Tag Archive for: thriller thursday

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Younger Wife & The Secretary

June 2, 2022/16 Comments/by Sharon

Welcome back to another edition of Thriller Thursday with Sharon. 😀 I hope everyone is doing well and getting in some good reading time. This week I am reviewing Sally Hepworth’s, The Younger Wife and Britney King’s, The Secretary.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Younger Wife & The Secretary

The Younger Wife Goodreads

Author: Sally Hepworth

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Sally Hepworth’s newest book, The Younger Wife, is a domestic thriller that follows the dysfunctional Aston family. Stephen Aston is a 63-year-old heart surgeon who is engaged to 34-year-old interior designer Heather. The only problem is that Stephen is still married to Pam, who is in a nursing home and suffers from dementia. Stephen plans on divorcing Pam so he can marry Heather, although Stephen says that the divorce is on paper only, that Pam will always be a part of his family. Stephen’s two daughters, 37-year-old Tully and 35-year-old Rachel, are not too happy with this arrangement and as family secrets start to unravel, they are determined to find out who their father really is.

That synopsis sounds more sinister than the book really is. While this was not a heart thumping read, it was a great mystery with interesting and relatable characters. The story opens with Stephen and Heather’s wedding. The whole family is there including Pam. After the ceremony is over, they all go into the back of the church to sign the registry and it is there that someone is hurt. We do not know who is hurt, how bad or who did it. All we know is there was a scream and then the pastor comes out to ask if there is a doctor in the house and the pastor has blood on her. Then the story jumps back in time and progresses forward and is told through the POV of Tully, Rachel, and Heather. I have to say after that opening chapter, I had so many questions and was already speculating on what I thought happened.

Each of the three main characters are flawed and have secrets, which to me made them all the more interesting. I also loved the growth they all had throughout the book.

Tully is married and has two small sons. Not only has her husband lost a substantial amount of money in an investment, but Tully is also a kleptomaniac. I had a lot of sympathy for her because she felt there was no one she could talk to.

Rachel was my favorite character. After an incident that happened when she was sixteen, Rachel has given up on men, that is until she hires a new delivery guy for her bakery business, named Darcy. Darcy is able to finally break down the walls that Rachel has put up.

Heather was a character I thought I was going to hate, but actually ended up liking. Heather comes from an abusive childhood and has done everything she can to put all that behind her and make a life for herself. During her chapters we get to see a different side of Stephen and it is not a good side.

I really connected with Rachel and Tully as I watched their interactions with their mother who, due to dementia, didn’t know who they were most of the time. I could relate to them, as I too lost my mom to dementia a couple of years ago and the last few months were the toughest when she would forget who we were or where she was.

It is at the end of the book that we finally find out what happened at the wedding, and I have to say after reading all that leads up to the end, I was quite happy with what happened. If you like domestic thrillers about dysfunctional families with lots of secrets, then Sally Hepworth’s The Younger Wife is the book for you. 4 stars

The Secretary: A Psychological Thriller Goodreads

Author: Britney King

Publication Date: January 20, 2022

Publisher: Hot Banana Press

When I read the synopsis for Britney King’s new book The Secretary I was immediately intrigued. What murder does the protagonist Gillian have to cover up? I couldn’t wait to find out. But while I did enjoy this book, it was not what I was expecting at all. This was one weird and twisted book.

Gillian Martin wants to be a writer and is currently working as a Doordash delivery person, but she can hardly make ends meet. When she lands a job at Shergar, a medical research company, Gillian does not realize that her life is about to change, and not for the better.

The book is told from the POV of Gillian. I did have a lot of sympathy for Gillian because so many bad things happened in her life. She was living paycheck to paycheck, one day she was robbed by a bunch of teenagers, her father died of a sudden heart attack the day before her interview at Shergar, and there was a lot of family drama with her mother and sister. But even though I had sympathy for Gillian, I also wanted to shake her and tell her to wise up because she made a lot of bad decisions. Her boss, Ellis Harrison, left her a note on her desk “Will you have dinner with me?” “Check yes or no” and even though Gillian has a boyfriend who is overseas doing mission work for their church, she checks yes. Dinner leads to a more intimate relationship with her boss. There was also an occasion when her supervisor tells Gillian that Gillian needs to have her wisdom teeth out because they did not get a lot of participants to sign up for the procedure that would include some of the medical research the company is doing. I am sorry but heck no! No way would I do that.

We also get a few chapters from “Helper 256”. We do not know who this person is, but boy did these chapters give me the chills. Don’t let the name Helper fool you. The Helpers are not there to help you; they are there to help the company clean up anything that may have gone wrong. That could be anything from eliminating a threat to cleaning up a murder.

There is not a lot I can say without giving anything away, except that this book had a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I had no idea where this book was going and right near the end there was a twist that I totally did not see coming. There were also a few spots in the book that made me cringe, the wisdom teeth extraction being one of them.

If you are looking for a fast, weird, and twisted read, that features a sympathetic protagonist who makes questionable decisions, then be sure to check out Britney King’s The Secretary. 3 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Where They Wait & All These Bodies

May 19, 2022/10 Comments/by Sharon

Hi everyone. Welcome to another edition of Thriller Thursday with Sharon. 😀 This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Scott Carson’s, Where The Wait and Kendare Blake’s, All These Bodies. Both of these books were more on the side of Supernatural Thrillers, and I really enjoyed them.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Where They Wait & All These Bodies

Where They Wait Goodreads

Author: Scott Carson

Publication Date: October 26, 2021

Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books

I read Scott Carson’s debut thriller The Chill a couple of years ago and while I liked it, it didn’t knock my socks off. But I was still eager to read his newest book While They Wait, and I am very happy to report that this book exceeded my expectations and I’m already looking forward to his next book.

Nick Bishop is a war correspondent who has recently been laid off from the newspaper he works for. Nick gets a call from his longtime friend who tells him that there is a job waiting for him to write a profile for a new mindfulness App called “Clarity” if he wants it. Nick needs the money, so he heads back to his hometown in Maine. Nick uses the App and at first it seems like just a retread of Apps already out there, with relaxing white noises and guided meditation. But then there are the “sleep songs” with a woman’s hauntingly beautiful voice, but really disturbing lyrics. After listening to the sleep songs, Nick starts having very vivid nightmares that even start to affect him when he is awake. Nick soon learns that the profile he was hired to write is just a ruse and it is Nick that the creator of Clarity, Bryce Lermond, really wanted. Though he has no memory of it, Nick is the only person still alive out of twenty people who have heard these songs.

