Always With a Book

Title: Recipe for a Perfect Wife Author: Karma Brown Published: December 2019, Dutton Books Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  In this captivating dual narrative novel, a modern-day woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her home’s previous owner, a quintessential 1950s housewife. As she discovers remarkable parallels between this woman’s life and her own, it causes her to question the foundation of her own relationship with…

Title: The Good Sister Author: Gillian McAllister Published: June 2019, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Format: Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  An electrifying novel about the unyielding bond between two sisters, which is severely tested when one of them is accused of the worst imaginable crime. Martha and Becky Blackwater are more than sisters–they’re each other’s lifelines. When Martha finds herself struggling to balance early motherhood and her growing business, Becky…

Title: Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop Author: Jenny Colgan Series: Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop, #2 Narrator: Lucy Price-Lewis Published: October 2019, HarperAudio / William Morrow Paperbacks Length: Audio – 8 hours 31 minutes / Paperback – 368 pages Source: Audio via library / Print via Publisher via TLC Booktours Summary: A nip in the air, chiming bells and carolers, and the genial glow of love and family. But for this English…

Title: The Wicked City Author: Beatriz Williams Series: The Wicked City, #1 Published: January 2017, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams recreates the New York City of A Certain Age in this deliciously spicy adventure that mixes past and present and centers on a Jazz Age love triangle involving a rugged  Prohibition agent, a saucy redheaded flapper, and a…

Title: Before She Knew Him Author: Peter Swanson Published: March 2019, William Morrow Format: ARC Paperback, 309 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability…

Title: Her Dark Heart Author: Carla Kovach Series: Detective Gina Harte, #5 Published: November 2019, Bookouture Format: ARC E-copy, 349 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  Rory is waiting at the door of the pre-school – a painted picture of his mother Susan in his small hand. But Susan isn’t going to see the picture, because she has vanished. Susan Wheeler is a devoted mother. She would do anything for…

Title: Christmas in Paris Author: Anita Hughes Published: Paperback, St. Martin’s Griffin Format: Paperback, 277 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Hughes will fill your heart with the sights, sounds, and flavors of new love, glamorous fashion, and decadent holiday cuisine. Isabel Lawson is standing on the balcony of her suite at the Hotel Crillon as she gazes at the twinkling lights of the Champs Elysee and wonders if she’s made…

Title: It Takes One Author: Kate Kessler Series: Audrey Hart, #1 Published: April 2016, Redhook Books Format: Paperback, 395 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  They say there are no secrets in a small town… Criminal psychologist Audrey Harte is returning home after seven years. She’ll have to face the whispers and the rumors that have haunted her family since she left. Because when Audrey was thirteen, she and her best…

Title: Dark Tribute Author: Iris Johansen Series: Eve Duncan, #24 Published: March 2019, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 373 pages Source: Library Summary:  New York Times bestseller Iris Johansen is back with another high octane thriller that will leave your mind racing and your heart pounding. Despite her tragic childhood, violin prodigy Cara Delaney has finally found peace in her career as a professional musician and stability in her relationship…

Title: Trace of Evil Author: Alice Blanchard Series: Natalie Lockhart, #1 Published: December 2019, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A riveting mystery that introduces a bold and audacious rookie detective assigned to hunt for a killer who is haunted by the past in this gripping murder case… Natalie Lockhart always knew she was going to be a cop. A rookie detective on the Burning Lake…

Title: Cross Justice Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #23 Published: November 2015, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 420 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  The toughest cases hit closest to home. Alex Cross left his hometown, and some awful family tragedies, for a better life with Nana Mama in Washington, DC. He hasn’t looked back. Now his cousin Stefan has been accused of a horrible, unthinkable murder, and Cross…

Title: Rebecca Author: Daphne du Maurier Published: 2006, HarperCollins (first published August 1938) Format: Paperback, 410 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house’s first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted. My thoughts: I’m not sure why I waited so…

Title: Hope to Die Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #22 Published: November 2014, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 400 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, forced to play the deadliest game of his career.   Cross’s family-his loving wife Bree, the wise and lively Nana Mama, and his precious children-have been ripped away. Terrified and desperate, Cross must give…

Title: A Cosmology of Monsters Author: Shaun Hamill Published: September 2019, Pantheon Books Format: Hardcover, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Noah Turner sees monsters. His father saw them–and built a shrine to them with The Wandering Dark, an immersive horror experience that the whole family operates. His practical mother has caught glimpses of terrors but refuses to believe–too focused on keeping the family from falling apart. And his eldest sister,…

Title: Cross My Heart Author: James Patterson Series: Alex Cross, #21 Published: November 2013, Little, Brown & Company Format: Hardcover, 419 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  James Patterson raises the stakes to their highest level, ever-when Alex Cross becomes the obsession of a genius of menace set on proving that he is the greatest mind in the history of crime. Detective Alex Cross is a family man at heart–nothing matters…

Title: Meg & Jo  Author: Virginia Kantra Published: December 2019, Berkley Format: ARC E-copy, 400 pages Source: Netgalley Summary:  The timeless classic Little Women inspired this heartwarming modern tale of four sisters from New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra. The March sisters—reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth—have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought…

