Source: Poisoned Pen Press

#BookReview They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe @AuthorKatM @PPPress #TheyDrownOurDaughters #KatrinaMonroe #inkedinpoison

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe @AuthorKatM @PPPress #TheyDrownOurDaughters #KatrinaMonroe #inkedinpoison Title: They Drown Our Daughters

Author: Katrina Monroe

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jul. 12, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

If you can hear the call of the water,
It’s already far too late.

They say Cape Disappointment is haunted. That’s why tourists used to flock there in droves. They’d visit the rocky shoreline under the old lighthouse’s watchful eye and fish shells from the water as they pretended to spot dark shapes in the surf. Now the tourists are long gone, and when Meredith Strand and her young daughter return to Meredith’s childhood home after an acrimonious split from her wife, the Cape seems more haunted by regret than any malevolent force.

But her mother, suffering from early stages of Alzheimer’s, is convinced the ghost stories are real. Not only is there something in the water, but it’s watching them. Waiting for them. Reaching out to Meredith’s daughter the way it has to every woman in their line for generations-and if Meredith isn’t careful, all three women, bound by blood and heartbreak, will be lost one by one to the ocean’s mournful call.

Part modern gothic, part ghost story, They Drown Our Daughters explores the depths of motherhood, identity, and the lengths a woman will go to hold on to both.

Review:

Atmospheric, menacing, and dark!

They Drown Our Daughters is an eerie, gripping, multi-generational story that transports you to Cape Disappointment and into the lives of the Strand family and all the powerful emotions, spooky traditions, long-buried secrets, strange behaviours, and unimaginable tragedy that has tied them together for more than a century.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are multilayered, vulnerable, and troubled. And the plot told in a back-and-forth style is an unsettling tale of life, loss, tragedy, desperation, familial drama, legends, secrets, tortured souls, supernatural phenomena, and the complex relationships that exist between mothers and daughters.

Overall, They Drown Our Daughters is a haunting, ominous, chilling tale that kept me engaged and intrigued from the very first page and is undoubtedly a unique, creative, promising debut by Monroe.

 

This book is available now.

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

          

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katrina Monroe

Katrina Monroe is the author of They Drown Our Daughters, coming July 2022 from Sourcebooks. She lives in Minnesota with her wife, two children, and Eddie, the ghost who haunts their bedroom closets.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

#BookReview And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling @PPPress #AndThereHeKeptHer #JoshuaMoehling #inkedinpoison

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural
#BookReview And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling @PPPress #AndThereHeKeptHer #JoshuaMoehling #inkedinpoison Title: And There He Kept Her

Author: Joshua Moehling

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jun. 14, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

They thought he was a helpless old man. They were wrong.

When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake in search of prescription drugs, what starts as a simple burglary turns into a nightmare for all involved. Emmett Burr has secrets he’s been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he’ll do anything to keep his past from being revealed. As he gets the upper hand on his tormentors, the lines blur between victim, abuser, and protector.

Personal tragedy has sent former police officer Ben Packard back to the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake in search of a fresh start. Now a sheriff’s deputy, Packard is leading the investigation into the missing teens, motivated by a family connection. As clues dry up and time runs out to save them, Packard is forced to reveal his own secrets and dig deep to uncover the dark past of the place he now calls home.

Review:

Gritty, menacing, and dark!

And There He Kept Her is a creepy, engrossing thriller that takes you to Sandy Lake, MN, where acting county sheriff Ben Packard suddenly finds himself unexpectedly uncovering a history of violence and murder nobody in this small town ever could have imagined when his investigation into two missing teens also leads to the discovery of a well-organized drug ring and two sadists with a penchant for confinement, torture, and rape.

The writing is crisp and tight. The characters are multilayered, persistent, and vulnerable. And the plot is a suspenseful, gripping tale full of twists, turns, secrets, deception, community, abuse, familial drama, depravity, mayhem, and murder.

Overall, And There He Kept Her is a shocking, ominous, spine-chilling tale by Moehling that kept me on the edge of my seat from the very first page and is undoubtedly an exceptionally promising debut.

 

This book is available now.

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

          

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Joshua Moehling

Joshua Moehling works in the medical device industry by day and writes at night. And There He Kept Her is his first novel. He lives in Minneapolis.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview The Girl They All Forgot by Martin Edwards @medwardsbooks @PPPress #TheGirlTheyAllForgot #LakeDistrictMysteries #MartinEdwards #inkedinpoison

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural
#BookReview The Girl They All Forgot by Martin Edwards @medwardsbooks @PPPress #TheGirlTheyAllForgot #LakeDistrictMysteries #MartinEdwards #inkedinpoison Title: The Girl They All Forgot

Author: Martin Edwards

Series: Lake District Mystery #8

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jun. 7, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Calm waters are often deceptive―and dangerous.

Ramona Smith went missing, presumed murdered twenty-one years ago; her body was never recovered. Gerald Lace, accused, tried, and acquitted of the crime, took his own life shortly thereafter in the lovely-but-lethal waters along the Crooked Shore. In his suicide note, he blamed the police for wrongfully arresting him and ruining his life.

On the twentieth anniversary of his father’s suicide, Darren Lace has drowned himself in the very same spot. His death reopens the original investigation for cold case detective DCI Hannah Scarlett. Desperate to finally find answers, Hannah and her team chase leads as meandering as the shoreline. As the body count rises, old scores threaten to consume those dearest to Hannah. Will she be able to unwind both mysteries before her loved ones become collateral damage?

Review:

Twisty, sinister, and complex!

The Girl They All Forgot is an intense, menacing police procedural that takes us to the Lake District, England, where DCI Hannah Scarlett and her team now find themselves investigating the twenty-one-year-old cold case of a young woman, Ramona Smith, who vanished without a trace one evening, when the son of the man who was originally arrested for the crime, found innocent, and subsequently committed suicide, commits suicide himself in the same place on the twentieth anniversary of his father’s death.

The writing is sharp and tight. The characters are persistent, clever, and flawed. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into a gripping tale full of deception, manipulation, community, abuse, fraud, vengeance, mayhem, and murder.

Overall, The Girl They All Forgot is a surprising, suspenseful, taut eighth novel in this Lake District Mystery series that I thoroughly enjoyed with its intriguing characters, unpredictable storyline, and more than satisfying conclusion.

 

This book is available now.

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

        

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Martin Edwards

Winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger – the highest honour in UK crime writing

Martin Edwards was born at Knutsford, Cheshire and educated in Northwich and at Balliol College, Oxford University, taking a first class honours degree in law before qualifying as a solicitor. He published his first legal article at the age of 25 and his first book, about legal aspects of buying a business computer at 27; after thirty years as as an equity partner of his firm, he is now a consultant. He is married to Helena with two children (Jonathan and Catherine) and lives in Lymm. A member of the Murder Squad collective of crime writers, Martin became the longest-serving Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association since its founder John Creasey. In 2015 he was elected eighth President of the Detection Club; his predecessors include G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha Christie. He is Archivist of the CWA and of the Detection Club and consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview The Physicists’ Daughter by Mary Anna Evans @maryannaevans @PPPress #ThePhysicistsDaughter #MaryAnnaEvans #inkedinpoison

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview The Physicists’ Daughter by Mary Anna Evans @maryannaevans @PPPress #ThePhysicistsDaughter #MaryAnnaEvans #inkedinpoison Title: The Physicists' Daughter

Author: Mary Anna Evans

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jun. 7, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 272

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

The Nazis are no match for the physicists’ daughter.

New Orleans, 1944

Sabotage. That’s the word on factory worker Justine Byrne’s mind as she is repeatedly called to weld machine parts that keep failing with no clear cause. Could someone inside the secretive Carbon Division be deliberately undermining the factory’s war efforts? Raised by her late parents to think logically, she also can’t help wondering just what the oddly shaped carbon gadgets she assembles day after day have to do with the boats the factory builds…

When a crane inexplicably crashes to the factory floor, leaving a woman dead, Justine can no longer ignore her nagging fear that German spies are at work within the building, trying to put the factory and its workers out of commission. Unable to trust anyone—not the charming men vying for her attention, not her unpleasant boss, and not even the women who work beside her—Justine draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.

Review:

Fascinating, informative, and pacey!

The Physicists’ Daughter is an intriguing tale that sweeps you away to New Orleans in the final days of WWII and into the carbon division of Higgins Industries’ where strange equipment malfunctions tend to be occurring a little too often and the daughter of two physicists’, Justine Byrne, decides to investigate whether these are purely accidents of chance or whether someone is specifically trying to sabotage the factory and the weapons and machinery it’s producing.

The prose is descriptive and rich. The characters are intelligent, driven, and inquisitive. And the plot is an engaging tale about life, loss, friendship, tragedy, war, romance, loyalty, subterfuge, suspicious behaviours, and malicious intentions.

Overall, The Physicists’ Daughter is a well-written, unique, menacing tale by Evans that does a wonderful job of blending historical facts with fiction that is both enlightening and compelling.

 

This novel is available now.

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

                

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Mary Anna Evans

Mary Anna Evans is an award-winning author, a writing professor, and she holds degrees in physics and engineering, a background that, as it turns out, is ideal for writing her new book, The Physicists' Daughter. Set in WWII-era New Orleans, The Physicists' Daughter introduces Justine Byrne, whom Mary Anna describes as "a little bit Rosie-the-Riveter and a little bit Bletchley Park codebreaker."

When Justine, the daughter of two physicists who taught her things girls weren't expected to know in 1944, realizes that her boss isn't telling her the truth about the work she does in her factory job, she draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.

Her crime fiction has earned recognition that includes the Oklahoma Book Award, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards Gold Medal, the Mississippi Author Award, a spot on Voice of Young America’s (VOYA) list of “Adult Mysteries with Young Adult Appeal,” a writer’s residency from The Studios of Key West, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Florida Historical Society’s Patrick D. Smith Florida Literature Award, and three Florida Book Awards bronze medals.

In addition to writing crime fiction, she writes about crime fiction, as evidenced by the upcoming Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, which she coedited with J.D Bernthal.

For the incurably curious, Mary Anna’s first published work, her master’s thesis, was entitled A Modeling Study of the NH3-NO-O2 Reaction Under the Operating Conditions of a Fluidized Bed Combustor. Like her mysteries, it was a factually based page-turner but, no, it’s not available online.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Bookbub

#BookReview Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry @Tamara_Morgan @PPPress #BuriedinaGoodBook #TamaraBerry #BytheBookMysteries #inkedinpoison

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry @Tamara_Morgan @PPPress #BuriedinaGoodBook #TamaraBerry #BytheBookMysteries #inkedinpoison Title: Buried in a Good Book

Author: Tamara Berry

Series: By the Book Mysteries #1

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on May 24, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 312

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A thriller writer who knows way more than anyone should about death and dismemberment

Her young daughter who’s more intrigued by dead bodies than she probably should be

An isolated cabin in the woods that’s probably―definitely―hiding something

The tiny mountain town that seems less than troubled by a sudden abundance of murders

Bestselling thriller writer Tess Harrow is almost at the end of her rope when she arrives with her teenage daughter at her grandfather’s rustic cabin in the woods. She hopes this will be a time for them to heal and bond after Tess’s recent divorce, but they’ve barely made it through the door when an explosion shakes the cabin. Suddenly it’s raining fish guts and…is that a human arm?

Tess was hardly convincing Gertie that a summer without Wi-Fi and running water would be an adventure. Now she’s thrust into a murder investigation, neighbors are saying they’ve spotted Bigfoot in the woods near her cabin, and the local sheriff is the spitting image of her character Detective Gabriel Gonzales―something he’s less than thrilled about. With so much more than her daughter’s summer plans at stake, it’s up to Tess to solve this case before anyone else gets hurt.

Review:

Intricate, fresh, and funny!

Buried in a Good Book is a wacky, mischievous tale that transports you to Okanogan County and into the life of Tess Harrow, a famous mystery writer who, after arriving at her late grandfather’s cabin for some rest and relaxation with her teenage daughter, Gertrude, quickly discovers that facts are sometimes even stranger than fiction when she finds herself smack dab in the middle of a bizarre murder investigation involving flying body parts and fish guts, exotic animals freely roaming in the woods, and a broody sheriff with an uncanny resemblance to Detective Gonzales, the beloved leading man of her successful series.

The prose is sharp and witty. The characters are endearing, unique, and persistent. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel quickly into an exceptionally humorous, thrilling tale filled with family, friendship, secrets, deception, danger, violence, spirited hijinks, hilarious mishaps, and small-town antics.

Overall, Buried in a Good Book is a quirky, clever, edgy mystery that kept me amused and entertained from the very first page. It’s the first novel I’ve read by Berry, but based on this fantastic, creative start to the new By the Book Mysteries series, I can guarantee you it won’t be my last.

 

This book is available now.

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

               

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Tamara Berry

Tamara Berry is a part-time author and part-time freelance copywriter/editor. She has a B.A. degree in English Literature from Eastern Washington University. In addition to books, she has mad love for all things TV, movies, and pop culture.

She also writes romances under the pennames Lucy Gilmore and Tamara Morgan.

Photo by Emily Jones Photography.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview Something’s Guava Give by Carrie Doyle @carriedoylek @PPPress #SomethingsGuavaGive #CarrieDoyle #TroubleinParadise #inkedinpoison

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Something’s Guava Give by Carrie Doyle @carriedoylek @PPPress #SomethingsGuavaGive #CarrieDoyle #TroubleinParadise #inkedinpoison Title: Something's Guava Give

Author: Carrie Doyle

Series: Trouble in Paradise #2

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Feb. 25, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Nothing ruins an ocean view like a body on the beach!

Plum Lockhart went out on a limb when she ditched her corporate job in New York City and moved to the Caribbean island of Paraiso. Now the head of her own villa broker agency, Plum spends her days chasing down clients and lounging on white sand beaches.

But the sweet life turns sour when a publishing heiress is found dead at the mansion of an eccentric tycoon, Dieter Friedrich. Even worse, Plum’s old colleague cashes in a favor and asks her to investigate. It looks like she’ll need to fit a murder case into her already jam-packed schedule!
Friedrich is known for his shady dealings, but he’s not the only bad apple on the island—Plum will have to contend with a scheming millionaire, a sleazy rockstar, and devious B-list celebrities. And joining Plum once again is Juan Kevin Munoz, the distractingly gorgeous Director of Security. Despite the sparks between them, they’ll need to stay focused on the case—there’s a murderer hot on their heels!

Review:

Cosy, mysterious, and lush!

In this latest novel in the Trouble in Paradise series, Something’s Guava Give, we head back to the beautiful island of Paraiso and into the life of Plum Lockhart as she once again finds herself unexpectedly tied up in a murder investigation and working with the handsome Director of Security, Juan Kevin Muñoz when a publishing heiress she tried to help out of some legal trouble winds up murdered while staying at the villa of the rich and famous Dieter Friedrich where she had only recently relocated.

The writing style is fluid and fun. The characters are inquisitive, spontaneous, and intelligent. And the plot is a lighthearted, quirky tale brimming with suspicious personalities, island living, misdirection, amateur sleuthing, flirtation, deduction, and murder.

Overall, I found Something’s Guava Give to be another entertaining, humorous, easy tale by Doyle that was certainly a refreshing read between all the dark, gritty, psychological thrillers that seem to be filling up my TBR at the moment.

 

This novel is available now.

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

 

       

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Carrie Doyle

Carrie Doyle is the best selling author of multiple novels and screenplays that span many genres, ranging from cozy mysteries to chick lit to comedies to Young Adult.

A born and bred New Yorker, Carrie has spent most of her life in Manhattan, with the exception of a six-year stint in Europe (Russia; France; England) and five years in Los Angeles. A former Editor-in-Chief of the Russian edition of Marie Claire, Carrie has written dozens of articles for various magazines, including countless celebrity profiles. She is also a screenwriter, and her movie Intern (co-written with Jill Kargman) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Carrie has three books that will be published in 2021: Death on Bull Path (the fourth book of the Hamptons Murder Mystery Series); The Murder Game; and It Takes Two to Mango (the first book of the Trouble in Paradise Series.)

Carrie currently splits her time between New York and Long Island, with her husband and two teenage sons.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill @PPPress #TheWomanintheLibrary #SulariGentill #inkedinpoison

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill @PPPress #TheWomanintheLibrary #SulariGentill #inkedinpoison Title: The Woman in the Library

Author: Sulari Gentill

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jun. 7, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 288

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

In every person’s story, there is something to hide…

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers sitting at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

Review:

Devious, intense, and full of surprises!

