Tropical Girl Reads

Title:- The Lies I Tell

Author:- Julie Clark

Date published:- will be published on June 2nd 2022

Publisher:- Hodder and Stoughton

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Meg Varnum. Maggie Littleton. Meg Upton. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. I’m not a con artist as much as an avenger. A righter of wrongs. But nothing about me is real, other than my desire to hold men like you accountable for the things you’ve done.

I don’t break any laws, and what I take is given willingly. I can’t be blamed for how easy it is to manipulate you. It’s a discipline involving confidence, cleverness, and deception. And now, I’m about to work my final trick . . . this time under my real name. Because when it’s done, I want you to know who I am and remember what you did to me.

Meg Varnum. Maggie Littleton. Meg Upton. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. I’m not a con artist as much as an avenger. A righter of wrongs. But nothing about me is real, other than my desire to hold men like you accountable for the things you’ve done.

I don’t break any laws, and what I take is given willingly. I can’t be blamed for how easy it is to manipulate you. It’s a discipline involving confidence, cleverness, and deception. And now, I’m about to work my final trick . . . this time under my real name. Because when it’s done, I want you to know who I am and remember what you did to me.

I was so excited when the ARC of this book got approved!! I have always wanted to read Julie Clark’s books as I have heard many raving reviews about her previous book Last Flight, which I haven’t read yet. But this book, was disappointing at all and I actually enjoyed devouring this book in one go!

Meg Varnum, Maggie Littleton, Meg Upton…all these different name belong to the same person–a woman who is actually a con artist by getting herself into a relationship with men with money and eventually and slowly withdrawing their money from their accounts with excuses of payments or some sort. Kat is a journalist who goes as an undercover to expose this Meg. She has a fiance, named Scott who is addicted to gambling. While Kat is trying to expose her, Meg knows what Kat is really up to.

The story is told from the perspectives of both Meg and Kat. The author has done a good job of drawing the reader into the story and I was literally hooked into the story from start to finish and couldn’t simply put the book down. The story itself is fast paced, which is one of the main things I like about a thriller with some twists and turns along the way that will keep you guessing what the ending is going to turn out like. I felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book and overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book! The ending was gripping and shocking and not to give too much spoilers…let’s just say, Meg is the female version of Robin Hood. I really did like the ending actually. I do like the feminist vibe in the book as well that portray the women as strong, courageous and ambitious and would do anything to get what they want.

I would most certainly read more books from this author and I couldn’t wait to read more from Julie Clark !

If you like a gripping fast paced thriller that will make you feel like you are watching a thriller movie on the screen with ambitious women as main characters, and if you like women as con artists as a main topic in the story, then this book is one for you–worth five stars!

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

Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ones We Choose and The Last Flight, which was also a #1 international bestseller and has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and a golden doodle with poor impulse control.

Title:- Missing

Author:- K.L. Slater

Date published:- will be published on May 19th 2022

No. of pages:- 256 pages

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

I’ve known him all my life. I know he has taken my daughter. His mother says she can help me. But she’s the last person I can trust…

Samuel lived next door when we were children. We were inseparable. But he didn’t like sharing me with my adored little brother. And one terrible night, he got rid of my brother forever…

Now, years later, he’s free. And my daughter is missing.

I turn on my baby girl’s unicorn nightlight and bury my face in her pillow, my heart breaking. I know Samuel has her – he blames me for ruining his life, and even after all this time, he still doesn’t like to share.

As darkness falls, there’s a knock at my door and I open it to see Samuel’s mother. She says she can help me.

I know I can’t trust her, but I don’t have a choice. With each step I take, my fear grows stronger. Can she help me find my daughter? Or does she know something about what really happened all those years ago? Something that could stop me from saving my baby girl…

What a mind blowing psychological thriller!!! K.L. Slater is back with another thriller that will keep you hooked till the end!

In 1993, a young boy named Jimmy was murdered by locking him up in a warehouse. The suspect, Samuel was then sent to prison. Now back in the present day, Josie, Jimmy’s older sister is owning a cafe and has a daughter named Ivy. She then hears the news that Samuel has been released on parole. Now Josie was worried that Samuel was released and was worried about her safety. Then her daughter, Ivy goes missing and Josie suspect that Samuel is behind her daughter’s disappearance.

From the first chapter till the end, it was mind blowing and unputdownable! I finished this book in less than two days and still my mind is reeling from what I have read. This was fast paced, with twists and turns, the story mostly told from Josie’s perspective. The author has done a great job of drawing the reader into the story and making the reader feel like they are part of the story. The ending was what actually blew me away and I was literally shocked at the ending–so unpredictable ending. Out of all her books I have read, I felt this book was one of her best.

If you like a fast paced, twisty thriller that will keep you up all night with a theme of dysfuctional relationships, then this book will be one for you–worth five stars!

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

Kim is the number one bestselling author of sixteen psychological crime thrillers. She has sold over two million copies of her books worldwide. She has also written four Carnegie-nominated Young Adult novels as Kim Slater for Macmillan Children’s Books. Kim has an MA in Creative Writing and lives with her husband in a small Nottinghamshire village.

Title:- No More Lies

Author:- Kerry Lonsdale

No. of pages:- 347 pages

Date published:- will be published on May 10th 2022

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Secrets and lies shadow a woman on the run in the second novel in the No More trilogy by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale.

Jenna Mason’s life seems perfect: a successful career as an animator, a town house near the beach, and an adoring son, Josh, whose artistic talent looks as promising as his mother’s. But there’s something nobody realizes about Jenna. She used to be Lily Carson, a young mother on the run from a secret no one must ever know.

