Tropical Girl Reads

Pip is not a detective anymore.

With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh.

The police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way… and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it’s too late?

Pip is back with another crime adventure!

This is the second book of the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Pip and her friend Ravi are running a podcast after their success of solving the case. Pip promised herself that she will not get involved in anymore but when her friend Connor asks her to help him find his missing brother Jamie, Pip couldn’t help but notice that there’s a foul play in Jamie’s disappearance.

I was literally hooked into the story! I couldn’t simply put the book down and I managed to finish the book within two days! I do like the format in which the story is written–snippets of email, pictures, text messages–it was interesting to read them and really made the book unique. The story was also engaging as well–lots of twists and turns and I must say, the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story and making the reader feel like they are part of the story as well. The ending was completely unexpected and overall, I enjoyed the book overall–so worth 4.5 stars!

In the propulsive debut novel from the host of the #1 true crime podcast “Crime Junkie,” a journalist uncovers her hometown’s dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor—and the disappearance of another girl twenty years later.

Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the case of January Jacobs, who was found dead in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January—and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist, but she’s always been haunted by the fear that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice.

When Margot returns home to help care for her sick uncle, it feels like walking into a time capsule. Wakarusa is exactly how she remembered: genial, stifled, secretive. Then news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over, who’s gone missing under eerily similar circumstances. With all the old feelings rushing back, Margot vows to find Natalie and solve January’s murder once and for all.

But the police, the family, the townspeople—they all seem to be hiding something. And the deeper Margot digs into Natalie’s disappearance, the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January’s case feels. Could the killer still be out there? Could it be the same person who kidnapped Natalie? And what will it cost to finally discover what truly happened that night?

I listened to the audio book of this book and…well here goes my review.

In 1994, January Jacobs was found murdered in the basement of her home. Her mother was the suspect of her murder, though she was never charged with January’s murder due to lack of evidence. The small town of Wakarusa, Indiana was haunted by the murder of Janaury Jacobs.

Present Day, Margot Davies, a struggling journalist and a childhood friend of January Jacobs returns back to the small town to look after her uncle. The small town soon became grappled with a disappearance of a young girl Natalie Clark. Margot believes that the disappearance of Natalie Clark is similar to January’s case. Is she right? Has the same killer returned back to the small town after all these years?

I actually enjoyed this story from the first chapter to the end that I almost rated this five stars. There were so much twists and turns in the book, too many viable suspects including supecting her own uncle. This was a mind blowing gripping psychological thriller and it was quiet unputdownable too. But the ending…kind of lowered my rating to four stars. I felt the ending was hurried, rushed and that there was some kind of cliffhanger in the book. Will there be another book? What’s going to happen next? Hopefully, it will be another book but I am not sure.

Overall this book worth four stars!

Faint sunlight dapples the two figures lying on the ground. The mother cradles her daughter close to her side, a stuffed toy elephant next to them. Leaves from the tall trees fall onto their faces, but neither moves to brush them off.

When a dog walker in a local Virginia park finds the bodies of a mother and daughter, Detective Amanda Steele is first on the scene. Her own daughter has a toy just like the girl’s elephant and seeing the child like this is her worst nightmare come true. Heartbroken, she vows to get justice.

They quickly get an ID—Jill Archer and six-year-old Charlotte were reported missing last week, but interviewing Jill’s husband, Roy, Amanda’s gut tells her he is hiding something. When the autopsy reveals a terrible pattern of bruises, she’s certain that a domestic argument escalated out of control, and tiny Charlotte got caught in the crossfire. But just as Amanda is about to arrest Roy, another grave is found, containing another mother and daughter.

Desperate for a lead, she goes to every place the women could have been targeted, and learns from a concerned ER nurse about Leanne Reilly and her young daughter, Gracie, who haven’t been heard from in a week. Amanda hopes that Leanne has simply left her deadbeat husband, but she’s gripped by the fear that they are the killer’s latest victims. Now every second counts for Amanda to find the family and stop a little girl’s nightmare before it ends in tragedy…

This is the seventh book of Detective Amanda Steele series. I have read nearly every single one of the series and make sure to read all of Amanda Steele series.

The story starts out with a dog walker discovering the bodies of a mother and a child in a park. Detectives Amanda and her partner Trent discover that the bodies belong to a woman named Jill Archer and her six year old Charlotte and Jill’s husband is a police officer. But Jill has been suffering from domestic abuse and initially they suspected that Jill’s husband might have been responsible. But when they find the remains of another set of bodies, Amanda and Trent realized that they are dealing with a deranged serial killer.

This was well written, and the author managed to put us on the edge with her writing. This book was quiet unputdownable and there were some twists and turns you find along the book, as we do not know who the real suspect behind the killers is. The book was fast paced which made it really interesting and intriguing and the ending was really great. What’s more, while in the midst of solving the case, I like how Amanda’s personal life was also labeled out in the book.

Overall, this was a great thriller that will keep you up all night–worth five stars!

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

As she inhales the salty sea air, Charlotte glimpses the island on the horizon. Seeing it after all these years still sends a shiver down her spine. Should she be returning to this place?

When teacher Charlotte Kingston is sent to close a school on an isolated Scilly Isle, it is her first time on the island since summer holidays spent there with her grandparents. But with a newly broken heart, she’s desperate to travel as far from her life on the mainland as possible.

