Pub Day Reviews – Thriller Edition #bookreviews #thrillers #mysterythrillers

Thank you PRH Audio, partner for the ALC of What Have You Done and Knopf, partner for the advanced e-copy of Like Mother, Like Daughter in exchange for my honest reviews.

 

It’s been a while since I’ve read either of these authors & I’m not sure why…but after flying through both these books, you can bet I’ll be checking out both authors’ backlist to see what I missed! ⁣

 

 

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE by Shari Lapena

Published: July 30, Pamela Dorman Books / PRH Audio

 

Summary:

The new binge-worthy novel from the “queen of the one-sit read,” and New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. But this morning that will change. And one innocent question could be deadly. What have you done?

The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked.

But Diana Brewer isn’t lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer.

How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects, a place of fear and paranoia.

Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers.

 

My thoughts:

I loved how this story puts you right into the meat of the story…this totally hooked me immediately and had me listening to it in just one go! Even with a lot of characters, I felt each one was so well-crafted that I was never confused by who was who. Each one had their secrets, making them all potential suspects. The small-town setting was so atmospheric and the ghost stories just added that little extra to make this story stand out. This whodunit was so clever and kept me guessing all the way through…I loved it!⁣
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Audio thoughts:

The narration on this was amazing. All three narrators – January LaVoy, Jorjeana Marie and Barrett Leddy – did a fantastic job bringing this one to life. ⁣

 

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LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER by Kimberly McCreight

Published: July 30, Knopf

 

Summary:

A daughter races to uncover her mother’s secret life in the wake of her disappearance in this thriller.

When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom’s bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened.

But what? The polar opposite of Cleo, whose “out of control” emotions and “unsafe” behavior have created a seemingly unbridgeable rift between mother and daughter, Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks.

Kat has been lying. She’s not just a lawyer; she’s her firm’s fixer. She’s damn good at it, too. Growing up in a dangerous group home taught her how to think fast, stay calm under pressure, and recognize a real threat when she sees one. And in the days leading up her disappearance, Kat has become aware of multiple threats: demands for money from her unfaithful soon-to-be ex-husband; evidence that Cleo has slipped back into a relationship that’s far riskier than she understands; and menacing anonymous messages from her past—all of which she’s kept hidden from Cleo . . .

Like Mother, Like Daughter is a thrilling novel of emotional suspense that questions the damaging fictions we cling to and the hard truths we avoid. Above all, it’s a love story between a mother and a daughter, each determined to save the other before it’s too late.

 

My thoughts:

This is such a clever, multi-layered story that kept me on edge the entire time. I loved all the different plot lines that the author was able to weave together along with the different themes she brings to the plate. While I am not a mother myself, I still felt that the relationships she crafted between mother and daughter felt real & very relatable. It’s that balance McCreight is able to walk between a well-thought-out mystery and the emotional pull you feel for the characters that really keeps you invested here. ⁣

 

 

Have you read anything from either of these authors or do you plan to read these two books? 

 

 

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