The Blame Game Review

Author: Sandie Jones

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: Aug. 16, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

Many thanks to Minotaur for an arc of this book.

Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Review:

In The Blame Game, protagonist Naomi is a psychologist specializing in counseling victims of domestic abuse.  She chose this line of work due to things in her own dark, tragic past.  While she enjoys her work, in her eagerness to offer help and comfort, she often finds it difficult to maintain the ethical line between doctor and patient.  When her patient Jacob shares with Naomi that he wants to leave his abusive wife, Naomi strays into the gray area and then crosses the line by offering Jacob a safe place to stay at a place owned by she and her husband.  Soon, another client tells Naomi of her fear of her abusive husband, and Naomi also intervenes by giving her a place to stay.  Naomi's husband cautions her, but she ignores him. However, when files go missing, and doors she knows she locked are found unlocked, Naomi has to wonder if she's gone too far or if her past has finally caught up with her. When the police come knocking at her door asking a lot of uncomfortable questions about the whereabouts of a missing Jacob, Naomi fears her secrets are about to be exposed.  Has she gone too far?

As a reader, I found it interesting that Naomi crosses all ethical lines with her patients and yet she appears to maintain a personal Do Not Cross line with her own husband.  While we know her past was dark, I wanted more of Naomi's backstory in order to better connect and establish empathy for her especially since the past proved to be relevant to her life choices.  Jones has provided readers some details, but Naomi may have come across as a more likable, sympathetic character if readers could see more interactions of her with her estranged sister and convict father and if she actually had found some kind of closure.  I'm left feeling a critical piece of the puzzle plus motivation for the main character's actions are rushed.  

The Blame Game is exactly that as readers are charged with delving through the bits and pieces of the story and following the twists and turns until the final reveal occurs.  I'll admit to seeing it coming which rendered less shock value, but I continued reading seeking answers to other questions raised.  The author does a great job spotlighting the issue of domestic abuse and violence while showcasing the stereotypes often associated with abusive relationships especially a less typical female against male abuse.  I applaud her for taking this approach and feel she did an expert job drawing much needed attention to the subject of domestic violence as a whole.  

The Blame Game is well written, tense and at times quite riveting.  While I enjoyed reading it, The Other Woman remains my favorite work from the talented Sandie Jones.  I look forward to seeing what this author releases next.  Highly recommended to fans of mystery and suspense.

Synopsis:

She knows she’s telling the truth. But the evidence says she’s lying.

As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to not become overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping the middle-aged Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi has begun to worry that she’s gone too far this time. On the morning of Jacob’s first session after his escape, doors that Naomi is sure she’d locked have been mysteriously left open, and Jacob’s client file is missing.

Then, another client approaches Naomi for assistance in leaving behind her abusive husband, and Naomi is once again unable to turn aside someone in need. But are the missing papers and unlocked doors symptoms of Naomi’s own dark past raising its ugly head, or something more? And is it possible that her clients aren’t the only ones in danger, but Naomi herself?

Always The First To Die Review

Author: R.J. Jacobs

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Release Date: Sept. 13, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

Many thanks to Sourcebooks for an arc of this book.

Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

For fans of Riley Sager with a classic slasher twist, Always the First to Die follows a former horror movie actress as she returns to the set of her most iconic film, only to find that the strange circumstances begin to resemble the plot of her most famous film.

Review:

Always The First To Die is a highly atmospheric, dual timeline thriller with a killer setting, including an old, rundown hotel known as Pinecrest Estate that was once the site of the filming of the ill fated, some say cursed,  horror film Breathless.  The film was directed by the famous Rick Plummer who was known to terrorize his actors in order to capture their authentic terror on film. Adding to the sinister ambiance in the present is the Category Four hurricane raging across the island, leaving everyone who didn't get out in time cut off from the outside world.  No power.  No phone.  No help.  Jacobs delivers a setting that reeks of danger complete with torrential rain, shutters flapping, wind howling, trees toppling and could it possibly be old ghosts taunting?  Rick now owns the decaying mansion and is planning to film the sequel to Breathless there . . . and mother nature has provided the perfect backdrop.  He couldn't have set the scene any better if he tried.

