Reading, Reviewing, Guest Authors, Giveaways and more.
Mailbox Monday
Thursday:
THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracy Garvis Graves ~ ARC from St. Martin’s Press via GR giveaway
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.
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.
THE LIAR’S ROOM by Simon Lelic
Comments: After reading THE NEW NEIGHBORS, I was excited to snag an ARC of this book.
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.
The best time of the day is __________________.
_________ is not my strong suit.
It’s all fun and games until _________.
A visit with my kids will always make me happy since they both live out of state.
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..
Technology is not my strong suit.
It’s all fun and games until a person makes it otherwise.
You have to find the positive in every situation..
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
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.
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 🔗
Mailbox Monday
Sunday:
ECHOES OF FAMILY by Barbara Claypole White ~ Kindle from Author
Wednesday:
THE LIAR’S ROOM by Simon Lelic ~ ARC TPB from Berkley Publicity
Thursday:
BEYOND SALVATION by Darcia Helle ~ free eBook download
KILLING INSTINCT by Darcia Helle ~ free eBook download
Friday:
HEADS YOU WIN by Jeffrey Archer ~ ARC from St. Martin’s Press
AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Genre: Thriller/Suspense, Women’s Fiction
Published by St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
ISBN-10: 1250133734
ISBN-13: 978-1250133731
Pages: 384
Review Copy From: Publisher via NetGalley
Edition: eBook
My Rating: 5
The next novel of psychological suspense and obsession from the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us
Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.
When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.
From the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us comes an electrifying new novel about doubt, passion, and just how much you can trust someone.
After reading THE WIFE BETWEEN US, I knew I had to read this book and asap. If you haven’t read either book, put them on your list.
Jessica Farris, a makeup artist, is just about making ends meet financially. While at a client’s home, she overhears her say that she has an appointment the following day for a survey being conducted by a psychiatrist at NYU, which is paying $500, but the client states she is not showing up. Jessica, in an impulse decision, checks the client’s phone for the information to take her place. But what ends up being a generic survey turns into so much.
Jessica ends up being Subject 52 but soon learns that she is the sole focus that the psychiatrist wants for her Morality and Ethics study. What ensues is more than Jess has bargained for. Did she just sell her life and soul for financial gain?
An intricate, complex and profound psychological thriller that will leave you breathless. A chilling white-knuckle read!
Highly recommend!
Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗
09/20/18
INTO THE WATER by Paula Hawkins
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Women’s Fiction
Published by Riverhead Books
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN-10: 0735211221
ISBN-13: 978-0735211223
Pages: 400
Review Copy From: Personal purchase
Edition: HC
My Rating: 4
In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . .
Last year I read THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, which I liked but didn’t feel that it was as exciting as all the buzz I saw/heard about it. Fast forward, I read mixed reviews for INTO THE WATER and decided to read it for my own satisfaction and see if the buzz was correct for this title.
Nel Abbott, author and photographer, is writing a book about the Beckford Pool, which is also called the Beckford Drowning Pool. History and myths claim that this body of water is not a suicide spot but is a place to get rid of troublesome women (pg. 89). Many women, starting in 1679 to present, have died here. Nel was researching if the deaths were suicide or was there something more sinister happening? There are many secrets and despair but what is the real truth? However, Nel doesn’t get the chance to finish her book because she becomes the latest victim of the Beckford Drowning Pool.
I really liked this book. If I had to choose which book was more engrossing and kept me captivated, it would be this one. Throughout the book I kept changing my opinion as to the outcome and who was hiding the biggest secret but then the last chapters brought it all together and I was only partly right.
This book held my interest to the very end!
Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗
