The Liar’s House is #4 in a series but stands on it’s own as a police procedural with several twists and turns.

DI Harte is a lonely women, widow (of her own making), estranged from her daughter, rebounding from a brief relationship with her superior.

After a party, a woman is found dead.  A cross town, another woman receives a birthday card for a friend that went missing years ago, a card that contains a message made from magazine clippings and containing a fingernail from the woman murdered the night before.

Throughout the investigation, the details of DI Harte’s past comes close to being revealed and her connections to the suspects might just end her career. 

This is a slower paced book with lots of red herrings and purposeful false-starts, really ramping up in the last 10% of the book. Unfortunately, I did not find the main character likeable and for a police women, I found her to be painted in the light of the woman who was ruled by her emotions and what others might think of her.   

I feel that the main character needed to be a stronger women in a more positive role.  The emotional reactions from her and the other characters felt a little predictable and empty.

It’s possible that if I had followed the series, I may have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC In exchange for my honest review.

The Grace Year - Kim Liggett

“A heady blend of Lord of the Flies and The Handmaid's Tale” is not far from the mark. Sprinkle in a little Salem Witch Trial and you may have the perfect recipe for this novel by Kim Liggett.

In a world where women are not allowed to congregate together, dream or hum, a world where public punishment for women can be as “mild” as flogging or as serious as hanging, a world where the sins of one sister may mean the banishment of the others, the girls must spend their 16^th year, the Grace Year, burning off their magic.

Girls entering their 16^th year are betrothed or not before being led to an encampment, far from the county, where their only job is to “urn through their magic” and survive the elements, the violent natives and each other for a year.

This is a gripping tale, so thought provoking and angry-making. An incredibly fast read the leaves the reader wanting more.

It is impossible to say more without releasing spoilers into the world.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Dark Matter - Blake Crouch

Man, Blake Crouch does "careful what you wish for, you jut might get it" really, really well.

The Hive - Barry Lyga, Morgan Baden

Cassie, whose father, now deceased, was a world famous hacker and whose mother is a bit of a techno-phobe  find herself landing squarely in the clutches of The Hive, a social media driven, government sanctioned vigilantee committee after making a very unfunny joke to fit in with the cool\mean girls at her new school.

In an attempt to deal with and end cyber bullying, the government has enlisted the help of the top social media platforms to help create BLINQ.  Using this social media platform, instances of bullying can be dealt with immediately with up and down (condemn) voting that can result in punishment by The Hive,  a flash mob to mete out justice.  Offend the wrong person and you could well be flogged in the public square.

Cassie makes the mistake of offending the family of the current president and finds herself reaching BEYOND  the highest level of condemnation. 

On the run and in fear for her life, she finds a band of resistance hackers that help her figure out how it all went so very wrong.

Make an unpopular comment, offend the wrong person and all of your personal information will be shared to the internet.  Full of modern hashtagging, nogs to social media  and the dangers of taking things viral; the book is very fast paced.

Government conspiracy, the dark side of social media, and mob mentality all play a role in the futuresque cautionary tale.


Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for my honest review.

When We Believed in Mermaids - Barbara O'Neal

“My sister has been dead for nearly fifteen years when I see her on the TV news.”

With that fantastic opening line, we drop in to the story of 2 sisters, one presumed dead and one barely living.
Two little girls, Josie and Kit, are raised by parents so enthralled with each other that they neglect their children, leaving them largely unattended in a little cove by their home.  During a storm, a broken and unwanted teenage boy appears as their door, offering the girls a bit of security and stability but he has his own issues of neglect and abuse.

Josie dies in a terrorist attack, or at least seems to, until 15 years later, when Kit and her mother see her on the news.  But Josie isn’t Josie anymore.  Kit goes half a world away to track down her sister and get some answers.  

The description of the events of these two lives, abuse, neglect, death, catastrophe and ultimately rebuilding of a sort, is like being battered by wave after wave, with periods of calm just long enough to catch your breath.  
The ocean is a central theme in the telling of this story but also in how it’s told, the ebb and flow of past and present, the switching narrative of sister to sister.

O’Neal does a beautiful job with language, immersing the reader into the ocean, the atmosphere and even the food.  

I could have done with less of the sizzling romance although I realize that it was important to show Kit letting her guard down and being open to reevaluate her life.  I feel that this particular bit of story line as the story of Sapphire House detracted from the main plot, turning it from a 4 star to a 3 star for me.

Wilder Girls - Rory power

Wilder Girls is set on in an all girl’s school on an island in Maine.  Already cut off from the mainland, they are further isolated as the Navy and the CDC remove their ability to communicate with the outside world.
The unknown illness, or “the Tox” as they call it comes in waves, killing most of the teachers and several of the girls.  Those that survive are forever changed in strange and obvious way, some growing claws, extra spines, a 2nd heartbeat, blindness and more.

And then they noticed that it began to do the same to the wildlife.

The story is focused on the relationship of three best friends that have survived.  When one is taken to the infirmary during one of her spells, the girls discover that things are not what they appear to be.  The remaining duo decide to find out more and get their friend back, no matter the cost. 

The cover artwork was amazingly done and attracted my attention on several occasions before I read the synopsis.  

My only regret is that there was not enough back story.  The reader is thrown into the story during a changing of the guard with little information.  I feel that had the history of the Tox been explained, the book would have been a little more cohesive.  

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Again, that cover art would have had me reading the book regardless of what it was about.  

Six Goodbyes We Never Said - Candace Ganger

Six Goodbyes We Never Said is the story of teens trying to navigate life after loss while figuring out what family and home mean in their new realities.  This is no YA love story, it is a story of broken people trying to help each other hold it together and heal. 

The author does a great job showing how a song can come to represent everything, how magical thinking can feel like the only “Safe” way to think and the rocky road we travel in our relationships.   
The characters are embraced for their unique, individual quirkiness (auras and horoscopes and Rick Flair- oh my).

This was a slow starter and characters appeared with no back story or very small fragments of back story that made it difficult to connect with them at times.

The chapter openings and closings were very interesting and sad: purposefully missed calls from a father far away, emails never sent, an internal monologue made external by way of “reporting”.

I wanted to like Naima but, as she wished, she was prickly and hard to like.  The shining star of this story is Dew, sweet and broken and trying to make everyone else well and complete while avoiding his own trauma.  

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 rounded to 4

The Perfect Wife - JP Delaney

Tech billionaire Tim Scott's wife is dead, or missing, or...

Abbie Cullen-Scott has disappeared and nobody is quite sure if she has committed suicide or been murdered or run away.  Her husband uses his tech company and brings her back to life in the form of a cobot (a companion robot).  Has he created a replacement for the wife he loved so much?  Is he just using her as a proto-type to launch his next AI money maker or is this something else entirely?

I found the plot to be very well paced, even with 2 distinct time lines. One timeline told from the point of view of Abbie, the cobot, who at first learns as chunks of memory data are uploaded or retrieved and later her learning becomes more organic and autonomous.  The second timeline is told from the point of view of an unknown insider that's been with  the tech company from its earliest days.   The intersect of those timelines resulted in and ending that was – WOW.  Not what I was expecting.  

This is a very interesting story that has the reader thinking about what it is to be human, while stretching the boundaries of the possible with self-aware AI.   The peeks into the world of life as a parent of a child on the autism spectrum and the pathways of learning and understanding and teaching  are also very thought provoking.

There is enough detail given throughout that I was convinced that I could see what had happened, only to toss that theory aside and come up with a new one over and over.  The end was so full of twist after turn after false start and doubling back that the pages just could not turn fast enough.  

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy thrillers, mystery and a little light sci-fi.  Overall a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Third Mrs. Durst - Ann Aguirre

"Some people just need killing." 

Marlena, a young girl from a nowhere town flees the shotgun shack, drug addicted mother and passel of half siblings to strike out on her own.  

She hears of a way to be “discovered” by a talent agent and makes sure that she is in the right place at the right time.  She is quickly signed on to modeling jobs and catches the eye of a very wealthy man who paves her way into a long term job in Berlin.    

Soon, here benefactor takes a much more involved role in her life and her schooling, proposes marriage and launches her on the path to become his “perfect” wife.

Her husband, Michael Durst is a charlatan who creates a pedigree for Marlena so that he can rub his nouveau riche elbows with the old money barons and beat them at their own game.  He is fake with everything to lose.
It soon becomes clear that Marlena has her own reasons for going along with his schemes but quickly comes to realize that she is in over her head.

The book was very fast paced and edgy.  I did not find any of the characters to be particularly likeable and  would have liked to have seen some more developed characters. Although it was necessary to keep the motivations in the shadow, I think it would have been more satisfying to know a little more of the backstory. 

