Category: Mystery/Thriller

#BookReview Fear the Silence by Robert Bryndza @RobertBryndza #FeartheSilence #RobertBryndza

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#BookReview Fear the Silence by Robert Bryndza @RobertBryndza #FeartheSilence #RobertBryndza Title: Fear the Silence

Author: Robert Bryndza

Published by: Raven Street Publishing on Jul. 6, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 374

Format: Paperback

Source: Robert Bryndza

Book Rating: 9/10

“Do you believe Will took his own life?”

The question echoed off the white tiles in the hospital’s cold, cavernous morgue, and I studied my husband in peaceful repose. I leaned down and put my forehead against his. Silent tears ran down my cheeks. They felt hot, and he felt so cold. It was five days since his death, and my grief felt heavy, like a vast, dark mass pushing down on me.

When Maggie’s husband, Will, is shot dead in their London home, she thinks he is the victim of a burglary until the police tell her the shocking news that Will was the one who pulled the trigger.

Maggie is consumed with grief and questions. Will wasn’t suicidal and had so much to live for.

After the funeral, Maggie travels to their holiday home on a small Croatian island to escape London. She finds a disturbing letter written by Will, containing clues to a dark secret.

As Maggie puts the pieces together, she discovers Will’s death is connected to someone from his past… Someone who will go to extreme lengths to keep Maggie silent.

Three can keep a secret… If two of them are dead.

The international multi-million bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice is back with his first stand-alone thriller, a heart-racing, hold-your-breath read that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

Review:

Captivating, clever, and well-crafted!

Fear the Silence is an elaborately plotted, suspenseful tale that takes you into the life of Maggie Kendall, a trauma surgeon who, after her husband is found dead by a gunshot wound believed to be self-inflicted, heads to their holiday home on the isolated Croatian Island of Tišina, only to discover that her husband had secrets, dangerous secrets that someone is willing to do whatever it takes and kill whoever they have to in order to keep them hidden and silenced forever.

The writing is sharp and tight. The characters are persistent, vulnerable, and resourceful. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into a gripping tale full of secrets, surprises, revelations, deception, corruption, manipulation, power, mayhem, mischief, violence, and murder.

Overall, Fear the Silence is an exceptionally menacing, intricately woven, highly entertaining mystery by Bryndza that may be the first stand-alone thriller novel he’s ever written, but which still has all the twists, turns, suspense, in-depth character development, and great pace we’ve come to know and love from all his previous successful series.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Robert Bryndza for providing me with a copy in exchange for an review.

 

About Robert Bryndza

Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over four million copies in the English language.

His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).

Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller.

Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 18 countries. The second book in the series is the global bestselling, Shadow Sands and the third book, Darkness Falls, has just been published.

Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn’t find success until he took a play he’d written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.

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#BookReview Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez @iamHRChavez @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #BeforeSheFindsMe #HeatherChavez #MulhollandBooks #HBGCanada

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#BookReview Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez @iamHRChavez @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #BeforeSheFindsMe #HeatherChavez #MulhollandBooks #HBGCanada Title: Before She Finds Me

Author: Heather Chavez

Published by: Mulholland Books on Jun. 27, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

In this shocking thriller, two unlikely mothers race to uncover the truth behind a horrific attack—even after it becomes clear that the truth will destroy one of their families.

Julia Bennett has worked hard to create a stable life for her daughter, Cora, in Southern California. So when Cora leaves for college, the worst thing Julia expects on move-in day is an argument with her ex-husband and his new wife. But a sudden attack leaves the campus stunned—and only Julia’s quick actions save Cora’s life. Shaken in the aftermath, and haunted by a dark secret, Julia starts to wonder: What if the attack wasn’t as random as everyone believes?

Newly pregnant Ren Petrovic has an unusual career—she’s a trained assassin, operating under a strict moral code. Ren wasn’t on campus that day, but she knows who was: her husband, Nolan. What she doesn’t know is why Nolan has broken their rules by not telling her about the job in advance. The more Ren looks into the attack, the more she begins to question: Who really hired Nolan? And why did one woman in the crowd respond so differently from all the rest?

Julia and Ren each want answers, but their searches quickly pit them against each other. One woman is a hired killer, but the other is a determined survivor. And both mothers will defend their families to the bitter end.

Review:

Captivating, twisty, and clever!

