Imagine coming home one afternoon after a normal, typical day and having your life turned inside out, upside down in a second. Well, that’s what happened to Gwen Proctor, formerly known as Gina Royal, the identity she had to give up so she and her two children, Lanny and Connor (also new names) could survive.… Continue reading Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine ★★★★1/2 (Stillhouse Lake #1)
This series has a continuing story arc. I do NOT recommend reading the books out of order. The Set Up Evelyn Talbot is the head psychiatrist at Hanover House, a maximum security prison for serial killers, located in Hilltop, Alaska. The facility is devoted to the psychological study of these criminals and it’s her… Continue reading Face Off by Brenda Novak ★★★★ (The Evelyn Talbot Chronicles #3)
Lydia Fitzsimons and her husband get caught up in some deadly business that takes a wrong turn. He’s a judge and she comes from a prestigious family so there’s a lot at stake. The things that happen afterwards are shocking, unpredictable, diabolical and...fascinating. The opening line of this story sets the tone: “My husband did… Continue reading Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent ★★★★★
Sarah Walker is a successful business owner, still recovering from a failed relationship, but seemingly healthy in all respects. While on a business trip, she witnesses a disturbing scene between a mother and her young daughter at an airport. It’s clear the mother is frazzled but not enough to excuse her treatment of the little… Continue reading Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey ★★★★
Told by the second Mrs. de Winter, the story begins in Monte Carlo where she's the orphaned paid companion of an American matron. When she meets the elegant widower Maxim de Winter, he sweeps her off of her feet and they quickly marry. Though his wife Rebecca died a year ago, her presence continues to… Continue reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier ★★★★★
The story resumes about six months after the prequel with Hanover House up and running. Dr. Evelyn Talbot has a team of psychiatrists in place who are analyzing some of the most twisted minds in the country, all serial killers. When a woman's mutilated body is found in the middle of a developing snowstorm, Evelyn… Continue reading Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak ★★★1/2 (The Evelyn Talbot Chronicles)
Detectives Dawn Cimarron and Rafe Melbourne find themselves in the middle of two investigations, one a race against time as they try to identify and locate a young woman who was abducted from a park. The other involves the murder of a troubled young man where, on the surface, looks to be as a result… Continue reading When the Tiger Kills by Vanessa Prelatte ★★★★ (Cimarron/Melbourne Thriller #1)
Olivia Campbell is living comfortably to a wealthy man, Richard, but she’s anything but at peace. That’s because she’s slowly coming to the understanding that he just might be a serial killer. The story is mostly told from three points of view: Olivia’s, Ashley Hayes (Olivia’s best friend) and Betty (Ashley’s friend). However, the book… Continue reading As Sick as Our Secrets by A. B. Whelan ★★★
Erin and Mark Roberts are enjoying their honeymoon in Bora Bora when they come upon a curious discovery during a private boat excursion. They take an item out of the water that later sends them down a path of no return that threatens to change their lives forever. Erin is a film documentarian and Mark… Continue reading Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman ★★★1/2
This was a book selected by my former Mystery & Suspense group for discussion a few years ago. I’d never heard of the author or this series and the group came through yet again in selecting a really good story. I later switched to the audio format because the main narrator, David Chandler, brings these… Continue reading Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger ★★★★ (Cork O’Connor #1)
Blue Mood Café 