Posted in Book Review

Review | THE LIAR’S ROOM by Simon Lelic

 CMash  October 3, 2018  3 Comments on Review | THE LIAR’S ROOM by Simon Lelic

THE LIAR’S ROOM by Simon Lelic
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Published by Berkley
Publication Date: January 15, 2019
ASIN: B07CKPBT1W
Pages: 352
Review Copy From: Publisher
Edition: ARC
My Rating: 4

Synopsis (via GR)

ONE ROOM. TWO LIARS. NO WAY OUT…
Susanna Fenton has a secret. Fourteen years ago she left her identity behind, reinventing herself as a counsellor and starting a new life. It was the only way to keep her daughter safe.

But everything changes when Adam Geraghty walks into her office. She’s never met this young man before – so why does she feel like she knows him?

Then Adam starts to tell her about a girl. A girl he wants to hurt.

And Susanna realises she was wrong.
She doesn’t know him.
BUT HE KNOWS HER.
AND THE GIRL HE PLANS TO HURT IS HER DAUGHTER…

The addictive new thriller with an ending you’ll never guess, The Liar’s Room is perfect for readers of Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door and A J Finn’s The Woman in the Window.

SIMON LELIC – THRILLERS TO KEEP YOU UP ALL NIGHT:

My Thoughts

After reading THE NEW NEIGHBORS, I knew I wanted to read more by this author and was lucky, very lucky to receive an ARC.

…”the past has a way of catching up” pg.268

Susanna has escaped her past but her secrets are still hidden, or she thought until a new client has come in for counseling.

Secrets are revealed but with a price! A taut and intense read filled with tension as each page is turned!

I enjoyed this chilling tale!

Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

REVIEW DISCLAIMER

  • This blog was founded on the premise to write honest reviews, to the best of my ability, no matter who from, where from and/or how the book was obtained, and will continue to do so, even if it is through PICT or PBP.
  • I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
  • I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.
    •  Posted in Book Blast, Book Review, Partners In Crime Tours

    A MOTHER’S LIE by Jo Crow (audio) | Book Blast & Review

     CMash  October 2, 2018  1 Comment on A MOTHER’S LIE by Jo Crow (audio) | Book Blast & Review

    A Mother’s Lie

    by Jo Crow

    Audiobook Blast on October 2, 2018

    Synopsis:

    A Mother's Lie by Jo Crow

    When her child’s life is at stake, a mother will do anything to save him.

    Clara McNair is running out of time to save her son, James. When the two-year-old is diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer, only an experimental treatment can save his life. She desperately needs money to pay for the surgery, but she’ll have to travel back to the site of her darkest memories to get it.

    Clara has escaped the demons of her youth—or so she thinks. It’s been ten years since the mysterious disappearance of her parents. Widely suspected of murdering her mother and father, Clara fled west to start a new life. Now, a documentary film crew is offering cold, hard cash—enough to pay for James’s treatment—in exchange for the sordid secrets of her past.

    With no other choice but to delve into a long-ago tragedy, Clara must unravel the lies surrounding that terrible night. Facing hostile gossip, Clara is fighting to clear her name and learn the truth about what really happened. But how far will she go into the dark to save her son—and herself?

    Click Here to get your Audiobook copy of A Mother’s Lie, today!

    Read my review HERE

    Book Details:

    Genre: Psychological Thriller
    Published by: Relay Publishing
    AudioBook Release Date: April 23, 2018
    AudioBook Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
    ISBN: 978-1979295420
    Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | Goodreads

     

    Read an excerpt:

    Chapter One

    Dense red clay was pushing between the teeth. Pond mist drifted across the manicured lawns, wisping through the dark eye sockets. Parts of the cranium were shaded a vile yellow-brown where decomposing leaves clung to its surface like bile expressed from a liver. The jawbone was separated from the skull, its curved row of teeth pointing skyward to greet the rising sun.

    Two feet away, closer to the oak tree, other bones were piled haphazardly: a pelvis, high iliac crests and subpubic angle. A femur, caked with dirt, jammed into his empty skull. Sunlight decorated the brittle bones in long, lazy strips and darkened hairline fractures till they blended with the shed behind them.

