thoughts on books

Category: Mystery

  • who we used to be by caitlin weaver

    WOW what a page turner. Another great family suspense novel from Caitlin Weaver, this time with medical crisis and addiction issues. Outstanding characters, good dialogue and suspense. What I love about Caitlin Weaver’s novels is that she creates these scenarios that you can see happening to your life. They are about normal women living normal lives with normal houses and jobs. And then circumstances arise that turn everything upside down. And you can’t help but think how you and your family would react with those kinds of scenarios. There is always a character to relate to.

    Padma and Dana are best friends, the kind of friendship I really envy. They tell each other everything and are fierce supporters of each other. Padma encourages Dana to go to couples therapy with her husband and Dana encourages Padma to not work so much at her job as an ER doctor. Dana has twins, Izzy and Ian. When a crisis comes up with Izzy in the ER, Padma serves as her attending physician. But things do not go well and then the blame game starts. Dana’s boutique store is in financial ruin, her husband has turned into a walking Tony Robbins inspirational quote. Ian has problems of his own.

    I loved this story, it was so engaging! The situation just sucks you right in…. so dramatic! The pacing is absolutely perfect, the multiple POV chapters serve excellent characterization, even the minor characters stand out. I really felt for Dana and Padma both. This book is very easy to read and suspenseful. If you like a good thriller but one without blood and murders, you will love Caitlin Weaver. Her stories are always female centered and characters are typically moms also. So for those of us in that category there is so much to relate to. Perfect for book clubs!

    For fans of;
    -family dramas
    -Jodi Picoult, Lisa Genova, Gillian Flynn
    -Multi POV stories

    Trigger warnings
    -addiction
    -medical crisis

    Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. Book to be published July 29, 2025.

  • haven’t killed in years by amy k green

    This book sucked me in from the beginning and I just couldn’t put it down. If you like tense, serial killer thrillers- this is the book for you. Everyone is a suspect, there are so many twists and turns and a secret identity is about to be revealed. This has a creative premise- Gwen has a crappy job and visits the same sandwich shop daily. Until one day she gets a severed arm on her doorstep. And it is addressed to her real name, one that no one knows.

    Gwen’s parents are in prison- her dad a serial killer and her mom his accomplice. When he was finally caught, she was only 9 years old. And she has suppressed most of the memories but she was very involved with him and all the murdering. Due to a host of ineptness— she never got therapy or support a kid like that would need. And so now she has to figure out who knows her true identity and is using it to torture her.

    The pacing is excellent, the characters are very strong, the dialogue believable. It is really well structured and thought provoking. Gwen has interesting relationships and the side characters bring a lot to the narrative.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC. Book to be published November 19, 2025.

  • the woman in suite 11 by ruth ware

    Lo Blacklock is back… and maybe a little worse for the wear. Ten years have passed since the events of The Woman in Cabin 10, she wrote a best selling book about the experience, had some financial success, married Judah and now has two young boys. Lo has been staying home with them in their posh manhattan apartment. And after 6 years as a stay at home mum, she is ready to get back into travel journalism.

    Out of the blue she is invited to the fanciest hotel opening in Switzerland. And how odd that so many people from the aforementioned cruise just so happen to be there as well…or is it?

    This works as a standalone if you haven’t read the first book, there is enough exposition to remind you of the first plot. That said, it does spoil it completely so you wouldn’t want to go back and read the first. This book is really classic Ruth Ware at her finest, Lo is sometimes impulsive but also bright, now that she is a mother she is less flighty and more grounded.

    The story unfolds like a police procedural but has the pacing of a strong popcorn thriller. I could not put it down and I read it in one sitting. Pages turn quite easily. Parts of this book were downright scary, others were great character building and a haunting underlying theme of betrayal.

    This book is big on plot. Mystery lovers, add this to your summer reads!

