If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay #BookReview

The crushing blow to the head. Hands yanking him from the vehicle. His girlfriend’s piercing scream…

For the past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived that terrible night. With no trace of Ali after she is abducted, a cloud of suspicion hangs over him, though he is never charged. Trying to put his past behind him, Ryan changes his name and enters law school.

It’s on a summer trip to Italy that he gets the call: his missing car has finally been found, submerged in a lake in his hometown. But inside the car are two dead men. The only trace of Ali is a cryptic note, the envelope in her handwriting stating If something happens to me…

Reeling from the news, Ryan sees the man who has haunted his nightmares since the night Ali was taken. But how could that be possible, so far from home? His search for answers leads him to England and France, but the truth may lie in the shape of two very different people back in the USA.

/

If Something Happens to Me is an absolute binge-worthy novel. The novel is divided into three parts and the first part has three alternating storylines about a law student, a mob boss and his young son, and a new deputy sheriff in the town of Leavensworth. I guess nobody could have predicted that on Poppy McGee’s first day they would find a missing girl’s car with two bodies inside. The questions were really burning on my lips in this one. How was this all connected? Who were those people they found in the car? The chapters were short and compelling and Alex Finlay knows what he’s doing, my attention didn’t drop for even a slight second and he had me questioning in every chapter what was going on.

Ryan Richardson saw his girlfriend for the last time 5 years ago but with new evidence emerging (her car and a note in her handbag) there are people coming out of the woods. Ryan knew he hadn’t imagined Pinky guy when he was grabbed that night (the man lost two of his digits) when he suddenly sees him again but he’s certainly not going to let him get away a second time! It’s going to be a rollercoaster of the deadly kind!

Parts 2 and 3 blend the three storylines superbly in ways I had not imagined, and yet, there are still a lot more questions, about the cryptic note, the mystery man and who Poppy can trust in all of this. I had a field day trying to discern who was good and bad and if you are a little paranoid by nature you can eat your heart out at being suspicious. The sheriff, the FBI lady, the KBI lady (the foreign examiner in Kansas), or even Poppy’s own brother or father, who oh who knows more than they let on? I will only say I had someone in mind in Poppy’s entourage very early on, someone who seemed suspicious for me but that was just another brilliant red herring from the author and I completely fell for it.

Would I recommend this novel? Without a doubt. It’s a perfect fit for readers who enjoy C.L. Taylor or Claire Douglas. It’s grippingly unpredictable with a whole lot of tension. What could you want more? The only thing I’d maybe change is that the ending was wrapped up a bit too quickly.

I received a free ecopy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley. This is still my honest opinion.

Falling by Emma Kavanagh #BookReview

A plane falls out of the sky. A woman is murdered. Four people all have something to hide.

Jim is a retired police officer, and worried father. His beloved daughter has disappeared and he knows something is wrong.

Tom has woken up to discover that his wife was on the plane and must break the news to their only son.

Cecilia had packed up and left her family. Now she has survived a tragedy, and sees no way out.

Freya is struggling to cope with the loss of her father. But as she delves into his past, she may not like what she finds.

/

Falling is besides a backlist book also my fourth novel by this author (I rated Case 48: The Kidnapping of Isaiah Rae and The Missing Hours with four stars and The Killer On The Wall with three stars btw) so I was curious to find out how I’d feel about this one.

There are three different threads in this novel, one’s about a missing (presumed dead) woman so there is a police investigation going on, then there’s Cecilia who survived a plane crash and there’s Freya, daughter of the pilot who was flying the plane. A connection between two people on the same plane wasn’t hard to imagine but I didn’t know how the missing woman (a police officer) could have been involved so that certainly kept me curious. Unfortunately the first half of the book was quite boring for me and I even skim read parts of it. It did pick up and got a little more interesting in the second half though so the perseverance did pay off a little in the end.

Most of all I wish Cecilia hadn’t been so unsympathetic. She was extremely unlikeable to me. She’s not to be left alone with her young 3 year old son and was planning on leaving him and his father actually on the day of the crash (I have no idea why she doesn’t afterwards). She doesn’t have any motherly feelings and she’s not even very friendly towards her own husband. At the end I know there were reasons for this and it’s not that she’s a complete sociopath, but it didn’t make me very excited to read about her.

