Murder Town Review

Author: Shelley Burr

Series: PI Lane Holland #2

Publisher: William Morrow

Release Day: Nov. 5, 2024

(First Published: Aug. 30, 2023)

Thanks to the publisher for a gifted copy of this title. Opinions expressed are my own.

Review published in The Big Thrill Magazine

For fans of Jane Harper and true crime, a dark and gripping thriller set in a small town in the Australian Outback, by the author of the international bestseller WAKE.

Review:

Australian Author Shelley Burr's sophomore novel, MURDER TOWN, is an intense, highly atmospheric thriller set in Rainer, Australia, a fictional small town whose only claim to fame is a series of horrific murders by the notorious serial killer, the Rainier Ripper, and his subsequent capture. Almost two decades later, desperate locals debate whether to allow a tourism company to promote the dark tragedy by spotlighting their dying town with the Ripper Trail Tour. Gemma Guillory, her police officer husband, and other locals are still traumatized by the events that occurred when the last victim of the killer died in Gemma's arms at her quaint tea shop. She fears publicity generated by the tour will open old wounds, spill secrets and rattle skeletons best left to rest. The choice is ripped from their hands when a tour representative is murdered in a manner closely resembling that of the Rainer Ripper, and the undercurrent of unrest rippling through their quiet town ignites in an inferno of fear and chaos. Gemma and her husband are pulled back into the nightmare along with a prisoner, former investigator and cold case expert Lane Holland. Once again, a killer is stalking their vulnerable town. With time running out, Gemma questions how well she knows her neighbors.

MURDER TOWN is the follow up to Burr's phenomenally successful first novel Wake, and while it stands alone, there is a crossover character featured in both books. Burr excels in setting highly immersive, atmospheric scenes that pull readers into the story utilizing sight, smell, touch, and sound while creating a keen sense of place. A steadily increasing pace is driven by an undertone of malice permeating the pages as readers and characters navigate a minefield of twists through a unique plot line that culminates in a final shocking reveal. Fans of classic murder mysteries, crime fiction, and thrillers will devour MURDER TOWN--the gripping story of a small-town community pushed to the edge.

Synopsis:

Gemma Guillory has lived in the Australian Outback enclave of Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny, red-dust town’s ins and outs by heart, knows the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.

She also knows her once charming town is now remembered for one reason and one reason only. That three innocent people died there at the hands of a serial killer. The last stop on the Rainier Ripper’s trail of deaths fifteen years ago was her picturesque little tea shop. She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her policeman husband and their marriage to this day, and some of her neighbors are desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier’s notoriety as the “Murder Town.

When the tour guide is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma’s doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer’s wake explodes into the light, and Gemma is drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland, a former private investigator who earned a living cracking cold cases before he ran afoul of the law.

Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn't she?

The Crash Review

Author: Freida McFadden

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Release Day: Jan. 28, 2025

Many thanks to the publisher for a gifted arc of this title. Opinions expressed are my own.

Review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.

A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.

Review:

Author Freida McFadden returns with another highly atmospheric thriller with the coming January 2025 release of THE CRASH. The highly acclaimed author of THE BOYFRIEND wastes no time in giving fans what they want - another intense, breathtaking, twisted thriller with a shocking ending no one will be able to predict. This book is a one-seater so find some alone time and settle in for a bumpy ride.

Eight months ago, Tegan went out with friends, met a charming, handsome stranger and made her first mistake. A few short weeks later, she's surprised to learn she's pregnant and after contacting the man from that night, she learns two things . . . the father, Simon, is a wealthy, married man who wants nothing to do with her or the baby, and he's willing to pay a ridiculous amount to keep her quiet in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement. The money will solve her financial woes, but something still nags at her about that night. Why can't she remember? Eight months later when Tegan and Simon meet for the final signing, his presence triggers vague memories of that night, driving her to refuse the money and make plans to seek refuge at her brother's house a couple of hours away. It's late when she begins the trip, and soon a blinding snowstorm causes her to lose control of her vehicle before crashing into a tree, stranding her in a deserted area in the freezing cold with a broken ankle and no way to go for help. When a man in a truck stops to offer help, her relief is short-lived as his size and demeanor frighten her, but she's out of options if she and her unborn baby are to survive. Hank takes Tegan to a cabin hidden away deep in the woods where she meets and bonds with his wife, Polly, a former nurse. With promises to take her to a hospital in the morning when the roads are clear, the mysterious couple settles Tegan in a bed in their basement. As time passes, Tegan begins to suspect that all is not right in this secluded cabin in the woods, and she fears for the life of her unborn child. Has she made her second and potentially fatal mistake?

