14. THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides. (5/26/20). Fictional Thriller
Set in London, this psychological thriller opens with these words: “Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband.” As news of the killing spreads across London, the act of shooting her husband five times in the face catches the imagination if the public. Adding fuel to the fire is that Alice, a famous painter, becomes mysterious as she refuses to talk. A criminal psychotherapist is called in to try to unravel the mystery and becomes obsessed in the process.
I found this mystery-thriller to be exciting and fast paced. This is a good read in another type of venue for me.
5 Stars
22. CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham (6/10/20) Fiction Mystery
Not having read a Grisham book in ages I decided to change the pace a little by reading one. Camino Winds is a Florida island waiting for a hurricane. The governor issued an evacuation order but, as usual, there were a few diehards who decide to ride it out. In the midst of the hurricane they discover a body that they believe to be a murder. The real action begins.
I have read a lot of Grisham over the years and didn’t find this as compelling as most of his other blockbusters. But it’s not bad.
3 Stars
25. THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING. By Bill Clinton and James Patterson (6/15/20). Fiction Thriller
I thought This might be fun (and authentic) because former President Bill Clinton co-authored this with James Patterson. The story is about a president who went missing (duh!), and it was filled with thrills, chills, action, power plays, and high pressure stakes. It’s fast-moving and fun.
4 Stars
36. THE WIFE. By Alastair Burke (7/10/20) Fiction Thriller
Angela, a caterer, and Jason, an economics professor on the rise, had what they thought was a perfect marriage and lifestyle. Jason wrote a bestseller and began a media career. Through twists and turns this thriller exposes the dilemma of a wife who must make the choice between defending the husband she loves who is accused of a crime, and how far she will go to protect him, which could jeopardize saving herself and her own secret past.
“The Wife” deals with questions of loyalty, infidelity, media exposure, and life choices. I found this book fast moving, unpredictable, and had all the elements a good thriller needs to keep the excitement coming.
5 Stars
38. INTO THE WATER by Paula Hawkins (7/16/20) Fictional Thriller
Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of “The Girl on the Train”, returns with a psychological suspense novel about a single mother found dead at the bottom of “the Drowning Pool”, a river running through the town. Earlier, a teenage girl met the same fate. The victim’s daughter, a lonely fifteen year-old girl, is left in the care of her mother’s estranged sister, Jules, who comes to live with her. The aunt had vowed never to return. The police want to call the death “another jumper”, which Jules is convinced is not what her sister would do.
There are so many town secrets, characters, and history that surrounds the plot’s twists and turns, but for me, make this intricate story difficult to follow. If you love hard to figure out stories loaded with motivations and false directions, this will be a terrific read.
3 Stars
47. THE BRETHREN by John Grisham (8/1/20) Fictional Thriller
Many of you have read this book. It’s been around a while but somehow I missed it. In a posh Federal prison in Florida, three convicted judges form a court called “The Brethren”. They make decisions on minor problems that arise between inmates and with the help of of an outside lawyer the begin an extortion scheme on vulnerable people on the outside.
Grisham in his prime. Still fresh, fast moving, and easy to read.
4 Stars
49. THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J.Finn (8/8/20) Fictional Thriller
Anna Fox has agoraphobia. The closest she comes to venturing is through the blinds of her window. New neighbors move in across a house across the way, mother, father and teenage son. They seem like the perfect family until one night she has witnessed a crime. She questions her sanity, having too much wine, imagining something that is not there.
In a Hitchcockingly way this thriller becomes powerful and suspenseful. The movie starring Amy Adams, Julianne Moore and Gary Oldman should be good.
4 Stars
57. SWIMMING TO CATALINA by Stuart Woods (8/25/20) Fictional Thriller
Swimming to Catalina is the fourth book in the Stone Barrington series. The lawyer/private detective is still licking his wounds after his break up with magazine writer, Arrington Carrington, who left him to marry Hollywood’s hottest male star, Vance Calder. In this fast-paced thriller we hobnob with the glitz, glamour, and mystery as we see Stone try to find the missing Arrington.
This book has been out there for awhile but still feels fresh and clever.
3 Stars
59. DIRT by Stuart Woods (8/27/20) Fictional Thriller
Amanda Dart, a gossip columnist, is used to dishing the dirt, but when the tables are turned she is desperate to protect her own reputation and calls New York lawyer/private investigator Stone Barrington for help. We have the twists and turns and crime elements in this mystery/thriller, but I did not find this one as exciting as some of his other books.
2 Stars
61. THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley (9/5/20) Fictional Mystery
The “perfect” wedding is set at an island off the coast of Ireland. The guest list is in place and the wedding planner has the minute and extravagant details intact. As festivities commence and the bubbly flows the old resentments and jealousies emerge. And someone turns up dead.
The story is full of detail, characters, mystery in an Agatha Christy style. It was fun to read but not classic.
3 Stars
64. PRETTY THINGS by Janelle Brown (9/12/20) Fictional Thriller
Two different women come together in a mansion in Lake Tahoe. Vanessa, a self-absorbed heiress is lonely in her solitude in the mansion and allows a young couple to rent her guesthouse. What she doesn’t know is that they are grifters with a plan to carry out a scam of a lifetime.
Janelle is a good writer. Her descriptive sentences roll off the page and allow two different narratives from each of the two women allowing the reader to get a look into their real psyches: Nina’s motivation for crime and Vanessa’s vulnerabilities and inadequacies. This is worthwhile.
5 Stars
76. INVISIBLE GIRL by Lisa Jewell (10/17/20) Fictional Thriller
Have you ever heard of the term, “incel”? Incel is short for involuntary celibate. That is what Owen Pick calls and thinks of himself. Owen, a 30ish college teacher, is a strange guy and knows it as he follows others like him over the internet with the problem of attracting women. He becomes fixated on it as it being all womens’ faults rather than his. Throughout the years his behavior becomes more inappropriate and people notice and start to call him out which makes him more angry and alone.
This is just the beginning of a book that covers this topic and others such as, self-harm, judging others who are different, sexual assualt, stalking, and other dark mysteries of the behavior and minds of people dealing with trauma and pain.
I know this sounds dark, and it is. Jewel is able to draw a good scenario of many lives coming together to find out what was done and who done it. I really enjoyed this psychological mystery whose ending is definitely unpredictable.
5 Stars
77. THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND by JoJo Moyes (10/18/20) Fictional Mystery
This story is about a painting called “The Girl You Left Behind” painted by a French artist, Edouard, who painted a portrait of his beloved wife Sophie before he left to fight in World War I. The story goes between the struggle of their German- occupied French Village and how Sophie survived the brutality and horrors of starvation during the war, and, to present-time where Liv, who is struggling to cope with the death of her husband, owns the painting, a wedding gift from her late husband. The story gets difficult when Sophie meets and dates a man she truly likes, then finds out he is with a company who’s purpose is to retrieve stolen art from the war and restore it to it’s rightful owner. This throws Liv’s life into crisis when they seek to take possession of the painting and ruins her new relationship.
The war story was heartbreaking and authentic. And the search to find clues to how the painting came into Liv’s possession gave the book added mystery and interest. The romance angle added added luster.
5 Stars
78. NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro (10/20/20) Fictional Mystery
This novel is at first about a quiet setting at an exclusive boarding school in England in the late 20th Century. The school promotes physical fitness and artistic expression. The children are well-cared for by, mostly caring adults but as they age, and age-out of this school, we see them figuring out the plan for them. They begin to understand that they are clones being raised as future organ donors.
The darkness that follows is that their care is a product of positive brain-washing of their personal sacrifice as an honorable fate. In this dystopian story we explore the morality of cloning even when their lives are happy and seemingly normal.
This chilling novel takes a topic which could be futuristic, and sets it in the past where we can relate to the experience more easily, which makes this story even more troubling. The writing is descriptive and believable, adding to the intensity.
5 Stars
109. THE WIVES by Tarryn Fisher (1/28/21) Suspense Fiction
It has been quite a while since I have read a suspense novel and heard this was a good one. The protagonast grabs you right away while explaining her relationship with her husband. She is only one of three wives. At first I wondered what she saw in that, and actually I never did “get” it. She only saw him one day a week and that didn’t seem to bother her because she loved him so much. She also didn’t know the other two wives, which was his secret to keep until a clue in his pants pocket revealed the name of another wife. After that she couldn’t resist looking for the two other women. She decided to anonymously look for the woman in the note, Hannah, who like herself was lonely and longed for friendship. As their friendship grew she suspected Hannah was being abused by her/their husband and caused her to try to find out who the third wife was and if she also was being abused.
The story lineage is of emotional and physical abuse and eventually, mental illness. The three women make excuses for his behavior or refuse to see his fault in it. I wasn’t fond of the premise that a wife who is so in love with her husband could be content with the arrangement in the first place. Some circumstances were thrown in for the sake of suspense, but I found it contrived and disingenuous. I know this is hyped as a best seller and it may have some value to those who are thrilled with thrillers, but it never met it’s mark with me.
3 Stars
119. THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell (2/28/21) Psychological Fiction
This is my third book by Lisa Jewell. I started with The Invisable Girl # 76, a dark story about a strange man, who can’t attract a woman because of his behavior, with lots of dark mystery and an unpredictable ending. 5 stars. My second Jewell was # 91, And Then She Was Gone, about a fifteen-year-old girl who went missing and her mother’s search for conclusions for the ten year mystery. 4 Stars. Now we are at Jewell’s jewel. The Family Upstairs is a good, if not, great mystery. This book is about siblings who have been separated for more than 20 years. Theirs parents are dead. The two oldest were presumed dead and the youngest, Libby, struggles for identity and the mystery surrounding the death of her parents. At the age of 25, she finds out she and her siblings, inherit a mansion in Chelsea. As she strives to find out her mysterious background, she finds out about suicides, a cult her parents got involved in, the whereabouts of her siblings, and the mystery of the family upstairs. This is fast-paced, exciting, and has all the elements of a good thriller.
5 Stars
121. MY ABSOLUTE DARLING by Gabriel Tallent (3/8/21) Psychological Fiction
Turtle, a fourteen-year-old girl, is being brought up by her single father with her grandfather nearby on the property in a trailer with a dog. The live remotely on a large property overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Sounds perfect, right? Wrong. Turtle’s father isolates purposefully enabling himself to act-out his deranged ideas and deeds. Guns and target practice holding coins are his favorite pastime, and he believes this is a part of Turtle’s education. As the story goes on he become more and more abusive and radical in his ideas. Turtle loves and admires her father but as she learns from a boy who becomes her friend, there are other ways to live. She realizes she would prefer some normalcy. As she tries to make changes her father becomes suspicious and tries to control her through abuse of all kinds.
This type of story, although well-written and perfect for a movie is absorbing though sad and troubling. As Turtle becomes more conflicted, the more violent her father becomes. This psychological drama is agonizing, mesmerizing, and unsettling-just what the author intended. It was well done but made me need a drink! Often! But I couldn’t put it down!
5 Stars
124. THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain (3/15/21) Psychological Fiction
This breakthrough novel is written in second-person narrative as Blythe Connor speaks her thoughts to her husband Fox, where she is able to say all the things she cannot say aloud. Abandoned by her mother at 11, and with a history of a psychologically deranged grandmother, Blythe did not feel she could succeed at or trust herself at parenting when her husband asked her to start a family. After pressuring her she consented but never believed it was the right thing to do. This page-turner goes into intimate detail of how a woman can feel when she knows she is not meant to carry a child and the trauma of postpartum anxiety when every thing she does seems to be the wrong. Never having the ability to connect emotionally with Violet, she starts seeing negative behaviors that cause her to question her daughter’s mental fitness. And this is just the beginning of this dark journey.
This was so well-written and believable that I found myself experiencing a great deal of nervous anxiety and distress while reading this unpleasant situation that many a parent experiences, hopefully, to a far lesser degree. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed enough to question why I was putting myself in such distress. But this is exactly what “thrillers” do. This book brought all my emotions to a head and for that reason I think the author is truly gifted.
5 Stars
130. THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware (4/8/21) Thriller
Following a break-in to her apartment, Lo Blacklock, a travel journalist, seized the opportunity to take a maiden voyage on a small super-luxurious cruise ship. Not only would it provide the get-away she needed but could also provide an opportunity to smooze with other travel executives and bigwigs who could be important in her career. At the sail away party she drank too much when she ran into an old flame and stumbled back to her room. As she was falling asleep she thought she heard a scream in the next cabin and thought someone had fallen overboard. When she called for help no one took her seriously in her condition and she couldn’t help but try to find out what had happened. So much for a relaxing cruise. When she continued her quest she became a victim herself.
This is an exciting, fast-moving thriller with all the drama and intensity you have in a good “who done it”. It was slated to be made into a movie but there is no info on the delays or the cast list. A mystery in itself!
4 Stars
140. DARK PLACES by Gillian Flynn (5/9/21) Fiction/Thriller-Mystery
Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were savagely murdered. The headlines called it “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas. Libby witnessed the crime and escaped by fleeing the farmhouse in the freezing January snow. Frostbitten and traumatized, she survived and went on to testify that her fifteen-year old brother Ben was the killer.
Twenty-five years later, Ben, the convicted, imprisoned killer, has not heard from his sister, but a macabre secret society called “The Kill Club”, obsessed with the worst of the mass murderers, contact Libby in order to get details about the crime. Libby, troubled and impoverished after most of a trust of donations by well-wishers is gone, agrees to talk to the group for a fee. This begins a search to discover if her testimony had been correct about her brother.
This book, is written in great detail about the crime, the strange and deranged Kill Club members, and the psychological problems with Ben, his shiftless father and Libby’s mental issues from her horrific experiences, and her tragic, lonely life. There is no pretty picture here and the book is well-named “Dark Places.” If you can handle this type of story, you will love it.
4 Stars
142. THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Golden (5/13/21) Suspense Fiction
Rachel Krall became a sensation with her true-crime podcast when it set an innocent man free. The case she next chose brought her to a rape trial of a Olympic bound swimmer accused of raping the granddaughter of the police chief. This small town was devastated and divided in their loyalties. While trying to dig into the crime she became alarmed When she found letters attached to her car asking her to find the murderer of this person’s sister twenty-five years ago. Although well-known from her podcast, few recognized her and the fact they even knew her car unsettled her. The notes kept coming and she started realizing the connection between the two crimes.
This is an intense and dark novel which goes into the grimy details of the crimes and can be uncomfortable to those who do not need or want all that depth. Crime is all around us in real life and you should be aware of your limitations if you chose to read this book. However, the writing is well done and the suspense feels real.
4 Stars
154. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (6/12/21) Fiction Thriller
Owen Michaels left his wife of one year a note before he disappeared. “Protect her.” Hannah knew immediately what the note was about-Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Hailey lost her mother as a child but still was not happy getting a new step-mother, making it hard to protect someone who doesn’t want to be around her. Soon Hannah realizes that something is very wrong when the FBI arrests Owen’s boss and US Marshalls arrive at her house looking for her husband. Hannah breaks through to Bailey as they come together to try to figure who Owen really was, and why would they need protection. This mystery is full of plot twists, drama, and a breakneck fast pace, filled with excitement.
4 Stars
155. COLD MOURNING by Brenda Chapman (6/14/21) Fiction Mystery
In the woods of Northern Ontario two young aboriginal girls are trying to escape a sexual predator. We jump two decades later where a an Ottawa businessman, Tom Underwood, whose life is in shambles, contemplates killing his wife, but instead goes missing. Jump on to newly assigned native policewoman Kala Stonechild arriving from Ottawa, assigned to look into Underwood’s disappearance with her new partner, Jacques Rouleau and we have a detective story. The author delves into all the characters former lives and layers this into a complex story.
I have to admit this story was not terribly exciting or even interesting. The characters had interesting back stories but their characters and personalities were not well-developed enough for me to care about or remember much about them. This story just did not work out as something new or fresh.
3 Stars
163. WHEN THE STARS GO DARK by Paula McLain (7/5/21) Fiction Thriller
When a personal tragedy strikes San Francisco detective Anna Hart, she flees to the comfort of a Northern California village, Mendocino, where she was once raised by beloved foster parents. On her first day she hears of a daughter of a former actor who reported as missing which reminds her of the disappearance and murder of a girl at Anna’s high school. Anna’s empathy and instincts take over and she gets involved. This debut novel is fresh, fast-paced and sure to please all who like this venue, as I do. McLain, best known for “The Paris Wife”, packs a thrilling punch in this women’s version of a detective thriller.
4 Stars
164. FALLEN by Linda Castillo (7/7/21) Fiction Thriller
I wondered why it took so long to get this audiobook from my library. I didn’t know until after reading it that this is #13 in a series of Kate Burkholder books, about A former Amish woman turned police chief of Painter’s Mill, Ohio. This, like the previous book, When the Stars Go Dark, is about crimes against women, brutal in the details but fast-paced and exciting, and both written by women. This author, does an excellent job of including the interesting lives the Amish community’s lead and is filled with their simplistic lifestyle and beliefs. I can see why it took so long to get this book. She must have a lot of followers who can’t wait to see what the interesting, tough, and scarred Kate Burkholder will do next. Next book for me is #1- Sworn to Silence, and I can’t wait!
5 Stars
165. SWORN TO SILENCE by Linda Castillo (7/9/21) Fiction Thriller
I am really glad I decided to go back to the #1 in the series of Kate Burkholder books because the introduction into Kate’s past is so important to the other police relationships she had formed in #13 which now makes more sense, although I think all of the books will “stand alone”.
Kate was a young rebel in her Amish community and left to find her own way in the world when a tragedy struck. Once she left she was rejected by her family, a common occurrence for those who leave. Through her ups and downs she survives by taking classes at a police academy and joining law enforcement and becomes a gun totter, stands up to men, and eventually became chief, all things the Amish do not do. I can see why she is so popular as she is flawed, has a big secret she is not proud of and suspects everyone until she can trust their loyalty. I intend to read a bunch in this series.
5 Stars
166. THE ORPHAN’S TALE by Pam Jenoff (7/12/21) Historical Fiction
I just finished reading this magnificent book and my eyes are still laden with tears. I felt compelled to immediately review this book while my emotions are still engorged in the ending. This is another of the many historical fiction books out there that are set in WWII, Nazi Germany, however this one seemed special to me. It begins when sixteen-year-old, pregnant, Noa is cast out in disgrace by her parents after succumbing to the attentions of a young Nazi soldier. With no resources she seeks help at a home for unwed mothers but is forced to give up her baby. She takes refuge in a rail station and cleans in order to earn her keep. When she hears a noise in a boxcar she discovers dozens of Jewish babies piled in unattended, some deceased. Still longing for her own lost baby she rescues one baby and flees away from the station.
She happens upon a German circus and becomes a part of the flying trapeze act with an experienced performer named Astrid who teaches her to fly. Their relationship throughout the book is rocky, yet sometimes close as both women have lived lives of tragedy. With the background of the traveling circus and the horrors of war, we follow the powerful bond between Astrid and Noa in a compelling story of secrets, survival and hope.
5 Stars
168. PRAY FOR SILENCE by Linda Castillo ((7/13/21) Fiction Thriller
Second in her Kate Burkholder series, Castillo does not fail to keep the crime mystery going. As Chief of Police in a small rural Amish town an entire Amish family is brutally slaughtered and the small police department is overwhelmed. After a good working relationship on a prior crime with State Agent John Tomasseti, she again requests his help. Their personal relationship grows slowly and hesitantly as they once more try to solve an unusual crime. This fast paced, chilling story, with psychological elements will be compelling, if you enjoy character-driven detective/crime stories, you will enjoy this.
4 Stars
172. THE PLOT by Jean Hanff Korelitz (7/22/21) Thriller Fiction
The protagonist is Jacob Finch Bonner whose first book was well received, but he couldn’t find an idea for a follow up book. In frustration and need, he was teaching at a third-rate MFA program, still struggling to overcome the writer’s cramp and produce another book, when he meets a narcissistic student, Evan Parker arrogantly brag about a plot he envisions as a sure thing. Jake dismisses Evan’s over-the-top braggadocio to immaturity until he hears the plot. It was extraordinary which increases Jake’s frustration with his own lack of a storyline. He loses touch with Evan but waits to hear of the publication of his book, and it never comes. This is the beginning of a great story any writer will relate to. The story takes a big swing, which I can’t reveal, so I hope you can find the time to read this yourselves.
5 Stars
179. BREAKING SILENCE by Linda Costello (8/16/21) Mystery Fiction
This is third in the series of Kate Burkholder, Painter’s Creek, chief of police mysteries. Although I am trying to get over how a small town, mainly inhabited by Amish farmers, can have so many gruesome murders, I find another strange tragedy to pour over. Castillo continues to put Kate in the middle of a gruesome incident, this one three victims of the Slabough family who apparently drowned in a hog pit, leaving four children as orphans. Was this accidental or a murder? Agent John Tomasetti is again called in to help bring a professional and personal angle to the story.
Castillo writes unusual stories, sprinkled with aspects of the private Amish society always leaning to share as little of their lives as possible to the outside world, and leaving little cooperation to those solving the crime. But she is good at it and I like the flawed characters of Kate and John as they struggle to keep their relationship professional while wanting and needing each other.
4 Stars
181. IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King (8/21/21) Suspence
This book consists of three novellas, briefer than his standard stories but just as clever and enthralling as his full sized books. I have to admit it has been years since I have read a Stephen King and I had a renewed admiration for the depth of his characters and story lines. I won’t go into the various story lines but I can assure you if you would like thrilling suspense you will appreciate these four stories.
5 Stars
183. MR. MERCEDES by Stephen King (8/28/21) Fiction Thriller
This is the first of three in the trilogy of ex-cop Bill Hodges suspense stories. We find the retired Hodges in a major slump, probably of depression. Before he retired an unsolved crime had Hodges stumped. A man in a Mercedes, they named “Mr. Mercedes”, out of the blue plowed through a crowd of men and women in line for a job fair. The lone driver then backed up and charged through the line killing eight and wounding more, then sped off, not to be found. Retired or not Hodges drinks too much, eats too much, and obsesses on the case he can’t leave behind. When he gets a letter from the killer who want the rush again, only this time bigger, possibly intending to kill thousands, Hodges finds tow unlikely allies who try to stop the madman. This time Hodges goes around the law to find his clues and excitement builds to a nail-biting finish. This was so good, so exciting that if you enjoy this venue it will not disappoint.
