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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The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

About the Book:

Publication: March 23, 2021

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Source: Publisher

 

Synopsis:

 

The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense.

Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened.

But there will be no turning back.

Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:

They are not alone.

They’re looking for the truth…
But what if it finds them first?

 

******

 

The Lost Village definitely had a creepy vibe going on. The story alternated between the Then and the Now, which I really enjoyed. The Now /present story with Alice and her crew making a film about the village was enjoyable. As things progressed for them though, their story wasn’t as suspenseful as I had hoped it would be. And some of the things that happened, like certain choices and actions did not make any sense to me. I started to enjoy reading the Then flashbacks more than I did the Now. I was very interested in learning what evil befell a whole village. As I started inching closer to the ending of the book, I felt dread for what was happening to the characters in the past and anticipation for the whole reveal. I was hooked on the Then story.

I would categorize this book as more of a suspenseful thriller than an actual horror story. I will say that unfortunately the ending was a bit lackluster for me. Despite that, it did continually keep my interest and I enjoyed reading it.  

 

 

RATING: 3 OUT OF 5.

 

 

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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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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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Quickie Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Publication: July 2, 2019

Publisher: Dutton/Penguin Group

Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen's new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid's disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building's hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

******

I would say that this was more of a mysterious story than suspenseful. I thought that Jules’s, the main character was good. I didn’t really connect with her, but she was likable, spunky, and I found it easy to want her to have a better life. She has gone through some tough times in her life and she is pretty determined to keep going and not give up.  

Jules was however a little naive at times. Not to mention, she put herself in dangerous situations when I felt like she didn't have to. And even though I know she did some of the things because of her sister Jane, but to me that wasn't a big enough reason to jeopardize her own safety. 

The story didn't pick up that much for me until 70% or so. I'm satisfied with how the book ended, but I wish there had been more red herrings/twists to the story. 

Lock Every Door is a well written and entertaining story that you should try if you are a fan of Riley Sager or mysteries in general. He always comes up with interesting concepts and characters. 

RATING: 3½ OUT OF 5.

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Dirty Trick (Perfectly Matched #1) by Christine Bell

Publication: September 23, 2013

Publisher: Entangled: Brazen Imprint

Source: Bought/Own

A sexy category romance from Entangled's Brazen imprint... This matchmaker's about to meet her match... Grace Love is lousy with men. She can spot a match for someone else a mile away, and her balls-on instincts are why her matchmaking business is thriving, but finding her own Prince Charming? The only guy who makes her sixth sense tingle is her playboy best friend, Trick, and no way is she risking their friendship, no matter how hot she knows the sex will be. SWAT officer Trick Mathews is a patient guy, but Grace’s inability to see what’s right in front of her is grinding on his last nerve. Yeah, he blew his shot at breaking out of the friend zone when he tamped down the urge to lick her from head to toe the day they met, but he’s got a plan that’ll change her mind. Incognito at Salem's hottest Halloween party, he’ll show her exactly how good they could be…and that he’s the man for her.

Grace and her best friend Serena run their own matchmaking business called Love Will Find a Way. Their business is on the verge of becoming something great and to make sure it really takes off, they plan to attend the biggest Halloween party in town to gain more clientele. Enter her other best friend and neighbor Trick, who offers to be her plus one at the party. Grace politely declines and instead her and Serena attend together without dates.

Trick, a Police Officer who is on the SWAT Team has known Grace for at least a year. He’s tall, charming, and extremely sexy. And he just so happens to have a reputation for being a little bit of a ladies man. Even though Grace finds herself attracted to Trick, she believes things will only end in heartbreak for her if they pursue a relationship. So she is content with being just friends. Trick, however wants more than friendship. And in an effort to make Grace see the light, he gets an idea to go to the party anyways disguised as a “Catman”.  His plan is to basically hit it off with her at the party disguised, in hopes that she will see how good they would be together if she just gave him a chance. Needless to say, everything does not go as planned.

Dirty Trick was a fun story to read over the weekend. The beginning started out really nice and the characters were easy to like and get into. And I really liked how I got the POV’s from both Grace and Trick. It was sweet, sexy, and short. Though to me, the story seemed to drag a little towards the end and it could have been shorter. It felt like there was a lot of internal debate going on between these two and I just wished they would have talked that much about their feelings to each other instead of themselves. Having said that, it was still a good story and I enjoyed the ending.

RATING: 3  out of 5

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