Book Review: "Pictures of You" by Emma Grey

I had hoped to get this one in before the end of 2024, but better late than never! I had heard that you’re better off going into the book without knowing too much about it, so I did that. And what an incredibly powerful, emotional book this was!!

“Life twists and turns and things you never imagined possible strike in an instant. Suddenly you’re on a totally different path.”

Evie wakes up in a hospital bed. She cannot figure out how she got there. When she is told that she had been in a car accident which killed her husband, she is baffled; in her mind, she’s 16 years old. She doesn’t even recognize pictures of her husband, let alone being married.

When she runs into Drew, her best friend from high school, she thinks he’s an Uber driver. But he agrees to help her try to figure out what happened to the people she remembers—and little by little, he helps her recall certain things about her life and her marriage.

“What makes things true? I can imagine a whole world of experience missing from my memory, but if I don’t remember it, did it ever happen? Aren’t we meant to be the sum of our experiences?”

I’m a fan of Emma Grey, having loved her last book, The Last Love Note. This book definitely could be triggering for some, so do check the warnings before reading. Some of the twists I saw coming, some I was surprised by, but this really moved me.

Book Review: "The Perfect Home" by Daniel Kenitz

Wyatt and Dawn Decker are reality TV darlings. Their home renovation show, The Perfect Home,” is a cable favorite, and viewers love the way the two balance each other out—Wyatt’s handsomeness and goofy Southern charm, and Dawn’s sensibility and nurturing instincts.

Dawn would gladly trade her pseudo-celebrity status for motherhood. When tests reveal that their problems conceiving are related to Wyatt’s low sperm count, he tries an experimental fertility drug. Dawn gets pregnant with twins fairly quickly, and while Wyatt supposedly weans himself off the drug, he starts having mood swings, anger issues, and periods of unpredictability.

When Dawn uncovers Wyatt’s horrifying plan to create a tragedy which will raise their ratings and increase their celebrity, the only thing she can think to do is take the twins and flee. But Wyatt, the more popular member of the couple, turns the public against her and paints himself as the victim. Even her closest friends are convinced by Wyatt’s allegations.

With nowhere to turn and no one to count on for support, Dawn must find new allies if she has any chance of holding on to her children. But it’s going to require dredging up the past—both hers and Wyatt’s—and finding help in the unlikeliest of places.

What do you do when the person you loved turns into a monster, someone you don’t even know? How can you convince everyone that they’re being manipulated to believe you’re the problem? How do you know whom you can trust?

I liked the set-up of the story and enjoyed the reality show aspects. I found Wyatt’s about-face really disappointing and once the book focused more on his manipulating people to believe Dawn was a danger, I lost interest in the book. Given that I didn’t like the book version of Gone Girl (but loved the film adaptation), I should’ve known to avoid a book marketed as "Fixer Upper meets Gone Girl”!

Book Review: "Interesting Facts about Space" by Emily Austin

Quirky characters have been all the rage, particularly in the years since the release of books like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Sometimes the quirkiness is understandable; sometimes I feel if authors create this type of character simply to provide a vehicle for bizarre habits or behavior.

Enid is a young woman who counts among her hobbies “listening to murder stories, having casual lesbian sex, and telling my mom interesting facts about space.” She has an inexplicable fear of bald men, she’s deaf in one ear, and she’s tentatively approaching a relationship with her two half-sisters, born after her father left her mother for another woman.

But Enid also feels like she’s losing her grip, perhaps unsurprisingly given her mother’s struggles with depression. Enid grows increasingly convinced there is someone following her and trying to break into her apartment. Clearly she has some repressed trauma in her life, because why else is she experiencing these feelings?

This is a tough book with a number of emotional triggers. But it’s also a beautifully written character study, which is at turns bleak and hopeful. Others have loved this more than I did, but I’m glad I read it.

The book will publish 1/30/2024.

Book Review: "The Final Girl Support Group" by Grady Hendrix

The latest book from horror master Grady Hendrix, The Final Girl Support Group, wasn't quite the horror novel I was expecting, and that’s totally okay with me!!

First things first: if you have any trigger, be it graphic violence, murder, sexual assault, mentions of animal cruelty, etc.—this book probably has it, so be aware of that if you choose to read it.

