Month in Review: December 2015

Here are my reading stats for December!  Books read:  13  Books I read:  Flash & Bones — Kathy Reichs (audio book) What She Knew — Gilly Macmillan Rose Harbor in Bloom — Debbie Macomber (audio book) The Distance — Helen Giltrow (audio book) A Wedding on Primrose Street — Sheila Roberts (e-book) Night Blindness — Susan Strecker Smoke — Catherine McKenzie (audio book) Love Letters — Debbie Macomber (audio book)…

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Review: Smoke by Catherine McKenzie (audio)

Title: Smoke Author: Catherine McKenzie Narrator: Amy McFadden, Cassandra Campbell, & Danny Campbell Published: October 2015, Brilliance Audio / Lake Union Publishing Length: 9 hours 51 minutes / ARC e-copy 370 pages Source: Publisher / Netgalley From the internationally bestselling author Catherine McKenzie comes an evocative tale of two women navigating the secrets and lies at the heart of a wildfire threatening their town. After a decade-long career combating wildfires,…

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Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (audio)

Title: The Nightingale Author: Kristin Hannah Narrator: Polly Stone Published: February 2015, Macmillan Audio Length: 17 hours 26 minutes Source: Library In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are. FRANCE, 1939 In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The View from Prince Street by Mary Ellen Taylor (Giveaway Closed!)

Title: The View from Prince Street Author: Mary Ellen Taylor Series: Alexandria, #2 Published: January 2016, Berkley Format: Paperback, 352 pages The author of The Union Street Bakery and At the Corner of King Street returns to Alexandria, Virginia, with a heartfelt tale of reconnection. Rae McDonald was fifteen when a car accident took her sister’s life and threw her own into reckless turmoil. When she got pregnant a year…

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The Sunday Post #95 (12.27.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.         I can’t believe this is the last…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 25

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      Still doing pretty well with my goal this month of hitting 10k every day – I’m 22 for 25 days…not too bad. I didn’t quite make it on the 24th – that was a travel day for me, plus I was visiting my sister and nieces and then Christmas Eve is our big family…

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Review: What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

Title: What She Knew Author: Gilly Macmillan Published: December 2015, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: Paperback, 496 pages Source: Publisher In her enthralling debut, Gilly Macmillan explores a mother’s search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller as gripping and skillful as The Girl on the Train and The Guilty One. In a heartbeat, everything changes… Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben,…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 18

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      So far I’ve managed to hit my target of 10k steps 17 out of 18 days this month…not too bad!!! The one day I didn’t do it, I was pretty close, but was so tired and had a really bad headache. Oh well!   Here’s how my week went:      Dec 12: …

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Book Spotlight, Guest Post & Excerpt: Seized by Elizabeth Heiter

Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Heiter back to Always With a Book. Elizabeth’s new book, Seized, the 3rd book in her Profiler series,  will be published at the end of the month. This is one of my favorite series and I’ll be reviewing it in the coming weeks, but for now, enjoy this great guest post and brief excerpt!!! Title: Seized Author: Elizabeth Heiter Series: The Profiler, #3 Published:…

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Review: The Distance by Helen Giltrow (audio)

Title: The Distance Author: Helen Giltrow Series: Charlotte Alton, #1 Narrator: Rachel Atkins Published: September 2014, Random House Audio / Doubleday Length: 13 hours 27 minutes / ARC e-copy 368 pages Source: Personal copy via Audible/ Netgalley A dark, ultra-contemporary, and relentlessly paced debut thriller about a London society woman trying to put her secret criminal past behind her, and the hit man who comes to her with an impossible…

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Short & Sweet Review: Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Spider Bones Author: Kathy Reichs  Series: Temperance Brennan, #13  Narrator: Linda Emond  Published: August 2010, Simon & Schuster Audio  Length: 9 hours 30 minutes  Source: Library Kathy Reichs—#1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX television hit Bones—returns with the thirteenth riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. John Lowery was declared dead in 1968—the victim of a Huey crash in Vietnam, his body buried…

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Review: Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich (audio)

Title: Tricky Twenty-Two Author: Janet Evanovich Series: Stephanie Plum, #22 Narrator: Lorelei King Published: November 2015, Random House Audio Length: 6 hours 27 minutes Source: Library Something big is brewing in Trenton, N.J., and it could blow at any minute. Stephanie Plum might not be the world’s greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she’s being played. Ken Globovic (aka Gobbles), hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal…

