Tropical Girl Reads

Mallory is delighted to have a new job looking after gorgeous four-year-old, Teddy. She’s been sober for a year and a half and she’s sure her new nannying role in the affluent suburbs will help keep her on the straight and narrow.

That is until Teddy starts to draw disturbing pictures of his imaginary friend, Anya. It is quite clear to Mallory and to Teddy’s parents, even in his crude childlike style, that the woman Teddy is drawing in his pictures is dead.

Teddy’s crayons are confiscated, and his paper locked away. But the drawings somehow keep coming, telling a frightening story of a woman murdered… and they’re getting more sophisticated. But if Teddy isn’t drawing the pictures anymore, who is? And what are they trying to tell Mallory about her new home?

WOW….this book is just WOW! This is one of those books where I finished within 48 hours—this was really good!

Throughout the Instagram and Goodreads, I saw positive reviews on this book and so decided to try out this book. This book was the winner of the Goodreads Horror in 2022 and I have to say…this book really deserve its higher ratings!

Story starts with Mallory Quinn who had been sober for eighteen months. She then gets a job as a nanny to work for a wealthy and affluent family Caroline and Ted Maxwell–to babysit their five-year-old son Teddy. At first Mallory enjoys being a babysitter and Teddy draws pictures and shows Mallory. Soon Teddy uses Anya who is his imaginary friend and start drawing pictures depicting on disturbing themes–a woman being murdered and then dragged through the woods by a man. Mallory realizes that the woman in the picture is dead. Teddy’s crayons are being confiscated but the drawings kept coming back. Who is this woman? What is the story behind those pictures?

I have to say I simply couldn’t put the book down–it was so impossible to put the book down! Not only that–what makes this book more unique compared to other books is the presence of pictures that would help the reader to help understand the meaning of the pictures–which changes from childish paintings to a more adult painted. Is Mallory really crazy? Or is the place haunted by a ghost who may have been murdered by someone? The book was unputdownable, a page turner and I simply couldn’t wait what the ending was. In other words, it was fast-paced! The ending…it was completely unexpected and did not expect that twist to come! I really liked the supernatural element in the book mingled with the thriller.

So if you are a fan of horror thrillers, try out this book–worth five stars!

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 Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Who was it?

Let’s get started.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

My brother

My stepsister

My wife

My father

My mother

My sister-in-law

My uncle

My stepfather

My aunt

Me

The Cunningham family is known for something–every single member of the family has killed someone. And our male protagonist, Ern Cunningham is no exception.

The story starts with Ernest’s brother Michael giving him a briefcase of money and that telling Ernest that he had killed a man named Alan who may be involved in the murder of their father. Ernest gives statement against Michael and Michael goes to prison. Then when Michael was releasing from the prison, the Cunningham family is organizing a family union up in a ski resort and the reunion turns deadly when a dead body turns up at the resort. Ernest knows something–someone from his family had killed someone that night.

The story was interesting and intriguing. This was quiet fast paced and there were some funny moments in the thriller. I feel like you are watching a movie while reading this book. One of the characters is the murderer and the twist at the end was a bit unexpected. If you have read Agatha Christie books, there is a certain Agatha Christie vibe in the book. This was a unique story plot and this had me turning pages as I was wondering who is the actual killer. This book did put you on the edge of the seat so overall, this book worths four stars!

This book is soon going to be produced in a TV series!

No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that’s exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he’s got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.

The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper’s old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn’t show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.

Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.

This was actually an intense book

The story follows about a man and his daughter living deep in the woods in remote mountains of Appalachia. A man named Jack usually brings food and other necessities to the father and daughter. One day, Jack didn’t come as usual and when the things are running out, the man has no choice but to go out to the real world to get the necessities for survival.

This is one of the realistic thrillers that I have read. The story is told mainly from Cooper’s POV and it was tense, emotional and as a reader wonder why Cooper wants to remain hidden with his daughter deep in the woods. Little did we realize the whole story. This was also a short and quick read, fast paced and written in a simple form.

Overall, this book worth 5 stars!

My whole body is shaking, my breath catches in my throat. I’m stuck here. Trapped. With the one person who will do anything to destroy me…

When I step into the elevator that sweltering morning, I barely notice the woman standing next to me. She seems out of place, with her floaty linen clothes in a building full of suits. But that’s none of my business.

A minute later, there’s a sudden jerk. The elevator stops. The lights go out.

The other woman’s face is deathly pale. She’s breathing noisily, clearly panicking. As we sit slumped against the mirrored walls, we start talking to try and keep calm.

I tell her I moved halfway round the world to start again where no one knew what I was hiding. I tell her my darkest secrets, because she seems to understand, and we’re never going to see each other again, right?

But I’m wrong.
We’re not strangers.
None of this is an accident.

And when the truth comes out, there’ll be nowhere to hide…

A brilliantly twisty ride from start to finish, that will have you gasping out loud at the twists. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Freida McFadden and Claire McGowan.

In my opinion, this was an OK thriller.

The story is about two women getting stuck inside an elevator of an office building. One woman knows the other woman and sure enough there is some secrets that both the women are hiding.

