Dangerous Habits

 Fiction by Susan Hunter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Leah Nash is a small-town reporter who screwed up her chance to be a big-town reporter with her aggressive investigating. Now she's trying to investigate a mystery close to home, and --surprise!-- doing it too aggressively.

This book suffered from both Hell-Bent-Syndrome* and I-Can-No-Longer-Suspend-My-Disbelief-Syndrome.** I didn't love it, but I did want to know what happened at the end...

*Hell-Bent Syndrome

(See also Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie)

This is where the protagonist spends the majority of the book Hell-Bent on solving/getting to the root of whatever the problem of the story is (to the exclusion of everything else in his/her life), while EVERYONE else tells him/her to STOP IT. Many times this path involves the main character getting (or coming perilously close to being) fired, evicted, divorced, disowned, and/or bankrupted, all in pursuit of the elusive TRUTH that he/she is SURE is about to be found.

In real life, this would land our friend the protagonist straight in the looney bin. Think about it: When EVERYONE else's version of reality is the polar opposite of yours, that is called, "You're crazy, dude." (In layman's terms.) But not in the world of the Thriller Novel.

In the Thriller Novel, the sufferer of Hell-Bent syndrome is inexplicably and against all odds proven right in the end, and gets to say "I told you so!" to all the nay-sayers in his/her life who thought he/she was nuts. And then he/she magically recovers everything lost during the downward-spiral portion of the story, like the proverbial country song played backwards. ("You get your wife back, your truck back, your job back...")

**I-Can-No-Longer-Suspend-My-Disbelief-Syndrome: 

(I just thought of this syndrome today, but two books that come to mind to illustrate it are: The Last Lie Told  by Debra Webb, If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harbison, and  The Minders by John Marrs)

This is when the plot twists push the boundaries of believability too far, (such as a long-lost-identical twin showing up at the last minute to take the blame when it had never before been mentioned that the person has a twin) or too often (such as three or four coincidences lining up to reveal the final twist.) You just want to yell out, Oh bull****!

The Woman in the Library

 Fiction by Sulari Gentill

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

"Four people are sitting in Reading Room of the Boston Public Library when they hear a scream. Later it is discovered that a woman was murdered at that moment and the four begin to investigate the crime."

That's the story Australian mystery author Hannah Tigone is writing. She emails Leo, an acquaintance in Boston, for critique and local color. But maybe Leo is a little too interested in murder...

This was an interesting story within a story. I liked the plot but didn't love the characters.

Redemption Road

 Fiction by John Hart

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Thirteen years ago, Gideon Strange's mother was murdered. Today the convicted killer gets out on parole, and fifteen-year-old Gideon plans to exact revenge. 

That's the beginning of this story, but a lot more happens. Is the convicted man, a former policeman, the real killer? Everyone on the police force except Detective Elizabeth Black thinks so. But Elizabeth has her own troubles...

This was a really good story but not as great as the others I've read by this author.

I also read recently by this author: The Hush

But He Spit in My Coffee

Subtitled: A reads-like-fiction memoir of adopting a child with Reactive Attachment Disorder 

Amazon Prime Kindle Nonfiction by Keri Williams

https://www.amazon.com

Keri Williams is a mother who loves her five kids (both adopted and natural children) fiercely. But what can she do when one of the kids is a danger to the other four? This book begins with that dilemma and then takes us back to the beginning of her journey with the children.

This was a really interesting story but also tough to read. I felt so terribly for both Keri and troubled son; they really both seemed trapped into reacting against each other, even though they didn't really want to. A true story, this book offers no easy answers but helps you see what could possibly be done to help other kids in future.

I also read recently (for free!) by Amazon Prime Kindle: Do You Remember?

The Girl With the Louding Voice

 Fiction by Abi Dare.

https://www.audible.com

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old girl in a small Nigerian village who wants to go to school more than anything. However, since her mother died and her father descended into a depression, there has been no money for school fees, or even for rent and food, for Adunni or her two brothers. Then her father insists she become the third wife of an old man who has promised to help the family financially in exchange for her hand. But Adunni's problems don't even end there! 

