Tropical Girl Reads

A brilliant psychologist faces the secrets and lies of her own dark past in a shocking novel of suspense by the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of A Familiar Sight.

“Gretchen…What have you done?”

Psychologist and criminologist Dr. Gretchen White, top consultant for the Boston PD, has solved countless cases—but never her own. Since the age of eight, she has lived her life thinking she killed her aunt. After all, she was found standing over the body, clutching a bloody knife. Most people, including Detective Patrick Shaughnessy, believe the little sociopath got away with murder. Thirty years later, Detective Lauren Marconi wants to prove them wrong.

When plucking at the threads of the past unravels a decades-old case tied to the White family, both Lauren and Gretchen grapple with the question, What if Gretchen really is guilty? As old secrets come to light and Gretchen’s lifelong grip on her darkest impulses threatens to erode, Shaughnessy is there watching, waiting for her to lose control one more time.

Everyone thinks they know what happened that night. But the truth is beyond what anyone imagines—even Gretchen herself.

Dr. Gretchen White is back with her partner Detective Marconi but this time, to find the real answers as to what really happened, the night Gretchen was accused of killing her aunt Rowan. As she and Detective Marconi starts investigating, as Gretchen do not really remember what happened the night Rowan was murder, they discover many dark secrets–including a serial killer who killed girls back in the 1980’s that might link to Gretchen’s own family.

Despite four and three star rating, I actually thought this was a fast paced thriller with some twists and turns along the way. The story shifts back and forth between the present day and the past set in the 1980’s and 1990’s, 1993 the year Gretchen actually killed her aunt. I do like the companionship between Lauren and Gretchen, how Lauren firmly believes that Gretchen was innocent of the crimes. The writing was good that the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story and I was kept at the edge of the seat as I wondered did Gretchen actually killed her own aunt or did someone else frame her. The ending and the revelation at the end was shocking that I actually didn’t really accept that type of ending.

Overall, I actually enjoyed this fast paced thriller that will keep you hooked into the night and quite unputdownable–worth five stars!

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

An explosive YA thriller from international bestselling author of One of Us is Lying.

The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence:

You know what you did.

They never hear from her again.

Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother’s resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who’s been such an enigma their entire lives.

This entire family is built on secrets, right? It’s the Story legacy.

This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.

After reading One of Is Lying by the same author, I got nearly all Karen McManus books and The Cousins is one of them. The story follows three cousins–Milly, Aubrey and Jonah who returns to Gull Cove Island after their grandmother has extended an invitation to meet them. In each of their letters, there’s one sentence “You know what you did last summer,” implying their parents, back in 1990’s when they were teenagers must have done something terrible in the island. The cousins come to the island to find many deep secrets about the island and about their own family and parents as well.

First part of the story was slightly boring but then things got interesting by the mid way of the book. There were some twists and turns, which some are completely unexpected. The story is told from the perspectives of Milly, Aubrey and Jonah, and how their friendship began to develop while being in the island. By the second part of the story and towards the edge, I couldn’t simply put the book down that I got engrossed into the story as to what was going to happen next. The ending was completely unexpected in my opinion.

Overall, if you like a family drama with a thriller element in it, then this book is one for you–worth four stars!

She raced across the woods. Cold wind hit her face, and her heart pounded so fast she could almost feel the panic rushing through her veins.She knocked on the door knowing she didn’t have much time. Fear gripped her. “Please, help,” she whispered.

Rushing to the scene of a homicide at a farmhouse surrounded by thick, dark woodland, Special Agent Nikki Hunt is shocked to find four victims. A mother and father have been stabbed, their son, Bryce, is fighting for his life, and a young woman’s body is lying near the front door, her wrists bound with heart-shaped bunting. Nikki has never seen such a complex scene, but despite recovering from her own painful loss, she will do whatever it takes to bring this killer to justice.

Nikki soon identifies the woman as missing student Jessica Chandler and finds Bryce’s initials woven into the jumper she wore the night she died. It seems like they were a couple, and that the Webers were a happy family. So who would want them dead?

The murders have all the hallmarks of a serial killer: all the evidence suggests the murderer was watching them, turned the security cameras off as they entered and fled the scene from the front door. But then Jessica’s friends tell Nikki she was uncomfortable around Bryce, and when two of Bryce’s friends go missing along Stillwater river, and the girlfriend is found, she claims her boyfriend tried to kill her.

