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Release date: October 24, 2017

Publisher: William Morrow

Genre: Memoir, True Crime

Blurb:

In this poignant and disturbing memoir of lost innocence, coercion, survival, and healing, Dianne Lake chronicles her years with Charles Manson, revealing for the first time how she became the youngest member of his Family and offering new insights into one of the twentieth century’s most notorious criminals and life as one of his “girls”

At age fourteen Dianne Lake—with little more than a note in her pocket from her hippie parents granting her permission to leave them—became one of “Charlie’s girls,” a devoted acolyte of cult leader Charles Manson. Over the course of two years, the impressionable teenager endured manipulation, psychological control, and physical abuse as the harsh realities and looming darkness of Charles Manson’s true nature revealed itself. From Spahn ranch and the group acid trips, to the Beatles’ White Album and Manson’s dangerous messiah-complex, Dianne tells the riveting story of the group’s descent into madness as she lived it.

Though she never participated in any of the group’s gruesome crimes and was purposely insulated from them, Dianne was arrested with the rest of the Manson Family, and eventually learned enough to join the prosecution’s case against them. With the help of good Samaritans, including the cop who first arrested her and later adopted her, the courageous young woman eventually found redemption and grew up to lead an ordinary life.

While much has been written about Charles Manson, this riveting account from an actual Family member is a chilling portrait that recreates in vivid detail one of the most horrifying and fascinating chapters in modern American history.

Review:

What a harrowing, sad and compelling read this was, Dianne Lake was the youngest member of Charles Manson’s Family and she goes into great detail revealing the three years she spent as a member of one of the most notorious cults in the world. Since she was just a child during her time with Manson this is all the more haunting to know that such a young girl experienced so many horrors at the hands of a deranged and sick individual. Even knowing it’s all true it’s hard to imagine that the events she describes actually happened, at times I forgot I wasn’t reading a fictional tale.

Unlike many books out there about Charles Manson this doesn’t focus solely on the horrific murders but instead is truly Lake’s personal story beginning in her young childhood up until she met Manson and then some bits and pieces about her adult life. As fascinated as I was by the stories she shared about the way The Family lived and obeyed Manson, the psychological aspect really gripped me. This was a teenaged girl who was not only engaging in adult activities such as group sex, drug abuse and an incredibly unstable, transient lifestyle she was also being controlled and manipulated by an older man with awful intentions and also abused her both physically, verbally and emotionally. It was truly sickening and her bravery at sharing the darkest moments of her life was impressive.

If you’re interested at all in what life is like living in a cult this is the book for you, Lake is unflinchingly honest about what she was thinking and feeling during her time in The Family and her memory of events so many years ago is seriously amazing. Since she wasn’t present during the murders they honestly don’t play a huge role in the story, but this is still a very fascinating psychological look at how one can fall prey to the manipulation of a conman.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

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Release date: December 26, 2017

Publisher: Harlequin

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.

Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There’s only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn’t necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.

With a tough islander mother who’s always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter–a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was–Nora has her work cut out for her if she’s going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.

But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise…and the chance to begin again.

Review:

There are an extremely limited amount of authors I fangirl over, I mean truly go crazy for and Kristan Higgins is one of them. I’m not kidding when I say I don’t even read the blurb for her novels before I’m desperate to read them, I think they’re THAT good. This is such a cliché thing to say, but her books get better and better and I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite, but I can highly recommend every single one, and yes I’ve read them all. You know how you get people asking for book recommendations and oftentimes you have to think for a minute? When someone says they like Women’s Fiction/Romance I just blurt out, Kristan Higgins, any book you can get your hands on, I’m THAT confident.

Nora was an amazing character, she’s a quirky doctor with a Harry Potter obsession, what’s not to love?! I connected with her on page one about two lines in and that never wavered for one second. Higgins has a knack for writing about messy, flawed women with humor, realism and grace and this was no exception, the characterization was superb. Her lead characters aren’t the only ones that are so well crafted they practically leap from the pages, the secondary ones are just as bright, sparkly and charming. This is set in Maine where my husbands family is from and she nailed their accents, work ethic and mannerisms wickedly perfectly, Mainers are larger than life!

I could gush about this book all of the live long day but I’ll spare you and wrap it up now. I normally only use phrases like unputdownable and page turner when I talking about a thriller, but it’s oddly fitting here as well. Higgins is at the top of her game and if you get through the dinner party scene without laughing hysterically then we’ll never be friends 😜

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

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Release date: November 2017

Genre: Holiday Fiction

Blurb:

“I became paralyzed with fear. Tears started to run down my cheeks as I sat motionless on the bed facing the locked door.”

Patty had slowly opened up to Bob. She thinks she might be falling in love with him. Even so, he has gone back to New York, and she has not heard from him in two weeks. It is another loss for her. First, her mother died when she was young, and then her husband, Matt, was killed in Afghanistan. She has lost all that were close to her. All but her dad and he is her rock. He is the one that gives her strength.

In, The Christmas Gate 2, Patty’s life becomes like a roller coaster, with the ups and the downs. She loses, and then wins, only to lose again. Then Patty is rocked with an emotional bombshell. She tries to gather herself together, then only another heartbreak again.

She resigns herself to wait at the old farm house until Bob returns to her. She unleashes what Bob had uncovered during his earlier stay, and she too is taken on a journey that will bring to the surface the things she has buried deep inside her, things that she has forgotten, things she refuses to confront, and things that could eventually set her free. Patty and Bob’s story continues in, The Christmas Gate 2.

Review:

Last year I had the pleasure of reading The Christmas Gate and found it to be a truly heartwarming and beautiful read. It ended with things sort of up in the air so I was delighted to be able to read the second part this holiday season! This was an amazing ending to a gorgeous story, I loved learning more about Patty, who was introduced in the first part.

Once again I want to point out that this does discuss religion and it does play a significant role in the storyline, I find that it adds warmth, heart and beauty to it but wanted to give a heads up. The meaning behind these books is fantastic, it shows how much more there is to the holiday season than just exchanging gifts and emphasizes the importance of family, friends and faith all in a subtle manner. I read this on Christmas Eve and there’s really no better time to cozy up with this one, it’s short and begs to be read all at once which is exactly what I did!

I also want to wish everyone the merriest Christmas, I hope each and everyone of you has a wonderful, relaxing and joyful day spent with family and friends!

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.

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Release date: December 26, 2017

Publisher: Kensington

Genre: Mystery

Blurb:

Among the Irish Travellers living in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, no one forgets and no one forgives. And as former Marine MP Brynn Callahan finds out when she returns home, it’s hard to bury the past when bodies keep turning up…

After an IED explosion abruptly ends her tour of duty, Brynn arrives stateside with PTSD and her canine partner Wilco—both of them bearing the scars of battle. With a mix of affection, curiosity, and misgivings, she goes back to Bone Gap, Tennessee, and the insular culture she’d hoped to escape by enlisting in the Marine Corps.

Marginalized and wary of outsiders, the Irish Travellers keep to themselves in a secluded mountain community, maintaining an uneasy coexistence with the “settled” townspeople of McCreary. When Wilco’s training as a cadaver dog leads Brynn to discover a body in the woods, the two worlds collide. Soon it’s clear that and Brynn and Wilco are in danger – and they’re not the only ones.

After the police identify the dead woman, Brynn is shocked to learn she has a personal connection—and everything she’s been told about her past is called into question.

Forming a reluctant alliance with local sheriff Frank Pusser, Brynn must dig up secrets that not only will rattle her close-knit clan to its core, but may forever change her perception of who she is…and put her back in the line of fire.

Review:

Every once in awhile I have the pleasure of reading a book with a wholly unique premise that’s unlike anything I’ve read before and honestly, not much makes me happier! Splintered Silence was one of those rare books, it was original, exciting and extremely well written and had a lead duo that not only stole my heart, but left me dying to find out more!

I have never heard of Irish Travellers before but from the moment I started this I was so fascinated. These “clans” are often compared to gypsies and there is an us versus them mentality between them and what they call settled folk. This lent to some amazing tension and there was a very strong sense of culture that was endlessly intriguing for me. Brynn’s family is part of the IT and she left at eighteen and joined the military. She really doesn’t fit in with her family or the settled folk, she feels like an outsider and only really trusts her faithful partner, Wilco. Their bond was amazing and heartbreaking as they both suffer from PTSD. Furlong did a fantastic job sharing information about PTSD in a respectful and educational way.

The mystery itself has personal ties for Brynn and that’s always one of my favorite plot lines, I love when the protagonist is personally invested in a case. There was enough revealed about Brynn’s history to pique my interest but enough left open to carry the series further. The best way I can describe this is that it reminded me of a Nora Roberts book with and edge, it’s much darker and has way more depth but something about the cultural vibe and the writing was similar.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.

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Release date: December 5, 2017

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Genre: Mystery

Blurb:

Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She’s an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only victim who lived.

When three people disappear from her town in three years, all around her birthday—the day she was kidnapped so long ago—Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer’s closet all those years ago.

Agent Reed Markham made his name and fame on the back of the Coben case, but his fortunes have since turned. His marriage is in shambles, his bosses think he’s washed up, and worst of all, he blew a major investigation. When Ellery calls him, he can’t help but wonder: sure, he rescued her, but was she ever truly saved? His greatest triumph is Ellery’s waking nightmare, and now both of them are about to be sucked into the past, back to the case that made them…with a killer who can’t let go.

