In Laura Benedict'sThe Stranger Inside,Kimber Hannon's life seemed to be going smoothly until she returns from a vacation to discover s**4 Stars**
In Laura Benedict'sThe Stranger Inside,Kimber Hannon's life seemed to be going smoothly until she returns from a vacation to discover someone has moved into her house and taken over essentially her entire life. She calls the cops, who are completely unhelpful. They tell her the person who is in her house has a valid lease, and that she will have to figure out somewhere else to live until the courts can get things figured out.
Shocked and having no roof over her head, she seeks solace from her best friend, Diana, who lives in a huge cushy mansion with her handsome husband and delightful young daughter. Things seem okay while Kimber is safely enclosed within the four walls of Diana's posh house, that is until she ventures out of the house and to her job. Things to start to deteriorate at work and in her personal life, making her wonder if someone - such as the person who has taken over her house - is intentionally trying to destroy her life. And just maybe Kimber holds some responsibility for this situation.Â
If you enjoy books with an unreliable narrator and lots of shocking twists and turns,The Stranger Insideis definitely for you. It's well written and the suspense builds page after page. Thank you to Laura Benedict, Mulholland Books, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of the book!
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**4 Stars** "The giant slate of the world was clean. Consequences no longer existed."
If I had to choose one word to describe Hanna Jameson'sThe **4 Stars** "The giant slate of the world was clean. Consequences no longer existed."
If I had to choose one word to describe Hanna Jameson'sThe Lost,it would be "haunting."Â The Lost is a brilliant piece of work that is a satisfying mix of old school Agatha Christie who-dun-it murder mystery and dystopian apocalyptic world gone to hell in a handbasket thriller. It will be a pleasant treat for fans of both dystopian literature and classic murder mystery.
As an academic who travels for work, the premise of the book is terrifying to me. The lead of the book, Jon Keller, is attending an academic conference abroad in Switzerland at a hauntingly beautiful historic mansion turned hotel. Mind-numbingly horrific life-altering news shatters the serenity of his trip: nuclear bombs have been detonated over the US and the UK. Jon is ripped from his family - his wife Nadia and two young daughters who are in the US - as all television and Internet communications go down, leaving a vast geographical space between him and all that he loves.
To cope with the terror around him, he does what any academic would do: meticulously documents and details the events that transpire after the nuclear blast: "I need to write about day one, before too much time passes and my memories of it become too repressed. That's what the mind does with trauma; it erases it, making you relive it occasionally in flashbacks and dreams, sensations of vertigo, hyperventilation and panic. But the memory itself becomes a work of fiction."
In the process of creating this historiography of a world amid nuclear fallout, Jon immediately realizes the limitations of modern society. All his resources are no longer available, as so much of them have been digitized:Â Â "I had no journals, no library, no resources. The era of instant information was over."
As if this wasn't enough to deal with, Jon and his colleagues discover the body of a young child in the water tank of the hotel. This places a curtain of suspension over the entire hotel and its guests, leaving Jon wondering who he can trust. Is the murderer hiding in plain sight, or did they leave the hotel when the first exodus of guests occurred immediately after the fallout?Â
As Jon tries to piece together this mystery and make sense of what his life will look like in this brave new world, secrets are revealed about his past that also call into question his motivations for telling us his story and essentially writing the history of this post-apocalyptic world. Who can we believe if the storyteller isn't honest with his readers?
The ending left open the possibility of a sequel, which I would definitely be up for reading. I hope to read more from Hanna Jameson and appreciate the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy of The Last!Thank you to Hanna Jameson, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a copy of the book!
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After reading Ezekiel Boone'sThe Mansion,I don't think I will ever, ever, EVER purchase an Alexa for my house! When I read ab**4 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars**
After reading Ezekiel Boone'sThe Mansion,I don't think I will ever, ever, EVER purchase an Alexa for my house! When I read about this book on a friend's Instagram feed, I immediately knew I needed a copy of it. Who wouldn't love a book that involves a love triangle, a haunted mansion, and artificial intelligence? If that sounds like a lot of themes to tackle in one book, yes, you are probably right. However, somehow Boone makes it work for the most part.Â
The book's central three characters are Billy, Shawn, and Erica. Shawn and Bill meet in college and become quick friends over their love of technology and coding. They set out to build an expansive artificial intelligence (AI) named "Nellie," devoting two whole years to making their dream a reality. To make it happen, they move out to a remote, dilapidated cabin on Shawn's family's property. The cabin is barely inhabitable, but they sacrifice comfort for the promise of wealth and Silicon Valley fame.
