Thriller

Rating: 8.5/10

Elizabeth is not making good choices. Someone knows that she is killing people. And for reasons she can’t begin to fathom, other people are confessing to her crimes. All of them. Every time. She knows that she will eventually have to face the consequences of her actions. Punishment may have been delayed by these inexplicable admissions of guilt, but it’s coming for her. Disquieting and diabolical. I dare you to look away.

Spy Thriller

Rating: 8/10

A Russian magnate who has set his dead eyed sights on ruling the nation goes to diabolical lengths to restore to his homeland a priceless artifact thought to be the eighth wonder of the world. A woman, one of the CIA’s most revered and brilliant spymasters is the only one that can prevent him from achieving the pinnacle of power. Full of intrigue, clandestine missions, and fast paced action, this is a great read whether you are a fan of spy novels or not. You will not be disappointed.

Mystery

Rating: 8/10

Molly has a new mess to clean up. A situation if you will. A problem of epic proportions with limited solutions. A colossal catastrophe. A famous author has dropped dead on the tearoom floor of the hotel in which she was recently promoted to head maid. Before he had a chance to make his big announcement. In one moment, the words “I’ve been keeping a secret” are uttered and in the next, he is a goner. Not to worry, our charming Molly is on the case!

Mystery

Rating: 8.5/10

When Theo shows up on her big brother’s doorstep with an abandoned life plan and an unfinished novel in hand, she never expects to be drawn into a hidden literary world. One in which identity is something that can be obscured and remade for the sake of a reader. Or stolen might be a better way to put it. I loved the portrayal of writing and publishing as something murky and even murderous on its path to success. So juicy!

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

When a decomposing body is discovered alongside a white bullet casing, the police begin to receive complex riddles from the killer, taunting them with opportunities to stop future planned murders. One down, eight to go. With the unrelenting game of cat and mouse afoot, a sense of desperation pervades the book, ensuring an outstanding read. One not for the faint of heart.

Mystery

Rating: 7/10

Teenager Jack becomes a suspect when she discovers a body floating in the river she spends all her free time on. Her grandmother, whose living with her and her mom while she battles cancer, resolves to ferret out the real killer. And absolutely nothing, and no one, will dissuade her. Do not mistake granny for anybody’s push over, she is a force to be reckoned with.

Sci-Fi/Noir

Rating: 8.5/10

Cal is a detective working with the police on certain, shall we say, sensitive cases. Think of him as a fixer. When he’s called in to investigate a homicide, at first, he thinks it’s a mistake. That it’s just a run of the mill murder and not one that involves a Titan. Society’s richest, most powerful, medically enhanced and genetically altered elites. The world the author plops us into is shadowy and visceral, the plotting impeccable and the characters gleefully immoral. In other words, fun!

New Books Hitting The Shelves-February 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

Rating: 7.5/10

This author crafts stories that are as heartwarming as they are heartbreaking, expertly guiding us through the complexities that emerge within families. Her latest packs an emotional punch, delivering a page turning family drama that explores the consequences of loyalty, deception, jealousy, scandal, and fraught family dynamics. And the big secret that the scandal in the title is referring too, its a doozy!

Fiction/Satire

Rating: 9/10

Juniper is a fledging writer, ravenous with ambition. When her bestselling author friend Athena chokes to death one night when they are hanging at her fancy schmancy apartment, Juniper steals her just-finished masterpiece. A masterpiece she hasn’t whispered a thing about to anyone. Did I mention she is also an unabashed liar. Flat out, bald faced, deluded and narcissistic, she even manages to fool herself. Seriously, she cannot help herself. A brilliant read!

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

Aidan is charming, objectively handsome, and always willing to lend a hand. But behind the meticulously fabricated veneer, he’s also a kidnapper and serial killer. While we all have reason to shy away from the “serial killer” novels, which have seen a resurgence of popularity in the last year, this one delves a little deeper than most. What is, at a glance, a twisted premise, is in fact a novel that raises unexpected moral considerations.

Sci-Fi

Rating: 9/10

January is head of security at the Paradox Hotel, a luxury locale where trillionaires stay when travelling to and from different time periods. With a big summit planned to determine the new owner of the hotel, she struggles to keep herself in the here and now while juggling a maelstrom of complications that arise. The hotel is losing bits and pieces of past events, almost as if history is dissolving. And she herself is unstuck, a little like Alice In Wonderland. And then there’s the body in a room that doesn’t exist. What’s a girl to do? Well, this girl’s not telling!

Thriller

Rating: 6/10

When a manuscript written by a man who calls himself Hunter arrives in the mail, Nyala never expected to be lured into the story of a man intent on bringing down an elite society of operatives and killers that have controlled the worlds treasures and artifacts for hundreds of years. The fact that he has addressed her by name, that he is unwavering in his assurance that she has a part to play, that’s just another mystery she sets out to unravel.

Memoir

Rating: 8/10

If you go into this book by actor Andrew McCarthy thinking you are going to leave with some juicy celebrity gossip, you will be dissatisfied. What you will get is an intimate, funny, and deeply poignant memoir that invites you along on a trek of discovery for a father and son as they navigate a new way to connect as adults. Within moments of setting out on day 1 of this ambitious, arduous, and potentially profound walk, Sam informs his dad that he is about to get so sick of him. 34 days to go.

Memoir

Rating: 7.5/10

A haunting and deeply nuanced reconstruction of the forces that led the authors closest childhood friend, Michael, from the heights of brilliant promise to the psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved. It is in many ways the authors reckoning against his own inaction in the face of his friend’s schizophrenia. The book painstakingly illustrates the entanglement of madness and genius. Brilliantly written!

Hitting The Shelves-January 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!

Microhistory

Rating: 9/10

A standout book that provides a deconstructed exploration of why puzzlement is integral for the mind. Illustrating key principles through examples set by artists, athletes, musicians, writers, magicians, salesmen, and geniuses. Pursuing explanations of the things that confound us; one hit wonders, sport statistics and predications, the misleading threads laid down in novels, the art forgery’s, the cracking of cyphers, the feint and flourish of a magical illusion. The author tackles them all with a nerdish brilliance that left me longing for more!

Crime Fiction

Rating: 9/10

The author’s masterful way with words and the beauty of his prose carry the reader through the horrors of the hard life that the characters are enduring, depicting a brutal and unflinching story of both criminality and humanity. He will not let us hide from the fact that change, for those who have no say it, feels like a death to whatever dreams you had and whatever life you have made do with. You will not walk away from this read unscathed. And you will be fine with that.

Fiction

Rating: 10/10

There is nothing I can say that will do this book justice, no grouping of words that can embody how I felt at its conclusion. This is a staggeringly beautiful and powerful story; it will imbed itself in you, it will linger long after the final page is turned, and it will break you a little. If you are lucky. If you allow it to. I originally read this in 2021 and as we sit on the cusp of 2024, I am no less impacted by it.

Mystery

Rating: 9/10

Let’s begin at the end shall we. Hands down the cleverest denouement I’ve read in a long time. Dramatic, snarky, and deliciously gossipy, it was an absolute delight! An old-fashioned murder mystery with a touch of glitz and glamour with a cast of the rich and infamous. Dorothy has got time on her hands after losing the bid for presidential candidate, so she decides to hire a ghostwriter to help her with her memoir. Then someone dies. You know where we go from here…