Tropical Girl Reads

“Mom, they took me. You have to do what they tell you. I’m so scared.”

When I pick up the call from an unknown number my worst fears are realized: someone has kidnapped my daughter Nelle. In an instant, the blissful life I’ve built is shattered.

Distraught, I plead with them to let me speak to my darling daughter, until the voice on the line says a name that makes my blood run cold: Betty Hamms.

Suddenly my past and present are colliding. My heart pounds harder in my chest, the memories flooding my head. How do they know about Betty? And what else do they know?

I picture Nelle’s beautiful green eyes and freckled cheeks, knowing that I have a choice to make. Just how far am I willing to go to protect my beloved family—and my secrets?

Racing to the address they gave me in a tiny lake town upstate, I’m terrified I will never see Nelle again. But I’ve been hiding behind my lies for twenty years. If the truth finally comes out, will my daughter ever forgive me? And is there any hope of her surviving?

This was a whopping psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge and quite unputdownable!

The story starts with Laura getting a phone call from a person saying that he had abducted her daughter Nelle. But soon, the person also accuses that Laura was indeed named Betty Hamms who apparently killed the person’s mother Sofia. In fact, back in 1993, Sofia accidentally killed Betty’s brother Donny as a hit and run accident. The person gives Laura the address and Laura drives through the interstate, willing to risk her own life to save her daughter’s.

I have to say, the story started out really good. It was quite a page turner, with twists and turns, dividing between the present day and the past when Betty Hamms was in Texas working as a nurse. I was literally absorbed into the story that I actually couldn’t put the book down, wanting to know what is going to happen in the end as it was highly unpredictable, which is a plus sign for a thriller book. I really did enjoy reading this book and felt more like I was watching an action packed movie that would keep me on the edge–and that’s how I felt. I must say, There were nail biting moments in the story that as a reader you feel you are on the edge and I have to say, there were menacing characters in the story as well.

Overall, if you are looking a fast paced thriller that is unputdownable and will keep you on the edge, I highly recommend this book–worth five stars!

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

A new life in paradise should have healed her wounds. But for a woman struggling to hold on to her family and her sanity, one stormy night could change everything.

Blow by blow, Annie Lin’s life crumbles. Her dance studio goes bankrupt. Her mother and beloved dog are gone the same year. Then a terrible accident leaves her young son traumatized.

It’s time for a change.

Palm trees, mai tais, peace and quiet―Annie should be at ease, safe in her new Kauai home with her husband and son. She hopes proximity to her family can provide them all with a sense of belonging and calm. But soon items from her past start turning up―her dog’s collar, a bracelet that disappeared years ago―and she has the unnerving sensation she’s being watched. Reality begins to fracture, and Annie’s panic attacks return. When, during a brewing storm, a woman appears on her doorstep looking for shelter, Annie is relieved to have the company and feels an unexplainable bond with her visitor.

As the night progresses, Annie realizes the woman is no stranger. Their lives are inextricably intertwined―and Annie might just lose everything.

I have heard so many raving reviews on Lyn Liao Butler’s books and so I was excited when I got the ARC of this book. I did enjoy reading this book.

Annie seemingly had a perfect life, but then her life crumbles, when her dance studio goes bankrupt, her mother and her dog suddenly passed away and a terrible incident left her son Finn traumatized. Annie with Brody and Finn moved to a paradise to start a new life and be closer to her family. When a storm suddenly hits the island, a strange woman seeks shelter inside Annie’s house. The woman’s name was Serena and at first the two women doesn’t seem to know each other but as the conversation develops, Annie realizes that she might have met Serena before…

What I really like about this book is the multi-cultural setting–Taiwanese, Caucasian, mingled in the setting. This was a slow burn thriller and it started getting more interesting and intriguing when you reach to the middle of the story. To me, this was more like a family drama than a thriller to me however, the story did make feel like I am at the edge of my seat and it became really unputdownable towards the end. The ending was really dramatic and then eventually I couldn’t put the book down!

Overall, this was a slow burn thriller but will keep you up all night–worth four stars.

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

Follow the clues. Find the fortune. Solve the Mystery. This Christmas is to die for. Let the game begin…

‘Endgame has kept our secrets for half a century, now it’s time for it, and its secrets, to have a new owner.’

When Lily returns home to her aunt’s manor house, she discovers that in order to inherit, she and her estranged cousins must stay together over the Christmas week and take part in a family tradition: the annual treasure hunt.

But as they are drawn deeper into the game, the clues seem to point not to the deeds to the manor house, but to the key to a twenty-year-old mystery: what really happened to Lily’s mother?