Liv escaped the Keys twenty years ago and vowed never to return. As a teenager, her walk-on roll in the horror film was upgraded to a major role when the lead actress became too spooked to continue.  When the movie ended in tragedy, Liv left home with the only good thing to come out of the nightmare - she married Cam Plummer, son of Rick.  They moved away and had a daughter.  Now Liv learns that their daughter Quinn lied to her about a school field trip in order to slip away and travel to Pinecrest Estate to see her grandfather Rick Plummer, knowing she's forbidden to speak to him.  Cam had mysteriously disappeared the previous year while at the haunted estate writing a book and is presumed dead.  Liv is both scared to death and angry at her daughter's deception, but for the moment her main goal is to get to the island and rescue Quinn from both the storm . . . and Rick Plummer.  The story that ensues is a horror film in the making.

Always The First To Die unfolds through dual timelines - twenty years ago at the filming of the original film and now all these years later in the present in Liv's point of view.  It's a highly effective way of rendering this story as it serves to keep the musky air of impending doom ever present and hanging over each character's head.  In many ways, the past/present stories mirror each other as events spiral out of control.  Characters are well fleshed out and mostly believable although I feel like the daughter Quinn presents as younger and less mature than her age would indicate.  The tone and pace elevate as the story progresses, building tension and trepidation.  There seems to always be a question as to the source of the incidents randomly occurring  in the old mansion - are they caused by a real person or something else?  And why are events so reminiscent of the original film screenplay?  Coincidence?  Or set up? 

Fans of old horror films with slasher vibes are sure to enjoy the dark, convoluted and twisted Always The First To Die with it's eerily creepy tone and setting.  While it didn't have me looking over my shoulder at every creaking noise, I found it to be well written and expertly delivered.  In my eyes, the setting is the main character and star of the show.  Grab this one if you enjoy a touch of horror with suspense now and then.  You may be surprised at who done it.

Synopsis:

After her husband's death, Lexi has refused to return to the Pinecrest Estate on the Florida Keys, too many hard memories on that strip of land. Memories of meeting her husband on the set of an iconic horror movie. Of being cast as an extra, of watching herself get killed on screen. And of scoffing at the rumors of the Pinecrest Estate "curse," until she witnessed a cast member die that very summer. But when her daughter sneaks away to visit her grandfather, legendary horror movie director Rick Plummer, Lexi is forced to face her past. That's when a Category Four hurricane changes course, and hits the southern coast.

Unable to get through to her daughter, Lexi drives to the Keys in the wake of the storm. What she finds is an island without cell service, without power, and with limited police presence. A desolate bit of land, with only a few remaining behind: the horror director, the starlet once cast as the final girl, the young teenager searching for clues of her father, the mother determined to get off the island, and...the person picking them off one-by-one.

Soon enough Lexi's life begins to resemble Rick's most famous horror film, and she must risk her life to save her daughter before someone, or something, destroys them all.

Can't Look Away Review

Author: Carola Lovering

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: June 14, 2022

Purchase: Amazon

Special thanks to the publisher for an arc.

From the author of Tell Me Lies and Too Good to Be True comes Carola Lovering's Can't Look Away, a sexy suspense novel about the kind of addictive, obsessive love that keeps you coming back––no matter how hard you try to look away.

Review:

Molly met Jake Danner when he was a rising rock star. Playing a gig in a local bar, Jake and Molly locked eyes and it was love at first sight, but as Molly soon learned life with a rock star isn’t as exciting as it appears. Eventually, Molly moved on to rock solid, down to earth Hunter.  Now, several years later, Molly, Hunter, and their little girl are living in a quiet, exclusive community where Molly doesn't exactly feel comfortable.  She doesn't "fit" with the other women and harbors feelings of being an outsider.  However, that changes when Sabrina moves into the neighborhood and joins one of Molly's yoga classes.  Soon, they're best friends but who is Sabrina? What does Molly really know about her?  What's she really after?

Can't Look Away is a domestic dramatization more than a thriller.  The story is told through three points of view - three people who all come across as almost stalkers or just plain crazy in my opinion.  Molly gets caught up in reliving her fantasy fling with the rock star.  Sabrina most definitely is working her own agenda and as she does, so goes the plot.  Unfolding through past/present timelines, characters get caught up in past dreams now lost, choices and consequences.  The story is very much like a soap opera in many ways - one long dramatization of the interactions of these characters lives.  They're forced to take a long look at their lives both way back then and now, and some don't like what they see.  Readers are privy to everything from the get-go so no big mystery to figure out.  Just sit back, maybe grab some popcorn and a drink and watch the show unfold.  This one is for fans who are looking for entertainment with a side of crazy.

