Tag: Mystery

Book Review:: Beautiful Ugly | Alice Feeney

What is it with tiny little Scottish islands?

Grady Green, bestselling author, is struggling to work after the disappearance of his wife Abby. Finally at a breaking point, his agent sends him off to a remote Scottish island, where another famous author used to live, to pound out his next great work. He’s not in a good mental place, and the island and its inhabitants are more than a little strange.

This is a true psychological thriller. Grady is at the end of his wits over what happened to his wife, literally. He never sleeps, he’s drinking far too much, and when he’s given a hallucinogenic tea on the island, we can’t tell what is real and what isn’t. He sees his wife’s face everywhere, and the red jacket she was last seen with. But every time, he blinks and he realizes his error. His mind is playing tricks on him, and he’s about as unreliable a narrator as they come.

This story doesn’t have a lot of action, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. There are mysteries on the island that he’s sure he’s not imagining. It’s a strange place, objectively. There are no birds there, for example. No phones, and an unreliable ferry is the only way on or off the island.

Even if he wanted to leave, it’s not that simple.

I loved it. I’ve never read a book by Alice Feeney before this, but based on Beautiful Ugly, she really knows what she’s doing. It has a similar tension to a book like The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley. Twisted and sinister, but on another face seemingly pretty innocent. Brilliant. Captivating. Beautiful, and Ugly.

Note:: I received the audiobook version of this book for free via the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. (And the audiobook narrators did a fantastic job, as well!)

Details

Title:: Beautiful Ugly
Author:: Alice Feeney
Genre:: Psychological Thriller
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 19m
Audiobook Narrator:: Richard Armitage, Tuppence Middleton
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: January 14th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

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If you liked this book, check out…

The Midnight Feast | Lucy Foley
Wrong Place Wrong Time | Gillian McAllister
The Truth About the Devlins | Lisa Scottoline

Book Review:: All the Missing Pieces | Catherine Cowles

So, like, romantic suspense is a thing?! If this book is good representation of that, this might be my new favorite genre! Oh my gosh, the mystery, the danger, the intrigue! I was hooked in early on and I was happy to let it reel me all the way in.

All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles Book Cover

When Ridley’s sister disappeared, she started living double. She had to experience the world twice as much, in honor of the life her sister didn’t get to live. She lives life out of the back of her van, traveling the country recording true crime podcasts. She’s good at her job because she can empathize with the grieving family’s and has a bone-deep interest in finding sickos and getting justice for their crimes.

Of course she has been researching the disappearance of her own sister, and she believes it wasn’t just an isolated incident. Her next project is investigating the failed kidnapping of a woman Ridley believes was her sister’s killer’s first victim. When she rolls into town, she finds the victim’s brother is a sheriff, and overprotective at that, which won’t make things easy for her.

First of all, the construction. When an author crafts her characters to fundamentally fit, and then throws in a dramatic question that not only justifies but also inherently creates conflict for story between them, it’s like friggin magic, and Cowles has done it in All the Missing Pieces.

Come on! A crime podcaster and a cop? Both with family members who were victims of the same type of crime? Their goals don’t only align, they’re exactly the same, but there’s so much room for tension and conflict and that’s👏🏼what👏🏼we👏🏼live👏🏼for👏🏼

It’s spicy too, did I mention? *blushes*

We’ve got an active investigation, plenty of suspects, old secrets resurfacing, hot bods, sexual tension, and sparks a-flying. There is real danger, protective instincts, and cute animal sidekicks with quirks that make you go aww. Seriously, I loved every word, and I can’t wait to read more exactly like this. Everyone drop me some recs!

I am so grateful I got to listen to an advanced copy of this title through the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

Details

Title:: All the Missing Pieces (Shady Cove #1)
Author:: Catherine Cowles
Genre:: Romantic Suspense
Publisher:: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Length:: 384 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 50m
Audiobook Narrator:: Andi Arndt, Sebastian York
Audiobook Publisher:: Dreamscape Media
Published:: January 7th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3

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If you liked this book, check out…

Burn for Me | Ilona Andrews
In the Likely Event | Rebecca Yarros
The Reappearance of Rachel Price | Holly Jackson

Book Review:: A Sea of Unspoken Things | Adrienne Young

We all have secrets. This is the story of a twin trying to discover the secrets her brother was keeping, which may have led to his unexpected and untimely death. But all she has is what was left behind, and it tells a broken story.