I don’t even know how to explain what I loved about this book without giving away any spoilers. This book has a creep factor of ten! When I first started reading, all I could think of was “Well remind me not to download any relaxing apps.” LOL. And then the more I got into the book and the creepy factor increased, I was ready to delete any and all apps on my phone, relaxation or not. Hahaha.

Scott Carson did a great job of bringing all the characters to life. All of the characters flowed so well together. I also really got a kick out of how Carson used the Northeast accent in his writing. I live in Massachusetts, which is only a couple of hours from Maine, and I visit there often. We like to drop our R’s, so ‘car’ becomes ‘cah’, things like that. So I had no problem when the locals were speaking in the book, but some not used to it may have a bit of a hard time understanding what was written.

As well as being a creepy thriller, Where They Wait is also a supernatural tale. There are ghosts that haunt Nick while he is asleep and awake and there is also mind and memory manipulation going on, which just added to the creepiness. 3 ½ stars

All These Bodies Goodreads

Author: Kendare Blake

Publication Date: September 21, 2021

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

I have had Kendare Blake’s newest book, All These Bodies, on my to read list since last August. I really enjoyed her Three Dark Crowns series but kept putting off reading this book in favor of newer and more anticipated books that I wanted to read. I am really glad I finally picked this up and read it because I really liked it.

In 1958 a string of murders plagued the Midwest. All of the victims had the blood drained from their bodies, but there was never any blood found at the murder scenes. These murders became known as the “Bloodless Murders.” In a small town in Minnesota, the Carson family are the latest victims in the bloodless murders, only this time a suspect is found at the murder scene. Fifteen-year-old Marie Catherine Hale is found standing in the middle of the Carson’s living room and she is soaked from head to toe in their blood.

Seventeen-year-old Michael Jenson, the local sheriff’s son, wants to be a journalist, but he never thought that his first assignment would be the biggest story in the country or that he would be pulled into the bloodless murders investigation. But that is just what happens when Marie decides that she will confess and tell everything, but only to Michael. And what a story she tells.

This book is told from the narrative of Michael Jenson. While he is excited at first to have this opportunity, he soon realizes that he is in over his head. Not only due to the information that Marie is telling him, but also because Michael is starting to have feelings for Marie, and he knows that once she is done telling him her story, she is going to be brought to Nebraska to face charges there and will most certainly be put to death. I really liked Michael. He was an easy character to get behind. He was just an all-around good kid who was trying to make sense of the story he was being told, as well as his feelings for Marie. I also liked that Michael had a great support system in both his parents and his best friend. They were there for him when he needed them and stuck by him no matter what.

I also loved the character of Marie Catherine Hale. She was such a complex character. At times she seemed like the child she was and other times she came across as more mature. She was also a very unreliable character. There were times I was not sure if what she was saying was true or not.

All These Bodies may not be for the weak stomached, as there are a few squeamish moments such as when Marie was telling about why there was no blood at the murder scenes, vampires, and drinking of the blood. I did get a bit sad at the end of the book. I was hoping it would have ended differently, but at the same time, I thought it was a satisfying ending, though I did have a question or two. 3 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Night Shift & Beneath Devil’s Bridge

May 5, 2022/18 Comments/by Sharon

Sharon is back with Thriller Thursday! Sorry it has been a while since I posted my Thriller Thursday reviews, but life just got in the way. But all is good and back on track now. 🙂 This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Alex Finaly’s, The Night Shift and Loreth Anne White’s, Beneath Devil’s Bridge. I loved both of these books. They both involve relooking at old murder cases and figuring out if the original suspect was the correct one. I love this concept in thrillers because it always makes me put on my detective hat. LOL!

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Night Shift & Beneath Devil’s Bridge

The Night Shift Goodreads

Author: Alex Finlay

Publication Date: March 1, 2022

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Alex Finlay’s latest book The Night Shift, was everything I was hoping it would be. This was an edge of my seat thriller, that kept me guessing until the very end. It was also a trip down memory lane for me in regard to the Blockbuster Video store. Oh, the memories of the days of renting VHS tapes!

On New Year’s Eve in 1999, four teenage girls were attacked at a Blockbuster Video store in Linden, New Jersey. The only survivor was Ella. The police only had one suspect (Vince Whitaker), but before they could gather enough evidence to charge him, he disappeared and has not been seen since. It is now fifteen years later and in the same town, four teenage girls were attacked at an ice cream store. The only survivor of this attack was Jesse. Ella is now a therapist and has been called to talk to Jesse and see if she can get any information on who attacked them. The only thing Jesse can remember is that the killer whispered to her “Goodnight, pretty girl.” These are the same words the killer whispered to Ella fifteen years ago. Has the original suspect resurfaced after all this time, and if so why? Or is there a copycat on the loose?

The story is told from the POVs of Ella, Sarah Keller and Vince’s younger brother, Chris. All three of these characters will intercept as they each search for the truth, and their lives will be changed forever when the truth is finally revealed.

I really liked Ella. She was a damaged character, how could she not be with what she went through. But she is also a tough and determined character. She has formed a bond with Jesse and wants to do whatever she can to help her. I also had a lot of sympathy for Ella. The current murders have brought back memories of the night she was attacked. Chris never believed that Vince was the killer in the 1999 murders. He and Ella team up when a mysterious vlogger, who Chris believes is Vince, has turned up in New Jersey.

Those of you who read Alex Finlay’s Every Last Fear, will remember FBI Agent Sarah Keller. I loved Sarah in both books. In this book Sarah has teamed up with local detective, Atticus Singh (yes he was named after the character from To Kill a Mockingbird and I loved every time this was referenced), and they are tasked with tracking down Vince Whitaker to see if he has resurfaced. During their investigation they discover that there were a lot of inconsistencies in the original investigation that pertained to evidence that pointed to Vince as the killer. I loved both of their determination to get to the truth.

I cannot really say what happens in this book, because anything I say will just spoil things. I will say though that The Night Shift is full of twists and turns and by the end of the book I was on the edge of my seat. 4 stars

Beneath Devil's Bridge Goodreads

Author: Loreth Anne White

Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Publisher: Montlake

I have had Loreth Anne White’s Beneath Devil’s Bridge on my to read list since last May and now that I have finally gotten around to reading it, I am kicking myself for not picking it up sooner.

In 1997, 14-year-old Leena Rai was brutally murdered. Respected family man and guidance counselor, Clayton Jay Pelley confessed to the murder. Rachel Walczak was the detective who investigated the case, and even though there were a lot of loose ends, when Clayton confessed, the case was closed. Now in 2021, True Crime Podcaster Trinity Scott’s new podcast “It’s Criminal” is focusing on Leena Rai’s murder. In a series of exclusive interviews, Clayton is ready to tell what happened that night. But no one expects it when Clayton says he did not kill Leena. Is Clayton lying now? Or was he lying then? And if he didn’t kill Leena, then the actual killer is still roaming free. As Clayton reveals more about what happened that night, it becomes clear that a lot of people in Twin Falls are keeping secrets.

I love how this story was presented from two different POV’s and timelines. From Rachel’s POV we get both timelines. In 1997 we get to follow Rachel as she investigates Leena’s murder and in the present we follow her as she tries to make sense of why Clayton would now recant his confession and the consequences this has on her original investigation and the loose ends that were never followed-up on. From Trinity’s POV, we follow her as she tries to interview everyone who was connected to the original investigation, as well as her interview with Clayton.

I thought all the characters in this book were very well written. All of the characters had flaws and secrets they were hiding, from the teenagers that were classmates of Leena’s to Rachel and even Trinity. I really cannot say what any of the secrets were, as that would just spoil things. I will say I kept thinking I had things figured out, but then a secret would be revealed that would push me in a different direction.

I also loved how Loreth Anne White was able to bring Leena to life. From both timelines we were able to get to know Leena through interviews that were done with her family and peers. I felt such sadness for Leena. She was an unpopular girl that was just trying to fit in. She was also a talented girl with dreams and wanted to leave her mark on the world.

Beneath Devil’s Bridge starts off with a bang with the murder of Leena and does not stop. It is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. The only real issue I had with this book is that there were a lot of secondary characters to keep track of and I got a bit confused on who was who. But other than that, I would definitely recommend Loreth Anne White’s Beneath Devil’s Bridge. 4 stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Overnight Guest & Her Last Goodbye

April 7, 2022/14 Comments/by Sharon

Hi everyone! Welcome to another installment of Sharon’s Thriller Thursday 🙂 I hope you all are doing well. No complaints on my end, I have been reading a lot of great books lately. Today I would like to share my thoughts on two great mysteries I have read. The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf and Her Last Goodbye by Rick Mofina. If you like mysteries, then I definitely recommend these books.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Overnight Guest & Her Last Goodbye

The Overnight Guest Goodreads

Author: Heather Gudenkauf

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

Publisher: Park Row

The Overnight Guest is my first read by Heather Gudenkauf. The eerie cover and the synopsis drew me in and I am so glad it did because I was hooked from beginning to end.

Wylie Lark is a true crime writer who is staying in an isolated farmhouse in a small town in Iowa to finish her latest book. Her book is about the people that were murdered twenty years ago in that very same farmhouse and the young girl that disappeared without a trace. With a snow and ice storm hammering down, Wylie finds herself trapped in the house haunted by its secrets as well as her own. When Wylie finds a child lying in the snow in the yard, she brings him into the house for warmth and safety, but Wylie soon learns that with this child comes danger.

This book is told in a dual timeline. The timeline in the present centers around Wylie. I loved the eeriness this timeline brought to the book. Gudenkauf’s writing of the snow and ice storm actually made me cold and I could just visualize everything I was reading. We get a little back story on Wylie in this timeline, she is divorced and is estranged from her teenage son. She comes across as a bit cold to start but I did grow to like her by the end of the book. When she first brings the child into the house, she gets very agitated when he shied away from her and wouldn’t talk. But when push came to shove, Wylie stepped up and did what ever she had to do to keep herself and the child safe from the evil that was after him.

The second timeline takes place in the summer of 2000 and is told from the POV of 12-year-old Josie. Josie’s parents were murdered in the farmhouse and her best friend Becky went missing. Again, Gudenkauf does an excellent job of describing the farms in this setting. This timeline starts the morning of the murders, and as we see the day playing out, we get a few murder suspects. Right from the start I was suspecting everyone. Josie was such a well written character and my heart just broke for her.

In addition to these two timelines, we also get short chapters from the POV of a little girl. This girl and her mother are living in the basement of their home, well I should say they are locked in the basement by the girl’s father. We do not know who this girl and her mother are, but they both pulled at my heart strings. These chapters also gave me an Emma Donoghue “Room” vibe.

I love how these seemly unconnected timelines eventually come together in an ending that had a few twists and left a few tears in my eyes.

Heather Gudenkauf’s The Overnight Guest, is a suspenseful mystery that kept me guessing for the most part. I thought all of the characters and each timeline setting was very well written. I also loved how Gudenkauf slowly increased the tension in the present day timeline until I was on the edge of my seat at the end. I definitely want to check out more of Heather Gudenkauf’s books. 4 stars

Her Last Goodbye Goodreads

Author: Rick Mofina

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

Publisher: Mira Books

Rick Mofina’s Her Last Goodbye is an addictive mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. It is full of twists and turns that kept my sleuth mind going until the final twist. It is also a book that deals with loss and how different we cope with grief, which made me shed a few tears.

Jennifer (Jenn) and Greg Griffin have a normal life. Greg owns a construction company, Jenn works part time in a doctor’s office and is involved in a lot of charities as well as school activities for their eight-year-old son, Jake. The night Jenn went to her book club was an ordinary night so Greg did not think anything of it when he went to bed and Jenn was not home, sometimes the club went late. But when he woke up in the middle of the night and Jenn was still not home, Greg started to worry and called her friends from the book club. When they said she had left hours ago, Greg went out looking for her and when he could not find her he called the police to report her missing. As the police begin their investigation, they discover that Greg and Jenn both have secrets they have been keeping from each other. With their son at a sleep over, Greg has no alibi for that night, and he also has scrapes on his hands. Did Greg do something to Jenn? Did Jenn just take off on her own? Or did someone else take Jenn? And if so, why? All of these questions made for a very engrossing mystery.

My favorite part of this book was how the investigation played out. Each chapter gave us information on leads the police were following as well as what seemed to be random events that were happening. And while they may have seemed random at the time, everything was somehow connected. I really liked having the chapters this way as it had the sleuth part of me trying to piece together how they were connected and how it was all going to unearth the mystery of what happened to Jenn and who was responsible. I really cannot say much about the investigation or the different events that were happening throughout the book because that would spoil the mystery.

While I did like all the characters in this book, to me they were more like secondary characters as the mystery and investigation took center stage. That’s not to say that I didn’t sympathize with them because I did. Both Jenn and Greg had suffered tragedy when they were younger. Jenn lost both of her parents in a house fire when she was a child and Greg lost his mother when he was a teenager. They both were also keeping secrets from each other that added to the mystery.

If you are looking for a mystery that will keep you guessing and have your inner detective working, then Rick Mofina’s Her Last Goodbye is the book for you. 3 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Nanny Dearest & The Night She Disappeared

March 24, 2022/11 Comments/by Sharon

Sharon is taking Thriller Thursday back! LOL! This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Flora Collins’ debut novel, Nanny Dearest and Kevin O’Brien’s new book, The Night She Disappeared (not to be confused with Lisa Jewell’s novel by the same name) 🙂

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Nanny Dearest & The Night She Disappeared

Nanny Dearest Goodreads

Author: Flora Collins

Publication Date: November 30, 2021

Publisher: MIRA

When I read the synopsis for Flora Collins’ debut novel Nanny Dearest, I was immediately intrigued. I am always in the mood for a good psychological thriller with flawed yet sympathetic characters and Nanny Dearest did not disappoint.

For the last year Sue Keller has been pretty much a recluse. Her father died in an accident a year before and it just broke her. He was all she had in her life, as her mother died when she was four years old. While on a rare day out, Sue runs into Anneliese (Annie), who was her nanny twenty years ago. Still grieving for her father and craving a motherly connection, Sue is happy to have Annie back in her life and the two become inseparable. But as Annie’s behavior starts to become smothering and as Sue starts to uncover the truth from the time Annie was her nanny, Sue realizes there is something very wrong with Annie.

This story alternates between Sue’s POV in the present and Annie’s POV in 1996 when she was Sue’s nanny. I loved having the book unfold this way. Seeing Annie’s behavior towards Sue in the present and then getting a look at her behavior when she was Sue’s nanny just added a lot of suspense to the book. It is clear from both timelines that Annie has some mental health issues. And while Annie came across as a whack-a-doodle in both timelines, the more we got on her backstory, the more I could understand why she had such a fascination with Sue and the more sympathy I had for her. Annie’s POV/timeline was my favorite part of the book. I loved getting all of the backstory and what life was like for them all back then.

I had a lot of sympathy for Sue as well. She doesn’t remember her mother very much and was devastated when her father died. When she meets up again with Annie, she so much wants to hear stories from when she was a child and about her mother. My favorite part of Sue though was when we got to see her as a child during Annie’s timeline. Sue was such a cute child, and it just broke my heart when her mother died, and she didn’t understand what was going on.

Nanny Dearest is a slow burn psychological thriller. I had no idea where this book was going to go and the not knowing added the suspense, tension, and creepiness to the read. By the end of this book I was flying through the pages to see how it was going to end. And what an ending it was! When I finished the last page, I literally sat there trying to comprehend what I just read. I am still not sure how I feel about the ending. LOL! 3 1/2 stars

Warning: There is a part in the book that has abuse to a cat. I will say I skimmed/jumped over that part of the book.

The Night She Disappeared Goodreads

Author: Kevin O’Brien

Publication Date: July 21, 2021

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

I have had Kevin O’Brien’s The Night She Disappeared on my to read shelf for almost a year. I am trying to tackle some of my older books, rather than leave them sitting there in favor of new releases (lol) and finally picked this one up to read. And I am glad I finally did. This was a twisty mystery that kept me guessing until the end.

Anna Malone is a TV reporter for a local station in Seattle. She is dating Russ Knoll, a married pediatrician. Russ’ wife Courtney is a best-selling author who Anna has just done a story on to promote her newest book. When the book opens, Anna has woken up with a terrible hangover. All she can remember from the night before is meeting Russ and Courtney at an elegant restaurant to celebrate the story that Anna has done on Courtney. She does not remember how she got into her bed at home. When she gets a call from Russ saying that Courtney is missing, Anna cannot shake the feeling that something terrible happened the night before. As the days go by and Courtney has not been found, Russ becomes the prime suspect in the police investigation. Anna is also thrust into the spotlight and the investigation when it is revealed by her TV rival, Sally Justice who has a show called “The Sally Justice Show”, that Anna and Russ were having an affair. Anna has also been getting phone calls from an unknown number and the caller says that they know what happened that night and that Anna murdered Courtney. What happened to Courtney? Can Anna piece together the events of that night and prove she is not a murderer?

I liked Anna. She is a flawed character (Hello! She is having an affair with a married man. LOL), but she was also a sympathetic character. Her older brother Stu ran away when Anna was a teenager, the following year her father was arrested for insider-trading and killed himself in jail, and when Anna was a junior in college, her mother died in a car accident. She is all alone trying to figure out what actually happened the night Courtney went missing. With the help of Sally Justice’s daughter, Taylor, Anna has sessions with a psychotherapist, who through hypnosis is helping Anna remember. I don’t want to say what came from these sessions, but I will say right from the get-go I did not trust the therapist or even Taylor.

Anna lived on a floating house on Lake Union, and I love how having the majority of the book take place there really gave this book a creepier atmosphere, especially at night when Anna is in her house and outside is just black and anyone could have been out there on the water watching her.

There is so much I cannot say about this book because I don’t want to give anything away. I loved all the twists and turns as the story unfolded. Near the end I did figure a few things out and while I am not 100% on board with the who-dun-it and why, I really enjoyed the journey to finding all the answers. 3 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: A Flicker in the Dark & Greenwich Park

March 3, 2022/16 Comments/by Sharon

Happy Thriller Thursday! Sharon here and this week’s theme is debut authors. 🙂 I love finding new authors to read, so I was very excited to read Stacy Willingham’s debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark and Katherine Faulkner’s debut novel, Greenwich Park. The synopsis for both of these books just jumped out at me and I am happy to report that I enjoyed both of them and look forward to reading more from both authors.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: A Flicker in the Dark & Greenwich Park

A Flicker in the Dark Goodreads

Author: Stacy Willingham

Publication Date: January 11, 2022

Publisher: Minotaur Books

A Flicker in the Dark is Stacy Willingham’s debut novel and OMG! What a debut this was. I originally borrowed this from the library and I wasn’t even finished reading it and I had already gone and bought a copy of the book because I needed to have this in my collection.