Synopsis:

In 2013, twenty-three-year old Molly Diamond is a barista, dreaming of becoming a writer. One night at a concert in East Williamsburg, she locks eyes with the lead singer, Jake Danner, and can’t look away. Molly and Jake fall quickly and deeply in love, especially after he writes a hit song about her that puts his band on the map.

Nearly a decade later, Molly has given up writing and is living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut with her young daughter and her husband Hunter—who is decidedly not Jake Danner. Their life looks picture-perfect, but Molly is lonely; she feels out of place with the other women in their wealthy suburb, and is struggling to conceive their second child. When Sabrina, a newcomer in town, walks into the yoga studio where Molly teaches and confesses her own fertility struggles, Molly believes she's finally found a friend.

But Sabrina has her own reasons for moving to Flynn Cove and befriending Molly. And as Sabrina’s secrets are slowly unspooled, her connection to Molly becomes clearer––as do secrets of Molly's own, which she’s worked hard to keep buried.

Meanwhile, a new version of Jake's hit song is on the radio, forcing Molly to confront her past and ask the ultimate questions: What happens when life turns out nothing like we thought it would, when we were young and dreaming big? Does growing up mean choosing with your head, rather than your heart? And do we ever truly get over our first love? 

After We Were Stolen Review

Author: Brooke Beyfuss

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Release Date: July 19, 2022

Purchase Link: Amazon

Special thanks to the publisher for an arc.

An emotionally wrought debut novel perfect for book clubs about a girl who escapes from a cult after a deadly fire destroys her family’s compound, only to be haunted by That Night as she tries to build a new life for herself.

Review:

Nineteen year old Avery and younger brother Cole,16, finally get the opportunity to escape the cult where they live with their "family" when fire destroys everything during the night.  While life had been hard at the camp, survivalist skills that were drilled into them daily come in handy as they're forced to live off the land.  When they're captured during a shoplifting spree, shocking revelations rock their world.  It turns out both Avery and Cole were stolen when they were very young.  Cole's real family is located and he's reunited with them.  Avery, however, is left alone in a big, strange world she doesn't know how to manipulate, and is forced to seek shelter in a shelter for women.  An investigation into the cause of the cult fire raises some serious questions.  Were there other survivors?  Were there more survivors from Avery's fake "family"?  Avery decides only the truth will set her free, and so she begins investigating.

After We Were Stolen is a heartbreaking, gritty story - highly emotional as it delves into what happens to survivors of cults once they're living in a free world and charged with learning new survival skills.  It speaks of family and what it really means to belong whether by blood or by choice. Needless to say, this is not an easy read and may present triggers to some readers.  As the story unfolds,  it follows Avery as she attempts to move forward in a strange, new world while struggling to lay the past to rest.  Having her point of view means readers feel her confusion, turmoil and determination.  The author does an expert job of showcasing the emotional and psychological aspects people face after escaping a cult.   The pace is steady as the story progresses to the final revelation.  I found the characterizations to be well-developed and believable and the  plot line intriguing.  Together, they work.  After We Were Stolen by Brooke Beyfuss is an impressive debut that I highly recommend to fans of heartfelt suspense thrillers.  It's not an easy read, but it's an important one.  I look forward to more from this obviously talented author.

 

Synopsis:

A fire. Her escape. And the realization her entire life has been a lie.

When nineteen-year-old Avery awakens to flames consuming her family’s remote compound, she knows it’s her only chance to escape her father’s grueling survival training, bizarre rules, and gruesome punishments. She and her brother Cole flee the grounds for the first time in their lives, suddenly homeless in a world they know nothing about. After months of hiding out, they are arrested for shoplifting and a shocking discovery is made—Avery and Cole were kidnapped fifteen years earlier, stolen by cult leaders they knew as Mom and Dad.

Cole is immediately returned to his birth family, leaving Avery alone and desperate. She is uncertain if her “parents” survived the fire and is terrified to find out. The loss of Cole and the trauma of her former life threaten to undo her, but when the police investigation reveals there may be more survivors, Avery must uncover the truth about the fire to truly be free.

Suspenseful, emotionally charged, and deeply thought-provoking, After We Were Stolen delves into the idea of family—those we’re born into and those we make—resilience, and the lengths a cult survivor will go to finally be free of her painful past. Brooke Beyfuss’s powerful debut novel sparkles with heart, grit, and extraordinary characters who will stay with you long after the last page.

