Book Review: "The River Runs Black" by Tessa Wegert

Tessa Wegert has done it again!! This is her eighth book and I just love the characters and the community she’s created. She always delivers a twisty thriller with some emotional depth, and her books are always so satisfying!

New York State’s North Country, not far from the Canadian border, has been left reeling by the recent death of a high school senior due to a cocaine overdose. His parents say he had never taken drugs before; his friends will not divulge any information they might have about who supplied the cocaine.

When an enormous drug bust is made on a speedboat traveling from Canada to the North Country, the local investigators are excited by the record haul they recovered. But when they discover that the cocaine they seized doesn’t match the cocaine that killed the young man, they realize there must be a larger drug ring than they ever fathomed.

When an obviously high young woman is found wandering around downtown with barely any clothes on, the police try to help her. But she runs away from them, leaving them to wonder what she was running from and who was keeping her high. And when the teenage daughter of a local investigator goes missing, the stakes grow even more dangerous.

I love the dogged police work of Tim Wellington and Shana Merchant, and it was great to see their return as well as that of other characters, like Mac and Val. I’ve so enjoyed watching these characters develop and transform into something deeper. I felt as if there were hints about a 3rd book in this series—I sure do hope so!

Book Review: "The French Illusion" by John Grisham

It’s crazy to think that I’ve been reading John Grisham’s books since the early 1990s! I like the way he has been dabbling in other genres beyond legal thrillers; it’s been fun watching him spread his wings even when a book doesn’t completely work for me. His new book proves twisty thrillers are in his wheelhouse as well!

Paul and Chelsea Tanner have a beautiful wedding and look forward to building a life together. They head to Paris for their honeymoon, a place Chelsea has been before but Paul never has.

They do lots of touristy things, and then one day they take a trip to Normandy to see the site of D-Day. For Paul, a veteran, this stop has real meaning. After lunch at a charming café, they plan to visit the D-Day Museum. They’re surprised that a different driver picks them up from lunch; he tells them their driver had a family emergency.

The next thing they know, they wake up and find they’ve been kidnapped. They’re being kept separately; Chelsea is being treated better than Paul. It turns out that this isn’t the first time a honeymooning couple in Paris has gotten kidnapped, and there are things linking the men in all of the couples. But who has them? And why?

As the stakes get higher, the U.S. government—along with the FBI, CIA, and French intelligence—seek answers. The CIA recruits a young lawyer to help with the rescue efforts, but it’s not without its risks. Will his decision to get involved be one he can see to fruition?

I enjoyed this story and liked the way Grisham unfurled the twists and hidden details. I thought the pacing was really slow for the majority of the book, though, until the last 20 percent or so, when the plot moved at absolute breakneck speed. I wish the pace was a bit more consistent, but I still was hooked.

Book Review: "Driven" by Mason Coile

This was a very different book than I expected, and it sure did pack a punch! I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since I finished it.

“Hurt can’t be buried. It can be locked away for a time, or hidden, but eventually it rises to cause more pain.”

Jamie is being haunted. Seriously. Ever since his wife and daughter left him, every place he has lived has been occupied by creepy ghosts and disturbing noises. The ghosts infiltrate his dreams, follow him into the shower, take over his television, and keep forcing him to move to a smaller and smaller place in the hopes there won’t be room for them.

His ultimate solution is to find someone who will sell him their Lion—the world’s first completely safe, self-driving vehicle. He figures that he can eventually sleep in the car and it will keep the ghosts out. When he is able to buy one, he hopes this will free him of being haunted.

But he wakes up in the car to discover the hood is dented, the windshield is shattered, and—wait, that’s blood. It looks like the car ran over someone. But who? And when the car refuses to unlock its doors, Jamie isn’t sure what the car is planning next, or how much more complicit he’ll be in whatever it does.

