book review
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Kristin Perrin’s “How To Seal Your Own Fate”: Dark Secrets Revealed
How To Seal Your Own Fate by Kristin Perrin 4/5 Synopsis Welcome back to Castle Knoll, the idyllic English village home to a surprising number of murderers. Present day: Annie Adams is just settling into life in Castle Knoll when local fortune-teller Peony Lane shares a cryptic message only hours before being found dead inside the locked Gravesdown…
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Kate Quinn’s “The Briar Club”: Nostalgia, Murder, & Heart.
The Briar Club Kate Quinn 5/5 Synopsis A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But…
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Jess Lourey’s “The Quarry Girls”: Evil and Darkness Never Sleep.
The Quarry Girls By Jess Lourey 5/5 Synopsis Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they…
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Charlotte McConaghy’s “Wild Dark Shore”: Love, Desolation, & Hope.
Wild Dark Shore Charlotte McConaghy 3.5/5 Synopsis A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world’s largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the…
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Gillian McAllister’s “Just Another Missing Person”: Secrets, Lies, & Love.
Just Another Missing Person Gillian McAllister 3.5/5 Synopsis OLIVIA. 22 years old. Last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again. Missing for one day and counting . . . Julia is the detective heading up the case. She knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and…
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Benjamin Stevenson’s “Everyone on This Train is a Suspect”: Secrets & Lies Exposed.
Everyone on This Train is a Suspect Benjamin Stevenson 4.5/5 Synopsis When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each…
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Benjamin Stevenson’s “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone”: Secrets & Truths Revealed.
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone By Benjamin Stevenson 4.5/5 Synopsis Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. I’m Ernest…