Month in Review: October 2019

{Technical difficulty so will add image when I can.} Posting this a slight bit early as I’m off to Bouchercon this morning…and I am so excited!!! It was another great month of reading. I don’t know about you, but this year has been filled with amazing reads 🙂   Reading Stats:  Read this month: 21 Year to date: 183 Books Read:  29 Seconds — T.M. Logan The Daughters of Temperance…

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Short & Sweet Review: Double Blind by Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen

Title: Double Blind Author: Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen Series: Kendra Michaels, #6 Published: July 2018, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 325 pages Source: Library Summary:  Kendra Michaels, formerly blind and now a hired gun for law enforcement agencies who relies on her razor-sharp powers of observation, is reluctant to help the FBI with the most recent case they’ve brought to her. But then she hears the details: the body…

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Review: The Sleepover by Carol Wyer

Title: The Sleepover Author: Carol Wyer Series: Detective Natalie Ward, #4 Published: September 2019, Bookouture Format: ARC E-copy, 376 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  Roxy had a secret. Now she’s gone. When fourteen-year-old Roxy says she’s going for a sleepover at her best friend Ellie’s house, Cathy sees no reason to check her daughter’s story. The two families are neighbours, and the girls are in and out of each…

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Blog Tour & Review: If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman

Title: If Only I Could Tell You Author: Hannah Beckerman Published: October 2019, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours Summary:  Hannah Beckerman pens a life-affirming novel that tells the story of a family divided and the secret that  can possibly unite them—a must for fans of This Is Us. Audrey knows that life is filled with ups and downs, but she can’t help feeling…

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Review: Beautiful on the Outside by Adam Rippon (print/audio)

Title: Beautiful on the Outside Author: Adam Rippon Narrator: Adam Rippon Published: October 2019, Hachette Audio / Grand Central Publishing Length: 8 hours, 19 minutes / 256 pages Source: Audio via Hachette Audio via Libro.fm / Print via Grand Central Publishing Summary: Former Olympic figure skater and self-professed America’s Sweetheart Adam Rippon shares his underdog journey from beautiful mess to outrageous success in this hilarious, big-hearted memoir. Your mom probably…

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Review: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Title: Before We Were Yours Author: Lisa Wingate Published: June 2017, Ballantine Books Format: Hardcover, 347 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar…

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Review: Strangers at the Gate by Catriona McPherson

Title: Strangers at the Gate Author: Catriona McPherson Published: October 2019, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From the Agatha-award winning author of Quiet Neighbors comes a twisty, fascinating standalone that begs the question: how well can we ever know the people around us? When Finn and Paddy decide to move from their home in the city to the small town of Simmerton, it feels like…

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Review: The Poison Garden by A.J. Banner (audio)

Title: The Poison Garden Author: A.J. Banner Narrator: Sarah Mollo-Christensen Published: October 2019, Brilliance Audio Length: 6 hours 43 minutes Source: Publisher Summary: A woman’s idyllic life becomes a deceptive hall of mirrors in a thriller of exquisitely constructed psychological suspense by A. J. Banner, bestselling author of The Good Neighbor.  Elise Watters seems to have it all—a blissful marriage, a gorgeous Victorian home surrounded by lush gardens, and a…

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Review: Our Little Secret by Darren O’Sullivan

Title: Our Little Secret Author: Darren O’Sullivan Published: February 2019, HQ Format: Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A deserted train station: A man waits. A woman watches. Chris is ready to join his wife. He’s planned this moment for nearly a year. The date. The time. The train. But he hadn’t factored in Sarah. So when Sarah walks on to the platform and sees a man swaying at the…

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Review: The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup

Title: The Chestnut Man Author: Soren Sveistrup Published: September 2019, Harper Format: ARC Paperback, 528 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing. If you find one, he’s already found you. A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen. His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene. Examining the…

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Blog Tour & Review: Ribbons of Scarlet by Kate Quinn

Title: Ribbons of Scarlet Author: Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Sophie Perinot, Heather Webb & E. Knight Published: October 2019, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: Paperback, 560 pages Source: Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary:  Six bestselling and award-winning authors bring to life a breathtaking epic novel illuminating the hopes, desires, and destinies of princesses and peasants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philosophers—six unforgettable women whose paths cross during one of…

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Review: The Patient by Steena Holmes (audio)

Title: The Patient Author: Steena Holmes Narrator: Siiri Scott Published: October 2019, Brilliance Audio Length: 11 hours 28 minutes Source: Publisher Summary: A therapist must face her own worst fear—one of her patients is a serial killer. Danielle Rycroft suspects someone close to her has a dark secret. In the confidential setting of therapy, her patients share their anxieties and fears. Now, with a string of murders in town putting…

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Review: Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Title: Christmas Shopaholic Author: Sophie Kinsella Series: Shopaholic, #9 Published: October 2019, The Dial Press Format: ARC E-copy, 427 pages Source: Netgalley Summary:  ’Tis the season for change and Becky Brandon (nĂ©e Bloomwood) is embracing it, returning from the States to live in the charming village of Letherby and working with her best friend, Suze, in the gift shop of Suze’s stately home. Life is good, especially now that Becky…

