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Friday, December 18, 2020

Goodnight Beautiful Review

Author: Aimee Molloy
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Harper Audio
Format: Audio 7 hours, 55 minutes
Narrators: Val Toomey, George Newbern, Marin Ireland, Joel Froomkin
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

My Rating: 4 Insane Hearts

*A special thank you to Libro.fm and Harper Audio for an audio arc of this book.

From “master of clever misdirection” (Kirkus Reviews) Aimee Molloy, author of the New York Times bestseller The Perfect Mother, comes an irresistible psychological thriller featuring a newly married woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband goes missing.

Review:
Goodnight Beautiful is a twisted psychological thriller that left this reader lost in a room of smoke and mirrors trying to figure out who was authentic and who was wearing a disguise.  I quickly learned that Author Aimee Molloy is an expert at misdirection - one who excels at shattering gender norms and readers expectations.  And one who loves to manipulate characters and readers with clever plot lines, unreliable narrators and shocking twists.  Be prepared to be thoroughly entertained while flipping pages in an effort to figure this one out.

Psychologist Sam Statler and his new wife Annie Potter have moved to Sam's home town on the outskirts of New York to be near Sam's ailing mother.  When the landlord of an old Victorian house offers Sam space for his office, Sam knows he's found the perfect spot.  What Sam doesn't realize is that someone can hear every word of his counseling sessions, every dirty little town secret, through the vent in the ceiling.  With the paint still wet on his sign, Sam starts seeing patients - many of whom are old flames from Sam's wild, single days.  But Sam only has eyes for Annie and hates having to keep secrets from her.  Until a mysterious French woman in a mini cooper walks in, clearly wanting more than a counseling session.  Any man would be tempted, right?  When she calls asking for an emergency home visit, Sam's loyalties are tested.  It's late, a dangerous storm is raging and he should be headed home to his wife.  He rushes out of his office and . . . disappears.  Where is Sam? 

That's all I'll share about this cleverly plotted, compelling thriller.  Avoid spoilers and step in blind to get the full effect of Mollory's cunning writing style.  Whether you read or listen to this story, you're sure to be surprised, even shocked, at least a time or two before the ending as this author deftly guides both characters and readers through twists and turns, spinning them around in circles then leaving them dizzy and questioning their own sanity.  Goodnight Beautiful unfolds via three story narrators who are all highly unreliable and almost impossible to figure out.  The audio is especially effective because these voices are portrayed by different narrators lending an air of authenticity and mystery to this book.  I will say I struggled just a bit in the beginning with the voice of one of the main narrators, but soon realized it's the author's intent - part of the misdirection and illusion.  Once I settled in, I tumbled head over heels into a story that rendered me totally confused at times and yet highly motivated to seek answers. 

Goodnight Beautiful is intense, mysterious and a bit creepy.  The author's clever narrative and dubious characters led me through a world of mind games where I soon realized someone else was holding the winning hand, and readers are charged with figuring out who and why?  I can only say "Well played, Aimee Mollory."  I highly recommend Goodnight Beautiful (book and audio) to fans of mysteries, domestic suspense and thrillers.  It's one wild, hallucinating ride!

Synopsis:
Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York and start a life together in Sam's sleepy hometown in upstate New York. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele. Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist's wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie's happily ever after.

Showcasing Molloy’s deft ability to subvert norms and culminating in the kind of stunning twist that is becoming her trademark, Goodnight Beautiful is a thrilling tale of domestic suspense that not only questions assumptions but defies expectations.

Twitter:  aimeenmolloy

Monday, December 14, 2020

Take It Back Review & Blog Tour





Early praise for Take It Back


"Riveting, thought-provoking legal thriller... Abdullah is definitely a writer to watch." - Publishers Weekly, starred review


"Abdullah has done an exemplary job of character development and is especially good at ratcheting up suspense as the trial proceeds." - Booklist, starred review


"A thought-provoking and sparklingly intelligent novel, with the welcome bonus of an unguessable ending." —The Telegraph



Series: Zara Kaleel #1
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Release Date: Dec. 8, 2020


My Rating: 5 Powerful Hearts

A special thank you to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book & blog tour invitation.

From author Kia Abdullah, Take It Back is a harrowing and twisting courtroom thriller that keeps you guessing until the last page is turned.

Review:
Readers, take notice! Take It Back is a stunning, twisted courtroom drama that raises the bar for legal thrillers. Highly compulsive, shocking, powerful . . . a real page burner of she said/they said. When a sixteen year old girl comes to Artemis House to report being lured away from a party and raped by four classmates, Zara Kaleel is assigned her case. Zara shocked family and friends when she left her lucrative career as a lawyer to become a sexual assault counselor seeking justice for victims of assault. Upon hearing Jodie's story, she believes her and sets out to prove her case. Little does she know, she's just opened Pandora's Box and the repercussions will change life as she, the victim, the accused and every person in town knows it.

Jodie Wolf was born with a horrifying facial deformity. Shunned and bullied by classmates, her life as a sixteen year old white girl is one of isolation and loneliness. And yet, she experiences all the emotions typical teenage girls feel including an attraction to a popular muslim boy -  although she knows he sees her as a monster. Imagine her surprise when said boy approaches her at a party, convincing her he wants to help her. The devastating events later that night shatter her fragile world, leading to a tsunami of which she later says, "I wish I could take it back". One white girl with a disability and her muslin counselor chasing demons of her own vs. 4 popular muslim boys from hardworking immigrant families - all with solid alibis. It's a case of he said/she said, and the gloves are off. Who will you believe?