Emily is the girl in between the two men. She fell in love with Shawn while in college, eventually dropping out to help support Shawn in his pursuit of developing a revolutionary AI. She ends up living with Shawn and Billy in the cabin, cooking, cleaning, and tending to their needs as they throw themselves headfirst into coding Nellie. Unfortunately, things fall apart, and Emily ends up leaving Shawn for Billy. The project falls into despair, and the three don't see each other until nearly a decade later.
Flash forward to the present. Shawn is now a tech billionaire who, despite all his riches and fame, has yet to finish Nellie. Billy and Emily, who are now married, are broke and barely making ends meet. Shawn, who still is bitter that Emily left him for Billy, knows that the only way he can make Nellie come to life is to hire Billy. Shawn takes a risk and hires Billy to return to Nellie, which Shawn began to install at his family's historic mansion. Billy reluctantly accepts the challenge because he and Emily are nearly bankrupt and need the money. Shawn promises them the world if Billy can make Nellie work, so Emily and Billy move into the creepy mansion in hopes of a second chance at life.
My main critique of this book is that the characters' backstories took up most of the book (60%). The readers really didn't get to the gory, scary AI mansion stuff until the last 40% of the book. In fact, I would have probably read another 100 or so pages if the book included more about the mansion. Nonetheless, I kept reading because I was really into the characters and their motivations for returning to Nellie. The characters share really dark, depressing histories, which cloud their judgments and cause them to make poor decisions while trying to build Nellie. And if you're trying to build an AI in a human's image, do you really want these troubled young people creating Nellie?
Thank you to Ezekiel Boone, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an advanced e-galley ofThe Mansion.This was the perfect spooky read for fall!
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**4 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "Her secrets were her secrets. They were nibbling through her flesh like worms trying to eat their way out of an apple, but, a**4 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "Her secrets were her secrets. They were nibbling through her flesh like worms trying to eat their way out of an apple, but, as far as she was concerned, the apple could rot and take her with it."
Carla Kovach'sHer Final Houris the second installment in the Detective Gina Harte series and is the second book I've read by Kovach. I read the first installment earlier this year and my review can be found here. Beyond being great reads, I absolutely love the cover art for both of Kovach's books.
Kovach's latest book starts with a terrifying murder in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Melissa Sanderson and her daughter are home alone when intruders break into their house and terrorize Sanderson. Sanderson is murdered in a brutal fashion by a killer (or killers?) who seems to know how to keep a crime scene semi-pristine. Over the course of her murder investigation, Sanderson's private life, which from the outside appeared idyllic, is revealed. We discover that there were dark secrets she was hiding from the world. Melissa appears to be abused or the victim of longterm sexual violence, placing the spotlight on her husband as the potential killer. We also learn that Melissa was in an incredibly unhappy marriage to the point she had started to see someone on the side, someone who she had tried to leave. Who is the killer? Melissa's husband? A man with whom Melissa was having an affair? Or someone else lurking in the shadows, tormenting other women?
While the murder investigation is underway, we are introduced to additional characters who are suffering or have suffered at the hands of a cruel man. Is this man somehow connected to Melissa's murder? This story occurs in between narratives about Detective Harte's investigation of Melissa's murder. It acts like a carrot dangled in front of the reader, taunting you to make connections between the several intertwined stories of women suffering at the hands of abusive men.
I love Kovach's ability to create three-dimensional, relatable characters. She makes you truly care about the fate of the characters and makes the reader want to know what will happen to them at the end of the story. My only critique of the book is that I would have liked to have a bit more backstory/parallel story with Detective Gina Harte. Her story was very compelling and kept me engaged in the first book of the series. Detective Harte's story is what will also keep me reading this series. Thank you to Bookouture, Carla Kovach, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy ofHer Final Hour.
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Natasha finds herself in a world of trouble in Rona Halsall'sKeep You Safe(formerly titled Guilty Little Secrets) with few fr**4 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars**
Natasha finds herself in a world of trouble in Rona Halsall'sKeep You Safe(formerly titled Guilty Little Secrets) with few friends or family to help her out. Her picture-perfect life of comfort, wealth, and new motherhood is ripped away from her when the police arrest her for embezzling. Taken complete off-guard, she is confused and destitute, her only potential help a solicitor (lawyer for American readers) who seems disinterested in Natasha's case and doubtful of Natasha's innocence.
