Review: The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Title: The Immortalists Author: Chloe Benjamin Published: January 2018, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  If you were told the date of your death, how would it shape your present? It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will…

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Review: The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Title: The Wife Between Us Author: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen Published: January 2018, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A novel of suspense that explores the complexities of marriage and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love. When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with…

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Review: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Title: The Woman in the Window Author: A.J. Finn Published: January 2018, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 448 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  What did she see? It’s been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, too terrified to step outside. Anna’s lifeline to the real…

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Review: The Stolen Angel by Sara Blaedel

Title: The Stolen Angel Author: Sara Blaedel Series: Louise Rick, #6 / The Camilla Trilogy, #3 Published: January 2018, Grand Central Publishing Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  #1 internationally bestselling author Sara Blaedel returns with a captivating new suspense novel: Detective Louise Rick encounters her most troubling case yet as she goes up against an extremely wealthy-but psychologically twisted-sociopath targeting vulnerable young women. THE STOLEN ANGEL When…

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Review: The Running Girl by Sara Blaedel

Title: The Running Girl Author: Sara Blaedel Series: Louise Rick, #5 / The Camilla Trilogy, #2 Published: January 2018, Grand Central Publishing Format: ARC Paperback, 448 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  #1 internationally bestselling author Sara Blaedel is back with a powerful and twist-filled new suspense novel featuring detective Louise Rick. THE RUNNING GIRL Louise gets a call from her son, Jonas. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: A school party has…

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Review: The Night Women by Sara Blaedel

Title: The Night Women Author: Sara Blaedel Series: Louise Rick, #4 / The Camilla Trilogy #1 Published: January 2018, Grand Central Publishing Format: ARC Paperback, 432 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  #1 internationally bestselling author Sara Blaedel delivers an electrifying, page-turning new novel in which detective Louise Rick confronts a case that will change her life forever. THE NIGHT WOMEN A journey to a new life or a prison of despair…

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First Book of the Year 2018

Each year, Sheila over at Book Journey makes a big deal over what the first book she’ll read will be for the new year and once again she’s asked us to join her. I have joined in for the last 3 years and it’s always a lot of fun seeing what book everyone selects. Be sure to stop by Sheila’s post to see the collage she makes of everyone participating!…

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Month in Review: December 2017

How is it that we are not only at the end of December already, but also at the end of 2017??? This year has flown by!!! This month ended up being busier than I anticipated, so the blogging/reading goals I had intended on reaching didn’t quite happen – oh well. Life happens, right? Here are my reading stats for December! Books read: 16 Books I read: Cold Blood — Robert Bryndza (audio…

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Review: Killman Creek by Rachel Caine (audio)

Title: Killman Creek Author: Rachel Caine Series: Stillhouse Lake, #2 Narrator: Emily Sutton-Smith, Lauren Ezzo, Will Ropp, Dan John Miller Published: December 2017, Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer Length: 11 hours 55 minutes Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC E-copy via Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s…

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Review: Her Last Day by T.R. Ragan (audio)

Title: Her Last Day Author: T.R. Ragan Series: Jessie Cole, #1 Narrator: Kate Rudd Published: October 2017, Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer Length: 8 hours 50 minutes / 316 pages Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher Summary:  In this page-turner of a thriller by bestselling author T.R. Ragan, unlikely partners PI Jessie Cole and crime reporter Ben Morrison search for clues…

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Review: Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah

Title: Keep Her Safe Author: Sophie Hannah Published: September 2017, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  She’s the most famous murder victim in America. What if she’s not dead? Pushed to the breaking point, Cara Burrows flees her home and family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can’t afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is…

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Review: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Title: Little Fires Everywhere Author: Celeste Ng Published: September 2017, Penguin Press Format: ARC Paperback, 338 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned — from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle…

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Review: Christmas in London by Anita Hughes

Title: Christmas in London Author: Anita Hughes Published: October 2017, St. Martin’s Griffin Format: Paperback, 288 pages Source: Personal copy Summary: A charming, glamourous love story set at Claridge’s in London during the magical week before Christmas starring a sweet NYC baker and the Cooking Channel Producer who could change her life. It’s a week before Christmas and Louisa Graham is working twelve hour shifts at a bakery on Manhattan’s…

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Review: The Christmas Gate 2 by T.A. Cline

Title: The Christmas Gate 2 Author: T.A. Cline Series: The Christmas Gate, #2 Published: November 2017, Create Space Format: Paperback, 150 pages Source: Author Summary:  “I became paralyzed with fear. Tears started to run down my cheeks as I sat motionless on the bed facing the locked door.” Patty had slowly opened up to Bob. She thinks she might be falling in love with him. Even so, he has gone…

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Review: A Bella Flora Christmas by Wendy Wax

Title: A Bella Flora Christmas Author: Wendy Wax Series: Ten Beach Road, #5.5 Published: November 2017, Berkley Books Format: ARC E-copy, 87 pages Source: Netgalley Summary:  A TEN BEACH ROAD NOVELLA The ladies of Ten Beach Road are home for the holidays in this brand-new novella. Although their lives have changed since their first desperate renovation of Bella Flora, friends Madeline, Avery, and Nicole have always been there for each…

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Review: One Good Thing by Wendy Wax (audio)

Title: One Good Thing Author: Wendy Wax Series: Ten Beach Road, #5 Narrator: Amy Rubinate Published: April 2017, Penguin Audio Length: 11 hours 6 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Summary:  From the USA Today bestselling author of Sunshine Beach, a story of four women trying to rebuild more than their lives… Before you can fix it up, you might have to tear it down… Embroiled in a battle to…

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Review: The Burning Girl by Claire Messud

Title: The Burning Girl Author: Claire Messud Published: August 2017, W.W. Norton Company Format: ARC Paperback, 247 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A bracing, hypnotic coming-of-age story about the bond of best friends, from the New York Times best-selling author of The Emperor’s Children. Julia and Cassie have been friends since nursery school. They have shared everything, including their desire to escape the stifling limitations of their birthplace, the quiet town…

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Review: Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini

Title: Enchantress of Numbers Author: Jennifer Chiaverini Published: December 2017, Dutton Books Format: ARC Paperback, 448 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini illuminates the fascinating life of Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace–Lord Byron’s daughter, the world’s first computer programmer, and a woman whose exceptional contributions to science and technology have been too long unsung.  The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant,…

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Review: My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

Title: My Absolute Darling Author: Gabriel Tallent Published: August 2017, Riverhead Books Format: ARC Paperback, 417 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At fourteen, she roams the woods along the northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small…

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Review: The Silent Children by Carol Wyer

Title: The Silent Children Author: Carol Wyer Series: DI Robyn Carten, #4 Published: December 2017, Bookouture Format: ARC E-book, 360 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  The boy studied the bruise turning yellow at the base of his neck. With quick fingers his mother tightened his tie, and pulled his collar high above it. Her eyes alone said, We will not speak of this… Years later, a man is found…

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Short & Sweet Review: No Easy Target by Iris Johansen (audio)

Title: No Easy Target Author: Iris Johansen Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers Published: April 2017, Recorded Books Length: 13 hours 8 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Summary:  New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen returns with another thriller, No Easy Target Margaret Douglas has worked hard to put her painful past behind her. Raised off the grid in an abusive home, her only escape was the nearby forest where she sought…

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Book Spotlight & Excerpt: The Wake Up by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Title: The Wake Up Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde Published: December 2017, Lake Union Publishing Format: Paperback, 332 pages Summary:  From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes a hauntingly emotional novel of how one man’s life changes forever when he rediscovers his ability to feel the pain of others. Something has been asleep in forty-year-old cattle rancher Aiden Delacorte for a long time. It all comes back in…

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Review: Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine (audio)

