Review — The Cloisters by Katy Hays

The Cloisters
By: Katy Hays
Release Date: November 1, 2022
Publisher: Atria Books
Rating:


Art historian and author Katy Hays’s debut novel The Cloisters is an intensely gothic, gripping tale that oozes suspense. Protagonist Ann Stilwell finds herself in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with an internship lined up for the summer. Unfortunately, these plans fall through when she learns her would-be boss is off in Europe. Despite the unexpected circumstances, Ann still has a coveted internship, though not at the MET proper.

Review — We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell Hall

An old yellow car parked diagonally on a road We Lie Here
By: Rachel Howzell Hall
Release Date: July 12, 2022
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Rating:


Rachel Howzell Hall is no stranger to mystery and thriller novels, in fact being a former member of the board of directors for the Mystery Writers of America. Her latest book isn’t another installment in the Detective Elouise Norton series but a standalone novel titled We Lie Here.

Review – Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake #5)

Heartbreak Bay Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake #5)
By: Rachel Caine
Website: https://www.rachelcaine.com/
Release Date: March 9th, 2021
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Stillhouse Lake
Rating:


Gwen is still investigating crimes and when she gets a call from her friend Kezia about two bodies of children found submerged in a car in a lake the case becomes personal as the killer continues to hunt for victims that they can drown and silence forever.

Review – Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake #3)

Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake #3)
By: Rachel Caine
Website: https://www.rachelcaine.com/
Release Date: April 23rd, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Stillhouse Lake
Rating:


Gwen Proctor is a survivor. She’s also an advocate for people that need help. So when she gets a call from a woman who is afraid someone is after her, Gwen is ready to step in and see what she can do to help keep this woman safe.

Unfortunately Gwen is too late to do that.

Review – Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2)

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2)
By: Rachel Caine
Website: https://www.rachelcaine.com/
Release Date: December 12th, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Stillhouse Lake
Rating:


We’re back at Stillhouse Lake and things for Gwen and the kids haven’t gotten any easier. Especially not now since her psychotic ex Melvin has broken out of prison and is coming after Gwen and the kids.

Review – Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1)

Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1)
By: Rachel Caine
Website: https://www.rachelcaine.com/
Release Date: July 1st, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Stillhouse Lake
Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller (2017)
Rating:


So, obviously I have a thing for thrillers. And crime stories. And mysteries. A fast-paced book that takes off from the first sentence is definitely my cup of tea.

Gina Royal had the perfect life. Two kids, a home in the suburbs, a husband that works hard. That all disappeared when a drunk driver crashed into her family’s garage…and revealed her husband is a serial killer.

Now she’s on the run with her kids while her husband rots in jail and Gina is now Gwen and she has to keep them moving to stay safe. When the land in the small, quiet town of Stillhouse Lake Gwen thinks maybe, just maybe, they’ve found a new place to call home. Online vigilantes haven’t found her yet, the people in town don’t appear to know her face from the news and her kids are settling in.

Review – The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction edited by Ellen Datlow

The Best of the Best Horror of the Year edited by eight time Hugo Award winner Ellen Datlow The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction
By: Ellen Datlow (editor)
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Series: The Best Horror of the Year
Rating:


Editor Ellen Datlow has curated collections of horror fiction for more than a decade. The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction edited by multiple Hugo Award winning Ellen Datlow is a collection of some of the best short horror found in the Best Horror of the Year collection over the past ten years.

Review – For the Best

For the Best
By: Vanessa Lillie
Website: http://www.vanessalillie.com/
Release Date: September 8th, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Rating:


What else could I, as a mystery/thriller addict ask for? I’ve never read any of Vanessa Lillie’s works before but this book may have brought me to a new author. Her debut novel, Little Voices is now on my wishlist and I will definitely be picking it up sometime soon.

In For the Best we follow the life of Jules Worthington, a CEO, wife and mother as she wakes up the day after an event, completely hungover after her blackout the night before only to find that she has been connected to and suspected of a murder. Rough way to wake up if you ask me.

Sure of her innocence and not liking the pressure of the police as they zero in on Jules as their only suspect she begins to investigate on her own. The further she digs into that night, and everything that lead to it, the more chaotic things get as Jules learns things that were maybe better off buried.

Vanessa Lillie earned me as a fan for all the successful red herrings, surprises and smooth, enjoyable writing style. I will say that I couldn’t fully connect to Jules but I still wanted the truth that she was hunting for so I was happy to see the story from her point of view, even when things took dark and unexpected turns.

If you like suspense, mystery, thrillers and seeing characters go deeper into their own struggles, face their own past and refusing to give up you should check out For the Best which is available on September 8th, 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Vanessa Lillie for the chance to read the ARC!

Review- Three Days Missing

Three Days Missing
By: Kimberly Belle
Website: https://www.kimberlybellebooks.com/
Release Date: June 26th, 2018
Publisher: Park Row
Rating:


Every once in a while a book is recommended to me through Goodreads or Kindle and while I usually enjoy the books sometimes I’m skeptical. Three Days Missing was one of the books I kept seeing pop up that was recommended to me but I didn’t buy it, not yet. I put it on my Kindle wishlist and moved on. So when there was a sale on the book I got that lovely notification and finally clicked “Buy”.