The acclaimed author of The Nanny, The Perfect Girl, and What She Knew—“a writer to watch” (Publishers Weekly)—returns with another serpentine thriller that is a potent blend of atmosphere, tarnished memories, mystery, and twisty secrets from the past.

Bestselling mystery writer Lucy Harper’s talent for invention has given her fame, fortune, and an army of adoring readers. It has also saddled her with dependents, namely her fawning husband Dan.

When Dan suddenly goes missing, his disappearance evokes dark memories that take Lucy back more than thirty years—to the day her brother vanished without a trace. That’s when Lucy began conjuring stories. The police investigation revealed few confirmed details, so she created tales to fill in the gaps, to explain what happened that day her brother disappeared—and young Lucy was the only witness.

Now decades later, with the whole world watching, Lucy’s past and present are colliding, and this bestselling author skilled in telling stories is losing control of her own narrative.

Where is Dan? What happened to Lucy’s brother? And is the brilliant mystery writer—an expert in devising red herrings and hidden clues—revealing all she knows about both disappearances?

With twists and turns, Gilly Macmillan reveals the answers in this clever and compulsively readable mystery sure to thrill fans of Ruth Ware and Shari LaPena.

Lucy Harper is a bestselling author, even though her husband Dan had hoped, for many years, that he would be the one with that moniker. Now he is Lucy’s assistant, financial dependent, and number 1 fan. Or is he?

Lucy hasn’t told anyone what happened 30 years ago, that was until the night when a little bit of wine opened her up to her husband. About the past, that she has hidden all these years. About the night when she was 9 and snuck out of her house with her 3-year-old brother into the Stoke Woods where people were celebrating the summer solstice. So engrossed in what she was seeing, she had lost track of Teddy and he was gone. In the weeks and months that followed, Teddy’s disappearance had never been solved, even to this day.

After reading The Nanny and I Know You Know, giving each 5 stars, I was looking forward to reading this book. I struggled with the rating for this book between 3 or 4 stars.

I found it to start slow but then the tempo with the suspense definitely picked up whereas the pages kept turning because I had to see where this was going, which is why I gave it 4 stars. But then there were aspects of the story that didn’t resonate with me. I also found the ending to be disappointing in what happened in both the past and present.

If I could have, I would have given this a 3.5 rating. Or maybe it was because once I started it, I had to put it down a lot due to adulting tasks, and maybe lost the flow of the story because of it. However, I will definitely pick up her next book.

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Some people just need killing.

Marlena Altizer Durst lives in her husband’s shadow. He controls her every move—what she wears, the food she eats, and the friends she’s allowed to make. If she disobeys, there are… consequences. And he has all the power, so nobody would believe her.

Her Cinderella story has been well-documented and it seems that she leads a fairy-tale life. But nobody ever wonders if Cinderella was happy after she married the prince. Marlena has traded freedom and safety for luxurious imprisonment, and most days, that seems like a bad bargain. Death may be the only exit she’s allowed. Just like his first wife. And his second.

Unless she flips the script.

And gets away with murder…

At 16, Marlena Altizer leaves her mother and siblings behind when she escapes the poverty and hills of Kentucky.

Then by luck, she is noticed by a very notable talent agent and signs her to a modeling career. The owner of the company, and very rich and widowed x2, Michaell Durst, also notices her before she knows it, they marry and all her fantasies of being rich have come true. But not long after, her knight in shining armor becomes a controlling monster. He has created a false persona for her background, decides on her wardrobe, what she needs to learn like another language, and the arts so that she is the “perfect” who is worthy to be the third wife for the powerful Michael Durst. The controlling starts to get worse and the physical abuse starts.

By the middle of the book, I figured out that Marlena might have planned to become Mrs. Durst and why. But who is going to survive this murderous cat and mouse relationship?

Even though I figured part of it out, the action just ramped up and the pages started to quickly turn. Heart pounding suspense!!! An ending that I would never have guessed? It blew me away!

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“In Wendy Walker’s thrilling novel Don’t Look for Me, the greatest risk isn’t running away. It’s running out of time.

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life.

She doesn’t want to be found.

Or at least, that’s the story.

The car abandoned miles from home.

The note found at a nearby hotel.

The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.

They called it a “walk away.”

It happens all the time.

Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.

But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

When it comes to Wendy Walker’s books, one word comes to mind both as a positive and a negative and that is the word huge.

First the positive, I am a huge fan of her books!!!

Five years ago, the Clarke family endured a horrific tragedy when the mother, Molly accidentally ran over their youngest child Annie. Since then, John, her husband, their daughter Nicole and son Evan have grown apart and tried dealing with their grief in different ways. Sometimes even it being destructive.

Molly knows and feels that her family blames her and wonders if it would be better if she wasn’t present in their lives. But this particular morning, as she is leaving to drive to her son’s school to watch his game, Nicole spews hurtful words in an argument and storms off. After watching him play, she tries to get his attention and he walks right by her not even acknowledging her. On the ride home, her thoughts turn to what the past 5 years have been and she is not paying attention that she is running low on gas and a hurricane is to hit the area. Parking on the side of the road hoping for some help might be her best or worst decision.

How does Ms. Walker do it?

This story did not let up in the suspense! The writing was so descriptive that I felt that I was transported into the story and unaware of my surroundings. The characters were so believable, almost to a fault because I couldn’t figure out who I should be trusting. The twists and turns gave me whiplash. I found myself holding my breath and at other times scaring myself with my audible gasps. And the ending was explosive!

This was truly a white-knuckle, hold onto your seat read!!! Another 5+ star novel!

Now for the huge negative. And that’s having to wait to get my hands on her next book!!

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After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

I’m not going to reiterate the synopsis, since it is right on for the plot of the story, but do want to mention a couple of caveats upfront.

Over the many years of reading, my “authors to read” list is quite long. So when I see positive remarks about a “new to me” author showing up in my feed, do I take a chance of investing my time into reading the book? I have, in the past, and a few times, unfortunately, the book wasn’t for me. And as one says, so many books, so little time.

So what do I do? I read some reviews, both good and bad, on retail sites. But what makes up my mind is to read reviews by book bloggers/reviewers that I have been following over the years and find to be both honest and credible, which is what happened with this book.

Another caveat is the genre. I have been addicted to psychological thrillers over the past year or so but have yet been able to figure out how a story ends. But finally, I think this was the one I solved. Finally!!!

As I read about the current trial that Rachel Krall was covering in her Podcast, however, with the fluid and descriptive narrative I felt that I was actually in the courtroom as a juror or watching it on Court TV, and I had it all figured out!!! It was a slam dunk!!!!

That is, until the author, threw a 3 point shot with 2 seconds left on the clock!!!

This was one heck of a read and I’m so glad I took the chance on this “new to me” author who is now on my “authors to read” list.

Exceptional! This was definitely a page turner!!! And one that I highly recommend!!!

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There’s something strange about Loren’s new mother-in-law…

When Loren meets Jack, she’s sure he’s the man she’s been waiting for—a perfect husband and a father for her young daughter. Shortly after their wedding, their plans to start a life together are put on hold when the couple receives word that Jack’s father has died.

In an effort to appease her new husband, Loren invites her mother-in-law, Coralee, to stay with them while she grieves. When strange things begin to occur just after her arrival, Loren questions how much she knows about the woman she invited into her home.

One calculated move after the next, Coralee attempts to drive a wedge between Loren and her new husband. Jack believes his mother’s strange behavior is just further proof she needs their help, but Loren isn’t so sure. As Coralee’s actions become increasingly sinister, Loren is pushed to her breaking point and she realizes she must do whatever it takes to get rid of her mother-in-law for good.

What she doesn’t know about her new family could kill her…

This was a “new to me” author, but on the enthusiastic recommendation of a FB friend, I thought I would read one of her books. And it being a psychological thriller, which over the past year has been my favorite genre of books, I took a leap of faith and purchased two of her books. Did I make the right decision?

Loren Heinz, her 4-year-old daughter Rynlee, and cousin Meridith all lived in their childhood home. She and Meridith are also partners in a boutique.

After her boyfriend and father of Rynlee walked out on them, Loren swore that if she ever met another man, he would have to be the kind of man that would be a life long partner. She would take her time so that her daughter could not be hurt again.

Not long after she met Jack Wells in an off chance incident when his dog got loose and caused her to fall. Something clicked between them, 3 months later they were engaged and married within 6 months in a small ceremony. Unfortunately, because Jack’s father was terminally ill, his parents would not be attending. But to their surprise, his mother, Coralee, did stop by for only a short time because his father only had days to live. Due to this situation, they postponed their honeymoon and sat vigil. Soon after, Malcolm did pass away.

Jack was an only child and seeing how distraught his mother was, they invited her to stay with them for a short while until she got on her feet. But Coralee had another agenda. A very sinister plan that was in the making for years.

Loren tried very hard to form a relationship with her mother-in-law but after 3 months living with them and Coralee’s atrocious and impinging behavior, Loren wanted her to leave. But soon, Loren would realize what a mistake she had made inviting this monster of a mother-in-law to stay with them. What follows is a total nightmare.

I was totally pulled into this bone-chilling plot and the pages just kept turning! A chilling and eerie read that I could not put down!

I just found another author to add to my “authors to read list” and plan on buying more books by this author!!! Thank you Misty for recommending this amazing author!!!!

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What happens when an undercover reporter gets in too deep? And when a practiced liar has to face off with her own truth—how does she choose her true reality?

Who will be the first to lie?

Bestselling and award-winning author and investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan delivers another twisty, thrilling suspense novel that will leave you breathless.

O! M! G! My head is spinning like Regan in The Exorcist!!!

Investigative reporter, Ellie Berensen goes undercover at a big and powerful pharmaceutical company, Pharminex, to expose them that they are prescribing a drug that does irreparable side effects for women wanting to start a family. They know this but feel those that do have the side effects they can pay off since they are making major money due to those that don’t.

During Ellie’s undercover persona, one of the victims ends up dead. And then an employee at Pharminex does too in the same manner. Is Pharminex behind these murders? Or is there something more nefarious happening?

This book takes the reader on a thrilling roller coaster ride with so many loops, turns, drops, and just as you are pulling in to the station, it takes off again. A white knuckle read that the author slowly pulls off the layers of an onion until the very last word.

I would love to know the author’s process of writing this book because it was brilliant!!!! Just BRILLIANT!!!!

I promise you, this book will pull you in and not let go. Don’t even try to figure it out, because you won’t be able to, just enjoy the ride!!!

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From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back…

One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.

I know when I pick up a Wendy Walker book that it will be a wild ride. Was it?

Three years ago, Emma and Cass Tanner disappeared, never to be found. Until now!!

Cass knocks on her mother’s door. The mother who both girls had a very rocky relationship with. And all Cass keeps saying is that she came back to find Emma. Because of her return, the police, agents, and Dr. Abby Winter, all that worked the case when the girls disappeared are now back on the case.

This book was a phenomenal read. I became totally engrossed in the story! A story that takes so many twists and turns! I had such a hard time putting this down!!! A thrilling read with an ending that blew me away.

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers then you need to read this one!!!!!

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We grew up as Marcia and Fran. My sister was beautiful, thin and talented. She has the lead in productions of Broadway Shows in our school. These are true stories. Marcia was a ray of sunshine on a stormy day. She was rare. Never saying a negative word about anyone, always looking for the positive in people. No matter how difficult the problem, she figured out the solution. Sometimes the solution would make you smile and other times double over laughing. This is. A collection of stories to remind young people that sisters are best friends forever.

I usually don’t read YA/MG books, however, when I read the synopsis I thought this might be such a great book to add to my granddaughters’ library when they get older. Was I right?

SISTERS contain journal entries from sisters, Bertha and Tillie’s, younger days. I found it also had topics that are much deeper than the relationship between siblings and that children have to deal with even in today’s culture. It also touched upon when an elderly relative has an illness and how a family comes together to help.

At times I was laughing and other times, my heart ached for Bertha who endured bullying. And what was refreshing is how Bertha learned that her sister, Tillie always had her back.

I am so glad that I decided to read this book. I think it is a positive and powerful read for children entering middle school especially in today’s climate with bullying.

It will definitely be added to my granddaughters’ shelves.

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