Rage (Kate Burkholder #17) by Linda Castillo

  

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery
Content: Strong Language

 

Summer has arrived with a vengeance in Painters Mill, and a macabre discovery by three Amish children brings the quiet to a grinding halt. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder arrives on scene to find the dismembered body of 21-year-old Samuel Eicher, a local Amish man who owned a successful landscaping business. What twisted individual murdered him in such a sadistic way?

The investigation has barely begun when, miles away, a second body is found, stuffed into a barrel and dumped in a ravine. The deceased is 21-year-old Aaron Shetler, Samuel Eicher’s best friend. What could these two young Amish men have done to deserve such violent ends?

With a heat wave bearing down, Kate learns quickly that, for reasons she doesn’t understand, no one is willing to talk about what happened to the men. Just as she begins to fear the case may be hopeless, a mystery woman comes forward and reveals that fun-loving Aaron and Samuel had recently befriended some very unsavory characters―individuals who may have ties to a larger, more sinister, black market.

To solve the case, Kate must delve into the most sordid corners of her community, but when she gets too close, the killers target Kate herself. Will the secrets simmering beneath the surface of Painters Mill take another life before she can expose the truth? Or will Kate be the final victim? 

 

In this seventeenth novel in the Kate Burkholder Series we are greeted at the beginning with a brutal murder of an Amish man. This is nothing new for this series. Each book starts out with either a brutal murder or the discovery of one. This was not one of my favorites in the series. It was entertaining enough, but there were some things done by characters that either didn't make a lot of sense, or were just plain stupid. First off there was no good reason ever given for why the first body was dismembered when it could have just been buried where it was buried without doing all that. What was the point of dismembering the body if they were just going to bury the pieces in shallow holes right next to each other? And the other bodies weren't dismembered. So why the difference?

Then there was Kate herself. If you've read any of my other reviews of this series, then you know I've complained about how Kate does stupid things, like not waiting for backup to arrive before she gets herself into some of the situations she gets into. It happens at least once in each book, but this time she repeatedly does this over and over. She decides to investigate something and then calls one of her deputies to meet her there. Then every time she ends up getting there before they do, and she proceeds to walk straight into trouble without waiting for them. What's the point in calling them? You would think the first time she got beat up it would have made her more cautious, but nope. There are also other things she does in these situations that scream inexperience, but we are supposed to believe that she is a seasoned police chief.

I was also in complete disbelief that Kate and John didn't see all the red flags that were pointing to human trafficking in this book. I don't even think it is a spoiler to say this in my review because it was so obvious from very early on that this was what was happening. Kate in particular came off as an idiot in this book. I'm actually beginning to question whether or not I want to keep reading this series. It's not the first time I've felt this way, I almost quit this series before but decided to keep going because I liked certain things about it. I still like those things. I like the details of the Amish community, and I like the relationship between Kate and John and the small details we get about their home life. This book was very sparse on all those things though. 

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Silenced Girls (Agent Tori Hunter #1) by Roger Stelljes

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language, We get the perspective of a serial killer but nothing too detailed, Fade to black sex

 

She moved far away to try and forget her past. A past that would seep back in when she least expected it and crushed her soul over and over. She tried to keep the evidence packed away in boxes high up on a closet shelf like carefully packing away a tragic part of her life. As if sealing the boxes, was sealing away a time in her life she desperately wanted to go back and change. Until one day a mysterious letter arrives from an unknown sender that unravels everything.

FBI Special Agent Tori Hunter returns to her hometown of Manchester, Minnesota for the first time in twenty years to investigate the disappearance of a woman who is gone without a trace. She is desperate to solve a case that will cause her to confront her own painful past and question the motives of friends she thought she knew and trusted. It will plunge her and the other detectives into the crosshairs of a dangerous killer while in search of the truth.

 

This was a good start to the series. In the beginning I struggled to like the main character. Some of her behavior annoyed me, but she eventually grew on me, and grew as a character by the end of the book. I liked Braddock right off the bat though. He was definitely the smartest person in the book. I had some issues with the way the investigation went and some of the assumptions that were made by Braddock's superiors. They kept saying they knew things that were only assumptions, but that they had no proof to back up. Despite those minor annoyances, I enjoyed this and found it entertaining. I think it's comparable to the Tracy Crosswhite series by Robert Dugoni, so if you like that series give this one a try. 

