The Unwilling Review

Author: John Hart
Genre: Crime Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: Feb. 2, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

My Rating:  5 Fractured Hearts

A special thank you to St. Martins Press for an early arc of this book via Netgalley.  Book Synopsis and Author Bio follow my review.

Set in the South at the height of the Vietnam War, The Unwilling combines crime, suspense and searing glimpses into the human mind and soul in New York Times bestselling author John Hart's singular style.

Review:
A family shredded by the Vietnam war.  A father and mother left grieving the loss of their eldest son, unable to forgive their second son, and vowing to protect their youngest son.  Three brothers - the good one, the bad one, and the dead one.  Robert, whose brothers idolized him, died serving in Vietnam, Jason, following in the steps of his brother, served three tours and returned home a broken, angry, drug addicted shell of a man, and Gibby, a high school senior on the cusp of manhood, struggling to live up to his parents high expectations while stretching his boundaries and discovering first love.  Jason has served his time - both in the war and prison - and now wants to recover the bond with his younger brother Gibby against the wishes of his parents who fear Jason will lead Gibby down the wrong road.  The French family is irrevocably broken - split apart by an unpopular war, devastating loss, and paralyzing fear and guilt.  And when Gibby goes against their wishes and sneaks away for a day with Jason and two women, events are put into play that will raze their lives once again.  Murder, accusations, a day of reckoning. But who will pay?

This is my first book by John Hart.  It will not be the last.  What I discovered is a clean, sharp, precise author who doesn't waste words and yet delivers emotionally charged characters and vivid scenes that stimulate all five senses while fully engaging mind, heart, and soul.  Plot lines are intricately woven and challenging, unfolding at a brisk pace and ominous tone.  I was quickly drawn into this dark tale of love and hate and anguish and hopelessness.  The Unwilling is a raw, gritty crime thriller - a story of a family ravaged by war, reckless words, blame, guilt, and fear.  It's a story of redemption, proving oneself, and coming of age.  It's about hearts forever scarred.  The Unwilling is a taut, tense masterpiece - one I won't soon forget.  I highly recommend it to everyone.

Synopsis:

Gibby's older brothers have already been to war. One died there. The other came back misunderstood and hard, a decorated killer now freshly released from a three-year stint in prison.

Jason won't speak of the war or of his time behind bars, but he wants a relationship with the younger brother he hasn't known for years. Determined to make that connection, he coaxes Gibby into a day at the lake: long hours of sunshine and whisky and older women.

But the day turns ugly when the four encounter a prison transfer bus on a stretch of empty road. Beautiful but drunk, one of the women taunts the prisoners, leading to a riot on the bus. The woman finds it funny in the moment, but is savagely murdered soon after.

Given his violent history, suspicion turns first to Jason; but when the second woman is kidnapped, the police suspect Gibby, too. Determined to prove Jason innocent, Gibby must avoid the cops and dive deep into his brother's hidden life, a dark world of heroin, guns and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

What he discovers there is a truth more disturbing than he could have imagined: not just the identity of the killer and the reasons for Tyra's murder, but the forces that shaped his brother in Vietnam, the reason he was framed, and why the most dangerous man alive wants him back in prison.

JOHN HART is the author of six New York Times bestsellers, and of THE UNWILLING, which will be released on February 2, 2021. The only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels, Hart has also won the Barry Award, the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Award for Fiction, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and the North Carolina Award for Literature. His novels have been translated into thirty language and can be found in over seventy countries. “My only real dream,” John declares, “has been to write well and to be published well.”