THE CRASH is a complex, gut-wrenching, locked room style thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Through past/present chapters of before and after “the crash,” readers are drawn into a deadly situation where it's impossible to figure out who can be trusted and who has ulterior motives. From beginning to end, all elements combine to set a deadly scene, driving an insanely suspenseful pace to a final unbelievable reveal. McFadden has cemented her place in the thriller genre as a writer who pushes characters and readers to the edge . . . before pushing them off with a shocker they never see coming. Support characters provide a choice of red herrings with motive who may want Tegan and her child out of the picture permanently. Readers are charged with deciphering the clues to figure out who the villain is before being blind sighted by the truth.

Intense, mesmerizing and heart stopping, THE CRASH is Author Freida McFadden at her best. Fans are going to devour this one in one sitting as I did. Highly recommended to fans of locked room mysteries and suspense thrillers.

Synopsis: 

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.
 
But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

Meet the Author!

#1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and possessed cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.

https://www.freidamcfadden.com/

Mask Of The Deer Woman Review

Author: Laurie L. Dove

Publisher: Berkley

Release Day: Jan. 21, 2025

Special thanks to Berkley Publishing for a gifted arc of this title for review. Opinions expressed are my own. #BerkleyPartner #Berkley #BerkleyBookstagram

Reviewed for Mystery & Suspense Magazine

To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself. 

Review:

MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN, the debut novel from Author Laurie L. Dove, explores the daily tragic realities faced by Indigenous People living on reservations - the hopelessness, despair, poverty, youth lost to addiction or big cities, rape of land and resources as well as the heartbreaking, ongoing epidemic of missing Indigenous Women who disappear from reservations yearly with little to no recognition or concern from the news media or law enforcement.

After the murder of her teenage daughter left her drowning in grief and guilt with no place to turn, ex-Chicago Detective Carrie Starr finally lands a job as tribal marshal for the new Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Oklahoma reservation where her father grew up. Hoping to be accepted home, her main priority is to investigate the cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous Women others have deemed unworthy. The urgency and stakes increase when Chenoa Cloud, a local college girl researching the possibility of an endangered species of insects on a plot of reservation land, disappears with clues pointing towards a connection to past disappearances. As Carrie begins investigating, her own dark, haunting memories surface, leaving her lost in foggy hallucinations of the Deer Woman, a mystical Indian lore figure with a female body bearing a deer's antlers - one she recalls from her father's long-ago tales, but why is she repeatedly appearing to Carrie? As she digs deeper, Carrie begins uncovering widespread corruption among the town's leaders including a get rich scheme involving oil found on reservation land. . . the same land that may be an endangered species' habitat. It's up to Carrie to connect all the pieces of the puzzle before another girl disappears. Carrie failed to save her own daughter . . . she can't let these women down.

MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN is an intense, highly atmospheric story about the plight of a nation of people long ignored by authorities as well as the news media. Most of the story unfolds through Carrie's point of view, allowing readers to ride shotgun as she frantically searches for the missing women hoping to bring closure to grieving families while trying to keep a handle on her own sanity. Carrie's repeated hazy visions set a dire tone of malice, driving a steadily rising pace as she races the clock to find the missing college student before she too is lost. The author does a fantastic job offering up red herrings with plausible motive to keep readers guessing until the final climax and reveal. The magical realism element of Indian lore is beautifully written and incorporated into the story in a manner that enhances the plot line while driving the suspense. Characters and readers are left wondering if the deer woman is friend or foe.

