BOOK INFO

Title: The Dilemma

Author: B.A. Paris

Publisher: St. Martin

Publish Date: June 30, 2020

Genre: Domestic Suspense

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

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?

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
6. The Prisoner
7. The Mosquito
8. The Guest

BOOK INFO

Title: Happy and You Know It

Author: Laura Hankin

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: May 19, 2020

Genre: Domestic Suspense

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

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.

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.

BOOK INFO

Title: A Nearly Normal Family

Author: M.T. Edvardsson

Publisher: Celadon Books

Publish Date: June 29, 2019

Genre: Domestic Suspense

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

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?

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.

BOOK INFO

Title: What You Did

Author: Claire McGowan

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: August 1, 2019

Genre: Domestic Suspense

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again.

When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying—but which? And why?

When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.

MY REVIEW

Six college friends gather for a reunion 25 years later. When one of the women stumbles inside after being raped, it puts relationships to the test and challenges who can be trusted.

The characters are six so-called friends – Ali, Mike, Karen, Bill, Callum, and Jodi. Ali and Mike are married and hosting the reunion at their home. Karen is Ali’s best friend, and the rape victim. Bill has been living away, but is back after breaking up with his girlfriend. Callum and Jodi are married and expecting their first child.

Told from Ali’s point of view. When Karen claims Mike raped her, Ali has to make a decision to stand by her husband or her best friend. As the story progresses, more secrets are revealed. Some secrets are newer ones, but some go back to their college days.

What You Did was hard for me to get into, mainly because the characters were all unlikable people. Some of the things that happen were hard to believe, especially where Ali was concerned. Her naive behavior was difficult to read, and I would have preferred a stronger female protagonist.

What You Did is a domestic thriller with a lot of drama. The story was interesting, but the characters left a lot to be desired.

Books by Claire McGowan:

1. The Fall
2. What You Did
3. The Other Wife
4. The Push
5. I Know You
6. The Vanishing Triangle
7. Are You Awake?
8. Let Me In
9. Truth Truth Lie

BOOK INFO

Title: The Night Olivia Fell

Author: Christina McDonald

Publisher: Gallery Books

Publish Date: February 5, 2019

Genre: Domestic Suspense

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?

MY REVIEW

Abi gets a call that every parent fears. Her daughter, Olivia, is in the hospital. Abi rushes to the hospital to find that seventeen-year-old Olivia fell off a bridge and is brain dead. Olivia is dead, but she is on life support because she is pregnant. The police believe Olivia’s fall to be an accident, but Abi thinks someone killed her daughter. She starts to question the people in Olivia’s life, and also ends up learning more about her daughter.

Told with alternating points of view (Abi and Olivia) and timelines (before and after Olivia’s fall). Abi suspects that Olivia’s fall was not an accident, even though it seems everyone else wants her to believe that it was. To learn about what caused Oliva’s fall, Abi must learn about what was going on in Olivia’s life leading up to that night. Olivia’s POV provides insight as to what Olivia was thinking and doing in the months preceding the fall.

An emotional and suspenseful novel. No parent wants to get a call that their child has been in an accident, and even worse, has died as a result. Abi was a strong character in the way she pursued the truth about Oliva’s fall. Sadly, Olivia and Abi were not truthful with one another before the fall, and that hurt their relationship.

The Night Olivia Fell is a compelling read for fans of domestic suspense. Intense, dramatic, and gripping.

Books by Christina McDonald

1. The Night Olivia Fell
2. Behind Every Lie
3. Do No Harm

BOOK INFO

Title: Little Lovely Things

Author: Maureen Joyce Connolly

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Publish Date: April 2, 2019

Genre: Domestic Suspense

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

A mother’s chance decision leads to a twist of fate that is every parent’s worst nightmare in this gripping thriller. Could any family endure such crippling suspense?

It is the wrong time to get sick. Speeding down the highway on the way to work, her two little girls sleeping in the back seat, medical resident Claire Rawlings doesn’t have time for the nausea overtaking her. But as the world tilts sideways, she pulls into a gas station, runs to the bathroom, and passes out. When she wakes up minutes later, her car—and her daughters—are gone.

The police have no leads, and the weight of guilt presses down on Claire as each new hour passes with no trace of her girls. All she has to hold on to are her strained marriage, a potentially unreliable witness who emerges days later, and the desperate but unquenchable belief that her daughters are out there somewhere.

As uplifting as it is devastating, Little Lovely Things is a poignant mystery about a family shattered by tragedy and a mother’s fierce determination to make it whole again—whatever that may take.

MY REVIEW

Claire Rawlings gets sick while driving with her young children in the car. While her girls sleep in the back seat, Claire pulls over at a gas station. When Claire comes out of the bathroom, her car, and her girls, are gone. The guilt of leaving her children alone and the search for them weighs heavily on Claire. Her health, marriage, and work all suffer as the search for her daughters seems to go nowhere.

Told with alternating points of view, which allows the reader to not only be aware of Claire’s experiences, but also what happened to her girls. A tragic story of two missing children and the impact of their loss on their parents. This book doesn’t look too closely at the investigation into the girls’ disappearance, but instead looks at the people and relationships involved.

An emotional story of every parent’s worse nightmare. The idea of your children disappearing, and having no idea what happened or where they are, is heart-wrenching. A heartbreaking story of guilt, loss, and hope.