    It was peaceful here, mostly. The pond no longer bubbled, its aerator decayed by time; weed-clogged flowerbeds no longer bloomed—hands that once worked the land long ago dismissed. Fog blanketed the area, as if drawn by silence. Once, a startled shriek woke the morning doves and set them all into flight.

    It was the first time in ten years the mammoth magnificence of the Blue Ridge Mountains had scrutinized these bones; the first song in a decade the morning doves chorused to them from their high perch.

    A clatter split apart the dawn; the skull toppled over as it was struck with another bone.

    In a clearing, tucked safely behind the McNair estate, someone was whistling as they worked at the earth. The notes were disjointed and haphazard, like they were an afterthought. They pierced the stillness and, overhead, one of the morning doves spooked and took flight, rustling leaves as it rose through the mist.

    A shovel struck the wet ground, digging up clay and mulch, tossing it onto the growing mound to their left. The whistling stopped, mid note, and a contemplative hum took its place.

    Light glinted on the silvery band in the exposed clay—the digger pocketed it—the shovel struck the ground again; this time, it clinked as it hit something solid.

    Bone.

    A hand dusted off decayed vegetative matter and wrested the bone from its tomb. Launching it into the air, it flew in a smooth arc, and crashed into the skull like a bowling pin, scattering the remains across the grass. With a grunt of satisfaction, the digger rose and started to refill the hole from the clay mound.

    When it was filled and smoothed, and the sod was replaced over the disrupted ground, the digger lifted the shovel and strolled into the woods, one hand tucked in a pocket as they whistled a cheery tune lost to the morning fog.

    ***

    Excerpt from A Mother’s Lie by Jo Crow. Copyright © 2017 by Jo Crow. Reproduced with permission from Jo Crow. All rights reserved.

    Author Bio:

    Jo Crow

    Jo Crow gave ten years of her life to the corporate world of finance, rising to be one of the youngest VPs around. She carved writing time into her commute to the city, but never shared her stories, assuming they were too dark for any publishing house. But when a nosy publishing exec read the initial pages of her latest story over her shoulder, his albeit unsolicited advice made her think twice.

    A month later, she took the leap, quit her job, and sat down for weeks with pen to paper. The words for her first manuscript just flew from her. Now she spends her days reading and writing, dreaming up new ideas for domestic noir fans, and drawing from her own experiences in the cut-throat commercial sector.

    Not one to look back, Jo is all in, and can’t wait for her next book to begin.

    Catch Up With Our Author On: Facebook & Goodreads!

     

    Tour Participants:

    Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!


     

    Giveaway:

    This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Jo Crow. There will be 5 winners of one (1) A MOTHER’S LIE by Jo Crow audiobook. The giveaway begins on October 2, 2018 and runs through October 8, 2018. Void where prohibited.

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

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     Posted in Guest Post, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

    SCAR TISSUE by Patricia Hale (Guest Post & Showcase)

     CMash  October 2, 2018  1 Comment on SCAR TISSUE by Patricia Hale (Guest Post & Showcase)

    Scar Tissue

    by Patricia Hale

    on Tour October 1-31, 2018

    Synopsis:

    Scar Tissue by Patricia Hale

    Track star, Ashley Lambert, has just been accepted into the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, so when she jumps eighteen stories to her death her parents hire the PI team of Griff Cole and Britt Callahan to find out why. The investigation exposes a deeply disturbed family hiding behind a façade of perfection and follows Ashley’s descent into performance enhancing drugs and blackmail. Ashley’s coaches, peers and even her parents come into question. The disturbing truth behind Ashley’s death is testimony to lines crossed and allegiances sworn…. in the name of love.

    Meanwhile, things don’t add up next door. Britt’s working overtime researching their new neighbors whose one-year-old son disappeared four years ago. Rhea McKenzie, has a secret and bruises aren’t the only thing she’s trying to hide. When an off-hand comment discloses a connection to Ashley Lambert the two cases become entwined, setting off an unstoppable chain of events. Britt is sucked into an alliance with Rhea and driven to make decisions that challenge her ethics, threaten her relationship and in the end, push her over a line she never thought she’d cross.

