Don’t Look Back

 Fiction by Gregg Hurwitz

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was an exciting thrill ride of a story about a woman who goes on a trip to Mexico and ends up in a terrifying situation. It was impossible to put down!

I also read by this author: You're Next

The Reaping

 Fiction by Jess Louery

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This the second book by this author featuring cold case detective Evangeline "Van" Reed and investigator Harry Steinbeck and it is as creepily exciting as the first. (see below for #1)

This case takes the duo to a small insular town in rural Minnesota called Alku, where everybody is related to everybody else and the main industry is a secure mental hospital for the criminally insane. Like I said, creepy....

This was an exciting story with some surprises and good characters. The conclusion did stretch plausibility a bit, but not too much. 

I also read by this author: The Taken Ones

The Kaiju Preservation Society

 Fiction by John Scalzi

https://www.audible.com

In early 2020 Jamie Gray is abruptly fired from his job just before the pandemic shutdown and is forced to do food delivery since no one else is hiring. Then he gets a chance to work for a mysterious organization called KPS, the eponymous "Kaiju Preservation Society." But what is a Kaiju, and how are they being preserved? The answers are surprising!

This was a fun story and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I also listened to recently by this author: The Interdependency Trilogy

I also listened to recently from Audible Originals: The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

The Nothing Man

Fiction by Catherine Ryan Howard 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

"The Nothing Man" is the name given by the Irish press to a serial killer who foils police by leaving no traces of himself behind. Although he stopped killing over fifteen years ago, people still remember that name, so when a new book comes out with that title, it draws a lot of attention.

But it especially draws the attention of the Nothing Man himself, an old guy named Jim who works as a department store security guard and who is secretly pleased with himself for getting away with his crimes. Jim becomes obsessed with the book and its author, Eve Black, a woman whose whole family he had killed. He is desperate to know what Eve remembers about the night of the murders, although she had been only twelve at the time and was hiding in a bathroom.

This was an exciting premise and a great thriller story.

I also read recently by this author: The Liar's Girl

The Golden Hour

Fiction by Beatriz Williams

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1943 Lulu Thorpe travels to war-torn England from Nassau, the Bahamas, with one goal in mind: to get her husband back. Benedict Thorpe had been working undercover for the British government and had been captured by the Germans.

Lulu had met and married Benedict during her two years working as a magazine journalist in Nassau. She was specifically covering the society pages and focusing on the serving governor of the island: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who of course were formerly King Edward VIII of England and the divorcee Wallis Simpson. Lulu comes to England with inside information about the semi-royal couple that she hopes to leverage into her husband's rescue if possible. Her other idea is to contact Benedict's older sister for help. 

The story then goes back in time in two directions: to Lulu's 1941 arrival in Nassau, and to a Swiss asylum at the turn of the century where Benedict's parents met. It takes a rather convoluted journey through those timelines and finally returns to 1943, where Lulu is still holding out hope to get Benedict back.

This was a long book and it was somewhat confusing. I almost gave up in the middle. All in all it was a good story worth reading, but I think it might have been better if organized differently.

I also read by this author: The Summer Wives

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

 Fiction by Marie Benedict

https://www.audible.com

In 1926, mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days, sparking a huge scandal, only to return unharmed without much public explanation. This is a historical fact, but what actually happened to Mrs. Christie during that time is a mystery. 

In this book, author Marie Benedict puts forth her ideas about what really happened during those eleven days. It's pretty good.

I also read by this author: The Personal Librarian

Hidden River

 Fiction by Adrian McKitry

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I have read two books by this author that I loved, but then I have also read some that I didn't like at all. The last one I read (see below) made me sorry I had spent the time on it, so when this one started getting really bad I quit reading.

I also read recently by this author: Fifty Grand

Come to the Window

 Fiction by Howard Norman

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

It's 1918 in Nova Scotia. "Come to the window," says Elizabeth Frame to her new husband, as she stands in the moonlight looking from their honeymoon hotel room. She has seen a whale beach itself and finds the sight moving, but her husband doesn't come to look at it. So... she shoots him in the head.

Wait, what?

Yes, this is a weird book. I didn't really like it. 

Displacement

 Fiction by Justin Pick

https://www.amazon.com

This book is set in 1998; technically, I'd say that's historical fiction, although it pains me to admit it.

In the story an eighteen-year-old boy called Liam Donohue goes to the police station to confess murder, and insists on telling a long convoluted story about it. A long-suffering detective listens to the whole thing with measured skepticism. 

It's hard to tell what's real and what is imagined in Liam's recollections, so the detective isn't wrong to suspect his veracity. The reader also cannot be sure of the truth, and indeed the plot stretches believability quite a bit. The ending is definitely a surprise.

It was a pretty good story but I didn't love it.

The Taken Ones

 Amazon Prime Kindle Fiction by Jess Lourey

https://www.amazon.com

This is the first book in the "Steinbeck and Reed" series and it's definitely hooked me to read the next one.

Detective Evangeline "Van" Reed works in the cold case division of the Minnesota BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) and volunteers at the animal shelter in her spare time. Van is a former Minneapolis police officer who operates strongly on hunches, many of which are uncannily correct. In this story she is assigned to reopen the case of "The Taken Ones," a pair of little girls who disappeared in the woods of suburban Minneapolis in 1980. She enlists the help of colleague Harry Steinbeck, who is a by-the-book man opposite her in temperament. Surprisingly, they work well together.

This was an exciting mystery with good characters and several surprises.

I also read recently (FREE!) from Amazon Prime Kindle: Don't Let Her Stay

The Snakes

 Fiction by Sadie Jones

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Bea Adamson and her husband Dan are a young married couple who decide to leave their home in England for a few months to travel in Europe, subletting their flat and using their small savings. The plan is for Bea (who loves her job) to take a leave of absence and for Dan (who loathes his job) to quit and find a new job when they return. 

But first they stop in France to see the hotel that Bea's brother Alex is running, and right away there is a problem. The hotel is still "under renovation," and Alex is clearly incapable of managing it. It's literally just a property that Alex's father has purchased to keep Alex occupied. And so Dan begins to realize the extent of his wife's family's wealth: they are the kind of rich people who can buy a hotel in France for their son to play around with. 

The fact of the Adamson's extreme wealth boggles Dan's mind and puts Bea on the defensive. She has always refused to accept any money from her father, whom she sees at best as corrupt (and at worst as a criminal), and maintains that her family's financial status has nothing to do with herself and Dan. Still the fact that the money exists begins to drive a wedge between the two of them. And then tragedy strikes.

This was an interesting story with great characters that gives the reader a lot to think about. The ending was terrible, however.

Circle of Days

 Fiction by Ken Follett

https://www.audible.com

Ken Follet began writing about British history with the book The Pillars of the Earth, (set in 12th century) and continued in the rest of the Kingsbridge series to explore several other eras. Now he's going WAY back, to the time of Stonehenge.

It is a testament to this author's genius that he can write a story about primitive humans and make the characters just as compelling and real as modern people. This book is amazingly good.

I also read recently by this author: The Armor of Light

The Liar's Girl

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Howard

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this novel, a young woman is killed by the Grand Canal in Dublin in the same manner as five women had been similarly murdered ten years ago. But Will Hurley, the man convicted of those crimes, is still locked in the city's Central Psychiatric Hospital. Is this a copycat crime? Or was Will innocent all along?

Will's ex-girlfriend Allison has been living in the Netherlands since his arrest and conviction, trying to forget she had ever known him. But then the Garda call her back to Ireland to help with the case, and she is swept up again...

This was a very exciting story with a big twist at the end!

I also read recently by this author: Run Time

Corrupted

 Fiction by Lisa Scottoline

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In this story, defense lawyer Bennie Rosato takes on a case, pro bono, that is nearly sure to lose because she feels bad for the defendant. This is not how she usually operates.

Twenty-five year-old Jason Lefkavik is accused of murdering his lifelong nemesis in a deserted alley after a very public bar fight. His defense (I just woke up with a knife in my hand and he was already dead!) is very weak and the evidence against him is strong. But Bennie feels like she failed Jason when he was a juvenile offender thirteen years before and is determined to help.

This was a good legal thriller with a surprise ending.

I also read recently by this author: The Truth About the Devlins

I'm Not Done With You Yet

 Fiction by Jesse Q. Sutanto

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is an interesting story about an obsessive friendship between Thalia and Jane. Or at least, it's obsessive on Jane's part; even though the two women haven't seen each other for nearly ten years --since they took creative writing together at Oxford-- Jane is still missing Thalia. So when she realizes that Thalia will be a thriller writer's convention in New Your City, Jane is determined to go. 

This was an exciting thriller with several surprises.

I also read recently by this author: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice For Murderers

The Need

 Fiction by Helen Phillips

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Molly is a mother of two young children and a paleobotanist, and she's having trouble juggling both roles but still mostly managing. Then her husband has to go away for a week and she hears an intruder in the house one evening. Or is she imagining it?

