How far would you go to save the only family you have left?
Victoria “Vic” Asher is finally finding some balance in her life. Though she’s still reeling from her parents’ death in a plane crash, she’s content with waiting tables at the Clock; window shopping with her best friend, Tiffany; and hanging out with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Chad. But when she receives a mysterious package in the mail from her brother, Gil—a law student doing research in Italy—she knows immediately that he’s in danger. Vic isn’t about to risk losing her only brother, so she sets off for Italy to find him. But when she runs into Ian, the gorgeous leader of Interpol’s secret Rogue division, who’s also searching for Gil, she quickly realizes that her brother is in much deeper trouble than she ever could have imagined. Vic will stop at nothing to locate Gil, but doing so could cost her her life—and her heart.
So I grabbed this story off of Net Galley. This is a fast-paced new adult read about a girl searching for her brother in Europe after he gets tangled up in some serious business. It appears to be the first in a series. Yes, I had to suspend my disbelief a bit for the storyline, but it was a fun read. I would have loved it when I was in high school/college. It reminded me a tad of a movie with Matt Dillon called “Target” (if I am remembering correctly) that came out in the 1980’s about a boy searching for his mother in Europe after she’s gone missing and there’s all this CIA stuff going on (I used to love that movie!).
You all know that I can’t stay away from these suspense novels! Here’s another one that I recently found on sale on Amazon for my kindle:
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In her enthralling debut, Gilly Macmillan explores a mother’s search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller as gripping and skillful as The Girl on the Train and The Guilty One.
In a heartbeat, everything changes…
Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.
Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.
As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.
Yep – it was another “read all night until it’s over” event. I have to say that I thought this novel did an excellent job portraying how this poor woman was vilified on social media after her son went missing. Everyone is an expert these days and no one waits to throw the first stone.
I grabbed this off Amazon a few weeks ago when it was on sale. I was late to the party on this one, but many of my friends loved it and said it was suspenseful (sounded good to me!).
Here’s the Amazon overview:
The next blockbuster thriller for those who loved The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl... “a finely crafted novel with a killer twist.” (Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Timesbestselling author of The Girl on the Train) On a rainy afternoon, a mother’s life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street . . .
I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past.
At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them. Elizabeth Haynes, author of Into the Darkest Corner, says, “I read I Let You Go in two sittings; it made me cry (at least twice), made me gasp out loud (once), and above all made me wish I’d written it . . . a stellar achievement.”
*Peter James, author of Want You Dead From the Hardcover edition.
I really enjoyed this book. Poor Jenna – I felt for her and could understand why she would want to just disappear into the countryside! I can’t say too much without giving it all away, but if you enjoy books like Girl on the Train, etc. you would probably enjoy this one! I hope they make this into a movie.
This book was sent to me by the publisher as part of a campaign celebrating its publication this month.
Here’s the overview from Amazon:
The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?
The debut psychological thriller you can’t miss!
“A hair-raising debut, both unsettling and addictive…A chilling thriller that will keep you reading long into the night.” ―Mary Kubica, New York Times and USA Todaybestselling author of The Good Girl
“This is one readers won’t be able to put down.” ―Booklist (starred review)
“This debut is guaranteed to haunt you…Warning: brace yourself.” ―Bustle (10 New Thrillers to Read This Summer)
“The sense of believably and terror that engulfs Behind Closed Doors doesn’t waver.” ―The Associated Press, picked up by The Washington Post
“This was one of the best and most terrifying psychological thrillers I have ever read.” ―San Francisco Book Review
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance. He’s a dedicated attorney who has never lost a case; she is a flawless homemaker, a masterful gardener and cook, and dotes on her disabled younger sister. Though they are still newlyweds, they seem to have it all. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’re hopelessly charmed by the ease and comfort of their home, by the graciousness of the dinner parties they throw. You’d like to get to know Grace better.
But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are inseparable.
