BOOK INFO

Title: Where the Truth Lies

Author: Anna Bailey

Publisher: Atria Books

Publish Date: August 3, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

When a teenaged girl disappears from an insular small town, all of the community’s most devastating secrets come to light in this stunningly atmospheric and slow-burning suspense novel—perfect for fans of Megan Miranda and Celeste Ng.

The town of Whistling Ridge guards its secrets.

When seventeen-year-old Abigail goes missing, her best friend Emma, compelled by the guilt of leaving her alone at a party in the woods, sets out to discover the truth about what happened. The police initially believe Abi ran away, but Emma doesn’t believe that her friend would leave without her, and when officers find disturbing evidence in the nearby woods, the festering secrets and longstanding resentment of both Abigail’s family and the people of Whistling Ridge, Colorado begin to surface with devastating consequences.

Among those secrets: Abi’​s older brother Noah’s passionate, dangerous love for the handsome Rat, a recently arrived Romanian immigrant who has recently made his home in the trailer park in town; her younger brother Jude’s feeling that he knows information he should tell the police, if only he could put it into words; Abi’​s father’s mercurial, unpredictable rages and her mother’s silence. Then there is the rest of Whistling Ridge, where a charismatic preacher advocates for God’s love in language that mirrors violence, under the sway of the powerful businessman who rules the town, insular and wary of outsiders.

But Abi had secrets, too, and the closer Emma grows to unraveling the past, the farther she feels from her friend. And in a tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark—the truth of what really happened that night—to change their community forever.

MY REVIEW

A missing teen, a friend who wants to find out what happened, and a town full of dark secrets.

Where the Truth Lies is told using multiple points of view and alternating timelines (past and present). The transitions between narrators and timelines was not as smooth as I would have liked. Still, the story was intriguing and kept my interest.

An atmospheric mystery with unlikable characters. Recommended for fans of dark and disturbing stories.

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Dark Roads

Author: Chevy Stevens

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: August 3, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.

Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance…

MY REVIEW

Young women in Cold Creek know to not travel the highway alone. A killer finds his victims there, and he has never been caught. Hailey knows to avoid the highway, but she also knows how to survive on her own. After her father’s death leaves her living with her aunt and uncle, who restrict her social and work life, she decides to take off. Her disappearance is assumed to be connected to the highway killer. Meanwhile, another young woman, Beth, arrives in town to learn more about her sister’s murder. She gets the same job her sister had, and starts searching for answers. Unfortunately, this draws some unwanted attention to the newcomer, and brings more attention to Hailey’s disappearance.

Dark Roads is told using the alternating points of view of Hailey and Beth. Hailey knows the town and all the locals. Beth is new to Cold Creek, and she’s on a mission to find out what happened to her sister. The characters are complex and relatable. The story is slow-burning and suspenseful. A page-turner for sure.

Dark Roads is a dark and atmospheric thriller. Recommended for fans of Chevy Stevens and crime fiction.

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

Books by Chevy Stevens:

1. Still Missing
2. Never Knowing
3. Always Watching
4. That Night
5. Those Girls
6. Never Let You Go
7. Dark Roads

BOOK INFO

Title: Such a Quiet Place

Author: Megan Miranda

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publish Date: July 13, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer—all on one street.

Hollow’s Edge used to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow’s Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby’s back.

With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow’s Edge, and into the home she once shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she’s terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go?

Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow’s Edge. It’s increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truetts’ murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer’s next victim.

Pulsating with suspense and with the shocking twists that are Megan Miranda’s trademark, Such a Quiet Place is Megan Miranda’s best novel yet—a twisty locked-box thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night.

MY REVIEW

Hollow’s Edge was a nice neighborhood, until a murder occurred. Ruby was convicted of killing her neighbors, but her conviction was overturned. Much to the residents of Hollow’s Edge surprise, Ruby returned after her release. She moved back in with her roommate, Harper. Harper is as surprised as everyone else. As suspicions and lies keep all of the neighbors on edge, Harper tries to discover what really happened the night her neighbors died.

Such a Quiet Place is told through Harper point of view. She recalls events that led to Ruby’s conviction, plus the current happenings in the neighborhood. Harper is worried about having Ruby in the house, and most of the neighbors are not happy about Ruby being back. There are a lot of characters, and it seems most people are not entirely truthful.

One my favorite tropes in books is an idyllic neighborhood. So, of course, Such a Quiet Place piqued my interest. I usually find Megan Miranda’s novels to be intriguing reads, and Such a Quiet Place did not disappoint. A slow burning thriller for readers who enjoy female protagonists and neighborhood drama.

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

Books by Megan Miranda:

1. All the Missing Girls
2. The Perfect Stranger
3. The Last House Guest
4. The Girl from Widow Hills
5. Such a Quiet Place
6. The Last to Vanish
7. The Only Survivors
8. Daughter of Mine

BOOK INFO

Title: Local Woman Missing

Author: Mary Kubica

Publisher: Park Row

Publish Date: May 18, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

People don’t just disappear without a trace…

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.

Now, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find…

MY REVIEW

Years ago, a woman went missing. Soon after, another woman and her young daughter went missing. When a teenage girl appears, it seems the missing girl has escaped her captors. Finally, the answers to what happened years earlier will be revealed.

Local Woman Missing is told using multiple points of view and shifting timelines. There are four points of view – the missing girl, her mother, her brother, and a neighbor. With different viewpoints and timelines, the flow of the story was not as smooth as I like. Still, I liked reading the different viewpoints.

An intriguing mystery. Local Woman Missing has some twists and turns to keep the reader interested. Though not the most believable, it was definitely an entertaining thriller.

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

Books by Mary Kubica:

1. The Good Girl
2. Pretty Baby
3. Don’t You Cry
4. Every Last Lie
5. When the Lights Go Out
6. The Other Mrs.
7. Local Woman Missing
8. Just the Nicest Couple
9. She’s Not Sorry

BOOK INFO

Title: Every Last Fear

Author: Alex Finlay

Publisher: Minotaur

Publish Date: March 2, 2021

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.

After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain—and they won’t tell Matt why.

The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.

When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison—putting his own life in peril—and forcing him to confront his every last fear.

Told through multiple points-of-view and alternating between past and present, Alex Finlay’s Every Last Fear is not only a page-turning thriller, it’s also a poignant story about a family managing heartbreak and tragedy, and living through a fame they never wanted.

MY REVIEW

Matt Pine receives the devastating news that his parents and younger siblings died while vacationing in Mexico. This isn’t the only tragedy in Matt’s life. His older brother is in prison for murder. The older brother has maintained this innocence, but Matt isn’t so sure. The deaths of Matt’s family members seems suspicious, so he looks for the truth behind the deaths. Along the way, he also looks into his brother’s case.

Told using multiple points of view and alternating timelines. Though a lot happens in this book, it’s easy to follow. The story is compelling and kept my interest. I enjoy a thriller that keeps me guessing and this one delivered.

A page-turning thriller with complex characters and a smart mystery. A fantastic debut novel. I look forward to reading more by Alex Finlay.

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