After years of constantly relocating, Jenna concedes to her son’s request to settle down. He wants to make friends. He wants some stability. He wants to feel normal. She convinces herself they’re safe. Until a reporter discovers who Jenna really is, bringing her estranged father to her doorstep. When he threatens to expose her carefully fabricated life for the lie that it is, Jenna has no choice but to run again.

But just as she’s about to go off the grid, Josh disappears, forcing Jenna to seek out the one person she never thought she’d see again: Josh’s father.

This is the second book of the No More series. The story follows of three siblings Olivia, Lily and Lucas. The first book focused on Olivia and in this book, it focuses on Lily.

Lily lives by the name Jenna with her son Josh. The story follows when Lily was pregnant with Josh and that she witnessed the murder of her friend Wes. Now Wes’ brother Ryder is out of prison and had attacked Josh. Lily now living as Jenna and a successful illustrator must face her past demons.

This was really an engaging story that I was actually drawn into the story. The plot was intense, dividing between the past and present–Present when Jenna is dealing with her son Josh and past when Lily was pregnant with Josh. The author has done a good job of drawing the reader into the story and as a result, I was hooked into the story. It felt as if I was watching some action packed thriller with a great story line and I couldn’t literally put the book down. Overall, this was a fast paced thriller that will keep you hooked into the story from the beginning to the end.

Overall this book worth five stars!

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

Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Kindle bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale writes standalone and series based emotionally charged domestic suspense, family drama, and women’s fiction. Her books have been translated into 27 languages and have reached nearly two million readers. Co-founder of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Kerry resides in Northern California with her husband and two children.

Title:- The Adoption

Author:- Jenna Kernan

No. of pages:- 407 pages

Publisher:- Bookouture

Date published:- will be published on May 11th 2022

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 3/5 stars

Your little girl is all yours… isn’t she?

Dani and her husband Tate’s life together is almost perfect. But Dani is haunted by guilt for causing a terrible car accident that left her unable to have children. She can’t remember why she was driving so fast that day or where she was going. Her therapist says she should try to move on.

So when their application to adopt is accepted, Dani sobs with joy. As perfect little Willow nestles in her arms, Dani looks at Tate’s loving smile and knows he will always provide for his family, no matter what.

When Dani sees a woman staring as she pushes Willow’s stroller around the safe, gated Florida community where they live, she tells herself it’s simply an admiring passer-by. After all, Dani herself used to watch the local moms and wish she was in their shoes.

But when Dani wakes in the night to find Willow’s crib empty, their perfect life becomes a nightmare.

In her frantic distress for her daughter, Dani’s memories of the accident flash through her mind. And with a jolt she realises: everyone around her has been lying about that day.

Will Dani find out the truth before it’s too late for her baby girl?

Or will facing her own dark secrets tear them all apart?

OK, this was an OK psychological thriller in my opinion.

Dani and Tate, who is a judge seemed to be leading a happy life. But when an accident happen, that changes Dani’s life–she cannot have any more children and she cannot even remember what led to the accident. So when the adoption papers were approved, Dani was overjoyed. But then a woman starts stalking her and Dani wonders if she can trust the people around her.

Honestly, this started out pretty boring. Too much reptitions, too much dialogue and it felt as if it was slow paced and not much of twists and turns. Towards the middle, it got slightly interesting but then the ending was everything about the story was predictable. The plot of the story was however great but nonetheless, too much reptitions, not much twists and turns and an ending that was predictable kind of ruined the story. Dani is labeled out as an unreliable narrator which seemed to be a trend in many psychological thrillers these days but then again, it didn’t really do justice to the book.

As the middle part got interesting, overall, this book was an OK thriller though not fast paced or gripping as it should have been. Worth three stars.

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

Jenna offers a FREE book to new subscribers. Get yours here: http://littl.ink/GripThriller9

Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Jenna Kernan, is the 2021 bronze medal winner in the Florida Book Awards Popular Fiction category for her debut crime thriller, A Killer’s Daughter. With roots in romantic suspense, she has written more than forty books. Her gripping thrillers, A Killer’s Daughter and The Hunted Girls, feature a criminal psychologist turned profiler, who is the daughter of an infamous female serial killer. Her debut domestic thriller, The Adoption, releases in May 2022. Jenna lives on Florida’s Gulf Coast with her husband. A natural redhead, Jenna has increased her sunscreen to SPF50.

Title:- The Illusion of SImple

Author:- Charles Forrest Jones

Date published:- will be published on May 18th 2022

Genre:- Thriller

No. of pages:- 264 pages

Rating:- 4/5 stars

In a dry Kansas riverbed, a troop of young girls finds a human hand. This discovery leads Billy Spire, the tough and broken sheriff of Ewing County, to investigate and confront the depths of his community and of himself: the racism, the dying economy, the lies and truths of friendship, grievances of the past and present, and even his own injured marriage.

But like any town where people still breathe, there is also love and hope and the possibility of redemption. To flyover folks, Ewing County appears nothing more than a handful of empty streets amid crop circles and the meandering, depleted Arkansas River. But the truth of this place—the interwoven lives and stories—is anything but simple.

This was a very good and controversial book. The story starts with a group of girls discovering a human hand and then from then on the story starts. The story is set in the small town of Kansas.

The story is really written in a realistic way of what the life was really like during the 1980s–racism, politics, betrayal of friendships and loyalty, bad economy…it feels like you are thrown back into that time. Though it’s a work of fiction, you actually feel like you are a part of the story. There were some parts of the story that were only boring but then the story soon grew into me. I really like the author’s style of writing and he did a good job of making the story as realistic as possible.

Overall, it was a good book–worth four stars!

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

Charles Forrest Jones lives with his wife and dogs in Lawrence, Kansas and Creede, Colorado. He has a BS in Biology from Kansas University, an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, and spent the majority of his professional life in public service. From 2003 to 2014, he served as Director of the Kansas University Public Management Center and taught MPA ethics and administration.