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Review: Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber (audio)

Title: Rose Harbor in Bloom Author: Debbie Macomber Series: Rose Harbor, #2 Narrator: Lorelei King Published: August 2013, Random House Audio / Ballantine Books Length: 9 hours 6 minutes / ARC E-copy, 336 pages Source: Library / Netgalley Hailed as “the reigning queen of women’s fiction” (The Sacramento Bee), Debbie Macomber is renowned for her novels of love, friendship, and the promise of fresh starts. Now Macomber returns to the…

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The Sunday Post #94 (12.13.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.      It’s so hard to believe that this is December…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 11

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      It was a good week – and I’m still hitting my goal of 10k steps every day in December!!! I’ve had a lot of running around to do this week, so that’s where I got a lot of my steps, but I also took advantage of the warm weather we’ve been having (weird for…

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Review: The Hundred Gifts by Jennifer Scott

Title: The Hundred Gifts Author: Jennifer Scott Published: October 2015, NAL Format: Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher The national bestselling author of The Sister Season shares a new novel about a woman who discovers the spirit of the season is truly in the giving…. With the holidays around the corner, empty-nester Bren Epperson realizes that for the first time in decades, she has no large family to cook for, no celebration…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima (Giveaway closed)

Title: Killing Trail Author: Margaret Mizushima Series: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery, #1 Published: December 2015, Crooked Lane Books Format: Hardcover, 320 pages When a young girl is found dead in the mountains outside Timber Creek, life-long resident Officer Mattie Cobb and her partner, K-9 police dog Robo, are assigned to the case that has rocked the small Colorado town. With the help of Cole Walker, local veterinarian and a…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Once Shadows Fall by Robert Daniels (Giveaway closed)

Title: Once Shadows Fall Author: Robert Daniels Published: December 2015, Crooked Lane Books Format: Hardcover, 352 pages After years of paying her dues on the force, Beth Sturgis has earned her place as a detective for the Robbery-Homicide division of the Atlanta PD. Now, she’s heading up a major manhunt for a potential serial killer who’s working his way inward from the outskirts of the city. The copycat elements in…

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Review: The Word Game by Steena Holmes

Title: The Word Game Author: Steena Holmes  Published: November 2015, Lake Union Publishing Format: ARC E-book, 222 pages Source: Netgalley For overprotective parent Alyson Ward, any time her daughter, Lyla, is out of sight is reason to panic. So it’s a big step for her when she lets Lyla attend a sleepover at her cousin’s house. Comforted by the knowledge that her sister, Tricia, is the chaperone, Alyson does the…

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The Sunday Post #93 (12.6.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.       Thank goodness for audio books!!! I feel like…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 4

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      I’ve decided to challenge myself this month to do 10,000 steps each day…I want to end 2015 strong!!! So far, so good. I’ve also increased my water intake – partly because I’ve had my headache meds upped, so it’s really important for me to make sure I drink lots of water, but it’s also…

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Review: Center of Gravity by Laura McNeill (audio)

Title: Center of Gravity Author: Laura McNeill Narrator: Lisa Larsen  Published: July 2015, Thomas Nelson on Brilliance Audio Length: 10 hours 11 minutes Source: Publisher The truth could cost her everything. Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t measure up to her mother’s expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps into her life with his adorable son, the ready-made family seems like a dream come…

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Guest Post: Jenny Milchman: Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day – December 5th, 2015

I am once again proud to welcome back author Jenny Milchman to Always With A Book and to offer my support to Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, held the first Saturday of December. Now in its 6th year, Jenny has taken the idea a step further. Read on to see how.   Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day begin in 2010 when I had two young children…

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Review: The Girl Without A Name by Sandra Block (audio)

Title: The Girl Without a Name Author: Sandra Block Series: Zoe Goldman, #2 Narrator: Jennifer Nittoso Published: September 2015, Hachette Audio Length: 9 hours 43 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Another gripping pageturner featuring psychiatrist Zoe Goldman, the protagonist from Little Black Lies. In what passes for an ordinary day in a psych ward, Dr. Zoe Goldman is stumped when a highly unusual case arrives. A young African American…

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Month in Review: November 2015