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Recursion - Blake Crouch

One of the first things I heard about Recursion is that it has already been optioned as a series.  I will admit that I was skeptical….  Until a couple of chapters in.

Helena is a young scientist with a mother suffering from Alzheimer’s and a passion to help save her mother’s memories. She doesn’t have the time or the funding to make her breakthrough a reality until a men shows up with an offer too good to refuse.

Barry, a New York cop, shows up at the scene of a potential suicide.  The woman appears to be suffering from “False Memory Syndrome”, a new medical phenomenon.  What the woman says before she jumps to her death piques Barry’s interest…and down the rabbit hole he goes.

What would you do for a chance to go back, to do over, to fix things before they ever became broken.  What happens when what you do for love brings you to dark places?

The book is an interesting take on the ability live a “do-over”. The wrinkle is that changing your own reality leaves shadows of old memories and changing your reality changes reality for everyone. 
Timeline on timeline and twist upon twist made the book read like a GIANT sci-fi action movie.  There I some beautiful writing here, some great ethical questions and some far above my head science. 

This is a mind-bender of a suspenseful sci-fi.  This is no beach read; your brain will be in overdrive.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Second Wife - Sheryl Browne

After escaping an abusive marriage, the last thing Nicole expects is to meet the man of her dreams, enjoying a whirlwind romance and a 2nd marriage.  But all is not sunshine and roses; Richard’s got baggage of his own: previous wife committed suicide and his daughter, Olivia, seems more than happy to drive a wedge between the newlyweds.

Nicole’s closest and only remaining friend, Rebecca, is in France and gets bits and pieces of the story from Nicole via texts and emails and letters.  Rebecca is beyond shocked when she learns that Nicole has committed suicide.
Rebecca comes to England to attend Nicole’s funeral, wanting to understand how her friend could have become so despondent.  Before she realizes it, she finds that she is also falling for Richard, but even romance can’t keep her from digging a little deeper into the circumstances surrounding her best friend’s death.

This novel is a psychological thriller full of twists and turns and even when you think you’ve figured it all out, there’s still a little more.

Thanks to Netgalley the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Printed letter Bookshop - Katherine Reay

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay is the story of three women drawn together after the death of the owner of the bookshop.  Each woman is trying to find her place in the work with the bookshop at their center. 

Madeline’s aunt and name sake dies and leaves her The Printed Letter Bookshop right as her planned future seems to dissolve around her.  Janet, the divorcee, is left to figure out how to move on from the wreckage she created in her life and marriage.  Claire is feeling middle-aged and irrelevant.  They each manage to find their way with the support of their deceased friend and each other.

It was a sweet, light read.  The author also gave the patrons of the bookstore their unique identities and recommendations.

I do wish that the characters had developed a little more. 

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Gilded Wolves - Roshani Chokshi

1889 Paris on the cusp of the World Fair, a band of misfits work together to steal an artifact.  What starts out as a heist that will bring power to some of the main characters and freedom to the others, quickly turns into a combination of heist, whodunit, mystery with layers upon layers of intrigue and deception.

Our central character, Severin, was denied his inheritance years ago and has made it his mission to “acquire” objects related to The Order, the overarching political system that keeps order amongst the remaining houses that protect a secret from the dawn of time. 

When he receives an ultimatum from Hypnos, heir to House Nyx, Severin finds himself needing to use his team of talented outcasts to help him out of a bind.  If he is successful with retrieving the item Hypnos wants, Hypnos promises to help him regain his seat in The Order.

The band of misfits each have their own special talent and affinity that come together to make the perfect heist team.  The characters' back stories give us an insight into their motivations and personality quirks in a beautifully seamless way.  

This story of an inheritance denied, a band of misfits, a theft, secret societies, magical realism with a steam punk flare ends with us asking the questions how much would you be willing to give up to have everything you think you want.  

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Any Second - Kevin Emerson

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
Maya is a teen suffering with some mental health issues following the divorce of her parent.  While waiting for her dad to get a new license photo, she sees a boy come in wearing a wolf mask, Eli.  

Eli, who was kidnapped at 11 and emerges 5 years later in a mall, wearing a wolf mask, with a bomb strapped to him.   

The coincidence of timing push the two main characters together in that moment and again nearly a year later, as Maya has to move to a new school district after her parents’ divorce is final and Eli moves to the same school district in order to keep his identity a secret.

