Genre: Mystery/Thriller

#BookReview Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #MaskOfTheDeerWoman #LaurieLDove #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #MaskOfTheDeerWoman #LaurieLDove #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Mask of the Deer Woman

Author: Laurie L. Dove

Published by: Berkley on Jan. 21, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself.

At rock bottom following her daughter’s death, ex–Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation where he was raised, but the tribe needs a new marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home.

In the past decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some have ended up dead, others just…gone. Now local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter—the girl she failed to save.

Starr feels lost in this place she thought would welcome her. And when she catches a glimpse of a figure from her father’s stories, with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer, Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her.

What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home.


Review:

Intricate, sinister, and twisty!

Mask of the Deer Woman is an intense, ominous tale that finds ex-Chicago detective, now newly appointed tribal marshal, Carrie Starr, heading to Oklahoma and the reservation where her father grew up to investigate the excessive number of missing and murdered native women who seem to have slipped through the cracks or been ignored by the local justice system.

The writing is sharp and sophisticated. The characters are multilayered, troubled, and scarred. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwines and unravels briskly into a menacing tale of mischief, mayhem, corruption, manipulation, poverty, power, coercion, greed, depravity, violence, and murder.

Overall, Mask of the Deer Woman is an intricately woven, informative, highly entertaining mystery by Dove that has a nice amount of suspense, good character development, great pace, and an insightful look into the history, culture, oppression, and struggles of the Indigenous people of Oklahoma.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Laurie L. Dove

Laurie L. Dove is a reporter and editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications and garnered several honors for outstanding journalism. She graduated with a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University. She is an adjunct professor who currently lives and writes in Kansas.

Photo by Rowan G. Dove

#BookReview Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #MurderInTheDressingRoom #HollyStars #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #MurderInTheDressingRoom #HollyStars #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Murder in the Dressing Room

Author: Holly Stars

Published by: Berkley on Jan. 14, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

A poisoned chocolate. A stolen dress. An elusive catburglar. Drag’s not just dramatic, it’s deadly.

By day, Joe is a hotel accountant, invisibly sitting behind their desk and playing by the rules. By night, donned in sequins, they take to the stage as Misty Divine, a star of the London drag scene.

But when Misty’s drag mother, Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room beside a poisoned box of chocolates, Misty and her fellow performers become the prime suspects.

Heartbroken by the loss, and frustrated by the clear biases of the police, Misty must solve the crime before the culprit strikes again. Among the drop-dead gorgeous lurks a cutthroat killer, and Misty Divine won’t rest until she finds out who it is.


Review:

Unique, lighthearted, and fun!

Murder in the Dressing Room is a well-paced, amusing murder mystery that takes you into the life of Misty Divine, a star of the drag stage who finds their life turned upside down when the drag mother of the club winds up murdered, and it quickly becomes apparent that someone in their midst most certainly committed the crime.

The writing is light and witty. The characters are inquisitive, impulsive, and endearing. And the plot is a well-paced, zany whodunit full of glitz, glamour, drama, misdirection, secrets, amateur sleuthing, and red herrings.

Overall, Murder in the Dressing Room is a humorous, quirky, entertaining read by Stars, and if you’re a fan of oddball cosy mysteries, this one definitely won’t disappoint.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Holly Stars

Holly Stars is a drag stand-up comedian and writer. She is the writer of the smash-hit drag murder mystery, Death Drop, a play that has had three runs on the West End and a UK and Ireland tour. Holly has two seasons of her own television series, Holly Stars: Inspirational, on Froot TV and OutTV, and regularly performs in London and around the UK. Her solo shows include: Justice For Holly, Nightmare Neighbour and Birthday.

#BookReview Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita @Berkley @PenguinRandomCA #VillageInTheDark #CaraKennedySeries #IrisYamashita #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita @Berkley @PenguinRandomCA #VillageInTheDark #CaraKennedySeries #IrisYamashita #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Village in the Dark

Author: Iris Yamashita

Series: Cara Kennedy #2

Published by: Berkley on Jan. 14, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 288

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 7.5/10

Detective Cara Kennedy thought she’d lost her husband and son in an accident, but harrowing evidence has emerged that points to murder–and she will stop at nothing to find the truth in this riveting mystery from the author of City Under One Roof.

