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.

---

In this twisted psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club Pick The Last Mrs. Parrish, a woman is tormented by nightmarish visions of her future—and then they start to come true.

Annabelle has everything she’s ever wanted. A devoted husband, two wonderful daughters, and a career she loves. She couldn’t be happier. So why is she suddenly plagued by disturbing dreams of a future where she hates her husband and her daughters’ lives are at risk? At first, she chalks the dreams up to an overactive imagination. But when details from her dreams, details she couldn’t possibly have predicted, begin to materialize, she realizes these aren’t just dreams but rather premonitions of a terrifying future. They all point to a singular choice, an unknown moment that holds Annabelle’s life in the balance.

Then Annabelle has a dream that her daughter, Scarlett, is in immediate danger. Someone wants Scarlett dead and Annabelle has no idea who or why. Suddenly, every choice she makes is fraught with peril, with no inkling of which move could bring this terrifying vision to life. As her present life starts to collide with the future in her dreams, she wrestles with how much control she really has over her destiny and whether or not she can change what is meant to be.

Thanks to a NetGalley email for the heads up about this upcoming July release. It’s a library audiobook hopeful.

---

A dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret—and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home—in this gripping debut novel.

In the wake of her grandmother’s passing, Sydney Singleton finds a hidden photograph of a little girl who looks more like Sydney than her own sister, or mother. She soon discovers the mystery girl in the photograph is her aunt, Carol, who was one of six local North Carolina Black girls to go missing in the 1960s. For the last several decades, not a soul has talked about Carol or what really happened to her. With her grandmother gone and Sydney looking to start a family of her own, she is determined to unravel the truth behind her long-lost aunt and the sinister silence surrounding her.

Unfortunately, this is familiar territory for Sydney. Several years prior, working the crime beat as a journalist on the case of another missing girl, her obsession eventually led to a psychotic break. And now, in the suffocating grip of fertility treatments and a marriage that’s beginning to crumble, Sydney’s relentless pursuit might just lead her down the same path of destruction. As she delves deeper into Carol’s fate, her own troubled past resurfaces, clawing its way to the surface with a vengeance. The web of secrets and lies entangling her family leaves Sydney questioning everything—her fixation on the missing girls, her future as a mom, and everyone she’s come to trust.

Delving into family, community, secrets, and motherhood, We Don’t Talk About Carol is a gripping and deeply emotional story about overcoming the rotten roots of your family tree—and what we’ll do for those we love.

Another one from that same NetGalley email. Scheduled for release in June, it’s a library audiobook hopeful.

---

Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.

Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother—he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.

As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.

And now after two decades running from their past, it’s time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don’t get to them first.

A Box Full of Darkness is another propulsive thriller from the author of The Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases, a surprising horror story from a writer who is “particularly gifted at doling out twists” (The New York Times).

Thanks to Eva @ Novel Deelights for the info about this upcoming January release. It’s a library audiobook hopeful.

---

What’s more terrifying than a serial killer? Living under the same roof as one.

Seattle, 1984—while the city is gripped by the terror of the Green River Killer, young John is grappling with a horror that’s far more personal. As adolescence falls upon John, so does the stark reality of his father’s secret nocturnal life. The line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and John’s inner conflict intensifies.

Threads of trust unravel, alliances form in unlikely places, and the chilling realization dawns that sometimes the most perilous beast lurks uncomfortably close to home.

The First Hunt lures you into the chilling inner workings of a killer’s mind—right before it snaps the trap shut, leaving you breathless, desperate to uncover the fate of a boy who must hunt or be hunted. How will John face his primal initiation when the blood he fears may run through his own veins?

Thanks to Yvo @ It’s All About Books for her great review of this prequel. I have the next two books in the series and this is scheduled for release in June. It’s an audio review hopeful.

---

Never speak of that summer.

On a beautiful summer’s night twenty years ago, troubled seventeen-year-old Tamara Drayton was found floating face-down in the pool of her family’s idyllic mansion in the south of France, leaving her twin brother, golden-boy Blake, to pick up the pieces of their shattered family.

Also left behind was their sister Nina who, at six years old, became the youngest person ever to testify in a French murder trial. Because she’s the only one who saw what happened—who watched as her babysitter, Josie Jackson, pushed Tamara under the water, and held her there until she stopped breathing.

Didn’t she? Twenty years later, Nina’s memories have faded, leaving her with no idea of what really transpired that night. When a new true crime documentary about her sister’s murder is announced, Nina thinks this might be her chance to finally find out.

But the truth always comes at a cost. Who will pay the price?

Set over two unforgettable summers two decades apart, High Season is a dark, tense exploration of the nature of memory, the enduring power of truth, and all the gray areas in between.

