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Release date: July 11, 2017

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Genre: Women’s Fiction 

Blurb: 

Sunshine Mackenzie has it all…until her secrets come to light.

Sunshine Mackenzie is living the dream—she’s a culinary star with millions of fans, a line of #1 bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband happy to support her every endeavor.

And then she gets hacked.

When Sunshine’s secrets are revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. She loses the husband, her show, the fans, and her apartment. She’s forced to return to the childhood home—and the estranged sister—she’s tried hard to forget. But what Sunshine does amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life.

In a world where celebrity is a careful construct, Hello, Sunshine is a compelling, funny, and evocative novel about what it means to live an authentic life in an inauthentic age. 

Review: 

I have another book to add to your vacation reading list, this would be absolutely perfect as it’s light, but has plenty of drama, a juicy scandal and a heroine who is perfectly flawed and wholly relatable. 

Sunshine has the type of life people only dream of, she has a huge following across social media, a best selling series of cookbooks, an amazing husband and a dream apartment in NYC. It’s a total dream, especially as she can’t cook, like at all and the whole empire she’s crafted? Faker than a three dollar bill. The premise for this hooked me as the whole idea of the social media age we’re currently living in just fascinates me. We all follow people who seem to have the perfect life, but how can we really know that their lives are so fantastic based on some pictures and heavily edited videos? Sunshine herself probably shouldn’t have been very likable, but I really did enjoy her. She’s finally at a point in her career where she’s forced to be honest and I found her candidness refreshing. 

This was a timely read as the entire world has never been more obsessed with social media and the stars born from it than it is today. We are a culture consumed by it and the social commentary Dave makes on this subject through Sunshine’s downfall was surprisingly insightful for such a lighthearted read. It wasn’t in your face or obnoxious, just gives you something to ponder. It was also really witty and endearing and a total one sitting type of read as it comes in at under 250 pages. Ultimately it is a story of redemption but not in a contrived, cheesy way, nothing is wrapped up neatly in the end and doing this felt very genuine, I appreciated that. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

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Release date: July 11, 2017

Publisher: Dutton Books

Genre: Thriller

Blurb: 

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. 

Review: 

Final Girls first came onto my radar last year, I saw someone talking about it on Twitter and when I read the blurb, I was so intrigued! Since then, I’ve seen this book everywhere on social media, it’s getting all of the hype. That always slightly concerns me, I wonder if the hype will be justified or just a major letdown? Let me tell you, the hype is deserved, dare I say this will be THE thriller of the summer?! It really should be. 

Quincy is a final girl, along with Sam and Lisa, but what is a final girl? It’s a nickname for the last girls standing in a slasher film and the press dubbed the girls with the ubiquitous title because all three survived  horrifying massacres. For some reason, before I started this, I thought they were survivors of the same killer, but that’s not it, they all managed to escape from three separate spree killers. I really liked that they were only connected by being survivors, their three ordeals were all chilling and absolutely frightening. 

This is told from Quincy’s viewpoint in the present day and there are also sections set in Pine Cottage where her horror show occurred. The pace is steady until you get closer to the end as you really start to learn about what happened at PC. I loved those parts, the setting was eerily atmospheric and so creepy, exactly like a horror movie. This book toes the line and almost crosses over into the horror genre, especially in these parts because the scenes are so dark, disturbing and gory. 

There are tons of diversions throughout the book, it’s a constant guessing game that you can’t quite ever figure out. It’s so twisty and spooky, certain scenes gave me chills up and down my spine. All of the characters behave in a way that makes you question their motivations, no one is trustworthy, making this one all the more fun to try and figure out. It was such a compelling, thrilling read, again I’m calling it the book of the summer, don’t miss out on this one! 

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

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Release date: July 11, 2017

Publisher: Scribner

Genre: Psychological thriller

Blurb: 

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 the secrets some women hold close and a shocking act that cannot be undone, The Secrets She Keeps delivers a dark and twisted page-turner that is absolutely impossible to put down. 

Review: 

Told alternately from the viewpoint of Meg and Agatha, this brilliant thriller had me gripped tightly in its clutches from the very first chapter. Meg is one of those women, who on the surface, seems to have an utterly perfect life. She’s married to a handsome man named Jack and has two lovely children and a third on the way. Agatha is also pregnant, but her life isn’t quite as charmed as Meg’s. As the details of their lives and the secrets they’re both keeping are slowly and methodically revealed, it’s very clear that danger is lurking and dark secrets and betrayals are underfoot. 