On a frigid February day, Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy stands by the graves of her husband and son, watching as their caskets are raised from the earth. It feels sacrilegious, but she has no choice. Aaron and Dylan disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances. 
 
Somehow tied to the mystery is Mia Upash, who grew up in an isolated village called Unity, a community of women and children in hiding from abusive men. Mia never imagined the trouble she would find herself in when she left home to live in Man’s World. Although she remains haunted by the tragedy of what happened to the man and the boy in the woods, she has her own reasons for keeping quiet.
 
Aided by police officer Joe Barkowski and other residents of Point Mettier, Cara’s investigation will lead them on a dangerous path that puts their lives and the lives of everyone around them in mortal jeopardy.


Review:

Duplicitous, intense, and atmospheric!

In this intriguing, second instalment in the Cara Kennedy series, Village in the Dark, we head back to Alaska, where Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy now finds herself having to relive the devastating tragedy of losing her husband and son when new clues seem to tie their murders to another crime and she makes the difficult decision to exhume their bodies, treks back to the isolated village of Pont Mettier to ask for help, and allows the romance between herself and the recuperating Officer Barkowski to blossom even further.

The prose is sharp and brisk. The characters are strong, relentless, and resourceful. And the plot unfolds quickly into a menacing tale of mischief, mayhem, corruption, manipulation, betrayal, coercion, greed, violence, and murder.

Overall, Village in the Dark is a tight, captivating, sinister tale by Yamashita that is also dark, intricate, and entertaining.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Iris Yamashita

Iris Yamashita is an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter for the movie Letters from Iwo Jima. She has been working in Hollywood for fifteen years developing material for both film and streaming, has taught screenwriting at UCLA, and is an advocate of women and diversity in the entertainment industry. She has also been a judge and mentor for various film and writing programs, and lives in California.

Photo by Anthony Mongiello

#BookReview I Died on a Tuesday by Jane Corry @doubledayca @PenguinRandomCA #IDiedOnATuesday #JaneCorry #PenguinReads

#BookReview I Died on a Tuesday by Jane Corry @doubledayca @PenguinRandomCA #IDiedOnATuesday #JaneCorry #PenguinReads Title: I Died on a Tuesday

Author: Jane Corry

Published by: Doubleday Canada on Dec. 17, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 480

Format: Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the internationally bestselling author of Coming to Find You and My Husband’s Wifecomes another edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a harrowing crime, the long-buried secrets surrounding it, and the explosive uncovering of the truth.

18-year-old Janie has the world and her bright future ahead of her. She’s about to leave behind the small seaside town she’s known all her life to embark on a career in London in book publishing and couldn’t be more excited. She’ll miss home—especially her dad. They’ve only had each other since her mother died years earlier. But she’s about to start her life and she can’t wait.

She’s on her way home after her last early dawn swim in the bay when the peaceful stillness of the quiet Tuesday morning is suddenly shattered. A white van careens around the corner and onto the quiet street Janie is riding her bike along, and in one swift moment, her life is forever changed, and her dreams of a new life destroyed. She’s brutally run-down by the van and left for dead on the street.

Twenty years later

Robbie Manning, international pop superstar and all-around good guy, answers the front door of his palatial home to a pair of police officers who inform him that he’s being arrested for the attempted murder of Janie White. Everyone knows the horrifying story of Janie and what happened to her, and the mystery of who could have done such an awful thing has rattled the world for the last twenty years. But as word of Robbie’s arrest spreads, no one—including Robbie’s family—can believe it; Robbie is upstanding, a model citizen and family man. He couldn’t possibly have committed a hit-and-run that left a young woman paralyzed and unable to speak.

Robbie doesn’t deny the accusations. He’s been waiting for the truth to come out for the last two decades, and he’s ready for his punishment. He deserves it after what he did to Janie . . .

. . . But what if there’s more to the story? What if someone else knows what really happened that day?

Janie may be the only one who can reveal the truth—if they can get her to tell her side of the story.


Review:

Sinister, immersive, and addictive!

