The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Two of my favorites are back for another mystery book and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Thank you St Martin’s Press for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers. Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate. When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

These two just KNOW how to write a good mystery novel together. They just really never disappoint! The ending was jaw-dropping (as always). I literally could not put this book down for a second. This was written very much like their earlier novels, which I greatly appreciate it. They showed me that they aren’t even close to running out of ideas and stumping the reader and I’m here for it!

5/5 Stars

Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski

This is one of those books that I wouldn’t have picked up on my own if not for being plugged into the book community!

Thank you Henry Holt Co for my gifted ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: It’s 1999 and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She’s not used to mixing work and friendship―after all, between her jealous boyfriend and his young daughter, she has enough on her plate. But the newest dancer is so clueless that Samantha feels compelled to help her learn the hustle and drama of the club: how to sweet-talk the boss, fit in with the other women, and make good money. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly. Georgia, another dancer drawn into the ensuing murder and missing person investigation, gathers information for Holly, a grieving detective determined to solve the case. Georgia just wants to help, but her involvement makes her a target. As Holly and Georgia round up their suspects, the story’s point of view shifts between dancers, detectives, children, club patrons―and the killer. Drawing on her experience as a former dancer, Marie Rutkoski immerses us in the captivating world of the club, which comes alive with complicated people trying their best to protect themselves and those they love. Character-driven and masterfully plotted, Real Easy gets to the heart of the timeless question: How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?

I think what has to be the coolest thing is that this book is based on the author’s true experiences working as a dancer herself. This is a dark novel, but with that little detail in the back of my mind, this book is unreal. It’s told from alternating perspectives which was okay (as you know by now, it’s not my favorite thing in the world). The ending was jaw-dropping for me, which makes this book a win for me.

4/5 Stars

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

The Lost Village was an intriguing read for me, and Camilla’s newest novel just sounds even better!

Thank you St Martin’s Press for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: Deep rooted secrets.
A twisted family history.
And a house that will never let go.

Eleanor lives with prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize a familiar person’s face. It causes stress. Acute anxiety. It can make you question what you think you know. When Eleanor walked in on the scene of her capriciously cruel grandmother, Vivianne’s, murder, she came face to face with the killer – a maddening expression that means nothing to someone like her. With each passing day, the horror of having come so close to a murderer – and not knowing if they’d be back – overtakes both her dreams and her waking moments, thwarting her perception of reality. Then a lawyer calls. Vivianne has left her a house – a looming estate tucked away in the Swedish woods. The place where her grandfather died, suddenly. A place that has housed a chilling past for over 50 years. Eleanor. Her steadfast boyfriend, Sebastian. Her reckless aunt, Veronika. The lawyer. All will go to this house of secrets, looking for answers. But as they get closer to uncovering the truth, they’ll wish they had never come to disturb what rests there.

This one was dark and twisted and oh so good! Face blindness in a thriller?! You can’t go wrong! It’s such a brilliant plot idea! Despite the multiple characters introduced in this story and the dual timeline, I was still completely engaged. I love the short chapters and twists and turns at every corner. You can kind of figure out the ending of the story by the clues she leaves, but it was a wonderful thriller in my opinion!

4/5 Stars

The Heights by Louise Candlish

Louise is, hands down, one of my top favorite authors. I’m so excited to share her latest installment!

Thank you Atria Books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among warehouses in London. Its roof terrace is so discreet, you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren’t standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He may be older now, but it’s definitely him. But that can’t be because he’s been dead for more than two years. You know this for a fact. Because you’re the one who killed him.

This is one of those books where you have to just keep reading to make it all worth it. The book is divided into multiple parts, and each part gets better and better and better! What I love about Louise is that she always delivers a sucker-punch ending. The first part to the book was a little too long for my liking, but we get a lot of backstory here. This wasn’t my favorite novel by her, but I am so glad I got the chance to read it and add it to my library!

4/5 Stars

The Club by Ellery Lloyd

I always get so excited when I get the chance to catch an early glimpse at a book that Reece Witherspoon picks for her book club.

Thank you Harper for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: Everyone’s Dying to Join . . . The Home Group is a glamorous collection of celebrity members’ clubs dotted across the globe, where the rich and famous can party hard and then crash out in its five-star suites, far from the prying eyes of fans and the media. The most spectacular of all is Island Home—a closely-guarded, ultraluxurious resort, just off the English coast—and its three-day launch party is easily the most coveted A-list invite of the decade. But behind the scenes, tensions are at breaking point: the ambitious and expensive project has pushed the Home Group’s CEO and his long-suffering team to their absolute limits. All of them have something to hide—and that’s before the beautiful people with their own ugly secrets even set foot on the island. As tempers fray and behavior worsens, as things get more sinister by the hour and the body count piles up, some of Island Home’s members will begin to wish they’d never made the guest list. Because at this club, if your name’s on the list, you’re not getting out.

Like lots of characters and lots of backstory? Then this book is for you. For me? It was just too much. My eyes got tired of rolling at some of these characters. I also felt like it took forever to get to the really crux of what was really going on. The multiple point of views and history of each of these characters just had my brain in a jumble. Was not a fan, but I know other readers really do enjoy the multiple viewpoints. Take this with a grain of salt. If you choose to read it, let me know what you think!