Before She Finds Me is an elaborately plotted, ominous tale that takes you into the lives of two main characters whose paths are inexplicably linked after a gunman opens fire on the grounds of Anderson Hughes College on move-in day. Julia Bennett, a mother and botany professor with a troubled past who is sure the recent mass shooting that left her daughter injured and her ex-husband’s new wife dead was not as random as it first appeared, and Ren Petrovic, a hired assassin determined to do whatever it takes to protect her unborn child while also discovering why her husband took a side job she knew nothing about.

The writing is tight and tense. The characters are persistent, resourceful, and multilayered. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into a gripping tale full of twists, turns, secrets, surprises, revelations, manipulation, coercion, mischief, mayhem, violence, and murder.

Overall, Before She Finds Me is an exceptionally menacing, intricately woven, highly entertaining mystery that has a nice amount of suspense, good character development, and great pace. It’s surprisingly the first novel I’ve had a chance to read by Chavez, but it certainly won’t be my last.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Heather Chavez

Heather Chavez is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley’s English literature program and has worked as a newspaper reporter, editor, and contributor to mystery and television blogs. She lives with her family in Santa Rosa, California. She’s the author of the thrillers No Bad Deed and Blood Will Tell.

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#BookReview Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie @SimonSchusterCA #HaveYouSeenHer #CatherineMcKenzie #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie @SimonSchusterCA #HaveYouSeenHer #CatherineMcKenzie #SimonSchusterCA Title: Have You Seen Her

Author: Catherine McKenzie

Published by: Atria Books on Jun. 27, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A thrilling and timely novel about three women with dark secrets whose lives intersect in the picturesque and perilous Yosemite National Park from the USA TODAY bestselling author of Please Join Us.

Equipped with a burner phone and a new job, Cassie Peters has left her hectic and secretive life in New York City for the refuge of her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. There, she begins working again with Yosemite Search and Rescue, where a case she worked a decade ago continues to haunt her.

She quickly falls into old patterns, joining a group of fellow seasonal workers and young adventurers who have made Yosemite their home during the summer. There, she meets Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with her much older wife, keeping a detailed diary of the goings on of the park, and Jada, a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, documenting their journey on Instagram.

When these three women cross paths, Cassie’s past catches up with her, and the shocking consequences ripple out far beyond what any could have imagined in this unputdownable thriller.

Review:

Intense, unpredictable, and gripping!

Have You Seen Her is a tortuous, cunning mystery that takes you into the life of Cassie Peters, a young woman who, after fleeing a controlling marriage, finds herself back in Mammoth Lakes, California, working once again for the Yosemite Search and Rescue until the actions and behaviours of two random women trigger the past to collide with the present, long-buried secrets to finally be revealed, and the truth of what really happened on those fateful, tragic days ten years ago to finally come to light.

The prose is taut and gritty. The characters are vulnerable, ruthless, and impulsive. And the plot builds and unravels nicely into an intricate tale full of lies, deception, abuse, desperation, manipulation, coercion, troubled pasts, unusual friendships, scheming behaviours, violence, and murder.

Overall, Have You Seen Her had everything I’ve come to expect in a Catherine McKenzie novel and more. It’s a sophisticated, crafty, enthralling tale that, in my opinion, is a must-read for anyone who enjoys an exceptionally eerie, edgy thrill ride written by a great Canadian writer.

 

This novel is available in paperback now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Catherine McKenzie

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill University in history and law, Catherine practiced law for twenty years before leaving to write full time. An avid runner, skier, and tennis player, she’s the author of numerous bestsellers including I’ll Never Tell and The Good Liar. Her works have been translated into multiple languages and I’ll Never Tell and Please Join Ushave been optioned for development into television series.

Photograph by Fany Ducharme.

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#BookReview Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #CastaColdEye #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks

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#BookReview Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #CastaColdEye #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks Title: Cast a Cold Eye

Author: Robbie Morrison

Series: Jimmy Dreghorn #2

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jun. 20, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 449

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Glasgow, 1933

Murder is nothing new in the Depression-era city, especially to war veterans Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his partner ‘Bonnie’ Archie McDaid. But the dead man found in a narrowboat on the Forth and Clyde Canal, executed with a single shot to the back of the head, is no ordinary killing.

