Category: Mystery/Thriller

#BookReview The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale @RKapelkeDale @StMartinsPress #TheBallerinas #RachelKapelkeDale #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale @RKapelkeDale @StMartinsPress #TheBallerinas #RachelKapelkeDale #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Ballerinas

Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Dec. 7, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 7/10

Dare Me meets Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive in a captivating, voice-driven debut novel about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

Fourteen years ago, Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she’s been away…and some secrets can’t stay buried forever.

Moving between the trio’s adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won’t see coming, with magnetic characters you won’t soon forget.

Review:

Gloomy, consuming, and tragic!

The Ballerinas is an ominous, gritty, character-driven tale that takes you into the lives of three friends, Delphine, Lindsay, and Margaux, as they each struggle to find some semblance of control, power, and love in a life littered with competition, dysfunction, self-obsession, and insecurities.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are disciplined, secretive, and damaged. And the plot is a slow-burning, immersive tale full of life, loss, deception, desperation, friendship, drama, manipulation, jealousy, obsession, dedication, betrayal, and ruthless ambition.

Overall, The Ballerinas is a dark, ominous, astute tale by Kapelke-Dale that I found a little slow to start but, ultimately, did a remarkable job of delving into the complex dynamics between friends and highlighting just how gruelling, parasitic and toxic the world of ballet can truly be.

 

This book is available on December 7, 2021.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Rachel Kapelke-Dale is the co-author of GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND (Penguin 2014), a memoir about the significance and nuances of female friendships. The author of Vanity Fair Hollywood's column "Advice from the Stars," Kapelke-Dale spent years in intensive ballet training before receiving a BA from Brown University, an MA from the Université de Paris VII, and a PhD from University College London. She currently lives in Paris.

Photo by author.

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#BookReview Mercy (Atlee Pine #4) by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @HBGCanada @grandcentralpub #DavidBaldacci #Mercy #AtleePineSeries

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#BookReview Mercy (Atlee Pine #4) by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @HBGCanada @grandcentralpub #DavidBaldacci #Mercy #AtleePineSeries Title: Mercy

Author: David Baldacci

Series: Atlee Pine #4

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Nov. 16, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

FBI Agent Atlee Pine’s harrowing search for her long-lost sister Mercy reaches a boiling point in this breakneck thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. 
 
For her entire life, FBI agent Atlee Pine has been searching for her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted at the age of six and never seen again. Mercy’s disappearance left behind a damaged family that later shattered beyond repair when Atlee’s parents inexplicably abandoned her.
 
Now, after a perilous investigation that nearly proved fatal, Atlee has finally discovered not only the reason behind her parents’ abandonment and Mercy’s kidnapping, but also the most promising breakthrough yet: proof that Mercy survived her abduction and then escaped her captors many years ago. 
 
Though Atlee is tantalizingly close to her family at last, the final leg of her long road to Mercy will be the most treacherous yet. Mercy left at least one dead body behind before fleeing her captors years before. Atlee has no idea if her sister is still alive, and if so, how she has been surviving all this time. When the truth is finally revealed, Atlee Pine will face the greatest danger yet, and it may well cost her everything.

Review:

Thrilling, twisty, and meticulous!

Mercy is a propulsive, gripping tale that picks up right where Daylight left off, taking us back into the life of FBI agent Atlee Pine, as she and her loyal assistant, Carol Blum, decide to take a leave of absence from the bureau to work full-time on discovering once and for all what happened to her twin sister, Mercy, who after escaping from her captors nineteen years ago seems to have vanished without a trace.

The writing is gritty and descriptive. The characters are cunning, ruthless, and persistent. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat as it immerses you into a malicious tale full of twists, turns, mayhem, chaos, revenge, survival, danger, violence, cruelty, and murder.

Overall, Mercy is another compelling, intricate, addictive mystery by Baldacci that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend, and although it seems like it might be the last novel we get to enjoy in this series, it certainly introduced us to a new, formidable heroine, Spectator, who is easily in my opinion definitely worthy of a series of her own.

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 & Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About David Baldacci

David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author, and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org.

Photograph by Allen Jones.

