Tag: mystery

Ashes in Venice: A Vengeance Thriller by Gojan Nikolich

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Date of Publication: March 3rd, 2022

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A heartless psychopath with size 16 shoes, nursing home hookers and an irreverent Las Vegas homicide detective with a gambling habit set the tone for this off-beat tale of revenge and retribution.

Blackjack addict Frank Savic is deeply in debt and facing family problems when he’s asked to delay his retirement to catch a vigilante killer who murders other murderers in a manner the veteran cop has never seen.

While dead bodies stack up in quick succession, the motorcycle-riding policeman also finds himself reluctantly involved with a desperate mother who will do anything to get justice for her dead son.

Savic, his investigation complicated by a suspected FBI coverup and a prison bribery scandal, is unaware that the murderer might be the solution to his own financial and domestic dilemma.

Add a vengeful killer who seeks justice for his own unbearable loss and you have a teasing psychological thriller that blurs the line between good and evil and where surgical bone saws and spiders are just tools of the trade.

First Line:

Shirtless in the heat at night, Jasper Colt peeled his naked back from the filthy vinyl chair next to the open window.

ashes in venice by gojan nikolich

I went into reading Ashes in Venice thinking that this was going to be a standard psychological thriller where the cop and the killer do a cat and mouse chase, with the cop coming out on top in the end. I was very wrong about that. What I read was an intriguing thriller where I cheered the killer on and hoped the cop didn’t catch him. Weird, right? But I loved it!!

Ashes in Venice had an exciting plotline. Frank Savic is a Las Vegas cop who is weeks away from retirement when he is asked to postpone it to help with a serial killer case. Needing the money due to overwhelming debt, Frank agrees. As the body count rises, Frank’s personal life and investigation intertwine. Can Frank find the killer? What is the motive behind the killings? And what’s the deal with the spiders?!?

Ashes in Venice had a medium-paced plotline. I enjoyed that because it gave me time to process each chapter without feeling rushed into the next one. The plotline did pick up speed towards the end of the book (when everything was coming together).

What I liked the most about this book because the main character was morally grey. Take Frank, for instance. He was an old-school cop who didn’t think anything of roughing up a witness to get what he wanted. Towards the beginning of the book, there was one scene where he took a witness’s phone and threw it in a fridge. But, on the other hand, he was a doting husband trying to take care of his wife, who is in a nursing home and is suffering from dementia. I loved it!! Sometimes, I need a main character who isn’t good but isn’t bad, and Frank delivered that.

I also felt sympathy for the killer. He went through what is my worst nightmare (as a parent and wife). So, I understood why he started doing vigilante killing. Once his end game was revealed, I was rooting for him. I can say this with 100% honesty; I have never rooted for a killer not to get caught.

The last main character is William (aka Billy). He has been sentenced to life in jail for murdering the son of a secondary character. Billy is one of the vilest, disgusting characters I have ever read. He deserved everything that happened to him.

The secondary characters fleshed out the book and gave it an extra depth. I enjoyed the realistic portrayal of the nursing home that Frank’s wife was in. Having worked in one, I can testify that most of what is portrayed in the book is true.

I want to warn everyone that there is graphic violence and gore in the book. It didn’t bother me (I usually am not affected by stuff like that), but it might affect someone sensitive to that. There is also mention of rape and multiple child murders.

The thriller angle of the book was well written. I couldn’t get enough of it. The author kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering if Frank would catch the killer and what the motives were.

I felt the same way about the suspense angle of the book. As I mentioned above, I was kept at the edge of my seat the entire book.

The author amazingly wrote the end of Ashes in Venice. I loved how everything was wrapped up and finally understood why the book was titled the way it was. I will say that the scene with Billy and the spiders was one of the more gruesome and inventive ones that I have read. The end scenes were sad, and I wasn’t prepared for the final chapter.

I would recommend Ashes in Venice to anyone over 21. There is language, extreme violence, and extreme gore.

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: February 22nd 2022

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Time Travel, Thriller, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel is at stake.

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the time port makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

First Line:

Droplets of blood pat the blue carpet, turning from red to black as they soak into the fibers.

the paradox hotel by rob hart

It has been a while since I have read any science fiction. It’s not that I don’t like the genre (I do); it’s just that I haven’t found any that has caught my eye. Then I started seeing reviews for The Paradox Hotel, which interested me. I figured that I would read it when it was published. So, imagine my surprise (and delight) when I got an invite to review from the publisher.

The Paradox Hotel had an exciting plotline. January Cole is the head of security at The Paradox Hotel, an exclusive hotel where the mega-rich can travel back in time. Her job is to make sure that the guests don’t do anything to disrupt the timeline and to take care of any security threats. The bidders meet at The Paradox when the government decides to privatize time travel. But, as January discovers, someone is willing to do anything to swing the vote in their favor. Can January figure out who is behind the attacks and their motive?

The Paradox Hotel had a fast-moving plotline. The entire book takes place within a couple of days of the bidders arriving at the hotel. There was a slight lag in the middle of the book, but it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t get past.

January was an unlikeable character in The Paradox Hotel. She was unlikable, reckless, and had a potty mouth. But, I had some sympathy for her. She had suffered an unimaginable loss in the recent past and had a traumatic childhood. I did feel bad for her because of those events, and they did help me understand why she was so unlikable. I wish I could say that I grew to like her during the book, but if I would be lying. She was a hot mess.

The author very well wrote the mystery angle of The Paradox Hotel. I couldn’t figure out who was behind the attacks or the why until the end of the book. There were so many red herrings and diverting plotlines that it made it impossible for me to pin down the exact person.

