#BookReview The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose @NitaProse @PenguinCanada #TheMistletoeMystery #MollytheMaidSeries #NitaProse #PenguinReads #PenguinCanada

#BookReview The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose @NitaProse @PenguinCanada #TheMistletoeMystery #MollytheMaidSeries #NitaProse #PenguinReads #PenguinCanada Title: The Mistletoe Mystery

Author: Nita Prose

Series: Molly the Maid #2.5

Published by: Viking on Oct. 1, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 128

Format: Hardcover

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

Molly the Maid has a whole new mystery to solve in this heartwarming novella from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest.

Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without Gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly’s mofinst joyful yet.

But when a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential—and personal—mystery yet. Molly has a bad feeling about things, and she starts to wonder: has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince?

A heartwarming, magical story about the true spirit of the season, The Mistletoe Mystery reminds us that love is the greatest mystery of all.


Review:

Sweet, cosy, and romantic!

The Mistletoe Mystery is a delightfully charming, uplifting novella that takes us back into the life of Molly Gray as she juggles the highs and lows of another Christmas season without her beloved grandmother, a hotel filled to the brim with guests and holiday cheer, an employee Secret Santa gift exchange that always fills her with trepidation, and an attentive boyfriend who spoils her daily with lots of little things but is increasingly acting extremely suspicious.

The writing is sincere and smooth. The characters are engaging, supportive, and genuine. And the plot is a touching, nostalgic tale about life, love, family, friendship, surprises, misconceptions, festive cheer, and holiday magic.

Overall, The Mistletoe Mystery is a heartwarming, engaging, festive addition to one of my favourite series, Molly the Maid, by Prose that reminds us to always surround ourselves with those we love, stay open-minded, and always be excited for whatever comes 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 Canada for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Nita Prose

NITA PROSE is a longtime editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. She lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean.…

Photo by Dahlia Katz Photography.

#BookReview What Lies in Darkness by Christina McDonald @Christinamac79 @AmazonPub @FireflyDist #WhatLiesInDarkness #ChristinaMcDonald #AJessLambertThriller #FireflyDist

#BookReview What Lies in Darkness by Christina McDonald @Christinamac79 @AmazonPub @FireflyDist #WhatLiesInDarkness #ChristinaMcDonald #AJessLambertThriller #FireflyDist Title: What Lies in Darkness

Author: Christina McDonald

Series: Jess Lambert #2

Published by: Thomas & Mercer on Jul. 16, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 347

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Firefly Distributed Lines

Book Rating: 9/10

A missing family. A traumatized detective. The past and present collide in a riveting novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling author of These Still Black Waters, Do No Harm, Behind Every Lie, and The Night Olivia Fell.

Late Christmas Eve, the Harper family’s car crashed on a desolate stretch outside Black Lake. Sixteen-year-old Alice was found injured by the side of the road―alone. It was as if her parents and younger sister, Ella, had simply disappeared.

One year later, Alice is still dealing with nightmares and unanswered questions when she and her friends find Ella’s bloodstained backpack in the basement of an abandoned home. As Detective Jess Lambert investigates, she uncovers dark secrets that put her on a collision course with her past. Jess’s only witness is haunted by her own ghosts―ghosts that might ultimately be connected to Jess.

Jess will do anything to find out what happened to the Harpers―no matter how deep she has to dig. Because neither the living nor the dead are giving up their secrets easily.


Review:

Sharp, intense, and gripping!

What Lies in Darkness is a well-paced, engrossing police procedural that sees Detective Jess Lambert now tangled up in a complicated case involving a missing family that is a lot more sinister than it first appeared and which may even have a connection to her own devastating tragedy that irrevocably changed her life forever.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are layered, secretive, and persistent. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, is an ominous tale full of twists, turns, red herrings, supernatural phenomena, secrets, deception, desperation, deduction, and manipulation.

Overall, What Lies in Darkness is a relentless, eerie, simmering tale by McDonald that keeps you guessing from start to finish and is a wonderful reminder that things are never quite what they seem.

 

This novel is available now.

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

     

 

 

Thank you to Firefly Distributed Lines for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Christina McDonald

Christina McDonald is the USA Today bestselling author of Do No Harm, Behind Every Lie and The Night Olivia Fell, which has been optioned for television by a major Hollywood studio. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she now lives in London, England, with her husband, two sons, and their dog, Tango.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Middle of the Night by Riley Sager @PenguinRandomCA #MiddleOfTheNight #RileySager #PenguinReads #PenguinRandomCA

#BookReview Middle of the Night by Riley Sager @PenguinRandomCA #MiddleOfTheNight #RileySager #PenguinReads #PenguinRandomCA Title: Middle of the Night

Author: Riley Sager

Published by: Dutton on Jun. 18, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 367

Format: Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood.

The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.

Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul de sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?

The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed monsters roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate.

The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place—be it quiet forest or suburban street—is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.


Review:

Atmospheric, dramatic, and intriguing!

Middle of the Night is a dark, captivating mystery that takes us into the life of Ethan Marsh who, upon moving back to his childhood home, decides it’s finally time to probe, explore and piece together what actually happened to his best friend Billy on the night he vanished thirty years prior.

The writing is crisp and precise. The characters are troubled, determined, and genuine. And the plot builds quickly, creating intensity and suspense as it unravels all the relationships, motivations, personalities, deception, and devious behaviours within it.

Overall, Middle of the Night is, ultimately, a story of lies, secrets, revelations, manipulation, friendship, violence, and murder. It’s a tight, clever, eerie thrill ride by Sager that had just the right amount of twists, turns, and surprises to keep me absolutely engrossed from start to finish.

 

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 Riley Sager

Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, most recently The Only One Left and The House Across the Lake. A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Photo by Michael Livio.

#BookReview The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan @PGCBooks #TheHiddenGirl #LucindaRiley #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan @PGCBooks #TheHiddenGirl #LucindaRiley #PGCBooks Title: The Hidden Girl

Author: Lucinda Riley

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Sep. 17, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 576

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

A breathtaking novel from the international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley.

You can’t alter destiny…

Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors, Leah Thompson grows more beautiful with each passing day. When she catches the attention of the influential, troubled Delancey family, she knows her life will never be the same again.

Years later, Leah has taken the modelling world by storm, travelling from Milan to London and New York and living life in the lap of luxury. But her past follows her like a dark shadow, mysteriously intertwined with the tragic tale of two young siblings in Poland during World War II.

As two generations of secrets threaten to explode, Leah is haunted by a fatal, forgotten prophecy from her past, and must fight to challenge the destiny that has been mapped out for her in the stars.

Sweeping and evocative, The Hidden Girl is a lost treasure from global bestseller Lucinda Riley, reworked and given new life by Harry Whittaker, Lucinda’s son and co-author of the record-breaking, international phenomenon Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt.


Review:

Absorbing, moving, and mysterious!

The Hidden Girl transports you from Yorkshire to New York to Poland between 1942 and 1992 and immerses you into the ongoing, complex, multi-generational relationships between two families, complete with all the powerful emotions, haunting tales, long-buried secrets, and unimaginable tragedy that has plagued them for over fifty years.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, conflicted, and hardworking. And the plot is an enthralling, emotional saga filled with life, loss, familial drama, survival, betrayal, brutality, tragedy, manipulation, horrors, obsession, heartbreak, and love.

Overall, The Hidden Girl is a heart-tugging, clever, captivating tale by Riley that reminds us that the choices we make often have far-reaching consequences, and skeletons always seem to find their way to the surface no matter how well they’re buried.

 

This book is available now.

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

         

 

 

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

 

About Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four.

Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold thirty million copies worldwide. She is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestseller.Lucinda's Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster, has become a global phenomenon. The series is a number one bestseller across the world and is currently in development with a major TV production company.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 Lucinda fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written. Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died in June 2021

#BookReview The Swimmer by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @AmazonPub @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheSwimmer #LorethAnneWhite #Montlake #FireflyDist

#BookReview The Swimmer by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @AmazonPub @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheSwimmer #LorethAnneWhite #Montlake #FireflyDist Title: The Swimmer

Author: Loreth Anne White

Published by: Montlake Romance on Sep. 10, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 349

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Firefly Distributed Lines

Book Rating: 9/10

A deviously twisty novel of psychological suspense about secrets, neighbors, a need to belong, and murder by the award-winning author of The Maid’s Diary.

Socially awkward Chloe Cooper divides her time between dog walking, bartending, caring for her ailing mother, and at a safe distance, watching people and inventing the stories of their lives. Like Chloe’s new neighbors: glamorous influencer Jemma Spengler and Jemma’s husband, Adam, a renowned surgeon. They’re attractive, wealthy, and in a house of open windows, so exposed.

A move to the Pacific Northwest is supposed to be a fresh start for Jemma and Adam. It’s a renewed commitment to a marriage fractured by secrets. A chance to work through the tragic losses in their past. For Jemma, however, this new beginning also comes with an unnerving sensation that she’s being watched.

Then, on a fog-shrouded beach early in the morning, Chloe witnesses the murder of a swimmer. Her suspicions aroused, she suddenly sees her neighbors in a sinister new light. But as a detective and her partner close in, nothing is quite as it seems. Because the Spenglers are not the only ones with secrets. And Chloe isn’t the only one who’s been watching.


Review:

Brisk, riveting, and suspenseful!

The Swimmer is an intense, ominous thrill ride that introduces us to Chloe, a middle-aged woman who, after becoming consumed with her beautiful, affluent new neighbours, quickly discovers that everything is not as perfect as it seems, everyone has skeletons in their closet, and more than one person is desperate enough to murder.

The writing is edgy and brisk. The characters are consumed, devious, and persistent. And the plot is an intricate, action-packed tale full of twists, turns, secrets, surprises, questionable personalities, duplicitous motivations, manipulative actions, parasitic relationships, violence, and ruthless murder.

Overall, The Swimmer is another tortuous, addictive, unnerving tale by White that is deliciously relentless, surprising, deceptive, and bursting with misdirection.

 

This novel is available now.

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

     

 

 

Thank you to Firefly Distributed Lines for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Loreth Anne White

Loreth Anne White is an award-winning, bestselling author of romantic suspense, thrillers, and mysteries.

A three-time RITA finalist, she has also won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall, in addition to being a Booksellers’ Best finalist, a multiple Daphne Du Maurier Award finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner.

A former journalist and newspaper editor who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now resides in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest with her family. When she’s not writing, you will find her skiing, biking, or hiking the trails with her Black Dog.

#BookReview Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty @doubledayca @PenguinRandomCA #HereOneMoment #LianeMoriarty #PenguinReads

#BookReview Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty @doubledayca @PenguinRandomCA #HereOneMoment #LianeMoriarty #PenguinReads Title: Here One Moment

Author: Liane Moriarty

Published by: Doubleday Canada on Sep. 10, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 512

Format: Hardcover

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.
 
Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their deaths are far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.
 
How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.”
 
Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.
 
A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die—again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.
 
If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?
 
Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.


Review:

Intricate, thought-provoking, and immersive!

Here One Moment is a pensive, moving, emotionally-charged novel that takes you into the lives of a handful of people whose worlds are irrevocably changed and linked by one plane ride and a woman who feels the need to tell every passenger the age and manner in which they will die.

The prose is eloquent and intense. The characters, including all the supporting characters, are complex, conflicted, and genuine. And the plot is a compelling, sobering tale of life, love, loss, family, friendship, grief, guilt, acceptance, fate, consequences, and choices.

Overall, Here One Moment will make you think and will resonate with you long after the final page. It’s an impactful, enthralling, reflective tale by Moriarty that does a remarkable job of highlighting humanities weaknesses and emotional fragility and reminds us just how important it is to appreciate all those little things in life, the moments, the sunsets, and the shared smiles.

 

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 Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Big Little Lies, The Husband’s Secret, and Truly Madly Guilty; the New York Times bestsellers Nine Perfect Strangers, What Alice Forgot, and The Last Anniversary; The Hypnotist’s Love Story; and Three Wishes. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children.

Photo by über photography

#BookReview Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy @UnionSqandCo #EnchantedHill #EmilyBainMurphy #UnionSqandCo

#BookReview Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy @UnionSqandCo #EnchantedHill #EmilyBainMurphy #UnionSqandCo Title: Enchanted Hill

Author: Emily Bain Murphy

Published by: Union Square & Co. on Nov. 7, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Union Square & Co.

Book Rating: 8/10

Escape to Enchanted Hill in this historical mystery where two people with a dark, shared past collide while working undercover at a glittering mansion on the California coast.
 
The year is 1930 and Cora McCavanagh is posing as a maid at Hollywood magnate Truman Byrd’s legendary estate. She’s closing in on the damning evidence she needs for a high-profile client. 
 
An aspiring PI, Cora was trained by her father, a former prison guard at the notorious Pelican Island, where Cora grew up surrounded by hardened criminals.
 