I Died on a Tuesday is an ominous, compelling novel that takes you into the lives of a handful of people, including the famous pop star Robbie Manning, whose worlds have been irrevocably changed forever by a tragic accident that occurred twenty years prior that left one young woman physically and emotionally scarred for life, and the rest haunted and struggling to survive the inevitable guilt, repercussions and fallout sure to come.

The prose is expressive and charged. The characters, including all the supporting characters, are complex, vulnerable, and conflicted. And the plot is a menacing, intricate tale of life, loss, family, deception, friendship, grief, guilt, denial, secrets, self-preservation, manipulation, coercion, violence, redemption, and survival.

Overall, I Died on a Tuesday is a dark, twisty, gripping tale by Corry that kept me guessing from the very first page and left me chilled, satisfied, impressed, and curious to see what her devious mind might manage to 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 Penguin Random House Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jane Corry

Jane Corry is a former magazine journalist who spent three years as the writer-in-residence at a high-security prison. This often hair-raising experience helped inspire her Sunday Times-bestselling psychological dramas, which have been translated into sixteen languages and sold over a million copies worldwide. This is her ninth novel.

Photo by Justine Stoddart

#BookReview Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox @josephknox__ @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #ImposterSyndrome #JosephKnox #bookmarkedbylandmark

#BookReview Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox @josephknox__ @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #ImposterSyndrome #JosephKnox #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: Imposter Syndrome

Author: Joseph Knox

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Dec. 10, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 8/10

On the run from his shady past, Lynch has just arrived in London, still looking over his shoulder to make sure he isn’t being followed. His phone is dead, he has no money, no contacts, no one at all. Until he runs into a young woman named Bobbie who mistakes him for her brother, Heydon Pierce, who disappeared 5 years ago without a trace.

At Bobbie’s suggestion, Lynch goes to the Pierce family home, posing as Heydon to try and con some money out of them. But far from tricking them, his subterfuge is instantly discovered. He strikes the devil’s bargain with them – their silence for his cooperation in finding out what really happened to Heydon.

But Lynch’s investigation goes too deep and uncovers the fact that Heydon Pierce was tangled up with some dangerous and powerful people in London. Everyone has their own motives to keep Heydon well buried in the past. In such a conspiracy of mirrors, there’s only one thing Lynch know for certain: the only person he can trust is himself.


Review:

Engrossing, fast-paced, and sinister!

Imposter Syndrome is a brisk, compelling tale that takes you into the life of Lynch, a broke con man who, after running from the life he recently led in Paris, becomes embroiled in the dangerously messed-up lives of the complex, affluent Pierce family.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are secretive, troubled, and multilayered. And the plot is an ominous thrill ride full of twists, turns, familial drama, secrets, lies, deception, guilt, grief, relationship dynamics, reckless behaviour, swirling emotions, manipulation, violence, vengeance, and murder.

Overall, Imposter Syndrome is an intricate, crafty, atmospheric read by Knox that captivated, satisfied, and highly entertained me and was a good reminder that things are never what they seem.

 

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 Joseph Knox

Joseph Knox was born and raised in and around Stoke and Manchester, where he worked in bars and bookshops before moving to London. He reads, writes, and runs compulsively. His novels have been translated into 14 languages.

#BookReview The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale @SimonSchusterCA #TheCloseUp #PipDrysdale #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale @SimonSchusterCA #TheCloseUp #PipDrysdale #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Close-Up

Author: Pip Drysdale

Published by: Simon & Schuster on Dec. 3, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

In this glittering new psychological suspense novel from internationally bestselling author Pip Drysdale, a writer’s own thriller is brought chillingly to life when a stalker begins to reenact the events from her book.

Sometimes when your dreams come true, so do your nightmares…

When Zoe Ann Weiss moves to LA to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist, she welcomes the fault lines, the Santa Ana winds, and the magic hour light. Her whole future is wide open—until Zach, the bartender and aspiring actor she’s falling for, ghosts her, and her debut novel, a thriller, bombs.

Three years pass. Zach’s star rises—he’s on Netflix, on billboards, in every magazine—while hers falls. Now she’s working in a flower shop, still calling herself a writer while staring at a blinking cursor every night. But then she delivers flowers in one of LA’s most exclusive neighborhoods and…he’s there. Zach Hamilton. And it’s like no time has passed at all—the two pick up right where they left off.