“None of us have to be defined by the worst thing that ever happened to her. Unfortunately, those things have a bad habit of coming back and trying to kill us again. After a while, you start to realize that your life isn’t the thing that happens between the monsters, your life is the monsters.”

They’re the final girls—the ones left standing after the murderer is taken down. For more than a decade a group of them have been meeting secretly to provide each other support. While these meetings have meant a lot through the years, they’ve become a nuisance to some, which dismays Lynnette, for whom the group is the only contact she has with the outside world.

But when one of their own is murdered and related events occur, Lynnette realizes the paranoia she has had for years about someone trying to kill them hasn’t been as crazy as the rest of them thought. It’s up to her to figure out who’s behind this lashing out at the final girls before none are left standing after the second go-round.

Hendrix pays homage to the horror movies of the 80s and 90s with some fun touches (each of the chapter titles is a spoof on a horror movie title). There are also some surprising notes of emotion sprinkled throughout.

The thing is, though, for a book about a support group, there wasn’t a lot of time where the whole group was together, and that would’ve been cool. There also was a lot more telling than showing—I equate that to superhero movies when the villain has an overlong monologue about why they’ve wanted to destroy the world for so long.

I read this with my friend Louis, who was worried it would be too gruesome for me (I’m delicate that way), but in the end I think I liked it more than he did. It was a good read but I wanted more.

Book Review: "The Happiness Thief" by Nicole Bokat

Nicole Bokat's The Happiness Thief is both a twisty mystery and an exploration of how guilt and memory can drag us down.

When Natalie was 13 years old she was in a car crash that killed her mother. She has flashbacks to the last seconds before the crash, and she remembers being told it was somehow her fault.

Even in adulthood, the guilt is a constant companion, causing panic attacks and depression. Her stepsister Isabel is a therapist known as The Happiness Guru, and she offers to try and help Natalie move on, as these feelings have ruined her marriage and could jeopardize her relationship with her teenage daughter.

Tagging along with Isabel to a conference in the Cayman Islands, one night they’re involved in a small car accident. Natalie is convinced they hit something—an animal, a person—yet no traces can be found. She can’t help feeling like she’s responsible for tragedy yet again, and this starts triggering memories of the night her mother died all those years ago.

When she returns home, a series of incidents motivate her to start looking into what really happened the night her mother died, and whether anything really happened in the Cayman Islands. Will she find that her memories are true, that she is responsible for her mother’s death? And if not, who was?

There’s a lot that happens in this book so I’m trying to be vague. It’s both a layered mystery and an interesting, well-written story about trying to find a way past guilt and sadness you’ve carried with you for far too long. There are lots of twists—some surprising and some less so—but it’s a satisfying, emotional, and thought-provoking read.

My thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours, Nicole Bokat, and She Writes Press for inviting me on the tour for The Happiness Thief and providing a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Book Review: "Leave the World Behind" by Rumaan Alam

There always seem to be books that get a tremendous amount of hype and critical buzz (and sometimes win major awards), yet when I read them I'm left scratching my head at what I might have missed. How could something appeal to so many and bypass me entirely?

Rumaan Alam's new novel, Leave the World Behind, is the latest to add to that list. It's a National Book Award nominee and it has been praised by numerous publications and critics. I have seen mixed reviews among friends of mine on Bookstagram, so I guess I'm not entirely surprised where I wound up on this book, but I'm still a bit perplexed, puzzled, and even a little frustrated at what the book was about.

Sigh.

Clay and Amanda are planning a vacation just before the end of the summer with their two teenage children, Archie and Rose. They've found a rental house on Airbnb, in a remote part of Long Island, and they look forward to getting away from their lives in New York City. The house seems perfect—it has a pool and a hot tub, and isn't too far from the beach. And when they arrive, it's even better than advertised—the house is well-appointed and the owners seem to have thought of everything.

They start to settle in and enjoy the vacation. Even though the house has wifi, they can't seem to get much of a signal on their phones, but even that doesn't stress them out that much. And then, one night, after the kids have gone to sleep, there is a knock at the door. It completely startles Amanda and Clay. Who could be knocking on the door of this house in the middle of nowhere late at night?

