Wrap It Up...Chapter One...True Stories

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Books For A Glimpse Into Another Persons Story…

My Christmas wish for you is this, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. May they provide an escape, a door into a world of wonder, a glimpse at an everyday hero’s inspirational tale, a reminder that laughter is indeed the best medicine, and that words and stories are sustenance for the soul, and in our darkest moments, a soft place to land. Find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

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All Wrapped Up!

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Books Get The Holiday Treatment!

Sweet Holiday treats in the form of mystery novels! Gathered are bitesized seasonal instalments from beloved series that miss none of the byzantine plotting or quirky characters and new offerings that are full of witty banter and charm. Any (or all) of them a perfect escape from the hectic holiday preparations all of us undertake at this time of year. All the seasonal vibes with none of the work…what are you waiting for!!

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The Plot Thickens...

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Mystery Solved…The Who, Why & How Of It All

“The writer of murder, like all writers, must be a miser, conceding revelations bit by bit; for every novel is a puzzle, every writer a murderer, and every reader a sleuth.”

Ah, the allure of a tantalizing, twisty plot! In these curated titles you will find no swift resolution, no failure of the writer in keeping you glued to the page, no lack in the pushing at the bounds of plausibility. You will find yourself in the company of characters that are all plotting in one way or another; to further their ambitions, for true love, for revenge, and even for sheer entertainment. Certainly, for your entertainment dear reader.

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The Puzzle Master - Danielle Trussoni

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The Puzzle Master - Danielle Trussoni

Fiction

Rating: 8/10

Brink cannot resist the urge to solve a puzzle put in front of him, no level of difficultly is insurmountable. Nervous energy will overcome him until he can put right the disorder. His brain will latch itself on to patterns or sequences without his consent or, at times, his awareness. His unique skillset has now put him in harms way. Fun fact (or is it fiction?), ones and zeros will become replaced with qubits. Information will be able to exist here, and there. Be black and white at the same time. Makes my head hurt…

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Mask Of Flies - Matthew Lyons

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Mask Of Flies - Matthew Lyons

Horror

Rating: 7.5/10

Bodies drop like flies in this book. I won’t elaborate on the irony of that, but you know, the title. As the saying goes, there is no honor among thieves. Our tale of terror begins with Anne narrowly escaping a botched bank heist with a wounded team member and a cop she has recklessly taken hostage. And that’s only the beginning of her mistakes. From there the story takes a dark, otherworldly, and very yucky turn. The gore factor is worthy of a Tarantino film!

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In Short-New Horror Novellas

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Creepy Reads To Curl Up With…Keep The Lights On!

A blood splattered dissection of the uber rich, where fury flows as freely as champagne. And on the menu? The family’s just desserts. A robot, William, has begun make decisions outside of its programming, forming appetites, gaslighting its creator. And now, he (it?) wants out. A sleep deprived women who can’t understand why she is so tired all the time, until she films herself. This trio of novellas clears the most difficult hurdle in horror fiction, ensuring the fear on the page is felt by the reader!

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Butcher & Blackbird: A Ruinous Love - Brynne Weaver - Top Book Pick!

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Butcher & Blackbird: A Ruinous Love - Brynne Weaver - Top Book Pick!

Romance/Horror

Rating: 9/10

I don’t often wander into the romance category, but sometimes a girl just needs to get her groove on. So to speak. This tantalizing tale of two vigilante serial killers endlessly trying to out kill each other certainly scratched that itch. Tons of teasing banter, romantic gestures and very spicy bedroom antics build with every page. You know what they say…there’s a lid for every pot!

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Ghost Station - S.A. Barnes

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Ghost Station - S.A. Barnes

Sci-Fi/Horror

Rating: 7.5/10

Dr. Ophelia Bray wakes from frozen sleep still locked into the coffin like tank. Every breath a searing iciness, every muscle stiff and cramped, every sense excruciatingly straining to haul her back to a conscious state. And that’s before she emerges. Before she finds the crew missing and the ship silent. A desolate planet, a derelict ship, a shadowy crew and nothing but endless night. What else do you need in a space horror book?

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Not Enough Hours In The Day...

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Scary Reads To Squeeze In…

Dead Eleven - Jimmy Juliano

You Like It Darker - Stephen King

Heads Will Roll - Josh Winning

Middle Of The Night - Riley Sager

William - Mason Coile

Family Business - Jonathan Sims

The Queen - Nick Cutter

Cuckoo - Gretchen Felker-Martin

Horror Movie - Paul Tremblay

I Was A Teenage Slasher - Stephen Graham Jone

Lost Man's Lane - Scott Carson

Incidents Around The House - Josh Malerman

Near The Bone - Christina Henry

The White Guy Dies First - Terry Benton-Walker

Mask Of Flies - Matthew Lyons

So Thirsty - Rachel Harrison

The Night Guest - Hildur Knutsdottir

Don’t Eat The Pie - Monique Asher

Devils Kill Devils - Johnny Compton

Dark Sparkles...

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Killer Queens & Badass Babes…

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder - Kerryn Mayne

She's A Killer - Kirsten McDougall

Loose Lips - Kemper Donovan

Witness 8 - Steve Cavanagth

Havoc - Christopher Bollen

Gaslight - Sara Shepard

Lie To Me - Theo Baxter

Sweet Pea - C.J. Skuse

The Self-Made Widow - Fabian Nicieza

This Girls A Killer - Emma C. Wells

My Husband - Maud Ventura

Follow Me - Elizabeth Rose Queen

You'd Look Better As A Ghost - Joanna Wallace

Blood Sugar - Sascha Rothschild

Best Way To Bury Your Husband - Alexie Casale

No One Will Miss Her - Kat Rosenfield

Rouge - Mona Awad

My Lover's Lover - Maggie O'Farrell

Bright Young Women - Jessica Knoll

So Meta...