As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, it becomes apparent that the game has turned deadly and that Lily is fighting for more than just an inheritance: she is now fighting for her life. Does she have what it takes to survive?

12 clues, 12 keys and 12 days of Christmas for the heirs of Endgame House to find their inheritance, but how many will die before Twelfth Night?

This was a locked room mystery filled with twists and turns with a game that you had to win in order to achieve the goal. This was the first time I am reading a book written by this author.

Lily goes back to the Endgame mansion where many years ago, her mother, Mariana was reportedly committed suicide though Lily’s aunt, Liliana through a crack of codes and poems tells it otherwise. The cousins of the Armitage family meet during the Christmas and their one goal is to win the game. In order to win the game, one must crack the secret meanings behind the poems and find the key. And whoever finds the key will become the owner of the Endgame Mansion.

I actually did like the plot and the premise of the story sounds promising and interesting. The clues and the meanings behind the poems written by the aunt sounds fascinating. The house itself is nestled in Yorkshire where there is severe snowstorm causing the others to be actually locked into the house. The writing was intriguing and interesting and I also do like the setting of the story. This book also a sort of Agatha Christie vibe in it as well. However, the lower rating is due to the fact that it was predictable which did spoilt the story in my opinion.

If you are into locked room mystery with an Agatha Christie vibe, then this book is one for you–worth three stars!

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

The woman lies so still as her blood soaks into the soft bedcovers beneath her. A tear runs down her face as she looks at the wedding band on her finger. She had loved her husband so much…

When Detective Amanda Steele unexpectedly reconnects with an old boyfriend, the last thing she expects to see lying on his bed is the dead body of his wife, Claire, who walked out on him four years ago.

Logan begs Amanda to believe he’s innocent. But she doesn’t miss the gun on a nearby table, and she’s torn when forensics reveal that not only was this the murder weapon, but Logan’s fingerprints are all over it… Could he have been framed? Or is he using his connection to Amanda to get away with murder?

Determined to uncover the truth, Amanda retraces Claire’s last steps and finds that she visited her best friend the day before her death. But Amanda is devastated to discover that the friend died in a car accident just hours after meeting with Claire. What deadly secret connected them, and could more women be in danger?

But the killer is closer than Amanda realises, and when her beloved daughter, Zoe, is threatened, she’s suddenly in a race to find the final clue before the person she loves most pays the price…

I finished this book in a span of two days! It was compeltely a mind blowing thriller that will keep you on the edge from the beginning till the end!

The story starts with Amanda preparing a night cap with Logan in his house…until when they reach the room, they find the body of a woman fatally shot to death. And the woman happened to be Logan’s wife named Claire. Amanda was asked to step away from the case and Logan was labeled as the main suspect. However, Amandha believed that Logan was innocent and with her partner Trent, she is determined to find out who actually killed Claire. As the investigation is going on, Amanda finds out that Claire has gotten a secret that involved stealing various artifacts and might be working under someone.

As always, this was a mind blowing thriller. Completely fast paced with twists and thrills along the way and the author has done a good job of making the reader feel like a part of the story. Though Logan was the “main” suspect, the real person who might be responsible for Claire’s death is out in the open, and so as a reader you are in a guessing game as to who might be the killer. Great writing by the author and I as a reader was completely absorbed into the story. Overall, this was a great fast paced unputdownable thriller that will put you on the edge of the seat. Worth a whopping five stars!

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

In their holiday home, a stone’s throw from the beach, Elizabeth dials the police with trembling hands. ‘My little boy, he’s missing.’Elizabeth is Joe’s foster mother, but she loves him like her own. The five-year-old, who adores superheroes and watching the birds outside, is the child she has dreamed of. As she looks into the garden, where he was playing just moments ago, her heart feels like it has been ripped from her chest.She was meant to save Joe from his birth mother who almost harmed his chances at life. The woman who has been trying to desperately get him back.She was meant to protect Joe from her husband. The man who, right now, lies to the police, saying he was making breakfast when Joe disappeared. Who squeezes her shoulder, ordering her to be quiet.She was meant to look after Joe. They are just footsteps from the ocean, and little Joe can’t swim.Then Joe’s tiny blue sandal is found in the water. If the worst has happened – the unimaginable – Elizabeth will never forgive herself. Because what if the secret she has been keeping for years, the guilt eating her alive, has somehow hurt her little boy?It’s time to tell the truth – even if it means losing the child who is her whole world. Even if it could be the death of her.

This is a whopping psychological thriller that will keep you at the edge of the seat till the end!

The story starts with Elizabeth making a frantic call to the police, saying that her foster son, Joe is missing. The story divides between the weeks before Joe disappeared to the time when the police start investigating the missing case of Joe.

The story is told from Elizabeth and the next door neighbor man named Gordon who befriends with Joe. The first part of the story was silently boring which lowered my rating a little bit but towards the middle, it got more and more interesting and fast paced. The book also tells about a bit of domestic abuse and child abuse as well, which was a bit disturbing but which makes the story more compelling and interesting. As a reader, the author did a succesful job of putting the reader on the edge, making the reader want to know, what really happened to Joe. Was he murdered? Was he taken by someone? And soon it became unputdownable and page turner as we reach to the end.

Overall, this was an enjoyable thriller that will keep you up all night–worth 4.5 stars!

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

The latest twisty psychological thriller from internationally-bestselling author Lucy Clarke, One of the Girls is the delicious story of a bachelorette trip on a stunning Greek island… that ends in murder.It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-soaked Greek island for a bachelorette trip, to celebrate Lexi’s upcoming wedding. From the glorious ocean views to the quaint tavernas and whitewashed streets, the vacation seems too good to be true. But dangerous undercurrents run beneath the sunset swims and midnight cocktails – because each of the women is hiding a secret. Someone is determined to make sure that Lexi’s marriage never happens – and that one of them doesn’t leave the island alive.Gripping, twisty, and full of sun-soaked suspense, this timely thriller examines the joys of female friendship…as well as the deadly consequences when a relationship goes wrong.

So after reading The Castaway which actually took nearly my breath, I was excited for her new novel, One Of the Girls.

A group of friends get together in a villa in Greece to celebrate the hen weekend. But during their stay, secrets are revealed and then suddenly someone dies.

The story is mainly told from all the girls present in the villa perspective–Lexi, Bella, Fen, Robyn, Eleanor and Ana. Lexi and Bella are friends, Robyn is also friends with Lexi and Bella. Ana and Lexi have met each other at a yoga class and Eleanor is Lexi’s future sister-in-law. There was also someone else in the background who is plotting to do something. However, the more I read the book, the more I find that this is more a girl drama than a simple thriller. I did enjoy reading the book but it wasn’t enjoyable as I did with The Castaway. Personally, I wished there were not much POVs and except for Lexi and Bella, I didn’t find the other characters much fun. However, what I actually enjoyed about this novel is the setting–set in a scenic view of the Greek island overlooking the sea and the descriptions of the villa and the sceneries made me imagine that I was also celebrating the Hen weekend with the characters.

So if you like a thriller based in a mythical island with secrets, then this thriller is one for you. Worth four stars–mainly due to the writing more than the plot.

Julia Bird’s picturesque Cotswolds life is everything she’d dreamed of. Until, that is, she discovers a dead body in the library…

Julia Bird had imagined the quiet of rural life would be soothing after years in the city, but she finds she can’t just sit still.Determined to throw herself into village activities, she joins the library just in time to attend a talk by celebrated local author Vincent Andrews.

Charming, devilishly handsome and talented, Vincent teases the crowd with a reading from his forthcoming novel. Set in a village bearing strange similarities to Berrywick, with characters the audience start to recognise, Vincent hints of dark secrets to be revealed, to gasps of outrage from the room. The meeting ends in uproar, and, just hours later, Vincent’s dead body is discovered behind the bookshelves…

As one of the last people to see him alive, Julia feels morally bound to help the police investigate. With her trusty Labrador, Jake, at her side, she decides to do her own sleuthing and quickly discovers that Vincent’s personal life is messy, his finances are in disarray and his book sales are declining. But most of all, remembering her neighbours’ faces at the book reading, Julia wonders if one of them could have lost the plot enough to kill…

As Julia interrogates the suspects, she walks straight into another scene of murder and mayhem, and realises Vincent’s manuscript is now missing. There’s someone out there who’s deadly serious about keeping their secrets unpublished. Will Julia be able to stop them, before anyone else gets hurt?

Brilliantly twisty, this completely thrilling cozy mystery is perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Helena Marchmont and Clare Chase.

Murder in the library is sound thrilling and interesting and this book is just that. This is the second book of Julia Bird series. Here Julia Bird attends a book tak attended by a legendary handsome author, Vincent Andrews. But the next day, Julia finds Vincent stabbed inside the library. As the police investigate this case, Julia also gets herself involved as who would want to murder Vincent with so many suspects in the list. I greatly enjoyed reading the first book of the series. I did like this second book but this wasn’t as great as the first book. The pace was a bit slow but it got interesting towards the middle and the end. There weren’t much twists and turns in the book but the writing was good. However there was so much drama, jealousy and suspense that kept me interested in this book towards the end. Overall, it was a good cozy thriller–worth 3.5 stars! Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.