standalone Archives – Nightcap Books

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones [Book Review]

Posted on July 8, 2023July 8, 2023 by Darinda

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BOOK INFO

Title: The Blame Game

Author: Sandie Jones

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publish Date: August 16, 2022

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Games can be dangerous. But blame can be deadly.

As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to avoid becoming overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi worries that she’s taken things too far. Then Jacob goes missing, and her files on him vanish. . . .

But as the police start asking questions about Jacob, Naomi’s own dark past emerges. And as the truth comes to light, it seems that it’s not just her clients who are in danger.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

A psychologist who specializes in domestic violence becomes overly invested in the lives of her clients. Her need to help victims of abuse clouds her judgement. This time, a client is missing, and she is suspected of being involved with his disappearance.

The characters were intriguing and the plot was interesting. With the lying, blaming, and deceit, this one kept me guessing.

The Blame Game is an over-the-top psychological thriller. An engaging and entertaining read.

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

Books by Sandie Jones:

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney [Book Review]

Posted on July 7, 2023July 7, 2023 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: Daisy Darker

Author: Alice Feeney

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publish Date: August 30, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart. Now after years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in her crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. When the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

But at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide goes out and all is revealed.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

The Darker family reunites on a small island to celebrate their family matriarch’s birthday. The island is only accessible during low tide, cutting them off the rest of the time. After they all arrive, and as a storm brews outside, they are isolated on the island. At midnight, their matriarch dies, and another death is to follow every hour.

Daisy Darker is told from Daisy’s point of view, in past and present. The Darker family is dysfunctional and eccentric, making for an entertaining read. The story unfolds in a slow burning and suspenseful way. Good for readers who enjoy family drama and slow building mysteries.

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

Books by Alice Feeney:

Sometimes I Lie
I Know Who You Are
His & Hers
Rock Paper Scissors
Daisy Darker
Good Bad Girl

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn [Book Review]

Posted on July 7, 2023July 7, 2023 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: Killers of a Certain Age

Author: Deanna Raybourn

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publish Date: September 6, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

BOOK BLURB

Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.

They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they’re sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire – it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman—and a killer—of a certain age.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Four female assassins are faced with retirement when they turn 60 years old. While on their retirement vacation, they realize their own organization has turned against them.

I was drawn to this book because of the “of a certain age” element. It’s a fun twist on a story of assassins. While the story is mostly told from one woman’s point of view, we get the backstory on all four of the women. When they are supposed to be retiring, they are forced back into work when they become the targets.

Killers of a Certain Age is an entertaining and unique story.

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

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda [Book Review]

Posted on July 7, 2023July 7, 2023 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 Last to Vanish

Author: Megan Miranda

Publisher: Scribner / Marysue Rucci Books

Publish Date: July 26, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass. Cutter’s Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings—rafting and hiking, with access to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall—and its mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances that has haunted the town is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself.

Abby has sometimes felt like an outsider within the community, but she’s come to view Cutter’s Pass as her home. When Landon’s brother Trey shows up looking for answers, Abby can’t help but feel the town closing ranks. And she’s still on the outside. When she finds incriminating evidence that may bring them closer to the truth, Abby soon discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors, and even those closest to her.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Abby manages a mountain resort in North Carolina. The resort is known for the wonderful nearby outdoor adventures. Unfortunately, there are also a few mysterious missing persons cases associated with the resort.

The Last to Vanish is told from Abby’s point of view. She has lived in the area for 10 years, but is still considered an outsider by the locals. When the brother of one of the missing shows up looking for answers, Abby wants to discover what happened to the missing tourists. This does not help her standing with the locals, and it also puts her in danger. It seems everyone is keeping secrets, making for a suspenseful novel.

The Last to Vanish is a slow burning and atmospheric mystery.

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

Books by Megan Miranda:

All the Missing Girls
The Perfect Stranger
The Last House Guest
The Girl from Widow Hills
Such a Quiet Place
The Last to Vanish

The Finalists by David Bell [Book Review]

Posted on July 4, 2023July 4, 2023 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 Finalists

Author: David Bell

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publish Date: July 5, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

On a beautiful spring day, six college students with nothing in common besides a desperate inability to pay for school gather to compete for the prestigious Hyde Fellowship.

Milo—The front-runner
Natalia—The brain
James—The rule follower
Sydney—The athlete
Duffy—The cowboy
Emily—The social justice warrior

The six of them must surrender their devices when they enter Hyde House, an aging Victorian structure that sits in a secluded part of campus.

Once inside, the doors lock behind them. The students are not allowed to leave until they spend eight hours with a college administrator who will do almost anything to keep the school afloat, and Nicholas Hyde, the privileged and notoriously irresponsible heir to the Hyde family fortune. If the students leave before time is up, they’ll be immediately disqualified.

