Publisher: Quercus

#BookReview The Sanctuary by Charlotte Duckworth @charduck @Mobius_Books @QuercusBooks #TheSanctuary #CharlotteDuckworth #MobiusBooksUS

#BookReview The Sanctuary by Charlotte Duckworth @charduck @Mobius_Books @QuercusBooks #TheSanctuary #CharlotteDuckworth #MobiusBooksUS Title: The Sanctuary

Author: Charlotte Duckworth

Published by: Quercus on Jun. 7, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Mobius Books US

Book Rating: 7.5/10

The jawdropping and twisty new thriller from the author of The Perfect Father

Four pregnant women. Three nights of pampering at an exclusive yoga retreat. One too many deadly secrets…

On a remote farm in the deepest Devonshire countryside, four pregnant women arrive at an exclusive yoga retreat for a five-star weekend of prenatal pampering. The location is idyllic.

Their host, Selina, is eager to teach them all she knows about pregnancy and motherhood.  But, like Selina, each of the women has a secret.

And secrets can be deadly . . .


Review:

Taut, pacey, and suspenseful!

The Sanctuary is a compelling, ominous mystery that sweeps you away to a secluded farm in the woods of Devon and into the lives of four pregnant women on a weekend retreat of relaxation, yoga, nature, and nutrition, and four residents/employees as they grapple from the very beginning with creepy pranks, dangerous mishaps, strange personalities, powerful emotions, and long-buried skeletons and secrets that seem to be in abundance.

The prose is clear and precise. The characters are multilayered, secretive, and self-absorbed. And the plot told from multiple perspectives unfolds and unravels quickly into a menacing tale full of jealousy, hatred, deception, manipulation, desperation, obsession, revenge, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Sanctuary is an intense, atmospheric, quick read by Duckworth that I wish had a little tighter ending but was nevertheless intriguing from start to finish.

 

This book is available June 7, 2022!

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Charlotte Duckworth

Charlotte Duckworth is the USA Today bestselling author of The Rival, Unfollow Me, The Perfect Father and The Sanctuary. Her fifth psychological suspense, The Wrong Mother, will be published by Quercus in early 2023.

She started her career working as an interiors and lifestyle journalist, writing for a wide range of consumer magazines and websites.

She also writes contemporary bookclub fiction under the pen name Charlotte Rixon.

Charlotte lives in Surrey with her partner and their daughter.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain @HBGCanada @QuercusBooks #ThePerfectLife #JoSpain #QuercusBooks #HBGCanada

#BookReview The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain @HBGCanada @QuercusBooks #ThePerfectLife #JoSpain #QuercusBooks #HBGCanada Title: The Perfect Lie

Author: Jo Spain

Published by: Quercus on May 17, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder.

Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny’s police colleagues one morning, it’s the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death.

Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband’s murder. Over that year and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect.

But it was all built on the perfect lie.


Review:

Brilliantly paced, tight, and unpredictable!

The Perfect Lie is an unnerving, sinister thrill ride that introduces us to Erin Kennedy, a young publisher who, after seeing her husband suddenly commit suicide in front of her very eyes, finds her life turned upside down when she discovers her husband was being internally investigated, he had been seeing a psychiatrist weekly for the length of their marriage, he had bank accounts full of money he couldn’t possibly have made, he was working secretly with the brother of a victim who never received justice, and she ends up on trial for a murder that she may or may not have committed.

The prose is taut and intense. The characters are flawed, secretive, and troubled. And the plot builds and unravels quickly into an intricate web of lies, secrets, obsession, heartbreak, tension, deception, corruption, manipulation, power, danger, desperation, abuse, violence, and familial drama.

Overall, The Perfect Lie is an intricate, tortuous, ominous tale by Spain that I absolutely loved and which had just the right amount of twists, turns, and unexpected surprises to keep me entertained, satisfied, and on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

 

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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jo Spain

Jo Spain is the author of the bestselling Tom Reynolds detective series and several No.1 bestselling standalone thrillers. She began writing full-time when her first book, top ten bestseller With Our Blessing, was chosen as one of 7 finalists in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition.

Jo is a full-time screenwriter. Her first show, critically-acclaimed crime series 'Taken Down', aired in 2018. In 2021, she co-wrote Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, with its creator, Emmy-award winning David Logan (to air 2022). She is currently working on several international productions, including adaptations of her own novels.