It feels like fate, a love story for the ages—the kind of love you write about. Suddenly, Zoe’s writer’s block disappears. When photos of Zach and Zoe are leaked, her name ends up in the press and her novel goes viral online. Which all sounds fine in theory: at least now she’ll sell some books. Except the problem with everyone knowing her name is that everyone knows her name.

Including Zach’s stalker. A stalker who wants Zoe gone. A stalker who has read Zoe’s novel. A stalker who is now re-enacting everything that happened in that book, step by step, against her…


Review:

Edgy, addictive, and twisty!

The Close-Up is a sharp, atmospheric tale that takes you into the life of Zoe Ann Weiss, a struggling author who, after reconnecting with a man who is now a Hollywood movie star, finds herself the victim of a deviant stalker with a penchant for reenacting all of the gruesomest scenes from her first and only published novel.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are troubled, tormented, and consumed. And the plot is an engrossing, eerie tale full of twists, turns, lies, deception, obsession, fame, depravity, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Close-Up is a sinister, suspenseful, tortuous tale by Drysdale that does a wonderful job of highlighting just how easily people can be emotionally and psychologically exploited while at the same time reminding us just how vulnerable and susceptible technology and social media truly makes us.

 

This novel is available in paperback now.

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

         

 

 

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

 

About Pip Drysdale

Pip Drysdale is a writer, musician and actor who grew up in Africa and Australia. At 20 she moved to New York to study acting, worked in indie films and off-off Broadway theatre, started writing songs and made four records. After graduating with a BA in English, Pip moved to London where she played shows across Europe and started writing books. Her debut novel, The Sunday Girl, was a bestseller and has been published in the United States, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Strangers We Know was also a bestseller and is being developed for television. The Paris Affair is her third book.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview To Die For by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @GrandCentralPub #DavidBaldacci #The620ManSeries #ToDieFor #GCPInsider

#BookReview To Die For by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @GrandCentralPub #DavidBaldacci #The620ManSeries #ToDieFor #GCPInsider Title: To Die For

Author: David Baldacci

Series: The 6:20 Man #3

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Nov. 12, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 432

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

From #1 New York Times bestselling author, David Baldacci, the 6:20 Man returns, this time sent to the Pacific Northwest to aid the FBI in a case that gets more complicated with the more questions Devine asks—and he’s about to come face-to-face with his nemesis, the girl on the train.

Travis Devine has become a pro at adapting to any situation to accomplish the mission set in front of him. Whether it’s a high-powered corporate setting or small-town community, Devine will become the man for the job. His time as an Army Ranger and on the financial battlefields of Wall Street gave him the skills he needed, and he’s put them to good use. But this time it’s not his skills that send him to Seattle to aid the FBI in escorting orphaned, twelve-year-old Betsy Odom to a meeting with her uncle, who’s under investigation for RICO charges. Instead, he’s hoping to lie low and keep off the radar of an enemy that he evaded on a train in Switzerland and who has been after him ever since—the girl on the train.

But as Devine gets to know Betsy, questions begin to arise around the death of her parents. Betsy is adamant that they had never used drugs, but the police in the small rural town where they died insist the Odoms died of an overdose. Devine starts digging for answers, and what he finds points to a conspiracy bigger than he could’ve ever imagined. The question is, how do Betsy, her uncle, and various government agencies all fit into it.

It might finally be time for Devine and the girl on the train to come face-to-face, and when that happens, Devine is going to find himself unsure of who are his allies and who are his enemies. And in some cases, they might well be both.


Review:

Action-packed, menacing, and intricate!

In this gripping third instalment in the 6:20 Man series, To Die For, Baldacci has written an adrenaline-pumping thriller that now sees Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine heading to Seattle to investigate the strange deaths of a husband and wife that has not only caught the attention of multiple government agencies but seems to have familial ties with a large racketeering organization.

The writing is descriptive and tight. The characters are astute, tenacious, and crafty. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat with its intense, exhilarating chapters that submerge you, page after page, into a world full of danger, deception, secrets, lies, corruption, power, violence, manipulation, malevolence, and murder.

