Tropical Girl Reads

Valleyesque – ARC Book Review

Title:- Valleyesque

Author:- Fernando A Flores

Date published:- will be published on May 3rd 2022

Rating:-

Psychedelic, dazzling stories set in the cracks of the Texas-Mexico borderland, from an iconoclastic storyteller and the author of Tears of the Trufflepig.

No one captures the border—its history and imagination, its danger, contradiction, and redemption—like Fernando A. Flores, whose stories reimagine and reinterpret the region’s existence with peerless style. In his immersive, uncanny borderland, things are never what they seem: a world where the sun is both rising and setting, and where conniving possums efficiently take over an entire town and rewrite its history.

The stories in Valleyesque dance between the fantastical and the hyperreal with dexterous, often hilarious flair. A dying Frédéric Chopin stumbles through Ciudad Juárez in the aftermath of his mother’s death, attempting to recover his beloved piano that was seized at the border, while a muralist is taken on a psychedelic journey by an airbrushed Emiliano Zapata T-shirt. A woman is engulfed by a used-clothing warehouse with a life of its own, and a grieving mother breathlessly chronicles the demise of a town decimated by violence. In two separate stories, queso dip and musical rhythms are bottled up and sold for mass consumption. And in the final tale, Flores pieces together the adventures of a young Lee Harvey Oswald as he starts a music career in Texas.

Swinging between satire and surrealism, grief and joy, Valleyesque is a boundary- and border-pushing collection from a one-of-a-kind stylist and voice. With the visceral imagination that made his debut novel, Tears of the Trufflepig, a cult classic, Flores brings his vision of the border to life—and beyond.

Valleyesque is a collection of short stories that will take you to an unforgettable journey. These stories takes place in the Texas Mexican border and will give you lessons about the values of life.

My favorite stories including old Frederic Chopin who finds his old piano and is grieving at the death of his mother. Being a piano teacher and the fact that Chopin is one of my favorite composers, this story actually fascinated me. The other story that fascinated me was Lee Harvey Oswald–the person who assasinated John F Kennedy in 1963. and in the story, young Lee Harvey Oswald embarks on his musical career. There were some heartbreaking ones as well as some funny parts that will make you laugh out loud.

Overall, if you looking for a good set of short stories, I recommend this book for you all–truly the author has done an amazing job of drawing the reader into the story and making the reader feel like they are part of the story. Worth five stars!

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

About the Author

Fernando A. Flores was born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and grew up in South Texas. He is the author of the collection Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas and the novel Tears of the Trufflepig, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and named a best book of 2019 by Tor.com. His fiction has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, American Short Fiction, Ploughshares, Frieze, Porter House Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Austin, Texas. –This text refers to the paperback edition.

The Silent Child – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Silent Child

Author:- J.G. Kelly

Date published:- will be published on 14th April 2022

Publisher:- Hodder and Stoughton

Genre:- Historical Fiction

Rating:-

1944

LEO STERN arrives at the Nazi camp at Borek with his wife Irena and his two daughters. The Sterns are spared from the gas chamber when they witness a murder. But in a place that humanity has deserted, Leo is forced to make unimaginable choices to try to keep his family alive.

1961

For seventeen years, Hanna has been unable to remember her identity and how she was separated from her family at the end of the war, until the discovery of a letter among her late uncle’s possessions reveals her real name – HANNA STERN – and leads her to Berlin in search of her lost past.

Helped by former lover Peter, Hanna begins to piece together the shocking final days of Borek. But Hanna isn’t the only one with an interest in the camp, and lurking in the shadows is someone who would prefer Hanna’s history to remain silent.

Based on in-depth research and beautifully written, this a novel of memory and identity, and the long shadow of war.

Any book that is based on WWII and Holocaust will catch my eye and I was over the moon when I got this ARC.

This is actually an unusual setting which I actually enjoyed reading.

In 1941, Leo Stern arrives to the camp with his wife Irena and their two children. In order to survive he was forced to do unimaginable things in order to survive his family.

In 1961, Hanna wants to find her real identity and while going through her uncle’s possession, she finds that she is Hanna Stern. Along with her friend Peter, they travel to Berlin to find the truth about Hanna’s family but there’s someone who didnt want her to find the truth.

I was actually engrossed into the story. What interested me most in the story was background of WWII and the Holocaust–the brutal treatment of Jews by the Nazis in the camps was too unbearable and emotional to read that at times, you still couldn’t believe that these things did happen in real life. I am guessing the present day is mostly based on Nuremberg trials when the Nazi soldiers were put on trial for their crimes but maybe I was wrong. The past, set in 1940’s was the one that was heartbreaking and emotional to read. The author has done tremendous research about the war, the conditions of the camps, the brutal treatment of Jews by the Nazis and did a good job of drawing the reader into the story. I actually enjoyed reading this book and was glad I requested the ARC!

Overall, if you love a historical fiction with an emotional and heartbreaking story that will bring tears, 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.

The Other Son – ARC Book Review

Title – The Other Son

Author:- J.M. Hewitt

No. of pages:- 326 pages

Date published:- will be published on 7th April 2022

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 2.5/5 stars

She saved her son once. Would she do the same again?

Sara and her family needed a fresh start after a tragedy that ruined many lives. They have found peace since arriving at their new home in the Kielder Forest National Park twelve months ago. That is, unless you count the dark cloud that has settled over them, and the crippling tension behind closed doors. Sara tries to pretend everything is normal, but in reality she is haunted by a devastating truth about one of her children.

Travis has a reputation as a counsellor skilled at helping troubled teens. He has been watching Sara. He sees her fragility, and believes that he can fix her and her eldest son. Like his mother, Scott barely speaks, and has a look in his eye that hints at unimaginable trauma. If Travis could only get close to Sara she would see that he can protect her, and put an end to their suffering.

Yet below the surface, Sara is anything but weak. No matter what, she won’t give up on her child. And when she is cornered, she will go to extreme lengths to protect her most precious boy.

A compulsive tale of family secrets with twists you won’t see coming. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shalini Boland and K.L. Slater.

This book actually talks about the aftermath of a school shooting and how a mother deals with the death of her son.

The story talks about Sara who moves to a new place to start a fresh new life after a tragedy that took away the life of her younger son, Ryan. Her older son, Scott is undergoing therapy and his new therapist Travis seems to have an interest towards Sara.

Although to me the plot of the story was good, it was a bit flat out boring to me. The story divides between the present day and the past, during the time when shooting was taking place. Not really a fast paced thriller and not much of twists and turns you would expect in a good thriller. The ending was predictable.

Anyway, this was an OK thriller to me and I feel this was more like a family drama. Worth 2.5 stars.

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

AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.jmhewitt.net

J.M. Hewitt is the author of eight crime fiction novels. Her work has also been published in three short story anthologies. Her books usually incorporate twentieth and twenty-first century events and far flung locations, and her novels explore the darker side of human behaviour.

In contrast to the sometimes dark content of her books, she lives a very nice life in a seaside town in Suffolk with her dog, Marley.

When she was ten years old she’d read all the books she owned, all those on her mother’s bookcase and everything the library had to offer. She decided the only course of action to take was to write her own stories. Thirty years later, she is still writing them.

Books with an academia setting

Whether it’s a thriller or a romance or even a fantasy book, some of these books are based on the academic setting i.e. based with a school setting or university setting where the main characters are either teachers or students. Here are some of the books with academia as a background setting.

Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling

The popular series is based in Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry.

2. For Your Own Good – Samantha Downing

A teacher at an elite school seems to be stalking his own students. The story gets interesting when he tries to poison another teacher only ended up poisoning a parent.

3. The Love Hypothesis – Ali Hazelwood

The story is based between a Phd student and a professor where they go on fake dating.

4. Take a Hint Dani Brown – Talia Hibbert

A love story between a professor and a security guard at the university

5. The Broken Girls – Simone St James

Based in a girls’ disciplinary school in 1950’s where the school was haunted.

6. The Rosie Project – Graeme Simison

8. One of Us Is Lying – Karen McManus

Five students were put to detention together and one student dies while in detention–the remaining four students are suspects and each have a reson to kill that particular student

9. Paper Towns – John Greene

When one of his best friends give him clues to find her.

10. Nineteen minutes – Jodi Picoult

The story about school shooting, bullying and physical abuse

The Weekend Away – Book Review

Title:- The Weekend Away

Author:- Sarah Alderson

No. of pages:- 332 pages

Date published:- July 23rd 2020

Publisher:- Avon

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 4.5/5 stars

***Now a Netflix Original movie, starring Leighton Meester, streaming globally.***

Miles from home. Trust no one. Suspect everyone.

Orla and Kate have been best friends forever. Together they’ve faced it all – be it Orla’s struggles as a new mother or Kate’s messy divorce. And whatever else happens in their lives, they can always look forward to their annual weekend away.

This year, they’re off to Lisbon: the perfect flat, the perfect view, the perfect itinerary. And what better way to kick things off in style than with the perfect night out?

But when Orla wakes up the next morning, Kate is gone. Brushed off by the police and with only a fuzzy memory of the night’s events, Orla is her friend’s only hope. As she frantically retraces their steps, Orla makes a series of shattering discoveries that threaten everything she holds dear. Because while Lisbon holds the secret of what happened that night, the truth may lie closer to home…

A twisty holiday read for fans of The Holiday and Date Night.

After reading Sarah Alderson’s The Stalker, I was curious to read The Weekend Away which was recently made into a Netflix movie. So hence, I just finished with this book.

Kate and Orla goes to Portugal for a girls’ night out. They have a wild night with Kate inviting two male escorts which angered Orla. The next day, when Orla wakes up she finds that Kate is missing. And as she tries to find out what really happened to Kate, she soon became a suspect for her friend’s disappearance.

It was really good! Fast paced thriller packed with twists and turns you wouldn’t expect and I was drawn into the book. The story is told mainly from Orla’s point of view as she tries to find out what really happened to her friend that night. The author’s writing style was good and the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story. However, the ending I felt was a bit predictable but nonetheless, it was like, I felt like I was watching an action packed movie and I was put at the edge of the seat as I was reading the book, thirsting to know what really happened to Kate!

Overall, this book will keep you up all night–worth 4.5 stars!

Sarah is a British born, LA based screenwriter and author.

Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and toddler daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home.

She finished her first novel, HUNTING LILA, just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India, and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they reached Bali. After living there for five years, during which time she wrote another ten books, she and her family made the move to California.

Her first non-fiction book, CAN WE LIVE HERE, based on her family’s travels around the world to find a new home, was published in 2015.

While now writing predominantly for TV and film, Sarah remains a prolific author, writing women’s fiction under the name Mila Gray. Her novels in this genre include the #1 bestselling COME BACK TO ME, STAY WITH ME and RUN AWAY WITH ME.

Her adult psychological thrillers include: FRIENDS LIKE THESE, IN HER EYES and THE WEEKEND AWAY, which is soon to be a Netflix movie.

Her books have appeared in translation in Germany, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Poland.

The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare

Author:- Kimberly Brock

No. of pages:- 416 pages

Date published:- will be published on 12th April 2022

Publisher:- Harper Collins

Genre:- Historical Fiction

Rating:- 4/5

The fate of the world is often driven by the curiosity of a girl.

What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke remains a mystery, but the women who descended from Eleanor Dare have long known that the truth lies in what she left behind: a message carved onto a large stone and the contents of her treasured commonplace book. Brought from England on Eleanor’s fateful voyage to the New World, her book was passed down through the fifteen generations of daughters who followed as they came of age. Thirteen-year-old Alice had been next in line to receive it, but her mother’s tragic death fractured the unbroken legacy and the Dare Stone and the shadowy history recorded in the book faded into memory. Or so Alice hoped.

In the waning days of World War II, Alice is a young widow and a mother herself when she is unexpectedly presented with her birthright: the deed to Evertell, her abandoned family home and the history she thought forgotten. Determined to sell the property and step into a future free of the past, Alice returns to Savannah with her own thirteen-year-old daughter, Penn, in tow. But when Penn’s curiosity over the lineage she never knew begins to unveil secrets from beneath every stone and bone and shell of the old house and Eleanor’s book is finally found, Alice is forced to reckon with the sacrifices made for love and the realities of their true inheritance as daughters of Eleanor Dare.

In this sweeping tale from award-winning author Kimberly Brock, the answers to a real-life mystery may be found in the pages of a story that was always waiting to be written.

This was actually an enjoyable historical fiction that shifts between two timelines–between 1500’s to the WWII era in Georgia. Eleanor Dare has brought a book from England back in 1500’s and was passed from generation to generation through the daughters. When thirteen year old Alice was going to inherit the book, the tragic death of her mother changed everything and the book got lost. Now an adult and a widow, Alice returns back to the town to inherit the house and the will. But her own daughter, Penn is curious about her lineage…

Though the first part of the book was slightly boring, it got interesting towards the middle. There were multiple perspectives–Alice, Penn in the present day WWII time and Eleanor during the 1500’s. I actually like the author’s style of writing as she does a good job of taking the reader through different periods of times. Her writing style is almost poetic. The ending was unexpected but I actually enjoyed reading this story in the end! Worth four stars!

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

The Girl Before Me – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Girl Before Me

Author:- Laura Wolfe

No. of pages:- 305 pages

Date published:- will be published on 28th April 2022

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

I’m so worried. You aren’t safe in that apartment! You have to get out. Before it’s too late…

When Rachel moves into a new apartment with her young daughter, Lily, it’s with a huge sense of relief. After escaping an abusive marriage, this perfect downtown fourth floor rental, within minutes from the lake, feels like the new beginning the two of them deserve.

It’s a place to call home. A place for them to grow together. A place for them to heal. And, as Lily starts at a nearby elementary school, and Rachel begins to develop feelings for her neighbor, Alex, who lives just down the hall, she dares to hope that their life is looking up.

But soon handwritten letters begin to arrive for someone called Annie. Alex says she was just the tenant who lived there before, who moved out one day without a word. Tentatively Rachel opens the first letter, intending to return it to the sender.

But the note says ‘Annie. I’m so worried. You aren’t safe in that apartment! You have to get out. Before it’s too late.’

Something happened to Annie. And Rachel is not nearly as safe as she thinks she is…

A totally unputdownable gripping thriller, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and Gillian Flynn.

WOW….This is simply wow for me.

Rachel Gleason moves into an apartment with her daughter, Lily who is about to start at en elite school. She is freshly divorced after having an abusive relationship with her husband Keith. When she moved into the apartment and checking the new mail box, she finds a letter from Julia in Australia addressing to her sister, Annie who used to live in the same apartment as Rachel right now. In the letter Julia has asked Annie to leave the apartment. When Rachel tries to dig in, Annie had left the apartment suddenly, taking away her furniture and everything. No one in the building knows what happened to Annie. But Rachel is determined to know more about her previous occupant.

To me, this was actually a fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of the seat. This was quite unputdownable and there were some twists and turns in nearly every chapter. What I liked about this book was there are so many suspects who may have been involved with Annie’s disappearance–the principal at the school Rachel’s daughter Lily is attending to, Rachel’s new lover Alex, Rachel new friend Bridget…the list goes on and on. The ending was unexpected. The author’s writing was really good and did a good job of hooking the reader into the story and making the reader feel like they are a part of the story. Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this thriller!

If you like an unputdownable, fast paced thriller with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge, 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 honest opinion only.

Laura Wolfe is an Amazon charts bestselling author who writes fast-paced and twisty psychological thrillers and suspense novels. Her recent titles published by Bookouture include WE LIVE NEXT DOOR, HER BEST FRIEND’S LIE, SHE LIES ALONE, and TWO WIDOWS. Laura’s YA mystery series and adult suspense novel, TOP PRODUCER, have been shortlisted for multiple indie book awards. Laura is a lover of animals and nature. When she is not writing, she can be found hanging out with her husband and two kids, growing vegetables in her garden, or spoiling her rescue dog. She enjoys living in Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Widow’s Husband – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Widow’s Husband

Author:- Lesley Sanderson

No. of pages:- 277 pages

Date published:- will be published on 21st April 2022

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 3/5 stars

For seven years I believed my husband was dead – until the note arrived this morning…

The day her husband Tom disappeared, Rachel’s life fell apart. Childhood sweethearts with two young children, they’d done everything together. And then, suddenly, Tom was gone. Without a word, without a note, without a single sign of where he might be, leaving Rachel to survive alone.

Now, nearly seven years later, Rachel has come to terms with life as a single mother, caring for their children who still secretly long for their father’s miraculous return.

But in his absence, Tom’s hidden life started to emerge, and Rachel has discovered things a wife should never have to. A secret life that betrayed everything Rachel thought she knew. Not knowing where he’d gone was no longer the main worry keeping her awake at night – it seemed much more likely he’d been silenced. Forever.

Until today, when – with just one month until Tom is to be declared legally dead – Rachel receives a note in handwriting she recognises with dread:

My darling, I’ve missed you so much. Give me a chance to explain. I’m coming home.

The husband she’d lost is alive.

And so are all his secrets…

Rachel’s husband, Tom went missing seven years ago. Before he disappeared he was having an extra marital affair with a woman named Heidi. Now after seven years, Rachel was ready to declare legally that her husband is dead until she starts receiving notes from her missing husband…after all these years.

The plot of the story is great but I feel like this was more a slow burn thriller. Not much twists and turns you would expect in a thriller. The story started out slightly boring though when Rachel started receiving the notes things began to get a little bit interesting. However, I felt the story was direct–knew who was going to be the mysterious person who was sending the notes and I kind of predicted the ending as well, so it wasn’t that exciting thriller to me. Nevertheless, the author’s writing was good.

This is a short review so I would say, this is an OK thriller. Worth three stars

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

XOXO – Book Review

Title:- XOXO

Author:- Axie Oh

Date published:- July 13th 2021

Publisher:- Harper Collins

No. of pages:- 352 pages

Genre:- YA/ Romance

Rating:-

Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo.

Jenny didn’t get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea.

With Jaewoo an ocean away, there’s no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she’s just been accepted to? Jaewoo.

Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn’t just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone.

When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo’s worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love. XOXO is a new romance that proves chasing your dreams doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your heart, from acclaimed author Axie Oh.

OK if you love a story of a normal ordinary girl falling in love with one of the popular K pop band members then this book is definitely one for you! Oh, and if you love watching K dramas (which I do) with sugar coated love stories, then this book will be perfect one for you.

Jenny is a cellist and her only ambition is to enter into one of the elite music schools in the country, the Manhattan Music School. She works part time at her uncle’s karaoke bar and meets a boy name Jaewoo. That night she and Jaewoo hang out and become friends and exchange numbers. Jenny tries contacting Jaewoo but he never replied to any of her messages.

Then Jenny’s grandmother who lives in South Korea becomes sick and she and her mother move to South Korea temporarily. She enrolls into an art academy in Seoul and then meets…Jaewoo. But she soon realizes that Jaewoo is a popula K pop idol and belongs to a popular band called XOXO. Then begins the love story of a forbidden relationship.

OK, as a fan of Korean dramas, this actually did remind me of Boys Over Flowers a little bit and You’re Beautiful, if you have watched those two Korean dramas. I was listening to the audio book so the narrator did a great job with the book. Nearly all the characters in the story are likable–I do like how Jenny made friends at the academy and even became best friends with her roommate Sol Hee who also had a romantic relationship with one of the members of the band Nathaniel. The story itself is engaging and I found the love story between Jenny and Jaewoo really cute and adorable! Though I felt like I was watching a cheesy romantic Korean drama, I actually enjoyed reading this book. The author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story and getting to experience what the life of a student is really like in Korea.

For ones who love a good YA romance with a Korean drama setting, then this book is one for you–worth five stars!

Axie Oh is a first-generation Korean American, born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. She studied Korean history and creative writing as an undergrad at the University of California San Diego and holds an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. Her passions include K-pop, anime, stationery supplies, and milk tea, and she currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her dog, Toro (named after Totoro). Axie is the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, XOXO, and the Rebel Seoul series.

Nanny Needed- ARC Book Review

Title:- Nanny Needed

Author:- Georgina Cross

Date published:- will be published on April 28th 2022

Publisher:- Avon

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

When Sarah Larsen answers the Bird family’s advertisement, her life changes overnight.

The job seems like a dream come true: nannying in a glamorous penthouse apartment with a salary that adds several zeroes to her current income.

Sarah signs the contract binding her to complete secrecy without a second thought. These are important people, after all – they can’t be too careful about who they let into their home.

All is well until events in Sarah’s life begin to take a sinister turn and the trail leads back to the Birds. She soon realises there’s something very strange about the family.

But by then, is it too late for her?

A completely gripping psychological thriller from the author of the number one bestseller The Stepdaughter. Perfect for fans of The Nanny, The Couple Next Door and The Family Upstairs.

I have read two books from this author and I actually enjoyed reading her books. So I was super excited when I got my hands on this book. And yes, Georgina Cross did not disappoint.

Sarah Larsen is in heaps of debts. So when she sees an ad about a nanny wanted for an elite family in Upper West Side, it was too good to be true and was hoping to solve the financial issues that she and her fiance Jonathan are facing. The family is none other than Birds family and Collette gets acquanited with Sarah. But soon, Sarah find a disturbing secret about the Birds family that might threaten her new career and…her life.

I have to say wow! I was literally hooked into the story from start to finish! The story is intense, told mainly from Sarah’s perspectives. This was actually a fast paced thriller, quite unputdownable with twists and thrills along the way. Though I expected that type of ending to happen, nonetheless, the story kept me hooked and I was literally thrown to the edge of the seat! The writing was really great as the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story.

This is such a roller coaster ride–a fast paced thriller with twists and turns and quite unputdownable–worth five stars!

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

Georgina Cross is the author of NANNY NEEDED with Bantam, Penguin Random House, and THE STEPDAUGHTER and THE MISSING WOMAN with Bookouture, Hachette Publishing. Three more books will publish in 2022 and 2023. All works are psychological suspense/thriller.

She is represented by Rachel Beck with Liza Dawson Associates with her books appealing to readers of The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle, The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth, and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

Georgina has been writing since she was a child. Notebooks & printed pages filled with stories: adventures growing up in New Orleans and tales from Malaysia & England where her family lives. After graduating from Louisiana State University, she enjoyed a career in marketing & communications and founded Susie’s Wish non-profit which sends patients with life threatening illnesses to the beach. She spends time with her husband and their combined family of four sons watching scary movies and basketball tournaments and is thrilled to be a full-time author.