Title: Vendetta Author: Iris Johansen Series: Catherine Ling, #5 Published: October 2018, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 404 pages Source: Library Summary:  From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen comes a new explosive, compelling thriller. With his dying breath, Carl Venable, head of the CIA task force on terrorism and Jude Brandon’s final link to terrorist ringleader Max Huber, gives Brandon a mandate: to keep his daughter,…

Title: Would Like To Meet Author: Rachel Winters Published: December 2019, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Format: ARC E-copy, 336 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  In this charming, feel-good debut novel, a cynical assistant at a screenwriting agency must reenact the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedy movies in order to help her #1 client get his scriptwriting mojo back–but can a real-life meet-cute be in store for someone who doesn’t…

Title: The 18th Abduction Author: James Patterson Series: Women’s Murder Club Published: April 2019, Little, Brown and Company Format: Hardcover, 383 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  The #1 bestselling female detective of the past 50 years is back. Detective Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe Molinari team up to protect San Francisco from an international war criminal in the newest Women’s Murder Club thriller. Three female schoolteachers go missing in…

Title: Thin Ice Author: Paige Shelton Series: Alaska Wild Mysteries, #1 Published: December 2019, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 288 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  First in a new series set in Alaska from beloved author Paige Shelton, Thin Ice will chill your bones. Beth Rivers is on the run – she’s doing the only thing she could think of to keep herself safe. Known to the world as thriller author…

Title: Nine Elms Author: Robert Bryndza Series: Kate Marshall, #1 Published: December 2019, Thomas & Mercer Format: Hardcover, 396 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  From the breakthrough international bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice, a breathtaking, page-turning novel about a disgraced female detective’s fight for redemption. And survival… Kate Marshall was a promising young police detective when she caught the notorious Nine Elms serial killer. But her greatest victory…

Title: Woman on the Edge Author: Samantha M. Bailey Published: E-book: November 2019/Paperback: March 2020, Simon Schuster (these are US Dates) Format: ARC Paperback, 272 pages Source: Author Summary:  A moment on the subway platform changes two women’s lives forever—a debut thriller that will take your breath away. A total stranger on the subway platform whispers, “Take my baby.” She places her child in your arms. She says your name.…

Title: A Girl Named Anna Author: Lizzy Barber Published: September 2019, Mira Books Format: ARC Paperback, 329 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  A compulsive suspense debut for fans of Megan Miranda, Wendy Walker and Kimberly Belle, about two teens–one sheltered by her strict and reclusive mamma, one living in the shadow of the missing sister who was snatched from a theme park as a toddler–and their search for the truth about…

Title: The Liar’s House Author: Carla Kovach Series:  Detective Gina Harte, #4 Published: July 2019, Bookouture Format: E-copy, 337 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  Samantha stumbled out of the party and on to a busy street only ten minutes away from her home. But she never made it home… Seven years after Samantha’s disappearance, on what would have been her thirty-fifth birthday, her best friend Diane is shocked to find…

Title: Regretting You Author: Colleen Hoover Published: December 2019, Montlake Romance Format: ARC E-copy, 365 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  From #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us comes a poignant novel about family, first love, grief, and betrayal that will touch the hearts of both mothers and daughters. Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.…

Title: Broken Souls Author: Patricia Gibney Series: D.I. Lottie Parker, #7 Published: October 2019, Bookouture Format: ARC E-copy, 446 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  ‘She shivered, though the kitchen was warm. Icicles of foreboding trickled down her spine. With trembling hands she whipped back her hair at the nape of her neck. As she turned away from the window, she missed the shadow passing by.’ One dark winter’s morning,…

Title: The Other Windsor Girl Author: Georgie Blalock Published: November 2019, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  In a historical debut evoking the style of The Crown, the daughter of an impoverished noble is swept into the fame and notoriety of the royal family and Princess Margaret’s fast-living friends when she is appointed as Margaret’s second Lady-in-Waiting. Diana, Catherine, Meghan…glamorous Princess Margaret outdid them all. Springing…

Title: Saint X Author: Alexis Schaitkin Published: February 2020, Celadon Books Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Hailed as a “marvel of a book” and “brilliant and unflinching,” Alexis Schaitkin’s stunning debut Saint X is a haunting portrait of grief, obsession, and the bond between two sisters never truly given the chance to know one another. Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears…

Title: The Golden Hour Author: Beatriz Williams Published: July 2019, William Morrow Format: Hard Cover, 480 pages Source: Publisher   Summary:  The New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives and A Certain Age creates a dazzling epic of World War II-era Nassau—a hotbed of spies, traitors, and the most infamous couple of the age, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The Bahamas, 1941. Newly-widowed Leonora “Lulu” Randolph arrives…

Title: The Vanishing Season Author: Joanna Schaffhausen Series: Ellery Hathaway, #1 Published: December 2017, Minotaur Books Format: E-copy, 288 pages Source: Netgalley Summary:  Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She’s an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial…

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…

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…

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 matchsticksand two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene. Examining the…