The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language; Kidnapping, torture, murder, and animal cruelty, although none of that happens on page.

 

Some doors are locked for a reason…

While eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement.

Until the day the police arrived at their front door.

Decades later, Nora’s father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence. Nobody knows her father was a notorious serial killer. And she intends to keep it that way.

Then Nora discovers one of her young female patients has been murdered. In the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims.

Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she’s not a killer like her father. The police can’t pin anything on her.

As long as they don’t look in her basement.

 

After reading the book description, I went into this wondering what was in Nora's basement. I don't think it's a spoiler at all to say this book is set up to make us wonder if we can trust Nora or not. What I really enjoyed about this book was that I could never be sure until the end. I think I followed every single misdirection the story sent my way. I'm not sure how I feel about some revelations at the end of the book but it was thoroughly enjoyable. I was completely glued to this flaws and all. I can see why this author is so popular. I'll definitely be reading more!

 

 

 

 

The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb

 

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Gothic, Mystery, Ghost story,
Content: A fade to black sex scene

 

Grace Alban has spent twenty years away from her childhood home, the stately Alban House, for reasons she would rather forget. But when her mother's unexpected death brings Grace and her teen-age daughter home, she finds more haunting the halls and passageways of Alban House than her own personal demons.

Long-buried family secrets, a packet of old love letters and a lost manuscript plunge Grace into a decades-old mystery about a scandalous party at Alban House, when a world-famous author took his own life and Grace's aunt disappeared without a trace. The night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for all of these years, and Grace realizes her family secrets tangle and twist as darkly as the secret passages of Alban House. Her mother was intending to tell the truth about that night to a reporter on the very day she died - could it have been murder? Or was she a victim of the supposed Alban curse? With the help of the disarmingly kind--and attractive—Reverend Matthew Parker, Grace must uncover the truth about her home and its curse before she and her daughter become the next victims.

 

I've liked other books I've read by this author but I found this one to be frustrating. It was the slow pace of the story, and the way it took its time to reveal all the secrets, some of which were obvious. There would be something about to be revealed and then the author would have to insert descriptions of what they were eating and the scenery to drag it out needlessly. It was dragged out so much that I almost felt like throwing the book across the room a couple of times. 

I also got frustrated with how dumb some of the characters were. All those secrets they just couldn't bring themselves to tell so that they could protect this wealthy family. It was just unreal. And I'm not buying that a family this wealthy with a mansion like that wouldn't have 24 hour hired security there, plus a state of the art security system. 

On top of all that the minister of the church is sleeping with his parishioner whom he barely knows, and whom isn't really a church goer herself. It just didn't seem very believable that a minister would do that. 

Then there was the epilogue. I absolutely hated it.

 

 

 

 

 

Girl Number One by Jane Holland

  

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language, One moderately descriptive sex scene

 

As a young child, Eleanor Blackwood witnessed her mother's murder in woods near their farm. The killer was never found.

Now an adult, Eleanor discovers a woman's body in the same spot in the Cornish woods where her mother was strangled eighteen years before. But when the police get there, the body has disappeared.

Is Eleanor’s disturbed mind playing tricks on her again, or has her mother’s killer resurfaced? And what does the number on the dead woman’s forehead signify?

 

I listened the audio of this and I wasn't crazy about the narrator. Overall this was just ok. Nothing surprised me and the main character annoyed me. She did some stupid things. She was also always thinking about how attractive the men she was acquainted with were. She was suspicious of one man but still slept with him, which didn't make any sense to me. Nothing in the book really surprised me at all. The person I suspected the most ended up being the present day killer, and I had also thought about the possibility of the other person being her mother's killer. 

I've noticed there are a few things most of the psychological suspense thrillers I've read by UK authors have in common. The police are inept at their jobs and dismissive, the parents of the main characters are downright mean and unsupportive, and lots of smoking that's portrayed as though it's sexy instead of a health hazard. This one was the same. I'm not sure if this is a trend or just a coincidence, but I'm a bit tired of it. I think I'm going to stick to authors in this genre that I know I like for a while.