The Kingdoms of Savannah Review

Author: George Dawes Green

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Publisher: Celadon Books

Release Date: July 19, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

Many thanks to Celadon Books for an arc.

Savannah may appear to be “some town out of a fable,” with its vine flowers, turreted mansions, and ghost tours that romanticize the city’s history. But look deeper and you’ll uncover secrets, past and present, that tell a more sinister tale. It’s the story at the heart of George Dawes Green’s chilling new novel, The Kingdoms of Savannah.

Review:

The Kingdoms of Savannah is a beautiful blend of old southern history and a unique, modern mystery.  The beauty of Savannah is legendary with it's otherworldly ambiance with streets of old southern mansions and churches, sweet aromas on the breeze, old cemeteries, trees with boughs hanging low with spanish moss and most certainly a ghost or two - in other words, home of the elite.  And yet, there's another side of Savannah - one the author exposes with all its ugliness shining a light on the forgotten poor, homeless and hopeless.  A side Savannah's elite will do anything to keep buried.  Green rips the pretty off the city in The Kingdoms of Savannah and in doing so, he forces a clear eyed view of the underbelly.  

I'm such a fan of settings that are so vivid, so sensual that they become characters in their own right, and Savannah becomes a character in this story serving to set the tone and ambiance both good and bad.  It stars right alongside protagonist Morgana Musgrove, a grande dame of the city - one of the most respected and prominent women of the area.  Inside her home, the picture isn't so pretty as her four grown children have little time or patience for their mother.  Her business ventures are in trouble and leaking money like a sieve.  Thus when a local man is murdered, and a wealthy developer pays her half a million dollars to find evidence to clear his name as the prime suspect, she jumps at the chance finagling her children into helping her.  When a woman also goes missing, the case becomes convoluted and dark secrets begin rattling the closets of some of Savannah's privileged.  Secrets they'll do anything to keep buried.

The Kingdoms of Savannah is a highly atmospheric story that's as twisted as a back country road.  Green brilliantly weaves multiple twisted plot lines into one stunning tapestry of a mystery.  The pace grows steadily along with the tension.  Morgana may be an unlikely detective, but she's like a dog with a bone never giving up as she manipulates her way through high society's closets.  In doing so, she exposes some dark sins that make the powers-that-be nervous and angry.  Drawing from Savannah's complex history, Green has delivered a unique masterpiece that speaks of abused power, greed, social status and broken families in The Kingdoms of Savannah.  Highly recommending this unique and demanding mystery to everyone!  

Synopsis:

It begins quietly on a balmy Southern night as some locals gather at Bo Peep’s, one of the town’s favorite watering holes. Within an hour, however, a man will be murdered and his companion will be “disappeared.” An unlikely detective, Morgana Musgrove, doyenne of Savannah society, is called upon to unravel the mystery of these crimes. Morgana is an imperious, demanding, and conniving woman, whose four grown children are weary of her schemes. But one by one she inveigles them into helping with her investigation, and soon the family uncovers some terrifying truths—truths that will rock Savannah’s power structure to its core.

Moving from the homeless encampments that ring the city to the stately homes of Savannah’s elite, Green’s novel brilliantly depicts the underbelly of a city with a dark history and the strangely mesmerizing dysfunction of a complex family. 

Hidden Pictures Review

Author: Jason Rekulak

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Release Date: May 10, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

Special thanks to Flatiron for an arc.

From Jason Rekulak, Edgar-nominated author of The Impossible Fortress, comes a wildly inventive spin on the classic horror story in Hidden Pictures, a creepy and warm-hearted mystery about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

Review:

Twenty-one year old Mallory Quinn is a former student and eighteen month clean addict who is given an opportunity to work as a nanny for five-year old Ted, son of Caroline and Ted Maxwell.  The job is exactly what the doctor ordered affording her some independence and the chance to resume her daily runs while living in a small cottage on the property.  Little Teddy is adorable, and Mallory loves spending time with him.  Teddy loves to draw the typical pictures one expects from a child his age.  However, gradually his artwork takes a turn toward the dark with drawings of a girl being dragged into the woods - drawings too mature for a boy of his age.  Mallory suspects something unnatural is occurring and that it has to do with the rumors swirling around the cottage and a woman murdered there.  Someone is trying to tell them something through this child's artwork. Her concern for Teddy is real, but no one takes her seriously except for Adrian who's home for the summer from college.  

Hidden Pictures is expertly written and delivered via a creepy setting and sinister ambiance.  I appreciated that the supernatural aspects were handled in an unique and intriguing manner.  I found the characters to be believable and well-developed, and the plot line to be extremely twisted.  I like to think I can see most twists coming a mile away, but there's one in this one that slapped me in the face before I saw it, and it's a game changer for sure.  Hidden Pictures is an intense, fast-paced story that will have you burning through pages for answers.  Highly recommended to fans of mystery, suspense and thrillers as well as anyone who enjoys a side of supernatural well done.

Synopsis:

Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves this new job. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, and his stick figures steadily evolve into more detailed, complex, and lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to suspect these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell’s house.

With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy—while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past—before it’s too late.

Do No Harm Review

Author: Robert Pobi

Series: Lucas Page #3

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for an arc of this book.

Review:

While recovering from his latest impressive set of injuries, Lucas Page is hopeful his days of assisting the FBI in tracking down serial killers is just about over.  Lucas is an ex-FBI agent himself and plans on keeping it that way.  However, his extraordinary gift in pattern recognition has proved useful in seeing what others miss.  He's often called to crime scenes to detect what's eluded officers.  Lucas, a polymath, astrophysicist and professor is looking forward to normal life with his five adopted kids and wife Erin who's a respected surgeon.  Things are finally peaceful until the couple attends a medical charity bash, and Page begins watching the annual memorial video documenting the high number of doctors who have died in the past year . . . many in so called accidents or by suicide.  How is it no one else has noticed that these "random" deaths are missing a key element?  Where's the pattern?  And just like that, Page is called back in by the FBI to assist in a race against time.

It soon becomes clear that someone is targeting members of the medical community which puts Page's wife Erin in the eye of the killer.  Page doubles his efforts and once again is joined by his old partner, Special Agent Alice Whitaker who's also recovering from injuries.  They quickly fall back into their pattern of life threatening escapades with dry banter mingled in, offering some comic relief to a fast-paced, drive the wheels off it investigation.  Their team is rounded out by ex-military NYPD Detective Johnny Russo who turns a blind eye to Page's decidedly cold and ungiving personality.  Together, they forge all speed ahead to catch a killer before anyone else is murdered.

Dark, twisted and complex, No Harm Done is a tense, action-packed ride from cover to cover.  I enjoyed more insight into Page's family life with kid time which served to soften the edges of his stoic personality.  And as always, I was fascinated by this character's study of patterns where there seemingly is none.  Readers get to see the crime scenes through Page's eyes as one thing after another clicks into place emerging as a pattern.  Expertly plotted and delivered, No Harm Done is a great addition to the Lucas Page series.  This one stands alone, but readers will benefit from grabbing the first two books to get the full introduction to the man and his fellow characters.  Highly recommended to fans of mysteries, police procedurals and suspense thrillers.

Synopsis:

Lucas Page is a polymath, astrophysicist, professor, husband, father of five adopted children, bestselling author, and ex-FBI agent―emphasis on "ex." Severely wounded after being caught in an explosion, Page left the FBI behind and put his focus on the rebuilding the rest of his life. But Page is uniquely gifted in being able to recognize patterns that elude others, a skill that brings the F.B.I. knocking at his door again and again.

Lucas Page's wife Erin loses a friend, a gifted plastic surgeon, to suicide and Lucas begins to realize how many people Erin knew that have died in the past year, in freak accidents and now suicide. Intrigued despite himself, Page begins digging through obituaries and realizes that there's a pattern―a bad one. These deaths don't make sense unless the doctors are being murdered, the target of a particularly clever killer. This time, the FBI wants as little to do with Lucas as he does with them so he's left with only one option―ignore it and go back to his normal life. But then, the pattern reveals that the next victim is likely to be...Erin herself. 

Waiting On Forever Blog Tour & Review

Author: Claudia Connor

Series: McKinney/Walker Bros. #4

Genre: Romance

Release Date: August 9, 2022

Reserve your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39W3lhJ

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/waitingforever

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3Os7OaO

Nook: https://bit.ly/BNWaitonforever

Kobo: https://bit.ly/koboWOF

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3OzWwBA

Many thanks to the author and Social Butterfly PR for an arc of this book and for the book tour invitation!

Waiting on Forever, an all-new standalone romance full of steam and angst in The Walker Brothers Series from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Connor is available now!

