Tag: thriller

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The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths- Book Review

The Ruth Galloway stories have become one of my favorite series. I have read all 11 (yes, there are 11) books in this series. I just read this newest one which is The Stone Circle, and I’m excited to be giving my review. It’s always so easy for me to jump back into this series with every new book that comes. I love Ruth Galloway’s character and the importance she places on her career. She is an archeologist who teaches class and helps with buried bodies from crime scenes. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but wasn’t my favorite in the series. It left me wanting more, but I did enjoy that it solved a cold case that took place decades before, which was a nice twist. I would give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️, but I will continue reading the series because I do not think one book makes an entire series. I want to continue to see where Ruth Galloway goes with her career as well with her relationship with Nelson.

Synopsis:

DCI Nelson has been receiving threatening letters. They are anonymous, yet reminiscent of ones he has received in the past, from the person who drew him into a case that’s haunted him for years. At the same time, Ruth receives a letter purporting to be from that very same person—her former mentor, and the reason she first started working with Nelson. But the author of those letters is dead. Or is he?…. The past is reaching out for Ruth and Nelson, and its grip is deadly.

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The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware- Book Review

I love Ruth Ware’s books. I have read many by her and have enjoyed all of them so far, and I had no doubt I would love this one as well. I loved the main character Rowan and really the entire story as a whole. It’s great a suspense story with a little paranormal activity mixed in. I was hooked from the beginning and I loved all the secrets that were involved in making this story so intriguing. I also loved how this book was written. It’s in the form of a letter from the main character, Rowan, to a leading lawyer. The letter is basically her telling him her story, from the beginning, in order to get him to defend her against a charge for a murder she didn’t commit. I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ because I loved the character and all the twists and turn in the story. Thank you to NetGalley, Scout Books, and Gallery books for the ARC. This book will be published August 6th and you will want to add it to your tbr list for sure!

Synopsis:

When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family. What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder. Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant. It was everything. She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

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All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda- Book Review

I have been seeing Megan Miranda books everywhere, so I thought I would read one. I picked up All the Missing Girls at a second-hand book store for $4 (what a steal?), and I dove right in. Through the first few chapters I was a little lost because I didn’t realize the story is told backwards. Once I figured that out, I was able to really get into the book. The middle and ending were fast-paced and kept me on edge until I finished it. There were so many twist and turns and so many secrets. I really enjoyed this book. Since I was a little lost during the first part of the book, I rated it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The ending made this book and it won’t be the last I read by Megan Miranda.

Synopsis:

Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse. It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.

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Never Tell by Lisa Gardner- Book Review

I received this book to read and review from NetGalley and Dutton. I didn’t realize until after I’d finished it that it’s actually the second book in the D.D. Warren and Flora Dane series, but I still really enjoyed it. I was able to read and enjoy it without reading the first book in the series. I really liked Flora Dane’s character. She is a hard-ass, but given what she went through (more detailed in the first book), she has every reason to be. There were lots of twist and turns and a shock at the ending. This story mainly revolves about a character named Evie Carter who has found her husband dead. Secrets are exposed about her husband that she could never have imagined. She is also haunted by the shooting and death of her father, which is still unsolved. I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I had read the first book before so that’s on me. I just finished the first book so that review will be coming soon.

Synopsis:

A man is dead, shot three times in his home office. But his computer has been shot twelve times, and when the cops arrive, his pregnant wife is holding the gun. D.D. Warren arrives on the scene and recognizes the woman–Evie Carter–from a case many years back. Evie’s father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident. But for D.D., two coincidental murders is too many.  Flora Dane sees the murder of Conrad Carter on the TV news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim–a hostage–and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth of Conrad’s murder.  But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. As layer by layer they peel away the half-truths and outright lies, they wonder: How many secrets can one family have?

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The First Mistake by Sandie Jones- Book Review

I was sent this book by Minotaur Books and St. Marin’s Press before this book was published and just want to say thank you! This was the first book I’ve read by Sandie Jones and it definitely won’t be my last- I loved it. From page one to the last page, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters and the story. The ending was a complete shocker and mind blowing. I had to re-read the last chapter just to make sure that what I read was right. The main character Alice is relatable and easy to like. She has a normal life, so the thinks, and is working to move past the grief of losing her first husband. While her friend, Beth, is single and raising her daughter alone, there is something that draws them together and the secret is perfect. I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Synopsis:

THE WIFE: For Alice, life has never been better. With her second husband, she has a successful business, two children, and a beautiful house. HER HUSBAND: Alice knows that life could have been different if her first husband had lived, but Nathan’s arrival into her life gave her back the happiness she craved. HER BEST FRIEND: Through the ups and downs of life, from celebratory nights out to comforting each other through loss, Alice knows that with her best friend Beth by her side, they can survive anything together. So when Nathan starts acting strangely, Alice turns to Beth for help. But soon, Alice begins to wonder whether her trust has been misplaced . . .


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The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine- Book Review

I was so happy to receive this book from Harper Books before it was published. I loved Liv Constantine’s first book The Last Mrs. Parrish, so I couldn’t wait to read another book by her (them really, since the books are co-authored by sisters who write under the name Liv Constantine). I dove right into this book with out skipping a beat. It had a lot of twist and turns. I was continuously questioning different characters and their roles in the story. While I enjoyed this book, it didn’t compare to The Last Mrs. Parrish. The ending was very interesting and I definitely wouldn’t have guessed it, but I felt as though it was a little extreme. I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️. It had a quick pace held throughout, but the ending had me wishing it had turned out differently.

Synopsis:

Dr. Kate English has it all. Not only is she the heiress to a large fortune; she has a gorgeous husband and daughter, a high-flying career, and a beautiful home anyone would envy. That evening, Kate’s grief turns to horror when she receives an anonymous text: You think you’re sad now, just wait. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you had been buried today. More than ever, Kate needs her old friend’s help. Once Blaire decides to take the investigation into her own hands, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in Baltimore high society. As infidelity, lies, and betrayals come to light, and tensions rise to a boiling point, she begins to alienate Kate’s friends and relatives with her relentless, accusatory questions, as she tries to find Lily’s killer. The murderer could be anyone—friend, neighbor, loved one. But whoever it is, it’s clear that Kate is next on their list. . .

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Final Girls by Riley Sager- Book Review

There is a special place in my heart for the suspense/thriller genre, and Riley Segars’s Final Girls is perfect in every way. It’s got lots of twist and turns and keeps you guessing throughout the entire story. I had a guess as to “who done it” while I was in the middle of the book and was completely wrong in the end. That is one of the many reasons why I loved this book. I’m okay being wrong especially if ending blows me away. I thought the main character, Quincy, was intriguing because of what she had been through. It’s a book that takes the reader from past to present and the writing is perfect. I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Synopsis:

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 Final Girl, 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.

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Hello!

My name is Anna and I love books, wine, cats, wine, Harry Potter, and also wine. That’s me in a nutshell.

I fell in love with reading when I read the Harry Potter series in high school. A friend gave me a copy of the first book and the magic began. After that I couldn’t help but read. I remember getting called out during class at school because I was caught reading a book instead of listening to the lesson being taught.

Now, I try to read as much as possible while working from home and raising three children. I love fiction, suspense/thrillers, and a little comedy/romance mixed in.