{I've Been Reading} The Last House on the Street

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain 

In 2010, Kayla Carter and her young daughter move into the house where her husband died. The two of them designed their dream house together, at the edge of a new development. The large is huge, filled with trees that now seem oppressive and foreboding. She's heard that the woods are haunted and something about the lake behind the house frightens her. Even before the vandalism starts, Kayla is nervous.

In 1965, Ellie Hockley defies her parents' wishes to spend the summer volunteering as a civil rights worker, helping to register black voters. She's been thrust into an unfamiliar setting and is starting to discover just how sheltered her life has always been. 

Chapters alternate between the two women and I definitely found Ellie's story more interesting. 

This book is nothing like the other domestic thrillers I've been reading. It packs a heartbreaking emotional punch and I stayed up hours later than I should have because I couldn't bear to put it down and not know (even for a few hours) how it was going to end.

 

All I Want by Darcey Bell 

A married couple fall in love with a Victorian mansion in upstate New York and decide to buy the dilapidated old place. It needs a lot of work, but it's structurally pretty sound. It has its own theater right there in the house, built back when it was a dry out clinic where Broadway stars could retreat to sober up. They joke about the old movies they used to watch together, about houses with walls that drip blood, but they're not scared. Ben will come up from the city on weekends and Emma will live alone in the house for most of the week, overseeing the renovations and looking forward to the birth of their baby. Everything is almost perfect...at first. 

I absolutely loved the first three quarters of the book. After that, I was still hooked even though I didn't care for the direction the book was going in...and then there was the last chapter. I don't even know what to think about that ending, except that I didn't like it at all. 

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

{I've Been Reading} Reckless Girls

 

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins 

On the surface, it's a perfect excursion. When Amma and Brittany hire Nico and his girlfriend, Lux, to get them to Muroe Island, they jump at the chance. They don't think about the island's history of shipwrecks and cannibalism. They don't think about spending two weeks alone with strangers. It isn't until they arrive at the island and find another boat already anchored there that Lux feels her first twinge of unease. On the surface, they're all getting along and having fun, but beneath that things aren't what they seem. I enjoyed this one. The plot alternates between "before" and "now" and gradually fills in what's really going on in these relationships. 

The Birthday Party by Wendy Dranfield 

Little Charlotte should have been perfectly safe at the birthday party. Neither of her parents was there, but the yard and house were full of watchful adults. Her aunt and uncle had both promised to keep an eye on her...but no one has any idea when she disappeared or how it might have happened. Hours pass before she's even missed. 

As the hunt for Charlie continues, the plot of this one twists and turns and gets less and less plausible. I might've been more accepting of some of it if the author hadn't waited so long to let the reader know things that everyone else in the book would have already known. 

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

{I've Been Reading} Please See Us

 

Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen

Two dead girls lie in the marsh, not far from the Atlantic City boardwalk. A teenage psychic begins having disturbing visions. Please See Us is bleak and atmospheric and the plot slips between quite a few different characters. (It wasn't until the end of the book that I finally figured out I had thought that two different women were actually the same person and by that point, I wasn't about to go back and re-read it to get things straight.) The pace is slow, but the atmosphere kept me reading until it started to become clear how the different  characters all fit into the plot. 

 

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

{I've Been Reading} A Plus One For Murder

A Plus One for Murder by Laura Bradford 

The first book in the Friend for Hire mystery series is fast paced and fun. Her work as a travel planner has slowed to nothing and Emma Westlake is trying to find new sources of income when a friend suggests that she offer herself as a paid companion. It seems to be going great --until one of her clients drops dead at open mic night halfway through his poem. He'd already warned her that four of the audience members wanted him dead and because Emma left the venue before the police showed up to investigate, she's looking a little guilty herself. Luckily two of her clients are extremely enthusiastic about helping her figure things out. I loved this one and can't wait to spend more time with Emma and her quirky clients.

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

{I've Been Reading} The Life She Wants

 

The Life She Wants by Mel Sherratt 

Most of the book alternates between two women. Juliette has just moved into a new home and is grieving the death of her young daughter. Her husband is still working in the city so she's alone for most of the  week. Sarah has lived with her own husband in the house next door for years and is concerned about the impact new neighbors will have on their life, especially after Juliette asks about the little girl she saw in their garden.  

 

I didn't love this one. I'm not sure if I wasn't paying close enough attention or if I was actually  supposed to confuse the first person narrators in some chapters. The book jumps back and forth in time and it wasn't immediately obvious that certain events didn't make sense compared to what was happening in the present day. 

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

{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. 

{I've Been Reading} Hypnosis is For Hacks

 

Hypnosis is For Hacks by Tamara Berry 

Eleanor Wilde is a (formerly) fake medium who talks to real spirits. While her boyfriend's castle is being renovated, she accompanies his mother to a seaside resort and almost immediately witnesses what she's sure was a murder. The man is definitely dead -- what's being questioned is whether those two shadowy figures Eleanor saw were real or a trick of the light. Oh, and Eleanor's former partner-in-crime, a shady mentalist, is staying at the same hotel and wants in on the scam he's sure she's committing against her boyfriend's family. There's also a creepy doll that keeps turning up just outside her door and terrifying her brother. 

Eleanor is one of my favorite cozy mystery heroines. When she's faced with the idea of having her past secrets revealed, she doesn't back down. Instead, she calls Nicholas and involves him in what's going on. I absolutely loved this one! 

 

The Broken Spine by Dorothy St. James

I've been thinking a lot about libraries lately. Ours just reopened after being closed for most of the past two years, first while they were relocating to temporary quarters so the main library could be retrofitted for earthquake safety, then due to lockdowns, then so that it could be moved back to the main building, then again due to lockdowns.... They've had craft kits you could pick up at the curb and mobile hot spots to check out and an island on Animal Crossing....seemingly everything was prioritzed  but books. 

It might have been the perfect time for me to read The Broken Spine, a cozy mystery about a library that's been updated by removing the books. Assistant Librarian Trudell Becket isn't going to give up the town's beloved book collection without a fight and, along with her friends, sets up a library in the building's basement, stocking it with the books that were destined for the local landfill. She's down there working when a heavy shelf falls upstairs, killing the town manager. And because she won't reveal what she was really doing, she's the main suspect. 

I really, really enjoyed this one and can't wait to spend more time with Tru and her friends in their secret basement library. It requires some suspension of disbelief, and I really hope that a future book fixed Tru's relationship with her overbearing mother, but as fun escapism I highly recommend it.  

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

{I've Been Reading} The Perfect Daughter

 

 

The Perfect Daughter by Alex Stone

Jess Harper has always trusted her mother to help her make the right decisions. In the past, things have gone wrong, proving that Jess needs someone to guide her...but now Jess is falling in love and her mother doesn't approve of her choice. He's a plumber. He took Jess's time and focus away from her mother. Then he was missing, presumed dead, and the police were interviewing Jess. 

I was fascinated by the relationship between the two women, especially since it wasn't immediately clear which of them was the unreliable narrator. The plots moves from past to present, gradually revealing what's happened over the years. And what happened to Adam.  

Well-Offed in Vermont by Amy Patricia Meade 

Instead of moving into their rustic farmhouse in Vermont, Stella and Nick Buckley find themselves staying at a primitive cabin with no electricity, no running water, and a horrible hide-a-bed that's jutting with springs. They won't be allowed in their new home until the sheriff finishes investigating the murder victim they found at the bottom of their well so the two decide to investigate on their own. 

I really wanted to like this one. The mystery element was intriguing, but by the end of the book I couldn't stand the protagonists. The banter and chemistry between the two was never quite convincing and they were critical of every other character they encountered. Stella describes everyone as wearing ill-fitting clothes and has a hatred of even the idea of flannel or hand knit sweaters. Nick compares them all to unattractive public figures. I get that the "fish out of water element" was supposed to be interesting, but they came across as mean-spirited. 

Escaping Dreamland by Charlie Lovett 

The cover copy promises not only a contemporary author trying to track down an elusive children's book from a century earlier, but also the the stories of the three authors who wrote the book in 1906. I wanted to love this book, but it took me a while to warm up to the characters and I wound up setting it aside for a week because I couldn't figure out how the people I was reading about connected to anything else that was going on. Eventually, things started to tie together and make sense and from that point on I was hooked....at least on the historical scenes. I loved the information about the book packagers who put together series like the Bobbsey Twins and the Hardy Boys (the events predate Nancy Drew) and the details about life in New York at the turn of  the last century. And I really appreciated the author's note at the end explaining which events and characters were real. But the modern day author and his refusal to admit that he grew up reading children's books annoyed me the whole way through.   