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#BookReview An Ambush of Widows by Jeff Abbott @JeffAbbott @GrandCentralPub #JeffAbbott #AnAmbushofWidows

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#BookReview An Ambush of Widows by Jeff Abbott @JeffAbbott @GrandCentralPub #JeffAbbott #AnAmbushofWidows Title: An Ambush of Widows

Author: Jeff Abbott

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Jul. 6, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 340

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

In New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott’s latest novel of riveting psychological suspense, an uneasy alliance forms as two widows delve into their husbands’ deadly and dangerous secrets—as they try to protect their own.

Henry North is a down-on-his-luck cybersecurity expert from New Orleans. Adam Zhang is the cofounder of one of Austin’s most successful venture capitalist firms. These two men didn’t know each other. They had never met. Yet they died together, violently, in a place neither had any business being.

When Henry doesn’t return from a business trip, his wife, Kirsten, panics—and then gets an anonymous phone call: “Your husband is dead in Austin.”

Flora Zhang knew her husband was keeping secrets. She suspected an affair, but she had decided she could forgive him for his weakness—until her husband ended up dead. And with no explanation for her husband’s murder, the police begin to suspect her.

Together, these two widows will face a powerful foe determined to write a false narrative about the murders. In doing so, neither Flora nor Kirsten will remain the women the world thought they were.

Review:

Sinister, tight, and engrossing!

An Ambush of Widows transports you into the life of researcher Kristin North as her world suddenly gets turned upside down when she receives an anonymous phone call informing her that her IT security specialist husband has just been one of two men murdered in Texas, even though he is supposed to be on a business trip in New York, and she heads straight to Austin to find out exactly what and who her husband has gotten himself tangled up with.

The writing is sharp and intense. The characters are troubled, multilayered, and mysterious. And the plot intertwines and unravels quickly into a tortuous, suspenseful tale of lies, secrets, deception, power, corruption, suspicious personalities, nefarious motivations, violence, and murder.

Overall, An Ambush of Widows is an intricate, clever, dramatic page-turner by Abbott that kept me guessing from the very first page and, ultimately, left me surprised, satisfied, and highly entertained.

 

This novel is available now.

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

              

 

 

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

 

About Jeff Abbott

Jeff Abbott is the New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels. He is the winner of an International Thriller Writers Award (for the Sam Capra thriller The Last Minute) and is a three-time nominee for the Edgar Award. A former President of Mystery Writers of America, he lives in Austin with his family.

Photo by Leslie Abbott Photography.

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#BookReview The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond @michellerichmon @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheWonderTest #MichelleRichmond

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#BookReview The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond @michellerichmon @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheWonderTest #MichelleRichmond Title: The Wonder Test

Author: Michelle Richmond

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Jul. 6, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 430

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Escaping New York City and the espionage case that made her question everything, recently widowed FBI Agent Lina Connerly returns home to sell the house she has inherited in tony Greenfield, California. With her teenage son Rory, Lina hopes to reassemble her life, reevaluate her career, and find a clear way forward. Adrift and battling insomnia, she discovers that her father’s sleepy hometown has been transformed into a Silicon Valley suburb on steroids, obsessed with an annual exam called The Wonder Test. When students at her son’s high school go missing, reappearing under mysterious circumstances on abandoned beaches, Lina must summon her strength and her investigative instincts, pushing her own ethical boundaries to the limits in order to solve the crimes. Meanwhile, an old espionage case called Red Vine keeps calling her back into the fold. While Lina struggles to balance her new role as a single mother and the complex counterintelligence puzzles she is so adept at solving, Greenfield’s shadowy dangers creep closer to her own home.

A searing view of a culture that puts the wellbeing of children at risk for advancement and prestige, and a captivating story of the lengths a mother will go for her son.

Review:

Suspenseful, edgy, and chilling!

The Wonder Test is a brisk, menacing tale that introduces us to FBI agent Lina Connerly, a recent widow who, after both the loss of her husband and her father, moves to Silicon Valley where her teenage son can attend the prestigious, local public school and she can tidy up her father’s affairs. But when her son’s girlfriend Caroline goes missing on the eve of the annual “Wonder Test”, and the case looks eerily similar to that of three other students who previously vanished without a trace only to reappear a week later naked, bald, and malnourished, this idyllic spot suddenly seems a little less perfect and danger seems to be lurking around every corner.