A trusted Goodreads friend’s review convinced me to add this one. Scheduled for release in August, it’s a library audiobook hopeful.

---

Her bestsellers explore the wildest, strangest crimes. Now her husband has been murdered— is she a target, a victim, or is this even darker?​

NYPD Detective Declan Shaw gets the call from his lieutenant at 9:42 p.m. How fast can you get to 211 Central Park West? The Beresford Building.

At Apartment 18A, Shaw’s partner briefs him. The woman inside called 911 to report a break-in—and the murder of her husband. She fired a round at first responders, then made a baffling demand. Nobody comes in but Detective Declan Shaw.

The woman answers, covered in blood. She appears to be in shock. A body is lying dead on the floor of the luxurious living room.

Shaw walks in and spots floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with hardcover books. He recognizes the name—bestselling true-crime author Denise Morrow. When he looks closer, he sees they all show the same familiar picture on the back.

“This is you?” Shaw asks. “You’re a writer?”
​
The real question Is she also a killer?

Thanks to Nikki Lee @ Nikki Lee Thriller for the recommendation. I’m in a short library queue.

---

It didn’t take long for news to spread that Tagger Grange was back in Peachtree Pass. I found out even faster when I fell right into his arms—not by choice.

The barstool wobbled under me when reaching for a cheddar biscuit. They’re my weakness. Much like he used to be.

Rolled up sleeves and tailored pants have replaced the boots and jeans my brother’s best friend once wore. But it’s not just the clothes that have changed. His shoulders are broader and he’s broodier. Somehow, he’s even more handsome than ever.

And seeing the little boy smiling at his side? My heart instantly melts. I can’t handle Tagger as a hot single dad.

Since he has no plans to stay, I know it’s best to avoid him. But daily run-ins at Rollingwood Ranch make him hard to ignore, and even harder to walk away.

His heated glances warm my insides, his smile awakens my dormant heart, and one stormy night leads to crossing lines we vowed we wouldn’t.

But when falling in the hay turns into falling in love, I start to wonder if our happy ending is a long time coming. Or will he return to the city leaving me with a broken heart?

New York Timesand USA Todaybestselling author, S.L. Scott, will lasso your heart and tie the bow in this Swoony, Single Dad, Forbidden to Date, Cowboy Romance that will have you falling in love along with the characters.

I quickly accepted this for audio review when offered.

---

Two women haunted by their sisters’ unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Good People Hereand host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.

Nicole “Nic” Monroe is in a rut. At twenty-four, she lives alone in a dinky apartment in her hometown of Mishawaka, Indiana, she’s just gotten a DWI, and she works the same dead-end job she’s been working since high school, a job she only has because her boss is a family friend and feels sorry for her. Everyone has felt sorry for her for the last seven years—since the day her older sister, Kasey, vanished without a trace.

On the night Kasey went missing, her car was found over a hundred miles from home. The driver’s door was open and her purse was untouched in the seat next to it. The only real clue in her disappearance was Jules Connor, another young woman from the same area who disappeared in the same way, two weeks earlier. But with so little for the police to go on, both their cases eventually went cold.

Nic wants nothing more than to move on—from her sister’s disappearance and the state it’s left her in. But then one day, Jules’s sister, Jenna Connor, walks into her life and offers Nic something she hasn’t felt in a long hope. What follows is a gripping tale of two sisters who will do anything to find their missing halves, even if it means destroying everything they’ve ever known.

I accepted this for audio review.

---

After a case of mistaken identity and an almostone-night stand, two stranded wedding guests have to find their way to their final destination together, in this riotously fun debut romance.

Ada’s little sister is getting married. Which should be a happy thought, right? But the once close sisters have been in a year long fight, the wedding is all the way in Ireland, and Ada is so broke that she just barely managed to get a ticket on a budget airline. And as if things couldn’t get worse, said airline just cancelled her connection. Which means Ada is stuck in London with no way to make it to the wedding.

Surely she’s hit rock bottom?

So, there’s no reason for her not to spill her heart out about the over-the-top wedding, her sister’s worryingly quick engagement, and the womanizing best man she’s dreading meeting to a handsome also-stranded stranger at the bar. Until she realizes the stranger is headed to the same wedding. Oh, and he’s the infamous best man.

Now, Jack and Ada must put their simmering attraction behind them to make it to Belfast before they miss the nuptials. But between flat tires, missed trains, and suspect hostels, Jack and Ada start to question whether their feelings are worth going the distance, or just a distracting detour along the way.

This showed up at my library and I jumped into the short queue.

---

What books did YOU add to your shelves this week?