Here are my reading stats for November!  Books read:  13  Books I read: Shopaholic to the Rescue — Sophie Kinsella (audio book) Where the Memories Lie — Sibel Hodge (audio book) Along the Infinite Sea — Beatriz Williams Center of Gravity — Laura McNeill (audio book) Pretending to Dance — Diane Chamberlain The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs — Matthew Dicks The Last Girl — Jane Casey (audio book) Dear…

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Review: Where Memories Lie by Sibel Hodge (audio)

Title: Where Memories Lie Author: Sibel Hodge Narrator: Anna Parker-Naples  Published: September 2015, Brilliance Audio  Length: 9 hours 17 minutes Source: Publisher Chilling family secrets, obsession and decades-old lies. How well do we really know the ones we love? A gripping psychological thriller from the #1 bestselling author of Look Behind You. Twenty-five years ago Katie ran away from home and never came back. But now she’s suddenly reappeared in…

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Review: Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (audio)

Title: Real Murders Author: Charlaine Harris Series: Aurora Teagarden Mystery, #1 Narrator: Therese Plummer Published: November 2009, Recorded Books Length: 6 hours 7 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Though a small town at heart, Lawrenceton, Georgia, has its dark side-and crime buffs. One of whom is librarian Aurora “Roe” Teagarden, a member of the Real Murders Club, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It’s a harmless…

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The Sunday Post #92 (11.29.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.     I can’t believe December begins this week…this year is…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in November 27

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About        So, I decided to take the week off. I still wasn’t feeling 100% and rather than push myself and end up sick for Thanksgiving, I decided maybe a week off would do me some good. I knew I had a bit of running around to do at the beginning of the week…

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Review: Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella (audio)

Title: Shopaholic to the Rescue Author: Sophie Kinsella Series: Shopaholic, #8  Narrator: Clare Corbett Published: October 2015, Random House Audio Length: 9 hours 27 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Becky Bloomwood and a hilarious cast of beloved family and friends (plus one enemy!) set off in a van to find her missing father, last heard from in Las Vegas. Becky’s father Graham and her best friend’s husband, Tarquin, have…

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Review: Little Black Lies by Sandra Block

Title: Little Black Lies Author: Sandra Block Series: Zoe Goldman, #1  Narrator: Kara Bartell Published: February 2015, Hachette Audio / Grand Central Publishing Length: 9 hours / ARC E-copy, 352 pages Source: Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley She helps people conquer their demons. But she has a few of her own… In the halls of the psychiatric ward, Dr. Zoe Goldman is a resident in training, dedicated to helping…

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Review: Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

Title: Pretending to Dance Author: Diane Chamberlain Published: October 2015, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Paperback Molly Arnette is very good at keeping secrets. She lives in San Diego with a husband she adores, and they are trying to adopt a baby because they can’t have a child on their own. But the process of adoption brings to light many questions about Molly’s past and her…

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Review: The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks

Title: The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs Author: Matthew Dicks Published: September 2015, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 216 pages Source: Publisher Caroline Jacobs is a wimp, someone who specializes in the suffering of tiny indignities in silence. And the big ones, too. But when the twinset-wearing president of the local Parent Teacher Organization steps out of line one too many times, Caroline musters the courage to assert herself. With…

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Review: Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Title: Along the Infinite Sea Author: Beatriz Williams Series: Schuyler Sisters, #3 Published: November 2015, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Format: ARC E-copy, 464 pages Source: Publisher Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler’s problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she’s…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells (Giveaway Closed)

Title: The Wedding Tree Author: Robin Wells Published: December 2015, Berkley Format: Paperback, 432 pages National bestselling author Robin Wells weaves a moving epic that stretches from modern-day Louisiana to World War II-era New Orleans and back again in this multigenerational tale of love, loss and redemption. Hope Stevens thinks Wedding Tree, Louisiana, will be the perfect place to sort out her life and all the mistakes she’s made. Plus,…

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The Sunday Post #91 (11.22.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.           I can’t believe this week is already…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene (Giveaway Closed)

Title: The Seafront Tearoom Author: Vanessa Greene Published: December 2015, Berkley Format: Paperback, 368 pages From the author of The Vintage Teacup Club The first rule of afternoon tea: never rush. Take time to savor it. Just like friendship… The Seafront Tearoom is an insider secret in small-town Scarborough – a beach-front haven with the best tea and cakes in town – and  journalist Charlie Harrison would love to put…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in November 20