He lives in Virginia with his wife, two daughters, and four dogs.

http://www.johnhartfiction.com

Dear Child Review

Author: Romy Hausmann

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Release Date:  Oct. 9, 2020

Purchase Link: Amazon

My Rating: 5 Psychotic Hearts

Many thanks to Flatiron Books & Macmillan Publishers for an arc of this book. #readinginsidersclub

Gone Girl meets Room in this page-turning thriller from one of Germany's hottest new talents

Review:

BAM! The sound of a watermelon smashing as it's dropped on the floor . . . or a head shattering as it's beaten against a wall . . . or my mind exploding after reading this dark, chilling, one-of-a-kind psychological suspense thriller. You'll get the analogy after you read Dear Child.  Friends, what we have here is as rare as hen's teeth - a brilliantly written thriller that imprisons readers in an isolated, windowless shack deep in the woods in the middle of nowhere with a woman, 2 children, and their "protector".  If you think you've read something like this before, think again. I promise you if you survive and find your way through all the smoke and mirrors to the astounding end, you'll realize how unique and special this story is. 

I knew nothing about Dear Child when I accepted an arc other than what the synopsis told me.  It sounded intriguing, but in no way prepared me for the harrowing journey to come.  Avoid spoiler reviews and this twisted tale of mind-games will spike your blood pressure and raise the hair on the back of your neck.  Before I realized what was happening, I found myself incarcerated by the dark, gripping multi-layered plot, malicious undertones and unreliable, flawed characters.  Shackled to my seat, I couldn't stop reading or break the chains binding me until the blindsiding end.  I read a LOT of psychological thrillers and often figure things out well before the end.  Not this time.  I devoured Dear Child trying to figure out WHO to believe, WHO is deceiving who, WHO is the real villain, WHO is the monster - for that matter ... WHO is the captive?  

Dear Child unfolds through three points of view - a woman captive, a child, and a father. Vague? Yes.  As I said, go into this one blind.  The water gets murky quickly in this horrifying, jaw-dropping tale.  The story is told in present time with heartbreaking glimpses into the past raising several tough questions.  I found the voice of the child Hannah especially disturbing yet compelling - an almost monotone delivery of knowledge, facts and insight way beyond her years in a near programmed-like state, and amazingly, this set the gripping tone that drives the gut-wrenching story forward at a brisk pace.  I haven't read a book before that challenged me as a reader as thoroughly as this one did.  I'll say it touches on the fragile psyche of victims held in captivity for long periods of time.  It speaks to the many different perspectives on what is "normal" and the manner in which our perceptions are authenticated.  It emphasizes the long, hard road to recovery for people trapped in their own mind by horrifying life experiences and the heavy burden laid on them by a world that can't understand.  I applaud German Author Romy Hausmann for her first book to be translated in English as she has set the bar high.  I dare say I don't expect to read another thriller like it for long time to come if ever.  Dear Child is a raw, gritty, psychotic suspense thriller that blew me away on its way to earning every single one of my 5 stars along with a spot on my All-Time Favorites List.  Fans of mystery, suspense, and psychological thrillers, you must read this book and help spread the word.  There's a new sheriff/suspense author in town!  Dear Child is a brilliantly delivered, one-of-a-kind stunner!

Synopsis:

In a windowless shack in the woods, Lena and her two children live a life that follows the rules set by their captor, the father: Meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He says he is protecting them from the dangers lurking in the outside world.

One day Lena manages to flee, but the nightmare continues. There is the question of whether she really is the woman named "Lena," who disappeared without a trace fourteen years ago?—she has the distinctive scar, but the family swears she isn’t the girl they lost. The police and Lena's family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle that doesn't quite seem to fit. And it feels to Lena as if the tormentor she fled still somehow wants to get her back.

Dear Child is told from three points-of-view: the woman who escaped and is coming to terms with life outside the shack; the missing Lena’s father, who would do anything to get her back and is becoming more and more unhinged; and the daughter raised entirely in that isolated world, a little girl with Asperger’s and a photographic memory who may know more than she’s letting on.

Twisty, suspenseful, and psychologically clever, this captivating thriller, which starts where others end, has all the ingredients of a breakout hit. 

Heartbreak Bay Review

 

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Stillhouse Lake #5

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Release Date: March 9, 2021

Purchase Link: Amazon  Barnes & Noble

My Rating: 4 Heartbreaking Hearts

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

Review:

Heartbreak Bay is the fifth book in the Stillhouse Lake series and another superb addition to the series.  I'll say upfront that while each of these books will standalone, you're missing a great reading experience and a lot of character development if you skip any of the books.  My advice: Read in order!

This story opens with Gwen, Sam, Lanny and Connor living an almost normal life in their new home a little distance away from Stillhouse Lake.  It appears the vigilantes have finally focused their attentions elsewhere and life is good again . . . until its not.  A phone call in the wee hours from Det. Kezia Claremont pulls now P.I. Gwen out of the warm bed she shares with Sam into the ominous dark night.  She meets Kez on a seldom traveled road beside a murky pond near Stillhouse where a submerged vehicle is pulled out of the water.  Two young sisters are in the backseat still strapped in their child seats.  No one else is around.  Both Kez and Gwen are horrified and heartbroken at the unspeakable crime.  Where is their mother?  Was she kidnapped?  The answers to these questions lead Kez and Gwen into a deadly investigation that goes from bad to worse, stirring a hornet's nest that draws the crazies back out of the woodwork.  Gwen's life is in chaos yet again.  An invisible killer is playing a game of "Would you rather . . . " with them and the endgame is their lives.  

Heartbreak Bay is a character driven story that unravels at a deadly pace.  As events spiral out of control, it becomes clear that Kez and Gwen are being played by a cruel killer.  Caine excels at setting a tone of malice that carries throughout with imminent danger always lurking around the next corner.  I swear I could hear my heart bound as this story played out.  I especially loved learning more about Kez in this one as readers get a look at what makes her tick.  She and Gwen put their lives on the line to protect loved ones and their heart, grit, and drive is a force to be reckoned with.  This story is action-packed from cover to cover with an explosive block-buster ending that might be a bit unbelievable IF it was anyone else.  But in this case, the author has clearly done her research and also previously established these characters as super heroes with a strong sense of right and wrong.  Heartbreak Bay is a raw, emotional, high octane suspense thriller that I highly recommend to everyone.  Especially fans of this highly addictive series!

*On a Personal Note:  Hugs and prayers go out to author Rachel Caine during her battle against cancer.  Just like the strong women she writes about, Rachel's heart, will, and endless determination is an inspiration to us all.  We love you, Rachel!

Synopsis:

They’re hunting a killer so silent, so invisible, that his unspeakable crimes are the only proof he exists.

A car submerged in a remote pond. The bodies of two girls strapped into their seats. The mystery of their mother, vanished without a trace, leads Gwen Proctor and Kezia Claremont into dangerous territory.

On the surface, Gwen’s life is good—two children approaching adulthood, a committed partner, and a harrowing past dead and gone. But that past is attracting the attention of someone invisible…and unstoppable. Trouble’s just beginning. So is the body count in this backwoods Tennessee town.

As threats mount and Gwen’s hunted by an enemy who pulls all the strings, Kezia has her back. But working to solve these vicious and unreasonable crimes will expose them both to a killer they can’t for the life of them see coming.

Website

http://www.rachelcaine.com/

Twitter

rachelcaine

Genre

Thriller, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Member Since

June 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/rachelcaine

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Rachel Caine is a pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.
She has also published as:
Roxanne Longstreet
Roxanne Conrad
Julie Fortune
Ian Hammell

Her Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/rachelcainef...

Her Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/rachelcaine...

Don't Look for Me Review

 Author: Wendy Walker

Genre: Psychological Suspense

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: Sept. 15, 2020

Purchase Links: Amazon  Barnes & Noble

My Rating: 4.5 Mysterious Hearts

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book via Netgalley. #macmillansreadersinsidersclub

"In Wendy Walker's thrilling novel Don't Look for Me, the greatest risk isn’t running away. It’s running out of time.

