I wanted to like Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica, but while there were a few good points, I was largely disappointed. The premise was good, but the execution felt like it was lacking. I think the biggest sticking point for me was that Christian had a prominent voice, but he was actually a passive character in the bigger scheme of things. That left too much room for his internal monologues, which essentially stopped any action. There were also parts where the writing felt very elementary like this was an early novel from the author that is now seeing the light of day due to her success. Regardless, while this book was not for me, others may have a different experience. I will continue to look for new releases from her, as everyone can have an off time at any point. This review was written based on a digital copy of the book from Harlequin Trade Publishing/ Park Row.
Best Friends Forever by Shannon Hollinger is a thriller that mostly delivers on its promises. There are definitely requisite thrills, more than one mystery, and a couple of decent twists thrown in.
In short, there is a lot going on – sometimes too much. But we’ll get to that.
Kate has to return home to help care for an ailing mother and mute sister. She had left her hometown abruptly a decade earlier because of a chilling event. Being home again opens up all kinds of cans of worms.
Additionally, almost as soon as she arrives home, there is another incident that raises even more questions and leaves Kate wondering if her memories of the event are accurate or not. Having “the old gang” around adds to the questions.
There is a lot to like about Best Friends Forever. The reader can appreciate Kate’s reluctance to be home again given the circumstances but also sympathize with her desire to find out what really happened on that night so many years prior.
I liked the mystery aspects of this thriller. In fact, the plot, in general, was really good. The author dropped enough red herrings and legit clues to keep me guessing.
There are several subplots that may or may not (no spoilers here) have bearing on the overall arc. Those were also mostly handled well.
And once the story reaches a climax, there is surprise after surprise. A few I guessed, but I was not entirely accurate on a couple of main ones until the moment of reveal.
I think the only thing keeping this from being a five-star thriller is that the middle drags…a lot.
Kate tends to dither. I get that it is her character and her unsettled nature at being back home. But there is a large chunk of the story where nothing really impels the plot forward.
A few of the subplots seem to be thrown in as twists that aren’t really needed. There isn’t enough character development for them to really matter (if that makes sense).
However, despite all of that, Best Friends Forever is still a good, page-turning thriller. I will be looking for future books from Shannon Hollinger.
K.L. Slater is fast becoming another favorite author when I need a psych thriller fix. The Narrator is definitely one of her best.
There are just enough questions thrown out about each of the characters that the reader is as off-balance as the main character.
Additionally, the author is clever in setting this story in the book world because it instantly adds relatability and awareness to situations.
Even the final, last gasp, jaw-dropping surprise is entirely plausible.
I guess, in some ways, that makes The Narrator a unique psych thriller. It is one of the few times I can remember thinking, “I could absolutely see this happening in real life.”
Obviously, I’m not going to give any plot points away. But again, the author is smart in the storytelling. The action unfolds from multiple perspectives in multiple time frames. And it is never confusing at all.
In fact, I think it was one of the most seamless books I’ve read recently. Everything flowed smoothly. I particularly liked that there were a couple of characters who popped up occasionally who may or may not have anything to do with the overall plot. (I’m not telling).
But it was effective storytelling because they did just enough to throw suspicion on themselves.
If I had to nitpick, the only thing that didn’t exactly fit for me was the thread about Eve’s father. I get it in the overall plot picture, but it seemed forced to me, while everything else seemed natural.
Regardless, The Narrator is still a fantastic psych thriller. I didn’t guess the big reveal until literally the last moment. For that reason alone, it earns high marks – but everything else is pretty darn good too!
Nicole Trope has become one of my favorite psych thriller authors, and The Stay-at-Home Mother is the perfect example of why she is so good.
In a nutshell, whatever story she is telling is really only partial. It’s enough on its own, but if you’ve read her books, you know there is always another shoe to drop somewhere along the way (usually toward the end).
In this case, Gabby is the stay-at-home mother in question. She has an online following that commiserates with her over her troubles with her teenage son.
When Andrea (very pregnant), her husband Terry, and their 3-year-old son Jack move in across the street, Gabby can’t help but offer assistance to a frazzled Andrea. And Andrea is all too willing to rely on this virtual stranger who seems like the perfect lifeline.
However, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is…not true.
Not only does Andrea have pregnancy fog, but her husband’s “issue” rears its ugly head at the same time as everything else comes to a climax. It’s really a perfect storm of distraction.
I don’t want to give anything away because, like any good psych thriller, the fun is in realizing what is actually occurring without any spoilers to wreck the enjoyment of the plot.
But I will say that even if you think you have it all figured out (which I did a few times) – there is still more that you will not guess.
And that is why The Stay-at-Home Mother is a quintessential psych thriller. Nicole Trope has cemented herself as an absolute go-to for a jaw-dropping read.
A Small Affair by Flora Collins is one of the more unique books I’ve read this year. I have a hard time defining it. Mystery? Thriller? Mystery Thriller? All of the above?
