Tag: suspense

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Book review crime mystery suspense

Read and Review (R&R) – “The Boyfriend” by Freida McFadden

This month’s book club read was “The Boyfriend,” by Freida McFadden.

She’s looking for the perfect date. He is looking for the perfect victim.

Is he the man of your dreams or your worst nightmare?

Once I read these two taglines, I couldn’t wait to read this book. And once I started, I couldn’t put it down.

This is my favorite book thus far from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Freida McFadden.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dual timelines that collide at the end.

I thought I had figured the perpetrator out, but then, whoa, big plot twist.

Sydney Shaw has had her share of bad dates on a dating app. And then, she hits the jackpot and meets a man who is charming, handsome, and a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney thinks she has met the man of her dreams.

But then, there is a brutal murder, and Sydney starts to get suspicious of her perfect man.

If you’ve read or are reading any of the books I blog about or post on my social media, please reach out and let me know. I would love to hear from you.

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book club Book review crime fiction reading suspense

Read and Review (R&R) – The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

July’s book club read was “The Woman in the Library” by Sulari Gentill. This author’s writing style is impressive. I loved this book.

It is a story within a story. I admit I was a bit confused at the beginning, as I had never read a book written this way. Once I understood the structure of writing, I was hooked. I did not figure the perpetrator out until it was revealed, so hats off to the writer. Lots of plot twists!

Book jacket synopsis:

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, who’d happened to sit 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.

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Book review crime fiction mystery reading Uncategorized

Read and Review (R&R) – “Night Shift” by Alex Finlay

This month’s book club read was Night Shift by Alex Finlay.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, and the teenagers who work at a Blockbuster in Linden, New Jersey, are excited to close up and welcome in Y2K. But before the night is over, all but one are dead, and the remaining survivor has never forgotten the horror of what happened. Fifteen years later, an eerily similar attack happens in an ice cream shop in town, again with only one survivor. Will the investigation this time finally lead to the truth of what happened all those years ago?

This book is written from different points of view in short chapters with lots of twists and secrets.

The survivors’ common memory of a whispered message is chilling.

I like how in-depth the author’s characterizations are~the detectives and the public defender characters are so well written, and I would guess Finlay either has a background in law enforcement or did a lot of research into those professions.

I figured out the culprit early on, but Alex Finlay’s writing style kept me turning pages and second guessing.

I would love to see this book made into a movie.

After reading Night Shift, I am going to pick up his debut, Every Last Fear.

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book club Book review fiction mystery novel

Read and Review (R&R) – “Spirit Crossing” by William Kent Krueger

“Spirit Crossing” is book number 20 in the Cork O’Connor series. While I haven’t read the first 19, I was able to follow along with the characters.

Krueger writes this series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. 

The novel centers around missing young Indian women who have disappeared with little attention from law enforcement. When the daughter of a rich white politician goes missing, all levels of law enforcement become involved. The mystery heats up when Cork’s grandson discovers a body in a shallow grave while blueberry picking. His visions put himself and his family in the crosshairs of the killer.

William Kent Krueger is well-known for his gripping, heartfelt stories, and this one is among them.

I, like many, am unaware of the cruelty that Native Americans (especially women) endure. This book opened my eyes to their struggles. Like the others I have read by Krueger, it is wonderfully written. I have also read his stand-alone novel, “Ordinary Grace,” and “This Tender Land.”

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Book review crime psychological thriller Uncategorized

Read and Review (R&R) – “The Return of Ellie Black”

This month’s book club read was “The Return of Ellie Black” by Emiko Jean

This is my first read by this author and her debut thriller. She is a New York Times bestselling author, and her books have been published in over 30 languages.

The Return of Ellie Black, while well-written with a strong storyline, is darker and more intense than I prefer to read.

Ellie Black has been missing for two years, and she suddenly reappears in Washington State.

For Detective Chelsey Calhoun, any missing person case is personal. Her sister, Lydia, went missing when they were just teens.

Chelsey senses that something isn’t right with Ellie-her answers to where she has been and who she is protecting.

Told in multiple points of view, this psychological thriller is gripping and heartbreaking.

Warning: There are graphic, disturbing scenes, kidnapping, and sexual abuse.

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book club Book review crime psychological thriller

Read and Review (R&R) – “The Locked Door” by Freida McFadden

My book club’s August pick was “The Locked Door,” by Freida McFadden. I read this book over a weekend span. Wow! The author’s writing and use of suspense had my heart pounding as I flipped the pages. Every time I put it down, I would walk back past the book and think “Just one more chapter.” I couldn’t put it down. If you are looking for a psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat and thinking twice about going down into your own, normally safe basement, this may be the one for you.

Below is an excerpt taken from the back of the book –

Some doors are locked for a reason…

“When eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement. Decades later, her father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet existence. When Nora discovers that one of her young female patients was murdered– in the same horrific manner that her father used– she believes somebody wants her to take the fall for this crime. The police can’t pin anything on her– as long as they don’t look in her basement….”