Natasha is encouraged to plead guilty to the crime to lessen her sentence so that she can get out in 2 years to see her son. Seeing no hope, she does it. She is immediately sentenced to prison for 3 years. When incarcerated, the prison doctor discovers she has opioids in her system. She has no recollection of ever taking them and believes her husband, a businessman who comes from old money, was drugging her. Her husband immediately files for a divorce from her, leading Natasha to believe that he may have been involved in both shady business practices that went unnoticed by her and an affair. He never writes or visits her in prison, leaving her to sort out the truth alone in prison - so far away from her baby son and the life she once knew.
The story seesaws between the past and present. The current timeline picks up with Natasha's unexpected early release from prison due to overcrowding. She is on the hunt for her husband in the hopes of finding her son. She gets in touch with an old friend, Sasha, who Natasha hopes will help her find her baby boy. We also hear the voice of an unknown predator, someone who is following Natasha's every move with malicious intent. Is it Natasha's ex-husband or someone associated with her prison time?
The story unfolds methodically. It's clear the author took great care in writing the story, pacing it so that only certain parts of the story were revealed to the reader as to avoid spoiling the mystery. It was fun to guess what may be going on. Is Natasha a reliable narrator? Is she telling the reader the truth? And who is this person stalking her? What parts of the story has Natasha left out? Why, for instance, hasn't her friend Sasha regularly visited her in prison? Why does Natasha's mother despise her so much that she, too, refuses to visit her in jail and doubts her daughter's innocence?
What also drew me into this story was the author's writing. She writes beautifully composed sentences that paint a vivid picture of what is going on in the characters' heads and what their surroundings look like. Here's one example of Halsall's writing: "My first clenches around the phone, my patience a thin veneer."
Halsall takes the most ordinary, mundane parts of life and makes them come to life with her prose. That's what kept me turning the pages on top of wanting to know what was happening with Natasha.
Thank you to the author, Rona Halsall, the publisher, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this thrilling book!
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Newlywed Meredith Price seems to have it all: a sprawling mansion in a highly desirable mountain resort community; an older, but **5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars**
Newlywed Meredith Price seems to have it all: a sprawling mansion in a highly desirable mountain resort community; an older, but insatiably attractive husband whose wealth knows no end; and any and everything that money can buy.
But Meredith's infatuation with her husband and the lavish lifestyle he lives begins to dissipate when the reality of marriage sets in.
There's the obnoxious, spoiled stepchildren Meredith has to entertain, children who resent her for breaking up their parents' marriage. There are the cliquish older women in the neighborhood who gossip about her and her husband, Andrew, and who think she is just the newest flavor of the month for him. And then there's Andrew, whose behavior as of recent seems to confirm the neighbors' speculation that Meredith is just a new plaything for him to admire until he tires of her and moves on to a younger version of her.
Meredith feels as though there is so much more to life than wealth and comfort. Meredith starts to feel trapped by Andrew, who expects her to play house and keep up appearances for the neighbors. Bored with the life foisted upon her, Meredith ventures outside of her home, enrolling in self-defense classes taught by a local detective. Soon, she finds her heart straying from Andrew and becomes entangled in several relationships, one of which may lead to her demise.
When Meredith goes missing, her sister, Greer, must face some hard truths about her baby sister. Greer learns that her sister and family members kept secrets, some of which may provide clues as to what happened to Meredith. Did Meredith take off and abandon everyone for a reason? Is she safe, or in serious danger? Did Meredith's husband find out about her infidelities and harm her? Or is something else going on?Â
This book is a heart-pounding page-turner perfect for the beach or vacation. I liked how the narrative switched between Meredith and Greer, which gave the reader insight into how two very different people can have different versions of the "truth." I highly recommend this book to fans of suspense and psychological thrillers.
Thank you to the author, Minka Kent, the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy ofThe Thinnest Air.
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It's the year 2036 in Matthew Binder'sThe Absolvedand humanity is living a questionable existence, one where automation has rendered human labor nIt's the year 2036 in Matthew Binder'sThe Absolvedand humanity is living a questionable existence, one where automation has rendered human labor nearly obsolete. The "Absolved" refers to the majority of humankind who no longer have jobs. Instead, they are given a minimum wage on which to live and provided a home, food, and minimal comforts.