 

The Ghost Line by Andrew Neil-Gray and J.S. Herbison

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Sci-fi, Horror, Paranormal, Ghosts, Suspense
Content: Mild Language

 

The luxury cruise ship the Martian Queen was decommissioned years ago, set to drift back and forth between Earth and Mars on the off-chance that reclaiming it ever became profitable for the owners. For Saga and her husband Michel the cruise ship represents a massive payday. Hacking and stealing the ship could earn them enough to settle down, have children, and pay for the treatments to save Saga’s mother’s life.

But the Martian Queen is much more than their employer has told them. In the twenty years since it was abandoned, something strange and dangerous has come to reside in the decadent vessel. Saga feels herself being drawn into a spider’s web, and must navigate the traps and lures of an awakening intelligence if she wants to go home again.

 

This was a slightly creepy, atmospheric read on an abandoned luxury space liner. It was like a haunted house, only it's a space ship. I enjoyed exploring the ship and uncovering the secrets hidden there, but the creepy moments could have been dialed up a lot more than they were, and there could have been a lot more of them. Some things about this reminded me a little of the movie Passengers. It's sort of what I was expecting Passengers to be when I watched it. Anyway, this was good but not great. I enjoyed it for what it was, even though it could have been creepier. It still made for a nice, slightly creepy read before Halloween.

The Big Four (Hercule Poirot #5) by Agatha Christie

  

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense
Content: Clean

 

Famed private eye Hercule Poirot tackles international intrigue and espionage in this classic Agatha Christie mystery.

Framed in the doorway of Hercule Poirot's bedroom stands an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man stares for a moment, then he sways and falls. Who is he? Is he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what is the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper?

Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life—and that of his "twin brother"—to uncover the truth.

 

I saved this book for last instead of reading it in order because it seems most people think it's the weakest book in the whole series. So, instead of saving the best for last, I saved the worst for last. After reading it, I agree that it wasn't great. I had very low expectations going into this and so I wasn't disappointed. It was maybe even a little better than I was expecting. This is basically Hercule Poirot meets spy novel. The big four that the title eludes to are rather over the top at times, much in the same way a James Bond villain might be. Also, Hercule Poirot did things in this book that an old man shouldn't be spry enough to do.

My main enjoyment came from the fact that Hastings was in this book. Having finished all the other books in the series, and reading the latter books in order of publication, it's been a long time since Hastings has been in one of the books and I missed him. It was like revisiting an old friend. The friendship between Hastings and Poirot was what made me give this book 2.5 stars instead of just two. Everything else in the book was pretty ridiculous.

I'm sad to have come to the end of the Hercule Poirot novels, but not too sad because there are still over 50 short stories to read. So now it's onto those.

 

 

 

 

 

The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Suspense
Content: Strong language

 

Her first love confessed to five murders. But the truth was so much worse.

Dublin's notorious Canal Killer, Will Hurley, is ten years into his life sentence when the body of a young woman is fished out of the Grand Canal. Though detectives suspect they are dealing with a copycat, they turn to Will for help. He claims he has the information the police need, but will only give it to one person - the girl he was dating when he committed his horrific crimes.

Alison Smith has spent the last decade abroad, putting her shattered life in Ireland far behind her. But when she gets a request from Dublin imploring her to help prevent another senseless murder, she is pulled back to face the past - and the man - she's worked so hard to forget. 

I'm so glad I discovered this author. I knew after reading The Nothing Man that I wanted to read more of her books, and this second one was also very good. This author is very good as writing character centered psychological suspense, a type of book that I love if done right. I enjoyed the slow build of this story and I thought the characters were very well written. It kept me guessing for a while, but I realized how things were going to end up somewhere in the middle of the book. That being said, it still kept me reading because I wasn't sure I was right. If you enjoy this type of book then I recommend this one and The Nothing Man. I'm looking forward to reading more of Catherine Ryan Howard's books.

