Review: Look for Her by Emily Winslow

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Everyone loves a beautiful missing girl… a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the grief, jealousy, and unresolved mystery surrounding a cold case kidnapping, in the vein of Gilly MacMillan and Mary Kubica.

Just outside of Cambridge, Lilling seems like an unassuming idyllic English village, but it’s home to a dark history. In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared while riding her bike home from school. Though her body was later discovered in a shallow grave, the culprit was never found. Decades later, Annalise maintains a perverse kind of celebrity in the small town, and is still the focus of grief, speculation, and for one young woman, a disturbing, escalating jealousy.

When DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case investigator Morris Keene realizes he may now have the chance of his career. Morris and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally solve this perplexing mystery, and bring closure to a traumatized community. But the new evidence that should be the simple solution instead undoes the case’s only certainty: the buried body that had long ago been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely, and instead of answers, the investigators face only new puzzles.

Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Could she have had a secret child? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections?

With piercing insight and fascinating twists, Emily Winslow explores the dark side of sensationalized crime in this haunting psychological thriller.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Look for Her by Emily Winslow is a living nightmare. One young girl disappears and her cold case connects to a newer one. I found it intriguing. So many questions popped up in how they were connected, who dun it, and etc. Emily Winslow has a way of capturing my interest with every page. Twists and turns kept me guessing the whole way. This novel was definitely a psychological thriller but more of a mystery. The psychological part is where the missing Annalise girl and another by the same name come into play. One is completely crazy…but there’s a story behind that as well. A story within another story. This kept up the edgy vibe and fear factor. The fact that a doctor was easily chilled by her patient, Annalise made goosebumps appear on my arms.

A call comes in…

“I have so much to say next time I see you…” says Annalise.

Then just silence…the sound of the patient breathing on the other end…handing onto the call.

The doctor was the same age as the Annalise girl that went missing years ago.

That only made me more curious. Overall, a great plot worth reading.

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Review: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER  •  FEATURING AN EXCLUSIVE NEW CHAPTER

GoodReads Choice Awards Semifinalist 

“Moving . . . a plot that surprises and devastates.”—New York Times Book Review

“A masterful epic.”—People magazine

“Mesmerizing . . . The Women in the Castle stands tall among the literature that reveals new truths about one of history’s most tragic eras.”—USA Today

Three women, haunted by the past and the secrets they hold

Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined—an affecting, shocking, and ultimately redemptive novel from the author of the New York Times Notable Book The Hazards of Good Breeding.

Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once-grand castle of her husband’s ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resister murdered in the failed July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband’s brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows.

First Marianne rescues six-year-old Martin, the son of her dearest childhood friend, from a Nazi reeducation home. Together, they make their way across the smoldering wreckage of their homeland to Berlin, where Martin’s mother, the beautiful and naive Benita, has fallen into the hands of occupying Red Army soldiers. Then she locates Ania, another resister’s wife, and her two boys, now refugees languishing in one of the many camps that house the millions displaced by the war.

As Marianne assembles this makeshift family from the ruins of her husband’s resistance movement, she is certain their shared pain and circumstances will hold them together. But she quickly discovers that the black-and-white, highly principled world of her privileged past has become infinitely more complicated, filled with secrets and dark passions that threaten to tear them apart. Eventually, all three women must come to terms with the choices that have defined their lives before, during, and after the war—each with their own unique share of challenges.

Written with the devastating emotional power of The Nightingale, Sarah’s Key, and The Light Between Oceans, Jessica Shattuck’s evocative and utterly enthralling novel offers a fresh perspective on one of the most tumultuous periods in history. Combining piercing social insight and vivid historical atmosphere, The Women in the Castle is a dramatic yet nuanced portrait of war and its repercussions that explores what it means to survive, love, and, ultimately, to forgive in the wake of unimaginable hardship.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck is an outstanding tale. One that brings me back to the past during the start of WWII. The lives that were lost, held captive, and tortured during this time brings back an unforgettable sadness. Families torn apart and gone…with only their memories living on…

I am a huge historical buff especially for WWII. Hitler is by far one of the worst devils ever presented to this world. How it went on for so long…still bugs me. The lives of the characters is amazing. The Holocaust and the German support of Hitler are explored on these pages.

Three women who are strong, determined, and battling their future head on…I instantly was taken with each of them. Their stories were so real. It was like I was living through each one of them. Brilliant story telling on Jessica Shattuck’s part. Her book carries a lot of history as well as entertainment. Themes of survival, hope, and love are found in this novel. I highly recommend it to all readers.

Review: Troublemaker

 

Synopsis:

A thrilling, fast-paced novel of romantic suspense from sensational New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Linda Howard.

