Title: The Boyfriend
Author: Friday McFadden
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Length: 368 pages
Release Date: October 1, 2024
Source: Library (Audiobook)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.

Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot.

Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet.

Then the brutal murder of a young woman―the latest in a string of deaths across the coast―confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.

Sydney should feel safe. After all, she is dating the guy of her dreams. But she can’t shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn’t get to the truth, she’ll be the killer’s next victim...

A dark story about obsession and the things we’ll do for love, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden proves that crimes of passion are often the bloodiest…

My review: 

I am a big fan of Frida McFadden and I have listened to many of her audio books. I really enjoyed listening to The Boyfriend and found myself listening on the edge of my seat (the driver's seat because I was always driving while I was listening!). 

I really enjoyed the back and forth format of the book, Tom's perspective from when he was a teenager and Sydney's present time point of view. I really though I knew what was happening and how the characters were correlating from past to present but it turns out, as usually, I was very wrong! 

Sydney was a god character but I felt like she was dramatized at times. It was almost like I was watching a horror movie in my head and I would be yelling at the main character, "why did you set down your phone!!!" She was dumb at time, especially since she knew there was a killer out there and the killer was somewhat close to her. She didn't' have a very good gut instinct and she didn't make very smart decision. 

Overall, it was a pretty entertaining book! My only criteria for mystery/thriller type books is that they are fast-paced and that the ending surprises me. The Boyfriend by Friday McFadden has both of those checked off so it was four stars in my book!

Book Review: None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

Title: None of This Is True
Author: Lisa Jewell
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: August 08, 2023
Length: 380 pages
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it here: Amazon // Goodreads

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

My Review: 

Lisa Jewell is one of my auto buy authors and I'm trying to read all the books she has written. I love the way she weaves a thrilling story together and has me guessing the whole time. I really never know how her books are going to end.

None of This Is True is the perfect title for this book because by the time I was finished reading it, I really didn't know which part of the story was true or who the liars were. 

I love the way Alix and Josie meet in the beginning because it is very realistic. How many times have I been out at a restaurant somewhere and my attention is sucked into the big birthday party a couple table over? Being an introverted person, I can understand the draw Josie had to Alix. Like a month to a flame. Josie was craving something different in her life that she just put it all out there and basically became a stalker. I love how characters change throughout books. Even if the book is taking place over a short period of time. Josie seems super nice and introverted and then becomes something completely different by the end. 

The parts of None of This Is True that intrigued me the most were the backstory parts about the daughters. But she didn't flesh out the characters enough for me and I would really have liked to know more about them. I think the daughters were very important to knowing more about Josie and her husband Walter and the whole family dynamic. 

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell is a great thriller and a mind-binding what is going on type of book. I highly recommend this read if you love Lisa Jewell's other books and enjoying reading light thrillers. 

Audio Book Review: The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

Title: The Perfect Mother

Author: Aimee Molloy

Publisher: HarperAudio

Release Date: May 01, 2018

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Length: 9 hours, 29 minutes

Source: Library

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

They call themselves the May Mothers—a collection of new moms who gave birth in the same month. Twice a week, with strollers in tow, they get together in Prospect Park, seeking refuge from the isolation of new motherhood; sharing the fears, joys, and anxieties of their new child-centered lives.

When the group’s members agree to meet for drinks at a hip local bar, they have in mind a casual evening of fun, a brief break from their daily routine. But on this sultry Fourth of July night during the hottest summer in Brooklyn’s history, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is abducted from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but the May Mothers insisted that everything would be fine. Now Midas is missing, the police are asking disturbing questions, and Winnie’s very private life has become fodder for a ravenous media.

Though none of the other members in the group are close to the reserved Winnie, three of them will go to increasingly risky lengths to help her find her son. And as the police bungle the investigation and the media begin to scrutinize the mothers in the days that follow, damaging secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are formed and fractured.

My Review: 

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy is about a young mother who's infant son goes missing and chronicles the events before and during the incident. 

The main character, Winnie, joins a group of expecting women called the May Mothers, all of their babies expected to arrive during the month of May. Winnie is very reserved and doesn't really become friends with any of these women but one night they force her to leave the baby with a babysitter and go out with them for some drinks. While they are out, her 4 month old baby goes missing. The women, who don't even really know Winnie, take it upon themselves to find the baby and so the book is told from their four perspectives. 