Review:

This opens with a bang that grabbed my attention right away, fourteen years ago a young woman was kidnapped and tortured by a twisted serial killer and she’s the only victim to make it out alive. Someone saw Ellery the day she was taken, but they’ve remained silent all of these years, creepy right?! As much as the beginning sucked me in, the pacing throughout the bulk lagged a bit and left me wanting more, it didn’t match the initial intensity and felt sort of drawn out.

This felt more like a police procedural than a true thriller, the beginning and ending had some tense parts but the majority was pretty mild. The chapters were long, I prefer shorter, fast paced chapters in a mystery/thriller and I think the more sedate pacing left me feeling underwhelmed and wanting more. The plot itself was interesting, there was a lot going on and it was pretty well executed but I did figure out the who well before the big reveal. I mean, it’s bound to happen though, I read so much that I can’t always be fooled, but I think it was fairly obvious.

This is one of those middle of the road reads for me, plenty I liked such as the writing style and the characterization, Ellery and Reed both intrigued me. What lost me was the pacing and the lack of true tension coupled with me guessing whodunnit. Still, it’s a solid debut and I can see why it’s garnering so much praise, it just wasn’t as amazing as I had hoped.

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

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Release date: January 9, 2018

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

Fifteen years after Donovan’s daughter is abducted, Monica Russell knocks on his door. She claims she knew his daughter while in captivity. She claims she knows where his daughter’s remains are buried. She claims she knows the man who abducted, assaulted, and murdered his princess. She claims she can show him all of these things, but what price is Donovan willing to pay the young lady who claims to be the last friend to know his daughter?

Review:

Oohh I love the premise for this one, imagine thinking you may finally have answers about your missing child fifteen years later, crazy, right?! Donovan doesn’t know what to think when Monica shows up on his doorstep with all sorts of claims about his daughter, but she knows things that no one should know. He really wants to believe her, he would love to know the truth about what happened to her but can he trust Monica?

I love some unreliability and this was full of questions, Monica seemed legit but there was something niggling in the back of my mind the entire time, a feeling that she wasn’t being entirely honest. Donovan is a good guy, I really felt for him, I can’t imagine losing a child and not knowing what happened makes it all the more painful. I was wary of Monica and didn’t want her to take advantage of Donovan, he’s a desperate man who has nothing to lose and that’s always dangerous. The short chapters and fast pacing coupled with an intriguing storyline made this a page turner that I could not put down.

This was dark, twisty and well written with great characterization and a strong storyline. It wasn’t your typical missing child story since the child in question disappeared such a long time ago, it was about a fathers quest for answers at any cost. I think any parent could relate to Donovan’s need for the truth and wouldn’t find fault with his sometimes questionable decision making, I know I would do anything to find my own kids.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: October 24, 2017

Publisher: William Morrow

Genre: Horror/Sci Fi/Fantasy

Blurb:

A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill

“Snapshot” is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by “The Phoenician,” a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap.

A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in “Aloft.”

On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. “Rain” explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.

In “Loaded,” a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

Review:

This book would not be something that I would normally read, but after having heard from SO many people that Hill is a fantastic author I knew I had to give him a try. A collection of short stories seemed like the perfect way for me to acquainted with his work and overall I’m pretty impressed even though I didn’t love every single story.

I’m going to start with my least favorite and end with my favorite so I can end on a positive note! Snapshot had some parts that I really liked, Michael is an adult and is recounting a series of incidents from when he was twelve in the eighties. I love books set in this era so that was really cool and I liked the conversational style it had. I felt like a friend was telling me a crazy story from their past. I was pretty underwhelmed in the end, I found it predictable and the resolution was meh.

Aloft follows Audrey, an early twenties man who goes skydiving with some friends after one of them passes away to honor her memory. He is the sole focus and I found him to be well drawn for such a short amount of time spent with him. This had such a weird premise, it was pretty out there for me and while I liked it, I didn’t love it.

Rain focuses on an end of days type of event in Colorado and is told by a woman named Honeysuckle. I love a good apocalypse novel and haven’t read one in forever, so I was pretty into this bizarre tale of crystal spikes falling from the sky. This was dark and atmospheric and I really liked Honeysuckle and was invested in her. The ending left a bit to be desired but overall an entertaining read.

Loaded was the strongest in my opinion, maybe because it was so timely, but I thought it was extremely well done. It had a brief period with different timelines, present day, then back to the early nineties and I was impressed by how well this worked in a story that’s only a bit over one hundred pages, I’ve read full length novels that can’t pull this off as well! There are several characters in this story and they’re all linked by a mall shooting and the way things were plotted was smart and came together smoothly in the end.

If you like short story collections and don’t mind supernatural elements in your thrillers, give this a shot. I liked that I could easily read each section in a single setting and appreciated the great sense of place and atmosphere in each story, they were all highly original and engrossing.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.