Recent Reads

                              

This is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter

Synopsis - Everyone here is a liar, but only one of us is a killer…

A secluded cabin retreat - For GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton, McAlpine Lodge seems like the ideal getaway to celebrate their honeymoon. Set on a gorgeous, off-the-grid mountain top property, it’s the perfect place to unplug and reconnect. Until a bone-chilling scream cuts through the night.
A murderer in their midst
Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the Lodge, is dead. With a vicious storm raging and the one access road to the property washed out, the murderer must be someone on the mountain. But as Will and Sara investigate the McAlpine family and the other guests, they realize that everyone here is lying….Lying about their past. Lying to their family. Lying to themselves.

Thoughts - I have never not loved a Karin Slaughter book especially the Will Trent series. This is my 13th book by her. I have not read any other author this much. I can't read her back to back because the crimes are far too gruesome. But I like the characters and I have never guessed the ending. It was another solid read just not for the faint of heart. 

 

Worst Case Scenario by T.J.Newman

Synopsis - When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications.
The International Nuclear Event Scale tracks nuclear disasters. It has seven levels. Level 7 is a Major Accident, with only two on record: Fukushima and Chernobyl. There has never been a Level 8. Until now.
In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people—power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends— are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives. It will take the combined courage, ingenuity, and determination of a brave few to save not only their community and loved ones, but the fate of humanity at large.

Thoughts - This is my second book by T.J.Newman. The first one I read by her was Drowning. Both of her books were centered around horrible plane crashes. So don't read this one before getting on a plane. Her books are like summer blockbusters.. they are very fast paced, very end of the world. But of course the world does not end.. and while good people die sacrificing themselves for the greater good, you also have committees coming together, helping each other. It was a book of hope and sadness. I may have welled up a bit at certain moments. There are a lot of characters and you don't really get to get to know anyone too well but that is expected in these kind of books. I enjoyed it for what it was. 

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella

Synopsis - Set in a close-knit suburb in the grip of winter, A Quiet Life follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief.

Chuck Ayers used to look forward to nothing so much as his annual trip to Hilton Head with his wife, Cat—that yearly taste of relaxation they’d become accustomed to after a lifetime of working and raising two children. Now, just months after Cat’s death, Chuck finds that he can’t let go of her belongings—her favorite towel, the sketchbooks in her desk drawer—as he struggles to pack for a trip he can’t imagine taking without her.

Ella Burke delivers morning newspapers and works at a bridal shop to fill her days while she anxiously awaits news—any piece of information—about her missing daughter. Ella adjusts to life in a new apartment and answers every call on her phone, hoping her daughter will reach out.

After the sudden death of her father, Kirsten Bonato set aside her veterinary school aspirations, finding comfort in the steady routine of working at an animal shelter. But as time passes, old dreams and new romantic interests begin to surface—and Kirsten finds herself at another crossroads.

Thoughts - This was a book of grief and loss as you can see from the synopsis and I felt nothing. It was just under 300 pages and while I felt sad for their loss but I didn't get the feels I had wanted. I didn't cry, I didn't think about these characters when I wasn't reading the book. It was all just okay. 

The Reunion by Samantha Hayes

Synopsis - They were all there the day your sister went missing...Who is lying? Who is next?
Then–In charge of her little sister at the beach, Claire allowed Eleanor to walk to the shop alone to buy an ice cream. Placing a coin into her hand, Claire told her to be quick, knowing how much she wanted the freedom. Eleanor never came back.
Now–The time has finally come to sell the family farm and Claire is organising a reunion of her dearest friends, the same friends who were present the day her sister went missing.
When another girl disappears, long-buried secrets begin to surface. One of the group hides the darkest secret of them all.

Thoughts - I really really did not like this one. All the characters were horrible or annoying or petty. Maybe two decent people in the whole bunch and at some point I was just skimming to find out who did it and it made me even more annoyed. Worst bad guy. The whole thing was just a waste of time. 

Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis - Stephanie Plum, the brassy babe in the powder blue Buick is back and she's having a bad hair day -- for the whole month of January. She's been given the unpopular task of finding Mo Bedemier, Trenton's most beloved citizen, arrested for carrying concealed, gone no-show for his court appearance.

And to make matters worse, she's got Lula, a former hooker turned file clerk, now a wannabe bounty hunter at her side, sticking like glue. Lula's big and blonde and black and itching to get the chance to lock up a crook in the trunk of her car.
Morelli, the New Jersey vice cop with the slow-burning smile that undermines a girl's strongest resolve is being polite. So what does this mean? Has he found a new love? Or is he manipulating Steph, using her in his police investigation, counting on her unmanageable curiosity and competitive Jersey attitude?
Cursed with a disastrous new hair color and an increasing sense that it's really time to get a new job, Stephanie spirals and tumbles through Three to Get Deadly with all the wisecracks and pace her fans have come to expect.

Thoughts - You gotta love Stephanie Plum. This is my third Stephanie book and they are all so much fun and highly unpredictable. These are not light and fluffy books. Serious crimes happen and Stephanie finds herself it very dangerous situations but it is balanced out well by the comedy. I don't read them often and there are 31 of them but they are great to get you out of a reading slump. 

So I guess we'll call that a mixed month of reading.. how about you? What have you been reading? 

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