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BOOK BLURB

J.T. Ellison’s pulse-pounding new psychological thriller examines the tenuous bonds of friendship, the power of lies and the desperate lengths people will go to in order to protect their secrets.

Goode girls don’t lie…

Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held traditions and honor code are ideal for preparing exceptional young women for brilliant futures at Ivy League universities and beyond.

But a stranger has come to Goode, and this ivy has turned poisonous.

In a world where appearances are everything, as long as students pretend to follow the rules, no one questions the cruelties of the secret societies or the dubious behavior of the privileged young women who expect to get away with murder.

When a popular student is found dead, the truth cannot be ignored. Rumors suggest she was struggling with a secret that drove her to suicide.

But look closely…because there are truths and there are lies, and then there is everything that really happened.

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MY REVIEW

A couple of deaths, plenty of drama, and questionable behavior combine to make a clever suspense novel. The characters in this book are primarily young adults, but it reads as an adult novel.

Ash is the new girl at The Goode School, an elite boarding school for girls. Her arrival is the catalyst that leads to the events at The Goode School. I especially enjoyed the atmospheric boarding school setting. Lies, secrets, and rumors combined with money and power.

A slow burning mystery with secret societies and mean girls. Good for readers who enjoy mysteries and thrillers in a boarding school setting.

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

Books by J.T. Ellison

1. No One Knows
2. Lie to Me
3. Tear Me Apart
4. Good Girls Lie
5. Her Dark Lies

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.

Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

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MY REVIEW

After turning 25 years old, Libby inherits a valuable property and learns who her biological parents were. Libby was unaware of her biological family, but there are a couple of people who have been waiting for her to discover where she came from.

Told using multiple points of view (Libby, Lucy, and Henry) and alternating timelines. Libby and Lucy’s stories are present day, while Henry’s story takes place in the early to mid-1990s. At first, I found the alternating POVs to be confusing, but I soon got into the flow. The stories do all meet up, and it’s not all that surprising how people and events are connected.

The Family Upstairs is a domestic suspense with some crazy people and plenty of drama. Dark, chaotic, and twisted.

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

Books by Lisa Jewell:

1. The Third Wife
2. The Girls in the Garden
3. I Found You
4. Then She Was Gone
5. Watching You
6. The Family Upstairs
7. Invisible Girl
8. The Night She Disappeared

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One of them has it all. One of them wants it all. But they can’t both win.

Stella and Violet are best friends, and from the moment they met in college, they knew their roles. Beautiful, privileged, and reckless Stella lives in the spotlight. Hardworking, laser-focused Violet stays behind the scenes, always ready to clean up the mess that Stella inevitably leaves in her wake.

After graduation, Violet moves to New York and lands a job in cable news, where she works her way up from intern to assistant to producer, and to a life where she’s finally free from Stella’s shadow. In this fast-paced world, Violet thrives, and her ambitions grow — but everything is jeopardized when Stella, envious of Violet’s new life, uses her connections, beauty, and charisma to get hired at the same network. Stella soon moves in front of the camera, becoming the public face of the stories that Violet has worked tirelessly to produce — and taking all the credit.

Stella might be the one with the rich family and the right friends, but Violet isn’t giving up so easily. As she and Stella strive for success, each reveals just how far she’ll go to get what she wants — even if it means destroying the other person along the way.

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MY REVIEW

Stella and Violet have been friends since college. They seem like opposites, but they balance one another out. Stella is privileged and irresponsible. Violet is hardworking and serious. After graduating, Stella travels and Violet starts an internship at a cable news station in New York. When Stella returns to New York, Violet’s advancements are overshadowed and threatened when Stella is hired at the same station. Violet has always been there for Stella, but Violet isn’t giving up on her dreams.

Told from Violet’s point of view. She’s driven and hardworking, but not always likable. Both women are manipulative with one another and others in their lives. While they both have traits that are unlikable, they also both have moments to sympathize with. Necessary People is one of those novels where unlikable characters really works. Even though I wasn’t loving either woman, I was curious as to how their relationship would play out.

Necessary People is an intriguing thriller about a toxic friendship. Well developed characters that make this a highly enjoyable read. Dark, complex, and compelling.

Books by Anna Pitoniak:

1. The Futures
2. Necessary People

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A beautiful home. A loving wife. And in-laws to die for.

Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot’s life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige – he just doesn’t quite know what he’s signing up for.

The Robinsons arrive with Gemma’s sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot starts to suspect that the Robinsons are hiding a dark secret. And then there are the scars on his wife’s body that she won’t talk about . . .

As Elliot’s in-laws become more comfortable in his home, encroaching on all aspects of his life, it becomes clear that they have no intention of moving out. To protect Gemma, and their marriage, Elliot delves into the Robinsons’ past. But is he prepared for the truth?

From the two million copy bestselling author comes a tale about the chilling consequences of welcoming strangers into your home.

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MY REVIEW

Elliot has a comfortable life with a rewarding career and a beautiful home he remodeled. The only thing missing is a family. When he meets Gemma, she seems perfect for him, and they have a brief courtship before marrying. Soon after getting married, Gemma’s family (mother, father, and sister) need somewhere to stay. Elliot is happy to welcome them into his home for a couple of weeks, but the time keeps passing and his in-laws aren’t leaving. In fact, they’re taking over his home and starting to destroy other areas of his life too.

Elliot is a decent man who works hard and enjoys his quiet life. He wants love though, and is happy when he meets Gemma. Then his in-laws move in. When his in-laws refuse to leave, Elliot is pushed beyond the breaking point. It’s a difficult time for him and Gemma. In some ways it brings them closer and in other ways pushes them apart.

While I enjoyed the story, I did feel it was a little too slowly drawn out. The in-laws are smart though, and stay within the law as they disrupt Elliot’s life. Elliot tries to remain calm, but there is only so much that a man can handle.

Here to Stay is an intriguing story involving the in-laws from Hell. Good for readers who enjoy family drama in domestic thrillers. Crazy, suspenseful, and entertaining.

Books by Mark Edwards:

1. What You Wish For
2. Because She Love Me
3. Follow You Home
4. The Devil’s Work
5. The Lucky Ones
6. The Retreat
7. In Her Shadow
8. The House Guest
9. The Hollows
10. No Place to Run
11. Keep Her Secret
12. The Darkest Water

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A dark, thrilling new novel from the best-selling author of Longbourn: a work of riveting psychological suspense that grapples with how to live as a woman in the world–or in the pages of a book–when the stakes are dangerously high.

When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote English countryside, it’s meant to be a fresh start, away from the bustle of London and the scene of a violent assault she is desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of her new life and the demands of single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative-writing class. When a troubled student starts turning in chapters that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognizes herself as the main character in his book–and he has written her a horrific fate. Will she be able to stop life imitating art before it’s too late? At once a breathless cat-and-mouse game and a layered interrogation of the fetishization of the female body, The Body Lies gives us an essential story for our time that will have you checking the locks on your doors.

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MY REVIEW

A pregnant woman is assaulted. Three years later, she is struggling with living in London and afraid to go out alone. For a fresh start, she takes a job teaching creative writing at a university in the remote English countryside. During her course, a male student writes disturbing stories that blur the line between fiction and reality.

The unnamed narrator is a woman who struggles with life after an assault. The assault colors her view of the world, and eventually leads her to move away from London. Her husband chooses to stay in London for his work, so they attempt to maintain a long-distance relationship, spending time together on holidays and occasional weekends. She move to the countryside with her son and starts a new job that proves to be more challenging than anticipated. The new job has a higher workload than she agreed to, and no guidance. Add in the loneliness of not having her husband around and the struggles of being the mother of a toddler, the narrator is stressed and exhausted. The character development is well done, and provides an insightful look into challenges of being a woman.

The narrator’s life is stressful enough, and when a male student writes disturbing stories, she starts to feel unsafe. The suspense builds slowly in this atmospheric novel. The Body Lies is a good read for fans of literary crime fiction. Slow-burning, dark, and unsettling.

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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In the thrilling, suspenseful new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz, all of Ellie de Florent-Stinson’s secrets come to light in one eventful evening full of twists, turns, and surprises.  

Before she became a glamorous fashion designer, Ellie de Florent-Stinson was a trailer-park teen about to turn sixteen. But a night of birthday celebration doesn’t go exactly as planned and descends into a night she’ll never be able to forget.

Now, on the cusp of her fortieth birthday, it appears Ellie has everything she ever wanted: a handsome husband; an accomplished, college-age stepdaughter; a beautiful ten-year-old girl; adorable and rambunctious six-year-old twin boys; lush, well-appointed homes in Los Angeles, Park City, and Palm Springs; a thriving career; and a dazzling circle of friends.

Except everything is not quite as perfect as it looks on the outside—Ellie is keeping many secrets. But hiding those skeletons has a cost, and it all comes to a head the night of her fabulous birthday party in the desert—where everyone who matters in her life shows up, invited or not. Old and new friends and frenemies, stepdaughters and business partners, ex-wives and ex-husbands congregate, and the glittering facade of Ellie’s life begins to crumble. 

Beautifully paced and full of surprises, The Birthday Girl is an enthralling tale of a life lived in shadow and its unavoidable consequences.

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MY REVIEW

Ellie is turning forty, and she has a big birthday party planned. She’s invited everyone she knows and has everything planned to the last detail. Things do not go according to plan though. Something is up with her husband, her daughter has returned home unexpectedly from college, her best friend can’t make it, someone from her past has decided to drop by, and Ellie’s waiting on a last minuted business deal.

The Birthday Girl is told with alternating timelines – past (24 years ago) and present (birthday party). The past timeline is about Leo and Mish, two girls from the wrong side of town, on the night of Leo’s 16th birthday. They are best friends and excited to go out and celebrate, but things do not end happily. The present timeline is about Ellie, her lavish party, and the things happening in her life.

The Birthday Girl is listed as a thriller, but nothing is particularly surprising or shocking. Ellie is not the most likable character, but she’s realistic. She wants perfection, and to prove that she belongs. An entertaining book for readers who enjoy drama and mild suspense.

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