This book is aptly titled as the secrets these women are keeping are powerful and shocking. It was a constant barrage of revelations and gasp worthy moments and the author masterfully and carefully shared them, at just the right time. It’s divided into two parts and the first half really sets the stage for what’s ahead. There is a lot of character development and buildup, then when part two begins, things get super tense. You couldn’t have pried my Kindle from my hands for all the money in the world, I was that gripped. 

I’m keeping this on the shorter side because the plot is so intricate and beautifully crafted that me speaking to it anymore wouldn’t do it any justice. If you are a fan of this genre this a definite must read. It was a highly addictive, perfectly paced, compelling read that I absolutely loved! And now I’ll be busy buying all the books in Robotham’s back catalogue…

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

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Release date: June 27, 2017

Publisher: Berkley 

Genre: Psychological Thriller 

Blurb: 

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… 

Review: 

I may be the only mystery/thriller reader left on the planet who still hasn’t read Barton’s debut, The Widow. It’s been sitting on my nightstand for almost a year and I just haven’t had time to squeeze it in yet. I know that one received some mixed reviews, but that only piques my interest more and makes me want to read it for myself and form my own opinions. I think that this book will get similar reviews as well since my own feelings seem to be all over the place. 

I love the premise of this, cold cases always grab my attention in books and this was no exception. Kate is a reporter and I like this type of POV as constantly reading from a police officers perspective can get a bit tedious. Besides her viewpoint, you also hear from Emma, Jude and Angela. Emma and Jude are a mother and daughter with a strained relationship and Angela is a woman who’s newborn baby was kidnapped from the hospital back in the seventies.

 Multiple viewpoints are a device that always works well for me and it was well executed here. The chapters are really short and snappy so the POV switches quickly and often, but the overall pacing was sedate. This unusual combination actually worked rather well for me oddly enough. This was heavily character driven as you slowly learn about each woman’s past and what connects them all presently. 

I have to admit that I did guess the big plot twist before it was revealed which is always a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it was very well played, I think I just made a lucky guess that turned out to be correct. Barton is a gifted writer and there was something really addictive about this read, I just wish I hadn’t figured out the twist as early as I did, but overall this was an entertaining read that kept my attention throughout. 

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

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Release date: April 1, 2017

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Genre: Legal Thriller

Blurb:

Losing the trial of his life could mean losing everything.

When a young reporter is found dead and a prominent Philadelphia businessman is accused of her murder, Mick McFarland finds himself involved in the case of his life. The defendant, David Hanson, was Mick’s close friend in law school, and the victim, a TV news reporter, had reached out to Mick for legal help only hours before her death.

Mick’s played both sides of Philadelphia’s courtrooms. As a top-shelf defense attorney and former prosecutor, he knows all the tricks of the trade. And he’ll need every one of them to win.

But as the trial progresses, he’s disturbed by developments that confirm his deepest fears. This trial, one that already hits too close to home, may jeopardize his firm, his family—everything. Now Mick’s only way out is to mastermind the most brilliant defense he’s ever spun, one that will cross every legal and moral boundary. 

Review: 

I’m always slightly hesitant before I read a legal thriller, will it be full of legal jargon that bores me to tears? Will it be bland and dry with more long speeches by blabbing lawyers than actual thrills? None of that happened here, in fact it was quite the opposite. I was highly engrossed in this story and had a hard time putting it down. This isn’t a straightforward legal drama, there is much more going on under the surface than you initially think, which is exactly why I ended up loving A Criminal Defense so much!

This was jam packed with complex characters with even more complex relationships and they all toed the line in terms of morality. Mick is the protagonist and the defense attorney for his old friend, David. He was caught at the scene of the murder of Jennifer and things don’t look good for his case at all. You also have the prosecutor, Devlin, Mick’s wife Piper, his brother Tommy and David’s wife Marcie. No one seems to be playing by the rules, they all have hidden agendas and dark secrets full of corruption and betrayals. It was a tangled web to say the least and I couldn’t have loved their twisted relationships any more. 

The beginning of the book is a lot of build up as the case doesn’t actually go to court until after the halfway point, however the author was laying the groundwork for some explosive moments later on down the road, so it was all necessary in the end. His writing style is crisp and his legal knowledge is on point, but as I mentioned earlier, it’s not over the top. He details exactly what the reader needs to know and nothing more or less. The final twenty percent is where things get super intense, the courtroom drama is full of tension and is vividly rendered. The main plot twist blindsided me, I’m talking jaw dropping, I never saw it coming type of twist, though in hindsight, the breadcrumbs where all there, I just didn’t follow them. A Criminal Defense is an outstanding debut from a talented writer to keep your eye on. 