Which is why she recognizes Jack Yates as soon as he walks through the door. The last time she saw him was on an ill-fated night that changed the course of her life and still haunts her more than a decade later. Cora never expected to see Jack again—and now a single misstep could cause both their secret identities to come crashing down.
 
They strike a tentative truce to help each other during a week of parties overflowing with champagne and caviar. But there are puzzles hidden in every corner of Truman Byrd’s labyrinthine estate, and if Cora is to finally learn the truth about Jack Yates, she must unravel a sinister history that the rich and powerful will do anything to keep concealed.
 
Filled with intrigue and Old Hollywood glamour, Enchanted Hill is an unforgettable, sweepingly romantic novel set in a world you won’t want to leave.


Review:

Mysterious, atmospheric, and entertaining!

Enchanted Hill is a menacing, action-packed tale that takes us into the life of private investigator Cora McCavanagh who, after being hired to provide proof of ongoing adultery by the wife of media tycoon Truman Byrd, heads undercover to work at his infamous estate, Enchanted Hill, only to have the past collide with the present when the one man whom she’s never forgotten but assumed was long dead suddenly reappears using a different name and having questionable motives of his own.

The prose is descriptive and light. The characters, including the intelligent, independent heroine, are multi-layered, intriguing, and well-developed. And the plot is a well-paced, captivating tale full of red herrings, amateur sleuthing, dangerous endeavours, deduction, attraction, secrets, lies, deception, and a touch of the unexpected.

Overall, Enchanted Hill is a cosy, enjoyable, satisfying adult fiction debut by Murphy that is a solid choice for anyone who prefers mysteries set in historical times.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Union Square & Co. for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Emily Bain Murphy

Emily Bain Murphy was born in Indiana and raised in Hong Kong and Japan. She graduated from Tufts University and has also called Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California home. Murphy is the author of two critically acclaimed young adult novels: The Disappearances, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and Splinters of Scarlet. Murphy lives in St. Louis with her husband and three children, where she's always on the lookout for beautiful old mansions hiding new stories.

Image by Randall Kahn.

#BookReview The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkWives #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkWives #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves #PGCBooks Title: The Dark Wives

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: Vera Stanhope #11

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Aug. 29, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

A LOCAL MYTH. A DEADLY THREAT.

A body is found by an early morning dog walker on the common outside Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who never showed up to work.

DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate. Her only clue is the disappearance of fourteen-year-old resident Chloe. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.

Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie are soon embroiled in the case, but when a second body is found near the Three Dark Wives standing stones in the wilds of the Northumbrian countryside, folklore and fact begin to collide.

Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, but it seems that the dark secrets in their community may be far more dangerous than she could ever have believed. . .


Review:

Sinister, mysterious, and tight!

The Dark Wives is an intense, intricate thrill ride featuring the dependable DI Vera Stanhope and her loyal, hardworking team as they work together as quickly as possible to solve the puzzling murder of a young group home worker and find a somehow connected missing teen.

The writing is sharp and meticulous. The characters are intelligent, multilayered, and persistent. And the plot is an unpredictable, ominous tale filled with twists, turns, deception, red herrings, suspicious personalities, corruption, secrets, deduction, greed, and murder.

Overall, The Dark Wives is another thrilling, addictive, well-crafted addition to a series that, with its credible characters, great pace, and constant sense of urgency, is still one of my all-time favourites.

 

This book is available now.

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

        

 

 

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

 

About Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves is the author behind PBS’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez – characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before becoming a crime writer. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series, and in 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside, England.

#BookReview The Scandal by Nicola Marsh @GrandCentralPub #TheScandal #NicolaMarsh #GCPInsider

#BookReview The Scandal by Nicola Marsh @GrandCentralPub #TheScandal #NicolaMarsh #GCPInsider Title: The Scandal

Author: Nicola Marsh

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Oct. 6, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 323

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Ever since her twin girls left home, Marisa has felt there’s something missing from her life. Her sprawling mansion is no longer filled with laughter and chaos, and she’s desperate to feel needed . . . and to be distracted from the secret she’s been hiding from her husband for all these years.

Coffee with her best friends might be the only thing holding Marisa together. But Claire and Elly have their own secrets. Like why Claire hasn’t been to work in weeks, or why Elly won’t tell anyone who’s buying her flowers.

When Jodi, a pregnant young girl, turns up at Marisa’s doorstep, Marisa is quick to come to her aid. She sees herself in Jodi and she knows how devoting yourself to looking after others can take up all your time in the most marvellous way.

