My eyes light up at psychological thrillers, True Crime & great literary fiction
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 I'm so excited to have received an advanced copy of this one from St. Martins Press!
I LOVE Hawkins' voice and style as a writer and was a big fan of her last thriller, THE WIFE UPSTAIRS. This upcoming one by her - coming out Jan. 2022 - is being described as a 'deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set on an isolated Pacific island with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.' I mean, come on now, you know you had me at 'gothic'... I can NOT walk away from a book that's described as 'gothic.' It's like my achilles heel - I am powerless against it. It pulls me in everytime, like a damn tractor beam. What's a descriptor, setting or type of story that pulls you in every time?
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 I’ve been listening to this one on audio this week and enjoying it.
Do you prefer audio or print? I prefer print, but audio allows me to experience SO many more books, because I can listen while I do laundry, drive, walk, do ice sculptures, jump from planes, etc.(Okay, less those last two, but you get my point… Now, to this book. Am I keeping all of the characters straight? Sort of. Okay, fine. No, not really. Sometimes it’s hard with audiobooks when there are a lot of characters, isn’t it? But I kind of basically get who people are, and I think that Alice has her work cut out for her. Have a great start to the weekend, friends! Book Summary: When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive… As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before. Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem… Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ARC!  What makes this girl happy? Going into the weekend with a sweet doggie to sit and three exciting new reads from Book of the Month!
What makes YOU happy? For me, I guess it's simply dogs and books and Fridays. I'm a simple girl, with simple pleasures. Whatever it is that makes you happy, I hope you get to do it this weekend, friend! About these books: THE DAMAGE by Caitlin Wahrer Book summary: When a small-town family is pushed to the brink, how far will they go to protect one of their own? An edgy, propulsive read about what we will do in the name of love and blood. Tony has always looked out for his younger brother, Nick. So when he's called to a hospital bed where Nick is lying battered and bruised after a violent sexual assault, his protective instincts flare, and a white-hot rage begins to build. As a small-town New England lawyer, Tony's wife, Julia, has cases involving kids all the time. When Detective Rice gets assigned to this one, Julia feels they're in good hands. Especially because she senses that Rice, too, understands how things can quickly get complicated. Very complicated. After all, one moment Nick was having a drink with a handsome stranger; the next, he was at the center of an investigation threatening to tear not only him, but his entire family, apart. And now his attacker, out on bail, is disputing Nick's version of what happened. As Julia tries to help her brother-in-law, she sees Tony's desire for revenge, to fix things for Nick, getting out of control. Tony is starting to scare her. And before long, she finds herself asking: does she really know what her husband is capable of? Or of what she herself is? Exploring elements of doubt, tragedy, suspense, and justice, The Damage is an all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer. It’s out now! --- WE ARE THE BRENNANS by Tracey Lange Book Summary: In the vein of Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest, Tracey Lange’s We Are the Brennans explores the staying power of shame―and the redemptive power of love―in an Irish Catholic family torn apart by secrets. When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it’s not easy. She deserted them all―and her high school sweetheart―five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions. Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family’s pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets―secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes―and ultimately find a way forward, together. Out August 3! --- 56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard Book Summary: No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead. 56 DAYS AGO Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores. 35 DAYS AGO When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who—and what—he really is. TODAY Detectives arrive at Oliver’s apartment to discover a decomposing body inside. Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime? Out August 17!  One sentence summary:
Two years ago, for some unknown reason, Addison developed amnesia, but after she rebuilt her life and is now engaged to be married, a man from the past finds her, claiming to be her husband and the father of a young child she didn’t know she had. My thoughts: Fans of Liv Constantine - the pen name of the sister duo behind THE LAST MRS. PARRISH - will most likely devour and enjoy this latest from them as it’s full of the same twists and turns they typically deliver. I only recently listened to the audiobook of THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, and I loved it! I thought it had strong characters, a unique premise and writing with a good amount of polish. Their latest thriller is definitely an engaging page-turner with lots of twists! Sadly, this one didn’t hang together as well for me, and I felt myself slipping out of the story a few times because the premise - and the reveals towards the end - seemed a bit too far-fetched, even for my taste. But there are plenty of thriller fans who aren’t bothered by such things, and I think they’ll easily look past it and enjoy the ride! If you’re in the mood to shut out the world and read a shocking, twisting thriller by the pool, this could be the summer read for you! This comes out July 6! Thank you Harper for the ARC!  I would LOVE to see more of this type of thoughtful true crime! Yes, I found it fascinating given my personal obsession with psychology. But more importantly, this type of story reminds us of the flaws within our own American institutions and (hopefully) inspires us to make them less dehumanizing and more effective.
