Tag: suspense

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of Publication: March 5th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Contemporary, Adult, Adult Fiction, Crime

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A missing baby. A fraught friendship. A secret that can never be told.

On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment, 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams. It’s her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell, one floor above, and she’s just realized her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby, remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world.

So begins the story of Billie and Cassie’s friendship–both in recent weeks, and since they met twenty-three years ago, in their small Hudson Valley hometown the summer before seventh grade. Once fiercely bonded by their secrets, including a traumatic, unspeakable incident in high school, Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood, no longer the inseparable pair they used to be. Cassie is married to a wealthy man, has recently become a mother, and is building a following as a fashion and lifestyle influencer. She is desperate to leave her past behind–including Billie, who is single and childless, and no longer fits into her world. Hurt and rejected by Cassie’s new priorities, Billie will do anything to restore their friendship, even as she hides the truth about what really happened the night the baby was taken.

Told in alternating perspectives in Lovering’s signature suspenseful style, Bye Baby confronts the myriad ways friendships change and evolve over time, the lingering echoes of childhood trauma, and the impact of women’s choices on their lifelong relationships.

First Line:

The baby stops fussing, settling into my arms like a sleepy puppy.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

Important details about Bye, Baby

Pace: Medium but does go too fast during crucial scenes.

POV: 1st person (Billie and Cassie)

Trigger Warnings: Bye, Baby contains themes that include sexual assault, kidnapping, toxic friendship, death of a parent, adult/minor relationships, rape, sexual harassment, child abuse, pedophilia, murder, dementia, bullying, grief, pregnancy, death, emotional abuse, mental illness, sexual violence, stalking, alcohol, alcoholism, body horror, chronic illness, domestic abuse, infertility, toxic relationships, vomit, abortion, gaslighting, classism, body shaming, and eating disorder.

Language: Bye, Baby contains mild to moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in A Smoking Bun.

Setting: Bye, Baby is set in New York City, New York.

My Review

When I read the blurb for Bye, Baby, my interest was caught. I enjoy psychological thrillers with a mystery element. However, as I read the book, I found that the storyline focused more on Cassie and Billie’s decades-long friendship rather than the kidnapping outlined in the blurb.

Bye, Baby’s storyline revolves around Cassie and Billie, their decades-long friendship, and the kidnapping of Cassie’s daughter. I thought this was a well-written storyline that showed society’s expectations of mothers and the pressure that women who choose not to have children go through by other women. The kidnapping was not the focal point of this book. It was a tiny part of a very complex storyline.

The author did something interesting with this storyline. She started the book fifty days before the kidnapping and detailed Cassie and Billie’s lives. As she was building the present-day storyline, she returned to when Billie and Cassie first met and detailed the trauma that Billie went through as a teenager. I liked seeing both Cassie and Billie in the present and past. So much was explained about each of them and how their friendship turned toxic and one-sided.

The mystery angle of Bye, Baby was interesting. The author tells you who kidnapped the baby, but the why and how are not explained. The author does build up to that, but it seemed to go on longer than it should have. It was the afterward that was drawn out.

I was very interested in the mothers vs. women choosing to be child-free. There were times when the author did lay it on thick for the mothers. The pressure and adult bullying that Cassie and her friends did to Billie about choosing to be child-free was disgusting but very spot on.

The behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to be an influencer was fascinating. Cassie was obsessed with her followers, comments, and likes. Even though she started the Instagram account to promote her business, it became more of a mom vlog and promoting different brands. Honestly, it sounds exhausting and not something I can see myself doing.

The childhood trauma that shaped Billie was heartbreaking. So much happened to her quickly, and it became a little hard to follow. I enjoyed seeing Billie bloom during college, but I couldn’t understand why she kept returning to Cassie every time something went wrong. It was explained towards the end of the book (and it is linked to her trauma), but still.

The end of Bye, Baby seemed a little rushed. I didn’t believe what Cassie did. Hell, I didn’t even believe what Billie’s boyfriend did (and he’s a police officer). I was a little irritated by how everything went down (Cassie’s new best friend has issues with Billie but did the right thing in the end).

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Carola Lovering for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Bye, Baby. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Bye, Baby, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Carola Lovering

Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard

Publisher: Penguin Group Dutton, Dutton

Date of publication: February 20th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Adult

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars Sara Shepard’s next adult novel follows a group of mothers living in a mysterious “mommune,” each of whom is running from something

When Lenna gets a call from her old friend Rhiannon, she is startled; Rhiannon disappeared years ago without a trace. But Lenna is even more startled to learn that Rhiannon has a son and that she lives off the grid with a group of women in a community called Halcyon. Rhiannon invites Lenna, a new mother herself, to join them. Why suffer the sleepless nights by yourself? It takes a village, after all.

Lenna decides to go and hopefully repair her relationship with Rhiannon, but as she drives into the desert and her cell service gets weaker, she becomes suspicious. Who are these women and why did Rhiannon invite her here? And that is before she learns about the community’s rules (no outside phone calls, no questions about people’s pasts) and the padlock on the gate that leads out to the main road. But Lenna has other concerns, secrets from her past she is terrified will come out. When a newcomer arrives in the community, Lenna’s worst fears are confirmed—she was brought here for a reason.

Nowhere Like Home tackles themes of complicated friendships and trauma but all with Sara Shepard’s expert twists that you don’t see coming.

First Line:

It’s hard to sum up this place.

Nowhere LIke Home by Sara Shepard

Important things you need to know about Nowhere Like Home:

Pace: Medium to Fast

POV: Mainly 3rd person (Lenna, Rhiannon, and Sarah). There are some chapters told from the 2nd person (through Gillian’s Instagram posts) and one chapter told from the 1st person.