It turns out it's G.H. and Ruth, an elderly couple who happen to own the house they're renting. They're somewhat frantic, especially Ruth, and they bring news of a blackout that has affected New York City. They don't know what caused it, but the city was in such chaos, their first thought was escaping to their second home.

At first, Amanda and Clay are a bit put out. Are these two really who they say they are? What do they expect them to do, as they paid for an entire week? But with the wifi and phones down, no one really knows what is happening in the world. Was it just a blackout in New York City, or is it nationwide? Was this caused by terrorism, natural disaster, something extraterrestrial? Are they safe staying where they are?

The uncertainty starts to get to all of them, and they discover some comfort in togetherness. But as random incidents occur, they grow more worried. What is happening? Are they in danger?

Alam teases out the tension little by little and I had no idea what was going to happen. In the end, however, I still don't have any idea. I'm really not a big fan of ambiguous endings, and that's what I was left with. There was a point when things started to get really bizarre and I just don't know what it all meant.

There's no doubt that Alam is tremendously talented, and I know there are some who loved this book, so I'd encourage you to use your own judgment in deciding whether or not to read Leave the World Behind. It's not quite a thriller or a mystery, but there certainly are mysterious elements.

Book Review: "Someone's Listening" by Seraphina Nova Glass

When you’ve been dedicated to helping people, what happens when you need help? Check out Seraphina Nova Glass' new thriller, Someone's Listening, for perspectives on that question.

Faith Finley is a psychologist who has helped many patients, and now she’s translated that success into books and a popular radio show, “Someone’s Listening.” She’s happily married to Liam, a renowned food writer and restaurant critic, and life is good.

And then one night, everything falls apart. (Doesn't it always?) Suddenly Liam is missing and the police are convinced that Faith knows something, despite all she says. Would he just walk away from their lives, or did someone hurt him? Faith is determined to find the truth even if no one believes her innocence.

Yet as she tries to figure things out, she starts suspecting everyone, and wonders if Liam was hiding something from her. And when someone starts anonymously sending Faith excerpts from her book—pages talking about how to escape your abuser—she realizes that every step she takes toward the truth puts her in more danger. And whom should she trust?

This was a quick read, full of action and drama, and it definitely kept me wondering what was going to happen. I suspect everyone in thrillers so I ultimately wasn’t surprised by the way things tied up, but I wasn’t disappointed. (Literally, a character appears in the book and I'm thinking, "Okay, did you do it?") There definitely were some twists, though!

I’m grateful to be part of the blog tour for this book. NetGalley and Graydon House provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Book Review: "The Dark Corners of the Night" by Meg Gardiner

Fans of creepy crime thrillers, this series is for you!!

A serial killer is targeting Los Angeles families. Smart, ruthless, methodical, the so-called “Midnight Man” kills both husband and wife, but leaves any children physically unharmed but terrorized, left looking at ritualistic symbols and heeding frightening warnings from the man who killed their parents.

Desperate to catch this killer, the LAPD brings in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, including profiler Caitlin Hendrix. The daughter of a former cop, she’s young but tough as nails when it comes to her job. She also bears the physical and emotional scars of past cases, and while her extreme empathic nature makes her good at what she does it also takes its toll on her.

As the killer becomes more and more brash, the discoveries they make about him shock them, particularly Caitlin, and make it both easier and more difficult to stop him. It’s a dangerous battle with unexpected adversaries, and this killer will do all he can to wreak havoc.

Meg Gardiner’s “UNSUB” series is really intense and well-written. This is the third book in the series. They're dark and suspenseful and tremendously well-written. I love Caitlin’s character. Her sensitivity really sets her apart and I love her relationship with Sean, which didn’t get as much coverage in this book as I would’ve liked.

I think this book definitely is setting up one hell of a fourth book. There’s a lot of action and violence in here but it never seems gratuitous. If you love crime novels, pick up this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Book Review: "The Wives" by Tarryn Fisher

Whoa, now that was a crazy ride!!

“Imagining what the future holds proves difficult when factoring in two other women who share your husband.”

Thursday only sees her husband once a week. It’s not an arrangement she likes, but it’s one she has to live with, since Seth has two other wives. She sometimes can’t believe she agreed to this, and at times she wishes she could just have him to herself.