While on the whole the book was good, I found most of the characters to be unlike-able, especially Nell, who just seemed to act like she knew better than everyone else. There was also a POV who turned out to be someone else entirely. I was also shocked at the ending but that's pretty much the point. I had originally given the book 4 stars but after I sat on it for a while, I ended up switching it to 3 stars. The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy was a really fast paced audiobook that had me guessing until the end!

Book Review: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Title: 56 Days
Author: Catherine Ryan Howard
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: August 17, 2021
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 305 pages
Source: Purchased from Book of the Month
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

No one knew they'd moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?

56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who - and what - he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

My Review: 

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard was the perfect book for me to get back into reading. The story was interesting enough that it kept me reading easily and the story line was so easy to follow that I didn't find myself getting confused. 

Before I started reading 56 Days, I wondered how I would react to a book that takes place during the start pandemic, since we are still in the pandemic. But I actually didn't mind reading about it and I was actually quite entertained when I was reminded of all the toilet paper that people bought. I also really enjoyed seeing the start of the pandemic from an international point of view, since this book takes place in Ireland.

Without revealing any spoilers, the mystery was pretty good and I did not expect it to end the way that it did. The story has a lot of build up for about 75% of the book and then it really picks up speed and everything is revealed within the last 15% of the book. So it was definitely an information overload at the end.  

Overall, 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard is a solid thriller/mystery novel and I will definitely read another Catherine Ryan Howard book soon!

Book Review: The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Title: The Night Swim 

Author: Megan Goldin 

Publisher: St. Martin's Press 

Release Date: August 04, 20202

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Length: 344 pages

Source: Purchased from Book of the Month

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

My Review:

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is the first book that I've read by her and she has several previously published books. The Night Swim is told from multiple POVs: from the main characters all the way down to the small minor characters. Long story short, the main character, Rachel, goes down to Florida to cover a rape trial because she is a podcaster. While she's there, she unravels the missing pieces of a 20 year old cold case. 

Have you ever listened to a murder mystery podcast? I listen all the time, I'm completely obsessed so I thought I would love this book! But I found it to be a little slow and not all that mysterious. Really, the only thing that kept me hooked was the cold case and wondering if she was going to solve it or not. I didn't find the sections about the rape trial all that interesting and I actually though that whole story line was pretty predictable. 

Another aspect of the book that I didn't enjoy was the multiple POV's. As a long time reader, I have found that when a book is well written and uses changing POVs to follow a couple different characters, I really enjoy seeing the perspective of different characters. But I found The Night Swim to have too many perspectives and it took away from the story. 

Even though I've said some negative things about The Night Swim, I did enjoy the book overall. It was an interesting story that had me hooked to the point that I wanted to know what would happen at the end. I personally love a good shock at the end, nevertheless I still enjoyed it. 

Book Review: Her Every Fear

Title: Her Every Fear
Author: Peter Swanson
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 384 pages
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

Growing up, Kate Priddy was always a bit neurotic, experiencing momentary bouts of anxiety that exploded into full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and nearly ended her life. When Corbin Dell, a distant cousin in Boston, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees, hoping that time away in a new place will help her overcome the recent wreckage of her life. 

Soon after her arrival at Corbin’s grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery: his next-door neighbor, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered. When the police question her about Corbin, a shaken Kate has few answers, and many questions of her own—curiosity that intensifies when she meets Alan Cherney, a handsome, quiet tenant who lives across the courtyard, in the apartment facing Audrey’s. Alan saw Corbin surreptitiously come and go from Audrey’s place, yet he’s denied knowing her. Then, Kate runs into a tearful man claiming to be the dead woman’s old boyfriend, who insists Corbin did the deed the night that he left for London. 

When she reaches out to her cousin, he proclaims his innocence and calms her nerves--until she comes across disturbing objects hidden in the apartment and accidentally learns that Corbin is not where he says he is. Could Corbin be a killer? What about Alan? Kate finds herself drawn to this appealing man who seems so sincere, yet she isn’t sure. Jet-lagged and emotionally unstable, her imagination full of dark images caused by the terror of her past, Kate can barely trust herself, so how could she take the chance on a stranger she’s just met?

My Thoughts:

I love Peter Swanson's writing and I really loved one of his earlier books The Kind Worth Killing. So I was really excited to finally read Her Every Fear. I really like the way his writing just flows and it's so easy to read. 

Her Every Fear follows Kate as she moves from London to Boston as she apartment switches with her cousin for six months. Kate is the type of person who always believes the worst is going to happen. She had gone through a really traumatic even back in England and moving to Boston is really her first venture out of her home since then. When she arrives in Boston and goes to the apartment for the first time, someone is pounding on the neighbors door and says that the neighbor is missing. Of course, Kate thinks that worst; that the neighbor has been murdered and it turns out to be true! 

But I gave this book 3 stars. Here's why: I don't typically enjoy characters like Kate. She frequently has panic attacks, has anxiety so bad she can't go to the grocery store, gets lost in thought and realizes it's been hours. But what I did like about her is that she didn't try to be a vigilante and solve the crime herself. Whenever she found something, she almost immediately took it to the police. Another reason I game this book 3 stars was because the ending was a little too neat for my taste. I enjoy a little bit of an open ending but this one tied up all the loose ends. 

I would definitely say that if your a fan of Peter Swanson, Her Every Fear is worth reading. I thought it was a really entertaining thriller with some fun little twists and turns. This was the second Peter Swanson book that I've read and it definitely won't be my last. 

Book Review: The Turn of the Key

Title: The Turn of the Key
Author: Ruth Ware
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Release Date: August 06, 2019
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 337 pages
Source: Library
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

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 unraveling 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.

My Thoughts:

The Turn of the Key was the perfect book to get me back into reading. It has almost everything that I wanted at the time. This is the fourth book that I've read from Ruth Ware and she has quickly shot to the top of my list of auto-buy authors!

The creepiness in The Turn of the Key was what I loved the most about it! I kept wondering to myself: is this house really haunted or are the children just trying to scare her? It's what made me continue to come back to the book, I just had to know what was going on! I also liked that the story went into the history of the house and talked about some of the bad and tragic events that had happened there, which further led me to believe that maybe it was haunted!

Even though I liked the ending, I think some parts of it were a little unbelievable. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but if you've read it then you know what I'm talking about. Also, the whole premise of the book is that the main character, Rowan, is supposed to be writing a letter to a perspective lawyer. Who would write a 325 page letter? I just found some parts of the book to be a little far fetched. But I still really enjoyed The Turn of the Key and I think it was a really good mystery/thriller!

Book Review: Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

Title: Something in the Water
Author: Catherine Steadman
Publisher: Ballantine
Release Date: June 05, 2018
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 342 pages
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

A shocking discovery on a honeymoon in paradise changes the lives of a picture-perfect couple in this taut psychological thriller debut--for readers of Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, and Shari Lapena.

If you could make one simple choice that would change your life forever, would you?

Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough, Mark a handsome investment banker with big plans. Passionately in love, they embark on a dream honeymoon to the tropical island of Bora Bora, where they enjoy the sun, the sand, and each other. Then, while scuba diving in the crystal blue sea, they find something in the water. . . .

Could the life of your dreams be the stuff of nightmares?

Suddenly the newlyweds must make a dangerous choice: to speak out or to protect their secret. After all, if no one else knows, who would be hurt? Their decision will trigger a devastating chain of events. . . .

Ever since I had a baby, I haven't read nearly as much as I used to. I still wanted to read at least one book a month, so I decided to keep up with Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Book Club and the June book was Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman. It sounded really interesting and since I love a good mystery/thriller, I thought I would give it a go.

When I read a mystery, I really don't want to be able to predict what is going to happen at the end. I don't like when it's obvious who the "bad guy" is. Something in the Water really had me guessing almost until the very end. Since the book is told from the perspective of the main character Erin, you only know her motivations and her thoughts. The reader is not privy to what the other characters are thinking so we don't truly know if the other characters are who they say they are or if they're telling the truth.

Something in the Water is told from Erin's perspective so we really get her inner monologue and we get to understand her motivations. She's a really strong female character who is trying to secure her safety and her future after she and her husband find this mysterious bag in the ocean on their honeymoon.

If I could sum up the theme of Something in the Water in one phrase or sentence it would be: How well do you really know the people around you? Something in the Water was a really great summer read for me and a very engrossing mystery/thriller all around!

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Witch Elm

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly blog hop of anticipated book releases hosted by Tessa @ Wishful Endings.

Title: The Witch Elm
Author: Tana French
Release Date: October 09, 2018
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life – he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden – and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.

I read Into the Woods by Tana French a couple years ago and I remember it being very engrossing. I've always wanted to read another one of French's books but didn't really want to commit to the Dublin Squad series. I'm very excited to read her new stand alone novel which sounds really great! It also seems like the perfect October/Halloween read.