Review:

Dallas Walker has returned home in need of the love and support of his family.  He's ready to move on from the horrors he witnessed and was forced to participate in as an undercover agent in a sex trafficking ring.  He has nightmares fill with the innocent faces of young girls forced into prostitution - the ones he believes he failed.  Dallas knows the love and care of his family is the answer . . . and he's beginning to realize his attraction and desire for his reclusive neighbor might be just what the doctored ordered.  If only she would stop giving him the cold shoulder and share what she's running from with him.

Maggie Ellis wants nothing more than to be alone, to bury herself and her grief in her work and her backyard collection of plants, flowers and ... oh yes, chickens.  These are things she can depend on, things that will never leave her drowning in grief and loss like an event in her past did.  Maggie has figured out that while she may be lonely, there's safety in solitude.  If only her new sinfully sexy neighbor Dallas would stop knocking on her door.  There's no way she's getting involved with him . . . is she?  No, it's just not the safe thing to do.

Waiting On Forever is another Connor classic romance.  She has such a gift for writing small town romance featuring two characters who fight fate every step of the way.  I adored these characters and loved getting to visit with some of the other Walker families while getting to know some new folks.  The push/pull sizzling chemistry is ever present as is the delightful banter.  Watching these two characters interact and slowly tear down walls is beautiful although sometimes a bit heart breaking.  Both are haunted by their past, and both have to learn to let go in order to move on. 

Waiting On Forever is another fantastic addition to this outstanding series.  I can't wait for the next one and highly recommend this one to fans of sweet, low-angst romance.  That's not to say there's no angst because of course there is.  But it's refreshing to read a romance where it's a pretty sure thing they'll be a happy ever after.  Grab this one romance fans!

Synopsis:

Dallas Walker is haunted. He won’t ever forget the horrors he witnessed while working undercover to bust a human trafficking ring, but he has a plan to start a new life. Coming home to his family is step one. Getting to know his alluring new neighbor could be step two. If only she’d give him a chance…

Maggie Ellis just wants to be left alone. She’d rather spend her days spinning clay into art and feel nothing than open herself up to another devastating loss. But her sexy new neighbor with a lonely look in his eyes isn’t giving up. And he makes her question everything…

Together, Dallas and Maggie might have a shot at happily ever after. But only if they can let go of the past and hold on to each other when it matters most.

 Excerpt:

Her motion activated lights cast faint shadows near the house, but the light didn’t nearly reach the back of the yard. She searched the dense brush along the back, saw movement and fired a warning shot into the air, then another.

She heard the rustling of an animal scurrying away then the sound of leaves crunching and twigs breaking behind her and to her left. She swung around, gun raised.

“Jesus!”

“Nope, just me.”

Dallas stood just a few yards away, stock still, chest bare, in a dark shade of boxer briefs and his hands up in surrender.

“That’s a good way to get shot.” She lowered the weapon. “Sorry.”

He took a step forward toward the faint light she stood in. “I thought you were getting shot. What the hell are you doing?”

“Scaring away whatever was snooping around the chicken coop. Raccoon maybe, or a fox.”

“I guess you know how to use that?”

“I do.” Her lips twitched. “I have a permit and everything, officer.” She lifted the butt a few inches off the ground.

Still looking distressed, he rubbed the heel of his hand up his forehead and into his hair.

“I’m sorry if I scared you. And woke you up.” Obviously, because again, he was standing there in his boxers and…yeah. Just boxers.

“You didn’t wake me. I was outside. With my popcorn.”

“Do you always come outside in your underwear to eat popcorn?”

“I burned it.”

“Ahh.” She grimaced. “That’s a bad smell. Guess you weren’t kidding when you said you couldn’t cook.”

“Mmm. Is this a usual thing?” he asked with a nod to the gun, closing the distance between them even more. “Scaring away predators?”

“Oh. Every now and then. I lost one last year.” She kept talking, kept looking at the man. Her gaze skimmed over a muscled chest, sculpted arms, over a tattoo on his upper right bicep that she couldn’t make out.

“Holly’s not much of a guard dog,” she went on. “But her hearing’s still good, so when her ears perk up I know something’s amiss. Were you coming to save me?”

“I didn’t know what I was coming to do, but I heard gunshots and—”

“And you came bounding over. I hope you didn’t um…scratch anything.”

Dallas glanced down, winced, then looked back up. “Nah. I’m good.”

Uh, huh. Well. She forced her attention up to his face and not on the dark boxers that hugged his thighs…annnnd… she was staring. How could she not?