She’s never met either of the other women. She doesn’t even know their names, although Seth shares small tidbits about each from time to time. But when she finds a piece of paper Seth left behind with one of their names on it, she can’t resist. She scours the internet for information about Hannah, and then one day she plans to “bump in” to her, without telling her who she really is.

Seeing Hannah, and talking to her, doesn’t satisfy Thursday’s curiosity: it makes her angrier, more jealous. And when she discovers something about Hannah and Seth’s relationship that alarms her, it presses Thursday to act.

The Wives is tremendously fast-paced and it gets CRAZY. The first half of the book is really excellent and it draws you in completely. I couldn’t stop reading it even though I wasn’t happy with how Tarryn Fisher ultimately resolved things. I'm tough on thrillers so you may be completely or partially surprised with the way things end up. (I'm being pretty vague in my description of the plot because I don't want to ruin any of the twists.)

If you’re looking for a thriller that will hook you from start to finish, one that will leave you at least slightly breathless, The Wives is one for you!!

This book will publish December 30.

Book Review: "Forget You Know Me" by Jessica Strawser

Liza and Molly have been best friends since childhood. Even when Molly was dating, and then married, Daniel, Liza was still a part of their lives, sharing stories of disastrous dates and her real lack of ambition. But when Liza moved from Cincinnati to Chicago for a job, it put a real strain on their friendship, and that strain began working its way into Molly and Daniel's marriage as well.

But one night while Daniel was on business travel, Molly and Liza are determined to remedy their lack of connection. Once Molly's kids are asleep the two settle down to a long Skype chat, complete with wine. For a few minutes, things seem like they used to—and then one of the kids begins crying for Molly. While she attends to her daughter, Liza finds herself staring at the blank computer screen...and then suddenly she sees a masked man, dressed all in black, come into the frame. Liza screams for Molly, tries calling her cell phone, but the intruder closes the computer screen.

Liza is at her wits' end. She is in a panic, constantly trying to reach Molly, and then eventually calling 911 to see if they can make sure everything is okay. But when Molly finally responds—via text, no less—her replies are curt, leaving Liza confused. Suspecting something more complicated is occurring, Liza decides to drive to Cincinnati to see Molly herself, but after driving all night, she is sent away following an angry confrontation that Liza doesn't understand at all.

Meanwhile, Daniel, who returned early from his business trip, doesn't understand why Molly didn't even call him about the intruder, nor can he figure out why Molly would have sent Liza away with such anger. What is she hiding from him? He's curious to know, although he isn't without secrets of his own, secrets which could upend all of their lives.

When Liza returns home and discovers she narrowly avoided a brush with disaster, it sends her into a tailspin when coupled with the apparent dissolution of her and Molly's friendship. She's still determined to find out what Molly is hiding from her, but she also needs to pull her own life together, as everything seems to be spinning out of control.

I had been under the impression that Forget You Know Me was a thriller, but while it has a tension-filled, pulse-pounding start, it becomes an exploration of the stresses, the secrets, and the lies that threaten to tear our relationships apart. It's a book about marriage and friendship, of fear and bravery, of giving voice to the things that threaten to destroy us.

While many of the problems facing the characters become obvious, the mystery of the masked man lingers, although many may figure out his identity. For me, it almost was a distraction once it became apparent that the book wasn't really focused on that incident as much as everyone's problems. At times I felt that the book wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be, and I wondered whether one incident in Liza's life would wind up coming back into the plot as well.

I like the way Jessica Strawser writes, and really enjoyed her last novel, Not That I Could Tell (see my review), which was released earlier this year. I didn't feel that this book was as strong, because the characters aren't all that likable, and because I really didn't know what to expect from the overall story. However, even though it was a tiny bit slow at times, I couldn't stop reading it, because I needed to know where she was going to take the story.

Once you understand this isn't a thriller, you may be able to enjoy the book for its storytelling, and for the twists and turns Strawser throws in. She's definitely a talented writer, one who can take ordinary situations and turn them into drama.

NetGalley and St. Martin's Press provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "An Anonymous Girl" by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The next time you consider signing up for a research study, you might want to think twice—and you will after reading this book!

You're Invited: Seeking women aged 18 to 32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality conducted by a preeminent NYC psychiatrist. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. Call for more details.

Jess is a makeup artist who came to New York dreaming of a career in the theater. She has a lot of secrets she's kept hidden, which has led her to become totally self-reliant, although money is one of the biggest sources of anxiety she has to deal with. When she overhears a client thinking about not showing up for a research study she was supposed to participate in—and it pays $500—Jess decides there's nothing wrong with pretending to fill in for the young woman, since $500 would really help with this month's rent.

Jess figures all she'll need to do is answer some questions, collect her money, and leave. She wasn't expecting the questions to be difficult, like Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt? Describe a time in your life when you cheated, or Have you ever deeply hurt someone you care about? But more than that, she wasn't expecting the psychiatrist conducting the study—whom she never met—to give feedback on her answers, and encourage her to be more honest and more in-depth.

As the sessions continue, and the payoff increases, Jess can't help but wonder what the study really is all about. While she is utterly unsettled when the psychiatrist, whom she finds out is the renowned Dr. Lydia Shields, asks whether Jess would be willing to expand her participation in the study. But when Jess learns that the compensation would be significantly higher, there's no way she can turn Dr. Shields' request down.

Expanding her participation in the study is definitely not what she expected. Dr. Shields starts to tell Jess where to go, how to dress, and whom to meet—and in some cases, that entails striking up a conversation with a specific man. Jess begins feeling uncomfortable, and wonders exactly what Dr. Shields wants to accomplish. More and more, she questions whether she can trust the doctor—and then Jess discovers a disturbing coincidence that she needs to hide from her, or the doctor could destroy her life.

An Anonymous Girl is a pretty wild book, full of twists and turns. You wonder how you might react in the same situation, but at the same time I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at times that Jess could be so clueless. There were definitely some surprises thrown in, but ultimately I had my ideas about how the plot would unfold. I just kept hoping that things wouldn't go completely awry, and I was pleased they didn't.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, whose last book, The Wife Between Us, contained some shockers but didn't quite click for me, definitely kicked it up with An Anonymous Girl. I didn't love some of the characters (and I wondered whether some of this stuff could and does really happen) but the pacing of the book was terrific, and I was hooked from start to finish. I was also glad that the twists they threw in fit with the plot rather than just be included to confuse and shock.

I know this book will be everywhere when it's released in January, because it's the type of book you can't put down, and it definitely will keep you wondering what comes next. Hendricks and Pekkanen mesh well together, and I can't wait for their next book.

NetGalley and St. Martin's Press provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Lullaby Road" by James Anderson

Some books seem tailor-made for sequels. While you're reading them you get the sense that there's so much more to the story, and in some cases, the author leaves you hanging. But some books seem complete when you've finished them, and although you enjoyed spending time with the characters and found the story compelling, you'd never expect a sequel. (Of course, there are other times you dislike a book you couldn't imagine reading a follow-up, but that's another story.)

I really enjoyed reading James Anderson's The Never-Open Desert Diner (see my review) last year. The story of a trucker in the Utah desert whose solitary life is turned upside-down by the appearance of a mysterious woman was tremendously satisfying and even a little quirky, and I loved the characters Anderson created. But I was surprised to see that Anderson had written a sequel, Lullaby Road (not that it stopped me from grabbing it), because I thought Ben's story was told.

Boy, was I wrong.

Ben is still working as a trucker on Route 117, which most of the year is either affected by back-breaking heat or treacherous snow and ice. He's trying to pull his life back together to some semblance of normalcy after he was shaken to the core by tragedy. All he wants to do is make his deliveries, get paid, and survive.

One snowy morning, making his routine stop for diesel before getting underway on his route, the proprietor of the truck stop tells Ben someone left something for him. It's not just "something"—it's a small Hispanic child who refuses to speak, and the child is accompanied by an over-protective dog. A note is pinned to the child which says:

"Please Ben. Bad trouble. My son. Take him today. His name is Juan. Trust you only. Tell No One. Pedro."

Pedro was the tire man at the truck stop, but he seems to have disappeared. No one will give Ben answers; in fact, everyone from the truck stop has disappeared. He can't leave the child alone in the snow, but the last thing Ben needs is a child to worry about, especially one which appears to have a penchant to take off running in an instant. He needs to find Pedro, but he also needs to start his route before weather conditions get too treacherous.

That split-second decision changes everything for Ben. Everything seems out-of-sorts on his route, even the people and customers he knows all seem a bit different. And in the course of the next several days, he'll realize just how much danger is around him, danger that threatens those he knows, as well as him and the child in his care. It's as bleak as the road that lies ahead of him.

Lullaby Road has a lot of twists and turns—some which make sense and some which confuse, so I'm being purposely vague in my plot summary. Ben is used to encountering people who have taken to the desert because they're not interested in social interaction and are on the run from something, but Ben finds a lot more about those he's known only casually and encounters some new personalities along the way. Barely anyone is particularly friendly, and some are downright deadly.

I love the way Anderson tells a story, and I love the hardscrabble characters he has created. I never quite understood why so many people are quick to dislike Ben, except perhaps for incidents from his past, since he doesn't seem much different than the rest of them, and his reactions to the situations he's in seem to be fairly natural, yet many people call him out for his behavior. But beyond that I was fully engrossed in this story, even as it got a little confusing, and ultimately darker than I had anticipated.

I'd definitely recommend reading Anderson's first book before this one, as Lullaby Road refers to things that occurred in, and characters from, that book. But this one is a truly worthy sequel. I'm not sure if another book is in store, but now I'm hoping there is.

NetGalley and Crown Publishing provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "The Woman in the Window" by A.J. Finn

Paranoia, the destroyer
Self-destroyer, wreck your health
Destroy friends, destroy yourself
The time device of self-destruction
Light the fuse and start eruption
—The Kinks, Destroyer

Reading A.J. Finn's new, much-hyped thriller, The Woman in the Window, I had lots of paranoia-related songs running through my head (including Garbage's I Think I'm Paranoid and the line from Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta which goes, "Paranoia, paranoia, everybody's coming to get me..."), but I felt the above lyrics by The Kinks described this book's protagonist perfectly.

Anna Fox used to be a successful child psychologist. She used to have her life together—marriage, family, career—but 11 months ago, a trauma left her with agoraphobia, so she's been unable to step outside of her New York City home all this time. She spends her days watching black and white movies, playing chess and learning French online, drinking too much while ignoring or doubling up on her meds, and counseling others like her in an online forum for people with agoraphobia.

She also has a bit of a photography habit, which stems mostly from her interest in watching what is going on outside her home, particularly in the homes of her neighbors. She's seen some pretty interesting things, including the recent afternoon activities of Mrs. Miller, who moved in across the street with her husband.

"Watching is like nature photography: You don't interfere with the wildlife."

When a new family, the Russells, move in directly across the park from her, Anna is quickly transfixed by them. They seem almost perfect—husband, wife, teenage son. She meets the son first and then the wife, and is amazed at how much she enjoys the wife's company. And then one night, as she watches through their windows, Anna sees something her eyes cannot believe. She knows it's something horrible, something she must alert the police about, and even provide help herself.

And that's the moment when everything turns upside down. Did Anna actually see anything, or was it a hallucination from her medicine or the old movies she has seen over and over again? What is she to believe, her eyes or those who tell her what her eyes have or haven't seen? What, and who, is real? Does she have anyone or anything to fear?

This is a taut thriller that definitely hooked me from the get-go. I had a lot of questions as I read, and wondered how Finn was going to bring everything together. While I felt like the book borrowed a lot from other thrillers and even some of the old movies Anna watched, the suspense definitely gets under your skin, and you absolutely want to fly through the book to see what the truth really is. Throughout most of the book, Anna feels like an old woman, but that's because of her condition. I had to keep reminding myself how old she really was.

I felt like the whole story took a little too much time to play out—there were only so many times I could handle Anna's drunken binges, her not being believed by those she trusted, and her intense paranoia, which pushed everyone away. But there are some great twists here, some I didn't quite see coming and one I suspected (which disappointed me), and much like many thrillers and crime novels, the perpetrator spends far too much time explaining themselves and their motivations.

I read a lot of thrillers so I tend to be really cynical about them. This is a good one, and I'd imagine this one is going to have many people eagerly turning the pages and staying up late because they can't get enough!