Trigger Warnings: Nowhere Like Home contains sexual assault, murder, pregnancy, toxic friendship, abandonment, kidnapping, violence, and the death of a parent. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is mild to moderate swearing in Nowhere Like Home. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Setting: In the Present Day chapters of the book, Nowhere Like Home is set on a momune just outside of Tucson, Arizona. The past chapters of the book are set in Los Angeles, California.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Present Day: A new mother with a colicky baby and a husband isn’t helping, Lenna is drowning. So, when an old friend surfaces after two years and tells Lenna about a momune in the desert outside Tucson, Lenna jumps at it. But, once she gets to Halycon, Lenna notices that there seems to be something off with the commune. From barbed wire and padlocked gates to outrageous joining fees to cell and internet service being blocked, Lenna begins to think this paradise is more of hell. Only when she sees another familiar face from her past does she realize someone brought her here for a reason.

Past: Lenna is stuck at a dead-end job when she meets Rhiannon, a bright and vibrant editor at a well-known magazine. They instantly click and become the best of friends. But, when Rhiannon unexpectedly leaves, Lenna becomes friends with Gillian, who works at another magazine in the same building. But Lenna’s friendship with Gillian is strained, shadowed by Rhiannon’s absence. And Gillian starts to act more and more unstable in the passing days. Everything comes to a head one rainy afternoon, and the aftermath leaves Lenna, who already suffered from anxiety, a mess.

What happened that day? What is Lenna’s secret? Why did Rhiannon make contact with her out of the blue? Is the momune a place where Lenna can find peace? Or will Lenna be forced to face what happened two years ago?

My review:

I was intrigued when I saw that Sara Shepard had written this book. Like millions of others, I have watched Pretty Little Liars on TV. While I wasn’t a big fan of the show (it wasn’t up my alley), I did like the thought behind it. So, when Penguin Group Dutton sent me a widget containing this book, I decided to read it. Having read it, I was a little disappointed.

Nowhere Like Home has dual storylines. The first follows Lenna, Rhiannon, and the momune residents during Lenna’s first few days there. The second storyline follows Lenna, Rhiannon, Gillian (via her Instagram posts), and Sarah (who comes later on in the storyline). Both storylines were well-written and well-fleshed out. The momune storyline felt flat to me. It was less fleshed out than the storyline that takes place in the past. But they kept my attention focused on the book, and I didn’t get lost following the characters, which was a plus.

The storyline with momune did strike a chord with me. I have three children (as most of you know from my blog’s bio). My oldest had severe colic (it was discovered that she was lactose intolerant later on down the road). My SO was like Lenna’s husband; he couldn’t handle the crying. And sometimes, I wished I had a village of women to help me with her. I liked that the author also showcased how Lenna’s trauma over what happened to Gillian affected her. The not knowing and keeping it affected every aspect of her life, whether she knew it or not. I was surprised at who was behind everything and how that person connected to Rhiannon and Lenna.

The storyline that takes place two years before everything did explain a lot. It showed how Rhiannon and Lenna met and how Lenna and Gillian met. Rhiannon was a little shifty and kept things from Lenna (but, when it was revealed what, I was surprised). Rhiannon taking off was unusual for her, but the reason was surprising. The only thing that even bothered me was Lenna’s friendship with Gillian. Right from the beginning, I didn’t like Gillian. She was creepy, so I wasn’t surprised when what happened to her was revealed.

The mystery angle of the book was well-written. I was shocked at who was behind everything at the momune. There was a brief hint at it when Gillian got drunk (over two years before). I also got why Rhiannon was forced to do what that person wanted (her lies were figured out).

The author also tackled the mysteries brought up in the storyline set in the past. There was an explanation as to why Rhiannon left and about her backstory. I felt so bad for her, with everything that happened. And I also understood why she did what she did. I also liked that Sarah’s role in everything was explained. It cleared a lot of confusion around what happened that day on the trail.

The end of Nowhere Like Home was cathartic. Everything was explained. But, like Lenna, I wondered who saved everyone in that cave.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton, Dutton, NetGalley, and Sara Shepard for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Nowhere Like Home. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Nowhere Like Home, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Sara Shepard

The Guest by B.A. Paris

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: February 20th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Adult, Psychological Thriller, Adult Fiction, Contemporary

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author B. A. Paris captivated psychological thriller readers everywhere with Behind Closed Doors. Now she invites you into another heart-pounding home full of secrets, in The Guest.

Some secrets never leave.

Iris and Gabriel seem to have it all: a beautiful home in the British countryside, a daughter happily working in Greece, and good friends Laure and Pierre from Paris, who they often vacation with. But when a young man has a tragic accident in a nearby quarry, Gabriel is the one to find him and hear his final words, leaving Gabriel with a guilty burden.

As Iris tries to help ease her husband’s trauma, they acquire an unexpected house guest. Laure has seemingly moved in after her husband’s revelation that he has had a child with another woman. Iris and Gabriel insist Laure stay as long as she needs. But Laure keeps wearing Iris’s clothes, following her every move, and asking her about the recent death of the young man.

Their only respite from the increasingly tense atmosphere in their own home comes from a couple new to town and expecting their first child. But with them comes their gardener, who has a checkered past.

With fractured relationships and secrets piling up around them, can Iris and Gabriel’s marriage survive?

First Line:

Gabriel, his fingers shaking slightly on the stem, handed Iris a glass of champagne, and then gave one to Esme.

The Guest by B.A. Paris

Important things you need to know about The Guest:

Pace: Medium

POV: Goes between 3rd person (Iris and Gabriel) and 1st person (the killer)

Trigger Warnings: The Guest contains murder, alcoholism, death, infidelity, blood, grief, pregnancy, abandonment, alcohol, suicide, violence, car accident, fire and fire injury, abortion, and adult/minor relationships. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is mild swearing in The Guest. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Setting: The Guest is set in a small Scottish village. A few chapters also occur in Paris (Gabriel is looking for Pierre).

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Iris and Gabriel are living their ideal lives as empty-nesters in a small Scottish village when Gabriel happens upon a horrific accident. Hearing the victim’s last words weighs heavily on Gabriel since he told the police, the mother, and first responders that the victim said something different. Hoping to help Gabriel overcome his guilt, Iris plans a vacation for them. And it seemed to be doing the trick until they arrived home to find that their friend Laure had moved in while they were gone.

