This Is Why We Lied Review

Author: Karin Slaughter

Series: Will Trent #12

Publisher: William Morrow

Release Date: Aug. 20, 2024

Many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Watch for my interview with Author Karin Slaughter coming soon in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

The next thrilling suspense featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton from Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and After That Night!

Everyone here is a liar, but only one of us is a killer…

Review:

As fans of the critically acclaimed Will Trent television series celebrate news of the show's renewal for another season, Author Karin Slaughter prepares for the August release of THIS IS WHY WE LIED, Will Trent book #12, a locked room style murder mystery that derails the idyllic honeymoon Will Trent planned for his bride Sara Linton. As in previous series books, the subject matter is dark, disturbing and brutally in-your-face honest highlighting the life shattering effects of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and child abuse on victims and their families. Isolate yourself in your own locked room with minimum interruptions before diving into this one as it's a cover-to-cover, break your heart, edge of your seat thriller.

GBI Investigator Will Trent and his new bride Medical Examiner Sara Linton tell a trivial lie to conceal their real occupations when signing in at the McAlpine Lodge as a honeymooning mechanic and chemistry teacher. Will surprised Sara with the remote getaway, hoping to celebrate their marriage by leaving work behind for long days and nights in each other's arms. The secluded location boasts breathtaking scenery, private cabins, a large scenic lake for fishing and swimming, and a luxurious lodge where guests gather for drinks and meals. When their first lodge dinner ends in an ugly, threatening family quarrel, Will second-guesses his choice of venues. His reservations prove true later that night when his romantic skinny-dipping outing with Sara is shattered by a bloodcurdling scream, sending them scrambling to find a woman succumbing from fatal wounds. Will and Sara are sickened by the lack of grief exhibited for the victim and concerned when they discover each family member, as well as several guests, has a motive for wanting the victim dead. As ties to the outside world are severed by a raging storm, Will manages to send an SOS to Amanda receiving a reply indicating Faith and Amanda are on the way. Will they arrive in time to stop a psychotic killer before he/she strikes again?

THIS IS WHY WE LIED unfolds through the dual points of view from Will and Sara with Mercy's point of view and backstory revealed via journal entries written to her son over the years chronicling her mental and physical abuse as well as the resentment festering within her toxic family. Slaughter doesn't sugar coat anything as she expertly manipulates characters and readers through a complex, twisted plot line with the remote setting and fury of Mother Nature playing a key role in creating havoc while setting the stage for a highly volatile, locked room situation where every stranded character on the mountain is a viable suspect. An ill-fated, malignant tone saturates the air driving a frenzied pace through a minefield of shocking revelations waiting to detonate. While my suspicions on the identity of the killer proved true, reasons surrounding the savage stabbing left me reeling and heartsick. Warning triggers include domestic violence, addiction, child abuse, rape and incest with each one professionally managed within the context of the story by Author Karin Slaughter. The darkness is lightened with evidence of the power of love and trust to heal and reform woven throughout. Fans of the series will love seeing Will surrender to his love for Sara and enjoy the interaction between Will and his boss Amanda with comic relief provided by Faith's inner monologue soothing the heavy load.

THIS IS WHY WE LIED has it all. A secluded setting with a raging storm. A hate fueled murder. A malevolent, dysfunctional family. Eight conspiratorial guests. A race against time to unmask a deranged villain. Everyone has a reason why they lied in this gritty thriller by the queen of psychological thrillers. It’s up to readers and Will to sift through all the lies and red herrings to deduce which liar is also a killer. Intense, gripping, gutsy, multilayered and highly emotional, THIS IS WHY WE LIED is Karin Slaughter at her best. Highly recommended to fans of the series and all readers who enjoy a fast-paced, dark suspense thriller.

 Synopsis:

A secluded cabin retreat

For GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton, McAlpine Lodge seems like the ideal getaway to celebrate their honeymoon. Set on a gorgeous, off-the-grid mountaintop property, it’s the perfect place to unplug and reconnect. Until a bone-chilling scream cuts through the night.

A murderer in their midst

Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the Lodge, is dead. With a vicious storm raging and the one access road to the property washed out, the murderer must be someone on the mountain. But as Will and Sara investigate the McAlpine family and the other guests, they realize that everyone here is lying….Lying about their past. Lying to their family. Lying to themselves.

Who killed Mercy McAlpine?

It soon becomes clear that normal rules don’t apply at McAlpine Lodge, and Will and Sara are going to have to watch their step at every turn. Trapped on the resort, they must untangle a decades-old web of secrets to discover what happened to Mercy. And with the killer poised to strike again, the trip of a lifetime becomes a race against the clock…

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby Review

Author: Ellery Lloyd

Publisher: MacMillan Publ.

Release Date: June 11, 2024

Many thanks to The Big Thrill Magazine and author for an arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review first published in The Big Thrill Magazine

Some women can’t be erased from history...

Review:

THE FINAL ACT OF JULIETTE WILLOUGHBY is the third book from Ellery Lloyd, a pseudonym for the London-based husband-and-wife writing team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos. A compelling conflation of several genres including mystery, suspense, romance, and history with hints of mythology woven throughout, the story catapults readers back in time to find themselves entwined in a dark, century old family drama steeped in ugly secrets, manic obsession, and revenge. Readers are challenged with determining if the answers to three mysterious deaths are hidden in a once lost painting by deceased surrealist artist Juliette Willoughby.

