Tropical Girl Reads

THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS ASKING.
BUT THEY’RE NOT TELLING . . .


At a children’s party . . .
Nothing ever happens in a sleepy American town like Middlebrook. Until the shocking events of one hot Saturday afternoon when, at a back-to-school party, nine children sneak off to a barn. And one child is shot by another.

In the media storm that sweeps the nation . . .
The press are asking questions. About the type of parents who let their children play unsupervised in a house with guns. About how damaged a child must be to commit this kind of atrocity.

In the ensuing police investigation . . .
Two questions are the most urgent, and the most baffling. Of the nine children who were present in that barn, which one actually pulled the trigger?

And why are the others staying silent?

Incredibly gripping and gorgeously written, this is a spellbinding novel that asks how far we’ll go to protect our children, and how we can come together when so much divides us.

No. of pages:- 400 pages

Publisher:- Sphere

Date published:- will be published on September 7th 2021

Genre:- Suspense

I am having mixed feelings about this book.

Plot – the plot was interesting and intriguing, which is the main reason why I chose and requested for this ARC. Ten children were at a party and they were inside a stable when one of the children fired a gun, leaving another child in coma. The story basically tells about the effects of after shooting.

Let’s start with good things
–I like the diversity in this book–from all American families to Pakistani and British immigrants living in the small town of Texas.
–As I mentioned earlier, the plot was interesting and intriguing
–The first few parts of the book was interesting and left me hanging in some parts.

Now the bad things
— Though the writing was good, too much repetition in certain parts that left me bored with the book.
—The characters are all bland to me and I found Priscilla’s character so annoying. I do understand the distraught and distress she is in, considering the fact that it was her daughter who got shot and is in coma but come on, she didn’t have to turn this into a political agenda (oopsy, a bit of a spoiler here)
—400 pages is a lot for a story like this one. 200-300 pages would be more sufficient. Lot of unnecessary stuff that would leave the reader slightly bored

Nonetheless, I did enjoy this book and found this book more a family drama sort of thing than a mystery/thriller

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

You never know what’s happening behind closed doors…

Freya loves her new home on a quiet suburban street. And her beautiful neighbour Emily is everything she’s ever wanted in a best friend. Finally, she has somebody to share her secrets with over a glass of wine. But as Freya watches her new friend setting the table for dinner one evening, she sees something shocking that makes her think that Emily’s life might not be as perfect as it seems. Days later, Emily and her daughter vanish…

When you meet Emily’s husband, you will think you know what he’s hiding.

You will ask yourself whether Emily and Freya really did meet by chance.

You will think you know what happened to Emily and her little girl the night they went missing.

But when you discover the truth, it will shake you to your core and you will lie awake at night wondering if you can ever really trust the people in the house next door…

Fans of Claire McGowan, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell will love the gripping tension and unexpected twists of The New Home. Once you start reading, you’ll be hooked!

No. of pages:- 302 pages

Publisher:- Bookouture

Date published:- will be published on September 7th 2021

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 4/5

After reading Detective Lockhart series by Chris Merrit which actually had me hooked, I was looking forward to read more of his books. The New Home is actually his standalone psychological thriller and I was super duper excited that I got this book!

Freya Northcort moves into their dream house with her fiance Jack, a cardiologist. She meets Emily and her daughter Thea along with her husband Michael who lives opposite their house. A month later, Emily and her daughter goes missing and Freya thinks Michael has something to do with the disappearance. As Freya becomes more and more embroiled in her own investigation, she is facing many threats, asking her to stay away from the investigation…

I think it was actually an enjoyable thriller to me. The story is mainly told from Freya’s point of view so at what point as a reader, you support her but when her mental history comes through, we wonder if she was delusional. Everyone seemed to be a viable suspect in this story–from Michael to even her own fiance, Jack. The writing was great, the author as usual doing a good job of drawing the reader into the story. The ending…was completely unexpected and what a twisted ending! Didn’t even realize that it would end in a bit dramatic way.

Overall, this book gave me a rollercoaster ride filled with unexpected twists and turns, guaranteed that you would stay up all night, trying to find out what the heck is going to happen next!

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

Keep the Secret. Live the Lie. Earn your Truth.

For fans of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange comes a ground-breaking YA thriller about a Native American teen who must root out the corruption in her community

Eighteen-year-old Daunis’s mixed heritage has always made her feel like an outsider, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When she witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to be part of a covert FBI operation into a series of drug-related deaths.

But the deceptions – and deaths – keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. Now Daunis must decide what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

No. of pages:- 497 pages

Date published:- March 16th 2021

Genre:- Native American Fiction/Thriller

Rating:-

I heard so many raving reviews about this book that I thought I want to try out this book! Luckily, Scribd had the audiobook so I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was really good and I enjoyed listening to the audiobook.

Daunis is of mixed heritage – half White, half Native American and never felt as a part of a community in both her hometown and also in the Native American community. Daunis is best friends with a girl named Lily. But when she witnessed her best friend being murdered with Lily’s ex boyfriend committing suicide after killing Lily, the event left Daunis traumatized. And soon Daunis was enlisted to help FBI with an investigation about drug related deaths.

Here’s the thing–I actually enjoyed reading aka listening to this book! I didn’t really expect this book to be really good. The story is completely told from Daunis’ point of view and Daunis’ character grew into me–in fact she became one of my favorite literary fictional characters! I think this is the author’s debut book and so the author did a good job–her writing style was really good and she knew, how to draw the reader into the story. By the middle of the book, I started getting interested and hooked that I couldn’t wait to find out what is going to happen next! Besides all those twists, turns and the fact that it is fast paced thriller and quiet a page turner, I actually enjoyed, reading about the Native American culture–the traditions, the Native American language…they were all new to me and I had a fun time learning about Native American traditions and culture. I also heard that this book will be made into a Netflix movie so cannot wait to come out on Netflix soon!

I really recommend this book to anyone, who is interested in learning about Native American culture coupled with thriller, twisted turns and page turner, not going to leave you disappointed–worth five stars!

Charlie Jordan is being driven across the country by a serial killer. Maybe.

Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Charlie met by the college ride share board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news – the Campus Killer, who’s tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again.

Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Charlie begins to notice discrepancies in Josh’s story.

As she begins to plan her escape from the man she is becoming certain is the killer, she starts to suspect that Josh knows exactly what she’s thinking.

Meaning that she could very well end up as his next victim.

A game of cat and mouse is about to play out. In order to win, Charlie must do only one thing . . . survive the night.

No. of pages:- 338 pages

Date published:- July 29th 2021

Publisher:- Hodder and Stoughton

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 3.5/5 stars

Here’s the thing. Ever since I read Lock Every Door, I have always wanted to read Riley Sager’s books. I have so far read Lock Every Door and Last Time I lied which I actually enjoyed and I am yet to read The Final Girls and Home Before Dark. So I was excited when Survive the Night was released and the plot sounded intriguing and interesting–a girl hitches a ride with a complete stranger who may be the serial killer that the everyone is talking about.

Here’s the thing–I loved this book–I really did. But in full words, I am having mixed reviews about this book.

Let’s start with good things about this book

• The plot sounded so interesting and intriguing that was the main reason why I wanted to read this book
• The story was set in 1991 so I had a fun time knowing the 90s music even though I already have listened to Smell Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (one of my favorite 90’s music)
• Had a fun time knowing about movie names which I made a mental note to check out some of the movies.
• The first part of the story was so intense and I was literally hooked into the book in the beginning–is Josh the real Campus Killer? Is Charlie going to be the next victim?
• And the story was fast paced a plus sign in my book for a thriller

But…there are some things I didn’t like in the book

• Charlie is a naive character–she had many chances to escape yet she chose to become the victim.
• It was a bit predictable as what was going to happen in the end.
• The ending to me was a bit vague, twists and turns were not very good in my opinion.

This may not be his best book and still, Lock Every Door will be my favorite Riley Sager book. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to read his next novel!

Our new home was supposed to be a chance to leave our past behind. But was moving here the worst mistake of our lives?

All our friends and family were gathered, glasses raised to toast our fresh start. It should have been a night for happiness and celebration. Zac and I had worked so hard for this: our first home together, just minutes from the sea. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare…

We’d invited our neighbours too. I wanted to make a good impression – to show them we’re exactly the sort of people they want living on their street.

I hadn’t thought about who they might be, the strangers I was letting in.

It was going so well. There was laughter in the air and the wine was flowing. But then I noticed the narrowed eyes, the whispers.

And then the lights went out.

As my heart thumped in my chest, all the little things that had been going wrong since we moved here flashed through my mind: the food poisoning, the arguments, the flood of nasty reviews shaking my business.

Am I going crazy? Or is someone trying to destroy us?

No. of pages:- 257 pages

Publisher:- Bookouture

Date published:- will be published on September 13th 2021

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 4.5/5 stars!

What will happen when you move into your dream house and instead ends up having a series of problems and troubles???

That’s what’s happening in this book.

Nina and Zac move into their new dream house and were greeted by a couple, Vanessa and Chris who live upstairs on the same house. As soon as they moved in, both Nina and Zac had bouts of food poisoning which signals a bad omen as many pointed out. As it turned out, it sort of did–Nina’s business turned downhill with people commenting and rating her business as one star, her products seemed to be awful on the night of the event, a power cut ruins her event. And someone was trying to break her relationship with Zac by saying that Nina was cheating behind Zac’s back. Is someone trying to sabotage Nina’s career and life? And why?

I must say, I was literally hooked into the story. Suspense was definitely there and though not much twists and turns, the book was fast paced as something on the other is happening to Nina, threatening to ruin her. Shalini Boland has done a good job drawing the reader into the story. The ending was a bit odd and I felt rushed and I kind of expected who the person might be who would ruin Nina’s life. Overall, I would say it was a gripping thriller that will keep you up all night and quiet unputdownable too!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

The clock ticks down in a heart-pounding crusade for justice

Susan Lentigo’s daughter was murdered twenty years ago—and now, at long last, this small-town waitress sets out on a road trip all the way from Upstate New York to North Dakota to witness the killer’s execution.

On her journey she discovers shocking new evidence that leads her to suspect the condemned man is innocent—and the real killer is still free. Even worse, her prime suspect has a young daughter who’s at terrible risk. With no money and no time to spare, Susan sets out to uncover the truth before an innocent man gets executed and another little girl is killed.

But the FBI refuses to reopen the case. They—and Susan’s own mother—believe she’s just having an emotional breakdown. Reaching deep, Susan finds an inner strength she never knew she had. With the help of two unlikely allies—a cynical, defiant teenage girl and the retired cop who made the original arrest—Susan battles the FBI to put the real killer behind bars. Will she win justice for the condemned man—and her daughter—at last?

No. of pages:- 304 pages

Publisher:- Oceanview Publishing

Date published:- will be published on September 7th 2021

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 4/5 stars

Here’s the thing–I did not expect this book to be really good.

A courageous heroine who after twenty years set on a journey from upstate New York to North Dakota to witness the death sentence of the man who killed her daughter some twenty years ago. However, on the journey, she finds a circumstantial evidence that seemed that the man who supposedly raped and murdered her daughter and who is behind the bars might be innocent and her daughter’s real killer might be still out. But none of them, the FBI agents and even her own mother wouldn’t believe her thinking she was still being emotional and delusional. But Susan is determined to prevent this innocent man from getting the death sentence and put the real man who is responsible behind the bars.

To me, this was somewhat an emotional read. Susan Lentigo seems to be a favorable and courageous character who would do anything to her daughter and so the character grew into me. The story is written in time span–from Present Day when Susan sets the journey to North Dakota to twenty yers ago that led her daughter Amy being murdered. The writing was flawless and engaging and the author did a good job drawing the reader to the story. I was so hooked into the book that I stayed up all night reading this book! The fact that the story is written in a realistic way that these things could happen in real life, where an innocent man could be sentenced to jail is too shocking and emotional to me. I heard this book might be made into a movie so looking forward for the movie as well.

Overall, this book is a heartbreaking, emotional read and quite unputdownable. Worth four stars.

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

Matt Witten, a graduate of Amherst and Brandeis Universities, is a TV writer, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. His television writing includes such shows as House, Pretty Little Liars, and Law & Order. His TV scripts have been nominated for an Emmy and two Edgars, and he has written four mystery novels, winning a Malice Domestic award for best debut novel. He has also written stage plays and for national magazines.

The Necklace has been optioned for film by Appian Way and Cartel Pictures, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached as producer.