My eyes light up at psychological thrillers, True Crime & great literary fiction
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 I was THRILLED to be able to attend live opera again this past weekend! So I took a pic of this book outside the theater where the LA Opera performs, next to my during-intermission Pinot Noir, since a matinee seems to make day-drinking socially acceptable.
I saw Il Trovatore by Verdi. And spoiler alert: it does NOT end well for anyone. Anyway, about this book, which I really enjoyed... One-sentence summary: Sarah Larsen is struggling to make ends meet in NYC until she is offered the position of Nanny to a glamorous woman who lives in a penthouse on the Upper West Side, but by the time Sarah begins to learn the dark secrets of her employer, it’s impossible for her to escape a job that may very well destroy her. ------- This psychological thriller pulled me in from page one! It was such a treat to read this after a string of upcoming releases I’ve read, over the last few weeks, that didn’t manage to grab and hold my attention. You know what I mean: the types of books that make you feel like finishing them is a chore, and you’re tired after a long day, so you skip the book, go onto social media and scroll through all the posts that come up after you’ve done a search for #brianlaundrie. You get me, right? Anyway, long story short (I know, too late), for me, this book was pure pleasure. I never wanted to put it down at all. In fact, I most likely would have read it in one day if I didn’t have work and other unfair ‘lifing’ obligations that got in my way. First of all, and perhaps most importantly, I LOVED the unique premise of it. Secondly, I really enjoyed the main character. She may not have made the best decisions, but the circumstances surrounding her -- like a desperate financial situation -- helped to lend her choices some solid believability. Overall, I found her very likeable and easily got on her ride. In fact, the character of Sarah, and the desperate situation she finds herself in, reminded me quite a bit of Riley Sager’s LOCK EVERY DOOR, which is also set in NYC and happens to be one of my favorite psychological thrillers EVER. Anyway, there’s very solid thriller plotting here, and the story has a good number of twists and shocks that should keep mystery and thriller fans happy. As an added bonus, it has a nice creepy factor that is perfect for the month of October. This comes out today! Thank you Bantam and Random House for the ARC!
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 It's Thursday afternoon (in my time zone anyway), so it's time for a fun factoid!
Where does the phrase cloud cuckoo land come from, you might be wondering? The word cloud-cuckoo-land denotes a realm of fantasy, dreams or whimsical, foolish behavior. (Sounds like just my kind of realm!) And the term was coined by the Greek comic dramatist Aristophanes in The Birds. (Thank you, Google, for making me sound smart). Anyway, moving on...I'm excited to be going into the weekend reading this next novel from Anthony Doerr, the Pulitzer-prize winning author of ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. The NYT review is calling CLOUD CUCKOO LAND 'an ode to storytelling.' 😍 Q: What will you be reading this weekend? Brief Summary: Set in Constantinople in the fifteenth century, in a small town in present-day Idaho, and on an interstellar ship decades from now, Anthony Doerr’s gorgeous third novel is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope—and a book. In Cloud Cuckoo Land, Doerr has created a magnificent tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectedness—with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and with those who will be here after we’re gone. This just hit the shelves this week! Thank you Scribner and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!  Happy Pub Day to this one! AS GOOD AS DEAD is out, ya’ll!
Q: What’s your favorite book series? YA or Adult or whatever...I’ll accept any answers. This is, without a doubt, one of mine!!! My thoughts: The first half of this book, in all honesty, is one of the best, most thrilling things I’ve read in the YA genre. (And despite the fact that my feed is focused on thrillers, I’ve read a LOT of YA). The second half of this book is very creative and exceptionally bold. But to be honest, for me, the first half of the book was so incredibly tight and tense and suspenseful that once I hit the midpoint - and the plot took a certain shift - the beautiful tension build was somewhat deflated. Because of this, it took me one Saturday afternoon to read the first half of the book and an entire week to finish it. It strays from a typical mystery-plotting framework about halfway through, and although it made my own attention wane, it seems like a lot of other fans of the series weren’t bothered by this at all. This probably comes down to the fact, in part, that Jackson created such a compelling main character in Pip. While Jackson does a great job seamlessly providing backstories and reminders from the first and second book, you DO need to read these in order. I highly recommend starting out with Book 1: A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER. This first book of the series is a quick read with tight plotting, and it’ll pull you in from page one. My favorite book of the series remains Book 2 because it is a tightly plotted, traditional mystery that dives into deeper themes -- like the failures within our justice system -- and allows Pip to go down the road of being less of a “Good Girl.” She definitely continued right on down that path in this last book of the series, too, and I very much appreciated it! In summary, Holly Jackson is a phenomenal writer who has created a wonderful main character in Pip and hasn’t been afraid to make this female character bold, persistent and willing to get a little dirty for the greater good. Just the kind of character I love. This is out today, Sept. 28!  One-sentence summary:
Ted is an antisocial alcoholic who lives with a teenage girl that isn’t allowed out of the house and a religious cat who thinks in English, but when a new neighbor who is on a mission to find out what happened to her missing sister moves in next door, she threatens to bring things to light. Aaaand, believe it or not, it only gets stranger from there... I listened to the audiobook of this one. I really thought the first half of the book was incredibly unique and compelling, but at a certain point, I started to get lost. I had to go back and relisten several times to figure out what was happening. Finally, towards the end, I just felt completely lost to a point that I didn’t think going back would even help me, and I was just too frustrated to try. I’m going to be honest with you: I only have about 25 minutes of this audiobook left, and I’m giving up. I think I’m frustrated that the story -- the events both in the past and the present -- seem to keep being retold in a different way or changing. Um, I don’t like that, and I just don’t understand what is happening, and I give up. I think my experience of this may have been very different if I read it. In fact, I’ve seen others who listened to the audiobook express confusion and frustration, while a lot of people who actually read the book - in print - seemed to have really enjoyed it. I’ll probably get the print version of it at some point and give it another chance. In summary, the narrators are great, but my advice is this: if you haven’t read this yet but are considering it, skip the audiobook. Get yourself a hard copy or the ebook and read the thing. But maybe life is just busy and my patience is short. Please feel free to chime in if you’ve either read or listened to this and agree or disagree with me! Which leads me to my question of the day…. Q: What’s an audiobook that really frustrated or confused you? I think you know my answer, so I’m signing off… Have a good Tuesday eve, friends!  I’m thinking of the precious lives that were lost or forever changed on this day twenty years ago. And of the everyday people who were true heroes that day -- some who made it out, too many who didn't.
I love NYC and I love New Yorkers. New Yorkers know how to be there for each other. If you ask a stranger on the streets of New York for help, you’ll get it. In honor of the city and the state, I’ve put together a stack of books set in New York. And next to the NY stack, on my ipad, you’ll see my latest listen: Missing on 9/11. This true crime-esque podcast is about a young woman, Dr. Sneha Philip, who lived near the twin towers and went missing the day before the attack happened. But more than that, it’s an examination of what happened that morning for those folks who were at ground zero, just trying to get through their day, until the area was thrust into chaos. It’s also haunting for me to listen to because I used to live there. In the podcast, there’s mention of Century 21, a store that sold discount designer brands near the towers. I used to shop there. I’d gone up to Windows on the World once and awhile for drinks. And of course, I’d been down below, in the subway stations and subterranean shops. It’s so strange to think that it’s all gone now. Anyway, the podcast is incredibly timely, so if you’re interested, here’s a link: tinyurl.com/4tjuhy9u And if you do give it a listen, let me know what you think! Description of Missing on 9/11: Sept. 10, 2001. One block from the World Trade Center. Security cameras capture the last known images of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, shopping. The next day, chaos. What happened to Sneha? Be well friends  I just posted a giveaway on Insta, so I thought I'd share it here in case my blog readers want to enter!
The details are below, but you need to enter on Insta: https://bit.ly/3hogUXG Good luck!!! ---- I WANT TO GIVE AWAY SOME BOOKS! And since I’ve got extra hardcover copies of these two new releases, I’m excited to be able to throw them in the mix! The 1st prize winner will receive either one of these books or the book of their choice up to $20 in value -- winner’s choice! The 2nd prize winner will get to choose one of these two hardcovers! The 3rd prize winner will receive the other hardcover! This is open to anyone - those in the U.S. or living internationally! Here’s how to enter -
Giveaway will end Friday, Sept. 24th at 12 am ET. Winners will receive a DM from me and have 48 hours to respond, otherwise another winner will be chosen. The winners will be shared in my Stories! Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Must be a bookish account. Must be willing to provide a shipping address to send the book to. Giveaway not affiliated with Instagram or anybody besides the account hosting. Please don’t tag random people you do not follow for entries.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and have survived the Tuesday that feels like a Monday. I did (but only just barely, to be honest). It was a bit of a day of many things going wrong, but not this latter part of it….
