scknitter's Reviews (1.48k)

 A very isolated farm on a small island off the coast of SC is the setting for this slow burn but very engaging story about Claire, a young woman searching for not only clues about a sister who disappeared as a teenager 20 years earlier but also for what she wants in life. The cult-like atmosphere of the island, the strange people who are on the farm and the mysterious diary that Claire finds makes you want Claire to run, but of course there wouldn’t be an engaging mystery with some very surprising twists if she just left and returned to her old life 

 Considering I am as totally opposite as you can be to a “Tradwife” I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this book. At least it did demonstrate what a fake most ‘influencers” are and hopefully unglorified being a tradwife. I absolutely couldn’t stand Madison but just had to keep listening to understand what kind of hold she had over Laurie. I listened to the audio version and enjoyed the different viewpoints though I couldn’t stand Michael’s voice – but that was probably intentional. 

 

Karin Slaughter has done it again. She has given us the beginning of a new series filled with a cast of characters who you will not be able to forget.  Trauma and tragedy have damaged them, but they fight so others can hopefully find peace.  This dark and gritty story of family, friends, and depravity will not soon be forgotten. 

 One of the craziest revenge stories I have ever listened to. The only character I liked at first was Murphy, the dog. Don’t worry he doesn’t die! When you have a bunch of characters all trying to get some kind of revenge and keeping secrets and pretending to be someone or something they are not you end up with a book you won’t want to stop listening to until you figure out who succeeds and how. 

 If you have not read Close to Home, the first Adam Fawley book, and you plan to you should read it first as Making a Killing will be a huge spoiler. Having said that Making a Killing can easily be read as a stand-alone as all of the background is explained. I listened to the audio version and loved the format with messages, memos and news articles being read. There is a large cast of characters, and they were listed with a short bio. If you are listening like I did you might find taking notes will help with who each detective is, but other than getting to know them better and perhaps for future books it really doesn’t affect the story. This is a fabulous police procedural where small clues and great detective work eventually lead to a conclusion that no one could have imagined. 

The summer escape to their family homes on a Vermont lake should have been a relaxing vacation for Julia, Erica, and David, three old friends and their respective families. But, when bones are found buried nearby it brings back memories of the two young girls who went missing 60, and 30 years ago. When the girlfriend of David disappears everything changes. Told from multiple viewpoints you start learning a lot about the many characters involved and what happened  60 years ago, 30, years ago and at the present time.  There are lots of secrets and lots of surprises and when childhood memories return and bits and pieces from the past are told or remembered decisions are made that will change the lake escape forever.

 Twins separated at birth, sibling rivalry, and a really rich, privileged b*tch who you will love to hate are all part of the newest book from Sarah Pekkanen. The locked ward part of the book was particularly interesting, it definitely made you think about which would be worse locked in a mental institution or locked up in prison. I personally liked the dual story line told from each of the sister’s points of view, it seemed to make me want to keep reading to find out what the other sister was going to do next. Overall, this was a quick and entertaining read. 

 Once again Catherine Mack has written a light (if you can call a book where 3 people are murdered light) murder mystery that is a great break from reading dark thrillers. And, once again it is Eleanor’s very funny stream of consciousness dialogue that makes the book (actually audio) work for me. This time there are again plenty of red herrings, plenty of suspects and a surprise at the end, and as a bonus this time you learn all about screen writing and movie rights and movie production. 

I have loved all previous J.D. Barker books but this one was way, way over the top as far as I was concerned.  I can handle a hint of paranormal - I knew the house was supposedly haunted . Horror to me doesn't necessarily mean supernatural but this was definitely totally supernatural and I think it should have been labeled as such.

A bachelorette party in a not yet open hotel on an isolated island, an island where 4 friends might have been before they disappeared 10 years earlier, just screams trouble and trouble definitely abounds. With a limited cast of characters and an essentially locked room it isn’t too hard to figure who is involved when a dead body is found, but the why and the intertwining of what happened 10 years earlier makes for a bone chilling read with a slasher movie type vibe.