You can actually feel the tension in the book- personally I feel the author did a good job of describing what it is like to be stuck in an elevator and the tension being stuck in an elevator. The book is divided into two parts past and present. However initially I was confused as which character is saying or narrating the story. This was a slow burn to me as well and it was by the end of the book when things started getting interesting. This was more like a drama then a thriller in my opinion. Overall this book worth three stars.

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

A happy family. A picture-perfect street. A secret someone would kill for.

My husband James and I love living on Smith Street, with its neat houses and friendly family barbecues. Our daughter Scarlett grew up playing outside with the other local kids – it’s somewhere nothing bad could ever happen. Or so I thought…

Because when I wake terrified, head pounding, in a cramped windowless room, I realise I was entirely wrong. As my eyes adjust to the dark, I see creased pictures of missing local people I vaguely recognise from the news covering the walls. Then my skin turns ice-cold when I notice the newest pictures are of me, of James, of Scarlett…

A terrified sob catches in my throat. It seems there’s been a killer hiding in our neighbourhood for years. And I’m their next victim.

I stare at the photos in horror. Because if they’ve got me, they could also have James or, worst of all, my precious daughter Scarlett… In that moment, I know I’ll do anything, everything, to save my family. Especially because, deep down, I know this is all my fault…

A completely compelling and page-turning psychological thriller perfect for fans of My Lovely Wife, The Serial Killer’s Wife and The Housemaid.

Joanna is being kidnapped by when she went out at night for work. When she did not return back in the morning, her daughter, Scarlett voiced her concern with her father who doesn’t seem to be surprised about it. Meanwhile, back in the late 1980’s and 1990’s, a man is hunting down women, killing them and using a fake identity to live a double life.

If you had read My Lovely Wife or Housemaid, then this book is one such type of thriller. There were many POVs but it wasn’t very confusing. There were some twists and turn although I did kind of predicted what the ending was going to be. The book was actually a page turner and divides between past and present. I actually enjoyed reading the past rather than in the present. So if you are looking for a fast-paced family based thriller, then try this book out–worth four stars in my opinion!

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

They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison. They were heroes . . . but they were liars.

Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes.

And they were liars.

For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods―no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.

I actually had high expectations from this book and was disappointed that I didn’t have any.

Naomi Shaw nearly became a victim of deranged serial killer and along with her friends Cassie and Olivia manage to put the serial killer behind the bars. Now many years later, Naomi returns back the small town after the news reached that the serial killer had died in prison. Naomi and her friends however are having a deep a secret–no ones knows what they were actually doing deep in the woods. Then Olivia disappears and Naomi must face the truth about what really happened twenty years ago.

Frankly, this book was a slow burn to me. I have seen some good reviews about this book but I suppose I am in the minority with this one. I literally did not enjoy this book that I nearly DNFed the book. It was boring, I found the character of Naomi arrogant and rude, and above all, I felt the book itself was highly predictable. I also did not like the fact that magical realism was added into this story which actually ruined the whole story plot in my opinion. The twists were expected and the ending was highly predictable. Overall, I would give this only 2.5 stars because I actually was in fact disappointed with the whole plot.

Will I read books from this same author? I think I will again–I will give another chance. But then to some, this might be twisty thriller but I did not find this a twisty thriller in my opinion.

The woods are hiding more than Chief Maggie Riley could ever imagine. Including her own worst nightmares…

There’s a blood moon rising over the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove. Chief Maggie Riley is driving home ahead of a storm when she comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from stab wounds into the damp forest floor. And Heather, a local teenage girl, standing terrified, a silent scream on her lips, beside him.

Maggie, a redheaded decorated former homicide detective and more than over-qualified for a two-horse-town police chief, has been hiding from her past for three years. The quiet of Coyote Cove was everything she needed after… what happened. But with this murder, the life she left behind has found her. The townspeople believe Heather—already an outcast, and an easy suspect—is the killer, but Maggie isn’t convinced. To uncover the truth, Maggie must use the skills, and contacts, of her former world, however painful that will be.

As Maggie digs into the victim’s background, she is horrified to unearth another body, this time an infamous local, as callously killed as the first. But Heather’s in custody; there’s no way she could be the culprit, and Maggie’s investigation turns to the townspeople. Who has a secret so dangerous they’d kill twice to keep it hidden?

Then Heather goes missing. The race to identify the murderer is now a race to save Heather. As the search turns to the woods, the hunt is on for the killer so skilled, so twisted, no one knows how many bodies it will take before they’re found. And whether one of those will be Heather’s…

This is the first book of the series Chief Maggie Riley.

The story starts with Chief Maggie discovering the bloody body of a dead man lying in the forest in a small town. Next to the body, a girl named Heather standing next to the body. Heather seemed to be having a dark history and many people in that small town pointed fingers at Heather believing that she may be responsible for the murder. But Chief Maggie Riley believes that Heather is innocent and there might be someone else who is responsible for the murder.

I enjoyed reading Shannon Hollinger’s book so I was super excited that she started on a series. I would say this was good but not as good as her two previous books which kept me hooked till the end. This was fast paced, some twists and turns along the way and above all, the plot was really interesting which made me want to read this book and really want to finish it and see what the ending was going to be. The only problem I had was there were too many multiple character POVs which I don’t mind but there were some characters that I feel were bit unnecessary for the POV. Above all, if you are looking to start a series, I strongly recommend this book to you–worth 4 stars!

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