While there are certainly elements of horror and gore present, what sets this book apart is its exploration of grief and despair. I wondered how far the car would go and how the book would resolve itself. And on a sad note, Mason Coile was the pen name for Andrew Pyper, a Canadian science fiction and horror writer who died in 2025.

Book Review: "When They Find Me" by Carter Wilson

When more than one Bookstagram friend tells you that this book is “a banger,” you know I had to request an ARC! And they were not wrong—this was fantastic! Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Expanse, Colorado is a tiny town of 313 people. It’s the perfect place for people who are hiding from someone or just want to live off the grid. This is where Annie and her daughter Coral have settled, and Annie has done everything she can to ensure that no one knows where they are.

A few years ago, Annie had to kill someone. She’s been looking over her shoulder ever since. She expects that someone will come looking for her one day and try to get revenge, so she’s determined to keep her and Coral safe.

One day, trouble comes calling in the form of an angry old man who calls himself Coyote, and his two adult children, Boone and Riven. They’ve come to Expanse to find the man Coyote insists destroyed his life and tried to break up his family. Riven is ready to kill this man and finally prove her worth to her father.

Annie isn’t expecting Coyote, Boone, and Riven to show up at her door, and she’s definitely not the person they’re expecting to find. But they get locked in a battle of wills, and both Annie and Coyote will do all they can to protect their children. When truths are uncovered, no one will be left the same.

Carter Wilson is an exceptionally talented thriller writer. This was definitely a book which kept me guessing. There was so much tension, so much simmering anger and violence just under the surface. I wanted to applaud when it was done.

The book will publish 11/10.

Book Review: "The Secret Dinner" by Raphael Montes

“There’s death behind every meal. People prefer to shut their eyes to it, but it’s there. Death.”

Wow. This book was WILD! I think I’ll be sticking to salads for a while, but I enjoyed this far more than I expected.

Four childhood friends—Dante, Miguel, Hugo, and Piglet—decide to leave their small Brazilian hometown and head to Rio, to find an apartment in Copacabana. The apartment they find is absolutely perfect and the price is a steal.

As the economic situation in Brazil worsens, their rent skyrockets. And when they’re threatened with eviction, they need to scramble to find a lot of money—fast. So they decide to capitalize on the secret dinner party trend, and host people for gourmet meals that they’ll pay top dollar for. But when Piglet taps into the hunger of wealthy Brazilians for something exotic, their get rich quick scheme nets them more money than they can imagine, yet it sends them down a path of no return.

“People associate madness with evil and rationality with goodness. According to statistics, 12 percent of so-called normal people are criminals, murderers, or dangerous offenders. Meanwhile, only 3 percent of so-called crazy people become involved in serious crimes. That means that normal people kill at a much higher rate than crazy people. If there were more crazy people in the world, there would be less violence.”

The book is definitely gory, so it’s not for the squeamish. But it’s also a fantastic, compelling read, one that makes you wonder how you’d handle the type of desperation the characters found themselves in. I probably will think twice before going over to someone’s house for a meal!!

Book Review: "Plant Lady" by Minyoung Kang, translated by Shanna Tan

I really enjoyed this! It’s a little creepy, a little mysterious, and a bit thought-provoking. I’ll definitely be thinking about this for a while.

Yoohee was an office worker who decided to leave her job and open a plant shop. She found space in a neighborhood that didn’t appear to have much foot traffic, but it’s not long before the shop becomes popular, both with customers and on social media.

She cares tremendously about her plants, painstakingly caring for them and ensuring they get the climate and lighting they need to thrive. People visit because they know how much she knows plants, and that she carries many unusual varieties.

But those aren’t the only reasons customers flock to Plant Shop. Troubled women—those frightened or abused or mistreated by men—seek Yoohee’s counsel. She is all too willing to help free these women of the burdens that are causing their unhappiness, fear, even pain. She has tools at her disposal and she’s not afraid to use them.

Yoohee knows how these women feel. At one point, back in her hometown, she fell victim to a young man she believed to be kind and good. The pain of those days has haunted her, so she’s willing to do whatever it takes to help her customers. No one will miss them anyway, right? And if they do, would they ever suspect the owner of Plant Shop?

This isn’t quite a horror novel; it’s more dark literary fiction than anything else. But I was utterly captivated. I wondered if things would get creepier or if Yoohee would get her comeuppance. In the end, though, I cheered her heroism, even if it took a much more sinister tone.

Book Review: "The Season of Sinking" by Daphne Woolsoncroft

Daphne Woolsoncroft’s debut thriller, Night Watcher, was one of my favorite books of last year. I eagerly anticipated this one, hoping for another great thriller. I definitely wasn’t disappointed—she kept me guessing from start to finish.

Imogen is shocked to learn that her mother has died unexpectedly. She leaves her life in Seattle to head to Lake Blair, the small Washington town where she grew up. The plan is for her and her twin sister Amelia to pack everything up, put the house up for sale, and get back to their regular lives.

But being home is a difficult experience for Imogen. Not only is she consumed with grief about her mother’s death, but the unsettling feelings of fear that she had when growing up have returned. She never understood why she has recurring nightmares; her mother convinced her it was just her imagination tricking her.

While the police determined their mother’s death was accidental, Imogen wonders if someone else was responsible. But casual remarks from a few of her mother’s friends definitely raise her hackles, so she’s determined to figure out what really happened. And when the house keeps getting broken into, she wonders who is behind all of the chaos.

She reunites with Rory, her high school boyfriend and neighbor. As they tentatively take steps toward rekindling their feelings for one another, Imogen starts having her doubts about him. Why does he keep showing up moments after something happens?

There are a lot of things going on in the book, but it never felt overwhelming. As usual when I read twisty books, I suspect absolutely everyone, and couldn’t wait to see how it all wrapped up. Imogen is definitely more than a damsel in distress.

Book Review: "Before You Were Anne" by Emiko Jean

“Love is just creating something the world can take away.“

This book was one of my most anticipated of September, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Emiko Jean’s last book, The Return of Ellie Black, was one of my absolute favorites of 2024, and this was a worthy sequel!

Detective Chelsey Calhoun is a few months pregnant, but she’s not ready to go public yet, because she doesn’t want to get stuck behind a desk. Yet when she and her partner have to investigate the murder of a woman and the disappearance of her teenage daughter, she’s not prepared for the case to hit so close to home.

The murder victim was a woman named Anne, but behind that simple name was a frightened woman who had to find her own way again and again. She was raised on a farm in a remote Japanese town, only to get involved with the yakuza in Tokyo, then flee to Idaho for a new start, only to seek refuge in Seattle. Her 16-year-old daughter Naomi is missing, and Chelsey is worried that she might meet the same fate as her mother.

The more Chelsey and her partner dig into Anne’s past, the more secrets are uncovered about her past. For Chelsey, who was adopted as a young child, the questions about Anne make her wonder about her own past. But she also finds that if some secrets find the light of day, it might prove deadly.

This is both a twisty mystery and an emotional story. Chelsey’s pregnancy definitely made her even more focused on finding Naomi before it’s too late. The book is narrated by Chelsey, Anne, and Naomi, and each voice is slightly different. I hope we’ll get back to Seattle in another of Jean’s books!

Book Review: "The Blue Flame" by George Pelecanos

George Pelecanos is one of my favorite crime writers of all time. He’s definitely an author that should be so much more of a household name because his books are really excellent. I was so excited that he had a new book come out and that it featured a familiar character, PI Derek Strange.

“Everything that used to be complicated and laborious was easy now. But an investigator still needed to know how to talk to people and do the job.”

Derek Strange is still working as a private investigator, still operating out of his office in Washington, DC. And he’s still as dogged as ever when trying to figure out a case. When he’s approached by a drug lawyer, asking him to help clear his client of a murder charge, Derek is ready to search for answers.

