Latest Reviews
A year ago, a father and his fiancée were brutally murdered in their opulent London townhouse, sparking the most high-profile murder investigation in recent history. Blood spatter expert Doctor Claudia O’Sheil’s evidence put the killer behind bars --- or so everyone believes. But since the trial, Claudia has learned a horrific truth: her evidence and her testimony were wrong. And someone she knows made sure of it. Now, as she takes the stage to give a career-defining speech before London’s elite, Claudia faces a devastating choice. Protect her children and her career with her continued complicity, or blow the whole conspiracy apart and reveal the truth: not only is the real murderer still out there, but they’re in the audience.
Fifteen years ago, Maia Gold attended a prestigious --- and very exclusive --- writers retreat hosted by billionaire Argos Alexander on the Greek island of Eris. But something dark happened on that island, a betrayal that has hung over her ever since. Now, Maia has been invited to return to Eris, and she’s not the only one from that first retreat who’s been invited back. Almost all of the writers from 15 years before have returned to Eris, bringing unresolved resentments with them. The guests soon learn that their illustrious host is absent, though he has left instructions for them to participate in a contest. Whoever can write the most suspenseful mystery while on the island will win a fortune and literary acclaim. But when the guests gather in the morning to share their first chapters, they find Argos Alexander dead.
Silent film star Venita Rost's malevolent spirit lurks spider-like in her cliffside mansion, a once-beautiful home that's claimed countless unlucky souls. Snared in her terrible web, Inspector Bartholomew Sloan --- her eternal nemesis --- watches her wreak havoc in helpless horror. Now the house has yet another new owner. This time it's Ronnie Mitchell, a grieving woman who buys the run-down place sight unseen. She arrives armed with an unexpected inheritance, a strong background in renovation, and a blissful ignorance regarding the house's blood-soaked history. In the shadows, unseen eyes watch. Then, a man comes knocking. He brings wild stories and a thinly veiled jealousy, as well as a secret connection to the house that can only lead to violence. Venita's fury awakens, and a deadly game unfolds.
When a young mother, Anna Weston, is brutally murdered and her body is found near Reno’s infamous silver mines, law school graduate Santi Elcano and his mentor in the public defender’s office, C.J., are tasked with defending Michael Atwood, a man arrested for Anna's murder on scant physical evidence. Eight years later, a shocking letter from Atwood --- now on death row --- forces Santi to reexamine his role in the case. At the time, public obsession with Anna’s disappearance and intense pressure on the police to make an arrest led to a rushed trial. As they investigated the case, Santi and C.J. became increasingly convinced they were defending an innocent man. Now, a horrific discovery leads Santi to reconsider everything he once believed, and all that it has cost him.
Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium. This should have been the end of her story. Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. The only other human on the island is Yarrow, a grumpy gardener who offers her a place to sleep and clean clothes. As she grows closer with him, she learns that the magic that sustains the greenhouses is failing --- causing the death of everything within them. Assisted by Yarrow and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island --- and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter, Minerva, who is now researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales. In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story. Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances. As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus.
Immigrating alone from Paris to New York after the crucible of World War II, young Gazala becomes friends with two spirited sisters, Anne and Alma. When Gazala’s lost, beloved brother, Samir, joins her in Manhattan, this contentious, inseparable foursome makes their way into the 21st century, becoming the beating heart of a multigenerational found family. The passing years are marked by the business of everyday existence and the inevitable surprises of erupting passions, of great and small waves of joy and despair, from the beginning of life to its end. Gazala and Samir make a home together, Anne leaves her husband for his sister, and Anne’s restless daughter grows up to raise a child on her own and to join a throuple, becoming who she wants to be.
Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost 18 when she arrives at her aunt and uncle’s mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury, and Rachel wants to help --- and escape her own troubles back home. But her aunt is oddly spacey, and her uncle is consumed with business. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate, an aspiring artist, and the live-in babysitter for Rachel’s cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel eagerly hopes their friendship might grow into more. But when a tragic accident occurs, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. Caught between her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, she’s the only one who knows what really happened --- and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted.
For nearly five decades after the Second World War, the Iron Curtain divided Europe, forming the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. No physical combat would take place along this frontier. Instead, the war was fought psychologically. It was a battle for hearts, minds and intellects. Few understood this more clearly than George Minden, head of a covert intelligence operation known as the “CIA book program,” which aimed to undermine Soviet censorship and inspire revolt by offering different visions of thought and culture. Minden’s “book club” secretly sent 10 million banned titles into the East. Charlie English narrates this tale of Cold War spycraft, smuggling and secret printing operations for the first time, highlighting the work of a handful of extraordinary people who fought for intellectual freedom.
The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance and a normal life after graduation. At least that’s what Alessa Li is told after she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. But the Institute is more than just a haven for monsters. On graduation day, the faculty embark on a ravenous rampage, feasting on their students. Trapped in the school’s cavernous library, Alessa and her surviving classmates must do something they were never taught: work together. If they don't, this school will eat them alive.
