Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle

 

Publication: June 9, 2020

Publisher: Park Row/Harlequin

Source: Publisher

 

 

Synopsis: 

 

Charlotte didn’t know her greatest risk was saying, “I do.”

When Charlotte married the wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her humble past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned.

At first, it seems like a horrific coincidence, but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two. 

As Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries about the man she married, she doesn’t know what to trust—her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s hiding in the water.

 

 

******

I've been in such a weird book funk lately, so I was very surprised when I not only read, but devoured Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle. 

 

The story is told from the main character, Charlotte’s POV. I really liked Charlotte. I thought she was interesting and likeable. It was easy to understand her reasoning for marrying her husband even though the townspeople didn’t. 

The mystery was not easily guessed, which I was happy about. Some of the characters did make some odd choices though, so I started second-guessing almost everyone. It made it harder for me to guess who the real culprit was. 

This is the second book that I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It was a quick and entertaining read. And it didn't take long for things to start happening in the book. There were several surprises and twists to the story, and I enjoyed discovering each and every one of them. Like her previous book, Dear Wife, Kimberly Belle has created a story that is intriguing and grabbed my interest from the very first chapter. I am looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.  

 

 

 

 

 

RATING:  3½ OUT OF 5.

 

 

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Met Her Match (Summer Hill #2) by Jude Deveraux

Publication: September 17, 2019

Publisher: MIRA

Source: Publisher

In small towns, no one lets the facts get in the way of juicy gossip…

Set in the beloved fictional town of Summer Hill, Virginia, Met Her Match examines the tensions between the wealthy townspeople, the summer vacationers and the working-class people who keep the town and resort running. Told with humor and heart, Met Her Match is the perfect summer escape.

******

Review

Terri Rayburn has lived all of her life in the shadow of her mom’s supposed mistakes. Living in a small town everyone either knows your business or they attempt to find out your business. Terri has no desire to be the center of anymore town gossip so she stays at Lake Kissel and helps her dad run the resort there.

Life for the most part goes as expected for Terri until she comes home from a trip and finds Nate Taggert, a handsome, yet unexpected houseguest…

Despite their bumpy beginning, they come to a mutual arrangement and as time passes by at the lake, Terri and Nate develop an unexpected close friendship. The more time Nate spends at the lake, the more stories he hears about Terri and her mother. Nate being the curious sort decides to investigate the gossip and find out the truth behind it all.

Terri is easy to like. She’s resilient, smart, has a very thick skin, and is dedicated to her dad. She needs someone who is resourceful, independent, and warm. Enter Nate, her ideal man. The only problem with that is he’s already taken. Nate is engaged to the mayor’s daughter. Just when Terri thought the universe might be doing her a solid, reality tells her to think otherwise. Even though Nate is taken, could he still be the one for her? And what happens to their friendship when his fiancée comes back into town?

Nate is a people person. If someone spends 10 minutes in his company, they leave liking him. He’s smart, hardworking, and not afraid of a challenge. He’s had the opportunity to travel the world for work, but now that he is getting married, he’s planning on settling down in his fiancée’s hometown of Summer Hill. Even though future plans may be laid out for him, he isn’t completely sure of some things.

This was my first time reading a book by this author and I’m glad I decided to go for it. Met Her Match is a sweet and easy summertime romance to fall in love with. The author does a great job of writing a romance that held my interest from the very beginning and had unique and realistic characters that added to the overall story. If you enjoy small town romances, then definitely check out Met Her Match.

RATING: 3½-4 out of 5.

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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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Holiday Amnesia (Wrangler’s Corner #7) by Lynette Eason

Publication: December 1, 2018

Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense/Harlequin

Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

With no memory, who can she trust?

A deadly Christmas in Wrangler’s Corner

Robin Hardy survived an explosion in her university lab—but her memories are gone. With danger lurking behind every Christmas tree, she needs shelter from the attackers she can’t identify. She’ll trust fellow professor Toby Potter to safely hide her away. But when his secrets come between them, the truth could mean the difference between life and death this holiday season.

