4 Stars for Stillhouse Lake

Gina never asked about the garage.

That thought would keep her awake every night for years after. I should have asked. Should have known. But she's never asked, she didn't know, and in the end, that was what destroyed her.

And so the story begins.....

I was in the mood for an engrossing thriller and this turned out to be exactly that, making it one of the best thrillers I've read this year!

Though she starts off weak Gina/Gwen quickly becomes a likable character. She takes her weaknesses and faces them head-on, becoming not only strong but pretty bad-ass.

I'm not afraid of Mel anymore.

I'm going to kill him. One way or the other, it ends the way it began so long ago: with the two of us.

The Royals.

Yes, the story ends in a cliffhanger but for once it felt necessary. Gwen vs. Mel deserves to be a story all its own.

3.5 Stars for The Missing Ones

I enjoyed Patricia Gibney's debut thriller. Unfortunately, I had most of it figured out from early on (except for 1 final little twist with one character) and while I don't mind that because I'm generally pretty good at figuring things out, it kept me from making this a 4 star read.

What I enjoyed:
I really liked Lottie - she is real and flawed and so very emotional. All great qualities in a main character for me. I also really enjoyed Boyd and found myself rooting for them to get together. I'll definitely keep reading this series to see where things go from here.

The plot was really interesting. I won't give it away because that would spoil the book but the tying in of what occurred during the 70's at St. Angela's with current day murders made for some interesting twists. Throw in a bit of church abuse scandal, family turmoil and of course deeply hidden secrets and you've got yourself a recipe for success.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading more from this author. I think it can only get better from here as this was a strong start.

I finished this with tears streaming down my face. This book is not for everyone - it's dark and it's tragic . It deals with death, suicide, surviving death & suicide and of course love.

Finch was such a dark and emotional character. We vividly saw his emotional highs and lows. I think the author, Jennifer Niven, did an amazing job of showcasing Finch's psychological struggles. I seriously wanted to wrap him up in a big hug while simultaneously slapping some sense into his mother and telling her to wake up and really pay attention to her children!

There is so much more to say but honestly, I feel too emotionally drained. That's why this book deserves 5 stars - for my truly untethered emotional response and experience while reading. I sobbed as if I honestly had a real life connection to these characters and my heart is still broken for them. Don't you love when a book can speak to you so powerfully? That deserves all the stars in my opinion!