What are you waiting for this week? Let me know in the comments!

Book Review: The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby

Title: The Stranger Game
Author: Cylin Busby
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: October 25, 2016
Length: 288 pages
Genre: YA, Mystery
Source: eARC
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

The Stranger Game is a dark, suspenseful, and twisty young adult novel—perfect for fans of Lauren Oliver and E. Lockhart—about fifteen-year-old Nico Walker, whose sister returns home after a four-year disappearance.

When Nico Walker's older sister mysteriously disappears, her parents, family, and friends are devastated. But Nico can never admit what she herself feels: relief at finally being free of Sarah's daily cruelties.

Then the best and worst thing happens: four years later, after dozens of false leads, Sarah is found.

But this girl is much changed from the one Nico knew. She's thin and drawn, where Sarah had been golden and athletic; timid and unsure, instead of brash and competitive; and strangest of all, sweet and kind, when she had once been mean and abusive. Sarah's retrograde amnesia has caused her to forget almost everything about her life, from small things like the plots of her favorite books and her tennis game to the more critical—where she's been the last four years and what happened at the park on the fateful day she vanished. Despite the happy ending, the dark details of that day continue to haunt Nico, and it becomes clear that more than one person knows the true story of what happened to Sarah. . . .

My Review:

I always enjoy a good little mystery, especially one that is quick to read and easy to follow. Which is what I found with The Stranger Game. It wasn't anything particularly memorable which is probably why I'm struggling to write this review.

One aspect that I remember very clearly was the Sarah, the girl who is missing, was an absolute bitch before she went missing. I had a very hard time feeling bad for her even if she was kidnapped and forced to do horrible things. She just seemed like a really horrible person and acted like she was better than everyone else because she was beautiful and thin. At least, that's the way the reader see her through Nico's eyes.

Even after Sarah is found, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on even though I wasn't exactly sure what had happened to her to make her go missing. I was pretty shocked when the truth was revealed, which is good, because I don't like to guess the ending. I always like to be on the edge of my seat, looking around the next corner and anticipating the next twist!

What I found most fascinating was the dynamic of the family who had lost one of their own and the uncertainty of whether or not Sarah was dead or alive. Busby did a good job of writing the grief, the anger, the denial, the depression and the attempt at moving on with the unknown always looming over their heads.

The Stranger Game is a very YA type book, one that is sort of forgettable and yet enjoyable while I read it. It was a good enough mystery to have me guessing all the way through! 

Audio Book Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I See You
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Narrator: Rachel Atkins
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: February 21, 2017
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 10 hours & 58 minutes
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Audible // Goodreads

Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her...

It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her; a grainy photo along with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com.

Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose...A discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target.

And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…

My Review:

Have you ever read or listened to a Clare Mackintosh book? No? Well I'm telling you, you need to change that right now. Mackintosh's books have some of the most shocking twits at the end that I've ever read!

I loved that I See You follows the main character Zoe in her everyday life. She rides the subway everyday, her everyday interactions with her kids and her boyfriend and Zoe going to work. So you see the ends and outs of her life and it really makes you realize how everything can just be the same and how easy it is for someone to start following you without you noticing it.

I See You also opened my eyes to the dark side of the internet. Although I do know that the dark net exists but to come face to face with what can happen on the internet is just terrifying. I use the internet for Youtube and discovering books to read and blogging and paying my bills. I don't usually think about all the bad things that can happen on the internet.

I See You is one of those audio books that makes me want to sit in my car and continue listening. Towards the end of this book I was a little bit shocked to find out who the perpetrator was. But then the last five minutes of the book shocked me so hard, I was in such disbelief that I just could not believe it!! If you haven't read Clare Mackintosh yet, you're lucky because she has two novel out for you to read and you need to go get them right now! 

Book Review: Party Girls Die in Pearls by Plum Sykes

Title: Party Girls Die in Pearls
Author: Plum Sykes
Series: Oxford Girl Mysteries #1
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: May 09, 2017
Length: 331 Pages
Genre: Mystery, YA
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

It’s 1985, and at Oxford University, Pimm’s, punting, and ball gowns are de rigeur. Ursula Flowerbutton, a studious country girl, arrives for her first term anticipating nothing more sinister than days spent poring over history books in gilded libraries—and, if she’s lucky, an invitation to a ball.

But when she discovers a glamorous classmate on a chaise longue with her throat cut, Ursula is catapulted into a murder investigation.

