The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris by Mark Pryor

 

First Line: The darkness was complete and, for someone who'd never received so much as a parking ticket, the starless night sky and black leafless trees were a protection greatly valued as The Shadow slipped a key into the front door.

Former head of security at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, Hugo Marston, has retired. It's time to make his lifelong dream of owning a mystery and antiquarian bookshop come true. Then comes the call from J. Bradford Taylor, the U.S. Ambassador. A chocolatier has been targeted for blackmail, and the ambassador calls in Marston to investigate. Hugo must find a way to make the ambassador happy and get his bookshop ready for its grand opening at the same time.

~

A few years ago, I read the first of Mark Pryor's Hugo Marston mysteries, The Bookseller, and although I did like the book's window into Parisian life and its strong mystery, the characters failed to "click" with me. I decided to give Hugo another chance in Pryor's The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris, the first in his new Paris Bookshop series.

Once again, I was transported to Paris. I enjoyed watching Hugo and his assistant, Blake Holmes, talk mysteries while getting the shop ready for business. I learned a great deal about the chocolate business, and the 18th-century chateau and former convent was the perfect location for Eclat de Chocolat. I even learned about what is entailed in being given a Royal Warrant.

The mystery is strong and kept me guessing, but-- once again-- the cast just didn't click with this character-driven reader. Why? It's a mystery to me because I do like Hugo Marston and his friends. It's like real life, I suppose. I've met many people that I've liked, yet had no desire to further an acquaintance with them.

However, don't let my lukewarm reaction keep you from giving this book a try. There's a lot to like about it, and it may just be your perfect cup of tea.

The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris by Mark Pryor

eISBN: 9781496756404

Kensington © 2026

eBook, 272 pages

Thriller/Suspense, #1 Paris Bookshop

Rating: C+

Source: Net Galley

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

 

First Line: The crow waits until the guilty one disappears, then he flies down the hallway.

 

Alfred Smettle is not your average hotel owner. He's also a devotee of all things Alfred Hitchcock. Smettle's Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in New Hampshire's White Mountains ("You bought the Psycho House!") offers guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, and an aviary filled with fifty crows. 

To celebrate the hotel's first anniversary, Smettle invited his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion, although he hasn't spoken to them in sixteen years. Not after what happened.

What better group to appreciate Smettle's creation or to help him finish it? And never forget: no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.

~

Being an Alfred Hitchcock fan, I couldn't resist Stephanie Wrobel's The Hitchcock Hotel, and for the most part, it delivers the goods. The plot twists, the unfolding of the backstory, the Hitchcock tie-ins... all of these make this book fun to read.

So does the cast of characters. We get to hear from them all-- Alfred, Zoe, Grace, Samira, TJ, and Julius. Even the elderly housekeeper, Danny. Each time we hear from the characters, another piece is added to the puzzle. I may not have liked any of the characters, but the story was still fun-- and I couldn't believe that I didn't figure out what was going on!

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

eISBN: 9780593547120

Berkley © 2024

eBook, 352 pages

 

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

 

First Line: There should be some kind of warning when your life is about to change forever.

 

North Carolina's richest and most notorious woman has died. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore ruled the small town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family's estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

 

Known by locals as "Mrs. Kill-more" for being widowed four times, Ruby left everything to her adopted son, Camden, a school teacher in Colorado who wants nothing to do with the house, the money, or the surviving McTavishes. Camden's uncle's death pulls him and his wife, Jules, back to Ashby House despite Camden's feelings.

 

Back in the clutches of this money-grubbing entitled clan, Camden and Jules are surrounded by questions. Were any of the rumors about Ruby's kidnapping true? What really happened to those four husbands of hers? After all, they all died under mysterious circumstances. And why did she even adopt Camden in the first place?

 

It doesn't take long for the couple to realize that an inheritance involves far more than what's written in a will.

 

~

 

Rachel Hawkins weaves her compelling tale from the vocal strands of matriarch Ruby McTavish, her adopted son Camden, and Camden's wife Jules. It doesn't take long after readers arrive at Ashby House to realize that they've fallen into a den of vipers... and that everyone's motives should be suspect. 

 

The Heiress reminds me of one of my favorite mystery tropes: is this person the true heir? DNA tests have killed that favorite of mine, but it still lives on in books like Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar and to a tiny degree, here. After all, the McTavishes who've stayed at Ashby House would like nothing better than to take every penny of Camden's inheritance away from him, and they're not too picky about how they do it.

 

One of the highlights of the book is the letters Ruby wrote to Camden. Her words prove her to be strong, sympathetic, and devious. Those letters, combined with occasional newspaper articles, are the backbone of The Heiress, and they define a fascinating character. 

 

To one remote, beautiful mansion, add a hornet's nest of characters, and some delicious plot twists. What do you get? A wonderful story that you can't read fast enough. After enjoying The Heiress so much, I know that I'll be reading more from Rachel Hawkins. 

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

ISBN: 9781250280039

St. Martin's Press © 2024

Hardcover, 304 pages

 

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

 

First Lines: Terms of the Applied Arts. Deletion. Our preferred term for "murder" [vulg.], although some younger staff have lately adopted "omission" as less austere.