The author just as well wrote the science fiction angle of The Paradox Hotel. I was fascinated by the premise that time travel could be normalized and used as a vacation (even if it was only for the super-rich). There were brief references to people traveling to Egypt (I will never be able to listen to Walk Like an Egyptian without remembering a specific scene in the book again). I also like that the author took a creative angle with people being Unstuck. In the book, Unstuck is someone who has traveled back in time one too many times. People who are Unstuck can see past, future, and current events. There are various levels of being Unstuck, with four being the highest. January is level 2 and takes medication to control it. If she doesn’t take the medication, she can see past, current, and future events. I was fascinated by that!!

I loved the representation that The Paradox Hotel had. There were gay and gender-neutral characters. I firmly believe that January’s girlfriend was trans (the scene where January sees Mena as a child).

The secondary characters were essential to The Paradox Hotel. Ruby, January’s AI assistant, was my favorite secondary character. It reminded me of Jiminy Cricket (being January’s conscience), and a big plus, it was as big of a wiseass as January.

I wouldn’t say I liked the end of The Paradox Hotel. It was the only part of the book that I didn’t like. The author did wrap up the storylines, but I was left feeling that there should have been more.

I would recommend The Paradox Hotel to anyone over 21. There is language, violence, and sexual situations.

City of the Dead (Alex Delaware: Book 37) by Jonathan Kellerman

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of Publication: February 8th 2022

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Suspense

Series: Alex Delaware

When the Bough Breaks—Book 1

Blood Test—Book 2

Over the Edge—Book 3

Silent Partner—Book 4

Time Bomb—Book 5

Private Eyes—Book 6

Devil’s Waltz—Book 7

Bad Love—Book 8

Self-Defense—Book 9

The Web—Book 10

The Clinic—Book 11

Survival of the Fittest—Book 12

Monster—Book 13

Dr. Death—Book 14

Flesh and Blood—Book 15

The Murder Book—Book 16

A Cold Heart—Book 17

Therapy—Book 18

Rage—Book 19

Gone—Book 20

Obsession—Book 21

Compulsion—Book 22

Bones—Book 23

Evidence—Book 24

Deception—Book 25

Mystery—Book 26

Victims—Book 27

Guilt—Book 28

Killer—Book 29

Motive—Book 30

Breakdown—Book 31

Heartbreak Hotel—Book 32

Night Moves—Book 33

The Wedding Guest—Book 34

The Museum of Desire—Book 35

Serpentine—Book 36

City of the Dead—Book 37

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The past comes back to haunt psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis when they investigate a grisly double homicide and uncover an even more unspeakable motive in this riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

Los Angeles is a city of sunlight, celebrity, and possibility. The L.A. often experienced by Homicide Lt. Detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware, is a city of the dead.

Early one morning, the two of them find themselves in a neighborhood of pretty houses, pretty cars, and pretty people. The scene they encounter is anything but. A naked young man lies dead in the street, the apparent victim of a collision with a moving van hurtling through suburbia in the darkness. But any thoughts of accidental death vanish when a blood trail leads to a nearby home.

Inside, a young woman lies butchered. The identity of the male victim and his role in the horror remain elusive, but that of the woman creates additional questions. And adding to the shock, Alex has met her while working a convoluted child custody case. Cordelia Gannett was a self-styled internet influencer who’d gotten into legal troubles by palming herself off as a psychologist. Even after promising to desist, she’s found a loophole and has continued her online career, aiming to amass clicks and ads by cyber-coaching and cyber-counseling people plagued with relationship issues.

But upon closer examination, Alex and Milo discover that her own relationships are troublesome, including a tortured family history and a dubious personal past. Has that come back to haunt her in the worst way? Is the mystery man out in the street collateral damage or will he turn out to be the key to solving a grisly double homicide? As the psychologist and the detective explore L.A.’s meanest streets, they peel back layer after layer of secrets and encounter a savage, psychologically twisted, almost unthinkable motive for violence and bloodshed.

This is classic Delaware: Alex, a man Milo has come to see as irreplaceable, at his most insightful and brilliant.

First Line:

Four fifty-three in the morning was too early for anything.

city of the dead by jonathan kellerman

When I got the email to review City of the Dead from the publisher, I decided to wait on it for a little bit. I have heard of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, and I might have read a couple of books from it (my memory is very fuzzy on that). But that wasn’t why I was iffy about reading this book. My main reason was that this is book 37 of that series, and I don’t particularly appreciate reading books out of order. I ultimately decided to read City of the Dead because I like books that combine psychology with criminal investigations. I prefer (as most people do) to read a series in order. That way, I get a feel for the characters (main and supporting). I am glad that I read it because it was an excellent book.

City of the Dead had an engaging storyline. A pair of movers, eager to deliver their load, is driving down a side street when they are hit by something. Thinking it was a dog, they pull over and discover that they were hit by a naked man who is dead and very unrecognizable. Alex is called to the scene to assess it from a psychologist’s point of view, and while he is there, it is discovered that the man was killed by the moving truck. Instead, a trail of blood leads to a house, where a more gruesome crime is. A young woman is found dead in her bedroom. Alex is shocked to realize that he knows this woman. She is known to him as an expert called into a custody case and exposed as a fraud. As Alex and his friend, Detective Milo, dig deeper into her murder case (and try to figure out who her naked friend was), the more convoluted the case gets. Who murdered Cordy? What was the motive?