The prose is intricate and tight. The characters are inquisitive, tenacious, and intelligent. And the plot unravels and intertwines effortlessly into a sinister tale of deception, manipulation, secrets, power, privilege, revelations, gossip, grief, deviance, and malicious intentions.

Overall, The Wonder Test is a shrewd, sharp, intense thrill ride by Richmond that highlights just how dark, dangerous, and ruthless some people can truly be, especially when driven to conceal an underworld filled with lust, greed, and sinful proclivities.

 

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

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

 

About Michelle Richmond

Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and story collections, including The Marriage Pact, Golden State, The Year of Fog, and Hum. She received the Truman Capote Prize for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Short Story. Her books have been published in thirty languages. She lives with her husband and son in Northern California.

Photo by Nick Elliott.

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#BookReview An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins @MandaCollins @readforeverpub @HBGCanada @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #MandaCollins #AnHeiresssGuidetoDeceptionandDesire #ALadysGuide

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#BookReview An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins @MandaCollins @readforeverpub @HBGCanada @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #MandaCollins #AnHeiresssGuidetoDeceptionandDesire #ALadysGuide Title: An Heiress's Guide to Deception and Desire

Author: Manda Collins

Series: A Lady's Guide #2

Published by: Forever on Nov. 16, 2021

Genres: Historical Romance, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Former lovers become reluctant allies in this delightfully witty historical rom-com from the bestselling author of A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem—for fans of Evie Dunmore, Enola Holmes, and Netflix’s Bridgerton!

England, 1867 : As half of the writing duo behind England’s most infamous crime column, Miss Caroline Hardcastle has quite the scandalous reputation. It may have cost her a fiancé, but she would much rather bring attention to crimes against those ignored by society than worry about what the ton thinks of her.

After Caro’s dear friend is kidnapped, however, she has no choice but to work with Lord Valentine Thorn, the same man who broke her heart. Worse, when her actions put her father’s business at risk, a marriage of convenience may be her only solution . . . but can she trust Val to stand by her? Or will their past repeat itself?

Val–the new Viscount Wrackham–is in an untenable position: His father is demanding he find a respectable bride to secure the succession. Yet the only woman he’s ever loved, Miss Caroline Hardcastle, is notorious for behaving improperly. And she’s never forgiven him for his youthful transgressions, missteps made in the name of familial duty, but ones he still regrets to this day.

As they grow closer to unmasking the culprit, Val sees an opportunity to show Caro he’s a changed man. But can he convince her to give their love a second chance–before death does them part?

Review:

Quirky, adventurous, and fun!

An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire is a playful, engaging tale set in London during 1867 that takes you into the life of Miss Caroline Hardcastle, a crime columnist who, after one of her closest friends goes missing, must grudgingly team up with he ex-fiancé and one man who broke her heart, the dashingly handsome, Lord Valentine Thorn in order to solve the case and rescue her dear friend, Effie as quickly as possible.

The writing is cheeky and engaging. The characters are resourceful, clever, and endearing. And the plot is a passionate, compelling tale full of family, friendship, societal expectations, deductive reasoning, scheming behaviour, tricky situations, awkward moments, secrets, attraction, desire, sleuthing, and of course, a little romance.

An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire is an amusing, lighthearted, entertaining tale that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the second title in the A Lady’s Guide series by Collins, that if you ask me, keeps getting better and better.

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 Manda Collins

Manda Collins grew up on a combination of Nancy Drew books and Jane Austen novels, and her own brand of historical romantic suspense is the result. A former academic librarian, she holds master’s degrees in English and Library & Information Studies. Her novel Duke with Benefits was named a Kirkus Best Romance of 2017. She lives on the Gulf Coast with two lazy cats, a very spoiled Shih Tzu, and more books than are strictly necessary.

Photograph courtesy of read-forever.com.

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#BookReview The Dead Husband by Carter Wilson @PPPress #TheDeadHusband #CarterWilson #inkedinpoison

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#BookReview The Dead Husband by Carter Wilson @PPPress #TheDeadHusband #CarterWilson #inkedinpoison Title: The Dead Husband

Author: Carter Wilson

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on May 4, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 7.5/10

A murderer, a victim, and a witness… but no one in this house is innocent

Twenty years ago an unspeakable tragedy rocked Rose Yates’s small, affluent hometown… and only Rose and her family know the truth about what happened.

Haunted by guilt, Rose escaped into a new life. Now she seems to have it all: a marriage, a son, a career. And then her husband is found dead.

As far as Detective Colin Pearson is concerned, Rose is guilty. Her marriage wasn’t as happy as she’d led everyone to believe, and worse, she’s connected to a twenty-year-old cold case. She can play the part of the victim, but he won’t let her or her family escape justice this time around.

Grieving her husband and struggling to make ends meet, Rose returns home, hoping to finally confront her domineering father and unstable sister. But memories of a horrific crime echo through the house, and Rose soon learns that she can’t trust anyone, especially not the people closest to her.

From USA Today bestselling author Carter Wilson comes a story of deception, hereditary sin, and what we’ll do to protect our own.

Review:

Complex, sly, and ominous!

The Dead Husband is an unnerving, menacing, domestic thriller that takes us into the life of Rose Yates, a mystery writer and mother who, after the recent death of her husband, reluctantly moves back to her childhood home where tragic memories reside, powerful emotions swirl, and long-buried skeletons and secrets are in abundance.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are secretive, unstable, and troubled. And the plot builds and unravels quickly into a suspenseful tale filled with familial drama, heartache, tension, obsession, death, cruelty, desperation, tragedy, and violence.

Overall, The Dead Husband is a tortuous, cunning, sinister tale by Carter that is intense, creepy, and eerily entertaining.

 

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 Carter Wilson

USA Today and #1 Denver Post bestselling author Carter Wilson explores the depths of psychological tension and paranoia in his dark, domestic thrillers. Carter is a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award and his novels have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. He lives outside Boulder, Colorado.

Photo by Eldeen Annette Headshots.

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#BookReview The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheAtticonQueenStreet #KarenWhite #TraddStreet #UplitReads #gifted

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#BookReview The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheAtticonQueenStreet #KarenWhite #TraddStreet #UplitReads #gifted Title: The Attic on Queen Street

Author: Karen White

Series: Tradd Street #7

Published by: Berkley Books on Nov. 2, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Women's Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Return to the house on Tradd Street for one last time as the bestselling series featuring psychic medium Melanie Trenholm comes to a hauntingly spectacular finale.

After the devastating events of the past few months, the last thing Melanie Trenholm wants is to think about the future. Why, when her husband, Jack, has asked for a separation—a separation that might have been her fault? Nevertheless, with twin toddlers, a stepdaughter leaving for college soon, a real estate career to resume and a historic home that is still being restored, Melanie doesn’t have much time to wonder where it all went wrong—but that doesn’t stop her from trying to win her husband back.

Their relationship issues are pushed aside, however, when longtime nemesis, Marc Longo, comes to them with a proposition: allow their Tradd Street house to be used as the filming location for the movie adaptation of Marc’s bestselling book, and he will help Jack re-establish his stalled writing career. Despite Melanie’s hesitation, Jack jumps at the chance. But Melanie’s doubts soon prove to be well founded when she uncovers ulterior reasons for Marc wanting to be back in their house—reasons that include a hidden gem so brilliant that legend links it to the most infamous jewel of all, the Hope Diamond.

But Melanie has an unexpected ally in protecting the house and its inhabitants—the ghost of a Civil War era girl warns her of increasing threats to her family. But she’s not the only spirit who is haunting Melanie. A malevolent ghost seems determined to stop Melanie from investigating the decades-old murder of a friend’s sister, and this spirit will stop at nothing to protect its secrets—even from beyond the grave.

Melanie and Jack must work together to find the answers before evil spirits of past and present destroy everything they love.

 

Review:

Rich, atmospheric, and satisfying!

The Attic on Queen Street is a quirky, mysterious, entertaining tale that takes us back into the lives of Melanie, Jack, and the whole Trade Street gang, including a few intriguing newcomers, as they work on repairing fractured relationships, begrudgingly allow a movie production crew onto their property, and use the help and guidance from those long past once again to solve and close some tragic, unfinished cases.

The prose is vivid and descriptive. The characters are eccentric, lovable, and clever. And the plot is a well-paced, quirky tale full of amateur sleuthing, scandalous behaviour, treasures, ghosts, history,  suspects, deduction, and an abundance of southern charm.

