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4 1/2 stars A change for historical fiction author Paula McLain. She goes deep and dark with this thriller to tell the story of a damaged police detective who goes home again to Mendocino to heal and instead gets pulled into the disappearance of a young girl and possibly others in 1993. Anna knows her stuff as she usually deals with runaways in San Francisco but coming back home forces her to deal with her past and her future. While the subject matter of child kidnapping and abuse is difficult to read, the author handles it in a way that is heartfelt and compassionate. Paula McLain is a welcome addition to the growing market of thrillers with deeper characters with flaws and important social issues. 4 1/2 stars 
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Sisters are special. They protect each other and share secrets. They can also take over. Rose and Fern had a rocky childhood living with a chaotic single mom with an addiction and an unpredictable home life. Rose always took care of Fern who was a little different than other kids (on the spectrum). Now that they are adults Rose is still taking care of Fern, maybe a little too much. But then Fern meets someone who cuts into Rose's hold on her life. Twists and turns lead us back and forth between the sisters and their past until we question who is telling the real story. I loved the way the author chose to highlight the positive aspects of Fern's sensory difficulties and the ways the library staff embraced those differences and spotlighted all of her skills. A dark tale with a silver lining this is a thriller with heart. Fans of ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE and ELLIE AND THE HARPMAKER as well as the usual lineup of great thrillers will enjoy this book. 4 stars  What would you do to protect your child? Her life goes off the rails when her baby is kidnapped and to get him back she must commit a crime. This is just the start of her fall down the rabbit hole and taking care of her husband's law partner is just the beginning. Bree has some help in a P.I and an attorney who also have a stake in the game. The clock is ticking, they are dealing with a madwoman and it is a situation that would turn any mother's blood cold. This taunt thriller is just another example of Joshilyn Jackson's mastery of the genre. Seemingly average women forced to take matters into their own hands to protect their family. 4 wild ride stars  Maybe it was the fact that Joe hasn't changed much from his former evil self. Maybe it was that his newest conquest was a librarian or that the librarian has a teenage daughter. The book gave me a constant sense of the heebie jeebies and I am still looking over my shoulder in public. Anyone who has followed the hit show or her first book knows that the former bookseller from New York with an obsession problem knows what they are in for with this latest installment. It amazes me that his victim's creep radar doesn't register like their friend's radars always do. Fun, satisfying scare yourself silly book even if you know you would never fall for it (we hope). 3 1/2 stars unless you love the show and then it will be a 5 for you.  Two boys running from a horrible mistake head to the woods of Northern Wisconsin. With very little in the way of survival gear and no real plan they try to keep one step ahead of what they fear is the law right behind them. Their journey begins on bikes and then by raft on what they see is a river to freedom but Mother Nature has some nasty surprises for them and the two search parties that are also following trying to save them from themselves. This high adventure story is full of characters we come to care about in their journey to redemption. It is also a classic story of childhood friendship and trust. A modern day Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer meets the natural beauty of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING meets the high adrenaline adventure of Peter Heller's THE RIVER. 4 stars  As you jump into the first few chapters a few things make you uneasy - whirlwind romances with good looking men who happen to be really rich don't happen often, you don't want a bachelorette party but your fiancee insists on it picking the place and paying for the whole thing ,and you do something dumb and lie about it. Everything that happens to Abigail after that is at breakneck speed and you feel like a witness to a train wreck powerless to do anything but keep reading as fast as you can. There are good guys out there but how do you find them or know who to trust. Peter Swanson excels in this type of stalker thriller and prepare to read it in one sitting. Spoiler -this is not a good choice for newlyweds or those who about to become newlyweds. 4 stars  L.A. is the land of sunshine and shady characters but it takes an Australian author to find these unlikely partners and throw them in an out of control situation. Blair is a former surgeon who shot her neighbor and ended up in prison. Now out, she works at a convenience store trying to keep her life clean and off the radar so she can win back the son she gave up in prison. Jessica is the cop who put her away and somehow ends up being given a mansion next door to where Blair's son lives. Sneak, once Blair's savior in prison, now needs a big favor and help finding her missing daughter. The deeper they dig into Dayly's disappearance the more trouble they get into. Keeping one step ahead of her parole officer is the easy part. Keeping ahead of bad cops and gang bosses is proving more difficult. Candice Fox excels at making us care about her misfit characters with checkered pasts and hearts of gold. I was just left with one question - who got custody of Hugh Jackman the gopher? 4 stars  On a lonely point off the Cornish coast stands a lighthouse. It is cut off of the mainland surrounded by an angry sea and it is home to three lamplighters. Day in, day out these men live together in close quarters until a boat comes bearing their replacements. One day the boat comes and there is no one at the lighthouse. The lives of the three women the men who disappeared left behind were changed forever. In alternating chapters we see what happened at the lighthouse and what happened with the wives and girlfriends in the twenty years the men have been gone without a trace. Now, all the secrets and feelings are coming up to the surface because a writer has come around looking for answers. This book ,based on a real life mystery ,takes a while for the storm to build up and then it unleashes a hurricane of emotions. 3 1/2 stars  Freya can't get past her sister's suicide so when she attends a wedding near where her sister died and sees what she thinks is a portrait of her sister in the estate house - she can't let go. She leaves her job and her dad and heads back to Bryne Hall where she meets the strange reclusive owner and her artist son. Between Freya's obsession with the house and her sister's connection to it and Cory's obsession with Freya the story takes a deep, dark turn. Gothic with a capitol "G", this is a moody thriller that will remind readers of the book and tv show "YOU". 3 1/2 stars  These days we all need to stop what we are doing and solve a mystery at Windsor Castle with the Queen. She is still the stoic, regal woman who looks like someones grandmother but she is so much more than that which is what her new personal assistant Rozie is about to find out. When a murder occurs at one of the Queen's famous "dine & sleep" events in her beloved Windsor does the Queen leave it to the police and scurry back to the safety of Buckingham Palace? Quite the contrary as she and Rozie hunt down their own leads and solve things behind the scenes on their own. Where MI5 and others fail to find the clues the Queen quietly and deliberately helps them along. If you binge watch The Crown and find the royals a fascinating study you will adore this clever new series. The author captures the grace, style and dry wit of the Royal Family brilliantly and there is a smashing mystery to boot. 4 fun stars  |
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