Determined to bag her first scoop for the famous student newspaper Cherwell, Ursula enlists the help of trend-setting American exchange student Nancy Feingold to unravel the case. While navigating a whirl of black-tie parties and secret dining societies, the girls discover a surfeit of suspects. From broken-hearted boyfriends to snobby Sloane Rangers, lovelorn librarians to dishy dons, none can be presumed innocent—and Ursula’s investigations mean that she may be next on the murderer’s list.

My Review:

I really loved Party Girls Die in Pearls. It is really cute, fun and fast-paced. The characters are fun, the writing is really fresh and I flew through it page after page. It's probably pretty unrealistic but I don't read fiction like this for realistic stories.

Party Girls Die in Pearls takes place in 1985 at Oxford University and mainly follows two students: Ursula, a freshman at the University and Nancy, an American studying abroad. The two hit it off immediately and not only become friends but end up solving a murder together. Ursula sees herself as a very plain country girl, quiet and meek at first, who doesn't come from much but just wants to do well at University. Nancy is her complete opposite and the very epitome of a rich college girl in the eighties!

**SIDE NOTE** Did you know that Oxford University isn't like a standard university with a building and dormitories? It's actually made up of 38 different colleges across the city that accept their own students and hire their own faculty and you basically live in the same building as your main class. All these separate colleges and buildings make up the whole of Oxford University. I had no idea!!!

Back to the book. I'm really excited to see where the author takes this new series! I hope that the next books in the series are just as fun, light and fresh as Party Girls Die in Pearls! If you're looking for something quick and refreshing, I definitely recommend this book! 

Book Review: Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little

Title: Dear Daughter

Author: Elizabeth Little

Publisher: Viking

Release Date: July 31, 2014

Length: 364 pages

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Source: Purchased

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

LA IT girl Janie Jenkins has it all. The looks, the brains, the connections. The criminal record.

Ten years ago, in a trial that transfixed America, Janie was convicted of murdering her mother. Now she's been released on a technicality she's determined to unravel the mystery of her mother's last words, words that send her to a tiny town in the very back of beyond. But with the whole of America's media on her tail, convinced she's literally got away with murder, she has to do everything she can to throw her pursuers off the scent.

She knows she really didn't like her mother. Could she have killed her?

My Review:

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little was the book club pick for June and I was really excited to start reading it. Like I've said before in my reviews, I usually always try to finish the book club book. Dear Daughter is a mystery/thriller type novel set part of the time in Los Angeles and most of the time in the mid-west while the main character tries to figure out who really killed her mother.

Janie Jenkins is probably one of the most unlikable characters I've ever read. Her inner dialogue was so irritating because she was always complaining about something or someone throughout the whole novel. To top it off and make me dislike her even more, she literally thinks she's the shit.

1. She thinks she's God's gift to men and society
2. She thinks she has the world figured out
3. She thinks she's smarter than everyone
4. She's vain and completely shallow
5. Her biggest concern was looking "hot"

 I can't stand characters like that.

The only thing that made Dear Daughter readable was the story line and the mystery that Janie was trying to uncover. I'm always drawn to a premise when it's about a small town and their dark secrets which is exactly what this is. And the only reason I'm giving this book three stars is because I didn't really guess who the killer was until it was obvious. If you're into unlikable characters then this book is for you!

Book Review: Perfect Nightmare by John Saul

Title: Perfect Stranger
Author: John Saul
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: April 25, 2006
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

If you open your house to strangers, who knows who might come in. And what they might be after. Or whom. Now, ponder the unthinkable and surrender to your darkest dread, as sinister storyteller extraordinaire John Saul weaves a heart-stopping tale of lurking terror and twisted intent.

Every parent’s nightmare becomes reality for Kara Marshall when her daughter, Lindsay, vanishes from her bedroom during the night. The police suspect that the girl is just another moody teenage runaway, angry over leaving behind her school and friends because her family is moving. But Lindsay’s recent eerie claim–that someone invaded her room when the house was opened to prospective buyers–drives Kara to fear the worst: a nameless, faceless stalker has walked the halls of her home in search of more than a place to live.

Patrick Shields recognizes Kara’s pain–and carries plenty of his own since he lost his wife and two children in a devastating house fire. But more than grief draws Patrick and Kara together. He, too, senses the hand of a malevolent stranger in this tragedy. And as more people go missing from houses up for sale, Patrick’s suspicion, like Kara’s, blooms into horrified certainty.

