Nightcap Books

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BOOK INFO

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BOOK BLURB

The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.

Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance…

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MY REVIEW

Young women in Cold Creek know to not travel the highway alone. A killer finds his victims there, and he has never been caught. Hailey knows to avoid the highway, but she also knows how to survive on her own. After her father’s death leaves her living with her aunt and uncle, who restrict her social and work life, she decides to take off. Her disappearance is assumed to be connected to the highway killer. Meanwhile, another young woman, Beth, arrives in town to learn more about her sister’s murder. She gets the same job her sister had, and starts searching for answers. Unfortunately, this draws some unwanted attention to the newcomer, and brings more attention to Hailey’s disappearance.

Dark Roads is told using the alternating points of view of Hailey and Beth. Hailey knows the town and all the locals. Beth is new to Cold Creek, and she’s on a mission to find out what happened to her sister. The characters are complex and relatable. The story is slow-burning and suspenseful. A page-turner for sure.

Dark Roads is a dark and atmospheric thriller. Recommended for fans of Chevy Stevens and crime fiction.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Chevy Stevens:

1. Still Missing
2. Never Knowing
3. Always Watching
4. That Night
5. Those Girls
6. Never Let You Go
7. Dark Roads

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

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BOOK INFO

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BOOK BLURB

The latest novel from Sara Shepard, author of Reputation and the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series. When the principal of an elite California preschool is attacked, three moms—who feel like outsiders among the school’s manicured and ultra-wealthy community—must work together to uncover what she’s hiding, figure out who’s trying to frame them, and make sure their own secrets stay hidden.

Andrea, Lauren, and Ronnie all see themselves as good, loving moms who are trying their best, but they each arrive at the Silver Swans preschool Welcome Breakfast with something to hide. Andrea is running away from a past on the East Coast, which she cannot afford for the other parents to discover. Lauren is recovering from a postpartum condition her husband has warned her not to disclose. And Ronnie is hiding herself and her daughter from the one man who could at any moment appear in their lives and ruin everything she holds dear. They already feel like impostors among the school’s community of polished parents. But then notes appear in their children’s backpacks after the first day at school. Notes that indicate that someone knows their deepest, darkest secrets and needs them gone. Does someone not want them in the community? Or is it something more menacing—does someone know everything? 

When the principal of the school is the victim of an almost-fatal attack, it quickly becomes clear that the Silver Swans community is not as flawless as the brochures and website would have you believe. The three moms must band together to uncover the school’s many secrets before the other suspicious parents and town police close in and use their outsider status to blame them . . . and before they lose what they have worked so hard for.

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MY REVIEW

Safe in My Arms is a new psychological thriller by Sara Shepard. Three women with secrets have children enrolled at an elite preschool. Someone claims to know these mother’s secrets, and expose them. The women are all new to the small community, and struggling to find their places. Now, it seems someone doesn’t want them there at all.

Safe in My Arms is told using multiple points of view. Each woman has a distinct voice, and her own challenges to overcome. However, they were not the most sympathetic of characters.

The deceit and drama in Safe in My Arms makes it an enjoyable beach read. Good for fans of domestic thrillers and women’s fiction.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Sara Shepard:

1. The Elizas
2. Reputation
3. Safe in My Arms
4. Nowhere Like Home

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

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BOOK INFO

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BOOK BLURB

In New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott’s latest novel of riveting psychological suspense, an uneasy alliance forms as two widows delve into their husbands’ deadly and dangerous secrets—as they try to protect their own.

Henry North is a down-on-his-luck cybersecurity expert from New Orleans. Adam Zhang is the cofounder of one of Austin’s most successful venture capitalist firms. These two men didn’t know each other. They had never met. Yet they died together, violently, in a place neither had any business being.

When Henry doesn’t return from a business trip, his wife, Kirsten, panics—and then gets an anonymous phone call: “Your husband is dead in Austin.”

Flora Zhang knew her husband was keeping secrets. She suspected an affair, but she had decided she could forgive him for his weakness—until her husband ended up dead. And with no explanation for her husband’s murder, the police begin to suspect her.

Together, these two widows will face a powerful foe determined to write a false narrative about the murders. In doing so, neither Flora nor Kirsten will remain the women the world thought they were.

An uneasy alliance forms as the two widows delve into their husbands’ deadly and dangerous secrets—as they try to protect their own. Together they will face a powerful foe determined to write a false narrative about the murders. In doing so, neither Flora nor Kirsten will remain the woman the world thought they were.

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MY REVIEW

Kirsten’s husband Henry doesn’t return from a business trip. Flora’s husband Adam doesn’t make it home either. Both men, who don’t appear to have any connection, were gunned down in an abandoned warehouse in Austin. Kirsten’s husband wasn’t supposed to be in Austin, so she decides to go there and find out what her husband was doing. Flora also wants to know what her husband was up to. Together, the widows uncover their husband’s secrets.

An Ambush of Widows starts slow, but picks up about half way through the novel. Multiple points of view and storylines makes for an intriguing novel. The women each have their own stories, but there is also the mysterious connection of why their husbands were killed together. A twisty and suspenseful thriller.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Jeff Abbott:

1. Blame
2. The Three Beths
3. Never Ask Me
4. An Ambush of Widows