 

“Did he really think I’d escaped all this intact? That I could love him and he could kill people and then I could just go on and live a normal life? That I could have those things now, no harm done? Didn’t he realise what he’d done?” 

 

 

 

 

 

The Burning (Kate Burkholder #16) by Linda Castillo

  

 My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Content: Strong language, A gruesome murder with details from the murdered person's perspective

 

Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is awakened by an urgent midnight call summoning her to a suspicious fire in the woods. When she arrives at the scene, she discovers a charred body. According to the coroner, the deceased, an Amish man named Milan Swanz, was chained to a stake and burned alive. It is an appalling and eerily symbolic crime against an upstanding husband and father.

Kate knows all too well that the Amish prefer to handle their problems without interference from the outside world, and no one will speak about the murdered man. From what she’s able to piece together, Swanz led a deeply troubled life and had recently been excommunicated. But if that’s the case, why are the Amish so reluctant to talk about him? Are they protecting the memory of one of their own? Or are they afraid of something they dare not share?

When her own brother is implicated in the case, Kate finds herself not only at odds with the Amish, the world of which she was once a part, but also the English community and her counterparts in law enforcement. The investigation takes a violent turn when Kate’s life is threatened by a mysterious stranger.

To uncover the truth about the death of Milan Swanz, Kate must dive deep into the Anabaptist culture, peering into all the dark corners of its history, only to uncover a secret legacy that shatters everything she thought she knew about the Amish themselves―and her own roots.

 

It's hard to believe I've read 16 books in this series. This latest installment starts out with a very gruesome murder, and quite frankly, I had a hard time reading the details. From looking at the cover, I thought someone's barn would be set on fire but unfortunately it wasn't a barn. If you've read the books description then you'll know, but I didn't read it beforehand. 

There were some interesting historical things about the Anabaptist culture in this book, and I had to look those things up on my own and read about them. I also enjoyed Kate and Tomasetti as they embarked on life as a married couple, and he even attempted to help her with this case. This book was pretty average for the series. Kate, as always, did some things I thought weren't very well thought out, and on top of that she came off as super human with the way she kept taking beatings yet could keep going. That aspect of the story wasn't very believable. 

Overall I liked this book but it wasn't one of my favorites in the series. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Red House by George Agnew Chamberlain

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Gothic, Mystery, Suspense
Content: Clean

 

For fifty years fear of the vanishing red house in the Jersey Pine Barrens had warped the lives of Ellen and Pete Yocum. Old Pete swore that the house moved from place to place and that screams heard within it put a hex on anyone who ventured near.

Meg Yarrow, raised by the Yocums since childhood, experienced the same terror until Nathan, the new farmhand, arrived. One day they started on a search for the red house in the Oxhead woods, only to encounter violent danger—whether due to natural or supernatural causes, they could not tell.

How they found the house and unraveled its eerie secret forms the powerful climax of this outstanding mystery novel.

 

 

 

Years ago I saw a old classic movie called The Red House on TV and I really liked it. The movie featured Edward G. Robinson and Judith Anderson—famous for her portrayal of Mrs. Daners in the 1940 film version of Rebecca. I liked it so much I bought a copy of it. So when I found out it was based on a book, I decided to read it. I added it to my to-read list a few years ago and forgot about it for a while. When I was looking for short books and novellas to read for the February reading challenge I came across it on my list again and decided to finally read it. 

Based on reviews I had read, I knew that there were some differences in the book and the movie, but it's been so long that I can't remember some things about the movie. The differences I did notice, I didn't mind. This is a gothic type read and I expected this to have a creepier feel to it than it had. Instead of being creepy, it has some very tense situations that kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked the characters Meg and Nath and the way their relationship developed over time. There were also some unsavory characters in the book that ramped up the suspense off and on. I really enjoyed the old style of story telling of this book, and the somewhat isolated, backwoods feel to it. 

Two mystery novellas- Buried Deep by Margot Hunt, and The Call by Christian White

Recently, the Mystery Book Club I've been reading with decided to add in several books that are free to listen to on Audible Plus. These two books were included in the list, with past reads being The Narrator and The Cabin on Souder Hill. Out of these two books, I ended up liking one a lot better than the other. Interestingly enough they had some similarities to each other, but one was written with characters I could understand and sort of like despite what they end up doing, and the other was not. 

