Suspense – Page 3 – One Chapter

Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena

5 stars Thriller

I really didn’t like any of the characters in this book, except for Michael. Michael didn’t have much of a role in this book though. He was the one who I felt got left out when his emotions were high for no one gave him a second glance. It was Avery who was dancing in the limelight. Avery was Michael’s younger sister. They knew she was a “difficult child.” Yep, they had that right! She was a player, the one that had got my goat.

William had just gotten dumped by his lover, and he had come home to sulk. Finding his daughter at home was a surprise and not a good one. He wanted time alone, time to think and his nine-year-old daughter was not giving him the space that he wanted. But, it was Avery and she was being herself and right now, William was not in the mood. One thing led to another, and William tried to apologize for what had transpired between the two of them, but it was too late, the damage had been done.

Hours pass and Avery does not return home. Her whereabouts are unknown, and the police are called. A timeline is constructed and piecing the puzzle together brings out the truth that others have been trying to cover-up.

I enjoyed listening to this book and when another story was introduced, I had to know how this story was going to play out. William was having a terrible day when his lover left him but that was just the beginning. He hasn’t been paying attention to the world around him and now, it’s all coming at him. Avery is only nine, yet the way she thinks, she’s much older. Her parents know she’s a handful, but they don’t know the extent of it. She feels that she’s in control and I had to wonder if she really was at times. An entertaining read. 5 stars

After reading notes: Who is running this house, nine-year-old Avery or her parents? William, her father is a smart man to some extent but when it comes to his wife, his loyalty falls short. Avery likes the attention, the limelight – perhaps she gets that from her father but in the end, the stage is too much for this nine-year-old.”

Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

4.5 stars Thriller

That was definitely a ride! A twisted-up mess of murder, lies, secrets but it was oh, so good. Ruth, the pastor’s daughter, has been caught up in the middle of all of it, and who would have known. Everett has a history and together with Ruth, they are Dangerous with a capital D.

Everett came to the aid of shy, lonely Ruth and there was no turning back. They thought that they had hid the body well enough but when a skull surfaces and the police are called to investigate, they start to get nervous. More questions pop up when this skull is traced to a business owner whose family is now missing. Symbols located close to the tragic site have librarian staff wondering about their symbolism. Is there some type of spiritual evil amongst them? Or something else?

I liked how this story had some layers to it and the characters were on shaky ground themselves. Everett has fallen for Ruth, and I felt like Ruth was playing Everett along, because they had after all, killed, and hid a body together. Ruth was also dating Barry, who wanted to marry her. Barry knew nothing of this other side of Ruth. What a catch Ruth was turning out to be.

Everett’s behavior stemmed from his childhood but as time went on, having someone like Ruth with him, just encouraged it. I felt the energy and power that Ruth felt when she was with Everett. No longer the shy and timid person, Ruth was on fire. The two of them acted together not just for their benefit but to help others too. They were seekers of the truth, for they wanted answers, and nothing would stop them. The ending of this book, I thought was great. 4.5 stars

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

5 stars Thriller

Guilty! Or was he? Written in dual time periods, this book tells the story of Hannah and her friend April. Traveling back-and-forth in time, the story begins when Hannah was in college and fast-forwards to today, when Hannah is an adult. With characters that I was immediately drawn to, this story sucked me in. As Hannah walks onto the campus, the newness, the excitement, the apprehension, and the frailness for which she feels, you can’t help but hope for the best for her. She’s on unfamiliar territory but she was trying. She’s not outgoing but she’s determined to be successful. When she lands into the dorm room of April, I was worried. Here was April, a rich, spoiled, girl who liked to party rooming with studious Hannah. It was like mixing dirt and water.

Their relationship surprised me as the girls did more than tolerate one another, they helped each other. April pushed Hannah to go outside her boundaries and have fun while Hannah helped April see that not every day was a party. April still loved to party, and her unlimited cash flow made her popular among many. I feel that Hannah was envious of April’s lifestyle to a point, but she also saw how people treated April because of it. One night, Hannah finds April in their room dead. With a history of strange behavior, Hannah believes she knows who the killer is. With the police investigation and Hannah’s testimony, the killer is imprisoned.

