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
Synopsis (via GR)
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.
My Thoughts
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 🔗
REVIEW DISCLAIMER
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
Synopsis (via GR)
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 . . .
My Thoughts
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 🔗
REVIEW DISCLAIMER
CROSS HER HEART by Sarah Pinborough
Genre: Mystery/Suspense Thriller
Published by William Morrow
Publication Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN-10: 0062856790
ISBN-13: 978-0062856791
Pages: 352
Review Copy From: William Morrow
Edition: HC
My Rating: 5
Genre: Mystery/Suspense Thriller
Published by William Morrow
Publication Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN-10: 0062856790
ISBN-13: 978-0062856791
Pages: 352
Review Copy From: William Morrow
Edition: HC
My Rating: 5
Synopsis (via GR)
Lisa lives for her daughter Ava, her job, and her best friend Marilyn, but when a handsome client shows an interest in her, Lisa starts daydreaming about sharing her life with him too. Maybe she’s ready now. Maybe she can trust again. Maybe it’s time to let her terrifying secret past go. Then her daughter rescues a boy from drowning and their pictures are all over the news for everyone to see. Lisa’s world explodes, and she finds everything she has built threatened. Not knowing whom she can trust, it’s up to her to face her past to save what she holds dear.
My Thoughts
O!! M!! G!! This is one hell of a psychological read!
After reading BEHIND HER EYES, I have been waiting for this book. And let me tell you, it was another chilling read by Ms. Pinborough.
From these words in Chapter 1, He will destroy her, begins a continuous inventive and mysterious read.
Lisa and Ava, mother and 16 year old daughter seem to be living a “normal life”. That is until Lisa starts receiving items and messages that someone knows her past. And it gets worse when Ava saves a little boy from drowning and their pictures are in the newspapers and shown on T.V. Someone alerts the media outlets that Lisa is someone else and is a murderer.
An intricate psychological thriller that had me turning the pages as fast as I could. This is an engrossing and hair-raising book! A white knuckle read!
Kudos Ms. Pinborough!!!! You outdid yourself with this one! I truly hope your next book is in the works. I can’t wait!!!
Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗
REVIEW DISCLAIMER
The Found Child
by Jo Crow
September 18, 2018 Book Blast
Synopsis:
One mother’s life can change in the blink of an eye—and there’s no going back.
Elaine’s worst fears become a reality when her beloved son Jakob is diagnosed with cancer. She needs to find a bone marrow donor, and time is running out. While awaiting test results from herself and her husband Nathan, she approaches his business partner, Roger—her ex-lover—to see if he could be a possible match. Instead, an even greater shock awaits: Jakob is not her biological son. For years, she has been raising someone else’s child.
The news threatens to send Elaine back to the pills that almost destroyed her life once before, pushing her already fragile mental state to the breaking point. As the family faces one crisis, a ghost from her past emerges to jeopardize everything she’s built. But is the threat real, or is it all in her mind? Elaine needs to stay strong for her son, but as her whole reality continues to unravel, she can’t trust anyone—not even herself.
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW
5 stars
WOW! WOW! I read ¾ in the first sitting and couldn’t wait to pick it up the next morning to finish it.
I put this writer on my “authors to read list” after reading A MOTHER’S LIE and I now know it was a really good move on my part.
I don’t know where to begin because this was such a phenomenal read. Other than the synopsis, I don’t want to spill 1 iota of information because I don’t want to spoil it for those who want to read it.
The story has an intense spellbinding detailed plot. The characters are well developed, so much so, that I could feel the mother’s love, devotion, despair, terror, anxiety, confusion just to name a few emotions. The action and suspense is continuous from the first page to the last word.
Reading this book was like running a marathon and after turning each corner, I had to stop and catch my breath! Continuous tension and turmoil that left me gasping for air because I was holding my breath at every turn. A heart pounding read!
Did I say WOW!? I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars! It will definitely be one of my 2018 best reads!
I highly recommend this read if you are looking for uninterrupted action. And especially for mothers because you will be asking yourself what you would do.
I did, however, find just one negative…..I now have to wait for Ms. Crow’s next book!!!!
Book Details:
Genre: Thriller
Published by: Relay Publishing
Publication Date: September 4th 2018
Number of Pages: 372
ISBN-10: 1726446328
ISBN-13: 978-1726446327
Purchase Links: Amazon Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Prologue
Telling parents that the search for their missing infant had gone cold was a job that no one wanted. And honestly, Detective Aaronson had tried to pass it off to someone else—to his partner, Miller, and then to a uniform. Ultimately, though, the chief had put his boot down and pushed it back on Aaronson. He was the point man. He and Miller had worked the case together for a month before the leads dried up, but it had been Aaronson who had sat with the parents, talked to them on the phone, and kept them updated.
He’d been the one to give them hope, so it followed that he should be the one to take it away… right?
They had agreed to meet him at the station. That seemed to be the best choice. No one wanted to get this kind of news in their own home—it would put a stain on the place that would never wash out. No, it was more professional to have the talk here in one of the small conference rooms. No decorations, no distractions, nothing to make the moment seem too casual. Only gray brick, white linoleum and a wooden table and chairs that were plain and utilitarian. Unemotional.
Now he sat across from them, steeling himself and trying to work up some moisture in his mouth. There was water, but they hadn’t poured a glass so he wasn’t about to. Both of them had dark circles under their bloodshot eyes, and a waxy pallor to their skin. They hadn’t slept in a month, he figured. He’d have put money on it. Hell, he could barely sleep when his teenager stayed out late with her friends on a weekend. And their child had been gone for more than a month. As a parent, he understood part of their pain. Just part of it. That’s what made this so damn difficult.
“We’re not closing the case,” he said, his tone as flat as he could manage. “But as of now, the leads—”
“You’re not looking anymore?” the mother asked. Fury filled her eyes, and loss. One of those was for him.
“It’s only been a month,” the father said. “You can’t stop now. Please, our son is out there somewhere—we know it.”
“I can feel him,” she said. “You have to believe me, I can feel him here.” She clutched at her chest, at the threadbare, peach-colored sweater she wore.
You have to keep it short, the chief had said. Keep it direct and then refer them to the counselor. That’s your job.
Aaronson wondered if the chief had ever done this before. He imagined he’d had, but to make it seem so simple… Of course, there were regulations. He couldn’t be the counselor and the detective, and there were good reasons for that. “We will keep the case open,” he told them. “If any new leads come in, we’ll follow up on them.”
He meant it, too. But the truth that he knew, and that these two knew even if they didn’t want to believe it, was that after seventy-two hours, most of these cases were never solved. Every day after that windows closed, the likelihood of finding a child like theirs dropped exponentially until it plummeted to a fraction of a percent which itself really only represented the handful of miracle cases that had been resolved sometimes decades after a disappearance.
“Please don’t do this,” the father begged. He took his wife’s hand, and they leaned into one another. “One more month. There was that woman—”
“At the moment, Andrea Williams has been cleared as a suspect,” Aaronson said. That poor woman’s life had been all but destroyed already. “We’ve been over her life with a fine-toothed comb. If new evidence emerges, we’ll look into it again, but I’m telling you that she’s not who we want.”
“So, what do we do now?” the mother asked. “What do we do now that you’ve abandoned our boy? Abandoned us?”
Aaronson was so close to breaking. He stood from the table. “I swear to you both,” he said, the words bitter on his tongue, “that we will pursue any and every lead that comes across my desk. We’re not abandoning anyone. Alright?” And while it may have been technically true, it sure felt like a lie.
Nothing but contempt came from them, and he didn’t blame them at all. And he hated himself for what he had to say next. “There’s a counselor here. Doctor Amari. She’s a grief counselor, and it’s free to see her. I can send her in, but I have to leave you now. I’m sorry. Really, I am.”
They turned their faces from him.
As he left, he closed the door gently even though he wanted to slam it hard enough to shatter the glass. He wasn’t even sure who to be angry with. Himself, mostly, he guessed, or the whole damn department. And Andrea-fucking-Williams, who had wasted their time from the beginning by lying to protect herself instead of telling them the truth about her record so that they could have moved on.
He took only two steps before the mother wailed loudly behind him. The entire department went quiet. That sound was one they all knew. It was the sound of a woman who had lost the last shred of hope she’d had. The shred that he’d taken away from her.
That was the sound of a mother whose child had died. And, at this point, Aaronson had nothing to suggest it wasn’t true.
He’d failed them.
***
Excerpt from The Found Child by Jo Crow. Copyright © 2018 by Jo Crow. Reproduced with permission from Jo Crow. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
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 Jo Crow On:
Goodreads & Facebook!
Tour Participants:
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
ENTER TO WIN!:
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Jo Crow. There will be 5 winners of for this tour. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon GC; there will be 3 winners of one (1) A MOTHER’S LIE eBook; and there will be 1 winner of one (1) A MOTHER’S LIE by Jo Crow audiobook. The giveaway begins on September 18, 2018 and runs through September 25, 2018. Void where prohibited.
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REVIEW DISCLAIMER
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.
Monday:
SOMEONE ELSE’S DAUGHTER by Linsey Lanier ~ eBook from Author
Tuesday:
AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen ~ eBook via St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley
Saturday:
TEN LITTLE GIRLS by Willow Rose ~ free Kindle download
- Being _______________ is _____________________.
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If ___________________ were worth money, then I would be rich.
-
I am proud of _________.
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If I could time travel, I would visit the year _________.
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Being kind to others is really quite easy if you put your mind to it. Plus the rewards are priceless.
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If burnt Yankee Candles were worth money, then I would be rich.
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I am proud of my sons.
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If I could time travel, I would visit the year 1988 when my boys were toddlers. The best years of my life.
Criminal Misdeeds
by Randee Green
on Tour September 3 – 14, 2018
Synopsis:
As far back as the Shatners can be traced, they have been breaking the law and running from it. It’s a family tradition. Now Carrie Shatner is a detective and crime-scene technician with the Wyatt County Sheriff’s Department in Eastern Texas. Over the years, she has tried to distance herself from her family’s criminal activities. But that is easier said than done.
The Shatner family is celebrating New Year’s Eve at the Wyatt County Fairgrounds in their usual style: illegal fireworks, homemade moonshine, and a near brawl. After shutting down the party, Carrie does a final sweep of the fairgrounds and finds a dead body in a dumpster.
Good news: the dead man is not a Shatner. Bad news: the Shatners are now suspects in a homicide investigation. Soon the fairgrounds are overrun with law enforcement, including Sergeant Jerrod Hardy, a Texas Ranger. The victim is Kyle Vance, Carrie’s ex-boyfriend and a member of the Palmer family, who have been feuding with the Shatners since the Civil War.
Despite serious misgivings, Hardy allows Carrie to help him investigate. He knows she physically couldn’t have beaten Vance to death, but he wonders if she is covering for a family member.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery
Published by: Coffeetown Press
Publication Date: July 1, 2018
Number of Pages: 280
ISBN: 1603817093 (ISBN13: 978-1603817097)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
CHAPTER ONE
I come from a long line of criminals.
Moonshiners, rumrunners, and drug dealers. Horse thieves and carjackers. Bank robbers, burglars, pickpockets, and con artists. And then there has been the occasional killer. You name it, whether it’s a felony or a misdemeanor, somewhere along the line a member of my family has committed it.
As far back as the Shatner family could be traced – from southern England to the mountains of western North Carolina, and now to the Piney Woods of East Texas – we had been breaking the law. And running from it, too.
It was a family tradition.
You see, the Shatners have never swum in the baby pool of life. We’ve always been out in the deep end, and we jumped in headfirst.
As for me, every day I fight my genetic predisposition to break the law. Some days I’ve been more successful than others. You see, I can’t break the law when I’m the one who is supposed to be upholding it.
My name is Carrie Shatner, and for the last three-and-a-half years I have worked as a detective and crime scene technician for the Wyatt County Sheriff’s Department in East Texas. That would put my Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University to good use except there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot of serious crime in Wyatt County. I mainly sat behind my desk all day, twiddling my thumbs, playing Sudoku, and keeping up with my various social media accounts.
While my official job was to process crime scenes and deal with all parts of criminal investigations, my unofficial job was to cover up my family’s illegal activities and keep them out of jail. I’d be the first to admit that what I have been doing wasn’t ethical. It was probably also criminal. I tried not to think about that too much. To be honest, I tried not to think about any of it too much. Most days I felt like quitting my job. Family obligation prevented that.
I’m not saying that all of the Shatners have been hardened criminals. Sure, most of the older ones were. But at least some of the younger ones shied away from the family business and seemed to be sticking to the straight and narrow. And they were the reason why I do what I do. Yes, I clean up the crimes of the guilty. But I do it to protect the innocent.
These days, the laws my various family members break have been fairly minor ones. Okay, some were still kind of major. But it was nothing compared to what we used to engage in. I mean, I’m pretty sure we were no longer involved in contract killing or organized crime.
What I did know was that my great-uncles had a moonshine still out in the woods and a marijuana crop concealed in a bunch of old Cold War bomb shelters. Every time I caught one of my family members selling the homebrew or the pot, they would promise me it was the last time. I didn’t believe them. I didn’t arrest them either, because I knew it wouldn’t stop them. It would also infuriate the rest of the family. And, while tempting, that wasn’t a risk I was quite willing to take. At least not yet.
Occasionally, one of the younger Shatners would steal a car or deface some public property or get busted for underage drinking. The older Shatners were always getting nabbed for public indecency and public intoxication. Some of them were also heavily involved in insurance scams. And then there had been the occasional assault. But we hadn’t killed anyone – accidently or on purpose – in years. Or, if someone had, I didn’t know about it.
When you got down to it, the majority of the bad things that the Shatners have done were just plain dumb. And, as far as I knew, being stupid wasn’t illegal. We would have been in serious trouble otherwise.
I don’t want you to go into this thinking that all of the Shatners were bad people. Most of them have just been a little misguided.
At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
Until I found the body.
***
Excerpt from Criminal Misdeeds by Randee Green. Copyright © 2017 by Randee Green. Reproduced with permission from Randee Green. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Randee Green’s passion for reading began in grade school with Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature, as well as a master’s and an MFA in Creative Writing. When not writing, she’s usually reading, indulging in her passion for Texas country music, traveling, or hanging out with her favorite feline friend, Mr. Snookums G. Cat.
Catch Up With Randee Green On:
randeegreen.com, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!
Tour Participants:
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews and giveaways!
Enter To Win
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Randee Green. There will be 2 winners of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on Sept. 03, 2018 and runs through Sept. 15, 2018. Void where prohibited.