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Content: Strong Language

 

Jackie and Pete King have lived in Dunmore for years, running one of the two local pubs in the sleepy little town. Money has been tight after the bushfires, and it’s about to get tighter if they can’t find a way to pay their suppliers to keep their business going and keep the bank from foreclosing on their property. So when Jackie receives a mysterious phone call offering them $100,000 to let someone bury a body on their land, the answer isn’t as simple as they thought it would be.

It’s a deal that could change their lives. But when a woman in the next town over goes missing, it’s a deal that could ruin them forever.

 

This was a novella length story that was pretty easy to predict, but I still enjoyed the twist in it anyway. Jackie and Pete make a bad choice, but at the same time I could understand why they did it. At some points in the story they ended up being their own worst enemies because they were in over their heads, and couldn't handle the thing they chose to do. The ending fit the story, but at the same time I kind of wished they would have made a different choice. I did feel sad for the victim's family not ever getting closure. This was an entertaining read that I recommend if you're looking for something short on Audible Plus.

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Content: Nothing I can remember

 

In this pulse-pounding short thriller, Maggie Cabot refuses to sit by idly as police re-open an investigation into the mysterious death of a woman her husband used to know.

After two decades in a near-perfect marriage, Maggie and James Cabot are enjoying their first year as empty-nesters in their charming Florida suburb, until two detectives arrive at their front door and change their lives forever.

The remains of a young woman have been found at a campsite in the Florida Keys. Hannah Nilsson, only 21 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen on a camping trip with a group of friends—including James, who dated Hannah long before he and Maggie ever met. Shocked and heartbroken, everyone on the trip said they assumed Hannah had wandered off toward shore, intoxicated from a long night of partying, and drowned. But the discovery of her body 25 years later, half a mile away from the campsite and buried six feet deep, makes it clear that her death was not accidental.

As the police dig back into the case, Maggie begins her own investigation, desperate to piece together the truth and clear her husband’s name once and for all.

 

This was another novella and I liked it up to a point, but the main character, Maggie was not a likable person, so that kind of ruined it for me. She was jealous of her husband's ex-girlfriend who disappeared years before she knew him. I thought it was ridiculous that she was jealous that her husband loved someone before he ever met her. She then makes herself even further annoying by being jealous of the fact they are investigating the girl's murder. I was hoping for a character that I could sympathize with at least a little, but the people in this book really were despicable, with the main character being the worst of them all. Still 3 stars because it was entertaining.

The Narrator by K. L. Slater

  

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Strong language, Kidnapping, Psychological torture

 

What if the chance of a perfect life… put your daughter in grave danger?

Being a single mother is tough, but I’d do anything for my little girl Scarlet. I’d given up on my career as a voice actor when the call came, but suddenly I was the new narrator for a secret book from bestselling author Philippa Roberts, who has been missing for eight months. It was a lifeline for me and my daughter.

I hated that it meant leaving Scarlet with my ex in his perfect new home with his perfect new girlfriend. But I knew it was the right thing to do.

But as I start reading Philippa’s new novel, I start to wonder if it’s no coincidence that I’ve been chosen to narrate it. There’s something hidden in the pages of this book, I’m sure of it. Some clue to Philippa’s disappearance. And I don’t feel safe. I think I’m being watched. My room has been searched.

And then my ex’s girlfriend calls in tears and everything starts to click together. If I don’t find answers fast, I’ll lose more than my second chance. I’ll lose my daughter.

 

First off, I want to point out that the book description is very misleading. There are multiple things in the description that didn't happen in the book, or at least not the way they are described. I've never felt so lied to by a book description.

As for the book itself, it was suspenseful, but highly improbable. In the beginning I felt like I was reading something very dark. I was worried about what was going to happen to this lady that was kidnapped. I was picturing all sorts of terrible things. Then it took a different turn, one that was kind of absurd.