Overall rating: 4.5/5

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Release date: July 1, 2017

Publisher: Lake Union

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Blurb: 

London, 1944. Two young nurses meet at a train station with a common purpose: to join the war effort. Scarlet longs for the chance to find her missing fiancé, Thomas, and to prove to her family—and to herself—that she’s stronger than everybody thinks. Nursing is in Ellie’s blood, but her humble background is vastly different from Scarlet’s privileged upbringing. Though Ellie puts on a brave face, she’s just as nervous as Scarlet about what awaits them in France.

In Normandy, the two friends soon encounter the seemingly unflappable Lucy. Scarlet and Ellie are in awe of her courage and competence, but the experienced nurse is well aware of the dangers of the job they’ve chosen—and even she is terrified they won’t make it home alive.

Pushed to their limits by the brutality of a world at war, Scarlet, Ellie and Lucy will need to rely on each other—and the power of their friendship—to survive.

Review: 

Wives of War is about three young military nurses who form a friendship during one of the most difficult periods in their lives. It’s told from all three of their perspectives and I equally enjoyed hearing from each other them. Scarlet is from a well off family and her family is not pleased when she joins the war effort. Although she wants to help as much as she can, she’s also hoping while she’s away she can find her missing fiancé. Ellie is from a more humble background, she’s a charming, fun Irish lass with a heart of gold and then there is Lucy, a smart, hardworking woman with a tough exterior. They were all inspiring, strong young women willing to take risks to do what is right. 

As much as the story focused on the friendship between the women it was also heavy on the romance as well. There were three separate love stories that also intertwined at times and though there were cases of instant love and intense romances, I wasn’t bothered here because I think it fit the time period. These young people were so scared and facing such an uncertain future that they clung to one another just to have some small slice of happiness in their lives. I found it to be hopelessly romantic and totally swoon worthy! 

All the leads changed dramatically throughout and I loved cheering them along as they grew and matured. I so wanted them all to find happiness and their relationships with each other were sweet and endearing. At it’s core, this was a beautiful story of friendship and hope steeped in tragedy, I really enjoyed it. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

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Release date: July 4, 2017

Genre: Mystery

I’m doing something a little different here and I’m giving a warning before I even share the blurb for this one. If you haven’t read the first book in this series, stop reading here. Seriously, the blurb for this has major spoilers and it’s an awesome read, don’t let it be ruined for you! Go check out my review for Everything We Keep, then come back and read my review for this after you’ve read the first book. Trust me, you’ll thank me later! 

Blurb: 

From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everything We Keep comes the highly anticipated sequel. Told from one man’s two perspectives, Everything We Left Behind effortlessly blends suspense, mystery, and romance in an exploration of loss, resilience, and the compelling need to protect the ones we love at all cost.

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.

Review: 

I’ve been dying to read this book since the first one ended in a massive cliffhanger, it’s easily one of my most anticipated books of the year and I’ve become a huge fan of Lonsdale’s work. Knowing I would finally get to hear James side of the story had such a strong appeal to me as I just knew it would be utterly fascinating. The entire idea of a dissociative fugue is crazy interesting to me, can you even imagine waking up one day and having no earthly idea who you are? Not knowing your kids or your significant other?! Insanity and such a compelling premise for a book. 

There is something about Lonsdale’s writing style that completely captivates me. It’s smooth, polished and just has a really easy feel to it. You know how sometimes when you’re reading a really good book by a talented author and you’re startled when you realize how many pages you’ve turned or how much time has passed as you’ve been caught up in a fictional world? That’s what happens to me every time I read one of her books, it’s awesome! 

The dual timelines here are highly unique as they’re told from James as he snaps out of his fugue and Carlos in the months/years beforehand. Essentially they’re the same person, but not really. That may sound confusing, but it’s not at all and it really helped to answer all the lingering questions that have been running through my mind for months now. 

I’m not going to discuss the plot too much, but in her true fashion Lonsdale managed to pull off several surprises. It was an emotional read as James/Carlos worked through a wide range of feelings, everything from loss and heartbreak to new love and hope. I wasn’t quite as connected to him as I was to Aimee, but I still really enjoyed this one. It’s the perfect light mystery for this summer, it’s not violent or graphic, more of an emotional mystery than anything. And book three in the series is out next summer!!

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

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Release date: February 2, 2016

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction

Blurb: 

It has been a long and difficult year for the Decker family, especially for sixteen-year-old Brooke. Her grades have plummeted. She deliberately breaks curfew. She makes out with boys she hardly knows. 

And now her father has totally lost it. When Tim Decker signs up his family of three to be contestants on a Hollywood reality show, Brooke’s life turns upside down. The place: The North Carolina backcountry. The year: 1861. 

Brooke is forced to trade in her Victoria’s Secret bra for a rib-cracking corset, her comfy jeans for an ugly farm dress, and her private bathroom for an outhouse. Television cameras will follow her every move as she lives the grueling life of a mid-nineteenth-century farm girl: milking a cow, churning butter, fetching water countless times a day, and riding in a horse-drawn wagon along a rutted road to spend pennies in town. 

This will be Brooke’s life for four awful months. Unless, of course, she breaks the rules and the producers kick her off the show…

Other families are scattered throughout Sweet Sugar Gap. The snotty Prudence Miller soon becomes Brooke’s rival. Wendell Murphy, who works at the local mercantile, is instantly smitten with Brooke—but also makes her suspicious. Does the only cute boy in town really like her, or is he merely showing off for the cameras?

Brooke Decker may just have to find a way to make it in the backcountry, leaving behind the modern frills she can’t live without. But can a young girl’s wishful heart surrender to a time and place she believes she can never call home? 

Review: 

One of the first series that I fell in love with was The Little House on the Prarie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder and I know I’m not alone there, she’s a legend. So when I read the blurb for this book I was super intrigued by the idea of a throwback to those books with a contemporary twist. On top of that, I’m a reality TV junkie so I couldn’t have been more invested even before I turned the first page. This book was everything I had hoped for and more, it had fantastic messages and themes for young adults, witty dialogue and it brought history to life in a totally captivating manner. 

Brooke is a fairly typical teenager acting out in a semi normal way. Her mother passed away one year earlier and she’s clearly struggling. Her dad is doing his best, but raising two young girls on his own is so challenging and on top of that he lost his wife. I was completely taken in by the Decker family and felt so much sympathy for them. Brooke was crying out for help in her own way, Tim was just trying to keep going, one day at a time and sweet Rebecca Lynn is only ten and totally broke my heart. When Tim signs them up for the reality show, Brooke isn’t exactly pleased as you can well imagine. 

This book was so historically accurate, it’s very apparent that the author spent a good chunk of time researching the 1860’s. Entering Sweet Sugar Gap was like entering a time warp and I was enchanted by the setting she created. History was never one of my favorite subjects as a kid, but reading about the era in such a creative and fun way was amazing! I learned so much about how life was for people back then and I can’t wait until my own kids are a little bit older to read this with them. I only say I’ll wait a few years because my oldest daughter is eight and there are a few references to drinking and drugs that are a tiny bit too mature for her now, but for the teenaged crowd this is ideal. 

The character development was outstanding here, especially in Brooke but every member of the Decker family grew so much over the course of the book. Living exactly as people did back in the 1860’s was not easy and stripping away the creature comforts they had become dependent upon caused them all to do some soul searching and find out what is truly important. This was one of those books that made me feel all the feelings, I laughed, cried, was mortified and scared, any emotion you can think of I probably experienced while reading this gem of a book. I highly recommend this to anyone, but especially to those with teenagers, I think it’s a story that can really resonate with them and teach some great lessons without them even realizing it. 

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

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Release date: October 7, 2014

Publisher: Berkley NAL

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

If you liked Gone Girl, don’t miss this twist-filled thriller…

The past has arrived uninvited at Jason Danvers’s door… 

…and it’s his younger sister, Hayden, a former addict who severed all contact with her family as her life spiraled out of control. Now she’s clean and sober but in need of a desperate favor—she asks Jason and his wife to take care of her teenage daughter for forty-eight hours while she handles some business in town.

But Hayden never returns.

And her disappearance brings up more unresolved problems from Jason’s past, including the abrupt departure of his best friend on their high school graduation night twenty-seven years earlier. When a body is discovered in the woods, the mysteries of his sister’s life—and possible death—deepen. And one by one these events will shatter every expectation Jason has ever had about families, about the awful truths that bind them and the secrets that should be taken to the grave. 

When the opportunity presented itself to participate in a special “tour before the tour” in honor of Bell releasing his seventh novel and to highlight his earlier work, I knew I had to take it! I’ve teamed up with the publisher to host an awesome giveaway, one lucky duck will win a copy of both TFG and BHH! Entry form is at the end of this post. Bring Her Home is out next month, stay tuned for my review of that, but for now read on to see what I thought about The Forgotten Girl. 