City of the Dead is book 37 in the Alex Delaware series. Thankfully, readers can read this book as a stand-alone. I suggest that the reader at least read the blurbs or reviews of the previous 36 books. That way, you can get a good feel for the characters and any secondary characters in the book.

City of the Dead did have a medium-paced plotline. I was a little surprised by the pacing. I did think it was going to be a bit faster than it was. Any books that I have read that mix this genre has been faster. But weirdly, it did work for me. I was able to take some time, digest what the author was throwing at me, and try to form who killed Cordy.

I liked Alex. I think he was pretty chill for being involved in a murder investigation. But, he is on call for the police department, and he does get called to do this type of work all the time, so he could afford to be chill. I also liked how he handled his clients and soon-to-be clients. That one scene with the slimy lawyer cracked me up mainly because he hit the nail on the head with his assessment of him. Talk about a steel backbone with the parents and gentleness with the kids.

The author very well wrote the mystery angle of City of the Dead. The author did a great job of drawing me in from the beginning and making me work on who killed Cordy and her friend. I had thought I had it figured out around the middle of the book. Then, a twist made me go “WHAT” and drop that person from my internal list like a hot potato.

The author did a great job of keeping the plotline on course with the book. The secondary characters that the author introduced didn’t take over the book. A couple of times, the book referenced events that happened in previous books that made me go “huh?” but they were few and far between.

I loved the twist in the plotline. It threw me for a loop when I realized I was wrong about who the killer was. After the twist, the author leaked the why and how very slowly and built up to a memorable end. He was able to tie everything that happened in the book (the killings) and add a few extras that surprised me.

The end of City of the Dead did make me a little sad. Mainly because I did wonder about the child involved and how everything was going to affect her. Alex did give some excellent advice, but still. I still wonder. But, reading this book has also made me want to read the previous 36 books. I do plan on reading them at some point in my life.

I would recommend City of the Dead to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and graphic murder scenes.

The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Ray

Date of publication: February 1st, 2022

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | iTunes | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A mysterious plague that causes random bouts of violence is sweeping the nation. Now three generations of women must navigate their chilling new reality in this moving exploration of identity, cycles of abuse, and hope.

Chelsea Martin appears to be the perfect housewife: married to her high school sweetheart, the mother of two daughters, keeper of an immaculate home.

But Chelsea’s husband has turned their home into a prison; he has been abusing her for years, cutting off her independence, autonomy, and support. She has nowhere to turn, not even to her narcissistic mother, Patricia, who is more concerned with maintaining the appearance of an ideal family than she is with her daughter’s actual well-being. And Chelsea is worried that her daughters will be trapped just as she is–until a mysterious illness sweeps the nation.

Known as The Violence, this illness causes the infected to experience sudden, explosive bouts of animalistic rage and attack anyone in their path. But for Chelsea, the chaos and confusion the virus causes is an opportunity–and inspires a plan to liberate herself from her abuser.

First Line:

The first recorded incidence of the Violence occurred as Ruth Belmont of Land O’Lakes, Florida, was putting a tub of mayonnaise in her cart at a warehouse store on Tuesday, April 15th, 2025.

the violence by delilah s dawson

When I read the blurb for The Violence, I was instantly intrigued. But, I was also a little hesitant to read it. I was intrigued by the last few books that I did not like. So, keeping that in mind, I dove into The Violence. To say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I loved this book!!

The Violence is a dystopia set in 2025 Florida. In this world, we have learned to live with COVID and adapted our lives around it. Life has gotten back to normal when news reports start talking about people randomly attacking and killing people. These random attacks soon become commonplace, and a new pandemic is announced. As with the COVID pandemic, its seriousness is downplayed until it is out of control.

The Violence centers around three people and follows them from the pandemic’s start to the end. Chelsea is a stay-at-home mother trapped in an abusive marriage. She dreams of getting out and saving her girls but can’t because her husband would destroy her. So, when The Violence starts, Chelsea uses that to her advantage. Ella is Chelsea’s seventeen-year-old daughter who has witnessed her mother’s abuse for years. She is caught up in an abusive relationship herself but breaks it off when her abuser is caught on camera (and in a public place) beating on her. Patricia is Chelsea’s narcissist mother. She is more concerned with maintaining appearances than helping her daughter and granddaughters escape their abuser. The Violence brings them together unexpectedly, but it also tears them apart. With Chelsea on the run, Ella looking for her, it is up to Patricia to keep Brooklyn safe. But who will keep Patricia safe? And will Chelsea ever get free from her ex? Will Ella find her mother before her father does? What happens when everything comes to a head?

The Violence had a lightening fast storyline. I had zero issues keeping up with how fast the storyline went. Surprisingly, there is no lag. This story didn’t stop. Put it this way, I read it in one night; that’s how fast it went.

Before I get deeper into the review, I want to give everyone a trigger warning heads-up. This book is graphically violent (hence the title). The author doesn’t hold any punches when infected people storm (when they blackout and kill people). She also doesn’t hold back during the abuse scenes. At the beginning of the book, there is a forward explaining why she wrote those scenes the way she did. But still didn’t prepare me for how graphic those scenes were. There is also scenes of verbal abuse (Patricia remembering calling toddler Chelsea stupid stuck out to me), sexual abuse (Chelsea getting raped by David), emotional abuse (Hayden telling Ella he was going to kill himself if she didn’t respond to his text), and animal abuse (David kicking the family dog every time he saw him and that awful scene when Chelsea blacked out). Those examples are only scratching the surface of this book. So read with caution if any of these triggers you.