 

Three victims of sadistic bosses find themselves enrolled at the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, an exclusive and clandestine institution of higher education for aspiring assassins (referred to as "deletists" on campus). As students, aeronautics engineer Cliff Iverson, hospital worker Gemma Lindley, and Hollywood-star-traveling-incognito Dulcie Mown must study a wide range of subjects that cover every eventuality in planning a murder. Their educations end with a thesis from each, and in this case, a thesis means the successful deletion of their respective bosses. 

~

 

Having once been one of the victims of a sadistic boss, the title of Rupert Holmes' book, Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide, immediately caught my attention, but it wasn't until I read one review in particular (Luanne's from A Bookworm's World) that I knew I had to read it. I chose to listen to the audiobook version, and the voices of Simon Vance and Neil Patrick Harris did this darkly funny story full justice.

I know not everyone appreciates this sort of humor (black? dark? morbid?), but I've used it most of my life to cope with some of the things that have happened to me. No matter how awful, it is possible to find a funny side to everything, and Holmes does that so brilliantly here that when I wasn't wincing at how gut-wrenchingly terrible the employers were, I was either smiling or laughing-- and wanting each of the students to succeed in their respective deletions. One of the things Holmes does so well is to prove that the world would indeed be a better place if the bosses of McMasters students Cliff Iverson, Gemma Lindley, and Dulcie Mown would disappear from the face of the earth.

Readers follow each "Poison Ivy League" student through orientation, training, and the final thesis, and I was happy to see that Holmes is currently working on the next book in the series. I'm also fighting the temptation to buy a hardcover copy to experience the story all over again. If your sense of humor is similar to mine, you should love Murder Your Employer.

 

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

Narrated by Simon Vance and Neil Patrick Harris.

ASIN:  B0B51ZT68K

Simon & Schuster Audio © 2023

Audiobook. 14 hours, 13 minutes.

 

Thriller/Suspense, #1 McMasters Guide mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Audible.

A Familiar Sight by Brianna Labuskes

 

First Line: The lace curtain created patterns of splattered light on the back of Reed Ken'ts hand as he held the wispy fabric away from the window, just far enough so that he had a clear view of the Porsche pulling to the curb.

 

Psychologist and criminologist Dr. Gretchen White is Boston homicide detective Patrick Shaughnessy's go-to person for help in solving important cases, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten about her past. Accused of murdering her aunt when just a child, White is a self-professed non-violent sociopath-- and Shaughnessy still thinks she got away with murder.

 

When teenager Viola Kent is accused of killing her mother, the case seems open and shut. The public has already tried and convicted the girl. But Dr. Gretchen White isn't so sure because she sees something in Viola that no one else can: herself. And if Viola is indeed a scapegoat, then who really did it? This is something White is determined to find out, regardless whose toes she has to step on.

~

None of the characters in Labuskes' A Familiar Sight really reached out and grabbed me. It was the puzzle of the plot that kept me hooked. Filthy rich Dr. Gretchen White who refuses to lock the doors of her Porsche and loves toying with people always remained a bit gimmicky to me instead of feeling human. Marconi, the sergeant assigned to follow White around, was the only character that piqued my interest.  She had the smarts to adapt to White's idiosyncrasies, and both White and I appreciated her skills.

A lot of your reactions to this book will hinge on how you feel about Gretchen White. May you get along with her better than I did. Even though the story is compelling, the characters aren't calling me back for more.

 

A Familiar Sight by Brianna Labuskes

eISBN: 9781542027342

Thomas & Mercer © 2021

eBook, 369 pages

 

Psychological Suspense, #1 Dr. Gretchen White

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall

 

First Line: At that time of night, there was peace.

 

Calling herself a "digital archaeologist," Michaela "Mickie" Lambert creates digital scrapbooks for her clients, ensuring that precious items and memories are not forgotten or lost. When her newest client, eccentric curio shop owner Nadia Denham, dies of an apparent suicide, Mickie honors the woman's last wish and continues curating twelve peculiar mementos, precious memories the old woman gathered on her cross-country flea market travels.

 

But these mementos mean a lot to someone else, too-- someone who leaves messages for Mickie telling her to leave them alone. This only heightens Mickie's curiosity. Who were the original owners of these "treasures"? How did Nadia actually acquire them? Little does Mickie know that her journey to the truth will lead her right into the path of a long-dormant serial killer.

 

~

 

These Toxic Things is a book that I wanted to like a lot more than I did. I've read other books by Rachel Howzell Hall and really enjoyed them, but this book is definitely not being added to that list. Granted, I did like the premise: being a digital archaeologist, tracking down the original owners and histories behind cherished items. If there'd been more of that, my enjoyment of the book would have been greater. But alas, there wasn't. After a fantastic first chapter that really raised my hopes, These Toxic Things turned into a bloated, slow-moving thriller with few real surprises-- the exact opposite of what a thriller should be.

