Tropical Girl Reads

Harlow looked down at a photo of her victim and couldn’t reconcile it with the body found by the lake. Here was a young and carefree woman, gazing at the camera with her striking emerald green eyes, her long black hair waving in the breeze. But within an instant her future had been extinguished. Harlow had to find out why.

When the remains of a young woman are discovered on the edge of Saranac Lake in upstate New York, local law enforcement immediately call Detective Harlow Durant. When she arrives at the scene, she instantly knows this case will get under her skin. Lying just beyond the picturesque lake popular with families are the remains of a victim who has seemingly been burned to death. With very little evidence remaining, Harlow begins scouring missing persons reports.

The victim is identified as twenty-six-year-old Ellie Gordon—a fun-loving young woman who worked in the bookstore and enjoyed going out with friends. When her mother comes to ID the body, she reports her daughter’s gold crucifix missing and the hunt begins to locate it and any potential DNA evidence. But as Harlow starts to piece Ellie’s last movements together, another body is found. The victim was killed in exactly the same way and worked with Ellie.

Witness statements identify a local man who was obsessed with both women and when Harlow sees video evidence of him pawning the gold necklace, she thinks she has her man. But when he too winds up dead, Harlow has to start over. The only other link to the women is Gavin Croswell, one of the most powerful men in the town. But with a whole host of alibis, pinning the murders on him is almost impossible.

With time running out to find the killer before another woman loses her life, the case soon becomes personal when Harlow’s car is violently run off the road. Someone wants to warn her off the case and they will use anything they can to threaten her. Even if it means exposing her own dark secret.

Can Harlow confront her demons to save another innocent life from being lost? And just how much is she prepared to sacrifice?

An absolutely addictive serial killer thriller perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, and Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series.

Detective Harlow Durant is back with another criminal case!

When the remains of a woman’s body was found near the lake, the local PD contacts Detective Harlow Durant to the scene. The woman’s body is badly burned and charred and is barely recognizable. Detective Harlow Durant must solve the case before another victim will be snatched and dealing with her own past demons.

What made me get interested in this book is Harlow’s background–a serial killer father and coming from a dysfunctional family. This time, the author has given us snippets of Harlow’s relationship with her father who killed women almost twenty years ago and the timelines shift back and forth–to the present where Harlow is investigating the current case to the past that happened twenty years ago that changed her life forever. Nonethless, this book is fast paced thriller, with the twists and turns, the numerous suspects that leave you confused as to who would be the real killer. The ending was shocking and unpredictable and I was so immersed into the book that I stayed up all night reading this book! The very end is a cliff hanger, something that makes the reader like me to crave for the third book and wouldn’t wait to see what is going to happen next!

If you are looking for some start of detective series, I recommend this series to you all. This is fast paced, page turned with twists and turns you wouldn’t expect–worth five stars!

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

Lately, I have been having a reading slump and also I was a little bit busy. so I am a bit late posting the reviews!

You can run from your past, but you can’t hide forever…

Rebecca Bray has moved on from a childhood she desperately wants to forget.

She has everything she’s ever wanted – the perfect fiancé, a loving stepdaughter, a career she’s proud of, and now the house of her dreams.

But when the family move to the Cornish village where Rebecca grew up, everything she wanted to bury from those years starts to claw at the surface.

Then, when her stepdaughter goes missing at a New Year’s Eve party, Rebecca must finally face the ghosts of her past – or Ava might never come home safely…

A haunting, atmospheric read full of twists, turns and bumps in the night – perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Nuala Ellwood and Sophie Draper.

Rebecca Bray returns to her childhood town in Cornwall, after she has inherited a house known as “Blackwater” from Gwen. She remembers all those fond memories of her childhood and teenage years and vowed never return back to the town. She and her fiance Daniel and his daughter Ava seemed to be the perfect family, living in this new house.

But one day, Ava goes missing. And while investigating Ava’s disappearance, Rebecca’s past came back to her tormenting, a past she vowed to forget…

This is really a good book. Though this was actually a thriller, to me, this was actually an emotional roller coaster ride, especially when reading towards the end and you find what Rebecca’s secret and past was, you feel a bit emotional and at times it was heartbreaking.

The story divides between the past–when Rebecca, Daniel and Ava moves into the house to the present, when Ava has disappeared and the police taking part in the case. In the beginning, we see a different picture of this picture perfect family but towards the middle of the book…well let’s just say, it’s not as picture perfect as it seems. The writing was engaging, the author doing a great job making the reader immerse into the story and making the reader feel like they are part of the story as well. I was so engrossed into the book and simply couldn’t put the book down. The characters, particularly Rebecca is broken character and despite being not biological mother and daughter, Rebecca and Ava seem to have a very strong bond with each other.

Nonetheless, the ending left me emotional and it was a bit heartbreaking.

Overall, this was a good thriller, that will make you emotional as well as unputdownable–worth five stars!

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

An unthinkable crime—and the tattered threads of a friendship gone wrong—come roaring back to terrible new life in Jody Gehrman’s riveting psychological suspense, perfect for fans of Joshilyn Jackson.

Twenty years ago, Tansy was drawn to Selene’s hard edges, her grit, and her knack for survival. Since then, the confused tangle of guilt about covering up a murder shattered their friendship, and even now, at thirty-eight, Tansy has never come to terms with what happened that night.

But now, Selene is back, demanding her old friend repay her. Selene’s daughter, Jupiter, attends the college where Tansy works as a guidance counselor. Selene is convinced that Jupiter’s boyfriend, Colton, is abusive, and wants Tansy to intervene. As she is drawn back into the intensity of Selene’s world, Tansy discovers the ugly truth about Colton. But Tansy suspects there’s far more to the story, and now she’ll finally have to confront Selene once and for all.

So I requested this ARC and was glad that I got this book. Though I was a bit skeptical about this book, to my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading this book!

Tansy is a counsellor at the university when her former best friend, Selene waltzes into her office one day, asking her to repay for a deed that they both have committed many years ago during the summer. Selene’s daughter, Jupiter is attending the same university and Selene is convinced that her boyfriend, Colton is abusing her. Reluctantly, Tansy agrees to help her and soon, she discovers some dark secrets about Colton and at the same time develops a bond between her and Jupiter and a romance blossom between her and Zack, Selene’s brother.

Initially, the first few chapters were a bit boring but gradually, the story got interesting. and intriguing as I kept continuing to read the book. Selene seemed to be a very complex character that as a reader, you don’t know, if she is really telling the truth or not. Tansy is loyal and helpful and a likable character in my opinion. Jupiter, suffers just like any other domestic victims insecure though later on, she starts becoming stronger with the help of Tansy. The writing was engaging that the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story, making the reader feel like they are also the part of the story.

Overall, if you like a bit of a family drama, then I would recommend this book–page turner and the few parts in the book can make you emotional and heartbreaking–worth four stars!

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

The first book review of the month of February!!

The #1 International bestselling author of Pretty Little Wife returns with another thrilling domestic suspense novel that asks, how many wives and girlfriends need to disappear before your family notices?

Elisa Wright is a mom and wife, living a nice, quiet life in a nice, quiet town. She’s also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fiancée, and though he grieved for them he starts dating someone new. Elisa fears for that woman’s safety, and she desperately wants to know what happened to her friend, Josh’s missing fiancée.

Searching for clues means investigating her own family. And she doesn’t like what she finds. A laptop filled with incriminating information. Other women.

But when Elisa becomes friends with Josh’s new girlfriend and starts to question things she thinks are true, Elisa wonders if the memories of a horrible incident a year ago have finally pushed her over the edge and Josh is really innocent. With so much at stake, Elisa fights off panic attacks and a strange illness. Is it a breakdown or something more? The race is on to get to the truth before another disappearance because there’s a killer in the family…or is there?

Content Warning:- Substance Abuse, Mental disorder

After reading her debut book, Pretty Little Wife by the same author, I was excited when I got hands to her second novel, the Replacement Wife. However, I hate to say, this book did not live up to my expectations and didn’t come close to Pretty Little Wife, which I devoured in one go.

Elisa Wright is a dutiful wife and mother. After a shooting incident that left Elisa traumatized, she gets suspicious of her brother-in-law Josh, when she discovered some messages exchanged between a person named “concerned” and Abby, Josh’s fiancee, who went missing after she starts receiving messages from the “concerned”. Josh has a dead wife, a missing fiancee and Elisa thinks her brother-in-law is a murderer. But when Josh brings in a new girlfriend and introduces to the family, Elisa must do whatever to prevent the same fate that Josh’s previous partners faced.

The plot was good–is Josh really a killer or whatever that are happening to his partners are a list of unfortunate incidents? Elisa also on the other hand is an unreliable narrator that you would think whether she is truly delusional about her brother-in-law or not. However, besides the plot being good, there were so much negative points about this book.

Too much repetition made me bored–everyone is talking about Elisa suffering from traumatization, Elisa’s obsession towards her brother-in-law to the point of stalking him was a bit too much for me. None of the characters in the book appealed to me. But nonetheless, I kept the book going, thinking ok maybe, I might find something intense and interesting. Even the part towards the ending got interesting but eventually, it was…well, I didn’t like the ending much. I was confused. If I outline my doubts about the ending, I might as well put in some spoilers but I decided simply to say…I didn’t like the ending. It was unbelievable, unrealistic and nothing like how Pretty Little Wife ended.

This wasn’t a fast paced thriller, not much twists and turns, too much repetitions that will make you bored. Worth 2.5 stars.

Be careful what you wish for…

Callie has known sadness, and sometimes doubted she would ever have the life she wanted. When she meets James, also no stranger to grief, it seems as though her luck has changed. She becomes his wife, and in the process a stepmother to his two sons. Callie has finally got what she always imagined for herself.

But things don’t go to plan for Callie. She tries to get things right, but at every turn she makes mistakes. If she can only show her new family just how much she cares, perhaps everything will be okay. Yet the harder she tries, the more she fails. A split-second decision leads to her spiralling out of control, and there is no way back for Callie.

When the police arrest her for murder, the dark tale of Callie’s shocking fall from grace slowly unfolds. But how much is Callie willing to reveal about the choices she made? If those she cares for the most learn the truth, they will hate her. Will her secrets be her undoing? Or will she tell the truth, no matter the cost?

A compelling psychological thriller with an unforgettable ending from #1 bestseller Kathryn Croft. Perfect for readers who love Sheryl Browne, Alison James and Claire McGowan.

OK, I thought this book was actually a good thriller!

Callie is married to James and James has two sons from his previous marriage, Dillon and Luke. As much as Callie tried to be a good stepmother, Dillon and Luke couldn’t stand her. Then Callie meets Dillon’s best friend Rhys and the two embark on an affair…

The first part of the story was boring but gradually, it got interesting and intense with some twists and turns. Although Callie’s affair with a teenage boy like Rhys was slightly disturbing to read, nonetheless, the author manage to get the reader hooked into the story without going astray. Callie in my opinion is quite an unlikable character–I mean just because she thinks her husband is having an affair doesn’t mean she should have an affair…let alone a teenage boy! I do like the shifting of the timelines when Callie is questioned by the police to the past that led her being to that situation. The ending was a little unexpected and I liked the ending.

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

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

She doesn’t know I’m there, watching her in the mirror. She slides her hand under her blouse. And then I see something impossible. She isn’t pregnant…

She bursts into my life like a storm, and nothing is the same again. She seems so perfect, with her lilting laugh and her beautiful face. One by one, I watch as my friends fall under her spell.

Only I seem to suspect something. Only I see that her smiles don’t reach her cold, furious eyes. And when I’m accused of things I didn’t do, when my home is vandalized, I know she’s behind it. But she only lets her mask slip when no one is looking, so if I say anything, I’ll look crazy.

So when the baby shower comes around I’m there, sitting on a velvet sofa in a posh hotel room, surrounded by balloons. We share gifts, we pour small glasses of champagne, and she beams, her bump just visible under her bright red shirt.

But that afternoon, I finally learn the unbelievable truth.

There is no baby…

This was actually really good!