The beginning of this story was good and grabbed my attention. I was sometimes not sure what was real and what was not. The plot was interesting but also very strange. I did not like the ending at all, but the whole thing was certainly thought-provoking. It would be fun to discuss in a book club.

Don't Let Her Stay

 Amazon Prime Kindle Fiction by Nicola Sanders

https://www.amazon.com

Joanne and her husband Richard are getting settled in their new house with their new baby Evie when Richard's grown daughter Chloe comes to stay. Chloe acts super sweet in front of her father, but when he is not looking she is perfectly hateful towards Joanne. Still Chloe is allowed to stay and even babysit Evie, which the reader can see is obviously a terrible idea.

This book gave me such a case of "Oh-No-I-Can't-Look-Syndrome" ** that I seriously had to skip the whole middle. Joanne could definitely have put her foot down and stopped the whole thing. The end was an interesting twist, but the book was mostly painful to read.

I also read recently (FREE!) from Amazon Prime Kindle: Please Don't Lie

**Oh-No-I-Can't-Look Syndrome

(see  The Truth About the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline)

That's when you know a main character is making a major error in judgement that's going to have huge and terrible consequences.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

 Fiction by Jesse Q. Sutanto

https://www.audible.com

Vera Wong is an old Chinese lady who runs a teashop and is smarter than almost everyone else. At least, according to her own opinion she is. So when she finds a dead man in her tea shop one morning, she already knows that she will be better at solving the murder case than the police.

This was a fun and lighthearted mystery. It was a little too slow for an audiobook.

I also read by this author: Dial A For Aunties

Run Time

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Howard

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Adele is an Irish actress, but she's trying to make it in Los Angeles after a wrong decision burned her career back on the Emerald Isle. It's not going well in the USA, so when she gets a last minute offer for a low budget horror film back in Ireland, she decides to take it. And she wants to take it quickly, before any rumor of her previous on-set breakdown gets to the new director. But when Adele gets to the remote location, it's more remote than she'd bargained for. Plus the director is giving her a weird vibe...

This was an exciting page-turner of a thriller with several surprises!

I also read recently by this author: 56 Days

Fifty Grand

 Fiction by Adrian McKitry

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This a revenge story, and those kinds of novels can be quite dark. In this book a female detective from Cuba risks everything to try to hunt down and punish her father's killer.

The characters were well-drawn and believable and the story was interesting, but it was just SO dark. And it didn't seem like anyone was satisfied at the end.

I also read recently by this author: The Chain

Misfit

Subtitled: Growing Up Awkward in the 80's
Nonfiction by Gary Gulman

+

https://www.audible.com

This was a fun memoir about a comedian reminiscing about his childhood while recovering from a a major depression.

One thing I really liked about it was how the author recounted exact details of the circumstances and set-up for great punchlines he made over twenty-five years ago. I'm glad to not be the only one who does that!

The Nickel Boys

 Fiction by Colson Whitehead

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book is a fictionalized account based on a real historical place: a juvenile detention facility in Mariana Florida called a "school for boys." This was a terrible place that remained open for over a hundred years for both white and colored boys, separately housed and very badly treated. Interestingly, I read another book on this subject recently, The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. That book involved the ghosts of dead boys telling the story, while this one  took a more realistic approach.

At the beginning of the story, a group of students from a Florida are digging up an archeological site on the grounds of the old school where hundreds of dead boys were apparently buried. The students are also gathering the stories of the boys who survived the place and are now old men.

This was a good story but very sad. It was well written but I can't say it was enjoyable.

I also read by this author: The Underground Railroad

Remarkably Bright Creatures

 Fiction by Shelby Van Pelt

https://www.audible.com

I tried reading this book in print several years ago and couldn't get into it, but I heard people raving about the audio version. I decided to give it a another chance with the slightly different medium.

Interestingly, I liked it much better in the audiobook version. It's a weird premise: the narrator is an octopus, and that's the reason I was hesitant at first. But actually, the octopus is only one of the narrators. There's also Nova, the woman who cleans the aquarium at night where Marcellus the octopus lives, and Cameron, a young man who comes to visit the aquarium while searching for his father.

This turned out to be a fun book.

56 Days

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Howard

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

56 days ago, Ciara met Oliver at the Tesco and struck up a conversation. Today a dead body has been found in an apartment. In between the two events the whole of Ireland has been shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was an exciting story with several twists. I really recommend it!!

I also read recently by this author: The Trap

The Floating Feldmans

 Fiction by Elyssa Friedland

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a fun little story about an extended family taking a cruise together at the behest of the matriarch. The Feldmans love each other, but they don't always like each other, and there is more than one secret threatening to be revealed during the trip.