#BookReview The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea by C.L. Miller @CLMillerAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #CLMiller #TheAntiqueHuntersDeathOnTheRedSea #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea by C.L. Miller @CLMillerAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #CLMiller #TheAntiqueHuntersDeathOnTheRedSea #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea

Author: C.L. Miller

Series: The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder #2

Published by: Simon & Schuster Canada on Feb. 18, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

The next installment in the nationally bestselling The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder series finds antique hunter Freya Lockwood and Aunt Carole one again embarking on a journey to recover priceless antiques—this time on a Red Sea cruise.

Freya and Aunt Carole are back! After their successful solve at Coptham Manor, Freya and Carole return to late mentor Arthur Crockleford’s antique shop in Dedham Vale, but after receiving an invitation (and then suspicious disinvitation) from an antiques specialist cruise and a break-in and murder at a local maritime museum, Freya and Carole are back on the case!

The two catch up to their original cruise ship in Cyprus, for a route that will take them through the Suez Canal (with a stop in Egypt) to their eventual destination off the Red Sea in Jordan. The ship has an art gallery filled with stolen antiquities listed in Arthur’s journal. This time, Freya and Carole are on the hunt for a shadowy figure called “The Collector,” who traffics in stolen artifacts, and whom they believe to be on board. But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts—plus some unexpected familiar faces—will Freya and Carole be able to discover the Collector’s identity before people begin disappearing from the ship? Or are they next?


Review:

Whimsical, suspenseful, and atmospheric!

The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea is a charming, mysterious tale that takes us back into the life of Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole as they now find themselves on an invitation-only cruise headed to Jordan in the hopes of helping nab once and for all the infamous trafficker of stolen artifacts, known as “The Collector”.

The writing style is light and witty. The characters are unique, impulsive, and endearing. And the plot is a well-paced, entertaining whodunit full of amateur sleuthing, red herrings, suspicious personalities, deduction, attraction, and murder.

Overall, The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea is the second book in The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder series, and if you enjoy a quirky, enjoyable, fun mystery like me, then this one 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 Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About C.L. Miller

C. L. Miller started working life as an editorial assistant for her mother, Judith Miller, on The Miller’s Antique Price Guide and other antiquing guides. After she had children, she decided to follow her long-held dream of becoming an author and began concentrating on her writing full-time. She was an Undiscovered Voices 2022 and in the UV 2022 anthology. She lives in a medieval cottage in Dedham Vale, Suffolk, with her family.

Photograph © Dan Kennedy

#BookReview The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens @aeskens @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #TheQuietLibrarian #AllenEskens #MulhollandBooks #HBGCanada

#BookReview The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens @aeskens @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #TheQuietLibrarian #AllenEskens #MulhollandBooks #HBGCanada Title: The Quiet Librarian

Author: Allen Eskens

Published by: Mulholland Books on Feb. 18, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

After the murder of her best friend, a librarian’s search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this sweeping novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from award-winning writer Allen Eskens.

Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared.

Thirty years before, Hana was someone Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia—until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend—the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head.

Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her eight-year-old grandson in Hana’s care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora—and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too.


Review:

Compelling, suspenseful, and fast-paced!

The Quiet Librarian is an intense, ominous tale that takes us into the life of Minnesota librarian Hana Babic who, after her best friend is murdered, prepares herself for the past to collide with the present when one of the depraved men she was brutalized by during the Bosnian war seems to have suddenly reappeared.

The prose is meticulous and tight. The characters are persistent, scarred, and resourceful. And the plot is a raw, menacing tale about life, loss, tragedy, danger, desperation, cruelty, secrets, survival, manipulation, betrayal, deception, revenge, violence, and wartime brutalities.

Overall, The Quiet Librarian is an absorbing, mysterious, disturbing tale by Eskens that does a wonderful job of interweaving historical facts and compelling fiction into an insightful, sinister tale that is intriguing, haunting, and highly entertaining.

 

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 Allen Eskens

Allen Eskens is the USA Today-bestselling author of The Life We Bury, The Guise of Another, The Heavens May Fall, the Deep Dark Descending and The Shadows We Hide. He is the recipient of the Barry Award, Rosebud Award, Minnesota Book Award, and the Silver Falchion Award and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, Thriller Award, and Anthony Award. His work had been published in 21 languages and his debut novel, The Life We Bury is being developed for a feature film.

Allen lives with his wife, Joely, in greater Minnesota and is represented by Amy Cloughley of Kimberley Cameron and Associates, and is published by both Seventh Street Books and Mulholland/Little Brown.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy @christi_clancy @StMartinsPress #TheSnowbirds #ChristinaClancy #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy @christi_clancy @StMartinsPress #TheSnowbirds #ChristinaClancy #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Snowbirds

Author: Christina Clancy

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Feb. 4, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their “separate but together” partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.

When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time he’s really left her.

Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found.


Review:

Slow-burning, reflective, and sentimental!

The Snowbirds is an honest, compelling tale that takes you into the life of Kim who, after thirty years and two kids with her partner Grant, is struggling with how she sees the rest of her life unfolding until Grant disappears one day on a hike and the reality of a life without him makes her reassess what she really wants.

The writing is rich and smooth. The characters are independent, discontent, and flawed. And the plot, using a past/present style, is an intriguing tale about life, love, family, friendship, parenthood, independence, introspection, marital tension, and new beginnings.

Overall, The Snowbirds is a simmering, insightful, mysterious tale by Clancy that reminds us that life is unpredictable and full of curve balls, and it’s how we approach and handle these highs and lows and ups and downs that truly make all the difference.

 

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

 

About Christina Clancy

CHRISTINA CLANCY is the author of The Second Home. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Sun Magazine and in various literary journals, including Glimmer Train, Pleiades and Hobart. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and lives in Madison, WI with her family.

Photo by James Bartelt.

#BookReview A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @GrandCentralPub #DavidBaldacci #ACalamityofSouls #GCPInsider

#BookReview A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @GrandCentralPub #DavidBaldacci #ACalamityofSouls #GCPInsider Title: A Calamity of Souls

Author: David Baldacci

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Feb. 11, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 512

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. 

Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.

Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.  

Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.

Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the reader through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.


Review:

Impactful, atmospheric, and hauntingly realistic!

A Calamity of Souls is a fast-paced, sinister tale that takes you into the life of small-town white attorney Jack Lee as he suddenly finds himself partnering with the well-known, indomitable Black lawyer Desiree DuBose on the case of his life when he agrees to defend Jerome Washington, a local Black man who, after being found near the bodies of an influential white couple, is automatically presumed guilty.

The prose is gritty and descriptive. The characters are vulnerable, raw, and impulsive. And the plot is an immersive, absorbing tale of life, loss, poverty, familial drama, friendship, courage, morality, loyalty, community, self-preservation, bigotry, racial injustice, violence, and murder.

Overall, A Calamity of Souls is a sincere, ominous, pensive tale by Baldacci that not only highlights the ugliness and weakness of group mentality and the ease with which it allows one to behave with ignorance, intolerance, and even participate in the most unforgivable of crimes, but also reminds us that kindness and compassion is the base of humanity that should ultimately always transcend skin colour and socioeconomic status.

 

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 Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo @doubledayca @PenguinRandomCA #BloodTies #JoNesbo #KongeriketSeries #PenguinReads

#BookReview Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo @doubledayca @PenguinRandomCA #BloodTies #JoNesbo #KongeriketSeries #PenguinReads Title: Blood Ties

Author: Jo Nesbo

Series: Kongeriket #2

Published by: Random House Canada on Feb. 11, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The modern master of Nordic noir is back with an explosive novel about two brothers who, on the verge of losing everything, are willing to do anything to stop that from happening.

By all accounts, Carol and Roy Opgard are doing quite well for themselves. Or at least they are doing as well as can be expected in a small town like Os. Carl manages the area’s swanky and successful spa, while Roy runs the local gas station and dreams of building it into an entire amusement park complete with a roller coaster. But then news breaks about a new highway that will bypass Os and leave the town cut off and isolated. Something has to be done about that, even if the methods need to be dirty. Fortunately, Roy and Carl have experience with dirty work.

Meanwhile, the town sheriff has gotten his hands on new technology that will enable him to take a deeper look at a spate of unsolved murders from years past—including that of his own father. Just as the sheriff reopens his investigation, the death toll begins to climb. Like Roy says about his roller coaster: “Once it is rolling, it’s too late to get off.”

Blood Ties is a tense, compulsively readable tour de force about loyalty, family ties and love that is as destructive as it is powerful.


Review:

Dark, simmering, and gritty!

Blood Ties is a slow-burning, intricate tale that takes us back to the small Norwegian village of Os and into the lives of the Opgard brothers. Carl, a college graduate turned spa owner, and Roy, a garage owner with lofty dreams of building an amusement park, as they each grapple with enduring jealousy, exceptional childhood cruelty, devastating violence, and long-buried secrets that bind them together but which may ultimately tear them apart.

The writing is edgy and tight. The characters are consumed, deceitful, and troubled. And the plot is an ominous, murky tale full of twists, turns, secrets, surprises, familial drama, lies, greed, obsession, resentments, mayhem, abuse, violence, childhood trauma, swirling emotions, guilt, wickedness, and murder.

Overall, Blood Ties is a twisty, unpredictable, sinister page-turner by Nesbo that transports you into the darkest corners of the human psyche and takes you on a roller coaster ride of psychological manipulation, control, corruption, and ruthless ambition.

 

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 Jo Nesbo

Jo Nesbø is a bestselling Norwegian author and musician. He was born in Oslo and grew up in Molde. Nesbø graduated from the Norwegian School of Economics with a degree in economics. Nesbø is primarily famous for his crime novels about Detective Harry Hole, but he is also the main vocals and songwriter for the Norwegian rock band Di Derre. In 2007 Nesbø also released his first children's book, Doktor Proktors Prompepulver.

#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.