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Book Review

Steel Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Steel Fear

Author: Brandon Webb and John David Mann

Publisher: Bantam

Publish Date: July 13, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: Finn Thrillers #1

My Rating: 4/5

Steel Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann

BOOK BLURB

The moment Navy SEAL sniper Finn sets foot on the USS Abraham Lincoln to hitch a ride home from the Persian Gulf, it’s clear something is deeply wrong. Leadership is weak. Morale is low. And when crew members start disappearing one by one, what at first seems like a random string of suicides soon reveals something far more sinister: There’s a serial killer on board. Suspicion falls on Finn, the newcomer to the ship. After all, he’s being sent home in disgrace, recalled from the field under the dark cloud of a mission gone horribly wrong. He’s also a lone wolf, haunted by gaps in his memory and the elusive sense that something he missed may have contributed to civilian deaths on his last assignment. Finding the killer offers a chance at redemption . . . if he can stay alive long enough to prove it isn’t him.

Steel Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann

MY REVIEW

Chief Finn is a veteran Navy SEAL who ends up on an aircraft carrier. While Finn is on the ship, a series of deaths occurs. At first, it appears to be suicides. As the number of deaths increase, it becomes clear that a serial killer is on the ship.

Steel Fear is told using multiple points of view. Finn is one viewpoint, and he is a mysterious character. The people on board treat him with both respect and suspicion. Another viewpoint is Monica, an aircraft pilot. She questions her roommate’s death, and suspects more is happening than anyone else will admit.

Steel Fear is an exciting thriller with intriguing characters and plenty of action. The story moves fast and keeps the reader guessing. I don’t typically read military thrillers, but I”m happy I picked this one up.

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

Books in the Finn Thrillers series:
  1. Steel Fear
  2. Cold Fear
  3. Blind Fear
Book Review

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: The Bone Code

Author: Kathy Reichs

Publisher: Scribner

Publish Date: July 6, 2021

Genre: Police Procedural

Series: Temperance Brennan #20

My Rating: 4/5

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs

BOOK BLURB

On the way to hurricane-ravaged Isle of Palms, a barrier island off the South Carolina coast, Tempe receives a call from the Charleston coroner. The storm has tossed ashore a medical waste container. Inside are two decomposed bodies wrapped in plastic sheeting and bound with electrical wire. Tempe recognizes many of the details as identical to those of an unsolved case she handled in Quebec years earlier. With a growing sense of foreboding, she travels to Montreal to gather evidence.

Meanwhile, health authorities in South Carolina become increasingly alarmed as a human flesh-eating contagion spreads. So focused is Tempe on identifying the container victims that, initially, she doesn’t register how their murders and the pestilence may be related. But she does recognize one unsettling fact. Someone is protecting a dark secret—and willing to do anything to keep it hidden.

An absorbing look at the sinister uses to which genetics can be put, and featuring a cascade of ever-more-shocking revelations, The Bone Code is Temperance Brennan’s most astonishing case yet—one that gives new meaning to today’s headlines.

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs

MY REVIEW

The Bone Code is the twentieth book in the Temperance Brennan series. Temperance is a forensic anthropologist who has worked on a variety of cases. While this could be read as a standalone novel, I recommend reading some of the earlier books first.

In The Bone Code, Temperance gets involved with a case in Charleston that reminds her of a cold case she worked years earlier in Quebec. Meanwhile, a virus outbreak in Charleston is causing panic. Temperance works to connect the two cases and uncover more than just a murderer.

This is a series that I’ve enjoyed over the years. There are a few books in this series that I haven’t read, but I plan to go back and read them soon. Temperance is intelligent and driven in her work. She makes for a strong and interesting protagonist.

The Bone Code is sure to be enjoyed by fans of this series. For readers unfamiliar with Temperance, I recommend checking out this series if you like crime fiction.

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

Books in the Temperance Brennan series:
  1. Déjà Dead
  2. Death du Jour
  3. Deadly Decisions
  4. Fatal Voyage
  5. Grave Secrets
  6. Bare Bones
  7. Monday Mourning
  8. Cross Bones
  9. Break No Bones
  10. Bones to Ashes
  11. Devil Bones
  12. 206 Bones
  13. Spider Bones
  14. Flash and Bones
  15. Bones Are Forever
  16. Bones of the Lost
  17. Bones Never Lie
  18. Speaking in Bones
  19. A Conspiracy of Bones
  20. The Bone Code
  21. Cold, Cold Bones
  22. The Bone Hacker
  23. Fire and Bones
Book Review

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Razorblade Tears

Author: S.A. Cosby

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publish Date: July 6, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

BOOK BLURB

A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance.

Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid.

The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss.

Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed of his father’s criminal record. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy.

Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

Provocative and fast-paced, S. A. Cosby’s Razorblade Tears is a story of bloody retribution, heartfelt change – and maybe even redemption.

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

MY REVIEW

Ike and Buddy Lee share little in common. They do have a few things in common though. They’re both ex-cons. They are the fathers of Isiah and Derek, an interracial gay couple who were gunned down. They both want revenge against the people behind their sons’ deaths.

Razorblade Tears is a gritty revenge mystery. Ike and Buddy Lee are both flawed characters with regrets. While they would both like redemption, they will settle for revenge. A well written and compelling novel.

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

Books by S.A. Cosby:
  1. Blacktop Wasteland
  2. Razorblade Tears
Book Review

Lie Beside Me by Gytha Lodge [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Lie Beside Me

Author: Gytha Lodge

Publisher: Random House

Publish Date: June 22, 2021

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: DCI Jonah Sheens #3

My Rating: 4/5

Lie Beside Me by Gytha Lodge

BOOK BLURB

Louise wakes up. Her head aches, her mouth is dry, her memory is fuzzy—but she suspects she’s done something bad.

She rolls over toward her husband, Niall. The man who, until recently, made her feel loved.

But it’s not Niall lying beside her. In fact, she’s never seen this man before.

And he’s not breathing. . . .

As Louise desperately struggles to piece her memories back together, it’s clear to Jonah Sheens and his team that she is their prime suspect—though they soon find she’s not the only one with something to hide.

Did she do it? And, if not, can they catch the real killer before they strike again?

In this gripping novel, a young woman finds that trying to make sense of her life’s bad choices might prove the most dangerous reckoning there is.

Lie Beside Me by Gytha Lodge

MY REVIEW

A woman awakens to discover that the man beside her is not only not her husband, but he’s dead. Though she doesn’t remember what happened, she can’t believe she killed this man. When the police arrive, they find the body in the front yard. The woman is clearly keeping secrets and is a prime suspect.

Lie Beside Me is told using alternating points of view – the suspect, Louise, and the detective, Jonah. Louise is insecure and a struggling alcoholic. Jonah is trying to find a killer. The mystery is well paced and complex.

Lie Beside Me is the third book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series, but it can be read as a standalone. I’ve read the previous two books (She Lies in Wait and Watching from the Dark), and think this series is getting better with each book.

Twisty and intriguing. Lie Beside Me is a straightforward police procedural. A great series for fans of British police procedurals.

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

Books in the DCI Jonah Sheens series:
  1. She Lies in Wait
  2. Watching from the Dark
  3. Lie Beside Me
  4. Little Sister
  5. A Killer in the Family
Book Review

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Dream Girl

Author: Laura Lippman

Publisher: Faber and Faber

Publish Date: July 1, 2021

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman

BOOK BLURB

Following up on her acclaimed and wildly successful New York Times bestseller Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman returns with a dark, complex tale of psychological suspense with echoes of Misery involving a novelist, incapacitated by injury, who is plagued by mysterious phone calls.

In the end, has anyone really led a blameless life?

Injured in a freak fall, novelist Gerry Andersen is confined to a hospital bed in his glamorous high-rise apartment, dependent on two women he barely knows: his incurious young assistant, and a dull, slow-witted night nurse.

Then late one night, the phone rings. The caller claims to be the “real” Aubrey, the alluring title character from his most successful novel, Dream Girl. But there is no real Aubrey. She’s a figment born of a writer’s imagination, despite what many believe or claim to know. Could the cryptic caller be one of his three ex-wives playing a vindictive trick after all these years? Or is she Margot, an ex-girlfriend who keeps trying to insinuate her way back into Gerry’s life?

And why does no one believe that the call even happened?

Isolated from the world, drowsy from medication, Gerry slips between reality and a dreamlike state in which he is haunted by his own past: his faithless father, his devoted mother; the women who loved him, the women he loved.

And now here is Aubrey, threatening to visit him, suggesting that she is owed something. Is the threat real or is it a sign of dementia? Which scenario would he prefer? Gerry has never been so alone, so confused – and so terrified.

Chilling and compulsively readable, touching on timely issues that include power, agency, appropriation, and creation, Dream Girl is a superb blend of psychological suspense and horror that reveals the mind and soul of a writer.

