Tropical Girl Reads

The young woman’s mouth is slightly parted, as if waiting to speak. Her body is frozen in ice and her blue eyes stare at the sky, perhaps wanting to look at the stars one last time…

When the body of a woman is found in the frozen Neponset River, just where it meets the sea, Jessie Novak and her partner Detective Sam Dallas rush to the scene. When Jessie sees a flash of a familiar silk scarf, she’s shocked to realize the girl in the ice is Sheila Logan, who she worked closely with for years at Boston City Hospital. Jessie desperately wants to find out how this young and talented nurse ended up an innocent victim.

But who would want to kill her? As she digs into Sheila’s past, Jessie realizes she was having an affair with a colleague and may even have been pregnant. Was her lover unwilling to be a father to her child? The pain of Sheila’s death threatens to tear open Jessie’s old wounds—Jessie’s own mother walked out on her when she was just a baby and never looked back. She can’t change her own past, but she’s determined to get justice for Sheila.

When Sheila’s neighbor is found dead, also wearing a distinctive scarf, Jessie sees a lethal pattern forming. Next, someone breaks into Jessie’s car and she knows she’s being warned off the case. But with the killer in her sights, will she take the deadliest risk of her life? Can Jessie catch him, before he catches up to her?

This utterly addictive novel will keep you up all night! Fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Abbott and Tess Gerritsen will be totally hooked until the last heart-thumping page.

No. of pages:- 317 pages

Date published:- will be published on May 18th 2021

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Thriller

The second book of Jessie Novak series, though this is the first book I have read from the author. Jessie was given a chance to work at the ME office and dividing her shifts with the ER. So when a frozen body of a woman was brought in at ME’s office, the body was recognized as that of Sheila Logan, a colleague of Jessie and who Jessie really didn’t get along. Due to the fact that she knows the victim, she was asked to return back to ER but becomes involved with the investigation…

This was OK thriller to me–not much OMG moments or page turning effect. It was a bit boring to me though towards the end, the story got interesting in the end. Jessie is a likable character in my opinion and the author’s writing was OK. Not much of twists and turns that will hook you to the story but nevertheless, an OK thriller.

Worth three stars! Thank You Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

A nurse, humanitarian aid worker, and writer, Roberta Gately has served in 3rd world war zones ranging from Africa to Afghanistan. She has written on the subject of refugees for the Journal of Emergency Nursing and the BBC World News Online. She speaks regularly on the plight of the world’s refugees and displaced.

A New York Times top-ten bestseller and a Richard and Judy Book Club Pick.

‘A fiendishly clever thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. This one will keep you guessing.’ – Anita Shreve, author of The Stars are Fire

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.

It’s about a jealous wife, obsessed with her replacement.

It’s about a younger woman set to marry the man she loves.

The first wife seems like a disaster; her replacement is the perfect woman.

You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.

You will be wrong.

The Wife Between Us is the first collaboration between Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen; a gripping thriller with film rights sold to the creators of The Girl On the Train.

No. of pages:- 353 pages

Date published:- January 2nd 2018

Publisher:- MacMillan

Genre:- Psychological thriller

After reading their books An Anonymous Girl and You Are Not Alone, I have badly wanted to read their debut book, The Wife Between Us so much that I was excited when I got my hands finally on the book!

The book talks about two women–one an ex-wife, who is jealous and is obsessed with her ex-husband’s fiancée by following her around and seemed to be disturbed, the other is a woman who is preparing to get married. The book is divided into three parts though the story is mainly told from Vanessa, the ex-wife’s perspectives. What made this story unique is all the twists and turns that will keep you at the edge of the seat until the end of the book!! I felt like I am in some sort of a movie, wondering which side I should really take–the delusional wife or the fiancée. The book is a fast paced thriller each filled with unexpected twists and turns, the character’s relationship with her husband, going back and forth from past to the present, the authors did a good job drawing the reader into the story and I was so hooked into the story wondering if Vanessa was actually delusional or if she was just pretending. Quiet a thrilling domestic thriller that will keep you up all night!

As I have read all three books, I must say, to me, this book is the best I have read from these authors. Though I enjoyed An Anonymous Girl and You Are Not Alone, this is one of the best books they have written and it is no wonder they described this book as the next The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, two of the best psychological thrillers I have read. I read that this book will made into a movie and I cannot wait to see the movie! Worth five stars in my opinion!

Sarah Pekkanen is the internationally-bestselling author of THE WIFE BETWEEN US and the upcoming AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, cowritten with Greer Hendricks.

THE WIFE BETWEEN US – an instant New York Times bestseller – is a twisty psychological tale that has been optioned for film by Amblin Entertainment. Sarah and Greer are penning the screenplay for Amblin.

AN ANONMYOUS GIRL is currently in production as a television series by eOne,with Sarah and Greer serving as executive producers.

Sarah is also the author of eight solo novels.

GREER HENDRICKS is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Wife Between Us. Prior to becoming a novelist, she spent over two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. She obtained her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Allure, and Publisher’s Weekly. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children.

One of them is missing… One of them did it…

The Thanksgiving retreat was meant to be a time for them to get away from it all, miles from the secrets that threaten to tear their family apart. But they’re each hiding something:

Rose hopes the pretty house overlooking the sea is just the break her family needs. But as she gazes at the water and remembers her own childhood, she is utterly terrified.

Brandon knows his wife Rose has barely forgiven him for his affair. He’s started drinking again, a road that led him to disaster once before.

Brianna, Rose’s sister-in-law, is recovering from her fifth miscarriage, and when she looks at her adorable niece, she can’t help but see the daughter she deserves.

Then three-year-old Lily disappears from her bed in the villa. Isolated in what should have been paradise, it quickly becomes clear that one of them took her.

As one by one their secrets are uncovered, who will be destroyed next?

A completely addictive thriller about every parent’s worst nightmare that will keep you guessing into the early hours of the morning. Perfect for fans of The Guest List, One by One and The Sister-in-Law.

No. of pages:- 331 pages

Date published:- will be published on May 27th 2021

Publisher:-Bookouture

Genre:- Thriller

Wow!!! What did I just read!!! An intense, gripping thriller filled with suspense, twists and turns that will keep you at the edge of the seat!

Rose was reluctant to go on a vacation to Jamaica, as she has read about the high crime rates there. But she agrees to join, along with her two children, Lily, Jackson, her husband, Brandon, and their friends, Annabel, Matteo, Bree and Leo (who live in Jamaica). So when one night, when her daughter, Lily goes missing, panic sets in for Rose. There’s also a serial killer on loose in Jamaica, where recently, a body of a five year old girl was discovered. Can Rose find her daughter before it’s too late?

I am not a mother, but I know, for every mother’s nightmare would be when her child goes missing without a trace. And what makes it worse is your child disappeared in a foreign country, where the laws are different, where the police can be corrupted. Rose’s fear in every way is realistic and I like how author use the days before Lily disappeared to the times after Lily disappeared and what each of them are going through. It was then when the skeletons are released out of the closet when the media dwells into Lily’s disappearance. I was at the edge of the seat as I realized, that each member of the family is a suspect and would have something to do with Lily’s disappearance. Along with the fast paced action and twists and turns, the ending was gripping and shocking that I almost couldn’t believe the ending!!! What a twisted ending!!!

Overall, I enjoyed this fast paced thriller that will keep you up all night! Looking forward to read more books from this author! Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion.

M.M. Chouinard writes crime fiction (including suspense, procedurals, and cozies), and women’s fiction. M.M. Chouinard’s first fiction story was published in her local paper when she was eight, and she fell in love with Agatha Christie novels not long after. While pursuing a Ph.D in psychology and helping to found the first U.S. research university of the new millenium, the stories kept rattling around inside her skull, demanding to come out. For sanity’s sake, she released them.

The clear sky burst into flames of peach and gold, illuminating the small body leaning against the rocks. He looked even smaller than he had in the photos, purple marks blemishing his neck. His eyes were open, staring ahead at the vastness of the still water.

When three nine-year-old boys go missing on a field trip to Lakemore’s annual spring festival, panic tears through the small town. Detective Mackenzie Price and her partner Nick Blackwood lead the search, but no trace of the boys is found—until one of them is found murdered, a note stuffed down his throat.

“Find Johnny’s killer, or they all die.”

Johnny was supposedly a victim of Jeremiah, a serial killer Nick helped put behind bars nearly a decade ago for the murder of ten young boys. But when Mack and Nick pay him a visit, he claims that he knows nothing—and that he remains innocent of Johnny’s murder.

Then a second boy is found, another clue left on his body, leaving just one left alive. Desperate to save the last boy’s life, Mackenzie and Nick comb over Jeremiah’s case, only to discover proof of a shocking cover-up—and a killer who will stop at nothing to right the wrongs of the past.

Packed full of shocking twists and nail-biting suspense, Little Boy Lost is a truly unputdownable crime thriller, perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter, Lisa Regan and Angela Marsons.

No. of pages:- 398 pages

Date published:- will be published on May 6th 2021

Genre:- Thriller

Publisher:- Bookouture

Gosh….what a roller coaster ride with this one!!! Ruhi did it once again with the third book of Detective Mackenzie Price series, Little Boy Lost. When Charles was murdered, a new detective was assigned to solve the case. Then three little boys were lost in the woods and one of the boys’ bodies, Lucas was found dead…with his tongue cut off. This case was eerily same to another case, solved by Mackenzie’s partner, Nick, but the person is already behind the bars. Is it a copycat murder or something else?

It feels like a cat and mouse chase game when reading this one. So many suspects that you have no idea who is the real culprit behind the murders. The author does a good job, keeping the reader hooked into the story hence the reader’s mind is muddled and couldn’t wait till the end to find who the real villain in the story. The emotions Mackenzie is going through particularly when the new detective, Austin is digging most of her past family’s history is interesting and intriguing. A fast paced thriller with unexpected twists and turns that will hook you into the story from the beginning to the end. The ending, was a bit unexpected, including the part where who the real villain was actually!

Overall, I enjoyed reading Ruhi Chaudary’s books and cannot wait for the fourth book of the series to come out soon! Mackenzie Price has become one of my courageous and favorite characters! Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Ruhi Choudhary discovered her passion for writing when she was seven years old and wrote her first Star Trek episode. Being a fan of the dark and twisted, she found her calling in crime thriller.

She likes to write stories that make you a little uncomfortable and characters that you struggle to make up your mind about but stay with you.

She lives in Toronto and spends her days training to be a scientist and wishing it rained more often!

You can follow her on Twitter! https://twitter.com/RuhiSChoudhary

A FIRE. A MURDER. A SILENT SUSPECT…

On a quiet street, one house is burning to the ground…

By the time sign language interpreter Paige Northwood arrives, flames have engulfed her client’s home. Though Lukas is safe, his wife is still inside. But she was dead before the fire started…

Lukas signs to Paige that he knows who killed his wife. But then he goes silent – even when the police charge him with murder.

Is he guilty, or afraid? Only Paige can help him now…

No. of pages:- 381 pages

Date published:- will be published on 29th April 2021

Publisher:- Avon

Genre: Thriller

This is the third book of the Paige Nortwood series but this is the first time, I have been reading from this author. Paige is a British Sign Language interpreter. So when one of her clients, Lukas calls her for help, Paige along with another social worker, Sasha reaches to Lukas’s house–only to find that the house is already on fire and Lukas’s wife, Nadia is dead. But Nadia didn’t die from the fire–she was murdered before the fire. And Lukas was the main suspect. And despite overwhelming evidence and Paige thinks Lukas is innocent, Lukas remains silent.

I thought the plot was interesting–I like how Paige got together with Sasha and DS Singh to find who is actually behind Nadia’s murder. Not much of twists or turns and not a very fast paced thriller you would expect but nonetheless, the writing was OK. It was somewhat interesting to see who is actually the real killer is, with all the suspects from Lukas’ s ex wife Caroline and their teenage son to the gym where Lukas frequented. The ending was somewhat unexpected but it was OK.

Overall, I thought this book was an OK thriller. Worth three stars! Thank you Netgalley and Avon for giving me the ARC–the review is based on my opinion only.