Author Kia Abdullah has rendered a stunning, heart wrenching story covering some major issues including race, religion, culture, politics, sexual assault, prejudice and disabilities. Tackling all these issues in one book is a huge undertaking, but Abdullah does so with expertise and care as she maneuvers the minefield of sexual assault among a society that believes women belong in the home. Much of this story plays out through explosive courtroom scenes surrounded by a frenzied media circus - all serving to enrage a highly volatile town torn apart by political, racial and religious views. The drama unfolding is unsettling and yet so real you can smell the sweat, tears, and fear. The author's skillful manipulation of both characters and readers is simply magnificent as the revelations just keep coming.

To say Take It Back is cunning and shocking and heartbreaking is an understatement. The complex, disturbing, and highly compulsive narrative drew me in and kept me burning through pages to get at the truth. Driven by a steadily increasing pace and sense of some unknown, I found myself totally captivated as I devoured page after page, chapter after chapter . . . constantly changing my mind about whose story to believe. When the truth was finally revealed, I sat there in shock. Wow. Never saw that one coming. Well done, Kia Abdullah. I can't wait for book 2! Take It Back is powerful, authentic, eye opening, and in many ways . . . educational. I highly recommend it to fans of courtroom and suspense thrillers.

 Synopsis:

One victim.

Four accused.

Who is telling the truth?

Zara Kaleel, one of London's brightest legal minds, shattered the expectations placed on her by her family and forged a brilliant legal career. But her decisions came at a high cost, and now, battling her own demons, she has exchanged her high profile career for a job at a sexual assault center, helping victims who need her the most. Victims like Jodie Wolfe.

When Jodie, a sixteen-year-old girl with facial deformities, accuses four boys in her class of an unthinkable crime, the community is torn apart. After all, these four teenage defendants are from hard-working immigrant families and they all have proven alibis. Even Jodie's best friend doesn't believe her.

But Zara does—and she is determined to fight for Jodie—to find the truth in the face of public outcry. And as issues of sex, race and social justice collide, the most explosive criminal trial of the year builds to a shocking conclusion.

Author Bio



KIA ABDULLAH is an author and travel writer. She has contributed to
The Guardian, BBC, Channel 4 News, and The New York Times. Kia currently travels the world as one half of the travel blog Atlas & Boots, which receives over 200,000 views per month.


Author Website

Instagram

Twitter @KiaAbdullah

Facebook

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Sunday, December 13, 2020

The Lady Upstairs Review

 

Author: Hallie Sutton
Genre: Thriller/Modern Noir
Publisher: G.P. Putnam
Release Date: Nov. 17, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

My Rating: 3.5 Provocative Hearts

*Many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book via Netgalley.

A modern-day noir featuring a twisty cat-and-mouse chase, this dark debut thriller tells the story of a a woman who makes a living taking down terrible men...then finds herself in over her head and with blood on her hands. The only way out? Pull off one final con.

Review:
The Lady Upstairs is a dark, provocative, modern day noir thriller about women doling out vigilante-style justice in the form of blackmail to some powerful men in Hollywood with questionable ethics.  The story has a decidedly feminist voice with the boss aka the lady upstairs deciding which men need knocking off their pedestal for violating a code of conduct she considers unsuitable.  Lou, the only woman who knows the identity of the "lady", serves as the liaison between her and the working girls.   Our protagonist Jo has almost paid off her debt to the lady upstairs and is planning to get out of the business once she does.  One bad decision and suddenly Jo is in over her head and faced with helping dispose of a dead client.  With both her unknown boss and the cops hot on her tail, Jo's only option is to pull one more job - this time entirely on her own.  She'll make back the money she needs and be free.  Is it ever really that simple?

The Lady Upstairs is an intriguing, unique thriller that's leans heavily on a character driven plot line.  It starts off strong with the setup and introduction of characters.  There's a cynical tone and morality playing out with justice being handed down in a twisted match game of wits.  I found the writing and story structure to be solid, and enjoyed the old Hollywood ties and ambiance.  However, the story begins to wobble midway through as readers are abandoned to deal with Jo's repeated drunken ramblings.  The results are a slight loss of focus and slowing pace.  It left my mind rambling much as Jo did.  The pace picks up again as the story rolls toward the finish line and while I wasn't shocked by the big reveal, I was entertained.  This is Halley Sutton's debut novel, and she's off to a great start.  Highly recommended to fans of mystery and suspense with a dark edge.

Synopsis:
Jo's job is blackmailing the most lecherous men in Los Angeles--handsy Hollywood producers, adulterous actors, corrupt cops. Sure, she likes the money she's making, which comes in handy for the debt she is paying off, but it's also a chance to take back power for the women of the city. Eager to prove herself to her coworker Lou and their enigmatic boss, known only as the Lady Upstairs, Jo takes on bigger and riskier jobs.

When one of her targets is murdered, both the Lady Upstairs and the LAPD have Jo in their sights. Desperate to escape the consequences of her failed job, she decides to take on just one more sting--bringing down a rising political star. It's her biggest con yet--and she will do it behind the Lady's back, freeing both herself and Lou. But Jo soon learns that Lou and the Lady have secrets of their own, and that no woman is safe when there is a life-changing payout on the line.

A delicious debut thriller crackling with wit and an unforgettable feminist voice, The Lady Upstairs is a chilling and endlessly surprising take on female revenge.

H