Black Widows by Cate Quinn Book Review

 

This is the kind of book I can sink my teeth into. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this from three POVs. Rachel the first wife, Emily a sister-wife, and Teresa a sister-wife. Blake the husband. These folks lived way out on the other side of nowhere … where supposedly no one could bother them as they didn’t live a lifestyle most folks agreed with.

Rachel – she is Blake’s first wife, trying to run away from a past that she can’t quite forget, thinking Blake would offer her something better.

Teresa – the wife Blake met in Las Vegas so she was street-smart. She also didn’t know what she was getting into when she met Blake.

Emily – the shy wife, the youngest wife.

There’s more to each of these women. They each have an inner strength that is unbelievably amazing, especially when faced with some pretty hard-hitting truths.

This tale can be rather dark at times, maybe even rather farfetched but I think that’s what I liked about it. Some truth with the plural wife lifestyle thrown in to give it just enough reality along with a whole lot of fiction thrown in because really … who can come up with these scenarios better than a writer?

What I really liked about this tale is the inner strength Rachel, Teresa, and Emily found within themselves. I liked the fact that there is some healing involved, some good coming out of a really bad situation involving some really bad characters, some deeper understanding of each of these women and their personal circumstances, learning to work together to be better and make something good happen.

The Favorite Girl by Monica Arya Book Review

 

Hmmmm … The Favorite Girl. I had been seeing this floating around social media, folks saying how dark it was, how good. I just had to give it a try.

Okay … yeah, this is pretty dark. I don’t have triggers, so I didn’t find this one too disturbing, but … yeah, I can see where some folks might not be able to stomach this one. The one thing that I feel the author should do is include her trigger warnings in the front of the book and not just on her web site. That’s really my only criticism.

Demi – I like the character Demi. Even though she wanted to give up, she did not. She knew, deep down, there had to be a way out of her situation. She just had to hold onto that hope and her inner strength.

I actually enjoyed the darkness of this one, sometimes thinking – well, that’s creepy. The ending though? That I certainly did not see happening.

If you like deeply disturbing, darker-than-most reads, give this one a try.

The trigger warnings include – sensory deprivation, self-harm, woman degradation, human trafficking, medical experiments, bone garden, cages, violence, graphic scenes, sexual assault, parent abandonment.

The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright Book Review

 

I enjoy this author’s writing and Bonaventure Circus is no different. I like the way she overlaps the past into the present and has characters that ‘match’ each other.

The premise of this circus tale is the mystery surrounding its history. In true author style, Piper and Jack are close to the present-day characters of Chandler and Hank. The thing about Pippa is she was abandoned on the Ripleys’ doorstep as a baby because even though she was born into the circus for whatever reason her parents decided not to keep her and, I suspect, wanted her to have a better life and not looked upon as a circus-show attraction. This was back in 1928. Pippa had a deep-seated yearning when she was old enough to be a part of the circus. Enter Jack, whom she was fiercely attracted to, but betrothed to Forrest. Enter Lily, the baby elephant, who helped Pippa in more ways than one.

Fast forward many decades when Chandler’s father purchased the old circus depot. Chandler’s job was to assess the property and see what sort of remodeling it would take, the money it would take to revamp the space into something monetarily sound. Enter Hank. The overlap of Pippa and Chandler’s personality comes into play when they are both trying to prove themselves in a man’s world, to try to prove they are up to the task at hand, both fighting their attraction to men who are supposedly not good for them.

I enjoyed reading about these women’s challenges in the appropriate time periods; these two women are both strong-willed in their own ways, finding their own voices. I especially liked the ‘ghostly’ feel that was portrayed at the circus depot and the costume house. Had it not been for the ghosts of the past, a couple of present-day crimes would not have been solved.

There was one point when Pippa discovered something about her roots, where I actually said, “What?!?” That certainly caught me by surprise. Read this one – I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Cold Lies by Bethany Dvilinskas Book Review

 

One thing about being a reader, as I’ve mentioned before, is finding new authors. I really like this cover.

I’m sad though. I have to be honest … this story had so much promise; it’s a good storyline with Sutton Romello being a detective, being injured, being put on desk duty, being assigned a 20-year-old cold case. I’m sad because I wish the author would have taken a bit more time to edit her story, to bring it an over-the-top wow factor. I will read more by her because I’d like to see how she evolves as a writer.

I like strong female characters and Sutton fits that character role very well, as do the other female characters in Lexie, Sutton’s partner (though Lexie is a bit overprotective); Natalie, Lexie’s boss. It was interesting to me how this particular 20-year-old case overlapped into these ladies’ present-day lives. Again … I like the idea of the storyline; it just needs polishing.

The Light Beside The Sea by Connie Di Marco Blog Tour and Book Review

 

I received a gifted copy.

Julia is an astrologer who finds herself meeting new clients who are somehow tied to what happened to her late fiancé, Michael. Julia is also still close to Michael’s sister, Maggie, so of course Maggie is involved. The more clues these two amateur sleuths uncovered, the more interesting this story became.

There’s a journal.

There’s a bad guy.

There are smuggled artifacts.

There are love interests.

The clues keep piling up.

There are also a couple of intertwined stories that help take the focus off the main story, involving Rupert, Julia’s grandma, the neighbor, and the Mystic Eye store.

But the whodunnit? Whoa! Didn’t see that one.

To be honest, I wanted to devour this book in one sitting. The chapters are short, there is not a lot of ‘fluff’ in the action descriptions, and there is a lot of dialogue – all of which made this story move at a rather fast pace, which I appreciated. I was also rather taken in by the astrological chart descriptions.

This is also a part of a series, The Zodiac Mysteries, but can definitely be read as a standalone. Now, I need to get my hands on the rest of the series.

I cannot really describe why I was so taken in by this story; this is just good storytelling.

 

Find Ms. Di Marco:

Website: https://www.conniedimarco.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/askzodia

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connie.di.marco.author/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connie_di_marco/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/connie-di-marco

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14751339

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Light-Beside-Sea-Zodiac-Mysteries/dp/B0D39ZVSZ5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=367A99PRME9GC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.067waP_W2F5s9FnrTYt78B5tUBSRJ-HpQCDdu0-DWVSycc5u-P7ddeoPyFwA1FYXPVLNsEN8YWlB2GfUNcqUrOjqz2HdCFjhaIhX7jYC3cLetXCGvtKqbQYK8WBp-XEn72Otj_RwbO0PMalzmkItG5J3gOgqH5JSeV-UTLHDl0TwhMmqnzWpt-QAU13doAKs3SBEPrq3nLtvavrllPupaVOYpJalI7t2bOWnASpx0nc.wz8_CgLy8MaP79s5Pr4HTBsyu9H6JerQxLb8EV-KQIQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+light+beside+the+sea&qid=1716653933&sprefix=the+light+bes%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-light-beside-the-sea-connie-di-marco/1145556504?ean=2940186056300

 

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One Little Sigh by Shannon Hollinger New Release

Help me congratulate Shannon Hollinger on her new release – One Little Sigh. Here’s the blurb:

The small child floats so gently in the water, he could be peacefully asleep: but the cold blue of his skin reveals his fate. One mother’s little boy is never coming home again.

When Chief Maggie Riley sees the body of the small boy still dressed in pajamas in Beaverhead Lake, her heart breaks. Little Patrick Warner went missing last night. Despite immediately calling the entire town of Coyote Cove into action, Maggie’s desperate search failed. Even worse, it’s clear it was murder: Patrick took his last breath long before he entered the water.

Maggie is devastated—Patrick reminds her so much of her beautiful younger brother, gone for so long. Visiting the tiny, rumpled bed where Patrick’s teddy bear still lies, and where Patrick was last seen by his mother Jenny, Maggie’s grief turns to rage. She is determined to bring whoever hurt Patrick to justice.

In this isolated community, someone must know something. But no one will talk. And if his family had nothing to do with it, why are they so secretive? As Maggie’s investigation gathers pace, her emotions threaten to overwhelm her. She still doesn’t know her brother’s fate—she won’t let that happen for little Patrick.