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young Book Cover, Pacific Northwest Coastline

Johnny was an odd duck – dark and mysterious, even to his twin sister, James. Between them was some kind of supernatural connection twins tend to have. But James felt something even more than that in times of great distress. Like she was in both bodies at once, somehow. It is how she explains the crystal clear sensation she got of the bullet that killed him hitting her own chest. And she still has that preternatural feeling. It won’t go away, even though he’s gone, and James is certain he’s trying to tell her something from beyond the grave.

As a mystery, this works really well. There’s a clear objective, there are lots of compelling clues, and a cast that supports the story well. I was hooked. But the little *sparkle* I love about every Adrienne Young book I’ve read so far are her complicated romance plotlines, and this one did not disappoint.

Now, in no way is this a romance novel – this is firmly mystery territory. But there’s this guy, right? And despite their messy history, he’s there and ready to help her figure out what the hell happened to Johnny.

It’s a simple story really, but the writing is skillful and compelling. Another mark of an Adrienne Young story is some kind of magical realism element. With June Farrow it was a foundation of the story and integral to the plotline the whole way through, with Spells for Forgetting it was a little more understated, but still foundational, but with Unspoken, it’s in the little details. The twin feeling. Their pet Smoke. Maybe even the forest itself.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’m honored I was chosen by the publisher and netgalley to receive a free download of the story in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’m sure this isn’t the only time I’ll be visiting this one!

Details

Title:: A Sea of Unspoken Things
Author:: Adrienne Young
Genre:: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Publisher:: Delacorte Press | Random House Ballantine
Length:: 288 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 16m
Audiobook Narrator:: Christine Lakin
Audiobook Publisher:: Random House Audio
Published:: January 7th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

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Adrienne Young (@adrienneyoungbooks) • Instagram photos and videos
Amazon Affiliate Links
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If you liked this book, check out…

Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
I Think I Was Murdered | Colleen Coble & Rick Acker

Book Review:: The Wife Upstairs | Rachel Hawkins

One of my top books of all time is Jane Eyre, so do I think you should read this modern, exaggerated, twisted novel that heavily draws upon it for inspiration?

Hell yes.

The Wife Upstairs Rachel Hawkins Book Cover

Jane has run away from her old life in Arizona and has taken a job as a dog walker in the ultra-chic suburban neighborhood of Thornfield Heights (already getting good, amiright?). One day she runs into a new man, Eddie Rochester. When she finds out he’s a widower and at least intrigued by her, she decides to wiggle herself into his life, which she convinces herself she deserves. His wife, B(ertha), and her BFF Blanch Ingram, disappeared from a boat on a trip to the lake several months back (hello nod to Rebecca). The investigation is ongoing, but Jane doesn’t let that stop her. Eddie gets a new dog (Adele) and hires Jane to walk her. Before long, their affair is hot and heavy and the neighbors are talking. She’s moved out of her dingy apartment she shared with her foster brother John Rivers and has installed herself into Eddie’s house. But that’s not enough. The other women in the neighborhood won’t accept her as one of them until she has a ring on her finger…

I forgot just how many Jane Eyre references there are in this book until I recently reread it. Each one is like a little Easter Egg, but the kind that’s just thrown on the lawn for the youngsters to find instead of actually hidden. This book is loud and proud about what it is. If you have any familiarity at all with the classic gothic romance, you’ll catch on pretty quickly. And we all know the twist from that book…

The Jane in The Wife Upstairs is the exact opposite of Our Lady Jane. She is a kleptomaniac and obsessed with how others perceive her. She manipulates and gaslights and convinces herself when all is said and done, she will be happy. And she gets what she wants…somehow, things come a little too easily to her.

Rachel Hawkins is so good at mastering a tone of something-just-isn’t-right-here. The investigation of the two women’s disappearances put off Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca vibes both in the suspicions and manor of…what happened. If you haven’t read Rebecca – come on. That is gothic lit Required Reading (But be forewarned, you won’t get that first read back, so savor it the first time!). Being in a relationship with B’s husband, she begins to wonder what actually happened to her out there. Was it Blanche’s husband? Was it her own?

I am a big fan of Rachel Hawkins, and it all started with this gem of a book right here. The balance of suspense and intrigue and mystery and f***ed up s***…it’s delicious. Feast yourself.