Someone is trolling this peaceful community–undetected and undeterred–harvesting victims for a purpose no sane mind can fathom. Someone Kara and Patrick, alone and desperate, are determined to unmask. Someone who is even now watching, plotting, keeping a demented diary of unspeakable deeds . . . and waiting until the time is ripe for another fateful visit.

My Review:

Perfect Nightmare was this month's (July) book club pick by a member of my book club. I usually try to read the book club pick first, just in case I don't like it, I can get it out of the way and spend the rest of the month reading books that, hopefully, I'll enjoy. Which is the case this month. I really wanted to DNF this book but I'm actually kind of glad that I didn't because the ending was so shocking!

One of the reasons that I didn't like this book is that I just didn't really care for the characters. All these awful things were happening to them and I was more interested in the story line and figuring out who was responsible for all these horrific things instead of caring about the victims feelings.

I thought a little of what happened was unrealistic. I find it completely plausible that someone would target victims through open houses, coming in as a potential buyer but then hiding and kidnapping their target. But the other tragedies that happened in the midst of everything else just seemed unrealistic.

The other reason I didn't like the book because there were some parts that were from the perpetrator's perspective. Normally I don't mind that because it can be a little creepy. But these little pieces of perspective made me feel dirty because he wanted to touch a teenage girl and he was smelling her underwear. That just felt wrong and I am not down with that.

This is only the first John Saul book that I've ever read so I don't know if all his books are like this or not. I've actually heard that some of this other books are paranormal so I'm not going to completely write this author off until I give another one of his books a try. I was going to give this book only 1 star but that ending was so shocking that I decided to bump it up one more. If you want to try John Saul I would recommend picking up one of his other books. 

Book Review: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Title: Into the Water
Author: Paula Hawkins
Publisher: River Head Books
Release Date: May 02,2017
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 386 pages
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she'd never return.
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.
Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.

My Review:

I read The Girl on the Train a few years back and after finishing the book I knew that Paula Hawkin's would have a writing career that I would want to follow. Normally I find multiple POV's and going back in forth in time to be confusing and not all that remarkable, but Paula Hawkin's made it easy to follow and actually quite enjoyable.

As soon as Into the Water was announced as Paula Hawkin's sophomore novel, I knew I'd probably purchase it and read it immediately which is what I did! Where as The Girl on the Train was more fast-paced with a plot line I found very entertaining, Into the Water is more character driven with a deep dark mystery brewing behind the surface. Into the Water takes place in a small down that has what all the townspeople call "the drowning pool." As part of their history, way back in the day during the witch trials, many women were murdered in this small lake after being accused of being a witch. Ever since, women have taken their own lives by jumping from the rocks into this "drowning pool."

Although Into the Water seems to be an investigation of these women who have committed suicide in "the drowning pool", it quickly begins to reveal the secrets lurking behind all these people who have lived in the town for many years. All the rumors about the women who died in "the drowning pool" turn out to be just that; rumors and soon the truth about what really happened to most of these women is shockingly uncovered.

Into the Water is a must read for those who already read and loved The Girl on the Train! Paula Hawkins is really showing her range of writing in Into the Water and I can only expect more great novels to come!

Book Review: All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Title: All the Missing Girls

Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 368 pages
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

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.
Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.

Review:

I'm always up for a good mystery. I've read a few of Megan Miranda's YA novels in the past and I'm familiar with her writing style. I had been following the release of All the Missing Girls and considered buying it as soon as it came out but I was always putting it off. I eventually bought it and immediately added it to my TBR.

What I really enjoyed most about All the Missing Girls is the way that the story is told. Two girl have gone missing; one went missing ten years ago and was never found and one went missing two weeks ago. Both disappearances are eerily similar especially since they both happened in a small down where literally nothing ever happens. Now that two girls have gone missing, both under suspicious circumstances and both with the same set of suspects, the investigation really ramps up.

Nic, the main character, was best friends with the girl who went missing ten years and moved away from town right after. Now that she is back in town to help her brother fix up their childhood home, her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend is the second girl to go missing. Nic believes that all the answers are right in front of her but she can't seem to put the pieces together.

What I can say I liked about All the Missing Girls is that I definitely did not guess the ending or the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of either girl. I also enjoyed the format of the story and that it was told from the future into the past over the course of two weeks. Other than that, I felt the bulk of the story was pretty slow and I continually found myself putting it down out of boredom.

BTW, I also love these info graphs that Bookout creates. I always use Bookout to track my reading because it puts together so many statistics. I highly recommend using this app!