Years later, the man has died in prison. The thoughts of her college years are once again, running through her head. Being hounded by interviews over the years, a new twist during an interview gets Hannah thinking. Did they convict the wrong man? Her husband tells Hannah to drop the issue, he was a college friend during this tragic event, but Hannah can’t get the thought out of her head. April was her closest friend, and she owes it to April to find the truth.

I liked the characters of April and Hannah. April was a spoiled child, yet she was generous, and she wasn’t cocky. The sky was the limit, and she really didn’t know the word, “no” so she acted accordingly. She could have had a self-centered, pouty attitude but instead it was all about fun and living in the moment. This was what made her fun and was also her weakness. Hannah was the serious one who was worried about success. She could let her hair down and have fun but to a point and then, it was back to business. As Ruth takes us through this journey, we’re drawn to these girls as we see a bit about ourselves in them or we wish we were a bit more like them. As the story unwinds, we find ourselves in the shoes of the characters wondering what we’d be doing had we been there or directing the characters to what they should be doing. There was a lot of switching back and forth in this book between the two timelines, but it was well worth it.

The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane

4.5 stars Mystery

Who was the crazy one? I was torn between trying to figure out if Elisa might just be going off the deep-end or if her brother-in-law was as demented as Elisa thought he was. How many women does Josh have to go through before someone besides Elisa notices something just isn’t right? Elisa didn’t seem to be the most stable character to believe yet I wanted to think that she was a caring individual and carried that trait onto being a terrific friend, spouse, and mother yet when her family starts to find holes in her stories, I started to wonder just how stable Elisa really was.

Elisa has been staying home lately due to an incident, but it seemed that her husband encouraged this decision. Elisa liked spending more time with their son Nathan but even Nathan can be too much sometimes. Elisa is concerned about her friend Abby who was dating Josh, her brother-in-law. She’s been missing for a while, and no one seems concerned except for Elisa. Josh seems to have moved on, providing an excuse about Abby disappearance. Elisa is not buying the story and when Josh arrives on the scene with a new girl, Elisa is all over it. Elisa doesn’t understand Josh’s attitude and where did this new girl come from? The story becomes entangled as the stories don’t match up and I begin to wonder who is playing who? Did the incident with Elisa change her? IS Josh the killer that Elisa believes he is? What part does her husband play in all this, as he’s dancing between the two stages, he’s the nice guy to the both of them? Just when I think I had the characters all figured out, Darby throws a wrench into the mix, and I’m left deciding if this tool really matters and who it belongs to. The book really got interesting towards the middle and by the end, I had to know how it all ended. I liked how this book made me question the information that was presented, and it made me analyze the characters. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, Scene of the Crime, and William Morrow in exchange for an honest opinion. 4.5 stars

The Manor by Gilly Macmillan

4.5 stars Thriller

Ahh! Oh, this was wicked. Wicked on some many different levels. I really enjoyed how this book was executed as it dragged me along, examining each character, as they each wore the badge as murderer.

Childhood sweethearts, Nicole and Tom won the lottery and were now finally enjoying their dream home. The state-of-the-art smart house was almost too smart for this couple as they settled into their new, quiet lifestyle. Arriving home from shopping, Nicole finds the stereo shattering the silence and her husband Tom, floating face-down in their pool. What? Already? Nicole finds help from neighbors Olly and Sasha, and Olly drags Tom’s body out of the water. It’s Olly comment about his wife that has me wondering what secret this couple is keeping from the rest of the world and what their link is, to their new neighbors.

Reading from a journal of Anna’s and the present day, this dual timeline mystery begins immediately as you start to put each character under the magnifying glass. As the investigation gets underway, Nicole stays with her neighbors at the Manor, as the Barn seems too terrifying to stay there alone. Nicole becomes friends with Kitty, the Manor’s housekeeper. I liked Kitty as she was a character that was very down-to-earth, and I felt she was straightforward. When an old friend comes to stay with Nicole at the Barn, he brings with him more twists than a branch has.

There are lots of twists and turns with this story, games of cat and mouse, and discoveries that when you uncover, you didn’t know that they were buried. Great story but I didn’t care for the ending. 4.5 stars

“Afraid of them and afraid of being without them, she was happy to agree to anything.”

The Guest by B. A. Paris

4 stars Mystery

What’s eating Gabriel? Since finding Charlie in the quarry, Gabriel just hasn’t been the same. While Gabriel was out running, he found the 18-year-old dying inside the quarry and now, he won’t discuss what happened. Experiencing burnout from work, Gabriel suggested a vacation but now, Iris and Gabriel have arrived home a day early, to Laure setting up house inside their home. Sure, she’s a good friend but wearing Iris’ clothes and rearranging their house is pushing it a bit too far. Such a great start to this book, so many unanswered questions to pull me in.

Laure’s marriage is falling apart, so she took refuge in Iris and Gabriel’s home. Part of her story makes sense, but I felt she was really putting on a good show for parts of it. Pierre, Laure’s husband, was a man who preferred to remain childless yet now he claims that he’s a father. He’s got a long story behind this one so I guess you can believe what he’s saying or not, but I had my doubts. Laure feels betrayed and she plays her role as a victim very well. Since they are such close friends, why hasn’t Pierre reached out to Gabriel? Deciding that Laure can continue to stay with Iris and Gabriel, the mystery begins to deepen.

Lauren started to annoy me as she was pushing herself onto everyone around her. She thought she was being clever and sneaky but dang, she irritated me. As we got inside Gabriel head, the author helps us figure out what’s bothering him which leads to more mystery. Then, there are the deaths. Deaths everywhere. Deaths and secrets are always an interesting and intriguing combination. With well-planned out and executed performances, for which some of them I never saw coming, it was a book that spiked my emotions. There were quite a few characters to keep track of during this story, but I liked that the author pulls the whole story together in the end and fully explains everything in the final pages. I’m a huge B.A. Paris fan as I enjoy the way she brings me into her stories and the way she twists her characters up. I don’t feel that this book was as intense as previous B.A. Paris books have been, but I enjoyed it for the characters and the mystery elements pulled me along. 4 stars

The New Neighbor by Carter Wilson

3.5 stars Mystery

It finally paid off! Marlowe has been playing the same lottery numbers for years and today, it finally paid off, as he nails all the numbers to win, thirty-million-dollar dollars! Marlowe should be dancing in the street but today, Marlowe is burying his wife. Really? Both of these events happen in the same day? This sounded kinda fishy to me as I tried to take in what was just happening. A major high and a major low all in one day, or was it?

With the means to start over, Marlowe takes his young children out of the city and moves them to the quieter countryside. It’s a beautiful old home with Marlowe being the children’s sole caregiver. He immediately begins setting up the house. With all the new adjustments, Marlowe invites his father to come stay for a while as he gets the family settled. It’s not long before Marlowe begins to receive threatening letters, letters stating that they are keeping an eye on him. Who and why, they don’t know. With some research, they realize that the perfect house that Marlowe bought came with its own past.

So many questions flooded my mind as I read this book. I was on edge about Marlowe throughout the book as he tries to take control of the many situations that surround him. When he invited his father out to the new house, lots of alarms sounded in my head yet perhaps I had imagined this would not be a good visit. The pacing of the book was fast at the beginning and soon it slowed down as the mystery started to shine. I was hoping for some unexpected twists to heighten the story for me. It was an enjoyable read not a memorable one. 3.5 stars

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

5 stars Thriller

The price we pay for our family. Career or family? Catherine is ready to begin a new chapter in her life, as she finishes up the last details on her new job in Baltimore. Currently working as a nurse in a memory care unit, there’s a land of opportunity awaiting Catherine. Her mother, a hard-working individual, is now beginning to display signs of aging: missing keys, a forgotten word, and loss of concentration. After months of reoccurrences, Catherine realizes that her mother might have Alzheimer’s. Confirming her assessment with a doctor’s visit, Catherine changes her future as her mother now needs her home.