Every puzzle piece fits in the end so I can clearly see the plot idea the author had in mind, and I like her idea, there are good twists and it’s not all that predictable, but the key is to make the journey also interesting and she lost me a few times, especially in the beginning. Maybe I was impatient and not understanding enough for Cecilia but it is what it is. I do hope I’ll choose my next one wisely because none of the thrillers I read lately is wowing me and I’m leaving it open if it’s the books or my own fault.

I bought a paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

The Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherley #BookReview

One sunny August afternoon, the residents of Cedar Close throw their annual summer barbecue. Children play in the cherry-tree lined street, tables are laden with food, and the wine is flowing. For Laurie Mills, it’s her first time meeting the neighbours. And it’s the first time she discovers her husband Robert is having an affair.

Cedar Close has always been a nice place to live – a quiet suburban street where everyone looks out for one another and bad things don’t happen.

Until late one evening, when Robert Mills is found dead in his bedroom.

Downstairs, in their beautiful kitchen, his wife Laurie sits alone in the dark with her head in her hands.

She can’t remember the last few hours, but she knows she didn’t kill Robert.

The trouble is, no-one believes her…

I’m afraid I don’t have much to share about this novel. Laurie is suspected of murdering her (nearly ex-) husband but detective Dan Riley’s intuition tells him that there’s more than meets the eye here. Yes Laurie’s an unreliable narrator who doesn’t remember what happened between cooking a meal for them and finding him murdered but this wisp of a woman is believed to have murdered her husband and then to have called it in herself while she’s covered in his blood. Yeah, I’m finding this a little strange as well.

The writing was enjoyable to read but the murderer of Robert was so bloody obvious from the get go (and reading other reviews I’m not the only one of this opinion). Since everything is pretty much hinged on finding out the killer, it irritated me that they couldn’t see what was right under their noses. This wasn’t really a murder mystery for me and what kept me mostly interested was that I was waiting to see HOW they would catch the killer if they’d ever get there.

There are indeed two really evil people between these pages (and one of them is an incredible cheat), there’s some touching on domestic abuse, and the murderer is a total psychopath in the true sense of the word, lacking any morals or empathy. I still find it incredible how they can stay in the shadows like this and people in their vicinity are none the wiser.

I did enjoy following Dan Riley and his colleague Davis around, they’re a great team and I’m happy that the best and for me the most unexpected twist that really solidifies the case happened on their watch.

Overall a so and so novel which was readable but doesn’t really stand out. I expected more twists and especially not knowing whodunnit so early on. I’m not writing this author off just yet though because I see the potential there is with another less obvious plotline.

I bought a copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena #BookReview

You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall.

Your neighbour told you that she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying.

Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You’ll have the baby monitor and you’ll take it in turns to go back every half hour.

Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She’s gone.

You’ve never had to call the police before. But now they’re in your home, and who knows what they’ll find there.

What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?

Yes yes I know I’m late to the party :-). Now The Couple Next Door was a series airing on Belgian tv and I thought to myself, I really want to see it but I better read the book first. Turns out that the tv series only has the same title but has nothing to do with said book. Oh well, at least I finally read my copy 🙂

The Couple Next Door was more suspenseful than I expected. I mean, I had a theory in my head when Cora was taken from her crib while her parents were having dinner and drinks with their next door neighbors. A child being taken at midnight while the parents happen to be away, it’s just too much of a coincidence for me so either one of them told someone about their plans or one of them had to have been involved. There was another theory that the police was investigating as well, where one or both of her parents hurt her and they were covering it up. A valid idea as well I guess, especially taking Anne’s past in consideration, but I still very much wanted to stick with my own tunnel vision :-).

Anne is definitely an unreliable narrator but the others have their own secrets as well so nobody could really be crossed out. I thought I knew where the plot would go but the nightmare just keeps growing bigger and bigger. There are great twists and I was gripped and dying to know how this would turn out. Would they find Cora and would she be alive? I loved the intricate plot and how they all betrayed each other. Well you might think there’s one or two innocent parties in all of the story but you might want to reconsider your thoughts about one of them by the end of the novel. Personally I felt it was a bit overkill in the end but if the goal was to shock and have an ending that lingers then that certainly had the desired effect.

The Couple Next Door is a riveting thriller. I already read two of this author’s other books and I can only confirm that they’re all worth reading. Hopefully I won’t keep from reading the next one for so long.