The story is narrated by Henri, a wealthy oncologist who has yet to be absorbed by machinery. He has a beautiful wife, Rachel, and a young son. He also has a woman on the side named Taylor who hopes to attend medical school someday. Henri is shielded from the reality of the Absolved for the most part, but every now and then he gets a thrill by hanging out in a dive bar frequented by many of the Absolved.
I had a lot of hope for this book because I enjoy speculative fiction and the premise sounded promising, but unfortunately, it fell short for me. For one, 2036 really didn't feel that far off from today's society; it felt like an amplified version of it, but nothing too drastically different for me to feel as though I was in an entirely unfamiliar and new world. I expect speculative fiction to present creative twists on the world as we know it, especially when it is set only 20 years from today's society. This world, for me, was too close for comfort. For instance, healthcare is one of the few areas of life that are not dictated by machinery. However, healthcare mandates passed down by politicians have resulted in universal healthcare that is based upon cost-benefit analyses of human life. I'd say this practice is very much alive here in the United States, where insurance coverage often dictates the care a patient is able to obtain.
The characters also left me wanting. Henri is self-motivated and narcissistic, engaging and indulging in anything that pleasures him despite who it might hurt. His wife, who has some fairly odd behaviors (such as dressing up as Snow White??!), is also superficial, obsessed with her looks, decorating their house, and her son's education. The characters' self-worth is entirely wrapped up in their money.
I kept trying to figure out what the plot was and how the characters would transform, but I was disinterested by the time the author got to it. Henri does experience a moral reckoning, but those around him fail to experience the same transformation. I felt that women, in particular, were painted as one-dimensional characters who were out for themselves or as objects of sexual desire: there is so much more to humanity (and women!) than this.
Thank you to the author, Matthew Binder, the publisher, Black Spot Books, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy ofThe Absolved.
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From the outside, Carrie and Alex's relationship seems healthy: two survivors who found each other at a support group for people **4 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars**
From the outside, Carrie and Alex's relationship seems healthy: two survivors who found each other at a support group for people suffering from all kinds of afflictions. Carrie, who is 24 years old, is in remission from a cancer that completely ravaged her body. Alex, who was abandoned by her twins and husband, is recovering from anorexia: a disease that started as a way to cope with the depression and sadness of being neglected by her family.
Both Alex and Carrie have more in common than they realize: they are both liars and are concealing secrets from each other and their support group. The secrets start to unravel as soon as Carrie's cancer comes back, which draws Alex into Carrie's life even further.Â
Threatening notes are left on Carrie's doorstep, which Alex intercepts thinking they are associated with the lies she has been telling Carrie about her past. Then Carrie's cat disappears and her car windows are smashed, suggesting that whoever is after either Alex or Carrie is intensifying their behavior. Alex begins to fear that whoever is targeting her or Carrie is going to harm them, so she starts digging deeper into Carrie's past. She finds that Carrie may have a darker past than herself, one that is coming back to haunt the both of them.
I really enjoyed the pacing of this book and how secrets were slowly unraveled chapter by chapter. This helps keep tension throughout the book, which made me want to keep turning the pages. I thought both of the characters were well developed, and, as someone who has struggled with eating issues, I also felt that the representation of anorexia was accurate and absolutely heartbreaking. If you like a simmering, well-written mystery, this book should definitely be on your shelf!
Thank you to the author, Barbara Copperthwaite, the publisher, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an advanced copy ofThe Perfect Friend.
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Natasha is struggling to make it as a barista in the city. Living on a tight budget, she cycles to work daily until one fateful d**5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars**
Natasha is struggling to make it as a barista in the city. Living on a tight budget, she cycles to work daily until one fateful day dramatically changes her life for the better - or so she thought.
While racing down a steep street on her bike, Natasha accidentally swipes the side of a car and tumbles to the street. A handsome, older man steps out of the car to check on Natasha. She's fine, but the man, Nick, feels guilty and offers to take her out to dinner. Things seem innocent until Natasha finds herself falling hard for Nick. There's only one little problem: Nick is married to Jen, his high school sweetheart.
