#BookReview Diablo Mesa by Preston & Child @GrandCentralPub #DiabloMesa #PrestonChild #NoraKelly #GrandCentralPub

#BookReview Diablo Mesa by Preston & Child @GrandCentralPub #DiabloMesa #PrestonChild #NoraKelly #GrandCentralPub Title: Diablo Mesa

Series: Nora Kelly #3

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Feb. 15, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

#1 New York Times bestselling authors Preston & Child continue with the wildly popular series featuring archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. 

Lucas Tappan, a wealthy and eccentric billionaire and founder of Icarus Space Systems, approaches the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute with an outlandish proposal—to finance a careful, scientific excavation of the Roswell Incident site, where a UFO is alleged to have crashed in 1947. A skeptical Nora Kelly, to her great annoyance, is tasked with the job. 

Nora’s excavation immediately uncovers two murder victims buried at the site, faces and hands obliterated with acid to erase their identities. Special Agent Corrie Swanson is assigned to the case. As Nora’s excavation proceeds, uncovering things both bizarre and seemingly inexplicable, Corrie’s homicide investigation throws open a Pandora’s box of espionage and violence, uncovering bloody traces of a powerful force that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets—and that threatens to engulf them all in an unimaginable fate.


Review:

Menacing, tortuous, and action-packed!

In this third instalment in the Nora Kelly series, Diablo Mesa, Preston & Child have written an adrenaline-pumping thrill ride that sees archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Cora Swanson teaming up once again when after reluctantly being convinced to work for billionaire Lucas Tappan on a new dig at the 1947 crash site of a potentially otherworldly aircraft in the New Mexico desert, Nora uncovers two murdered bodies and something even more surprising that the government has not only been hiding for decades but is still willing to do whatever it takes, even kill, to continue to keep a secret.

The writing is taut and tight. The characters are hesitant, intelligent, and persistent. And the plot is a menacing tale full of twists, turns, violence, deception, corruption, mayhem, danger, deduction, power, manipulation, murder, and a sliver of the supernatural.

Overall, Diablo Mesa is another suspenseful, fast-paced, exciting mystery by Preston & Child that, with its well-drawn characterization, creative storyline, and thrilling conclusion, is sure to be a big hit with longtime fans of this dynamic writing duo.

 

This novel is available now.

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

           

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Preston & Child

Douglas Preston has published thirty-six books of both nonfiction and fiction, of which twenty-nine have been New York Times bestsellers. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series of thrillers. He writes about archaeology and anthropology for the New Yorker Magazine, and he worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. He currently serves as President of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest association of authors and journalists.

Lincoln Child is the New York Times bestselling author of The Forgotten Room, The Third Gate, Terminal Freeze, Deep Storm, Death Match, and Utopia, as well as coauthor, with Douglas Preston, of numerous New York Times bestsellers, most recently Crimson Shore. He lives with his wife and daughter in Morristown, New Jersey.

Photo courtesy of Authors' Website.

#BookReview The Midnight Ride by Ben Mezrich @benmezrich @GrandCentralPub @HBGCanada #TheMidnightRide #BenMezrich

#BookReview The Midnight Ride by Ben Mezrich @benmezrich @GrandCentralPub @HBGCanada #TheMidnightRide #BenMezrich Title: The Midnight Ride

Author: Ben Mezrich

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Feb. 22, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the celebrated, New York Times bestselling author comes a commercial thriller of an MIT grad student who unwittingly uncovers the hidden connection between the Gardner Museum heist and the most fascinating secret in American history.

THE CARD SHARK: Hailey Gordon is looking to make some fast cash to help pay her tuition when she’s caught counting cards at the Encore casino in Boston. She grabs her winnings and makes her escape. With guards closing in, she dives into an unlocked room to hide . . . only to find a dead body.

THE EX-CON: Recently released from prison, Nick Patterson hasn’t felt hope in a long time, but the job he “inherited” in prison promises to change that. He enters hotel room 633 to find that the person he was supposed to meet has been murdered. Next to the corpse stands a terrified young woman—Hailey Gordon.

THE PROFESSOR: American history professor Adrian Jensen learns of the death of his professional nemesis, Charles Walker, the night after he received Walker’s latest research. Skeptical at first, Adrian nearly deletes the file. But when one small, new detail catches his eye, he makes it his mission to uncover what could be one of the biggest secrets of the Revolutionary War.

All three strangers find themselves on the cusp of an incredible discovery—one that someone is willing to kill to keep buried.


Review:

Sinister, tense, and highly entertaining!

The Midnight Ride is a propulsive, ominous tale that takes us on a journey into the lives of three strangers, Hailey Gordon, an MIT grad student with an exceptional mind for numbers and a special talent for counting cards, Nick Patterson, a recently paroled con man with a new job already planned that he’s sure will go off without a hitch, and Adrian Jensen, a Tufts professor of American history who specializes in all things Paul Revere, as their paths accidentally collide in a race to uncover a secret of unimaginable importance that seems to have been hidden since the Revolutionary War.

The writing is brisk and sharp. The characters are intelligent, determined, and impulsive. And the plot is an action-packed thrill ride full of twists, turns, surprises, adventure, manipulation, danger, historical events, code-breaking, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Midnight Ride is an intense, suspenseful, fast-paced read by Mezrich that I thoroughly enjoyed and which reminded me a little of the National Treasure movies that I absolutely adore.

 

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ben Mezrich

Ben Mezrich is the New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires (adapted by Aaron Sorkin into the David Fincher film The Social Network) and Bringing Down the House (adapted into the #1 box office hit film 21), as well as many other bestselling books. His books have sold over six million copies worldwide.

Photo courtesy of grandcentralpublishing.com

#BookReview The Deepest of Secrets (Rockton #7) by Kelley Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #TheDeepestofSecrets #KelleyArmstrong #CaseyDuncan #Rockton #RocktonNovels #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview The Deepest of Secrets (Rockton #7) by Kelley Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #TheDeepestofSecrets #KelleyArmstrong #CaseyDuncan #Rockton #RocktonNovels #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers Title: The Deepest of Secrets

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Rockton #7

Published by: Minotaur Books on Feb. 15, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

#1 New York Times bestseller Kelley Armstrong returns to the captivating town of Rockton in The Deepest of Secrets, the next installment in one of the most imaginative crime series on shelves today.

It’s not always easy to live in the hidden town of Rockton, something Detective Casey Duncan knows firsthand. Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, the community survives—and thrives—because the residents’ many secrets stay just that—secret.

But what happens when these secrets start to come out? Overnight, no one is safe. It’s not a question of if your secret will come out—but when.

Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, need to find the culprit while protecting those who have been thrust into the spotlight. For a place built on privacy and new beginnings, Rockton isn’t handling these revelations very well. People are turning on one another, and when one of the loudest complainers turns up barely alive, it’s clear that their trickster is actually a murderer.

The threat of exposure is reaching its breaking point, and no one knows what’s going to happen next.


Review:

Sinister, addictive, and highly entertaining!

The Deepest of Secrets is a gritty, unsettling tale that takes us back to the Yukon and into the small community of Rockton, a refuge and home to a variety of criminals from the south where histories are guarded, secrets are treasured, the governing council may be finally ready to pull the plug, and at least one individual with a penchant for burying people alive may have decided it’s time to uncover and reveal everyone’s past they’re desperately trying to keep hidden.

The writing is sharp and descriptive. The characters are crafty, intelligent, and driven. And the plot unfolds and unravels quickly into a suspenseful, action-packed tale full of twists, turns, manipulation, deception, desperation, duplicity, politics, red herrings, friendship, complex relationships, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Deepest of Secrets is another intricate, atmospheric, edgy addition to the Rockton series by Armstrong that ultimately left me enthralled, surprised, and undoubtedly confident that whatever happens next, Rockton will never be the same.

 

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Photograph by Kathryn Hollinrake.

#BookReview Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski @HenryHolt #RealEasy #MarieRutkoski #HenryHoltBooks

#BookReview Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski @HenryHolt #RealEasy #MarieRutkoski #HenryHoltBooks Title: Real Easy

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Published by: Henry Holt and Co. on Jan. 18, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Henry Holt and Co.

Book Rating: 8.5/10

It’s 1999 and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She’s not used to mixing work and friendship―after all, between her jealous boyfriend and his young daughter, she has enough on her plate. But the newest dancer is so clueless that Samantha feels compelled to help her learn the hustle and drama of the club: how to sweet-talk the boss, fit in with the other women, and make good money. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly.

Georgia, another dancer drawn into the ensuing murder and missing person investigation, gathers information for Holly, a grieving detective determined to solve the case. Georgia just wants to help, but her involvement makes her a target. As Holly and Georgia round up their suspects, the story’s point of view shifts between dancers, detectives, children, club patrons―and the killer.

Drawing on her experience as a former dancer, Marie Rutkoski immerses us in the captivating world of the club, which comes alive with complicated people trying their best to protect themselves and those they love. Character-driven and masterfully plotted, Real Easy gets to the heart of the timeless question: How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?


Review:

Intricate, addictive, and twisty!

Real Easy is a complex, gritty, character-driven thriller that takes you back to 1999 and into the lives of a myriad of people, including Detectives Amador and Meylin, as they work together to solve a case involving a murdered stripper, her missing coworker Samantha, and a killer who seems to have an unusual fascination with the image of a crown and enjoys keeping small pieces of jewellery as mementoes.

The prose is vigorous and tight. The characters are multilayered, flawed, and troubled. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, quickly unravels into a sinister tale of unforeseen twists, well-timed surprises, complex relationships, suspicious motivations, manipulation, obsession, tragedy, loss, and murder.

Overall, Real Easy is a dark, unnerving, entertaining adult debut by Rutkoski that kept me guessing from the very first page and left me chilled, satisfied, impressed, and curious to see what her devious mind might come up with next.

 

This novel is available now.

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

           

 

 

 

Thank you to Henry Holt and Company for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Marie Rutkoski

Marie Rutkoski is a New York Times bestselling author of several novels for children and young adults. She grew up in Illinois as the oldest of four children, and has lived in Moscow, Prague, and Paris.

She holds degrees from the University of Iowa and Harvard University, and is now a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Shakespeare, children’s literature, and fiction writing. She lives in Brooklyn with her family and two cats, Cloud and Firefly.

Photo by Beowulf Sheehan.

 

#BookReview A Winter Memory by Lulu Taylor @MissLuluTaylor @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #AWinterMemory #LuluTaylor

#BookReview A Winter Memory by Lulu Taylor @MissLuluTaylor @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #AWinterMemory #LuluTaylor Title: A Winter Memory

Author: Lulu Taylor

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 4, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 576

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A house full of secrets lies at the heart of this absorbing family drama that is perfect for the winter months, from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author Lulu Taylor.

Where is Sylla? Why will no one tell me where she is?

Helen is married to Angus, the younger of the Ballintyre brothers. They met as students and Helen fell in love, not just with Angus but with the romantic Ballintyre family and their beautiful house on the edge of a loch. But marriage to Angus has not proved happy.

Now, years later and with a family, Helen and Angus have been forced to move back to live at Ballintyre with his older brother, Charlie. Helen is surprised to find that Sylla, Charlie’s wife, has disappeared and no one seems to know where she is. Helen is worried, not least because Charlie and Sylla lost their teenage daughter, Rose, only a year before. Surely someone should be looking for her . . .

Sylla Ballintyre has spent her life ministering to her husband, Charlie, and coping with the presence of his overbearing mother, Josephine, until the tragedy of losing Rose drained her happiness away. When she stumbles on the path to freedom, she knows she must take it, whatever the cost.

As Helen struggles with the fallout of recent events and its effect on her life, Ballintyre House becomes the setting for revelations of love, obsession and betrayal that have resonated beyond the present and into the past, affecting the lives of all those who have called it home.


Review:

Brooding, nostalgic, and heart-tugging!

A Winter Memory is predominantly set in the Scottish countryside during the late 1960s, as well as present day, and is told from two different perspectives, Tigs, a young woman struggling with the feelings she has for her childhood friend even after he goes off and marries someone else, and Helen, a wife and mother who finds her life unexpectedly turned upside down when her husband loses his job, they relocate to his family’s estate, and her sister-in-law seems to have up and disappeared without a trace.

The writing is descriptive and smooth. The characters are multilayered, secretive, and troubled. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine seamlessly into a mysterious tale filled with life, loss, secrets, betrayal, lies, obsession, friendship, misdirection, and unrequited love.

Overall, A Winter Memory is another atmospheric, rich, multi-generational family saga by Taylor that kept me engaged and entertained from the very first page and reminded me that life can be complicated, messy, challenging, too short, and often terribly heartbreaking.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

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

 

About Lulu Taylor

Lulu Taylor moved around the world as a child before her family settled in the Oxfordshire countryside. She studied English at Oxford University and had a successful career in publishing before becoming a writer. Her first novel, Heiresses was published in 2007 and nominated for the RNA Readers' Choice award. It was followed by Midnight Girls, Beautiful Creatures, Outrageous Fortune, The Winter Folly, The Snow Angel, The Winter Children, and The Snow Rose. She lives in Dorset, England, with her husband and two children.

Photograph by Alicia Clarke.

#BookReview Play Dead by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #PlayDead #DIKimStoneSeries

#BookReview Play Dead by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #PlayDead #DIKimStoneSeries Title: Play Dead

Author: Angela Marsons

Series: DI Kim Stone #4

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Jan. 18, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

Detective Kim Stone discovers the best place to hide a murder in this gripping psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Angela Marsons.

Westerley research facility is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a “body farm” known for its investigations into human decomposition, with inhabitants that are corpses in various states of decay. But when Detective Kim Stone and her team discover the fresh body of a young woman among the donated cadavers there, it seems a killer has discovered the perfect cover to bury their crime.

Then a second girl is attacked and left for dead, her body drugged and mouth filled with soil. It’s clear to Stone and the team that a serial killer is at work. But just how many bodies will they uncover? And who is next?

When local reporter Tracy Frost disappears, the stakes are raised. The past seems to hold the key to the killer’s secrets—but can Kim uncover the truth before a twisted, damaged mind claims another victim?


Review:

Relentless, unpredictable, and sinister!

In this latest novel in the DI Kim Stone series, Play Dead, Marsons has written a gripping, fast-paced mystery that sees Detective Inspective Stone and her team heading to the Westerley research facility to investigate an eerie case involving a potential serial killer with a penchant for dumping their victims amongst the decaying corpses being researched at the local body farm.

The writing is crisp and tight. The characters are impulsive, secretive, and scarred. And the plot keeps you engrossed from start to finish with all its twists, turns, deception, revelations, revenge, retribution, violence, and murder.

I have to say this series keeps getting better and better. Play Dead is an intricate, suspenseful, perfectly paced whodunit that has all the elements I look for in a thrilling mystery, along with a touch of authenticity not always found in police procedurals that kept me riveted and eager for more.

 

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Angela Marsons

Angela Marsons is the USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone series, and her books have sold more than four million copies and have been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in the Black Country, in the West Midlands of England, with her partner and their two Golden Retrievers. She first discovered her love of writing at junior school when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s.” After writing women’s fiction, Angela turned to crime — fictionally speaking, of course — and developed a character that refused to go away.

#BookReview The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk @PPPress #TheDepartmentofRareBooksandSpecialCollections #EvaJurczyk #inkedinpoison

#BookReview The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk @PPPress #TheDepartmentofRareBooksandSpecialCollections #EvaJurczyk #inkedinpoison Title: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Author: Eva Jurczyk

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jan. 25, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 7/10

What holds more secrets in the library: the ancient books shelved in the stacks or the people who preserve them?

Liesl Weiss has been (mostly) happy working in the rare books department of a large university, managing details and working behind the scenes to make the head of the department look good. But when her boss has a stroke and she’s left to run things, she discovers that the library’s most prized manuscript is missing.

Liesl tries to sound the alarm and inform the police about the missing priceless book but is told repeatedly to keep quiet to keep the doors open and the donors happy. But then a librarian goes missing as well. Liesl must investigate both disappearances, unspooling her colleagues’ pasts like the threads of a rare book binding as it becomes clear that someone in the department must be responsible for the theft. What Liesl discovers about the dusty manuscripts she has worked among for so long—and about the people who preserve and revere them—shakes the very foundation on which she has built her life.


Review:

Interesting, sobering, and mysterious!

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is an engaging mystery that transports you to the special library division of a university in Toronto and into the life of Liesl Weiss, a middle-aged woman who, after her boss and department manager suddenly has a stroke, must return from her sabbatical just in time to discover the lastest acquisition, The Plantin Polyglot Bible to be missing, and a fellow employee to be acting strangely and then suddenly disappear.

The writing is sombre and slow-burning. The characters are flawed, self-involved, and morally ambiguous. And the plot, although slow in parts, is a unique whodunit full of amateur sleuthing, suspects, lies, deception, mental illness, secrets, deduction, and the intricacies of obtaining and maintaining old manuscripts.

Overall, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is an intriguing, gloomy, intricate tale by Jurczyk, that at its heart, is a true love letter to book lovers and librarians everywhere.

 

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Eva Jurczyk

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is Eva’s first book. She lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

#BookReview Last Seen Alive (Ellery Hathaway #5) by Joanna Schaffhausen @slipperywhisper @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #Last Seen Alive #JoannaSchaffhausen #ElleryHathawaySeries #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Last Seen Alive (Ellery Hathaway #5) by Joanna Schaffhausen @slipperywhisper @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #Last Seen Alive #JoannaSchaffhausen #ElleryHathawaySeries #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers Title: Last Seen Alive

Author: Joanna Schaffhausen

Series: Ellery Hathaway #5

Published by: Minotaur Books on Jan. 25, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 10/10

The fifth book in Joanna Schaffhausen’s heartpounding Ellery Hathaway mystery series.

Boston detective Ellery Hathaway met FBI agent Reed Markham when he pried open a serial killer’s closet to rescue her. Years on, their relationship remains defined by that moment and by Francis Coben’s horrific crimes. To free herself from Coben’s legacy, Ellery had to walk away from Reed, too. But Coben is not letting go so easily. He has an impossible proposition: Coben will finally give up the location of the remaining bodies, on one condition—Reed must bring him Ellery.

Now the families of the missing victims are crying out for justice that only Ellery can deliver. The media hungers for a sequel and Coben is their camera-ready star. He claims he is sorry and wants to make amends. But Ellery is the one living person who has seen the monster behind the mask and she doesn’t believe he can be redeemed. Not after everything he’s done. Not after what she’s been through. And certainly not after a fresh body turns up with Coben’s signature all over it.


Review:

Astute, chilling, and addictive!

Last Seen Alive is a perilous, action-packed thrill ride that sees Detective Hathaway working once again with FBI agent Reed Markham when her nightmares come back to life, bodies begin piling up with wounds that have an eerie resemblance to the ones the incarcerated serial killer she once was a victim of liked to inflict, and danger lurks around every corner.

The prose is edgy and tight. The characters are astute, flawed, and resilient. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat as it submerges you in an ominous tale full of twists, turns, intrigue, action, manipulation, obsession, duplicity, relationship dynamics, swirling emotions, violence, and murder.

Last Seen Alive is the fifth title in the Ellery Hathaway series, and I think this is the one we’ve all been waiting for. As a long-time fan of this series, it lived up to all of my expectations and more. There is just something about the characters, the storylines, and how Schaffhausen writes that I absolutely love, and I can guarantee you I will be a fan for life. If you haven’t already read this series, you really need to.

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Joanna Schaffhausen

JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN wields a mean scalpel, skills developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain—how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter. She is also the author of The Vanishing Season and No Mercy.

#BlogTour #BookReview One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner @LisaGardnerBks @centurybooksuk #OneStepTooFar #LisaGardner

#BlogTour #BookReview One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner @LisaGardnerBks @centurybooksuk #OneStepTooFar #LisaGardner Title: One Step Too Far

Author: Lisa Gardner

Published by: Century on Jan. 20, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Arrow Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

Frankie Elkin has dedicated her life to doing what no one else will: searching for missing people the world has forgotten.

When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking. She has found fourteen victims to date, but none yet alive. Traveling from city to city with more regrets than belongings, Frankie is drawn to a new case in Boston, and to a neighbourhood with a rough reputation.

Angelique Badeau, a local teenager and Haitian immigrant, vanished eleven months ago in the middle of the day from her high school.  No scrap of surveillance footage, no cell phone tracking; 
Angelique simply disappeared.

Despite resistance from the Boston PD and the victim’s wary family, Frankie starts to unpick the truth of Angelique’s disappearance and starts to discover there are those that don’t want these questions answered. But Frankie will stop at nothing to find Angelique and bring her home, even if it means the next person to go missing will be herself …


Review:

Twisty, tight, and incredibly atmospheric!

One Step Too Far is an engrossing, sinister thrill ride that takes us back on the road to solve the unsolved with Frankie Elkin, a middle-aged wanderer who now finds herself in the rugged Wyoming countryside and completely out of her element when she joins a search party, including the victim’s father, three of his friends, and three search and rescue specialists heading into the Shoshone National Forest wilderness to once and for all discover what happened to Timothy O’Day five years ago when he stepped away from his campsite never to be seen again.

The writing is brisk and sharp. The characters are tormented, scarred, and vulnerable. And the plot is tense, action-packed and full of suspicious personalities, unreliable characters, unexpected twists, nefarious motivations, mayhem, survival, violence, and murder.

Overall, One Step Too Far is an unpredictable, tortuous, gripping tale by Gardner, that like all her previous novels, kept me guessing from the very first page and left me unsettled, highly entertained, and certainly eager for more.

This book is available now.

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

                 

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK – Century Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lisa Gardner

New York Times bestselling crime novelist Lisa Gardner began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has parlayed her interest in police procedure, cutting edge forensics and twisted plots into a streak of eleven bestselling suspense novels.

Lisa lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with her family, as well as two highly spoiled dogs and one extremely neurotic three-legged cat. Lisa graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in international relations.

 

#BookReview Anthem by Noah Hawley @GrandCentralPub #NoahHawley #Anthem #GrandCentralPub #Thriller

#BookReview Anthem by Noah Hawley @GrandCentralPub #NoahHawley #Anthem #GrandCentralPub #Thriller Title: Anthem

Author: Noah Hawley

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Jan. 4, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 448

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

An epic literary thriller set where America is right now, in which a band of unlikely heroes sets out on a quest to save one innocent life—and might end up saving us all.

Something is happening to teenagers across America, spreading through memes only they can parse.  

At the Float Anxiety Abatement Center, in a suburb of Chicago, Simon Oliver is trying to recover from his sister’s tragic passing. He breaks out to join a woman named Louise and a man called The Prophet on a quest as urgent as it is enigmatic. Who lies at the end of the road? A man known as The Wizard, whose past encounter with Louise sparked her own collapse. Their quest becomes a rescue mission when they join up with a man whose sister is being held captive by the Wizard, impregnated and imprisoned in a tower.  

Noah Hawley’s new novel is an adventure that finds unquenchable lights in dark corners.  Unforgettably vivid characters and a plot as fast and bright as pop cinema blend in a Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm’s fairy tale.  It is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight that have made Hawley one of our most essential writers.


Review:

Dark, tragic, and action-packed!

Anthem is a creative, pacey, intriguing novel that sweeps you away to a few years in the future when the world has finally seen the back of the current pandemic, mother nature is reaping even more havoc on a planet that continues to warm, politics is as tumultuous as ever, teenagers are taking their own lives at an alarming rate, and a misfit group of teens, including the son of a wealthy pharmaceutical exec and a boy who likes to be addressed primarily as “the Prophet” decide to take matters into their own hands and hunt down a sadistic billionaire who thinks he’s way above the law.

The writing is complex and suspenseful. The characters are troubled, driven, and impulsive. And the plot told from multiple perspectives and with a large cast of characters is tight and intense as it twists, turns, and unravels all the actions, motivations, personalities, and relationships within it.

Overall, Anthem is not the type of book I typically read but was nevertheless a menacing, pensive, unique page-turner with a fantastical thread that did a remarkable job of raising the question will the youth of today be able to weather the storms and handle all the responsibilities, catastrophes, and disasters that are sure to come.

 

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Noah Hawley

Award‑winning author Noah Hawley is one of the most accomplished auteurs and versatile storytellers working in television, film and literature. Over the course of his more than 20-year career, Hawley's work as a novelist, screenwriter, series creator, showrunner and director has garnered acclaim—winning an Emmy®, Golden Globe®, PEN, Critics’ Choice, and Peabody Award. As a bestselling author, Hawley has published six novels: A Conspiracy of Tall Men, Other People’s Weddings, The Punch, The Good Father, Before the Fall and the upcoming Anthem.

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