2.5/5 Stars

This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg

I mean, when you are obsessed with DNA stories, love Young Adult Fiction, AND love Thrillers, how could you NOT pass this book up?!

Thank you Flatiron Books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: The Winslow family lives by five principles:

1. No one can know your real name.
2. Don’t stay in one place too long.
3. If you sense anything is wrong, go immediately to the meeting spot.
4. Keeping our family together is everything.
5. We wish we could tell you who we are, but we can’t. Please—do not ask.

Poppy doesn’t know why her family has been running her whole life, but she does know that there are dire consequences if they’re ever caught. Still, her curiosity grows each year, as does her desire for real friends and the chance to build on something, instead of leaving behind school projects, teams, and crushes at a moment’s notice. When a move to California exposes a crack in her parents’ airtight planning, Poppy realizes how fragile her world is. Determined to find out the truth, she mails in a home DNA test. Just as she starts to settle into her new life and even begins opening up to a boy in her math class, the forgotten test results bring her crashing back to reality. Unraveling the shocking truth of her parents’ real identities, Poppy realizes that the DNA test has undone decades of careful work to keep her family anonymous—and the past is dangerously close to catching up to them. Determined to protect her family but desperate for more, Poppy must ask: How much of herself does she owe her family? And is it a betrayal to find her own place in the world?

This was a super fun read for me. It was a drama-filled story that kept me wanting to come back for more. I read it in one sitting – like I was watching a movie shoving popcorn in my face the entire time. Yeah, some parts weren’t as riveting as I had hoped for, but the writing is excellent and the characters were so well developed, it was worth every moment. With an ending such as this one, I’m hoping we get to hear more from this family in the future!

4.5/5 Stars

The Cage by Bonnie Kistler

Another locked room mystery? Sign me up! I’ve been on a kick with locked room mysteries lately, and it’s the best!

Thank you Harper books for my gifted book in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: On a cold, misty Sunday night, two women are alone in the offices of fashion conglomerate Claudine de Martineau International. One is the company’s human resources director. Impeccably dressed and perfectly coiffed, she sits at her desk and stares somberly out the window. Down the hall, her colleague, one of the company’s lawyers, is buried under a pile of paperwork, frantically rushing to finish. Leaving at the same time, the two women, each preoccupied by her own thoughts, enter the elevator that will take them down from the 30th floor. When they arrive at the lobby, one of the women is dead. Was it murder or suicide? An incredibly original novel that turns the office thriller on its head, The Cage is a wild ride that begins with a bang and picks up speed as it races to its dramatic end.

This was a really fun read. Even though we know a lot of what happens from the get-go, I was still intrigued throughout the whole book. This definitely reads more of a legal drama, but it was really well done. It was almost the perfect mix of a locked room mystery and a legal drama all together. I don’t see that quite often in books, so this kept my attention the entire time. It’s an easy read as the ending is surprising and intriguing in every way.

5/5 Stars

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

Is it any surprise that I would reach for a thrilling space story? I think not!

Thank you Tor Nightfire for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate. What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right. Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

What a thrill of a ride! I absolutely devoured this book. This is a locked room mystery novel that gave me Alfred Hitchcock and Twilight Zone vibes. It’s everything I want in a novel such as this. It had me biting my nails until the very last page. If anyone has other books like this to recommend, send them my way because this was such a fun read for me!

5/5 Stars

Trick or Treat by Katerina Diamond

I get really excited when I find a new mystery author! This one had such a cool cover too. It’s perfect for this time of year!

Thank you Avon books for my gifted ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: When six-year-old Marcus is taken from outside his house on Halloween, there is only one witness: a frightened teen determined to keep himself hidden. After an anonymous tip off, Detective Imogen Grey is called out to an expensive Exeter street, caught up in the buzz of the holiday. But when the police visit Marcus’s house, his parents claim everything is fine. Imogen is sure there is more to the family than meets the eye. But just how much more, she could never have imagined… What has happened to little Marcus? And will he ever come home?

If you are a fan of true crime, this one is for you! This is dark and intense and not for the faint of heart, only because it involves a child being kidnapped. It’s twisty and thrilling which is everything I want for an October read. It’s written so well, I need to go back and read the other books in this series! I’m not usually a fan of detective series because I feel like I miss out on key facts if I haven’t read the other books, but this works really well without having done as such. This one had me biting my nails all the way up to the end. This comes highly recommended!

5/5 Stars

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Have you ever picked up a book based on advertisements you’ve seen randomly across the internet? I think my phone and computer has learned of my taste and books, and I stated to see this book advertised everywhere website I went to! It worked, because I immediately had to read it!

Thank you St Martins Press for my gifted ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to. Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England, Starling crafts a new kind of gothic horror from the bones of the beloved canon.

I first want to mention – how gorgeous is this cover?! I think it’s absolutely stunning. While I thought this would be more of a suspenseful story, it’s definitely more of a gothic horror tale. With that being said, it was mind-bendingly insane. It’s creepy and twisted and will keep you up on night thinking about it in the best way possible. It’s magic meets a haunted house – what more could you ask for in an October read? I will say the plot got a little muddled half way through, but wasn’t enough to keep me from reading on. If you are there, I encourage you to keep going.

4/5 Stars