Violence usually erupts in the heat of the moment – the razor-gangs that stalk the streets settle scores with knives and fists. Firearms suggest something more sinister, especially when the killer strikes again. Meanwhile, other forces are stirring within the city. A suspected IRA cell is at large, embedded within the criminal gangs and attracting the ruthless attention of Special Branch agents from London.

With political and sectarian tensions rising, and the body count mounting, Dreghorn and McDaid pursue an investigation into the dark heart of humanity – where one person’s freedom fighter is another’s terrorist, and noble ideals are swept away by bloody vengeance.

Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison is a dark historical crime novel and the sequel to Edge of the Grave , winner of Bloody Scotland’s Scottish Crime Debut of the Year.

Review:

Gritty, raw, and thrilling!

In this second instalment in the Jimmy Dreghorn series, Cast a Cold Eye, we head back to 1933 Glasgow, where Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his burly sidekick Sergeant Archie McDaid now find themselves immersed in a tricky investigation involving an execution-style killing of a man on a boat that may or may not have connections to the simmering political tensions, escalating gang violence, and increasing IRA presence that seems to be plaguing the city.

The writing is meticulous and tight. The characters are intuitive, relentless, and committed. And the plot unravels briskly into a sinister tale full of mischief, mayhem, deception, corruption, coercion, politics, criminal behaviour, dangerous situations, suspicious motivations, red herrings, deduction, vengeance, violence, and murder.

Overall, Cast a Cold Eye is another atmospheric, gripping, highly entertaining thriller by Morrison that is a fabulous addition to a series, with its unique historical setting, action-packed storyline, and gritty, complex characters, that’s quickly becoming one of my favourites.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

      

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Robbie Morrison

Robbie Morrison was born in Helensburgh, Scotland, and grew up in the Renton, Coatbridge, Linwood and Houston. On both sides, his family connection to shipbuilding in Glasgow and the surrounding areas stretches back four generations and is a source of inspiration for the Jimmy Dreghorn series. He sold his first script to publishers DC Thomson in Dundee at the age of twenty-three. One of the most respected writers in the UK comics industry, Edge of the Grave is his first novel.

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#BookReview Zero Days by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #ZeroDays #RuthWare #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview Zero Days by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #ZeroDays #RuthWare #SimonSchusterCA Title: Zero Days

Author: Ruth Ware

Published by: Scout Press on Jun. 20, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

An adrenaline-fueled thriller that combines Mr. and Mrs. Smith with The Fugitive about a woman in a race against time to clear her name and find her husband’s murderer.

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.

Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery.

Review:

Addictive, propulsive, and suspenseful!

Zero Days is a fast-paced, sinister page-turner that takes you into the life of Jacintha “Jack” Cross, a security penetration specialist who, after returning home from a job one night to find her husband murdered and his hard drive gone, suddenly finds herself on the run and determined to do whatever it takes to hunt down and discover the who and why that lead to her husband’s senseless death when it quickly becomes apparent that as far as the police are concerned she’s suspect number one.

The writing is sharp and crisp. The characters are impulsive, driven, and resourceful. And the plot is an intricate, captivating tall full of twists, turns, secrets, deception, manipulation, greed, red herrings, corruption, malicious intentions, and murder.

Overall, Zero Days is an exhilarating, twisty, action-packed thrill ride by Ware that is one of my favourite novels I’ve read by her in the past few years. It not only did a great job of keeping me on the edge of my seat from start to finish but was an eerie reminder of just how vulnerable and susceptible our dependence on technology and social media truly makes us.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware grew up in Sussex, on the south coast of England. After graduating from Manchester University she moved to Paris, before settling in North London. She has worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language and a press officer, and is The New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game. Her latest book, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, will be available in May 2018. She is married with two small children.

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#BookReview Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding @Rose_Wldng @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #SpeakoftheDevil #RoseWilding #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding @Rose_Wldng @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #SpeakoftheDevil #RoseWilding #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers Title: Speak of the Devil

Author: Rose Wilding

Published by: Minotaur Books on Jun. 13, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 8/10

All of us knew him. One of us killed him…

Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room; a man’s severed head sits in the centre of the floor. Each of the women – the wife, the teenager, the ex, the journalist, the colleague, the friend, and the woman who raised him – has a very good reason to have done it, yet each swears she did not. In order to protect each other, they must figure out who is responsible, all while staying one step ahead of the police.

Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer.