I loved and pitied Chelsea. I hate to say it, but the way her mother treated her growing up paved the way for her to be in an abusive relationship with David. My heart broke for her during those first few scenes when David choked her. The author made me feel the horror and desperation she went through. I did think she was genius for her plan to get David taken away, and Ella’s 911 call only cemented it. But it was a short-lived plan, and she was getting threatened by David’s friends (one a lawyer and one a cop). When she ended up getting The Violence, she did what any mother would do, she shut herself away, and when she got word that her ex was coming home, she ran to her mother. But, it was what happened after she left the girls at her mother’s. I was equally shouting “Yas girl” and cringing at what she was doing. The name Florida Woman will forever be associated with her.

My heart broke for Ella. She was such a broken child, and I wanted to spirit her away from her family. She had no safe space for her to decompress. Instead, she went from school (where her friends and abusive boyfriend were) to home, where she had to worry about her father potentially killing her mother. She also was tasked with keeping her 5-year-old sister safe and away from her father at night. That meant locking herself and Brooklyn in her room at night. But, that all changed when her father was arrested, and her mother got The Violence. Ella became Brooklyn’s parent. I didn’t blame her for getting angry when Chelsea decided (after finding out that David was getting out of jail) to move them to Patricia’s. I also didn’t blame her for leaving to find Chelsea because Patricia was awful. It showed how much she had grown. But, it was when she stumbled upon the RV and got hooked up with the scientists that she started to blossom. She became that strong, independent girl that she should have been from the start.

I was not too fond of Patricia. OMG, I wanted to go into the book and strangle her at points. She was one of the more awful people that I have ever read. The way she ignored Chelsea’s bruises and how she talked to Chelsea was horrible. Everything was about appearances to her. But, as her backstory was revealed, I did start to feel sorry for her. Her abusive childhood and rape (which resulted in Chelsea) shaped her. She modeled the only behavior that she knew, verbal and emotional abuse. When she took in Ella and Brooklyn, I could see cracks in her facade. And when she was left to care for Brooklyn, those cracks became bigger and bigger. Her character growth and transformation was one of the more surprising ones I read. I loved how she ended up.

Brooklyn was adorable. I was so surprised that she wasn’t more traumatized. I mean, she witnessed her father almost killing her mother. She was uprooted from her house and lived with her grandmother, who was distant and cold. Then, Ella, her protector, leaves. Instead of acting out, having tantrums, or regressing, she remained normal. The only sign the author gave that she had been traumatized was the nightmares she had while sleeping in Patricia’s closet. My heart (and Patricia’s) broke when I realized who she was talking about and what. But other than that, there was nothing.

The secondary characters did round out the book. They all added an extra depth that the book needed.

The horror angle was well written. As I mentioned above, there was a lot of gore and violence associated with this book. The author got in-depth with the gore. I did think certain scenes could have been toned down, but then they wouldn’t have had the punch that they did.

The mystery angle was also very well written. I couldn’t figure out what would happen next in the book. After a certain point, I couldn’t figure out if everyone would come together and when.

The end of The Violence was, well, violent. I will not say much about it except that David got what was coming to him. I also liked the epilogue, showing where everyone was. It gave me hope for all the characters.

I would recommend The Violence for anyone over 21. There is graphic violence, language, and graphic accounts of sexual assault.

I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin

Book Cover

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Date of Publication: March 15th, 2022

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lyrical and haunting, Hannah Capin’s I Am Margaret Moore is a paranormal thriller that tests the hold of sisterhood and truth.

I am a girl. I am a monster, too.

Each summer the girls of Deck Five come back to Marshall Naval School. They sail on jewel-blue waters; they march on green drill fields; they earn sunburns and honors. They push until they break apart and heal again, stronger.

Each summer Margaret and Rose and Flor and Nisreen come back to the place where they are girls, safe away from the world: sisters bound by something more than blood.

But this summer everything has changed. Girls are missing and a boy is dead. It’s because of Margaret Moore, the boys say. It’s because of what happened that night in the storm.

Margaret’s friends vanish one by one, swallowed up into the lies she has told about what happened between her and a boy with the world at his feet. Can she unravel the secrets of this summer and last, or will she be pulled under by the place she once called home?

First Line:

It is summer again and we are alive.

i am margaret moore by hannah capin

When I got the email from NetGalley that I Am Margaret Moore was available to “Read Now,” I jumped on it. I had this book on my TBR since I saw that Hannah Capin was publishing it. I had loved Foul is Fair and had high expectations for this book. Well, I Am Margaret Moore fell short of my high expectations.

I Am Margaret Moore is the story of Margaret and her friends. The summer before, Margaret was involved in a scandal with another camper and was sent away. This summer, she was going to move past the drama and enjoy her summer. But things don’t go the way she wants. Her friends want the truth about what happened last summer, and Margaret isn’t telling them. Because if she tells the truth, she’s afraid no one will believe her. What happened that night?

I will be very blunt; I wasn’t a fan of how the author wrote this book. There are no chapters. Instead, once a scene ended, some headers separated them (example: The Girls with paragraphs describing Margaret’s friends). I get why the author chose to write the book she did, but I like cut-and-dry chapters.

The flow of I Am Margaret Moore was choppy, and the timeline jumped around a lot. I couldn’t tell if I was in the past or present. Again, I get why the author did this, but for me, it didn’t work.

I wasn’t too sure about how I felt about Margaret. During the first half of the book, I couldn’t connect with her at all. But, by the second half of the book, I did start to like and pity her. Yes, pity. She had so much happened to her in a short amount of time.

