Tropical Girl Reads

Title:- Things We Do in The Dark

Author:- Jennifer Hillier

Date published:- July 19th 2022

No. of pages:- 352 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

Things We Do in the Dark is a brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts. Paris Peralta is suspected of killing her celebrity husband, and her long-hidden past now threatens to destroy her future.

When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her—she knows she’ll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it’s not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it’s only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she’s worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she’s unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris’s secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all.

Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges.

This is the fifth book I have read from Jennifer Hillier and I have to say, I enjoyed reading her latest book! Although in my opinion, Jar of Hearts (if you haven’t read yet you MUST read it) is her best, this book actually will kept you right on the edge of the seat while reading this book.

The story starts with Paris Peralta, wife of a famous comedian and actor Jimmy Peralta covered with blood and arrested for her husband’s murder. With the media focused on the murder case, it will be time when Paris who have buried her past and started a new life might follow after her, threatening to ruin her future. Some twenty years ago, Ruby Reyes dubbed as the ‘Ice Queen’ brutally murdered a financier Charles Baxtor and on present day, she was released out on parole. Drew who is doing a podcast on Ruby is determined to unveil Ruby’s character as Ruby treated her own daughter Joey badly. Drew had known Joey for a long time.

What drew me into the story was the middle of the story. It did start out great with Paris locked up for the night and people don’t really believe in her story. The middle part of the story was interesting although you might wonder what the connection between Paris Peralta and Ruby Reyes’s cases is. The connection was revealed towards the end, which was actually a huge twist and from then on , it was impossible to put the book down. Reading about Joey Reyes was emotional and sad and I like how the whole story itself was realistic as a whole. The poll dancers descriptions were all realistic. Overall, I did enjoy reading her latest novel and cannot wait for her next one–worth four stars!

Jennifer Hillier imagines the worst about people, and then writes about it.

She’s the USA Today, Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark, described as “an intoxicating thrill ride” by the New York Times and “propulsive and chilling” by People magazine. It was a Book of the Month Club selection, an Indigo Top Ten Best Book of the Year, an Amazon Editor’s Spotlight Pick, a Goodreads Choice Award nominee, a Loan Stars pick, and a her third consecutive novel to be honored as a LibraryReads pick, which places her in their Hall of Fame.

Jennifer is also the author of six other psychological thrillers. Her USA Today bestselling novel Little Secrets is currently being adapted for Peacock by Tish Cyrus’s Hopetown Entertainment, writer Melissa Scrivner Love and Universal Television, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Anthony Award. Jar of Hearts won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel and was also shortlisted for the Anthony and Macavity Awards. Her earlier novels are Creep, Freak, The Butcher, and Wonderland, the last of which will be published in mass market paperback and audiobook for the very first time in April 2023. Her books have been published in twenty-three languages so far.

Jennifer is Filipino-Canadian, born and raised in Toronto. She spent eight amazing years in Seattle which is where she first became a published writer. She’s a Seahawks fan who married to a Packers guy. They have a young son who looks most like her when he’s crying. She’s afraid of the dark and can’t sleep unless she’s checked the locks on the doors several times. She loves writing when it’s raining, sleeping when it’s sunny, and reading after everyone else has gone to bed. She cherishes her family (those who read, and those who don’t), and her friends (those who write, and those who don’t). She’s a cat person without a cat, which makes her sad. But she’s now back in the Toronto area permanently with her family, which makes her happy.

Her next novel is coming in 2024.

Title:- Hidden Pictures

Author:- Jason Rekulak

Date published:- May 10th 2022

Genre:- Horror/Thriller

No. of pages:- 384 pages

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing;- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

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!

I’m the author of two novels: HIDDEN PICTURES (coming in May 2022) and THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS. For many years I was Publisher of Quirk Books, an indie press headquartered in Philadelphia, where I ghost-wrote many odd books that may or may not surface on this page, depending on the metadata. Today, I am an active member of Writer’s Guild East and Mystery Writers of America. I live in West Philly with my wife and children and too many pets.

Title:- Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone

Author:- Benjamin Stevenson

Date published:- March 29th 2022

No. of pages:- 371 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

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!

Title:- These Silent Woods

Author:- Kimi Cunningham Grant

Date published :- November 16th 2021

No. of pages:- 275 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

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!

Kimi Cunningham Grant is the author of three books. Silver Like Dust is a memoir about her Japanese-American grandparents and their experience in the internment camp at Heart Mountain during World War II. Her second book, Fallen Mountains, is a literary mystery set in a small town in Pennsylvania, where fracking has just begun. In her third book, These Silent Woods, a father and daughter living in the remote Appalachian mountains must reckon with the ghosts of their past.

Kimi is a two-time winner of a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Prize in Poetry and a recipient of a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowship in creative nonfiction. Her essays and poems have appeared in Fathom, Literary Mama, RATTLE, Poet Lore, Tar River Poetry, Apalachee Review, Grasslimb, and Whitefish Review.

She lives with her family in Pennsylvania. 

Title:- The Elevator

Author:- Claire Cooper

Date published:- will be published on 25th August 2023

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5

Writing:- 3/5

Overall rating:- 3/5

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

Title:- The Family on Smith Street

Author:- Elizabeth Carpenter

Date published:- 14th August 2023

Publisher;- Bookouture

No. of pages:- 281 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

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.

Elisabeth (Libby) Carpenter won a Northern Writers New Fiction Award (2016) and was longlisted for Yeovil Literary Prize (2015 & 2016) and MsLexia Women’s Novel award (2015).

Elisabeth lives in Preston, Lancashire with her family. She loves the north of England, setting most of her stories in the area – including the novel she is writing at the moment.

99 Red Balloons was Elisabeth’s debut novel.

Title:- What Lies in the Woods

Author:- Kate Alive Marshall

Date published:- January 17th 2023

No. of pages:- 322 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5

Writing:- 2/5

Overall rating:- 2.5/5

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.

Kate Alice Marshall is the author of young adult and middle grade novels, including I AM STILL ALIVE, RULES FOR VANISHING, and THIRTEENS.

She lives outside of Seattle with her husband, two dogs named Vonnegut and Octavia, and two kids. They all conspire to keep her on her toes.