The premise of Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland sparked my interest right away. Immediately I wondered what I would do in the same situation. What would you do?
Stephanie Maddox makes tough decisions every day. She has her hands full heading the FBI’s Internal Investigations division, policing wrongdoers within the Bureau. But, as a single mother, the most important thing in her life is her teenage son Zachary, who’s anxiously awaiting college acceptance letters. So when she discovers a gun concealed in Zach’s room, her world reels. And then an FBI agent on the domestic terrorism squad shows up at her door and utters three devastating words: “It’s about Zachary. . . .”
Has she been wrong about her near-perfect son? Is Zach embroiled in something criminal–something deadly? And, if so, what is her greater duty: To protect him? Or to protect her country?
How well do we really know our kids?
This was an intriguing read with twists and turns, with drama, and a flawed main character which is always interesting for the reader!
Sue Watson is definitely an author to watch! I remember how much I enjoyed her novel, Our Little Lies so I started All Her Secrets with great interest. Right away Lucy is an unreliable narrator- the best kind for a suspense novel. Is she hiding something? Is she being truthful? She’s leading a boring life as a teacher, married to Matt, another teacher who is heavily involved with the drama program at his school. Enter Amber, the glamorous weather girl for the local news who has moved into Lucy’s neighborhood. The two become fast friends though they are very different. Amber brings glamour and excitement to Lucy’s life and when someone starts stalking Amber, Lucy is there to help and comfort her.
Lucy has a lovely husband, a job she adores as a teacher, and a house on Mulberry Avenue that she’s decorated just the way she wants – from the floaty curtains and the softest bed linen, right down to the perfectly-chosen velvet cushions on their comfortable sofa. Life isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty close.
She’s also got Amber. Her newest friend and neighbour. They’ve got so much in common. Even if Amber’s life sometimes seems a lot more glamorous and exciting, she shares Lucy’s down-to-earth sense of humour, and Amber seems so interested in Lucy and her life, it’s like they never run out of things to talk about.
But then Amber starts acting strangely, claiming her life isn’t all it seems, talking about how she thinks she might be pregnant, and confiding in Lucy that she’s started getting threatening messages.
She’s scared, and the only person she can turn to is Lucy. She wants to stay at Lucy’s house until things calm down.
Lucy wants to protect her friend. But can she really trust Amber? Because sometimes other people are not all that they seem. Sometimes they have secrets. And they’d do anything to keep them…
Why does Lucy want to help Amber so badly? Amber fills a void Lucy has but why is she so invested in Amber’s life? I had a million questions while reading this suspenseful novel! I really enjoyed this book and thought it was very good from beginning to end.
Dead Inside by Noelle Holten is the first in an upcoming series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson. I enjoyed reading this book and was curious about how it was all going to conclude. There are quite a few characters so you need to pay attention as they are introduced. I liked the main character of Lucy, a probation officer for domestic abusers…she herself is abused by her husband. No one would ever suspect what goes on behind closed doors of her home. Lucy hides it well. Or so she thinks.
When three domestic abuse offenders are found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.
The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered. And he is Lucy’s husband. Now the finger of suspicion points at Lucy and the police are running out of time. Can Maggie and her team solve the murders before another person dies? And is Lucy really a cold-blooded killer?
I love how the author weaved together a gripping story and with different characters and various backgrounds that really kept me guessing. I thought I might have figured it all out but I was wrong! This was a fast paced book that you can read in a couple of hours. Very good- I look forward to the author’s next novel!
I didn’t know much about Clover Blue by Eldonna Edwards when I started reading it. Really the only thing I knew is that it took place in the 1970s, other than that I had no clue about the plot. This turned out to be a five-star read for me!
As I have mentioned in the past, I rarely give out five stars over on Goodreads where I keep track of every book I read. Five stars are reserved for books that blow me away whether they are fiction, true crime, memoir, thrillers. If a book has me completely hooked from start to finish it will get five gold stars. Clover Blue captivated me from page one.
The writing puts you right in the midst of the Saffron Freedom Community in the 1970’s where a small group of people live off the grid. They live and love freely, raise each other’s children and offer love and support. Young Clover isn’t sure which of the women is his mother and he starts asking questions which kicks off his journey to finding out the truth of who he is and where he came from.
Set against the backdrop of a 1970s commune in Northern California, Clover Blue is a compelling, beautifully written story of a young boy’s search for identity.
There are many things twelve-year-old Clover Blue isn’t sure of: his exact date of birth, his name before he was adopted into the Saffron Freedom Community, or who his first parents were. What he does know with certainty is that among this close-knit, nature-loving group, he is happy. Here, everyone is family, regardless of their disparate backgrounds—surfer, midwife, Grateful Dead groupie, Vietnam deserter. But despite his loyalty to the commune and its guru-like founder Goji, Blue grapples with invisible ties toward another family—the one he doesn’t remember.With the urging of his fearless and funny best friend, Harmony, Clover Blue begins to ask questions. For the first time, Goji’s answers fail to satisfy. The passing months bring upheaval to their little clan and another member arrives, a beautiful runaway teen named Rain, sparking new tensions. As secrets slowly unfurl, Blue’s beliefs—about Goji, the guidelines that govern their seemingly idyllic lives, and the nature of family itself—begin to shift. With each revelation about a heartbreaking past he never imagined, Blue faces a choice between those he’s always trusted, and an uncertain future where he must risk everything in his quest for the truth.
