Showing posts with label Adult Suspense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adult Suspense. Show all posts
Thursday, June 1, 2023

You Look Beautiful Tonight by L.R. Jones




 

Publication: June 1, 2023

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Source: Author/Publisher

 

Synopsis:

 

A secret admirer’s devotion turns deadly in a twisting novel of psychological suspense.

Mia Anderson is an invisible woman. An unremarkable thirty-two-year-old Tennessee librarian, she’s accustomed to disappearing in a crowd, unseen and unheard. Then she receives an anonymous note: You look beautiful today.

It doesn’t stop there. The attentive stranger—a secret admirer named Adam—has plans for Mia. With each new text comes a suggestion for her hair, clothes, or attitude, and for the first time in memory, Mia feels noticed. Slowly, she develops a confidence in herself she’s never had. But Adam has a surprise coming…and Mia finally sees him for who he is and what he’s prepared to do for her. Even kill.

Fearing she could be implicated in the murder, Mia’s forced to turn to the stranger in the shadows watching her every move. Adam’s game of cat and mouse begins with Mia as the prey. In order to survive, she must also become the predator.



******

 

Mia is an interesting character. She tends to overthink things and in most cases those thoughts tend to be negative and reflect her insecurities. Mia’s two close friends Jack and Jess are complete opposites but are obviously care about Mia a lot in their own way. 

 

This is a slow burn story. 40% into the book and nothing exciting had happened. Unless you count a couple of mystery notes from a possible stalker. Even though it took a bit before the story hit its stride, I was still engaged in the story and the characters. I enjoy a good mystery, so when Mia started getting mysterious notes, I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. I wasn’t a fan of how some of the things played out in the last big scene, however I was surprised by the ending. This was not my most favorite book by this author, though I did enjoy it and will continue to read her books. L.R. Jones is a pseudonym for Lisa Renee Jones. 

 



**Though I received this book on behalf of the Author, the thoughts and opinions expressed are solely my own.**

 

 



 

RATING: 3 OUT OF 5.

 


 

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Tuesday, September 8, 2020

🎧 Audiobook Review: His & Hers by Alice Feeney

 


 

Publication: July 28, 2020

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Source: Publisher

Time: 10 hrs. and 39 mins.

Narrators: Richard Armitage & Stephanie Racine

 

Synopsis:

 

There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.

Anna Andrews finally has what she wants. Almost. She’s worked hard to become the main TV presenter of the BBC’s lunchtime news, putting work before friends, family, and her now ex-husband. So, when someone threatens to take her dream job away, she’ll do almost anything to keep it.

When asked to cover a murder in Blackdown―the sleepy countryside village where she grew up―Anna is reluctant to go. But when the victim turns out to be one of her childhood friends, she can’t leave. It soon becomes clear that Anna isn’t just covering the story, she’s at the heart of it.

DCI Jack Harper left London for a reason, but never thought he’d end up working in a place like Blackdown. When the body of a young woman is discovered, Jack decides not to tell anyone that he knew the victim, until he begins to realise he is a suspect in his own murder investigation.

One of them knows more than they are letting on. Someone isn’t telling the truth. Alternating between Anna's and Jack's points of view, His & Hers is a fast-paced, complex, and dark puzzle that will keep readers guessing until the very end.


******


"We all hide behind the version of ourselves we let the rest of the world see. "

I am always a sucker for a good suspense/thriller book. As soon as I saw the premise for His & Hers, I was intrigued. Almost halfway through, I thought I knew exactly where the story was headed. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was so wrong. There were several twists and surprises and I definitely did not expect the ending that I got. I thoroughly enjoyed it. At a time where it has been hard for me to find a book that not only interests me, but holds my interest from beginning to end, this story did exactly that. I've been struggling with finishing books and finding ones that I truly enjoy and I'm glad that I found His & Hers.


The two narrators did a great job of bringing their characters to life so to speak. It was very easy to get sucked into the story... into the suspense and mystery of it all. It had me guessing and on the edge of my seat all the way through. Those 10½ hours went by very quickly. 

 

 

 

RATING: 4½ OUT OF 5.

 

 

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Friday, August 7, 2020

Behind the Red Door by Megan Collins Blog Tour!


Publication: August 4, 2020

Publisher: Atria Books

Source: Publisher

Synopsis: 

 

The author of the “suspenseful, atmospheric, and completely riveting” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author) debut The Winter Sister returns with a darkly thrilling novel about a woman who comes to believe that she has a connection to a decades old kidnapping and now that the victim has gone missing again, begins a frantic search to learn what happened in the past.

When Fern Douglas sees the news about Astrid Sullivan, a thirty-four-year-old missing woman from Maine, she is positive that she knows her. Fern’s husband is sure it’s because of Astrid’s famous kidnapping—and equally famous return—twenty years ago, but Fern has no memory of that, even though it happened an hour outside her New Hampshire hometown. And when Astrid appears in Fern’s recurring nightmare, one in which a girl reaches out to her, pleading, Fern fears that it’s not a dream at all, but a memory.

Back home in New Hampshire, Fern purchases a copy of Astrid’s recently published memoir—which may have provoked her original kidnapper to abduct her again—and as she reads through its chapters and visits the people and places within it, she discovers more evidence that she has an unsettling connection to the missing woman. As Fern’s search becomes increasingly desperate, she hopes to remember her past so she can save Astrid in the present…before it’s too late.

Featuring Megan Collins’s signature “dark, tense, and completely absorbing” (Booklist) prose and plenty of shocking twists and turns, Behind the Red Door is an arresting thriller that will haunt you long after you turn the last page.



******


Even though you can go back home, sometimes you shouldn't...

Behind the Red Door is told from the POV of Fern. She is an interesting character to get to know. Fern is married, she's a social worker, and she is and extremely paranoid and anxious person. Fern second-guesses everything and almost always thinks the worst. She longs for the love and approval of her parents, especially her father. Considering all that she has gone through, I'm surprised Fern doesn't have more issues than she already does. Her going home again leads her to investigating the disappearance of Alice. This is where things start to pick up in the story for me. There is an air of mystery surrounding the town that Alice first disappeared from when she was a teenager and I immediately wanted to know what people were hiding and if they knew more than they were letting on.


I was curious by the first few chapters. The more I more suspicious everyone and everything seemed. That curiosity didn't end until the last page of the story. I wasn't super surprised by everything that occurred in Behind the Red Door, but I definitely did not expect those last couple of twists.
The writing is good, and the story flowed at a decent pace. Megan Collins has created a suspenseful mystery that not only involves a kidnapping, but she also explores the dynamics of family and the effects that the past can have on a person in the present. 

 

 


RATING:  3½ OUT OF 5.

 

 

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Thursday, March 21, 2019

Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward



Publication: March 5, 2019
Publisher: Park Row Books/Harlequin
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:
In the most explosive and twisted psychological thriller since The Woman in the Window, a beautiful marriage turns beautifully bad.
Things that make me scared: When Charlie cries. Hospitals and lakes. When Ian drinks vodka in the basement. ISIS. When Ian gets angry... That something is really, really wrong with me.
Maddie and Ian's romance began with a chance encounter at a party overseas; he was serving in the British army and she was a travel writer visiting her best friend, Jo. Now almost two decades later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in Middle America. But when a camping accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending writing therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian's PTSD; her concerns for the safety of their young son, Charlie; and the couple's tangled and tumultuous past with Jo.
From the Balkans to England, Iraq to Manhattan, and finally to an ordinary family home in Kansas, sixteen years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in The Day of the Killing, when a frantic 911 call summons the police to the scene of a shocking crime.

******

It all started with an emotional 911 phone call and a visit by the police to a quiet well-manicured neighborhood...
Beautiful Bad had a really good beginning that grabbed my attention. I would consider this book to be more of a slow burn suspense/thriller story. The book is told mainly from Maddie’s point of view along with Ian’s POV jumping in here and there as the book progresses.
Maddie was an interesting character to get to know; though I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters. That’s probably the point with a book like this.  My only major complaint was that there were times when I questioned why Maddie and Ian were even together. I didn’t really believe in their love story.
Aside from that, I thought that Beautiful Bad was well written and the author did a good job of building suspense and creating intriguing characters. I liked how the story flip-flops between the past and the present; before the incident and after the incident; which helped to draw the suspense out. I thought I pretty much had it all figured out on how everything would end. I was right about some things, but there were a couple surprises and twists at the end that I hadn’t expected.


RATING: 3½ out of 5.



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Wednesday, January 16, 2019

A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot Spotlight Tour & Giveaway!!




Happy Release Week to Kendra Elliot and her latest book in the Mercy Kilpatrick Series, A Merciful Fate!  With millions of books sold, Kendra Elliot is known for writing stories that both grab your attention and make your heart melt. Read on to discover more about A Merciful Fate. Make sure to enter the giveaway down below while you are here for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Giftcard AND a digital copy of A Merficful Fate!!  Happy Reading!

P.S. Clicking on the gorgeous book cover will take you to Goodreads in case you want to add the book to your ever-growing TBR Shelf.


About the Book

Title: A Merciful Fate
Author: Kendra Elliot
Release Date: January 15, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance


Summary

Raised by preppers, survivalist and FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick has a deep-rooted need for a safe place. Her getaway in the Cascade Foothills is her secret. But when skeletal remains are unearthed—those of a murdered man linked to a notorious heist—Mercy realizes she isn’t the only one with something to hide.

