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.

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!!

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…

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!

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!

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!

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?

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Sci-Fi/Mystery

Rating: 7.5/10

Maddy’s killer is on the hunt for the perfect version of her. The one that doesn’t disappoint him. The one that doesn’t force him to kill her. But she never gets it right. He stalks her across parallel worlds to find the Maddy she is suppose to be, failing 21 times. What happens on the 22? I'm not telling.

Horror

Rating: 7.5/10

A vampire story set in the Disco era? I am so here for it. Judge me all you want, I loved Disco. Joyful and effervescent songs…what’s not to love! Amber should have known the party wouldn’t last when Nicola, her maker, casually suggested killing her husband. She made her promise not to harm him. Spoiler alert, vampires lie. I include a suggested Disco Playlist, go ahead and use it, I won't tell.

New Books Hitting The Shelves-October 2024

I’m a planner in every way you could imagine, a particular quirk that benefits my reading life. And now you dear reader, will reap the rewards with my new monthly post that will feature three of the most interesting books coming out in the next month as well as a few extra just for fun. Happy Reading!

Fiction/Thriller

Rating: 8/10

When Willa arrives to a dinner party thrown by her first love, she has no reason to think it will anything other than an ordinary evening. She could never have predicted that this innocuous gathering would be the thing that would turn her world on its axis. Decidedly it turns out to be anything but ordinary…

Mystery

Rating: 7/10

Since arriving in New York to escape a past only alluded to in the early stages of this novel, Alex has lived a quiet life. When she stumbles across the advertisement to replace the famous, presumed murdered, advice columnist Dear Constance, Alex takes the plunge. Then our story really begins! I loved the way the author incorporated Dear Constance letters, some likely written by Alex herself. Maybe.

Sci-Fi/Mystery

Rating: 8/10

Think Knives Out meets Die Hard, set on a luxury space resort. Admit it, you are intrigued. With a cast of flawed and fascinating characters and plot awash with scores to settle, secrets will not stay buried, and deception will not be outrun. Whatever veneer these characters are holding on to will be eradicated in short order. Gotta love the uber rich...

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

As a fractured family gathers at the Mansion at the center of someone(s) inheritance, there are plenty of secrets and lies hovering around. Their matriarch's fractured mind caused her to set out on an iced over lake not solid enough to hold her, plunging her to her death. Feels just a smidge convenient no? As the saying goes, you can't pick your family...