Catherine’s has had limited knowledge about her past, including her family, so it’s no surprise to learn that her grandmother also had this disease. As Catherine digs into her family history, she begins to uncover truths that were meant to stay buried. Mother had tried to paint a good picture but now Catherine is peeling back the layers and discovering how much she really knows about her so-called life. It’s a book you want to savor yet you can’t stop the pages from flying by.

There are so many layers in this book which I really enjoyed. It’s a story that you can’t get too comfortable with, as you never know what the next page might bring. As Catherine started to uncover her mother’s deceit, she never knew what to expect. Catherine knew that she had a good mother but at what cost? Blessed with a devoted, loving mother, Catherine learns that behind that appearance was someone who wanted to be hidden. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and St. Martin’s Press for an arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris

4 stars Suspense

I always like it when a book starts off with a bang and this one definitely did. Amelie awakes but where is she? Opening her eyes, it’s dark, she’s on a mattress but where in the heck is she? Told in alternating timelines, the reader gets Amelie’s past and her current situation. With both of her parents gone, Amelie wants to get an education but lacks the funds to do so. At 16, she heads to London and as fate would have it, she runs into Carolyn. Carolyn needs Amelia as much as Amelia needs her, so an agreement is made. Amelia is welcomed into the circle of Carolyn’s work friends, and I liked how freely they accepted her and how easily they all got along. Amelia finally has some new friends and she’s starting to feel comfortable in London. Just when things were falling into place, she meets Carolyn’s boss, Ned Hawthorpe and she accepts Ned’s job offer. This was a big surprise and I had to wonder Ned’s motive in this offer. Amelia begins working at the newspaper and it’s one big happy family now, or is it? This happy little scenario continues as Ned proposes to Amelia and their happily-ever-after-life begins, or does it?

Why? The newlyweds are kidnapped and Amelie fears for their lives. Kept isolated from Ned, she keeps her wits about her in the darken room, as she tries to unravel the sounds and sights around her. She is one smart hostage as she waits for the ransom to be paid, marking off each day as time ticks by. Piece by piece, Amelie starts to put the puzzle together, trying to put a plan into motion but who is she escaping from?

What happened next took me by surprise and I had to put on the breaks. What was happening? I was running on adrenaline reading this first part of the book and now, the pacing slowed down, and parts of the book were coming together. As the past met up with the present, we came to understand the why and, in the end, I wasn’t expecting that. I’ve always been a huge B.A. Paris fan and I look forward to future books by this talented author.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Northwoods by Amy Pease

5 stars Mystery

Eli’s coping mechanism is drinking. Not just one drink but drinking sometimes, until he passes out. His job as a deputy keeps him going but lately, that’s not even helping. Since returning from Afghanistan, Eli has lost his career and his marriage, and now, his memories and drinking have taken over his life. His mother, the town’s sheriff, has put Eli on her force and she tries hard to help him while listening to her community’s comments about his performance. It’s a balancing act as a mother’s fights for her son and for what’s right for her community.

It’s another night of escape as Eli finds himself alone, isolated, enjoying one of his favorite beverages. He hears something and now, his relaxing night is over. Forced to put on his professional mask, Eli tries to sharpen his senses when he discovers a male body in a boat.

In a department that’s already short-staffed, they now have a murder to solve. It should be Eli’s case, but can he handle it? Calling in the FBI, Alyssa arrives on the scene, and I wondered how Eli and Alyssa would be able to work together. Eli still can’t put the bottle and Alyssa seems to be all business as they start to put the pieces together.

The author throws in a couple other stories into this case, adding more interesting characters that create a storyline that’s entertaining and full of energy. My favorite character was Eli, with all his difficulties and challenges, as I felt he gave the book strength and unpredictability. He was a torn character with potential. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I received an arc copy of this book from NetGalley, Atria Books, and Amy Pease in exchange for an honest opinion, thank you sharing your book with me. 5 stars.