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Short & Sweet Review: Princess by James Patterson

Title: Princess Author: James Patterson Series: Private, #14 Published: November 2018, Grand Central Publishing Format: Paperback, 368 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Jack Morgan receives an offer he cannot refuse… When the head of the world’s foremost investigation agency receives at invitation to meet Princess Caroline, third in line to the British throne, he boards his Gulfstream jet and flies straight to London. The Princess needs Morgan’s skills, and his…

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Review: Recursion by Blake Crouch

Title: Recursion Author: Blake Crouch Published: June 2019, Crown Publishing Group Format: Hardcover, 336 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Memory makes reality. That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. That’s what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated…

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Review: One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski

Title: One Night Gone Author: Tara Laskowski Published: October 2019, Graydon House Format: Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher   Summary:  It was the perfect place to disappear… One sultry summer, Maureen Haddaway arrives in the wealthy town of Opal Beach to start her life anew—to achieve her destiny. There, she finds herself lured by the promise of friendship, love, starry skies, and wild parties. But Maureen’s new life just might…

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Review: What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (audio)

Title: What Happens in Paradise Author: Elin Hilderbrand Series: Paradise, #2 Narrator: Erin Bennett Published: October 2019, Hachette Audio Length: 9 hours 47 minutes Source: Publisher via Libro.fm Summary: Secret lives and new loves emerge in the bright Caribbean sunlight, in the follow-up to national bestseller Winter in Paradise A year ago, Irene Steele had the shock of her life: her loving husband, father to their grown sons and successful…

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Book Spotlight: Dark Water by Robert Bryndza

Last week, Robert Bryndza’s 3rd book in his Erika Foster series, Dark Water, was released in the U.S. I have long been a fan of this series since the first book was published in the UK back in 2016 and I am thrilled that the series is finally being published here in the states. And I am thrilled to be able to offer two readers a copy of this book…But…

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Review: The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

Title: The Daughters of Temperance Howe Author: Katherine Howe Series: The Physick Book, #2 Published: June 2019, Henry Holt & Company Format: ARC Paperback, 338 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe returns to the world of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane with a bewitching story of a New England history professor who must race against time to free her family from a curse Connie…

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Review: Hostage by Kristina Ohlsson

Title: Hostage Author: Kristina Ohlsson Series: Fredrika Bergman & Alex Recht, #4 Published: November 2015, Atria/Emily Bestler Books Format: Paperback, 387 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Investigative analyst Fredrika Bergman tackles a new case—this time involving the US government—in the next pulse-pounding book in Kristina Ohlsson’s internationally acclaimed crime series. Shortly after a crowded New York-bound Boeing 747 takes off from Stockholm, a bomb threat is found in one of…

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Review: What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr

Title: What Rose Forgot Author: Nevada Barr Published: September 2019, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 291 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  In New York Times bestselling author Nevada Barr’s gripping standalone, a grandmother in her sixties emerges from a mental fog to find she’s trapped in her worst nightmare Rose Dennis wakes up in a hospital gown, her brain in a fog, only to discover that she’s been committed to an…

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Short & Sweet Review: Never Never by James Patterson

Title: Never Never Author: James Patterson Series: Detective Harriet Blue, #1 Published: January 2017, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 363 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  When Sydney police department sex crimes detective Harriet Blue is called into her boss’s office, she never imagined it would be to tell her that her brother is the prime suspect in the brutal murders of three women. Shocked and in denial, Harry is…

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29 Seconds by T.M. Logan

Title: 29 Seconds Author: T.M. Logan Published: September 2019, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From the bestselling author of LIES comes 29 SECONDS, a sensational new thriller that explores what happens when a split second thought of revenge takes on a life of its own. “Give me one name. One person. And I will make them disappear.” Sarah is a young professor struggling to…

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Short & Sweet Review: Black & Blue by James Patterson

Title: Black & Blue Author: James Patterson Series: Detective Harriet Blue, #0.5 Published: December 2016, BookShots Format: Paperback, 144 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Is Harriet Blue as great a detective as Lindsay Boxer? Harriet Blue, the most single-minded detective since Lindsay Boxer, won’t rest until she stops a savage killer targeting female university students. But new clues point to a more chilling predator than she ever could have imagined.…

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Review: Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky (print/aduio)

Title: Imaginary Friend Author: Stephen Chbosky Narrator: Christine Lakin Published: October 2019, Hachette Audio / Grand Central Publishing Length: 24 hours 32 minutes / 720 pages Source: Audio via Hachette Audio via Libro.fm / Print via Grand Central Publishing Summary:  Christopher is seven years old. Christopher is the new kid in town. Christopher has an imaginary friend. The epic work of literary horror from the #1 bestselling author of THE…

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Month in Review: September 2019

It’s hard to believe we are heading into the last quarter of the year. Where has this year gone? While it has been filled with amazing reads, it sure is flying by! Hopefully these next three months will continue to be just as productive reading-wise and the good books keep coming my way! At the end of this coming month, I am heading to Bouchercon for the first time and…

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