Another real hindrance to my enjoyment of this book was the main character herself. Michaela "Mickie" Lambert, one of these twentysomethings who would have to have her cell phone surgically removed from her hand. Spoiled rotten, overprotected Mickie Lambert who thinks nothing of wearing and ruining her mother's designer clothes and snooping in her things to the point of searching high and low for a key to unlock a box in her mother's bedside table. Mickie Lambert, who freaks out at every noise and shadow yet can't be bothered to turn on the alarm system in her apartment. Can you tell I just loved this girl to bits? There's a secondary mystery in These Toxic Things concerning the reasons why Mickie has been so overprotected her whole life, but her childish response to learning one of the secrets surrounding this just made me shake my head and roll my eyes.

 

These Toxic Things starts out with a killer first chapter and a very intriguing premise, but it's grievously hampered by a glacial pace, easily deduced surprises, and an extremely annoying main character. Sorry, Mickie. I'm not hiring you as my digital archaeologist.

These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall

ASIN: B08MPVFL46

Thomas & Mercer © 2021

eBook, 417 pages

 

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: D+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

First Lines: Fade in. Parking lot. The middle of night. The middle of nowhere.

 

It's November 1991, and movie-obsessed Charlie Jordan has decided to quit her university studies and go home for good; however, this means using the campus ride board and accepting a ride from a complete stranger.

 

The complete stranger is Josh Baxter, who says he's going home to Ohio to care for his sick father. Charlie is going home because she can't overcome her grief and guilt over the murder of her best friend, Maddy, who was the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer.

 

But the longer Charlie sits in the passenger seat, the more suspicious she becomes. There are too many holes in Josh's story about his father, and why he doesn't want her to see what's in the trunk of his car? As time passes and they travel further down a dark empty highway, Charlie becomes convinced that she's riding in a car with the Campus Killer.

 

Is Josh really the Campus Killer, or is Charlie's mistrust due to her movie-fueled imagination?

 

~

 

Riley Sager has created the perfect creepy scenario in Survive the Night. It's an homage to the movies-- in particular Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (one of my favorites). A campus in fear of a serial killer, an incredibly risky mode of transportation, and a young woman who dons a red coat and begins a journey to her grandmother's house by getting in a car with someone who may be the Big Bad Wolf. When I put those last three things together, I have to admit that I smiled, and... in case you're wondering about campus ride boards, they did exist. That's how I got from Provo, Utah to Phoenix, Arizona (and back) one spring.

 

Charlie Jordan is a very unreliable narrator. She's been raised by her grandmother after the death of her parents in a car accident. She's overcome with grief over the murder of her best friend. She's on medication. When she becomes anxious, she starts playing what she calls "movies in her head," so dear reader, you're not always going to know if what she says is happening is really happening at all. One good thing about Survive the Night is that Charlie does come to a better awareness of herself throughout her experience. The question is, is she going to survive long enough to make use of her newfound knowledge?

 

I have a feeling that most of you are going to love this book. I know I almost did. But in the end, it fell a bit flat. Why? Because I started deducing too many of the twists before they happened, and that really takes the sparkle off a book like this. But even though Survive the Night did lose some of its shine for me, I still found a lot to appreciate. It's going to be interesting to see what Sager comes up with next.  

 

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

ISBN: 9780593183168

Dutton Books © 2021

Hardcover, 336 pages

 

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

 

First Line: She first spotted him at Bobbie's Coffee Shop on Twenty-Second Street.

 

Never in a million years had Abigail Baskin ever dreamed of marrying a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb, a good guy who's stable, level-headed, and kind. In other words, a man very different from those in her previous relationships. The wedding is going to plan until Abigail's bachelorette weekend. She has a drunken one-night stand with a complete stranger. She puts the sexy stranger out of her mind and gets set to spend the rest of her life with Bruce.

 

Their honeymoon on a luxurious secluded island is the stuff dreams are made of, but when One-Night Stand Man shows up, Abigail's future starts to unravel. He insists that their fling was something much more meaningful, and he's tracked her down to prove it. Should Abigail tell Bruce what happened? Or should she deal with her stalker on her own? 

 

~

 

I decided to read Peter Swanson's Every Vow You Break on the strength of how much I enjoyed his previous book, Eight Perfect Murders. I have to admit that I did have a couple of reservations. First, the title. I found the Police's mega-hit Every Breath You Take to be downright creepy and could never understand why anyone in their right mind would want to play it at their wedding. It's stalker music, folks, and Swanson's book title directly refers to it. My second reservation was my spotty track record with domestic thrillers. Especially in this subgenre, if there's not at least one character I can like, chances are slim that I'm going to like the book.

Well, my reaction to Every Vow You Break was decidedly lukewarm. To begin with, I had to wade through all of Abigail Baskin's previous relationships in order to understand how different Bruce Lamb was. All that did was make me care less and less about Abigail. Sooner or later, Abigail's going to find fault with anything no matter how perfect it originally was. Her drunken one-night stand made me roll my eyes because it was so obvious something was going to go wrong, and even Bruce seemed too bland and too good to be true, no matter how much money he had. 