A graduate of Trinity College, Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and four children.

#BookReview Deny Me by Karen Cole @Mobius_Books @QuercusBooks #DenyMe #KarenCole #MobiusBooksUS

#BookReview Deny Me by Karen Cole @Mobius_Books @QuercusBooks #DenyMe #KarenCole #MobiusBooksUS Title: Deny Me

Author: Karen Cole

Published by: Quercus on Jul. 27, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 287

Format: Paperback

Source: Mobius Books US

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the bestselling author of Deliver Me comes a gripping new thriller with a twist you’ll never see coming!

Thirty-two-year-old Jessica is newly divorced and has returned home to live with her parents whilst she puts the pieces of her life back together. But Jessica isn’t the only one with problems, as her mother, Jean, has recently been diagnosed with dementia.

Shortly after Jessica’s arrival, one of the neighbours falls to her death, in what appears to be a terrible accident. However, Jean claims that the woman was murdered by her husband and that she witnessed the whole thing.

With Jean’s memory rapidly deteriorating, her family dismiss her story, believing Jean is confused. But when Jessica learns that the couple next door’s marriage may have been in trouble, she begins to wonder if her mother did see something after all.

Jessica is determined to discover the truth, but soon uncovers much more than she bargained for…


Review:

Ominous, tense, and clever!

Deny Me is a sharp, compulsive, psychological thriller that delves into all the deep, dark secrets people keep even from those closest to them and highlights just how easily people can be emotionally manipulated, controlled, and exploited by those they love.

The writing is crisp and edgy. The characters are distressed, unreliable, and vulnerable. And the plot unfolds subtly into a murky tale full of twists, turns, surprises, familial drama, lies, scandal, secrets, manipulation, wickedness, deception, tragedy, mental illness, and murder.

Overall, Deny Me is another crafty, sinister, engaging tale by Cole that kept me engaged from the very first page and has now, without a doubt, solidified her status on my must-read authors list.

 

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Karen Cole

Karen Cole grew up in the Cotswolds and got a degree in psychology at Newcastle University. She spent several years teaching English around the world before settling in Cyprus with her husband and two sons, where she works at a British army base as a primary school teacher. She recently completed the Curtis Brown writing course where she found her love of writing psychological thrillers.

#BookReview Deceive Me by Karen Cole @Mobius_Books @QuercusBooks #DeceiveMe #KarenCole #MobiusBooksUS

#BookReview Deceive Me by Karen Cole @Mobius_Books @QuercusBooks #DeceiveMe #KarenCole #MobiusBooksUS Title: Deceive Me

Author: Karen Cole

Published by: Quercus on Jul. 20, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 293

Format: Paperback

Source: Mobius Books US

Book Rating: 8.5/10

YOUR DAUGHTER IS MISSING. HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO FIND HER?

When Jo’s teenage daughter goes missing, she feels like the world is collapsing around her.

The police believe Grace is just an angry teenager, punishing her parents by hiding out at a friend’s house, but Jo is terrified that her daughter is in grave danger. With so little urgency from the police, Jo decides to take matters into her own hands.

But, as Jo gets closer to discovering what has happened to her daughter, a devastating secret is uncovered that threatens to destroy the family she has been trying so very hard to protect…


Review:

Simmering, intricate, and sinister!

Deceive Me is a menacing, addictive thrill ride that takes you to the beautiful island of Cyprus and into the lives of the Appleton family as their worlds get turned upside down when their teenage daughter goes missing without a trace, and everyone seems to have something, past or present, they’re willing to do anything to hide.

The prose is tense and tight. The characters are anxious, tormented, and volatile. And the plot told using a back-and-forth, past/present style is an unsettling tale of twists, turns, familial drama, secrets, lies, deception, relationship dynamics, mayhem, and swirling emotions.

Overall, Deceive Me was so much better than I ever expected. It’s a tragic, compulsive, well-executed tale by Cole that highlights the desperate, selfish side of human nature and reminds us that secrets almost always find their way to the surface no matter how well they are hidden or buried.

 

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Karen Cole

Karen Cole grew up in the Cotswolds and got a degree in psychology at Newcastle University. She spent several years teaching English around the world before settling in Cyprus with her husband and two sons, where she works at a British army base as a primary school teacher. She recently completed the Curtis Brown writing course where she found her love of writing psychological thrillers.