{I've Been Reading} The Other Couple

 

 Hidden Treasure by Jane K Cleland

Josie Prescott is an antiques expert with her own popular television show and when she discovers an old trunk in the Victorian she and her husband are preparing to restore, she follows all of the proper procedures to reunite it with its rightful owner. That trunk belongs to the former owner of her house, not to the two nieces who show up demanding that Josie hand the trunk and its valuable contents over to them. Maudie Wilson is an adorable old lady and when a body is found in her apartment and there's no trace of Maudie herself, I was seriously worried. I don't know how I've managed to miss the Josie Prescott Antique Mysteries before now, but I definitely want to pick up the earlier books and spent more time with these characters.  

  

The Other Couple  by Cathryn Grant 

Skye and Joe are sitting in an expensive Lake Tahoe restaurant, enjoying the view and their drinks and discreetly observing the other diners. They're looking for a husband and wife who will fall for their con. Maggie and Brad fit the bill perfectly and before the evening is over they've invited Skye and Joe to share their lakeside rental house. I was quickly hooked by the plot and enjoyed the way that chapters alternate between the four main characters, but it got very repetitive very quickly and the plot began to drag. Brad wants time alone with his wife to work on their marriage. Maggie is glad to have their new friends as a buffer. Skye and Joe are just in it for the free vacation and whatever they can steal....and then things go wrong.  I appreciated that each character had a distinct voice but the plot started to lose its grip on me about halfway through and there was a twist I just couldn't make myself accept. 

Only Truth by Julie Cameron 

Isabel Dryland was brutally assaulted as a teenager. She can't remember the details of that day, but it left her physically and emotionally damaged. Her life as an adult is good.  Her loving husband has found them a wonderful house and she's renovating one of the outbuildings into a new studio. Everything should be fine...but it isn't. This is a gritty, sometimes brutal domestic thriller that had be both wanting to keep turning pages and wanting to put the book down because it's all rushing fast towards something awful. 

Disclosure -- This post contains affiliate links. The publisher provided me with an advance review copy.