Review: All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

Title: All the Ways We Said Goodbye Author: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White Published: January 2020, William Morrow Format: Hardcover, 448 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  The New York Times bestselling authors of The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room return with a glorious historical adventure that moves from the dark days of two World Wars to the turbulent years of the 1960s, in which three women with…

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Short & Sweet Review: Detective Cross by James Patterson

Title: Detective Cross Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #24.5 Published: May 2017, BookShots Format: Paperback, 144 pages Source: Personal copy Summary: The suspect is your patient, Dr. Cross. An anonymous caller has promised to set off deadly bombs in Washington, DC. A cruel hoax or the real deal? By the time Alex Cross and his wife, Bree Stone, uncover the chilling truth, it may already be too late…. ***Short…

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Review: No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen

Title: No Mercy Author: Joanna Schaffhausen Series: Ellery Hathaway, #2 Published: January 2019, Minotaur Books Format: ARC E-copy, 320 pages Source: Netgalley Summary: Police officer Ellery Hathaway and FBI profiler Reed Markham take on two difficult new cases in this stunning follow-up to The Vanishing Season.    No Mercy is award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen’s heart-pounding second novel. Police officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from her job because she…

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Review: Cartier’s Hope by M.J. Rose

Title: Cartier’s Hope Author: M.J. Rose Published: January 2020, Atria Books Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages Source: Publisher via GetRed PR Summary:  From the New York Times bestselling author of the “lush, romantic historical mystery” (Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale) Tiffany Blues, a gorgeously wrought novel following an intrepid female journalist in Gilded Age New York as she chases the story of the Hope Diamond.…

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Review: When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald (audio)

Title: When We Were Vikings Author: Andrew David MacDonald Narrator: Phoebe Strole Published: January 2020, Simon Schuster Audio / Scout Press Length: 10 hours 14 minutes / 336 pages Source: Audio – ALC via Libro.fm / Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher Summary: A heart-swelling debut for fans of The Silver Linings Playbook and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  Sometimes life isn’t as simple as heroes…

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Review: When You See Me by Lisa Gardner

Title: When You See Me Author: Lisa Gardner Series: Detective D.D. Warren, #11 Published: January 2020, Dutton Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Bestselling author Lisa Gardner unites three of her most loved characters -Detective D.D. Warren, Flora Dane, and Kimberly Quincy – in a twisty new thriller, as they investigate a mysterious murder from the past that points to a dangerous and chilling present-day crime. FBI Special…

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Review: The Better Liar by Tanen Jones

Title: The Better Liar Author: Tanen Jones Published: January 2020, Ballentine Books Format: ARC E-copy, 307 pages Source: Netgalley Summary:  When a woman conceals her sister’s death to claim their joint inheritance, her deception exposes a web of dangerous secrets in this addictive new thriller for fans of Megan Abbott, Gillian Flynn, and Paula Hawkins. “Like most of the dead, I want to be remembered.” Robin Voigt is dead. If…

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Review: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Title: The Wives Author: Tarryn Fisher Published: December 2019, Graydon House Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Imagine that your husband has two other wives. You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don’t care. Or at least that’s what you’ve…

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Short & Sweet Review: Cross Kill by James Patterson

Title: Cross Kill Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #24.4 Published: June 2016, BookShots Format: Paperback, 113 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Alex Cross, I’m coming for you–even from the grave if I have to. Along Came a Spider killer Gary Soneji has been dead for over ten years. Alex Cross watched him die. But today, Cross saw him gun down his partner. Is Soneji alive? A ghost? Or something…

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Review: Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict

Title: Lady Clementine Author: Marie Benedict Published: January 2020, Sourcebooks Landmark Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  New from Marie Benedict, the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room! An incredible novel that focuses on one of the people who had the most influence during World War I and World War II: Clementine Churchill. In 1909, Clementine Churchill steps off a train with…

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Review: This Is Not How It Ends by Rochelle B. Weinstein

Title: This Is Not How It Ends Author: Rochelle B. Weinstein Published: January 2020, Lake Union Publishing Format: Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher via GetRed PR Summary:  From USA Today bestselling author Rochelle B. Weinstein comes a moving novel of hearts lost and found, and of one woman torn between two love stories. When Charlotte and Philip meet, the pair form a deep and instant connection. Soon they’re settled in…

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Review: The Wife and the Widow by Christian White

Title: The Wife and the Widow Author: Christian White Published: January 2020, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher Summary: The second standalone thriller from the award-winning author of The Nowhere Child, Christian White. Set against the backdrop of an eerie island town in the dead of winter, The Wife and The Widow is an unsettling thriller told from two perspectives: Kate, a widow whose grief is compounded…

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Review: Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine (audio)