Title: Stillhouse Lake Author: Rachel Caine Series: Stillhouse Lake, #1 Narrator: Emily Sutton-Smith Published: July 2017, Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer Length: 10 hours 4 minutes / 300 pages Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – Paperback via Publisher Summary:  Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s…

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Review: The Birthday Girl by Sue Fortin (audio)

Title: The Birthday Girl Author: Sue Fortin Narrator: Penelope Rawlins Published: November 2017, HarperCollins / HarperImpulse Length: 10 hours 23 minutes /  364 pages Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC E-copy via Netgalley Summary:  Dear Carys, Zoe and Andrea Come and join me for my fortieth birthday adventure weekend, full of mysteries and surprises the like of which you can’t imagine. When Joanne’s friends reluctantly…

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Review: Close to Me by Amanda Reynolds

Title: Close to Me Author: Amanda Reynolds Published: December 2017, Quercus Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Jo Harding can’t remember the last year of her life. And her husband wants to keep it that way. When Jo falls down the stairs at home, she wakes up in the hospital with partial amnesia. In fact, she finds that she’s lost an entire year of memories. She can’t remember…

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Review: Sunshine Beach by Wendy Wax (audio)

Title: Sunshine Beach Author: Wendy Wax Series: Ten Beach Road, #4 Narrator: Amy Rubinate Published: June 2016, Penguin Audio / Berkley Length: 12 hours 52 minutes / 420 pages Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC Paperback via Publicist Summary:  In this brand-new summer read by the USA Today bestselling author of The House on Mermaid Point, three women join forces to bring a historic seaside…

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Month in Review: November 2017

Goodbye November … Hello December!!! I can’t believe it’s December already … 1 month left in 2017! How is that possible? This past month was used as a catch-up month – I got some review written that were long past due and read/listened to some books that had been sitting on my shelves for a while. But the biggest news is that I gave my blog a make-over … and…

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Review: I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen (audio)

Title: I Know a Secret Author: Tess Gerritsen Series: Rizzoli & Isles, #12 Narrator: Tanya Eby Published: August 2017, Brilliance Audio Length: 9 hours 9 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Summary: In the twelfth gripping novel featuring Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles, the crime-solving duo—featured in the smash-hit TNT series Rizzoli & Isles—are faced with the gruesomely staged murder of a horror film producer.  The crime scene is unlike…

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Review: Dying Breath by Helen Phifer

Title: Dying Breath  Author: Helen Phifer  Series: Detective Lucy Harwin, #2  Published: November 2017, Bookouture  Format: ARC E-copy, 285 pages  Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary: Take a breath. Pray it’s not your last. Just a few months after a terrifying case that nearly took her life, Detective Lucy Harwin is back with her squad in the coastal town of Brooklyn Bay – and this time, she’s faced with a case…

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Review: The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea (audio)

Title: The Girl Who Was Taken Author: Charlie Done Narrator: Nina Alvamar Published: April 2017, Recorded Books Length: 10 hours 48 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Summary:  Charlie Donlea, one of the most original new voices in suspense, returns with a haunting novel, laden with twists and high tension, about two abducted girls one who returns, one who doesn’t and the forensics expert searching for answers. Nicole Cutty and…

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Review: The Sleeping Beauty Killer by Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke (audio)

Title: The Sleeping Beauty Killer Author: Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke Series: Under Suspicion, #3 Narrator: Jan Maxwell Published: November 2016, Simon & Schuster Audio Length: 8 hours 39 minutes Source: Library Summary:  The third thrilling installment in the bestselling Under Suspicion series from #1 New York Times bestselling author and “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke—television producer Laurie Moran puts everything on the line to…

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Review: A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell (audio)

Title: A Simple Favor  Author: Darcey Bell  Narrator: Andi Arndt, Xe Sands, Matthew Waterson  Published: March 2017, HarperAudio  Length: 8 hours 55 minutes  Source: Library Summary: She’s your best friend. She knows all your secrets. That’s why she’s so dangerous. A single mother’s life is turned upside down when her best friend vanishes in this chilling debut thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.…