The story follows 32-year-old psychologist Chloe Davis. When Chloe was 12 years old, six teenage girls went missing in her hometown of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Chloe’s father was arrested and eventually confessed to the murder of these girls. Her mother ended up trying to kill herself and now lives in a nursing home. All of this left Chloe and her older brother Cooper with many emotional scars. It is now twenty years later, and Chloe is still fighting her demons, but she has made a life for herself. She has her own practice in Baton Rouge and is engaged to be married to pharmaceutical rep Daniel. But when 2 local teenagers, with connections to Chloe, go missing and are eventually found dead, Chloe is transported back to that fateful summer when she was twelve.

I was in Chloe’s corner from the start. Chloe is a damaged, sympathetic, and strong character. She is also an unreliable character at times as well, which made her all the more intriguing. The book is told from the POV of Chloe, both in the present as well as memories of the summer when she was twelve. I loved getting her perspective of the events that happened during that summer twenty years ago. As more things were revealed from back then, I just fell in love with Chloe all the more and wanted to give her such a big hug. Now that it is the twentieth anniversary of the original murders, Chloe is being hounded by a reporter who is writing a column for the anniversary. When the 2 local teenagers are murdered, Chloe teams up with this reporter to try and stop history from repeating itself. I have to say, I did not trust this reporter at all. Then again, I didn’t trust anyone in this book except Chloe. LOL!

I loved the brother/sister relationship with Chloe and Cooper. They are there for each other no matter what. Cooper is always trying to protect Chloe, as is she with him. Cooper does not like or trust Chloe’s fiancé Daniel and I had to agree with him on that one because I didn’t trust Daniel either. I was also skeptical of Cooper at times. I don’t want to say what had me not trusting any of these characters because that would spoil things, but believe me, you won’t trust them either.

I cannot even begin to describe how good this book was. Nothing I say will do it justice. I was hooked right from the start. This book was full of suspense and tension, with twists and turns around every corner. Stacy Willingham did an amazing job creating characters and a tense setting that floated off the pages. Her writing had me fully engaged the entire time I was reading. With a debut novel like A Flicker in the Dark, I cannot wait to read whatever Willingham writes next. 4 ½ stars

Side note: A Flicker in the Dark has already been optioned by Emma Stone for a limited series and I am beyond excited.

Greenwich Park Goodreads

Author: Katherine Faulkner

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

Publisher: Gallery Books

Katherine Faulkner’s debut novel Greenwich Park follows Helen Trope and her family (her husband Daniel, brother Rory and sister in-law Serena) as a mysterious woman, Rachel, worms her way into their lives and tries to destroy them.

Helen and Daniel are expecting their first child in a few weeks, after years of heartbreak from many miscarriages. When Helen attends her first prenatal class she meets Rachel, a young, single pregnant woman. Rachel and Helen could not be any more different. Where Helen is quiet, shy, and excited about becoming a mother, Rachel is loud, smokes and drinks and does not seem all that excited about having a baby. Despite their differences, Helen is drawn to Rachel and a fast friendship is formed. But their friendship is soon falling apart, as Rachel’s behavior becomes unsettling. After a heated argument with Helen, Rachel goes missing. As the police investigate, it becomes clear that Rachel meeting Helen was not by chance. Rachel had an ulterior motive, and she was threatening to expose secrets Helen’s family has been keeping.

While the story centered around Helen, and I did like her for the most part, her friend Kate was my favorite character. She is a reporter who is currently reporting on a rape case, and it is while she is working on this case that she discovers another rape case years ago that took place at the same college that Helen, Daniel, Rory, and Serena attended. As she digs deeper, she learns some disturbing facts about the case. I also really liked how she was there for Helen after Rachel disappeared and she even started investigating Rachel’s disappearance on her own. Kate’s digging into Rachel’s past turns up some disturbing facts and unearths secrets that Helen’s family was hoping would stay buried.

As I said, I did like Helen for the most part, but there were a few times that she annoyed me. Helen was too trusting and naïve in my opinion. There was one point in the story when Rachel showed up at Helen’s house on the night of her and Daniel’s anniversary. She was upset and looked like she had been abused so Helen let her stay the night (rightfully so), but one night turned into a couple of weeks. Rachel pretty much took over Helen’s house and all I could think of is ‘Why are you letting her walk all over you?”

I did enjoy trying to figure out what Rachel was up to. I liked the mystery about her and trying to piece things together. This book did have lots of twists I did not see coming and an ending that left me satisfied. Unfortunately though, for me the book did seem to drag at points. Despite the slow pace of the book, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Rachel and why she targeted Helen and her family. All in all, I thought Greenwich Park was a solid debut and look forward to reading more from Katherine Faulkner. 3 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: When You Are Mine & Do You Remember?

February 17, 2022/12 Comments/by Sharon

Hi everyone! It’s Sharon, back with another edition of Thriller Thursday! This week I am happy to share my thoughts on When You Are Mine by Michael Robotham and Do You Remember? by Freida McFadden. Both of these books have a strong female protagonist, who I was rooting for all the way.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: When You Are Mine & Do You Remember?

When You Are Mine Goodreads

Author: Michael Robotham

Publication Date: January 4, 2022

Publisher: Scribner

I fell in love with Michael Robotham’s writing when I read The Secrets She Keeps and he became a must-read author for me with his next 2 books Good Girl, Bad Girl and When She Was Good. So I was very excited to read his latest book When You Are Mine, and I am happy to report that this book did not disappoint.

Philomena (Phil) McCarthy is a police officer with the Metropolitan Police in London. She loves her job and has worked hard to overcome the obstacles in her way, mainly being a woman on the force, but also the fact that her estranged father and uncles are very powerful known criminals. Phil is engaged and her life is going very well at the moment, but that is all about to change when she responds to a domestic violence call. It is at the call that Phil encounters the victim, Tempe Brown, and her abuser, Darren Goodall, a married man who is also a decorated Scotland Yard detective. Phil has a scuffle with Goodall as she is trying to handcuff him. Phil also befriends Tempe Brown as she takes her to the hospital. It is these two encounters that are going to turn Phil’s life upside down and put her career and life in jeopardy.

