{I've Been Reading} These Toxic Things

 

These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall

Mickie Lambert works for Memory Bank, a company that creates digital projects that will tell stories and project holographic images of the client's favorite things. After her latest client, owner of a cluttered curio shop, commits suicide, she plans to finish the job. Maybe the dead woman's family will want the memories associated with the twelve unrelated objects she'd chosen. 

It took me a while to get into this one, but once I got past the high tech gimmick involved in the memory boxes and paid more attention to the objects and  their stories, I started to enjoy it more. Although I had a hunch what some things might be, and I was right, I never  came close to figuring it all out. The ultimate purpose behind the box Mickie is working on is extremely creepy and unsettling. 

 

 After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill 

Madeline is writing about Edward, who is writing about Madeline....and they're each convinced that the other is a character they created. Madeline is a mystery writer who's decided to branch away from her successful series about a maid in the early 1900s to write about Edward, a literary writer who is trying something different by writing about a mystery writer. Have I given you an idea how confusing this all is? The point of view shifts seamlessly mid scene so I was never quite sure if what I was reading was real life or the story being written. Which is the whole point of the thing. This one is a doozy of a murder mystery, unlike anything I've read before. 

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

{I've Been Reading} A Treacherous Curse

 

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn 

I've been thoroughly enjoying the Veronica Speedwell mysteries. After absolutely loving the first one, I had to return the second to the library before finishing it and then never read the third one because I'd have to go back and start the second book over again... Please tell me I'm not the only one who does that! 

A Treacherous Curse, the third book, deals with a cursed expedition and a stolen diadem that once belonged to an Egyptian princess. Oh, and there's also a hot air balloon and an unplanned expedition into the London sewers. I love all of the historical details in these books. This one had a great mystery element with an intriguing solutions that I didn't see coming. I'm so glad I have four more books to read before I'm caught up on the series!  

Gorge by Katherine Carlson has an intriguing premise. Desperate to lose weight, Marty Clawson asks her husband to dump her into the woods where she'll be forced to starve herself thin. It's a thriller, so I was willing to suspend my disbelief that far. The problem is that Marty hates herself and she hates her husband and her doctor... Once things start to happen, she's too busy to complain about rubbing thighs or tight waistbands and that suspension of disbelief went right out the window. It got more interesting, in the way that an over the top horror novel sometimes does, then hit the ending and screeched to a halt. The Kindle app jumped me to the review screen before I had a chance to read the epilogue  but even those few pages didn't quite wrap things up. There's not much to like about any of these characters so I guess I don't really care what happened to Marty. 

Disclosure -- The publisher of A Treacherous Curse provided me with an ARC. Gorge is a Kindle Unlimited title. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading} Missing Daughter

 

Missing Daughter by Kiersten Modglin 

The morning after her birthday party, a three year old is missing. Her mother had a lot to drink the night before, and so did her father, but they locked the doors before going to bed. They're both sure of that. Only Ginny might not be as sure as she thinks she is. She's been having trouble coping since their daughter's birth and leans heavily on her husband to  help her manage things. 

The plot quickly jumps to events from six months before their little girl went missing. The book is entertaining but I never really liked either of the parents. At times it felt like they were more focused on their own relationship and whether extended family members were reacting the way they wanted them to than they were on the fact that their little girl was gone. They're both making stupid mistakes along the way. I felt like this one was a kind of run of the mill domestic thriller. 

Disclosure -- This post contains affiliate links. The publishers sent me advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} An Eggnog to Die For

 

An Eggnog to Die For by Amy Pershing 

It took me some time to warm up to the first book in the Cape Cod Foodie series, but by the end I was absolutely hooked and  couldn't wait for the second title to come out. Now I've had the exact same reaction to the second book. I had to get past the Christmas festivities and into the details of the mystery itself before I started really enjoying the read. I love the protagonist and her friends, I love the Cape Code setting and the mystery and even the dog....but I didn't love those first chapters. 

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