But when Jenny suddenly disappears, suspicions whirl around her role in Patrick’s death. Could she have been lying all this time? Or is Jenny herself in terrible danger too? To uncover the truth before more innocent lives are lost, and lay her demons to rest, Maggie will have to risk not only those closest to her but her own life too…

What You Leave Behind by Wanda Morris New Release

 

Help me congratulate Wanda Morris on her new release – What You Leave Behind. Here’s the blurb:

Award-winning author Wanda Morris returns with a powerful, haunting thriller following a lawyer who after the mysterious disappearance of a local landowner and the death of his sister just months before, uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to Reconstruction and persists in half the United States today.

Deena Wood’s life has fallen apart in the aftermath of losing her beloved mother, her marriage, and her prestigious job at an Atlanta law firm. She needs what the Geechee people of coastal Georgia call a “dayclean,” a fresh start.

She returns to her childhood home in Brunswick, Georgia, to heal. But her return is anything but the respite she thought it might be. To make peace with all her loss, she often drives through the city. One day, she unwittingly finds herself on the oceanfront property of a loner widower who is fighting to keep land that has been in his family since the end of the Civil War. He threatens her and warns her to never return. But shortly after, he disappears, and his very expensive property is quickly put up for sale. Curious about what has happened to the man, Deena digs into his disappearance and finds a family legacy at risk. What starts out as a bit of curious snooping, turns into a deadly game of illegal land grabs and property redevelopment in poor and rural communities with dark and powerful forces at work.

Without realizing it, Deena finds herself caught up in a nightmarish scheme that threatens her community and her family. She’ll need help and finds it in a close but unlikely source because she knows she must do whatever it takes to stop the sinister forces at play before she becomes their next target.

The Devil You Knew by Mike Cobb Blog Tour and Book Review

 

I received a gifted copy. There are probably going to be some spoilers as I don’t know how to talk about this book without giving some things away. This tale, for me, got off to a slow start until the first crime, then it picked up.

Part One of this tale is told in the voice of 11-year-old Billy (Binky to his friends). There is a lot of narrative throughout these pages. I think it had to be written this way. Part One takes us through two crimes that happened to two young girls and a failed third attempt. These crimes happened back in 1963 … the time when segregation was still very prominent, so of course, guess who gets blamed? Yep, Sam Jepperson. Not good detective work, just plain old closing the case and who cares about the truth?

Dovey Mae – I liked Dovey Mae’s character. She was Granny Tarwater’s house person, relegated to the kitchen to even eat her meals. Dovey Mae and Billy would sneak off and she would tell Billy the truth of the matter and even at 11 years old, Billy was smart enough to know something wasn’t right with how Dovey Mae’s “people” were treated. This book stays true to the verbiage of the time.

Granny Tarwater – Everyone needs a Granny Tarwater. She came across as someone who had a sense of right and wrong, no matter a person’s skin color.

Fast forward to Part Two, the 1980s. Billy is all grown-up. He’s still in touch with some of his neighborhood pals. Billy grew up to be a newspaperman. The intriguing thing about Billy is that he never forgot about Sam and never did accept what happened as fact. He decides to try to find out what really happened, since he now had the resources to do so. Interestingly, not only was this helpful to Sam, it was also helpful to Cynthia, Billy’s now wife. You’ll find out why.

This book made me sad, and it made me mad. Sad because things like this happened, mad because things like this happen. It also puts forth the fact that even back in the 1960s, during all the segregation going on, there were still good folks in the world, like Billy, like Granny Tarwater, who would think about going against the grain, but they just weren’t sure how to, so they kept their thoughts to themselves. I also liked Officer Winstanley. I think deep down he was a good man, he wanted to get to the truth, but he was told to “tow the line,” so to speak. Dovey Mae … we all need a Dovey Mae. She told it like it was, even to 11-year-old Billy. I liked grown-up Billy’s never give up attitude in his seeking out the truth, even if it meant kicking over some rocks, some uncomfortable feelings.