Author Laurie L. Dove's debut novel, MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN, is the heartbreaking story of missing and murdered Indigenous women often ignored by law enforcement. It's the story of the difficulty faced by one woman in her search to find her place in a cruel, unaccepting world that took her daughter from her – to find a place of healing where she belongs when she's pulled between two vastly different worlds, neither of which welcome her. Intense and highly visual, MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN is for fans of mysteries, suspense and heartfelt stories with a touch of magical realism.

Synopsis:

At rock bottom following her daughter’s murder, ex-Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation that raised him, but they need a new tribal marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home. In the last decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some dead, others just… gone. Now, local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter—the girl she failed to save. Starr feels lost in this place she thought would welcome her. And when she catches a glimpse of a figure from her father’s stories, with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer, Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her. What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home.

The More The Terrier Review

Author: David Rosenfelt

Series: Andy Carpenter #30

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Publisher: Minotaur Books & MacMillan Audio

Release Day: Oct. 15, 2024

Many thanks to MacMillan Audio for the audiobook version of this title. Opinions expressed are my own.

Review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

The next installment in David Rosenfelt’s bestselling Andy Carpenter series brings a lone pup to his doorstep, but when it comes to dogs, The More the Terrier. With equal doses of doggy humor and courtroom drama, as well as Andy Carpenter's traditional humbug Christmas spirit, David Rosenfelt delivers another winner.

Review:

Author David Rosenfelt returns with episode thirty in the Andy Carpenter series, THE MORE THE TERRIER, just in time for the holidays. The series is a perfect blend of cozy mystery and courtroom drama with a sprinkling of humor interspersed throughout. Add in the major cute factor with all the antics of the adorable dogs, and you've got a story that's delightful to read with an intriguing mystery to be solved.

Andy and his family return home from a skiing vacation to find an additional canine waiting - one the dog sitter says showed up on their doorstep and refused to leave, choosing instead to lounge around with their three dogs Sebastian, Tara and Hunter. Struck by the familiarity, Andy engages his investigation skills to determine that the dog is Murphy, a former Tara Foundation dog, who was placed with a family two years ago. Returning the dog to its owner leads Andy, the reluctant lawyer, to defend a college student accused of murdering his professor over a dispute over grades. As they begin their investigation, Andy and his motley crew, including wife and ex-cop Laurie, Sam the computer whiz, Corey and his K-9 dog, Eddie the lawyer and Marcus the muscle, soon determine that the Russian mob are involved in payoffs and have a stake in the outcome of the trial. Further investigation uncovers additional red herrings with motives involving computer viruses, drug traffickers and abuse via the metaverse world. Throw in a shady lawyer and Andy is convinced his client was set up, and he's facing a formidable task to convince a jury of reasonable doubt. As the story unfolds, the case proves to be more complex and twisted than expected with multiple viable threats against Andy and his family, but all Andy needs is one Christmas miracle to get his client home for the holidays and save Christmas.

Fans of the series will acknowledge Rosenfelt has a signature style that the Andy Carpenter stories follow and that's okay because despite that, each story is unique and highly readable in its' own way. The familiarity of the characters along with the antics of the dogs is comforting to series' readers, offering numerous laughs to cut the tension of a life-or-death case. A steadily increasing pace keeps readers engaged as does the author's wry sense of humor with our hero Andy dropping sarcastic remarks throughout and talking through cases with his dog, Tara.

THE MORE THE TERRIER is a delightful smorgasbord of cozy mystery, comedy and courtroom drama. If you're new to the Andy Carpenter series, it's one of a very few that I can honestly recommend can be read as a standalone as all the needed backstory is included and a case is solved in each book. I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Grover Gardner as the narration is fantastic as always, bringing these characters to life right in your own living room. THE MORE THE TERRIER is perfect for fans of light mysteries, comedies and legal thrillers.

Synopsis:

Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter is relieved to be headed back to Paterson, New Jersey, after a week-long family vacation in the Adirondacks. He's ready to put the holly jolly season way behind him and settle in at home with his three dogs. But when they finally arrive, there is an extra dog eagerly awaiting them, as well as one anxious dog sitter.

When the dog showed up on the doorstep a few days ago, the sitter knew Andy would know what to do. Indeed, Andy recognizes Murphy, who the Carpenters fostered before the dog went home with BJ Bremer and his mother. BJ wanted to learn all he could about caring for Murphy, which made Andy like him immediately.

When Andy goes to take Murphy back to the Bremers, though, instead of the happy reunion he expects, he finds BJ's mother in tears. It turns out Murphy ran off…after BJ was arrested for murder. Andy had hoped for a quiet Christmas vacation, but he likes Murphy’s family and his golden retriever, Tara, likes Murphy, so he can't resist getting involved. The case isn’t as simple as Andy thought it would be, though, with BJ suspected of murdering one of his professors. With nothing to go on but Andy's own conviction in BJ's dog-loving character, proving his innocence would be a Christmas miracle.

The Mirror Review

Author: Nora Roberts

Trilogy: The Lost Bride #2

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Day: Nov. 19, 2024

Special thanks to St. Martins Press for a gifted arc of this title. Opinions expressed are my own.

Review first publisher in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts continues the hauntingly spectacular Lost Bride Trilogy with book two, The Mirror.

Review:

THE MIRROR is the second book in Author Nora Roberts The Lost Bride trilogy, picking up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of the first book INHERITANCE. By nature, a trilogy has an overall story arc that spans three books, and while the author does a fantastic job easing readers back into the storyline, I recommend reading book one before venturing into THE MIRROR.

Sonya MacTavish settles into daily life with best friend Cleo in the haunted Victorian mansion she inherited from her deceased uncle. As time passes, the women welcome and adjust to the daily activities of the friendly ghosts of brides who died tragically in the mansion on their wedding day at the hand of the evil entity holding court in the gold room - Hester Dobbs. While Hester's actions are disturbing, Sonya and Cleo, joined by companions Trey and Owen, manage to remain defiant in the face of her frequent temper tantrums complete with the slamming of doors, loud noises and flying objects. When a magic mirror Sonya has dreamed of appears before her, she's drawn to pass through it time and again, finding herself decades in the past witnessing firsthand the happiest day of each bride's life before it ended in heartbreaking tragedy at the murderous hands of Hester who claimed each of the seven brides' wedding rings. As the story progresses, readers learn more about the unique history of each bride and groom, their families, their secrets and how they interacted with the antagonist Hester who vowed to be the only lady of the manor. Readers also see the relationships between the main characters evolve in the present as they bond in friendship and love, together vowing to recover the seven stolen rings and banish the evil spirit from the mansion. Hester has other ideas.

THE MIRROR is an atmospheric story, highlighting Roberts extraordinary abilities at world-building with descriptive prose that lures readers into scenes via sight, smell, sound and touch. The author maintains a balance of regular, small-town life and the mystical aspects of this story while ramping up the action with elements of mystery and suspense. The story unfolds through past/present chapters as Sonya slips back and forth through the mirror allowing readers to witness the history of families as it occurred over several centuries while raising the stakes for the challenge facing the group in the present. The slower pace in the first half allows time for characters to develop personal and community relationships while interspersing escalating paranormal episodes throughout to steadily increase the tone of malice and danger in a race to the final scene that explodes off the page. Per Roberts signature style, the women are strong, devoted and fiercely independent, and the men are smart, talented and supportive. Together, they emit positive energy bringing light and love to the mansion as they form a formidable team but is it enough to defeat a centuries old evil entity out for revenge?

Author Nora Roberts is an expert at detailed, vivid world-building, often drawing on ancient family history and incorporating it into suspenseful storylines with strong characters. The power of love, family, friends and good over evil are frequent themes. The Lost Bride trilogy is a prime example of her skillful blending of fantasy, romance and suspense in such a setting with characters readers will develop relationships with. THE MIRROR is an intense, atmospheric, heartwarming yet creepy tale that's perfect for those who love stories that stretch their imagination. Highly recommended to fans of fantasy, romance, mystery and suspense with a touch of the paranormal.

Synopsis:

When Sonya MacTavish inherits the huge Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, she has no idea that the house is haunted. The footsteps she hears at night, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. In the present she finds portraits of brides. And when she has visions of an antique mirror, she is drawn to it, sensing it holds dark family secrets.

Then one night the mirror appears and Sonya glides through this looking glass, into the past—and sees a bride murdered on her wedding day, the circle of gold torn from her finger. It is a scene that will play out again and again—a centuries-old curse that must be broken—and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse.

I'll Be Waiting Review

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Day: Oct. 1, 2024

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for a gifted arc of this title. Opinions expressed are my own.

First reviewed in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

From New York Times Bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a spellbinding new tale of supernatural horror involving a haunted-house, seances, lost loved ones, and a sinister spirit out for blood...

Review:

Author Kelley Armstrong's newest release, I'LL BE WAITING, is the perfect book to put readers in the mood for the spooky season.  A grieving wife's desperate attempt to connect with her deceased husband beyond the grave turns deadly in this highly atmospheric tale of supernatural horror. Make sure you have all the lights turned on before starting this one!

 Terminally ill Nicola Laughton considers herself to be a fortunate woman. While she's lived with cystic fibrosis since childhood, modern medicine has improved her quality of life as well as her life expectancy. Married to Anton, the man of her dreams, she's enjoying life to the fullest until the day a car crosses the center line claiming her husband's life.  As Nicola kneels on the pavement cradling her husband in her arms, Anton's dying vow is to wait for her. Captured by cell phone cameras, the scene soon goes viral with rumors that Anton's ghost or spirit appears hovering over them while whispering to Nicola. The news is all it takes to bring self-claimed psychics out of the woodwork telling Nicola they can facilitate her reconnection to her dead husband only to leave Nicola disappointed and disillusioned. In one last desperate attempt, friends and family step in to set up one final seance with a reputable parapsychologist to take place at Anton's family's Lake Erie beach house where Anton spent a great deal of time. Soon after their arrival, mysterious events occur indicating the possible presence of entities residing in the old house. Is Anton reaching out? Or has something darker, more sinister been awakened?

 I'LL BE WAITING is a tension laden, highly atmospheric paranormal thriller. A foreboding tone is set early enhanced by the setting in a secluded beach house complete with unexplained voices and footsteps, doors opening and closing, a creaking dumbwaiter, a room full of creepy porcelain dolls watching . . . and a history that includes a missing boy and murder. As the story progresses, short flashbacks give readers insight to past events raising more questions while leaving readers to decide what's real and what's not. The author slows the pace through the middle portion of the book, taking time to build the suspense while keeping characters and readers off-balance with a variety of eerie, goosebump worthy incidences only to pick up speed again as danger escalates through the final showdown. Some readers may find it hard to connect with characters who appear illusive due to the mysterious, ever-changing aura and circumstances surrounding them. Readers are challenged with uncovering the truth while figuring out who to trust in this tale of things that go bump in the night.

 Author Kelley Armstrong has expertly rendered another paranormal page turner, a smoke'n'mirrors mystery, perfect for fans who enjoy a good ghost story without crossing over into full-blown horror. Armchair detectives will also enjoy the challenge of solving this one.

 Synopsis:

Nicola Laughton never expected to see adulthood, being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. Then medical advances let her live into her thirties and she met Anton, who taught her to dream of a future… together. Months after they married, Anton died in a horrible car crash, but lived long enough to utter five words to her, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

That final private moment became public when someone from the crash scene took it to the press—the terminally ill woman holding her dying husband as he promised to wait for her on the other side. Worse, that person claimed it wasn’t Anton who said the words but his ghost, hovering over his body.

Since their story went public, Nicola has been hounded by spiritualists promising closure. In the hopes of stopping her downward spiral, friends and family find a reputable medium—a professor of parapsychology. For the séance, they rent the Lake Erie beach house that Anton’s family once owned.

The medium barely has time to begin his work before things start happening. Locked doors mysteriously open. Clouds of insects engulf the house. Nicola hears footsteps and voices and the creak of an old dumbwaiter…in an empty shaft. Throughout it all she’s haunted by nightmares of her past. Because, unbeknownst to the others, this isn’t her first time contacting the dead. And Nicola isn’t her real name.

That’s when she finds the first body....

In this atmospheric, thrilling new ghost story, Kelley Armstrong's full talents are on display to thrill, chill and leave the reader guessing how Nicola escapes with her life--if she can.

