Mini Reviews – #NordicNoir Edition #bookreviews #audiobook #translatedbooks

Thank you to the author for the print copy of The Prey in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook of The Night Guest for my collection.   Both these books were readalong picks for the #NordicNoir bookclub I’m part of and I am so glad we chose them! One was by a beloved author–Yrsa Sigurdardottir– and one was by a new-to-me to–Hildur Knutsdottir. ⁣     THE PREY…

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Mini Reviews – #IndigenousReads Edition #bookreviews #audiobooks

Thank you Libro.fm / Recorded Books, partner for the ALC of Exposure and Berkley /PRH Audio, partner for the  e-copy and ALC of Indian Burial Ground in exchange for my honest reviews. I purchased a print copy of Indian Burial Ground for my collection.     As I mentioned in an earlier post, November was Native American Heritage Month. I shared a stack of books I was hoping to get…

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Cackle by Rachel Harrison #bookreview #audiobook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Penguin Audio Published: October 5, 2021   Summary: A darkly funny, frightening novel about a young woman learning how to take what she wants from a witch who may be too good to be true, from the author of The Return. All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start.…

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Murder Road by Simone St. James #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Berkley Pub, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Murder Road in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: Berkley / PRH Audio Published: March 5, 2024   Summary: A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel. July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re…

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Dearest by Jacquie Walters #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @carriereadsthem_all & Mulholland Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Dearest in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mulholland Books / Hachette Audio Published: September 17, 2024   Summary: A new mom in need of help opens her door to her long-estranged mother—only to invite something much darker inside—in this “fast-paced and frightening debut” (Rachel Harrison) about the long shadows cast by family…

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The Doll’s House: A Short Story by Lisa Unger #bookreview #shortstory

I obtained this e-book through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published: September 12, 2024   Summary: A widowed mother, ready to give love another chance, moves into her fiancé’s old family home with her teenage daughter. But as they try to build a future together, the past refuses to let go in this haunting short story from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger. When Jules first meets the handsome…

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So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and Berkley Pub, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of So Thirsty in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Berkley / PRH Audio Published: September 10, 2024   Summary: A woman must learn to take life by the throat after a night out leads to irrevocable changes in this juicy, thrilling novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Such Sharp Teeth and Black Sheep.…

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The Return by Rachel Harrison #bookreview #audiobook #bookclubbook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Penguin Audio Published: March 24, 2020   Summary: A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut. Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return – except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out…

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Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and Over The River PR, #partner, for the advanced copy of Dear Hanna in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer / Brilliance Audio Published: August 13, 2024   Summary: Zoje Stage delivers another knockout with a blood-chilling follow-up to international sensation Baby Teeth, taking readers back into the unsteady world of a young sociopath who’s all grown up. Hanna is no…

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Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC of Sisters of the Lost Nation in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Penguin Audio Published: April 18, 2023   Summary: A young Native girl’s hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe’s reservation lead her to delve into the myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself, in this atmospheric and stunningly poignant debut. Anna Horn is…

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You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen #bookreview

Thank you Dutton / Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of You Know What You Did in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Dutton Published: April 16, 2024   Summary: In this heart-pounding debut thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Celeste Ng, a first-generation Vietnamese American artist must confront nightmares past and present… Annie “Anh Le” Shaw grew up poor but seems to have it all now: a dream…

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Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa #bookreview

Thank you Berkley Books, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Island Witch in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Berkley Books Pub date: February 20, 2023   Summary: Inspired by Sri Lankan folklore, award-winning author Amanda Jayatissa turns her feverish, Gothic-tinged talents to late 19th century Sri Lanka where the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been…

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Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols #bookreview

Thank you Celadon Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Granite Harbor in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Celadon Books Published: April 30, 2024   Summary: A small town in coastal Maine is under threat from a serial killer in this crime novel from Peter Nichols – bestselling author of The Rocks In scenic Granite Harbor on the coast of Maine, life has continued on–quiet and serene–for decades. That…

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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.…

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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…

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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…

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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,…

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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.…

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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,…

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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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Wonderland by Jennifer Hiller #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio /Netgalley, #partner for the ALC of Wonderland in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Macmillan Audio Published: April 11, 2023   Summary: From the bestselling author of the hugely popular thrillers Things We Do in the Dark, Little Secrets, and Jar of Hearts comes Wonderland, a roller coaster of a listen. Now in audio for the first time! After a personal tragedy and professional scandal forces homicide detective Vanessa Castro out of Seattle,…

