political thriller

Progress Update Friday – October 11, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 254 of 320 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

This book is really cooking now and I am completely invested. I wouldn’t be surprised if I finish it in one sitting. I am really hoping for a strong ending where the bad guy gets his comeuppance. Fingers crossed.

Playground by Richard Powers

Progress: 9:18 of 13:51

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up on naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

How it’s going:

This is my current audiobook. With the craziness of kids and work lately I have found audiobooks a lot easier to get through because I can multitask. So expect quite a few audiobook reviews in the near future. The writing of this book is beautiful. Powers weaves these stories together so flawlessly. The main two narrators (there are 6 altogether) are wonderful too. They have distinct voices but at the same time their voices mesh very well. It’s an interesting dynamic that not all audiobooks get right. As for the story, I am really loving it. There was a portion of the book that dragged quite a bit and I felt myself tuning out, but it pulled me back in and has been very compelling ever since.

Progress Updates Friday – October 4, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: Page 200 of 320

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

So I was right about who the stalker is. And I was right about Brynn’s fate…sort of, it didn’t quite happen in the way I expected. Jo actually seems to be finding some answers and strength, which is a positive development. Still liking it pretty well.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Progress: 4.5 of 10.25 hours

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

How it’s going:

So far it’s going just okay. I love the idea, I love the interactions between the characters. But the story moves in strange ways. I went back an hour or two because all of a sudden we were talking about unicorns and valkeries and I had no idea what I missed. But, as it turned out, I missed nothing. It really did just jump that quickly from walking through a forest to being enmeshed in a world of magic. I’ve heard that the story really picks up steam at the halfway point, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s a fairly short audiobook at a little over 10 hours.

Advancer Reader Copies (ARC) Approved – June 13, 2024

by Stefani

Run by Blake Crouch

Expected publication: October 22, 2024 Ballantine Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

No time to think. No time to ask why. Only time to run.

Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began.

Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.

Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace—even as the murders increased tenfold.

Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize.

One day ago, the power went out.

And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.

Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son.

He has no idea what’s happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past. 

His only chance is to run.

Following an ordinary family on a desperate race through an America that’s destroying itself, Run is a terrifying, brutally stripped-down thriller from master storyteller Blake Crouch.

Why I requested it:

A few years ago I read another book by Blake Crouch. Recursion. You can find my review here. I enjoyed that book, even though I felt the ending was a bit disappointing. I really enjoyed the way Crouch writes. So when I saw this available for review I knew I needed to try it. The plot sounds exciting and horrifying, and Blake Crouch writes in a very compelling way. This should be a fun ride.

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Expected publication: June 25, 2024 by Dafina

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

Why I requested it:

This sounds like a typical thriller plot. The politician and his adoring wife who have secrets. And those secrets are about to be exposed. But that’s a good thing. It’s an exciting premise. And there is nothing that a reader loves more than seeing the bad guy get what’s coming to them. I hope that happens in this one.

Thyme Travellers edited by Sonia Sulaiman

Expected publication: September 5, 2024 by Roseway Publishing

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Thyme Travellers collects fourteen of the Palestinian diaspora’s best voices in speculative fiction. Speculative fiction as a genre invites a reconfiguring of reality, and here each story is a portal into realms of history, folklore and futures.

A man stands on the shore waiting to commune with those who live in the ocean. Pilgrims stretch into the distance, passing a stone cairn with a mysterious light streaming from it. Two Australian women fervently dig a tunnel to Jerusalem. Men from Gaza swim in the sea until they drown, still unconcerned. A father and son struggle to connect over the AI scripts prompting their conversation.

Building on the work of trailblazing anthologies such as Reworlding Ramallah and Palestine +100, this volume is the first of its kind in Canada. Editor Sonia Sulaiman brings together stories by speculative fiction veterans and emerging writers from Australia to Egypt, Lebanon to Canada.

Why I requested it:

I really love speculative fiction. I really love short story anthologies. And I also love new and interesting voices in fiction. This one is a win, win, win. Plus the one liners about some of the included stories sound fantastic.