Are Bryce and his friends hiding a dark side? Nikki knows she must dig deeper to find out their secrets, but can she uncover the truth before the killer takes another life?

Nikki Hunt is back with another case!

Nikki was called to a case when four people were found brutally murdered in the farmhouse cabin–a man and a woman, a girl and a boy, the only survivor of the massacre who is fighting for his life. Nikki Hunt thinks the girl, Jessica and the boy Bryce are a couple and that there must be a love triangle involved in their relationship. Bryce was also training to be an Olympic swimmer. But soon Nikki discovers its more sinister than she really thought.

Honestly, this is the fifth book of the Nikki Hun series and I didn’t find this book as interesting as her previous books. It was OK, there were twists and turns and the story got more interesting towards the end actually. The ending was somewhat unexpected but overall, this was a good thriller but compared to her other thrillers, this was OK.

Overall, this is a good thriller that will keep you on the edge–worth four stars.

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

By the time I realized the truth about Daniel it was too late. But the truth about me? He never saw that coming…

Dr Daniel Ashcroft was perfect: handsome, romantic, protective. I thought I was so lucky.

But then I heard the rumors about his previous girlfriend, that she had vanished without a trace.That’s when I found the cameras in my apartment.

I was trapped. Daniel made it clear I couldn’t leave him, not without risking everyone I loved. I had to disappear, so I arranged my own kidnapping.

I should have known Daniel would never let me get away that easily. But he could never have predicted what I’d do next…

I cannot believe that this is the debut book of the author–this book was well written in my opinion and a gripping psychological thriller!

Noelle is a nurse and is having an abusive relationship with her doctor boyfriend, Dr. Daniel Ashcroft. So she hatches up a plan to have herself kidnapped. But she didnt realize that the person who kidnapped her might be working for Daniel and is a cat and mouse chase.

From the first chapter to the end, the story was fascinating and I was really engrossed into the story. The story is told from Noelle’s perspective as well as Daniel’s perspective so as a reader you have no idea whether you should believe in Noelle’s story or Daniel’s story. I felt like I was watching some sort of an action thriller show that made me sit at the edge of the bed, wanting to know what was going to happen in the end. And trust me, I really did wanted to know what was going to happen in the end that when I reached the end, it completely blew me away–totally unexpected! I actually enjoyed reading this book!

If you like this type of thriller, a thriller where it is unputdownable filled with twists and turns, then this book is one for you–worth five stars!

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

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge

Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.

After reading Lucy Foley’s Guest List, I was so excited when I got the audiobook version of The Paris Apartment.

Just like The Guest List, there are multiple characters in this book–Jess, the sister of the missing person, Ben who comes to Paris to start a new life and moves into Ben’s apartment with weird people as neighbors (her opinion), The Concierge, an unnamed woman, who seemed to be having a past, Mimi, a young nineteen year old French woman and Sophie, an arrogant French woman and Nick, a friend of Ben. As Jess lives in the apartment and tries to find out what really happened to Ben, she finds so many dark secrets about the apartment…and the people who live in that apartment.

OK, so I am having some mixed feelings about the book. I feel you should read each and every word very carefully in this book to understand what is going on in the book. This sounded more like a gothic thriller to me–the eerie descriptions of the apartment, the cellar and attic, made me think if I was reading a gothic thriller more than a psychological thriller. The first part of the story was boring but then soon, it became fast paced with some twists and thrills along the way. Nonetheless, I felt the ending was OK–I kind of expected that ending however.

Jess’s character was OK but then other characters in my opinion seemed bland to me. But maybe that’s my opinion. The story kind of dragged on but then the interesting part happening by the middle of the book.

Anyway, this was not as good as Guest List in my opinion but it was OK. If you like a thriller with a creepy setting with a weird creepy family, then this book is one for you–worth 3.5 stars.

The woman’s skin was almost transparent. Her light hair darkened at the tips. Her lips were blue and slightly parted. But all Mackenzie could focus on were the eyes. Those arctic eyes that looked glassy like glistening marbles. She could see her own reflection in them staring back at her. The woman looked almost like a carefully crafted doll.

Detective Mackenzie Price knows what makes a killer tick. But when she finds the body of a young woman dumped in the trunk of her car, she knows this case is going to be the most personal and twisted yet.

Looking down at the victim, Mack recognises her instantly: Sophie Fields, the fiancée of Mack’s co-worker who vanished months before. Reeling in shock, Mack keeps one crucial piece of evidence to herself, too horrified to share it: a crumpled piece of paper bearing the words “You’re welcome, Mackenzie.”

As Mack pieces together Sophie’s last known movements, another body is found with a note. This time the victim is Courtney Montenegro, Mack’s childhood bully. As Mack looks at the note it becomes clear that the killer has an unusual MO: they want to protect her at all costs. But why?

The only evidence connecting the victims are identical pieces of material left at both crime scenes. With no other leads, Mack unearths a cold case which may lead her to the killer. Sophie had a sister who disappeared years before. Did she get too close to the truth and pay the ultimate price?

With an obsessive killer still on the loose, Mack knows that she needs to get deep inside their mind to work out who is next on the hit list. Can she get to the killer in time before someone close to her loses their life?

Detective Mackenzie Price is back with another adventure!!

Detective Mackenzie Price gets a shock when a body of a woman was found left at the back of Mackenzie’s car. The body belongs to Sophie who was the fiance of Austin, a colleague of Mackenzie and who went missing almost two years ago. The body was addressed to Mackenzie. Then another woman goes missing and Mackenzie must find who is responsible behind the disappearances.

It was a fast twisty thriller–I was literally hooked into the story from the first chapter till the end. The author has added some supernatural vibe into the story that I almost got goosebumps as I was reading that part. Detective Mackenzie Price seemed to be the target and the book was fast paced, keeping the reader at the edge of the story. Overall, I felt like I was going on a roller coaster ride as I read this one and I actually enjoyed reading the book. Can’t wait for the book 6 to come soon!

Overall, this is a twisted fast paced thriller and unputdownable that will keep you at the edge of the seat–worth five stars!

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

Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men.But Daisy finds herself on the receiving end in Misha Popp’s cozy series debut, a sweet-as-buttercream treat for fans of Ellery Adams and Mary Maxwell.

The first time Daisy Ellery killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. Now, it’s her calling. Daisy bakes sweet vengeance into her pastries, which she and her dog Zoe deliver to the men who’ve done dirty deeds to the town’s women. But if she can’t solve the one crime that’s not of her own baking, she’ll be out of the pie pan and into the oven.
 
Parking her Pies Before Guys mobile bakery van outside the local diner, Daisy is informed by Frank, the crusty diner owner, that someone’s been prowling around the van—and not just to inhale the delectable aroma. Already on thin icing with Frank, she finds a letter on her door, threatening to reveal her unsavory secret sideline of pie a la murder.
 
Blackmail? But who whipped up this half-baked plot to cut a slice out of Daisy’s business? Purple-haired campus do-gooder Melly? Noel, the tender—if flaky—farm boy? Or one of the abusive men who prefer their pie without a deadly scoop of payback?
 
The upcoming statewide pie contest could be Daisy’s big chance to help wronged women everywhere…if she doesn’t meet a sticky end first. Because Daisy knows the blackmailer won’t stop until her business is in crumbles.
 

So this is one of those books that piqued my interest from the first chapter to the end, with an unusual plot and setting.

Daisy Ellery is a talented pie maker and her pies are special–she adds a certain magical element in the pie to help the women take revenge on the men who had wronged them. Her unusual business is successful and started after she accidentally killed a man with a pie. But then someone knows her secret and asks her to kill three women–if she didn’t follow the orders, her secret will be let out. Daisy has a certain rule–she will never harm a woman and she was determined to find out who this person was, who was determined to bring her dow.

Reading about the pies is actually making me hungry–those descriptive crusy words and fillings made my mouth water. From the first chapter to the end, it was really interesting–like a typical cozy mystery novel. I was literally hooked into the book and what made it more interesting is when Daisy joins the pie baking contest while trying to find the person who had sent her the message. The writer did a good job of drawing the reader into the story and I actually enjoyed reading the book! Oh, the ingredients of those pies are given at the back which I want to try at home. I hope this is not a standalone novel and would like to read more from this author. Overall, this book worth five stars!

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