Nightcap Books

BOOK INFO

Title: Before We Were Strangers

Author: Brenda Novak

Publisher: MIRA

Publish Date: December 4, 2018

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Something happened to her mother that night. Something no one wants to talk about. But she’s determined to uncover her family’s dark secrets, even if they bury her.

Five-year-old Sloane McBride couldn’t sleep that night. Her parents were arguing again, their harsh words heating the cool autumn air. And then there was that other sound—the ominous thump before all went quiet.

In the morning, her mother was gone.

The official story was that she left. Her loving, devoted mother! That hadn’t sat any better at the time than it did when Sloane moved out at eighteen, anxious to leave her small Texas hometown in search of anywhere else. But not even a fresh start working as a model in New York could keep the nightmares at bay. Or her fears that the domineering father she grew up with wasn’t just difficult—he was deadly.

Now another traumatic loss forces Sloane to realize she owes it to her mother to find out the truth, even if it means returning to a small town full of secrets and lies, a jilted ex-boyfriend, and a father and brother who’d rather see her silenced. But as Sloane starts digging into the past, the question isn’t whether she can uncover what really happened that night…it’s what will remain of her family if she does?

MY REVIEW

Sloane was five years old when her mother disappeared. Sloane remembers hearing her parents argue, and the next day her mother was gone. Sloane left home at eighteen, moved to New York, and started a career as a model. She has done well for herself, but she has always felt there was more to the story about her mother. A loving mother doesn’t just walk away from her children. Sloane decides to move back to her small town and finally discover what happened to her mother.

Sloane is an interesting character. She moved away from home as soon as she could, and she did well for herself. She’s smart, independent, and determined. When she left home, she left behind a father she didn’t get along with, a brother who did whatever their father said, a high school boyfriend who loved her, and a childhood best friend. After years away, Sloane’s relationship with everyone is different when she returns to her hometown.

Before We Were Strangers is a suspenseful mystery with plenty of drama. Family drama, mystery, and a little romance make Before We Were Strangers a compelling read.

BOOK INFO

Title: The River

Author: Peter Heller

Publisher: Knopf

Publish Date: March 5, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Wynn and Jack have been best friends since freshman orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. When they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank and decide to warn them about the fire, their search for the pair turns up nothing and no one. But: The next day a man appears on the river, paddling alone. Is this the man they heard? And, if he is, where is the woman? From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival.

MY REVIEW

Two college best friends, Wynn and Jack, travel to Canada to canoe the Maskwa River and spend time in the wilderness. They envision a leisurely trip to enjoy nature, but their journey soon takes a turn. For starters, a wildfire is heading their way. Then, they hear a couple arguing, but the next day, they encounter a man paddling alone. Wynn and Jack decide to go in search of the missing woman.

A lovely story of male friendship, adventure, and nature. Wynn and Jack met as freshmen in college and soon bonded over their love for books and nature. The young men are both knowledgeable of the wilderness and capable of taking care of themselves. Their canoeing adventure turns into a suspenseful search for a missing woman and a trip out of the wilderness before the wildfire reaches them.

The River is a beautifully written novel. I enjoy novels that focus on nature, and found this one to be very well done. Also, the wonderful male friendship in this book was great to read. The River is slow-paced, though it does get more exciting toward the end.

I received a digital copy of this book via Penguin’s First to Read in exchange for an honest review.