What Derek discovers is a series of crimes affecting young men who grew up together, playing football in high school. But now one is dead, one is accused of his murder, and the younger sister of another is the link between the two. He figures out what happened and tells the police, although he keeps some of the details to himself.

Shortly thereafter, another murder occurs, and Derek feels a responsibility to clear it up. Of course, the police have warned him about interfering, and he finds himself treading in some dangerous neighborhoods, but it’s all in a day’s work.

I love the amazing details Pelecanos brings to his books, both in setting and habits of his characters. This is a crime novel but it’s also about greed, family, protecting your own, and second chances. I hope we’ll see Derek back again—I’ve missed him!

Book Review: "Hot Girl Murder Club" by Ashley Winstead

I’ve read all of Ashley Winstead’s books, and one of the things I love about her is she’s never content to write the same book twice. Every one of her books is different from the next, and she always keeps me guessing!

Ten years ago, Scout Sage’s younger sister Georgia was murdered at a Hollywood executive’s Christmas party. The alleged killer was never brought to justice.

Now, with her musical career just on the cusp of exploding, Scout is always surrounded by a posse of beautiful women. Some of them are famous for having overcome abusive relationships or other toxic situations. But with a string of revenge-type murders occurring, suddenly Scout (and her so-called “Hot Girl Murder Club”) is the prime suspect.

Detective Grey Holloway is tapped to lead the investigation, despite her youth and Barbie-like appearance. Is Scout a vigilante murderer, or is someone trying to frame her and call her out for her past transgressions? The deeper Grey digs, she finds that there have been many crimes perpetrated against women in Hollywood that have gone unpunished, and there may even be a more personal tie to these incidents.

This book is really quite timely given the way the pendulum has swung back from the #MeToo era. There are characters in the book who give voice to the anti-woke, pro-male perspective that seems to be prevalent in today’s society.

There are A LOT of characters in this book and a lot of perspectives. I found the two main narrative threads to be the most interesting, and when either of them were the focus, I was much more dialed in. But I love some good vigilante justice, and Winstead again delivered a compelling read!

Book Review: "Pretty Dead Things" by Kelsey Cox

In the small town of Anhalt, Texas, the Lone Star Princess Pageant is a big deal. The competition is cutthroat—and that’s just among some of the mothers! No one believes their daughter is more deserving than Kennedy Claire, a former winner herself, who will stop at nothing to make sure the crown winds up on her daughter’s head.

Twenty-five years ago, on the night of the pageant, Isabelle Whitmore disappeared. Everyone believed she was murdered by her boyfriend Ben and that her body was buried somewhere on the sprawling Sherman Ranch. Now, Izzy’s twin sister Ingrid has returned to town, just as construction crews are digging up the ranch to build houses.

The pageant reawakens old hurts and resentments. Melanie can’t shake the trauma she experienced after being pranked by her friends; Cat, who has finally gotten sober, is convinced she’s being followed; and Ingrid begins to realize the truths she believed about her sister’s disappearance may not be accurate.

When a major winter storm—nearly unheard of in Texas—strikes Anhalt, all the pageant contestants and their families are stuck together under one roof. But after one death shakes everyone up, the question of who is responsible worries everyone. And that’s not all they’ll need to deal with.

This was a really good thriller. I really didn’t know what was going to happen and who would be the culprit, and Kelsey Cox definitely kept me guessing. There was a lot going on but it never felt overwhelming. I want to go back and read her debut thriller now!

Book Review: "One Good Eye" by Kevin Wade

Kevin Wade is a screenwriter and was showrunner for Blue Bloods. Given how much I loved that show, his first book, Johnny Careless, was a favorite of mine last year. Now, thanks to Celadon Books, I received an advance copy of his newest book, and it was just as great!

