Tropical Girl Reads

A private investigator returning to the hometown he fled years ago becomes entangled in the disappearance of two teenage girls in this stunning literary crime thriller.

Reid left the small town of Manson a decade ago, promising his former Chief of Police boss he’d never return. He made a new life in the city, became a PI and turned his back on his old life for good.

Now an insurance firm has offered him good money to look into a suspicious car crash, and he finds himself back in the place he grew up – home to his complicated family history, a scarring relationship breakdown and a very public career-ending incident.

As Reid’s investigation unfolds, nothing is as it seems: rumours are swirling about the well-liked young woman who was driving the car which killed her professor husband, while a second local student has just disappeared. As Reid veers off course from the job he has been paid to do, will he find himself in the dangerous position of taking on the town again?

This was actually a gripping psychological thriller that kept me hooked from the beginning to the end!

Reid is working as a private investigator and he returns back to his hometown after many years. He was hired to find more about an accident, that killed the professor and the wife who seemed to be still alive. While investigating, he discovered the mysterious disappearances of two girls that might have some sort of connection to the accident.

I like the fact that this story is fast paced packed with lots of twists and turns that you wouldn’t expect. The story is told in two perspectives–Reid, the PI and Eshana Stiles, who is the wife of Oli Stil.es I do like reading Eshana’s story–the author has done a good job of writing the female point of view, detailing about her insecurities the way she suspect that her husband might be having an affair. I do like reading Reid’s story as well. I simply couldn’t put the book down as I kept reading, what is going to happen next–was the accident really an accident or…premeditared murder? The ending…wow it was completely unexpected–I did not expect such type of ending and twist at all! It was really an unexpected twist that really shocked me! This was the first time I am reading from this author and so I look forward to read more from this author!

Worth four stars!

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

The girl trips over branches, losing her footing. The darkness swallows her and she grabs thin air as she falls, her scream piercing the night. When she slams into the bottom of the pit, her heart hammers. She can’t believe what she’s seeing—a pile of perfect white bones…

In the small town of Crooked Creek, where the Appalachian Mountains climb into the clouds, nineteen-year-old Mandy’s Spring Break takes a sinister turn. Detective Ellie Reeves races straight to the scene, driving through the winding roads to the abandoned orphanage.

Ellie saves the teenage girl but discovers human remains that have been there for thirty years, ever since the home for children closed down. Her heart shatters at the thought that they might belong to the helpless orphans.

Working day and night on the case, Ellie searches for the orphanage’s files, but they have been stolen—somebody is clearly trying to cover their tracks. As she interviews the residents of the mountain community, Ellie finds out that almost everyone connected to the children’s home has disappeared.

Then a woman is found dead, her body marked with a strange symbol. When Ellie learns that the victim used to work at the orphanage, it’s clear that a twisted killer is trying to stop the truth coming out.

Ellie vows to solve this case that spans decades and, when her research into the meaning of the symbol leads her to a local business at the heart of recent controversy, she’s on the right track. Can she bring the secrets to light before another innocent person is murdered? And when she gets too close to uncovering the truth, will she survive?

A totally gripping and pulse-pounding crime-thriller that will have you holding your breath as you race through the pages! Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh.

Detective Ellie Reeves is back with another case!

A teenage girl Mandy falls into a pit…only to find the pit contained human bones dated thirty years near a now abandoned children’s home. Meanwhile, a series of brutal slaying of women is taking place in the town. Ellie along with FBI agent Derrick wondered if there is any similarities between the two and Ellie finds many dark disturbing things about the former child house…

As usual, the author has done a good job of drawing the reader into the story. The chapters were short, which made it easy and faster for the reader to read, and there were some twists and turns that you wouldn’t expect. The whole book feels like a roller coaster ride and I was kept at the edge of the seat, wondering what is going to happen next. The ending was unexpected but nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait for Detective Ellie’s cases again! Worth five stars!

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

When Amaya is invited to Kaavi’s over-the-top wedding in Sri Lanka, Amaya is surprised and a little hurt to hear from her former best-friend after so many years of radio silence. But when Amaya learns that the groom is her very own ex-boyfriend, she is consumed by a single thought: she must stop the wedding from happening, no matter the cost.

But Amaya might not be the only one with a plan to keep the bride from getting her happily ever after. When Kaavi goes missing and is presumed dead, the evidence points towards Amaya.

Caught between excessive Sri Lankan wedding celebrations, old wounds and dark secrets, will Amaya be able to prove she’s being framed for a murder she’s almost positive she didn’t commit?

After reading My Sweet Girl by this author, I was excited to read her second novel but I kind of enjoyed this book and not as much as I did with the first book. However, this book did not disappoint me at all.

Amaya gets a surprise wedding invitation from her ex-best friend Kaavi, whom she hadn’t talked for many years. The worst of it was, Kaavi is set to marry Amaya’s ex-boyfriend, Spencer. Now Amaya is determined to stop the wedding at all cost that she travelled all the way from Los Angeles to back to Sri Lanka. But on the wedding day, Kaavi goes missing and all evidence seemed to pointing against Amaya…

Trigger warning–BDSM, Self-Harm

Amaya seems to be a very unreliable and a disturbed character who seemed to be stalking her friend on social media by using other alias accounts. She is also a very unreliable narrator. I do like the fact that the story takes place in Sri Lanka and very rarely I have read a thriller based in Sri Lanka. As a Sri Lankan, I am familiar with all the cultures, the pre-wedding jitters and all the life of a high society Sri Lankan in Colombo–I had gone to school and been friends with girls who belong to the Colombo high society family. Kaavi is the epitome of the high society girl so I am glad that the author did a good job of mingling the high society of Colombo with traditional Sri Lankan culture. The use of Sinhala words gave a warm sense of home to me as a Sri Lankan and I am glad that the author used those Sinhala words so maybe the foreign readers could get a glimpse of a life of a rich and wealthy Sri Lankan would be. Mount Lavinia Hotel is in fact real–one of the oldest hotels in Sri Lanka and even I have been to the hotel multiple times. The front cover in the book seemed to be the picture of Mount Lavinia Hotel taken near the beach. The poruwa ceremony, the description of wedding dresses and of course Kaavi’s mother’s infatuation with horoscopes (which is typical of most Sri Lankan parents including mine) was all too realistic.

Aside from all the Sri Lankan things, as a book, this was good. The first part was slightly boring and but towards the middle, the story started getting more and more interesting. The interrogation parts are the ones where it got more interesting as the security started interviewing the guests. The ending was completely unexpected particularly when reading Kaavi’s part. Kaavi’s part was the one that actually drew me more into the story and making me at the edge of the seat. The twists and turns started coming towards the end and it completely blew my mind away Overall, I actually enjoyed this book and looking forward to read her third book! Worth four stars!

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