As far as the characters went, I mostly liked the main character, but I didn't care for any of the others. The main character's ex-husband was so despicable, I was grinding my teeth at one point, and her mother wasn't much better. I couldn't believe they were being such pushovers to this guy. Then there's the kidnap victim. She, at one point did something so dumb during this ordeal, that I found it unbelievable.

And that brings us to the whole kidnapping in general. WHY? I was very surprised at the twist in this book, and that's probably because there weren't enough clues given in the book to point me in that direction. I mainly don't understand why this person did all this. WHY? It didn't really make much sense. The motivation was flimsy for the ends this person went to.

Initially, I was going to give this 3 stars, but as I've thought about it more and more I've decided on 2.

A Litter of Bones (DCI Logan #1) by J. D. Kirk

   

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language, Animal mutilation, Child kidnapping and murder

 

Was the biggest case of his career the worst mistake he ever made?

Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed 'Mister Whisper,' earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process.

Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow's Major Incident Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw.

And what he did.

When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home.

But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago?

And, if so, is the real Mister Whisper about to claim his fourth victim?
 

This is the first book I've read by this author and I ended up liking it quite a bit. It dealt with the disturbing subject matter of children being kidnapped and murdered by a serial killer, so at first I wasn't sure how easy it was going to be for me to read this, but overall the details were kept to a minimum. I found the mutilation of several cats to be rather more disturbing. 

The dark subject matter was lightened up a bit by the unexpected humor in the book. DCI Logan is an interesting character. Some have said his personality is off-putting, but I enjoyed reading about him. He's a man that carries around a lot of baggage but is still able to inject humor into things. I'm looking forward to reading more about him. 

In the end, the resolution to who the killer was and why caught me by surprise, and although I'm not sure how plausible I think some of it was, it made for good reading.

The Memory Watcher by Minka Kent

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Strong Language including several F bombs, Moderately descriptive sex scenes, Sexual innuendo and crude language, Drug use

 

When Autumn Carpenter stumbles upon the social media account of the family who adopted her infant daughter years ago, she finds herself instantly drawn into their picture-perfect existence. 
 
From behind a computer screen, Autumn watches Grace's every memory, from birthdays to holidays to bedtime snuggles. But what starts as an innocent fascination spirals into an addictive obsession met with a screeching halt the day the McMullen family closes their Instaface account without so much as a warning. 
 
Frantic and desperate to reconnect with her daughter, Autumn applies for a nanny position with the McMullens, manipulating herself into Grace's life under false pretenses. And it's only then that Autumn discovers pictures lie, the perfect family doesn't exist, and beautiful people? They have the ugliest secrets.

 

A couple of years ago I read The Watcher Girl by Minka Kent and enjoyed it. Then I found out that it was sort of a sequel to this book, The Memory Watcher. Even though both books are standalone stories, I wished I had known that so that I could have read them in the right order. Now, two years later I've finally gotten around to reading this after it was chosen as my "pick it for me" book for November. 

This book was very engrossing and I had so much empathy for Grace as a child. I just wanted to give her a hug. I also wanted to slap some sense into the adults in her life. This book isn't really about Grace so much as the adults around her, but her character really stood out to me, partly because she's the main character in The Watcher Girl as an adult. I had forgotten a lot of what happened in The Watcher Girl so, because of that there was a twist that I wasn't expecting in this book. I was glad that I had forgotten so much because it enhanced my reading experience of this book.

I found the main character in this book very interesting, even though from the beginning we know she has an unhealthy obsession and that she's off mentally, I also felt sorry for her at times. One thing I really liked about this book were the layered characters. No one is what they seem, they have good and bad sides to them, and I found most of them both sympathetic and deplorable at the same time. I thought the author did a good job of showing how the people in the story had different perspectives on what was happening, and how that wasn't necessarily the whole story. I do want to add that this book had a lot more sex in it than the other books I've read by this author. I don't really remember any at all in her other books, but it wasn't really done in a sexy way, it was uncomfortable and at times seedy.

After I finished this book I decided to go back and read The Watcher Girl again because I had forgotten so much about it. When I read it the first time I didn't find Grace all that likable, but on my second read I felt like I understood her and liked her a lot more. 

