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We all have an event in our lives that we would rather not revisit. But what happens when you not only have to revisit it but do a podcast about it? That question (and more) is the center of The Beach Party, a new psych thriller from Amy Sheppard.

Katie grew up in a small town on the Cornwall coast. When she was 19, a fellow classmate, Lacey, was brutally murdered. Fast forward five years and Katie returns with her friend Sophie to do an episode of their podcast that explores murders in small towns.

Katie does not bargain for all of the secrets that are still hidden. The feelings that arise returning to “the scene of the crime.” The reminders of how tight-lipped the townspeople can be.

Unfortunately for her, the time at home exploring and investigating Lacey’s murder digs up a lot of skeletons that are definitely better off staying buried.

I thought the author did a great job of building the tension. My suspect list constantly changed as more revelations occurred. The great thing about the way the author approached this was that each of the suspects was plausible.

Sometimes, an author introduces suspects who have very little motive or questionable involvement Not so in this case. In fact, every single person at the beach party was a believable suspect at one point or another – as were several other townspeople.

However, it turns out Lacey wasn’t the beloved, popular girl that Katie thought she was. In fact, she really wasn’t very nice at all.

I like that. A lot. It makes the motive that much more complicated. It additionally gives the reader a taste of the psych in psych thriller

Katie is a complicated character. She has tried to distance herself from that period of her life for several reasons. But she is thrown back into it in the worst way. Her personal attachment to everything gives the story multiple levels which keep the interest high.

If I had to say anything bad, I’d say that the wrap-up after the climax seems very rushed. Once we know who the killer is, everything else just gets a perfunctory mention. But that is being nitpicky.

I really enjoyed The Beach Party. It’s a great debut novel from Amy Sheppard, and I look forward to reading her next psych thriller novel.

Author Bio:

Amy Sheppard is a busy mum of two boys, living in Cornwall. Her obsession with making budget-friendly family dinners led her to writing two cookbooks. Amy creates recipes for her followers and for brands @amysheppardfood

Sometimes you read a psych thriller where the crazy just pours off the page practically from the start. The Ex by S.E. Lynes is one of those.

The way the author tells the story, the reader gets that crazy from several different perspectives. First, there’s the “hero” – or is he a victim? Sam is…complicated. On the one hand, we know that he is good at his job as a chief landscaper.

On the other hand, his home life is sort of a mess. I guess that makes him relatable?

Then there’s Naomi, Sam’s ex. Is she as crazy as she seems? Or is she crazy like a fox? What are her motives for…everything? We have Joyce, Sam’s grandmother, who I actually liked. I think she is the most “normal” of all of them.

And then there is Miranda. She works with Sam and is supposed to be a sort of omnipotent narrator. And therein is part of the problem with the way the story is told.

I like that the author tried to do something unique. Having Miranda “introduce” everything at the beginning was neat, and it got me very hooked to see how the story developed. It had the potential for developing the psych thriller aspect. However, the method is not consistent throughout the story.

There are times when Miranda has good insight into the events. Then there are times where I found myself wondering “how could she possibly know that?” It might have worked better if the character “narrating” was not also involved as much in the plot itself. As is, it was confusing at times.

Equally confusing is that there is very little identification as to whose perspective we are reading from in each chapter, and even within chapters. I found myself re-reading passages because I thought someone else was talking.

Another thing that was odd, but not a deal breaker, was how obvious Naomi’s crazy was and how apparently clueless Sam was about it. I know that love can make a person blind, but he takes it to a totally different level.

It is worth mentioning that the author refers heavily to the pandemic. The original lockdown is partly the basis of the entire plot. I get it, it’s a pivotal time for all of us.

However, I read books to escape reality. This is a personal decision for my own brain health. So, I understand why the author uses it so heavily. But it was a reminder of “real life” that I did not particularly care for. Again, that is totally a personal preference. Other readers may have no trouble with it.

I still enjoyed The Ex by S. E. Lynes, but I have liked other books by her better. I’ll still look for her next one.

Author Bio:
A former BBC Producer, S.E. Lynes has lived in France, Spain, Scotland and Italy and is now settled in Greater London. After completing her MA, she taught creative writing at Richmond Adult Community College for ten years. She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing in Richmond Borough.

I am a fan of Nicola Marsh, as she can write a good psych thriller. While The Ex Between Us has good bones, however, there are a few things that keep it from being one of her better books.

First the good.

The story unfolds from both Jo and Abi’s points of view, so we get two different perspectives of the action. It also unfolds in the present and in the past, as some chapters reflect the characters’ actions when they were still in school together.

I like the setup. The friendship between Abi and Jo is long-lasting even through all of their ups and downs. There is a testament to girl power in here somewhere – even as the reader learns that not everything is as it appears.

Abi’s profession is unique, although I wish there had been more of it. It was interesting and unique and would have been fun to explore it.

Mostly, I like that I was off-balance throughout the entire book. I was never quite sure where the author was going with anything and had several theories that changed each time new information was revealed. I never got it quite right.

That being said, the book does suffer in a few places.

Abi and Jo both consistently refer to the drama that they see other people bringing to them. They even laugh at old schoolmates as being stuck in high school “mean girl” mode. Yet the two of them often engage in the same behaviors.

There is a lot of repetition, especially from Jo. I thought that her memories of being younger would have a bigger impact on the current time. As it turns out, they end up being largely filler. There are opportunities in Jo’s unhappy past that could have made great psych thriller material. But they do not end up being relevant.

There is a strange, uneven tone to some parts of the story. Abi knows what is going on, but she doesn’t, but she has suspicions, so she takes steps to prove things, but she still doesn’t know…her actions are inconsistent.

I can’t say much about Jo without giving away major plot points. But she is unreliable as a narrator. Come to think of it, so is Abi for that matter. There are characters that appear briefly but never do much.

I guessed a couple of the plot twists early on, so I wasn’t surprised by some of the “big reveals.” However, the depths of the relationship that come to light, in the end, are interesting.

On a side note, I believe the author is Australian? There are several references using Australian terms (singlet for tank top, crisps for potato chips, turf you out instead of toss you out, etc). I question why the author chose to set the story in America.

There is nothing that particularly screams California in the setting, so it might have been easier to just set the action in Australia. Then these things wouldn’t jump out. However, the wording is distracting which does tend to take me out of the action of a book.

As I mentioned at the outset, I did not guess all of the twists. The author did have a few surprises that I did not expect. But the Australian terms used by characters from California and the uneven, even childish, behaviors of the main characters keep it from being truly amazing – which it had the potential to be.

The Ex Between Us was still interesting enough that I will eagerly await the next psych thriller from Nicola Marsh.

Author Bio

USA TODAY bestselling & multi-award winning author Nicola Marsh writes page-turning fiction to keep you up all night.

She has published 80 books, sold over 8 million copies worldwide and been translated into 25 languages.

She currently writes contemporary romance and domestic suspense. You can find some of her series romance under the pseudonym Nikki North.

A physiotherapist for 13 years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two dashing young heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, barracking loudly for her beloved North Melbourne Kangaroos footy team, and her favourite, curling up with a good book!