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Book review crime debut novel mystery psychological thriller reading suspense

Read and Review (R&R) – First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

“First Lie Wins” is a twist-filled, cat and mouse psychological thriller.

It is the first adult novel by Ashley Elston and is told in first person.

Although the main character, Evie is a con-artist, you can’t help but cheer her on.

Evie is given an identity, location and target for each new assignment by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith. She must learn everything she can about her target and then assume the identity and infiltrate into the target’s life. It is when she moves in with her boyfriend, Ryan, that Evie’s normally cool, calculated plans fall apart.

If you do not like a timeline that moves around and flashbacks, this book might not be for you.

I read that actress-producer, Octavia Spencer has secure the rights to adapt this book into a series for Hulu.

Categories
book club Book review crime mystery psychological thriller reading thriller Uncategorized

Read and Review (R&R) – Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

In Lisa Unger’s psychological thriller, “Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six,” three couples who are related through marriage and longtime friendship are intent on leaving the pressures of life behind. They travel to a luxury cabin in the woods with breathtaking views, a hot tub and a personal chef who shares with them the history of the property.

What could possibly go wrong?

As the drinks flow and the twists start, the dream getaway turns into a nightmare when they become cut off from the world because of spotty internet, and a torrential rainstorm that threatens to flood the road out and down trees. And then, you guessed it, the power goes out and the backup generator fails.

An underlying theme of genetics and DNA flow through this story along with the fact that everyone has a secret and these characters’ secrets run blood deep.

Lisa Unger does a great job of weaving tension throughout.

This story was told from different points of view and although I enjoyed it very much, without giving too much away, I would have liked to see the perpetrator have a greater role in the actual storyline much earlier on.

All that said, I would still give it four stars and will read another Lisa Unger book.

Categories
Book review crime fiction suspense thriller

Read and Review (R&R) – “Out of Nowhere” by Sandra Brown

This month my book club read was Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown. This book is classified as suspense thriller, but it is also a romance.

Trigger warning-the subject matter is a mass shooting.

I appreciated the Author’s Note at the beginning telling her reasons for writing a story about such a sad, but so prevalent in our world subject line. To summarize-Sandra Brown says it isn’t a story about death. It’s a story about survival. In a society where another mass shooting has become a familiar refrain, it is far too easy to tune it out. We as a society must never become inured. She writes that she supposes what motivated her was to honor the casualties and she ranks the survivors among them.

Also of note, there are some graphic love scenes.

Although reviews are mixed on this book (mostly referencing Ms. Brown’s older work and the subject material), I felt this story was a well-written, tense page-turner with a very emotional storyline. While I didn’t take the subject matter lightly, the author did her best to write the story with compassion.

The mass shooting happens at a Texas county fair and centers around children’s book writer, Ellie Portman, and Calder Hudson, an arrogant corporate consultant. It is a relationship which probably would never have happened aside from the tragedy that brought them together and will forever connect them.

At first, the police think that the shooter is among the dead, killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. When it is determined that the perpetrator is still at large, the witnesses/survivors are in great danger.

Ellie and Calder share a common, all-consuming goal – justice. But is the unimaginable tragedy too heartbreaking and difficult to sustain their attraction for each other?

I did not know who the killer or their motive was until the author’s reveal.

Categories
Book review crime fiction mystery reading suspense thriller

Read and Review (R&R) “Don’t Believe It” by Charlie Donlea

This month’s book club read was Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea. If you haven’t read anything by him, I would recommend adding one of his books to your TBR list.

This suspense novel centers around a woman, Grace Seabold, who has been imprisoned for ten years in St. Lucia for the murder of her boyfriend, Julian Crist.

Sidney Ryan is an up-and-coming film producer who in the past produced two documentaries shedding light on a person in jail who was believed to be wrongfully convicted. This puts her in the radar of every convict in the country who believes they are innocent. Grace Seabold is one of those convicts. She writes to Sidney asking for her help to dig into her story and show the world she is innocent. Sidney travels to St. Lucia, meets with Grace and heads back home to make a pitch to the suits at Events, the station for which she is working as a producer. Given the green light, Sidney starts investigating the murder and the cast of characters that will make up the documentary The Girl of Sugar Beach. With each episode, more and more people become hooked on the one episode a week documentary which has Sidney finding things out along with the viewers. As Sidney becomes increasingly entwined in the case and begins to uncover inconsistencies, she and her audience of twenty million viewers are starting to believe that Grace Seabold is innocent. But is she?

Although about three-quarters of the way through the book, I was pretty sure who might be behind the murder, I wasn’t 100% sure. With an ending I didn’t see coming, Charlie Donlea had me turning pages and reading this book in a week’s time. I will have to say I had hoped for a different ending, but it was cleverly done. This is the second book I have read by this author. The first was titled, Twenty Years Later. Charlie Donlea is a master storyteller. His books are full of plot twists, and I will definitely pick up another novel by this author.