I loved everything about Phil. She is a woman trying to make it in a man’s world and every time she is pushed back, she pushes harder ahead. Phil goes out of her way to help Tempe and keep her safe from Goodall, even though she knows that trying to get Goodall to pay for his crimes will not sit well with the men in the department. It also doesn’t sit well with Goodall who uses his reputation to go after Phil. As Phil digs into Goodall’s life, she uncovers that not only has he been abusing Tempe Brown, but he has also been abusing his wife and children. But no matter what Phil does, she cannot get anything to stick to Goodall because he is being protected by others in the department. I loved how determined she was to bring Goodall down, though I did worry that instead of Goodall going down, it was going to be Phil instead.

Phil’s friendship with Tempe starts off as a great bond between them, but then takes a dark and twisted turn. Tempe latched herself onto Phil and went to great lengths to try and please her, lengths that bordered the stalkerish line. Phil was fine with this at first, but the more she learned about Tempe’s past the more she started to try and distance herself from Tempe, though Tempe was having none of that. When a dead body turns up and Phil is suspected of the murder and Tempe is her only alibi, Phil has to turn to the one person she does not want to for help, her father. I really liked watching the father/daughter dynamic play out with Phil and her father as they try and overcome the past that pushed them apart and work on fixing their relationship.

When You Are Mine had me hooked from the first to the last page. This book was full of tension and suspense and family drama, with twists and turns that had me turning the pages to the very end. 4 stars

Do You Remember Goodreads

Author: Freida McFadden

Publication Date: January 10, 2022

Publisher: Hollywood Upstairs Press

Freida McFadden’s newest book Do You Remember? follows protagonist Tess, who wakes up thinking it is the morning after she and her boyfriend Harry got engaged, only to find out that seven years have passed and she cannot remember any of it, especially the fact that she is not married to Harry but to someone entirely different.

The book opens with Tess waking up and noticing that her bedroom and bathroom look different. When she went to sleep the night before, the house she shared with her fiancé Harry needed a lot of work, but now everything is done. While this does cause her concern, it is when she looks in the mirror and sees how much older and different she looks that sends her into a panic and screaming for Harry, but the man that enters the bathroom is not Harry. This man tells her that his name is Graham, and he is her husband and that she was in a car accident a year ago that has affected her memory. He shows her a letter that she wrote to herself explaining about the accident and how every morning she wakes up with no memory of the last seven years and to trust Graham. Tess has no choice but to accept that this is her life now, why would she doubt a letter she wrote to herself. But then she receives a text message that says, “Don’t trust the man who calls himself your husband.” And so sets in motion one roller coaster of a ride as Tess tries to figure out what has happened to her and who she can really trust.

This book is told over a five-day period, with each day having Tess start from scratch trying to figure out what is going on. I really liked how strong Tess was. I cannot even imagine waking up every day and not remembering the last few years of my life. Since her brain and memory are not reliable, Tess relies on her gut instincts and her gut is telling her that her husband Graham may not be the loving and caring man he is trying to portray himself as. Which I agree with, I did not like or trust Graham from the start. Plus, their dog Ziggy didn’t like him and growled at him all the time, so if a dog does not like you, then I do not like you. LOL! Tess knows that what she learns during the day, she will forget by morning, so she starts to write herself notes on her body to help her remember. I thought this was a genius idea.

I really cannot say too much about this book because I do not want to spoil anything, and I think going in not knowing anything (pardon the pun lol) is best. What I will say though is that with each day the tension mounts as Tess is able to put more pieces together and I couldn’t wait to see how this was going to end. I did get a bit teary eyed at the end and also a bit upset when a twist was revealed, but then there was another twist that made everything all right for me again.

I really need to check out more of Freida McFadden’s books. I loved the first book I read, The Wife Upstairs. I loved how she was able to keep me guessing with both reads. 4 stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: My Darling Husband & The Second Marriage

January 27, 2022/8 Comments/by Sharon

It’s Thursday, I’m Sharon, so you know what that means; It’s Thriller Thursday! This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Kimberly Belle’s; My Darling Husband and Jess Ryder’s; The Second Marriage. The common thread with both of these books is a strong female protagonist, whose husband’s lies puts their family in danger.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: My Darling Husband & The Second Marriage

My Darling Husband Goodreads

Author: Kimberly Belle

Publication Date: December 28, 2021

Publisher: Park Row

Kimberly Belle’s My Darling Husband is a tension filled, nail-biter that starts off with a bang and does not let up until the very end.

Jade and Cam Lasky are happily married with 2 children (nine-year-old Beatrix and six-year-old Baxter). Cam is a celebrity chef who owns five restaurants, and he is known as the “Steak King of Atlanta.” Their life is perfect, that is until one day when Jade and the children return home and are confronted by a masked intruder who holds them hostage until Cam pays a very specific ransom, in the amount of $734,296. And so sets the scene for a very wild and heart stopping read.

This book takes place over the period that Jade and her children are held hostage and is told from the POVs of Jade, Cam, and Sebastian (the home invader) as well as a TV interview that Cam does that takes place months after the home invasion. From each of their perspectives we get their thoughts and actions regarding what is happening. We also learn why Sebastian has targeted the Laskys and what the significance of the unusual ransom amount is. As the story progresses we find out that Cam has been keeping secrets from Jade and that they are not as financially secure as he has been letting on.

I loved watching mamma-bear Jade. She would do anything to make sure her children survived this ordeal, and that included putting her own life on the line. She never did anything stupid that would put them in jeopardy; she bid her time and thought things through. And when she did act I was like “Yes! You go Jade!”

Sebastian was a character that while I hated him for what he was doing, as we learned more about him and his reasons, I am not going to say that I liked him or justified his reason, but I sort of sympathize with him. He was at the end of his rope and this was the only option he thought he had left. I don’t want to say what his reasons were because I think learning about him as you read is the best way to go into this book.

From Cam’s POV I could see how much he loved his family and how it was killing him knowing that if he could not come up with the money, his family could die. And in that respect I did sympathize with him. But during the interview chapters, he came across as arrogant to me. Though at the end I did change that opinion of him.

I also have to mention the children. Though we do not get a POV from them, we do get to know them via Jade and Sebastian. I fell in love with them and prayed they would be okay. I loved how strong, stubborn, and brave Beatrix was. She really got under Sebastian’s skin LOL. Baxter was just a cutie. He had me laughing at one point when they were tied to chairs and Sebastian was dealing with Beatrix. Baxter kept trying to get his attention and then yells “The Poop is coming!”

While there were no major plot twists, this book kept me on the edge of my seat and filled me with anxiety the entire time I was reading. 4 stars

The Second Marriage Goodreads

Author: Jess Ryder

Publication Date: November 3, 2021

Publisher: Bookouture

When I read the synopsis for Jess Ryder’s The Second Marriage, I thought I was going to be in for a wild ride. Though it was not the wild ride I thought it would be, it was still an entertaining read that was full of well written characters and a mystery I couldn’t wait to be solved.

Lily Baxendale needed a change, so she accepted a job to home school Edward Morgan’s nine-year-old son Noah. Edward is very protective of his son. Their home is practically a fortress and Noah does not have any friends. Noah’s mother died when he was three and Edward has one rule, do not talk to Noah about his mother. After only a few months Lily and Edward began dating and then were married, though the honeymoon was over before it even really started. Edward’s two adult daughters are very cold to Lily, so cold that when one of them caught the bouquet they wanted to place it on their mother’s grave. Talk about awkward! None of Edward’s family showed up to the wedding. And Noah tells Lily that Edward is lying to him, “They think I’ve forgotten, but I remember everything. I know my mummy is still alive.” Then Lily discovers that Noah has a hidden memory box in the trees by the gate and he is leaving his mother pictures and letters. Not only is he leaving her letters, but he is getting responses back. As Lily starts digging more into Edward’s past she realizes she does not know her husband like she thought she did and that he is lying to her. Lily realizes she has to find out what happened to Noah’s mother, not only for his sake, but for hers as well.

I really like the determination Lily had to find out the truth. With the help of her best friend, she was able to uncover some shocking information about Edward. Although there were times I wanted to scream at her because when she would confront Edward about his lies she would believe his explanation. All I could keep thinking was “OMG! What is it going to take for you to stop believing him?” And then there came a plot twist that made her actually stop believing him. Finally! LOL.

I also love Lily’s connection with Noah. She was very sweet and caring with him. She really wanted to help him, be it reuniting him with his mother or come to terms with her death. Although she did get on my nerves a few times when Noah would confide in her and she would turn around and tell Edward. I was just like, Ugh! “Stop telling Edward things.”

Even though The Second Marriage did not have the WOW! Factor I was hoping for, I still thought it was an enjoyable read and I needed to know what happened to Noah’s mother. The tension picked up at the end and had me turning the pages to a satisfying conclusion. 3 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: A Slow Fire Burning & Where I Left Her

December 16, 2021/14 Comments/by Sharon

Happy Thriller Thursday! Sharon here. I hope everyone is having a great week and getting ready for the holidays. And what better way to say Happy Holidays than some thriller reviews LOL. This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Paula Hawkins’ new book; A Slow Fire Burning and Amber Garza’s new book; Where I Left Her.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: A Slow Fire Burning & Where I Left Her

A Slow Fire Burning Goodreads

Author: Paula Hawkins

Publication Date: August 31, 2021

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Paula Hawkins’ new book A Slow Fire Burning is a very accurate title, as this book was a slow burn.

Daniel Sutherland is found murdered on his houseboat. Three women are at the center of the investigation and they each have a complicated connection to Daniel. Laura is a troubled young woman who had a one-night stand. Carla is Daniel’s aunt, and she has a very complicated relationship with him dating back to when he was a child. And then we have Miriam, she lives in a houseboat next to Daniel. Each one of these women have had their lives turned upside down in the past, but are they capable of murder? And if they are, why murder Daniel?

My favorite character was Laura. She was in an accident when she was ten and it left her with both physical and emotional issues. The accident also left her with some damage to her brain, which causes her to lash out when she is pushed, as well as memory issues and pretty much doing or saying anything. The filter to determine right from wrong is not always there. The accident also left one of her legs badly damaged, so she has a very distinct limp. Add to this the fact that she has parents who are not supportive of her at all. Her mother is off traveling with her boyfriend and never has time to talk to Laura and her father has a new wife who does not like Laura at all and keeps her father away from her as much as possible. The more I learned about Laura, the more I just wanted to hug her and keep her safe. I was so hoping that it was not Laura who murdered Daniel.

Miriam was a hard character to connect to. I did have sympathy for her due to the fact that she was the survivor of a kidnapping attack in which her best friend was killed when they were teenagers. Miriam also has a grudge against Daniel’s uncle. She gave him a manuscript to read that she had written, and he ended up publishing it as his own. Is Daniel’s murder part of a revenge plot?

Carla is the sister of Daniel’s mother, Angela. Angela died six months ago after falling down a flight of stairs in her home. Angela died and now Daniel is dead, so right there flags went up for me. Especially after I learned that Carla’s son died in a tragic accident when he was a toddler and Angela was babysitting him. I did have a lot of sympathy for Carla, once I learned of the death of her son and how it affected her life and also her relationship with her sister and nephew.

We really don’t get a lot of backstory on Daniel as an adult, so to me he was just a dead guy. LOL

The actual police investigation took more of a backseat in my opinion. The beginning of this book was a bit slow, but by the second half it picked up as a few twists were thrown in. All in all I did not see the outcome coming and was pleased with how it all wrapped up. 3 ½ stars

Where I Left Her Goodreads

Author: Amber Garza

Publication Date: August 24, 2021

Publisher: Mira Books

Where I left Her by Amber Garza is an addicting thriller about every parents’ worst nightmare, the disappearance of their teenage daughter.

Whitney and her 16-year-old daughter Amelia have always had a close relationship, that is until recently. Whitney is an overprotective mother and Amelia has started to push away and assert her independence. Whitney reluctantly lets Amelia go to a sleep over at her new friend Lauren’s house. When she drops her off out front, she sees Lauren answer the door and the two girls go in the house. But when she goes to pick her up the next morning, Amelia and Lauren are not there. In fact, the older couple that answer the door say they do not know who Amelia and Lauren are. As Whitney starts her search for Amelia, she uncovers a trail of lies her daughter has told her. She soon realizes that she did not know her daughter as well as she thought. But Amelia is not the only one keeping secrets; Whitney has a closet full of them. But are they the reason Amelia is missing?

I thought Garza did a great job on writing the mother/daughter dynamic. Everything that Whitney and Amelia were doing and saying just felt so realistic. There comes a time in every girl’s life when she pushes her mother away a bit and becomes more independent. Just thinking back on my teenage years, I could totally relate to Amelia. And while I do not have children myself, I could also feel the sadness Whitney felt from Amelia’s actions.

The story is told using a dual timeline, alternating between “after drop off” and “before drop off”. I love dual timelines. I love getting a look at what is going on now, and then learning of events that happened and trying to piece them all together. We also get some chapters from when Whitney was a teenager, and we see the similarities between Whitney and her best friend and Amelia and Lauren. From Whitney’s teenage years we also learn what secrets she is holding. I don’t want to say too much about that because I don’t want to spoil anything.

Where I left Her was a very even paced book and while not filled with edge of my seat tension, I was still glued to the pages because I had to know what happened to Amelia. And boy, I so did not have that figured out. From Whitney’s chapters I thought I knew where things may be going but I was way off base. And then once all was revealed, along comes a plot twist that leaves the book sort of open ended. Makes me wonder if there will be a sequel to come. I would not be opposed to that. LOL 3 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Midnight Man & The Wife Upstairs

December 2, 2021/18 Comments/by Sharon

I’m back!! That’s right, Sharon here with another edition of Thriller Thursday. Sorry that I have missed a few Thriller Thursday weeks, life just got in the way. But I was on vacation from work last week (well a staycation 🙂 ) and was able to relax, clear my head, and regroup. So today I am excited to share my thoughts on the spooky thriller The Midnight Man by Caroline Mitchell and Freida McFadden’s psychological thriller, The Wife Upstairs.

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Midnight Man & The Wife Upstairs

The Midnight Man (Slayton Thrillers, #1) Goodreads

Author: Caroline Mitchell

Publication Date: October 13, 2021

Publisher: Embla Books

“If you open your door to the Midnight Man, hide with a candle wherever you can. Try not to scream as he draws near, because one of you won’t be leaving here…” As soon as I read that line in the synopsis for Caroline Mitchell’s The Midnight Man, I knew I had to read it. And I am glad I did. The Midnight Man was a spooky read with twists and turns and I didn’t figure anything out until the end.

Twenty-five years ago, Nigel Middleton shot and killed his wife, his 14 year old daughter and 4 year old son before turning the gun on himself. Ever since then their home, Blackhall Manor, has stood vacant and decaying. Fast forward to the present and it is Halloween night. Five teenage girls have been invited to Blackhall Manor to play the Midnight Man game, but only 4 of the girls make it home. The fifth girl Angelica is found brutally murdered and unfortunately for the other 4 girls, the game is still being played and their lives are in jeopardy.

Detective Sarah Noble has been on leave from the police force for about a year following a scandal involving her husband. Sarah grew up in the small town of Slayton and she more than anyone knows all about the hidden dangers of Blackhall Manor. As she is interviewing witnesses to try and find Angelica’s killer, it starts to become clear that Sarah’s past is coming back to haunt her and she is the killer’s real target.

I really wish I could say more about this book, but I feel that anything I say will spoil things. The story is told from the POV of Sarah and The Midnight Man. Getting the POV of the Midnight Man gave this book a really creepy vibe. I loved reading his thoughts as he observed Sarah and the investigation. I got the chills and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up a few times when reading his POV.

I really liked Sarah; she was a very sympathetic character. She has been through a lot in her life, starting when she was a teenager and then with the scandal involving her husband. The more I learned of her backstory and all that she has been through and overcome, I couldn’t help but root for her to solve this case and put all her demons behind her.

I also really liked the secondary characters we get to meet as Sarah is conducting her investigation. Especially 7 year old Elliot, who has the ability to sense things and is able to help Sarah track down one of the girls that goes missing. I just wanted to hug Elliot, he reminded me of the boy from The Sixth Sense and The Ring.

The Midnight Man is a very eerie and spooky story. From the very first page, which gave me an Amityville Horror vibe, I was glued to this book and couldn’t stop turning the pages. Caroline Mitchell gives us a well written story with characters that are very well developed. The Midnight Man is the first book in the Slayton Thrillers series and I cannot wait to see what Mitchell has in store for the next book. 4 stars

The Wife Upstairs: Goodreads

Author: Freida McFadden

Publication Date: May 12th, 2020

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Freida McFadden’s new book The Wife Upstairs follows Victoria Barnett and Sylvia Robinson. Victoria has it all, a loving and handsome husband, a job she loves and a beautiful home. But then she has an accident that leaves her unable to feed or dress herself, unable to walk and with only limited speech. She is confined to a room in her home and needs 24 hour care. Enter Sylvia, who has been hired by Victoria’s husband, Adam, to care for her. Victoria has a story to tell but cannot get the words out. Thankfully, she has kept a diary that Sylvia finds and what she reads inside is shocking.

When we first meet Sylvia, she is down on her luck. She has broken up with her boyfriend, is unemployed, and is about to be evicted from her home. A chance meeting with Adam Barnett is about to change all that for Sylvia though. She thinks her luck has finally changed, but little does Sylvia know that moving in to help take care of Victoria has possibly put her own life in jeopardy.

I love how McFadden told this story from Sylvia’s POV and also through Victoria’s diary. It made me not trust anything or anyone. From Sylvia’s perspective, Adam seems to be a very loving and caring husband who would do anything to help his wife. But then we read Victoria’s diary and the man she writes about is not the man we are seeing through Sylvia’s eyes. According to Victoria, Adam started off as loving but once they married, he turned into a very mean man. He never physically harmed her, but he did mentally.

I was all over the place on who I trusted and who I thought was telling the truth. The more we got into Victoria’s diary, the more I suspected that Adam was responsible for her accident. Sylvia was coming to the same conclusion, but when she talked to the housekeeper about Adam and Victoria, she gave a very different perspective on their lives. According to the housekeeper it was Victoria who was the aggressor in their marriage and she was the one that was mentally abusing Adam. I didn’t know who to believe, which is what I love in a psychological thriller.

As it got closer to the end the tension really picked up and just when I thought I may have things figured out, Plot Twist! And then right at the end there was another plot twist that I did not see coming.

With so many twists and turns, I cannot say that I really loved any of the characters. How can you when you don’t really trust them? LOL. Sylvia made a few questionable choices, but I did like that she was determined to figure out what went on and who was to blame. I did have sympathy for Victoria, because she was stuck in that house and her only way to communicate was through what she had written in her diary.

If you like psychological thrillers that keep you guessing, I recommend you read Freida McFadden’s The Wife Upstairs. 4 stars