For Morgan Yancy, an operative and team leader in a paramilitary group, nothing comes before his job. But when he’s ambushed and almost killed, his supervisor is determined to find out who’s after the members of his elite squad—and why. Due to worries that this unknown enemy will strike again, Morgan is sent to a remote location and told to lay low and stay vigilant. But between a tempting housemate he’s determined to protect and a deadly threat waiting in the shadows, keeping under the radar is proving to be his most dangerous mission yet.

The part-time police chief of a small West Virginian mountain town, Isabeau “Bo” Maran finally has her life figured out. She’s got friends, a dog, and a little money in the bank. Then Morgan Yancy shows up on her doorstep. Bo doesn’t need a mysterious man in her life—especially a troublemaker as enticing and secretive as Morgan.

The harder they fight the intense heat between them, the closer Morgan and Bo become, even though she knows he’s hiding from something. But discovering the truth could cost Bo more than she’s willing to give. And when Morgan’s cover is blown, it might just cost her life.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Troublemaker by Linda Howard is amazing. It’s hot, addictive, and suspenseful. A powerfully written story that swept me off my feet and kept me turning the pages. The emotional journey blew me away. The characters are in a tight situation and with danger right around the corner, it’s one heck of an intense battle. One character knows the other is keeping secrets…but what they were definitely not expecting was the explosive chemistry they feel towards each other.

Troublemaker is indeed just as the title presents. Sexy tough agent, Morgan walks into Bo’s life bringing just that. It’s hard enough that his looks have her memorized by his every movement…but something he’s not telling has her on the edge. Bo, a part-time police chief senses, something dark about the stranger that’s just popped up, within her radar. Morgan is tempted by the strong beautiful woman whom he will be staying with as he bids his time staying under the radar. Someone is after his team and until the culprit is found he has to stay out of trouble. Every page brings both raw desire and fear. This romantic suspense thriller is about Bo and Morgan’s relationship, as well as dealing with the trouble, that is left to Bo to handle. The female officer isn’t sure of which to be more afraid of…losing her heart to Morgan or the mountain town’s chaos. Linda Howard’s writing is superb. I have never found any of her novels to be less than brilliant. Her characters are believable and the scenes are realistically done. Overall, I highly recommend Troublemaker to readers everywhere.

 

 

Review: The American Girl (A Novel)

 

Synopsis:

From a bright new talent comes a riveting psychological thriller about an American exchange student in France involved in a suspicious accident, and the journalist determined to break the story and uncover the dark secrets a small town is hiding.

On a quiet summer morning, seventeen-year-old American exchange student Quinn Perkins stumbles out of the woods near the small French town of St. Roch. Barefoot, bloodied, and unable to say what has happened to her, Quinn’s appearance creates quite a stir, especially since the Blavettes—the French family with whom she’s been staying—have mysteriously disappeared. Now the media, and everyone in the idyllic village, are wondering if the American girl had anything to do with her host family’s disappearance.

Though she is cynical about the media circus that suddenly forms around the girl, Boston journalist Molly Swift cannot deny she is also drawn to the mystery and travels to St. Roch. She is prepared to do anything to learn the truth, including lying so she can get close to Quinn. But when a shocking discovery turns the town against Quinn and she is arrested for the murders of the Blavette family, she finds an unlikely ally in Molly.

As a trial by media ensues, Molly must unravel the disturbing secrets of the town’s past in an effort to clear Quinn’s name, but even she is forced to admit that the American Girl makes a very compelling murder suspect. Is Quinn truly innocent and as much a victim as the Blavettes—or is she a cunning, diabolical killer intent on getting away with murder…?

Told from the alternating perspectives of Molly, as she’s drawn inexorably closer to the truth, and Quinn’s blog entries tracing the events that led to her accident, The American Girl is a deliciously creepy, contemporary, twisting mystery leading to a shocking conclusion.

Rating: 5 stars

Review: 

Can you imagine being a young teenager girl and a foreign exchange student who is staying with a family…next thing you realize is that you’re in the hospital. They way you were found  causes a stir among everyone. So many questions and no answers. Your memory is blank…all except for the memory of running away from something dangerous. Everything else is gone. An American teenager like Quinn Perkins becomes a victim and even played a bit in being a non-victim…she has been given a camera to help jog her memory by recording all that she does know as she remembers it. The media and public are after her for the disappearance of the family she stayed with…a journalist, Molly Swift soon becomes Quinn’s only ally throughout the danger and helps solve the mystery. Quinn being accused, for murder, of each family member, leads Molly into digging deeper into the case to search for answers. But can she find them before it’s too late and is she protecting a real victim or perpetrator? The American Girl by Kate Horsley is mysterious, thrilling, and highly entertaining.