    Thanks to Gallery Books for the free books. #partner #gifted

    Book to be published July 8, 2025

  • great big beautiful life by emily henry

    Part romance, part mystery, part family drama, this book will have you reading late into the night. Emily Henry has definitely branched out from her typical Beach read, this book is much more complex and the characters are so well drawn. Alice got a tip that Margaret Ives, who went into hiding decades ago, was making art under an assumed name on a Georgian Island. She uses her journalistic integrity and hunts her down, this is HUGE. The Ives family is incredibly wealthy, a publishing empire based on Margaret’s great grandfather during the gold rush. But Margaret is known for marrying an Elvis type rock and roll star, and after being married for 4 years, he tragically died. 

    Alice goes to visit with Margaret and ghost write her memoir, but then finds out this is a competition, Pulitzer Prize winning writer Hayden is also on the island for the exact same reason. Hayden and Alice, despite being rivals, get to know each other and split interview time with Margaret.

    This book jumps back and forth between the romance between the writers and in Margaret telling Alice the entire story of her life, starting with her great great grandfather Lawrence. I enjoyed BOTH storylines. There was some spice after a lot of chemistry and funny banter between Alice and Hayden. There were some surprises and reveals the whole way through.

    I was lucky enough to get this audio on Libby at the same time as I got my pre-ordered hardback copy. I really enjoy books that I get to listen along with as I read. Julia Whelan is back to narrate this one, no other narrators as the entire book is from Alice’s POV. I loved this story.

  • our last resort by clemence michallon

    I like this book, I didn’t love it. This is a murder mystery about two people – Frida and Gabriel- that grew up in a cult and escaped as young adults. They are at a resort and a young woman ends up dead. There are mysteries about how they escaped their cultist upbringing ,, the murder itself, and his wife who died a few years earlier. He was suspected, but not charged with the crime.

    The book has an interesting writing style, it is very simplistic. Very short, declarative sentences over and over. The ending was not a surprise, but it was a simple plot, and ultimately a satisfying ending. It is a quick read and I am sure I will forget this book quickly.

    My favorite aspect of this book was the throwback to when they were in the cult, I actually wish they would’ve gone into more detail about their agency born cult leader Emile and What the beliefs of the cult were. It ended in a traumatic way, as many separatist cults do.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Elliot and Thompson for the ARC. Book to be published August 7, 2025.

  • murder at gull’s nest by jess kidd

    I like historical fiction combined with a cozy mystery. This one is sweet and the main character is well written and the characterization is strong. Although I did guess the ending very early on, there is a clue that jumped out at me, I did find all of the characters to be interesting and endearing. A small town and a tight knit community. Nora is a former nun who used to be known as Sister Agnes, she left the convent when her pen pail Freida goes missing. Nora goes to the place she sent all the letters in order to see what happens. 

    This is a first in a new series, and I recommend reading it first so you can get the full backstory of Nora. I enjoyed the reading and the pacing of laying out the clues. Soon there is a murder at Gull’s Nest and Nora fancies herself an amateur detective and has some great chemistry with the real investigator. She uncovers many secrets and we learn secrets about Nora herself.

    I enjoyed the pacing and the minor characters had good personalities. Some of the British references are heartwarming and quaint. Although I didn’t love this, I did like it quite a bit. 

    Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. Book published April 8, 2025.

  • once and future me by melissa pace

    Well friends, this one was not for me. A woman is on a bus with other mentally ill patients and it is the year 1954. They call her Dorothy but she doesn’t think it is her name, and she apparently has a diagnosis of Schizophrenia. She then determines that she has is a time traveler named Bix. She has a husband Paul in one of the timelines, but she also has a mission to save the world from destruction.

    That is about all I understood. I think if you like the book Dissolution you would like this. I love speculative fiction but this was very cerebral. It has the pacing of a mystery but I couldn’t quite grasp the concepts and then found myself skimming.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt publishing for the ARC. Book to be published August 19, 2025.

  • king of ashes by sa cosby

    WOW- I am utterly speechless and stunned after reading this incredible crime fiction novel. I am a big fan of SA Cosby books but this is definitely my favorite. In the last few chapters I had to put the book down because I was sobbing, I am wrecked emotionally.

    A retelling of the Godfather, Roman is a rich music executive from Atlanta that has to go home because his father Keith is in the hospital. His sister Nevaeh is keeping the family together as usual, and his brother Dante has gotten himself in seriously hot water again. Their mother went missing 10 years ago, and everyone in town thinks that their father Keith murdered her, because he is the owner of the town Crematorium. Hence the title, King of Ashes.

    The title has a double meaning, not only because of the crematorium, but also Roman may be the head of this family but it is a family in ruins. In trying to help Dante out of trouble, Roman takes what comes at him. A typical SA Cosby hero, Roman is morally gray, smarter than everyone around him, and always appearing to be in control. These characters are so fantastic and they will stay with me a long time. This was fast paced, very gruesome, even by SA Cosby standards, and utterly tragic. The story unfolded like sinking into quicksand.

    Audiobook review- the narrator Adam Lazarre-White has voiced all of the SA Cosby books (and also some sports memoirs I have listened to). I think he is at the absolute pinnacle of narrators. It is wildly difficult to voice as many characters, male and female, and be as engaging as he is.

    This is absolutely the best crime fiction of 2025, and one of the top 10 mystery/thrillers of 2025.

    Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC. Book to be published June 10, 2025.

    Thank you, additionally, to FlatIron Books for the advanced copy. An instant classic for the first book to be published in the Pine and Cedar imprint.

  • seven reasons to murder your dinner guests by kj whittle

    This seems like a locked room mystery, although it is not technically a locked room. Seven unconnected strangers get an invitation to a dinner party. They meet and chat and get an envelope telling them their age at their death. Very similar to the plot of Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment. But that is where the comparison ends.

    The characters are;
    Tristan, late 30’s software developer,
    Stella, early 20s You Tuber,
    Matthew, late 30s banker and London’s most eligible bachelor/lothario
    Vivianne, early 60s magazine editor
    Janet, early 40’s – I forget everything about her except she was described as being overly made up and wearing too tight/revealing clothes
    Gordon- a doctor who goes on talk shows, obsessed with nutrition basically othorexic
    Melvin- a closeted cop whose wife has cancer

    Once you keep those straight, it is relatively enjoyable. The ending was a surprise to me, I did not feel like there were reveals as much through the narrative as much as the ending was out of left field. I felt like it was a bit depressing once the killer is revealed. The characters were sort of purposefully unlikable although we liked Vivianne more as the plot thickened. I enjoyed the dialogue and kept turning pages, I did read it all in one sitting as it is an easy and fast read, great for the beach. Although the characters were a bit one-dimensional, it helps to not like characters that ultimately get killed off.

    Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. Book to be published September 9, 2025.

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  • dead of summer by jessa maxwell

    200 Book ReviewsCamp NetGalley 202480%Professional Reader

    A fast paced “rich people are corrupt” delicious setting with clear heroes. Multi POV there are secrets to uncover about the past and

    The meaning of the title is unclear, I think it is just a cool sounding name. It does take place in summer time in a vacation home.

    Orla- returning back to the island to sell her family home. She hasn’t lived on the island since her best friend Alice went missing years ago. It is just coincidence that she happens to be back.

    Faith- seriously dating David, who comes from old money, and she hates his father. She finds an engagement ring in his suitcase and realizes he is about to propose, but something seems fishy with his family. She begins to look into Alice and how she went missing. Then another girl goes missing.

    Henry- a local boy without much means, the town thinks Alice went missing because of him although there wasn’t any proof. We like him and he seems sweet and also like a scapegoat. He likes using a telescope so he knows more about the islanders- so think Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window.”

    This is a fun summer mystery! I enjoyed the characters and the plot, I did not guess the reveals although the pacing was quick enough to lead you to the reveal (last sentence in the chapter, etc). The writing style was a little choppy for me, shorter declarative sentences, even in inner dialogue. I did enjoy the character of sweet Henry and the injustices against him hit me hard! He is a Boo Radley type character.

    Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. Book to be published July 22, 2025.