Okay. I didn't like Abigail. I didn't like Bruce. Having been the victim of a stalker, I wasn't about to find One-Night Stand Man appealing. So what kept me reading Every Vow You Break? I kept reading because I knew something was going to go wrong and I had to know what it was and how Abigail would manage to get herself out of it. That's why I kept reading.

How did that work out for me? I can see something like that actually happening, but more than anything else, it made me angry. Angry that something like that could actually happen. If you couldn't finish watching The Handmaid's Tale because it made you so angry (like me), you might want to avoid Every Vow You Break. And that's all I'm going to say about what Abigail had to deal with at the end. 

I said that my reaction to Swanson's book was lukewarm, but that's not exactly true, is it? My Dislike button was firmly pushed several times. My curiosity was totally engaged, and a match was struck to my temper. Swanson kept me reacting and kept me turning the pages all right. I just wish I'd paid more attention to my track record with domestic thrillers. Of course, your mileage can certainly vary, and I hope it does.

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

ISBN: 9780062980038

William Morrow © 2021

Hardcover, 320 pages

 

Psychological Suspense, Standalone

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

 

First Line: Una awoke with a jerk.

 

It's 1986. Thirty-year-old Una is dissatisfied with her life. She lives in a shabby yet expensive apartment. She has no love life. Her savings are rapidly disappearing, and she can't find a permanent teaching position in Reykjavik. When she sees the ad in the newspaper, it looks like the answer to her prayers. How hard can teaching two little girls in a remote fishing village, population ten, be?

 

But once she gets there, her car is on its last legs, the people are civil but not welcoming, and the lack of a television bothers her more than she'd like to admit. As the days grow shorter and the winter darkness closes in, Una spends more and more time in her attic apartment with endless glasses of wine. The young Thór is the only person she really feels a connection with, but he goes out of his way to keep her at arm's length. No, it's Una and her wine in her apartment in the attic that's supposed to be haunted... and her nightmares of a young girl dressed in white who sings a lullaby. 

 

When a tragedy occurs, the villagers become hostile to Una, and she's left on her own to uncover a secret that's long been buried in the tiny village's past.

 

~

 

No one does claustrophobic like Ragnar Jónasson. A tiny remote fishing village during an Icelandic winter is the perfect setting for The Girl Who Died. I really enjoyed the mystery Jónasson created, and I'm still angry with myself for not figuring out a very major clue, although math has never been my strong point. There are some interesting threads woven into the story; one about a World War II British and American lookout post for example, and then literary allusions that can remind readers of books like The Haunting of Hill House.

If I had any problem with the book at all, it was my reaction to Una, the whiner. Una, the terminally dissatisfied. First, she's glad to be out of Reykjavik. She doesn't miss the city at all. Then when the reality of the tiny village grows on her, she misses the luxuries she'd become accustomed to. Then she decides that she does, indeed, miss the city after all. She bemoans the fact that none of her friends make any real effort to get in touch with her, but I'm of the firm opinion that they're all undoubtedly rejoicing in the absence of her whining. It's hard to feel any sympathy for a character who's never ever happy about anything, a character who spends almost all her free time in wine-soaked pity parties.

 

There's quite the dichotomy in my reaction to The Girl Who Died. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the mystery itself and the spookiness and unease of the setting. On the other, I wanted to tape Una's mouth shut and lock her away in the attic. In conclusion, there's only one more thing I want to say about this book, and it's this: I had the opening bars of a song running through my mind during the last half of the story. I don't think I'll be the only one who thinks of The Girl Who Died as the Icelandic Hotel California.

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

eISBN: 9781250793744

Minotaur Books © 2021

eBook, 275 pages

Standalone Thriller/Suspense

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

First Line: What kind of man am I?

 

After a traumatic experience in Nottingham, Reverend Jack Brooks is transferred to the small village of Chapel Cross with her fourteen-year-old daughter, Flo. Hoping for a fresh start, Jack finds instead a village filled with conspiracies and secrets. The Harper family, in particular, is proud of having "Martyrs" as ancestors-- Protestants who were betrayed and burned at the stake in the village five hundred years ago. But wait, there's more... Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace, and a few weeks prior to Jack and Flo's arrival, the vicar of the local parish hanged himself in the church. Yikes!

As Jack and Flo explore the town and get to know its citizens, the deeper they are drawn into age-old divisions and suspicions. Jack begins to feel as though she's jumped from the frying pan straight into the fire. There are ghosts in Chapel Cross that need to be laid to rest, but it's not going to be easy for Jack. Everyone has something to hide, and no one's going to trust an outsider.

~

I have to admit that it took me fully half of The Burning Girls before I stopped making comparisons to Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins mystery series which is set in Herefordshire near the Welsh border and also features a single mother/Anglican priest and her teenage daughter. Did the similarities detract from my enjoyment of C.J. Tudor's suspenseful novel? Not one bit, although I do suggest that if you enjoy The Burning Girls, you might want to give Rickman's series a try.