The American Girl is so much like Gone Girl. I am not just saying that…the suspense and deep plot speak volumes. Instantly, I was pulled into the story and taken in by Quinn Perkins, the American girl. The story is fast-paced. Readers will find it being told by each of the characters perspectives. This just adds to the drama and intensity of the danger looming ahead. The truth is there yet so hard to reach…and once it’s found everything fell together unleashed the devasting news on what really happened. The how and why of it all kept me on the edge of my seat. I was deeply entranced with this magnificent tale and I highly recommend it to readers everywhere. Kate Horsley is indeed a talented writer.

Review: The Other Widow

 

Synopsis:

The author of The Pocket Wife explores the dark side of love, marriage, and infidelity in this sizzling novel of psychological suspense.

Everybody’s luck runs out. This time, it could be theirs . . .

It isn’t safe. That’s what Joe tells her when he ends their affair—moments before their car skids off an icy road in a blinding snowstorm and hits a tree. Desperate to keep her life intact—her job, her husband, and her precious daughter, Lily—Dorrie will do everything she can to protect herself, even if it means walking away from the wreckage. Dorrie has always been a good actress, pretending to be someone else: the dutiful daughter, the satisfied wife, the woman who can handle anything. Now she’s going to put on the most challenging performance of her life. But details about the accident leave her feeling uneasy and afraid. Why didn’t Joe’s airbag work? Why was his car door open before the EMTs arrived? And now suddenly someone is calling her from her dead lover’s burner phone. . . .

Joe’s death has left his wife in free fall as well. Karen knew Joe was cheating—she found some suspicious e-mails. Trying to cope with grief is devastating enough without the constant fear that has overtaken her—this feeling she can’t shake that someone is watching her. And with Joe gone and the kids grown, she’s vulnerable . . . and on her own.

Insurance investigator Maggie Devlin is suspicious of the latest claim that’s landed on her desk—a man dying on an icy road shortly after buying a lucrative life insurance policy. Maggie doesn’t believe in coincidences. The former cop knows that things—and people—are never what they seem to be.

As the fates of these three women become more tightly entwined, layers of lies and deception begin to peel away, pushing them dangerously to the edge . . . closer to each other . . . to a terrifying truth . . . to a shocking end.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

The Other Widow by Susan Crawford is an enticing thriller that sucked me right into the novel. Three different women are introduced to readers. One is an actress who is married and was with her other lover when both of them were sent off the icy road. Then, there’s Karen…her husband died and she’s struggling with the nagging feeling that someone is watching her from afar. Karens knows her husband was unfaithful…but does that give her a motive…and last there’s the female officer with PTSD who lands the case of Joe’s car accident that looks a lot more like a murder. This story kept me turning the pages in a rush to find out who was the killer and why. So many lives are brilliantly tangled up in this exciting thriller.

The Other Widow made me feel like I was there experiencing the whole thing from beginning to end. The car accident to theft, to spying and even more danger had me sitting on the edge of my chair waiting in anticipation. Wondered who was next and when…Danger, death, and suspicion hang thickly in the air. I never knew what to fully expect until it happened. The story brought me in deep into the affairs, marriage, and details of the characters. I felt chills going down my spine with every page.Susan Crawford is a talented writer. Intense and deeply satisfying read I have ever read. One never knows who a person really is until something bad happens and then everything one knew is up in the air for debate. Suspenseful, entertaining, and absolutely frightening…The Other Widow is definitely a must read for readers everywhere.

 

 

Review: Death at Breakfast

 

Synopsis:

From the acclaimed New York Times, bestselling author of Still Missing, More Than You Know, and Gossip comes the first entry in a stylish and witty mystery series featuring a pair of unlikely investigators—a shrewd novel of manners with a dark heart of murder at its center, set in small-town New England.

Indulging their pleasure in travel and new experiences, recently retired private school head Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, socialite Hope Babbin, are heading to Maine. The trip—to attend a weeklong master cooking class at the picturesque Victorian-era Oquossoc Mountain Inn—is an experiment to test their compatibility for future expeditions.

Hope and Maggie have barely finished their first aperitifs when the inn’s tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Alexander and Lisa Antippas and Lisa’s actress sister, Glory. Imperious and rude, these Hollywood one-percenters quickly turn the inn upside-down with their demanding behavior, igniting a flurry of speculation and gossip among staff and guests alike.

But the disruption soon turns deadly. After a suspicious late-night fire is brought under control, Alex’s charred body is found in the ashes. Enter the town’s deputy sheriff, Buster Babbin, Hope’s long-estranged son and Maggie’s former student. A man who’s finally found his footing in life, Buster needs a win. But he’s quickly pushed aside by the “big boys,” senior law enforcement and high-powered state’s attorneys who swoop in to make a quick arrest.