Review:

A grieving family torn apart by guilt and blame over the death of a child.  A mother pushed to the edge, disappearing without a trace after running out of gas in the eye of a hurricane.  A family searching for two weeks before evidence surfaces that indicates she walked away from them and doesn't want to be found.  Did she?

Don't Look For Me is a riveting psychological thriller that I read mostly in one sitting.  I was hooked from the first few pages all the way through the end.  This story unfolds through two points of view - Molly, a grieving mother and her oldest daughter Nicole who bears guilt and secrets of her own.  The setting is a small, dying town in the middle of nowhere, reeking with creepy vibes and a slew of suspicious characters that kept me guessing.  A frantic pace pushes this story forward at breakneck speed when Nic follows her gut feeling and a mysterious phone call to return to town and resume the search for her mother.  All I can say is hold on for dear life as this story will knock you off your feet as these characters maneuver dangerous twists and turns.  A unique support cast adds to the mystery and intrigue of this dark tale.  And while I figured out part of it, I'd was still stunned by the shocker at the end.  Don't Look For Me is another 2020 Favorite.  Highly recommended!

 

Synopsis:

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life.

She doesn't want to be found.

Or at least, that's the story.

The car abandoned miles from home.

The note found at a nearby hotel.

The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.

They called it a “walk away.”

It happens all the time.

Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.

But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

Wendy Walker is the author of psychological suspense. Her novels have been translated into 23 foreign languages and have topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad. They have been featured on The Today Show, The Reese Witherspoon Book Club, and The Book of the Month Club and have been optioned for television and film.

Tools of Engagement Review

Series: Hot & Hammered #3 

Author: Tessa Bailey

Narrator: Charlotte North

Genre: Rom-Com

Publisher: Avon, Hatchette Audio

Release Date: Sept. 22, 2020

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble

My Rating: 4 Hammered Hearts

Many thanks to Libro.fm ALC Influencer Program, Avon and Hatchette Audio for an arc of this book.

(Synopsis & Author Bio following review.)

In Tessa Bailey’s latest rom-com, two enemies team up to flip a house... and the sparks between them might burn the place down or ignite a passion that neither can ignore!

Review:

Is there anything better than a great steamy Rom-Com to put a smile on a reader's face?  Tools of Engagement is hilarious with chemistry that sizzles and pops.  Bethany and Wes are almost exact opposites - perfect meets chaos -  and when they start working together on a reality show about flipping houses . . . well, let's just say there's more than the competition heating up!  Bethany is out to prove herself to her brother and family and Wes - Wes is out to prove he's more than a gorgeous cowboy.  

Tools of Engagement is witty, electric with great chemistry.  A brisk pace keeps the plot moving forward and the banter between these two is hilarious.  I love the soft side of Wes brought out with the scenes between him and his niece Laura.  I haven't read the first two books in this series, but the author includes enough background information that I was never lost.  Having said that, it would have been nice to have known more about the other couples/characters.  If you love witty, snarky, opposites attract romances, grab Tools of Engagement and enjoy!  One other thing - Narrator Charlotte North does a fantastic job bringing these characters to life.  She nails these characters making them authentic and adorable!  I highly recommend the audiobook.

Synopsis:

Hair, makeup, clothing, decor... everything in Bethany Castle's world is organized, planned, and styled to perfection. Which is why the homes she designs for her family's real estate business are the most coveted in town. The only thing not perfect? Her track record with men. She's on a dating hiatus and after helping her friends achieve their dreams, Bethany finally has time to focus on her own: flip a house, from framework to furnishings, all by herself. Except her older brother runs the company and refuses to take her seriously.

When a television producer gets wind of the Castle sibling rivalry, they’re invited on Flip Off, a competition to see who can do the best renovation. Bethany wants bragging rights, but she needs a crew and the only member of her brother's construction team willing to jump ship is Wes Daniels, the new guy in town. His Texas drawl and handsome face got under Bethany's skin on day one, but the last thing she needs is some cocky young cowboy in her way.

As the race to renovate heats up, Wes and Bethany are forced into close quarters, trading barbs and biting banter as they remodel the ugliest house on the block. It's a labor of love, hate, and everything in between, and soon sparks are flying. But Bethany's perfectly structured life is one kiss away from going up in smoke and she knows falling for a guy like Wes would be a flipping disaster

Website

http://www.tessabailey.com

Twitter

mstessabailey

Genre

Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit

Paris Never Leaves You Review

Author: Ellen Feldman

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: Aug. 4, 2020

Purchase Links: Amazon  Barnes & Noble

My Rating: 3 Secret Hearts

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

(Synopsis & Author Bio following review.)

Review:

Can you ever really leave your past behind?  Do secrets ever remain hidden forever?  Charlotte, a young widow, made hard choices in order to survive during her and her young daughter's time living in an occupied France during WWII.  Alternating between past and present, Paris Never Leaves You is Charlotte's and Vivenne's story making their way in present day New York during the 1950's.  Now age fourteen, Viv is asking questions about the father she never knew and their time living in occupied Paris.  As Charlotte's memories of that time haunt her, readers learn about the dark time period and what a young widow did to assure her and her daughter's survival.  She struggles with how to answer her daughter's questions while still guarding the secrets she carries.  Charlotte fled Paris leaving everything and everyone behind her.  Will she lose everything she's worked for if the truth comes out?

Paris Never Leaves You is a good historical read featuring people who consider themselves survivors, not victims.  The transition between time periods is well-defined and easy to follow.  The plight of the people moved to liberation camps for minor offences evokes empathy as does their journey to a new land and life.  I had a difficult time fully connecting with the main characters.  I wanted to feel more sympathy for Charlotte and her dilemma, but I couldn't find it.  I could sympathize with her situation, but never connected with her emotionally.  The introduction of some characters later in the story broke my concentration making for a bit of a bumpy read.  I think it's probably one of those cases of "it's me, not the book".  Ultimately, Paris Never Leaves You is a story of survival, sacrifice, choices, what you can live with and what you can't.  I encourage fans of historical fiction to give this one a shot!  

Synopsis:

Living through WWII working in a Paris bookstore with her young daughter, Vivi, and fighting for her life, Charlotte is no victim, she is a survivor. But can she survive the next chapter of her life?

Alternating between wartime Paris and 1950s New York publishing, Paris Never Leaves You is an extraordinary story of resilience, love, and impossible choices, exploring how survival never comes without a cost.

The war is over, but the past is never past.

Ellen Feldman, a 2009 Guggenheim fellow, is the author of Scottsboro, The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, and Lucy. She writes both fiction and social history, and has published articles on the history of divorce, plastic surgery, Halloween, the Normandie, and many other topics, as well as numerous book reviews. She has also lectured extensively around the country and in Germany and England, and is a sought-after speaker to reading groups both in person and by telephone.
She grew up in northern New Jersey and attended Bryn Mawr College, from which she holds a B.A. and an M.A. in modern history. After further graduate studies in history at Columbia University, she worked for a New York publishing house.
She lives in New York City and East Hampton, New York, with her husband and Cairn terrier named Lucy.

Fable Review

Title: Fable
Series: Fable #1
Author: Adrienne Young
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: Sept. 1, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon Barnes & Noble

5 Heart-Scarring Hearts!

☺Many thanks to Wednesday Books for an arc of Fable via Netgalley! I'll be eternally grateful for having read this.

(Synopsis and Author Bio following review.)

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

Review:

I picked up Fable in a ho-hum reading state of mind hoping to be wowed.  Young Adult Fantasy can be hit or miss for me, but I'd only read a few pages when I found myself being sucked in and down into the depths of a story consuming me in a torrential storm of emotion.  In a sink or swim panic, I frantically turned pages in an effort to wrap my head and heart around this story while seeking answers.  Fable is simply a stunning work of art, folks!  Consider me wowed!