The reader knows from the beginning that something happened to Vera that turned her world upside down and inside out.
However, the exact details of that are revealed slowly throughout the entire book. There are answers right away, but don’t mistake that for knowing everything about what happened.
You don’t.
The author saves some info until literally the very last pages.
Vera is a tough character to like. I wanted to feel sorry for her because of “the event” and how it affected her. But in the flashbacks to her life pre-event, she is not a very likable person.
I think this conundrum made the book more interesting. It kept me actively disliking the person but rooting for her because of the situation.
There are parts that appear to be uneven. But that is only a superficial way of looking at the plot. In reality, the author paints the story in layers.
No, strike that. The author makes a collage of the events, with some characters more prominent than others. Just like Vera does.
I just now put that together.
That being said, there are layers to the onion when it comes to the plot. For example, it might seem like a departure for the author to flashback to Odilie’s past – but there’s a reason for that.
Just like there’s a reason for detailing Odilie and Tom’s relationship.
Honestly, it’s all just very twisted.
I did think that the end was a little bit disappointing. It seemed to wrap up too neatly after the mess that was Vera’s life leading up to then.
But it turns out that what she had was anything but a small affair. And Flora Collins keeps the mystery going to the end.
Sometimes a psych thriller has so much going on that it takes a couple of re-reads of a section to understand what is happening. That is the case with Her First Child by Sheryl Browne.
That’s not to say that it is complicated. It is actually pretty straightforward. But there are some parts where it took me a second to recenter myself and figure out what I just read.
As with many a psych thriller, the story starts with a prologue. It seems fairly normal…right up until the final sentence of the section.
In fact, there are a few times that occurs throughout the book – blink, and you’ll miss it mentions that would be easy to skip over if you aren’t reading carefully.
The plot is interesting because, in some ways, it really doesn’t go anywhere. Eve’s mom shows up essentially unannounced, which freaks Eve out for…reasons. But Eve hasn’t explained anything about her past to her partner, Dom, so he doesn’t understand what the issue is.
For the reader, it stays that vague, even as there are flashbacks to Eve’s past. The reader does find out the basis for Eve’s fears long before Dom does. But even so, there is still a lot that isn’t clear.
Eve’s best friend Chloe is present in both the past and present threads. I never got a good beat on her. Was she jealous? Protective? Angry? All of the above? Who knows. And a plot line with her husband Steve seemed gratuitous.
The author kept me guessing right up until the very end, which I appreciate. However, as I mentioned at the beginning, there were several times I had to re-read a section to make sure I knew what had actually happened.
This occurred more in the second half of the book. Everyone starts pointing fingers at everyone else and lies pile on each other. There is just too much going on. I was being tossed around like a pinball machine.
There were also throw-away sections that led nowhere. And I’m still not sure about the resolution of a couple of things. It just seems as if the author had two books going, and they melded together.
Her First Child took a lot to get through – it’s a solid story that took a lot of effort to understand. Others may have a different experience. I still recommend the book.
And I remain a fan of Sheryl Browne. I’ll look forward to her next psych thriller.
Just when I think that Carol Wyer has created the ultimate mystery/thriller novel, she outdoes herself. As much as I love her other series, I think Behind Closed Doors may be my new favorite.
I don’t know if it’s because it’s a stand-alone or just because she’s that good. At any rate, I’ll put it out right here that this should 100% be on your TBR list.
You can read the blurb for the basics. Stacey survived a horrific experience when she was younger and has long since buried the memories of that time. However, when her ex shows up and says his daughter Lyra (Stacey’s ex-stepdaughter) is missing, events are too similar for Stacey to ignore.
Is the person responsible for Stacey’s horror the same person who took Lyra? Is it a copycat? Or is the truth more nefarious?
Yeah, right, like I’m going to give ANY of that away!
One area where this author really excels is in making the reader feel like they’re a part of the action. She really grabs you, reels you in, and keeps you on the hook as she keeps you running along with the characters.
She also treats her secondary characters with as much respect as her lead characters. Every one of them has their part to play. Nobody is superfluous. It just adds to the realism of her stories.
In this case, I loved the secondary characters almost more than the leads. Stacey knows a lot of people, some legit and some seriously shady, and I was thoroughly entertained seeing how each of them helped her along the way.
My challenge with these reviews is that I want to talk about the plot, but I don’t want to give away any of the several excellent moments in the story. I’ve said it in my reviews of her books before, but they’re just so smooth.
There are no last-minute revelations that come out of nowhere. Anything that happens has had ample groundwork laid for it. It’s totally on the reader if they don’t follow that path to the conclusion.
And hang on to your seat because there are revelations right up to the very last page.
I know this is supposed to be a stand-alone, but I’d love to see Stacey again.
Anyway, I can’t say enough good things about Behind Closed Doors. From the cover to the opening to the very last pages, Carol Wyer has created one humdinger of a mystery thriller.
