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Reviews

Reviews

by May Cobb - Domestic Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

It's the mid-1980s in the tiny town of Longview, Texas. Nellie Anderson, the beautiful daughter of the Anderson family dynasty, has burst onto the scene. She always gets what she wants. What she can't get for herself… well, that's what her mother is for. Because Charleigh Anderson --- blond, beautiful and ruthlessly cunning --- remembers all too well having to claw her way to the top. When she was coming of age on the poor side of East Texas, she was a loser and an outcast, humiliated and shunned by the in-crowd, whose approval she'd so desperately thirsted for. When a prairie-kissed family moves to town --- all trad wife, woodworking dad, wholesome daughter vibes --- Charleigh's entire self-made social empire threatens to crumble. Who will be left standing when the dust settles?

by Wendy Walker - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making --- until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of 16, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen years later, she’s a successful defense attorney, revered for her work with minors. But when her former coach turns up dead, Ana lands right back where it all began, and abruptly ended: The Palace, a world-renowned skating facility nestled high in the mountains of Colorado. Ana returns to The Palace to defend the young skater accused of the brutal crime. Despite her claims of innocence, all evidence points squarely at Grace Montgomery’s guilt. But Ana’s investigation dredges up childhood memories of her own, triggering the fear that permeates this place where she once lived and trained far from home as an “Orphan.”

by Kamilah Cole - Fantasy, Fiction, Romance

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister. Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can't convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.

by Amy Pease - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Deputy Sheriff Eli North has spent the last year getting his life back together. He hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol, he’s working through his PTSD from his military deployment, and he’s repairing his most important relationships. When an undercover informant disappears and all signs point to murder, Eli must expose the dark underbelly of his idyllic Wisconsin small town while safeguarding his newfound stability. Then, with the unexpected arrival of FBI Agent Alyssa Mason, Eli and his mother, the sheriff, are pulled deeper into a violent criminal network built on the backs of the lost and forgotten. As the case deepens, loyalties fracture and the line between justice and survival begins to blur. In a town where everyone has something to hide, exposing the truth may cost them everything.

by Rachel Hawkins - Fiction, Gothic, Suspense, Thriller

St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town; the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms; and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984. When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears that a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunit than in how a successful true-crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But August Fletcher is accompanied by none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all. But the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores.

by Jennie Godfrey - Fiction, Historical Fiction

It’s 1979 in Yorkshire, England, and 12-year-old Miv is panicking. Life has been complicated since her mom got sick, and now her dad is talking about wanting to move their family away from the town Miv has lived in her whole life --- because of the murders. Young women are dying, and no one knows who the culprit might be. But as far as Miv is concerned, leaving Yorkshire and her best friend, Sharon, simply isn't an option. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all. So Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things on their street. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighborhood, within their families --- and between each other --- than they ever thought possible.

by Emily Austin - Fiction, Humor

Darcy’s life turned out better than she ever could have imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife, Joy, runs a book binding service. Between the two of them, there is no more room on their shelves with their ample book collections, various knickknacks and bobbles, and dried bouquets. Rounding out their ideal life is two cats and a sun-soaked house by the lake. But when Darcy receives the news that her ex-boyfriend, Ben, has passed away, she spirals into a pit of guilt and regret, resulting in a mental breakdown and medical leave from the library. When she returns to work, she is met by unrest in her community and protests surrounding intellectual freedom, resulting in a call for book bans and a second look at the branch’s upcoming DEI programs.

by Jennifer Niven - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

For two decades, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America’s Favorite Family. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless, black-and-white versions of themselves. But now it’s 1964, and the Newmans’ idealized apple-pie perfection suddenly feels woefully out of touch. Ratings are in free fall, as are the Newmans themselves. Del is keeping an explosive secret from his wife, and Dinah is slowly going numb --- literally. Steady, stable Guy is hiding the truth about his love life, and the charmed luck of rock ‘n’ roll idol Shep may have finally run out. When Del is in a mysterious car accident, Dinah hires Juliet Dunne, an outspoken, impassioned young reporter, to help her write the final episode. But Dinah and Juliet have wildly different perspectives about what it means to be a woman, and a family, in 1964.

by Paula McLain - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

SKYLARK chronicles two parallel journeys of defiance and rescue that connect in ways both surprising and deeply moving. 1664: Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette's efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious Salpêtrière asylum, where thousands of women are held captive and cruelly treated. But within its grim walls, she discovers a small group of brave allies and the possibility of a life bigger than she ever imagined. 1939: Kristof Larson is a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris, whose neighbors on the Rue de Gobelins are a Jewish family who have fled Poland. When Nazi forces descend on the city, Kristof becomes their only hope for survival.

by Laura Dave - Domestic Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Five years after her husband, Owen, disappeared, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter, Bailey, have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together, they've forged a relationship with Bailey's grandfather, Nicholas, and are putting the past behind them. But when Owen shows up at Hannah's new exhibition, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger again. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety --- and finds there just might be one way back to Owen.