But when her eyes finally met his she saw he was staring too. And it dawned on her that she was also barefooted and in her underwear. She tugged the tank top she slept in, stretching it until it covered the juncture between her thighs.

“Well, I…uh…”

A cool breeze rippled over her and she shivered. Or maybe that was the man now just a couple of feet away giving her chills. What had she been about to say?

And when had he gotten so close? Or had she? Just an arm’s length apart now and she found herself imagining all kinds of things. Like what would she do if he moved closer? If he touched her?

The feeling changed like a coin flipping from heads to tails and even with the cool wind she felt hot. It was uncomfortable and also layered with a ripple of nervous excitement. Standing in her backyard at night with a man—this man. And both of them barely dressed.

When Holly barked from inside the back door, she glanced toward the house. When she looked back, the moment was gone. “Guess I should go back in. Holly’s probably worried.”  She shifted the gun hanging at her side.

“Probably so,” he said. “I’ll get myself back. Finish airing out the house.”

“Yeah. Maybe try another bag. Listen for the popping. More than a second between pops and it’s done.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

He still wasn’t moving and she swallowed hard. Had a ludicrous thought of asking him in. To make popcorn. To watch Downton Abbey?

He nodded toward her house. “I’ll wait until you’re inside.”

“Oh. Right. Thank you.” She turned, went inside, locking the door behind her. It’d been a long time since she’d been in the position for someone to care about her getting safely inside. She had to admit it didn’t totally suck.

About Claudia

Claudia Connor is an award winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary Romance, including the beloved McKinney Brothers series. Claudia writes, warm, heartfelt romances with a bit of steam, a lot of family and always a happily ever after. 

Claudia attended Auburn University, where she received her undergraduate and masters degrees in early childhood education, and completed her studies in Sawbridgeworth, England. When she's not writing, she enjoys movies, reading, and travel, with a heavy dose of daydreaming during all three. Claudia lives near Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband and three daughters.

 Connect with Claudia

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Website: https://www.claudiaconnor.com/

 

 

Still Missing Review

Author: Chevy Stevens

Debut Novel

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: July 6, 2010

Purchase Link: Amazon

5 Broken Hearts

Still Missing is that rare debut find - a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.

Review:

Still Missing is my third book by Chevy Stevens having read an arc of Dark Roads and Never Let You Go both of which I loved.  I needed to know if this author is the real deal.  Can she deliver over and over?  As a reader, I'm ecstatic to say Stevens is the real deal!  Now three books into her catalog of work, and I have no qualms about saying she's now an aut0-buy author for me.  I can't wait to work my way through all her titles.

Still Missing is the story of Annie Sullivan, a thirty-two year old real estate agent who's kidnapped by a man who pretended interest in a house she was showing.  She's swept away to a remote mountain cabin where she's held for a year before getting an opportunity to escape.  During that time, she's repeatedly raped and held to a rigid schedule by the man she calls the "freak".  Needless to say, when she finally escapes she's suffering a devastating case of PTSD.  And that's about all I can say about the plot without major spoilers.  

This story is as complex and convoluted as any I've read in recent memory.  It unfolds through two narratives - one of Annie's therapy sessions with her psychiatrist where readers have a front row seat to the horrors Annie endured during her year of captivity, and secondly the present events taking place in Annie's life as she desperately tries to reclaim her old life and some sense of normalcy after returning home.  Problem is . . . Annie isn't the woman she was before her kidnapping, and she can't seem to acclimate herself back into her old life.  If that's not enough, she has a sense of lingering danger.  Is it paranoia?  Or something more?

I have to say that this story is intense - I felt it from the moment of the kidnapping until the final page of the book.  Stevens has mastered the art of setting and maintaining tone and pace in a way that keeps readers off-kilter and burning through pages even as the sense of dread and impending doom grows.  I just knew something more was coming and kept reading and waiting for the other shoe to drop.  What could be worse than being kidnapped and held in isolation for a year with a psycho?  All I can say is "read it"!  

Still Missing is a taut, tense, eye-opening heart breaker of a psychological thriller.  My only regret is that I didn't read it sooner.  It's intense, fast-paced and absolutely shocking.  Well done, Chevy Stevens.  I can't wait to read more of your work.  Highly recommended to fans of psychological thrillers!  

Synopsis:

Stay Awake Review

Author: Megan Goldin

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: August 9, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

4 Compelling Hearts

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book.

In the vein of SJ Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep and Christopher Nolan’s cult classic Memento, Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that plays with memory and murder.