Details

Title:: The Wife Upstairs
Author:: Rachel Hawkins
Genre:: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher:: St. Martin’s Press
Length:: 290 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 57m
Audiobook Narrator:: Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne, Lauren Fortgang
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: January 5th, 2021
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

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Author Website
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If you liked this book, check these out…

The Heiress | Rachel Hawkins
Wrong Place Wrong Time | Gillian McAllister

Book Review:: The Vanishing Year | Kate Moretti

Tis the season for suspenseful, twisty books, and The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti will certainly scratch that itch for you.

The Vanishing Year Kate Moretti Book Cover

Zoey has a pretty great life – a life she never expected. After fleeing a dark, haunting past, she didn’t know what she might make of herself, but now years later she’s the wife of a wealthy New York businessman. Since her marriage, she’s drifted away from the friendships she’d made in her new life, and her old goals – for one, discovering the identity of her birth mother. With the help of a reporter who covered a story for her charity (pasting a picture of her in the newspaper), she pulls on that thread. In the meantime, someone from her past is hungry for revenge.

If you are a sensitive thriller reader, you might want to skip this one. This one was pretty gruesome and dark. Psychopathy, human tr*fficking, drugs…it’s a lot. But there are also a lot of very compelling factors: her own hidden identity, the mystery around her birth mother, her husband’s odd behavior, the new friendship with the reporter…I think it was just balanced enough that I didn’t have to put it down. If you like dark stories…I found one!

The tension starts pretty low at the beginning, but once it starts ratcheting up, it doesn’t stop until the brutal end. It held my attention all the way through. It’s the kind of story that leaves you questioning why any and everything is being included. Is it important? Is it going to tie back in? What is happening!

Details

Title:: The Vanishing Year
Author:: Kate Moretti
Genre:: Suspense/Thriller
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 50m
Audiobook Narrator:: Mandeleine Maby
Audiobook Publisher:: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published:: September 27th, 2016
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

Linky Links!!

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If you liked this book, check these out…

Wrong Place Wrong Time | Gillian McAllister
The Midnight Feast | Lucy Foley

Book Review:: The Haunting of Maddy Clare | Simone St. James

What a perfect read for spooky season-a historical ghost story mystery, The Haunting of Maddy Clare.

The Haunting of Maddy Clare Simone St. James Book Cover. A decrepit barn with the sun setting behind it and a murder of crows surrounding it.

Ms. Sarah Piper is recruited by an eccentric world war veteran needing an assistant for his latest project: hunting a ghost who’s been haunting an old barn. He’s an academic writer searching for solid proof of the otherworldly, and Sarah rapidly agrees. The spirit is very much alive, and vengeful, especially of men. Sarah turns into an integral part of the investigation into what happened to Maddy Clare, and how they might be able to help her spirit settle.

What is there not to love about this book? Okay, the subject matter is pretty dark. Maddy Clare was horrifically traumatized before she died, and that subject matter is very heavy. I feel like it was brought to justice in the end though, which helps to pacify the discomfort of reading about such difficult events.

I loved the mid-century setting, the ghost hunting characters being respectable (albeit damaged) gentlemen, the supernatural phenomena, the ongoing mystery, and the slow burning romance that simmers beneath it all. I ate it up. I can see myself returning to this book every fall in the future. What a way to set the tone for the season!

What is your favorite ghostly mystery book?

Details

Title:: The Haunting of Maddy Clare
Author:: Simone St. James
Genre:: Historical Ghost Mystery
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 318 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 45m
Audiobook Narrator:: Billie Fulford-Brown
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: October 4th, 2022
The Litertarian Rating:: #-Stars
Spice Rating:: 2.5?

Linky Links!!

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Author Website
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If you liked this book, check out…

Haunted Ever After | Jen DeLuca (ghost story rom-com)
Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen (murder mystery)
The Truth About the Devlins | Lisa Scottoline (murder mystery)

Book Review:: I Think I Was Murdered | Colleen Coble & Rick Acker

I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is a thriller that’s unafraid of modern technology. With elements of AI, bitcoin, and blockchain included as major plot drivers, the read somehow doesn’t feel too tech-heavy for a reader who isn’t completely on the up-and-up with these emerging technologies (like me). It maintains its balance with the incorporation of the very organic realm of relationships, family, and friendship.

