I just love the writing of Fiona Davis (The Lions of Fifth Avenue among others) so I was excited to get her latest read off Net Galley. This was a fun story for me since we love the Rockettes and the Holiday Spectacular, and my mother used to tell me stories of seeing them in NYC in the 1940’s (she wanted to be one but at 5’0 was too short!). This story was an interesting mix of mystery, romance, and historical fiction. And it has quite a bit of truth to it (beyond the Rockettes!) in that there really was a “mad bomber” in NYC at that time who was a disgruntled worker from an electrical company.
Thank you for my e-galley. I’ll be recommending this one to others who enjoy historical fiction of this period. Ms. Davis has a way of making the past come alive through her attention to details. You won’t be disappointed!
From the New York Times Bestselling Author of The Magnolia Palace: A thrilling story about love, sacrifice, and the pursuit of dreams, set amidst the glamour and glitz of Radio City Music Hall in its mid-century heyday.
New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion Brooks knows she should be happy. Her high school sweetheart is about to propose and sweep her off to the life everyone has always expected they’d have together: a quiet house in the suburbs, Marion staying home to raise their future children. But instead, Marion finds herself feeling trapped. So when she comes across an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes—the glamorous precision-dancing troupe—she jumps at the chance to exchange her predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer.
Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber,” who has been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police turn in desperation to Peter Griggs, a young doctor at a local mental hospital who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling.
As both Marion and Peter find themselves unexpectedly pulled in to the police search for the bomber, Marion realizes that as much as she’s been training herself to blend in—performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes—if she hopes to catch the bomber, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. In doing so, she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.
Okay so this picture has nothing to do with audiobooks – but I liked it! And I feel like this is a picture of the inside of my head: thousands of books!
If you know me, you know I commute a lot (over 2 hours a day) during the school year. I find it rather deadly, so my saving grace is audiobooks. I have an Audible subscription, and I just remembered that Net Galley has audiobooks, so I will try to get more of those, too.
Recently, I listened to three different stories, all gotten through my Audible subscription. I liked them all!
What happens when a relationship with a new friend turns into a nightmare of lies and a web of deceit? Lisa Jewell is a master at this type of suspenseful writing and she’s one of my favorite “listens” for when I’m driving. My mind doesn’t wander! (Note: this story had multiple narrators.)
Here’s the scoop:
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.
Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.
But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.
Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?
Another suspenseful read, by another master of suspense, was Shari Lapena’s Everyone Here Is Lying (With narration by January LaVoy).
In this story, where a young girl goes missing, everyone really is lying! I was practically squirming while listening and I couldn’t wait to see how it ended.
Here’s the overview:
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door
“The most addictive book I’ve read in ages—so slick and disquieting and clever. Just brilliant.” —Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Family Remains
“Lapena is a master of manipulation.” —USA Today
Welcome to Stanhope. A safe neighborhood. A place for families.
William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.
Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing.
Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbors become increasingly unhinged.
Who took Avery Wooler?
Nothing will prepare you for the truth.
Finally, a friend recommended Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait (with narration by Genevieve Gaunt and the author). I loved loved loved her Hamnet. I loved this story, too. This was historical fiction, as O’Farrell builds us a story of Lucrezia de Medici and her short life as the wife of ruler of Ferrara in the 1500’s. What was it like to be married at 13? Sent away to live with your husband at 15? And then dead at 16? O’Farrell’s writing is so beautiful. She captures a phrase and describes a moment so beautifully, that listening to her work is as lovely as reading it.
(I’m just seeing that this was a Reese Book Club pick, too)
Here’s the scoop:
WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de’ Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court.
“I could not stop reading this incredible true story.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)
“O’Farrell pulls out little threads of historical detail to weave this story of a precocious girl sensitive to the contradictions of her station…You may know the history, and you may think you know what’s coming, but don’t be so sure.“ —The Washington Post
Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf.
Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?
As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.
Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.
Currently, I’m listening to Chris Bohjalian’s The Lioness with The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post up next!
I’m happy today to be part of Bookouture’s tour for a new thriller by Emily Shiner: The Hotel. I found this story a little hard to get into at the start as the pacing seemed a tad slow. Then I felt that things sped up about a third of the way in. The last quarter of the book was filled with twists and turns and surprises! I thought at first I liked the characters, but by the end I disliked everyone but the toddler.
While I enjoyed the novel (I do love suspense!), I had to suspend disbelief a bit for the last part of the book. This story did keep me on the edge of my seat and I look forward to more from Ms. Shiner.
Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!
Book Description:
As we welcome the Rowe family to our beautiful clifftop hotel, a shadow passes over my husband’s face. In that moment I see it: my husband is hiding a terrible secret. Has he put us all in danger?
Mark and I pride ourselves on giving visitors to our hotel, high on the rugged Maine cliffs with views of the ocean, a vacation they won’t forget. But the Rowes arestrangely over-familiar when they arrive with their teenage daughter. The wife puts a hand on Mark’s forearm and her husband meets my eyes with a knowing look as I hold my little son tight. They gush that they loved their previous stay here… But I’m certain I’ve never seen them before.
Mark reassures me that the Rowes are just being friendly. We have so many visitors, maybe we forgot meeting them. When I am locked in the master bedroom for over an hour, he later soothes my panic and says it was just an accident. But I know one of the Rowes was out in the hallway listening to me cry for help. I hear one of them whispering a lullaby to my baby on his monitor. I cannot trust these people.
But as the relentless icy rain gives way to the biggest blizzard of the season and we become cut off, I realize my son and I are trapped. Mark knows more about the Rowes than he’s letting on. I’ll do anything to protect my gorgeous baby boy. But how far will I have to go, to keep him safe?
The Hotel is a totally twisty locked room thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Fans of Shalini Boland, Freida McFadden and Jeneva Rose will be glued to the pages!
Author Bio:
Emily Shiner always dreamed of becoming an author. After spending years devouring stacks of thrillers, she decided to try her hand at writing them herself. Now she gets to live out her dream of writing novels and sharing her stories with people around the world. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains and loves hiking with her husband, daughter, and their two dogs.
I received a copy of this novel from Lyn Squire’s publicist. What an intriguing and fun read! I love Dickens and this story builds on his death and its cause, as well as the unfinished story of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Here’s the scoop:
Death strikes England’s foremost novelist, his latest tale only half told. Was he murdered because someone feared a ruinous revelation? Or was it revenge for some past misdeed? Set in the Kent countryside and London slums of 1870, Immortalised to Death embeds an ingenious solution to Charles Dickens’s unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood within the evolving and ultimately tragic consequences of a broader mystery surrounding the author himself. Debut author Lyn Squire kicks off his fascinating Dunston Burnett Trilogy with legendary Victorian novelist Charles Dickens dead at his desk, pen still in hand. Convinced that the identity of Dickens’s murderer lies in the book’s missing denouement, Dickens’s nephew and unlikely detective, Dunston Burnett, sets out to complete his uncle’s half-finished novel. A stunning revelation crowns this tale about the mysterious death of England’s greatest novelist, and exposes the author’s long-held secret.
I really enjoyed reading this one and it kept me guessing and pondering and wondering how much could be true! I liked the character of Dunston Burnett and it looks like this is the first in a trilogy so we’ll be hearing more from him.
Thank you for my copy!
Here’s a bit about the author:
LYN SQUIRE was born in Cardiff, South Wales. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wales, his master’s at the London School of Economics and his doctorate at Cambridge University. Lyn is now an American citizen living in Virginia. During a twenty-five year career at the World Bank, Lyn published over thirty articles and several books within his area of expertise. Lyn also served as editor of the Middle East Development Journal for over a decade, and was the founding president of the Global Development Network, an organization dedicated to supporting promising scholars from the developing world.
Lyn has always been an avid reader of whodunits and has reviewed scores of mysteries for the City Book Review (Sacramento, CA), but it was the thrill of solving Charles Dickens’s unfinished ‘Mystery of Edwin Drood’ that convinced him to put aside his development pen and turn to fiction. Finding a solution to the mystery has attracted massive interest since the author’s death in 1870. A 1998 bibliography lists over 2,000 entries, with continuations ranging from the obvious (a Sherlock Holmes pastiche) to the absurd (The Mysterious Mystery of Rude Dedwin). Lyn’s version of what happened to Edwin is revealed in his first novel, Immortalised to Death. The adventures of his protagonist, Dunston Burnett, a non-conventional amateur detective, continue in Fatally Inferior and The Séance of Murder, the second and third stories in The Dunston Burnett Trilogy. Find more about Lyn on his website.
I received a PDF offer of this book to read and I’m so glad I said yes! Magdalena is a beautifully written story that felt like magical realism to me, reminding me a bit of the writing of Isabel Allende (especially her earlier works). I loved the character of Magdalena and I found Dottie so interesting and complex. I especially liked the ending.
This is a short read (about 200 pages) but it’s packed full of things to ponder and discuss.
Thank you for my copy!
Here’s the scoop:
MAGDALENA is a swirling and mystical debut that has been compared to the writings of Shirley Jackson, a perfect read for these stormy summer nights!
In a small secluded town that thrives on gossip and superstition, Dottie offers plenty of both when the scandal breaks about a missing girl, a ghost, and the affair that started it all. Having suffered a history of miscarriages, reclusive Dottie develops a strange motherly interest in her 15-year-old neighbor, Magdalena. Somewhere between fantasy and reality, Dottie finds new life in her relationship with the mysterious girl. But Dottie’s entanglements with Magdalena, a curious centenarian, a compelling stranger, an ex-mobster, and a murder of crows thrusts this once cloistered woman into a frenzy of public scrutiny. To quell the rumors, Dottie puts pen to paper and discovers something as frightening as it is liberating – her voice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Candi Sary is an award-winning writer and graduate from the University of California, Irvine. Her writing has won Reader Views Literary Award, a Chanticleer International Book Award, and was First Runner-Up in the Eric Hoffer Book Award. A mother of two adult children, Sary lives in Southern California with her husband, a dog, a cat and several ducks. She can often be found surfing and paddling boarding in the waters of Newport Beach. She is a proud steward of a Little Free Library.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR MAGDALENA:
“I was transfixed by this novel set in a town suffused with ghosts figurative and literal, and moved deeply to witness an eccentric woman’s grief transmuted into a gripping testament to the power of the individual imagination.”-Antoine Wilson, author of Mouth to Mouth
“Beautifully written and satisfyingly creepy, this is one of the most poignant and original ghost stories I’ve ever read.” –Mark Haskell Smith, author of Blown
“Sary’s tale of love, loss and maternal devotion pulls hard at the heartstrings and is impossible to -put down.” –Diane Haeger, best-selling author of Courtesan
“Candi Sary’s astonishing fable locates us inside Dottie’s mind as she traverses the ghostly underworld of Sam’s Town and discovers her own power to rescue herself, teenage Magdalena, and the entire town.”-Stephanie Golden, author of Slaying the Mermaid: Women and the Culture of Sacrifice
“Sary draws us into a paranormal tale that feels absolutely real, heavy and creepily familiar.”-Dominic Carrillo, author of Acts of Resistance
“Sary’s instinct for the miraculous is indeed strong in this tender novel that lovingly captures the yearning for human connection.”-Donia Bijan, author of The Last Days of Cafe Leila
“Is it possible to write a modern day ghost story that’s also a poignant tale about love, loss, and redemption? Candi Sary has done just that with her second novel, Magdalena. Shirley Jackson fans will be kicking up their heels.”-Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, author of Palm Springs Noir (Akashic) and host of Writers on Writing
“Ghostly and mysterious yet rooted in the claustrophobic reality of a small town, Magdalena investigates a woman’s search for connection to the idiosyncratic people who cross her path, and most of all, to herself. This dark and delicate novel is a mesmeric read.”-Siel Ju, author of Cake Time
“Candi Sary lured me into the heart of Dottie, her misfit narrator whose loyalty carries her up and out of loneliness and tragedy. Once you get started, you won’t put it down and you won’t want it to end.”-Mary Castillo, author of The Dori O. Paranormal Mystery Series
“Executed with enchanting prose, the story unfolds with such a captivating sequence of events that it is hard to put down and even harder to forget.”-Amy R. Biddle, author of The Atheist’s Prayer and co-founder of Underground Book Reviews
“Sary’s mesmerizing writing style envelopes the reader in the dreamlike reality of Dottie’s nontraditional ways of overcoming grief.”-Nancy Klann-Moren, Author of The Clock Of Life
I’ve read other mysteries by Mary Keliikoa so I was excited to see that there was a new Misty Pines book out by her.