But Jodi’s arrival quickly pushes everyone’s lies to the surface. The father of her unborn child is someone the women know very well, and Marisa starts to wonder if her obsession with helping Jodi might come at a devastating price . . .


Review:

Tight, relentless, and tempestuous!

The Scandal is a suspenseful, edgy thriller that takes us to the affluent Sunnyside Drive, where deception is rampant, drama is high, marriages are in trouble, and lives are messily intertwined.

The prose is brisk and sharp. The characters are self-absorbed, deceptive, and intrusive. And the plot is a juicy tale filled with secrets, deception, scandal, infidelity, suspicions, revelations, mayhem, fractured relationships, inappropriate behaviours, abuse, jealousy, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Scandal is a dark, twisty, compelling page-turner by Marsh that delves into the intricate and dynamic bonds that can exist between tight-knit groups of friends and has just the right amount of pace, mood, atmosphere, and surprises to keep you guessing until the very last page.

 

This book is available now.

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

      

 

 

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

 

About Nicola Marsh

USA Today bestselling & multi-award winning author Nicola Marsh writes feel-good fiction . . . with a twist! She has published seventy books and sold over eight million copies worldwide. A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two dashing young heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, barracking loudly for her beloved North Melbourne Kangaroos footy team, and her favorite, curling up with a good book!

Photo by Jemm Photography.

#BookReview An Honorable Assassin by Steve Hamilton @authorsteve @BlackstoneAudio #SteveHamilton #AnHonorableAssassin #NickMasonSeries #BlackstonePublishing

#BookReview An Honorable Assassin by Steve Hamilton @authorsteve @BlackstoneAudio #SteveHamilton #AnHonorableAssassin #NickMasonSeries #BlackstonePublishing Title: An Honorable Assassin

Author: Steve Hamilton

Series: Nick Mason #3

Published by: Blackstone Publishing on Aug. 27, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 256

Format: Hardcover

Source: Blackstone Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From two-time Edgar Award–winning author Steve Hamilton, An Honorable Assassin is another terrifying thriller featuring the unstoppable Nick Mason.

He was released from federal prison to a second life as an unwilling assassin, serving a major Chicago crime lord until the day he finally won his freedom.

But that freedom was a lie.

Now Mason finds himself on a plane to Jakarta, promoted to lead assassin for a vast shadow organization that reaches every corner of the globe. This time, there’s only one name on his list: Hashim Baya—otherwise known as the Crocodile—international fugitive and #1 most wanted on Interpol’s “Red Notice” list. Baya is the most dangerous and elusive criminal Mason has ever faced.

And for the first time in his career … Mason fails his mission. Baya gets away alive.

There’s only one thing he can do now: to save himself, his ex-wife, and his daughter, he must make this mission his life, hunting down the target on his own. But Mason isn’t alone in his search, because for Interpol agent Martin Sauvage, apprehending Baya has become a personal vendetta. Sauvage is a man just as haunted as Mason. And just as determined.

Never have the stakes been so high, the forces surrounding him so great. Sauvage wants Baya in prison. Mason needs him in a body bag. Assassin and cop are on a five-thousand-mile collision course, leading to a brutal final showdown—and the one man in the world who can finally show Nick Mason the way to freedom.


Review:

Action-packed, intricate, and ominous!

In this compelling third instalment in the Nick Mason series, An Honorable Assassin, Hamilton has written an adrenaline-pumping thriller that sees the recently released prisoner Mason being swept away to Jakarta by an organization that expects him to execute the criminal mastermind and financier to the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, Hashim Baya before they decide to kill his ex-wife and daughter for the fun of it.

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

Overall, An Honorable Assassin is a cleverly woven, sinister, highly entertaining mystery with a good sense of urgency, great characterization, and a brisk pace that’s a fabulous addition to the Nick Mason series and a novel that really shouldn’t be missed.

 

This novel is available now.

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

        

 

 

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Steve Hamilton

Steve Hamilton is the New York Times–bestselling author of twelve novels, most recently The Second Life of Nick Mason and Die a Stranger. His debut, A Cold Day in Paradise, won both an Edgar and a Shamus Award for Best First Novel. His standalone novel The Lock Artist was a New York Times Notable Crime Book and won an Alex Award and the Edgar Award for Best Novel. He attended the University of Michigan, where he won the prestigious Hopwood Award for writing, and now lives in Cottekill, New York, with his wife and their two children.

Photo by Franco Vogt.