The Fourth Girl

The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub
3/1/25; 396 pages
Thomas & Mercer

The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub is a highly recommended mystery following four friends.

In Mulberry Bay, New York, Caroline Winterfield, Midge Kennedy, Kelly Barrow, and Talia Shaw are childhood friends. On Prom night in 2000 Caroline walks into the woods and disappears forever. Her disappearance is treated as a drowning. Midge, Kelly, and Talia know what happened and are keeping the secret, but they plan to return to the site where she walked off and meet on the anniversary. 

Life intervenes with their plans and the three head in separate directions. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of that night, they plan a reunion and hopefully Caroline will meet them there. Once they meet it becomes clear that someone knows what happened and that another person may have witnessed something.

The plot is follows a familiar trope of friends keeping a secret but it is also entertaining and will hold your attention. The narrative jumps between time periods and characters so readers can understand what happened in the past, the intervening years, and in the present. It is somewhat predictable and the ending is not entirely satisfying.

What stands out in this version of the familiar plot are the well developed characters. Each character is portrayed as a unique individual and they all have distinct voices. As the narrative flips back and forth through time periods it is easy to follow who is who because they are distinguishable.

The Fourth Girl is a good choice for readers who appreciate fully realized characters in their mysteries. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Saltwater

Saltwater by Katy Hays
3/25/25; 336 pages
Random House

Saltwater by Katy Hays is a highly recommended family drama/thriller following the wealthy Lingate family on the island of Capri.

The Lingate family returns every year to the island of Capri. In 1992, playwright Sarah Lingate, wife of Richard, the youngest heir to the Lingate oil fortune, is found dead below the cliffs. She left behind her three-year-old daughter, Helen. Her death was officially ruled an accident but there are questions about this. 

Now 30 year later, the Lingates are returning to Capri yet again. Helen has felt controlled and isolated by her family for years. Now, at thirty-three-years-old she has had enough. Helen along with Lorna Moreno, her friend and family assistant, is plotting her escape from her family's clutches. The plan involves an anonymous package that contains the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she drowned, reminding everyone of Sarah's death and threatening to expose secrets. But then Lorna disappears...

The atmospheric plot is tense, mysterious and secretive right from the start. The island is used to create a lock-room mystery which allows suspense to build and hidden secrets to be revealed. Capri is beautifully described and the setting becomes essential to the plot. There are plenty of hidden secrets and twists along the way in this study of family, wealth, and consequences. The plot does build slowly until the end, which will require some dedication to push through to the action.

The narrative mainly unfolds between the point-of-view of Helen and Lorna, with additional information from Sarah's story leading up to her death in 1992. Be suspicious of everyone and everything. Keep in mind that ultimately none of the characters are appealing or likable.

Saltwater is a good choice for those who enjoy novels populated by rich-people-behaving-badly. Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Ten Worst People in New York

The Ten Worst People in New York by Matt Plass
3/18/25; 320 pages
Crooked Lane Books

The Ten Worst People in New York by Matt Plass is a recommended investigative thriller.

After viewers of Ricky Talon's late night TV show are asked to vote for their choices, he shares a list of their chosen ten worst people in New York. It's all fun and games until two of the people on the list turn up dead. Their deaths appear to be by their own hand but recently widowed Special FBI Agent Alex Bedford suspects foul play. She is joined by her partner Pat Coombs in the investigation as they search for clues and connections.

At the same time, Jacob Felle, a British filmmaker, arrives in New York at the invitation of his brother-in-law, explorer Floyd Shaw. Jacob wants to connect with his estranged sister, Elizabeth, and to reconcile a long-buried family trauma. He learns that Elizabeth is going through one of her bad times and that she has dissolved her partnership in New Frontiers, an adventurers’ club she founded. Soon Jacobs search for his sister is on the same trajectory as Alex's search for the killer.

The writing is a bit uneven in this investigative thriller, however, the overall premise is intriguing, which is what kept me reading. There are some twists along the way, but the pacing is slow with a few bursts of action. One issue for me was a few details in the novel made it feel strangely dated now which leads to my caution to authors to leave social/political views on contemporary topics to themselves and out of books to extend the longevity of the novel.

I appreciated Alex and Jacob as characters. Alex had personal struggles, but tenaciously and insightfully pursued her investigative. Jacob was determined to find and uncover what was up with Elizabeth. Both of these characters, one professional and one amateur, are searching for the same answers about why target people on the list and who will be next.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Paris Express

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
3/18/25; 288 pages
S&S/Summit Books

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue is highly recommended historical fiction based on the infamous 1895 derailment at the Paris Montparnasse train station. The various characters in the novel are based on real people who were on the train, as explained at the end. Also intertwined in the plot are the real social issues of the day.

