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…

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…

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…

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…

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 (née 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

Title: The Butterfly Girl Author: Rene Denfeld Series: Naomi Cottle, #2 Published: October 2019, Harper Format: ARC Paperback, 272 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  The Butterfly Girl is a riveting novel that ripples with truth, exploring the depths of love and sacrifice in the face of a past that cannot be left dead and buried. Margaret Atwood raved on twitter about this “heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, yet ultimately hopeful novel.”   A year…

Title: Little Voices Author: Vanessa Lillie Published: October 2019, Thomas & Mercer Format: Paperback, 336 pages  Source: Author / Little Bird Publicity Summary:  The voice in her head says he’s guilty. She knows he’s innocent. Devon Burges is in the throes of a high-risk birth when she learns of her dear friend’s murder. The police quickly name another friend as the chief suspect, but Devon doesn’t buy it—and despite her…

Title: The Last Book Party Author: Karen Dukess Published: July 2019, Henry Holt & Co Format: ARC Paperback, 256 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A propulsive tale of ambition and romance, set in the publishing world of 1980’s New York and the timeless beaches of Cape Cod. In the summer of 1987, 25-year-old Eve Rosen is an aspiring writer languishing in a low-level assistant job, unable to shake the shadow of…

Title: Shattered Mirror Author: Iris Johansen Series: Eve Duncan, #23 Published: April 2018, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 339 pages Source: Library Summary:  From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes Shattered Mirror, a new explosive thriller featuring forensic sculptor Eve Duncan. Iris Johansen returns with a thrilling novel of action and danger where fan favorite Eve Duncan is thrown once more into a deadly game of intrigue. It…

Title: Ambush Author: James Patterson Series: Michael Bennett, #11 Published: October 2018, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 303 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Only Detective Michael Bennett stands in the way of two lethal cartels fighting for New York City’s multi-million-dollar opioid trade. And they know where Bennett, and his family, live. An anonymous tip about a crime in Upper Manhattan proves to be a setup. An officer is…

Title: A Stranger on the Beach Author: Michele Campbell Published: July 2019, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC E-copy, 352 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  There is a stranger outside Caroline’s house. Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she’d have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger,…

Title: Manhunt Author: James Patterson Series: Michael Bennet, #10.5 Published: November 2017, BookShots Format: Paperback, 144 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Michael Bennett, be grateful you’re alive. Someone attacked the Thanksgiving Day Parade directly in front of Michael Bennett and his family. The television news called it “holiday terror”–Michael Bennett calls it personal. The hunt is on…. ***Short & Sweet Reviews are short, quick reviews. These will mainly be used for…

Title: The Widow of Pale Harbor Author: Hester Fox Published: September 2019, Graydon House Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Maine, 1846. Gideon Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife’s death, so he moves to Pale Harbor, Maine, where there is a vacancy for a new minister. Gideon and his late wife had always dreamed of building their own church,…

Title: The Stranger Inside Author: Lisa Unger Published: September 2019, Park Row Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Even good people are drawn to do evil things… Twelve-year-old Rain Winter narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, and Hank was held in captivity before managing to escape. Their abductor was…

Title: The Second Chance Supper Club Author: Nicole Meier Published: September 2019, Lake Union Publishing Format: Paperback, 272 pages Source: Publisher via GetRed PR Summary:  Two estranged sisters reunite in an emotional novel of family, forgiveness, lost hope, and new beginnings. They had a forever bond, until a sudden tragedy thrust them apart. Now, each at a crossroad in her own life, two sisters’ paths are about to intersect. Broadcast…

Title: Things You Save in a Fire Author: Katherine Center Published: August 2019, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC Paperback, 320 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away comes a stunning new novel about family, hope, and learning to love against all odds. Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she’s seen…

Title: The 17th Suspect Author: James Patterson Series: Women’s Murder Club, #17 Published: April 2018, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 351 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  In this #1 NYT bestseller, Sergeant Lindsay Boxer puts her life on the line to protect San Francisco from a shrewd and unpredictable killer.   When a series of shootings exposes San Francisco to a mysterious killer, a reluctant woman decides to put…

Title: Mind Game Author: Iris Johansen Series: Eve Duncan, #22 Published: October 2017, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 384 pages Source: Library Summary:  With Iris Johansen’s trademark adventure, intrigue, and explosive energy, Mind Game is a propulsive thriller that’s impossible to put down. Scotland holds a treasure that Jane MacGuire has been hunting for years. But as she scours the Highlands in search of it, she’s plagued by dreams of…

Title: The Nanny Author: Gilly Macmillan Published: September 2019, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind. Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and…

Title: Mrs. Everything Author: Jennifer Weiner Published: June 2019, Atria Books Format: Hardcopy, 480 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  From Jennifer Weiner, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Who Do You Love and In Her Shoes, comes a smart, thoughtful, and timely exploration of two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present as they struggle to find their places—and be true to themselves—in a rapidly evolving world.…

Title: A Nearly Normal Family Author: M.T. Edvardsson Published: June 2019, Celadon Books Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller that forces the reader to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they…

Title: The Secrets We Kept Author: Lara Prescott Published: September 2019, Knopf Publishing Group Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice—inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago. At the…

Title: Stolen Things Author: R.H. Herron Published: August 2019, Dutton Format: ARC E-copy, 368 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  A sensational crime, a missing teen, and a mother and daughter with no one to trust but themselves come together in this shocking debut thriller by R. H. Herron.   “Mama? Help me.” Laurie Ahmadi has worked as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California town for nearly…

Title: The Birthday Girl Author: Melissa de la Cruz Published: August 2019, Dutton Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Alex & Eliza comes a return to adult fiction, centered around a mysterious woman’s birthday celebration—and what it reveals about her past. Ellie de Florent-Stinson is celebrating her fortieth birthday with a grand celebration in her fabulous house in Palm…