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Showing posts with the label MysteryThriller

Book Review: The New Mother by Nora Murphy

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  A relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling story — a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia. Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It's hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it's murder. Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be. Enter Paul, the neighbor. Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest. But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it? I received this ARC last year and I just wasn't able to read it in time.  The New Mother by Nora Murphy My rating: 4 of 5 stars At first, I was so confused by Natalie's behavior. It made it ...

Book Review: The Debutantes by Olivia Worley

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  Jessica Goodman meets The Agathas in this taut, twisty YA thriller set in the glittering world of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where secrets—and bodies—never stay buried. For the New Orleans elite, the Les Masques Ball is sure to be the social event of the season—if they can avoid another dead Queen. When debutante Margot Landry was found dead the morning after her reign at last year’s ball, it was a tragedy, but not a shocking one. Margot was a wild child with a self-destructive streak, nothing like this year’s Queen, Lily LeBlanc. With a perfectly poised debutante on the throne, everything is going according to plan…until the ball is hijacked by a mysterious figure in a Jester costume. That night, Lily sends a text to three of the Maids on her royal court—her best friend, Vivian; her boyfriend's sister, Piper; and April, her former frenemy—asking them all to meet the next morning. But Lily never shows up. On the surface, these three debutantes don’t have anything in common except...

Review: Under Her Spell by K.L. Cerra

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  A woman who returns to her hometown to investigate her childhood friend’s disappearance soon finds herself embroiled in a deadly web of half truths, cover-ups, and dark magic. On the surface, Liv Edwards has a near-perfect life—a handsome new fiancé, an apartment in Boston, and plans to launch a career in law. No one would suspect how hard she’s worked to conceal the strange darkness that often bubbles up inside her. But Liv’s polished façade threatens to crack with the arrival of a letter from her childhood best friend, Sam. The chilling message is folded into the shape of a heart like the notes they passed in high school: I need help. Liv is still haunted by what she did to destroy her friendship with Sam. High school was hard enough without having to start over in a new town, but with Sam, Liv grew into herself like never before. Now Liv resolves to do right by Sam—except when she returns to her small New England hometown, she is too late. Sam has disappeared and clues suggest...

Review: What The Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman

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  Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door in a chilling story of murder and intrigue set in a well-to-do DC suburb. Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses… When Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb, they are ecstatic. Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and their glamorous neighbors welcome the couple with open arms. Things are looking up, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind. But the neighborhood’s picture-perfect image is shattered when their neighbor Teddy – a handsome, successful father of three – is found dead on the steep banks of the Potomac River. The community is shaken, and as the police struggle to identify and apprehend the killer, tension in the neighborhood mounts and long-buried secrets start to emerge. In the midst of the turmoil, Alexis takes comfort in her budding friendship with Teddy’s beautiful...

The Butcher And The Wren by Alaina Urquhart

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  From the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast  Morbid , a thrilling debut novel told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and the medical examiner following where his trail of victims leads Something dark is lurking in the Louisiana bayou: a methodical killer with a penchant for medical experimentation is hard at work completing his most harrowing crime yet, taunting the authorities who desperately try to catch up. But forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes, and years of experience working in the Medical Examiner's office, she's never encountered a case she couldn't solve. Until now. Case after case is piling up on Wren's examination table, and soon she is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse chase with a brutal murderer getting more brazen by the day. An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide,  The But...