Donoghue does an exceptional job capturing the period details concerning the train and the people on it. There are a large number of characters to keep track of, but this allows the reader to meet a wide variety of average people on the train, while becoming privy to their lives and their place in society. The trip unfolds through the thoughts of these passengers. The main character is Mado Pelletier, a French anarchist, who boards the train with a homemade bomb. Knowing her intentions increases the tension.

Readers will know that the impending disaster is going to happen when they reach Paris. The excellent writing captures the atmosphere and makes a historical event come to life.

Thanks to S&S/Summit Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Story She Left Behind

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry
3/18/25; 352 pages
Atria Books

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry is a highly recommended historical mystery/family drama.

In 1927 author Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham left her home off the coast of South Carolina and disappeared, leaving her husband and eight-year-old daughter Clara behind. Bronwyn's acclaimed novel was written when she was twelve and she left behind an untranslatable sequel written in a language she invented. Now, in 1952, Clara Harrington is an illustrator and art teacher. She is divorced and has an eight-year-old daughter, Wynnie. 

One day Clara gets a call from London. Charles Jameson was cleaning out his father's library when he finds a case with papers and an envelope indicating they are for Clara Harrington, including her address and phone number, with a note saying they must be delivered in person. Charlie pays for Clara and her asthmatic daughter, Wynnie, to travel  to London, but their arrival coincides with the Great Smog of 1952. To ease Wynnie's struggle, Charlie then offers to let them stay at the family retreat in the Lake District which happens to hold answers about her mother's disappearance.

The well written mystery and family drama is descriptive and layered. The idea of a secret language and the mystery of Bronwyn's disappearance initially capture your attention. The story deals with family secrets, loss, love, forgiveness, abandonment, and legacy. The set up to the plot is interesting, but the pace felt glacially slow and the ending felt inconclusive and scattered. I struggled to keep up my interest because of the slow pace.

Clara, Wynnie, and Charlie are fully realized characters and portrayed as real people with strengths and weaknesses. The settings, both in South Carolina and Great Britain, are well described and come to life as the characters interact. The narrative unfolds mainly through the voice of Clara with some chapters from Charlie's point-of-view.

Thanks to Atria Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Fisherman's Gift

The Fisherman's Gift by Julia R Kelly
3/18/25; 368 pages
Simon & Schuster

The Fisherman's Gift by Julia R Kelly is a highly recommended historical domestic drama full of heartbreak set in Skerry, a remote Scottish fishing village.

In 1900 Dorothy Aitken is a schoolmistress in Skerry when a child is found washed ashore by the fisherman Joseph and circumstances result in Dorothy caring for him. She has lived there for years and all the villagers know of the heartbreaking tragedy she experienced years earlier when her young son Moses went missing and was presumed lost in the sea. Only his boot was found.

When Dorothy first arrived she struggled to be accepted in the close-knit gossipy village, which resulted in her setting herself apart from others. All those years ago she and Joseph fell in love but a local woman, Agnes, wanted Joseph for herself and made that clear. Meanwhile tongues were wagging as the gossip swirled around everything.

The past and the present collide in this even paced atmospheric historical tale of love, guilt, loss, grief, secrets, and disappointment. The narrative follows two timelines, the current action and years ago when Dorothy fell in love with Joseph. The plot unfolds through the characters of Dorothy, Agnes, Joseph, William, and other Skerry residents. 

The writing is really quite lovely in this literary historical tale. Normally I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but the descriptive passages and the care with which the characters were developed make this special. The characters are all portrayed as realistic people, full of flaws and failings and the world they are living in is equally dismal in many ways. Everyone has their own burdens, struggles, and secrets

The Fisherman's Gift is a great choice for those who appreciate historical literary fiction. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Splinter Effect

Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington
3/18/25; 320 pages
St. Martin's Press

Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington is a highly recommended time traveling tale. If you are someone who thinks about ancient Rome at least once a day, this will be an excellent choice for you.

Robert "Rabbit" Ward is a chrono-archaeologist who travels through time for the Smithsonian on sponsored expeditions to the past to secure precious artifacts moments before they are lost to history. Considered one of the best now, he still regrets a failure from twenty years ago when he lost his mentee, Aaron, and a precious menorah of the Temple of Jerusalem hidden in ancient Rome in 455 CE. Now new evidence reveals the menorah reappearance in 535 CE Constantinople and Rabbit is ready to find it this time. Problems surface in Constantinople when, among other things, an unlicensed “stringer” named Helen, is also hunting the menorah.

At the beginning the Splinter Effect as it relates to time travel is explained to set the rules into place how it works, but not a lot of time is spent on detailed science fiction elements of the plot. The pace at the beginning is even, but it does pick up quickly later in the novel. Rabbit is an interesting, fully realized individual. There are action scenes and plenty of danger mixed into the narrative.

This is an imaginative action story, but is mostly a historical fiction novel set in Constantinople in 535 CE. I liked the novel, but all the historical details bogged me down at times. Those who love the history of ancient Rome and can enjoy a time traveling tale will likely also appreciate this novel. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via . My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Summer Guests

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen
3/18/25; 363 pages
Thomas & Mercer
The Martini Club #2

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen is a very highly recommended investigative mystery, and the excellent second novel following the equally stellar first novel, The Spy Coast, featuring the Martini Club of retired CIA agents.

Susan, Ethan and their daughter Zoe Conover are returning to the family summer home on Maiden Pond in Purity, Maine where they will meet matriarch Elizabeth, brother Colin along with his wife Brooke and their son Kit. The family is planning to scatter the ashes of recently deceased patriarch George. Soon after they arrive 15-year-old Zoe disappears and local police chief Jo Thibodeau is called in to investigate. When the Martini club, comprised of retired CIA agents, Maggie, Declan, Ben, Ingrid and Lloyd, hear about the missing teen teen they jump in to assist with the investigation, but it is much more complicated than it originally appeared.

The well-written narrative is fast-paced, complex, and intricately plotted. The narrative alternates between the point-of-view of Susan, Jo, and Maggie and it becomes very clear that there is much more going on than it originally appears. The clues lead all over the place and back in time. Nothing is as simple as it seems when the investigation opens up additional discoveries, leads, and long buried secrets. The contrast between the summer people of privilege and the common year round local residents enters into the case.

Again, everything about the novel is excellent the writing, plot, and characters. There are several twists and surprises. Once started it was impossible to put aside. I enjoyed the first novel so much, which introduces these characters that I would recommended reading it first, but readers could still enjoy this outing as a standalone. The first novel does provide much more background information about the Martini Club.

I loved The Summer Guests as much as I did the first Martini Club investigation in The Spy Coast and I hope to see them again. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Killer Potential

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch
3/18/25; 320 pages
HarperCollins

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch is a so-so female fugitives on the run story.

Evie Gordon is a 29-year-old SAT tutor who arrives for her weekly lesson with Serena Victor at the family's Beverly Hills estate and finds her parents murdered. She also frees a woman tied up in a secret closet. Then Serena returns home, mistakes the two for the killers and while she is swinging a lamp at Evie, Evie hits her with a vase, possibly killing her. Then Serena's boyfriend comes in and spots the two so they flee. Evie drives to a distant Walmart, buys supplies for their life on the run, and then empties her bank accounts. For all of this the woman she rescues refuses to speak. What follows is a tale of their life on the run across the country.

Often I can set disbelief aside for a good story but not in this case. It was simply too unbelievable right from the start. Evie is 29-years old. If you arrive for your scheduled weekly lesson, find the door open and two people murdered you exit the house and call 911. Period. You can't go on ad nauseam about how smart you are while making one bad decision after another. The only thing that kept me reading was to see what manner of bad choices would follow but I could have easily set it aside at any point.

This is for those who enjoy a life on the lam novel full of bad choices. Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Writer

The Writer by James Patterson and J. D. Barker
3/17/25; 400 pages
Little, Brown and Company

The Writer by James Patterson and J. D. Barker is a very highly recommended twisty procedural/thriller. Wow! This is an excellent, suspenseful, twisty roller coaster ride of a novel and it left me dizzy from the twists and turns.

NYPD Detective Declan Shaw is planning to jump in front of a subway train when he gets a call from his investigative partner, Jarod Cordova. He wants to know how fast Shaw can get to the Beresford building on Central Park West. A woman returned home to the tower apartment there and found her husband dead. She is asking for Shaw by name. 

Once there Shaw sees bestselling true-crime writer Denise Morrow, covered in blood, sitting next to her dead husband. It seems a clear-cut case, but Denise has an alibi and it becomes even more complicated. Searching the apartment it is also discovered that she is writing a book casting doubt on a case that Shaw and Cordova worked on in 2018 that involved the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl in Central Park.

That's all you need to know - once you start reading you will be hooked almost from the start. There are chapters presented from Now and Then (2018) and also excerpts from police transcripts along the way.

The writing is absolutely exceptional, the pace is fast, and the plot is clever and intelligent. There are so many complications and layers of deception in this unpredictable procedural. What you can expect are several stunning revelations and absolutely jaw-dropping twists along the way in this truly addictive, un-put-downable novel.

As for the characters, you won't know who to trust or believe. The whole narrative is one shrewd complicated cat and mouse game where the roles keep changing and then another switch appears to shake it all up again. I'm not saying anything else but read this novel!

The Writer is a perfect choice for readers who love procedurals with plenty of twists. Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

You Deserve to Know

You Deserve to Know by Aggie Blum Thompson
3/11/25; 336 pages
Tor/Forge Publishing Group

You Deserve to Know by Aggie Blum Thompson is a highly recommended domestic thriller. This is a good choice for everyone who enjoys suspense novels full of bad behavior in the suburbs.

In East Bethesda, a suburb of Washington DC, three couples, Aimee and Scott, Gwen and Anton and Lisa and Marcus enjoy regularly gathering together with their children and socializing. After their usual Friday night get together, Gwen's husband Anton is found murdered behind the local watering hole. Aimee's husband Scott was one of the last people to see Anton before his murder. He is also clearly hiding a secret from her. Lisa resents Gwen's addition to the group. Now the police are investigating and this increases the tension between the three women.

With friends like these, who needs enemies. And so it goes as a soap opera worthy web of deception, betrayal, and revenge explodes in the neighborhood between these three women. None of these women are likable, but they are presented as fully realized individuals. 

All the various story lines create plenty of intrigue and suspense as they head toward the twisty ending. The opening of the novel points out through an interview that the book is written as autofiction, where the author recounts a real life event in a fictionalized manner. The narrative seemed overwrought at times but the ending was worth it and bumped the rating up.

You Deserve to Know is for those who relish suburban domestic thrillers. Thanks to Tor/Forge Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Witness 8

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
3/25/25; 416 pages
Atria Books
Eddie Flynn #8

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh is a very highly recommended twisty psychological and legal thriller. This was un-put-downable, riveting page-turner that can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

Ruby Johnson, 22-years-old, works as a maid, babysitter, and nanny for several homes along Manhattan's wealthy West 74th Street. It is a street where Ruby and her parents once lived before her father lost everything with his gambling and then abandoned them. Now her mother is ill and she's doing whatever she can to take care of her. After babysitting one night, she leaves the Jackson's house and witnesses from the street through a window a man kill a woman. She sees the man flee, finds the gun he used in a garbage can, and then uses it to frame Dr. John Jackson for the crime through an anonymous phone call to the police. She has a twisted plan she is setting in motion that will help her and her mother.

Eddie Flynn, a streetwise ex con-artist who is now a defense attorney, takes on Jackson's defense with help from his team: legal partner Kate Brooks,  office manager Denise, investigators Melissa Bloch and Gabriel Lake, and his mentor retired Judge Harry Ford. Eddie is known for using some questionable and creative tactics to uncover the truth. Complicating matters is the fact that a criminal organization has put out a hit on Eddie, so he is under a constant threat.

Everything about Witness 8 is entertaining! The writing and plotting is exceptional. The tension remains high throughout this fast-paced engrossing thriller as Eddie works out the defense and watches out for a hit man. You likely won't know what he's planning until it's already accomplished, but it is entertaining and intriguing to follow Eddie's actions and clever plans come into fruition. 

All the members of Eddie's team work well together and they all have distinct personalities. It is engaging and sometimes amusing to see Eddie's encounters with the wide variety of contacts he has around the city. Ruby is a deliciously deceptive and devious character. There is an interesting assassin called Mr. Christmas who becomes involved in the plot too. You might have to set a little bit of disbelief aside, which I gladly did because the whole novel is so well done.

Witness 8 is absolutely very highly recommended. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advance reader's copy. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Californians

The Californians by Brian Castleberry
3/11/25; 384 pages
HarperCollins/ Mariner Books

The Californians by Brian Castleberry is a recommended generational family drama that covers a hundred years of history.

In 2024 Tobey Harlan, a temporary waiter, loses everything he owns in a Northern California wildfire. He is heading to stay in his father's house. Once there he plans to steal three valuable paintings and has a plan in place to sell them. A hundred years earlier, Klaus Aaronsohn reinvents himself as Klaus von Stiegl and travels to Hollywood to make silent films. He later directs a popular 1960's TV crime drama,Brackett, starring Tobey’s grandfather. Klaus's granddaughter, Di (Dianne) Stiegel, is an artist in the 1980's NYC art scene. It is her paintings that Tobey is planning to steal.

While the writing in the sprawling novel is exceptional, the organization of it didn't work for me. The opening with Tobey immediately caught my attention but then the novel jumps back in time and alternately follows Klaus and Dianne. While they are interesting characters, they are unlikable. I never felt fully invested in their story and they make up the bulk of the plot. I kept waiting to go back to Tobey's story, which doesn't happen until the end and at that point it had lost my interest. Di's story is interesting at the start, and then my interest in it waned.

This might have worked better for me if it followed a linear timeline rather than jumping between characters and time periods. This would have helped with following the individual characters stories and their connections to each other. The Interstitial sections (various news stories, articles, etc. concerning the characters) that appear occasionally through out the novel could have been kept.

I liked parts of The Californians very much, but didn't love it. Thanks to Mariner Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Ward D

Ward D by Freida McFadden
3/4/25; 320 pages
Poisoned Pen Press 

Ward D by Freida McFadden is a very highly recommended, outstanding, un-put-downable locked-room psychological thriller. This brilliantly written novel takes off at a gallop and never lets up the pace until the shocking ending.

Amy Brenner is a medical student who has to spend a 13 hour overnight shift in Ward D, the hospital's mental health unit, supervised by Dr. Richard Beck and nurse Ramona Dutton. Also joining her is her former boyfriend Cameron Berger. Amy is full of trepidation over even being on the unit, let alone spending the night there. 

It is clear from the start that something terrible is going to happen when she learns Damon Sawyer, who’s confined in Seclusion One, has been threatening to kill everyone. Incidents begin to occur that the danger may be real. Increasing her anxiety is the fact that her childhood friend, Jade Carpenter, is a patient on the ward and is still angry at Amy.

Wow! All I can say is that once I started reading I was unable to stop. Sure, it can feel a like a melodramatic nightmare, and does have certain very unlikely elements, but this one is so well written and presented that I was an eager participant in trying to figure out who is trustworthy and what exactly is going on while second guessing myself. Nothing and no one is how they originally appear. I was totally shocked several times while reading.

The narrative is told through Amy's point-of-view and covers the present day and eight years ago, when she and Jade were friends in high school. Both story-lines, now and then, were equally compelling. The backstory from 8 years ago adds a depth and complexity to the current situation. The present day is the locked-room thriller that becomes a nightmare of paranoia and mistrust.

Set disbelief aside and relish this psychological thriller! Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

 

If It Isn't One Thing...

If It Isn't One Thing... by Steven F. Havill
3/4/25; 224 pages
Severn House
Posadas County Mystery #27 

If It Isn't One Thing... by Steven F. Havill is a highly recommended procedural/mystery and the 27th book in the series set in Posadas County, New Mexico.

A pickup truck pulling a horse trailer collides with a semi loaded with firewood. One driver is dead, both were drunk, and, miraculously, the horse, a prized stallion, survived the horrific accident. As Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is investigating the accident, and discovers the driver of the pickup is not who she is expecting, a volatile domestic incident escalates, resulting in a death and two injured, including one officer. This kicks off 48 hours of nonstop action for Estelle.

This is a well-written, fast-paced, intricately plotted procedural. After the accident, the action is incessant right to the end and the investigations become increasingly complicated. All of the regular characters in the long running series make an appearance too, which was a bit overwhelming to this first time reader, but the investigation keeps racing forward with new developments holding my complete attention. The short page count makes this a book you can easily read quickly.

Fans of the series are going to be thrilled to read If It Isn't One Thing... Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

 

Red Dog Farm

Red Dog Farm by Nathaniel Ian Miller
3/4/25; 272 pages
Little, Brown and Company

Red Dog Farm by Nathaniel Ian Miller is a highly recommended coming-of-age story set on a struggling cattle farm in Iceland.

Orri returns home early from his first year at university in Reykjavik to help his father, Pappi, on their farm in Bifröst. For the first time, Pabbi allows Orri to help him on the farm. Orri’s Mamma, a professor at the local university, intimates to him that Pappi is depressed. Farming in Iceland is especially challenging and full of muck, mud, rain, sleet, snow, ice, and bitter cold. It also requires special knowledge and experience to keep everything running.

Once home, Orri reconnects with Rúna, a childhood classmate who’s now a farmer. He also begins a relationship online and through phone calls with Mihan, a part-time student. This is an atmospheric novel about family, friends, and falling in love, as a young man tries to find purpose on a struggling Icelandic cattle farm and a red dog named Rykug

All the characters are portrayed as realistic individuals with strengths, weaknesses, doubts, secrets, and desires. Orri is a thoughtful and articulate young man who is searching for what he wants to do in life. Iceland itself becomes a character along with the strength of the people living there. Orri grows as a person, but the narrative focuses a great deal on the hard work and trials on an Icelandic farm. The interpersonal relationships between the characters does increase as complications arise late in the novel.

Red Dog Farm is a well-written, very eloquent, quiet, slow-paced and plodding novel about the realistic struggles of farming and raising cattle in Iceland. While I enjoyed many aspects of this descriptive novel, I did become a little weary reading about the numerous struggles on the farm.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Memory Ward

The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff
3/4/25; 292 pages
Blackstone Publishing

The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff is very highly recommended psychological suspense novel with a science fiction connection. This page-turner had me fully engaged and speculating right from the start.

Mailman Hank Davies knows it is always beautiful in Bethlam, Nevada. He is surprised one day when a letter he is delivering  isn't sealed and he sees it is a blank page. He checks two others and realizes they are blank too. When he arrives home, he mentions the blank letters to his wife. Then he starts to notice people watching him. Finally, a woman knocks on his window late at night and tells him to trust no one and check out what is under the wallpaper in the bedroom.

Mailman Wallie Daley knows it is always beautiful in Bethlam, Nevada...

The eerie and mysterious atmosphere created in The Memory Ward immediately appealed to me as the plot explores identity, memory, trauma, observation and suspicion. The quick paced narrative is divided up into five parts and the story of three different characters is told. Gradually, the three story lines converge, and the truth about Bethlam is revealed. This mind-bending novel is short, so it can be read quickly and is best started only knowing the basic plot information.

There are strong Twilight Zone vibes with a snippet of the X Files in The Memory Ward and I loved it. Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Message Deleted

Message Deleted by K. L. Slater
3/3/25; 418 pages
Michael Joseph/Penguin

Message Deleted by K. L. Slater is a very highly recommended, twisty, psychological thriller.

Saffy is waiting for a job interview when she receives a text message from her best friend, Leona. It says: Can’t speak. Don’t text or call. Please just come. The next time she looks at her phone it says the message was deleted. Saffy leaves before her interview and immediately goes to Leona's house. She has reason to be concerned for Leona's safety and that of her daughter, Rosie. When she arrives, Leona opens the door. She looks upset but denies sending the message or needing help. Her husband, Ash, is there too, looking threatening with a smile on his face.

Six hours later, the police are at Saffy's door. Leona, Rosie, and Ash are missing and there was a large amount of blood at the home. Apparently, Saffy was the last one to see the family and now may be a suspect.

This is a highly entertaining, suspenseful, twisty psychological thriller that held my complete attention throughout. It is even-paced at the beginning as characters are introduced, background information is provided, and clues begin to emerge. Interspersed between the present day action are chapters from the past of the characters that show their relationships and history. As Saffy follows clues, the mystery is intriguing to follow and the tension rises.

All of the characters are portrayed as realistic individuals, with flaws and insecurities. Saffy is so overprotective of her sister, Poppy, and Leona, you may begin to question her grip on rationality, but the reason for it is explained. There is some suspension of disbelief required, mainly the actions of the police, which is easily done. 

Message Deleted is a great choice for those who enjoy twisty unpredictable psychological thrillers. Thanks to Penguin for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Last Days of Kira Mullan

The Last Days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French
3/4/25 (paperback); 464 pages
HarperCollins/William Morrow
Maud O'Connor #2

The Last Days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French is an exceptional, intense, very highly recommended novel of psychological suspense following a woman determined to get justice for a murder no one else believes happened.

Nancy North suffered a psychotic break that resulted in her restaurant closing and friendships lost. She and her partner Felix have been forced by circumstances to move to a new flat. It's in an old house, is dank and dark, and has paper thin walls. Nancy is taking her meds and seeing her therapist, but the move and new circumstances is stressful and she feels it. Nancy responsibly talks to her doctor, who ups her dosage a bit, but she still feels something is not right.

When a young woman in the downstairs flat, Kira, is found dead, Nancy is sure she was murdered. She talked to Kira, who  before it happened. Felix dismisses her feelings, blaming it all on her illness. He also cruelly, with a calculated intent, tells everyone else around her about her struggles with mental health and her unreliability. Nancy talks to the police, who also dismiss her instincts. The boys club at the police station closed the case, but when it is brought to her attention, Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor has misgivings about her colleagues’ investigation of Kira’s death.

The writing is outstanding in this well-plotted, fast paced tense, compelling, and un-put-downable thriller. The atmosphere is increasingly full of paranoia and menace. Readers will know from the start that Kira was murdered, so they will also know Nancy is telling the truth. The treatment Nancy receives from the other residents of the apartment building, along with the neighbors, is frustrating but also all of these people are potential suspects in Kira's death.

Nancy is a fully-realized character who is honestly presented with all her strengths and weaknesses. Based on how she is depicted by Felix and treated by others, readers may have doubts about Nancy's reliability as a narrator and her recovery. The gaslighting Nancy experiences along with the dismissal, punitive measures, and negation of anything she says is abusive and disturbing. The other residents are also developed as individuals, and completely untrustworthy.

Maud O'Connor is a wonderful character and it was thrilling to see her back. The first book with Maud is Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?. Her approach to investigating and questioning suspects is insightful. She is observant, intelligent, and detailed oriented. Her tenacity is admirable. (It seems that there may be big changes in Maud's future.) The final denouement races at a heart-stopping pace.

The Last Days of Kira Mullan is another excellent novel from Nicci French (the writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French) and I am anxiously awaiting another book in this series. Thanks to William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Broken Country

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
3/4/25; 320 pages
Simon & Schuster

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is a very highly recommended domestic drama that is both a love story and morality tale.

It is 1968 and sheep farmers Frank and Beth Johnson are still mourning the death of their nine-year old son, Bobby two years earlier. They are out working with the new lambs in the Dorset countryside along side Jimmy, Franks younger brother, when a strange dog attacks and kills three lambs. Jimmy is quick to grab a gun and shoot the dog before he attacks any more lambs. Coming across the field is Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager who subsequently broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo and Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life.

Alternating chapters are set before, in 1955, when Beth and Gabriel met and fell in love. Also foreshadowed in a few chapters early on is a murder trial taking place in their present day. We know the person is close to Beth, although the victim isn't named until much later. This helps set a foreboding tone as readers know something is going to happen to someone.

This is an extremely well-written emotionally complex story of love, grief, guilt, and consequences. Beth is not a reliable narrator. She drops hints about what is and has happened but the full story isn't known until later in the plot. When some of the unsaid secrets/events are spoken and revealed it makes a huge difference in the novel. The grief of dealing with the lose of a child is a major part of the narrative.

Admittedly, I almost set Broken Country aside except for the fact that the quality of the writing is excellent. The focus is on the love story for much of the novel which is not a genre I normally read. Love triangles don't interest me. I didn't enjoy that storyline or Beth choices and actions which encompass a large part of the novel. What changed everything was the last part of the novel.

Broken Country may be most appreciated by those who enjoy romance novels and morally ambiguous characters, but those who like literary novels dealing with loss along with suspense will also appreciate it. 4.5
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Tilt

Tilt by Emma Pattee
3/25/25; 240 pages
Simon & Schuster

Tilt by Emma Pattee is a highly recommended literary survival story that takes place over the course of one day.

Annie, 35, is pregnant, 37 weeks along, and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a major earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. She is rescued from the debris by Taylor, a salesperson she had just lost her temper with, and they make their way outside the store. She sets out without her purse or phone amid the confusion and chaos to walk to her husband Dom's workplace. While walking she talks to her unborn baby, nicknamed "Bean" and reflects on her past, meeting her husband, conversations with her mother. All this while she makes her way through devastating destruction in an increasingly dangerous city.

Tilt is an impressive, well-written debut novel that covers the hopefulness, disappointments, and struggles found in self sacrifice, marriage, and impending motherhood, along with the self doubts all while the character is seeking safety and survival. The narrative switches between Annie's memories of the past and her navigation through the current catastrophe. Her internal monologue to to Bean continues throughout her trek in search of safety and her husband. The setting feels realistic and the trauma of the crisis increases with each step her swollen feet take.

Annie is depicted as a realistic character amidst an unimaginable situation. While she isn't always likable and doesn't always act in a logical manner, it is clear that she is doing the best she can through the disaster. As she shares her reflection with Bean, her bond grows strong.

I do love the cover of the book. This is a very quick read and resembles another novel where a woman is traveling through a disaster. The ending was disappointing in the lack of closure but it was also somewhat expected. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Battle Mountain

Battle Mountain by C. J. Box
2/25/25; 368 pages
Penguin/Putnam
Joe Pickett Series #25

Battle Mountain by C. J. Box is a riveting, very highly recommended intense thriller and the 25th novel featuring Joe Pickett. This one directly continues the story in Three-Inch Teeth, which I would recommend reading before enjoying Battle Mountain. They are both 5 star reads so this is a win/win suggestion.