Sometimes I think a psych thriller is going to go one way, and it ends up completely going in a direction I didn’t expect. The New Wife by Amanda Brittany and Karen Clarke is a perfect example.
I’ll admit that I had a hard time getting into the book at first. It seemed too “by the numbers.” New wife doesn’t get along with husband’s kids, there’s animosity; oh no, what will happen?
But stick with this one because it shortly becomes apparent that the relationship with the kids (who are really closer to adults) is the least of Nell’s problems.
The connections and relationships between all of the characters are sometimes complicated. Read carefully, and you shouldn’t have any problems.
And I do mean read carefully because there ends up being a lot going on. If you read too fast or skim, you’re likely to miss some important hints regarding the truth of what’s occurring.
I liked Nell’s job; it was cool and could see myself working in a place like it. And Nell is a good main character because she is down to earth and her reactions are natural.
Ruby and Poppy were not my favorites. Ruby was okay, but Poppy seemed immature for her age. I get that she’s trouble, but some of her choices are a bit too over the top.
I’m not going to mention a few other characters – because that might give something away. But there are a few things that may seem like they’re redundant or out of place. Especially when it comes to past and current relationships.
But I assure you, they’re very relevant. Even if the reader doesn’t know that until the end.
I also don’t know how I feel about all of the resolutions. I feel like one person in particular should have had a more fitting end than how it was written. At least, I wanted it to be more in the front of the story because the reader deserved to see the result.
However, I understand the authors’ choices.
The New Wife ended up being much better than I thought it would at first. I know that sounds like a backhanded compliment, but I prefer to think that Amanda Brittany and Karen Clarke pulled a good one on the reader.
Pets of Park Avenue by Stefanie London is the second book in the Paws in the City series. It’s just as charming and fun as its predecessor, The Dachshund Wears Prada.
In fact, part of the fun is the continuation. Many rom-coms are stand-alone or non-continuous. It’s slightly more satisfying to see what happens “after the fact.” But I also like seeing characters from earlier books get their own due.
In this second-chance romance story, Scout needs the help of her estranged husband to get her out of a difficult (and hysterical) work problem.
As with any rom-com, you know that the couple is meant to be together. And they will probably end up together. But the fun is in the missteps and misunderstandings that occur along the way.
I like the dual POV method of telling the story. It gives the reader a better understanding of where each of the characters (Lane and Scout) is coming from. It also provides a holistic view of their takes on the events of the plot.
The plot itself is cute as well. Who doesn’t love pets and their quirks? Who couldn’t relate to a panic over a potential career-ending accident? Not to mention the challenge of swallowing one’s pride to save that from happening.
Scout is a self-described hot mess, but in some ways, I found her fairly normal. We are all a little bit “hot mess” at any given time. Although, there are a few instances where she is definitely right.
I wish there had been a bit more to the relationship between Lane and Scout. Everything seemed to boil down simply to “we were young, and it was Vegas.” There could have been more there.
But that’s nitpicky. This book has everything someone could want out of a rom-com. Stefanie London has hit on a great theme for a series, and I hope there are more books to come in the Pets of Park Avenue world.
I can’t quite define The Opportunist by Elyse Friedman. I suppose it is part thriller, part family drama? But I’m not sure that accurately describes it.
Alana is pretty much estranged from her extremely wealthy family for reasons unknown until later in the book. And then more reasons appear even later in the plot. But more on that…later.
Her brothers worry about their place in the inheritance line when their father takes up with his much younger nurse. They ask for Alana’s help in breaking up the relationship in the most drastic way. “Messy family dynamics” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
I think that is one of the things that I didn’t get about the book – a lot of things seemed like they were overreactions to the actual situation. The family thrived on drama. I suppose there was a good reason, as we find out via flashbacks.
Turns out the family has always been a mess with a dark side.
The chapters aren’t set up with titles so that the reader knows when they are and who is “remembering.” So, you kind of have to pay close attention to that.
Additionally, there are characters and situations that seem thrown in just because…with no real follow-through. And some things come out of nowhere.
For example, Alana’s daughter’s condition isn’t entirely necessary in the bigger scheme of things (unless I missed something somewhere). Stephen comes and goes for one thing. Gertrud also is a mystery, especially given the events at the end.
And don’t get me started on the “twist” about Ed. That felt extremely gratuitous like the author needed to have something contemporary to draw it all together. Oh, and Alana’s sister Lillian as well.
Frankly, the whole middle was muddled to me, like the author had a lot they wanted to put in but didn’t exactly know how to fit it all? And I guessed a major twist about halfway through. Although, to be fair, it was so messy that I wasn’t sure if I was right or not.
What’s funny, though, is that once I accepted that mess, I started looking at everything through a different lens, wondering if I was right and how the author was going to resolve it all.
Turns out that any one of the characters could have been the opportunist. And I liked the book better afterward than I did while I was reading it. Elyse Friedman has written an odd thriller that I would still recommend.