I was swiftly drawn into this story because of two voices: Jack's and her daughter Flo's. It doesn't take readers long to discover that there's a lot more to Jack than meets the eye, and a good deal of the suspense of the novel hinges on just what's going on with this unconventional vicar who stands up to anyone who tries to intimidate her. The relationship between Jack and Flo is close and realistic, with just the right amount of teen angst. (In other words, you won't be in any danger of rolling your eyes and having them get stuck in the back of your head.) It's Flo's ability to roam around the village with her old camera that brings mother and daughter in touch with several of the villagers.

The setting is marvelously atmospheric, with "trees... creeping up when no one is looking." If I'd been the one to drive to Chapel Cross, I think I would've taken one look and driven right on through without stopping. Jack is made of sterner stuff, and that made for a wonderful tale.

The Burning Girls took hold of me like a creeping vine. You don't notice it's been growing until its tendrils have taken hold of your arms and legs and you can't move. I was so engrossed that I forgot all about trying to deduce the who's, the why's, and the how's. I simply let those tendrils wrap around me tighter so I could immerse myself in the atmosphere and in the story. What a fun ride-- and what a fun introduction to an author I'd never read before!

 

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

eISBN: 9781984825032

Ballantine Books © 2021

eBook, 352 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

 

First Line: Every house has a story to tell and a secret to share.

Twenty-five years ago, five-year-old Maggie Holt and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall, a Victorian mansion in the Vermont woods. Three weeks later, they abandoned it in the dead of night. Maggie's father, Ewan, recounted their ordeal in a massive bestseller, House of Horrors. That book is the bane of Maggie's life. She hates it and believes that her father-- whom she does love unconditionally-- is the most dishonest man she's ever known because she doesn't remember anything in the book actually happening. As far as she's concerned, it's all lies.

When Ewan Holt dies, Maggie (who is now a restorer of old homes) returns to Baneberry Hall to renovate it for sale. She finds that the locals hate the book as much as she does, and that leads to an uneasy homecoming. Then strange things begin to happen-- straight out of her father's book-- and Maggie begins to wonder if the fiction is really fact.

 ~

I was in the mood for a scary house book, and Riley Sager's Home Before Dark delivers. Baneberry Hall (why would someone name his mansion after poisonous berries?) joins the ranks of my favorite spooky abodes with Shirley Jackson's Hill House and others. The first sentence pulled me right in because I do believe that houses can have stories and secrets to share, that people's experiences can somehow soak into the plaster and beams. One of the locals tells Maggie, "From what I've heard, that house hasn't witnessed a lot of love. It remembers that pain. What you need to do is make it forget." The question is, does Maggie have what it takes to make Baneberry Hall forget a very painful past?

Although other architectural details-- like the interior of the town library (!), that armoire in the Indigo Room, and others that shall remain nameless-- have landed firmly in my memory, Maggie Holt's journey to enlightenment has, too. She's a woman who doesn't know how to quit, especially when three momentous weeks of her childhood are coming to light. She's stubborn and distrustful, and she needs a lot of convincing, but Baneberry Hall gets the job done. Just how it does that, you'll have to find out for yourself.

Probably the best thing about Home Before Dark should please all those who don't care for any paranormal elements in their reading. Logic plays a very large role in uncovering the truth of Baneberry Hall's history-- but that doesn't mean I'd walk into that mansion without feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up. If you like being pleasantly spooked and solidly entertained, this is the book for you.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

ISBN: 9781524745172

Dutton © 2020

Hardcover, 400 pages

 

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

The Split by Sharon Bolton

First Line: It's not a ship. It's an iceberg. Oh, thank Christ.

Glaciologist Felicity Lloyd lives in fear, and it's her belief that taking a job on the remote Antarctic island of South Georgia will keep her safe. But it hasn't. Her ex-husband, Freddie, is out of prison. He's found her and is coming in on the last ship of the summer.

But a possible savior is also on board. Joe, a doctor delving into Felicity's past back in Cambridge, has learned that she's been on the edge for a long time, and the only way he can think of to help her is to try and get to her first.

I've long been a fan of Sharon Bolton's Lacey Flint series and of her standalone thrillers, so I was really looking forward to reading The Split. As it turned out, the experience was a mixed blessing.

I loved both settings-- the Antarctic South Georgia Island where the seal colonies are so loud that some residents are reduced to wearing earplugs, and of the English university town of Cambridge. I wish that there could've been more written about South Georgia, but as a character, Felicity has so much emotional and mental baggage that most of the action takes place in Cambridge.

Toward the end of the book, the revelations come thick and fast, but I never felt off-balance. Maybe that's due to my a-bit-more-than-rudimentary knowledge of psychology and my reaction to Felicity. I really felt for this damaged main character and everything she'd been through but-- perhaps because of her history-- I always felt kept at a distance and never became fully invested in her as a character. I didn't warm up to the others either, except for one: Joe's mother, Delilah. I wouldn't mind seeing Delilah again. She's the type of woman with lots of attitude who would have plenty to say.

The Split is good, solid storytelling that failed in capturing my complete attention, but your mileage may certainly vary.
  

