The Family Plot by Megan Collins Book Review

 

I was fortunate enough to have won this ARE via an Instagram giveaway hosted by Ms. Collins.

The Lighthouse family is not your typical family. The mom decided to homeschool her children, sheltering them from the folks on Blackburn Island, thinking that her truth would not come to the attention of her children. She lied to them for many, many years. The dad was a seemingly normal dad who taught his sons, Charlie and Andy, how to hunt, how to appreciate nature. The groundskeeper, Fritz as he was called, is an important character to his story who has a secret of his own that lends to the telling of this tale. Tate is the older sister who is an Instagrammer, obsessed with the telling of murders through dioramas, the reason behind her obsession becomes clear as you read this tale of family tragedy. There is Dahlia who is Andy’s twin who only wants to find out the truth and learns that she has a lot to learn and to forgive. There is Ruby who was Andy’s friend, unbeknownst to anyone. There is Greta who is Dahlia’s friend and who is portrayed as being a true friend in every sense of the word. And, there is Lyle Decker, who is Ruby’s grandfather. He plays a minor role in the telling of this tale, but an important one.

I absolutely love reading this kind of book and devoured this one in two days. It is twisty. It is dark. It is about a family who has some secrets that are revealed throughout. It is written in such a way that the reader will think the bad guy is one person only to find out it could possibly be one of the other characters. If you have not grabbed a copy of this book, or don’t have it on your list of must reads, I highly encourage you to grab a copy when it is published in August 2021.

The Shadow People by Joe Clifford Book Review

 

I received a gifted copy (via Net Galley) and am providing a review. Publishing July 13, 2021. (Not my picture.)

This certainly proved to be an interesting read, one that I may have to go back and read again to get the full impact. Mr. Clifford has written this in a different style, a lot of narrative, but that is the way Brandon Cossey has to tell his story, with a few twists and turns along the way. The ending was totally unexpected.

Jacob, Brandon’s long-time friend, seems to have gotten himself in a bit of trouble by writing a zine called “Illuminations.” Brandon figured it was just a bunch of crazy talk, but was it? Francis, Jacob’s grandfather who was banished from the family, decided to go on a quest to find out what happened to Jacob, make his peace. Brandon found himself tagging along. While on this venture, they ran into some pretty seedy characters, but in the end Brandon found the answers he was looking for.

After reading this book, here are a couple of questions to ponder: Are there really Shadow People, and does the color blue exist?

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides Book Review

I received a gifted copy and am providing a review.

I have had my eye on this book ever since I started seeing that Mr. Michaelides had a new book coming out, so when I received a copy in the mail one day I squealed with delight – literally. I devoured this book in two days … yeah, I think it is that good. I thought “The Silent Patient” was good as well, but “The Maidens” is ohsomuch better. There is even a tie-in to “The Silent Patient,” which I find rather intriguing. This book has it all and so much more. 

Mariana is Zoe’s aunt. She goes to help Zoe through a crisis at the college she is attending. Mariana is also a group psychotherapist, which lends to an underlying story of Henry throughout. While trying to help Zoe through a difficult time, Mariana encounters an old school mate, Julian. She meets Fred. She meets Morris who is the college’s head porter. She meets Edward Fosca, one of the college’s professors, who has created a group of favorite female students, “the Maidens” as they are called. Mariana also meets Chief Inspector Singha who is none too happy to have her around. She meets Elsie who is one of the college’s bedders. Mariana is also still grieving the loss of her husband a year ago, Sebastian. She is also reunited with one of her mentors through college, Clarissa. And a lot of Greek mythology mixed in. 

I found this book so well crafted it was hard to determine who the bad guy was. And the twist … the secrets … the determination of Mariana to find answers who also finds an inner strength she didn’t know she had or needed to discover. Well done, Mr. Michaelides, well done!

Dirty Liar by Marissa Finch Book Review

If you are looking for a good book to help you escape the world for a day, I highly recommend you pick up this book … most especially if you like a twist or two you won’t see coming. This book has everything you expect in a psychological thriller.

Lily who did something in her past that she is trying to escape from. James, her fiancé, who is not a nice man, but she doesn’t know how to escape his clutches nor is she certain she wants to. Aurora and Lily are connected by a thread that is tightly woven throughout this story. Connor, a minor character, but an important one. Damian and Bao are also minor characters but are also integral to this story. And then there is King, a German shepherd. 

I devoured this book in two days and would have made it in one if I didn’t have to work and/or sleep. Yeah, I thought it was that good. A five-star read for me. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Finch as she progresses in her writing career.

Freedom Lessons by Eileen Harrison Sanchez Book Review

 

This is a book I “won” through a Facebook group, Prose and the Pandemic. Ms. Sanchez is one of the founding authors.

There is such an important story held within the pages of this book. This story takes place back in 1969 to 1970 (I was only two years old!) when desegregation in schools was beginning to happen. Frank is a young black man who wants to gain a scholarship to go on to college to further his football career. Evelyn is a black teacher at the school who is leery of white people. And Colleen is a newly graduated white teacher who takes her first teaching job at the black high school. These are the three people who tell this tale. Colleen wants to see changes implemented immediately. While that doesn’t happen overnight, she is able to make her mark. Evelyn is quite skeptical of Colleen and her intentions, but she learns that Colleen is the “real deal.” She is, sadly, afraid to be seen talking to Colleen. There is so much to this story.

While reading this story, I was mad and sad all at the same time. Mad because this happened and in some parts of the world still does, and sad because this happened and in some parts of the world still does. The inscription Ms. Sanchez included in her book has so much more meaning knowing what this book is about. That inscription says: Be the change you want to see.

Anything For You by Marissa Finch Book Review

 

It all started with a phone call home. Nicolette’s daughter, Ella, finds herself in a bit of a situation so she calls the only person she can think of … her mom. Nicolette rushes to her daughter’s side in the middle of the night to help her figure out what to do. Thinking they have gotten away with it, Nicolette starts getting some bizarre texts. Texts she thinks are from the person who is behind what happened. She goes to great lengths to protect her daughter. The question is who is behind these mysterious texts and just how far will she go to protect Ella? The answers will surprise you. 

This is quite a long book at 401 pages, but worth the time. It is what I would call a slow burn to get to the end, but that is the way Nicolette has to tell her story so she doesn’t leave out any details. Ms. Finch is definitely going to be one to watch in the future. She is able to weave twists and turns into her stories that readers won’t see coming.

The Parting Glass by Lissa Marie Redmond Book Review

 

Publishing July 6, 2021.

I received a gifted copy and am providing a review. (Cover image provided by Ms. Redmond.)

If you like a story about a policewoman turned private investigator, I suspect you will enjoy this story. Lauren finds herself on medical leave due to some injuries she sustained while working a case in Iceland, so she decides to put her private investigator license to good use. She gets a call from Mrs. Whitney who is seeking her services to locate a missing Picasso that she claims is hers by rights and not the property of her ex-husband, Mr. Whitney. This tale takes Lauren and her partner, Reese (she had convinced him to take some time off work to help her out), to Ireland in search of said painting. While there, they encounter the Garda who are and are not happy to have a couple PIs on their turf. As it turns out, Lauren and Reese get more than they bargained for and find out some truths. As the story unfolds, secrets are revealed about the man hiding the painting. An innocent man, Robber Shea, ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another private investigator assigned to watch out for the painting for the past twenty years comes into play.

I believe that Ms. Redmond’s career as a detective gives her an inside look, so to speak, at how crimes are committed and how crimes are solved when lend to a bit of realism in her storytelling. Ms. Redmond also throws in a couple of twists that one would not expect. There is also animosity between Mrs. Whitney and Mr. Whitney, two shady characters for sure. There is even a hint of romance that gets blindsided by some unexpected news. As well, the seemingly minor characters help to make this story complete.

Recovering Rita by Teresa Burrell Book Review

 

As a member of Ms. Burrell’s beta reader team, I received a gifted copy and am providing a review. Cover image provided by Ms. Burrell.

Lana, Ron, and Tuper (and Dually, too!) are on the case of some missing Hutterite girls. They thought it was just Rita, but it turns out that at least one girl from several surrounding colonies also went missing. Their mission to find Rita leads them down one path, chasing clues, only to find them veering off to go in another direction that they weren’t expecting. Lana has some deep buried secrets of her own that she isn’t ready to reveal to anyone; Ron is curious, Tuper doesn’t ask, and Lana isn’t ready to tell. Maybe she will be in another book.

Ms. Burrell does a fascinating job of leading the reader down one path and then very cleverly tosses a pebble in the mix, turning the reader down another path. There is also just the faintest hint of a potential romance. Ms. Burrell also does a good job of intermixing her characters from her previous books into her current book.

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay Book Review

 

I received a copy from NetGalley and am providing a review. Not my picture.

It all started with a party that went terribly wrong. Matt, a college student who is somewhat estranged from his family, especially his father, receives word that his family has suffered a fatal accident while on vacation in Mexico. He has to go to Mexico to claim their bodies and bring them home. After meeting some shady characters while in Mexico, he goes on a quest to find out what really happened to his family. His sister, Maggie, was on the trail of something or someone through tips she received via the social media accounts she had setup … to help their older brother, Danny. Agent Keller, with the FBI, is on Matt’s side and wants justice for his family.

This story has just about everything you could want. A close-knit family with some secrets intermixed. Some political undertones. FBI involvement. The guilty party turned out to be someone very unexpected. Matt’s close friends also play an integral part in this story, a misfit group for sure but they stick close together.