Review: 

The premise of this book hooked me instantly, I’m always drawn to books that have a past mystery merging with one in the present day and with the addition of a missing person, I’m all in! Maybe it’s because the possibilities are endless in terms of where the misper is and what actually happened to them, but these types of mysteries are always one of my go to choices. Then, you have the bonus of it being a Bell novel and his books are guaranteed fantastic reads, true page turners. 

Bell shines the brightest in how well drawn his characters are, he writes people that are ordinary citizens that are placed in extraordinary circumstances. There is nothing far fetched about these scenarios, they’re wholly believable, something that could truly happen to anyone and I think that is exactly why I love his work so much. Jason and Nora are an average couple in their forties living back in his hometown of Ednaville after spending some time in NYC. They don’t have any children and live a peaceful, sedate lifestyle for the most part. As the hits kept coming for the couple, I found myself wondering what I or my husband would do in the same situation and most of what Jason did was easy to understand and identify with. 

This was a compelling read, I kept wondering where the heck Hayden was and if she was alright and I also wondered how what happened on Jason’s graduation night would all tie in. It was a constant guessing game, exactly what I crave when I’m reading a mystery. It’s a multilayered story with good old small town secrets and a tightly wound plot. Bell is such a great writer, the pages just fly by as you get caught up in his characters lives. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

About Bring Her Home: 

In the breathtaking new thriller from David Bell, bestselling author of Since She Went Away and Somebody I Used to Know, the fate of two missing teenage girls becomes a father’s worst nightmare…. 

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…

Giveaway: 

Open to my US friends only please, good luck! Enter here. 

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Release date: June 27, 2017

Publisher: Dutton Books

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

A riveting psychological thriller inspired by the never-caught Zodiac Killer, about a young detective determined to apprehend the serial murderer who destroyed her family and terrorized a city twenty years earlier.

Caitlin Hendrix has been a Narcotics detective for six months when the killer at the heart of all her childhood nightmares reemerges: the Prophet. An UNSUB—what the FBI calls an unknown subject—the Prophet terrorized the Bay Area in the 1990s and nearly destroyed her father, the lead investigator on the case.

The Prophet’s cryptic messages and mind games drove Detective Mack Hendrix to the brink of madness, and Mack’s failure to solve the series of ritualized murders—eleven seemingly unconnected victims left with the ancient sign for Mercury etched into their flesh—was the final nail in the coffin for a once promising career.

Twenty years later, two bodies are found bearing the haunting signature of the Prophet. Caitlin Hendrix has never escaped the shadow of her father’s failure to protect their city. But now the ruthless madman is killing again and has set his sights on her, threatening to undermine the fragile barrier she rigidly maintains for her own protection, between relentless pursuit and dangerous obsession.

Determined to decipher his twisted messages and stop the carnage, Caitlin ignores her father’s warnings as she draws closer to the killer with each new gruesome murder. Is it a copycat, or can this really be the same Prophet who haunted her childhood? Will Caitlin avoid repeating her father’s mistakes and redeem her family name, or will chasing the Prophet drag her and everyone she loves into the depths of the abyss? 

Review: 

Having seen every single episode of Criminal Minds I like to fancy myself an amateur behavior analyst. Not in the sense that I can actually analyze human behavior with any skill, but more along the lines of; I know the right terminology and how profiling works in a general way. So the minute I saw the title of this I was interested, Unsub stands for unknown subject and my hours of watching CM taught me this along with terms like victimology and escalation. This stuff fascinates me and UNSUB read just like one manic episode of one of my favorite shows. 

Caitlin is a new officer and this is her first major case. I really liked her as a lead, she’s strong yet vulnerable inside, and she’s also super sharp and witty. The mix of her personal and professional lives was perfectly balanced, and her fathers connection to the Prophet killer was a nice addition. 

The construction of this complicated plot was totally brilliant, the first half is fast paced enough, but around the halfway point things really get kicked into high gear and the tension is through the roof. It’s a deadly game of cat and mouse and the pacing is relentless. The Prophet was one of the scariest fictional killers I’ve ever come across, for as much as I read books with serial killers I normally don’t get that frightened but I have to admit that I was scared witless this time! He’s meticulous, ruthless, calculated and cunning and though he’s laid low for twenty years, he’s back with a vengeance. History is repeating itself in the worst possible way and things come to a head in an explosive, gripping conclusion. 

I’ve been deliberately vague in terms of the plot, but trust me when I say, if you like serial killer novels or shows, this is a must read! 

Overall rating: 5/5