Not long after she arrives, two visiting children find themselves in need of a place to stay when their grandmother falls ill. When Charlotte agrees to take care of the boys, she suddenly has a reason to keep the school open a little longer. With a renewed sense of purpose, Charlotte begins to connect with the local islanders who tell her more about her family.

Intrigued, Charlotte decides to decode her grandmother’s old letters from the Second World War. They reveal a story of a forbidden love that defied the darkness of war, and of a beautiful, brave young man who would risk everything for his country, even if meant losing the woman he loved…

Just as Charlotte realises the secret will change her life forever, the children’s handsome, enigmatic stepfather, Ash, arrives to take care of them. But Charlotte doesn’t trust him – he left the boys once before, why wouldn’t he do it again? But as the tension grows between them, Charlotte feels an attraction developing, too. And although she can’t stop thinking about Ash, and his soft, full lips, she’s afraid to open her heart again.

But rereading her grandmother’s story, Charlotte realises there is courage and redemption among the pages. Is this a sign that everyone deserves a second chance, maybe even Ash? And, if she is brave enough to let him in, will she be able to put her fractured heart back together once and for all?

Thank you Bookouture for involving me in the book blog!

The story begins with Charlotte Kingston who is heartbroken and moved to this fictional island where she used to spend with her grandparents. The school is on the verge of closing and Charlotte takes in two boys under her wing. While in the island, she learns more about her grandmother about her life during the WWII

This is the first book I have read of this author and is the second book of the series though this is the first time I have read from this author. The book was beautifully written, dividing the timeline between the present and the past set during the WWII. Though I am not really a fan of romance novels, I actually enjoyed reading this book–there were some emotional parts but overall, this was an unputdownable book. The characters are all strong women particularly Charlotte’s grandmother. The writing was really good and the author did a great job of drawing the reader into the story, making the reader feel like they are also a part of the story.

If you are looking for a heartwarming, emotional book which is unputdownable, I hightly recommend you to try this book out–worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture.

Detective Karen Hart is finally getting her life back on track—enjoying her new relationship and dealing with the grief in her past. Then someone from her counselling group asks for help locating a missing friend, Phoebe Woodrow, who went out partying and never came home.

Karen wonders if Phoebe’s disappearance might be related to a recent spate of women having their drinks spiked. As she digs deeper, she finds out that Phoebe’s work in medical research involved a shifty alliance with Quentin Chapman, a menacing local gangster—but it was also about to make her a fortune. Did Phoebe know too much? Or was it professional jealousy that put her life at risk?

Chapman makes it very clear that he doesn’t appreciate the police looking over his shoulder. As his threats start to hit close to home, Karen will need to face her worst fears—but can she really do that when her job has already cost her so much?

This is the seventh book of Karen Hart series and although I havent read the previous books but overall, I read as a standalone.

On Friday night, Phoebe was drugged and was not seen again. Karen was contacted about her disappearance and when she was, she finds there are many suspects in this case.

This was a fast-paced thriller. This was unputdownable and there were some twists and turns. I was at the edge of the seat and I couldn’t simply put the book out. Overall, I enjoyed reading this thriller series and I am looking forward to read more books from this author. Worth five stars!

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

One year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her—literally.

Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.

Isabelle’s entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she can’t go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster—but his interest in Isabelle’s past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Mason’s disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust… including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads.

So I read A Flicker in the Dark written by the same author and after I enjoyed reading her debut book, I decided to read all Stacy Willingham’s books. And the good news was, I got approved an ARC of her latest second novel, All the Dangerous Things and I am so super excited!

The story starts with Isabelle Drake, whose toddler son Mason disappeared mysteriously one night, nearly a year ago. Ever since then, Isabelle is having trouble falling asleep and is suffering from insomnia. Isabelle’s main aim is to find what happened to Mason and was willing to not give up on her search. Soon, she was interviewed by a crime podcaster who seemed to be interested in doing a piece about Mason’s disappearance. And as she was questioned, Isabelle’s start to doubt what really happened the night Mason disappeared and wondered to whom she should trust at all..

I have to say, this book is so much better than her first book–it was mind-blowing and unputdownable and so much of twists and turns that you wouldn’t expect. Not only that, as a reader, you feel Isabelle is an unreliable narrator as she too had some secrets back from her past life when her sister Margaret died. As a reader, I wanted to know what really happened to little Mason. Did Isabelle really kill her own child? Or did someone else kill her child? And the husband, Ben part was also interesting. I was nearly put on the edge of the seat as I read and simply couldn’t put the book down. The ending was a dramatic one and I actually liked the ending. The writing was good and the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story.

Overall, this is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you up all night! Worth five stars!

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

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

I am NOT a fantasy genre fan but one of the new year resolution this year was to read at least fantasy novel. The only fantasy novel I liked was Harry Potter and I didnt really understand what the fuss was about reading fantasy novels. Now I got this book and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!

Enter Lou and Reid. Lou is a witch and Reid is a witch hunter. An unfortunate circumstance between the two forced Lou to marry Reid even though Reid has no idea that Lou is a witch. And then follows the story where witches are vowed to destroy the world with the Chausseurs committed to kill the witches and a forbidden love story between Lou and Reid `

I must say, I couldn’t literally put the book down! It was really good! The story is told with Lou’s and Reid’s POV and there were some funny parts, the banter between Lou and Reid and eventual romance between the two. I also like the other characters like Coco (really liked her character) and Ansel and the ending felt like I was watching an interesting action movie! And, having read this book, I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

If you are looking for a good fantasy novel to read, I strongly recommend starting this series–overall worth five stars!