Blog Tour: One to Watch by Rachel Amphlett @RachelAmphlett @emmamitchellfpr


Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK
Release date: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Saxon Publishing

Genre: Crime Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 


Sophie Whittaker shared a terrifying secret. Hours later, she was dead.


Detective Kay Hunter and her colleagues are shocked by the vicious murder of a teenage girl at a private party in the Kentish countryside.


A tangled web of dark secrets is exposed as twisted motives point to a history of greed and corruption within the tight-knit community.


Confronted by a growing number of suspects and her own enemies who are waging a vendetta against her, Kay makes a shocking discovery that will make her question her trust in everyone she knows.



One to Watch is a gripping murder mystery thriller, and the third in the Detective Kay Hunter series. 

I’m so excited to be hosting a stop on the tour for One to Watch today!


Review: 

This is the third book in the Kay Hunter series and I’ve become such a huge fan of both the protagonist and Amphlett as an author. If you missed my reviews of the first two books here they are; Scared to Death and Will to Live. I highly recommend starting at the beginning of the series as all three books are hugely entertaining and Amphlett has the unique ability to not only come up with an interesting premise for each book, but she also perfectly balances Kay’s personal and professional life providing a well rounded reading experience. This is a solid series and this book was my favorite one thus far.

By now I’m well aware that these books are true page turners that I’ll finish in one sitting so I was well prepared. In her signature style, the author writes short, rapid chapters that add to the fast pacing. This book starts off strong and never lets up, there are no moments of boredom and the pace never lags, right on through to the end where the twists and turns just keep coming, it’s fantastic. 

The case Kay is investigating was interesting, especially as the teenager who was murdered had taken a purity pledge, with a twist. Her parents had approved of and even encouraged her to get engaged to another young man from their church which both fascinated and appalled me. Besides the central investigation, Kay is still working on her own to find out who within her department has a vendetta against her. There were a couple of new developments regarding this, but I’m so curious to see where this goes! I hope Amphlett doesn’t make us wait too much longer. Bring on book four!

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

About the Author: 


Rachel Amphlett is the bestselling author of the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the new Detective Kay Hunter crime thriller series, as well as a number of standalone crime thrillers.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel’s novels appeal to a worldwide audience, and have been compared to Robert Ludlum, Lee Child and Michael Crichton.

She is a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold, being sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint in 2014.

An advocate for knowledge within the publishing industry, Rachel is always happy to share her experiences to a wider audience through her blogging and speaking engagements.

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Blog Tour: Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan #Giveaway


Goodreads|Amazon
Release date: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Genre: Mystery 

Blurb: 

In this powerful, affecting debut, a young woman uncovers devastating secrets about the friend she thinks she killed 


Ten years ago, Julie Portland accidentally killed her best friend, Reba. What’s worse is she got away with it. Consumed by guilt, she left the small town of Lawrence Mill, Mississippi, and swore nothing would ever drag her back. Now, raising her daughter and struggling to make ends meet in Manhattan, Julie still can’t forget the ghost of a girl with golden hair and a dangerous secret.


When August, Reba’s first love, begs Julie to come home to find the diary that Reba kept all those years ago, Julie’s past comes creeping back to haunt her. That diary could expose the shameful memories Julie has been running from, but it could also unearth the hidden truths that Reba left buried…and reveal that Julie isn’t the only one who feels responsible for Reba’s death. 

Review: 

Julie has never been able to get over the death of her high school best friend Reba, not even ten years later and she’s not happy to be back in her small hometown, but the allure of a diary Reba left behind is too strong for her to ignore. This is told mainly through Julie’s eyes in 2008, though there are a few brief chapters from August and Toby as well. (Toby is Julie’s cousin who she lived with after her parents died.) There are also chapters from Reba’s diary in 1997 where the truth about the months and days leading up to her death are finally revealed. I especially liked the diary entries as it was the only way to see what really happened and they were also clearly labeled. I say this because the other chapters were not labeled and I think it would’ve helped to do this in order to avoid confusion. 