On a side note, I really liked the author's forward that she included in this book about how she came to write this story in the first place.

 

 

 

 

After the Party by Georgina Lees

   

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Strong language

 

He should have chosen me.
I never should have chosen him.

Lizzie has been in love with her colleague Dean for three years but he’s never given her a second glance.

When a job offer in London promises to launch her art career she finally feels ready to upend her life in pursuit of her dream … until the night of the office Christmas party when Dean confesses his love for someone else – Rebecca, one of Lizzie’s closest friends.

A few days later, the police show up on her doorstep.

Rebecca is missing.

After reading The Girl Upstairs, I really wanted to try another book by this author. As I said in my review for that book, I liked the way the author was able to write characters that, in the beginning weren't very likable, but then grew into likable characters that I understood. While that book had a main character who was reclusive, this one had a main character who was obsessed with a coworker. I liked that this author writes these types of flawed characters, but in this case it didn't work for me, and the main reason it didn't work for me was because there was no growth. I just wanted Lizzie to realize some things about herself and make a change, but Lizzie was never strong enough to really be her own person, and that was sad. 

I also felt like this book was more predictable. I figured out what had happened and why well before the end, and speaking of the end, that was a terrible ending! I disliked who she ended up with in the end, and I didn't like that certain things were swept under the rug. Despite disliking this book, I'll probably still read the other book on my to-read list by this author.

The New Wife by Karen Clarke

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Strong language

 

The people you trust are the people who hurt you the most.

Nell Cosgrove is the new wife who got it all. She married her handsome, wealthy boss within six months of meeting him. They live in a beautiful riverside home. She has a flourishing career.

The only problem is her two stepdaughters, Ruby and Poppy, who are fiercely loyal to their mother, and reject all her overtures.

But now everything is falling apart. Nell’s marriage is starting to crack. Her husband spends more and more time away on business.

She gets creepy text messages from an unknown admirer. He sends mysterious bouquets of flowers to her office. She starts making mistakes at work.

Everything Nell thought she knew about her marriage and her new life is about to be turned upside down.

 

I listened to the audiobook of this, and I didn't care for the narration very much. It may have turned me off this one a little. This is also the first book I've read by this author that she co-wrote with another author, so that could also be why this one felt a bit different to me. From now on, I do think I'll stick to actually reading the rest of this author's books.

There was a lot going on in this book, and although I guessed pretty early on what was going on with the main plot and who was behind it, I didn't see some of the subplot stuff coming. I kind of felt like there were too many elements to the story. One thing I do like about this author are the epilogues. There's usually some shocking little twist in them, and this one was no exception. I have mixed feelings about the end of this one, although I liked how things ended up for most of the characters. 

I may have jinxed myself when I said I was on a winning streak with psychological suspense in a previous review. This is the second 3 star read from this author now, which isn't bad, just not as good as the ones I read before.

Your Life for Mine by Karen Clarke

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Off page sex

A stranger died to save you… now it’s your turn.
Meet Beth Turner.

From the outside, she looks like any other thirty-three-year-old woman, with a gorgeous house and beautiful daughter.

But Beth has a secret that has haunted her past for as long as she can remember. A secret that only those closest to her know.

Aged seven, she almost drowned on a family holiday… and a stranger died saving her life. Survivors guilt has been the defining characteristic of her life ever since.

So, when Beth receives a threatening text message from an anonymous number on the way to her surprise birthday party, she knows her time is up.

"Enjoy your birthday, Beth. It’ll be your last."

As she arrives at her house, there’s only one thing she knows for certain, someone at the party wants her dead.

 

I've been really loving this author's books, but this one was a bit of a miss for me. The whole feel of this book was different from the others. On a positive note, it was the first one of her books that I didn't have figured out halfway through. Although I did consider this person could possibly be the culprit at one point, I suspected several people. 

The thing that I disliked about this book the most was the main character. I usually really like the main characters in Karen Clarke's books, but there were many times I thought this one was too stupid to live. I also really disliked the way she treated her estranged husband. This woman's whole life was ruled by fear, and it all stemmed from something that happened when she was only 7 years old. I feel like she should have been able to get past it years before she did, and I think her parents just made things so much worse for her. The thing was always there because they couldn't forget about it and treated her differently because of it. I also have to question how much a woman in her 30s would remember about the smells of a place from when she was 7 years old. I almost drowned once in a river when I was a child and I couldn't tell you anything about the way the place smelled. 