Outlaw falconer Nate Romanowski left his daughter in the care of Marybeth and Joe Pickett and is living off grid while following the trail of Axel Soledad the man who murdered Nate's wife. He eliminated three of his followers, but Axel was not there. Later Geronimo Jones finds Nate and the two men set off to track Axel down and make sure he is taken out. 

At the same time Governor Rulon asks Joe for a personal favor. His son-in-law Mark Eisele and elk hunting guide Spike Rankin have both gone missing. He wants Joe to go down and find him. The two different searches are heading to converge at Battle Mountain.

This is an extremely well-written, un-put-downable, compelling character-driven thriller. The complex, tension-packed, fast-paced narrative follows multiple storylines until everything eventually merges toward the end. The two different searches are equally interesting. The final confrontation is larger than expected and becomes a real showdown.

All the characters are fully realized, complex individuals. At this point, readers know their strengths and weaknesses and the moral dilemmas they have encountered. It certainly helps that I've read several books in the series now and know all the characters, their abilities, the background, and the setting. 

Each new Joe Pickett novel I read makes me an even greater fan of C. J. Box. Thanks to Penguin/Putnam for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
2/25/25; 336 pages
William Morrow
 

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is a very highly recommended thriller/novel of suspense full of twists and surprises. It is a story about a marriage, a crime, and so many secrets.

Camilla (Cam) is returning to work as a literary agent after nine months of maternity leave. Her husband Luke has already left for the day. He left a note, so she tries to contact him via texts and continues on to drop their daughter Polly off at daycare. While at work the news breaks about a hostage situation in London. The police arrive, and Cam learns Luke is involved. But he isn't a hostage, he is the gunman - and he escapes. This turns her world upside down. How well does she know her husband and was her life built on a lie?

This is a well-written, excellent, and satisfying thriller packed full of twists, clues, and secrets. The narrative is told through three parts, and unfolds through the point-of-view of Cam and Niall, a police detective/hostage negotiator. After a fast-paced start, the middle part slows down the pace a bit, but it also provides all manner of clues and hints to pick up. Then the pace quickly picks up again to a surprising ending. You have to set some disbelief aside while reading, but the twists, secrets, clues, and reveals are worth it.

Cam and Niall are fully realized, believable characters with strengths and flaws. Both are introspective, intelligent, thoughtful characters. The hostage situation affected both Cam and Niall over the years and as the search for Luke continued. Cam's love of reading books will resonate with many as will her devotion to Luke in spite of everything.

 

Famous Last Words is an excellent, twisty thriller. Thanks to William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

 

Not Who We Expected

Not Who We Expected by Lisa Black
2/25/25; 320 pages
Kensington
Locard Institute #4

Not Who We Expected by Lisa Black is a very highly recommended investigative thriller and the fourth novel in the Locard Institute series. This can be enjoyed as a standalone novel, but the whole series is definitely worth reading.

Locard Institute forensic experts Ellie Carr and Rachael Davies are contacted by legendary rock star Billy Diamond to find his missing daughter, Devon. She and her boyfriend Carlos, had left Yale six months earlier to take some time off. They went to a career development retreat called Today’s Enlightenment in Nevada and contact between Devon and Billy dwindled away to nothing. Then Carlos's body is found a few miles away from the ranch in the Truckee river and Billy wants to know his daughter is okay. 

Ellie goes undercover to join the isolated retreat and find Devon. She quickly understands that the retreat is a cult and attendees follow every word and order from their leader, Galen. In the meantime, Rachel is working with Billy to learn more about Devon and her deceased sister, Isis. Billy knew Isis and she was the reason he contacted Rachel to find his daughter.

As expected the writing is excellent and the fast-paced plot is engaging and increasingly tense. Both Ellie experiences and activities in the cult and Rachel's look into Isis's past are compelling and interesting. Ellie's experiences increasingly indicate a dangerous situation, while Rachel discovers unexpected information about her sister. Black includes an informative afterward concerning cults and additional reading material about them as well as quotes from some cult survivors at the beginning of each new section.

Ellie and Rachel are fully realized, intelligent, complex strong female characters. Having read the previous Locard Institute novels, I know these characters and their past cases but new readers should be able to easily follow the plot without this prior knowledge.

Not Who We Expected is an excellent investigative thriller and I'm eagerly anticipating another future installment of the Locard Institute series. Thanks to Kensington for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.