suspense

Podcast Confessions: A Deep Dive into Tell Me What You Did

by Stefani

Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson

Published: January 28, 2025 by Poisoned Pen Press

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Review:

She gets people to confess their crimes for a living. He knows she’s hiding a terrible secret. It’s time for the truth to come out…

Poe Webb, host of a popular true crime podcast, invites people to anonymously confess crimes they’ve committed to her audience. She can’t guarantee the police won’t come after her “guests,” but her show grants simultaneous anonymity and instant fame—a potent combination that’s proven difficult to resist. After an episode recording, Poe usually erases both criminal and crime from her mind.

But when a strange and oddly familiar man appears on her show, Poe is forced to take a second look. Not only because he claims to be her mother’s murderer from years ago, but because Poe knows something no one else does. Her mother’s murderer is dead.

Poe killed him.

Rating:

Review:

This book was perfect for an audiobook. I liked having two voice actors, especially when it came to the chapters that were transcripts of the livestream podcast. It created a lot of great tension because it actually felt like a conversation, not just reading a conversation. I love that. And the male voice actor had a perfect voice to sound arrogantly menacing.

The pacing on this book was literally perfect. In one narrative we are following Poe, who had an odd encounter with a man who claims to be her mother’s murderer. She ends the podcasts recording immediately, upset by the interaction because she knows that her mother’s murderer is dead. But, Ian doesn’t go away. He wants to do another podcast together. He wants to tell his story. But he wants to do it live, not pre-recorded. And it needs to be two parts. This narrative is interspersed with transcripts of the livestream show that Poe and Ian are doing together. But, the podcast portions never spoil the good parts. They tease the good parts, which creates a wonderful tension as the plot moves forward. You know that this interaction isn’t going to go well, but you also need Poe to figure out the answers before any else horrifying happens!

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t stop listening to it, I wanted to know how it ended. The ending was rather weak, much to my dismay. Poe was a very smart character who inexplicably decides to just stop using her brain for the ending. That was frustrating. And the “twist” was not very twisty. In hindsight it was rather predictable and I would have preferred that the author go a different direction. But, lackluster ending aside, this was a fun ride.

The Hitchcock Hotel: A Suspenseful Reunion Gone Wrong

by Stefani

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Published: September 24, 2024 by Berkley

Buy this book: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

A Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda invites old friends for a weekend stay at his secluded themed hotel in this fiendishly clever, suspenseful new novel.

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.

Rating:

Review:

I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am about this book. I went into this book with high expectations. After I thoroughly enjoyed Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel (review found here), I was really excited to read this one. Once I reached the end however it was….meh. I can’t say anything too great about it. Nor can I saw anything too bad about it. It was just mediocre.

The idea of the hotel was a great once. I am a fan of Hitchcock and so the ambiance and reference to his films was perfect. I loved the setting. It felt like a Hitchcock film. The characters were very Hithcockian, the setting, the plot, the intrigue. It was all lining up to be an absolute joy to read!

The setup to the murder and the beginning of the reveal of the story was wonderfully done too. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat to see where things went after the great set up. Unfortunately that’s also where this story took a downturn for me.

Alfred does so much monologuing. So much. He monologues to us as the audience, he monologues to his friends, he monologues to the housekeeper. Honestly, at a certain point I had decided that whatever his former friends did to him in college was probably deserved. He was just insufferable after awhile. But, his former friends weren’t much better. They were equally as unsufferable. But, unlike with the author’s previous book, these were not bad people that you could feel a bit of sympathy for. They were just bad people. And then I was certain that whatever Alfred did to them was entirely deserved also. This entire story was a story of insufferable people getting what’s coming to them.

After the initial set up of the mystery, things got a bit too predictable in my opinion. It wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on, the only question was who the culprit was. And once the villain was revealed I expected some fireworks, a grand finale, a final ah-ha! But alas, the villain monologued too. The entire last quarter of the book was one big monologue. And it was so desperately boring.

I liked Darling Rose Gold enough to give Stephanie Wrobel a shot in the future, but this one was a miss. And I couldn’t be more upset that it was. I really wanted this one to be a home run.