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman

MY REVIEW

Gerry had an accident that left him confined to a hospital bed in his apartment. He is dependent on two women, his personal assistant and his night nurse. Gerry has plenty of time to reminiscence about his past, and he has many regrets. On top of all of that, he is receiving phone calls from Aubrey, a fictional character from his most successful novel. He suspects someone is messing with him, or he may be losing his mind.

Dream Girl is a multilayered novel with an unlikable main character. The timeline shifts between past and present. The past is all over the place, covering everything from Gerry’s childhood to more recent moments. While the story is slow building, it is also engrossing.

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

Books by Laura Lippman:
  1. After I’m Gone
  2. Wilde Lake
  3. Sunburn
  4. Lady in the Lake
  5. Dream Girl
  6. Prom Mom
Book Review

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: The Disappearing Act

Author: Catherine Steadman

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publish Date: June 8, 2021

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman

BOOK BLURB

Once a year, actors from across the globe descend on the smog and sunshine of Los Angeles for pilot season. Every cable network and studio is looking to fill the rosters of their new shows, enticing a fresh batch of young hopefuls—anxious, desperate, and willing to do whatever it takes to make it. Careers will be made, dreams will be realized, stars will be born. And some will be snuffed out.

British star Mia Eliot has landed leading roles in costume dramas in her native country, but now it’s time for Hollywood to take her to the next level. Mia flies across the Atlantic to join the horde of talent scrambling for their big breaks. She’s a fish out of water in the ruthlessly competitive arena of back-to-back auditioning. Then one day she meets Emily, another actress from out of town and a kindred spirit. Emily stands out in a conveyor-belt world of fellow auditionees. But a simple favor takes a dark twist when Emily disappears and Mia realizes she was the last person to see her. 

All Mia has to go on is the memory of a girl she met only once . . . and the suffocating feeling that something terrible has happened. Worse still, the police don’t believe her when she claims the real Emily has gone missing. So Mia is forced to risk the role of a lifetime to try to uncover the truth about Emily, a gamble that will force her to question her own sanity.

Actress and author Catherine Steadman has written a gripping thriller set in a world close to home that asks the question: In a city where dreams really do come true, how far would you go to make the unreal real?

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman

MY REVIEW

Mia has traveled from London to LA to audition for new roles. While at an audition, she meets Emily, another actress. Mia does a simple favor for Emily, but that favor leads to a mysterious case of a missing woman. When Mia claims Emily is missing, no one seems to believe her.

Mia is a young woman on her own in a new country. She is not completely comfortable in LA, but she’s slowly finding her place. She is smart but naive. Her caring nature sometimes put her in sketchy situations. When she meets Emily, she finds a kindred spirit. When she realizes Emily is missing, she is drawn to find her new friend. A wild and twisty mystery follows.

The Disappearing Act is a slow building psychological thriller. Atmospheric and suspenseful.

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

Books by Catherine Steadman:
  1. Something in the Water
  2. Mr. Nobody
  3. The Disappearing Act
  4. The Family Game
  5. Look in the Mirror
Book Review

I Don’t Forgive You by Aggie Blum Thompson [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: I Don’t Forgive You

Author: Aggie Blum Thompson

Publisher: Forge Books

Publish Date: June 8, 2021

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

I Don't Forgive You by Aggie Blum Thompson

BOOK BLURB

An accomplished photographer and the devoted mom of an adorable little boy, Allie Ross has just moved to an upscale DC suburb, the kind of place where parenting feels like a competitive sport. Allie’s desperate to make a good first impression. Then she’s framed for murder.

It all starts at a neighborhood party when a local dad corners Allie and calls her by an old, forgotten nickname from her dark past. The next day, he is found dead.

Soon, the police are knocking at her door, grilling her about a supposed Tinder relationship with the man, and pulling up texts between them. She learns quickly that she’s been hacked and someone is impersonating her online. Her reputation—socially and professionally—is at stake; even her husband starts to doubt her. As the killer closes in, Allie must reach back into a past she vowed to forget in order to learn the shocking truth of who is destroying her life.

I Don't Forgive You by Aggie Blum Thompson

MY REVIEW

Allie and her husband and son recently moved to their new neighborhood. At a neighbor’s party, Allie meets a man who seems to know her. When he is found dead the next day, Allie is a suspect. The catch is, Allie doesn’t know the man. As she tries to clear her name, she realizes someone from her past is out to get her.

I Don’t Forgive You has an intriguing plot. Allie is a suspect in a murder for a man she claims she doesn’t know. However, there are social media accounts that show otherwise. Allie tries to prove the accounts are fakes, but it’s not easy to do. Between being a murder suspect, cyberbullying, and local gossip, Allie’s life is slowly unraveling.

A gripping psychological thriller. I Don’t Forgive You is a fantastic debut novel, and I look forward to reading more by Aggie Blum Thompson. Atmospheric and creepy.

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

Book Review

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Local Woman Missing

Author: Mary Kubica

Publisher: Park Row

Publish Date: May 18, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

BOOK BLURB

In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

People don’t just disappear without a trace…

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.

Now, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find…

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

MY REVIEW

Years ago, a woman went missing. Soon after, another woman and her young daughter went missing. When a teenage girl appears, it seems the missing girl has escaped her captors. Finally, the answers to what happened years earlier will be revealed.

Local Woman Missing is told using multiple points of view and shifting timelines. There are four points of view – the missing girl, her mother, her brother, and a neighbor. With different viewpoints and timelines, the flow of the story was not as smooth as I like. Still, I liked reading the different viewpoints.

An intriguing mystery. Local Woman Missing has some twists and turns to keep the reader interested. Though not the most believable, it was definitely an entertaining thriller.

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

Books by Mary Kubica:
  1. The Good Girl
  2. Pretty Baby
  3. Don’t You Cry
  4. Every Last Lie
  5. When the Lights Go Out
  6. The Other Mrs.
  7. Local Woman Missing
  8. Just the Nicest Couple
  9. She’s Not Sorry
Book Review

Beyond the Headlines by R.G. Belsky [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Beyond the Headlines

Author: R.G. Belsky

Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

Publish Date: May 4, 2021

Genre: Amateur Investigator

Series: Clare Carlson #4

My Rating: 4/5

Beyond the Headlines by R.G. Belsky

BOOK BLURB

She was a mega-celebrity—he was a billionaire businessman—now he’s dead—she’s in jail

Laurie Bateman was living the American dream. Since her arrival as an infant in the U.S. after the fall of Saigon, the pretty Vietnamese girl had gone on to become a supermodel, a successful actress, and, finally, the wife of one of the country’s top corporate dealmakers. That dream has now turned into a nightmare when she is arrested for the murder of her wealthy husband.

New York City TV journalist Clare Carlson does an emotional jailhouse interview in which Bateman proclaims her innocence—and becomes a cause celebre for women’s rights groups around the country.

At first sympathetic, then increasingly suspicious of Laurie Bateman and her story, Clare delves into a baffling mystery which has roots extending back nearly fifty years to the height of the Vietnam War.

Soon, there are more murders, more victims, and more questions as Clare struggles against dire evil forces to break the biggest story of her life.

Beyond the Headlines by R.G. Belsky

MY REVIEW

Beyond the Headlines is the fourth book in the Clare Carlson series by R.G. Belsky. Clare is a journalist who has worked on several high profile investigations. In Beyond the Headlines, Clare is asked to do a jailhouse interview with a woman arrested for her wealthy husband’s murder. The woman proclaims her innocence, but Clare does some digging to discover the truth.

Clare is a flawed character. She is intelligent and witty, but she also makes some bad decisions. She does have some great investigative skills though, and the determination to find truth.

I’ve read the previous book in this series, and recommend reading this series in order. However, Beyond the Headlines can be read as a stand-alone.

Beyond the Headlines is a gripping mystery. Engaging, interesting, and suspenseful.

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

Books in the Clare Carlson series:
  1. Yesterday’s News
  2. Below the Fold
  3. The Last Scoop
  4. Beyond the Headlines
  5. It’s News to Me
  6. Broadcast Blues
Book Review

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: The Good Sister

Author: Sally Hepworth

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: April 13, 2021

Genre: Domestic Suspense

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

BOOK BLURB

Sally Hepworth, the author of The Mother-In-Law delivers a knock-out of a novel about the lies that bind two sisters in The Good Sister.

There’s only been one time that Rose couldn’t stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be…dangerous.

When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.

Fern’s mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

MY REVIEW

The Good Sister is a twisty domestic suspense about sisters. Fern and Rose are fraternal twins with a complicated relationships.

Fern and Rose are in their late twenties. Fern is on the spectrum, and Rose has always been her protector. Fern works at a library and lives a structured life. Rose is married and lives a seemingly perfect life. Rose wants a baby, but she is unable to conceive. Fern decides to help… she will carry a baby for her sister. In this way, she can help the sister who has always helped her. Unfortunately, the sisters had a troubled childhood. As secrets from their past are slowly revealed, things become even more complicated.

The Good Sister is told with alternating points of view, and includes past and present events. Fern’s point of view is in the present, while Rose’s point of view is in the past. Rose’s viewpoint is told using diary entries from their childhood. With the alternating viewpoints, sometimes it’s hard to tell which one is the good sister.