I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble & Rick Acker Book Cover

The company Katrina works for in Silicon Valley is beta testing a new AI system, and she’s fed in all her recently dead-husband’s electronic records in to test it (but really as a coping tool as she grieves his unexpected death). Texting the program is really communicating with him. He even sends her photographs of their memories. One day she asks him to tell her something she doesn’t know. “I think I was murdered,” he tells her. He died in a car accident, so this is the last thing she ever expected.

Meanwhile, her grandmother died, so Katrina has come back to her hometown, inherited her family’s restaurant, and reconnected with an old friend. Her Silicon Valley career is in shambles and being investigated, and it turns out her husband may have left something behind for her. It turns into a race against time for her to find before whoever killed him for it.

I can’t find anything really to fault in this novel. I thought it was done incredibly well. It managed to surprise me a few times, while I was also able to anticipate a few twists and feel that sense of self-satisfaction, too. There are plenty of plotlines to keep us busy, and all of them play into the main story in some way by the end. There is plenty to capture your interest as a reader, and the story felt very robust.

I was provided with an advanced listening copy of this book by the publisher and netgalley. The audio narration is also very good, if you’re an audiobook listener like me.

On the scale of wimp to true crime fanatic, I am way down on the wimpy side, and though there are moments of violence included in this book, it never gave me that haunting anxiety feeling as I read. I always like to know where thrillers end up on that spectrum because you can’t unread stuff! That’s not to say it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat-just that I didn’t pee my pants all the way through. ha.

Details

Title:: I Think I Was Murdered
Author:: Colleen Coble & Rick Acker
Genre:: Thriller/Mystery
Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 46m
Audiobook Narrator:: Karen Peakes
Audiobook Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Published:: November 12th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Hardcover] [Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this book, check out…

Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Wrong Place Wrong Time | Gillian McAllister

Book Review:: The Christmas Jigsaw Murders | Alexandra Benedict

If you love a good mystery with clues a-plenty and complex layers, you’ll love The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, by Alexandra Benedict.

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders Alexandra Benedict Book Cover

Edie O’Sullivan is a professional puzzler, creating crosswords for a job. It’s a wonderful passion, until she gets a morbid note in the mail about four murders that would take place before Christmas, and a packet with a few jigsaw pieces. She calls upon her great-nephew (whom she raised when his immediate family died), who is an inspector, to help her once bodies start dropping. There seems to be a connection to him, too, through his husband’s running club. Clues continue showing up, and a killer is on the loose at the most wonderful time of the year.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I received an alc through netgalley and the publisher, and the narration fit the book so well. Edie is an elderly lady, and Sandra Duncan did a wonderful job, especially with the humor of a little cantankerous old lady.

I enjoyed the mystery of this story, but it wasn’t my favorite part. Something about the recording and the story itself had this nostalgic sort of feeling about it. I’m not sure if it was because of the elderly MC (for most of the novel), or the Christmasy sort of spirit, but it felt really cozy to me (though I’m not sure I’d necessarily call it a cozy mystery…there are certainly high stakes).

If you’re a fan of both mystery and Christmas stories, hey, this is a perfect read for this time of year!

Details

Title:: The Christmas Jigsaw Murders
Author:: Alexandra Benedict
Genre:: Mystery/Thriller/Holiday
Publisher:: Simon and Schuster
Length:: 351 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 56m
Audiobook Narrator:: Sandra Duncan
Audiobook Publisher:: Dreamscape Media
Published:: October 8th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this book, check out…

Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
The Reappearance of Rachel Price | Holly Jackson

Book Review:: I Did Something Bad | Pyae Moe Thet War

I Did Something Bad by Pyae Moe Thet War is not your typical romance. There’s a dead guy in it, for one, not to mention a cover-up, a Vogue expose, and no shortage of commentary on illegal abortion in Myanmar, where the story takes place. I’d say it was one part romance, two parts murder conspiracy & complications thereof.

I Did Something Bad Pyae Moe Thet War Book Review. Figure of a woman in sunglasses, which are reflecting the portrait of a man.

Khin, a freelance journalist, has been offered the job that could make her career (so far): writing the cover story of Tyler Tun for Vogue. He’s a global mega-star actor, and he’s filming a new movie in Myanmar with his best friend Mai. She’s to shadow him for two months, and if she can get a major break for the piece, she’s all but guaranteed a lead journalist job for Vogue Singapore. As a recent divorcee, the opportunity is too good to pass on. When she meets him, she can tell he’s hiding something, but they get on well enough. Then on the first day of shooting, Khin is approached by a drunkard ‘white guy’ who assaults her. She shoves a monogrammed pen in his ear and drops him off a bridge. Tyler finds her and steps in to help at the last minute, and she somehow talks him into pretending nothing happened. When the police show up on set the next day, they team up to get the story straight.