Upcoming Releases – November 3, 2024

by Stefani

This month I’m highlighting books expected to publish in February 2025. These are the ones that piqued my curiosity. What ones did I miss? What is calling your name from the future?

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

Expected publication: February 11, 2025 by Pamela Dorman Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach about love, and what it actually means to be family.

Why this caught my eye:

In the frantic pace of the world we live in, sometimes it’s nice to just relax with the story of a family. This sounds intricate and heartwarming.

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce

Expected publication: February 25, 2025 by Minotaur Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Newly-minted child psychologist Mina has little experience. In a field where the first people called are experts, she’s been unable to get her feet wet. Instead she aimlessly spends her days stuck in the stifling heat wave sweeping across Britain, and anxiously contemplating her upcoming marriage to careful, precise researcher Oscar. The only reprieve from her small, close world is attending the local bereavement group to mourn her brother’s death from years ago. That is, until she meets journalist Sam Hunter at the grief group one day. And he has a proposition for her.

Alice Webber is a thirteen year old girl who claims she’s being haunted by a witch. Living with her family in their crowded home in the remote village of Banathel, Alice’s symptoms are increasingly disturbing, and money is tight. Taking this job will give Mina some experience; Sam will get the scoop of a lifetime; and Alice will get better, Mina is sure of it.

But instead of improving, Alice’s behavior becomes increasingly inexplicable and intense. The town of Banathel has a deep history of superstition and witchcraft. They believe there is evil in the world. They believe there are ways of…dealing with it. And they don’t expect outsiders to understand.

As Mina races to uncover the truth behind Alice’s condition, the dark cracks of Banathel begin to show. Mina is desperate to understand how deep their sinister traditions go–and how her own past may be the biggest threat of all.

Why this caught my eye:

I really enjoy a good horror book. This format of believing that a character has a mental illness but…do they really?, is a common theme in horror and it is often successful. I also like the tie in to witchcraft.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Expected publication: February 25, 2025 by William Morrow

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

It is June 21, the longest day of the year, and the life of new mother Camilla is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop off her infant daughter at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.

Then it starts. Breaking news: A hostage situation is developing in London. The police tell her Luke is involved—but he isn’t a hostage. Her husband—doting father, eternal optimist—is the gunman.

Why this caught my eye:

I have a fascination with books where characters are not who they seem. The idea of waking up one day to find that the person you married has done something absolutely inexplicable

Upcoming Releases Sunday – October 6, 2024

by Stefani

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay

Expected publication: January 14, 2025 by Bantam

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The couple that kills together stays together…

Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small they’re ex-serial killers.

They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to kill. Not many power couples know how to get away with murder.

Then Hazel fell pregnant and they gave it all up for life in the suburbs; dinner parties instead of body disposal.

But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox’s back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family.

This could save their marriage – unless it kills them first.

Why this caught my eye:

This sounds like a kooky blend between a romance and a thriller, and I am here for it. It brings a different kind of aspect to the idea of betrayal in a marriage.

Strike and Burn by Taylor Hutton

Expected publication: January 28, 2025 by Berkley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A breathless romantic thriller that doesn’t just toe the line between danger and desire—it burns it to the ground.

Honor Stone is all alone in this world. No family, no money, no future. So when she locks eyes with Strike Madden—in the morgue of all places—she’s not in the mood to be seduced. Sure, he’s drop-dead gorgeous, and the sizzle of attraction between them is undeniable, but she’s reeling from her identical twin sister’s murder. It’s the wrong time, wrong place, wrong everything.

Still, the enigmatic billionaire hires Honor as an artist to spearhead his carefully curated erotic animation studio—a job they soon find to be a dangerous mix of business and pleasure.

But when her twin’s obsessive killer targets Honor, the painful secrets of Honor’s traumatic past will finally be exposed with devastating consequences. Strike will stop at nothing to protect her, uncovering his own bone-chilling demons—a beautifully broken, dark side that doesn’t scare Honor…

Why this caught my eye:

First of all, the name are terrible. Just terrible. I laughed myself silly at them for a good few minutes. But, that aside, it sounds like a pretty standard unexpected romance with thriller side plot. I’m noticing a pattern about the January books this week….

Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove

Expected publication: January 21, 2025 by Berkley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself. At rock bottom following her daughter’s murder, ex-Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation that raised him, but they need a new tribal marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home. In the last decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some dead, others just… gone. Now, local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter—the girl she failed to save. Starr feels lost in this place she thought would welcome her. And when she catches a glimpse of a figure from her father’s stories, with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer, Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her. What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home.

Why this caught my eye:

Thrillers are evidently “in” for the start of 2025. The plight of real life Indigenous women and girls who go missing and precious little resources are spared to find them has gained some traction in the media over the last few years. Books like these are important pieces to the puzzle of raising awareness. And it sounds like a good book too, which is always a bonus.

Progress Update – September 30, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 151 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:

I put this one down for awhile, but not because I didn’t enjoy it. The ARC I received has VERY small print, so even though I was enjoying the story that aspect was a bit offputting and made it difficult to read. But, this is a perfect popcorn thriller. If you wanted to, you could read it in an afternoon. It’s also getting pretty dark. I expected this to be about bad people who do bad things, but these are really bad things. I wasn’t entirely prepared for how bad. I am also getting an idea about who is stalking Dominic, we’ll see if my theory pans out.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Audio progress: 4.5 of 16.5 hours

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synosis:

In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.

In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.

In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.

How it’s going:

The writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. The author uses a single drop of water as a vehicle to weave these diverse stories together. What was a raindrop that fell upon the Mesopotamian king became a snowflake that fell on Arthur’s face at his birth, that became a tear shed for Narin, that later fell on Zaleekah. Water is the vehicle for describing these humans and it’s just perfect. I love this story so much so far. It is beautiful and moving. So far Arthur is my favorite story but Narin is very compelling too.

New Releases Wednesday – September 25, 2024

by Stefani

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Published: September 24, 2024 by Berkley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.

Why this caught my eye:

I am a big fan of Hitchcock. I would find the offering of a Hitchcock themed hotel irresistible. Even if a body was necessary, I would take that risk. A few years ago I also read and reviewed this author’s debut novel, Darling Rose Gold. And I really loved it! I made a promise that I would keep an eye out for this author in the future and here she is. The review for Darling Rose Gold is here.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Published: September 24, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

Why this caught my eye:

Lately, I find myself drawn to books that discuss grieving and loss. I’m not entirely sure why, but I am compelled by those kinds of stories lately. This one sounds profound and moving.

I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin

Published: September 24, 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:

He cannot look inside the box.
He cannot ask questions.
He cannot tell anyone.
They must leave immediately.
He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.

The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world.

Why this caught my eye:

Obviously the title and the cover is what initially drew my attention. But this just sounds fun! It sounds like a great adventure through insecurity and anxiety over the unknown.

New Releases Wednesday – September 18, 2024

by Stefani

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

Published: September 17, 2024 by Marysue Rucci Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal…

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-
made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.   

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

Why it caught my eye:

This has all the makings of a good mystery! Estranged siblings, lonely cliffside homes, curious deaths, and family secrets. This is one of those books that you know exactly what you’re getting, it’s all about the journey along the way.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

Published: September 17, 2024 by Pamela Dorman Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve…

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job…

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Why this caught my eye:

I think I’m in a mood for cozy mysteries lately. It’s what I’m watching on TV, it’s what I want to read, it’s what I want to listen to. Must be because it’s the beginnings of fall. This one sounded like a cute little cozy that I want to check out.

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling

Published: September 17, 2024 by Delacorte Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

As a child, Elowen Atarah was ripped away from her dragons and imprisoned by her father, King Garrick of Imirath. Years later, Elowen is now a woman determined to free her dragons. Having established a secret kingdom of her own called Aestilian, she’s ready to do what’s necessary to save her people and seek vengeance. Even if that means having to align herself with the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn.

Cayden is ruthless, lethal, and secretive, promising to help Elowen if she will stand with him and all of Vareveth in the pending war against Imirath. Despite their contrasting motives, Elowen can’t ignore their undeniable attraction as they combine their efforts and plot to infiltrate the impenetrable castle of Imirath to steal back her dragons and seek revenge on their common enemy.

As the world tries to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes impossible to resist. Working together with their crew over clandestine schemes, the threat of war looms, making the imminent heist to free her dragons their most dangerous adventure yet. But for Elowen, her vengeance is a promise signed in blood, and she’ll stop at nothing to see that promise through.

Why this caught my eye:

I am a sucker for a book with a pretty cover. This one is gorgeous. It’s also a fantasy about dragons, and I love dragons. All in all, this sounds like a perfect book for me.

New Releases Wednesday – August 28, 2024

by Stefani

Red River Road by Anna Downes

Published: August 27, 2024 by Minotaur Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Anna Downes’s extraordinary next thriller Red River Road follows a woman desperate to discover what happened to her sister on a solo road trip through the Australian outback.

Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, her free-spirited younger sister, Phoebe, vanished without a trace on the remote, achingly beautiful coastal highway in Western Australia. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up on her.

Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy retraces her sister’s steps, searching for any clues the police may have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and how dangerous were they?

And then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, who is on the run from her own dark past. Katy realizes that Beth might be her best—and only—chance of finding the truth, and the two women form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this wild, beautiful, and perilous place.

Anna Downes takes us on a twist-filled journey into the dark side of solo female travel, in this gripping novel that explores what drives us to keep searching for those we have lost, the family bonds that can make or break us, and the deception of memory.

The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich

Published: August 27, 2024 by Graydon House

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Beware what waits in the shadows…

With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend, Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, along with her routine and the calm it brings, she returns to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious patient with amnesia hundreds of miles away.

With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls, and the powerful, nameless force at its center—one that has been haunting her for years.

As terrible, ancient truths begin to reveal themselves, Mina prepares to confront her own darkest secrets, and with them, an evil beyond comprehension. Together with a group of smart, savvy women, Mina seizes one last, desperate chance to stop the cycle that began so long ago. But there are dangers to inviting the attentions of what might not be a man, but a monster…

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q Sutanto

Published: August 20, 2024 by Berkeley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When cracks start forming in an influencer’s curated life, she finds out that jealousy is just as viral as a video in this riveting suspense novel by bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Influencer Meredith Lee didn’t teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite.

Then Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and swipes it. Now she has access to the family calendar and Aspen’s social media accounts. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen’s place for meetings with potential sponsors? Mer’s only taking back what she deserves—what should have been hers. 

Meanwhile, Aspen doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. Sponsors are dropping her, fellow influencers are ghosting her, and even her own husband seems to find her repulsive. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind everything, she might just lose it all. But what everyone seems to forget is that Aspen didn’t become one of TikTok’s biggest momfluencers by being naive.

When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen’s world is upended and mysterious threats begin to arrive—but she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.

Progress Update Friday – August 16, 2024

by Stefani

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

Progress: 30 pages of 424

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

It’s the season
for treason…

The king of Yusan must die.

The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon.

He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold.

And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness―from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.

They can agree on murder.

They can agree on treachery.

But for these five killers―each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal―it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other…but only one can take the crown.

Let the best liar win.

How it’s going:

We’ve been introduced to 3 of the 5 main characters so far. They are each interesting in their own right, I find myself wanting to know more about them. My only complaint thus far is the constant head hopping. Literally every 1-4 pages we’re hoping to the next character. It feels like we get to a part that’s starting to be interesting and then it’s someone else’s turn. I hope that’s not a consistent pattern, because I like the story itself.

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 87 pages 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:

This book is everything I was hoping it would be at this point. Bad, seedy people doing bad things. I feel like the synopsis is a little misleading about Jo though. The synopsis portrays her as a doting wife. But the book is clear that she is over this marriage, she is tired of Dominic and his secrets. But she also doesn’t want to leave because her prestige wanes if she’s not married to the governor anymore. She made him, he owes her, so she isn’t going anywhere. I like it.

New Releases Wednesday – August 14, 2024

by Stefani

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage

Published: August 13, 2024 by Thomas & Mercer

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Hanna is no stranger to dark thoughts: as a young child, she tried to murder her own mother. But that was more than sixteen years ago. And extensive therapy—and writing letters to her younger brother—has since curbed those nasty tendencies.