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About        So, I was on a really good kick this week, and then I ended up with a head cold…just my luck! Because I don’t want to be sick next week for Thanksgiving (and usually when I get sick, I get really sick) I decided to take it easy as soon as I…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Girls Who Travel by Nicole Trivilas (Giveaway Closed)

Title: Girls Who Travel Author: Nicole Trilivas Published: December 2015, Berkley  Format: Paperback, 336 pages A hilarious, deftly written debut novel about a woman whose wanderlust is about to show her that sometimes you don’t have to travel very far to become the person you want to be… There are many reasons women shouldn’t travel alone. But as foul-mouthed, sweet-toothed Kika Shores knows, there are many more reasons why they…

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Review: The Naked Eye by Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen (audio)

Title: The Naked Eye Author: Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen Series: Kendra Michaels, #3  Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers Published: July 2015, Brilliance Audio  Length: 10 hours 23 minutes Source: Publisher The #1 New York Times bestselling author and the Edgar Award winning author are back with a new a new novel featuring Kendra Michaels—hired gun for both the CIA and FBI. It’s been four months since the events of SIGHT UNSEEN,…

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Review: The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz (audio)

Title: The Girl in the Spider’s Web Author: David Lagercrantz Series: Millenium, #4  Narrator: Simon Vance Published: September 2015, Random House Audio Length: 13 hours 22 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution. Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone…

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Review: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (audio)

Title:The Art Forger Author:B.A. Shapiro Narrator:Xe Sands Published:October 2012, Highbridge Company  Length:10 hours Source:Library On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art today worth over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye. Making a living…

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Book Spotlight & Guest Post: The Hundred Gifts by Jennifer Scott (Plus Giveaway!!!) – GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Please join me in welcoming Jennifer Scott to Always With a Book. Jennifer’s new book, The Hundred Gifts, was recently published. I’ll be reviewing this book in the coming weeks, but for now, enjoy this lovely guest post and be sure to enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a copy of this book! Title: The Hundred Gifts Author: Jennifer Scott  Published: October 2015, NAL Format: Paperback, 384…

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The Sunday Post #90 (11.15.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.           It seems that I’m always late to…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in November 13

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About        This week was a pretty good week. I made it to the gym twice – once to work out with a trainer. My gym gives you one free session when you renew your membership so I used my session this week. The trainer really listened to what I wanted. I’m quite intimidated by…

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Short & Sweet Review: 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: 206 Bones Author: Kathy Reichs Series: Temperance Brennan, #12 Narrator: Linda Emond Published: August 2009, Simon & Schuster Audio Length: 10 hours Source: Library Cold and alone, bound hands to feet, Tempe Brennan regains consciousness locked in a dark cell—or is she buried alive in a tomb?—and begins to reconstruct the twisted chain of events that led her to this terrifying place. Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had recently accompanied…

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Review: Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge

Title: Pop Goes the Weasel Author: M.J. Arlidge Series: Helen Grace, #2 Published: October 2015, NAL Format: ARC E-copy, 416 pages Source: Netgalley From the international bestselling author of Eeny Meeny comes the second thriller in the “truly excellent series”* featuring DI Helen Grace. A man’s body is found in an empty house. His heart has been cut out and delivered to his wife and children. He is the first…

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Review: The Last September by Nina de Gramont (audio)

Title: The Last September Author: Nina de Gramont Narrator: Rebecca Mitchell Published: September 2015, Recorded Books Length: 10 hours 19 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Set against the desolate autumn beauty of Cape Cod, The Last September is a riveting emotional puzzle that takes readers inside the psyche of a woman facing the meaning of love and loyalty. Brett has been in love with Charlie ever since he took…

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Review: The Far End of Happy by Kathryn Craft

Title: The Far End of Happy    Author: Kathryn Craft      Published: May 2015, Sourcebooks Landmark   Format: Paperback, 432 pages    Source: Personal copy   Twelve tense hours, three women, and the suicide standoff that turns one family’s little piece of heaven into a scene from hell After enduring years of a struggling marriage, Ronnie Farnham has decided to divorce her husband and is beginning to hope for…

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Review: The Liar by Nora Roberts (audio)

Title: The Liar Author: Nora Roberts Narrator: January LaVoy Published: April 2015, Brilliance Audio Length: 16 hours 41 minutes Source: Publisher The extraordinary new novel by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Collector. Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions … The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar,…

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