******

I am a sucker for characters losing their memory in books and in movies. And when I saw Holiday Amnesia, my interest was piqued. I liked Robin from the beginning. She has a strong determination to figure out why she is in danger. She’s also understandably frustrated that she can’t remember anything leading up to the explosion. Robin knows she and Toby share a history; she just isn’t sure what it entails. Realizing that she needs help, Robin accepts Toby’s offer to get her to safety while she attempts to recover her memories. Is that the right thing for her to do? And why does it feel like Toby is hiding something?

Toby is a professor at the same university that Robin works at. He happens to find her after the lab explosion. He gets her to safety and vows to protect her at all costs. Right before the explosion, he and Robin were at odds. Knowing that Robin may push him away again if she learns the truth, Toby is afraid to tell Robin all he knows.  That may prove to be a costly mistake…

Holiday Amnesia was a quick and entertaining read. Even though this is a romantic suspense story, the romance was not front and center. Ultimately I found I enjoyed the mystery portion of the book more than the romance between Robin and Toby. But the story did hold my interest and the twist in the story was one I did not guess right away. This was book seven in The Wrangler’s Corner series. I hadn’t read the other books previous to this, but I didn’t feel lost starting with this book. I would recommend Holiday Amnesia to readers who enjoy quick stories full of suspense, action, and light romance.

RATING: 3 out of 5.

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The Stranger You Know (Forensic Instincts #3) by Andrea Kane

Publication: March 25, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

Source: Publisher

It begins with a chilling phone call. And ends with another girl dead. College-age girls with long red hair are being brutally murdered, posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life—a criminal brought to justice with the help of Casey Woods and her investigative team, Forensic Instincts. Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath's desire to outdo another. As more red-haired victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey…. Now the Forensic Instincts team must uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey, the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make two things clear: He knows everything about Casey. And he won't stop until she's dead.

I went into this book not having read the previous two books in the Forensic Instincts serious, so the characters and their background were new to me. The synopsis caught my interest and made me want to read it.

When Casey Woods and her team are called to investigate the disappearance of the daughter of a dying man, they learn pretty quickly that this is no ordinary missing person’s case. They discover bodies of young women with red hair have raped and brutally murdered. Things start to pick up and get intense for Casey because not only do the women bare a close resemblance to her but the killer begins to call and taunt her about the murders including her own. From then on, it’s a race to find the killer before he strikes again.

Even though this is the third book in this series, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on too much backstory information regarding the characters. The mystery was pretty interesting and easy to follow. The characters were all unique and I felt like each one added something to the story. Though some of the choices made were questionable and not very smart. This was a little disappointing, especially since Casey and her whole team were touted as being very knowledgeable. All in all I enjoyed reading The Stranger You Know. It wasn’t too heavy of a mystery and it wasn’t too light. It was somewhere in between for me.

RATING: 3 out of 5.

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The Beautiful Ashes (Broken Destiny #1) by Jeaniene Frost

Publication: August 26, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin

Source: Publisher

In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate. Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse--her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who's bound by an ancient legacy to betray her. Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn't mean he can change his fate...no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side, Adrian on the other, and nothing but ashes in between...

Ivy and Adrian met when Ivy is searching for her sister whose been missing for over a week. Ivy discovers that the things she thought was just her mind playing tricks on her is actually real. Turns out she is the last person in a line of people who can sense hallowed objects and spot a real demon behind their human form. Among other things. In order to find her sister, she needs to find a certain relic in order to find the demon her has her hostage.

This is where the book started to really get interesting for me. Finding out the true background of Ivy and Adrian and seeing them learn how to trust each other (sort of) and attempt to work together. They both need the other one. Ivy needs Adrian in order to rescue her sister and Adrian needs Ivy if he wants to kill the demon that has her. But it was frustrating to see Adrian keep withholding information from Ivy. Especially when I thought she needed to know.

The Beautiful Ashes was a fun and entertaining story. I might have helped that I didn't really have any expectations about this series going in except interesting characters, wit, and good romance.  I felt like that was exactly what I got. And when Adrian and Ivy were fighting off demons it almost reminded me of the tv show Supernatural. A show I love. I'm still new to Jeaniene Frost's work, so far I've only read her Night Prince series, but so far I have to admit that I am a fan of her work and look forward to the next book in the Broken Destiny series.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

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