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July 24, 2022August 1, 2022

The Librarian Spy-Martin-Historical Fiction-Available Now

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin is the type of historical fiction novel that grabs the reader with an interesting premise, hooks them with compelling characters, and finished them off with a dose of reality.

In other words, it is everything a historical fiction novel should be.

I absolutely loved The Last Bookshop in London, so I was very excited to see her new release. I’m happy to say that this one is just as good!

The story unfolds in two parallel narratives: Ava’s in Lisbon, Portugal, and Elaine’s in Lyon, France. It is a unique approach, because, unlike other historical fiction novels, both women are in the same year, 1943.

Usually, there are contemporary and historical timelines that have a connection. That’s not the case here, and it adds a bit of mystery to the story.

What is the significance of each woman’s story and how do they relate to each other? The author takes great care to build the plot lines independently but with enough action in each to further draw in the reader.

I was never disappointed when the chapters switched from one to the other; it felt natural to want to know what was going on at the same time.

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I don’t want to give away the major plot point, but the two stories do eventually intertwine, even if it is relatively briefly in the overarching story. It’s enough to be a satisfactory connection.

Because really, it is a story about two women, each doing their part to fight against fascism during WWII. Ava’s is more intriguing due to her eventual position and duties. But Elaine’s is more compelling due to the urgency of her work.

As with any novel set during WWII, there is loss – some of it quite heartbreaking – but there is also a good dash of hope and resilience. The importance of never giving up and believing in a cause is vital for both women.

It is always difficult to say that I enjoy a historical fiction novel. Especially one set during one of the darkest periods of history. But The Librarian Spy kept me up most of the night to find out the fates of Ava and Elaine.

I highly recommend this book.

Twitter: @MadelineMMartin
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AUTHOR BIO

Madeline Martin is a New York Times and international bestselling author of historical fiction novels and historical romance. She lives in sunny Florida with her two daughters, two incredibly spoiled cats, and a wonderful husband. She is a die-hard history lover who will happily lose herself in research any day. When she’s not writing, researching or ‘moming’, you can find her spending time with her family at Disney or sneaking a couple spoonfuls of Nutella while laughing over cat videos.

July 22, 2022July 21, 2022

Liar, Liar-Davis-Psych Thriller-Available Now

In the new psych thriller from L. G. Davis you’ll find yourself wondering who is telling the truth while pretty much calling everyone Liar, Liar.

From the very beginning, I was positive that I knew what was going on in the neighborhood.

I was not correct.

But the truth of the characters is better than what I was imagining.

Side note: I know Lumberton well, as we used to stop there when were driving back and forth between NY and FL. But that is just a neat little realization of mine.

The story belongs to Tess. I like how the story is all hers, because it gives the reader the opportunity to get into her head and see things more clearly. While jumping between multiple perspectives can make a book interesting, it sometimes gets confusing.

In Liar, Liar, we get everything from her, both in the past and the present. Well, except for a few small instances.

It is apparent from early on that Tess has a dark secret and that Oliver helps her hide it from their neighbors.

Is Tess lying? Is Oliver? And what is up with the bookclub with members who don’t want to talk about books?

It is brilliant plotting, because it makes every character a suspect. But a suspect of what?

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Slowly, in flashbacks, we learn how Tess and Oliver came to be where they are. We also learn that neither of them is completely innocent in the events of both the past and the present.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I suppose it could be boiled down to “men are liars, women are liars, both manipulate each other, kids end up in the middle.”

I will say that the ending is a bit gonzo, and I am not exactly sure I buy it all. But it is unique, so I’ll give the author that.

And – just an aside – I wish that authors who set their stories in America would take the time to research American terms for items. A person living in North Carolina would have a hoodie, not a hooded jumper.

But that is just a personal pet peeve.

Liar, Liar is a solid psych thriller that I can certainly recommend. I look forward to reading more books from her!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liz’s story began in a refugee camp in Angola, where she spent the first eight years of her life. After that, she spent some years in Namibia (her home country), South Africa, and Germany. She now lives in Vienna, Austria, with her husband and two children. Liz wrote her first full-length novel at eighteen and hid it in a box under her bed. Several others soon followed it. Her passion lies in writing edge-of-the-seat psychological thrillers that give readers the same rush they would get on a rollercoaster.

July 21, 2022July 21, 2022

Truly, Madly, Amy-Wilkinson-Fiction-Available Now

I’m a huge Kerry Wilkinson fan. A one-click psych thriller author for me. Therefore, I was equally excited and intrigued to see Truly, Madly, Amy listed as a general fiction/romance novel.

First, I have to commend the author for taking a step outside of the psych thriller genre. I imagine that it might get boring to write the same thing all the time. Or it might be challenging to come up with delicious plot twists that keep the reader guessing.

At any rate, Truly, Madly, Amy is a definite departure. And while I like the premise as a whole, I didn’t think it was entirely successful.

Now, let me preface the rest of this by saying simply because of the era in which the book is set, I had a hard time relating to the characters.

The action, aside from the last chapter or two, takes place in 1999. And while I thoroughly enjoyed the Prince song of the same title, by the time the actual year rolled around, I was approaching 30 years old. I was teaching high school, engaged for the first time, and going through many personal life changes.

Actually, now that I think about it, that’s probably one of the things that saved the book for me. My students at the time would have been the same age as Joe and Amy. I didn’t think about it during reading.

But it is probable that I understood them in a detached way – in relation to my students but not me. Anyway, that made it difficult for me to understand the characters’ points of view on things.

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The story is not heavy with 1999 references either. There was no atmospheric nostalgia of pop culture that could have re-created that era. Good fiction set in the past usually has that aspect.

What the book does have, however, is an exquisite look at how much one person can impact your life. One person who is there at a pivotal moment, who understands enough to know exactly what needs to be done.

That’s what Amy does for Joe. It isn’t a big, sweeping gesture, it is more just a good person being in the right place at the right time.

I am still not sure how I feel about the ending. It reads as if the author is trying to work out the past few years via the characters in the story. I get it, I think. But it seemed almost too reflective and cynical for the rest of the story.

If you go into Truly, Madly, Amy with the understanding that it is more character-driven, you will certainly enjoy it. The author successfully captures the feeling of a summer of endless possibilities. I’ll be interested if the author jumps into plain fiction again.

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Author Bio:

Kerry Wilkinson is from the English county of Somerset but has spent far too long living in the north. It’s there that he’s picked up possibly made-up regional words like ‘barm’ and ‘ginnel’. He pretends to know what they mean.

He’s also been busy since turning thirty: his Jessica Daniel crime series has sold more than a million copies in the UK; he has written a fantasy-adventure trilogy for young adults; a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter and the standalone thriller, Down Among The Dead Men.

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022

The Lost Boy-Renshaw-Psych Thriller-Available Now

The Lost Boy by Jane Renshaw is a solid psych thriller that is a mostly good read with some really good twists.

It is obvious right from the start that something is not right with Anna. Sure, she says it flat out at the end of the very first chapter.

But even in the introduction of her character, it was apparent that there is an oddness about her. That is good foreshadowing by the author because it is solid groundwork for the revelations that come later in the book.

I thought that Penny and Rod were a little more difficult to understand. Sometimes I got their dynamic, and then something would occur that made me question myself.

They also seemed very mismatched. Penny’s description brings to mind a high-maintenance socialite while Rod likes hiking and birding. Not to say that opposites can’t attract, but it was jarring to me at times.

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The author excels in two places throughout the story: the description of obnoxious children and location/scenery.

Honestly, the two boys are so well written that one has to think that the author knows an annoying kid or two. And, knowing that these are fictional characters, I found myself rooting more for Anna than I probably should have.

As to scenery, it creates a brooding atmosphere that adds to the danger lurking on the island.

And about that island? I get why the author made it so remote, but it took a little bit of suspension of disbelief that Rod and Penny would accept a trip based on an invitation from a virtual stranger.

That being said, the book does pick up in the second half as the truth about Anna’s background and motivations come to light. And there are still a few twists at the end.

The Lost Boy is a different kind of island adventure. Jane Renshaw has created a moody psych thriller that will keep you turning pages.

Author Bio

As a child, Jane spent a lot of time in elaborate Lego worlds populated by tiny plastic animals
and people. Crime levels were high, especially after the Dragon brothers set themselves up as
vets and started murdering the animals in their ‘care’. (They got away with it by propping the
victims up with Plasticine and pretending they were still alive…). As an adult, she is still playing in imaginary worlds and putting her characters through hell – but now she can call it ‘writing’ and convince herself that she is doing something sensible. In real life, she has a PhD in genetics and copy-edits scientific and medical journals.

July 19, 2022July 19, 2022

Do I Really Know You?-Browne-Psych Thriller-Available Now

Do I Really Know You? by Sheryl Browne is a psych thriller that keeps the suspense building. The reader has to guess who is telling the truth, who is lying, and who can be trusted.

Turns out that none of the characters are really easy to know. That goes for the characters knowing each other as well as the reader figuring everything out.

As is usual with a psych thriller, the story starts with a prologue that features an event. But it is impossible to tell who the victim is and who is the perpetrator.

That continues into the present-day action. But first, there is a brief flashback to fifteen years prior that provides backstory to the relationships between the four main characters: Kiara, Dave, Maddie, and Nathan.

We then enter present time. It quickly becomes apparent that none of them really know each other at all. And that goes for the married couples as well as the long-time friendships.

Maddie begins to question everything when a tragic “accident” involving Kiara throws the remaining three friends into turmoil, especially as their disbelief of each other is strengthened during the police investigation.

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Who is lying? Why are people hiding secrets? Who is the victim in all of this? Are additional people pulling the strings, or is it a coincidence?

The author wisely keeps the answers to these questions mostly hidden until the end, which leaves the reader guessing right along with Maddie. As a result, she’s the one who becomes pivotal in the whole scheme of things.

I did guess one of the twists from the beginning, but as I have mentioned before, it’s more because I like to try to outguess the author. However, other readers will find the reveal of the culprit to be a surprise.

There are other twists and surprises that I did not guess. I liked the balance of obvious (to me) and not knowing something until the author revealed it.

I’m a big fan of Sheryl Browne (see also The Invite), and Do I Really Know You? is another solid psych thriller from her.

Website: www.sherylbrowne.com
Twitter: sherylbrowne
Instagram: sheryl.browne

Author Bio:

Bestselling Author, Sheryl Browne, writes taut, twisty psychological thriller. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies where she completed her MA in Creative Writing. Sheryl has also obtained a Certificate of Achievement in Forensic Science and – according to readers – she makes an excellent psychopath. Sheryl’s latest psychological thriller DO I REALLY KNOW YOU? comes to you from BOOKOUTURE. Her previous works include the DI Matthew Adams Crime Thriller series, along with contemporary fiction novels, The Rest of My Life and Learning to Love.

July 18, 2022July 19, 2022

The Last Restaurant in Paris-Graham-Historical Fiction-Available Now

The Last Restaurant in Paris is a new historical fiction novel by Lily Graham. While it doesn’t exactly break any new ground, it is a solid story with a unique plot.

If you’ve read any WWII historical fiction, or even have a passing knowledge of history, you know that Nazi-occupied France is still one of the biggest moments in the war. The untold stories are endless.

For the French citizens who were sympathizers to those who fought the occupation – and everywhere in between – the spirit of the French people is impossible to ignore.

In the plot of The Last Restaurant in Paris, the reader gets a little bit of all of these attitudes. They are all present in an enigma of a character in Marianne.

Yes, the plot is a typical dual storyline/present-past weaving of history; that’s common. The beginning does drag a bit. But the groundwork needs to be solid for Marianne’s story to be fully understood.

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Once the author gets to that point, it is a completely different novel. The careful reader immerses themselves in Marianne’s Paris. The author excels at these types of character builds.

Through her eyes, it is easier to see why she did what she did (you can get the plot point from the blurb and other reviews). Marianne understood the importance of fighting back but also understood that sometimes hard sacrifices need to be made.

That doesn’t make the choice any easier.

What I also found interesting was how easy it seemed for the people of the neighborhood to believe the worst…and to essentially rewrite history.

It seems apparent that some people would rather believe an easy lie than a harder truth.

I did like how Sabine and Gilbert discovered the history together from completely different backgrounds/points of view. It gave a holistic feel to Marianne’s story.

And I dare you not to tear up when the truth of Marianne’s story reveals itself. The independent spirit – and sacrifice necessary to maintain it – is not to be forgotten.

The Last Restaurant in Paris is another great historical fiction novel by Lily Graham (see also: The German Girl. I continue to look forward to more!

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Author Bio

Lily Graham is the author of the bestselling, The Child of Auschwitz, The Paris Secret and The Island Villa, among others. Her books have been translated into numerous languages, including French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Turkish.

She grew up in South Africa, and was a journalist for a decade before giving it up to write fiction full time. Her first three novels were lighter, women’s fiction, but when she wrote The Island Villa, a story about a secret Jewish community living on the tiny island of Formentera during the Spanish Inquisition, she switched to historical fiction and hasn’t quite looked back since.

She lives now in the Suffolk coast with her husband and English bulldog, Fudge. Her latest book, The Flight of Swallows, set in Denmark and Sweden, will be out in January 2021.

July 14, 2022July 14, 2022

The Love of My Other Life-Connolly-Rom Com-Available Now

I absolutely loved The Love of My Other Life by CJ Connolly. It’s a romantic comedy with a unique twist, and it should be at the top of your TBR list.

Are we as happy as we can be in our present lives? Is there a possibility that there is more than one type of happiness out there for us? Are some things inevitable, they just may occur under different circumstances in our lives?

The author addresses all of these questions and more through Josie. After a bike accident, she wakes up in a different life from the one she was in before the accident.

It’s still her life – she’s still Josie – but she is not the same Josie.

The author wisely breaks the plot up into sections between Josie and…well, Josie. And then goes back to…Josie before switching to Josie.

That may sound a bit confusing. It all makes sense in the context of the book as you read it. The sections have clear headings so it is easy to know whose timeline you’re in.

I also like how the first part of the book lays all of the groundwork before the author switches to the alternate timeline. It allows the reader to see things that Josie misses and sheds light on Josie’s choices.

The other characters in the book are interesting and contribute appropriately It is not too much. I especially like Rob. He is a stalwart and steady presence. But his revelations toward the end as everything comes to a head are eye-opening.

They put all of Josie’s choices under new scrutiny, which brings the story to a whole new depth of feeling.

Honestly, what I liked best about the book (aside from it being thoroughly engaging) were the questions that it asked and the points that it made about one’s life.

Are you happy because you tell yourself you are? Do you make your own happiness? What is contentment and how do you find it? Is it a “path not taken?” Or is it a “path not taken until it is time to take it?”

We all have those moments that we can look back on and see as turning points in our lives. But what is inevitable, and how do we know that everything that happens isn’t supposed to happen anyway – just on a different time schedule?

I know this review asks a lot of questions, but I loved how The Love of My Other Life was just THAT thought-provoking while still being an entertaining rom-com.

If you are looking for a solid book to round out your beach reads for the summer, look no further than this latest from CJ Connolly.

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Author Bio

CJ Connolly is a writer based in Vancouver, Canada, but hailing originally from the UK. By day, CJ has a career in communications and journalism, with two decades of editing, writing, and marketing experience in the Vancouver and London media and tech industries.

She has also been the host of a real estate-focused talk radio show and has been seen many times reporting on TV and speaking on conference panels.

In her free time – in addition to writing contemporary romance novels – CJ is passionate about singing and is a member of a vocal group in Vancouver. Although she is happily child-free, the great loves of CJ’s life are her young nephews Oscar and Felix, who live much too far away in Munich, Germany.

July 12, 2022July 13, 2022

The Accident-Hurst-Psych Thriller-Available Now

The Accident by Daniel Hurst is a psych thriller that is more thriller than psych. It has a great premise but doesn’t entirely deliver. However, if you go in knowing what you’re getting, you’ll enjoy the book.

The best part of the plot is in the first 80 pages. The author does a fantastic job of building the tension to the accident that guides the rest of the story. It was palpable from each of the character’s points of view.

In this opening part, I think we are meant to feel sorry for Carl, as he has gotten himself into a mess – but it is nothing compared to what is about to happen to him later. The same goes for Jo.

The author has a nice “wait, what” moment when the story transitions to after the accident. Maybe I wasn’t reading close enough, but I thought one thing was happening, when it was actually something else.

That makes sense in the context of the plot.

However, the issue I have is that the reader knows within those first 80 pages what actually happened. So, the rest of the story is more of a “who will find out the truth and when” which is why I said it is more thriller than psych thriller.

There is no surprise in terms of the original accident, so a lot of the middle of the book is the guilty party worrying about when the other character will realize what is actually happening. It does get a bit tedious.

The author saves a few twists for the end which suddenly make one of the characters unreliable. I didn’t get the feeling of this through the rest of the book, and I wish more had been done to create this doubt around the character.