There is also a message of healing within these pages. Especially when the truth was finally revealed. And the whodunit all those years ago? That just adds another layer to the telling of this tale.

  

Find Mr. Cobb:

Website: https://mgcobb.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mgcobb

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MGCobbWriter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cobbmg/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13985093.Mike_Cobb

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Devil-You-Knew-Mike-Cobb/dp/057837143X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2RLU18N7AITYL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.O9FiYDaVI8avE1sD6BOCbZGFnuTJwy4NKyzlipnDPdHCwNQL9nNhmYolonwM5BBG.7coqfQWs0QZsPc-hiAOCwV5S7MxKkDnp18tP8qbvMDk&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+devil+you+knew+mike+cobb&qid=1713631042&sprefix=the+devil+you+knew%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-devil-you-knew-mike-cobb/1142050332?ean=9780578371436

 

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All We Buried by Elena Taylor Book Review

 

I received this book as a gift.

Have you met Bet? Her name is Elizabeth, but folks call her Bet. The premise is Bet being lured back home by her dad because he was sick. Her position as sheriff in her hometown was just supposed to be temporary. Now she’s up for re-election against Dale. There’s some animosity there. Bet has also inherited her dad’s dog, Schweitzer. Schweitzer adds some realness to this tale.

Bet finds herself in all kinds of situations. She’s adapting to her new position and wondering if she wants to be re-elected. She’s coming face-to-face with some realities that are just now surfacing from her past. She’s forced to face some of the people that she grew up with, one who caused her teenage heartache. They’ve all grown up and some have moved on but came back to Collier, but they all have some long-buried secrets. It’s up to Bet and her team to find the truth.

I enjoyed getting to know Bet, so to speak. While she is dealing with a lot of emotional ‘stuff,’ she also maintains her professionalism and does her best to not let her personal feelings get in the way of solving the mystery she is presented with. I like strong female characters and Bet does not disappoint in that aspect. While she’s a bit afraid to accept some of the truths she uncovers, she doesn’t shy away from finding them. If you like a police procedural with a female lead, I’d give this one a go. I’m looking forward to the next book, A Cold, Cold World. It’ll be interesting to see what Bet finds herself up against.

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/All-We-Buried-Sheriff-Mystery/dp/1643852914/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2V07TU7649H8X&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XQn57T7wGaVOfpePtNF8e923a3_dLZJ3o6_DVbVvalw-YX4Wb2hNsinPKD1ckmLPSr4245ZH8AH-kUVTt5fVGOh0icsWkSfGoO1Yt1ZMWFq0VS76UkhpUp1qWra8-es_Y5iITmuniMx1XsNdp_O_F-am3KKBbKIwySnukwAu2S9QBs76bsepQP-oR48KOFVY1djTjJETRKqz-X7Nem1IzMZ-ORPvrVzJjFl7sF66yxg.Eh8CzZHw7reoc-RFjDyq23xWZyWWKtnlwenQNMWywlQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=all+we+buried&qid=1716654890&s=books&sprefix=all+we+buried%2Cstripbooks%2C220&sr=1-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-we-buried-elena-taylor/1136613032?ean=9781643852911

 

Find Ms. Taylor:

Website: https://www.elenataylorauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElenaTaylorAuthor

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/elena-taylor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19494739.Elena_Taylor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Elena_TaylorAut

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenataylorauthor/

 

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Look Closer by David Ellis Book Review

 

I’ve seen this book floating around on social media and, having never read this author’s work before, decided to give it a go.

I breezed through this bad boy in two days flat. Could’ve been one day, but …

This is a very twisted tale that involves Lauren, Conrad (though he is quite a superficial character), Vicky, Simon, Christian, Gavin, Jane (the police detective) and her partner, Andy. We have a diary, some text messages, and an event that happened on Halloween, because what better day could there be than the one where you can dress up and no one will recognize you or what you are up to?

This book is written in the present-day timeline which includes the investigation and the months leading up to the fateful day. This is a writing style that I tend to like to read. I liked the fact that my head was kind of spinning throughout the telling of this tale, thinking oh it’s … no, maybe not. I did begin to figure out the whodunnit, but not the reason behind it. This is rather a long tale at 448 pages, but I think it had to be so the ending was not rushed and the connections between all the whys could come together cohesively in the end. I would not hesitate to read more of this author’s work.

The Clinic by Cate Quinn Book Review

I was intrigued by the cover of this book, so I decided to give it a read. I did something different and flipped to the back to see how many pages this book contained as I wanted a “big” book, a long read. It has 433 pages – perfect for what I was in the mood for. Then, I read the acknowledgements and was impressed with the author’s candidness about her own addiction and how this book came to be.

This book is told in two voices, those of Cara (the receptionist at the Clinic) and Meg (Haley’s sister, with an addiction and other issues of her own). The prologue pulled me in right away. I wanted to know what happened to Haley. We also meet a whole host of other characters.

We meet the Clinic’s residents.

Sierra – the shy one.

Jade – the wanna-be famous person.

Tom – the womanizer, on his fourth marriage.

Dex – the famous one.

Madeline – the one who wants to help everyone.

Dr. Lutz – the owner of the Clinic.

Max – another doctor at the Clinic.

Cara – the receptionist.

Harry – Meg’s long-time friend.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this tale as I didn’t read the blurb, but the more I read, the more I was pulled into Meg’s story and her quest to find out what happened to Haley. Of course, the other characters add their own layers to this tale. Meg’s job, relationship with Harry, and her own issues add layers to her story. And, the secrets she uncovered under the guise of Dr. Lutz’s newfound treatment that he was working on, yet another layer. Then, nearing the end … the twists. Now, I want to read all of this author’s books.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager Book Review

 

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, the first being Final Girls. I’d been seeing this pink cover floating around on social media and had to give it a go. While I preferred Final Girls, I was intrigued by the story line in Lock Every Door … the title alone made me wonder, why does someone have to lock every door?

Well, after visiting the Bartholomew, I found out why.

The premise is Jules answering a random ad to be an apartment sitter. Low and behold – she gets the job. And who wouldn’t take it for twelve grand? All she had to do was stay for three months. Could she?

The thing is she had to cut herself off from everyone in the ‘outside’ world. Her best friend thought she was a bit crazy to take the job, because … why couldn’t she even have visitors? Come to find out, there is much more to the Bartholomew than met the eye of any outsider.

I definitely appreciated the ‘creep’ factor to the Bartholomew. There was almost a ghostiness to the tale of horror that unfolds, the secrets revealed. People at the Bartholomew were there for very sinister reasons. I think if you like a good creepy, maybe keep you awake at night read, you could give this one a shot. I will definitely read more of this author’s work as I am intrigued by his writing style and storylines.

Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver Book Review

 

I’ve seen this book floating around on social media and thought I’d give it a try, see what all the hype is about.

So, if you like a relatively darker read – pick this one up.

While I did not particularly care for all the bedroom scenes, I was intrigued with the storyline and would be interested in reading the rest of this trilogy, The Ruinous Love Trilogy. The main characters, Rowan and Sloane, are what society would call misfits. They have very dark secrets, the two of them, and that darkness leads them to each other.

What makes Sloane so relatable is that she thinks she is unlovable because of her darkness … or, rather, her hobby – the thing she does to make herself feel better. And Rowan … for a man, he doesn’t think anyone can see past his darkness either. Again, they are drawn to each other and find that they are, in fact, lovable.

I think it is their darkness that I was most intrigued by, because … really … there is a purpose to it – ridding the world of some bad apples. Maybe that is a spoiler, but it is hinted at on the back of the book.

I also enjoyed the writing style of this author. Even through all the darkness of these two main characters, there is a sense of humor that comes through on these pages. There is also a list of trigger warnings which I found quite intriguing and was appreciative of. If you like a darker read, one that doesn’t pull any punches and uses language that would offend more sensitive readers, pick this one up. The cover is pretty cool, too!