Also, a huge THANK YOU to Macmillan Audio for giving me auto-approval on all of their titles! This is the first one I listened to after receiving that honor, and I look forward to many more! One-sentence summary: This work of true crime nonfiction pulls back the curtain on the state of our current psychiatric institutions by exploring the experiences of a young man named Brian Bechtold, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia after murdering his parents and has been locked away within the rather hopeless environment of a maximum security psychiatric hospital for 27 years with what appears to be no chance of ever leaving. My thoughts: This book is a cross between HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD, a nonfiction work that explores a family in which six children were diagnosed with schizophrenia, and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, which shows the dark underbelly of America’s psychiatric wards. While the act that Bechtold committed at the age of 22 is horrible, Brottman - through her extensive research and ample compassion - is able to bring to light his humanity. She explores his struggles to find either a better existence within - or a way out of - a rigid psychiatric hospital that seems to be doing too little to rehabilitate its patients beyond prescribing copious amounts of drugs. His story, and her telling of it, reveals the flaws with which these institutions continue to operate, with the blessing of the legal system, and how this ‘serves’ society by locking away those with mental disorders indefinitely. The latter part of the book touched on the high turnover of staff within the wards, sharing that those people who are more empathetic are often driven away from the job because of how difficult it is. I would have loved to hear more about this, and in particular, I think the inclusion of the stories and viewpoints of a psychiatrist and nurse from Brian’s ward would have added another dimension to the book. More specifically, I wonder how the policies of these institutions, along with the pressure the system puts on the staff to meet certain benchmarks, influences and perhaps inhibits them from doing their best work. Besides being an excellent non-fiction author, Brottman is a certified psychoanalyst, and she seems to have a deep understanding of the current psychiatric landscape. In the book, she shares the shifts in thinking that have occurred around schizophrenia, which I found fascinating. And this was narrated well by Christina Delaine. I’d love to see more books like this in the true crime genre! I highly recommend this for anyone interested in true crime, psychology or the criminal justice system! This comes out July 6! Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ARC!  There's nothing better on a Sunday than a good read, the NYT Sunday crossword puzzle and some Beef Rendang from Simpang Asia, my favorite Indonesian restaurant in Los Angeles! So, I loved this book and read it in 24 hours! One sentence summary: It took Hannah quite some time to finally find the love of her life, but once she found Owen and married him, he disappeared, leaving her to care for his very ‘teenage’ daughter Bailey - who has yet to accept her as a stepmother - while she seeks to find him and uncover the secrets that led him into hiding. My thoughts on the book: The narrative of this one alternates between past and present, interspersing the backstory of Hannah and Owen’s relationship - which is rather sweet, I must admit -- amidst the current search for him. I wouldn’t categorize this as a thriller, as it’s rather light on the suspense and action compared to most in the genre. BUT I still devoured this in 24 hours and couldn’t put it down. I really DID enjoy it a lot, even though domestic suspense isn’t typically my go-to. I think what works best for this one are the relationships - between Owen, Hannah and Bailey - that seem touching and authentic, and Dave’s solid, easy-to-read writing. As I said, I found the backstory of Owen and Hannah moving. But even more of note, Hannah and sixteen-year-old Bailey share an interesting and very realistic arc, and I thought it was refreshing to see an authentic portrayal of a difficult stepmother/stepdaughter relationship. This trauma of losing a husband and father, respectively, forces them to work together, and the depiction of that process seemed incredibly well done to me. Dave’s writing just seems to flow so well. It’s like buttah, I swear. I’m not sure how she does it, but my hat is off. I can see this making an excellent streaming series, so I’m excited for the adaptation that’s being made with Julia Roberts! For those who want a break from pulse-pounding thrillers or who enjoy domestic suspense, I highly recommend this one! It’s an easy yet moving summer read It’s out now!  Riley Sager remains one of my favorite authors in the Mystery and Thriller genre! This entire story has a noir feel to it. It’s very visual, and it reads like an old, 1950’s classic movie, which happens to be the film genre the main character is obsessed with.
The action takes place over about six hours, and I DO think it’s a book you should read on a lazy Saturday or Sunday, so you don’t have to pause and pick it back up later. Sadly, I did NOT do this and wish that I had. Instead, I read it over a week and went long stretches between reading during the midpoint of the book, which killed some of the momentum. This was not Sager’s fault, since he’s such a master at building tension. No, I blame life and having to be an adult. But during the last third of the book, I dropped everything and HAD to finish. There are only a handful of characters in this, yet somehow the book contains incredibly effective twists, turns and reveals. Only Sager can pull this kind of thing off, I swear. I sort of figured some things out, but it didn’t matter -- the ending STILL blew me away. In fact, while this may not be my favorite Sager book (a spot still reserved for LOCK EVERY DOOR), it may very well be my favorite climax and ending to a Sager book. And honestly, it may be in the number two slot - which is saying a lot! You don't want to miss this one! It comes out June 29th! Buy it, read it, love it! Thank you Dutton for the ARC!  I was blown away by Michaelides’s THE SILENT PATIENT a couple of years ago, like so many other readers, so I was so excited to get my hands on this one!
His latest book follows Mariana, a therapist who is pulled into a mystery when her niece Zoe’s friend is found murdered in Cambridge, and she becomes suspicious of a secret society of female students at the University led by a Greek tragedy professor named Edward Fosca. The start of this novel, which immediately dives into Mariana’s grief at the loss of her husband, really moved me and caused me to instantly connect with her. And since she is a therapist, I enjoyed seeing things through her lens as it allows the narration to fold in psychological theory and an interesting analysis of certain characters. I also loved how much the setting of Cambridge University (which apparently is a stand-in for Trinity College, where Michaelides studied English literature) came to life. It was so vibrant and alive it seemed like a character in the book. The comparison of Edward Fosca to Lord Byron made my nerd-heart sing, I’m not gonna lie! And I found the ending shocking and moving and satisfying. I SO, SO, SO appreciate how Michaelides elevates the mystery and thriller genre by weaving art, literature, psychology and mythology into his stories. I will continue to read whatever he writes! This hit the shelves yesterday, June 15!! Thank you Celadon Books for the ARC!  When Beth was a child, her mother walked out and never came back. Now that Beth is approaching forty, settled in with a good career and loving family, her long lost mother shows up at her doorstep, and soon her life begins to unravel.
--- I loved THE PERFECT COUPLE, so I was thrilled to get a copy of Jackie Kabler’s latest thriller! When I read her writing, I feel like I can sit back and relax because I know I’m in good hands. I connected with Beth from page one and found myself immediately on the ride of a single mother juggling a full-time career while caring for an aging father. I felt her joy when her estranged mother showed up on her doorstep, and when things began going wrong for her, I found myself cringing, feeling her embarrassment, confusion and paranoia. Like a good main character in a psychological thriller, Beth starts drinking a fair amount in an attempt to deal, and I must say, under those circumstances, I can’t blame her. The supporting characters are all incredibly specific and believable, and while Beth tries to grapple with the notion of someone intentionally trying to ruin her life, there is certainly plenty of suspicious behavior happening around her. I’ve seen some reviews stating how easy it is to figure out the first big reveal, but I have to say, I think that’s all part of the plan. It makes the twists that follow all the more shocking! I think Kabler is so adept at what she does that she’s just having fun playing around with what the reader can figure out when. As thrillers go, this one-part psychological, one-part domestic. It’s a fun, perfect-for-summer page-turner that never gets too dark and ends in a fun flurry of surprises and twists. This comes out on June 4, 2021! Thank you One More Chapter and HarperCollins UK for the ARC! |