So overall this was a disappointment, but I'm still looking forward to reading more books by this author. One 3 star book amongst several 4 star books isn't bad. 

The Survivors by Jane Harper

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language

 

Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets...

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.

The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away...

 

This is one of those mysteries where the protagonist has been living away from home for some years and goes back to visit, only to be caught up in murder and mysterious happenings that involve old friends and childhood secrets. It's a formula I like most of the time, and it worked pretty well here. I'm a fan of this author's writing style, but I didn't like this one quite as much as I liked her Aaron Falk books, but this was still a very enjoyable read that kept me guessing the whole time. I don't think there was anyone in this book that I didn't suspect at some point. I really liked the main character Kieran and felt for him with the emotional baggage he carried around for so many years. I got angry at a few people in this book that let him carry it around too. I will say that I think the whole reason behind the murder was a little weak, but enjoyed trying to piece together the clues in this one.

The Girl Upstairs by Georgina Lees

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Strong Language

 

How well do you know your neighbour?
Would you trust them with your life?

I heard Emily before I saw her. The harsh smack of heels against cheap wooden floorboards. The loud phone calls. The incessant music.

I knew Emily before I met her. Discarded receipts in our communal hallway. Sticky leftovers in the shared food waste bin. Wine shop vouchers in the letterbox.

Now she’s gone missing, and I’m the only one who can find her. The only one who can save her.

Because I know her best, and I heard everything.

The Girl Upstairs is a spine-tingling psychological thriller of grief and obsession that explores how lonely London can be and how sometimes it’s our neighbours who see us most, who know us best…

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it enough to want to read her other books. It started off a little rocky for me. At first I didn't like the main character, Suzie all that much, but that gradually changed as I continued to read the book. I also didn't like Emily, the girl that lived upstairs, but for a completely different reason. That also changed as I read. The story goes at a slow pace and there were no real big twists or revelations that I didn't see coming, but it worked for me. My favorite character ended up being the main character's sister. I loved the way she helped, protected, and defended Suzie. 

Lately, I feel like I've been on a real winning streak with the psychological suspense books I've chosen, and I'm glad to have found some books by authors that I enjoy reading.

The Silent Woman by Minka Kent

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: A very small amount of strong language

 

Newlywed Jade Westmore has finally found her forever in husband Wells, a charming, successful, and recently divorced architect—only there’s one caveat. Behind the gates of their elysian estate, hidden from street view in the caretaker’s cottage … lives Wells’ first wife, Sylvie.

Three years ago, the original Mrs. Westmore suffered an unfortunate accident—and hasn’t uttered a sound since. Not a physician, psychologist, or world-renown specialist has been able to elicit so much as a word from the silent woman … until now.

On an ordinary Tuesday while Wells was away—despite instructions to never disturb the fragile woman—Jade visited her isolated predecessor bearing a peace offering: a bouquet of white lilies. Only she wasn’t expecting Sylvie to have something for her as well: a slip of torn notebook paper with a single word scrawled in shaky black ink.

That word? Run.

 

I've read several books by Minka Kent and enjoyed them all, so I was happy to try another one. I loved the premise of this one, and from the description, it seemed pretty straightforward. However, I know this author likes to add in some wild twists to her stories, so I had developed some theories as I read and I was sure one of them would be correct. I have to say that this book surprised me in more than one way. The non-spoiler way in which it surprised me, is that the main character is very smart and keeps her cards close to her chest most of the time, instead of blabbing her suspicions to other people. There were only a couple of times that I thought maybe she shouldn't tell someone something. I loved that she went about investigating what happened to her husband's first wife in an intelligent way. Also, nothing in this book stood out to me as not in keeping with the characters as they developed, even when we finally find out the truth. This was a problem I had with one of this author's other books, Unmissing. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and stayed up late to finish it. I'm looking forward to reading even more books by this author.