Now twenty-four, Hanna is living an outwardly normal life of domestic content. Married to real estate agent Jacob, she’s also stepmother to his teenage daughter Joelle. They live in a beautiful home, and Hanna loves her career as a phlebotomist—a job perfectly suited to her occasional need to hurt people.

But when Joelle begins to change in ways that don’t suit Hanna’s purposes, her carefully planned existence threatens to come apart. With life slipping out of her control, Hanna reverts to old habits, determined to manipulate the events and people around her. And the only thing worse than a baby sociopath is a fully grown one.

With its dark humor and chillingly seductive protagonist, Dear Hanna is a stand-alone sequel sure to thrill returning and new readers alike.

Why this caught my eye:

The author’s name on this one caught my attention, I knew I recognized her. I read her other book a few years ago, Baby Teeth. If interested, my review on it is HERE. I remember enjoying the way the author writes and being really entertained by the book, even if it had flaws that affected how I rated it. Since Hanna was the only character I found sympathetic in Baby Teeth, I would love to see what Hanna is up to now. Like I said in my review of Baby Teeth, we all know how these books go. You know it, I know it. We’re reading to see how things fall apart.

Hum by Helen Phillips

Published: August 6, 2024 by Mary Sue Rucci Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In a city addled by climate change and populated by intelligent robots called “hums,” May loses her job to artificial intelligence. In a desperate bid to resolve her family’s debt and secure their future for another few months, she becomes a guinea pig in an experiment that alters her face so it cannot be recognized by surveillance.

Seeking some reprieve from her recent hardships and from her family’s addiction to their devices, she splurges on passes that allow them three nights’ respite inside the Botanical Garden: a rare green refuge where forests, streams, and animals flourish. But her insistence that her son, daughter, and husband leave their devices at home proves far more fraught than she anticipated, and the lush beauty of the Botanical Garden is not the balm she hoped it would be. When her children come under threat, May is forced to put her trust in a hum of uncertain motives as she works to restore the life of her family.

Written in taut, urgent prose, Hum is a work of speculative fiction that unflinchingly explores marriage, motherhood, and selfhood in a world compromised by global warming and dizzying technological advancement, a world of both dystopian and utopian possibilities. 

Why this caught by eye:

I’m a fan of speculative fiction and science fiction. AI is the threat du jour at the moment and the media is all a flutter about the future of the technology. Admittedly it makes me a little bit nervous too, science fiction has an uncanny habit of predicting the future that I find disturbing. Anyway! This synopsis sounds really intriguing and I can’t wait to get it on my shelf.

Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler

Published: August 13, 2024 by Simon & Schuster

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A powerful memoir that reckons with mental health as well as the insidious ways men impact the lives of women.

In early 2021, popular artist Anna Marie Tendler checked herself into a psychiatric hospital following a year of crippling anxiety, depression and self-harm. Over two weeks, she underwent myriad psychological tests, participated in numerous therapy sessions, connected with fellow patients and experienced profound breakthroughs, such as when a doctor noted, “There is a you inside that feels invisible to those looking at you from the outside.”

In Men Have Called Her Crazy, Tendler recounts her hospital experience as well as pivotal moments in her life that preceded and followed. As the title suggests, many of these moments are impacted by men: unrequited love in high school; the twenty-eight-year-old she lost her virginity to when she was sixteen; the frustrations and absurdities of dating in her mid-thirties; and her decision to freeze her eggs as all her friends were starting families.

This stunning literary self-portrait examines the unreasonable expectations and pressures women face in the 21st century. Yet overwhelming and despairing as that can feel, Tendler ultimately offers a message hope. Early in her stay in the hospital, she says, “My wish for myself is that one day I’ll reach a place where I can face hardship without trying to destroy myself.” By the end of the book, she fulfills that wish.

Why this caught my eye:

Historically mental heath has been turned into a weapon, used to take advantage of people and render them insignificant. Don’t listen to that person, they’re crazy! Oh, don’t bother so-and-so with that, they’re fragile and not well in the head! While this is true at scale it is particularly true of women. Mental health has often been used as a weapon against troublesome women. So the fact that this is the subject of this memoir was interesting to me. I am a bit familiar with the author’s art and had heard through the media grapevine about her mental health struggles. This seems like it will be an interesting and enlightening memoir.