This was a twisty thriller that kept me guessing right until the end. I will say that I felt like I was figuring out things faster than the protagonists, but then I ended up being wrong! While reading this, I was thinking that it would make a good movie.
Thanks for my copy and for making me part of the tour!
Hidden Pieces by Mary Keliikoa
Sheriff Jax Turner is staring down the barrel of his broken past. On the brink of ending it all, he feels like a failure following his daughter’s tragic passing and his subsequent divorce. But when a schoolgirl vanishes and her backpack is found in a sex offender’s backseat, the weary lawman drags himself into action and vows to nail one last sociopath.Shocked to discover the teen’s aunt had lost her life in an abduction years prior, the devastating outcome that he’s taken personally, Jax believes the killer has returned with a vengeance. But as the desperate cop frantically hunts down a mysterious relative in search of a suspect, the girl’s time keeps ticking away…Can the jaded sheriff take down the culprit in time to bring the young girl home alive?
Book Details:Genre: Police Procedural + Mystery & Psychological Suspense Published by:Level Best Books Publication Date: October 2022 Number of Pages: 282 ISBN: 9781685121563 (ISBN10: 168512156X) Series: Misty Pines Mystery, #1
Mary Keliikoa is the author of Hidden Pieces and the upcoming Deadly Tides in the Misty Pines mystery series, the PI Kelly Pruett mystery series which includes the Shamus, Lefty, Agatha and Anthony nominated Derailed for best debut, and the upcoming Don’t Ask, Don’t Follow out Summer of 2024. Her short stories have appeared in Woman’s World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime.A Pacific NW native, she admits to being that person who gets excited when called for jury duty. When not in Washington, you can find Mary with toes in the sand on a Hawaiian beach. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.
I’m here today as part of the Summer Blog Tours to highlight In a Quiet Town by the most awesome Amber Garza. She writes incredible mysteries that are thrilling but not too scary or violent. I really liked the character of Adrienne in this story. It can be hard growing up in an uber-religious family that decides what you will and won’t do and worries about how everything “looks”. Yet Garza gives us enough background that Adrienne’s father is not a caricature, lending to the believability of the story.
Thanks for having me as part of the tour!
Here’s the scoop on this one:
In a Quiet Town : A Novel
Amber Garza
On Sale Date: August 8, 2023
9780778334255
Trade Paperback
$18.99 USD
336 pages
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In this chilling new novel, a pastor’s wife discovers that her estranged daughter is missing, but no one will believe her, until she meets a man claiming to be her daughter’s fiancé.
Tatum secretly reconnects with her estranged adult daughter—secretly because Adrienne’s been all but disowned by Tatum’s husband, a pastor at the church in their small California town, where every move is watched and reported by his congregation. When Adrienne doesn’t show up for her shift at the bar where Tatum’s been visiting her, she knows something is wrong. Adrienne may have been a bit of wild child, but she hasn’t missed a day of work without calling in for years.
Tatum tries desperately to get the police or her husband to take her daughter’s disappearance seriously, until a mysterious man shows up claiming to be Adrienne’s fiancé. It’s a relief to finally have someone who believes her and is trying as hard as she is to find out where Adrienne is. But can she trust that this stranger is really who he says he is? And can she find her daughter before it’s too late?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amber Garza has had a passion for the written word since she was a child making books out of notebook paper and staples. Her hobbies include reading and singing. Coffee and wine are her drinks of choice (not necessarily in that order). She writes while blaring music, and talks about her characters like they’re real people. She lives with her husband and two kids in Folsom, California.
I love the Julia Bird mysteries, set in the Cotswolds with intelligent and thoughtful retiree Julia solving murders that happen on her doorstep. This one was fun as it centered on a trivia contest at a local pub. It kept me guessing! I do love these characters, including Julia’s cumbersome Black lab!
Thanks for my copy and for including me on the tour!
Book Description:
Julia Bird loves the village pub quiz, but it seems one of her team won’t make it to the next round alive…
On the first Tuesday of each month, Julia Bird and her Agatha Quizteam teammates take part in Berrywick’s village pub quiz. They take it seriously – what’s the point of playing, after all, if you aren’t in it to win it? But it seems someone connected with the quiz night has taken the competition to a whole new level when Lilian, the local police constable and all-round general knowledge expert, is found fatally stabbed after the evening’s final round.
With local DI Hayley Gibson stuck home with a broken leg and an incompetent Superintendent brought in from the nearby town, it’s up to Julia to make sure the investigation stays focussed – whether they like it or not! While the police are convinced that the murderer is linked to Lilian’s professional life, Julia turns her amateur sleuthing eye to suspects much closer to home. Perhaps Lilian’s personal life could have something to do with the dreadful crime?
When another quiz team member is attacked, Julia is finally put on the right track. But what could possibly be important – or dangerous – enough for two attendees of the pub quiz night to meet such foul ends over? Could the culprit really be among them on that busy Tuesday night? As Julia’s race to identify the killer ramps up to desperate heights, she wonders, where will the murderous spree end?
Perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands, Murder at the Inn is a brilliantly compelling English cosy mystery.
Author Bio:
Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.
I was excited to join this blog tour of Heather Graham’s new novel: Whispers at Dusk. This is part of the Romance blog tour but I don’t feel it’s a typical romance- so don’t let that turn you away if you aren’t a romance reader! It is the first in a series about a special group of “hunters” who are seeking killers and who have special powers. They fight vampires. They can talk to the dead. They “know” things. Apparently the “Krewe of Hunters” have been in some of Graham’s other books; this time they are fighting evil in Europe. It’s a paranormal/suspense/mystery mashup with some romance thrown in for good measure. It was a fast and furious read and I think Ms. Grahams’ fans will enjoy this new Blackbird Trilogy!
Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels. She’s a winner of the RWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers’ Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. For more information, check out her websites: TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, eHeatherGraham.com, and HeatherGraham.tv. You can also find Heather on Facebook.
Book Summary:
Don’t miss the first book in the brand-new, suspense-filled trilogy spinning out of Heather Graham’s popular Krewe of Hunters series!
The Krewe of Hunters goes international with the introduction of Blackbird, a brand new team of operatives bringing justice, and their unique talent of speaking to the dead, to Europe!
They’ve barely finished stopping one serial killer on American soil before FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter are brought into the fold and sitting in a jet bound for Norway. A disturbed individual has been killing their way across the continent, starting in the United Kingdom and eventually making their way to the sleepy town of Lillehammer. The victims have been left completely drained of blood, with two telltale pinpricks in their necks! As the body count rises the couple must bring all of their abilities to bear as they work to uncover the identity of this vampire killer and put a stop to the terror they’ve begun to inspire.
I’m happy to take part in the blog tour for The Night It Ended by Katie Garner. This was a suspenseful read, with an unreliable narrator (not my favorite POV). It was good and it kept me guessing. I always like stories that take place in boarding schools, too!
Recommended if you enjoy mysteries that keep you on the edge of your seat. I felt oddly uncomfortable while reading- almost like someone was watching me (seriously!).
Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!
“Disarmingly sensory, with plot twists that are sure to give readers whiplash, Garner has done a phenomenal job of giving us just enough information to think we know where the story is going, only to pull the rug out from under us—over and over again. A nail-bitingly spectacular debut!” —Amanda Jayatissa, author of You’re Invited
Finding the truth seems impossible when her own dark past has her seeing lies everywhere she looks…
From the outside, criminal psychiatrist Dr. Madeline Pine’s life appears picture-perfect–she has a beautiful family, a successful mental health practice and a growing reputation as an expert in female violence. But when she’s called to help investigate a mysterious death at a boarding school for troubled girls, Madeline hesitates. She’s been through tragic cases before, and the one she was entangled in last year nearly destroyed her…
Yet she can’t turn away when she hears about Charley Ridley. After the girl was found shoeless and in pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine on campus, the police ruled it a tragic accident. But the private investigator hired by her mother has his doubts. And if it were Madeline’s daughter who died, she’d want to know why.
Arriving at the secluded campus in upstate New York, Madeline’s met by an unhelpful skeleton staff and the four other students still on campus during winter break. Each seems to hold a piece of the puzzle. And everyone has secrets–Madeline included. But who would kill to protect them?
Intertwining the narrative with the transcript of an anonymous interview, this stunning suspense debut from Katie Garner will take you on a twisting path where nothing–and no one–is what it seems.
Author Bio:
Katie Garner was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. She has a degree in Art History from Ramapo College and is certified to teach high school Art. She hoards paperbacks, coffee mugs, and dog toys and can be seen holding at least one of those things most of the time.
Katie lives in a New Jersey river town with her husband, baby boy, and shih-poo where she writes books about women and their dark, secret selves. The Night It Ended is her debut novel.
Reviews
“The ending was pretty shocking and definitely not what I was expecting” —Novel Gossip
“Standing ovation for the brilliant Katie Garner! Captivating, ingenious, and absolutely audacious, this tour de force in structure and storytelling kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. Yes, The Night It Ended is a dark gothic murder investigation at a mysterious school for troubled girls—but don’t judge, don’t assume, don’t try to figure it out—just let Garner’s masterful sleight of hand carry you away through the gasp-worthy twists and turns. Do not miss this!” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of The House Guest
“A gorgeously atmospheric dark academic thriller set at a snowy boarding school so vividly rendered you can practically feel the frost freezing your blood. Garner centers female rage in the most delicious and page-turning of ways, plunging readers into a world where women’s machinations, conspiracies, anger, and even violence rule all. The Night It Ended is a twisty, frantically-paced story you’ll be desperate to devour all the way to the ice-cold ending.” —Ashley Winstead, author of The Last Housewife
“Set at an exclusive school for trouble teenaged girls, The Night It Ended by Katie Garner is dark, twisted, and utterly compelling. Impossible to put down, you won’t know who or what to believe and the creepy location will have you looking over your shoulder more than once. One heck of a debut with an ending that left me speechless.” —Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of Never Coming Home
“Disarmingly sensory, with plot twists that are sure to give readers whiplash, Garner has done a phenomenal job of giving us just enough information to think we know where the story is going, only to pull the rug out from under us—over and over again. A nail-bitingly spectacular debut!” —Amanda Jayatissa, author of You’re Invited
“Wow. I loved this. Compulsively readable. I flew through it. Brilliant use of the unreliable narrator. I enjoyed the police interviews interwoven with the present-day mystery. It kept me on my toes. And that last plot twist…amazing. I did not see it coming.” –Amber Garza, author of When I Was You
“Katie Garner’s debut novel is a chilly, twisty ride—think dark academia meets Gillian Flynn. The Night It Ended is both a brooding Gothic mystery set at a boarding school for wayward girls and a jittery domestic thriller and just when you think you’ve got a handle on the story, Garner pulls the rug out from under you. I couldn’t put it down.”—Halley Sutton, author of The Lady Upstairs
Beth's Book-Nook Blog 