Always With a Book

k2reader December 10, 2023

Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @NovelSuspects & Mulholland Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Before She Finds Me in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mulholland Books / Hachette Audio Published: June 27, 2023 Summary: In this shocking thriller, two unlikely mothers race to uncover the truth behind a horrific attack—even after it becomes clear that the truth will destroy one of their families. Julia…

View Post

k2reader December 9, 2023

#CrimeTime by Jeneva Rose and Drew Pyne #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC of #CrimeTime in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio Published: December 12, 2023 Summary: The first audio original from Jeneva Rose, the author of blockbuster bestseller The Perfect Marriage, #CrimeTime is a full-cast mystery written with her husband, Drew Pyne, perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building and Finley Donovan Is Killing It. Going viral has never been so dangerous. Nadiya loves…

View Post

k2reader December 9, 2023

The Anatomy of Desire by L.R. Dorn #bookreview #audiobook #backlistreview

Thank you Libro.fm / Harper Audio, for the ALC and Bibliolifestyle, William Morrow, #partner, for a finished copy of The Anatomy of Desire in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio Published: May 11, 2021 Summary: A modern tale of American striving, social media stardom, a fatal love triangle, and a young woman on trial for murder—a mesmerizing reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s classic novel of…

View Post

k2reader December 4, 2023

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Doubleday #partner, for the advanced copy of The Frozen River in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Doubleday / Random House Audio Published: December 5, 2023 Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote…

View Post

k2reader December 4, 2023

The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: September 19, 2023 Summary: It’s been more than a decade since the world has come undone, and Sasha Severn has returned to her childhood home with one goal in mind―find the mythic research her father, the infamous Last Beekeeper, hid before he was incarcerated. There, Sasha is confronted with a group of squatters who have claimed the…

View Post

k2reader December 3, 2023

Month in Review: November 2023

Hello December! How is it that we are at the end of the year already, that Christmas is weeks away and the new year right behind that? At times this year dragged and then it seemed to fly by, especially these last few months! As publishing tends to slow down in December, I am focusing on this month on reading some books I didn’t get to yet, some books…

View Post

k2reader November 30, 2023

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Recorded Books, for the ALC of The Berry Pickers in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print book for my own collection. Publisher: Catapult / Recorded Books Published: October 31, 2023 Summary: A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a community, and remains unsolved for nearly fifty years. July…

View Post

k2reader November 30, 2023

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: September 19, 2023 Summary: A shocking thriller about a cold case, a fictional true crime series, and the family caught in the middle. SIX EPISODES. ONE KILLER. It was a case that gripped the nation. In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden…

View Post

k2reader November 30, 2023

Kala by Colin Walsh #bookreview

I got this book through the Penguin Readers Rewards Program. Publisher: Doubleday Published: July 25, 2023 Summary: A gripping literary page-turner from a rising Irish talent in which former friends, estranged for twenty years, reckon with the terrifying events of the summer that changed their lives. In the seaside village of Kinlough, on Ireland’s west coast, three old friends meet for the first time in years. They—Helen, Joe and Mush—were…

View Post

k2reader November 28, 2023

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Libro.fm / Penguin Random House Audio, for the ALC and Random House/Netgalley, #partner for the advanced e-copy of The Mystery Guest in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Ballantine Books / Penguin Random House Audio Published: November 28, 2023 Summary: When an acclaimed author dies at the Regency Grand Hotel, it’s up to a fastidious maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty—in a standalone novel…

View Post

k2reader November 27, 2023

Beartown by Fredrik Backman #bookreview #series #backlistreview

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Beartown in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Washington Square Press Published: March 23, 2021 (Originally Published 2016) Summary: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People, a dazzling and profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true. By the lake in Beartown is an old ice rink, and in…

View Post

k2reader November 27, 2023

Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb #bookreview

Thank you to William Morrow, #partner, for an advanced copy of Strangers in the Night in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: March 21, 2023 Summary: It was the tumultuous romance that scandalized the world: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner fought, loved, and lived life to the hilt. Now their unbridled story is brought vividly to life by Heather Webb, the bestselling author of Meet Me in Monaco and The…

View Post

k2reader November 26, 2023

Lay Then to Rest by Laurah Norton #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @NovelSuspects & Hachette Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Lay Them to Rest in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Hachette Books / Hachette Audio Published: October 17, 2023 Summary: A fascinating deep dive into the dark world of forensic science as experts team up to solve the identity of an unknown woman named “Ina Jane Doe,” exploring the rapidly evolving…

View Post

k2reader November 25, 2023

The Sanctuary by Katrine Engberg #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC of The Sanctuary in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio Published: February 7, 2023 Summary: From internationally bestselling author Katrine Engberg, the series that is a “gripping addition to the Scandinavian crime fiction pantheon” ( Oprah Daily ) comes to a stunning conclusion as Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner rush to untangle a long-simmering mystery before a brutal killer strikes…

View Post

k2reader November 22, 2023

The Spider by Lars Kepler #bookreview #series

Thank you to Knopf Books, #partner, for a finished copy of The Spider in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group Published: July 25, 2023 Summary: A killer is spinning a sinister web and the police are caught dead center. Three years ago, Saga Bauer received a postcard with a threatening message. It mentioned a gun and nine white bullets–one of which was intended for Detective Joona Linna.…

View Post

k2reader November 21, 2023

A True Account by Katherine Howe #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and Henry Holt and Co, #partner for the advanced copy of A True Account in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Henry Holt and Co / Macmillan Audio Published: November 21, 2023 Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe comes a daring first-hand account of one young woman’s unbelievable adventure as one of the most terrifying sea rovers…

View Post

k2reader November 21, 2023

Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you @GetRedPrBooks/Crooked Lane Books #partner, for the finished copy of Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Crooked Lane Books / Dreamscape Media Published: November 7, 2023 Summary: In the third installment of the Caribbean Kitchen mysteries, for fans of Mia P. Manansala , Miriam Quiñones, cooking show sensation and amateur sleuth, has sand between her toes…

View Post

k2reader November 20, 2023

If You See Me by Audra McElyea #bookreview

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of If You See Me in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Counterplay Press Published: December 5, 2023 Summary: When Leighton Marx is taken at a festival in front of her loved ones, police are quick to label it a random trafficking incident, but Leighton’s husband, Owen, and her ex-best-friend, Marnie, suspect there’s more to the story. After Marnie…

View Post

k2reader November 19, 2023

Inheritance by Nora Roberts #bookreview #series

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner, for the advanced copy of Inheritance in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Published: November 21, 2023 Summary: Inheritance is the first in The Lost Bride Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts―a tale of tragedies, loves found and lost, and a family haunted for generations. 1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage…

View Post

k2reader November 19, 2023

Spare by Prince Harry #bookreview #audiobook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Random House Audio Published: January 10, 2023 Summary: It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would…

View Post

k2reader November 16, 2023

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane #bookreview

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, William Morrow, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of The Engagement Party in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: December 5, 2023 Summary: And Then There Were None meets I Know What You Did Last Summer in #1 international bestseller Darby Kane’s latest gripping and twisty thriller set on a private island in Maine where secrets piled upon secrets and lies…

View Post

k2reader November 15, 2023

Love Betrayal Murder by Adam Mitzner #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Blackstone Publishing, #partner for the ALC of Love Betrayal Murder in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Published: May 16, 2023 Summary: Love: Matthew Brooks and Vanessa Lyons are a perfect match, both attorneys at a powerful New York City law firm. But there’s a small hitch: Matt just made partner, and Vanessa is coming up for partner next year. Two hitches, actually,…

View Post

k2reader November 14, 2023

The Professor by Lauren Nossett #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and Flatiron Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Professor in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Flatiron Books / Macmillan Audio Published: November 14, 2022 Summary: For fans of Tana French, The Professor investigates the darkest corners of academic ambition, lies, and obsession. On a spring afternoon in Athens, Georgia, Ethan Haddock is discovered in his apartment, dead, apparently…

View Post

k2reader November 13, 2023

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann #bookreview

Thank you Doubleday #partner, for the finished copy of Killers of the Flower Moon in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Doubleday (Paperback movie tie-in version – Vintage) Published: October 10, 2023 (Originally Published April 2017) Summary: In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles,…

View Post

k2reader November 12, 2023

Blood Betrayal by Ausma Zehanat Khan #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Netgalley / Recorded Books, for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Blood Betrayal in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Recorded Books Published: November 7, 2023 Summary: A complex and timely mystery, Blood Betrayal proves once again that Ausma Zehanat Khan is a writer at the peak of her powers. In Blackwater Falls, Colorado, veteran police officer Harry Cooper is…

View Post

k2reader November 12, 2023

Buried Angels by Camilla Lackberg #bookreview #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Harper Collins UK Published: April 10, 2014 Summary: Easter, 1974. A family vanishes without a trace from the island of Valö outside of Fjällbacka. The dinner table has been exquisitely set, but everyone except the one year-old daughter Ebba is gone. Are they victims of a crime or have they voluntarily disappeared? Years later Ebba returns to the island and…

View Post

k2reader November 11, 2023

The Audrey Hepburn Estate by Brenda Janowitz #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you HTP Books #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Audrey Hepburn Estate in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Graydon House / Harlequin Audio Published: April 18, 2023 Summary: When Emma Jansen discovers that the grand Long Island estate where she grew up is set to be demolished, she can’t help but return for one last visit. After all, it…

View Post

k2reader November 10, 2023

Sign Here by Claudia Lux #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley / Penguin Audio Published: October 25, 2022 Summary: A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.…

View Post

k2reader November 9, 2023

Darkness Calls by Michael Katz Krefeld #bookreview

Thank you to Wunderkind PR, Podium Publishing, #partner, for an advanced copy of Darkness Calls in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Podium Publishing Published: May 16, 2023 Summary: When a newly promoted police inspector becomes the target of a blackmailer, she struggles to clear her name. But is she fighting for justice—or revenge? Police inspector Cecilie Mars is a different kind of cop. She has a heavy cocaine…

View Post

k2reader November 8, 2023

Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel #bookreview #audiobook #backlistreview

Thank you Tor Nightfire, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Just Like Mother in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Tor Nightfire / Macmillan Audio Published: May 17, 2022 Summary: A girl would be such a blessing… The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has…

View Post

k2reader November 7, 2023

Lie by the Pool by Susan Walter #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book and audiobook for my own personal collection. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: September 12, 2023 Summary: A desperate woman. An irresistible invitation. An escalating nightmare of secrets, lies, and murder. Bree’s new home is luxurious and private, with a fancy Beverly Hills address. What a shame it’s not hers. Widowed, penniless, living in her car, and out of options, she’s climbed the fence…

View Post

k2reader November 7, 2023

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Published: December 27, 2022 Summary: An American documentarian travels a haunted highway across the frozen tundra of Siberia in New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden’s Road of Bones, a “tightly wound, atmospheric, and creepy as hell” (Stephen King) supernatural thriller. Surrounded by barren trees in a snow-covered wilderness with a dim, dusky sky forever overhead, Siberia’s…

View Post

k2reader November 6, 2023

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris #bookreview #backlistreview

Thank you St. Martin’s Press / Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Prisoner in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Published: November 1, 2022 Summary: With Behind Closed Doors, B.A. Paris takes the psychological thriller to shocking new heights. Now she’ll hold you captive with this stunning new thriller about one woman wed into a family with deadly intentions. THEN Amelie has always been a survivor,…

View Post

k2reader November 6, 2023

Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank by Elle Cosimano #bookreview #series

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: November 7, 2023 Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Elle Cosimano, comes Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank—a hilarious short story diving into Finlay Donovan’s partner-in-crime Vero’s past. Anyone can spot a window of opportunity, but not everyone can manage to fall straight through one. Veronica…

View Post

k2reader November 4, 2023

Maame by Jessica George #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: January 31, 2023 Summary: Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages…

View Post

k2reader November 3, 2023

Month in Review: October 2023

Hello November! October seemed to fly by and I’m not sure how we only have 2 months left in the year. Right now I’m on vacation and am loving life. It’s been quite relaxing and I’m getting lots of reading done. Of course, I’m not getting those reviews written, but they will get done at some point! Publishing tends to slow down as we near the end of the…

View Post

k2reader October 31, 2023

A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Ballantine Books Published: November 8, 2022 Summary: The debut short story collection from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man, featuring ten bone-chilling and mind-bending tales. Timeslips. Doomsday scenarios. Killer butterflies. C. J. Tudor’s novels are widely acclaimed for their dark, twisty suspense plots, but with A Sliver of Darkness, she pulls us even further into her dizzying imagination. In Final Course,…