The character’s inner struggles each had a voice in the book, often interrupting their thoughts.  I found this to be an interesting addition that at times was a little over used.

I found the plot to be predictable and the characters to be a little under-developed.  I found myself waiting for something real to happen.  

The ending felt a little contrived and unrealistic and left several  unanswered questions. 

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Coordinates of Loss

The Coordinates of Loss is beautifully written; Amanda Prowse has an amazing way with words. 

While living in Paradise and enjoying a boating trip, a couple wakes up to discover that their fearless beautiful 7 year old boy is missing from the boat. Gone.

While trying to find their way out of their grief, Rachel and James find it easier to be apart.  James returns to work and Rachel returns to her childhood home in England.  Through it all, their Bermudian housekeeper Cee-Cee writes letters to Rachel, talking about her own loss and how she found her way out of the darkness.

I enjoyed the writing style very much.  It was a tear-jerker in many places.  It is a story of navigating loss and grief and the places that it takes you and somehow hopefully finding your way back home. I selected the book based solely on its title and brief description and I’m so glad I did.

I understand that each person grieves in their own way but found Rachel a difficult character to like. and that had an effect on how much I liked the book. 

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Post - Kevin A. Munoz

In post-pandemic Georgia, a man and a pregnant teen-ager arrive at a secure community.  The man intends to move on, leaving the girl behind.  When they are both killed inside the walls of the city, the Chief of Police, Sam Edison intends to find out why and by whom. When the mayor’s step-daughter is abducted and their sister city is attacked and over-run, Sam has no choice but to take the investigation outside the safety of the gates.

This novel contains everything one would expect to see in dystopic, post-pandemic tales.  There are creatures that are no longer human that are a constant source of worry and attack, small communities trying to rebuild, trade alliances, and politics.

The author unwraps the main character, slowly, allowing the reader to see only glimpses, until and if, he is ready to reveal more.  No spoilers, but I found that to be very well done.

This was an interesting story with twists and turns all the way to the end; a quick and enjoyable read. The author left the ending open enough that it could be turned into a series.

Tell Nobody - Patricia Gibney

A young girl staggers into a police station, covered in blood, mumbling, “I think I killed him.”  When two young boys come across the body of an infant floating where they are fishing, it seems obvious who’s to blame, until another body turns up, and another. 

It’s obvious from the start that Detective Parker has her share of drama and disfunction: a recent house fire has left her and her children living with her mom, a failed romance, a conflict with a supervisor, and a person who wants to unearth her past.

We follow Lottie through the procedures of the investigation as she tries to figure out who would want these children dead while trying to keep herself sane and her family safe.  The author also allows little peeks into the mind of the killer throughout the novel through an on-going internal monologue.

With plenty of twists and turns, some of them quite dark, it was a very quick read.  There were a lot of characters to keep track of and an interconnectedness to them all that I didn’t particularly enjoy, however.

This is the 5th book in the Lottie Parker series.   I have not read any of the other books in the series but feel that this one is able to stand on its own.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Holy Ghost - John Sandford

3.5 Stars.   Holy Ghost is #11 in the Virgil Flowers series but can easily stand alone.

A tiny Minnesota town is breathing it’s last breath when suddenly, a “miraculous” thing happens, an apparition of the Virgin Mary appears.  Tourists and pilgrims flock to the tiny town, people that left come back home and business is booming. Until a series of shootings threatens to end it all.

Virgil Flowers, BCA investigator is called in. While he is investigating, the shootings continue and Virgil discovers a murder that went undetected for weeks.  Virgil tries to figure out the motive so that he can stop these shootings.

In the style of this series, we follow Virgil and the other colorful characters through the investigation and are treated to glimpses of small town life.  The interplay between the characters is funny and head-shakingly authentic at times.

While definitely not a whodunit, this series is a blend of howdunnit and cozy mystery set in Minnesota.  It is a good series for light hearted mystery lovers.

The Dreamers

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream. –Edgar Allan Poe

A mysterious sleeping sickness strikes a small college town, spreading like wild fire until the town is shut down in an attempt to stop it from spreading.

Like Station Eleven, there are many characters that we follow throughout the telling of the tale, getting to know some better than others.  Following the many different story lines makes this a fast read that leaves the reader frantically trying to figure out if the story line they are following is real or part of the dream sickness.
Karen Thompson Walker has a way with words, saying some of the most touching and though provoking things in incredibly short sentences.  “I’m sorry.  It may as well be I love you.”
This novel touches on the philosophical, medical, and psychological issues associated with the sleeping sickness as well as the ethical question: whose life is worth saving, whose life would you save.

While less dystopian novel and more thought provoking medical sci-fi, it was a good read. 

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Murder Book

Laura Riley is stabbed while sitting at the desk in the Cold Case Unit; now her partner, with the help of a retired officer must find out whodunit.

Overall this was a good police procedural, closely following the hows and whys of an investigations, the mix ups and the misdirects. When the team decides to make a move, the action takes off at a breakneck pace turning the last 25% of the book into a real page-turner.  The ending definitely opened the gate for the next book In the series.

There is some good interplay between the main characters but the supporting characters seem a little flat and the bad guy(s) remain largely unknown until the last 10-20% of the story.   Although this book can stand on its own, the reader would probably benefit from reading the first book in the series first so that the characters are more fleshed out and relevant.

There appear to be several editing errors in the copy that I was given by NetGalley, including a mix up in the time line (Thanksgiving past and Thanksgiving almost upon us), repetitive references to a former presidents assassination and several spelling errors, which were a distraction from the plot.  With another round of editing, this could easily be a 4star novel.

The Wolf and the Rain

After Global warming has divided the continent, the South, though drought-stricken, is completely controlled by an administration that values uniformity and all for one ideology; and the North is a rainy, mud-filled free-for-all of complete, unregulated chaos.

We are introduced to Sam, a Southern soldier pretending to be a Northerner, although we are never told why or how she comes to be here.  Through flash-backs we are able to see part of her early life in the South all the up until her training to defend the Southern territory.  We come to her some time after she has installed herself into life in the North.  After taking a liking to Ava, she learns that Ava’s daughter has gone missing.  Her desire to find the truth about the girl’s disappearance takes us into the darkest places that the North has to offer, his seething underbelly and it’s slimy corruption.

Sam learns that although the she is miles away from her former life in the South, it has a long reach and the answer to the problem she is trying to solve in the North may lie in her past.  

There was just enough missing from the flashback period to keep the reader wanting to have those gaps filled in.  Who is Sam really?  How did she come to be here? There was enough left open at the end to make for a good foundation on which to build a series.

Populace

In a new society, science has changed the landscape as well as the minds of the people.  The USA as we know it no longer exists, just a large corporately controlled mega city, surrounded by the wilds.  Leviathan runs what’s left of the USA, providing everything its population could require, including “better” living through chemistry.

Tom doesn’t know that anything exists beyond the city, to him the city IS the entire world. Until he is recruited by Leviathan to go out into the wilds and capture the larges enemy of the state. Tom is left to learn several versions of the truth about the world, the country and his own existence.

The novel contained some really great elements, some futuristic components and some nods to the possible slippery slope of modern society.  It didn’t quite gel for me, however.  Perhaps purposefully, none of the characters were particularly likable and the bridge to the back story never quite solidified.

In true dystopian fashion, it does leave the reader with some interesting what-if’s.

Jess is a struggling makeup artist trying to make ends meet in New York City. She overhears a client who is thinking of turning down an opportunity to make $500 taking part in a research study and decides to go in her place. It is as simple as honestly answering questions about ethics and morality.  Ultimately the unasked questions were the spine of this novel:  what would you do for love?  And what would you do for money?

An Anonymous Girl is a roller coaster of a read. This definitely has psychological thriller written all over it.  It was creepily clinical in places and anxiety-inducing in others.  The story is written in the first person from the points of view of both the protagonist and antagonist. Although, the characters were not very likable and the Jess seemed a little too naïve at points, the story was captivating. 
The plot was labyrinthine; every twist and turn led you to another twist and turn and the authors gave you just enough bread crumbs to start to figure out what was happening but surprised with the details.   

Overall, this was a great read and hard to put down 4.5 stars.

Under my Skin

A year after the murder of her husband and her subsequent breakdown, Poppy is intent on finding answers. 

The first portion of the book is a slow paced and disjointed as Poppy is trying to resume normal life while trying to retrieve lost memories.  The memories, flashbacks, dreams and hallucinations are often hard to differentiate, purposefully so that the reader is just as confused at times as the narrator.