5 Stars
187. PIECES OF HER by Karin Slaughter (9/7/21) Suspense
Andrea (Andy) Cooper feels lackluster and dull in her life do to her lack of talent. Compared to her successful divorced parents she felt she would never find a direction for success. Lacking confidence for her future she immediately decided to move back home to Belle Isle, Georgia when her mother, Laura, a speech pathologist, told her of her breast cancer diagnosis. Three years later, with Laura doing well, Andy and her mother were at a mall when a gun brandishing man shot two people dead and then shot Laura. Her mother, bleeding but alive, yelled at Andy to run away. Laura knew there was only one bullet left and she challenged the hooded man when in his frustration he brandished a knife. Laura blocked his attempt to stab her with her hand and and then stabbed the knife into his neck while the blade was all the way through her hand. Andy saw something in her mother that was totally out of character. Her normally professional and measured style of voice and actions now took on a strength and professional meant to outwit the murderer. As the attacker fell to the ground Andy realized he had died quickly by her mother’s hand and knew that her mother was far more than she had known. Soon there is another attack against her mother while at home and this time it was Andy who took the man’s life. Laura pushes Andy away and sternly admonishes Andy to immediately leave town and not contact her or anyone until she gives her a message.
On her own, we follow Andy in her quest to become incognito while she tries to find out who her mother really is and how she can save her.
This is a fast-moving and exciting story with some flaws (like why do the police suspect Laura of wrongdoing even though she was defending herself from assault in both crimes). Still, this is a pretty good read.
4 Stars
190. BEST FRIENDS FOREVER by Margot Hunt (9/16/21) Fiction Mystery
Kat Grant and Alice Campbell are best friends relying on each other and sharing confidences despite the different paths they have taken. Kat is the artsy socialite married to Howard, a financier, and Alice the struggling suburbanite. When Kat’s husband plunges to his death on his balcony police have questions if this was suicide or a crime. As the mystery unfolds we learn a manipulator is among them.
This is a fairly good crime mystery with a surprise ending.
3 Stars
192. A SLOW FIRE BURNING by Paula Hawkins ((9/20/21) Fiction Thriller
Actress Rosamunde Pike narrates this book with just the right quality of thriller excitement. The story is about a man who was murdered and three suspects and his relationship to them: A grief-stricken aunt, a nosy neighbor, and a one-night-stand. Compared to Girl on a Train it lacks some of the tantalizing building of suspense we felt in Train but this is still quite worth a read or listen.
3 Stars
195. THE WINTRINGHAM MYSTERY by Anthony Berkeley (5/24/22
Republished for the first time in 95 years, in a style Agatha Christie fans would admire, complete with a country house, a cast of eccentric characters, and of course, an elderly titled “Lady”. At a weekend house party one of the guests, Cicely, disappears. when many try to discover here whereabouts and they find a suspicious death of another. With servants, suspects, romance and alibis this has all the fun trappings of a classic British who-don-it.
3 Stars
207. ROCK PAPER SCISSORS by Alice Feeney (10/19/21) Fiction Suspence
In the dead of winter Amelia plans a trip to an enchanting converted chapel in the Scottish Highlands for a weekend away with Adam her husband, a self-proclaimed workaholic who she fears she is losing. Her attempt to rekindle the warmth and heat of a bygone relationship becomes problematic when they encounter a wild snowstorm and can’t get into the chapel. This is the beginning of many problems relating to the possibly haunted chapel, the scary and weird appearances, and another oncoming power-outage type storm. This is a good page-turner with lots of twists and turns.
4 Stars
213. THE HUSBAND’S SECRET by Liane Moriarty (11/14/21) Fiction Mystery
After reading Apples Never Fall (207), I wanted to try another. Moriarty has a knack of writing about families and relationships, throws in a mystery or moral dilemma and gives a conversational voice to each character. In this book there are three main characters: Rachael, a woman whose daughter was killed thirty years ago, and cannot heal until the murderer is found; Cecilia, a wife and mom who lives a comfortable life, is organized, successful, and happy until she finds a letter to be opened after her husband’s death: and Tess who’s husband and cousin break their silence causing her to leave with her young son to tend her ailing mother. Their stories are interwoven and linked by circumstances that challenges their lives. This book covers the reality of how lives can change in a instant with repercussions which can last a lifetime and place their lives on a new trajectory. Moriarty hooks you into her stories and weaves the narrative in ways you may not expect.