A dark and nuanced portrait of love, loyalty, and manipulation, Speak of the Devil explores the roles in which women are cast in the lives of terrible men…and the fallout when they refuse to stay silent for one moment longer.

Review:

Dark, intricate, and engrossing!

Speak of the Devil is a layered, unsettling tale that sweeps you away to Newcastle, England and into the life of DI Nova Stokoe, a young police inspector who suddenly finds herself embroiled in a complex murder investigation involving the decapitated head of an esteemed scientist and a suspect list that includes seven local women all who at some time were a victim of his manipulation, deviance, gaslighting, betrayal, violence, or cruelty, and thus all with a motive for his murder.

The writing is brisk and tight. The characters are secretive, cunning, and vulnerable. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, builds quickly creating intensity and suspense as it unravels all the personalities, motivations, relationships, deception, and devious behaviours within it.

Overall, Speak of the Devil is, ultimately, a story of lies, revelations, secrets, deception, betrayal, manipulation, mayhem, depravity, hatred, vengeance, violence, and murder. It’s a clever, sinister, solid debut by Wilding that certainly kept me thoroughly engrossed from start to finish.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Rose Wilding

ROSE WILDING is a crime writer from the north of England. She studied at the University of Manchester, University of Sunderland, and Towson University. When not murdering fictional people, she can usually be found drinking coffee, reading feminist sci-fi, or posting more pictures than anyone needs of her two chihuahuas on Instagram. Speak of the Devil is her debut novel.

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#BookReview The Woman Inside by M. T. Edvardsson @CeladonBooks #MTEdvardsson #TheWomanInside #CeladonBooks #CeladonReads

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#BookReview The Woman Inside by M. T. Edvardsson @CeladonBooks #MTEdvardsson #TheWomanInside #CeladonBooks #CeladonReads Title: The Woman Inside

Author: M. T. Edvardsson

Published by: Celadon Books on Jun. 13, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Celadon Books

Book Rating: 8/10

A wealthy couple ends up murdered in the nicest part of town in this compulsively readable, page-turning thriller from M. T. Edvardsson, The Woman Inside.

Bill Olsson, recently widowed, is desperate to provide for his daughter, Sally. Struggling to pay rent, he welcomes a lodger into their home: Karla, a law student and aspiring judge, who works as a housekeeper to make ends meet. Her clients are the Rytters, an incredibly wealthy couple who hide behind closed doors. The wife is ill and hasn’t left the house in months. The husband is controlling and obsessive. Is he just a worried husband, concerned for his wife’s health? Or is there something more sinister at play?

As Bill’s situation becomes more dire, Karla is forced to make a difficult choice. And when the Rytters wind up dead, and Karla is pulled in for questioning, she’s made to defend some parts of her past she’d rather not revisit.

Every person in The Woman Inside is hiding something, but could any of them really have been driven to kill?

Review:

Sophisticated, riveting, and suspenseful!

The Woman Inside is an ominous, character-driven thriller that takes you into the life of a handful of people, including Bill Olsson, an unemployed widower who will do whatever it takes to keep the roof over his daughter’s head but has an unfortunate addiction to gambling, and Karla Larsson, a young law student trying to live as frugally as possible while working a part-time job as a maid for some unusual clients and by renting just a single room in a stranger’s apartment.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are complex, secretive, and distressed. And the plot, told using a mixture of narrative, police interviews, and alternating timelines, before-and-after the murders, is a sinister tale full of twists, turns, loneliness, insecurities, lies, obsession, manipulation, violence, infidelity, troubled pasts, and murder.

Overall, The Woman Inside is a tortuous, addictive, unnerving tale by Edvardsson that kept me guessing from the very first page and was deliciously relentless, surprising, deceptive, and bursting with misdirection.

 

This novel is available June 13, 2023.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Celadon Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About M. T. Edvardsson

M. T. Edvardsson is an author and teacher from Trelleborg, Sweden. He is the author of multiple novels. A Nearly Normal Family is his first published in the United States. He lives with his family in Löddeköpinge, Sweden.

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#BookReview A Killer’s Game by Isabella Maldonado @wunderkindPR #AKillersGame #DanielaVegaSeries #IsabellaMaldonado #wunderkindpr

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#BookReview A Killer’s Game by Isabella Maldonado @wunderkindPR #AKillersGame #DanielaVegaSeries #IsabellaMaldonado #wunderkindpr Title: A Killer's Game

Author: Isabella Maldonado

Series: Daniela Vega #1

Published by: Thomas & Mercer on Jun. 1, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 365

Format: Paperback

Source: Wunderkind PR

Book Rating: 8.5/10

An FBI agent with a background in cryptography. A brilliant game maker bent on revenge. A deadly battle of wits and wills. An ingenious thriller from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Cipher.

FBI agent and former military codebreaker Daniela “Dani” Vega witnesses a murder on a Manhattan sidewalk. The victim is chief of staff for a powerful New York senator. The assassin turned informant is Gustavo Toro. His code: hit the target and don’t ask questions. When Dani suspects a complex conspiracy, the only way to take down the mastermind is from the inside, forcing her to partner with Toro. Together they must infiltrate the inner circle at a remote facility.

Except it’s a trap. For all of them.

Locked in a subterranean labyrinth and held captive by an unseen host, Dani, Toro, and others must fight for their lives. Now Dani must stay undercover, unravel a bizarre conspiracy, and survive lethal puzzles. But will Toro be friend or foe? Because in this killer’s game, everything is real: the paranoia, the desperation, and the body count. And only one person can make it out alive.

Review:

Charged, propulsive, and unnerving!

A Killer’s Game is a sinister, action-packed thrill ride featuring the tenacious, skilled former Army Ranger turned FBI special agent Daniela Vega as she gets mixed up in an investigation into the toxic poisoning of a senator’s aid that quickly spirals into something a lot more lethal involving an online video game, an underground facility, numerous deadly challenges and puzzles, twelve men who are willing to do anything they need to in order to be the last man standing, and a “Nemesis” who’s been waiting a long time to exact revenge.

The writing is taut and intense. The characters are meticulous, tormented, and persistent. And the plot is a suspenseful, engrossing thriller full of twists, turns, lies, deception, revelations, obsession, danger, depravity, vengeance, violence, and murder.

Overall, A Killer’s Game is an eerie, tortuous, fast-paced tale by Maldonado that’s a promising start to this new Daniela Vega series with its multilayered characters, intricate storyline, consistent sense of urgency, and satisfying conclusion.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

      

 

 

Thank you to Wunderkind PR for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Isabella Maldonado

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado wore a gun and badge in real life before turning to crime writing. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in the Fairfax County Police Department just outside DC, she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During more than two decades on the force, her assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing, which includes the bestselling FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera series (soon to be a Netflix feature film starring Jennifer Lopez), the award-winning Detective Veranda Cruz series, and the FBI Agent Daniela Vega series. Her books have been translated into 22 languages.

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#BookReview A Good Family by Matt Goldman @ForgeReads #AGoodFamilyNovel #MattGoldman #ForgeBooks #ForgeReads

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#BookReview A Good Family by Matt Goldman @ForgeReads #AGoodFamilyNovel #MattGoldman #ForgeBooks #ForgeReads Title: A Good Family

Author: Matt Goldman

Published by: Forge Books on May 30, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Forge Books

Book Rating: 8/10

Katie Kuhlmann’s marriage is falling apart. But she has a secure job, her children are healthy, and her house, a new construction in the prestigious Country Club neighborhood of Edina, Minnesota, is beautiful. She can almost ignore the way her husband, Jack, has been acting — constantly checking his phone, not going to work, disappearing from the house only to show up again without explanation.

Tension in the Kuhlmann house only gets worse when Adam “Bagman” Ross, a mutual friend from college, happens to be in the neighborhood and in need of a place to stay. Jack is quick to welcome him into the sanctity of their home, but Jack’s strange behavior only gets worse, and Katie fears their new guest is also harboring a dark secret. As she begins to uncover the truth, she realizes that something is terribly wrong — and she must race to protect her family as danger closes in.

Review:

Ominous, simmering, and twisty!

A Good Family is a captivating, sinister mystery that takes us into the life of Katie Kuhlmann, a young mother of two who starts to realize everything is not as it seems when her husband randomly disappears and then reappears out of the blue, an acquaintance from the past suddenly shows up and temporarily moves in, rumours of corruption begin to swirl, and seemingly perfect marriages start to show more than just a few little cracks.

The writing is crisp and tight. The characters are consumed, flawed, and overwhelmed. And the plot is a suspenseful, sinister tale of secrets, deception, gossip, tragedy, suspicions, revelations, mayhem, fractured relationships, infidelity, mischief, and murder.

Overall, A Good Family is a devious, tense, entertaining page-turner by Goldman that does a wonderful job of highlighting just how easily people can sometimes allow themselves to be psychologically and emotionally manipulated and reminds us that even the people we think we know so well often have deep, dark secrets they choose to hide.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

             

 

 

Thank you to Forge Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Matt Goldman

Matt Goldman is a playwright and Emmy Award-winning television writer for Seinfeld, Ellen, and other shows. He brings his signature storytelling abilities and light touch to his Nils Shapiro series, which begins with Gone to Dust. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and whichever children happen to be around.

Photo Credit: Leslie Parker

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#BookReview Closer by Sea by Perry Chafe @perrychafe @SimonSchusterCA @ScribnerBooks #CloserbySea #PerryChafe #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview Closer by Sea by Perry Chafe @perrychafe @SimonSchusterCA @ScribnerBooks #CloserbySea #PerryChafe #SimonSchusterCA Title: Closer by Sea

Author: Perry Chafe

Published by: Scribner on May 23, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 272

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the writer and producer of the hit TV shows Republic of Doyle and Son of a Critch , a poignant coming-of-age debut novel about the mysterious disappearance of a young girl and the fragility of childhood bonds, set against the backdrop of a small island community adapting to an ever-changing landscape.

In 1991, on a small, isolated island off the coast of Newfoundland, twelve-year-old Pierce Jacobs struggles to come to terms with the death of his father. It’s been three years since his dad, a fisherman, disappeared in the cold, unforgiving Atlantic, his body never recovered. Pierce is determined to save enough money to fix his father’s old boat and take it out to sea. But life on the island is quiet and hard. The local fishing industry is on the brink of collapse, threatening to take an ages-old way of life with it. The community is hit even harder when a young teen named Anna Tessier goes missing.

With the help of his three friends, Pierce sets out to find Anna, with whom he shared an unusual but special bond. They soon cross paths with Solomon Vickers, a mysterious, hermetic fisherman who may have something to do with the missing girl. Their search brings them into contact with unrelenting bullies, magnificent sea creatures, fierce storms, and glacial giants. But most of all, it brings them closer to the brutal reality of both the natural and the modern world.

Part coming-of-age story, part literary mystery, and part suspense thriller, Closer by Sea is a page-turning, poignant, and powerful novel about family, friendship, and community set at a pivotal time in modern Newfoundland history. It is an homage to a people and a place, and above all it captures that delicate and tender moment when the wonder of childhood innocence gives way to the harsh awakening of adult experience.

Review:

Atmospheric, mysterious, and immersive!

Closer by Sea is a captivating, poignant tale that sweeps you away to Perigo Island just off the coast of Newfoundland and into the life of twelve-year-old Pierce Jacobs as he spends one summer in 1991 hanging with friends, making a little extra money cutting out cod tongues and selling them to tourists, saving up everything he can to repair his late father’s fishing boat, coming to grips with the disappearance of a young girl he slightly knew, and secretly investigating the old, reclusive stranger he’s sure had something to do with why she seemingly vanished without a trace.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are inquisitive, fearless, and impulsive. And the plot is an astute, compelling tale about life, loss, friendship, family, secrets, curiosity, adventure, guilt, death, grief, marine life, mother nature, self-identity, and first crushes.

Overall, Closer by Sea is ultimately a beautifully written coming-of-age tale interwoven with a thread of mystery that does a remarkable job of delving into the complex dynamics that exist between childhood friends and is a wonderful reminder of just how complicated, challenging, memorable and emotional growing up can truly be, especially when doing so in a small island community where everyone knows everyone else.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Perry Chafe

Perry Chafe is a Canadian television writer, showrunner, producer, and songwriter. He is a cofounder and partner in Take the Shot Productions. Perry was the cocreator, showrunner, and head writer for the TV series Republic of Doyle, which ran for six seasons on the CBC, and an executive producer and writer for the Netflix/Discovery series Frontier, starring Jason Momoa. In addition, he was an executive producer and writer for Caught, a CBC limited series based on Lisa Moore’s award-winning novel of the same name. He is currently a writer and producer on the hugely successful CBC series Son of a Critch. Born and raised in the small fishing community of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, he now lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Closer by Sea is his debut novel.

Photograph by Maureen Ennis

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