A captivating read for fans of domestic thrillers. The Good Sister combines family drama, mystery, and a little romance.

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

Books by Sally Hepworth:
  1. The Mother’s Promise
  2. The Family Next Door
  3. The Mother-in-Law
  4. The Good Sister
  5. The Younger Wife
  6. The Soulmate
  7. Darling Girls
Book Review

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: You Love Me

Author: Caroline Kepnes

Publisher: Random House

Publish Date: April 6, 2021

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: You #3

My Rating: 4/5

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

BOOK BLURB

Joe Goldberg is done with the cities. He’s done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now he’s saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe.

He gets a job at the local library—he does know a thing or two about books—and that’s where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won’t meddle, he will not obsess. He’ll win her the old-fashioned way . . . by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they’ll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town.

The trouble is . . . Mary Kay already has a life. She’s a mother. She’s a friend. She’s . . . busy.

True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He’s ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kay will do the right thing and make room for him.

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

MY REVIEW

You Love Me is the third book in the You series by Caroline Kepnes. Joe Goldberg is back! He’s left the city and moved to a quiet island in the Pacific Northwest. He’s working at a library and has focused his attention on a new woman.

Joe continues to be an intriguing character. He’s met a new woman, Mary Kay, but she’s not exactly interested in Joe. No worries though, Joe has a plan to win Mary Kay over. Joe is a stalker and psychopath, and it’s interesting to read along as his plan unfolds.

Although You Love Me is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. I have read the first book, You, but haven’t read the second book, Hidden Bodies. I’ve enjoyed the two books I have read, and plan on reading Hidden Bodies soon.

You Love Me is a gripping and twisted story. I liked that the story was from Joe’s viewpoint. Getting into his mind made for a disturbing yet intriguing read.

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

Books in the You series:
  1. You
  2. Hidden Bodies
  3. You Love Me
Book Review

Deadly Editions by Paige Shelton [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Deadly Editions

Author: Paige Shelton

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publish Date: April 6, 2021

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: Scottish Bookshop Mystery #6

My Rating: 4/5

Deadly Editions by Paige Shelton

BOOK BLURB

A treasure hunt through Edinburgh gives way to a search for a villain terrorizing the city in the sixth Scottish Bookshop Mystery.

It’s a quiet, snowy morning at The Cracked Spine bookshop, when bookseller Delaney Nichols receives a mysterious visitor, a messenger. He presents her with a perplexing note: an invitation to a meeting with eccentric socialite Shelagh O’Conner, who requests Delaney’s participation in an exclusive treasure hunt. Delaney is intrigued, but also cautious: Shelagh, while charming in person, has a reputation for her hijinks as a wealthy young woman in the ’70s. She was even once suspected for the murder of a former boyfriend, though ultimately cleared of all charges.

But Delaney is enticed by the grand prize at the end of the treasure hunt: a highly valuable first edition copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The winner is also to receive the contents of Shelagh’s vast library, and all participants will earn a large sum of cash.

The night after the first meeting of the treasure hunters, however, several homes in Edinburgh are robbed in a manner reminiscent of Shelagh’s old tricks. And when a man connected to Shelagh is killed, suspicion builds. Except Shelagh herself has disappeared from her home, seemingly kidnapped by the villain.

Terror mounts throughout the city as Delaney attempts to solve the mystery, while trying to evade the killer’s clutches. But it’s hard to know who to trust when around every corner, a new monster could be lurking.

Deadly Editions by Paige Shelton

MY REVIEW

Deadly Editions is the sixth book in the Scottish Bookshop mystery series. The main character, Delaney, is an American woman who relocated to Scotland to work in a unique bookshop, the Cracked Spine. Delaney occasionally helps solve mysteries. Deadly Editions starts with Delaney on a treasure hunt, but leads to her looking for a killer.

I recommend starting with the first book in this series, The Cracked Spine. Each book in the series has a unique mystery, but the relationships between the characters grows throughout Delaney’s time in Scotland.

Deadly Editions is a delightful cozy mystery. The characters are likable and the story is entertaining. Light, fun, and quirky. A good read for fans of cozies.

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

Books in the Scottish Bookshop series:
  1. The Cracked Spine
  2. Of Books and Bagpipes
  3. Lost Books and Old Bones
  4. The Loch Ness Papers
  5. The Stolen Letter
  6. Deadly Editions
  7. The Burning Pages
  8. Fateful Words
  9. The Poison Pen