Always With a Book

k2reader October 10, 2023

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok #bookreview

Thank you to William Morrow, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Leftover Woman in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: October 10, 2023 Summary: An evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different women–from the New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee and Girl in Translation. Jasmine Yang arrives in New York City from her rural Chinese village…

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k2reader October 8, 2023

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger #bookreview

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The River We Remember in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books Published: September 5, 2023 Summary: In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land. On Memorial Day, as the people of…

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k2reader October 7, 2023

The Intern by Michele Campbell #bookreview

Thank you St. Martin’s Press / Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Intern in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Published: October 3, 2023 Summary: A young Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge in this timely and thrilling novel about class, ambition, family and murder. Madison Rivera lands the internship of a lifetime working for Judge Kathryn Conroy. But…

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k2reader October 7, 2023

This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley Books / Penguin Audio Published: February 22, 2022 Summary: From the USA Today bestselling and Edgar-nominated author of Darling Rose Gold comes a dark, thrilling novel about two sisters–one trapped in the clutches of a cult, the other in a web of her own lies. Welcome to Wisewood. We’ll keep your secrets if you keep ours.…

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k2reader October 6, 2023

The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy #bookreview

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Christmas Wager in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Published: September 26, 2023 Summary: One rivalry. Eight days until Christmas. Let the holiday games begin. When L.A.-based real estate developer Bella Ross arrives in the sleepy mountain town of Maple Falls, she has one to acquire the local failing Christmas shop, Always Noelle,…

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k2reader October 5, 2023

Winter’s End by Paige Shelton #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries #backlistreview

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Winter’s End in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: December 6, 2022 Summary: The fourth installment in the gripping, atmospheric Alaska Wild series, Paige Shelton’s Winter’s End… It’s springtime in Benedict, Alaska, and with it the warmer weather comes an unseasonably somber local tradition…the annual Death March. At…

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k2reader October 3, 2023

The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams by M.J. Rose #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and Get Red PR and Blue Box Press , #partner, for the finished copy of The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Blue Box Press / Brilliance Audio Published: February 7, 2023 Summary: A captivating tale of two passionate women separated by decades but united by a shared vision. One, the famous jeweler Suzanne Belperron, fighting to…

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k2reader October 2, 2023

Kill Show by Daniel Sweren-Becker #bookreview

Thank you Harper Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Kill Show in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Harper Published: October 3, 2023 Summary: When sixteen-year-old Sara Parcell goes missing, it’s an utter tragedy—and an entertaining national obsession—in this thoughtful and addictively readable novel that offers a fresh and provocative take on whodunits and true crime. Sara Parcell disappeared without a trace on a crisp April morning in…

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k2reader October 2, 2023

Month in Review: September 2023

Hello October – it’s my favorite month! But at the same time, how is it that we only have 3 months left in this year?!? Luckily September was a great month and October is shaping up to be another good one. Plus, I go away at the end of the month for 2 weeks and I cannot wait – 2 weeks of vacation on the beach, yes please! The…

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k2reader September 30, 2023

A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries #backlistreview

Thank you TCL BookTours, Kensington Books, #partner, for the finished copy of A Trace of Poison in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Kensington Books / Highbridge Published: October 25, 2022 Summary: In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida…

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k2reader September 29, 2023

Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you GetRedPR and the author, #partner, for the advanced copy of Don’t Forget To Write in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: September 1, 2023 Summary: In 1960, a young woman discovers a freedom she never knew existed in this exhilarating, funny, and emotional novel by the bestselling author of She’s Up to No Good. When Marilyn Kleinman is…

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k2reader September 28, 2023

The Death of Us by Lori Rader-Day #bookreview

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, William Morrow Paperbacks, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Death of Us in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: October 3, 2023 Summary: From the award-winning author of Death at Greenway and The Lucky One comes a chilling suspense novel in which the discovery of a submerged car in a murky pond reveals betrayals and family secrets that will tear a small town…

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k2reader September 28, 2023

The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Algonquin Books, #partner for the finished copy of The Museum of Failures in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Algonquin Books / Hachette Audio Published: September 26, 2023 Summary: An immersive story about family secrets and the power of forgiveness from the bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick Honor When Remy Wadia left India for the United States, he carried his…

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k2reader September 25, 2023

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Golden Gate in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: September 19, 2023 Summary: Amy Chua’s debut novel, The Golden Gate, is a sweeping, evocative, and compelling historical thriller that paints a vibrant portrait of a California buffeted by the turbulent crosswinds of a world at…

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k2reader September 23, 2023

Salthouse Place by Jamie Lee Sogn #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you to Kathleen Carther Communications, Lake Union Publishing, #partner, for an advanced copy of Salthouse Place in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: September 1, 2023 Summary: From debut author Jamie Sogn comes a twisty thriller about the allure of the past and the danger of the truth as a young woman dives headlong into a cult…

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k2reader September 21, 2023

Rekjavik by Ragnar Jonasson, Katrin Jakobsdottir #bookreview #authorevent #translatedbook

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Reykjavik in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: September 5, 2023 Summary: With over three million copies sold worldwide, Ragnar Jónasson, along with Katrín Jakobsdóttir, brings us a gripping and chilling new thriller, Reykjavík. What happened to Lára? Iceland, 1956. Fourteen-year-old Lára decides to spend the summer working for a couple on the small island…

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k2reader September 20, 2023

These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald #bookreview

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, Thomas & Mercer, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of These Still Black Waters in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: October 1, 2023 Summary: Two women struggle toward a dark truth as a killer avenges the sins of the past in a twisting novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling author of Do No Harm, Behind Every Lie, and The Night Olivia Fell. After…

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k2reader September 20, 2023

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book and audiobook for my own personal collection. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark / Audible Studios Published: June 21, 2022 Summary: From author Julie Clark comes a twisted con-woman thriller about two women out for revenge―or is it justice? Two women. Many aliases. Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She’s a con artist who erases…

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k2reader September 19, 2023

One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie #bookreview

Thank you Berkley Books #partner, for the finished copy of One of the Boys in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Berkley Books Published: July 11, 2023 Summary: A mother knows best… Doesn’t she? Antonia and Bea are sisters. They are both doting mothers to their sons. But that is where their similarities end. Antonia had her son tested at an early age to ensure her little angel did…

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k2reader September 19, 2023

Dark August by Katie Tallo #bookreview #bookseries #backlistreview

Thank you Harper Perennial, #partner, for the advanced copy of Dark August in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Published: June 30, 2020 Summary: An electrifying, page-turning debut about a young woman haunted by her tragic past, who returns to her hometown and discovers that there might be more to her police detective mother’s death–and last case–than she ever could have imagined. Augusta (Gus) Monet is living…

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k2reader September 18, 2023

Breathless by Amy McCulloch #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Anchor Books / Random House Audio Published: May 3, 2022 Summary: IT’S ICE COLD. YOU’RE MILES FROM HELP. AND ONE OF YOU WILL BE NEXT . . . A high-altitude thriller that will take your breath away—Cecily Wong is on her most dangerous climb yet, miles above sea level. But the elements are…

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k2reader September 18, 2023

More Than Meets the Eye by Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries

Thank you Hachette Audio, #partner for the ALC of More Than Meets the Eye in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Hachette Audio Published: February 7, 2023 Summary: New York Times bestselling authors Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen team up for another electrifying thriller that pits a serial killer against Kendra Michaels’ heightened powers of deduction. After scoring a plea deal in a high-profile murder trial, serial killer James Michael…

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k2reader September 13, 2023

The Killing Room by Robert Swartwood #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Blackstone Publishing, #partner for the ALC of The Killing Room in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Published: August 22, 2023 Summary: From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood comes another bone-chilling thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. While on vacation in Las Vegas, a businessman wakes up in a strange hotel room to find a dead woman in the bathtub. Panicked,…

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k2reader September 10, 2023

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of What the Neighbors Saw in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: June 20, 2023 Summary: Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door in a chilling story of murder and intrigue set in a well-to-do DC suburb. Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses……

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k2reader September 9, 2023

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and @BookClubFavorites & Simon & Schuster #partner, for the advanced copy of The House of Eve in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: February 7, 2023 Summary: From the award-winning author of Yellow Wife, a daring and redemptive novel set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be…

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k2reader September 7, 2023

The Girl in the White Cape by Barbara Sapienza #bookreview

Thank you to GetRedPr, She Writes Press, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Girl in the White Cape in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: She Writes Press Published: July 25, 2023 Summary: Fifteen-year-old Elena lives in a church attic in San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood, where she is cared for by her guardian, a kind Russian priest named Father Al. Six days a week, Father Al sends her…

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k2reader September 5, 2023

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark / Blackstone Audio Published: August 16, 2022 Summary: From the author of the acclaimed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife comes a pitch-black thriller about a woman determined to destroy a powerful cult and avenge the deaths of the women taken in by it, no matter the cost. While in college in…

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k2reader September 4, 2023

Chloe Cates is Missing by Mandy McHugh #bookreview #audiobook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Published: January 18, 2022 Summary: The disappearance of a young internet celebrity ignites a firestorm of speculation on social media, and to find her a detective will have to extinguish the blaze. Chloe Cates is missing. The 13-year-old star of the hit YouTube series CC and Me has disappeared, and nobody knows where she’s gone – least of all ruthless momager…

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k2reader September 2, 2023

Dead and Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Dead and Gone in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: August 8, 2023 Summary: The next installment of Joanna Schaffhausen’s critically acclaimed Detective Annalisa Vega series. For Chicago police detective Annalisa Vega, Sam Tran’s death presents an ominous puzzle. The ex-cop turned PI is found hanging from a cemetery tree with a message across his chest…

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k2reader September 1, 2023

Month in Review: August 2023

How is it already September? Four months left in the year…and it will go by in a flash, right? It was a good month, busy and filled with lots of great reads! I managed to balance it pretty well with review books, some backlist review books and a few from my own shelf. And of course, I still seem to be leaning heavily on audiobooks to get through the…

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k2reader September 1, 2023

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Blackstone Publishing, for the ALC and Blackstone Publishing, #partner for the advanced copy of The Trap in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Blackstone Publishing / Blackstone Publishing Published: August 1, 2023 Summary: From award-winning, internationally bestselling crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard comes The Trap: an unsettling mystery inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances in Ireland in the 90s, wherein one young woman risks everything to…

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k2reader August 31, 2023

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons by Karin Smirnoff #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Knopf #partner, for the advanced copy of The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Knopf / Penguin Random House Audio Published: August 29, 2023 Summary: Lisbeth Salander returns, in a trailblazing new installment to the best-selling Millennium series Change is coming to Sweden’s far north: its untapped natural resources are sparking a gold rush with the…

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k2reader August 29, 2023

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon #bookreview

Thank you William Morrow / Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Mother-Daughter Murder Night in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: September 5, 2023 Summary: The Maid meets The Last Thing He Told Me in this fun, fresh, and twisty debut whodunnit about a grandmother-mother-daughter trio who come together as amateur sleuths to solve a murder in their coastal California town. Nothing brings an estranged family together like…

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k2reader August 29, 2023

Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke #bookreview #audiobook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Harper Audio Published: April 20, 2021 Summary: Elle Castillo once trained as a social worker, supporting young victims of violent crime. Now, she hosts a popular true crime podcast that focuses on cold cases of missing and abducted children. After four seasons of successfully solving these cases in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Elle decides to tackle her white whale: The Countdown Killer.…

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k2reader August 29, 2023

The Twenty by Sam Holland #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Crooked Lane Books / Dreamscape Media Published: May 11, 2023 / May 2, 2023 Summary: When DCI Adam Bishop arrives at the crime scene in the dead of night, the sight of the body is bad enough—but what Adam notices next chills him to his core. More bodies surface. And the spray-painted numbers…

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k2reader August 28, 2023

The Block Party by Jamie Day #bookreview

Thank you to GetRedPr, St. Martin’s Press, #partner, for a finished copy of The Block Party in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Published: July 18, 2023 Summary: This summer, meet your neighbors. The residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets and scandal utterly unknown to the outside world, and even to each other. On the night of…

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k2reader August 23, 2023

Little Souls by Sandra Dallas #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner, for the finished copy of Little Souls in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin / Macmillan Audio Published: August 22, 2023 (Paperback Release) / April 26, 2022 Summary: Sandra Dallas’s Little Souls is a gripping tale of sisterhood, loyalty, and secrets set in Denver amid America’s last deadly flu pandemic Colorado, 1918. World…

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k2reader August 23, 2023

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: March 21, 2017 Summary: The thrilling new novel from number-one New York Times best-selling author Lisa See explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been abandoned and adopted by an American couple. Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and…

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k2reader August 23, 2023

The Woman With the Cure by Lynn Cullen #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Berkley Books #partner, for the finished copy of The Woman With the Cure in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley Books / Penguin Audio Published: February 21, 2023 Summary: She gave up everything— and changed the world. A riveting novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic, from the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe.…

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k2reader August 21, 2023

The Sunset Crowd by Karin Tanabe #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you St. Martin’s Press / Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Sunset Crowd in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: July 4, 2023 Summary: From Rodeo Drive to the French Riviera, Karin Tanabe’s The Sunset Crowd is a tale of survival and reinvention, of faking it until you make it, and the glittering appeal…

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k2reader August 18, 2023

The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Great Transition in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: August 15, 2023 Summary: For fans of Station Eleven and The Ministry for the Future, this richly imaginative, immersive, and electrifyingly relevant climate utopia novel follows a family navigating a crisis both personal and…

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k2reader August 17, 2023

Beneath the Surface by Kaira Rouda #bookreview

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, Thomas & Mercer, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of Beneath the Surface in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: September 5, 2023 Summary: On a weekend voyage, the power-hungry children of an aging billionaire are unprepared for a storm of deceptions in a novel about ruthless family ambition by USA Today bestselling author Kaira Rouda. You are cordially invited to an…

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k2reader August 17, 2023

All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, #partner, for an advanced copy of All the Living and the Dead in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: April 12, 2022 Summary: A deeply compelling exploration of the death industry and the people―morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners―who work in it and what led them there. We…

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k2reader August 16, 2023

After That Night by Karin Slaughter #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries

Thank you Netgalley / Blackstone Audio, for the ALC and William Morrow Books, #partner for the advanced copy of After That Night in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Books / Blackstone Audio Published: August 22, 2020 Summary: After that night, nothing was ever the same again Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her…

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k2reader August 16, 2023

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and @BookClubFavorites & Atria/Emily Bestler Books #partner, for the finished copy of The Writing Retreat in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: February 21, 2023 Summary: The Plot meets Please Join Us in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare. Alex has all…

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k2reader August 14, 2023

The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman #bookreview

Thank you to Thoughts from a Page, William Morrow Books, #partner, for an advanced e-copy of The Bones of the Story in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Books Published: July 11, 2023 Summary: The twisty locked-room mystery from two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author Carol Goodman, about a group of former classmates trapped on their college campus—with a murderer among them. It’s been twenty-five years since…

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k2reader August 12, 2023

The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio, #partner for the ALC of The Bone Hacker in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio Published: August 1, 2023 Summary: #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with her twenty-second high-stakes thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan who, following a series of bizarre disappearances on the islands of Turks and Caicos, enters a sinister labyrinth in which…

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k2reader August 11, 2023

Small Town Sins by Ken Jaworowski #bookreview

Thank you to Henry Holt Books, #partner, for an advanced copy of Small Town Sins in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Henry Holt & Co Published: August 1, 2023 Summary: Ken Jaworowski’s Small Town Sins is a gripping Rust Belt thriller that captures the characters of a down-and-out Pennsylvania town, revealing their troubled pasts and the crimes that could cost them their lives. In Locksburg, Pennsylvania, a former coal and…

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k2reader August 7, 2023

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Netgalley / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of Dark Corners in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: August 8, 2023 Summary: Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin’s acclaimed The Night Swim, returns to search for a popular influencer who disappears after visiting a suspected serial killer. Terence Bailey is about…

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k2reader August 4, 2023

Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: August 1, 2023 Summary: New York in the Roaring Twenties—a riveting true-crime novel, based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the era, where power, politics, and secrets conspire to bury the truth. Manhattan, 1923. Scandalous flapper Dot King is found dead in her Midtown apartment, a bottle of chloroform beside her and a fortune…

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