Nightcap Books

BOOK INFO

Title: The Last House Guest

Author: Megan Miranda

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publish Date: June 18, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns: an ideal vacation enclave for the wealthy, whose summer homes line the coastline; and a simple harbor community for the year-round residents whose livelihoods rely on service to the visitors.

Typically, fierce friendships never develop between a local and a summer girl—but that’s just what happens with visitor Sadie Loman and Littleport resident Avery Greer. Each summer for almost a decade, the girls are inseparable—until Sadie is found dead. While the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother, Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name, before the facts get twisted against her.

Another thrilling novel from the bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger, Megan Miranda’s The Last House Guest is a smart, twisty read with a strong female protagonist determined to make her own way in the world.

MY REVIEW

Avery and Sadie formed a friendship, despite them being from different social circles. Sadie’s family is wealthy and spends their summers vacationing in Maine. Avery is a townie. The young women have spent their summers together for years, and are best friends. When Sadie is found dead, Avery suspects her friend has been murdered, and she is determined to find the killer.

Told with multiple timelines, alternating between the summer Sadie died and the following summer. Avery works for Sadie’s family managing their rental properties. She and Sadie were close friends, but the other members of Sadie’s family never fully accepted Avery into their world. Furthermore, the townies feel like Avery is no longer part of their world, since she spends so much time with the wealthy summer people. In the year following Sadie’s death, Avery’s life is in a bit of turmoil, and she’s feeling lost and alone.

As Avery recalls the night Sadie died, she considers the suspects and reasons for her friend’s death. There are plenty of suspects, and Avery seems like a prime suspect herself. With secrets and twists, The Last House Guest is a mystery that kept my interest. An entertaining and easy read. Great for anyone looking for a quick summer thriller.

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

Books by Megan Miranda:

1. All the Missing Girls
2. The Perfect Stranger
3. The Last House Guest
4. The Girl from Widow Hills
5. Such a Quiet Place
6. The Last to Vanish
7. The Only Survivors
8. Daughter of Mine

BOOK INFO

Title: Stone Mothers

Author: Erin Kelly

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publish Date: April 23, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

You can’t keep the secret.
You can’t tell the truth.
You can’t escape the past…

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.

MY REVIEW

As a teenager, Marianne left her hometown of Nusstead. Now, thirty years later, she has returned to care for her ailing mother. Marianne’s husband surprises her with a new flat in Nusstead. Unfortunately, the flat is in a renovated mental asylum. The one place that Marianne never wanted to see again. Marianne has a secret from her past that deals with the former asylum, and she wants to keep her secret hidden.

Stone Mothers is told with multiple points of view (Marianne, Helen, and Honor) and multiple timelines (2018, 1988, and 1958). The 2018 timeline is the present story of Marianne, her family, and secrets from her past. The 1988 timeline is also about Marianne, and a crime she and her boyfriend committed. The 1958 timeline is about Helen.

Stone Mothers is a slow-paced novel that took a little while to get into. I never really connected with Marianne, but I found Helen fascinating. The different POVs and timelines enhanced the story, making for a more interesting read.

Atmospheric and suspenseful. Fans of Erin Kelly’s He Said/She Said will likely enjoy Stone Mothers.

Books by Erin Kelly:

1. The Poison Tree
2. The Dark Rose
3. The Burning Air
4. The Ties That Bind
5. He Said/She Said
6. Stone Mothers
7. Watcher Her Fall
8. The Skeleton Key

BOOK INFO

Title: Those People

Author: Louise Candlish

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publish Date: June 11, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

From the author of the international bestseller Our House, a new novel of twisty domestic suspense asks, “Could you hate your neighbor enough to plot to kill him?” 

Lowland Way is the suburban dream. The houses are beautiful, the neighbors get along, and the kids play together on weekends. 

But when Darren and Jodie move into the house on the corner, they donʼt follow the rules. They blast music at all hours, begin an unsightly renovation, and run a used-car business from their yard. It doesn’t take long for an all-out war to start brewing.

Then, early one Saturday, a horrific death shocks the street. As police search for witnesses, accusations start flying—and everyone has something to hide.

MY REVIEW

A nice suburban neighborhood gets some new residents. The new neighbors are a disruption, and everyone seems to dislike them. When a shocking death occurs, the neighbors all seem to have something to hide.

Told with alternating points of view, where the various neighbors give their version of events. The story is told partly in flashback, with the police interviewing the neighbors and everyone recalling the events leading up to the suspicious death.

I enjoyed the premise, but was never fully drawn into the story. The relationships between the neighbors, and the reactions to the new neighbors, were intriguing but not as dramatic as I would have liked. Unfortunately, everyone was unlikable, not just “those people”. It was cleverly written, but I found it a little too predictable.

Those People is a slow-burning psychological thriller. Good for fans of Louise Candlish and domestic suspense. I preferred Our House over this one, but they are similar reads.

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

Books by Louise Candlish:

1. The Swimming Pool
2. Our House
3. Those People
4. The Other Passenger
5. The Heights
6. The Only Suspect

BOOK INFO

Title: The Women

Author: S.E. Lynes

Publisher: Bookouture

Publish Date: May 21, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

The night she moves in with Peter, she’s so happy, so exhilarated, so in love. Later, she will remember a much smaller feeling, a tiny one percent in her gut. And she will remember pushing that feeling aside…

Samantha Frayn doesn’t know why Peter Bridges picks her – a nobody with bitten fingernails and a troubled childhood behind her – but she falls quickly. He’s older, charming, likes fine wine and French films, and his beautiful home has real art on its walls.

Peter transforms Samantha’s life in an instant. He sees the better version of herself – the one she’s always wanted to be. It’s only normal that there’s a little friction, when she moves in, over domestic matters like where things are kept, or the proper times to eat, sleep and shower. She’s lucky to be with someone who can help her find a new job, move on from childish friends, and speak with greater sophistication.

But as Samantha notices, more and more, Peter’s temper, she starts to wonder if there might be consequences to breaking the rules of the world he has so quickly built around her.

And then she receives an anonymous note that makes her ask: is she the first woman to feel trapped by Peter? Is she being paranoid, manipulated, or could she be in danger?

You can tell the truth about your life, but someone needs to be listening. Someone needs to trust you. And someone needs to save you from the man you thought you loved.

MY REVIEW

Samantha falls for Peter. Peter is quite a bit older than Samantha, and, at first, it seems like he is an encouraging and sophisticated man. After moving in together and having a baby, Samantha realizes Peter isn’t as great as she thought.

The Women opens with Samantha and Peter on their honeymoon. It then goes back to when Samantha met Peter, a professor at her university. They get serious quickly, moving in together and having a baby. On Peter’s insistence, Samantha takes a job teaching a creative writing class. She soon starts receiving anonymous notes that lead her to believe Peter isn’t the dream man she envisioned.

A story of lies, manipulation, and control. An entertaining and fast-paced psychological thriller.

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

Books by S.E. Lynes:

1. Valentina
2. Mother
3. The Pact
4. The Proposal
5. The Women
6. The Lies We Hide
7. Can You See Her?
8. The Housewarming
9. The One to Blame
10. The Baby Shower
11. The Ex
12. The Summer Holiday