The Split by Sharon Bolton

eISBN: 9781250300065

Minotaur Books © 2020

eBook, 400 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

 

After the Eclipse by Fran Dorricott

First Line: The day she became a local legend, Olive Warren did not do as she was told.

Sixteen years ago, journalist Cassie Warren's younger sister disappeared during a total eclipse. She was never seen again. Now Cassie is back home to take care of her grandmother who has dementia. When another girl goes missing just before the next eclipse, Cassie can't help but think that the two disappearances are related-- that whoever took Olive is still out there. But she needs to prove it, and prove it fast.

After the Eclipse was a pleasant read. I liked the character of Cassie as well as the author's writing style. However, I'm afraid that this is going to be faint praise.

I knew the identity of the abductor the first time the person was described. It had nothing to do with how the scene was written. Not at all. But after all the crime fiction I've read, sometimes you can just tell. I will say that the person's modus operandi was a bit different, which definitely added some spice to the ending of the book. Once I made that initial identification, though, much of the thrill in this thriller was gone, and I really didn't think that the story needed over four hundred pages to be told.

If you haven't read a lot of crime fiction, and you're in the mood for a pleasant read about an interesting main character, After the Eclipse may be just what the doctor ordered. Give it a try.

After the Eclipse by Fran Dorricott

ISBN: 9781785657887

Titan Books © 2019

Paperback, 448 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: B-

Source: the publisher

 

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

First Line: From above, from a distance, the marks in the dust formed a tight circle.

Nathan Bright's status as a hermit abruptly changes when he meets his youngest brother Bub at a fence line separating their cattle ranches in the vast Australian outback. They have just found the third Bright brother, Cameron, dead at the base of the legendary "Stockman's Grave."

Cameron died of exposure and dehydration in the deadly heat of an Australian summer, but why? His vehicle was found-- fully operational and stocked with water and other supplies-- not all that far away. As his family gathers at the ranch for Cameron's funeral-- and for Christmas-- Nathan has suspicions that just will not go away. He begins examining secrets that the family would rather leave in the past, little knowing what he will uncover.

As good as Harper's two Aaron Falk mysteries are-- and they are-- The Lost Man blew me away. There are two main characters in this book: Nathan Bright and the Australian outback, and I don't know which one I enjoyed more. I felt the grit of the red dust between my teeth and the sun leeching all the moisture from my body as I read. Distances are almost at the edge of incredulity in this place. The nearest large city is over 900 miles away. The two brothers, Nathan and Cameron, have adjoining cattle ranches, and it's a three-hour drive between their houses. Schooling is done online via a slow internet connection. Every white person has skin cancer to some degree. Detail by detail woven seamlessly into the narrative, the outback looms large.

But so does Nathan Bright because we see the story through his eyes. Nathan lives "beyond the Pale," having committed an error for which no one living in that harsh environment will forgive him. Divorced, the one good thing in his life is his son, Xander, who lives in Brisbane with his mother. When something doesn't make sense to Nathan, he can't leave it alone. And his brother, dying of exposure when his truck was in perfect working order and filled with water and food, well-- that just doesn't make sense.

We get to know the other members of the Bright family as Nathan works to answer his questions, and we learn that they are all damaged in some way. The power of Harper's storytelling meant that I was pulled along like a leaf caught in the current of a river, enjoying the words and the spell they wove too much to try to do any detective work of my own. Love and hate predominate not only the outback itself but the relationships between the members of this family. A nanosecond before the reveal occurred, everything fell into place for me: each character's behavior, the tiniest of clues planted throughout the narrative, and I was left a bit stunned. And I was also left wondering, out of all the men in this book, which one was truly The Lost Man? It's a question I'm still pondering.

This is powerful storytelling that should not be missed.

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

eISBN: 9781250105691

Flatiron Books © 2019

eBook, 345 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: NetGalley 

Go to My Grave by Catriona McPherson

First Line: This is the story of three days last September when eight old friends gathered in a beautiful house by the sea.

Donna Weaver and her mother purchased an old house on a remote beach in Scotland, named it The Breakers, restored it, and turned it into a luxury bed and breakfast. They've put everything they have into the place, and it just has to be a success.

Donna is on hand to cook gourmet meals and to pick up after the very first group of guests, but this argumentative group of cousins soon realize that they've been to the house before. Over two decades have passed, but the night of a sixteenth birthday party still haunts them all-- it's the night one young girl drowned in the sea. The cousins all made a vow of silence, but now someone has broken the pact. Before the weekend is over, at least one of them will also die.

I've enjoyed other standalone novels by Catriona McPherson because she is skilled at heightening suspense and in creating characters that grab my interest. She's got plenty of suspense here in Go to My Grave, and the character of Donna Weaver certainly grabbed my interest. So, too, did the element of running a bed and breakfast on a beach in Scotland because I've enjoyed stays in more than one place like that.

The story is compelling, told in two timelines. One, in 1991, in the voice of a teenage girl invited to that fateful birthday party, and the other in the voice of Donna, the co-owner of The Breakers, in the present day. Both voices are forceful, making readers want to keep turning the pages. Both voices make readers want to know what really happened at that birthday party and who is responsible for what is happening at The Breakers now.