Maggie knows that Buster has his deficits and his strengths. She also knows that justice does not always prevail—and that the difference between conviction and exoneration too often depends on lazy police work and the ambitions of prosecutors. She knows too, after a lifetime of observing human nature, that you have a great advantage in doing the right thing if you don’t care who gets the credit or whom you annoy.

Feeling that justice could use a helping hand–as could the deputy sheriff—Maggie and Hope decide that two women of experience equipped with a healthy curiosity, plenty of common sense, and a cheerfully cynical sense of humor have a useful role to play in uncovering the truth.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Death at Breakfast by Beth Gutcheon is a highly entertaining murder mystery that delighted me from the beginning. When two women arrive at an inn to take a cooking class together their stay turns into an unexpected adventure. What was meant to test how well the two companions travel together turned into an experiment of solving a murder…first there are the celebrities who like always act like they are bigger than life and charge through places like it’s their right. The make the lives of others serving them totally chaotic…and unsettles the rest of the people at the inn. Soon, there is a room that catches fire and it’s not long until a dead body is found. The two companions both Maggie and Hope decide that it’s up to them to solve the case before the wrong person is charged. They know with high profile people involved that the pressure on the police, as well as the deputy sheriff, will prove to be a struggle. All want the case closed and solved asap. Can the two women solve it before it’s too late?

Beth Gutheon’s latest novel, Death at Breakfast, provides us readers with a pair of sleuth women and a cozy atmosphere that turns into a deadly mysterious setting. The women pair with the deputy sheriff and it’s a race against time to solve the death. The masterfully woven tale brings a lot of humor, wit, and suspense to every page. The plot moved by fast creating an urge to read faster…then there’s the intrigue of who done it and why that lured me deeper into the heart of this novel. I loved the variety of characters…their personalities, as well as careers, varied and that, too made this one highly entertaining read. Both Maggie and Hope reminded me of Miss Fletcher and Miss Marple. I can definitely see this novel becoming a big TV hit with fans everywhere. Overall, I highly recommend this thriller and crime title to readers worldwide.

 

Review: Wilde Lake

 

Synopsis:

The New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed stand-alone After I’m Gone, I’d Know You Anywhere, and What the Dead Know, challenges our notions of memory, loyalty, responsibility, and justice in this evocative and psychologically complex story about a long-ago death that still haunts a family.

Luisa “Lu” Brant is the newly elected—and first female—state’s attorney of Howard County, Maryland, a job in which her widower father famously served. Fiercely intelligent and ambitious, she sees an opportunity to make her name by trying a mentally disturbed drifter accused of beating a woman to death in her home. It’s not the kind of case that makes headlines, but peaceful Howard county doesn’t see many homicides.

As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories, reminding her small but tight-knit family of the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man’s life. Only eighteen, AJ was cleared by a grand jury. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them. What details might have been withheld from her when she was a child?

The more she learns about the case, the more questions arise. What does it mean to be a man or woman of one’s times? Why do we ask our heroes of the past to conform to the present’s standards? Is that fair? Is it right? Propelled into the past, she discovers that the legal system, the bedrock of her entire life, does not have all the answers. Lu realizes that even if she could learn the whole truth, she probably wouldn’t want to.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Wild Lake by Laura Lipman is one riveting novel. Readers everywhere will love reading this book. A young girl knew something had happened…but didn’t know exactly what…now, as a grown adult and working on a new case as a state prosecutor, she finds herself whirling backward trying to figure out what really happened back then with her brother and his friends. Readers can feel the doubt, fear, and an unease about everything. Laura Lipman has beautifully written this story in a way that has readers experiencing every moment through the eyes and ears of the main character. Everything the characters feels, thinks, or experiences so can the readers.

Wilde Lake is intriguing from page one and keep readers sucked in until the last page. This was the very first novel that I have read by Laura Lipman. I was happy that I had a chance to read this new title. A political crime thriller that has enough suspense to keep readers interested. The story fluctuates back and forth from the characters past to the present. I love a good story that goes after secrets and digs up the truth. Family is important especially to Lu. She takes care of her father and she knows there more to the story then what her older brother has told everyone. Yet everything he says is the truth…there’s just things he hasn’t said…they make Lu wonder about the past and it’s what, whos and whys.Wild Lake is nothing like what readers think it is, it’s much more then what the title says. Laura Lipman definitely knows how to captivate her audience and keep them reading all night long. I enjoyed reading this new thriller, and I recommend it to readers everywhere.