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On a bright morning in the suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought on Trinity Avenue. Nothing strange about that. Except it’s your house. And you didn’t sell it.

When Fiona Lawson arrives home to find strangers moving into her house, she is plunged into terror and confusion. She and her husband, Bram, have owned their home on Trinity Avenue for years; how can another family possibly think the house is theirs? And why has Bram disappeared–along with their two young children–when she needs him most?

As the nightmare takes hold, Fiona begins to untangle the lies that led to a devastating crime–and a betrayal so shocking it will teach her to keep her own secrets behind locked doors….

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MY REVIEW

A couple who, on the outside, seems to have it all – happy marriage, good kids, and the perfect home. As their marriage falls apart, Fiona Lawson, the wife, is determined to protect their home. They decide to have a bird’s nest custody of the house while going through their divorce. It seems like an idea that could work. Fiona will stay at the house with the kids during the week, and Bram, the husband, will stay there on weekends. It allows them to keep the house and not have to uproot the kids while going through a divorce. Things seem to be working out fine, until Fiona returns home one day and finds a new family moving into her house. Bram is nowhere to be found, and Fiona starts questioning what Bram has been up to.

Told using the alternating points of view of Fiona and Bram. Different formats are used to relay their perspectives. Fiona is doing a podcast to tell her story, while Bram is writing his experiences in a letter. The story also has flashbacks to recall the events that led to the big event of a new family moving into the Lawson’s home. Neither Fiona nor Bram is necessarily a reliable narrator, but Bram seems especially suspicious. In fact, Bram is not a likable character, but he has an interesting story to tell.

Our House is a twisty domestic thriller. The intriguing plot and unreliable characters make for a fast-paced read. Our House has it all – secrets, lies, adultery, real estate fraud, and murder.

Books by Louise Candlish:

1. The Swimming Pool
2. Our House
3. Those People
4. The Other Passenger
5. The Heights
6. The Only Suspect

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Two sisters. One murder plan.
Everyone thought reckless, troubled Geraldine Monroe was the bad sister — especially when she fled town after her mother’s death twenty-five years ago.
But people don’t know the truth.
Marie Monroe knows. She was there for their father’s cruel punishments, the constant manipulation, the lies. Everyone thinks she’s the perfect daughter — patient and kind, and above all obedient. No one would suspect her of anything. Especially not murder.
Now Geraldine’s home again, and she and Marie have united in a plan for the ultimate revenge. But when old secrets and new fears clash, everyone is pushed to the breaking point . . . and the sisters will learn that they can’t trust anyone-not even each other.

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MY REVIEW

Geraldine and Marie’s mother died over twenty years ago, and Geraldine left shortly after her death. Their mother was an alcoholic, and Geraldine spent a good deal of time taking care of her. Though Geraldine left, Marie stayed in town and helped her father with the home and business. The father, Martin, was cruel and controlling. The home life of the girls was less than ideal, though they put up a good front that things were better than they appeared. Many years have passed, but with Geraldine back in town, old wounds are reopening

Geraldine is back in town for her nephew’s graduation, and it looks like she’ll be staying for a while. Her sister, Marie, is happy to have Geraldine back, but their father, Martin, is suspicious of Geraldine’s reasons for being in town.

The Other Sister uses alternating points of view, plus multiple timelines. Most of the story takes place in present day, but a good deal of the book is devoted to flashbacks of when the women were young girls and teens. I found the alternating points of view to be fine, but the alternating timelines were not as well done. The story lost focus and too much was happening.

I did enjoy the excerpts of Geraldine’s book on fairytales that she is writing. Her excuse for staying in town is because she is writing a book, and her field of study is fairytales. This added to the atmosphere of the story, and gave it a little bit of an eerie feel.

The story about the sisters is intriguing. They have difficult pasts and uncertain futures. The Other Sister was more of a slow burn story, but things do pick up toward the end of the book. Dark, convoluted, and treacherous.