Jane and Sophie had been friends…until Lexie comes along. Lexie changes Jane’s life drastically so much that she loses her only friend Sophie to her, who has fallen into her spell. Lexie somehow makes Jane’s life miserable, for no reason. Then both Sophie and Lexie gets pregnant and Lexie hosts a baby shower at her expense. By chance, Jane sneaks into Lexie in the bathroom…and finds that she wasn’t pregnant and has been faking it…

Initially, it started out a little slow but gradually, it started gaining its momentum. The story is told from Jane’s perspective mostly and also Frankie, Jane’s boyfriend, who falls into a woman named Natasha’s charm. Towards the middle of the book, with the start of the baby shower–things start getting interesting with Jane finding out that Lexie is faking her pregnancy. Jane being a loyal friend tells Sophie who dismisses her and the two friends stop talking. It was really intense what with Jane finding out about Frankie and soon, the ending got really interesting. I kind of predicted the ending but nonetheless, I was hooked into the book from start to finish! The author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story. I started liking Jane as in my opinion, she is a strong and courageous woman. I was glad “SPOILER ALERT” that she and Sophie did not continue being friends .

This is quiet an unputdownable thriller that will keep you up all night–worth four stars!

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

Never overstay your welcome…

One year ago, Avery’s best friend Sadie was found dead – dashed on the rocks the night of the infamous end-of-summer party. To Avery’s disbelief, the police quickly rule Sadie’s death a suicide.

A year later new evidence surfaces that suggests Sadie was murdered. Evidence that places Avery under suspicion. Grief-stricken and ostracized, Avery must clear her name before she’s branded a killer…

The Last House Guest was in Reese Witherspoon’s book club list so I decided to check the book out–I am having mixed feelings about the book.

Avery’s friend Sadie disappeared on the night of the summer end party. Her body was later found and the police ruled it out as suicide. Later on the police confirmed that Sadie was murdered and Avery was the main suspect. Avery must do anything to clear her name and find the real killer.

The story is mainly told from Avery’s point of view and divides the time between the days before the party to the present day. Initially, it was a slow burn, now very fast paced and it kind of got boring but towards the end, it got interesting with some twists along the way. The ending was OK. However, it wasn’t that of a great thriller but in my opinion it was an OK one for me.

Overall, I give this book a three star rating.

What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into a rambling Victorian estate called Baneberry Hall. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a memoir called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon.

Now, Maggie has inherited Baneberry Hall after her father’s death. She was too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist.

But when she returns to Baneberry Hall to prepare it for sale, her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the pages of her father’s book lurk in the shadows, and locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself – a place that hints of dark deeds and unexplained happenings.

As the days pass, Maggie begins to believe that what her father wrote was more fact than fiction. That, either way, someone – or something – doesn’t want her here. And that she might be in danger all over again . . .

Out of all the three books I have read of Riley Sager, in my personal opinion, this is his best book.

Twenty five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents, Ewan and Jess moved to their “dream” house, known as Baneberry Hall, located in the small town of Vermonth. But three weeks later, the family fled the house after encounting a “dark” spirit–which prompted Ewan to publish a memoir known as “House of Horrors” which became an instant bestseller.

Now Maggie has inherited the Baneberry Hall from her father and believed that what her father had written were all lies. She moves to the Baneberry Hall and then realizes that what her father has written were facts and not fiction. Something…or someone doesn’t want her to live in the house.

From start to finish, the story was intense and gripping and I was literally hooked from the beginning. The story is mainly told from Maggie’s perspectives, with her motive to prove that her father’s ghost tale about the house was false. Then there were excerpts from her father’s book, retelling the story that happened twenty five years ago, when Maggie was five years old. As a reader, I wondered, is the house really haunted? What dark secrets are hiding inside this house? What made Maggie’s parents leave the house leaving behind all their things in the middle of the night? I kept reading this book, waiting to find the answers and finally, towards the end, I got the answer! Though I expected that ending, it was such a twist that left me really chilling….

I really like Riley Sager’s writing–while reading this book, I actually felt like I was watching a horror movie and not really reading a book–this book kind of reminded me of the horror movie, Conjuring a little bit. Though there were no jump scares moments (except the snake part), nonetheless, it was a little scary at some places to read. So kudos to the author for doing a good job of creating a horror atmosphere in the book and making the book engaging. Maggie Holt, the main protagonist is a complex character–she is an adult and doesn’t really want to believe in ghosts, with her mother urging her to stay away but at the same time, she was having a mixed feelings about her father’s book. I have to say, this is somewhat an engaging horror thriller.

Overall, if you like a version of horror movie that will make you scared, this book is one for you–worth full five stars!