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

{I've Been Reading} Nothing But Blackened Teeth

 

 

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Looking for a quick read about a haunted house?  This novella is just what you need as we count down towards Halloween. The imagery is wonderfully creepy and, thanks to a well-timed bump on the roof of my own house, it managed to make me jump out of my own skin in the middle of a sunny afternoon.

What better wedding surprise could there be than a late night visit to a Heian-era mansion, built on the bones of a bride and the girls sacrificed over the years to keep her company? This must be the third book I've read in recent months about houses built on bones, but in this one it works. The author does a fantastic job of making you feel how cold and lonely the bride is down in the dirt. She uses a lot of Japanese terms and some of them aren't easy to figure out through context clues. I know I was missing details because I wouldn't put the book down long enough to look everything up, but I was okay with that. 

 

 Mother's Helper by Julia Crouch 

Rachel, a picture perfect influencer hires Abbie, an awkward young woman, to move into her home as a fully time nanny for her baby. Neither of the two women is exactly what she claims to be. This one was an entertaining fast-paced read. At first, not much made it stand out from all of  the other thrillers I've read about social media stars, but by the end I was absolutely holding my breath as the plot twisted and turned. 

Lost You by Haylen Beck 

I was quickly pulled into the first few chapters of this domestic thriller. Libby and her young son are vacationing alone at a huge resort. Despite her concerns about travelling along with a preschooler it's all going great until the little boy darts into an elevator ahead of his mother and manages to hit the buttons before she can reach the closing doors. The search for Evan is a tense one....and then the plot shifts to a completely different set of characters and a completely different situation. Of course they eventually tie together, but it felt like I'd been pulled out of a book I was really enjoying into a second book that wasn't quite as good. 

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

{I've Been Reading} Nanny Needed

 

Nanny Needed by Georgina Cross 

This is the kind of domestic thriller I love best. Sarah Larsen finds an elegantly printed  job flyer in the lobby of her apartment building. She's never worked as a nanny before, but she's struggling to pay off her debts and the job will help her to reach her goals more quickly. After visiting the opulent penthouse apartment of the Bird family for an interview, she signs the employment contract and nondisclosure agreement with no hesitation. 

Quickly, Sarah begins to realize that the job isn't what she was told it would be and that nondisclosure agreement keeps her from sharing her concerns with her boyfriend. That's one of the things I liked about this book -- Sarah is young and desperate, but she doesn't start out alone in the world and with no support system. This is a fast paced gothic with everything but the creepy old house and I kept turning pages to see what would happen next. 

 

The Stalker by Satah Alderson

A pair of newly-weds enjoying their honeymoon on a remote Scottish island quickly discover that they aren't alone. Someone scratches an unsettling message into the window of their cabin and it quickly becomes obvious that the stranger means to harm them. 

I absolutely loved this one! The setting is wonderfully atmospheric, with its ruined castle and ancient burial sites. The characters seem to really love each other. And the plot itself is suspenseful and kept me intrigued until the very end. 

 

An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten 

The protagonist from An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good is back and this time she's on a flight to South Africa, remembering her younger years. It turns out that Maude has always known how to get what she wants and always been ruthless in making that happen. She's also surprisingly likeable and I hated to see the book end. 

 

Murder Outside the Lines by Krsta Davis 

I can't resist cozy mysteries set during the Halloween season and this book had everything I could have wanted. It's filled with fall atmosphere and crunching leaves and ghostly apparitions...and a couple of other fun things I can't tell you about without ruining the surprise. Adult coloring book author Florrie Fox sketches her way to the mystery's solution and there's one scene where she's drawing a rolled carpet with a foot sticking out of one end (because that's what the celebrity psychic insists she saw) and contemplating whether the foot was male or female, flexed or pointed... watching her think things through is what I love most about this series.

The Child Who Never Was by Jane Renshaw 

The book opens with Sarah's frantic search for her eighteen-month-old son, Oliver. Everyone insists that Sarah has never given birth, that the child she remembers and insists is her own is actually the son of her identical twin, Evie. Everyone insists that his name is James. The official records states that James is Evie's son. But Sarah remembers giving birth and refuses to believe that it's all a delusion brought on by her agoraphobia and fragile mental state. Watching this unreliable narrator try to reclaim the life that she believes is hers had me holding my breath until the very end, wondering what was actually the truth. 

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