Books by Sarah Zettel:

1. The Other Sister
2. A Mother’s Lie

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The police say it was suicide. Anna says it was murder. They’re both wrong.

Last year, Tom and Caroline Johnson chose to end their lives, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents’ deaths, unwilling to accept the verdict of suicide.

Now with a baby herself, Anna feels her mother’s absence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as she digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her.

Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie….

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MY REVIEW

Anna’s parents both committed suicide two years earlier. As the anniversaries of the deaths approach, Anna is missing them even more than usual now that she has a baby. When she receives a note that suggests her parents deaths may not have been suicides, she starts to question the past and the investigation into her parent’s deaths.

Let Me Lie uses multiple points of view – Anna, Murray, and an unnamed narrator. Anna is a woman in her twenties. She has lost both of her parents to suicide, and has trouble reconciling their deaths with the parents she remembers. Murray is the detective who worked the cases of her parents deaths. The unnamed narrator is a little different, and one that adds a lot to the story.

Let Me Lie starts as a slow burning suspense, but has an exciting, twisty ending. The alternating chapters work for this book. Each narrator has something different to offer to the story, but it takes all viewpoints to pull the story together. Topics covered in this book include relationships, motherhood, and domestic abuse.

Let Me Lie is a twisty psychological thriller. Clever, dramatic, and suspenseful. Good for fans of domestic thrillers.

Books by Clare Mackintosh:

1. I Let You Go
2. I See You
3. Let Me Lie
4. After the End
5. Hostage

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BOOK BLURB

A biracial couple with two young children, the Campbells face as many challenges as any family in Liverpool. But Jane tends to let her husband, Leon—a bestselling thriller writer—fight their battles. Averse to conflict, she prefers to focus on what seems to be going right: her two precious children; her occasionally rocky but still loving marriage; and while her manuscripts keep getting rejected, she enjoys teaching creative writing. But then Leon is brutally attacked in their own driveway, and Jane is forced to face reality.

With Leon in a coma, Jane needs to take matters into her own hands—and open her eyes to the secrets that have been kept from her all this time. Suddenly, she sees her life in a shocking new light. But if she wants to find out who hurt her husband, she will have to pay attention to every unpleasant detail

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MY REVIEW

Jane is married to Leon, a successful crime writer. Jane takes care of their two young children, teaches creative writing, and dreams of being a writer. They seem to have a great life, but that all comes crashing down one day while getting ready to head out. Leon and the kids are in the car and ready to go, but Jane heads back inside for a few minutes. When she returns, she finds Leon brutally attacked.

Told from Jane’s point of view, she first deals with the shock of her husband’s brutal attack, and then tries to piece together who would do such a thing. Following the attack, Leon is in a coma, so he is unable to help the police find who attacked him. The children were preoccupied and didn’t see what happened. Jane is left to wonder who could be behind the attack – an angry neighbor, a disgruntled fan, or something more sinister.

Open Your Eyes looks at the difficulty a family faces when their lives are forever changed by a brutal attack. Life after Leon’s attack is forever changed for not only Leon, but his wife and children. It is an extremely difficult situation, and Jane handles it somewhat better than most people probably would.

Jane does do a little snooping on her own to find the attacker, but she’s not especially organized about it. One of the things I didn’t like was that Jane only questions things after someone else points stuff out to her. She seemed like a smart individual, so I would have preferred her to be more of a self-starter and question things on her own.

Open Your Eyes is an entertaining and addictive read. It does lean a little on the unbelievable side, but not overly so. A fast-paced read for fans of domestic thrillers. Clever, intriguing, and unpredictable. This is my first time reading this author, but I will definitely pick up more by Paula Daly in the future.

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

Books by Paula Daly:

1. Just What Kind of Mother Are You?
2. Keep Your Friends Close
3. The Mistake I Made
4. The Trophy Child
5. Open Your Eyes
6. Clear My Name

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What if the nightmares are actually memories?

