Mystery Thriller Archives – Page 11 of 14

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham [Book Review]

Posted on July 10, 2019December 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Good Girl, Bad Girl

Author: Michael Robotham

Publisher: Scribner

Publish Date: July 23, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: Cyrus Haven #1

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

A girl is discovered hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Half-starved and filthy, she won’t tell anyone her name, or her age, or where she came from. Maybe she is twelve, maybe fifteen. She doesn’t appear in any missing persons file, and her DNA can’t be matched to an identity. Six years later, still unidentified, she is living in a secure children’s home with a new name, Evie Cormac. When she initiates a court case demanding the right to be released as an adult, forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must determine if Evie is ready to go free. But she is unlike anyone he’s ever met—fascinating and dangerous in equal measure.

Meanwhile, Cyrus is called in to investigate the shocking murder of a high school figure-skating champion, Jodie Sheehan, who died on a lonely footpath close to her home. Pretty and popular, Jodie is portrayed by everyone as the ultimate girl-next-door, but as Cyrus peels back the layers, a secret life emerges—one that Evie Cormac, the girl with no past, knows something about. A man haunted by his own tragic history, Cyrus is caught between the two cases—one girl who needs saving and another who needs justice. What price will he pay for the truth?

MY REVIEW

A multi-layered mystery. A girl with a troubled past who wants to be on her own. A forensic psychologist who wants to help her. The murder case of a teen figure skater.

Told with the alternating points of view of Evie and Cyrus. Evie is teen girl with a dark and mysterious past. She’s living in a children’s home, but wants to be out on her own. Also, she has the unique ability to know when someone is lying. Cyrus is a psychologist called in to evaluate her. He’s fascinated by her, and wants to help her succeed on her own. Meanwhile, Cyrus is also helping the police on a murder case. The police appear to find the killer, but Cyrus feels there is more to the case. The alternating POVs work well with this novel. Both Evie and Cyrus have suffered tragic events in their youth. Evie’s past is the most mysterious, but Cyrus has a lot going on with him too.

Good Girl, Bad Girl is a dark suspense novel. Flawed characters and an intricate plot. Some things are not resolved by the ending, so it appears there may be a sequel. A good read for fans of gritty thrillers. Clever and addictive.

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

Books in the Cyrus Haven series:

Good Girl, Bad Girl
When She Was Good
Lying Beside You
Storm Child

Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik [Book Review]

Posted on June 27, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Into the Jungle

Author: Erica Ferencik

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

Publish Date: May 28, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Lily Bushwold thought she’d found the antidote to endless foster care and group homes: a gig teaching English in Cochabamba, Bolivia. As soon as she could steal enough cash for the plane, she was on it.

But the program was a scam. And bonding with other broke, rudderless girls in the local youth hostel wasn’t the answer. Falling crazy in love with Omar, a savvy, handsome local who’d left his life as a hunter in Ayachero—a remote jungle village—to try city life: this was the last thing Lily could have imagined.

When Omar learns that a jaguar had killed his four-year-old nephew in Ayachero, he gives Lily a choice: stay alone in the unforgiving city, or travel to the last in the ever-more-isolated string of river towns in the jungles of Bolivia. Thirty-foot anacondas? Puppy-sized spiders? Vengeful shamans with unspeakable powers? None of it matters to love-struck Lily. She follows Omar to a ruthless new world of lawless poachers, bullheaded missionaries, and desperate indigenous tribes driven to the brink of extinction. To survive, Lily must navigate the jungle—and all its residents—using only her wits and resilience.

MY REVIEW

Lily is a young woman who moves to Bolivia to escape her not-so-great life in the US. When her work plans in Bolivia fall through, she decides to stay anyway. She makes some friends, has fun, and meets Omar. She falls hard for Omar, a local man from a remote jungle village. Omar learns that his nephew was killed by a jaguar, so he plans to return to the village. He asks Lily to travel into the jungle with him. She is in love, and follows Omar to live in a jungle village that no one has ever heard of. Lily is unprepared for what meets her.

Since Lily is young and in love, she agrees to travel to a remote village without really knowing anything about the jungle. Really, Lily seems aimless, but she has one thing going for her. She’s determined. Jungle life turns out to be much more challenging than she anticipated, but she works to find her place in the community.

This starts as a slow-paced novel, but gets more thrilling toward the end. It also gets more unrealistic as the story progresses. In addition to the adventure story, there are also moments of magical realism. I wasn’t expecting the magical realism element, but found it enjoyable. For the most part, I liked the story and was rooting for Lily to find her place in the jungle village.

Into the Jungle is an enjoyable read that combines adventure, thriller, women’s fiction, and magical realism. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the jungle. Exciting, mysterious, and wild.

Books by Erica Ferencik:

Repeaters
The River at Night
Into the Jungle

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager [Book Review]

Posted on June 26, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Lock Every Door

Author: Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton

Publish Date: July 2, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 5/5

BOOK BLURB

No visitors. No nights spent elsewhere. No disturbing the rich and famous residents. These are the rules for Jules Larsen’s new job apartment sitting at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile buildings. Recently heartbroken—and just plain broke—Jules is taken in by the splendor and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the occupants and staff, Jules is drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who reminds her so much of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew has a dark history hidden beneath its gleaming façade, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day when Ingrid seemingly vanishes.

Searching for the truth, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s sordid past. But by uncovering the secrets within its walls, Jules exposes herself to untold terrors. Because once you’re in, the Bartholomew doesn’t want you to leave….

MY REVIEW

Jules gets a job that sounds too good to be true. An apartment sitting job in one of Manhattan’s most famous apartment buildings. Not only does she get to live in the amazing apartment, but she gets paid for it too. When things seem to be too good to be true, they usually are, and Jules finds herself living in a mysterious building with a dark past.

Jules is a strong, smart, and independent protagonist. She is at a low point in her life… she recently lost her job and her boyfriend, and is sleeping on her best friend’s couch. When she gets an apartment sitting job that pays well, she thinks things are starting to turn around. She even makes a friend soon after moving into the new place. When that friend disappears, Jules is compelled to find out what happened to her. Jules uses her strengths to uncover what is happening in the historic building.

I’ve enjoyed Riley Sager’s previous books, and this one was high on my to-read list for this year. I’m happy to report it was one of the best books I’ve read this year. Fans of Sager’s other books will likely enjoy this one too.

Lock Every Door is an addictive read. Amazing atmospheric setting of a historic apartment building. Compelling plot that kept me guessing. Intriguing characters. A must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. Creepy, intense, and suspenseful.

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

Books by Riley Sager:

Final Girls
The Last Time I Lied
Lock Every Door
Home Before Dark
Survive the Night
The House Across the Lake
The Only One Left
Middle of the Night

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding [Book Review]

Posted on June 13, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Little Darlings

Author: Melanie Golding

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Publish Date: April 30, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things.

A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley—to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies.

Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.

Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some of our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking—and rechecking—your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe.

MY REVIEW

Lauren has newborn twins. In the hospital room one night, Lauren sees a woman try to take her babies and replace them with her own. The police find no one around, and everyone thinks Lauren is imagining things. A month later, the babies disappear. When they are found, they look like Lauren’s twins, but Lauren believes they are not her babies. To get her babies back, Lauren will do the unthinkable.

Lauren is a fantastic unreliable narrator. She is a new mother of twins, so it’s not surprising that everyone around her (husband, doctor, etc.) considers her behavior to be due to exhaustion and postpartum depression. The questioning of what was real, or if there was a supernatural element in play, made for a compelling read. The fairy tale element added to the eerie atmosphere.

Little Darlings is thriller inspired by dark fairy tales. Good for fans of psychological thrillers and Grimms’ fairy tales. Dark, creepy, and clever.

Books by Melanie Golding:

Little Darlings
The Hidden
The Sight

Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine [Book Review]

Posted on April 15, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Wolfhunter River

Author: Rachel Caine

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: April 23, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: Stillhouse Lake #3

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

She can’t ignore a cry for help. But in this remote hunting town, it’s open season.

Gwen Proctor escaped her serial-killer husband and saved her family. What she can’t seem to outrun is his notoriety. Or the sick internet vigilantes still seeking to avenge his crimes. For Gwen, hiding isn’t an option. Not when her only mission is to create a normal life for her kids.

But now, a threatened woman has reached out. Marlene Crockett, from the remote town of Wolfhunter, is panicked for herself and her daughter. When Gwen arrives in the small, isolated rural community, Marlene is already dead—her own daughter blamed for the murder. Except that’s not the person Marlene feared at all. And Gwen isn’t leaving until she finds out who that was.

But it may already be too late. A trap has been set. And it’s poised to snap shut on everyone Gwen loves. Her stalkers are closing in. And in a town as dark as Wolfhunter, it’s so easy for them to hide…

MY REVIEW

First off, this book isn’t really needed for the series. I think most things were wrapped up in book 2, Killman Creek. That said, I enjoy Rachel Caine’s writing style, and thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Gwen and the others in this series.

Wolfhunter River is the third book in the Stillhouse Lake series. This book has a couple of main stories. One, Gwen is trying to live a normal life with her kids. Unfortunately, there are some people who would like to see her suffer for her husband’s crimes. Two, a woman in Wolfhunter contacts Gwen with a story that intrigues her. Gwen travels to Wolfhunter, and soon suspects something is seriously wrong in the small town. Of course, these storylines intersect to make a fast-paced and exciting read.

Readers who enjoyed Stillhouse Lake and Killman Creek are sure to be thrilled with Wolfhunter River. A suspenseful read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

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

Books in the Stillhouse Lake series:

Stillhouse Lake
Killman Creek
Wolfhunter River
Bitter Falls
Heartbreak Bay
Trapper Road

I Will Never Leave You by S.M. Thayer [Book Review]

Posted on April 3, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: I Will Never Leave You

Author: S.M. Thayer

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: September 1, 2018

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

All they want is a baby—and they’ll do anything to have one.

Banking heiress Trish and her husband, James, seem to have it all, from a lavish lifestyle to a historic mansion in the nation’s capital. All that’s missing from their privileged life is a baby.

So when Trish sees Anne Elise for the first time, it’s no surprise that she falls deeply in love. There’s just one problem: Trish isn’t the mother. The baby belongs to Laurel, James’s young mistress. And James and Laurel want the wife out of the picture.

When Trish becomes perversely obsessed with making Laurel’s baby her own, the lovers come up with a wicked plan to end James’s marriage that quickly goes awry. As the love triangle becomes more and more dangerous, how far is each of them willing to go to get what they want?

MY REVIEW

Trish and James seem like a couple who has everything, but nothing is as perfect as it seems. Trish desperately wants a baby, but she and James have been unable to conceive. However, James’s mistress Laurel just had a baby. Laurel wants Trish out of the picture, so she and James can be a family. Trish wants the baby.

I Will Never Leave You is told with alternating points of view – Trish, Laurel, and James. Trish is a wealthy woman and has everything she wants, except for a child. When James has a child with another woman, Trish sees it as an opportunity. James is a scoundrel. Besides cheating on his wife, he’s terrible with money, which is why their finances are kept separate. He’s in debt, and needs money fast. Laurel is young and naive. She trusts James, and believes they could have a nice life together, if only Trish wasn’t in their way.

I Will Never Leave You is a fast-paced story full of unlikable characters. This is a quick and entertaining read, but it does require a suspension of disbelief.

Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak [Book Review]

Posted on March 28, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

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

Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak

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.

The River by Peter Heller [Book Review]

Posted on March 27, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

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.

The Banker’s Wife by Cristina Alger [Book Review]

Posted on March 14, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: The Banker’s Wife

Author: Cristina Alger

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Publish Date: July 3, 2018

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

On an early morning in November, a couple boards a private plane bound for Geneva, flying into a storm. Soon after, it simply drops off the radar, and its wreckage is later uncovered in the Alps. Among the disappeared is Matthew Werner, a banking insider at Swiss United, a powerful offshore bank. His young widow, Annabel, is left grappling with the secrets he left behind, including an encrypted laptop and a shady client list. As she begins a desperate search for answers, she determines that Matthew’s death was no accident, and that she is now in the crosshairs of his powerful enemies.

Meanwhile, ambitious society journalist Marina Tourneau has finally landed at the top. Now that she’s engaged to Grant Ellis, she will stop writing about powerful families and finally be a part of one. Her entry into the upper echelons of New York’s social scene is more appealing than any article could ever be, but, after the death of her mentor, she agrees to dig into one more story. While looking into Swiss United, Marina uncovers information that implicates some of the most powerful men in the financial world, including a few who are too close to home. The story could also be the answer to Annabel’s heartbreaking search–if Marina chooses to publish it.

The Banker’s Wife is both a high-stakes thriller and an inside look at the personal lives in the intriguing world of finance, introducing Cristina Alger as a powerful new voice in the genre.

MY REVIEW

Annabel’s husband Matthew dies when the private plane he was on crashes. Matthew worked in the world of finance. After his death, Annabel discovers her husband was keeping secrets, and she becomes a target of her husband’s enemies. Meanwhile, Marina, a journalist, is working on a story that could disrupt the financial world.

Told with the alternating viewpoints of multiple characters. I enjoyed the different POVs and found it worked well for this story. Both Annabel and Marina are strong female protagonists with interesting stories.

The Banker’s Wife is an intriguing thriller focused on the financial world. There is a fair amount of financial jargon, but it works and is not boring. Complex, compelling, and suspenseful.

Books by Christina Alger:

The Banker’s Wife
Girls Like Us

The Line Between by Tosca Lee [Book Review]

Posted on March 13, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: The Line Between

Author: Tosca Lee

Publisher: Howard Books

Publish Date: January 29, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: The Line Between #1

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

In this frighteningly believable thriller from New York Times bestselling author and master storyteller Tosca Lee, an extinct disease re-emerges from the melting Alaskan permafrost and causes madness in its victims. For recent apocalyptic cult escapee Wynter Roth, it’s the end she’d always been told was coming.

When Wynter Roth finally escapes from New Earth, a self-contained doomsday cult on the American prairie, she emerges into a world poised on the brink of madness as a mysterious outbreak of rapid early onset dementia spreads across the nation.

As Wynter struggles to start over in a world she’s been taught to regard as evil, she finds herself face-to-face with the apocalypse she’s feared all her life—until the night her sister shows up at her doorstep with a set of medical samples. That night, Wynter learns there’s something far more sinister at play: that the prophet they once idolized has been toying with the fate of mankind, and that these samples are key to understanding the disease.

Now, as the power grid fails and the nation descends into chaos, Wynter must find a way to get the samples to a lab in Colorado. Uncertain who to trust, she takes up with former military man Chase Miller, who has his own reasons for wanting to get close to the samples in her possession, and to Wynter, herself.

MY REVIEW

Wynter Roth is banished from the cult New Earth. Now in her twenties, Wynter has lived with them since she was a kid. New Earth has cut itself off from the rest of the world and maintained a self-sufficient environment. New Earth has always told its members that the end of the world was coming. When Wynter leaves, she enters a world where a mysterious disease is quickly spreading. She has been told the apocalypse was coming, and now she is faced with that reality. However, Wynter soon learns she may be able to help save the world.

Wynter is a smart and courageous young woman. She wants to protect her sister and her niece, but she doesn’t know how after she is banished from New Earth. When Wynter’s sister locates her and gives her some medical samples, along with information that Wynter did not know, Wynter does all she can to help. Wynter needs to get the samples to Colorado, and she’s not sure who she can trust along the way. Enter Chase, a former military man.

The Line Between is a fast-paced and exciting thriller. Intriguing characters. Suspenseful story. Great for fans of novels involving cults and apocalyptic storylines.

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

Books in The Line Between series:

The Line Between
A Single Light

Smash and Grab by Joe Albanese [Book Review]

Posted on March 6, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Smash and Grab

Author: Joe Albanese

Publisher: Books to Go Now

Publish Date: February 28, 2018

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Wick was a normal young man, passing his days at a part-time job and wasting his nights with friends and booze. That was until someone smashed a brick to the side of his head and knocked Wick’s life upside down. The culprit, Kenny, a young man in a dire situation, has only one goal: to get the job done, no matter who gets in his way.

MY REVIEW

Smash and Grab is a novella about two young men, Wick and Kenny, and their shady group of friends and acquaintances.

This is a quick read at 52 pages. A clever story with crime, drugs, and enough twists to keep it interesting.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Until the Day I Die by Emily Carpenter [Book Review]

Posted on March 6, 2019January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Until the Day I Die

Author: Emily Carpenter

Publisher: Lake Union

Publish Date: March 12, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

From the bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls comes a riveting novel about a mother and daughter separated by grief, secrets, and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy their lives.

If there’s a healthy way to grieve, Erin Gaines hasn’t found it. After her husband’s sudden death, the runaway success of the tech company they built with their best friends has become overwhelming. Her nerves are frayed, she’s disengaged, and her frustrated daughter, Shorie, is pulling away from her. Maybe Erin’s friends and family are right. Maybe a few weeks at a spa resort in the Caribbean islands is just what she needs to hit the reset button…

Shorie is not only worried about her mother’s mental state but also for the future of her parents’ company. Especially when she begins to suspect that not all of Erin’s colleagues can be trusted. It seems someone is spinning an intricate web of deception—the foundation for a conspiracy that is putting everything, and everyone she loves, at risk. And she may be the only one who can stop it.

Now, thousands of miles away in a remote, and oftentimes menacing, tropical jungle, Erin is beginning to have similar fears. Things at the resort aren’t exactly how the brochure described, and unless she’s losing her mind, Erin’s pretty sure she wasn’t sent there to recover—she was sent to disappear.

MY REVIEW

Erin Gaines, her husband, and two friends created a tech company that has started to take off. Erin’s husband died unexpectedly, and Erin is grieving his loss. Her daughter Shorie is leaving for college, but wants to stay home and work at her parents company. Between their grieving and difference of opinions regarding Shorie’s future, the mother-daughter relationship has become strained. Erin is encouraged to go to an exclusive spa for help, but it turns out the spa is not the relaxing resort experience she was expecting.

Told with alternating viewpoints – Erin and Shorie. Erin is grieving, working too much, and doesn’t seem to be taking care of herself. Shorie is smart and resourceful, and wants to work with her parent’s tech company rather than go to college. Erin and Shorie love each other, but their relationship is strained with what is currently happening in their lives. Erin’s friends and family encourage her to attend a spa on a private island to help her get back on track. The island resort turns into a dangerous experience. While Erin is away on the island, Shorie starts to look into some questionable activity going on with the tech company.

Until the Day I Die is an exciting thriller, especially the parts that take place in the jungle of the private island. This book combines a mystery at a tech company and a perilous island experience. Overall, a wild, mysterious, and fast-paced page turner.

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

Books by Emily Carpenter:

Burying the Honeysuckle Girls
The Weight of Lies
Every Single Secret
Until the Day I Die
Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters