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BOOK BLURB

The Dry meets The Silence of the Lambs in this intoxicating tale of literary suspense, set in the relentless Alaskan landscape, about madness and obsession, loneliness and grief, and the ferocious bonds of family….

It’s been twenty years since Elisabeth’s twin sister, Jacqueline, disappeared without a trace. Now thirty-year-old Elisabeth is living far from home in a small Alaskan town. She’s in a loveless marriage and has a precocious young daughter she loves more than anything but who reminds her too much of her long-missing sister.

But then Alfred, a dangerous stranger with a plan of his own, arrives in town and commits an inexplicable act of violence. And he offers a startling revelation: He knows exactly what happened to Elisabeth’s sister, but he’ll reveal this truth only if she fulfills his three requests.

Increasingly isolated from her neighbors and imprisoned by the bitter cold and her own obsession, Elisabeth can almost hear her sister’s voice saying, Come and find me. And so she will, even if it means putting herself—and her family—in danger.

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MY REVIEW

Elisabeth Pfautz lives in a small Alaskan town with her husband and daughter. While her husband is away on business, a stranger, Alfred Seidel, arrives in town and needs somewhere to stay. The Pfautz home is the place where locals direct someone in need of a room for a night or two, and Elisabeth reluctantly agrees that the man can stay there. Shortly after his arrival, he kills a local man. While in jail, Alfred wants to speak with Elisabeth, and only Elisabeth. To convince her to help him, he says he knows what happened to Elisabeth’s sister, Jacqueline. Twenty years earlier, Jacqueline disappeared, and Elisabeth is consumed by her need to find out what happened to her sister.

The remote setting is fantastic. It really sets the tone for a moody and somewhat depressing read. The characters are intriguing. Elisabeth is lonely, and has never gotten over her sister’s disappearance. Even putting herself and her family in danger doesn’t hold her back from learning about what happened.

A slow burning and atmospheric mystery. While there were some compelling parts to the novel, I was never fully drawn into the story.

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

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

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Aldrich University is rocked to its core when a hacker dumps 40,000 people’s e-mails—the entire faculty, staff, students, alums—onto an easily searchable database. Rumors and affairs immediately leak, but things turn explosive when Kit Manning’s handsome husband, Dr. Greg Strasser, is found murdered. Kit’s sister, Willa, returns for the funeral, setting foot in a hometown she fled fifteen years ago, after a night she wishes she could forget. As an investigative reporter, Willa knows something isn’t right about the night Greg was killed, and she’s determined to find the truth. What she doesn’t expect is that everyone has something to hide. And with a killer on the loose, Willa and Kit must figure out who killed Greg before someone else is murdered.

Told from multiple points of view, Reputation is full of twists, turns, and shocking reveals. It’s a story of intrigue, sabotage, and the secrets we keep—and how far we go to keep them hidden. Number one bestseller Sara Shepard is at the top of her game in this brand-new adult novel.

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MY REVIEW

A university’s emails are hacked, and leaked online for all to see. Lives are turned upside down as everyone tries to minimize the fallout of having private emails go public. Things escalate when a man is murdered, and it turns out everyone is keeping secrets.

Told using multiple points of view – Kit, Lynn, Raina, Laura, and Willa. Kit works at the university, is married to Greg, and has two daughters. Lynn works with Kit. Raina is a college student and friend of Kit’s daughter. Laura worked with Greg and is married to a police officer. Willa is Kit’s sister. A large cast of characters, but the various viewpoints are easy to follow.

Reputation is a fun and intriguing thriller. Good for readers who enjoy juicy mysteries. Gossipy, exciting, and twisty.

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

Books by Sara Shepard:

1. The Elizas
2. Reputation
3. Safe In My Arms
4. Nowhere Like Home

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It’s something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone call from an unknown number changes everything: it’s a woman on the line, informing her that she has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will see her again is to follow her instructions exactly: pay a ransom, and find another child to abduct. This is no ordinary kidnapping: the caller is a mother herself, whose son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn’t do as she’s told, the boy will die.

“You are not the first. And you will certainly not be the last.” Rachel is now part of The Chain, an unending and ingenious scheme that turns victims into criminals — and is making someone else very rich in the process. The rules are simple, the moral challenges impossible; find the money fast, find your victim , and then commit a horrible act you’d have thought yourself incapable of just twenty-four hours ago.

But what the masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children. It turns out that kidnapping is only the beginning.

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MY REVIEW

Rachel is on her way to a doctor’s appointment when she receives a phone call. On the phone is someone who has kidnapped her daughter Kylie. To get Kylie back, Rachel must obey the rules of The Chain.

A fantastic, yet horrifying, plot. The Chain is a kidnapping for ransom scheme. It starts with parents receiving a phone call that their child has been kidnapped. In addition to paying a ransom, they must also kidnap another child to keep The Chain going. As long as the parents follow the rules, The Chain stays active and everyone stays alive. Of course, once someone is in The Chain, they are forever watching over their shoulder, afraid someone will kill them or their child.

Told in two parts. The novel starts off exciting, and the entire first part is thrilling to read. The second part wasn’t as strong for me, but it stayed entertaining. Most of the novel is told from Rachel’s point of view, but other viewpoints are also included.

The Chain is a fast-paced and action-packed thriller. Gripping, addictive, and intense.

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BOOK BLURB

When former journalist Rain Winter was twelve years old, she narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. The abductor was eventually found and sent to prison, but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice–and killed him in cold blood.

Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, spending her days as a stay-at-home mom. But when another criminal who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case, forced to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go?

Introducing one of the most compelling and original killers in crime fiction today, Lisa Unger takes readers deep inside the minds of both perpetrator and victim, blurring the lines between right and wrong, crime and justice, and showing that sometimes even good people are drawn to do evil things.

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MY REVIEW

Rain is a stay-at-home mom, but misses her work as a reporter. When the suspected killer in a case she once worked is found murdered, she is drawn back into the case. To complicate matters, the recent murder is similar to an old case that Rain had a personal connection to. Rain is consumed with finding the killer.

Rain is taking a break from work to stay home with her child, but her reporter instincts kick in when a vigilante killer seems to be on the loose. The recent murder of a suspected killer is eerily similar to the murder of the man who attempted to abduct Rain when she was a kid. Rain was able to escape her kidnapper, but her best friends were not so lucky. As an adult, Rain still has a hard time with the guilt she has from her surviving while her friends suffered. Rain uses her skills and connections to discover the killer and how it connects to her past.

The Stranger Inside is an addictive thriller that alternates between points of view. This is my second book to read by Lisa Unger, and she’s an author I’ll be sure to read more from in the future. Dark, captivating, and suspenseful.

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

Books by Lisa Unger:

1. The Red Hunter
2. Under My Skin
3. The Stranger Inside
4. Confessions on the 7:45
5. Last Girl Ghosted
6. Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six
7. Christmas Presents
8. The New Couple in 5B

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Six went in…only one came out.

The Standedge Tunnel, the longest canal tunnel in England, has become one of the rural village of Marsden’s main tourist attractions. Now it’s also a crime scene.

Six students went into the tunnel on a private boat. Two and a half hours later, the boat reappeared at the other end of the tunnel carrying only one of the students, Matthew. He had been knocked unconscious and has no memory of what took place in the tunnel. The police suspect he killed his friends, hid the bodies and later moved them to an undisclosed location. But sitting in a cell awaiting trial, Matthew maintains his innocence.

When Matthew contacts a famous author asking him for help in return for information he claims to possess about the author’s long-lost wife, it’s an offer that can’t be refused. But before the author can prove Matthew’s innocence, he must first answer a far more unusual question: How did five bodies disappear into thin air?

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MY REVIEW

Robin’s wife, Samantha, went missing in 2015. Three years later, Robin has written a book about her to help him with his grief. He misses her terribly, and especially wishes he knew what happened to her. At a book signing, he receives a mysterious call from a man saying he spoke with Samantha years earlier. The caller, Matthew, is a man who has recently been arrested for killing five of his friends. Matthew and his friends went through the Standedge Tunnel on a boat, but only Matthew came out of the tunnel. Matthew claims he is innocent and asks for Robin’s help, promising more information about Samantha if Robin helps him. Robin is intrigued and heads off to Marsden, location of Standedge Tunnel. While Matthew maintains his innocence, there is still a big question about his friends – where are the bodies?

Robin is grieving for his missing wife and having difficulty moving on. With the hope of learning something about Samantha’s disappearance, he jumps into investigating Matthew’s claim of innocence. However, the townspeople of Marsden have already decided Matthew is guilty, and they are not welcoming to Robin and his inquiries about the Standedge Five. This makes Robin’s task more difficult, but he presses on to discover what happened in the tunnel, and in turn, hopes to learn what happened to his wife.

The atmosphere Now You See Me is fantastic. The claustrophobic tunnel and tight knit community of Marsden make for a dark and eerie setting. The characters are complex and not all that trustworthy. A compelling and suspenseful mystery.

I read Chris McGeorge’s previous novel, Guess Who, and was amused to see it referred to a couple of times in this book. Both books are entertaining thrillers.

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

Books by Chris McGeorge:

1. Guess Who
2. Now You See Me
3. Inside Out
4. Half-Past Tomorrow