I bought a paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

Black Lake Manor by Guy Morpuss #BookReview

A locked room. A brutal murder.
And a killer who can turn back time…

In the former mining town of Black Lake on the west coast of Canada, there is a story about a shipwreck. All those aboard died, except an unnamed man who staggered ashore. His descendants have a unique ability: once in their lives – and only once – they can unwind the events of the previous six hours.

More than two hundred years later, Ella Manning, marine biologist and part-time police constable, is attending a party at Black Lake Manor, the cliff-top mansion of the town’s divisive local billionaire. With a raging storm coming in from the Pacific, she and several other guests find themselves trapped. And when their host is discovered brutally murdered in a locked room, they turn to her to solve the crime.

Against the odds, Ella is sure she has identified the killer… but then time is unwound. With no memory of what she discovered before, her investigation begins again, with very different results. Someone is willing to use their gift to protect a killer, and everyone is a suspect…

/

Of course I was drawn to reading this because of the locked room component. It was quite an  interesting concept but I was also a bit lost when reading about the logs of the door to Lincoln’s office being locked and unlocked because I wasn’t sure what that told me. There were repeated discussions about those specific times and a lot of attention drawn to it but I kept wondering if it wouldn’t be equally interesting to see who locked and unlocked their own bedroom door after 10 pm, it might rule out some people too who shouldn’t be wondering about?

Black Lake Manor has a fascinating mind-bending concept where some descendants of the Akath have the power to wind back time 6 hours. I enjoyed the story and I was even into the concept of hard light and ghost characters but there was just a bit too much of mythology and rituals involved for my taste and I didn’t feel Ella gained a lot with each unwinding of time. I was of course most of all interested in solving the murder mystery but so many other things were to be taken into account that it felt the story was focusing more on past legends than the present.

There was a lot I did like though, I really liked the three separate timelines, I loved that Ella had an octopus as a pet called Scarlett and how they interacted, I liked the lawyer character in the story most of all and Ella was a good character too, but the other characters weren’t all that interesting or developed.

The best surprise was at the end when I finally found out how and by whose hand Lincoln died. Big surprise there!

All in all an okay book but not one I think I’ll want to read again. It’s just a bit too much out of my box. I’m still debating whether Five Minds, his previous novel, would be more my style, the vote is still out.

I bought a hardback of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

Every Move You Make by C.L. Taylor #BookReview

Alex, Lucy, River and Bridget.

Four people with one thing in common: they are all being stalked. Their lives are filled with daily terror. Always watching. Always waiting. And never knowing what – or who – is hiding in the shadows.

But this group of four used to be five, until the terrible day their friend Nat was followed home by her stalker…

Coming together for Nat’s funeral, they are handed a wreath saying RIP. However, this isn’t a wreath in memory of Nat – it’s for them, with a card dated in ten days’ time.

It’s a clear message: in ten days, one Jo them will die. And the only way to stop the killer is to get closer than they ever dared to their stalkers. The very people who want them dead…

/

This novel is so tense, I absolutely loved it. Being single isn’t so bad at all if you see what could happen to you.

Alex, Lucy, River and Bridget are the members of a WhatsApp group for people being stalked. Their life was already agony but now it seems that one of them receives the message they will be murdered, only it’s unclear who is targeted. And so the countdown from 10 days to 0 and the nail-biting starts (and the regular stalking continues).

Every Move You Make is a real page-turner. Some of them know their stalker really well, other stalkers remain invisible and I don’t know what’s worse. The only thing they can do to keep safe is balancing on a fine rope of both keeping track of their stalkers whereabouts and staying far away from them.

My  thoughts also wondered for a while why they simply didn’t go to the police but some of them have good reasons not to go to the police and one of them did actually report their stalker. It’s a fact that the police can’t do much, as usual, so it’s really up to them to find out who they should most be afraid of. The stalkers can’t know but they’re the ones who’ll be watched next. Now there’s a taste of your own medicine ha!

Every Move You Make kept me guessing throughout the novel. The scene at the bar made me even doubt characters I was rooting for until then. Who to trust, it’s certainly a difficult one this time, but I loved the twists and the fight or flight mode was brilliantly done.

I really liked the personal note the author included at the end of the novel, sharing her own story and what inspired her to write this novel. It’s horrible of course but at least one good thing came out of it because she delivered a very gripping novel. The only down part is that I‘m stuck with singing the title of this novel, every single time I see it. And then it feels like it just stops mid-sentence so I need to finish the sentence. Isn’t it a little twisted that it’s a song from The Police or am I completely paranoid after reading this? OK we’ll have that discussion another time.