The second portion moves much more quickly and many more breadcrumbs are dropped along the way leaving the reader guessing and second guessing the end. 

Overall an interesting read, despite the pacing.  If the first portion had a smoother feel, it likely would have been 4 stars.

When Elephants Fly

Beautiful, sweet, thought-provoking and a real cry-fest. 

When Elephants Fly: Lily has lead a careful life and plans to continue to live a careful life in an attempt to skirt the mental illness that made her mother try to kill her.  When the internship at the local paper has her cover the birth of an elephant, and the elephant is later nearly killed by its’ own mother,  Lily has to reevaluate what it means to live.

The plot is touching and beautiful.  The themes are tough, scary and heart-breaking. 
Although there was a best-friend, parent issues and a love interest, this book goes above and beyond your run of the mill YA; much more focus was given to the issues of mental illness, self-discovery, animal abuse and conservation.  I loved that the ending wasn’t necessarily a happily ever after.

This was a fantastic read.

For Better and Worse

While on a date in law school, Natalie and Will discuss how to get away with murder.  Years later, after they are married, Natalie, now a criminal defense attorney, finds that she is more than willing to commit a murder and knows just how to do it and get away with it.  Kind of.

Although listed as a thriller, this novel is less thriller and more “how done it”.  The writing is solid and the plot moves along at a good pace.

I didn’t find either of the main characters to be very likable and the ending was more than a little far-fetched but overall it was a very readable book.

The Similars

After the apparent suicide of her best friend, Ollie, Emma returns to find her boarding school in turmoil after it has admitted six clones, including the clone of her best friend.  The story revolves around who the clones are and why they were created…sort of.

Emma’s other best friend is attacked; Ollie leaves her a message from the grave; other people leave her notes and clues inside of books.  It’s a hunt to find out the truth behind her friend’s attack, her other friend’s death and the real story behind the Similars.  

While the subject matter was interesting, the character and plot development didn’t bolster it the way I had hoped.   It was a little too predictable at times and didn’t flesh out enough at others.   There were lots of unanswered questions and anomalies that were just left hanging out there.

The Memory Box

I received a free e-copy of The Memory Box by Eva Lesko Natiello from NetGalley for my honest review.

Suburban supermom googles herself only to realize that she has no memory of pivotal events in her life.  The Memory Box is part psychological thriller, part mystery, part roller coaster.

Although the premise is great and the ending is unexpected, the plot starts out slow and disjointed.  The story solidifies at the half-way point and leaves you a little out of sorts.

That cover, though, would draw me in to read the book regardless of what it was about.  I am a sucker for a good cover. 

The Confession

The Confession is built around one confession that unwrap another confession that hides srill more confessions in the many layers.

Codependancy, family and the idea of what it means to love end up twisted and interwoven until ultimately, lives are destroyed and ended.

What started as what appeared to be a police procedural quickly turned into a tale of confession shrouded in manipulation .  

A great read!

The Water Cure

The Water Cure is a story of 3 sisters who have been kept save from men and the "toxins" of the outside world.  Their home appears to once have been a spa used for healing women of these toxins and damages brought on by men by using The Water Cure. 

Sophie Mackintosh uses the voice of each of the sisters to tell their part of the story, each from their own perspective, building on layers of truths, memory,  lies and perceptions.

The book was compelling and made for a fast read.  Ultimately, it left the reader with more questions than answers.

Doomsday GIrl

In Doomsday Girl, P.I. Dan Reno takes on a case involving a murdered husband, missing daughter and a mother/wife recently out of a coma.  The clues take him into the world of Doomsday Preppers. While this is #6 in a series but can easily be a stand alone read.

Dave Stanton takes the reader into Dan Reno's investigative process, giving important information to further the story in such a way that it appears to be more like reading over someone's shoulder than being given a lecture.

The story is fast paced and interesting.; a good read for people who enjoy a good P.I. story.

Book Expo 2019 - Come to me, my pretties.

Book Expo 2019 was wonderful;  I far prefer it to BookCon.  So much so, that I think BookCon will be a thing of the past for me.

In addition to being able to speak to some of the publishers and authors, I was able to pick up several wonderful Advanced Readers Copies.  I will be reviewing each and every one of them as I make my way through them.

It's time that Smoke and Shadow emerge and form it's own identity on Blogger and Twitter and Instagram and the like.  I know it will be baby steps at first, but I am looking forward to it.