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How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher:Berkley / Penguin Audio Published: January 17, 2023   Summary: Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else. When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter…

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The Angel Maker by Alex North #bookreview

Thank you Celadon Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Angel Maker in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Celadon Books Published: February 28, 2023   Summary: A dark, suspenseful new thriller about the mysteries of fate, the unbreakable bond of siblings, and a notorious serial killer who was said to know the future. Growing up in a beautiful house in the English countryside, Katie Shaw lived a charmed life.…

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Little Eve by Catriona Ward #bookreview

Thank you Tor Nightfire, #partner, for the advanced copy of Little Eve in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Tor Nightfire Published: October 11, 2022   Summary: A heart-pounding tale of faith and family, with a devastating twist “A great day is upon us. He is coming. The world will be washed away.” On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about…

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Book of Knives by Lise Haines #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Dreamscape Media/Netgalley, #partner for the ALC of Book of Knives in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Dreamscape Media Published: October 6, 2022   Summary: There are thirteen knives. One by one they begin to disappear Nora didn’t expect Hidden Lake Camp to be in a state of ruin. Dock full of rotten boards, smashed windows, cabins falling apart. To her new husband, Paul, the camp is the…

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We Spread by Iain Reid #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and @BookClubFavorites & Gallery/Scout Press #partner,  for the finished copy of We Spread in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: September 27, 2022   Summary: A new work of philosophical suspense. Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She…

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The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates #bookreview #series

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press, #partner for the advanced copy of The Ravenous Dead in exchange for my honest review.   Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Published: March 15, 2022 Summary: He’ll never let go…. Keira, hired as Blighty Graveyard’s new groundskeeper, lives surrounded by the dead. They watch her through the fog. They wordlessly cry out. They’ve been desperately waiting for help moving on—and only Keira can hear them. But…

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Jackal by Erin E. Adams #bookreview

Thank you Random House Publishing Group/Netgalley #partner, for the advanced copy of Jackal in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Bantam Books Published: October 4, 2022   Summary A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white Rust Belt town. But she’s not the first—and she may not be the last. . . . It’s watching. Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a…

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Shutter by Ramona Emerson #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Recorded Books for the ALC and Soho Crime #partner, for the advanced copy of Shutter in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: SoHo Crime / Recorded Books Published: August 2, 2022   Summary: This blood-chilling debut set in New Mexico’s Navajo Nation is equal parts gripping crime thriller, supernatural horror, and poignant portrayal of coming of age on the reservation Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer…

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Hokuloa Road by Elizabeth Hand #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @NovelSuspects & Mulholland Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Hokuloa Road in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Mulholland Books / Hachette Audio Published: July 19, 2022   Summary: From Shirley Jackson Award-winner Elizabeth Hand comes a haunting and atmospheric new mystery perfect for fans of White Lotus , about a young man hired to work as a caretaker in Hawaiʻi who is drawn into…

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Review: The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Publisher: Del Ray Books Published: July 20, 2021 Source: Personal copy   Summary: A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there. Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in…

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Review: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager (reread)

Publisher: Dutton Books Published: June 30, 2020 Source: Personal copy   Summary: What was it like? Living in that house. Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book…

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Review: No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson (audio)

Publisher: Random House Audio Published: September 28, 2021 Source: ALC via Libro.fm   Summary: From New York Times best-selling author Erik Larson comes his first venture into fiction, an otherworldly tale of intrigue and the impossible that marshals his trademark approach to nonfiction to create something new: a ghost story thoroughly grounded in history. Pioneering psychologist William James leads an expedition to a remote isle in search of answers after…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

Publisher: Berkley Books Published: October 5, 2021 Source: Netgalley via Publisher   Summary: Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found–but she’s still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Nesting. When single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in…

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Review: The Noise by James Patterson & J.D. Barker (audio)

Publisher: Hachette Audio Published: August 16, 2021 Source: ALC via Hachette Audio / Libro.fm   Summary: If you hear it, it’s too late. Can two sisters save us all? In the shadow of Mount Hood, sixteen-year-old Tennant is checking rabbit traps with her eight-year-old sister Sophie when the girls are suddenly overcome by a strange vibration rising out of the forest, building in intensity until it sounds like a deafening…

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Review: Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton Books Published: June 29, 2021 Source: Publisher   Summary: It’s November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana’s in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer. Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to…

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Review: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Title: Home Before Dark Author: Riley Sager Published: June 2020, Dutton Books Format: ARC E-copy, 384 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  What was it like? Living in that house. Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of…

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