The Swimmer Review

Author: Loreth Anne White

Publisher: Montlake/Brillance Audio

Narrator: Reba Buhr

Release Date: Sept. 10, 2024

Review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

A deviously twisty novel of psychological suspense about secrets, neighbors, a need to belong, and murder by the award-winning author of The Maid’s Diary.

Review: 

THE SWIMMER by Author Loreth Anne White is a razor sharp, tautly plotted psychological suspense thriller that raises the bar of excellence in the suspense thriller genre. White's decision to deliver the story by interspersing true crime podcast transcripts in the present among chapters from the past allowing readers to see what transpires in real time is nothing short of brilliant. Get your affairs in order before starting this one because you will not be able to stop reading until you turn the final shocking page.

 Chloe Cooper is a socially awkward, eccentric forty-year-old bartender whose constricted world consists of work, caring for her terminally ill mother in their fifth-floor apartment, dog walking and people watching, most often with binoculars. Over the years, Chloe's mother's repeated warnings to trust no one, not even the police, have sentenced Chloe to a lonely, isolated life with little real interaction with others. Her only emotional outlet is her eccentric artwork and the stories she invents about the lives she observes. When new neighbors, renowned surgeon Adam Spengler and his beautiful, social media influencer wife Jemma, move in across the street, Chloe can see directly into the house and their private lives through the ceiling to floor curtainless windows. Her obsession with Jemma, who's everything Chloe isn't, grows daily as do her suspicions that something is deadly wrong in that household and marriage. Convinced it's up to her to stop a potential tragedy, Chloe begins recording her observations in her journal, including Jemma's habitual, early morning swims in the bay, and she's there on the beach the foggy morning a woman is intentionally run down by a jet ski while swimming in the bay. Ignoring her mother's repeated warnings, Chloe calls in an anonymous tip to the police, unknowingly opening Pandora's Box and setting a chain of events into motion that quickly spirals out of her control. 

 THE SWIMMER is rendered through multiple points of view and dual timelines including a true crime podcast hosted by Trinity Scott from BENEATH DEVIL'S BRIDGE fame. The author utilizes short chapters with mini cliffhangers to drive a maddening, breathtaking pace forward through a cleverly twisted, multilayered plot line laden with ominous vibes and relentless drama. Layer by layer, the author manipulates characters and readers with shocking, never-see-that-coming revelations that had this reader neglecting daily duties to finish the book.  The dismal, constricted setting lends itself to the overall feeling of confinement as well as the paranoia suffered by the main character. White's brilliant signature characterizations afford readers authentic, in-depth characters to either love, hate or feel sorry for, and her command of the overall story is reminiscent of an expert conductor directing an orchestra. 

 Magnificently written and delivered, THE SWIMMER is Author Loreth Anne White's finest piece of work to date, and that's saying a mouthful. I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Reba Ruhr who knocks it out of the park giving voice to numerous characters with different dialects. THE SWIMMER, a story of obsession, loneliness, secrets, lies, betrayal and revenge, is on this reader's brief list of the best of 2024. Highly recommended to fans of suspense thrillers that leave you reeling!

 Synopsis:

Socially awkward Chloe Cooper divides her time between dog walking, bartending, caring for her ailing mother, and at a safe distance, watching people and inventing the stories of their lives. Like Chloe’s new neighbors: glamorous influencer Jemma Spengler and Jemma’s husband, Adam, a renowned surgeon. They’re attractive, wealthy, and in a house of open windows, so exposed.

A move to the Pacific Northwest is supposed to be a fresh start for Jemma and Adam. It’s a renewed commitment to a marriage fractured by secrets. A chance to work through the tragic losses in their past. For Jemma, however, this new beginning also comes with an unnerving sensation that she’s being watched.

Then, on a fog-shrouded beach early in the morning, Chloe witnesses the murder of a swimmer. Her suspicions aroused, she suddenly sees her neighbors in a sinister new light. But as a detective and her partner close in, nothing is quite as it seems. Because the Spenglers are not the only ones with secrets. And Chloe isn’t the only one who’s been watching.