Jeep Mullane is the chief of police for four towns on Long Island’s Gold Coast. Following a hurricane, he gets called to the estate of his old friend Jenny, who was assaulted during a home invasion. But she’s not interested in filing a police report or finding out who hit her, despite Jeep’s encouragement to do so.

Jenny and Jeep have known each other since high school. Their relationship has always been complicated—part romantic, part platonic, part protective. Even when they’ve stopped speaking to one another, Jenny remains an enormous part of Jeep’s life. So of course he’s going to investigate who is behind Jenny’s assault.

What Jeep doesn’t count on is an immensely tangled web. There are definitely people he suspects but so much action and crime is swirling around him. From Jenny’s ex-husband to two local motorcycle gangs, federal agents and a police captain living under an assumed name, Jeep can’t quite figure out who was responsible and why. And of course, how much does he trust Jenny?

I thought this was excellent. Even though this is the second book featuring Jeep, you really could read it as a standalone. But Jeep is such a great character that you’ll want to read both!

Book Review: "The Au Pair" by Teddy Wayne

I’m never quite sure which I like more: a popcorn thriller I can read quickly, or a thriller with lots of twists, that makes you say or think, “Wow!” This book definitely fell into the first category, although I kept hoping for at least a bit of the second.

Steven’s first novel was a huge success. He hoped his second book would be received even better, but it took a critical drubbing and barely anyone read it. He’s hoping his third book will help rebound his career.

When he married Lucy, he was the breadwinner. But she co-founded a company and they live an extremely comfortable life, thanks to her money. Steven is a stay-at-home dad, and Lucy pays him a stipend each month, while he tries to find a way out of his writer’s block.

In order for Steven to truly concentrate on his writing, they decide to hire an au pair. Astrid is from Norway. The children become enamored of her quite quickly—and Steven can’t take his eyes off her. When he learns she loved one of his books, he’s utterly flattered, and he falls head over heels for her. He tries fighting his attraction as long as he can, but his resistance is futile.

When the family takes a vacation to a house in the Catskills, Lucy is on edge most of the time. Astrid is there to care for the children, but Lucy feels left out. And when scandal results into a high-profile trial, no one’s lives will ever be the same.

This book definitely kept my attention the whole time—I read the whole thing very quickly. I felt that I had seen the whole story before, and while I hoped for surprises, the book was fairly predictable.

Book Review: "Keep Them Close" by David Ellis

I’ve been patiently waiting until this book was released earlier in the week. Battling severe FOMO watching so many Bookstagram friends reading advance copies has been tough! But I’ve got to tell you, this was worth the wait. David Ellis is a freaking master of the twisty thriller!

Allison knew her husband Finley was cheating on her. His infidelity both saddened and enraged her, as she has loved him since they were young. But as tempted as she is to get revenge, she bides her time.

Allison’s brother Luke was destined to be a baseball star until an accident derailed his potential career. Now he’s a renowned coach with a talent for taking miserable teams and turning them into champions. And while Luke and Allison have always been close, their relationship has frayed quite a bit lately.

When Finley is murdered, of course Allison is immediately considered the prime suspect. She knew what he was up to and with whom, but she had her own plans. Can she count on her brother to help her, despite the distrust between them?

Ellis’ thrillers are always full of twists, which makes it hard to review one of his books. But once you pick this up, you won’t want to put it down until you’ve devoured every last word.

Book Review: "Marion" by Leah Rowan

“People do wild things when they think they’re going to lose the person they love most in the world.”

This book was so good! You’ve probably seen that I’m a fan of retellings or books that give a different slant (sometimes radically different) from the original. And while this is a retelling of Psycho, it’s so different that you can read this without having seen the movie and you won’t be at a disadvantage.

When Marion discovers that her older sister Lauren has been abused by her husband, she immediately goes into protective mode. Their mother had worked with abused women for years, and tried helping them escape their situations. But when Lauren downplays the abuse and goes home to her husband, Marion knows she needs to protect her.