Overall, To Die For is another cleverly woven, sinister, highly entertaining thrill ride by Baldacci with a good sense of urgency, great characterization, and a brisk pace that’s an absolutely fabulous addition to the 6:20 Man series that shouldn’t be missed.

This book is available now.

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

             

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for gifting me 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.

#BookReview Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler @BonMot101 @harperbooks #ShellGames #BonnieKistler #HarperBooks

#BookReview Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler @BonMot101 @harperbooks #ShellGames #BonnieKistler #HarperBooks Title: Shell Games

Author: Bonnie Kistler

Published by: Harper Books on Nov. 19, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Harper Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A dazzling thriller about a young woman whose fabulously wealthy mother might be the victim of an elaborate con or might be losing her mind––and the daughter can’t tell where the truth lies.

Julie’s mother Kate is a force of nature––a glamorous woman of seventy, a self-made real estate developer, a grande dame in Florida society, and a power broker in Florida politics. It wasn’t easy for Julie to grow up in the shadow of such a dynamo, but she loves her mother, and she and her husband Eric are thrilled when Kate marries her long-lost high school sweetheart, a salt-of-the-earth man named Charlie.

But their storybook romance ends abruptly. On their wedding night, Kate calls the police in hysterics to report that Charlie just confessed to a notorious unsolved crime from decades before. 

Charlie says she imagined it. Eric says that Kate has dementia. And the FBI says that Charlie couldn’t possibly have committed that crime.

Julie doesn’t know what to believe. Is her brilliant mother losing her mind? Or is sweet, lovable Charlie gaslighting Kate to gain control of her fortune?

As Julie tries to navigate through this maze of paranoia and mind games, cracks start to develop in her own marriage as it seems that Eric is keeping secrets . . .

Set against a backdrop of rampant development and devastating climate change, Shell Games is a psychological thriller that will make your head spin and the pages turn as you wonder exactly who is doing what to whom.


Review:

Cunning, edgy, and mysterious!

Shell Games is a fast-paced, menacing tale that takes you into the lives of a handful of people, including Julie Hoffman, a young woman whose life gets turned upside down when her mother is found dead, and it quickly becomes apparent that everyone around her seems to have something to hide.

The prose is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, wary, and secretive. And the plot is a simmering, ominous tale full of twists, turns, deception, manipulation, friendship, family, lies, tension, death, and unease.

Overall, Shell Games is a devious, intense, eerie tale by Kistler that kept me guessing from the very first page and left me entertained, satisfied, and extremely surprised.

 

This novel is available now.

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

             

 

 

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

 

About Bonnie Kistler

Bonnie Kistler is the author of The Cage and Her, Too. A former Philadelphia trial lawyer, she was born in Pennsylvania and educated at Bryn Mawr College and the University of the Pennsylvania Law School. She and her husband now live in southwest Florida and the mountains of western North Carolina.

#BookReview April Storm by Leila Meacham @harperbooks #AprilStorm #LeilaMeacham #HarperBooks

#BookReview April Storm by Leila Meacham @harperbooks #AprilStorm #LeilaMeacham #HarperBooks Title: April Storm

Author: Leila Meacham

Published by: Harper Books on Nov. 12, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 256

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Harper Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A seemingly perfect suburban housewife is being pursued by a private detective . . . and hunted by a murderer in this riveting, much-anticipated posthumous novel from the beloved author of Roses and Dragonfly.

Katherine Walker enjoys an enviable life. Her husband is an accomplished doctor, her children are bright and successful, and she devotes herself to charity work that uplifts her Suburban Colorado community. Settling into a new year, her life couldn’t be better. . .

Until April.

For Katherine, April has always rained trouble—but this time may be even stormier than the fraught past she’s trying to overcome. Already distraught over the child she miscarried in this same cursed month many years ago, the emotionally fragile woman isn’t ready to consider the overwhelming evidence that someone may be trying to take her husband—and her life.

Featuring the complex characters and powerful storytelling that are the beloved hallmarks of Leila Meacham’s novels beginning with her breakout debut Roses, April Storm is a page-turning triumph that caps a remarkable literary career.