But when one of the six finalists drops dead, the other students fear they’re being picked off one by one. With a violent protest raging outside, and no way to escape, the survivors viciously turn on each other.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Six college students compete for a fellowship. The students arrive at Hyde House, an old building on the campus, to be interviewed. They are locked inside and cannot leave until the interview process is completed. Unfortunately, one of the finalists dies. The others must figure out if there is a murderer among them, and how they will survive.

An interesting idea, but this book fell a little flat for me. I liked the setting of an old Victorian building on a small college campus. Unfortunately, the story moved along too slowly for my liking. The characters are all unlikable… everyone has secrets and is desperate for the scholarship. Unlikable characters aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but I do like to have someone to root for while reading a novel like this.

The Finalists was an entertaining locked room mystery. Good for fans of David Bell and locked room mysteries.

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

Books by David Bell:

Cemetery Girl
The Hiding Place
Never Come Back
The Forgotten Girl
Somebody I Used to Know
Since She Went Away
Bring Her Home
Somebody’s Daughter
Layover
The Request
Kill All Your Darlings
The Finalists
She’s Gone

All the Dirty Secrets by Aggie Blum Thompson [Book Review]

Posted on December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 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: All the Dirty Secrets

Author: Aggie Blum Thompson

Publisher: Forge Books

Publish Date: July 12, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

All the Dirty Secrets by Aggie Blum Thompson

BOOK BLURB

One warm summer night twenty-five years ago, Liza Gold and her friends celebrated their high school graduation with a party on the beach. It should have been the best night of their lives, only one of them never came back out of the ocean.

The tragedy haunted Liza Gold for years. Now, she’s a recently divorced working mom struggling to connect with her standoffish teenager daughter Zoe when history repeats itself. Another young woman has drowned at Beach Week, and this time the victim is Zoe’s secret best friend.

Liza begins to suspect that the two deaths are somehow related, which causes her to face hard truths and take an unflinching look at the people she’s called her closest friends for the past two decades. She must discover what really happened to both women before it’s too late.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Twenty-five years ago, tragedy struck when Liza and her friends went to the beach, and one didn’t make it in after her midnight swim. Now, another young woman has died in a similar way, and this time it was a friend of Liza’s daughter that died.

All the Dirty Secrets is told using multiple points of view and multiple timelines. The POVs are Liza and her teen daughter, Zoe. The timelines are present day and twenty-five years earlier. Liza suspects the two deaths are related somehow. To find the truth, she has to take a hard look at those closest to her.

This started as a slow-building novel, but picked up the pace around the middle of the book. All the Dirty Secrets is a suspenseful mystery of secrets and deception. A good read for fans of this genre.

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

Books by Aggie Blum Thompson:

I Don’t Forgive You
All the Dirty Secrets

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin [Book Review]

Posted on December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 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: Stay Awake

Author: Megan Goldin

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: August 9, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers—a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing. In its place is a bloodstained knife. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.

Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, similar to the message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget—permanently.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Liv awakens in a taxi, and has no memory of the past two years. Someone else lives in her apartment, “stay awake” is written on her hands, and she’s in possession of a bloody knife. She soon finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing.

Stay Awake is told using multiple points of view and timelines. The timelines are present day and two years earlier. The POVs are Liv and the detective investigating the murder. Liv is trying to figure out what has happened to her. The detective is trying to solve a case. Both viewpoints are interesting and add to the story.

Stay Awake is a fast-paced thriller with an intriguing plot. Recommended for fans of suspenseful thrillers and crime.

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

Books by Megan Goldin:

The Girl in Kellers Way
The Escape Room
The Night Swim
Stay Awake

Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton [Book Review]

Posted on December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 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: Local Gone Missing

Author: Fiona Barton

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publish Date: June 14, 2022

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Elise King is a successful and ambitious detective—or she was before a medical leave left her unsure if she’d ever return to work. She now spends most days watching the growing tensions in her small seaside town of Ebbing—the weekenders renovating old bungalows into luxury homes, and the locals resentful of the changes.

Elise can only guess what really happens behind closed doors. But Dee Eastwood, her house cleaner, often knows. She’s an invisible presence in many of the houses in town, but she sees and hears everything.

The conflicts boil over when a newcomer wants to put the town on the map with a weekend music festival, and two teenagers overdose on drugs. When a man disappears the first night of the festival, Elise starts digging for answers. Ebbing is a small town, but it’s full of secrets and hidden connections that run deeper and darker than Elise could have ever imagined.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Elise is a detective on medical leave. She misses her work, but is uncertain of when she will return to her job. In the meantime, she spends her time watching the changes in her small town of Ebbing. One of Ebbing’s new residents wants to host a music festival in town. On the first night of the festival, a local man goes missing. Elise can’t resist investigating the disappearance.

Local Gone Missing is a slow-building story. The seaside town, atmosphere, and characters were all well developed. Elise’s detective skills were the highlight. This was a complex and clever mystery.

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

Upgrade by Blake Crouch [Book Review]

Posted on December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 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: Upgrade

Author: Blake Crouch

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publish Date: July 12, 2022

Genre: Technothriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

“You are the next step in human evolution.”

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.

But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.

Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.

Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.

And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Upgrade is set in the future, after “The Great Starvation” has killed two hundred million people. This famine was unintentionally caused by a genetic engineer. That engineer was Logan’s mother. She was a brilliant scientist, but her experiments had devastating consequences. Now, genetically modifying anything is a crime and Logan works for the Gene Protection Agency.

Logan is exposed to a gene modifying virus on the job, and starts to notice changes in his mind and body. He has become sharper than ever. He has better concentration, vision, and strength. With this new version of himself, Logan is the only one capable of saving humanity by stopping a plan that is already set in motion.

Action, drama, suspense, and science combine in this fast-paced technothriller.

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

Books by Blake Crouch:

Dark Matter
Recursion
Upgrade

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone [Book Review]

Posted on December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 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: Two Nights in Lisbon

Author: Chris Pavone

Publisher: MCD

Publish Date: May 24, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

You think you know a person . . .

Ariel Pryce wakes up in Lisbon, alone. Her husband is gone—no warning, no note, not answering his phone. Something is wrong.

She starts with hotel security, then the police, then the American embassy, at each confronting questions she can’t fully answer: What exactly is John doing in Lisbon? Why would he drag her along on his business trip? Who would want to harm him? And why does Ariel know so little about her new—much younger—husband?

The clock is ticking. Ariel is increasingly frustrated and desperate, running out of time, and the one person in the world who can help is the one person she least wants to ask.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Ariel and her husband, John, travel to Lisbon on one of his business trips. One morning, Ariel wakes up, and her husband is gone. She contacts local authorities, but she is unable to answer some of their questions. When Ariel gets a ransom demand for John, she has to come up with the money, and that means turning to someone she was hoping to never have contact with again.

Two Nights in Lisbon has a complex and multilayered plot that took time to build. The twists and turns were unexpected, which is always enjoyable. A good read for fans of tense and suspenseful thrillers.

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

My Summer Darlings by May Cobb [Book Review]

Posted on December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 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: My Summer Darlings

Author: May Cobb

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: May 17, 2022

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

A woman in the forest thinks she’s going to die.
I know he’s coming back for me.

Jen Hansen, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols have been friends since childhood. They are now approaching forty and their lives have changed, but their insular East Texas town has not. They stay sane by drinking wine in the afternoons, dishing about other women in the neighborhood, and bonding over the heartache of their own encroaching middle age and raising ungrateful teens.

Then Will Harding comes to town, moving into one of the neighborhood’s grandest homes. Mysterious and charming, he seems like the answer to each woman’s prayers. He’s a source of fascination for Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, but none of them are ready for the way Will disrupts their lives.

As Will grows closer with each of the women, their fascination twists into obsession, threatening their friendships and their families. When he abruptly pulls away, each woman scrambles to discover the source of his affection. But what they’ll uncover is far more sinister and deadly than any of them could have ever imagined.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia lives in the same neighborhood and have been friends for years. A new man moves into town, and has caught all their attention. There goes the neighborhood.

My Summer Darlings is told through alternating points of view – Jen, Kittie, Cynthia, and an unknown person. The POVs are all distinct, though none of them are very likable.

Jen is recently divorced, and is immediately drawn to the new neighbor, Will. Her besties, Kittie and Cynthia, are both married, but they are also attracted to Will. This must be the world’s most charming man. Anyway, the women all fall for this new stranger, and are absolutely ridiculous trying to win him over. It should be no surprise that things do not end well.

My Summer Darlings is a guilty pleasure book. A steamy and dramatic story of rich people behaving badly, with a little mystery thrown in.

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

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak [Book Review]

Posted on December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 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: Hidden Pictures

Author: Jason Rekulak

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publish Date: May 10, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Mallory is looking for a fresh start. She’s just out of rehab and gets a job as a live-in nanny for a couple and their five-year-old, Teddy. At first, things are great, but then Teddy starts to draw creepy images. Mallory starts to suspect the drawings may have something to do with an unsolved murder.

Hidden Pictures starts strong. The story was intriguing and I was enjoying the characters. Halfway into the book, things took a turn. The story got wilder and more unbelievable. Overall, it was an entertaining read, but not as thrilling as I had hoped.

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