She heads to Saratoga Springs with plans of getting Lauren out of her marriage. (Her plans are bolstered by the $100,000 dollars she took from work.) Yet on the way upstate, her bus breaks down in New Paltz fairly late at night. The only place in town with a vacancy is the Billings Motel, an outdated place run by a quiet, handsome man named Norman.

Norman is charming, and he even cooks Marion a meal. When she gets back to her room, she decides to take a shower…and then the curtain pulls back to reveal Norman…with a knife. Marion refuses to be the victim in this situation, and she fights back—hard. After stabbing him to death, she realizes she has to clean up her mess and get up to her sister’s. But that plan gets waylaid quite a bit.

There are lots of twists in this book that I didn’t see coming. Marion is a fascinating character—part vigilante and part victim. I wondered how things would get tied up and I was fairly satisfied with the ending. I can’t wait to see what Leah Rowan does next!!

Book Review: "Ironwood" by Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly has written more than 40 books and I’ve been reading them since 1992, when his first book was published. He has created some prolific characters, which have spawned several series. Ironwood is the second book in a new series, and this one kicked ass.

Stilwell is a detective sergeant stationed on California’s Catalina Island. Those who get stationed there are usually paying for making someone higher-up angry, or for doing something illegal or inappropriate. Stilwell was sent to Catalina for similar reasons, but he’s grown to like that it’s separate from the chaos of Los Angeles.

One night, acting on a tip one of his deputies got from a confidential informant, Stilwell and two of his deputies are staking out the island’s airstrip. They’re waiting for a plane to land and drop off drugs. But when it does, the deputies close in on the plane, shots are fired, and the plane leaves.

The whole incident has tragic consequences. As the police investigate, Stilwell is relegated to the side. But he wants to know who was responsible and where everything went wrong, so he does some investigating on the side.

Meanwhile, when sorting through the list and found, he finds an expensive backpack that belonged to a woman who disappeared while hiking four years earlier. But the backpack was found only two months ago; why is that? Stilwell’s looking into this connects him to the cold case unit led by Detective Renée Ballard. And what this partnership uncovers is another tangled web he’ll have to deal with.

Connelly is so good at taking his time to lay out the details and then gradually ratchet up the tension. He always keeps me guessing one way or another. I hope there will be a third book in this series!!

Book Review: "This Town Won't Tell" by Rhodi Hawk

Damn, this was soooo good! This was a twisty, gritty, slow-burn thriller that felt a bit like a mashup of S.A. Cosby and Rachel Caine, yet with its own unique power and an unforgettable main character.

Ever since Janey’s mom died when she was young, her life has been messier than most. She drifted from foster family to foster family and did a stint in juvie, where she gave birth to a daughter, Em. After her release she married the baby’s father but they eventually divorced and he was able to keep their house.

Now a recovering alcoholic, her ex has a restraining order against her, which makes sharing custody a challenge. She works as a waitress at a Montana roadhouse (which no longer has a road) and is determined to give Em a better life than she had.

One night she goes to confront her ex for not taking Em to school. She plans to break into his house and frighten him with her cousin’s gun. But she gets caught by a corrupt lawyer, who threatens to turn Janey in for violating the restraining order, which means she’ll lose custody of her daughter. She gets blackmailed into a “one and done,” making a drop under a bridge.

Of course, the blackmail continues far beyond just one time. When she finds out that her cousin used to do the drops and he got murdered, she realizes she’s in trouble. What follows is a tangled web of small-town corruption, violence, and enemies she can’t uncover. Will she survive and get her life back, however bleak it is?

Janey was such a terrific character—tough yet vulnerable, wanting a better life but feeling powerless to change things. I loved the small-town Montana setting and all of the twists Rhodi Hawk threw in. I’d love to see what’s next!

Book Review: "Five" by Ilona Bannister

“Someone will die here this morning, at this suburban train station. It will happen in the next five minutes when the 7:06 to London Victoria arrives.”