Unfortunately, I deduced what was going on almost immediately, and I came close to skipping to the end to find out if I was right because this group of cousins is nothing more than a pack of entitled, self-indulgent pillocks who've never taken responsibility for their actions in their entire lives. At one point, I closed the book and thought-- very loudly-- "Would someone stick a knife in that man!" because one of them is obnoxious beyond belief.

But you know what? Donna's voice kept me reading until the very end, and although this isn't one of my finest reading experiences this year, I'm glad I finished it. I will admit that, if the next book I pick up has a similar cast of characters, I won't finish reading it!

Go to My Grave by Catriona McPherson

eISBN: 9781466879904

Minotaur Books © 2018

eBook, 304 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: C+

Source: Net Galley


 

Little Comfort by Edwin Hill

First Line: All Hester Thursby wanted was a single day to herself, and today was going to be that day-- even if it killed her.

Hester Thursby is a librarian at the Widener Library at Harvard. She uses her research skills to run a little side business in which she locates missing persons. Usually, she's reuniting long-ago prom dates or adopted children and birth parents, but when she agrees to locate Lila Blaine's long-lost brother Sam, she finds herself in very unfamiliar territory.

Sam has no desire to be found. For over twelve years, he and his friend Gabe have traveled the country, reinventing themselves as they go. Sam has a taste for the good life, and he's learned how trusting lonely, rich people can be. When he meets fabulously wealthy Wendy Richards in Boston, Sam is convinced he's finally found his ticket to the big time and all the wonderful things he's always known he's deserved.

As Hester's research has her closing in on the two, she unknowingly puts herself in danger. While Gabe has pinned his hopes of a normal life on Hester, Sam wants her out of the way-- and Gabe has always done whatever Sam wants.

Hester Thursby is a character that I want to know more about. Not only is she a member of my favorite profession, she's a quarter of an inch away from little person status (and sick to death of the assumptions people make about her because of her diminutive size. She lives with Morgan, whose twin sister dumped her three-year-old daughter Kate on them and then disappeared. Since Morgan's twin is also Hester's best friend, Hester's been dealing with the situation willingly, even taking a leave of absence from the library-- but Morgan isn't pulling his weight when it comes to childcare, and Hester desperately needs a break.

Besides his main character, I also liked Hill's pacing of the story and the mystery itself, which I found downright creepy in places. There is a surprisingly bloodless dismemberment (which may please some readers), and the three-year-old Kate has to be the best-behaved child on the planet. Hester also displayed a disheartening lack of awareness, taking risks with not only her own life but with little Kate's as well. I'm hoping that Hester's next investigation will be less daunting-- especially if she continues to bring Kate along with her. It would be nice to see her in the library, too.

My favorite part of Little Comfort concerned the "bad guys." Sam and Gabe were such obvious choices that it made me smile when Hester agreed with me on the identity of the real villain of the piece. Edwin Hill's debut novel is well worth reading in order to discover just whom that person is. Give it a try.

Little Comfort by Edwin Hill

ISBN: 9781496715906

Kensington Books © 2018

Hardcover, 343 pages

Thriller/Suspense, #1 Hester Thursby mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Amazon Vine


 

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

First Line: Her husband's almost home.

Anna Fox is a recluse in her New York City home. Agoraphobic, she spends her days drinking wine, playing chess online, watching old movies, spying on her neighbors, but not stepping one foot outside her door.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way. The perfect family: a father, a mother, and their teenage son. But when Anna looks out her window one night, she sees something she shouldn't, and her world begins to fall apart. It's only then that Anna learns that no one and nothing is what it seems.

As I began to read The Woman in the Window, the thought ran through my mind that I would drive Anna Fox nuts. You see, I lived next door to a Peeping Tom as I was growing up, so I learned at a very early age to close the curtains once the sun goes down. You want to see something interesting? Move along down the street because you're not going to find it at this house!

As I read a little further, another thought crossed my mind. Why am I reading this book when Anna Fox is the type of character I don't like? I have few hot buttons when it comes to reading, but characters who drink to excess is one of them. Anna literally spends her days swilling wine and gobbling pills-- most of which her doctor has told her expressly not to take with alcohol. But I couldn't stop reading. In fact, I found myself reading faster, and I think I know why.

A.J. Finn made Anna Fox a compelling, sympathetic, "train wreck"  of a character. The sort of character that you know something bad is going to happen to, and you just have to keep reading to find out what that bad thing is and if she's going to survive it.

The second thing that had my eyeballs glued to the page was the way the story unfolded. Finn does an absolutely marvelous job of weaving old movies like "Gaslight" and references to such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie into his story. Moreover, he does it in such a way that the end result's not a slavish imitation but something that keeps the gears whirring in your head while you smile, snuggle down deeper into your chair, and keep on reading.

There are two big secrets in The Woman in the Window. How did I do in uncovering them? I figured out one and could kick myself for not deducing the other. If you're in the mood for a story that has more twists and turns than San Francisco's Lombard Street, you really should get your hands on a copy of A.J. Finn's book. It's a good'un.