    **Check out my review HERE and enter the giveaway**

    Book Details:

    Genre: Thriller
    Published by: Intrigue Publishing
    Publication Date: September 1, 2018
    Number of Pages: 194
    ISBN: 978-1-940758-85-5
    Series: Cole and Callahan #3
    Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

     

    Patricia Hale 

    Author Bio:

    Patricia Hale lives in Standish, ME with her husband. She is a graduate of the MFA program at Goddard College, a member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and the NH Writers Project. Scar Tissue is the third book in the Cole & Callahan thriller series. When the computer is off, you can find Patricia on the sideline of her grandsons’ sporting events or hiking the trails near her home with her German shepherd and one very bossy Beagle.

     

    Guest Post

    10 Things about Britt and Griff the reader doesn’t know….

    It’s hard to find things unknown about Britt, she’s not one to exercise discretion. But she does understand self-preservation and doesn’t always show her hand when it comes to her own insecurities. Truth be told, a childhood spent with dis-interested parents took its toll and left her forever feeling like she has something to prove, hoping someone will notice. So, she leaps before she looks and gets into things she shouldn’t… like the neighbors’ secrets in Scar Tissue.

    But Griff understands her. Although he doesn’t always approve of her impulsivity, it’s one of the things about her that he loves. It keeps her interesting and nicely off-sets his careful, methodical approach to investigations and to life. If he could just make her give up her honey berry cigars their relationship would be damn near perfect. Even though everything about them seems to run in opposition. He’s mid-forties, she’s early thirties. He’s been married once, she panics at the “M” word. She’s mercurial, he’s grounded. What one lacks, the other offers. No wonder they work so well together.

    What Griff hasn’t mentioned is that he wants a dog and a fleet of antique cars and the big one… someday he wants to live in St. John, Virgin Islands.

    What Britt has neglected to mention is that she’ll never move from Maine. It’s home and where her sister, Amy, lives. Maine is her living, breathing security blanket.

    And the big one is coming. Now that they own a house together, Griff’s ring shopping and planning a Christmas surprise.

    But Britt finds Christmas depressing, filled only with memories of disappointment as a child. It’s a holiday she’d sooner forget than celebrate.

    But so far, they’ve made it through a serial killer too close to home in, The Church of the Holy Child. A religious cult covering for a prostitution ring in, Durable Goods. And in Scar Tissue, Britt crosses a line that flies in the face of everything Griff stands for.

    If they can weather those storms, I think they’ll make it through whatever I can throw at them. And at the end of the day we’ll see them munching Wheat Thins and smoked Gouda, washing it all down with a Pinot Grigio and Gritty’s Black Fly Stout.

    Catch Up With Our Author On:
    Website, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!

     

    Read an excerpt:

    “I don’t believe my daughter jumped. She wouldn’t have done that. I told the police, but they dismissed me. Evidently, they knew my daughter better than I did.”

    “What’s your feeling on that, Mrs. Lambert?” I asked. Parents don’t always share perspectives on their children.

    When she looked at me, her eyes were moist. She cradled the columbine in her palm. “Call me Gwen.”

    I nodded.

    “Ashley was a good girl. She worked very hard at everything she did.”

    “She was the best, always. She made sure of it,” Greg chimed in.

    Or else you did, I thought.

    “It would have gone against her nature to jump off that building. It just wasn’t her way,” Gwen added.

    “Her way?” Greg squinted at his wife, his face twisted in disgust as though studying an insect on flypaper. “What the hell does that mean?” He stood and walked around the circumference of our seating arrangement and then came back and took his chair again. “My girl did as she was told. And only what she was told.”

    “It’s not always easy to tell a senior in college what to do,” I said. “At some point they start making their own choices even if some are ones their parents might not like.”

    “Not my girl.” Greg shook his head, knocking my theory out of the park. Dismissed as impossible.

    I couldn’t help but notice he kept referring to Ashley as my girl not our girl as though he’d created her, given birth and raised her throughout her short life singlehandedly. I didn’t like him. My assessment of Gwen was still up in the air, but she was wrapped so tight I couldn’t get a glimpse inside. It’s never easy to work for someone you don’t like, but Ashley’s case held the interest factor. Why had this seemingly perfect child jumped to her death?