The biggest twist at the end is also a head-scratcher because the person responsible seems to forget exactly how they discovered info about the initial accident and gets caught up the exact same way.

Now, that end event itself is a bit of a shocker. But the character responsible tosses it off like it really wasn’t a big deal and just had to happen. I didn’t get that feel for the character throughout either.

As I said at the beginning of this review, if you go into it knowing that you will be reading more of a thriller, when will the other shoe drop type of story, you will definitely enjoy it. Just don’t keep waiting for a typical psych thriller twist. It doesn’t happen.

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Author Bio

Daniel Hurst writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.

July 11, 2022July 13, 2022

A Perfect Stranger-Boland-Psych Thriller-Available Now

Shalini Boland continues to grow as a psych thriller author. A Perfect Stranger is a combination of taut scenes, complex characters, and “omg, what did I just read” moments.

Even as the reader has to suspend disbelief just a bit, it is not hard to do so because the entertainment level is so high.

In other words, you’re not going to get a lot of depth, but you’re going to get a page-turning and engaging psych thriller if you just roll with it.

Like many psych thrillers, the story starts with an event before going back in time to the months leading up to that event. Sometimes it is easy to see how the event plays into current events.

In this case, however, it is not so apparent. I spent a good part of the first half of the book wondering how the prologue fits into the narrative. I like that it kept me guessing.

Even as Emily and Aidan circle around the issues they are facing it is easy to see that there is a lot more going on underneath the surface. Some of that doesn’t appear until way late in the book.

Again, it is an effective way to keep the reader hooked.

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The story unfolds in alternating chapters, going back and forth between Emily and Dani’s points of view. As with other aspects, it takes a while to figure out how they are connected.

And oh boy, are they.

The way those are revealed is part of the suspension of disbelief that I mentioned earlier. But by the time you actually get to the point where you need to do that, you are all in.

The author wisely drops some red herrings along with some legit clues as to what is causing all of the trouble for both Emily and Dani.

Even after you get to the event of the prologue, there is still more to come. The author saves one big twist for the very end.

And that twist illustrates just how everyone in this book is pretty much a perfect stranger to everyone else.

Shalini Boland has done it again. If you liked her other books, such as The Family Holiday, you’ll like A Perfect Stranger.

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Author Bio:

Shalini lives in Dorset, England with her husband, two children and Jess their cheeky terrier cross. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer songwriter, but now she spends her days writing suspense thrillers (in between school runs and hanging out endless baskets of laundry).

July 10, 2022July 13, 2022

Out of Her Depth-Barber-Thriller-Available Now

Out of Her Depth by Lizzy Barber is a thriller that slow-burns its way through the plot. It recounts past events at a pace that builds dread to the point where I almost wanted to cover my eyes and read through my fingers because I couldn’t bear to see what was going to happen next.

Yes, it really was that good.

The reader knows from the start that there was a tragic accident that set Rachel’s life on a course of self-destruction. Rachel herself tells us that in the beginning. But the author wisely builds the backstory before getting to the actual event.

I don’t think I’ve ever waited so long for the payoff. I mean, once a certain character was introduced, I had a feeling I knew what the event was. But I still had to wait until almost the very end for confirmation.

THAT is the way to keep a reader hooked.

The chapters are set up in a fairly uniform manner, alternating consistently between then (the buildup to the event) and now (how Rachel is dealing with everything in the present).

No spoiler alert: Rachel is not dealing well at all.

One of the things that I liked most about this book is that it was difficult to tell if Rachel was reliable or not. She was certainly in awe of the situation that she found herself in. But was she to blame for the events, or was she used?

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That question comes up more often than you think, especially as Diana’s true attitudes come to light.

It really is a case study of how manipulation can occur on many different levels.

However, it also made it difficult to see who the true villain was in the story. Diana because of her machinations? Rachel for allowing herself to repeatedly fall into traps? Sebastian because of his general cluelessness and willingness to be a pawn?

They all have equal parts – although given the way the story ends (and no, you will NOT see it coming) I would say that Diana knew what she was doing even way back in the past. She just didn’t care.

Rachel truly was out of her depth all along; she just didn’t know how much until it was too late.

As I mentioned at the outset, this is a slow burn, so there are times when it might feel like it is dragging but trust me – those parts are important. Reading between the lines should be your mantra for this thriller.