My sister-in-law recommended this book to me. She said the unusual dialect made the book difficult to read at first, but I found that listening to the story on audible circumvented this problem nicely; the narrator navigated the dialect perfectly. 

This was a very good story!!

Hadley and Grace

 Fiction by Suzanne Redfearn

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Frank Torrelli is a businessman and a wife beater who may also be a crook. Hadley is his wife and Grace is his employee, and they both end up on the run from both him and the FBI.

I loved this book! It’s like the film “Thelma and Louise” without the cliff dive.

I also read recently by this author: Moment in Time

A Killer’s Wife

 Fiction by Victor Methos

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Sixteen years ago Jessica Yardley was a photographer expecting her first child with her husband Eddie Cal, when it was discovered that he was actually a serial killer nicknamed the Dark Casanova. Since then she's been to law school and has become a federal prosecutor, all while her daughter Tara has grown to a teenager and her ex-husband Eddie has sat on death row.

Now there's a copycat killer on the loose and the FBI wants Yardley's help in catching him. Will she jeopardize her current relationship with her boyfriend Wesley, and possibly her daughter's safety as well, to work on this case?

Well, obviously she will, or else there would be no book.

Although some parts of the plot were difficult to believe, in general this was a good-enough mystery/thriller, a solid one-thumb-up. The surprise ending, however, bumped it up to one-and-a-half!

The House in the Cerulean Sea

 Fiction by T.J. Klune

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In the universe of this book, there are children born as magical creatures, such as sprites and gnomes, or even telekinetics and shape-shifters. In order to control both the children and people's fear of them, they are monitored by the government and mostly housed in orphanages. Linus Baker works for the social services agency that oversees such orphanages. He tries to do a good job and help the children, although it is difficult because of all of the agency rules.

Then Linus is sent to a special orphanage with children so magical and special that their very existence is classified. There he has to decide whether the children or the rules are the most important thing, and also if he might risk falling in love.

This was a fun and warm-hearted story.

Do You Remember?

 (Amazon Prime Kindle) Fiction by Freida McFadden

https://www.amazon.com

This story is like an unfunny, dark version of the romantic comedy film "Fifty First Dates." Tess wakes up every morning having forgotten the last seven years of her life, married to Gordon, a man she doesn't recognize. But Gordon is not a fun and goofy Adam Sandler; he just might be keeping Tess a prisoner.....

This was an exiting thriller with some surprises.

I also read recently by this author: The Perfect Son

I also read recently (for free!) from Amazon Prime Kindle: The Second Mrs. Astor

If the Fates Allow

 Audible Original Fiction by Rainbow Rowell

https://www.audible.com

This was a fun little short story about an incredibly anxious woman trying to navigate post-covid life. I loved it but it was just too short.

I also read recently by this author: The Prince and the Troll

I also listened to recently by Audible Originals: Travel by Bullet

The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver

 Fiction by Shawn Inmon

https://www.amazon.com

Fifteen-year-old Thomas Weaver makes a stupid mistake in 1976 that he regrets for the rest of his life. But what if he had a chance to go back and re-live that moment? Could he make things turn out differently?

I love time travel stories. I really do. I especially love stories where people can change their fate (or just try to) by time travel. So when I saw this premise I was completely on board, especially at $3.99 on kindle.

It was really good! And there's a series; hooray!!

The Last Lie Told

 Fiction by Debra Webb

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Charlie Holmes is a murderer sitting on death row, but he's one of the famous ones that get fan mail because of his high-profile victim, a millionaire record executive. That's why he gets attention when he announces that he wants to change his story. He says his girlfriend, the victim's daughter, actually was the killer and he confessed to protect her. 

This smells like bull to everyone, but will certainly sell newspapers and generate legal fees, so his lawyer runs with it. Now investigator Finley O'Sullivan is assigned to find out what the real truth is. She works for the lawyer representing the victim's family, and therefore his daughters and wife.

This was an exciting story that kept you guessing; however it really pushed the boundary of believability to me. I wasn't really satisfied with the solution and the character's motivations. Still, it mostly held my attention. It's the beginning of a series featuring Finely O' Sullivan.