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A young woman and her husband travel around Europe to celebrate their first year of marriage—a year that the woman has no memory of—in this searing novel of intimacy and deceit.

The year is 1996—a time before cell phones, status updates, and location tags—when you could still travel to a remote corner of the world and disappear. This is where we meet Gina and Duncan, a young couple madly in love, traveling around Europe on a romantic adventure. It’s a time both thrilling and dizzying for Gina, whose memories are hazy following a head injury—and the growing sense that the man at her side is keeping secrets from her.

Just what is Duncan hiding and how far will he go to keep their pasts at bay? As the pair hop borders across Europe, their former lives threatening to catch up with them while the truth grows more elusive, we witness how love can lead us astray, and what it means to lose oneself in love

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MY REVIEW

In The End of Getting Lost, a married couple, Gina and Duncan, travel around Europe on a romantic adventure. Unfortunately, Gina suffers from amnesia due to a head injury. Gina feels that Duncan is hiding something from her, but she’s not all that forthcoming either.

The End of Getting Lost is told from the alternating viewpoints of Gina and Duncan. It is a domestic mystery of lies and deceit. The story takes place during the 1990s, which I enjoyed. However, I found the characters unlikable, and the story never fully grasped my attention.

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

Books by Robin Kirman:

1. The End of Getting Lost

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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.

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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

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Celeste Ng’s enthralling dissection of suburbia meets Shirley Jackson’s creeping dread in this propulsive literary noir, when a sudden tragedy exposes the depths of deception and damage in a Long Island suburb—pitting neighbor against neighbor and putting one family in terrible danger.

Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by their children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world.

But menace skulks beneath the surface of this exclusive enclave, making its residents prone to outrage. When the Wilde family moves in, they trigger their neighbors’ worst fears. Dad Arlo’s a gruff has-been rock star with track marks. Mom Gertie’s got a thick Brooklyn accent, with high heels and tube tops to match. Their weird kids cuss like sailors. They don’t fit with the way Maple Street sees itself.

Though Maple Street’s Queen Bee, Rhea Schroeder—a lonely college professor repressing a dark past—welcomed Gertie and her family at first, relations went south during one spritzer-fueled summer evening, when the new best friends shared too much, too soon. By the time the story opens, the Wildes are outcasts.

As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and Rhea’s daughter Shelly falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes. Suddenly, it is one mom’s word against the other’s in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood.

A riveting and ruthless portrayal of American suburbia, Good Neighbors excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear.

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MY REVIEW

A picture perfect neighborhood with successful and happy families. Of course, not everything is as it appears. Dark secrets, lies, and fears are in every household. Complex characters and an intriguing story combine for an enthralling read.

Good Neighbors is a new domestic suspense novel by Sarah Langan. I’ve read horror novels by Langan before, so I was expecting a creepy read… and I wasn’t disappointed. Good Neighbors definitely has a creep factor that makes it a little uncomfortable to read. However, the horror and discomfort is in a psychological way, not in a monster way. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for books set in neighborhoods/households where everything seems perfect, but is more complicated than it appears.

A slow burning novel. Recommended for fans of Little Fires Everywhere and Big Little Lies. Disturbing, contemporary, and compelling.

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

Books by Sarah Langan:

1. The Keeper
2. The Missing
3. Audrey’s Door
4. Good Neighbors

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Knowing the truth will destroy her. Keeping it secret will destroy him.

It’s Livia’s 40th birthday, and her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding they never had. Everyone she loves will be there, except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But Livia is secretly glad Marnie won’t be there.

Livia has recently uncovered a secret about their daughter which, if revealed, will shake the foundation of their family to its core. She needs to tell Adam, but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.

Adam, meanwhile, has his own surprise for Livia: he’s arranged for Marnie to secretly fly back for the party. But before Marnie arrives, Adam hears some terrible news. Now he too is faced with a dilemma: Does he share what he’s learned with his wife? Is hiding the truth the same as telling a lie? And how far are Adam and Livia willing to go to protect the ones they love—and give each other a last few hours of happiness?

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MY REVIEW

Livia and Adam have been married for years, but they never had the big wedding or other big celebrations. Livia wants a big party for her 40th, and she’s been saving for years to celebrate the night with friends and family. Adam has the perfect gift for his wife – a visit from their daughter, Marnie, who is studying abroad in Hong Kong. Livia knows a secret about Marnie though, and she’s been waiting until after the party to tell Adam. Before the party, Adam learns some terrible news, and now he has something to tell Livia after the party.

Told from the alternating points of view of Livia and Adam. The novel is primarily set in one day, and follows Livia and Adam as they prepare for the party and struggle with the secrets they are keeping. The reader is aware of the secrets, and it’s frustrating to see how they are keeping important information from one another.

I’ve read three other books by B.A. Paris (Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, and Bring Me Back), and they were all mysteries and thrillers. This one is not. The reader is aware of the events happening throughout the novel, there is no mystery. It’s a contemporary story about a married couple and the secrets they are keeping.

While I was sometimes frustrated with the characters and their actions, I was drawn into the story and couldn’t put it down. An enjoyable read for fans of contemporary domestic drama. Intense and compelling.

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

Books by B.A. Paris:

1. Behind Closed Doors
2. The Breakdown
3. Bring Me Back
4. The Dilemma
5. The Therapist

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A dark, witty page-turner about a struggling young musician who takes a job singing for a playgroup of overprivileged babies and their effortlessly cool moms, only to find herself pulled into their glamorous lives and dangerous secrets….

 

After her former band shot to superstardom without her, Claire reluctantly agrees to a gig as a playgroup musician for wealthy infants on New York’s Park Avenue. Claire is surprised to discover that she is smitten with her new employers, a welcoming clique of wellness addicts with impossibly shiny hair, who whirl from juice cleanse to overpriced miracle vitamins to spin class with limitless energy.

 

There is perfect hostess Whitney who is on the brink of social-media stardom and just needs to find a way to keep her flawless life from falling apart. Caustically funny, recent stay-at-home mom Amara who is struggling to embrace her new identity. And old money, veteran mom Gwen who never misses an opportunity to dole out parenting advice. But as Claire grows closer to the stylish women who pay her bills, she uncovers secrets and betrayals that no amount of activated charcoal can fix.

 

Filled with humor and shocking twists, Happy and You Know It is a brilliant take on motherhood – exposing it as yet another way for society to pass judgment on women – while also exploring the baffling magnetism of curated social-media lives that are designed to make us feel unworthy. But, ultimately, this dazzling novel celebrates the unlikely bonds that form, and the power that can be unlocked, when a group of very different women is thrown together when each is at her most vulnerable.

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MY REVIEW

Claire is in her late twenties and struggling with the loss of her music career. Her former band replaced her just before they hit it big. She still has bills to pay though, so she takes a gig as music leader for a playgroup. As Claire gets to know the moms, she is surprised that she starts to like them. The moms seem to have it all together, but there are secrets under that glossy exterior.

The mom group consists of six women. Whitney is the group leader and has a picture-perfect lifestyle. Amara is the mom struggling with the loss of her career. Gwen is the one with parenting advice. Vicki is the peaceful hippie. Meredith and Ellie are mostly interchangeable and don’t bring much to the group. Claire is the outsider. She’s single, childless, and the group’s new music leader. Claire is not a mom, but she starts to connect with the other women and care about them.

A contemporary novel about motherhood and friendship. Humorous and twisted. There are moments that go deeper and reveal a darker side, but overall, this was fun and light read.

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

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M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller that forces the reader to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they knew about their life—and one another.

Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him?

Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them?

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MY REVIEW

Stella is an 18-year-old young woman arrested for murder. Her parents, Adam and Ulrika, are shocked to find their daughter accused of murder, and question their decisions about how to help Stella. Stella and her parents have kept secrets from one another, but just how far they will go to protect the ones they love is uncertain.

A Nearly Normal Family is told in three parts: the father (Adam), the daughter (Stella), and the mother (Ulrika). Each part adds more insight to the story, especially since everyone has regrets and secrets. The first part, Adam’s POV, seemed a little slower moving than the other two parts. It was still engaging, and had me wanting to know more about the family. The characters are intriguing and flawed, but not particularly likable.

A Nearly Normal Family is a character driven domestic thriller. Slow-burning, intense, and thought-provoking.