It’s been a year since Poppy’s husband, Jack, was murdered during his morning run through Manhattan’s Riverside Park. In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiraled into grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused wearing a tight red dress she didn’t recognize. What happened to Poppy during those lost days? And more importantly, what happened to Jack?

The case was never solved, and Poppy has finally begun to move on. But those lost days have never stopped haunting her. Poppy starts having nightmares and blackouts, unable to distinguish between what is real and what she’s imagining. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy is plunged into a game of cat and mouse, determined to unravel the mystery around her husband’s death. But can she handle the truth about what really happened?

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MY REVIEW

Poppy is grieving the loss of her husband. It has been a year since he was murdered, and the case has not been solved. Soon after her husband’s death, Poppy disappeared from her family and friends for a few days. She never told them where she was or what she was doing, and, in fact, Poppy has blocked those days from her memory. Now that Poppy is attempting to move on, she wants to remember those days, and feels that if only she could regain her memories, she could discover what happened to her husband.

Poppy is a mess of a character. She is, understandably, devastated with the loss of her husband. She self-medicates and drinks too much to deal with her depression. The mixing of pills and alcohol causes Poppy to suffer from blackouts. She thinks that someone is following her, but she’s not sure who or why. Since she’s not the most stable person, it’s hard to believe if she’s really in danger. When Poppy seems to be onto something that may lead to answers, she self-destructs. It’s frustrating, but gripping.

Under My Skin is told from Poppy’s viewpoint, which is confusing and chaotic. An engaging and unpredictable psychological thriller. Dark, suspenseful, and twisty.

I received a digigtal 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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A brilliant, twisty novel about a missing woman, an unfaithful husband, and the dark secrets that will destroy two perfect families.

A scandalous revelation is about to devastate a picturesque town where the houses are immaculate and the neighborhoods are tightly knit. Devoted mother Cora O’Connell has found the journal of her friend Laurel’s daughter—a beautiful college student who lives next door—revealing an illicit encounter. Hours later, Laurel makes a shattering discovery of her own: her daughter has vanished without a trace. Over the course of one weekend, the crises of two close families are about to trigger a chain reaction that will expose a far more disturbing web of secrets. Now everything is at stake as they’re forced to confront the lies they have told in order to survive.

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MY REVIEW

Cora and her husband host a birthday party for their two year old twins, and things go downhill quickly afterwards. Cora discovers a journal of her neighbor’s daughter that reveals a secret. Soon after, the neighbor’s daughter goes missing.

As one weekend’s events unravel, the lives of multiple families are changed. The story opens with a birthday party for toddlers, where Cora has invited family and friends to celebrate her young children. The guests include Cora’s mother Sarah, her friend Jade, and her neighbor Laurel. Each of these women has something going on in her life that they haven’t been able to discuss with anyone else.

Central to the story is Cora, a married mom of toddler twins. She lost her sister, Maggie, in a tragic accident years earlier, and still has trouble dealing with that loss. The loss of Maggie also greatly affected her mother, Sarah, and friend, Jade. The current emotions and actions of these women can be traced back to the night they lost a loved one.

We Were Mothers uses multiple points of view from Cora, Sarah, Jade, and Laurel to tell the story. This book is part women’s fiction and part suspense. Some of the issues the women are dealing with are very real, as is the feeling of having no one to talk to about those issues. One of the things I liked about this book was the women’s desire to protect their children, and how most of their actions are related to the fact that they are mothers. We Were Mothers is a fitting title for the book.

The suspense part of We Were Mothers comes from Laurel’s missing daughter. There are, of course, other events going on, but it seems one missing college student starts the unraveling process.

Some of the topics throughout We Were Mothers deal with motherhood, domestic abuse, and adultery. A good read for fans of family drama and suspense. This book does have a bit of a slow start, and I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, but it was still a good, light read.

Books by Katie Sise:

1. We Were Mothers
2. Open House
3. The Break