I received a free ecopy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley to read and review. This is still my honest opinion.

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus #BookReview

True crime can leave a false trail.

Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favourite teacher. The case was never solved, but she’s sure that the three kids who found Mr. Larkin’s body know more than they’re telling, especially her ex-best friend Tripp Talbot. He’s definitely hiding something.

When Brynn gets an internship working on a popular true-crime show, she decides to investigate what really happened that day in the woods. But the further she dives into the past, the more secrets she finds.

Four years ago someone got away with murder. Now it’s time to uncover the truth . . .

The time is right for another YA novel and who’s bound to make me happy a reader? You’re right, that honor goes to Karen M. McManus. This is the fifth book by this author that I’ve read and all the previous ones were also either four or five star reads for me. Nothing More to Tell was an enjoyable read although my patience was a little tested here again. Once the ball goes rolling though it’s like a freaking pinball machine.

There were three students who found a dead teacher and years later it’s clear that they are keeping a secret. They don’t talk about that day to anyone or to each other so that was enough proof for me that there was definitely more to discover. I wondered why they were covering for each other. McManus is one of the few authors that is guaranteed to come up with an explanation and make it sound plausible.

Brynn is like a young Veronica Mars and she probably has skills to make a monkey dance, ok or at least make a witness talk in this case and then the hot potato of the whodunnit is passed from one person to another and it’s a long LONG list. Bizarre but the only suspect for me wasn’t on it :-). I guess I’m thinking too  broadly :-). I read a few reviews that state there’s no clear killer in the end but there most definitely is, the reason why is explained as well and it makes sense so I have no idea where that’s coming from. Anyway, the killer was someone that was in my suspect pool but was dismissed at some point, then with all the background story that is gradually revealed about Mr Larkin, a potential motive presents itself just like that. I did love how several people could have done it and were cleared each time because new information reached Brynn.

If I may give one point of critique it’s that the memorial and garden for Mr. Larkin was a project that was started but it stays a bit of a loose end. Nothing More To Tell didn’t tromp The Cousins for me but I really enjoyed reading this, it had so many twists and turns and it made me very happy that my sleuthing skills were put to work (more in overdrive).

I bought a paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco (Stalking Jack the Ripper Book 3) #BookReview

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a travelling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.

But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?

This is the third book in the Jack The Ripper series and I very high expectations for this one. I absolutely love magic and illusions so Houdini certainly made me want to read this. I’m not sure, however, this one tops my favorite of the series so far, which was the first one of the series, Stalking Jack The Ripper.

I find this novel a hard one to review because there wasn’t anything I didn’t like. In general I just missed some real twists and thrills, even though the travelling entertainment on board (The Midnight Carnival) did its best every night to dazzle the people on board of the RMS Etruria on their way to New York and the reader at the same time.

The travelling company’s leader is run by the enigmatic Mephistopheles and it wasn’t only Audrey Rose Wadsworth who was under his spell. I could see his attraction and the fact that he hid his face behind a mask only made him more of a fascinating enigma. Of course I felt bad for Audrey Rose’s partner-in-crime Thomas Cresswell who doesn’t hide his love for her but I never believed for one minute she would really fall for Mephistopheles. The author alludes to this rivalry and a (faux or not so faux after all?) love triangle for most of the novel and it might not be what some readers hoped for since Thomas Cresswell is just perfect but it’s good to see that there might be another person who matches well with Audrey Rose. I enjoyed reading about this potential new love interest, the author did a great job with Mephistopheles. I felt bad for Thomas but also for Mephistopheles because I believed he was really into her too so whoever she decided on, someone was going to lose.

As far as the mystery and murders go, it was all very mystifying but there were not really enough clues along the way to really be able to figure this one out although I wasn’t quite surprised when the true killer’s identity was revealed either.

I was intrigued by the character of Houdini (although none of his tricks were explained which was not totally unexpected but still a bummer) and I loved that the author included a photo of the real Houdini in the book which made it feel more authentic but he didn’t get a lot more attention than any of the other characters and I kind of expected the story to focus more on him.

Overall it was a good read but I think I missed a real ace up the sleeve in this book. I’m still debating whether I’m going to continue with the series or not.