Laure left her husband, Pierre, after he told her he had a child with another woman. But the visit stretches into weeks, with Laure showing no sign of leaving, and she starts behaving erratically. Feeling like strangers in their own home, Iris and Gabriel’s marriage starts to crack. But relief does come when Iris befriends a new couple expecting their first child in the village. But they come with baggage—a family friend turned gardener with a checkered past.

Why isn’t Laure leaving, and where is Pierre? How is the gardener connected to everything that is going on? And will Iris and Gabriel’s marriage buckle under the pressure?

My review:

When I got the widget for The Guest, I was happy about it. I have read and enjoyed books by B.A. Paris before, and I figured that I would like this book. I am slightly ambivalent about it now that I have read the book. I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it. If I had to describe my feelings, it would be “meh.”

The main storyline of The Guest centers on Iris, Gabriel, their unwanted houseguest, the death of the boy in the quarry, their new neighbors, and the new neighbor’s gardener. There were parts of this storyline that went on for too long (the whole Laure situation) and other parts that the author seemed to rush through. All of this and the fact that I couldn’t get into the storyline contributed to the ‘meh” factor. And that was disappointing since I enjoy reading books by the author.

The characters were interesting, but I did feel that they weren’t as fleshed out as they could be. All of them felt a little flat. The only character I had a halfway good connection with was Iris, and even then, it was more of a “What the hell. Grow a backbone and throw her out.” connection.

As much as I was “meh” about this book, I will say it had a good mystery/thriller angle. The author did a great job of misdirecting and throwing out red herrings. Why? Because I didn’t see who the killer was until the last chapter. It was such a huge twist and took me entirely by surprise. And when the motive behind everything was revealed, I was shocked. Again, something that I didn’t expect. So, kudos to the author for such an explosive twist.

As I mentioned above, the book’s last chapter had a surprising twist, which I loved. But this is a book that I won’t be rereading. I couldn’t connect with the characters or get involved in the storylines.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and B.A. Paris for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Guest. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Guest, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by B.A. Paris

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: February 6th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

What if everything you know about the worst night of your life turns out not to be true?

Nine years ago, with the world’s eyes on her, Charlie Colbert fled. The press and the police called Charlie a “witness” to the nightmarish events at her elite graduate school on Christmas Eve—events known to the public as “Scarlet Christmas”—though Charlie knows she was much more than that.

Now, Charlie has meticulously rebuilt her life: She’s the editor-in-chief of a major magazine, engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry, and hell-bent on never, ever letting her guard down again. But when a buzzy film made by one of Charlie’s former classmates threatens to shatter everything she’s worked for, Charlie realizes how much she’s changed in nine years. Now, she’s not going to let anything—not even the people she once loved most—get in her way.

First Line:

Everyone who was there, or pretends they were there, says the same thing: the tabloids got it wrong.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Medium but does pick up to fast towards the end of the book. After the twist, it falls back to medium again.

POV: 1st person (told from Charlie’s POV in both past and present)

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes involving mental Illness (on page), murder (on and off page), alcohol (on and off page), suicidal thoughts (off page), violence (on page), blood (on page), grief (on and off page), injury and injury detail (on page), child death (off page), death (on and off page), drug use (on page for one scene and never mentioned again), self harm (on page), toxic relationship (on and off page), stalking (off and on page), and toxic friendship (on and off page). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language:  Moderate swearing is used in Skater Boy. There is also language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: Everyone Who Can Forgive Now Is Dead is set mainly in New York City. There is a brief scene in Nantucket when Charlie tries on wedding dresses. Charlie also remembers growing up in England.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Charlie Cobert had lived through a horrific Christmas Eve massacre at her exclusive graduate school. Dubbed “Scarlet Christmas,” several of Charlie’s friends were killed that night. Charlie herself could not remember the events up to the massacre and the actual massacre itself. Determined to lose the victim label the press gave her, Charlie slowly got her life back. Now, nine years after those events, she is the editor-in-chief of a major magazine and is engaged to the heir of a huge publishing company. But, when the twin sister of her best friend (who was killed in the massacre) decides to make a film about that night, Charlie starts to unravel. What exactly happened that night? What isn’t Charlie remembering? Will it take Charlie completely falling apart to remember?

Characters:

The main character in Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is Charlie. I am going to say this upfront: Charlie is not a reliable narrator. Let me repeat this louder for those in the back: CHARLIE IS NOT A RELIABLE NARRATOR.

I didn’t like Charlie, but I felt terrible for her. The trauma she experienced shaped her into the neurotic woman that is portrayed in the book. She kept people, including her fiancee, at arm’s length. She refused to discuss anything to do with that night with anyone. Hell, she even went as far as to get plastic surgery to change what she looked like. So, I wasn’t surprised when she began to spiral. When she started remembering the truth of that night, it broke her. It would have broken me, too.

The secondary characters weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be. They did add some extra depth to the storyline but that was it.

My review:

The main storyline in the book is split between Now (present-day) and Then (the months leading up to the massacre). The author also includes news articles about the massacre as buffers between the chapters. I was skipping over the articles until I realized that they did hold information in them. So, don’t skip them. You will miss out on stuff.

I wasn’t a fan of the dual storylines. Dual storylines and I have a love/hate relationship. Done right, they are lovely and done wrong, well, they suck. Thankfully, the author did them right in this book. There is a correlation between what Charlie was going through in the present day and what she experienced leading up to the murders. It made the transition between storylines easy, and I didn’t get lost when switching over.

As I stated above, Charlie is an unreliable narrator. Her memories of events leading up to the Scarlet Christmas were skewed. There were holes in them because of her drinking (minor spoiler: she is a blackout drunk). But, as the storyline went on, and the more Charlie’s therapy sessions uncovered the truth, I did begin to wonder if I was getting the whole, unvarnished truth. And now that I have finished the book, I still wonder that.

The mystery/thriller/suspense angle was well written. The author did a great job of building up what was going on with Charlie in the present and what was going on with her in the past. There is also a massive twist in the back half of the book that I did not see coming. Usually, there is a hint, a whisper of things to come, but not in this book. It came out of nowhere and surprised me.