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

eISBN: 9780062678447

HarperCollins © 2018

eBook, 430 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

First Line: Have you ever wondered how long it takes to dig a grave?

Erin, a documentary filmmaker, and Mark, an investment banker, are deeply in love. When they marry, they embark on the honeymoon of their dreams to the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora. While scuba diving, they find something. Something that requires a decision-- and their decision triggers a chain of events that will change their lives forever.

This review is going to be rather short and sweet because I don't have all that much to say. Something in the Water is a well-written example of domestic suspense, the type of novel that's come in on Gone Girl's wave of popularity. Therein lies the rub: I was so not a fan of Gone Girl that I couldn't finish it. At least Catherine Steadman's characters aren't as obnoxious as those in Gillian Flynn's book, and I stuck with it to the very last page.

As I read the book, I could admire the writing, the characters, the story, and the pacing... but I simply could not care for the book. This review has more to do with me than it does with Steadman's work. I am tired of domestic suspense. I'm tired of reading books in which you can't trust any of your nearest and dearest. Just give me a simple murder and a dedicated cop to solve it. If you are a fan of Gone Girl and the domestic suspense subgenre, Something in the Water should be something that you will really enjoy. As for me, I'm going to steer clear of Domestic Suspense Circle and head for Harry Bosch Boulevard.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

ISBN: 9781524797188

Ballantine Books © 2018

Hardcover, 352 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Amazon Vine 

A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard

First Line: Kate Wolfe's 3 PM appointment stood in the doorway wearing a jaw-dropping miniskirt, a light blue tee, plaid knee socks and chunky platform heels.

Part of the reason why Kate Wolfe became a child psychiatrist is because of her own childhood: a mother who committed suicide, an emotionally unavailable father, and a younger sister who was brutally murdered when they were children. One of the few comforts Kate had was knowing that the man who killed her sister was on death row.

However, when a retired police detective gets in touch, he tells her that he's certain that Kate's sister was only one of many victims of a serial killer. Now Kate must face the possibility that her sister's killer walks free. In trying to learn the truth, she uncovers long-buried family secrets, but what Kate doesn't seem to realize is that, while she hunts for a killer, a killer is hunting her.

Having read Blanchard's Darkness Peering and The Breathtaker, I knew that I would enjoy her writing style. That certainly hasn't changed; her words flow smoothly and create vivid pictures, and the story moved along quickly. However, I am glad the story moved swiftly because the book suffers from "too much middle" and needed tighter editing. It certainly didn't help that I deduced very early on the identity of the killer, and-- although she has reason to be fragile-- Kate's insecurities wore me down.

On the whole, A Breath After Drowning is a fast-paced enjoyable read with a thought-provoking plot, and I'm glad I read it. Give it a try!

A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard

ISBN: 9781785656408

Titan Books © 2018

Paperback, 441 pages

Psychological Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B

Source: the publisher 

Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah

First Line: For the longest time, I thought my sister, Emory, was the lucky one.

The best thing she can do for herself, Cara Burrows thinks, is to leave her family a note, hop a plane, leave England, and spend two weeks in a five-star resort in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Exhausted beyond words when she arrives, all she wants to do is go to bed, but when she walks into the bathroom of her suite, she finds it's already occupied by a man and his daughter. The mistake is remedied at the front desk, but Cara soon realizes that the young girl she saw in that room was someone she couldn't possibly have seen: Melody Chapa, the most famous murder victim in America.

Now she's got to decide what she's going to do. Did she really see Melody? And what's she prepared to do about it-- especially if it means risking her own life?

Author Sophie Hannah enjoys the resorts in the Phoenix metropolitan area, and she's wanted to set a book in Arizona for a long time, but it wasn't until she was given the key to an already-occupied hotel room in the UK that she had the perfect idea for a story. Keep Her Safe does have an intriguing premise that satisfies on many levels, but not all.

The cast of characters isn't the most likable in the world, but I didn't mind because they were all interesting in their own ways. Cara Burrows tends to be a spineless whiner who'd rather dip into the family savings and run thousands of miles away than stay put and have a heart-to-heart with her husband and children. This was Cara's first time in the United States as well as her first time in a five-star resort, and it was often amusing to watch her experience culture shock.

Cara is "befriended" by Tarin Fry, a woman who's as blunt as a lead pipe. Tarin can be funny, but I'd no more want to live with that woman than I'd take up residence in a rattlesnake den. There's also Bonnie Juno, the woman who has her own hit television show, "Justice with Bonnie," and a police officer named Priddey who still cares even though he tries to convince himself that he doesn't.

Keep Her Safe's storyline was compulsive reading, and the characters certainly were entertaining, but in the end, it just felt a bit too contrived, and I think the police officer would agree: "Priddey felt as if he were watching a drama in which everyone loved their own lines a bit too much."  The book would have been better if more of the characters had not been waiting impatiently for their close-ups.

Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah

eISBN: 9780062388346

HarperCollins © 2017

eBook, 352 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.