4 Stars
217. THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED by Lisa Jewell (11/16/21) Fiction Thriller
lulah and Zach are a young couple with a one-year-old baby. The take a night off to go to a lavish party while grandma Kim babysits. Tallulah and Zach do not return and Kim takes it upon herself to find them. Many think, due to their ages that they fled their responsibility, but Kim knows they would never abandon their beloved child. The story covers the year before they disappeared, the time of the disappearance-2017, and the year after.
Jewell’s skillful writing keeps you guessing, with lots of added characters from the past and present, but I found this to be far less exciting than other of her suspense novels.
3 Stars
221. COME WITH ME by Ronald Malfi (12/1/21) Fiction Thriller
Aaron Decker’s life comes crashing down around him when his wife Allison is killed. Aaron becomes haunted by her ghost, and delves into her belongings for answers about the wife he thought he knew. Through grief and curiosity he embarks on a journey to discover what his wife had been doing in the weeks leading to her death and finds a dark, hidden life, eventually putting himself at risk.
4 Stars
227. THE MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides (12/25/21) Fiction Thriller
Cambridge University has a secret society of female students known as THE MAIDENS. Mariana, a group therapist, becomes fixated on the group when one member, Zoe, the daughter of a friend, is murdered at Cambridge. Mariana, a former student at Cambridge becomes obsessed with finding the murderer and suspects a Greek Professor, Edward Fosca, who seems to cast a spell on his “Maiden” students and the rites of Persephone. Soon another body is found and Mariana is out of control in her desire to prove Fosca’s guilt.
Michaelides, author of “The Silent Patient”, really knows how to write an intense thriller that is dark, psychologically chilling, and intelligent.
5 Stars
230. WE WERE NEVER HERE by Andrea Bartz (12/31/21) Fiction Thriller
Emily and Kristin are best friends who meet once a year to go backpacking together-this year it is Chile. On the last night of their trip when Emily comes back to their room she finds Kristin with a dead manwho she says attacked her. Together they dispoae of the body rather than getting the police involved, but Emily feels this is eerily similiar to an incident last year when Emily was assaulted and Kristin killed that man to save Emily. This is only the beginning of a wild tale with twists and turns at a heart racing pace. If you enjoy the anxiety of being on the edge of your seat, you will love this gripping story.
4 Stars
240. POPPY HARMON AND THE PILLOW-TALK KILLER by Lee Hollis (2/2/22) Fiction Mystery
Lee Hollis is the fictional name of a brother and sister who are jointly writing this book which is part of a series, Desert Flowers Mystery. Private investigator Poppy Harmon in Palm Springs likes working for the hottest names, many from Hollywood. Her client, a rising starlet and social media influencer, fears a stalker and Poppy stays close to her at the movie set where Poppy is spotted by a director who wants to cast her in a part, a career she had given up many years ago. Feeling it is a good cover for her presence on the set she reluctantly agrees. There is a murder, Poppy has a hunky sidekick, and the action and movie back-set is interesting. Not a great book but I thought it was fun.
3 Stars
241. DOG ON IT by Spencer Quinn (2/6/22) Fiction-Mystery
This is the first book of the Chet and Bernie mystery series. Chet, the lovable, smartest dog you’ve ever met, is the narrator of these books. Perspective by a dog is genius in that all dog-lovers will relate to the attitudes and premonitions Chet has throughout the book. His smell, especially for meat, can take his mind momentarily from the prize, but mostly his sixth-sense about bad guys saves the day. His down and out owner, Bernie, flawed in human terms, is all Chet cares about (except food) and his loyalty saves the day and keeps Bernie on many a right path.
The relationship between dog and man has always been beautiful and this one is no exception. We love them both, worry about the danger they get into and breathe relief during close calls. This has all elements of an exciting mystery/detective book and the canine-human relationship adds to the warmth and drama.
5 Stars
248. THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE by Katrine Engberg (3/5/22) Fiction Mystery
This is a Danish murder mystery set in Copenhagen, and a sequel to the International bestseller The Tenant. The detective team of Jeppe Korner and Anette Warner seek to solve a series of murders in a Danish hospital.
The author gives plenty of detail and quirky personality traits to the detectives as they struggle with their private lives while trying to solve the mysteries.
4 Stars
249. THE PARIS APARTMENT by Lucy Foley (3/10/22) Fiction Mystery
Jess and her brother Ben had few breaks in life, however Ben, now seemed on the right track in his Paris apartment. Jess was in more trouble and sought out Jess for temporary help. She got together just enough for a train to Paris and went to her brother’s apartment. As she entered the courtyard and saw the fabulous chateau she marveled at his good luck, that is, until he failed to greet her arrival and she broke in only to find it suspiciously empty.