The end of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead was interesting but not what I thought. I can only get into a little about what happened without spoilers, but I liked what I read. But, it was almost anti-climatic after everything that was revealed.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Jenny Hollander for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead, then you will enjoy these books:

Suggested Playlist (feel free to add songs or remove songs)

  1. “Runaway” – Aurora
  2. “All I Want” – Kodaline
  3. “Breathe Me” – Sia
  4. “Holocene” – Bon Iver
  5. “The Night We Met” – Lord Huron
  6. “Bleeding Out” – Imagine Dragons
  7. “Youth” – Daughter
  8. “Hurt” – Johnny Cash
  9. “Wish You Were Here” – Pink Floyd
  10. “Fix You” – Coldplay
  11. “Demons” – Imagine Dragons
  12. “Someone You Loved” – Lewis Capaldi

The Ghost Orchid (Alex Delaware: Book 39) by Jonathan Kellerman

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: February 6th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Crime, Psychological Thriller

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

Unnatural History—Book 38

The Ghost Orchid—Book 39

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis are faced with their most perplexing case yet when a double homicide investigation leads them to stolen identities and long-buried secrets worth killing for in this riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Los Angeles is a city of reinvention. Many come to start anew, to strike it big. Many kill the person they once were, the person they left behind. And in turn, someone else can turn around and kill them, too—permanently.

A housekeeper enters a secluded, upscale home and discovers two bodies floating in the The heir of an Italian shoe empire and an unknown woman. The house is untouched, but a “double” in Bel Air certainly makes this case stand out from the usual. 

No forced entry means this could have been an inside job. After all, the woman floating in the pool is revealed to be Meagin March, a married neighbor from down the street, who lives in an even more opulent and sprawling mansion. Married woman having an affair? That’s a perfect motive.

But not everything is as it seems. At her wedding, Meagin had no family and a tip from Meagin’s mother-in-law raises their suspicions. Who was she, exactly?

Learning the truth about this mysterious woman—uncovering her identity and motivations—will take Alex and Milo on one of the most  shocking journeys of their careers.

First Line

Nearly getting killed can change your life in interesting ways.

The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Fast and stays fast throughout the book.

POV: 1st person (told from Alex Delaware’s POV)

Series: The Ghost Orchid is the 39th book in the Alex Delaware series. Readers can read The Ghost Orchid as a standalone book. But I suggest reading the previous 38 books to understand the relationships and backgrounds of people in the book.

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes of poverty, slut-shaming, incest (off page), rape (off page), sexual assault (off page), sex-worker shaming, child abuse (off page), domestic abuse & violence (off page), foster care, sex addiction (off page), blood depiction, dead bodies, gun violence, stalking, and cheating. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is moderate swearing in The Ghost Orchid. There is also language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: The Ghost Orchid is set in and around Los Angeles, California.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Four months after almost being killed helping his best friend, Milo, on a case, Alex Delaware is bored. So, when Milo calls and asks if Alex could meet him at a crime scene, Alex immediately accepts. Milo needs Alex’s insights to understand who could have killed two people in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.

But, when Milo starts digging into the woman victim’s background, he finds a mystery. The woman has no past and didn’t exist until a year before she married over a year ago. A painting of a ghost orchid by the victim is a tantalizing clue about who she was. It is up to Alex and Milo to unravel her past to find her (and her lover’s) killer. Can they untangle a past full of lies and stolen identities? Will they discover her killer before he strikes again?

Characters:

The main characters of The Ghost Orchid are Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. These are well-established, well-rounded characters who had great chemistry together. But the author did something different at the end of the last book and the beginning of this book. He had Alex almost get killed at the end of the last book and was forced to take a break for four months. And during that time, Milo and Alex grew apart. Milo had extreme guilt over Alex’s near-death experience and injuries. That kept him from visiting and, at one point, even talking to Alex. It was interesting to see them be so awkward with each other and to watch them reform their bond.

I enjoyed the extra depth that the secondary characters brought to the storyline. I liked that the author brought back characters from previous books. It made the book feel more fleshed out to me.

My review:

The storyline of The Ghost Orchid is centered around the murder, the female victim’s identity and past, and the relationship (both personal and professional) between Alex and Milo. I loved how the author kept the storyline minimal initially and then slowly added information. It made for a compelling and exciting read.

The mystery angle of The Ghost Orchid was well written. I liked how the author almost casually dropped clues about the female victim’s identity (both past and present). He also included what seemed to be two random murders and tied them to her in ways that I honestly didn’t expect. There is a twist at the end of the book that did take me by surprise. It shouldn’t have (considering what Milo and Alex discovered in the last half of the book). It also saddened me and just reaffirmed my belief that people are awful.

The end of The Ghost Orchid was interesting. I liked how Milo and Alex wrapped up the case. As I said above, it did sadden me because of what the female victim went through in her life and the lengths she went through to distance herself from everything. I hope there will be a book 40; if there is, I can’t wait to read it.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Jonathan Kellerman for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Ghost Orchid. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Ghost Orchid, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Jonathan Kellerman

Wanted (Poster: Book 2) by Amy Kulp

Publisher: Amy Kulp

Date of publication: January 1st, 2023

Genre: Suspense, Thriller

Series: Poster

Missing—Book 1 (review here)

Wanted—Book 2

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | AbeBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

What will bring down the most notorious female criminal in the world?

Meet “Y,” FBI’s third most wanted criminal best known for being cunning, intelligent and unknown to most a mother of a young boy. She is a criminal for hire on the black market of human trafficking..

But a new job brings with it a new dynamic that she’s never had to face. Working with a team but not just any team – a first of its kind even for a seasoned criminal like Y.

An all women team. Riddled with too many strong personalities, loose guns and a new target that triggers something at the core of Y she has ignored for way too long.

Trust is not something you can lean on in her world and when her son goes missing, Y will do just about anything. Suddenly everything is not gonna go according to plan.

Will Y find her son in time or is this her strange twist to live with?

First Line:

The van ride back is always quiet.

Wanted by Amy Kulp

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Wanted has a fast-paced storyline.

POV: Wanted is told from Y’s 1st person POV.

Series: Wanted is the 2nd book in the Poster series. While you do not need to read book 1 to read this book, I suggest it. Book 1 explains Y’s backstory and how she ended up where she is now.

Trigger/Content Warning: Wanted has trigger and content warnings (most in this book are graphic). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Bullying
  • Sexism & Misogyny
  • Slut-Shaming
  • Rape
  • Sexual Assault
  • Sex Slavery
  • Sex and Human Trafficking
  • Domestic Abuse & Violence
  • Drugging
  • Miscarriage
  • Pregnancy
  • Forced separation of mother and child
  • Body Horror
  • Blood
  • Dead bodies
  • Brainwashing
  • Scars
  • Captivity & Confinement
  • Car Accident
  • Gun Violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder & Attempted Murder
  • Physical Assault

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in Wanted. Because of the nature of the book, I will warn you that some of Y’s memories involving sex and its being used for punishment can be graphic.

Language: There is moderate to explicit swearing in Wanted.

Setting: Wanted is set in and around New York City.

Age Range: I recommend Wanted to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Y is used to being the best. In 10 years, she has never failed to deliver what her bosses want: people to sell on the human trafficking black market. After another successful procurement, Y is surprised by another target when she returns home. She is even more surprised when she sees her new team. It is made up entirely of all women. Her target is the biggest one yet: the daughter of a famous comedian. With only a certain number of days to acquire the girl, Y needs to whip her team into shape. Something doesn’t sit right with her about the team, but she will deliver. She always does.

Can Y deliver the girl? Will her team become a cohesive unit? Or will Y’s perfect streak go down the drain, and her life shatter into a million pieces?

Main Characters:

The characters in this book were not likable. But, I did pity them, considering everything they had gone through and would continue to go through. Even the “good” guys (and I use good loosely) were not likable, which surprised me. I wasn’t expecting the police and FBI to be shown in the way that they were, and honestly, the descriptions are probably more realistic than what people think.

Y, who is the main character, was realistically written. She is someone who was brainwashed into forgetting her past. She took pride in kidnapping people and couldn’t care less about what happened to them after she dropped them off. She was kept in line with threats of rape and torture. She had no hopes or dreams other than living for the moments when she could see her son. But there were cracks, which widened as the book went on. By the end of the book, I pitied her. But where she ended up wasn’t where she needed to be.

My review:

While I did enjoy reading Wanted, I was also very disturbed by it. Human trafficking is a huge problem everywhere. As the mother of 2 girls and a boy, I had nightmares of my kids ending up like those shown in the book. My range of emotions reading this book went from horror to sympathy to horror and then disbelief.

The storyline of Wanted was interesting. Wanted takes place ten years after the events of Missing. It follows Y, her team, their target, and what happens when a unit fails. It also follows Y as she slowly begins to remember who she was before she was trafficked and her rush to find her son. Both storylines were well-written and well-researched. While the storyline did disturb me on so many levels (see the first paragraph), I did feel the need to keep reading. I wanted to know if Y would ever regain her memories, find her son, or get captured by the police (she was #3 on the FBI’s most wanted list).

I really can’t go much into the storyline without giving away spoilers. Spoilers hinder me from writing the review the way I want. There is so much I want to talk about but can’t because of spoilers, some of them being major.

The end of Wanted both enraged and saddened me. Where Y ended up was the last place she needed to be. What was done and said to her by her husband made me want to go through the book and throttle him. But I am looking forward to reading book 3. There were a lot of storylines left up in the air.

Many thanks to Amy Kulp for allowing me to read and review Wanted. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Other books by Amy Kulp

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: January 16th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Crime, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can’t say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It’s a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she’s been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered… and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

First Line:

One day we were strangers and the next we were friends. That’s usually how it works with girls.

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Only If You’re Lucky had a medium-fast pace.

POV: Only If You’re Lucky is told from Margot’s 1st person POV.

Trigger/Content Warning: Only If You’re Lucky has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Death
  • Grief
  • Murder
  • Toxic Friendship
  • Infidelity
  • Vomit
  • Alcohol
  • Drug Use
  • Stalking
  • Gaslighting
  • Animal Death
  • Domestic Abuse
  • Eating Disorder
  • Emotional Abuse
  • Misogyny
  • Rape
  • Toxic Relationship
  • Injury/Injury Detail
  • Mental Illness
  • Physical Abuse
  • Sexual Assault
  • Violence
  • Blood

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Only If You’re Lucky.

Language: here is moderate swearing in Only If You’re Lucky. There is also language used that might make some readers uncomfortable or offend them.

Setting: Only If You’re Lucky is set in and around the college town of Rutledge, South Carolina. There are also some scenes set in The Outer Banks.

Age Range: I recommend Only If You’re Lucky to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When her best friend, Eliza, dies three weeks after graduation, Margot can barely function. She spends her freshman year hiding in her dorm, studying and playing it safe. That is until Lucy Sharpe bursts into Margot’s life. Loud, brash, and magnetic, Lucy demands attention wherever she goes. And for some reason, Lucy has honed in on Margot as a friend. Before she knows it, Margot starts coming out of her shell. Soon, she is best friends with Lucy and moves into the house Lucy rented with two other girls. But, things start to unravel when a member of the fraternity (who owns the house and shares a backyard) is murdered at the end of a week of pledging. Soon after, Lucy goes missing. What does Margot know? Why was the frat boy killed? Why did Lucy go missing? And who was Lucy?

Main Characters:

The main characters in Only If You’re Lucky are Margot and Lucy. I will offer advice about Margot (since the book is told from her POV): She is a very unreliable narrator. I couldn’t tell, throughout the book, if she was holding back the truth on certain things or just lying. Her grief (and guilt) over Eliza’s death colored her view of certain events and people.

Lucy, on the other hand, was an enigma. She was a whirlwind of activity and seemed to have her hand in everything. I was surprised by her background when it was revealed. But, in a way, it did make sense.

My review:

Only If You’re Lucky is the second book I have read by Stacy Willingham, and it has cemented her as a favorite for me in this genre. I enjoyed reading this book and was utterly surprised at the twists (and yes, there are several) that the author reveals at the end of the book.

The main storyline centers around Margot, her grief over Eliza’s death, her flashbacks to the events leading up to Eliza’s death, Lucy, and the events leading up to and past Lucy’s disappearance. The storyline was well-written and did keep me on my feet. The layers that it had was excellent. Once I peeled back one layer, the author revealed another.

The thriller/suspense angle of Only If You’re Lucky was terrific. The author didn’t hesitate to throw Margot into the thick of things when she started living with Lucy. There was a point where I did think that maybe she was a little crazy (because of her intense dislike of Levi). Let’s remember the twists. Those twists made the book. I figured out one, but the others took me completely by surprise. Like, my mouth dropped, and me saying, “No freaking way,” surprised.

The author switches back and forth between the present day (during the police investigation into Lucy’s disappearance) and the events leading up to everything. I found it a whirlwind, but it worked. The author kept those two storylines apart until the end, when she merged them. And the way she combined them was pretty crafty.

The end of Only If You’re Lucky was terrific. I was surprised by the things that were revealed about Lucy and Margot. Things I didn’t even see coming and that I, like Margot, thought Levi did. I was also surprised at the very end events of the book, where the author explained Lucy’s disappearance. And that was the biggest surprise of them all.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Stacy Willingham for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Only If You’re Lucky. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Only If You’re Lucky, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Stacy Willingham:

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 9th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Gothic

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

First Line:

There should be some kind of warning when your life is about to change forever.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pace of The Heiress is fast.

POV: The Heiress is told from two POVs. It is told from 1st person POV through Jules and Camden’s chapters and 2nd person POV through Ruby’s letters to an unknown person. There are also snippets told from newspaper/magazine articles.

Trigger/Content Warning: The Heiress has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Murder
  • Domestic Abuse
  • Death
  • Suicide
  • Kidnapping
  • Death of a parent
  • Classism
  • Alcoholism
  • Gun Violence
  • Physical Abuse
  • Toxic Relationship
  • Violence
  • Injury/Injury Detail
  • Bullying
  • Grief
  • Pregnancy
  • Child Abuse
  • Blood
  • Grief
  • Fire/Fire Injury
  • Gaslighting
  • Abandonment
  • Alcohol
  • Adoption
  • Anxiety & Anxiety Attacks
  • Boating Accident
  • Electrocution
  • Poisoning

Sexual Content: There is mild and implied sexual content in The Heiress.

Language: There is moderate swearing in The Heiress. There is also language that could be triggering to some people and considered offensive.

Setting: The Heiress is set in Tavistock, North Carolina. Some chapters are also in Denver, Colorado, Paris, and South Carolina.

Age Range: I recommend The Heiress to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When his adoptive mother died, Camden McTavish became her sole heir, which angered his great-aunt, uncle, and cousins. But, to their surprise, he refused to do anything with the money, the house, or the town where he grew up. That all changes when he finds out that his uncle has died, and his cousin emails him and asks him to come home. With the support of his wife, Jules, Cam goes home. There, he is reminded of exactly why he left ten years earlier.

Jules, Cam’s wife, has her own mysterious and messy past that she must deal with. She is also determined for him to claim the inheritance he rejected. As she gets to know his cousins and great-aunt and uncovers secrets they would rather keep buried, Jules becomes even more determined for Cam to claim the inheritance. But Jules’s secrets and her past threaten her plan and her marriage.

On the other hand, Ruby remains the mysterious woman she was while alive. But her secrets threaten to be exposed by her nephew, great-nephew, and great-niece. What are these secrets, and how do they connect to Cam and Jules? Will Cam keep Ruby’s deepest secret? Will Jules’s past and secrets destroy her marriage? Will Ruby’s relatives get her inheritance?

Main Characters:

The main characters of The Heiress are Ruby, Cam, and Jules. These characters were either battling echoes of their pasts, were deeply flawed, or had secrets they could and would not let come out. They were each well-written and well-fleshed out.

My favorite character in the book was Ruby. The letters she wrote, explaining the situation around her kidnapping, the deaths of her four husbands, and her relationships with her family and Cam, were tabloid-worthy. She was smart, proved by how she made money and other things I can’t mention because of spoilers.

The secondary characters did flush out an already great storyline. I couldn’t stand them, but I could understand where they were coming from. Except for the hatred of Cam. That baffled me because he was the only true innocent (well, up until Ruby’s death) in this book.

My review:

I can’t even express how excited I was to read this book. Rachel Hawkins has been on my radar since I reviewed The Villa. So, when I saw The Heiress start showing up on blogs, I knew I wanted to read it. And when St. Martin’s Press sent me the widget, I was over the freaking moon. Now that I have read The Heiress, Rachel Hawkins has become one of my favorite authors.

There are two storylines in The Heiress. One takes place in the present day and features Cam, Jules, Cam’s family, and why Cam came back. The other storyline is letters Ruby wrote that explain everything from her kidnapping to events right before her death. Those two storylines were intertwined but kept separate (if that makes sense). They came together at the end of the book in a way that I didn’t see coming. It was a huge twist that surprised the heck out of me.

The mystery angle of the book was interesting. The author was upfront with everything that had happened (with Ruby) and what was going on (with Cam, Jules, and the family). It was unconventional, but I liked it. I saw everything with Ruby unfold as Cam dealt with the house and his treacherous relatives. A couple of twists in both storylines took me by surprise. One involved who the letters were to (and no, it is not who you think it is), and the other involved the events at the end of the book and what Cam and Jules did afterward.

I do want to mention Jules’s mystery. The author was sneaky about slipping Jules’s past and secrets into the storyline. I was surprised (but nothing like what I said in the above paragraph). But it did explain why Jules was so gung-ho about restoring the house and staying in North Carolina.

The end of The Heiress was jaw-dropping. The author revealed things that I did not see coming. Events also happened that I did not see coming. It was chaotic, and you know what, it suited the book perfectly. Of course, there was the colossal bombshell dropped about Ruby. I liked how the book ended when the dust settled from everything. The author wrapped everything up nicely.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Rachel Hawkins for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Heiress. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Heiress, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Rachel Hawkins

Northwoods by Amy Pease

Publisher: Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Date of publication: January 9th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Family,. Suspense, Adult Fiction, Mental Health, Adult

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The dark underbelly of an idyllic Midwestern resort town is revealed in the aftermath of a murder with ties to America’s opioid epidemic in this unputdownable and thrilling debut. William Kent Krueger, and Mindy Mejia.

Eli North is not okay.

His drinking is getting worse by the day, his emotional wounds after a deployment to Afghanistan are as raw as ever, his marriage and career are over, and the only job he can hold down is with the local sheriff’s department. And that’s only because the sheriff is his mother—and she’s overwhelmed with small town Shaky Lake’s dwindling budget and the fallout from the opioid epidemic. The Northwoods of Wisconsin may be a vacationer’s paradise, but amidst the fishing trips and campfires and Paul Bunyan festivals, something sinister is taking shape.

When the body of a teenage boy is found in the lake, it sets in motion an investigation that leads Eli to a wealthy enclave with a violent past, a pharmaceutical salesman, and a missing teenage girl. Soon, Eli and his mother, along with a young FBI agent, are on the hunt for more than just a killer.

If Eli solves the case, could he finally get the shot at redemption he so desperately needs? Or will answers to this dark case elude him and continue to bring destruction to the Northwoods?

First Line:

Eli North stripped off his clothes and waded into the water.

Northwoods by Amy Pease

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Northwoods‘ pace is medium.

POV: Northwoods is told mainly from Eli’s 3rd person POV. But, there are also 3rd person POVs from Marge, Alyssa, and Cal. There is one heartbreaking scene from Ben and Caitlin’s POV (the day of Ben’s murder).

Trigger/Content Warning: Northwoods have trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Gun Violence
  • Alcoholism
  • War
  • Addiction
  • Drug Abuse
  • Mental Illness
  • Panic attacks/Disorders
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Suicidal Thoughts
  • Blood
  • Kidnapping
  • Grief
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Alcohol
  • Injury/Injury Detail
  • Classism
  • Domestic Abuse (not on page but mentioned to Eli by his mother)
  • Death
  • Drug Use
  • Toxic Relationship
  • Medical Content
  • Medical Trauma
  • Suicide Attempt
  • Amnesia & Memory Disorders (Eli cannot remember what happened after he entered the hallway of a house he entered in Afghanistan)
  • Depression
  • Hospitalization
  • Car Accident
  • Knife Violence

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Northwoods.

Language: There is moderate to explicit swearing in Northwoods. The language used could also be considered offensive to readers who are triggered easily.

Setting: Northwoods is set in Shaky Lake, Wisconsin.

Age Range: I recommend Northwoods to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Eli North is battling his demons. His drinking is out of control, and his marriage is over. The only job he can hold down is a deputy under his mother, the sheriff of Shaky Lake. And even then, he is skating on thin ice because of his drinking. So, he thinks it is no big deal when he responds late to a noise complaint at a local campground. Instead of finding tourists partying, Eli finds the dead body of a teenage boy. The resulting investigation leads to a missing teenager, the boy’s girlfriend. The resulting investigation takes Eli from the mansions that line Shaky Lake to the people with an addiction who buy opioids to a pharmaceutical salesperson who is going to blow the whistle on a miracle drug that is killing people. While Eli follows the clues, his life is imploding. Can he hold it together long enough to solve the case? Or will Eli succumb to his demons?

Main Characters:

Eli North is the main character in Northwoods. His well-written, well-researched character made my heart bleed for him. What I liked the most about him was that he was very self-aware of his faults. There were times when I didn’t think he would be able to finish the case and one time when I thought he was going to end his life. If I had to label him, I would say that he was more of a morally gray character and only because he was so tortured by what happened overseas.

There were a lot of secondary characters, and they each added depth to the storyline (and to what Eli was going through).

My review:

Northwoods is Amy Pease’s first book; I can’t wait to read more from her. Northwoods is well-written and well-researched. I was captivated right from the beginning (when Eli was swimming) to the end, which offered so much hope for Eli. I will be on the lookout for more books by this author.

The main storyline centers around Eli. It follows him during the investigation into Ben’s murder. But it also shows a very realistic look into what it is like living with PTSD. To say Eli wasn’t coping well was an understatement. He turned to alcohol to numb himself and to deal with the severe panic attacks that he got (which could be triggered by anything). Everyone knew something was up, but no one wanted to say anything, including his mother. But he did manage to investigate Ben’s murder (and Caitlin’s kidnapping) while battling those demons.

There were a few secondary storylines (centered on Ben’s mother, her drug use, Caitlin’s father, and his work). I was curious how the author was going to tie everything in with Ben’s murder and Caitlin’s disappearance. Well, I wasn’t surprised with how everything was connected. It made sense in a weird, roundabout way. It also paved the way for the end of the book.

The mystery and thriller angles were both well-written. I was kept in suspense over what would happen next during the investigation. I was also shocked at not only who the murderer/kidnapper was but why that person did what they did.

The end of Northwoods was a little bittersweet. I can’t get much into it, but it was good. There was a twist with who the kidnapper/murderer was, and it took me by surprise. I found it interesting that the author didn’t end some of the storylines. Instead, the people behind the killers were still out there. I wondered if there was going to be another book.

Many thanks to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, NetGalley, and Amy Pease for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Northwoods. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Northwoods, then you will enjoy these books:

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: December 5th, 2023

Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Gothic, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Historical, Thriller, Suspense, Adult

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

An atmospheric gothic mystery that beautifully brings the ancient Cornish countryside to life, Armstrong introduces heroine Ruby Vaughn in her Minotaur Books & Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut, The Curse of Penryth Hall.

