Category: Mystery/Thriller

#BookReview Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano @ElleCosimano @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #FinlayDonovanIsKillingIt #ElleCosimano

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#BookReview Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano @ElleCosimano @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #FinlayDonovanIsKillingIt #ElleCosimano Title: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Author: Elle Cosimano

Series: Finlay Donovan #1

Published by: Minotaur Books on Feb. 2, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 9/10

IT’S MURDER BEING A HIT-MOM

“Getting the job done” for one single mom takes on a whole new meaning in Finlay Donovan is Killing It, a deliciously witty adult debut―the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moments, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from award-winning author Elle Cosimano.

Review:

Suspenseful, quirky, and outrageously funny!

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is a humorous, compelling read that transports you to the suburbs of Virginia and into the life of Finlay Donovan, a struggling romantic suspense author, recent divorcee, mother of two, whose life is about to get even more chaotic when a woman mistakenly confuses her for a hitman, the husband she never actually intended to kill ends up dead in her minivan, her former nanny willingly becomes a confident and sidekick, and the detective investigating the case is a little too handsome for his own good.

The prose is sharp and witty. The characters are unique, affable, and multilayered. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel quickly into a riotous, yet thrilling tale filled with life, love, family, friendship, secrets, deception, spirited hijinks, hilarious mishaps, mystique, and murder.

Overall, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is a fresh, charming, laugh-out-loud funny mystery that kept me amused and entertained from the very first page. It’s the first novel I’ve read by Cosimano, but based on this fantastic, creative start to what could definitely turn out to be one of my favourite series of all time, I can guarantee you it won’t be my last.

This book is available now.

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

               

 

 

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

 

About Elle Cosimano

ELLE COSIMANO is an award-winning author. Her YA debut, Nearly Gone, was an Edgar Award finalist and winner of the International Thriller Award. Her novel Holding Smoke was a finalist for the International Thriller Award and the Bram Stoker Award. Her essays have appeared in The Huffington Post and Time. Elle lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with her husband, two sons, and her dog. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is her adult debut.

Photo by Powell Woulfe Photography.

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#BookReview Exit by Belinda Bauer @BelindaBauerBooks @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #Exit #BelindaBauer

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#BookReview Exit by Belinda Bauer @BelindaBauerBooks @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #Exit #BelindaBauer Title: Exit

Author: Belinda Bauer

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Feb. 2, 2021

Genres: Dark Comedy, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Belinda Bauer is “Britain’s most original crime writer” (Crime Scene), one of the few authors in the genre to be longlisted for the Man Booker prize. Now she returns with a heart-pounding, heartbreaking, and often hilarious new crime novel in which it’s never too late for life to go fatally wrong.

Felix Pink is retired. Widowed for more than a decade, a painfully literal thinker, he has led a life of routine and is, not unhappily, waiting to die a hopefully boring death. He occupies himself volunteering as an Exiteer–someone who sits with terminally ill people as they die by suicide, assisting with logistics and lending moral support, then removing the evidence so that family and friends are not implicated in the death. When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he’s there to perform an act of kindness and charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath.

But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police–after making the biggest mistake of his life. Now his routine world is turned upside down as he tries to discover whether what went wrong was a simple mistake–or deliberate. Murder.

Belinda Bauer continues to redefine the boundaries of crime fiction, with a novel that is part murder mystery, part coming-of-old-age story–however short that future may be. With the compassion and dark humor of Jonas Jonasson and the twisted thriller plotting of Rear Window, Exit is a novel readers will not soon forget.

Review:

Clever, darkly comedic, and touching!

Exit is a twisty, mischievous tale that takes you on a journey into the lives of an elderly widow who likes to help people pass peacefully, a neighbour with good intentions, an unscrupulous loan shark, an accidental victim, a slovenly cleaner, and a police office determined to keep his family full of misfits a secret.

The prose is tight and witty. The characterization is spot on with a whole slew of characters who are eccentric, sharp-witted, and endearing. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine into an irresistibly thrilling tale of deception, compassion, manipulation, moral dilemmas, drama, tragedy, skewed perception, oddball shenanigans, slapstick moments, and unlikely friendships.

Overall, Exit is a fresh, edgy, intricate tale by Bauer that was so much better than I ever expected. It thoroughly entertained me, and I absolutely loved it.

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

 

About Belinda Bauer

BELINDA BAUER is the award-winning author of seven previous novels that have been translated into twenty-one languages. She won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Crime Novel of the Year forBlacklands, the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award forRubbernecker, and the CWA Dagger in the Library Award for outstanding body of work. Her previous novel, Snap, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She lives in Wales.

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#BookReview A Stranger at the Door (Rachel Marin #2) by Jason Pinter @jasonpinter @AmazonPub #AStrangerattheDoor #JasonPinter #Thomas&Mercer #RachelMarinSeries

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#BookReview A Stranger at the Door (Rachel Marin #2) by Jason Pinter @jasonpinter @AmazonPub #AStrangerattheDoor #JasonPinter #Thomas&Mercer #RachelMarinSeries Title: A Stranger at the Door

Author: Jason Pinter

Series: Rachel Marin #2

Published by: Thomas & Mercer on Jan. 12, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 362

Format: Paperback

Source: Amazon Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Rachel Marin is in a good place. After years of struggle, the single mother has found both a stable, loving relationship and a new purpose: putting her investigative skills to work solving crimes for the local PD. But just as the pieces of her life are finally starting to fall into place, her teenaged son’s teacher is gruesomely murdered, starting a domino effect that shatters her peaceful existence.

When Rachel discovers an ominous email the teacher sent to her just before his death, she knows she must help bring his killer to justice. But soon a figure from her past reappears, threatening to expose Rachel’s darkest secrets if she doesn’t tread lightly. And when her son is recruited by a shadowy businessman who may be connected to the murder, Rachel knows this has just gotten very, very personal.

Someone out there is dead set on keeping this grisly cover-up good and buried, which means if Rachel’s not careful, it’s only a matter of time before her dream life becomes her worst nightmare.

Review:

Engrossing, propulsive, and twisty!

In this enthralling second instalment in the Rachel Marin series, A Stranger at the Door, Pinter has written a menacing thrill ride featuring the resilient Rachel Marin and the dependable Detectives Serrano and Tally as they join forces to hunt a sadistic killer who seems to have ties to a group of local high school boys and a wealthy entrepreneur.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are persistent, resourceful, and intelligent. And the plot is an eerie, electrifying whodunit full of twists, turns, manipulation, familial drama, lies, secrets, corruption, violence, and murder.

Overall, A Stranger at the Door is a fast-paced, intricate, tortuous tale that does an exceptional job of highlighting that money and greed are often the root of all evil and the wicked loves to prey on those more vulnerable and weak.

 

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

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

 

About Jason Pinter

Jason Pinter is the bestselling author of HIDE AWAY, the first Rachel Marin novel, as well as six other novels: the acclaimed Henry Parker series (The Mark, The Guilty, The Stolen, The Fury, and The Darkness), the stand-alone thriller The Castle, as well as the middle-grade adventure novel Zeke Bartholomew: SuperSpy, and the children’s book Miracle. His books have over one million copies in print worldwide and have been optioned for film. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Thriller Award, Strand Critics Award, Barry Award, and Shamus Award, and more

Pinter is the founder of Polis Books, an independent press, and was honored by Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch, which “recognizes young publishing professionals who have distinguished themselves as future leaders of the industry.” He has written for the New Republic, Entrepreneur, the Daily Beast, Esquire, and more. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with his wife and their two daughters.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BlogTour #BookReview Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner @LisaGarnderBks @arrowpublishing #BeforeSheDisappeared

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#BlogTour #BookReview Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner @LisaGarnderBks @arrowpublishing #BeforeSheDisappeared Title: Before She Disappeared

Author: Lisa Gardner

Published by: Century on Jan. 21, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback, ARC

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:

Charged, absorbing, and suspenseful!

Before She Disappeared is a well-paced, menacing thrill ride that takes us into the life of Frankie Elkin, a scarred, middle-aged woman who even while struggling with a past littered with grief, addiction, and heartbreak, travels from place to place identifying and pursuing new evidence in cold cases, but this latest investigation may have the highest odds yet with a missing teenage victim who may still be alive and the people who took her more than willing to kill to keep her.

The writing is sharp and meticulous. The characters are determined, ruthless, and resourceful. And the plot is a mysterious, compelling web of deduction, lies, exploitation, corruption, greed, violence, manipulation, and murder.

Before She Disappeared is another sophisticated, gritty, unnerving read by Gardner that may be the first standalone novel she’s written in a while but still has all the twists, turns, suspense, in-depth character development, and forensic analysis we’ve come to expect and love from all her previous novels.

This book is available on Jan. 21, 2021.

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

               

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK – Arrow Publishing 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.

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#BookReview Girl From Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan @tiffanyrosenhan @uplitreads @bloomsburykids #GirlFromNowhere #TiffanyRosenhan #UplitReads

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#BookReview Girl From Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan @tiffanyrosenhan @uplitreads @bloomsburykids #GirlFromNowhere #TiffanyRosenhan #UplitReads Title: Girl From Nowhere

Author: Tiffany Rosenhan

Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing on Jul. 21, 2020

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Red Sparrow meets One of Us Is Lying in this action-packed, romance-filled YA debut about a girl trying to outrun her past.

Ninety-four countries. Thirty-one schools. Two bullets.
Now it’s over…or so she thinks.

Sophia arrives in Montana with the promise of a normal high school experience. But after a turbulent few years abroad with her diplomat parents, forgetting the past is easier said than done. After all, “normal” high schoolers aren’t trained in several forms of combat.

Then Sophia meets Aksel and finds herself opening up in ways she never thought she could. Except Sophia’s past is about to catch up with her, and she must confront who she really is, why she was betrayed, and what she is capable of in the name of love and survival.

Full of heart-stopping action and breathtaking romance, this cinematic debut features a girl willing to risk everything to save the life she built for herself.

Review:

Fierce, thrilling, and action-packed!

Girl From Nowhere is a gripping, suspenseful tale that takes us into the life of Sophia Hepworth, a sixteen-year-old girl who after suffering a distressing event in an overseas safe house eighteen hours previously, arrives with her diplomat parents in Waterford, Montana to finally settle down. But running from the past is never that easy and even though she’s making new friends, enjoying high school, and experiencing an unexplainable attraction with the green-eyed, mysterious, Aksel Fredricksen trouble is, unfortunately, brewing just around the corner.

The prose is taut and intense. The characters are complex, intelligent, and resourceful. And the plot is a riveting tale of twists, turns, espionage, passion, angst, intrigue, loyalty, tension, terrorism, violence, corruption, and murder.

Overall, Girl From Nowhere is an epic debut by Rosenhan that features lots of exotic locales, sexual chemistry, battles, adventure, and action. It keeps you invested, engaged, and on the edge of your seat from the very first page, and if you can suspend disbelief for a little while, you will certainly be satisfied and highly entertained.

 

This book 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 Tiffany Rosenhan

TIFFANY ROSENHAN is the mother of four young daughters. She has a degree in political science and loves to travel the world with her family and husband, who is a critical care physician. She lives in Millcreek, Utah.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview Laying Bones by Reavis Z. Wortham @ReavisZWortham @PPPress #LayingBones #ReavisZWortham #TexasRedRiverMysteries #inkedinpoison

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#BookReview Laying Bones by Reavis Z. Wortham @ReavisZWortham @PPPress #LayingBones #ReavisZWortham #TexasRedRiverMysteries #inkedinpoison Title: Laying Bones

Author: Reavis Z. Wortham

Series: Texas Red River Mysteries #8

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jan. 12, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The stakes don’t get much higher than murder…

It’s January 1969 in the small rural community of Center Springs, Texas. Constable Ned Parker is looking into the seemingly accidental death of his nephew, R. B., who was found in his overturned pickup near Sanders Creek Bridge.

Eventually, the investigation leads Parker back to the Starlite Club, a dangerous honky-tonk recently constructed in a no-man’s-land on the Lone Star side of the Red River. Although Ned’s investigation uncovers suspicious characters, drugs, and gambling, the series of murders that eliminated any potential witnesses to what happened to R. B. on that cold January night is the most troubling. As he works his way to the coroner’s office, Constable Parker finds himself involved in a high-stakes game of consequences with no good end in sight.

Review:

Suspenseful, pacey, and unpredictable!

Laying Bones is an engrossing, gritty novel that takes us to Center Springs, Texas in 1969, where Constable Ned Parker suddenly finds himself mixed up in a complex investigation involving drug smuggling, illegal gambling, corruption, and multiple murder when the suspicious death of his cousin leads back to the honky-tonk club recently built on the banks of the Red River.

The prose is authentic and rich. The characters are sensible, intelligent, and tenacious. And the plot unfolds and unravels quickly into a compelling tale full of family, community, intrigue, drama, greed, deception, power, manipulation, mayhem, violence, and murder.

Overall, Laying Bones is an ominous, pacey, immersive thriller by Wortham that may be the first time I’ve visited Lamar County but certainly won’t be my last.

 

This novel 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 Reavis Z. Wortham

Spur Award winner Reavis Z. Wortham retired in 2011 and now works harder than before as the author of the critically acclaimed Red River historical mystery series. Kirkus Reviews listed his first novel, The Rock Hole, as one of their Top 12 Mysteries of 2011. True West Magazine included Dark Places as one of 2015’s Top 12 Modern Westerns. The Providence Journal writes, “This year’s Unraveled is a hidden gem of a book that reads like Craig Johnson’s Longmire on steroids.” Wortham’s new high octane contemporary western series from Kensington Publishing featuring Texas Ranger Sonny Hawke kicked off in 2017 with the publication of Hawke’s Prey. The fourth Sonny Hawke thriller, Hawke’s Fury, was published in June 2020. In 2019, the Western Writers Association presented Hawke’s War with the Spur Award in the WWA Best Mass Market Paperback category. The next Red River Mystery, Laying Bones, will be published in January 2021.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg @GalleryBooks @SimonSchusterCA #TheButterflyHouse #KornerandWerner #KatrineEngberg

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#BookReview The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg @GalleryBooks @SimonSchusterCA #TheButterflyHouse #KornerandWerner #KatrineEngberg Title: The Butterfly House

Author: Katrine Engberg

Series: Korner and Werner #2

Published by: Gallery/Scout Press on Jan. 5, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner return in this thriller as they race to solve a series of sordid murders linked to some of the most vulnerable patients in a Danish hospital.

Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. But in the coronary care unit at one of Copenhagen’s leading medical centers, a nurse fills a syringe with an overdose of heart medication and stealthily enters the room of an older male patient.

Six days earlier, a paperboy on his route in central Copenhagen stumbles upon a macabre find: the naked body of a dead woman, lying in a fountain with arms marked with small incisions. Cause of death? Exsanguination—the draining of all the blood in her body.

Clearly, this is no ordinary murder. Lead Investigator Jeppe Korner, recovering from a painful divorce and in the throes of a new relationship, takes on the investigation. His partner, Anette Werner, now on maternity leave after an unexpected pregnancy, is restless at home with a demanding newborn and an equally demanding husband. While Jeppe pounds the streets looking for answers, Anette decides to do a little freelance sleuthing. But operating on her own exposes her to dangers she can’t even begin to fathom.

As the investigation ventures into dark corners, it uncovers the ambition and greed that festers beneath the surface of caregiving institutions—all the more shocking for their depravity—and what Jeppe and Anette discover will turn their blood as cold as ice….

Review:

Chilling, sinister, and sharp!

In this engrossing second instalment in the Korner and Werner series, The Butterfly House, Engberg has written an unpredictable, ominous thriller that takes you on a hunt for a serial killer with a penchant for antique medical devices and a list of victims who all seem to have ties to a defunct psychiatric facility for teens.

The prose is tight and crisp. The characters are multilayered, flawed, and troubled. And the plot is an absorbing tale full of intrigue, surprises, red herrings, deception, revenge, suspicious motivations, abuse, mental illness, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Butterfly House is a sophisticated, fast-paced, tortuous tale by Engberg that keeps you guessing from the very first page and leaves you unsettled, entertained, and highly satisfied.

 

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

 

About Katrine Engberg

A former dancer and choreographer with a background in television and theater, Katrine Engberg has launched a groundbreaking career as a novelist with the publication of The Tenant. She is now one of the most widely read and beloved crime authors in Denmark. The Tenant is her debut novel and the start of a series hailed for its artful originality and beautiful prose.

Photograph by Les Kaner.

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#BookReview Sisters by Michelle Frances @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #Sisters #MichelleFrances #PGCBooks

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#BookReview Sisters by Michelle Frances @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #Sisters #MichelleFrances #PGCBooks Title: Sisters

Author: Michelle Frances

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 5, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

Is blood really thicker than water?

Abby and Ellie were never close as children. Now in their thirties, they each harbour deep-rooted resentment for the other – Abby for her sister’s looks and her status as their mother’s favourite. Ellie meanwhile is envious of Abby’s perfect husband and picturesque home, a villa on the sun-soaked Italian island of Elba.

When Abby invites Ellie to stay, both sisters see the break as a chance to relax and put aside their differences. But with their mother Susanna there too, all the simmering tensions of the past quickly rise to the surface. And Ellie suspects that Abby and their mother are keeping a dangerous secret . . .

But after a shocking act, the sisters have only each other to rely on. Vulnerable and scared, trusting each other will be the biggest risk of all . . .

Review:

Simmering, twisty, and intricate!

Sisters is a fast-paced, character-driven, domestic thriller that takes you into the lives of two sisters, Abbie, a hardworking, overachiever and Ellie a younger, prettier, free spirit as they each grapple with sibling rivalry, enduring jealousy, resentments, and long-buried secrets that will change their lives forever.

The prose is crisp and intense. The characters are envious, secretive, and troubled. And the plot told from differing perspectives unfolds rapidly into a gripping tale full of twists, turns, surprises, familial drama, lies, greed, deception, and tragedy.

Overall, Sisters is another exhilarating, pacey, suspenseful tale by Frances that does a wonderful job of delving into all the complex, dysfunctional relationships that exist between family members and reminds us just how toxic some of them can often be.

 

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

 

About Michelle Frances

Michelle Frances graduated from Bournemouth Film School and then from the Masters programme at the American Film Institute, Los Angeles. Returning to London, she has worked for several years in film and TV as a script editor and producer for both the independent sector and the BBC.

Her first novel, The Girlfriend, became an international best seller.

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#BookReview Closely Harbored Secrets by Bree Baker @BreeBakerBooks @PPPress #CloselyHarboredSecrets #BreeBaker #inkedinpoison

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#BookReview Closely Harbored Secrets by Bree Baker @BreeBakerBooks @PPPress #CloselyHarboredSecrets #BreeBaker #inkedinpoison Title: Closely Harbored Secrets

Author: Bree Baker

Series: Seaside Café Mystery #5

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Dec. 29, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Could this be the bitter end for Everly?

It’s almost Halloween, and the small island of Charm, North Carolina is decked out for the festivities. When Everly Swan agrees to close her iced tea shop early to help her aunts host their annual haunted historic walking tour, she expects some good-natured spooks. But the night turns grave when one of the ghostly actors is found dead. To complicate matters, the victim scratched Everly’s name into the ground before she died, making her a key suspect.

The murder mystery heats up when Everly’s potential boo, Detective Grady, takes the case―and he definitely doesn’t want her getting involved. Will their seaside romance be threatened by all the ghostly drama? But when a phantom sailor straight out of local legend starts leaving Everly threatening messages, she has to get involved… With a local election under way, ghosts on the loose, and a search for long-lost buried treasure, Everly can’t help but stir the pot!

The fifth book in Bree Baker’s acclaimed Seaside Café Mystery series, Closely Harbored Secrets is a frighteningly fun read!

Review:

Cosy, entertaining, and atmospheric!

Closely Harbored Secrets is a whimsical, murder mystery set in Charm, North Carolina that features Everly Swan, a tea shop owner who after stumbling upon a murder victim lying on the sand during the annual historic haunted walk joins together with the handsome, reluctant, Detective Hays to try and solve this baffling case that seems to revolve around ancient maps, old legends, and long-lost treasure.

The writing style is light and witty. The characters are unique, impulsive, and endearing. And the plot is a well-paced whodunit full of amateur sleuthing, red herrings, suspects, deduction, attraction, community, scrumptious treats, and small-town living.

Closely Harbored Secrets is the fifth book in the Seaside Café Mystery series, and if you love cosy mysteries with a touch of romance this novel won’t disappoint. It is a quirky, enjoyable, fun read that is the first novel I’ve read by Baker but undoubtedly won’t be my last.

 

This novel 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 Bree Baker

Bree Baker is a Midwestern writer obsessed with small-town hijinks, sweet tea, and the sea. She’s been telling stories to her friends, family, and strangers for as long as she can remember, and more often than not, those stories feature a warm ocean breeze and a recipe she’s sure to ruin. Now she’s working on those fancy cooking skills and dreaming up adventures for the Seaside Café mysteries. Bree is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Romance Writers of America.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview Under Pressure (Lucas Page #2) by Robert Pobi @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #UnderPressure #LucasPageSeries

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#BookReview Under Pressure (Lucas Page #2) by Robert Pobi @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #UnderPressure #LucasPageSeries Title: Under Pressure

Author: Robert Pobi

Series: Lucas Page #2

Published by: Minotaur Books on Aug. 4, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 9/10

A series of deadly explosions rock the city of New York and with too many victims and no known motive, the FBI turns once again to Dr. Lucas Page in Robert Pobi’s Under Pressure.

On a beautiful October evening, New York City’s iconic Guggenheim Museum is closed for a tech company’s private gala. Until an explosion rocks the night, instantly killing 702 people, including every single attendee—yet the damage to the building itself was minimal.

An explosion of that precision was no accident and, in response, the FBI mobilizes its entire team — but the sheer number of victims strains their resources. Were all 702 victims in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there only one target and 701 unlucky bystanders? That many victim files is a staggering amount of data to sort through and Brett Kehoe, Special Agent in Charge of Manhattan, decides that he can’t do this without more computational power.

Dr. Lucas Page, astrophysicist, university professor, and former FBI agent, is uniquely gifted for the task at hand—he can visualize a crime scene as if he was a bystander and can break down any set of data at a glance. Even though Page wants nothing to do with the FBI, with his city under attack and his family at risk, he steps in to find a killer in a haystack before they strike again.

Review:

Explosive, intelligent, and exceptionally gripping!

Under Pressure is an adrenaline-pumping, police procedural that has astrophysicist and former FBI agent, Dr. Lucas Page begrudgingly working once again with his former employer to help them track down a bomber who seems intent on creating panic, mass destruction, and an ever-growing body count.

The prose is sharp and tight. The characters are astute, scarred, and tenacious. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat with its short, intense chapters that submerge you, page after page, into a world full of twists, turns, action, intrigue, indulgence, greed, power, duplicity, revenge, and murder.

Overall, Under Pressure is an intricately woven, meticulous, sinister tale by Pobi that is made extra special by the protagonist being such a unique, flawed, extraordinary character.

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

 

About Robert Pobi

Robert Pobi is the author of several novels, including the international bestsellers Bloodman and Harvest, as well as the Lucas Page thrillers, which begin with City of Windows. He lives in Canada.

Photograph by Chris Snow.

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