To be honest, it felt like this book was a little confused. I’m not sure what exactly it’s trying to be. It reminded me in some ways of Finlay Donovan is Killing It, except the stakes didn’t really seem that high, and it didn’t have a really high degree of humor. There were detectives, but they were pretty despicable. It was a little odd that they seemed almost more concerned with the article she’d previously written about outlawed abortions than the dead guy in the lake. The romance wasn’t incredibly strong either. I liked Tyler, but nothing about their connection felt very profound.

I was lucky to receive this title as an advanced listeners copy through netgalley from the publisher. I will say I especially enjoyed the voice she chose for Tyler, but I kind of hated the voice she chose for best friend Mai. It wasn’t enough to detract from the story though.

Overall it was an entertaining story, it just didn’t blow me away in any of the several categories it spanned. I’m not really sure what kind of reader I would recommend it to.

Details

Title:: I Did Something Bad
Author:: Pyae Moe Thet War
Genre:: Romance/Thriller?
Publisher:: St. Martin’s Griffin
Length:: 336 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 47m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jacqui Bardelang
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: October 8th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this book, check out…

Double Exposure | Elissa R. Sloan
Finaly Donovan Is Killing It | Elle Cosimano

Book Review:: If We Were Villains | M.L. Rio

What is more important, that Cesear is assassinated or that he is assassinated by his intimate friends? … ‘That,’ Frederick said, ‘is where the tragedy is.’

If We Were Villains M. L. Rio Book Cover

After years in prison, inmate Oliver Marks is released on parole. Detective Colborne, the man in charge of the crime that put Oliver behind bars, is no longer in active duty. Lingering questions over the case has him approaching Oliver for the truth of what happened all those years ago. Being the Shakespearean thespian he and his friends are, he recounts the tale in all its detail and subtlety.

At Dellecher, an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends are in their fourth year of theater studies, where they perform endless Shakespearean plays. The friend group is very close-knit, and each of them play their respective roles dutifully on stage, and off. But things are changing, and after a strangely intense performance, one of them ends up dead.

The students in this theater program are dedicated to their craft, most certainly to a fault. They read deep into the verse, and quote it, frankly, constantly. I’ve never wanted to do a deep-dive into Shakespeare’s cannon more than I did while reading this book, and perhaps those with more background on the plays in question would have understood the deeper levels of meaning I’m convinced were there for a more astute reader. As it was, Oliver as the narrator did a good job of explaining enough that even a novice reader like me was able to follow the subtext of the scenes presented well enough. But these kids sure have a way with language, and as the author, M.L. Rio impressed me with such an expansive, luxurious writing style. It made me feel smarter and vastly ignorant all at once (ha).

One thing I’m sure Colborne will never understand is that I need language to live, like food-lexemes and morphemes and morsels of meaning nourish me with the knowledge that, yes, there is a word for this. Someone else has felt it before.

Oliver is a great supporting actor, and his place in the friend group mirrors that role. It is a great POV from which to experience the story. He sees the others for who they are without his own ego getting in the way, and is profoundly loyal to them, and is entirely too trusting of them, as it turns out. His character did not have a front row seat to the tragedy, and has to piece together what happened himself as the cracks in the story begin to show.

Did you love Donna Tartt’s The Secret History? Did you like it but wished it had less Latin & philosophy and more Shakespearean verse? Then this was written for you. The gist of the story was very similar, with mirrored themes and pacing in both plot and language. To me, this is essentially a re-telling of The Secret History, although having read it doesn’t give anything away of this one. But if you loved it, you’ll love this, and vice versa.

This Gothic mystery is not for the casual reader. The prose is dense and poetic and requires concentration and patience to get through (listening to it as an audiobook might help if you’re finding it too tedious). But if you’re a seasonal reader and like to lean into the vibes of autumn, this is a perfect companion to the chilly, snow-crusted, dim evenings of October.

Details

Title:: If We Were Villains
Author:: M.L. Rio
Genre:: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 354 pages
Audio Length:: 12h 50m
Audiobook Narrator:: Robert Petkoff
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: April 11th, 2017
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Hardcover] [Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this book, check out…

Wrong Place Wrong Time | Gillian McAllister
Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen