2reader September 8, 2024

Flashback by Iris Johansen #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Grand Central Publishing, #partner, for the finished copy of Flashback in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio Published: June 25, 2024 Summary: Kendra Michaels uses her heightened powers of deduction to draw out a serial killer who has not been seen or heard from in over fifteen years. Chloe and Sloane Morgan were only children when…

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k2reader September 8, 2024

The Return by Rachel Harrison #bookreview #audiobook #bookclubbook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Penguin Audio Published: March 24, 2020 Summary: A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut. Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return – except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out…

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k2reader September 6, 2024

Dangerous Play by Elise Hart Kipness #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers The Pulse, Thomas & Mercer, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of Dangerous Play in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: September 17, 2024 Summary: After a tumultuous murder case that almost cost more than her job, sports reporter Kate Green is back on assignment covering women’s Olympic soccer. Between her experience with athletic stardom and days playing with Savannah Baker, head…

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k2reader September 5, 2024

Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton #bookreview #audiobook #blogtour #bookseries

Thank you Berkley Books, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Talking to Strangers in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: Berkley Books / Penguin Audio Published: August 27, 2024 Summary: Detective Elise King’s investigation into a woman’s murder is getting derailed by a reporter who insists on doing her own investigation in this nail-biting mystery from the author of Local Gone Missing.…

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