Review:

Liv Reese is missing the past two years of her life.  As in she has no idea what happened during that period of time.  One minute she's sitting at her desk at a trendy magazine office and the next she's in the back of a taxi feeling disoriented and lost with two years having passed.  Her hands and arms are covered with messages written in ink - Stay Awake, Wake up, Trust no one.  When the cab stops at her old brownstone, she rings the bell to get her roommate up; however, the door is answered by an angry stranger yelling at her to go away while claiming to have lived there for some time.  Megan's phone is missing as is her purse.  If she allows herself to go to sleep, she repeatedly forgets the last twenty-four hours.  Each time she wakes up, her mind is a blank slate.  She's running on fumes.  What's happening to her?  Why does she have the feeling she may have done something terrible and her life is in danger?

Detectives Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavelle are working the murder case of a man whose apartment window has the words Wake Up written on them in his blood.  A woman was seen entering his apartment with him hours earlier, but later left by the back alley alone.  As their investigation progresses, the detectives have reason to suspect Liv is that woman.  It's true that the same message is written on her hand, but does that make her a murderer?  She hasn't a clue why she wrote it nor why she was carrying a bloody knife wrapped in her bloody shirt that she threw in a garbage can.  The story that ensues is convoluted, twisted and tense.

Stay Awake unfolds through two points of view - Liv's and Det. Hallidays.  Liv has an illness brought on by an extremely traumatic event that she doesn't remember.  This story is told through dual timelines, slowly revealing what happened to Liv two years ago and the police investigation in the present.  The action is fast-paced from beginning to end, and the tone is dire.  Readers soon realize that someone has reason to silence Liv, and she's a sitting duck with the amnesia rendering her clueless as to who she can trust and who she can't.  Goldin brilliantly weaves several viable red herrings into the story, and I'll admit to not suspecting the true murderer until the reveal.  When I realized who the culprit was and why, I kicked myself for not figuring it out.  But then, that's the magic of Goldin's stories.

While some may find Liv’s story a bit repetitive, it serves to drive home the dilemma she finds herself in each time she awakens with no memory.  She's living in a nightmare, on the run from everyone including the police while doing everything possible to stay awake and figure out what's happening to her.   I believe the repetitiveness of that part of the story drives home the magnitude of the state she finds herself in while driving the tempo at breakneck speed.

Stay Awake is a mesmerizing, expertly plotted psychological thriller intertwined with an excellent police procedural.  The two go hand in hand steadily building the tension all the way to the shocking climax.  My understanding is that readers may get to see Det. Halliday in future books, and I must say I'm intrigued.  Goldin has penned another dark, ominous thriller with vibes of Memento.  Highly recommended to fans of suspense thrillers, mysteries and police procedurals!

Synopsis:

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers―a stranger who now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.

Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend, dating a new man, and thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, the same message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing as she tries to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.

Dirt Creek Book Tour Spotlight

 

Dirt Creek available NOW from Flatiron Books!  Grab your copy today!

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Who's lying about what happened at Dirt Creek?

“Blends a taut psychological thriller with a suspenseful police procedural…Fans of Liane Moriarty and Jane Harper won’t want to miss this page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A novel of sharp-edged tempers, accidents waiting to happen and dark inheritances.” —New York Times Book Review

When twelve-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in rural Australia, the community is thrown into a maelstrom of suspicion and grief. As Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels arrives in town during the hottest spring in decades and begins her investigation, Esther’s tenacious best friend, Ronnie, is determined to find Esther and bring her home.

When schoolfriend Lewis tells Ronnie that he saw Esther with a strange man at the creek the afternoon she went missing, Ronnie feels she is one step closer to finding her. But why is Lewis refusing to speak to the police? And who else is lying about how much they know about what has happened to Esther?

Punctuated by a Greek chorus, which gives voice to the remaining children of the small, dying town, this novel explores the ties that bind, what we try and leave behind us, and what we can never outrun, while never losing sight of the question of what happened to Esther, and what her loss does to a whole town.

In Hayley Scrivenor's Dirt Creek, a small-town debut mystery described as The Dry meets Everything I Never Told You, a girl goes missing and a community falls apart and comes together.

Hayley Scrivenor's "stunning debut" (starred Publishers Weekly) DIRT CREEK "blends a taut psychological thriller with a suspenseful police procedural" (starred PW) to create "a beautifully written character study of small town Australia and what happens to it as the town is torn apart by a vanished child" (Deadly Pleasures).