This was a slow burn of a book, one that takes a bit of patience in the beginning, but if you stick with it, things speed up around the halfway point and the suspense heightens. When August and Julie finally get their hands on the diary everything they thought they knew about Reba is shattered. This girl was hiding some serious secrets and nothing is as they thought it was. 

I liked some of the issues this one touched on, it showed how racism was still sadly prevalent in the late nineties and how this affected so many lives in an negative way. Harrigan has a really beautiful writing style and this was a solid debut that I had minor issues with, but nothing that ruined my reading experience. If you like a read that takes a little time to warm up, but still gradually reels you in, give this one a try. 

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

Giveaway: 

The publisher is hosting a fun giveaway for a summer reads prize pack! You can enter here

Blog Tour: The Eyes of the Accused by Mark Tilbury @MTilburyAuthor @Bloodhoundbook


Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK
Release date: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Bloodhound 

Genre: Crime Fiction

Blurb: 

Fresh from the horrors of their last case, private investigators Ben and Maddie are plunged into a disturbing world of terror as they search for missing pregnant girl, Hannah Heath.

Drawn to Frank Crowley, a suspect in Hannah’s disappearance, Maddie is about to come face to face with true evil. As she gets close to Crowley, Maddie will learn all is not what it seems.

Crowley is just a small part of something much larger. Something so terrible and deranged, it defies reason.

When Maddie disappears, Ben is left in a desperate race against time to find her and uncover the truth. 

But can Ben and Maddie both survive this time? 


Happy Saturday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Eyes of the Accused


Review: This is the second book in a series and I think that you’re better off starting with the first book as there are quite a few references to the book here. Of course if you want to ignore my solid advice you can easily start here and be just fine, but the first book was pretty good and you would be missing out on some key characterization. 

This picks up shortly after the events of the first book and Ben and Maddie are about to start working a new case. A young pregnant woman has vanished and her mother has hired them to help find her. It’s bad enough when I read about someone missing (fictional or not) but knowing she was pregnant really ramped up the tension for me. Ben and Maddie are still the same sweet kids, he’s a reluctant PI while she is more daring and isn’t afraid to take risks. I really liked seeing their relationship deepen in this installment, they are both just so endearing. 

Tilbury once again astounds me with the type of villains he creates. The perpetrator here was creepy, crazy and downright depraved. I’m not sure whether I should be in awe of this talent or slighty scared, but either way I’m a huge fan of his skill and throughly impressed. This is dirty and gritty, Tilbury isn’t afraid of exploring the dark depths of humanity, but once again he uses black humor just enough to take the edge off a rather intense reading experience. I’m really looking forward to the next book and I can’t wait to see what is in store for both Ben and Maddie next. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

About the Author: 


Mark lives in a small village in the lovely county of Cumbria, although his books are set in Oxfordshire where he was born and raised. 


After serving in the Royal Navy and raising his two daughters after being widowed, Mark finally took the plunge and self-published two books on Amazon, The Revelation Room and The Eyes of the Accused. 


He’s always had a keen interest in writing, and is extremely proud to have his third novel, The Abattoir of Dreams, published, and The Revelation Room and The Eyes of the Accused re-launched, by Bloodhound Books. 


When he’s not writing, Mark can be found trying and failing to master blues guitar, and taking walks around the beautiful county of Cumbria. 

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Blog Tour: The Summer House by Jenny Hale @jhaleauthor @bookouture


Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK
Release date: June 9, 2017

Publisher: Bookouture

Genre: Romance, Chick Lit

Blurb:

Some summers will stay with you forever…


Callie Weaver and best friend Olivia Dixon have finally done it: put their life savings into the beach house they admired through childhood summers, on the dazzling white sand of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. They’re going to buff the salt from its windows, paint its sun-bleached sidings, and open it as a bed and breakfast.


Callie’s too busy to think about her love life, but when she catches the attention of local heartthrob Luke Sullivan, his blue eyes and easy smile make it hard to say no. He’s heir to his father’s property empire, and the papers say he’s just another playboy, but as they laugh in the ocean waves, Callie realizes there’s more to this man than money and good looks.