Title: Bitter Falls Author: Rachel Caine Series: Stillhouse Lake, #4 Narrator: Emily Sutton-Smith, Michael Crouch, Dan John Miller, Lauren Ezzo, Will Roup Published: January 2020, Brilliance Audio Length: 11 hours 33 minutes Source: Publisher Summary: An Amazon Charts, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling series. She’s investigating a cold case no one else could—by going places no else would dare.  In spite of a harrowing past still haunting…

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Review: One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson

Title: One Small Sacrifice Author: Hilary Davidson Series: Shadows of New York, #1 Published: June 2019, Thomas & Mercer Format: Paperback, 366 pages Source: Author Summary: An apparent suicide. A mysterious disappearance. Did one man get away with murder—twice? NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling has had her eye on Alex Traynor ever since his friend Cori fell to her death under suspicious circumstances a year ago. Cori’s death was ruled a…

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Review: Smokescreen by Iris Johansen

Title: Smokescreen Author: Iris Johansen Series: Eve Duncan, #25 Published: July 2019, Grand Central Publishing Format: Hardcover, 432 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  In this pulse-pounding thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan journeys to Africa to help families torn apart by a violent attack deep in the jungle–but she may be putting herself in more danger than she knows. A journalist shows…

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Blog Tour & Review: Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

Title: Cross Her Heart Author: Sarah Pinborough Published: Janaury 2020, William Morrow Paperbacks (Reprint Edition) Format: Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  “Sarah Pinborough is about to become your new obsession.”—Harlan Coben Lisa is living a lie and everyone is about to find out. Lisa lives for her daughter Ava, her job and her best friend Marilyn. But when a handsome client shows an interest in her,…

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Review: The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell (audio)

Title: The Perfect Mother Author: Caroline Mitchell Narrator: Alana Kerr Collins, Christina Traister Published: January 2020, Brilliance Audio Length: 10 hours 55 minutes Source: Publisher Summary: She thought they wanted her baby. But they won’t stop there.   Roz is young, penniless and pregnant. All she wants is to be the perfect mother to her child, but the more she thinks about her own chaotic upbringing, the more certain she…

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Review: Vanishing Girls by Lisa Regan

Title: Vanishing Girls Author: Lisa Regan Series: Detective Josie Quinn, #1 Published: November 2019, Grand Central Publishing Format: Paperback, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Read the USA Today bestselling thriller that “keeps the dramatic reveals coming” as Detective Josie Quinn desperately chases a killer hidden within her close-knit town before it’s too late and they claim another victim (Publishers Weekly). The little girl curled into a tiny ball as the…

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Review: Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

Title: Big Lies in a Small Town Author: Diane Chamberlain Published: January 2020, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes an irresistible new novel.    North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher’s life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women’s Correctional Center. Her dream…

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Review: The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr (audio)

Title: The Country Guesthouse Author: Robyn Carr Series: Sullivan’s Crossing, #5 Narrator: Therese Plummer Published: January 2020, Recorded Books / MIRA Length: 8 hours 37 minutes / 336 pages Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print: (Hardcover) – Publisher via Little Bird Publicity Summary:  A summer rental, a new beginning…Hannah Russell’s carefully crafted plans for her life have been upended without warning. When her best friend died suddenly,…

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Review: The Tenant by Katrine Engberg

Title: The Tenant Author: Katrine Engberg Series: Korner/Werner, #1 Published: January 2020, Gallery/Scout Press Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  An electrifying work of literary suspense from international bestselling author KatrineEngberg, this stunning debut introduces two police detectives struggling to solve a shocking murder and stop a killer hell-bent on revenge. When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her own apartment, with an intricate pattern of…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Playground by Jane Shemilt

Title: The Playground Author: Jane Shemilt Published: December 2019, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  Big Little Lies meets Lord of The Flies in this electrifyingly twisty follow-up to Jane Shemilt’s breakout debut The Daughter. Over the course of a long, hot summer in London, the lives of three very different married couples collide when their children join the same tutoring circle, resulting…

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Short & Sweet Review: Cross the Line by James Patterson

Title: Cross the Line Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #24 Published: November 2016, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 373 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Alex Cross chases a cold-blooded killer…with a conscience. Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. When the smoke clears, a prominent police official lies dead, leaving the city’s police force scrambling for answers. Under pressure from the…

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Review: Nightblind by Ragnar Jonasson

Title: Nightblind Author: Ragnar Jonasson Series: Dark Iceland, #2 Published: January 2016, Orenda Books Format: Paperback, 215 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Chilling, and complex, Nightblind is an extraordinary thriller from undeniable new talent Ragnar Jonasson.     Ari Thór Arason: a local policeman, whose tumultuous past and uneasy relationships with the villagers in an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland—where no one locks their doors—continue to haunt him.…

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Review: The Best of Us by Robyn Carr (audio)

Title: The Best of Us Author: Robyn Carr Series: Sullivan’s Crossing, #4 Narrator: Therese Plummer Published: January 2019, Recorded Books / MIRA Length: 8 hours 36 minutes / 336 pages Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print: (ARC Paperback) – Publisher via Little Bird Publicity Summary: In Sullivan’s Crossing, #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr has created a place where good people, powerful emotions, great humor…

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Review: The Forgotten Girl by David Bell

Title: The Forgotten Girl Author: David Bell Published: December 2019, Berkley Books Format: Paperback, 448 pages Source: Publisher via GetRed PR Summary: The USA Today bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter and Layover presents a twist-filled thriller about a troubled family with long-buried secrets… The past has arrived uninvited at Jason Danvers’s door in the form of his younger sister, Hayden, a former addict who severed all contact with her family…

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First Book of the Year 2020

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 5 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 2019

It was an excellent reading month…really, an excellent year. There were so many great books published this year, and I managed to balance all the review books with reading some books from my own shelves, which I’m quite happy about. I think #theunreadshelfproject is the only reading challenge I am going to be participating in going forward as I am really trying to get that situation under control. I also…

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Review: Seven Days by Alex Lake

Title: Seven Days Author: Alex Lake Published: December 2019, HarperCollins Format: ARC Paperback, 432 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A race against time to save her child… In seven days, Maggie’s son, Max, turns three. But she’s not planning a party or buying presents or updating his baby book. She’s dreading it. Because in her world, third birthdays are the days on which the unthinkable happens… she loses her child. For…

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Review: Shatter the Night by Emily Littlejohn

Title: Shatter the Night Author: Emily Littlejohn Series: Detective Gemma Monroe, #4 Published: December 2019, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 320 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  An enthralling, atmospheric new novel from Emily Littlejohn, author of acclaimed debut Inherit the Bones, featuring Colorado police officer Gemma Monroe. It’s Halloween night in Cedar Valley. During the town’s annual festival, Detective Gemma Monroe takes a break from trick or treating with her family…

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Blog Tour & Review: Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison

Title: Good Girls Lie Author: J.T. Ellison Published: December 2019, Format: ARC Paperback, 464 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Goode girls don’t lie… Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held…

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Review: Cari Mora by Thomas Harris

Title: Cari Mora Author: Thomas Harris Published: May 2019, Grand Central Publishing Format: Hardcover, 311 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From the creator of Hannibal Lecter and The Silence of the Lambs comes a story of evil, greed, and the consequences of dark obsession. Twenty-five million dollars in cartel gold lies hidden beneath a mansion on the Miami Beach waterfront. Ruthless men have tracked it for years. Leading the pack is…

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Review: Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

Title: Recipe for a Perfect Wife Author: Karma Brown Published: December 2019, Dutton Books Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  In this captivating dual narrative novel, a modern-day woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her home’s previous owner, a quintessential 1950s housewife. As she discovers remarkable parallels between this woman’s life and her own, it causes her to question the foundation of her own relationship with…

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Review: The Good Sister by Gillian McAllister

Title: The Good Sister Author: Gillian McAllister Published: June 2019, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Format: Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  An electrifying novel about the unyielding bond between two sisters, which is severely tested when one of them is accused of the worst imaginable crime. Martha and Becky Blackwater are more than sisters–they’re each other’s lifelines. When Martha finds herself struggling to balance early motherhood and her growing business, Becky…

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Review: Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan (audio)

Title: Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop Author: Jenny Colgan Series: Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop, #2 Narrator: Lucy Price-Lewis Published: October 2019, HarperAudio / William Morrow Paperbacks Length: Audio – 8 hours 31 minutes / Paperback – 368 pages Source: Audio via library / Print via Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary: A nip in the air, chiming bells and carolers, and the genial glow of love and family. But for this English…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams

Title: The Wicked Redhead Author: Beatriz Williams Series: The Wicked City, #2 Published: December 2019, William Morrow Format: Hardcover, 432 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours   Summary:  The dazzling narrator of The Wicked City brings her mesmerizing voice and indomitable spirit to another Jazz Age tale of rumrunners, double crosses, and true love, spanning the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Long Island to Halifax, Nova Scotia. 1924. Ginger Kelly…

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Review: The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

Title: The Wicked City Author: Beatriz Williams Series: The Wicked City, #1 Published: January 2017, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams recreates the New York City of A Certain Age in this deliciously spicy adventure that mixes past and present and centers on a Jazz Age love triangle involving a rugged  Prohibition agent, a saucy redheaded flapper, and a…

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Review: Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

Title: Before She Knew Him Author: Peter Swanson Published: March 2019, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 309 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability…

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Review: Her Dark Heart by Carla Kovach

Title: Her Dark Heart Author: Carla Kovach Series: Detective Gina Harte, #5 Published: November 2019, Bookouture Format: ARC E-copy, 349 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  Rory is waiting at the door of the pre-school – a painted picture of his mother Susan in his small hand. But Susan isn’t going to see the picture, because she has vanished. Susan Wheeler is a devoted mother. She would do anything for…

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Review: The Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler

Title: The Rabbit Hunter Author: Lars Kepler Series: Joona Linna, #6 Published: January 2020, Knopf Publishing Group Format: ARC Paperback, 528 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  The latest internationally best-selling installment in the Joona Linna series sees him temporarily called back to the police force to solve a series of bizarre and increasingly horrifying murders. Detective Joona Linna is finishing out a sentence at Kumla prison for assaulting an officer in…

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Review: Christmas in Paris by Anita Hughes

Title: Christmas in Paris Author: Anita Hughes Published: Paperback, St. Martin’s Griffin Format: Paperback, 277 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Hughes will fill your heart with the sights, sounds, and flavors of new love, glamorous fashion, and decadent holiday cuisine. Isabel Lawson is standing on the balcony of her suite at the Hotel Crillon as she gazes at the twinkling lights of the Champs Elysee and wonders if she’s made…

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Short & Sweet Review: It Takes One by Kate Kessler

Title: It Takes One Author: Kate Kessler Series: Audrey Hart, #1 Published: April 2016, Redhook Books Format: Paperback, 395 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  They say there are no secrets in a small town… Criminal psychologist Audrey Harte is returning home after seven years. She’ll have to face the whispers and the rumors that have haunted her family since she left. Because when Audrey was thirteen, she and her best…

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Review: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (print/audio)

Title: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark Author: Michelle McNamara Narrator: Gabra Zachman, Gillian Flynn – introduction, Patton Oswalt – afterword Published: February 2019, Harper Perennial /HarperAudio Format: Paperback, 368 pages / Audio: 10 hours 7 minutes Source: Personal copy – both book & audio Summary:  Features new material on the Golden State Killer’s case and an updated afterword by Patton Oswalt. The haunting true story of the elusive serial rapist…

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Review: Dark Tribute by Iris Johansen

Title: Dark Tribute Author: Iris Johansen Series: Eve Duncan, #24 Published: March 2019, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 373 pages Source: Library Summary:  New York Times bestseller Iris Johansen is back with another high octane thriller that will leave your mind racing and your heart pounding. Despite her tragic childhood, violin prodigy Cara Delaney has finally found peace in her career as a professional musician and stability in her relationship…

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Review: Trace of Evil by Alice Blanchard

Title: Trace of Evil Author: Alice Blanchard Series: Natalie Lockhart, #1 Published: December 2019, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A riveting mystery that introduces a bold and audacious rookie detective assigned to hunt for a killer who is haunted by the past in this gripping murder case… Natalie Lockhart always knew she was going to be a cop. A rookie detective on the Burning Lake…

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Short & Sweet Review: Cross Justice by James Patterson

Title: Cross Justice Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #23 Published: November 2015, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 420 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  The toughest cases hit closest to home. Alex Cross left his hometown, and some awful family tragedies, for a better life with Nana Mama in Washington, DC. He hasn’t looked back. Now his cousin Stefan has been accused of a horrible, unthinkable murder, and Cross…

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Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Title: Rebecca Author: Daphne du Maurier Published: 2006, HarperCollins (first published August 1938) Format: Paperback, 410 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house’s first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted. My thoughts: I’m not sure why I waited so…

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Short & Sweet Review: Hope to Die by James Patterson

Title: Hope to Die Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #22 Published: November 2014, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 400 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, forced to play the deadliest game of his career.   Cross’s family-his loving wife Bree, the wise and lively Nana Mama, and his precious children-have been ripped away. Terrified and desperate, Cross must give…

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Review: A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

Title: A Cosmology of Monsters Author: Shaun Hamill Published: September 2019, Pantheon Books Format: Hardcover, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Noah Turner sees monsters. His father saw them–and built a shrine to them with The Wandering Dark, an immersive horror experience that the whole family operates. His practical mother has caught glimpses of terrors but refuses to believe–too focused on keeping the family from falling apart. And his eldest sister,…

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Review: The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan

Title: The Great Pretender Author: Susannah Cahalan Published: November 2019, Grand Central Publishing Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From “one of America’s most courageous young journalists” (NPR) comes a propulsive narrative history investigating the 50-year-old mystery behind a dramatic experiment that changed the course of modern medicine. For centuries, doctors have struggled to define mental illness-how do you diagnose it, how do you treat it, how do…

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