    “She was a star athlete at the top of her class and a week from graduation,” Greg continued. “She’d been accepted at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute for Bioethics. And you’re telling me that’s a kid who makes bad decisions? I don’t think so, Ms. Callahan.”

    Okay, he shut me up. (A momentary lull.)

    “Mr. Lambert,” Griff spoke up. “I have a daughter. I can’t imagine what you must be going through dealing with all this. What is it you think we can do for you?”

    “I told the police and the medical examiner that my daughter wouldn’t take her own life. Cops shook their heads, said it wasn’t their call to make. The medical examiner said it presented as a cut and dried suicide.”

    “And what do you say, Mr. Lambert?”

    “My daughter was murdered.”

    I glanced at Gwen. “Do you agree, Mrs. Lambert?”

    She raised her eyes, glanced at her husband and then to me. “I’m not convinced, but I do agree that suicide doesn’t fit with who my daughter was.”

    Griff kept his focus on Greg. “What makes you think someone would have killed your daughter? Did she have enemies that you’re aware of?”

    “No, no enemies that I know of, but her jumping makes no sense. She had everything going for her and absolutely no reason to end her life. She would never have done that to me.”

    Strike two. The selfish bastard assumed his daughter’s tragic death had more to do with him than whatever had driven her to that fateful state of mind. “Suicide is about what’s going on within the person themselves,” I said trying not to let my voice betray my disgust. “I doubt Ashley was consciously doing anything to you at the moment she jumped. If she jumped.”

    “She knew the goals we’d set,” he said dismissing my remark. “And she had every intention of attaining them.”

    “Goals?” I asked.

    “Johns Hopkins, her PhD, an Olympic gold medal.”

    “Had she been accepted to compete in the Olympics?” Griff asked.

    “It was in the works,” he said annunciating each word as though we were hard of hearing.

    “Did you let the medical examiner know how you felt?”

    “Of course, I did.”

    “And was an autopsy performed?”

    Greg Lambert glanced at his wife. She looked away. Touchy subject, I gathered.

    “Useless,” he said. “They found nothing.” He turned to Gwen. “Go get my checkbook.”

    She rose and disappeared inside the house without a word, still holding the columbine in her hand.

    I caught Griff’s eye and he raised his eyebrows as though asking, should we?

    “Look Mr. Lambert,” he said. “Britt and I like to discuss a case before we commit to it. We want to feel some degree of surety that we can help you before money changes hands and we sign a contract. Give us time to talk it over and we’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

    Gwen reappeared holding a large, black-spiraled checkbook. Greg took it from her along with the pen she offered and flipped open the front of the book. He looked at Griff. “How much do you want?” he asked.

    “Mr. Lambert, I…” Griff started.

    “We’ll give you the information you need to get started. I don’t have any doubt you’ll see it my way. What’s the retainer?” He held the pen poised over the checkbook.

    “Five thousand,” Griff said.

    I thought that was a little high. He must be thinking about the pool we wanted to install.

    “And a list of names. Professors, coaches and friends,” he added.

    Greg pointed to his wife. “Put that together.”

    Dismissed, Gwen went inside to gather what we needed.

    Once we had the necessary information from Gwen, and Greg’s check was folded inside Griff’s pocket, Carole stepped onto the deck and offered to show us out.

    “We’ll be in touch,” Griff said. He stood extending a hand toward Greg.

    Greg Lambert rose from his chair and placed his hands on his hips. “When?”

    “As soon as I have something to tell you,” Griff said lowering his arm.

    Griff’s ability to come off unfazed by blatant rude behavior is beyond me. I couldn’t get off that porch fast enough. If I’d lingered I would have placed a well-directed snap kick to Greg Lambert’s groin.

    We followed Carole to the front door. She swung it wide and stepped with us outside then pulled the door closed behind her. On the front step she glanced from one of us to the other then dropped her head and stared at the granite, clearly trying to make up her mind. We waited. When she looked up she extended her arm toward Griff as though intending to shake.

    “Look,” she said. “I’m probably way out of line here and dipshit in there will have me banned if he knows I’m talking to you. I’m already on probation around here so whatever I say stays between us, all right?”

    Griff nodded and reached for her hand, keeping his eyes on her face.

    She slipped a folded piece of paper into his palm. “I’m Carole Weston, Gwen’s sister. Call me,” she said. “There’s more to this. A lot more.”

    ***

    Excerpt from Scar Tissue by Patricia Hale. Copyright © 2018 by Patricia Hale. Reproduced with permission from Patricia Hale. All rights reserved.

     

    Tour Participants:

    Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!


     

    Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

     

     Posted in Book Review, Giveaway, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

    SCAR TISSUE by Patricia Hale (Review & Giveaway)

     CMash  October 1, 2018  Leave a Comment on SCAR TISSUE by Patricia Hale (Review & Giveaway)

    SCAR TISSUE by Patricia Hale
    Genre: Thriller
    Published by: Intrigue Publishing
    Publication Date: September 1, 2018
    Number of Pages: 194
    ISBN: 978-1-940758-85-5
    Series: Cole and Callahan #3
    Review Copy from: Publisher
    Edition: ARC TPB
    My Rating: 5

     

    Synopsis

    Track star, Ashley Lambert, has just been accepted into the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, so when she jumps eighteen stories to her death her parents hire the PI team of Griff Cole and Britt Callahan to find out why. The investigation exposes a deeply disturbed family hiding behind a façade of perfection and follows Ashley’s descent into performance enhancing drugs and blackmail. Ashley’s coaches, peers and even her parents come into question. The disturbing truth behind Ashley’s death is testimony to lines crossed and allegiances sworn…. in the name of love.

    Meanwhile, things don’t add up next door. Britt’s working overtime researching their new neighbors whose one-year-old son disappeared four years ago. Rhea McKenzie, has a secret and bruises aren’t the only thing she’s trying to hide. When an off-hand comment discloses a connection to Ashley Lambert the two cases become entwined, setting off an unstoppable chain of events. Britt is sucked into an alliance with Rhea and driven to make decisions that challenge her ethics, threaten her relationship and in the end, push her over a line she never thought she’d cross.

    MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW

    5 stars

    The P.I. team, of Griff Cole and Britt Callahan are back and taking the reader on another exciting case!!!

    This is the third book in the series but easily read as a stand alone. You can see my review of THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY CHILD HERE.

    Griff and Britt have been hired by the parents, whose daughter has supposedly committed suicide, which they don’t believe since she was an exceptional student with a very promising future.

    During this time, the couple has also made a big step in their relationship, when they buy a house together. But something isn’t right with their new neighbors and Britt starts to investigate. What really happened when the neighbor’s 1 year old son went missing and never found. And now that this mother is pregnant again, but the bruises she is hiding, infuriates Britt and she will stop at nothing to help.

    The story grips the reader from the very first page and doesn’t let go! The author’s writing style is fluid and descriptive. The characters believable. An engrossing read with an ending that had this reader holding her breath!

    Highly recommend!

    **Stop by tomorrow for Q&A with Patricia Hale

    Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

    Enter To Win:

    This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Patricia Hale. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on October 1, 2018 and runs through November 1, 2018. Void where prohibited.

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

     

  • This blog was founded on the premise to write honest reviews, to the best of my ability, no matter who from, where from and/or how the book was obtained, and will continue to do so, even if it is through PICT or PBP.
  • I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
  • I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.
    •  Posted in Mailbox Monday

    Mailbox Monday

     CMash  October 1, 2018  1 Comment on Mailbox Monday

    Mailbox Monday

    According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
    Click on title for synopsis via GoodReads.

     

    Thursday:
    THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracy Garvis Graves ~ ARC from St. Martin’s Press via GR giveaway

     Posted in 2018 Challenges

    September | Book Blog Discussion

     CMash  September 29, 2018  1 Comment on September | Book Blog Discussion

    I am taking part in the 2018 Book Blog Discussion Challenge hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight!

    The last Saturday of the month, I will be recapping the books I have read for the month, what I thought and the links to my reviews, and what I hope to read the following month.

    September Books Read

    Click on titles below to either see my review or to check out the synopsis on GR.

    THREE STRIKES by Ross Klavan, Tim O’Mara and Charles Salzberg
    Comments: I will posting my review on Oct. 17th. I enjoyed this book and hope to read more work by all three authors.

    THE NEW NEIGHBORS by Simon Lelic
    Comments: This was SO good! Am looking forward to reading his latest novel, THE LIAR’S ROOM

    CROSS HER HEART by Sarah Pinborough
    Comments: I wish I could have given this one more than 5 stars! What a trhrilling read!!!

    INTO THE WATER by Paula Hawkins
    Comments: I enjoyed this book more than THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, written by the same author.

    AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
    Comments: This was one heck of of a twisted psychological thriller. Review posted on Sept. 21st.

    A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE by Shari Lapena
    Comments: After seeing so much buzz on this book, I reserved it at my local library. Review was posted on Sept. 25th.

    Current Read

    THE LIAR’S ROOM by Simon Lelic
    Comments: After reading THE NEW NEIGHBORS, I was excited to snag an ARC of this book.

    Upcoming October TBRs

    Last week I purchased another bookcase for my TBRs, which doesn’t include the several hundred that are on my Kindle, and I still went to the library. I think I have a problem!!

    NOT A SOUND by Heather Gudenkauf
    Comments: Brought this home from the library

    THE BAD DAUGHTER by Joy Fielding
    Comments: And this one came from the library too.

    BEYOND THE TRUTH by Bruce Robert Coffin
    Comments: Harper Collins is touring this book via PICT. I read his previous novel, AMONG THE SHADOWS, which I gave 5 stars so I had to sign up to review this one.

    Your Turn

    • What did you finish reading this month
    • What book(s) should I add to my TBR list
     Posted in Friday Fill-ins

    Friday | Friendly Fill-Ins

     CMash  September 28, 2018  Leave a Comment on Friday | Friendly Fill-Ins


    Hosted by McGruffy’s Reader and 15 and Meowing

    This week’s Fill-Ins:

    1. A ________________ will ___________________.

    2. The best time of the day is __________________.

    3. _________ is not my strong suit.

    4. It’s all fun and games until _________.

    My answers:

    1. A visit with my kids will always make me happy since they both live out of state.

    2. The best time of the day is , at 5:30 am when everything is quiet especially when I sit on the deck to have my morning coffee..

    3. Technology is not my strong suit.

    4. It’s all fun and games until a person makes it otherwise.
      You have to find the positive in every situation.      .

     Posted in Book Review

    Review | A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE by Shari Lapena

     CMash  September 25, 2018  1 Comment on Review | A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE by Shari Lapena

    A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE by Shari Lapena
    Genre: Thriller/Suspense
    Published by Penguin Books
    Publication Date: May 29, 2018
    ISBN-10: 0735221138
    ISBN-13: 978-0735221130
    Pages: 336
    Review Copy From: Library
    Edition: HC
    My Rating: 4

    Synopsis (via GR)

    In this neighborhood, danger lies close to home. A domestic thriller packed full of secrets, and a twisty story that never stops—from the bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

    He looks at her, concerned. “How do you feel?” She wants to say, Terrified. Instead, she says, with a faint smile, “Glad to be home.”

    Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.

    There’s a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

    The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

    Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won’t stop asking questions.

    Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.

    My Thoughts

    I remember seeing a lot of buzz about this book prior to its publication and recently I read another book, AN UNWANTED GUEST by Ms. Lapena, so I put a reserve request for this one at my local library.

    Tom and Karen Krupp have been married 2 years and are extremely happy, that is, until that fateful night of the accident. From that point on, their lives are changed drastically.

    An intricate and convoluted plot. The suspense flowed throughout the story making it unputdownable. However, I was a bit ambivalent about the ending. The whodunit was surprising but I was somewhat disappointed as it ended with a cliffhanger.

    If you enjoy domestic thrillers, this is one book you should pick up!

    Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

    REVIEW DISCLAIMER

  • This blog was founded on the premise to write honest reviews, to the best of my ability, no matter who from, where from and/or how the book was obtained, and will continue to do so, even if it is through PICT or PBP.
  • I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
  • I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.