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Books For The Bookish…

Book of Doors - Gareth Brown

Secret Lives Of Booksellers & Libarian - James Patterson

Craft: Stories I Wrote For The Devil - Ananda Lima

Babel - R.F. Kuang

No Two Persons - Erica Bauermeister

The Storied Life Of A. J. Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan

End Of Story - A.J. Finn

Liar's Dictionary-Ellery Williams

The Borrower - Rebecca Makkai

Blank - Zibby Owens

Door To Door Bookstore - Carsten Henn

The Book Eaters - Sunyi Dean

The Girl Who Reads On The Metro - Christine Feret-Fleury

The Dictionary Of Lost Words - Pip Williams

The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer

Lexicon - Max Barry

Ink Blood Sister Scribe - Emma Torzs

The Woman In The Library - Sulari Gentill

The Plot - Jean Hanff Korelitz - Top Book Pick!

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The Plot - Jean Hanff Korelitz - Top Book Pick!

Mystery/Suspense

Rating: 9.5/10

Plot (noun): a sequence of events in a narrative, like a novel; an immoral or illegal plan; a designated section of land, as in a gravesite. Trust me on this, you will revisit more than one of these definitions in this brilliantly written novel. You will find yourself ensnared in a tangle of literary treachery and hubris populated by vivid and compelling characters. Should reading be this fun? Hell yeah!

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The Night We Lost Him - Laura Dave

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The Night We Lost Him - Laura Dave

Mystery/Suspense

Rating: 7.5/10

Nora and her estranged brother Sam have one thing in common; they believe that their father’s death wasn’t an accident, they believe something nefarious was at play. And there is no shortage of suspects; a competitor whose attempt at a takeover failed spectacularly, one of his three ex-wives or his business partners who are most definitely keeping secrets. The question is whether they are their own, or his.

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Sociopath:A Memoir - Patric Gagne - Top Book Pick!

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Sociopath:A Memoir - Patric Gagne - Top Book Pick!

Memoir

Rating: 9/10

The author is a sociopath. She has offered her story because she feels it’s essential to illustrate the truth no one wants to admit, that darkness is where you least expect it. Despite the discovery at a young age that she made people uncomfortable, she isn't the serial killer some thought she would be. She is not any kind of killer. She is a wife, a mother, a friend and a therapist. Brutally self aware and honest. My thoughts on this read...wow. Just wow.

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Evocation - S.T. Gibson

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Evocation - S.T. Gibson

Fantasy

Rating: 8.5/10

The devil knows his name. As a teenager, David was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his occultist father. Years later, as he approaches his thirtieth birthday, the Devil comes to collect on an ancestral debt. Desperate times call for desperate measures, forcing him to reach out to his ex-boyfriend and his wife for help. It's been awhile since I found occultist delights like Tarot cards in a read, it was a blast!

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Oh, The Drama...

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Familial(ish) Sagas Of The Fictional Kind…

Finding oneself part of an ideal family or friendship must be a kind of harmonic bliss. The traditions! The matching sweaters! The heart to hearts! But where’s the fun in that? Write about such euphoric contentment and you’re at risk of putting people to sleep. Where’s the misbehaving parent, the pesky sibling, the friend who sucks you into their drama, the crush you love from afar, the drama queens and the bad boys who keep readers turning pages? The spectacle and the discord that propel the plot forward? Right here, that's where!

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Hurricane Blonde - Halley Sutton - Top Book Pick!

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Hurricane Blonde - Halley Sutton - Top Book Pick!

Noir Fiction

Rating: 9/10

Salma, a promising child actor, now spends her days as a guide for the Stars Six Feet Under tour, leading leering fans through star studded streets to the places where actresses of the past met their untimely, and often macabre, ends. A dark and gripping noir that is both a scathing indictment of the cult of celebrity and a brutal unpacking of long kept secrets. So much more than a tragedy about a woman who met a grisly end, it’s also a profound exploration of grief and love.

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Cascade Failure - L.M. Sagas - Top Book Pick!

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Cascade Failure - L.M. Sagas - Top Book Pick!

Sci-Fi

Rating: 8.5/10

Reader, strap in and hold on! Remember the cult favourite television series Firefly? From the first page to the last, you will be rooting for this messy and lovable found family. A space adventure with a motley crew of ragtag misfits and outcasts that is absolute genius. Full of snarky banter, wickedly wacky fun, and moments that will hit you right in your soft places, read this. You can thank me later.

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Do You Believe In Magic...

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Books With A Touch Of Magic…

Carnivale Of Curioustites - Aimee Gibbs

Spitting Gold - Carmella Lokis

Joyland - Stephen King

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke

Circus Of Wonders - Elizabeth MacNeal

Wonder Show - Hannah Barnaby

Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Carter Beats The Devil - Glen David Gold

Caraval - Stephanie Garber

First Bright Thing - J.R. Dawson

Nights At The Circus - Angela Carter

Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Stardust - Neil Gaiman

Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon

The Prestige - Christopher Priest

Magic - William Goldman

Bacchanal - Veronica G Henry

Circus Train - Amita Parikh

The Magicians Lie - Greer Macallister