I bought a paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

The Au Pair by Emma Rous #BookReview

Seraphine Mayes and her brother Danny are the first set of twins to be born at Summerbourne House. But on the day they were born their mother threw herself to her death, their au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of a stolen baby.

Now twenty-five, and mourning the recent death of her father, Seraphine uncovers a family photograph taken on the day the twins were born featuring both parents posing with just one baby. Seraphine soon becomes fixated with the notion that she and Danny might not be twins after all, that she wasn’t the baby born that day and that there was more to her mother’s death than she has ever been told…

Why did their beloved au pair flee that day?
Where is she now?
Does she hold the key to what really happened?

Is it too soon to have a first possible candidate for my top 10 list this year?

It all starts with a photograph Seraphine finds after her father’s death. In it, there’s a toddler and one baby in her mother’s arms. The photo was taken on the day she and her brother Danny were born, and it’s also the day her mother committed suicide. So what happened that day and why is there only one baby and not two in the photograph where she’s still posing so proudly?

The novel is told in alternate chapters by Seraphine looking for the truth and by Laura, the au pair who stayed with the family 25 years earlier. Soon enough though Seraphine receives threats, there’s someone who doesn’t want her to find out the truth? Who and why?

This novel is very very mysterious and it almost hurt thinking so much about what happened 25 years ago. My gut feeling was right about who was behind all the threats but there was a lot more that I wasn’t able to figure out. The author tried to shroud the mystery even more with added gossip about sprites which was all well and good but I didn’t let that stand in my way, the fact remained that there were too many babies and then not enough babies and the whole thing was just a very complicated puzzle. One that I loved to unravel of course. Even when I connected the right dots about the Mayes family, I still remained unsure who the baby in the picture was, Seraphine or Danny… I wasn’t let down in the end though and my twist-and-turn craving heart was more than satisfied with this read.

I really enjoyed the writing in The Au Pair and I definitely want to read this author’s next novel.

I bought a paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

The Island by Catherine Cooper #BookReview

The perfect escape, or the perfect trap?

When a select group of influencers and journalists receive an exclusive invitation to a luxury resort in the Maldives, it seems like the ultimate press trip.

But when the island is cut off during a storm and people start dying, it looks like someone has murder in mind.

Are the guests really who they seem to be, or does each one of them have a secret to hide?

Something they would kill for?

Malia can’t believe her luck when she’s invited to promote the Ketenangan resort in the Maldives, owned by Henry and Ophelia Cadwallader. She’s an influencer but she hadn’t gained a massive following yet, so a red flag came up immediately for me, especially since half of the story is told via her. She’s easy to identify with though (although definitely more adventurous than me because I don’t think I would dare to eat fugu), she has no attitude and is simply enjoying everything as it comes, yet I wondered throughout the story why this choice… I could have known if I’d have thought it through more probably but sometimes it’s just as nice to be surprised right?

Ah the Maldives, the descriptions of the resort, the location (with its own turtle sanctuary!) and everything the invited journalists and influencers were able to experience, who wouldn’t be envious?! Then again, when something looks too good to be true it usually is… I enjoyed that the author played on that and made me feel anxious for what was to come… There were a couple of false starts and some red herrings and the anticipation was steadily building. When someone doesn’t feel well, is it someone’s doing or simply a case of too much food and drink? Ah the uncertainty was great but killing me too. If you’re a reader who wants to jump right into the action of looking for a killer you might be disappointed here, but I was perfectly content to follow their amazing experiences at the resort… those bodies will still come you know.

At 70% in I had managed to find a suspect – because of a teeny tiny clue mentioned when looking for clues about someone else in a room – and it felt like a small victory to me but then I only had a name and I didn’t even know half of it by then. I enjoyed getting to know the younger versions of some of the characters in the other timeline set in the 1990s and what they were really made of. In the end I did feel for Alexander, I don’t know if it is justified or not but I wouldn’t have let it end for him the same as the author did (I’m not saying with this that he died). The motive was a bit so and so for me, the MO however was inventive and the story as a whole had me wanting to read it in one go.

This is a perfect novel for armchair travelers. As the author mentions in the story some place and shocked me a bit because it never even crossed my mind but ‘how many people have died in hotel beds? Do they always throw them away? I doubt it.’ Yeah I’m fine staying home now :-). I can’t wait to see which new high-upscale place I’ll read about next!

I bought an ecopy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.