The Attic on Queen Street is the seventh and last novel in this wonderful series by White. And even though it is a little bittersweet to say goodbye to the lovely gang we’ve come to know and love over the last seven novels, it has been an absolute pleasure to be able to indulge in all the mystique, adventure, mishaps, and romance that’s happened on Tradd Street over the entire series.

 

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen White

Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of 28 books, including the Tradd Street series, Dreams of Falling, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, A Long Time Gone, and The Time Between. She is the coauthor of All the Ways We Said Goodbye, The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband near Atlanta, Georgia.

Photo by Marchet Butler.

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#BookReview The Secret Next Door by Rebecca Taylor @RebeccaAuthor @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheSecretNextDoor #RebeccaTaylor #bookmarkedbylandmark

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#BookReview The Secret Next Door by Rebecca Taylor @RebeccaAuthor @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheSecretNextDoor #RebeccaTaylor #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: The Secret Next Door

Author: Rebecca Taylor

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Nov. 9, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 8/10

How well do you really know your neighbors?

Alyson Tinsdale is giving her son the childhood she never had: a stable family, a loving home, and a great school in a safe neighborhood.

Bonnie Sloan is the neighborhood matriarch. With her oldest son headed to Yale, and her youngest starting kindergarten, Bonnie is now pursuing her own long-held political aspirations despite private family struggles.

When the open space behind some of the most expensive homes gets slated for development into an amusement facility, the neighborhood becomes deeply divided. The personal pressures and community conflicts ratchet with every passing day, but it’s when a thirteen-year-old is found dead beside the neighborhood lake that simmering tensions boil over into panic.

Gossip flows, lies are exposed, and accusations are made as cracks run through the community’s once solid foundations. The neighborhood’s faith in exterior appearances is eclipsed by the secrets every house keeps. And as Bonnie and Alyson fight to keep their children safe and their messy personal lives from becoming neighborhood knowledge, it becomes clear that their neighbors might not be who they appear to be.

Fans of Lisa Jewell and Wendy Walker will love this fast-paced, engrossing novel that reminds us that nothing and no one are ever as perfect as they seem.

Review:

Edgy, eerie, and tight!

The Secret Next Door is a captivating, psychological thrill ride that introduces us to Alyson, a young mother who is excited to move into a new home with her husband and five-year-old son until the neighbours of this coveted community seem a be a little more distant and unfriendly than they first appeared, her son has more than a few issues fitting in at the local school, her marriage starts to become unbearably strained, and the thirteen-year-old-son of one of the most popular families in the area suddenly turns up dead.

The writing is brisk and intense. The characters are consumed, overwhelmed, and flawed. And the plot is a suspenseful, sinister tale of secrets, deception, gossip, tragedy, politics, suspicions, revelations, mayhem, fractured relationships, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Secret Next Door is an atmospheric, devious, unnerving page-turner by Taylor 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 from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Rebecca Taylor

Rebecca Taylor was born to a single British teen during a February blizzard in Green Bay, Wisconsin. When she was three, her mother met and married a US Marine. Like many children of military families, Rebecca spent the next fifteen years of her life moving. From Canada to Okinawa, and then all over the United States, she attended eight different schools before graduating high school.

Given that, she didn’t really understand how people managed to stay in one place for more than twelve months. So, she spent her twenties working as an international flight attendant while pursuing degrees in psychology and sociology. It wasn’t until she was pregnant with her first child and working on her graduate degree in psychology that she began writing fiction.

Rebecca has since written eight novels: ASCENDANT won the Colorado Book Award in 2014, and AFFECTIVE NEEDS was a finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 2017. HER PERFECT LIFE was her first work of psychological fiction and was published by Sourcebooks in 2020.

THE SECRET NEXT DOOR will release from Sourcebooks on November 9th, 2021.

Thankfully, Rebecca did eventually learn how to sit and stay. She currently lives in sunny Colorado with her husband, two teens, two dogs, two cats, two fish…there seems to be something about the number two for her.

Photo by Yvonne Min.