Just when true happiness seems within reach, Callie and Olivia find a diary full of secrets… secrets that stretch across the island, and have the power to turn lives upside down. As Callie reads, she unravels a mystery that makes her heart drop through the floor. 


Will Callie and Luke be pulled apart by the storm it unleashes, or can true love save them?


The Summer House is an absolutely gorgeous, heart-warming summer romance, about the importance of family, not keeping secrets, and learning how to open your heart.

I’m so pleased to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for The Summer House today! I also have to wish Jenny the happiest of publication days. 


Review: 

Can we please take a moment to appreciate the beauty of that cover?! I mean seriously, it’s stunning, it makes me want to dive right in. The Summer House was a perfectly satisfying summer read that I devoured in an afternoon. It had me longing to have my toes in the sand and the sea breeze in my hair, meanwhile I’m actually in Arizona where ninety something degrees is considered “not too hot at all!” Sigh.

Callie was the sort of character that wiggled her way into my heart right away. She was lovely, kind and warm and not in the market for a boyfriend at all. She’s way too busy renovating the Beachcomber with her best friend Olivia to worry about romance, but they say you find love when you’re not looking…

Luke is the love interest of Callie and man was he hot! I have such a vivid picture of him in my minds eye thanks to Hale’s fantastic imagery. The relationship between these two was adorable and not one of those where they fell in love within five minutes. It was realistic as Callie was cautious and hesitant to get involved. Besides the romantic storyline there was a bit of a mystery as Callie finds an old journal and a lockbox left by the previous owner of the house. I just love when a romance author adds some intrigue into the plot, it really breaks things up and adds something special. 

This was just a delightful read with fabulous lead characters as well as a really fun group of supporting characters as well. The setting was totally gorgeous as well, I really felt like I could envision the Beachcomber and the town perfectly. If you’re looking for a sweet read to sink your teeth into this summer look no further, The Summer House was a highly endearing read. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

About the Author: 


When she graduated college, one of Jenny’s friends said “Look out for this one; she’s going to be an author one day”. Despite being an avid reader and a natural storyteller, it wasn’t until that very moment that the idea of writing novels occurred to her.


Sometimes our friends can see the things that we can’t. Whilst she didn’t start straight away, that comment sowed a seed and several years, two children and hundreds of thousands of words later, Jenny finished her first novel – Coming Home for Christmas – which became an instant bestseller.


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Blog Tour: The Silence by Katharine Johnson @kjohnsonwrites @emmamitchellfpr


Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK

Release date: June 8, 2017

Publisher: Crooked Cat Books

Genre: Mystery/Thriller 

Blurb: 

Doctor Abby Fenton has a rewarding career, a loving family, an enviable lifestyle – and a secret that could destroy everything. 

When human remains are discovered in the grounds of an idyllic Tuscan holiday home she is forced to confront the memories she has suppressed until now and relive the summer she spent at the villa in 1992. A summer that ended in tragedy. The nearer she gets to the truth the closer she comes to losing her sanity. 

In order to hold onto the people she loves most, she must make sure they never discover what she did. But the reappearance of someone else from that summer threatens to blow her secret wide open. 

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Silence


Review: 

This is told partly in the present day and partly in flashbacks to a summer in Italy in 1992 through the eyes of Abby. She was a teenager when she was sent to spend some time with her aunt and uncle after her mother passed away and it’s clear from the start that something tragic happened, but what actually occurred is detailed much later. What was unique about this was that Abby herself only has a fuzzy recollection of the events of that time and she’s done her best to bury it all. She’s now a successful doctor and she’s married and has two daughters, so when the secrets of that summer threaten to come to light, she’s desperate to keep them buried. 

Abby was a pretty unlikable person and she made quite a few questionable decisions, but with the scenarios she was dealing with, I can’t totally judge her. It’s the classic case of lies and betrayals creeping out of the dark and when I finally found out what she was hiding, I could better understand why she was so erratic in her behavior. The character development was solid, as the story progressed the layers were peeled back revealing true motivations and what brought them to make particular choices. If you like reading the sort of books that feature a protagonist unraveling at the seams with some twists and turns along the way, then you may like this one. 

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

About the Author: 


Katharine Johnson is a freelance writer and editor and has worked for a variety of magazines. She has a passion for crime novels, old houses and all things Italian (except tiramisu). She grew up in Bristol and has lived in Italy. She currently lives in Berkshire with her husband, three children and madcap spaniel. When not writing, she plays netball badly and is a room guide in a stately home. The Silence, a psychological/coming of age story set in Tuscany will be published on June 8th.

 For Katharine’s latest news, writing advice, book releases and gossip follow her on 
twitter @kjohnsonwrites
Facebook.com/katharinejohnsonauthor
website/

Blog http://www.katyjohnsonblog.wordpress.com

www.crookedcatbooks.com


Review: The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand


Goodreads|Amazon|Author Website
Release date: June 13, 2017

Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.

Genre: Women’s Fiction 

Blurb: 

Nantucket is only two and a half hours away from Martha’s Vineyard by ferry. But the two islands might as well be worlds apart for a set of identical twin sisters who have been at odds for years. When a family crisis forces them to band together–or at least appear to–the twins slowly come to realize that the special bond that they share is more important than the sibling rivalry that’s driven them apart for the better part of their lives. A touching depiction of all the pleasures and annoyances of the sibling relationship, Elin Hilderbrand’s next New York Times bestseller, THE IDENTICALS proves once and for all that just because twins look exactly the same doesn’t mean they’re anything alike. 

Review: 

 Summer isn’t official to me until I’ve read Hilderbrand’s latest book and when I saw that The Identicals was a book about sisters, I was pretty excited. Sister relationships always intrigue me, but a book about twin sisters is even more appealing to me, there’s just something fascinating about the bond they share and the unspoken connection between them. Full of Hilderbrand’s trademark style, this book delivered on all levels and I think it’s the author at her best. 

Following in the footsteps of her other books, this is told through various perspectives. Tabitha, Harper and Ainsley all narrate and as Ainsley is Tabitha’s teenaged daughter, it lent a YA feel to her chapters that spiced things up. Tabitha and Harper are twins that have been estranged for fourteen years and they wind up switching locations for the summer; Tabitha heads to Martha’s Vineyard and Harper heads to Nantucket. Apparently there’s a rivalry between the two places and the women both vehemently believe that their home is the superior spot. Part of the charm of Hilderbrand’s books, for me at least, is the idyllic setting of Nantucket. I really enjoyed the addition of Martha’s Vineyard this time, it was cool to get a glimpse of somewhere new in addition to the comfort of the Nantucket setting. 

There is a reason that Hilderbrand is hailed as the queen of the summer beach read, she’s more than earned that title, this is her nineteenth novel after all. But it’s more than that, she really has all of the necessary components to create that perfect blend of an ideal summer read. There’s juicy scandal, gossip, family dysfunction, decadent and mouthwatering food descriptions, rich characterization and a vivid setting. To me, nothing is more purely entertaining than one of her books and I’m always completely wrapped up in the world she crafts. 

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

My most anticipated summer reads! 


Summertime is arguably the BEST time for bookworms, there are so many books being released in June, July and August that I’m excited about! Here are the books that I’m dying to read, I even whittled my list down if you can believe it!! 

June


“The bad man, Daddy. The bad man is after us.” 
Clara Solberg’s world shatters when her husband and their four-year-old daughter are in a car crash, killing Nick while Maisie is remarkably unharmed. The crash is ruled an accident…until the coming days, when Maisie starts having night terrors that make Clara question what really happened on that fateful afternoon. 
Tormented by grief and her obsession that Nick’s death was far more than just an accident, Clara is plunged into a desperate hunt for the truth. Who would have wanted Nick dead? And, more important, why? Clara will stop at nothing to find out—and the truth is only the beginning of this twisted tale of secrets and deceit. 
Told in the alternating perspectives of Clara’s investigation and Nick’s last months leading up to the crash, master of suspense Mary Kubica weaves her most chilling thriller to date—one that explores the dark recesses of a mind plagued by grief and shows that some secrets might be better left buried.

Nantucket is only two and a half hours away from Martha’s Vineyard by ferry. But the two islands might as well be worlds apart for a set of identical twin sisters who have been at odds for years. Just because twins look exactly the same doesn’t mean they’re anything alike–and Tabitha and Harper Frost have spent their whole lives trying to prove this point. When a family crisis forces them to band together–or at least appear to–the twins come to realize that the special bond that they share is more important than the resentments that have driven them apart. A story of new loves, old battles, and a threat that gives a whole new meaning to the term sibling rivalry, THE IDENTICALS is Elin Hilderbrand at her page-turning best. 

On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister…
The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”
The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).
Atmospheric, twisty, and with just the right amount of chill that will keep you wrong-footed—which has now become Ruth Ware’s signature style—The Lying Game is sure to be her next big bestseller. Another unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.


Bo Luxton has it all—a loving family, a beautiful home in the Lake District, and a clutch of bestselling books to her name. Enter Alice Dark, an aspiring writer who is drifting through life, with a series of dead-end jobs and a freeloading boyfriend. When they meet at a writers’ retreat, the chemistry is instant, and a sinister relationship develops. Or does it? Breathlessly pacey, taut and terrifying, Exquisite is a startlingly original and unbalancing psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page. 


Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters. 
As soon as possible, tomboy Nell fled her mother’s overbearing presence to work on a farm and find her own way in the world as a single mother. The target of her mother s criticism, Meredith never felt good enough, thin enough, pretty enough. Her life took her to London and into the arms of a man whom she may not even love. And Lizzy, the youngest, more like Ronni than any of them, seemed to have it easy, using her drive and ambition to build a culinary career to rival her mother’s fame, while her marriage crumbled around her. 
But now the Sunshine Girls are together again, called home by Ronni, who has learned that she has a serious disease and needs her daughters to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy are all going through crises of their own, their mother s illness draws them together to confront old jealousies and secret fears and they discover that blood might be thicker than water after all. 


One split second can destroy your life forever 
Single mother Jen Cornish is just trying to hold things together for the sake of her seven-year-old son Charlie. Until the day when she does an impulsive good deed to help a neighbour, setting off a terrifying chain of events that quickly spirals out of control… 
When she is arrested for a crime she didn’t commit, Jen quickly starts to wonder if someone is playing a cruel game with her – or is she losing her mind? 
Desperate to clear her name with the police, she must first untangle a chilling web of lies. But someone is watching her every move – and it isn’t just Jen who is in danger. 
They’re watching her child as well. 
An unputdownable psychological thriller with plenty of twists that will keep you hooked until the very last page… 

Sarah Cook, a beautiful blonde teenager disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton – black and from the wrong side of the tracks – was convicted of the murders and sits on death row, though he always maintained his innocence. With his execution only weeks away, his devoted sister, insisting she has spotted Sarah at a local gas station, hires PI Roxane Weary to look again at the case.
Reeling from the recent death of her cop father, Roxane finds herself drawn to the story of Sarah’s vanishing act, especially when she thinks she’s linked Sarah’s disappearance to one of her father’s unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. Despite her self-destructive tendencies, Roxane starts to hope that maybe she can save Brad’s life and her own.


As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?
As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.
But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn—house by house—into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women—and torn between what she can and cannot tell… 

July 


Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.


Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past. 


That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

Two months before his wedding, financial executive James Donato chased his trade-laundering brother Phil to Mexico, only to be lost at sea and presumed dead. Six and a half years later, he emerges from a dissociative fugue state to find he’s been living in Oaxaca as artist Carlos Dominguez, widower and father of two sons, with his sister-in-law Natalya Hayes, a retired professional surfer, helping to keep his life afloat. But his fiancée, Aimee Tierney, the love of his life, has moved on. She’s married and has a child of her own.
Devastated, James and his sons return to California. But Phil is scheduled for release from prison, and he’s determined to find James, who witnessed something in Mexico that could land Phil back in confinement. Under mounting family pressure, James flees with his sons to Kauai, seeking refuge with Natalya. As James begins to unravel the mystery of his fractured identity, danger is never far behind, and Natalya may be the only person he can trust.

Just a year and a half after the tragic death of his wife, Bill Price’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer, and her best friend, Haley, disappear. Days later, the girls are found in a city park. Haley is dead at the scene, while Summer is left beaten beyond recognition and clinging to life.
As Bill holds vigil over Summer’s bandaged body, the only sound the unconscious girl can make is one cryptic and chilling word: No. And the more time Bill spends with Summer, the more he wonders what happened to her. Or if the injured girl in the hospital bed is really his daughter at all.
When troubling new questions about Summer’s life surface, Bill is not prepared for the aftershocks. He’ll soon discover that both the living and the dead have secrets. And that searching for the truth will tear open old wounds that pierce straight to the heart of his family…


Why would you run scared from a happy home?
You’re waiting for your beloved husband to get home from work. You’re making dinner, looking forward to hearing about his day.
That’s the last thing you remember.
You wake up in hospital, with no idea how you got there. They tell you that you were in an accident; you lost control of your car whilst driving in a dangerous part of town.
The police suspect you were up to no good. But your husband refuses to believe it. Your best friend isn’t so sure. And even you don’t know what to believe . . .


In the bestselling tradition of The Girl on the Train and In a Dark, Dark Wood, from the internationally bestselling author whom Stephen King called “an absolute master” of the psychological thriller, comes a riveting suspense novel about the unlikely friendship between two pregnant women that asks: how far would you go to create the perfect family?
Agatha is pregnant and works part-time stocking shelves at a grocery store in a ritzy London suburb, counting down the days until her baby is due. As the hours of her shifts creep by in increasing discomfort, the one thing she looks forward to at work is catching a glimpse of Meghan, the effortlessly chic customer whose elegant lifestyle dazzles her. Meghan has it all: two perfect children, a handsome husband, a happy marriage, a stylish group of friends, and she writes perfectly droll confessional posts on her popular parenting blog—posts that Agatha reads with devotion each night as she waits for her absent boyfriend, the father of her baby, to maybe return her calls.
When Agatha learns that Meghan is pregnant again, and that their due dates fall within the same month, she finally musters up the courage to speak to her, thrilled that they now have the ordeal of childbearing in common. Little does Meghan know that the mundane exchange she has with a grocery store employee during a hurried afternoon shopping trip is about to change the course of her not-so-perfect life forever…
With its brilliant rendering of a shocking kidnapping plot and the secrets some women hold close, The Secrets She Keeps delivers a dark and twisted page-turner that is absolutely impossible to put down.


Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact.
The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. And most of its rules make sense. Always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter. . . . Never mention The Pact to anyone.
Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples. And then one of them breaks the rules. The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life. And The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule. For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.

August


“Raine sometimes complains that nothing exciting is ever gonna happen in Grace again. Daddy told her careful what you wish for.”




Everyone loves Summer Ryan. A model student and musical prodigy, she’s a ray of light in the struggling small town of Grace, Alabama – especially compared to her troubled sister, Raine.


Then Summer goes missing. Grace is already simmering, and with this new tragedy the police have their hands full keeping the peace. Only Raine throws herself into the search, supported by a most unlikely ally.


But perhaps there was always more to Summer than met the eye . . .




A gripping crime novel with a huge heart, this is the second novel from the exceptionally talented Chris Whitaker.


One night five years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.


From the NYT bestselling author comes a chilling new thriller about a ritualistic murder of a college professor that sends a small town cop back into the trauma she thought she’d put behind her.
Officer Miranda Rader of the Hammond PD in Louisiana is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from Jasper, just south of Hammond, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to leave the girl she used to be behind and earn respect in her position as an officer.
However, when Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the gruesomeness of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about a terrible night from her long-buried past. Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop, and not just any cop—Clint Wheeler, the cop who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda. 15 years ago.
And when her fingerprints turn up at the scene of the first murder, Miranda once again finds herself under the microscope, her honesty and integrity doubted, her motivations questioned. Alone again, the trust of her colleagues shattered, Miranda must try to trust the instincts she’s pushed down for so long, and decide what’s right—before it’s too late.