Margaret’s friends were the true backbone of the book. They were determined to find out what happened to Margaret. That led to disciplinary action from the naval school, but that didn’t deter them.

There are a couple of twists in the plot that I saw coming. I guessed the first one right away, and once certain events happened in the second half of the book, I figured that out too.

I wasn’t a fan of the end of I Am Margaret Moore. Again, it was choppy, with events playing out of order—the choppiness and the fact that the HEA seemed thrown on as an afterthought.

I would recommend I Am Margaret Moore to anyone over the age of 16. There is implied sex, some kissing scenes, mild language, and mild violence.

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 18th, 2022

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy, Supernatural, Feminism

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | Google Play | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A biting novel from an electrifying new voice, Such a Pretty Smile is a heart-stopping tour-de-force about powerful women, angry men, and all the ways in which girls fight against the forces that try to silence them.

There’s something out there that’s killing. Known only as The Cur, he leaves no traces, save for the torn bodies of girls, on the verge of becoming women, who are known as trouble-makers; those who refuse to conform, to know their place. Girls who don’t know when to shut up.

2019: Thirteen-year-old Lila Sawyer has secrets she can’t share with anyone. Not the school psychologist she’s seeing. Not her father, who has a new wife, and a new baby. And not her mother—the infamous Caroline Sawyer, a unique artist whose eerie sculptures, made from bent twigs and crimped leaves, have made her a local celebrity. But soon Lila feels haunted from within, terrorized by a delicious evil that shows her how to find her voice—until she is punished for using it.

2004: Caroline Sawyer hears dogs everywhere. Snarling, barking, teeth snapping that no one else seems to notice. At first, she blames the phantom sounds on her insomnia and her acute stress in caring for her ailing father. But then the delusions begin to take shape—both in her waking hours, and in the violent, visceral sculptures she creates while in a trance-like state. Her fiancé is convinced she needs help. Her new psychiatrist waves her “problem” away with pills. But Caroline’s past is a dark cellar, filled with repressed memories and a lurking horror that the men around her can’t understand.

As past demons become a present threat, both Caroline and Lila must chase the source of this unrelenting, oppressive power to its malignant core. Brilliantly paced, unsettling to the bone, and unapologetically fierce, Such a Pretty Smile is a powerful allegory for what it can mean to be a woman, and an untamed rallying cry for anyone ever told to sit down, shut up, and smile pretty.

There was blood in the water–a dull pink bloom–the morning Lila Sawyer heard about the first missing girl.

such a pretty smile by kristi demeester

I am going to be the odd one out with this book. Why? Well, I didn’t care for it. I know (ducking rotten tomatoes and hearing boos echoing across all the platforms I post to), it is not the popular opinion. I wanted to like this book and was pretty excited to read it after all the favorable reviews. Then I read it, and it fell flat for me.

Such a Pretty Smile did have an exciting storyline. The book centers around Lila and her mother, Caroline. In the 2019 storyline, Lila is a teenager dealing with a lot in her life. Her mother has a reputation for creating creepy statues made out of materials she found on her walks. Her father is distant, focusing more on her newborn sister, born premature and with a severe health complication. She is also dealing with peer pressure, a frenemy who alternately bullies and befriends her and questions her sexuality. To top it off, Lila has heard dogs bark, and there is a voice in her head telling her to do things that she usually wouldn’t do. Meanwhile, brutalized bodies of young girls are being found around the Atlanta area.

In the 2004 timeline, Caroline is under an immense about of pressure. Her father is in hospice, and she is drowning under the bills associated with it. Caroline takes a job teaching private art lessons to a homeschooled teenager to make ends meet. But, things are happening to Caroline that she can’t understand. She hears dogs barking nonstop, and she is having delusions. When she talks to her psychiatrist about that, she gets drugged, but that doesn’t stop it. Everything comes to a head when she finds out about her past, which ties directly to the current murders.

When Lila finds out about Caroline’s past, the storylines meet and she runs back to New Orleans to investigate Jazzland. What happens will send shockwaves in everyone’s lives and change them forever.

I did feel bad for Lila. She was smothered by her mother and ignored by her father. On top of that, she dealt with bullying and figured out her sexuality. She was a pressure cooker and was about to blow. Honestly, I was surprised that she waited as long as she did to freak out on Macy, her father, and her stepmother. I did wonder (when she started hearing the dogs barking) if her stress was manifesting. But it wasn’t until she was in the car (sweating her butt off) that I understood what was happening to her was paranormal.

I also felt bad for Caroline. She had a lot on her plate in 2004. She was solely responsible for her dying father’s medical/hospice bills. She was trying to get through art school and launch her career. She had to deal with a fiance who didn’t support her in anything. So, when she started hearing dogs barking and seeing things, she figured that it was because of stress. I wish that she could have had a break in that storyline. But it went from one thing to another when her father told her that she was kidnapped when she was a child. It was then that everything amped up. Her descent into mental illness and how the male figures in her life treated her were awful.

The horror angle of Such a Pretty Smile was well written, but it didn’t do anything for me. I was waiting for some epic battle or at least The Cur getting what it deserved. It didn’t happen. Instead, there was a rail against men and how women were expected to confirm (which we are, and yes, it is unfair). I felt a little let down when the author explained everything at the end of the book. I was left feeling meh.

I did like the solid feminist stance that the book took. But, I did feel that it was a bit much in places—one of the things that made me “meh” about Such a Pretty Smile.

