Category: 3 Star

TITLE: The Perfect Sister
CHARACTERS: Alice & Holly
AUTHOR: Zoe Miller
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/01/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Once inseparable, years of resentment and jealousy have driven Alice and Holly apart. But, though they barely speak these days, Alice knows her sister is hiding something.

When she hears that discovery at a soon-to-be-demolished apartment building has led police to re-open an ‘accidental death’ case, Alice thinks nothing of it. Until someone knocks at her door, with questions about Holly…

Alice doesn’t believe her sister is capable of involvement in anything so sinister. But when she tries to contact Holly, she can’t be reached…

Forced to dig through the past in order to uncover the truth, Alice also starts to uncover years of Holly’s secrets – and to doubt her innocence. And as the evidence mounts up, she has a choice to make: does she want to help her sister clear her name, even if Alice will end up paying the price?

REVIEW:
I will be honest. This book was confusing. Nothing that we are supposed to “know” came from the story. The sisters were close at one point and now they are not. Then a murder takes place and Holly and her husband take off. Alice needs to find out why.

I really didn’t understand a lot of this book and why it was happening. I mean the family dynamic is really off. It is not like the sisters love or hate each other. They just are sisters and nothing more. Then there are a bunch of other characters that have nothing to do with the story.

The suspense was fine. I am not really sure with all the other confusion that I cared about the suspense but it was still there to read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Knock Knock
SERIES #: Detectives Lockhart & Green #1
CHARACTERS: Lockhart & Green
AUTHOR: Chris Merritt
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/17/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Natasha Mayston wasn’t expecting anyone to knock on her door so late at night. And she has no idea that the face staring back at her is the last one she’ll ever see…
As Detective Dan Lockhart is called to a wealthy London street to investigate Natasha’s death, he’s startled by the similarity to a previous case. Noticing the cable-tie restraints and the tiny scratches on Natasha’s wedding finger, Dan already knows what he will find if he looks in her mouth – the metal ball which choked her to death. He knows Natasha isn’t the killer’s first victim and is certain that he will strike again.
Months earlier, Kim Hardy was found in the same position in a run-down hotel across the city – an identical silver ball in her throat. But Kim’s murderer was caught and sent to prison – did they arrest the wrong man? And what connects the two victims? Fearing that he’s dealing with a psychopathic serial killer, Dan calls in psychologist Dr Lexi Green to help him to get into the perpetrator’s mind. Tough and smart, Lexi will stop at nothing to hunt down the man responsible for the deaths.
Then, another body is discovered, just as Lexi finds a clue online leading to the killer. Dan’s team aren’t convinced, but in pushing Lexi away from the investigation, they force her to dig further into the case on her own. Convinced that she’s on to something, she puts herself in unthinkable danger… but can Dan piece together the clues and identify the killer before it’s too late?
Fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Cara Hunter will love this thrilling new series from Chris Merritt. From an explosive start to a heart-stopping finale, you will not want to put this book down!

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is the first in a new series. Because of that a good amount of time was spent getting to know the characters. Detective Lockhart and Dr Green are introduced in this series chasing down a murderer.

I am hoping this is a good series as I liked the characters and the suspense was very well written.

I do have to say one of the best parts to me was I couldn’t figure it out. I thought I knew who it was a couple of times but I was wrong and honestly that is good writing if it doesn’t give it away.

A good start to hopefully a good series.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Some Days Are Dark
CHARACTERS: Olivia Miller
AUTHOR: Miranda Smith
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/16/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
I was happy my husband died, but I couldn’t admit it, otherwise people might think I killed him.

Before

Olivia knows she is lucky. She has a loving husband, Frank, an adorable son, Jake, and a beautiful new home. It couldn’t be more different from her childhood on the outskirts of Whitaker, dirt poor and dreaming of getting out. But at the end of long days with no one to talk to, always feeling like she’s not quite good enough, she starts to wonder if there’s a better life waiting…

After

Everyone in Whitaker knows who Olivia is. She’s the woman who left her family for no-good Dane Miller—and the one who most likely shot him. Now, there’s gossip about her everywhere she goes, she’s too scared to leave the house most days, and she barely gets to see her beloved son.

How can a perfect life fall apart so quickly? And, when you have nothing to lose, how far will you go to save yourself?

An absolutely gripping, heart-pounding suspense novel about bad choices and second chances. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gray.

REVIEW:
2.75 Hearts This book has soooo much potential. The characters, plot and so much more is all right there but it just kind of slipped through the fingers of the author.

The book drags quite a bit and hits a lot of rocky moments. Olivia is not really very likable if you ask me.

Just not my cup of tea.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Gone By Midnight
SERIES #: Crimson Lake #3
CHARACTERS: Ted & Amanda
AUTHOR: Candice Fox
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/03/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
They left four children safe upstairs.
They came back to three.

On the fifth floor of the White Caps Hotel, four young boys are left alone while their parents dine downstairs.

But when one of the parents checks on the children at midnight, they discover one of them is missing.

The boys swear they stayed in their room. CCTV confirms that none of them left the building. No trace of the child is found.

Now the hunt is on to find him, before it’s too late – and before the search for a boy becomes a search for a body…

REVIEW:
A child goes missing in a hotel and there are no clues as to where he went and with who….
The concept of the book is really good. Before I started the book and seeing “they left children and came back to three” I already had a number of questions. Why did they leave kids alone in the room being my top one. But also why take only one child out of four? And so many more.