Thirty years ago, an armored-car robbery turned deadly. The mastermind was captured. Four conspirators vanished with a fortune. One of them, it appears, never made it out of the woods alive. For Mercy and her fiancé, Police Chief Truman Daly, their investigation opens old wounds in Eagle’s Nest that cut deeper than they imagined. Especially when a reckless tabloid reporter draws fresh blood. It’s clear to Mercy that somebody in this close-knit community is not who they seem to be.

Some are still shattered by the heist. Some still have reason to be afraid. But which one will kill again and again to hide three decades of secrets? To land this case, it’s up to Mercy to unmask a familiar stranger before someone else dies.





Excerpt: A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot

“Sit.”

Mercy sat on a stool that was too high for the makeshift table. She didn’t care. They could sit on the ground and she’d be happy with Truman. Currently the home had plywood subfloors and open framing, but part of Mercy loved the empty, bare look; it promised that something fabulous was coming.

Fabulous and practical.

Truman leaned over and poured red wine in the plastic cup by her paper plate. She sighed and buried her nose in her cup. The fragrance was deep and bold, with hints of plum and smoke.

“Italy,” she mumbled into the wine.

“What?” asked Truman.

“I want to visit Italy. How does a honeymoon in Italy sound?”

A grin filled his face, and the sensation of butterflies fluttered up her spine.

Or maybe it’s the wine.

She took a sip of her wine as she studied his face. So familiar and dear to her.

A smile to stop traffic. Eyes that crinkled in happiness. Several scars that testified to his love of law enforcement. Her attraction to him was more than skin deep. She was in love with the person he was. He was a natural leader and easily commanded respect. His people turned to him, followed him, admired him. His natural sense of honor was a magnet for her.

No. It’s not the wine.

He gets me.

He understood how her mind worked, and they fit together like a couple of complicated puzzle pieces. She’d been painfully aware of her missing puzzle piece when he’d been taken away, chained by men planning to kill him, and then rescued thanks to Ollie. The two weeks when no one knew his fate had been the worst of her life. When he’d been returned to her, she’d known she couldn’t waste any more time.

He’d been of the same mind-set and had proposed.

“I’ll try Italy.” He dished spaghetti carbonara onto their plates.

“And what’s on your agenda for tomorrow?” he asked over the rim of his plastic cup. She perked up. “The bank confirmed the money bags are from the Gamble-Helmet Heist. And I have the go-ahead to visit Shane Gamble at the Two Rivers prison tomorrow.”

“What are your thoughts on the remains?” Truman asked. “Did the medical examiner get to them yet?”

“Yes. They spent the afternoon removing the remains, and Dr. Lockhart was going to start an examination tonight. The woman never takes time off.”

“Same could be said for you.”

“Only when I’m deep in a case.”

“I guess this means your weekends are booked for a while?”

Mercy sighed. “I know. The two of us are supposed to be working on the interior of this place … We’ll get it done at some point. It’ll have to wait awhile.”

A grin filled his face.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re not the same person I met last fall. Back then, if the cabin had been in the half-completed state it is now, you’d be climbing the walls with anxiety because your safety net wasn’t perfect.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “I had a similar thought earlier, but nearly all my supplies are still intact, so it’d be rough living but doable. I can temporarily live with that for now. Especially with this case to distract me.”

His lips twisted.

“Jealous?” she asked with a grin. “It’s an amazing case, isn’t it?”

“It is. Considering there have been no leads for decades, and the robbery is practically modern folklore. It’s like a buried treasure hunt, and Ollie found the first clue.”

“Is Ollie okay after his morning?” she asked with a small wince. She’d nearly forgotten the teen had made the grisly discovery.

“He’s okay. I spent some time with him and he was very quiet, but I could tell he was processing it. He’s dealt with death before.”

“He’s been through a lot,” sympathized Mercy.

They silently ate for a few moments until he glanced up and caught her staring at him. Longing shone in his eyes, an appetite and craving that had nothing to do with food, and she struggled to find her breath.

How does he do that to me?

“You know,” he said, his voice low and tempting, “this place hasn’t been christened yet.”

Mercy blinked. “People do that to homes?”

Patience filled his features. “That’s not what I meant.” His brown gaze held hers.

“Ohhh,” she breathed as heat flashed through her.

“Dessert.” His smile was sinful, and energy pulsed between them.

She melted. “Yes. Dessert.”


***

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Author Biography


Kendra Elliot has landed on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list multiple times and is the award-winning author of the Bone Secrets and Callahan & McLane series, as well as the Mercy Kilpatrick novels: A Merciful Death, A Merciful Truth, and A Merciful Secret. Kendra is a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award, an International Thriller Writers finalist, and an RT Award finalist. She has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on classic female heroines such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls. She was born, raised, and still lives in the rainy Pacific Northwest with her husband and three daughters, but she looks forward to the day she can live in flip-flops. Visit her at www.kendraelliot.com.

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