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Review: Little Secrets by Anna Snoekstra

Title: Little Secrets  Author: Anna Snoekstra  Published: October 2017, MIRA  Format: ARC E-copy, 336 pages  Source: Netgalley  Summary: What happens when ambition trumps the truth? A town reeling in the wake of tragedy An arsonist is on the loose in Colmstock, Australia, most recently burning down the town’s courthouse and killing a young boy who was trapped inside.. An aspiring journalist desperate for a story The clock is ticking for…

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Review: Winter Solstice by Elin Hildebrand (audio)

Title: Winter Solstice Author: Elin Hilderbrand Series: Winter, #4 Narrator: Erin Bennett Published: October 2017, Hachette Audio Length: 8 hours 41 minutes Source: Library Summary: Raise one last glass with the Quinn Family at the Winter Street Inn. It’s been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that’s about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan,…

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Review: The Watcher by Ross Armstrong

Title: The Watcher  Author: Ross Armstrong Published: April 2017, MIRA Books Format: Hardcover, 370 pages Source: Publisher Summary:   She’s watching you, but who’s watching her?   Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can’t help spying on her neighbours. Until one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly…

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Review: Odd Child Out by Gilly Macmillan

Title:Odd Child Out Author:Gilly Macmillan Series:Jim Clemo, #2 Published:October 2017, William Morrow Paperbacks Format:ARC Paperback, 432 pages Source:Publisher How well do you know the people you love…? Best friends Noah Sandler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable.  But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol’s Feeder Canal, Abdi can’t–or won’t–tell anyone what happened. Just back from a mandatory leave following his last case, Detective Jim Clemo is now…

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Review: Until I Met Her by Natalie Barelli (audio)

Title:Until I Met Her Author:Natalie Barelli Series:Emma Fern, #1 Narrator:Kate Rudd Published:July 2017, Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer Length:8 hours 42 minutes / 304 pages Source:Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC E-copy via Netgalley Beatrice Johnson Greene, a bestselling crime writer, has an unusual favor to ask. When a chance encounter brings Emma Fern into her life, she thinks she’s found just the person for…

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Review: Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner (audio)

Title:Persons Unknown Author:Susie Steiner Series:DS Manon, #2 Narrator:Juanita McMahon Published:July 2017, Random House Audio / Random House Length:11 hours 46 minutes / 368 pages Source:Audio – Personal copy via Audio / Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher In this brilliant crime novel from the author of Missing, Presumed, a detective investigates her most personal case yet: a high-profile murder in which her own family falls under suspicion.   As dusk…

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Review: Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon (audio)

Title:Flight of Dreams Author:Ariel Lawhon Narrator:John Lee Published:February 2016, Random House Audio / Doubleday Length:12 hours 45 minutes / 336 pages Source:Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC E-copy via Netgalley   On the evening of May 3rd, 1937, ninety-seven people board the Hindenburg for its final, doomed flight to Lakehurst, New Jersey. Among them are a frightened stewardess who is not what she seems; the steadfast…

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Review: Three Days and a Life by Pierre Lemaitre

Title:Three Days and a Life Author:Pierre Lemaitre Published:November 2017, MacLehose Press/Quercus Format:ARC Paperback, 208 pages Source:Publisher   In 1999, in the small provincial town of Beauval, France, twelve-year-old Antoine Courtin accidentally kills a young neighbor boy in the woods near his home. Panicked, he conceals the body and to his relief–and ongoing shame–he is never suspected of any connection to the child’s disappearance.  But the boy’s death continues to haunt…

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Review: The Missing by C.L. Taylor

Title: The Missing Author: C.L. Taylor Published: November 2017, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: ARC Paperback, 496 pages Source: Publisher A harrowing psychological thriller about a missing teenage boy whose mother must expose the secrets within their own family if she wants to find her son—perfect for fans of Reconstructing Amelia. You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them. Or do you…? When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes…

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Review: Little Deaths by Emma Flint (audio)