I did enjoy the ending and seeing how Lila ended up after the events of Jazzland. I am glad that she met with people who understood what she went through. I also wondered, with how the final paragraphs were worded, if there was going to be a sequel. Maybe The Cur will get what is coming to it.

I would recommend Such a Pretty Smile to anyone over 21. There is sex, violence, and language.

The Insect Room by Felicity Hughes

Publisher:

Date of publication: February 15th, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon

Synopsis:

Lord Rupert Lacy gives Caz the creeps. But her hippie mother and dreamy younger sister have fallen for his act and accept his invitation to move in. While it’s a step up from living in a van, the dilapidated mansion scares Caz. As she explores its lonely corridors, she begins to suspect that the reclusive aristocrat is hiding a dark secret. Haunted by strange noises and bizarre dreams, Caz tries to warn her family. Only nobody is listening.

In thrall to Lord Lacy, her mum begins to believe that Caz is unhinged and needs medicating. Increasingly desperate and isolated, the teenager feels compelled to take drastic action. Will it be enough to save them before it’s too late?

The Insect Room is a coming-of-age suspense that will keep you guessing right up until its shocking ending.

First Line:

The van doors clanged open and Caz bolted out into the field.

the insect room by felicity hughes

I was instantly intrigued when I read The Insect Room’s blurb on the author’s website. I got a vibe (from the cover and the blurb) that this wasn’t going to be a run-of-the-mill suspense novel. I wasn’t disappointed. This book took me for a ride.

The Insect Room takes place in the summer of 1994 in the English countryside. Caz, her mother, and her younger sister travel around the countryside in a van. Caz meets Lord Lacy when her mother’s boyfriend is arrested, leaving them without housing. Lord Lacy generously offers them his guesthouse. But Caz is suspicious of Lord Lacy. Her suspicion deepens when she discovers that Lord Lacy’s daughter went missing five years previous. What happened to Lord Lacy’s daughter? How are Caz’s strange dreams connected to her disappearance? And what happens when everything comes crashing down?

The Insect Room has a very fast plotline. The entire story takes place within a month, and if the plotline moved any slower, it would have ruined the book. There was a slight lag in the middle of the book, but nothing that I didn’t expect. The book’s pacing was almost frantic in places, and it matched Caz’s state of mind during various points.

I felt terrible for Caz. She did not want to be traveling with her mother and sister. She wanted to be home with her grandparents. So, I didn’t blame her for acting out or being a brat. My feelings of pity didn’t fade after the middle of the book. Instead, they amplified. Not going to get into it, but she had gone through a lot in her life. She got zero support from her mother. Her mother favored her younger sister, and it was pretty sad to read.

I did not like Lord Lacy. The way he acted with Caz’s younger sister disgusted me. Every instinct in my body screamed “pedo” during those scenes. Also, I was not too fond of how he acted when he was around Tink (Caz’s mother) and her group of friends. He was too willing to let them party, do drugs, and drink on his property. He came across as too needy if that makes sense. It was creepy.

There were a couple of twists in the plotline, one happening on the very last page. I will not talk about that one except to say that I didn’t see it coming. It also took me 3-4 times to understand what happened, which shook me. The other twist happens a little more than halfway through the book. When it was revealed, it threw everything happening and what Caz was experiencing in a whole different light.

The suspense angle was well written. I couldn’t read The Insect Room fast enough because I wanted to see if my suspicions were right about certain people/events.

The end of The Insect Room was insane. As I mentioned above, there was a doozy of a twist that I didn’t see coming. And also, as I mentioned above, I did have to reread the ending of The Insect Room 3-to 4 times before my brain comprehended what I was reading.

I would recommend The Insect Room to anyone over 21. There is mild language, mild violence, and drug and alcohol use.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

Book Cover

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of Publication: January 11th, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Kayla Carter’s husband dies in an accident while building their dream house, she knows she has to stay strong for their four-year-old daughter. But the trophy home in Shadow Ridge Estates, a new development in sleepy Round Hill, North Carolina, will always hold tragic memories. But when she is confronted by an odd, older woman telling her not to move in, she almost agrees. It’s clear this woman has some kind of connection to the area…and a connection to Kayla herself. Kayla’s elderly new neighbor, Ellie Hockley, is more welcoming, but it’s clear she, too, has secrets that stretch back almost fifty years. Is Ellie on a quest to right the wrongs of the past? And does the house at the end of the street hold the key? Told in dual time periods, The Last House on the Street is a novel of shocking prejudice and violence, forbidden love, the search for justice, and the tangled vines of two families.

First Line:

I’m in the middle of a call with a contractor when Natalie, our new administrative assistant, pokes her head into my office.

the last house on the street by diane chamberlain

Before I start this review, I want to apologize to the publisher and author. A few months back, I had posted a review for The Last House on Needless Street on NetGalley, Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and BookBub. See, these two books were right beside each other on not only NetGalley’s list but my Currently Reading on Goodreads. I wasn’t paying attention, and c/p The Last House on Needless Street’s review under The Last House on the Street. I didn’t know what I did until I was contacted by everyone on the above list and asked to remove the review. It was an honest mistake. The titles were (are) so similar, and I should have been paying better attention.

Now that has been said, let’s get onto the review of The Last House on the Street!!

The Last House on the Street is the story of Kayla and Ellie. In the year 2010, Kayla is struggling to overcome the death of her husband and raise their 4-year-old daughter. Moving into the house they built together and where her husband died should be healing. But strange occurrences happen. From a mysterious woman threatening Kayla at work to mutilated squirrels left at her house, Kayla is left wondering why. In 1964, Ellie realized that the world she lives in isn’t equal for everyone. Determined to help, she joined the SCOPE program. But what Ellie doesn’t expect is that she will meet her greatest love that summer and that she will suffer her worst heartbreak. Coming back home wasn’t in Ellie’s plans, but she does to help with her elderly mother and terminally ill brother. She meets Kayla and becomes embroiled in Kayla’s issues. Someone wants Kayla out, and it is all tied to a summer night where Ellie lost everything. What happened that night? What are people trying to hide?

The Last House on the Street is a fast-paced suspense/thriller that doesn’t slow down. The transitions between 2010 and 1964 were seamless and did not mess with the book’s pacing. There was some lag in the middle of the book, but I did expect it. It did not take away from my enjoyment of reading The Last House on the Street.

The Last House on the Street did a great job showing racism in NC during the early 1960s. I was not surprised by the descriptions of how brown and black people were treated during that era. Brown, black, and yellow-skinned people still get treated like that today. It might not be as evident as in 1964, but it is still there.

I wasn’t surprised at how widespread the KKK was in this area of NC (I say this area because I live in the area of NC being portrayed) in the 1960s. I was also sickened by it. The author, again, did a great job of describing the KKK rallies (which reminded me of a fair) and how mob mentality takes over. My heart hurt for Ellie during those scenes because she saw people for how they truly were.

I had no clue about the SCOPE program until I read about it in The Last House on the Street. I can’t even begin to say how those men and women were heroes. They put their lives on the line to get African Americans to go and vote.

I liked Kayla, and I felt terrible for her. She was still getting over her husband’s death when she moved into the house they designed together. I could understand why she didn’t want to move into the house at first. Her husband died there, and she didn’t feel comfortable. She was the only house on the street that was finished, and she seemed to have attracted a stalker, and I didn’t blame her for wanting to sell. I was surprised to see how her and Ellie’s past connected. I still have an issue believing what Ellie’s father told her about that night (back in 1964). I do think that he might have been involved and not admitted it.

I loved Ellie’s character. I loved watching her morph into this woman who wasn’t afraid to fight for what she wanted. She was passionate about her beliefs and was willing to put herself in harm’s way for them. Her connection with the African American families was profound, and she truly wanted what was best for them. But her true strength was that awful night. She fought with everything she had to get to Win but couldn’t get to him. I had tears pouring down my face. Her anxiety, her helplessness, and her despair poured off the pages. Oh, and let’s not forget her shock when everything is revealed at the end of the book. I will admit, I was shocked by that confession too.

There is a romance angle to The Last House on the Street. Ellie’s love for Win was evident. I saw it happening before she even admitted it to herself. And Win was crazy for her. So, it made what happened all the more tragic and heartbreaking. Interracial relationships were frowned upon in 1964 North Carolina, and all holy hell did come down on them.

The mystery angle was wonderfully written. I had an idea of how that mysterious woman was, but when another character mentioned wigs that another wore, it was like a lightbulb went off. Then there was the mystery of what happened to Win. That cropped up a little later in the book. It was a no-brainer what happened, but I hoped it wasn’t the case. That was resolved at the end of the book.

The author wonderfully wrote the suspense angle also. I was kept on the edge of my bed (I was reading at night) with what would happen next. I kept wondering how it would escalate for Kayla, and I wondered the same thing for Ellie.

The secondary characters were also wonderfully written. I had extreme feelings for them all. But Miss Pat, Ellie’s mother, well she took the cake. She was, ugh, I wish I could finish that thought. But that would give away spoilers. Let’s say I didn’t like her and leave it at that.

The end of The Last House of the Street was what I expected. The author wrapped everything up, opening a new chapter on Ellie and Kayla’s life. I liked seeing everything coming full circle!!

I would recommend The Last House on the Street for anyone 16 and over. There is non-graphic sex, violence, triggering language.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Book Cover

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 4th, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Lux McAllister and her boyfriend, Nico, are hired to sail two women to a remote island in the South Pacific, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. Stuck in a dead-end job in Hawaii, and longing to travel the world after a family tragedy, Lux is eager to climb on board The Susannah and set out on an adventure. She’s also quick to bond with their passengers, college best friends Brittany and Amma. The two women say they want to travel off the beaten path. But like Lux, they may have other reasons to be seeking an escape.

Shimmering on the horizon after days at sea, Meroe Island is every bit the paradise the foursome expects, despite a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. But what they don’t expect is to discover another boat already anchored off Meroe’s sandy beaches. The owners of the Azure Sky, Jake, and Eliza, are a true golden couple: gorgeous, laidback, and if their sleek catamaran and well-stocked bar are any indication, rich. Now a party of six, the new friends settle in to experience life on an exotic island, and the serenity of being completely off the grid. Lux hasn’t felt like she truly belonged anywhere in years, yet here on Meroe, with these fellow free spirits, she finally has a sense of peace.

But with the arrival of a skeevy stranger sailing alone in pursuit of a darker kind of good time, the balance of the group is disrupted. Soon, cracks begin to emerge: it seems that Brittany and Amma haven’t been completely honest with Lux about their pasts––and perhaps not even with each other. And though Jake and Eliza seem like the perfect pair, the rocky history of their relationship begins to resurface, and their reasons for sailing to Meroe might not be as innocent as they first appeared.

When it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in on them. And when one person goes missing, and another turns up dead, Lux begins to wonder if any of them are going to make it off the island alive.