After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and house mate in Exeter. She’s always avoided dwelling on the past, even before the war, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the Cornish countryside, she is brought back to the one place she swore she’d never return. A more sensible soul would have delivered the package and left without rehashing old wounds. But no one has ever accused Ruby of being sensible. Thus begins her visit to Penryth Hall.

A foreboding fortress, Penryth Hall is home to Ruby’s once dearest friend, Tamsyn, and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. It’s an unsettling place, and after a more unsettling evening, Ruby is eager to depart. But her plans change when Penryth’s bells ring for the first time in thirty years. Edward is dead; he met a gruesome end in the orchard, and with his death brings whispers of a returned curse. It also brings Ruan Kivell, the person whose books brought her to Cornwall, the one the locals call a Pellar, the man they believe can break the curse. Ruby doesn’t believe in curses—or Pellars—but this is Cornwall and to these villagers the curse is anything but lore, and they believe it will soon claim its next victim: Tamsyn.

To protect her friend, Ruby must work alongside the Pellar to find out what really happened in the orchard that night.

First Line:

There are three things a girl wanted after the night I had.

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The Curse of Penryth Hall had a slow to medium pace.

POV: The Curse of Penryth Hall is told from Ruby’s 1st person POV.

Trigger/Content Warning: The Curse of Penryth Hall has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Death
  • Infidelity
  • Murder
  • Suicide
  • Violence
  • Blood
  • Alcohol
  • War
  • Gore
  • Toxic Relationship
  • Grief
  • Injury/Injury Detail
  • Mental Illness
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a sibling
  • Pregnancy
  • Classism
  • Suicide

Sexual Content: The Curse of Penryth Hall has minor sexual content.

Language: There is minor swearing in The Curse of Penryth Hall. There is also language used that people might consider offensive.

Setting: The Curse of Penryth Hall is mainly set in Cornwall. Some scenes are set in Exeter, and some are flashback scenes to Ruby in the United States and France (for The Great War).

Age Range: I recommend The Curse of Penryth Hall to anyone over 16.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When The Great War ended, Ruby was happy to return to England and work at a bookstore selling rare books. When her roommate (and co-worker) asks her to run a parcel of books to a remote village in Cornwall, Ruby refuses. Initially, Ruby wants to avoid taking the books. Her dear friend (and former lover), Tamsyn lives there with her husband, Lord Edward Chenowyth, in a foreboding manor called Penryth Hall. But she eventually agrees and makes the journey. When she arrives, what she encounters surprises her and piques her interest. Within a day of her arrival, Lord Edward is murdered by what the locals call a curse. According to them, Tamsyn and her son are next. Ruby vows to find Lord Edwards’s killer but is met with resistance from the townspeople and their local Pellar, a handsome man named Ruan Kivell. The closer she gets to the truth, the more the lines between normal and paranormal are blurred. Will Ruby discover who killed Lord Edward and protect Tamsyn? Or will she end up with another causality of the curse?

Main Characters

Ruby Vaughn: I liked Ruby. She was bright, bold, and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Of course, those traits did get her in trouble at various points in the book. I liked that even though she and Tamsyn were estranged, she was willing to look into Lord Edward’s death and protect Tamsyn (and her son).

Lady Tamsyn Chenowyth: I wasn’t initially sure what to think of her. She still wanted Ruby but was afraid to act on it. But she was a devoted mother. Once I got past my initial dislike of her, I saw her as a woman who was forced to conform to what society wanted from her instead of doing what she wanted. It made me feel a little sad for her because of that.

Ruan Kivell: He was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. It took me forever to realize what a Pellar is (fun fact: a Cornish sorcerer). He did have an otherworldliness about him that made me wonder if what the villagers thought was true. I liked how he dealt with Ruby and how their relationship evolved.

My review:

I am an anomaly in the reading/blogging world. I try not to read and review anything Gothic. The layers that those books have are difficult to discuss. And when I do, I realize I am leaving something important out. I was surprised when I accepted the review request from St. Martin’s Press for the above reasons. I was also surprised that this book was easy to discuss (layers and everything).

The main storyline in The Curse of Penryth Hall centers on Ruby, her investigation into the death of Lord Edward, and the curse that haunts his family. I found the storyline to be well-written. I also loved the layers to this story. Once one was peeled back, another appeared, and another connection was made. I loved that I couldn’t tell if the curse was human-made or supernatural. The author kept that under wraps until the end of the book. Even then, when it was revealed, I still had my doubts.

The storyline with Ruby and Tamsyn, their relationship, and Ruby’s investigation into Lord Edward’s death was interesting. While the author didn’t come out and say that Ruby and Tamsyn were ex-lovers, the behaviors of both cemented my questions. Ruby’s investigation went in circles and, at times, did point to Tamsyn. But, like her, I thought it was too convenient, and I was glad when she decided to press on. Of course, Tamsyn’s behavior didn’t help her with that.

The storyline with Ruby and Ruan Kivell and their investigation into Lord Edward’s death was one of the better storylines I have read this week. I loved how Ruby and Ruan pulled and pushed at each other, but at the same time, there was respect. Their relationship transcended everything in the book, and I looked forward to their interactions. I liked how Ruan’s Pellar status came into play at the end of the book.

The mystery angle of The Curse of Penryth Hall was excellent. I had zero clue who the murderer was, and the author had quite a list of suspects. I was also taken by surprise by the murder weapon. It was mentioned in the middle of the book and brought back up at the end, which surprised me. There was also a twist regarding Lord Edward and heirs. Now, that twist was super convoluted and did confuse me in places. But when the murderer confessed, that person also explained the connection. Which, again, surprised me.

The end of The Curse of Penryth Hall was fantastic. The author wrapped all the storylines in ways that I loved and believed. I was saddened by specific events (including what happened to the murderer and why that person did what they did). I was left with questions about Ruan and Ruby’s relationship and whether it would deepen if the author wrote other books.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Jess Armstrong for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Curse of Penryth Hall. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

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