So begins Ilona Bannister’s new thriller, which was utterly fascinating. We get a first-hand look at a chaotic morning at a train station, which will end in someone’s death. We don’t know who will die but we assume we know how it will happen.

The book introduces us to five people. There’s Emma, a woman whose life has totally been upended by her sociopathic young son, Gideon. He throws a temper tantrum while waiting for the train and Emma is unable to control him, which makes her an object of judgment by others in the train station.

There’s Sonny, a handsome and impeccably dressed young man, who is seriously addicted to gambling. Matilda is a cantankerous old woman whose anger masks the difficult life she has had. And then there’s Liam, a business manager who appears to know Emma and Gideon but seems to incur their wrath.

While we wait for the train to come into the station and end one of the five people’s lives, the book gives us each of their stories. We don’t have to rest on generalization; we know what each person is struggling with and what brought them to the train station today.

This was so compelling. The narrator invites you to think about who will die, but also who you think deserves to die. We see how flawed each person is, what made them tick, and what are their redeeming qualities. While some of the backstories dragged a bit, I really thought this was a fascinating read.

Book Review: "The Anniversary" by Alex Finlay

Given that Alex Finlay is one of my favorite thriller writers, I definitely was looking forward to reading his upcoming book, The Anniversary. Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy!

In the early 1990s, the Midwest was on edge because of the May Day Killer, a serial killer who abducts a woman on May 1 of each year. Sometimes the women are murdered and sometimes the killer lets them go, telling them they’re the lucky ones. He has eluded capture and doesn’t leave any clues behind.

May 1, 1992 seems like just another day. Beautiful and popular Jules is planning to go to a concert with her friends. Her shy classmate, Quinn, is usually the butt of people’s jokes, but something about him intrigues her. That night, Jules is attacked by the May Day Killer but her life is spared. Quinn breaks up a fight and winds up injuring someone, so he gets sent to juvenile detention.

The next year, Quinn is released from juvenile detention on May 1, only to find that his mother was brutally murdered. Meanwhile, Jules is wracked with fear that the killer will come back for her, and also feels guilty that she survived.

Each year on May 1, Jules and Quinn interact with one another. Both are traumatized by events in their lives, and nothing seems to get easier. Neither will rest until the May Day Killer is caught and Quinn’s mother’s murder is solved. But they’ll have to shoulder many burdens if those things will happen.

Don’t go into this book expecting a straightforward thriller. It’s definitely thrilling in places, but at the same time, the book is an exploration of how we bear trauma, pain, guilt, and loss, and how little we know about those around us. I thought this was great!!

The book will publish 5/12.

Book Review: "Served Him Right" by Lisa Unger

I do love it when a thriller or mystery keeps me guessing until the end! I’ve been seeing this one all over the place and I finally had to see what the buzz was about.

Ana is through with her ex, Paul. So through, in fact, that she and her friends are going to gather for an “ex-orcism,” where they all delete him off all of their social media and every other form of communication. In the middle of their girls’ brunch, the police show up. It seems that Paul has been found dead.

It’s not long before the police find out that Ana definitely had motive to murder Paul. But she swears she is innocent, and it appears that Paul had a long list of people who might’ve wished him harm. Yet when Ana’s best friend Iggy, who was also at the brunch, becomes seriously ill as a result of poison, everyone—including Ana’s older sister Vera—starts to suspect Ana.

It turns out, however, that lots of people are hiding secrets. As the police start closing in on Ana, she and Vera are both working on trying to clear her name. But their investigations put them both at risk, and stirs up tensions with a secret group of people with their own axes to grind.

There are a lot of characters who narrate the book, and the story shifts between Vera and Ana’s childhood and the present. I liked learning about natural methods of healing and enjoyed the book’s message about how much harder women have to work and how “perfect” they must be in order to succeed.