So what do you think of my list? Are you looking forward to any of the same books  as me? What’s on your list? 

Review: The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green 


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Release date: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Berkley 

Genre: Women’s Fiction 

Blurb: 

Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters. 

As soon as possible, tomboy Nell fled her mother’s overbearing presence to work on a farm and find her own way in the world as a single mother. The target of her mothers criticism, Meredith never felt good enough, thin enough, pretty enough. Her life took her to London and into the arms of a man whom she may not even love. And Lizzy, the youngest, more like Ronni than any of them, seemed to have it easy, using her drive and ambition to build a culinary career to rival her mother’s fame, while her marriage crumbled around her. 


But now the Sunshine Girls are together again, called home by Ronni, who has learned that she has a serious disease and needs her daughters to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy are all going through crises of their own, their mothers illness draws them together to confront old jealousies and secret fears and they discover that blood might be thicker than water after all. 

Review: 

I’ve been a huge Green fan for years and I always love when it’s time for her to release a new book. There is something about her writing and the easiness, the effortless flow that is like comfort food to me. The Sunshine Sisters was Green doing what she does best; crafting complex characters that virtually anyone could relate to while telling a story that is engaging and fun. 

The entire first half of this is a bit on the slower side and impatient readers may get frustrated. It starts in the early eighties when mom Ronni is just beginning her career as an actress. Then there are several smaller sections from the nineties all the way through the early two thousands where the three daughters are growing up. I enjoyed this structure as it gave some background and showed what shaped each woman in a fairly quick way. At the halfway point, it’s present day and Nell, Meredith and Lizzy have all been called home by their mother because she has some news to share. 

Ronni was not an easy woman to like, she was an awful mother and an even worse wife, but I really liked all three Sunshine sisters. They are all vastly different from one another but they were well fleshed out and I found I could relate to each of them in some way. They did sort of fit into the stereotypical roles of sisters, one is serious, one is a people pleaser and one is the flighty one, but those aren’t the sort of tropes that annoy me, so I wasn’t bothered in the slightest. 

Despite some heavier topics it really does read like a light, summery read. At it’s heart it’s a novel about family, forgiveness, acceptance, letting go of painful pasts, and the always complicated relationships between mothers and daughters and sisters. I read it on vacation and it was truly the perfect book to read on the beach, it’s fun albeit slightly predictable but I honestly didn’t want to be thinking too hard while reading it anyway! 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

Blog Tour: Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde


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Release date: May 23, 2017

Publisher: Lake Union

Genre: Women’s Fiction 

Blurb: 

Bea has barely been scraping by since her husband died. After falling for a telephone scam, she loses everything and is forced to abandon her trailer. With only two-thirds of a tank in her old van, she heads toward the Pacific Ocean with her cat—on a mission to reclaim what’s rightfully hers, even if it means making others pay for what she lost.


When fifteen-year-old Allie’s parents are jailed for tax fraud, she’s sent to a group home. But when her life is threatened by another resident, she knows she has to get out. She escapes only to find she has nowhere to go—until fate throws Allie in Bea’s path.


Reluctant to trust each other, much less become friends, the two warily make their way up the Pacific Coast. Yet as their hearts open to friendship and love from the strangers they meet on their journey, they find the courage to forge their own unique family—and begin to see an imperfect world with new eyes.

Review: 

I think we’ve all read plenty of books about characters that are down on their luck and struggling to get back on their feet, but in Allie and Bea both title characters are truly fighting for survival, there is nothing cutesy or whimsical about their situations, things are drastic, life threatening even. But don’t be mistaken, as much as this book deals with some heavy themes, at it’s core it’s uplifting and a story of hope and how small acts of kindness can have life altering impacts. 