THE FINAL ACT OF JULIETTE WILLOUGHBY is an epic, richly atmospheric, often sordid, dark family saga spanning more than a decade. The story unfolds through dual points of view beginning with the tragic love affair between surrealist artists Juliette Willoughby and her married lover, Oskar Erlich, who perish in a suspicious fire in 1938 Paris. The couple's story surfaces again in 1991 Cambridge when two university students in possession of Juliette's diary and long-lost painting, "Self-Portrait As Spinx", raise significant questions concerning the death of Juliette that threatens to divulge long buried secrets of the famous Willoughby family. The story continues in the current time with a scandal surrounding the arrest of art dealer Patrick Lambert for the murder of the last remaining descendant of the Willoughby family in Dubai.

Flawlessly executed through brilliant characterizations, THE FINAL ACT OF JULIETTE WILLOUGHBY accentuates the fascinating world of historical art and women's struggle for recognition within it, a sordid illicit love affair, a highly dysfunctional family drama, and an intriguing murder and missing person mystery. The duo's mesmerizing writing style draws readers in, holding them in the palm of their hands until the final page. This book is a highly entertaining, fast paced, scandalous murder mystery I recommend to art history buffs, and mystery and suspense readers.

Synopsis:

A story of love and madness, of obsession and revenge.

Paris, 1938: Runaway heiress Juliette Willoughby perishes, with her married lover, in an accidental studio fire alongside her Surrealist masterpiece, Self-Portrait as Sphinx.

Cambridge, 1991: Two art history students stumble across proof something sinister was at play in Juliette's death, threatening to expose the long-buried secrets of the artist's aristocratic family.

Dubai, now: An art dealer is accused of the brutal murder of his oldest friend – the last surviving member of the Willoughby dynasty.

Three suspicious deaths over the course of a century.

Is the key to unlocking them all hidden in Juliette Willoughby’s lost painting?

THE BURNING ROOMS Review

Author: Anni Taylor

Series: Tallman's Valley Detectives #4

Expected Release Date: June 30, 2024

Many thanks to Author Anni Taylor for an arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

First reviewed in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

4 Chilling Hearts

A serial arsonist with a burning desire...

Review:

THE BURNING ROOMS is the fourth book in the Tallman's Valley Detectives series by Australian Author Anni Taylor. I was first introduced to this author's work when I read ONE LAST CHILD, the first book in this suspense series, and was immediately drawn to the author's expertise in setting a steadily increasing dire tone of impending doom that kept me on the edge of my seat. Taylor has crafted the same sense of urgency, complex characters and emotional turmoil in THE BURNING ROOMS. While each book in this series stands alone, I advise reading the previous books for an evening of entertaining reading.

Javier and Nicole Garcia are having a celebratory anniversary dinner at a nice restaurant when a creepy phone call sends them rushing home to find their house burning down - presumably with their children inside. Without any thought of their own safety, they rush inside and find themselves trapped by the fire. By the time their friend, Detective Franco, arrives on scene, the only person he can save is their young son. After the ashes cool, Javier and Nicole's bodies are recovered but there's no trace of the remains of their teenage daughter Sienna who was babysitting her young brother. Deeply disturbed by the devastating experience and the haunting flashback to a similar fire over a decade earlier, Det. Franco vows to find the arsonist he suspects has done this before - despite the fire being ruled accidental. Calling on his ex-homicide partner Kate Wakefield, Franco begins a frantic search for the missing girl and a serial arsonist. His superiors believe he's losing it and close to a breakdown, but Kate was also at the scene of the earlier fire and agrees Franco may be on to something.  Can they unmask a murderer and arsonist before he strikes again? Where is Sienna? Is she hiding . . . or in danger?

THE BURNING ROOMS is a tense, action-packed thriller that had me burning through pages searching for answers. Taylor expertly sets a dark tone of desperation early on that drives the increasing pace throughout until the final shocking reveal. Multiple points of view, including one from "the Incinerator", gives readers insight into the minds and motivation of various players, and yet the identity of the arsonist remains a mystery until the end. With a large cast of red herrings, the author does a clever job of misdirection challenging Kate and Franco, as well as readers, to sift through the evidence and unmask a villain. Taylor's attention to minute details is evident as she meticulously builds suspense through twists and turns as is her gift for manipulating and developing strong characters. Fans of previous books will enjoy seeing Kate in action again.

THE BURNING ROOMS is a raw, emotional, suspenseful story that's impossible to put down. Once again, Author Anni Taylor has rendered a mesmerizing story rich in suspense and place. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries and suspense thrillers and especially to fans of the Tallman's Valley Detectives Series.

 Synopsis:

In a country town, a serial arsonist is burning homes down. Their signature move is to place an identical model house on the front porch before they start the blaze. But no one is there to witness this in the silence of each dark winter night.

Javier and Nicole Garcia are celebrating their anniversary at a restaurant when they receive a chilling phone call – a recorded children's verse warning them their house is on fire and their children gone. They race home to an inferno and missing children, unaware the blaze is about to take their lives.

Detective Jace Franco is first on the scene and is confronted by something that will haunt him – a matching model house on the front porch. He sighted exactly the same thing thirteen years ago, at a house fire that claimed the lives of a whole family.

Franco's team and superiors think he's close to a psychotic break as he launches a relentless investigation. The fire has been judged accidental and the Garcia couple were Franco's good friends.

There is just one other person who saw what Franco did at the house fire of thirteen years ago – his former homicide partner, Kate Wakeland.

Can he convince her to return for this one last case?

(This story happens 3 ½ years after the last Tallman's Valley book, The Silent Town..)