Tropical Girl Reads

For fans of Megan Miranda and Shari Lapena, this stylish debut thriller from a skillful new voice in suspense, Terri Parlato, introduces seasoned Boston detective Rita Myers investigating the murder of a seemingly perfect husband. Filled with unexpected twists and well-drawn characters, this modern whodunit is set against the picturesque backdrop of a Massachusetts winter, as a woman with a traumatic past tries to uncover who among her friends is a killer.

A savage murder rocks a quiet Boston suburb, revealing the dark secrets at the center of a group of friends in this clever, propulsive debut from new master of suspense, Terri Parlato . . .

Snow falls softly outside Molly Bradley’s home on a frigid January night. Inside, half a dozen close friends are gathered to celebrate the fortieth birthday of Molly’s psychologist husband, Jay. Candlelight gleams against dark wood, wine flows, and the house rings with laughter. Everybody loves Jay, Molly most of all. Yet next morning, Molly discovers Jay dead on the floor of his office, his throat brutally slashed.

After decades working with the Boston PD, Detective Rita Myers has grown accustomed to the banality of evil—the murders that make no sense beyond bad luck or a tragic brush with the worst of humanity. But Jay Bradley’s murder isn’t random, or a mere crime of opportunity. Rita is convinced that someone in the couple’s small circle killed him. Someone who was celebrating with them that night.

Devastated, Molly tries to make sense of her husband’s death. Jay was her rock, the only person who really understood the nightmare she lived through long ago. He knew the horrors she’s kept hidden even from her friends. But shocking revelations are making her question if Jay was all he seemed to be—and whether someone else knows her past too. And until Molly figures out who she can really trust, she won’t be able to stop herself becoming the next target . . .

This is a fantastic debut by the author and I must say. I actually enjoyed reading this book and was hooked till the end!

The story starts with a birthday party held at Bradley’s house and all of their close friends were invited. Mrs. Bradley, known as Molly retires to bed early after the party and Joe is stuck in the office as he is busy working on his new book. When Molly wakes up, she finds that his side of the bed was empty and not slept in. When she goes downstairs, she finds her husband dead with his throat slashed. One of the guests at the party was guilty of the murder and someone in the group knows Molly’s turbulent past. The detectives Rita and Chse gets involved in the case as they believed that the murder of Dr. Bradley is connected to the disappearance of another woman happened months ago.

This was really engrossing. It was told from Molly’s and Rita’s POV and we do know through reading Molly’s POV about the secret that she was keeping. The book itself talks about the trauma the person gets when the person was abducted, and of couse, this was a quite page turner which is a plus sign in psychological thriller books. Also, there are some twists and turns and until the end, you would actually never know who the real killer was. Overall, this was truly an engaging thriller and I cannot wait to read more books from this author. Worth solid five stars.

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

Beth has the perfect life. She has constructed it carefully over the last eighteen years. But one night she makes a choice that risks everything.

When Kat sees an article about that night online, buried memories begin to surface. She and Beth were friends once. Things ended badly then, but now she has a chance to make things right.

Kat introduces herself to Beth. Not as her old friend, but as a stranger. Beth has no idea Kat isn’t who she says she is.

But then neither is Beth. 

This was actually an entertaining read.

Beth is rich and glamorous, seemingly leading a perfect life. Kat is a local dog groomer. So when Beth is unexpectedly thrust herself into limelight after she catches a homeless man overdosed with drug, Kat recognizes Beth, though we have no idea why Kat recognizes Beth. Saskia is Beth’s neighbor and unexpectedly enters into the story.

The story is mainly told from Beth and Kat’s perspectives with a past that seemingly may have a connection to the present. The story started to reach climax towards the end and the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story. There were some twists and turns, with a little bit of drama along the way and overall, it was a good psychological thriller book–worth four stars.

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

When a body is discovered at an abandoned Suffolk farm, DS Rob Minshull and the squad believes it’s the latest casualty of the drugs war terrorising rural communities. But when the victim is identified as a well-respected local teacher, the case is thrown wide open.

While they hunt the murderer, the South Suffolk CID team face a new threat. A brutal vigilante group dispensing their own twisted justice puts the investigation in grave danger, as well as the detectives.

Educational psychologist, Dr Cora Lael, is called in to work with Lottie Arundel, a troubled teen who stopped speaking a year ago.

As Cora enters Lottie’s world, it seems that the teen’s silence might hold the key to the case. But as Cora and Rob work together to find a vicious killer, it’s clear that uncovering Lottie’s secrets will take Cora and Rob into the most dangerous of places – where the price to pay for the truth might be death…

This is the second book of the Cora Lael series but this is the first time I have started reading this series. And I actually enjoyed reading this book really much.

The story starts with a discovery of a dead body in a lonely barn. The body was identified that as of a school teacher named Oliver. Meanwhile, Cora is asked to see a teenager named Lottie Arundel who stopped speaking a year ago. As Cora gets to work with Lottie, she finds that there is a similarity between Lottie and the current murder case that Cora sets to work with the detectives to find the vicious killer and the reason why Lottie stopped talking a year ago.

This was a completely compelling and gripping thriller. The author has done a good job of drawing the reader into the story thus making the reader feel like they are a part of the story as well. There were some twists and turns, the story gets more and more interesting towards the middle and the end, when you find out that even the victim has some sort of a dark history. The story talks about sexual molestation happening in shcools and how the teachers seemed to have ignored it and I like how the author handled the sensitive issue. Neverthless, the ending really gripped me and completely unexpected. I cannot wait to read more books from Cora Lael series! Worth five stars.

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

While Jamie’s cold, lifeless body lay in the morgue, Detective Kim Stone stared at the empty board in the incident room and felt her anger boil. Why were there no photos, details, or lines of enquiry?

When a nineteen-year-old boy, Jamie Mills, is found hanging from a tree in a local park, his death is ruled a suicide. Detective Kim Stone’s instincts tell her something isn’t right – but it’s not her investigation and her temporary replacement is too busy waiting for the next big case to be asking the right questions.

Why would a seemingly healthy boy choose to end his life?
Why does his mother show no sign of emotional distress at the loss of her son?

Still mending her broken mind and body from her last harrowing case, Kim is supposed to be easing back into work gently. But then she finds a crucial, overlooked detail: Jamie had a recent injury that would have made it impossible for him to climb the tree. He must have been murdered.

Quickly taking back charge of her team and the case, Kim visits Jamie’s parents and is shocked to hear that they had sent him to a clinic to ‘cure’ him of his sexuality. According to his mother, Jamie was introverted and prone to mood swings. Yet his friend speaks of a vibrant, outgoing boy.

The clues to smashing open this disturbing case lie behind the old Victorian walls of the clinic, run by the Gardner family. They claim that patients come of their own accord and are free to leave at any time. But why are those that attended the clinic so afraid to speak of what happens there? And where did the faded restraint marks identified on Jamie’s wrists come from?

Then the body of a young woman is found dead by suffocation and Kim makes two chilling discoveries. The victim spent time at the clinic too, and her death was also staged to look like a suicide.

Scarred from an ordeal that nearly took her life, is Kim strong enough to stop a terrifying killer from silencing the clinic’s previous patients one by one?

Detective Kim Stone is back!

Jamie Mills, a nineteen year old boy was found hanging from a tree. The death was initially ruled as a suicide and DI Kim Stone was surprised at how his mother didn’t seem to be too upset about his death. However, as further investigation goes on, similar deaths have occured and soon, DI Stone and her partner discovers a ruthless place, where they carry out some horrible acts on people to redeem their “sins”.

This was quite a page turner! So many twists and turns and from the first page to the last page, I was literally hooked into the story. I couldn’t even put the book down and I only read this book in a span of two days, wanting to know what is going to happen next and who is the actual killer. This also deals with LGBTQ issues and how some society is dealing with this issues through brtual schemes. Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to read more of Kim Stone series! Worth five stars.

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

Darkness lies at the heart of this family…

Christie is still coming to terms with the sudden and unexplained disappearance of her mother, over twenty years ago, leaving her unable to move on. Through her work as a psychiatric nurse, she becomes drawn to a troubled patient, Lillian, similarly haunted by the loss of her own mother.

As she tries to help Lillian leave the hospital and return to her stately childhood home, Christie finds herself fascinated by the mysterious Rutherford-Percy clan. Why is Lillian so terrified of Rutherford House? Why is she so reluctant to embrace her aristocratic legacy?

The more Christie learns about the family and their dark, ancestral past, the deeper the secrets seem to run – until she finds a clue that could help uncover what happened to her own mother. Desperate for answers, Christie puts her job, her family and even her very life on the line. But how much of the truth does she really want to know?

This was actually an interesting read.

There were too many different characters POV although the present was told by Christie’s POV. I had a hard time following the time line and some parts became a little confusing but it is the middle of the story that got me hooked into the story. The story is mainly focused on ancestral secrets that seem to surface, I liked reading Christie’s and Duncan’s POV and also Milly the housekeeper. Overall, the whole story was very unpredictable and the plot keep changing which is making me guess what the ending was going to be like. Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book and worth four stars.

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

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

Out of all the CoHo books that I have read, Verity is the best books that I have read.

The story starts with Lowen Ashleigh who is on the brink of being thrown out of the apartment and is a struggling author. So Lowen gets a chance to co-author one of the famous author’s, Verity Crawford’s series as Verity had recently got into a car accident and is paralyzed. Lowen then moves to Crawford’s residence in upper state New York and discovers Verity’s manuscript which she starts to read, gradually coming across secrets.

This was really well written and I was literally hooked into the story. I like how Colleen Hoover has included chapters of Verity’s manuscript in the story as well and I felt like I was reading horror and thriller combined in one book. There were steamy sex scenes but aside from that, this was really a mindblowing thriller that kept me on the edge. I felt like I was watching a sort of horror movie while reading the book. I do like the ending–sort of an unexpected twist which I actually didn’t see it coming! I just couldn’t get the ending out of my head!

I do like the fact that friendship develops between Jeremy and Lowen which eventually lead to a romantic relationship even though Jeremy is already married to Verity. It was a bit disturbing to read about the part how Harper had died so the warning is basically there’s some child abuse in the book that might be a little disturbing to read.

This is the fourth Colleen Hoover book I have read and so far this is the best–worth five stars!

She was lying as if asleep on the wooden kitchen floor, beneath the fridge covered with a child’s colourful crayon drawings. But her frozen expression showed she would never wake again…

When Detective Jackie Cooke is called out to the scene, she’s expecting a routine check. The bottle of pills on the kitchen table, next to the note with the single word SORRY written in a shaky hand, make it seem obvious what’s happened. But Jackie is shocked when she recognises her old schoolfriend Claire – and she is convinced Claire would never take her own life.

Determined to dig deeper, Jackie soon discovers evidence that proves her right: a roll of notes has been thrust down the victim’s throat. And when she finds another woman killed in the same way, she realises someone may be targeting lonely single mothers. As Jackie talks to Claire’s distraught children, one of them too young to understand his mummy is never coming home, she vows to find answers.

Both victims were in touch with someone calling himself Nice Guy – could he be the killer? Pursuing every clue, Jackie is sure she’s found a match in dead-eyed Tyler, part of a dark world of men intent on silencing women for daring to reject them. But just as she makes the arrest, another single mother is found dead – a woman who never dated at all.

Forced to re-evaluate every lead she has, with her boss pressuring her to make a case against the obvious suspect, Jackie knows she is running out of time before another innocent woman is murdered. And, as a single mother herself, she cannot help but wonder if she is in the killer’s sights. Can she uncover his true motivation and put an end to his deadly game… or will he find her first? 

Jackie Cooke is back with another case with her partner Dave.

In this book, a woman was found brutally murdered with notes stashed into her mouth. Jackie recognizes the woman as one of her classmates Claire although at the time of the murder, she had changed her name to Rachel. But as she investigate further, she finds that Claire had been on dating sites and had been in contact with someone named “Nice Guy”. Soon she finds out that there are three women, who also met the same fate as Claire. Is there are a serial killer on loose?

I love reading serial killer thrillers so I actually enjoyed reading this book. This was a fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge, wanting to find out, who would be the murderer, if all the other murders are also connected to Claire’s murder. Jackie felt a connection to Claire as they are both single mothers, so it was interesting to read about that point of view. This was also a page turner with the twists and turns, many of them quite unexpected. and the reveal of the killer in the end was mind blowing! Overall, I enjoyed reading this twisty thriller and highly recommend to anyone. Can’t wait for the next book in the series–worth five stars!

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

Welcome to Pinewood Hospital. I’m here to take care of you…

The bright yellow walls of the maternity ward are plastered with posters of perfect families. Surrounded by happy looking couples, I’m painfully aware I’m about to give birth all alone. As I stroke my bump, I can’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. But when my midwife Jackie introduces herself and holds my trembling hand, I know she’s here to help. I instantly relax around her, even though I can’t shake the feeling we’ve met before…

As I sit in my small, rented bedsit that evening, my phone rings and I’m shocked to hear Jackie’s voice. I don’t recall giving her my number, but I have been forgetful of late. When she invites me to an antenatal group, I’m quick to make up an excuse, but she won’t take no for an answer.

Jackie promised me there would be a big group, so why is there only one other nervous looking mother here? I catch Jackie studying my face when the woman asks me questions about my baby. Does Jackie know the secret I’ve been keeping?

As my due date approaches, I find myself turning to Jackie more and more. I even let her talk me into her delivering my baby at home. She says she’s delivered hundreds of babies this way, and she’ll give me the birth I deserve.

My baby and I are in safe hands… Aren’t we? 

I usually enjoy reading Victoria Jenkins’ novels but this wasn’t her best thriller book.

The story is about two women–Lauren who is pregnant and Jackie the midwife. Lauren has a secret and soon, someone knows about the secret that Lauren gets threatening letters. Jackie is also determined to know Lauren more.

This book wasn’t as great as her other novels. This started slow-burn and it was also slightly boring in my opinion. What made the story interesting was towards the end, when Lauren’s secret was revealed. There weren’t too much twists or any unexpected turns that you would normally expect in a good psychological thriller and for me, the whole story kind of felt bland to me. The characters were in ,my opinion was boring as well. The plot was good but I really felt the execution of the whole story wasn’t great.

Overall, this was an OK thriller that is worth three stars.

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