It begins from Bea’s point of view, she’s a seventy something widower barely scraping by on her social security checks. When she gets scammed by someone claiming to be from the IRS, she’s virtually penniless and all hope seems to be lost. It then switches to Allie’s POV, a fifteen year old girl who’s parents are arrested leaving her in the care of the state and stuck in a group home with some unsavory characters. When the two have a chance encounter, their storylines merge and now these unlikely allies find themselves on an adventure that takes them places neither could have ever imagined.

I wondered what a seventy year old woman and a teenage girl could possibly have in common, and the surface answer is not a whole lot. Though they are as different as two people can possibly be, they wind up having more in common than meets the eye and they also have lessons to teach each other. Ryan Hyde has a real knack for developing outstanding characters that steal a piece of your heart, they really get under your skin in a good way. Watching their relationship grow and blossom was just amazing and made me smile. 

Ryan Hyde tackles some timely issues in this book, the one that touched me the most was homelessness, she sure made me think about the issue in a different manner than I have in the past. Seeing how fast someone can find themselves on the street or sleeping in their car was scary and humbling. While tough issues are definitely at the forefront there are still many moments of humor, heart and warmth making this a truly feel good read. This was thought provoking and would also be a great choice for a book club, but it’s an easy enough read that you could read it poolside as well. 

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Thank to Little Bird Publicity for my review copy. 

Review: The Party by Robyn Harding


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Release date: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

In this stunning and provocative domestic drama about a sweet sixteen birthday party that goes horribly awry, a wealthy family in San Francisco finds themselves entangled in a legal battle, their darkest secrets revealed, and their friends turned to enemies.


One invitation. A lifetime of regrets.


Sweet sixteen. It’s an exciting coming of age, a milestone, and a rite of passage. Jeff and Kim Sanders plan on throwing a party for their daughter, Hannah—a sweet girl with good grades and nice friends. Rather than an extravagant, indulgent affair, they invite four girls over for pizza, cake, movies, and a sleepover. What could possibly go wrong?


But things do go wrong, horrifically so. After a tragic accident occurs, Jeff and Kim’s picture perfect life in a wealthy San Francisco suburb suddenly begins to unravel. A lawsuit is filed that irrevocably changes their relationship, reveals dark secrets in the Sanders’ marriage, and exposes the truth about their perfect daughter, Hannah.


Harkening to Herman Koch’s The Dinner, Christos Tsiolkas’s The Slap, and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, The Party takes us behind the façade of the perfect family, exposing the lies, betrayals, and moral lapses that neighbors don’t see—and the secrets that children and parents keep from themselves and each other. 

Review: 

The Party was a much lighter mystery than I was expecting, I would even hesitate to label it a thriller as it’s lacking a true mystery or intensity that I believe would qualify it as such. It actually reminded me of Truly Madly Guilty in the sense that it was about a shocking event that has huge ramifications for a group of people. You do find out what happens pretty early on, so there wasn’t the annoying wait for the big reveal. I appreciated this as waiting for information that ends up being lackluster is a huge pet peeve of mine. 

This is told from the perspectives of four people; Kim and Jeff who are the parents that threw the infamous party, their daughter Hannah and Lisa the mother of one of Hannah’s friends that attended the party. I’m a fan of this structure and it worked well enough here, but every single one of the characters was very unlikable. Sometimes selfish, insipid characters don’t bother me, but this time it didn’t work out so well for me. I had a hard time feeling sympathetic towards any of them which in turn meant I struggled to form a connection with any of them and left me not really caring what happened to them one way or another. 

I do want to be clear and say that with the right reader,  I think this could be an enjoyable read, unfortunately I just don’t think I was the target audience. I expected more tension and instead it was mostly law suits and high school politics. The ending really missed the mark for me but I don’t want to get into it to much for fear of spoilers, I’ll just say that I had hoped maybe some of the characters would have had more growth and maturity by the end. If you’re looking for a mindless summer read and don’t mind a lack of mystery in a book classified as such, The Party may be for you. 

Overall rating: 2.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.