I got to watch the sun set in the west while opening up my BOTM box, and this made my book-loving, nerd-heart soar. Here’s my add-on, next to the setting sun. I chose it because I love the work of Andrea Bartz, and I’m glad it seems like she’s finally getting more of the recognition she deserves. And this title...I mean, come ON. It’s haunting in just the right way. Who is ‘We’? And why was this ‘We’ ‘Never Here’? Also, it reminds me of “You Were Never Really Here,” an amazing film directed by one of the most bold and bada** female directors, Lynne Ramsay and based off of a short story of the same name by Jonathan Ames. Anyway, I digress. The title of this book makes me want to stick my nose into it and not look up until I’ve reached the end, while ignoring everything I’m supposed to be doing. Sadly, this is not the way life works. Yes, I’m a sucker for a good title. And coming up with a good title can be SO hard. Although I guess some people are just really good at it. Besides this one, some other recent titles I have loved include: The Madness of Crowds, Velvet was the Night and Dark Matter Q: What’s a title - or some titles - that made you feel desperate to pick up a book? Have a good Tuesday that feels like Monday night, friends Book Summary: Emily is having the time of her life—she’s in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of the trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she brought back to their room attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year’s trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again—can lightning really strike twice? Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving headfirst into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their cover-ups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can Emily outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom—even her life?  Happy Almost-Friday! I’m really enjoying listening to this one on audio.
Over the last year, what audiobook was your favorite listen? For me, before this one, I’d say it was a tie between Behind Her Eyes and White Ivy. This post is short because the week has been loooooong, and I’m ready for a three day weekend, y’all. Book Summary: This is the story of a murderer. A stolen child. Revenge. This is the story of Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. All these things are true. And yet some of them are lies. You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. But you're wrong. In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, something lies buried. But it's not what you think… Thank Macmillan Audio for the listen!  I am beyond thrilled to have received an early copy of this one!! Hepworth's latest release, THE GOOD SISTER, which came out in April, has been one of my favorite reads this year.
This is in large part because of how brilliantly Hepworth crafts the character of Fern. Through this character, she allows the reader to experience how a particular person on the autistic spectrum might see the world, and it just feels so empathetic and authentic. According to Hepworth, much of the humor that arises from being in the mind of Fern is because her lens allows neurotypical people to realize just how silly some of the things that they do are. (I got this from an interview she did with Carol Fitzgerald on @thebookreport network). Hepworth’s other bestsellers include The Secrets of Midwives (2015), The Things We Keep (2016), The Mother's Promise (2017), The Family Next Door (2018) and The Mother In Law (April 2019). This upcoming one will hit the shelves next Spring. A huge thank you to St. Martin's Press for the Advanced Copy -- I can't wait to dive in!! Book summary: Stephen Aston is getting married again. The only problem is, he's still married to his first wife, even though she is in a care facility for dementia. But he'll take care of that easily, by divorcing her--even if his adult daughters protest. Tully and Rachel Aston look upon Heather as nothing but an interloper. Heather is the same age as Rachel and even younger than Tully. Clearly she's a golddigger and after their father's money. Heather has secrets that she's keeping close, and reasons of her own for wanting to marry Stephen. With their mother unable to speak for herself, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family's secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is. But will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses...in all of them?  Look what arrived in the mail! No, I'm not talking about the beautiful handmade woven basket that arrived as part of a gift from my best friend and was purchased from Agowa, which helps empower women in West Africa -- although that was exciting to receive, too! I'm talking about the latest book from Lapena! So, as you may know, Shari Lapena writes great stand-alone domestic thrillers. Apparently, when she sat down to write her first thriller, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR, she set out to create a 'one-sit' thriller -- common parlance for a page-turner so compelling that you can't put the book down and therefore read the entire thing in one sitting. These are my favorite types of thrillers, and if I think a book on my TBR has that potential, I'll reserve it for the weekend. If a book forces me to finish it in one sitting on a Saturday or Sunday, the thrill at having experienced a one-sit nearly overtakes my shame at still being in my pajamas and on the couch deep into the late afternoon, sometimes evening, depending on the length of said book. As a reader chasing a one-sit, you must be willing to risk subjecting yourself to this type of sloth, and I'm not talking about the cute and furry three-toed kind here. Although on those one-sit days, to be honest, I probably don't look too dissimilar to this guy...  Anyway, when it came to creating one-sits, Lapena wildly succeeded!
This one, her latest book, has been pretty high on the NYT Bestseller List over the last few weeks and was an August BOTM (Book of the Month) pick. I can't wait to dive in! And yes, I'll start it on the weekend. The book summary is below, along with a list of Lapena's other titles. Book summary: In this family, everyone is keeping secrets—even the dead. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there, and Fred and Sheila Merton certainly are rich. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered after a fraught Easter dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated. Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of the siblings is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you'd know. THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE AN UNWANTED GUEST SOMEONE WE KNOW THE END OF HER |