The Woman in the Library is an intricate, twisty, complex thriller featuring Hannah, a successful writer who is writing her latest mystery about four strangers, Freddie, Cain, Whit, and Marigold, who accidentally meet one day as they all share a table in the Boston Public Library and after they hear a woman scream subsequently work together to not only identify who the slain woman was but who out of the four of them, as impossible as it may seem, actually murdered her.

The prose is complex and tight. The characters are multilayered, secretive, and consumed. And the plot builds nicely to create just the right amount of tension and suspense as it unravels all the different personalities, questionable motivations, duplicitous actions, and relationships within it.

Overall, The Woman in the Library is a compelling, sly, creative tale by Gentill that, with its story within a story, is a clever, unique, addictive whodunit that certainly kept me guessing 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 Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sulari Gentill

Once upon a time, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, ten historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world, and the Ned Kelly Award winning Crossing the Lines (published in the US as After She Wrote Hime). In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV. IN 2019 Sulari was part of a 4-member delegation of Australian crime writers sponsored by the Australia Council to tour the US as ambassadors of Australian Crime Writing.

Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

#BookReview The New Neighbor by Carter Wilson @PPPress #TheNewNeighbor #CarterWilson #inkedinpoison

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The New Neighbor by Carter Wilson @PPPress #TheNewNeighbor #CarterWilson #inkedinpoison Title: The New Neighbor

Author: Carter Wilson

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Apr. 12, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8/10

USA Today bestselling author Carter Wilson returns with a chilling psychological thriller about Bury, NH, a standalone story with crossover to his previous novel The Dead Husband. A must for readers of Megan Miranda and Alex Michaelides.

Aidan holds the winning Powerball numbers.

Is today the best day of his life… or the worst?

Aidan Marlowe is the superstitious type—he’s been playing the same lottery numbers for fifteen years, never hitting the jackpot. Until now. On the day of his wife’s funeral.

Aidan struggles to cope with these two sudden extremes: instant wealth beyond his imagination, and the loss of the only woman he’s ever loved, the mother of his twin children. But the money gives him and his kids options they didn’t have before. They can leave everything behind. They can start a new life in a new town. So they do.

But a huge new house and all the money in the world can’t replace what they’ve lost, and it’s not long before Aidan realizes he’s merely trading old demons for new ones. Because someone is watching him and his family very closely. Someone who knows exactly who they are, where they’ve come from, and what they’re trying to hide. Someone who will stop at nothing to get what they want…

Review:

Cunning, intricate, and dark!

The New Neighbor is a crafty, sinister thriller that takes you into the life of Aidan Marlow, a father of seven-year-old twins who, after the sudden death of his beautiful wife, Holly, becomes a multi-millionaire overnight when he wins the Powerball jackpot and thus decides to relocate to Bury, New Hampshire for a new start only to discover upon arriving that the mansion he has moved into has a haunted past and someone nearby has decided he’s easy prey.

The prose is unsettling and tight. The characters are secretive, troubled, and unstable. And the plot, told through an unreliable narrator, builds and unravels briskly into an ominous tale filled with familial drama, suspicious personalities, unexpected twists, secrets, deception, jealousy, violence, and greed.

Overall, The New Neighbor is another menacing, twisty, eerie tale by Wilson that keeps you guessing from the very first page and is fast-paced, creepy, 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 Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Carter Wilson

USA Today and #1 Denver Post bestselling author Carter Wilson explores the depths of psychological tension and paranoia in his dark, domestic thrillers. Carter is a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award and his novels have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. He lives outside Boulder, Colorado.

Photo by Eldeen Annette Headshots.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview Pleading the Fish by Bree Baker @BreeBakerBooks @PPPress #PleadingtheFish #SeasideCafeMysteries #BreeBaker #inkedinpoison

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Pleading the Fish by Bree Baker @BreeBakerBooks @PPPress #PleadingtheFish #SeasideCafeMysteries #BreeBaker #inkedinpoison Title: Pleading the Fish

Author: Bree Baker

Series: Seaside Café Mystery #7

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Mar. 29, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 9/10

In the seventh and final book of Bree Baker’s critically acclaimed Seaside Café Mystery series, Pleading the Fish, Everly Swan’s wedding plans are upended by a dead body. She’ll have to run her teashop, find a dress, and catch a murderer all before she can walk down the aisle!