View Post

k2reader October 29, 2023

It Takes Monsters by Mandy McHugh #bookreview #audiobook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: HighBridge Published: October 17, 2023 Summary: Victoria Tate has had enough of her controlling, incompetent husband Warren. But planning the perfect murder is more difficult than she expected. When the social event of the year, an over-the-top costume ball, is rescheduled for the date she has selected for her crime, Victoria has to scramble to make sure she will still be…

View Post

k2reader October 27, 2023

When I’m Dead by Hannah Morrissey #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of When I’m Dead in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: October 31, 2023 Summary: One girl murdered. Another one missing. And a medical examiner desperate to uncover the truth in the latest Black Harbor mystery by acclaimed author Hannah Morrissey. On a bone-chilling October night,…

View Post

k2reader October 26, 2023

Lights Out by Elise Hart Kipness #bookreview

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, Thomas & Mercer, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of Lights Out in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: November 1, 2023 Summary: In this exciting debut novel comes a fast-paced thriller that follows a sports reporter’s journey off the court…and into a world of murder and deception. Former Olympic athlete and current semi-disgraced sports reporter Kate Green isn’t sure how…

View Post

k2reader October 26, 2023

Lone Women by Victor LaValle #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: One World / Random House Audio Published: March 28, 2023 Summary: Blue skies, empty land—and enough room to hide away a horrifying secret. Or is there? Discover a haunting new vision of the American West from the award-winning author of The Changeling. Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes.…

View Post

k2reader October 25, 2023

The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor #bookreview

Thank you HTP Books #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Fiction Writer in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Park Row Books Published: November 28, 2023 Summary: Last night I dreamt I went to Malibu again… The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel–a retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca–was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her and she’s…

View Post

k2reader October 25, 2023

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and @GetRedPrBooks/Berkley Books #partner, for the finished copy of Murder and Mamon in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Berkley Books / Penguin Audio Published: September 19, 2023 Summary: When murder mars the grand opening for Lila Macapagal’s aunties’ new laundromat, she will have to air out all the dirty laundry in Shady Palms to catch a killer… Lila Macapagal’s godmothers April, Mae,…

View Post

k2reader October 24, 2023

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett #bookreview

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Christmas Appeal in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books Published: October 24, 2023 Summary: This immersive holiday caper from the “modern Agatha Christie” (The Sunday Times, London) follows the hilarious Fairway Players theater group as they put on a Christmas play—and solve a murder that threatens their production. The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and…

View Post

k2reader October 20, 2023

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Berkley #partner, for the finished copy of Blood Sisters in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Berkley / Random House Audio Published: October 31, 2023 Summary: A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women…one of them her sister. There are secrets in…

View Post

k2reader October 19, 2023

A Friend in the Dark by Samantha M. Bailey #bookreview

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, Thomas & Mercer, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of A Friend in the Dark in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: March 1, 2024 Summary: A digital romance turns deadly in this sensual domestic thriller from USA Today bestselling author Samantha M. Bailey. Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to…

View Post

k2reader October 19, 2023

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson #bookreview

Thank you to Bibliolifestyle, William Morrow, #partner, for a finished copy of The Christmas Guest in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: October 17, 2023 Summary: New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson pens a spectacularly spine-chilling novella in which an American art student in London is invited to join a classmate for the holidays at Starvewood Hall, her family’s Cotswold manor house. But behind the holly…

View Post

k2reader October 16, 2023

American Girl by Wendy Walker #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Blackstone Publishing, #partner for the advanced copy of American Girl in exchange for my honest review. I got the audiobook as part of my Audible Subscription. Publisher: Blackstone Publishing / Audible Originals Published: October 17, 2023 / December 16, 2021 Summary: A pulse-pounding novel about a small-town business owner found dead and the teenage girl caught in the crosshairs, American Girl is the latest thriller from international best-selling author…

View Post

k2reader October 15, 2023

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC of Happiness Falls in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print book for my own collection. Publisher: Hogarth / Random House Audio Published: August 29, 2023 Summary: When a father goes missing, his family’s desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another–both a riveting page-turner and a deeply moving portrait of a family in…

View Post

k2reader October 15, 2023

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten #bookreview #audiobook #backlistreview

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Lost Village in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: March 23, 2021 Summary: The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense. Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town,…

View Post