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#BookReview A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones @Darynda @smpromance @StMartinsPress #AGoodDayforChardonnay #DaryndaJones #SunshineVicram #smpromance #smpinfluencers

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#BookReview A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones @Darynda @smpromance @StMartinsPress #AGoodDayforChardonnay #DaryndaJones #SunshineVicram #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: A Good Day for Chardonnay

Author: Darynda Jones

Series: Sunshine Vicram #2

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jul. 27, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Romantic Suspense

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff–and even fuller-time coffee guzzler–Sunshine Vicram, didn’t get that memo.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that’s about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he’s not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She’s seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn’t know when to quit, Sunny’s life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.

Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.

Review:

Wacky, wild, and wonderful!

A Good Day for Chardonnay is a refreshing, highly entertaining mystery that transports you back to Del Sol, New Mexico, where police chief Sunshine Vicram now finds herself investigating another multitude of oddball events that pull her back to the past, including a potentially fatal stabbing, a hit and run involving the delicious Levi Ravinder, and a missing teenage boy.

The prose is brisk and amusing. The characterization is spot on with a wonderful cast of characters that are eccentric, sharp-witted, and endearing. And the plot is the perfect mix of suspense, humour, witty banter, familial drama, friendship, secrets, deception, community, mayhem, steamy moments, and sexy times.

Overall, A Good Day for Chardonnay is a quirky, gripping, brilliant tale by Jones that has a storyline that will make you laugh, make you smile, and most definitely leave you wanting more. I absolutely adore this Sunshine Vicram series, and I can’t wait to read A Hard Day for a Hangover when it publishes next month.

This book is available now.

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

               

 

 

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

 

About Darynda Jones

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA, a Golden Heart, and a Daphne du Maurier. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. She currently has two series with St. Martin's Press, the Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of more than 25 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview Death of a Showman by Mariah Fredericks @MariahFrederick @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #DeathofaShowman #MariahFredericks #JanePrescottSeries #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview Death of a Showman by Mariah Fredericks @MariahFrederick @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #DeathofaShowman #MariahFredericks #JanePrescottSeries #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers Title: Death of a Showman

Author: Mariah Fredericks

Series: Jane Prescott #4

Published by: Minotaur Books on Apr. 13, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 288

Format: Hardcover

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

In Mariah Fredericks’s Death of a Showman, the fourth in this absorbing series set in Gilded Age New York, lady’s maid Jane Prescott is thrust into the world of show business, where a killer is stalking Broadway.

It is the summer of 1914 and lady’s maid Jane Prescott is back in New York with the Tylers after a glittering society wedding in Europe. On their return, Jane learns another wedding has taken place. Her old dancing partner, Leo Hirschfeld, has married a chorus girl in his new Broadway musical.

Jane and Louise Tyler are pulled into the sparkling and scandalous world of Broadway, as a star struck Louise invests in Leo’s show, and Jane chaperones her at rehearsals. But behind the glittering facade of the theater, there are rivalries, secret romances, and some very dodgy business practices. When the show’s abusive producer, Sidney Warburton, is murdered, the list of suspects is long. Was it the comedic star or her gambler boyfriend? The disgruntled costume designer? The beautiful, blond dancer, her jealous husband? Or was it Leo himself, who had more reason than anyone to hate Sidney Warburton?

As the First World war looms in the distance, Jane and tabloid reporter Michael Behan must strip back the masks of these consummate performers before one of them kills again.

Review:

Whimsical, suspenseful, and compelling!

Death of a Showman is an amusing, nuanced, surprising tale that takes you back to Manhattan during 1914 and into the life of lady’s maid Jane Prescott who, after spending a year in Europe, returns to find her former dance partner and potential paramour, Leo Hirschfield married and rehearsing a new Broadway musical, a show that ends up with more problems than just money woes when the producer suddenly turns up dead, and everyone behind the curtain seems to have a motive for murder.

The prose is vivid and authentic. The characters are astute, multi-layered, and likeable. And the plot develops nicely and has just the right mix of misdirection, deduction, clues, suspects, mishaps, drama, and murder.

Overall, Death of a Showman is a light, quick, enjoyable tale by Fredericks that I thoroughly enjoyed, and that is without a doubt another satisfying addition to the Jane Prescott series.

 

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 providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Mariah Fredericks

Mariah Fredericks was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives with her family. She is the author of several YA novels. Death of an American Beauty is her third novel to feature ladies' maid Jane Prescott.

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