Sera is obsessed with one particular true crime podcast, listening to it morning, noon and night, as she attempts to escape a life filled with disappointments. The host of the podcast, a young woman named Rachel, lives and records on her parent’s ranch in a remote area of Northern California, until she suddenly vanishes.

Sera gets into her car and travels to the place Rachel was last seen, determined to discover what happened to her. But the more Sera learns about the isolated ranch, the more uneasy she feels about what may be happening there. Rachel may not have been the first woman to disappear from the ranch, and she may not be the last...
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This book had me from page one! The last book that hooked me so quickly was “A Stranger on the Beach” by Michele Campbell, but for very different reasons. This immediately pulled me into the dysfunction of Sera, revealing how obsessed and subsumed she is by the podcast, to the point of teetering on the edge of reality. Her mixture of desperation and neuroticism reminds me of characters in the stories of Shirley Jackson, who I sort of consider the queen bee of psychological fiction.

What struck me most about the book is how evocative the writing is. There’s an enormous amount of figurative language weaved into the prose, which lends a great deal of specificity, setting it apart from other books in the genre. 

I got a slight “House of Leaves” feel while reading this, which is interesting because the story isn’t similar at all. I think what I was responding to was a mix of playful formatting (the story is peppered with former podcast episodes and quotes), as well as Sera’s unrelenting sense of isolation, which is mirrored in the setting.

One theme it explores is the feeling of seclusion versus connection, including the ways in which we muffle or mute ourselves to become what we think others would like us to be in order to fit in. Or, on the extreme end, how we may even give over control of our own lives, at times, to relieve ourselves of the weight of responsibility.

I recommend this for any fans of psychological thrillers, true crime or mysteries!

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Emmy is an Instamum, crafting and curating her experience raising her two children for the ‘squares.’ Her husband Dan is skeptical of her lucrative online persona, and it’s creating a rift in their marriage. When one of Emmy’s followers becomes obsessed, everything she’s built is threatened, along with her family itself.
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What stood out to me most about this book was the insider look at what life is actually like for one of these influencers. And man oh man, I’m not going to lie, it was equal parts fascinating and nauseating. 

I personally know someone who took a crack at doing the Instamum thing, and I’ve got to say, this book NAILS what it entails. There’s the perfectly sculpted backdrop, every aesthetic of your life planned and produced, then one little posed ‘oopsie’ that allows people to relate and say, “See, she’s human and struggles just like me.”

Ellory Lloyd is a husband and wife writing team, both of them seriously strong writers. They’ve done their research, and I would not be surprised if they also know someone personally who is an Instamum, leading to their understanding of the machinations behind it. They know this. They get this. 

This is a cautionary tale about the ways in which social media can overwhelm our lives, dictating the choices we make. The more we become editors of our own little ‘magazines,’ the less we stay connected to the present and perhaps even to ourselves.

The end is brilliant but haunting, containing the notion that any one of us can be seduced by social media, sucked in by the deep need for adoration, drained by all it demands.

This was hands down my favorite read in awhile!! I read it in twenty-four hours and couldn’t put the damn thing down.

Summary:
Mira is travelling for the holidays when a terrible snow storm forces her to get stuck for the night during a layover in Newark. Harper, Mira’s slightly older and unflappable seatmate from the flight, has decided she can’t wait out the storm, so she hatches a plan to get a rental car and continue on.

Soon, Mira finds herself in a rental car with Harper and three other young strangers from the flight. As they attempt to drive through Pennsylvania in the middle of a terrible blizzard, strange things start happening. People’s belongings are disappearing. Alliances seem to be forming. And someone in the car is clearly lying. 

If she wants to make it home alive, she’ll need to uncover the truth about these strangers before this nightmare drive turns fatal.
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This is a read that will keep you on the edge of your seat!! It is like the Young Adult version of No Exit. Or perhaps even an updated, dark thriller version of The Breakfast Club. 

It happens almost in real time, following what seems like just a few hours of a treacherous drive during the middle of the night in which one bad thing after another happens, forcing Mira and the others to make difficult -- and potentially deadly -- decisions.

It was especially fun to watch Mira attempt to get a read on these four strangers, while her opinions, suspicions and alliances continued to shift. Each of the characters was pleasingly complex and specific, and their lives and secrets were revealed in a slow and intriguing way, giving the reader -- like Mira -- reasons to suspect and fear each in turn. At certain points, you just sort of suspect EVERYONE.

Overall, I REALLY felt like I was in the hands of a very capable writer. This is the first book I’ve read by Natalie D. Richards, and it will NOT be the last. I intend to go back and read others now!!

Also, this needs to be a movie, STAT! Who’s working on that? Is anyone working on that??

I really can’t recommend this one enough. It’s such a fun, wintery thrill!!

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​This is a BOTM pick for December, so I’m sharing my thoughts on it now in the hopes that you’ll choose this book!!

Summary:
Jane arrives in Birmingham, Alabama in need of money, so she walks dogs for residents in a wealthy enclave called Thornfield Estates. She’s treated as ‘the help’ amongst the country club set in this community, but she rests easy knowing that they don’t take enough interest in her to find out that Jane isn’t her real name.

Then she meets a handsome widower named Eddie, whose wife Bea drowned in a recent boating accident. Eddie  is immediately drawn to Jane, and she is soon pulled into his life, struggling to fit in amongst the wealthy lifestyles of those at Thornfield.

Jane is increasingly concerned about the fate of Eddie’s wife, as well as the secrets about herself she’s tried to keep hidden. When it comes to their future, it seems like her past -- or his -- may pose a deadly threat.
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This was a very fun read!! I’ll read Rachel Hawkin’s writing any day. As an author, she is decisive and playful, and she comes across with such confidence in her narration. Her skill at writing YA translates very well into a psychological thriller!! 

The emotions of Jane are incredibly heightened and swing wildly, and there’s some YA-type sass, too, to some of her dialogue and internal thoughts. This puts us into the mind of a main character who is boldly crafted, flawed and unreliable (my favorite type!).

This has a southern gothic element, with a backdrop of Birmingham McMansions owned by wealthy athleisure housewives. It’s fun to watch Jane try to shoe-horn herself into the lifestyles of the wealthy, ladies-who-lunch set.

This story has parallels with “Jane Eyre,” although it’s definitely a modern retelling. There’s some similarities with Daphne Maurier’s “Rebecca,” too. 

I highly recommend this for those who love psychological thrillers, but also those who enjoy well-written YA, New Adult and even romance.

This hits the shelves on Jan 5, 2021 or you can get it as an early release with BOTM right now, for the month of December!! 

Thanks so much to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the ARC!!