Saturdays at the Café

 

Saturdays at the Café is a weekly feature hosted here to talk about and discuss the books I’ve discovered during the past week, added to my shelf and am excited about reading. They may be new/scheduled releases I’ve seen on NetGalley, at the library, or from publishers or they may be older titles my friends have reviewed and shared on Goodreads or blogs.

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For Sheriff Bree Taggert, a gruesome double murder exposes the secrets of the dead in a shocking novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.

A teenager returns home from work and finds her parents shot to death in their bed. Responding to the call, Sheriff Bree Taggert realizes the crime wasn’t a burglary gone wrong. The couple was executed. The sole survivor: their traumatized teenage daughter, Claire Mason.

Bree teams up with investigator Matt Flynn to work the case, but together they uncover more questions than answers. When Claire is stalked at the park, it’s clear the killer isn’t finished—and she’s the next target.

As Bree and Matt sift through the past—suspect by suspect—a tangled web of deception emerges, and the truth becomes harder to see. Because the victims’ entire lives were a lie. And the only way to protect the vulnerable girl is to unravel her parents’ secrets.

The next book in the Bree Taggert series, scheduled for release in January. Thanks to Anne @ Books of My Heart for the heads up. It’s an audio review hopeful.

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A gifted new suspense writer makes her sizzling debut with this serpentine tale exploring all the ways in which men enact violence on women, how women try to reclaim their own sense of self, and the lingering effects on their children’s lives.

2019. Stella Parker has the life she’s always wanted: a loving husband, two happy children that she gave up her thriving law career to raise, and a beautiful house in the tony suburbs of Washington, DC. But when her neighbor Gwen shows up at her door, claiming to know things about her, Stella’s life is thrown into turmoil and she’s forced to reckon with the dark secret upon which she’s built her life.

1987. Julie Waits yearns to be a cheerleader—a gateway to a world of normalcy with best friends and sleepovers, and an escape hatch from life with her widowed mother, the terrible men she attracts, and the upheaval caused by their abrupt and constant moves. But when her mother decides those relationships are over, the past becomes a forbidden subject that Julie can never revisit.

As Stella probes deeper into what brought Gwen to her door, the answer—and who Julie is to her—become increasingly, terrifyingly, clear.

Filled with shocking twists and turns, this is a book that both asks what it means for a woman to be in control of her life while also highlighting the impact of small daily violences upon women, and the connection between physical and psychological harm.

I learned about this from an Instagram friend’s post and was immediately intrigued. It’s a library audiobook hopeful.

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Two opposites decide to test their chemistry with one steamy night together. But will once be enough?

Nova Porter isn’t looking for love, and she certainly has no explanation for her attraction to buttoned-up, three-piece-suit-wearing investment banker Charlie Milford. Maybe it’s his charm? Or maybe it’s his determination to help her fledgling business however he can. Either way, she’s distracted every time he’s around. With her new tattoo studio set to open in her hometown of Inglewild, she doesn’t have time for frivolous flirtations. 

In an effort to get Charlie out of her system once and for all, Nova offers a proposition. One night. No strings. They’ll kick their uncomfortable attraction to the curb and return to their respective responsibilities. But their explosive night together scatters their expectations like fallen leaves. And with Charlie in town as the temporary head of Lovelight Farms, Nova can’t quite avoid him. 

And Charlie? Well, Charlie knows a good investment when he sees one. He’s hoping he can convince Nova he’s worth some of her time.

Learned about this from the author’s newsletter. It’s the final book in the series and I got it for audio review.

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Told in email messages, texts, and essays, this innovative page-turner follows a group of students in an art master’s program that goes dangerously awry.

Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University’s new Multimedia Art course, must find six students from all walks of life across the United Kingdom for her new master’s program before the university cuts her funding. The students are nothing but trouble from day one. There’s Jem, a talented sculptor recently graduated from her university program and eager to make her mark as an artist at any cost. Jonathan, who has little experience in art practice aside from running his family’s gallery. Patrick, who runs an art supply store but can barely operate his phone, much less design software. Ludya, a single mother and graphic designer more interested in a paycheck than homework. Cameron, a marketing executive in search of a hobby or a career change. And Alyson, who’s already a successful artist and seems overqualified. Finally there is the examiner, the man hired to grade students’ final works, who, in sifting through final essays, texts, and message boards, warns that someone is in danger—or already dead.

A new Hallett book! Thanks to Carla @ Carla Loves to Read for featuring it in her Stacking the Shelves post. Scheduled for release in August, it’s an audio review hopeful.

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A brutal murder, a missing masterpiece, a mystery only Gabriel Allon can solve . . .

Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into London to attend a reception at the Courtauld Gallery celebrating the return of a stolen self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. But when an old friend from the Devon and Cornwall Police seeks his help with a baffling murder investigation, he finds himself pursuing a powerful and dangerous new adversary.

The victim is Charlotte Blake, a celebrated professor of art history from Oxford who spends her weekends in the same seaside village where Gabriel once lived under an assumed identity. Her murder appears to be the work of a diabolical serial killer who has been terrorizing the Cornish countryside. But there are a number of telltale inconsistencies, including a missing mobile phone. And then there is the mysterious three-letter cypher she left behind on a notepad in her study.

Gabriel soon discovers that Professor Blake was searching for a looted Picasso worth more than a $100 million, and he takes up the chase for the painting as only he can—with six Impressionist canvases forged by his own hand and an unlikely team of operatives that includes a world-famous violinist, a beautiful master thief, and a lethal contract killer turned British spy. The result is a stylish and wildly entertaining mystery that moves at lightning speed from the cliffs of Cornwall to the enchanted island of Corsica and, finally, to a breathtaking climax on the very doorstep of 10 Downing Street.

Supremely elegant and suspenseful, A Death in Cornwall is Daniel Silva at his best—a dazzling tale of murder, power, and insatiable greed that will hold listeners spellbound until they finish listening.

When this next book in the series showed up at my library and I grabbed it.

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A hopeless romantic meets a demoralized radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending… even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.

The author announced in her newsletter this next new series and the first book. It’s scheduled for release in February and is a library audiobook hopeful.

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Blinded by secrets.

Sawyer Murphy has one goal: to reclaim his life. Blinded by a sniper’s bullet in Afghanistan, he refuses to be limited by his disability. As Redwood Coast Rescue’s tech genius, he’s determined to prove he’s more than just a computer guy, so when his best friend vanishes in the rugged wilderness, Sawyer sets out with his loyal seeing-eye dog, Zelda, to find him.

Trapped by nature.

Park Ranger Lucy Harper thought she had already faced her darkest fears when a serial killer left her for dead last year. On her first solo guide trip since returning to work, she’s resolved to lead her group safely through the three-day hike. She never expects to run into the one man she can’t forget–Sawyer. The man who saved her life and then vanished.

Trust is a luxury they can’t afford…

When an earthquake destroys the mountain trail, Sawyer and Lucy take refuge in a decommissioned ranger station with a ragtag group of stranded hikers. Old wounds resurface, and a powerful attraction reignites, but Lucy has sworn off love, and Sawyer’s wounded soul is slow to trust anyone other than his dog.

…And love is a distraction they can’t resist.

With secrets lurking among the stranded hikers, trust becomes dangerous. Someone isn’t who they claim to be, and their hidden agenda could cost everyone their lives…

This 7th book in the series will release on July 24 and I’ve already preordered. Am loving the stories!

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From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

My horror loving friends are determined to win me over! Thanks to Kim @ It’s All About the Thrill for convincing me to accept this for audio review.

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What books did YOU add to your shelves this week?