The nitty-gritty: A newlywed couple out of their element try to solve a murder involving an angry ghost in this fast-paced, emotional thriller. Simone St. James is back with another twisty supernatural mystery, and while I didn’t like this quite as much as her last book, The Book of Cold Cases, there is plenty here […]
The nitty-gritty: A fascinating idea—cryonics—held my attention, but the plot was confusing at times, as the author kept his readers in the dark far too long. Deep Freeze is a sci-fi thriller about cryonics, and I enjoyed parts of it very much. Saying that, I struggled with the way the story was told, which I’ll […]
The nitty-gritty: A well-written debut with a loveable main character, Thirteen Ways To Kill Lulabelle Rock is a fresh, funny and feel-good story. “At the end of all this, there’s going to be one Lulabelle left. Who do you want it to be?” What happens when a famous actress tells her thirteenth clone to kill […]
The nitty-gritty: Scandals, secrets and lies abound in this twisty, tension-filled thriller about a dysfunctional family and the multi-million dollar inheritance they’re fighting over. “Roddy Kenmore was a drug-addled fool who I never should have married in the first place, and the only regret I felt when I watched him slip under that dark salt […]
The nitty-gritty: Christina Henry takes on cozy mysteries, slashers and dystopians in this fun page turner. You never know what Christina Henry is going to do next, and with Good Girls Don’t Die she’s come up with something completely different from her other books. This was a fun, fast-paced thriller that is almost meta in […]
The nitty-gritty: Fans of eerie, gothic fiction will not want to miss The Daughters of Block Island, a contemporary thriller dripping with atmosphere. “She looks back to see White Hall looming behind her like a haunted house. Like a nightmare. Like the cover of a horror novel. It bares its teeth, beckons her through the […]
The nitty-gritty: A heartbreakingly beautiful story with an unrelenting sense of danger, Whalefall surprised me in every possible way. “Hope collapsed every morning at six a.m.: Sleepers, arise! Jay began to see Dad’s siren as the opening punch of a boxing match, Mitt Gardiner versus his life. Dad didn’t want the house, not really. He […]
The nitty-gritty: With colorful characters and an intriguing setting, What Never Happened is a fun mystery with some great twists. Rachel Howzell Hall is a new author for me, and I’m so glad I had the chance to read her latest book. This was a fun, boisterous, guilty pleasure of a story. It’s not perfect, […]
The nitty-gritty: An audacious idea, stellar writing, black humor galore and a well paced plot make Death Watch a “can’t miss” thriller. Sometimes I take a chance on an author or a publisher I’ve never worked with before, and sometimes it pays off big time. I had a blast with Death Watch, a high concept […]
The nitty-gritty: Five young writers get the chance of a lifetime in this high octane thriller debut with surprises around every corner. The Writing Retreat is one of those thrillers that starts out strong and keeps you guessing, and then later in the story sort of goes off the rails with lots of over-the-top action […]