After her mother is lost to the sea that she loved, fourteen year old Fable is abandoned by her notorious father on an island known for its thieves, misfits, and cutthroats.  Telling her she doesn't belong in his dangerous world, he brutally carves something into her arm and sails away.  Finding and proving herself to her father becomes the driving force in Fable's life as she barely survives the next four years as a dredger, diving for gems to trade to docking ship masters for coins with the goal of saving enough to eventually buy passage on a ship.  When events take a dire turn, Fable's forced to defend herself against one of the greedy thieves inhabiting the island.  It's only a matter of time until others find and kill her.  Hiding until she gets a chance to plead her case to ship master West,  Fable exchanges her saved coins for passage on the Marigold to the place her now infamous father is rumored to be.  The story that unfolds is absolutely riveting - a powerful, epic drama taking place on the high seas and exotic ports.   Avoid all spoilers and I guarantee this story will sweep you away to another place and time.  

Fable is a dark, gritty story that dwells in a vibrant setting of both beauty and malice, poverty and prosperity, desire and despair.  The author creates a resounding world with breathtaking views of sunsets, magnificent ships with sails billowing and gigantic storm waves breaking over the sea with coral reefs and long forgotten shipwrecks hidden beneath.  Sea ports are heavily charged with the sights, sounds and smells of markets, slums, and death with an aura of hope and hopelessness.  It's a ruthless, visual world of winner take all . . . or thief take all.  I won't say more about the story other than it's unique - a combination of suspense, action, drama, and fantasy with a subtle soft side of romance.  Young's writing is lyrical - at times surging like an angry sea crashing to shore and other times smooth as glass like a calm sea at sunset.  The kinetic plot unravels at a brisk pace propelling readers forward like a tidal wave barreling toward shore.  I can't say enough about the lead character Fable - she's strong, driven, spirited, and haunted by the past, dark secrets and a need even she doesn't fully understand.  The support characters are simply out of this world  - original, dynamic and intriguing in their own right. The emotional turmoil, trials and tribulations encumbering these characters overwhelmed me time and time again as I stowed away on this journey with the Marigold's motley crew. 

 Ultimately, Fable is a story about overcoming, growing, trusting, surviving, searching . . . for love, family, a place to belong, a reason to exist.  I'll go ahead and warn you this book ends on a cliffhanger.  It took me by surprise as I had no idea there was a book 2 coming in March 2021.  However,  I'm thrilled to say that the skillful manner in which this author builds anticipation and suspense while delivering a raw, gutsy, heart-scarring story bringing readers and characters to this point in time - well, it's flawless and totally worth it.  I read the final page with my heart pounding, lungs begging for air and an "Oh No!" escaping my lips.  I'm composing my email to the publisher pleading my case for an arc of Namesake NOW!  I can't wait until March . . . my heart won't stand it.  Fans of Young Adult Fantasy will devour this!  More than that, I believe fans of adventure, mystery, suspense and epic tales will also be blown away by Fable.  This one is special.  Highly Recommended!  All the stars over The Narrows!

Synopsis:

As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.

But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn't who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they're going to stay alive.

New York Times bestselling author of SKY IN THE DEEP, THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK & the upcoming FABLE duology from Wednesday Books. Agent: Barbara Poelle, IGLA

Adrienne Young is a born and bred Texan turned California girl. She is a foodie with a deep love of history and travel and a shameless addiction to coffee. When she’s not writing, you can find her on her yoga mat, scouring antique fairs for old books, sipping wine over long dinners, or disappearing into her favorite art museums. She lives with her documentary filmmaker husband and their four little wildlings beneath the West Coast sun.

For information on release, appearances, ARCs, giveaways, and exclusive content, sign up for the newsletter at https://adrienneyoungbooks.com/

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