Some might call this true love. Others might wonder why Grace never answers the phone. Or why she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. Or why she never seems to take anything with her when she leaves the house, not even a pen. Or why there are such high-security metal shutters on all the downstairs windows.
Some might wonder what’s really going on once the dinner party is over, and the front door has closed.
From bestselling author B. A. Paris comes the gripping thriller and international phenomenon Behind Closed Doors.
Can I just say that I got this book and started reading and then read it all night long until I finished. It had that “Girl on the Train” or “Gone Girl” quality that you just don’t want to put it down and leave it. I’m not going to give away the details here as that would spoil the read, but it had the creepy suspense of “what is going on here??” leading to “what will she do??” to “what is going to happen???” It actually gave me nightmares.
Added to all this was a brilliant marketing campaign where I actually received LETTERS IN THE MAIL from the main character, beseeching me to help her. My kids saw one of those and got a little freaked out when I glibly responded to their horrified, “Mom, WHO is this from??” with “Oh don’t worry – it’s just a character from a book I was reading”. My husband referred to them as “mail from Beth’s imaginary friend”.
If you like suspense and one of those “read it til 4 am even if you have to get up and go to work” titles – this is one for you!!
This mystery was a fast and lively read – perfect for summer when you want a thrill without too much violence.
Here’s the overview from Net Galley:
Description
Retired DEA agent Joe Nicoletti is a man in need of a change. Worn and weary from a career filled with criminals and violence, he dreams of living his life in peace and tranquility. He dreams of moving far from Washington, D.C., where every street reminds him of the sudden death of his wife, Kristen. He dreams of a town where art and literature dominate the conversations at the local coffee shop.
When an old friend offers him a faculty position at the University of Montana it seems his dreams are about to come true. He never dreamed he would have a second chance at love. He never dreamed he would become the prime suspect in a high-profile murder case. He never dreamed he would be forced to undertake the most important investigation of his life.
But dreams can turn into nightmares when there is Murder in Missoula.
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I liked the main character of Joe and wondered if this book is one in a series? Or maybe a start of a series? I couldn’t find that out anywhere, but if it’s not, it’d be a good start to as series! This was one of those books that I really didn’t put down, and I read it in a day. Poor Joe is still grieving his departed wife, and Marie-Justine reminds him of her so much. Unfortunately, Joe becomes a suspect in the murder and all the things that work for him begin to work against him. I won’t say how things wrap up, but like I said before, I’d love to see this as a start to a series! Or even a movie.
Thank you, Net Galley and Chateau Noir Publishing, for my e-ARC!
I love a good thriller! Recently I have read several good ones via Net Galley and two were publishing this month, so they are hot off the press:
The YA novel, The Girl I Used to Be, was a fast-paced read. Here’s the description from NG:
When Olivia’s mother was killed, everyone suspected her father of murder. But his whereabouts remained a mystery. Fast forward fourteen years. New evidence now proves Olivia’s father was actually murdered on the same fateful day her mother died. That means there’s a killer still at large. It’s up to Olivia to uncover who that may be. But can she do that before the killer tracks her down first?
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This was one of those books where I read it almost straight through while thinking, “I think THIS happened” -and figuring out the mystery. This is the kind of YA book I loved as a teen and enjoy as a fast read as an adult. April Henry is a new author for me, but she is obviously well-known and well-liked!
Then I read:
Don’t You Cry was my very first Mary Kubica book. I’m hooked! I also grabbed her The Good Girl off a Kindle deal and read that one, too. They’ve got that Gone Girl — Girl on the Train — fast-paced, I can’t-put-it-down, scary-thriller feel to them.
Here’s the description from NG:
New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica returns with an electrifying and addictive tale of deceit and obsession
In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she’s the person Quinn thought she knew.
Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.
As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under Pearl’s spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end.
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It’s a wowza of a ride and I could not put this book down!
I love a good thrill – especially during winter in New England – but these books are good any time of the year!
I love listening to audiobooks in my car on the way to work. I got two last month: NIGHTFALL by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski (which I paid for) and THE JAPANESE LOVER by Isabel Allende (which I used Audible credits for).
These were two very different books!
I first heard about NIGHTFALL at BEA last spring. It is a YA novel with a twist – about a group of preteens left behind on their community’s island when everyone else leaves as part of the tradition of moving when night comes, once every 14 years. Marin is left behind with her twin brother Kana and their friend Line. They need to survive the beasts that accompany the night and they each are changing as they understand the true meanings of the rituals and traditions that shape their community.
Wowza! This was a tough one to read while driving because I had zero interest in the traffic and full interest in the story. I can’t say too much without giving it away, but it is compelling and unique and well-written. It’s a very creative take on the old fear of being afraid of the dark and the power of friendship and the ties that bind. I’m so glad that I got it for myself since I wasn’t able to get it any other way! Ably read by Nicholas Guy Smith, NIGHTFALL runs just over 10 hours.
On a totally different note is THE JAPANESE LOVER by Isabel Allende. If you know me, you know I love all her books! I’ve been a tad disappointed in the last few but this one marked a return for me to her best genre: historical fiction with a touch of magical realism. In this novel, young Alma Belasco is sent from Europe to live with relatives in the United States to escape the horrors of WWII. She falls in love with the son of the Japanese gardener and so begins a lifelong love affair between them.This story was beautiful yet heart-breaking. It moved through time a bit – which can be disorienting if you are in the car listening – but overall was easy to follow and written in the hallmark prose that marks Allende as a true genius of the craft. Joanna Gleason narrates this nine hour tale.
These days I’m working through CUTTING FOR STONE on my commute. This is an intriguing story, though I do get a little squeamish over the medical details! More to come on this one when I finish it!
Find these books online at Amazon, at your library, or at an indie near you!!
The nice folks at MindBuck Media recently asked me if I’d like to read and review OCHOCO REACH by Jim Stewart. Here’s what they had to say about it:
Description-
Mike’s usual strategy was to gently stir the pot and wait for patterns to emerge, but this case was boiling over from the day Willimina showed up at his office…
Freelance investigator Mike Ironwood doesn’t hesitate for a moment when a lovely stranger asks him to help her get to the bottom of suspicious happenings on her family’s cattle ranch. The case is intriguing, and Willimina even more so.
Six days in, the case has turned up two dead bodies, an alphabet soup of secretive federal investigators, and a client who just might be The One. That’s when things get complicated.
When a greedy DEA agent and his complex and deadly triggerman kidnap Willy, Mike enlists help from his brother and sets out to rescue her from the conflicted jefe of a major drug cartel. The trail takes them on a surreal tour that extends deep into Mexico, but they come home with unfinished business.
Ochoco Reach introduces Mike Ironwood, his special ops brother Daniel, and Bucket, a Catahoula leopard dog who is equally at home herding cattle and pinning bad guys to the floor. They have each others’ backs, and they have unexpected allies in the natural world, who appear in surprising ways. But they also attract trouble at every turn.
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I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. When I first started reading, the descriptions of the characters, the slight wackiness, the humor, it all caught me off guard. I worried that it might be too much for me – a little too “Mike Hammer” – but the thing that was great was this novel can be outrageous and unique and sarcastic and flippant without being over the top (and believe me – there’s a fine line). Stewart creates the characters of Mike and Willy and makes them believable. Mike has a Native American half-brother, Daniel, and a super smart dog to boot. There is no dearth of action and the story is well-plotted. I had a hard time putting it down.
I’d love to think that this is the first in a series!
Thank you for my opportunity to read and review OCHOCO REACH!
Here’s a bit about the author (who looks like a friendly guy):
About the Author
A professional writer for over 25 years, Jim has published dozens of stories and essays, technical manuals, and poetry. After starting his journey in the Midwest and spending formative years in New England, he made it to the West Coast just in time to try and figure out what was happening in Vietnam. Music and writing kept him mostly sane. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Laura.
Chris Bohjalian is one of my very favorite authors, so I was more than thrilled to get his new novel through Net Galley for review.
Here’s the description via Net Galley:
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls comes the spellbinding tale of a party gone horribly wrong: two men lie dead in a suburban living room; two women are on the run from police; and a marriage is ripping apart at the seams.
When Richard Chapman offers to host his younger brother’s bachelor party, he expects a certain amount of debauchery. He sends his wife, Kristin, and young daughter off to his mother-in-law’s for the weekend, and he opens his Westchester home to his brother’s friends and their hired entertainment. What he does not expect is this: bacchanalian drunkenness, a dangerously intimate moment in his guest bedroom, and two naked women stabbing and killing their Russian bodyguards before driving off into the night. In the aftermath, Richard’s life rapidly spirals into a nightmare. The police throw him out of his home, now a crime scene; his investment banking firm puts him on indefinite leave; and his wife finds herself unable to forgive him for the moment he shared with a dark-haired girl in the guest room. But the dark-haired girl, Alexandra, faces a much graver danger. In one breathless, violent night, she is free, running to escape the police who will arrest her and the gangsters who will kill her in a heartbeat. A captivating, chilling story about shame and scandal, The Guest Room is a riveting novel from one of our greatest storytellers.
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Oh my.
Normally I would say that I have little to no sympathy for married men who get themselves into trouble at bachelor parties with strippers and prostitutes, but this poor guy in this story– I really felt sorry for him. I could completely imagine something like this happening in real life, with a party going from “typical” to “tragic” to “terrifying”.
I identified strongly with his wife (a teacher), who found her comfortable, sheltered world of suburban pleasantry turned upside down. As she tries to protect their young daughter from the media and smuttiness of the situation, she struggles with forgiving her husband and wonders whether she can trust him (or anyone) again.
Much of this story is told from the narrative viewpoint of Alexandra, one of the girls at the party, who is basically a captive sex slave. Her life is a harsh, gritty, day-to-day existence with her abductors and a few other girls. Her voice is quite distinct.
I could not put this book down. The end took me by surprise, but all the way through I had this horrified fascination with how things were progressing and wondered how everything would turn out. I have to say that I think that Chris Bohjalian is one of the most versatile and gifted writers creating today. Each book I read by him is so riveting, so well-done, and so different from the others. He certainly does not write to a formula. His characters stay with you afterwards and his writing is top notch. I usually am reading three or four novels at once (depending on my mood) and his is always head and shoulders above the rest.
Plus, anything I ever see with him in it — Facebook, interviews, etc. — he seems like an extraordinarily nice guy!
Don’t miss this one, coming out this month. If you like a harsh but realistic read, that is unforgettable and well done, then you will like THE GUEST ROOM.
A while back, I received AWAKE through Net Galley. I love a good YA thriller/mystery.
In Awake, Scarlett Garner starts to “awake” and have memories of an event that changed her life when she was four-years-old. Always told that she escaped a fire and was left with amnesia due to trauma, Scarlett’s memories return in hazy part, and don’t quite fit the story she’s been told. Meanwhile, the new guy in school (Noah) is drawn to Scarlett (really drawn to her and we later find out why) and they start a relationship. But what really happened in Scarlett’s past? And how does Noah fit in? And why would her family not be telling her the truth?
Well, there’s a complicated back story going on here. I won’t go in to details as I don’t want to spoil it, but Scarlett has a lot going on and it gets weirder and scarier the more she remembers. While I read this whole story and wanted to know what happened, it did pace a bit slowly for me (especially the first half). This is probably because this is book one of a series (or a sequel is coming). The hardest part of reading it for me was that I never really felt I got into Noah’s head. I didn’t understand his actions. In fact, I found most of the characters terribly frustrating. But I kept reading because I really wanted to know what happened to Scarlett (thus my distress over the somewhat “hanging” ending)!
I’ll be curious what others think. This book releases Aug. 4. Thanks for my review e-copy!
Beth's Book-Nook Blog 