This is a nice thriller with flawed characters that keep you wanting to yell at them to stop being so careless. It felt like watching CSI or NCIS renegade agents. There are some excellent scenes, like Sloane getting almost eaten by Big Bill in the pond, but overall. I’d recommend it if you like crime series, though this one at least is a decent standalone. I received a digital copy from the publisher Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley.
DI Henley believes the serial killer she helped put in prison might help her with the copycat killings. His way of helping her was not what she intended. The background information was a bit forced, but the action in this thriller was enough to keep it moving. It’s a bit gruesome, so if you like crime shows that are pretty graphic, this may be to your taste. I found it a bit cliched that the criminal was trying to get the detective’s attention, but then, I wonder how often that happens IRL. I was fortunate to receive a digital copy from the publisher Hanover Square Press through NetGalley.
Claire is marrying into money and finding out even before the wedding exactly how far his family will go to maintain their reputation . At the family villa, isolated off the coast of Italy, with a storm killing power, Claire doesn’t know who to trust as those around her are killed. This is an excellent thriller and I highly recommend anything by J.T. Ellison. I was fortunate to receive a digital copy from the publisher MIRA through NetGalley.
Molly’s guilt sends her running away from her family, inadvertently into a dangerous situation, Angry as she is, her daughter feels something is wrong, and so Nicole searches for her mother. Dear Reader must truly stretch belief at the climax, but still, it’s a good thriller, with lovely ambiguity, a creepy little child, and shattered family dynamics. I was fortunate to receive a digital copy from the publisher St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.
Alex has carefully curated her life, and allowing her wildchild sister Ruth to infiltrate it upends it all. Nay is excellent at obscuring truths and shadowing secrets through constantly shifting family dynamics and hindsight perspective. By the end, dear reader won’t know who’s who. I received this delectable thriller from the publisher Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley.
Spouses Livia and Adam spend 24 hours building angst over not sharing their respective secrets regarding their children. Paris’ writing style saves her story here, as the heightening emotions of the couple not communicating draw the reader in despite the repetition, until finally the damn breaks and secrets are spilled, but dear reader was already aware of all the secrets. I received a digital copy from the publisher St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.
Bob Riggs invokes the Wild West on the sex traffickers who kidnapped his daughter in Sinaloa, Mexico. He seemingly returns from the dead seeking revenge disguised as justice. Dear Reader follows his frustrated efforts through multiple warnings that only spur him on to greater depths of determination. Nothing will dissuade him from rescuing his daughter and making the kidnappers pay. Holm paints a graphic picture of human trafficking in Sinaloa and a gritty portrait of a father’s love. I received a digital copy of this well-written, tension-filled story from the publisher Great West Pub through NetGalley.
Maggie feels something imminently dangerous coming to her daughter Emma, who just headed off on her first year of college. When police come to her door one evening, she knows her premonition has come to fruition. The widow of a police detective, Maggie conducts her own investigation into her daughter’s disappearance, with all new information obscuring who she believed her daughter to be. Simmons writes a good mystery, replete with complex family dynamics, secrets spilling out all over, and a storyline that builds until it bursts and everything makes sense. Fans of Liane Moriarty, Diane Chamberlain, and Kerry Anne King will appreciate Simmons’ writing style and storytelling brilliance. I was fortunate to receive a digital copy of the book by one of my favorite authors from the publisher Sourcebook Landmark through NetGalley.
The FBI visits Mrs. Ford, a middle-aged widow in a tony coastal neighborhood, to question her connection to a Chaldean gun-runner who happened to have her name and address on his person. Their story began with two young women—troubled Annie and her straight-laced friend Susan—working in a Detroit discotheque as cocktail waitresses in the late 70s. Naivete inadvertently placed them amidst the territory negotiations between the Chaldeans and the Italian brothers who owned the discotheque. Royce brilliantly juxtaposed their young lives upon the questionable atmosphere of the discotheque and the shady men who ran it and frequented it, the flashbacks graphically detailed and relevant to Mrs. Ford’s current incarnation as the widow of Jack Ford. I graciously received this intriguing thriller from the publisher Post Hill Press through NetGalley for an honest review.
Betsy’s sister, the good sister, her parents’ favorite, died last year, and her mother has spiraled down into a deep depression, refusing help and alienating Betsy and her father. They struggle along until a revelation rips into the family. Rouda carefully extracts truth from underneath appearances and flays expectations. Fans of Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain will appreciate this story and Rouda’s style. I was fortunate to receive a copy of this wonderful story from Graydon House through NetGalley.