First Line:

Salt water and blood taste the same.

reckless girls by rachel hawkins

What initially drew me to Reckless Girls was the cover. I thought it was one of the more eye-catching ones. Then I read the blurb, and I thought, “Hmmm, this sounds interesting.” But I didn’t request it. I figured that if I were meant to read it, it would find a way to me. A week later, I had an email from SMP asking me to review it. How could I say no? I am glad that I accepted because I couldn’t put this book down.

Reckless Girls had an exciting plotline. Lux and Nico are stuck in Hawaii while they work to fund repairs and supplies for their boat, The Susannah. A big break comes their way when two women, Brittany and Amma, pay for the boat repairs and hire them for a trip to Meroe Island, a deserted island that has a reputation for being haunted. When they get there, they find another ship already there and meet Eliza and Jake. Things are going well when a mysterious stranger appears and throws everything out of whack. Lux has to figure out who she can trust. Because if she can’t, she will become one of Meroe Island’s legends.

Reckless Girl had a lightening fast plotline. From the beginning, where Lux worked at the hotel to the end, it didn’t slow down. That rapid pace did the book justice. If that book didn’t move as fast as it did, it would have lost some of its oomph. What impressed me about Reckless Girls also was that there was no lag in the book. The author did a fantastic job keeping that from happening.

There are multiple POVs in Reckless Girls. I am not a fan of multiple POVs. I find that they drag the book down if not done right. But in the case of Reckless Girls, not only did they work, but I enjoyed them. The main POV was Lux’s, but then were POVs from Amma, Brittany, and (later on in the book) Eliza. The author’s snippets into each person’s backstory made me understand them better and understand why they did what they did.

I liked Lux. She had overcome a lot to get to where she was at the beginning of the story. Hell, she even legally owned The Susannah (it gets into it at the beginning of the book). But, I did think she was a pushover when it came to Nico. Early in the book, it was pretty evident that he didn’t care for her the way she cared for him.

Brittany and Amma, I didn’t care for. Both had gone through traumatic experiences, and both were traveling to get over it. Their backstory was sad. I felt that there was more to what they wanted than what was being said from the beginning.

The book was made by the secondary characters (Jake, Eliza, Nico, and the guy who showed up uninvited and unannounced). They fleshed out the plotline and made the book much more interesting to read.

I loved that this mystery was set on a deserted island with a set amount of suspects. In books like this, I usually can figure out who was doing it and its motive. But in this book, the author threw that right out the window. I knew for sure that Lux wasn’t involved in anything. But everyone else was a suspect and had a motive. It made the book so enjoyable to read.

Reckless Girls have several twists, and they all made the book. There was one that I did see coming (it involved Amma and Brittany), but the others shocked the heck out of me. The last twist, the one right as the book ended and before it went to the epilogue, surprised the heck out of me. It was something that I didn’t see coming.

The end of Reckless Girls was one of the more shocking that I have read in a long time. It took me a while to get over it. I was not expecting what happened to happen. And, as I stated above, I did not expect the twist that led into the shocking epilogue.

I would recommend Reckless Girls to anyone over 21. There is sex, violence, and language.

The Maid by Nita Prose

Book Cover

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: January 4th, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Google Play

Goodreads Synopsis:

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

First Line:

I am your maid.

the maid by nita prose

I have a terrible habit of wishing for books on NetGalley, forgetting that I wished for them, and then get completely surprised when I get the email saying, “Your wish has been granted.” That was precisely the case with The Maid. Then I got an email from SMP requesting me to review it. I took that as the universe saying, “You need to read this book.” This was my first 5-star review of 2022. I am glad I did.

Molly Gray is not your typical woman. She has difficulty reading social clues, social nuances, and skills. Molly is very blunt and outspoken but doesn’t understand that sometimes that can hurt people’s feelings. Her Gran would help her with that, but she died, and Molly didn’t have anyone to help her. But, Molly is doing well with her life. She works as a maid at a 5-star hotel, and she takes pride in her work. But, in one day, that changes. Molly finds the hotel’s biggest customer dead. She is then caught up in the police investigation, first as a witness and secondly as the main suspect. Molly is determined to clear her name. Will she be able to do it?

The Maid is a fast-paced book. It takes place over a few days, and it needs to be fast. There was some lag in the middle of the book, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of it. If The Maid had switched to a slower pace at any point in the book, it would have ruined the book.

I thought that Molly was sweet. As the parent of a neurodivergent child (my son has high functioning autism), I saw bits and pieces of him in her character. I liked that I got to see the world through her eyes. There were no shades of grey with Molly. It was either black or white.

The mystery angle of The Maid was well written. I have seen reviews that compared it to being Clue-like. I hands-down agree with those observations. The Maid also kept me guessing at who killed Mr. Black. I did have it narrowed down to a couple of people but was surprised at who it ended up being. I thought it was going to be a different person.

I thought the author did a good job covering different social issues throughout the book. The only thing that disturbed me was how Molly was treated by Detective Spark and the other maids at the hotel. That truly disgusted me. I can’t stand how people treat others that are different from them. Of course, they all got their comeuppance at the end of the book but still.

The end of The Maid was what I thought it would be. Once the police caught the bad guy and various things going on at the hotel were exposed, Molly was vilified. I loved how everything came together for her. Of course, a twist was revealed that made me go, “Really?” Mainly because it didn’t quite go with the rest of the book. But, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment or the star rating that I gave The Maid.

I would recommend The Maid to anyone over 16. There is mild language, no sex, and mild violence.