Review:

Intricate, compelling, and sharp!

April Storm is a captivating, suspenseful tale that takes us into the life of devoted wife and mother Kathryn Walker as her life suddenly gets turned upside down when it quickly becomes apparent that someone is watching her every move and is more than willing to do whatever it takes, even resort to murder, to be rid of her forever.

The writing is sharp and tight. The characters are vulnerable, troubled, and multilayered. And the plot is an ominous, twisty tale filled with manipulation, familial drama, deception, lies, jealousy, obsession, secrets, revelations, mayhem, and murder.

The passing of Leila Meacham in September 2021 was a tremendous loss for the literary world, and it’s an honour to be able to read anything she wrote. April Storm is not the typical novel we’ve seen from Meacham in the past several years, as she swept us away into stories taking place in the past, such as Dragonfly and Roses. Still, it is nevertheless a clever, tortuous, cunning page-turner that kept me guessing from the very first page and ultimately left me surprised, satisfied, and thoroughly entertained.

 

This novel is available now.

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

             

 

 

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

 

About Leila Meacham

Leila Meacham (1938–2021) was a writer and former teacher from San Antonio, Texas, who came to writing later in life. Her many successful novels include the bestselling Roses, Somerset, Tumbleweeds, and Dragonfly.

Photograph by Marie Langmore/Langmore Photography.

#BookReview A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara @PenguinRandomCA #AGrimReapersGuideToCatchingAKiller #MaxieDara #PenguinReads

#BookReview A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara @PenguinRandomCA #AGrimReapersGuideToCatchingAKiller #MaxieDara #PenguinReads Title: A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer

Author: Maxie Dara

Series: S.C.Y.T.H.E. Mystery #1

Published by: Berkley on Oct. 1, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House

Book Rating: 8/10

Sometimes it takes working with the dead to start living.

Kathy Valence is forty-two, mid-divorce, and pregnant with her ex’s baby. She’s also a modern-day grim reaper employed by S.C.Y.T.H.E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences), but frankly that’s the easiest part of her life right now. Or at least it was, until her latest client’s soul goes missing.

When she finally tracks down seventeen-year-old Conner Ortiz, he angrily denies he died of natural causes, despite what his file says. He insists that someone at S.C.Y.T.H.E. murdered him, and he demands Kathy find out who and why.

Kathy has only forty-five days to figure out what happened to Conner and help him move on before the boy’s soul is doomed to roam the Earth as a ghost forever. She’s forced to rely on the help of her retired mentor, her almost ex-husband—and some sneaky moves by Conner himself. This is the wildest case of her career. . .and one wrong move could cost Kathy her job, not to mention her life.


Review:

Unique, lighthearted, and entertaining!

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer is a well-paced, amusing murder mystery that takes you into the life of Kathy Valence, a middle-aged woman and S.C.Y.T.H.E. employee who, in the middle of a divorce and suddenly pregnant, has her day job go a little off track when a soul she is sent to retrieve goes missing, and someone at the company may have had something to do with it.

The writing is light and witty. The characters are inquisitive, impulsive, and endearing. And the plot is a well-paced, zany whodunit full of amateur sleuthing, red herrings, misdirection, mishaps, suspects, deduction, supernatural phenomena, and a touch of the unexpected..

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer is the first book in the S.C.Y.T.H.E. Mystery series, and if you’re a fan of cosy mysteries, this novel won’t disappoint. It’s a fun, quirky, entertaining read by Dara, and I look forward to reading whatever she spooks up next.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Maxie Dara

Maxie Dara is a writer and actor from Ontario, Canada. She has been a freelance journalist focusing on the local arts and culture scene for more than five years, with bylines in publications such as Hamilton Magazine and Beyond James, among others. She is also a two-time award-winning playwright, taking home the Best of Fringe award at the 2017 Hamilton Fringe Festival for the musical comedy This Is Not a Musical: The Musical! and the 2020 Torpedo Prize for her play Alone Together, a pandemic drama. Maxie knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of seven, when she first fell in love with the written word. She also wanted to be a mermaid but has mostly focused on the writing side of things.