Nightcap Books

BOOK INFO

Title: The Hollywood Assistant

Author: May Cobb

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: July 9, 2024

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Offered a dream job in Hollywood with a famous director and his actress wife, an insecure woman becomes their personal assistant where their secrets and lies place her in the crosshairs of a murder investigation.

Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny LA.

The Sterlings are warm and welcoming. A perfect couple. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury: Designer clothes. A sparkling pool. Great pay.

When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts he’s written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kickstarting her writing dreams. As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. Nate is sexy and talented, and Cassidy can’t believe her luck. Clearly, Marisol doesn’t know what she has. Maybe that’s why the two are always fighting when they think Cassidy isn’t around. 

But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect.

MY REVIEW

Cassidy accepts a job working as a personal assistant for a famous couple. The perfect couple facade fades once Cassidy gets to know the couple more.

The story is told from Cassidy’s point of view and alternating timelines. One is the present day and the other is four weeks later. This gives the reader insight into what is to come, but there is still a lot of mystery in the story.

The Hollywood Assistant is a slow burning thriller. Dramatic, scandalous, and entertaining.

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

Books by May Cobb:

1. The Hunting Wives
2. My Summer Darlings
3. A Likable Woman
4. The Hollywood Assistant

BOOK INFO

Title: The Launch Party

Author: Lauren A. Forry

Publisher: Zaffre

Publish Date: October 15, 2024

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

TEN WERE CHOSEN. HOW MANY WILL SURVIVE?

Ten lucky people have won a place at the most exclusive launch event of the century: the grand opening of the Hotel Artemis, the first hotel on the moon. It’s an invitation to die for. As their transport departs for its return to Earth and the doors seal shut behind them, the guests take the next leap for mankind.

However, they soon discover that all is not as it seems. The champagne may be flowing, but there is no one to pour it. Room service is available, but there is no one to deliver it. Besides the ten of them, they are completely alone.

When one of the guests is found murdered, fear spreads through the group. But that death is only the beginning. Being three days’ journey from home and with no way to contact the outside, can any of the guests survive their stay?

MY REVIEW

Ten people are chosen to be the first to visit Hotel Artemis on the moon. When they arrive, they realize they are alone. When one of the ten is killed, fear spread as they all try to survive.

The Launching Party is told using multiple points of view. There are a lot of characters. Unfortunately, for the most part, they felt flat. I found the premise interesting, but I never fully connected with this story.

The Launch Party is a suspenseful locked room mystery.

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

Books by Lauren A. Forry:

1. They Did Bad Things
2. The Launch Party

BOOK INFO

Title: The House That Horror Built

Author: Christina Henry

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: May 14, 2024

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets in the captivating new novel from the national bestselling author of Good Girls Don’t Die and Horseman.

Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it’s not a total coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his career making films that thrilled audiences—until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately, keep her head down, and keep her job safe—she needs the money to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of working for Javier, but she soon finds that the sinister house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.

MY REVIEW

A woman accepts a house cleaning job of an eccentric horror movie director. The longer she works in the house, she realizes there are secrets in the house that she is unable to ignore.

The House That Horror Built is told using multiple points of view. The premise is intriguing, but the characters did not pull me into the story.

The House That Horror Built is a gothic and atmospheric novel with horror and mystery.

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

BOOK INFO

Title: The Astrology House

Author: Carinn Jade

Publisher: Atria Books

Publish Date: July 16, 2024

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

A group of wealthy Manhattanites escape to an astrology-themed retreat, where simmering resentments and long-held secrets lead to a shocking death in this fresh, twisty, and suspenseful debut in the vein of Liane Moriarty and Katy Hays.

Margot needs a minute. She’s been working eighty-hour weeks as a newly minted partner at her law firm. She’s disconnected from her brother, the only family she has left. And she’s still not pregnant after years of trying.

Stars Harbor Astrological Retreat promises rest, relaxation, and wisdom for Margot and her friends. With Instagram-worthy views and nightly astrology readings in an impeccably restored waterfront Victorian house, this getaway should be nothing but idyllic fun.

For Margot’s brother, Adam, it’s the perfect opportunity to rekindle the romance that fuels his writing. But his wife, Aimee, hides the darkness of her past with a beautiful social media feed. Their friend, Farah, is a successful doctor who cannot admit that she’s losing control.

Yet no one holds a greater secret than their astrologer host, Rini. She has a plan for all of her guests, and one of them won’t be leaving Stars Harbor alive.

MY REVIEW

A group of wealthy adults attend an astrology retreat to relax. Everyone is hiding secrets.

This book is told using multiple points of view. There are a lot of characters, and their different viewpoints present an intriguing story. Since the characters are attending an astrology retreat, there is a fair amount of astrology in this book. I found it interesting, but this story could also be told without the astrology aspect.

The Astrology House is an atmospheric mystery. A suspenseful, dramatic, and entertaining thriller.

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