Part coming-of-age tale, part love story, part mystery, Clover Blue tenderly explores an unconventional but no less complex family that resonates with our deep-rooted yearning for home.
This is a coming of age story which centers around Clover and his best friend Harmony. I found myself thinking about the book throughout the day and I couldn’t wait to pick it up later and finish reading. I read into the night to find out how Clover’s story would end. I’m not the only one who loved this novel, its receiving rave reviews and should be on the top of your MUST READ list for May!
Till Death Do Us Part by Stephen Edger is next up on my TO READ list. Its getting rave reviews and I am so excited to read it. Other readers have commented that its a fast-paced story, offers lots of twists and turns and is gripping from beginning to end. Sounds perfect!
Here’s what you need to know:
Alice Tandy has dreamed of her wedding since she was a little girl. The perfect venue, the perfect dress, the perfect groom. It’s all going exactly to plan.
But then her whole world comes tumbling down. Just as she and her new husband Ben are cutting their wedding cake, three policemen storm in and arrest Ben. Alice looks on in horror, unable to comprehend what is happening. Did they say murder?
The next day, Ben is released on bail, but for Alice, the nightmare is only just beginning. And as more details about the murder of Kerry Valentine emerge she starts to realise that everyone around her is keeping secrets. Can she trust anyone? And who really killed Kerry?
I love psychological thrillers with page-turning suspense!
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Out now and I cannot wait to read it! The White City by Grace Hitchcock is the first in a series where true crime meets fiction. I love the premise for this which is based on a real serial killer named H.H. Holmes who operated at the World’s Fair in Chicago. He is actually known as America’s First Serial Killer.
Here’s what you need to know:
While attending the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, Winnifred Wylde believes she witnessed a woman being kidnapped. She tries to convince her father, an inspector with the Chicago police, to look into reports of mysterious disappearances around the White City.
Inspector Wylde tries to dismiss her claims as an exaggeration of an overactive imagination, but he eventually concedes to letting her go undercover as secretary.
I am really excited to read this novel and other books from the author especially if she is basing her work on real crimes. As you might know, I am a true crime junkie so I am especially interested in this type of book.
The White City is getting some great reviews!
The writing of A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas is fantastic. I loved the plot which is something we haven’t seen a million times before. I really understood the main character, Ruth, and how she felt throughout the story. You could really see it all happening in real life!
Ruth Hartland is the director of a trauma therapy unit in London. A psychotherapist with years of experience, she is highly respected in her field and in her office. But her family life tells another story: her marriage has fractured; her daughter has moved far, far away to Australia; and Tom, her teenage son, after years of struggling with being a child who never fit in, has disappeared and has had no contact with anyone for two years. Ruth’s fragile son has always been sensitive and anxious, the opposite of his cheerful and resilient sister. Is he hiding? Is he dead? How did she fail him, and how can she find him after all this time?
Then Ruth is assigned a new patient, a young man who bears a striking resemblance to her own son. Ruth is determined to help Dan, but her own complicated feelings and family history cloud her judgment–and professional boundaries, once inviolable, are crossed. When events spiral out of control, Ruth will have to accept the unacceptable and reckon with those who truly matter in her life.
If you enjoy books that are deep, thought-provoking, emotionally gripping then you will have to get your hands on this one.
April 30th 2019
I’ve read several books which are based on true stories of the bizarre and terrible ways people were treated for what was considered mental illness and the stories are always cringy and fascinating. In Stone Mothers by Erin Kelly, Marianne not happy when her husband buys an apartment in the former Nazareth Mental Hospital, now known as Park Manor. Because Marianne has a connection to the place, she is less than thrilled.
By the way, “Stone Mother” is a Victorian term for an asylum. I didn’t know that, did you?
Marianne was seventeen when she fled her home in Nusstead – leaving behind her family, her boyfriend, Jesse, and the body they buried. Now, thirty years later, forced to return to in order to help care for her sick mother, she can feel the past closing around her. And Jesse, who never forgave her for leaving in the first place, is finally threatening to expose the truth.
Marianne will do anything to protect the life she’s built, the husband and daughter who must never know what happened all those years ago. Even if it means turning to her worst enemy for help… But Marianne may not know the whole story – and she isn’t the only one with secrets they’d kill to keep.
The story is told from the point of view of Marianne and takes us back to 1958 telling the story of Helen. It’s a very well written book and as I always talk about, I love a plot I haven’t seen a million times before.
Creepy, gothic, dark, with lots of secrets…that’s how I describe The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage.
Here’s what you need to know:
For Sarah and Patrick, family life has always been easy. But when Sarah’s mother dies, it sends Sarah into a downwards spiral. Knowing they need a fresh start, Patrick moves the family to the beachside house he grew up in.
But there is a catch: while their new home carries only happy memories for Patrick, to everyone else it’s known as the Murder House – named for the family that was killed there.
Patrick is adamant they can make it perfect again, though with their children plagued by nightmares and a constant sense they’re being watched, Sarah’s not so sure. Because the longer they live in their ‘dream home’, the more different her loving husband becomes.
I read this book quickly, its an intriguing story and you can just picture the house with all its suffering and secrets. I’d be scared out of my mind living in a place where murders were committed!