After waiting for his return and starting to suspect some wrongdoing she garnered up the courage to follow some clues to his disappearance from the less than helpful tenants in the chateau.
This popular author knows how to write suspense and those who like her tales will love this as well.
4 Stars
250. THE MAID by Nina Prose (3/12/22) Fiction Mystery
I like books with a protagonist that is not the usual type person. Molly Gray is probably on the autism spectrum, but highly functional in her work as a maid in a hotel where rules of cleanliness are her forte. Although she struggles with social skills, and misinterprets verbal language, living with her beloved gran has helped her to find the life rules she can live by. Molly takes pride like no other by bringing dirty guest rooms in a state of perfection and it is only when her gran dies leaving her to her own resources that she becomes betrayed by someone she thought cared for her. And she gets into trouble for innocently helping this friend.
This is a sweet story with a lovable character trying to survive in an imperfect world.
5 Stars
257. A FLICKER IN THE DARK by Stacy Willingham (4/9/22) Fiction Thriller
Chloe Davis was only twelve when six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of summer her father confessed to the crimes and was jailed for life for the murders. Chloe and her family were left to grapple with the truth, each trying to move forward in life. Twenty years later, Chloe, now a psychologist in Baton Rouge, is getting ready for her upcoming marriage, while trying to find a balance to her own life and the lives of her patients. When two local teenage girls go missing, the parallels to her own life are overwhelming which brings all the past circumstances back to examine to see whether there is a copycat killer or if her father was the real killer after all.
This is a good mystery with a surprise ending, although I felt like the narrative was following an obvious conclusion, then quickly switched to another. You know, the kind you go “What???”
3 Stars
259. THE TENANT by Katrine Engberg (4/14/22) Mystery Fiction
This may be an introduction into Katrine Engberg, for some, although she is an international bestselling author, especially in Europe. We follow two Copenhagen police detectives, Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner, in a brutal murder of a young woman in her own apartment. An intricate pattern of lines were carved into the victim’s face.
I found “The Tenant” to be filled with plenty of suspense, human drama, and off-beat characters. It is also interesting to view the differences in police procedures in Denmark.
4 Stars
271. THE HARBOR by Katrine Engberg (5/28/22) Mystery
This is the third novel in the Korner and Werner detective series. Oscar, a 15 year old teen is missing. Detectives Anette and Jeppe are called to duty on their day off thinking it’s likely just another teen staying away after a party. But Oscar is from a prominent Copenhagen family who insists Oscar is not the type to take off. When a ransome note is found they spring into action. The author makes us well-aware of the other side of the detectives’ lives with their flawed but human traits, and spares no one by showing the raw underbelly of society in Denmark .
4 Stars
349. WHEN WE FELL APART by Soon Wiley (12/23/22) Mystery
Min-Jun Ford, a Korean-American, wanted to explore his Korean roots, but was feeling out-of-place in Seoul until he met Yu-Jin, a smart, beautiful student, at a Karaoke bar. Min fell for the only person he felt made him feel “seen” for the first time. Even though Yu-Jin had big ideas after graduation, their relationship grew. Yu-Jin kept their relationship secret from her parents who she knew would never approve of her dating, especially with an American who intended to return to his country. Police came to Min who told him of Yu-Jin’s death, apparently by suicide. Blindsided by this unbelievable news he grapples with the fact he really did not know Yu-Jin or their relationship.
A moving and suspenseful drama of how it would be possible for Yu-Jin to have done this, Min searches for answers as he learns more about her family, her friends and the disbelief of how this happy, ambitious , successful girl could do this. Or did she?
Filled with soul-searching of Min’s own life and his own self-doubt threaded together with his family expectations and cultural identity, he begins to realize we don’t always know ourselves or others and what it truly means to belong.
4 Stars
368. THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE by Riley Sager (2/17/23) Suspense
Casey Fletcher has retreated to her family’s lake house in Vermont to escape bad press that as an actress she didn’t need right now. In her solitude she buried herself in bourbon and binoculars, drinking and watching the house across the lake where a glamorous couple, Tom and Katherine, were living. One day while watching across the lake she spots Katherine who she thinks is drowning. She rescues her and they begin a friendship where Casey perceives that the perfect marriage, isn’t. When Katherine seems to go missing Casey suspects foul play. Filled with suspense and plot twists the book is a good read.
4 Stars
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