The problem? The story really didn’t go in that direction. The parents hire two people to investigate and find their child but the investigators are so weird that I kept shaking my head at them. I just couldn’t really even like these two.

This book just wasn’t what I hoped it would be.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Still Here
CHARACTERS: Clare O’Dey
AUTHOR: Amy Stuart
PUBLICATION DATE: 08/11/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
From the internationally bestselling author of the “utterly compelling and intriguing” (Liz Nugent, bestselling author of Unraveling Oliver) Still Mine and Still Water comes a new stand alone psychological thriller featuring PI Clare O’Dey, who’s on the hunt for two missing persons but who may be hunted herself.

Malcolm is gone. Disappeared. And no one knows where or why.

His colleague and fellow private investigator, Clare, is certain she can find him, as she holds the key to his past. She arrives in the oceanside city where he last lived and starts digging around. Not only is Malcolm gone without a trace, so is his wife, Zoe. Everyone who knew the perfect couple sees Malcolm as the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. Everyone except Clare. She’s certain there’s more at play that has nothing to do with Malcolm, a dark connection to Zoe’s family business and the murder of her father years ago.

As Clare pulls back the layers, she discovers secrets the entire community is trying desperately to leave in the past. As for Malcolm, his past is far more complex—and far more sinister—than Clare could ever have imagined. He may not be innocent at all. As she searches for the man who helped her build her career as a private eye, Clare discovers that many women are in grave danger. And she is among them.

Featuring Amy Stuart’s “captivating, mysterious, and relevant” (Marissa Stapley, author of Things to Do When It’s Raining) prose, Still Here is an unputdownable thriller that will haunt you long after you finish it.

REVIEW:
This is the third in the series but I have not read the first two and while it can be read as a stand alone and enjoyed I think it would have helped to know some of the information that was probably given in books one and two.

I enjoyed the story and the writing. I thought Clare was an interesting character and I like her tenacity. However I was a bit, just a bit, disappointed in the end, not because it was bad but more like it was the expected ending. There were a number of different ways the ending could have gone but this was the obvious one.

That being said it was still a good read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: The Perfect Sister
CHARACTERS: Claire & Ella
AUTHOR: Sheryl Browne
PUBLICATION DATE: 01/29/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Claire always wished for a sister. But should you be careful what you wish for?

Claire has spent her whole marriage trying to be the perfect wife and mother – supporting her husband as he goes for promotions and always making sure she’s there to tuck her daughter into bed each night. But little does she know that almost everyone around her has been keeping secrets that could ruin the life she’s worked so hard to create.

Growing up with warring parents and an often absent father, Claire has always wanted to give her daughter Ella the dream childhood she wishes she’d had. So, when she discovers her husband Luke has been having an affair, Claire is left wondering how she can possibly keep her daughter’s world from crumbling.

Then Claire receives a text message from someone called Sophie that simply reads – ‘You don’t know me, but I’m your sister’. At first, she’s shocked. And Sophie’s appearance raises questions Claire would like to put to her elderly father before it’s too late. But as she gets to know Sophie – who is so like her in so many ways – she can’t help but be delighted to finally have the sibling she always dreamed of.

As the two women become inseparable, Claire leans on her new sister more and more, ultimately asking her to move into the family home and trusting her with Ella. But when the unthinkable happens and Claire fears for her daughter’s life, she starts to wonder whether her new sister is exactly who she says she is.

One thing Claire knows is that telling the perfect lie seems to run in the family.

REVIEW:
The writing of the story is intriguing and I found myself interested in it even though the story wasn’t as interesting as I had hoped. I never really connected with the characters and was really only interested in how the author would tie everything up.

But I was a bit disappointed in how the story was wrapped up. It just seemed rushed and confusing.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: The Bad Sister
CHARACTERS: Hannah, Eden & Ellie
AUTHOR: Kevin O’Brien
PUBLICATION DATE: 07/28/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
TOO CLOSE
The site of the old campus bungalow where two girls were brutally slain is now a flower patch covered with chrysanthemums. It’s been fifty years since the Immaculate Conception Murders. Three more students and a teacher were killed in a sickening spree that many have forgotten. But there is one person who knows every twisted detail. . . .

TO SEE
Hannah O’Rourke and her volatile half-sister, Eden, have little in common except a parent. Yet they’ve ended up at the same small college outside Chicago, sharing a bungalow with another girl. Hannah isn’t thrilled—nor can she shake the feeling that she’s being watched. And her journalism professor, Ellie Goodwin, keeps delving into Hannah and Eden’s newsworthy past. . . .

THE DANGER
When Hannah and Eden’s arrival coincides with a spate of mysterious deaths, Ellie knows it’s more than a fluke. A copycat is recreating those long-ago murders. Neither the police nor the school will accept the horrific truth. And the more Ellie discovers, the more she’s convinced that she won’t live to be believed. . . .

REVIEW:
3.25 Hearts I had high hopes for this book once I read the first few chapters. And enjoyed the first half of the book for the most part. But the second half left me a bit, well, unsatisfied. I liked the writing of the first half. The flow is different and entertaining but in the later half the writing changed.

I almost felt like the writer had written half than put the novel away to come back to it later.

Just not all I hoped it could be.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.