Café owner and amateur sleuth Everly Swan, like every Swan woman before her, is cursed in love. The only problem? Her fiancé Detective Grady Hayes has something to say about it—he doesn’t believe in magic and is determined to prove the curse wrong so they can spend their lives together. Everly wishes it could be so simple!

It feels like a sign when a historian looking into Swan history is found dead in an antique wishing well, and Everly fears the curse is spreading. Grady takes the case, looking to find justice and prove the curse wrong, while Everly does a bit of investigating on her own. Big change is coming for Everly and her friends, but with mysterious strangers lurking about and someone leaving increasingly threatening messages for the happy couple, Everly’s not sure she’ll get her happily-ever-after!

Review:

Lighthearted, quirky, and highly entertaining!

In this latest novel in the Seaside Café Mysteries, Pleading the Fish, we head back to Charm, North Carolina, and into the life of tea shop owner Everly Swan as she once again finds herself unexpectedly tied up in a local murder and dividing her time between baking treats, investigating who killed the local historian and why, and working on overcoming her fears about the infamous Swan curse and finally marrying the man she loves the handsome, patient Detective Grady Hays.

The writing is smooth and sweet. The characters are sharp, supportive, and rash. And the plot is a delightfully whimsical whodunit full of misdirection, amateur sleuthing, suspicious personalities, small-town living, community, romance, and decadent delights.

Overall, Pleading the Fish is another playful, mysterious, charming read by Baker, and even though it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to all the characters I’ve come to know and love over the past seven novels, it is nevertheless a superb ending to a fabulous series that I will undoubtedly miss and highly recommend.

 

This novel is available on March 29, 2022.

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

 

       

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Bree Baker

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

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview The Day He Left by Frederick Weisel @PPPress #TheDayHeLeft #ViolentCrimeInvestigationsTeamSeries #FrederickWeisel #inkedinpoison

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural
#BookReview The Day He Left by Frederick Weisel @PPPress #TheDayHeLeft #ViolentCrimeInvestigationsTeamSeries #FrederickWeisel #inkedinpoison Title: The Day He Left

Author: Frederick Weisel

Series: Violent Crime Investigations Team #2

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Mar. 1, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

After he was gone, the only things left behind were secrets

Annie has fallen out of the habit of listening to her husband. She and Paul have been married for a long time; it’s easy to nod as he drones on, responding to his voice while completely ignoring every word he says. That becomes a problem, of course, when Paul disappears and the police have questions. Was Paul having issues at work? Is there any reason to think he might harm himself? Annie doesn’t know.

But someone does.

An unsettling photo found amongst Paul’s things turns the investigation toward his job as a middle school teacher and a troubled girl who is hiding secrets of her own. But what exactly happened to Paul on the day he left for work and never made it to the classroom? Is his disappearance related to a local heroin trafficking operation? As Eddie Mahler and the members of the Santa Rosa Violent Crime Investigations Team rush to find the teacher, they discover the members of his family have hidden lives of their own, and that Paul may not have been running away but toward something that could ruin his career and marriage–and even cost his life.

Review:

Menacing, intricate, and engrossing!

In this enthralling second instalment in the VCI Team series, The Day He Left, Detective Eddie Mahler and the VCI team find themselves immersed in a new high-stakes case involving a missing middle-school teacher who is either a victim of infidelity, slander, and misfortune or a predator who enjoys preying on his vulnerable students.

The writing is edgy and tight. The characters are multilayered, meticulous, and persistent. And the plot is a fast-paced, electrifying tale full of twists, turns, familial drama, red herrings, manipulation, secrets, deception, mayhem, danger, and murder.

Overall, The Day He Left is another sinister, addictive, thrilling addition to what is quickly becoming a must-read series for me, with its flawed, complex characters, great pace, and consistent sense of urgency that I can’t seem to get enough of.

 

This book is available now.

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

          

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Frederick Weisel

Frederick Weisel has been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. He graduated from Antioch College and has an MA in Victorian Literature and History from the University of Leicester in England. His short stories were awarded an Artists Fellowship from the Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation, and his articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Christian Science Monitor.

The Silenced Women is his debut novel. He is currently at work on the third novel in the VCI series. He lives with his wife in Santa Rosa, California, and shares a birthday with his favorite author, Raymond Chandler.

Photo by Rob Martel.

Website | Facebook | Instagram