Title:Little Deaths Author:Emma Flint Narrator:Lauren Fortgang, Graham Halstead Published:January 2017, Hachette Audio Length:10 hours 17 minutes Source:Library Inspired by a true story, Little Deaths, like celebrated novels by Sarah Waters and Megan Abbott, is compelling literary crime fiction that explores the capacity for good and evil in us all. It’s 1965 in a tight-knit working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York, and Ruth Malone – a single mother who works long…

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Review: Sleep Tight by Caroline Mitchell (audio)

Title:Sleep Tight Author:Caroline Mitchell Series:Detective Ruby Preston, #2 Narrator:Emma Newman Published:July 2017, Audible Studios Length:10 hours 10 minutes Source:Personal copy via Audible Close your eyes … Just pray you don’t wake up. A killer stalks the streets of East London. All over the area, murdered young women are discovered, their bodies posed into disturbing recreations of fairytale princesses. Detective Ruby Preston is determined to hunt down the murderer who is…

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Month in Review: October 2017

Goodbye October … Hello November!!! I can’t believe it’s November already … 2 months left in 2017! This year is flying by!!! It was another good month of reading and I did a pretty good job of balancing it between review books and library books/audio books I’ve been wanting to read. Now I just just to add in some of my own physical books into the mix and I’ll be…

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Review: Even If It Kills Her by Kate White

Title:Even If It Kills Her Author:Kate White Series:Bailey Weggins, #7 Published:October 2017, Harper Paperbacks Format:ARC Paperback, 448 pages Source:Publisher   Kate White returns to her New York Times bestselling Bailey Weggins’ Mystery series, with this favorite true-crime journalist turned sleuth’s most chilling case to date. Bailey Weggins’ great new friend in college, Jillian Lowe, had everything going for her. Pretty, popular, and whip-smart, she lit up any room that she…

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Review: The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain (audio)

Title:The Stolen Marriage Author:Diane Chamberlain Narrator:Susan Bennett Published:October 2017, Macmillan Audio / St. Martin’s Press Length:14 hours 6 minutes / 384 pages Source:Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC E-copy via Netgalley; Finished copy via Publisher   In 1944, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly ends her engagement to the love of her life when she marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina, a small town…

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Review: Dead Souls by Angela Marsons (audio)

Title:Dead Souls Author:Angela Marsons Series:DI Kim Stone, #6 Narrator:Jan Cramer Published:May 2017, Bookouture Length:10 hours 14 minutes Source:Personal copy via Audible   The truth was dead and buried…until now. When a collection of human bones is unearthed during a routine archaeological dig, a Black Country field suddenly becomes a complex crime scene for Detective Kim Stone. As the bones are sorted, it becomes clear that the grave contains more than…

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Review: The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Title:The Dark Lake Author:Sarah Bailey Series:Gemma Woodstock, #1 Published:October 2017, Grand Central Publishing Format:ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source:Publisher   In a suspense thriller to rival Paula Hawkins and Tana French, a detective with secrets of her own hunts the killer of a woman who was the glamorous star of their high school. Rose was lit by the sun, her beautiful face giving nothing away. Even back then, she was a…

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Review: The Lost Child by Patricia Gibney

Title:The Lost Child Author:Patricia Gibney Series:Detective Lottie Parker, #3 Published:October 2017, Bookouture Format:ARC E-copy, 483 pages Source:Netgalley via Publisher   They placed me in here and threw away the key. I look down at the gown they’ve put on me. I want my own clothes. I don’t know how long I’ve been here. An elderly woman is found murdered in her own home, and Detective Lottie Parker and her partner…

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Review: Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson

Title:Snowblind Author:Ragnar Jonasson Series:Dark Iceland, #1 Published:June 2015, Orenda Books Format:Paperback, 252 pages Source:Personal copy Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors – accessible only via a small mountain tunnel. Ari Thór Arason: a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik – with a past that he’s unable to leave behind. When a young woman is found…

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