Natasha falls pregnant - something Jen never was able to do - and Nick casts aside Jen. He is eager to be a father and ready to welcome his new baby girl Emily into his life. Natasha moves into the house Nick and Jen shared and everything seems shockingly perfect beyond Jen's occasional lengthy phone calls to Nick.Â
Things change when Nick gets one too many tickets and is under a court order not to drive. Jen suggests that he hire a private driver, which Natasha thinks is unnecessarily extravagant. Nick goes against Natasha's wishes and hires a driver, who ends up spending a great deal of time with Natasha. Natasha begins to question her reality as her driver suggests that Nick isn't being honest with her. Is Nick cheating on her? Is Jen somehow still involved with Nick? Is Nick really spending so much time on international business travel or is something else going on behind Natasha's back?
This book was an intense, hold-on-to-your seats ride from start to finish.The author drops hints here and there at what might be going on; clever suspense readers may figure out what's happening mid-way through the book, but that certainly won't spoil this tantalizing thriller for even the most seasoned mystery readers. This was a super quick read for me and so very difficult to put down! I loved how tension mounted in this book; it was there from the first page and continued to build with every turn of the page.Â
Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley, and Jess Ryder for an advanced reader copy ofThe Ex-Wife!I hope to read more of Ryder's books in the future!
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**4.5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "Sometimes a simple gift is actually a vessel utilized to issue a warning shot."
"We all have reasons for our actions. Even i**4.5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "Sometimes a simple gift is actually a vessel utilized to issue a warning shot."
"We all have reasons for our actions. Even if we hide the reason from those who think they know us best. Even if the reasons are so deeply buried we can't recognize them ourselves." To what lengths would you go if you were barely making ends meet?
Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's latest book,An Anonymous Girl,examines this question when the book's lead character, Jessica, finds herself embroiled in a psychological study for generous compensation. Jessica is working as a struggling makeup artist when a client mentions a psychological study in which they are enrolled. This study piques Jessica's interest as she needs money to make rent and help her family out. Jessica decides to pose as her client to get access to the study. Surprisingly, she is accepted into the study.
At first, the study seems like a financial dream come true. She gets paid a generous sum each time she fills out digital surveys about morality and choices she would make in particular scenarios. Soon, however, Jessica starts to question the purpose of the study and the intentions of the psychologist running it. Jessica feels as though she is revealing her entire life story - good and bad - to the mysterious psychologist behind the computer screen and begins to wonder if sharing such intimate details of her life is worth the price.
She becomes infatuated with the psychologist running the study, Dr. Shields, and wants to know why Dr. Shields needs to know so much information about her study's subjects. Jessica discovers the gorgeous, wealthy, academically brilliant Dr. Shields has a dark past, one that Jessica believes may have led to the death of one of Dr. Shields' subjects. Jessica finds herself drawn closer to Dr. Shields, befriending her with the intention of unraveling the shocking truth about the psychological study and its effect on its participants. The closer Jessica gets the more she questions her initial consent to the study.
I really liked the premise of this book, but I think it could have used a bit more editing; at times it felt a bit drawn out and slow. That being said, the authors know how to weave a clever, engaging story with characters with whom the reader can relate. They are brilliant writers who craft interesting prose that keeps you reading even if the story is a bit farfetched. As a researcher who has to follow the same institutional review board protocols discussed in this book, I can't imagine someone like Dr. Shields surviving in academia (though she was on leave in the book for her misdeeds!). Psychological studies like the Stanford Prison Experiment have been known to take advantage of their subjects, though I would hope those are now far and few between.
Thank you to the authors, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced e-galley of what will likely be one of the hottest psychological thrillers of 2018!
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**5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "And you should never trust people who yearn to be something other than who they are."
Araminta Hall's debut psychological thr**5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "And you should never trust people who yearn to be something other than who they are."
Araminta Hall's debut psychological thrillerOur Kind of Crueltytakes you into the inner recesses of a deeply twisted mind. This is one of those books that won't leave my head for years to come.Â
Mike Hayes, the narrator, falls in love with a beautiful lithe woman named Verity while in college. Verity has a penchant for danger, finding arousal and excitement in a game that she and Mike have nicknamed the "Crave." Crave involves Mike and Verity going to nightclubs separately. Verity entices men at the nightclub, luring them to dance and/or kiss her. As soon as Verity gives Mike a sign (which involves touching an eagle necklace she wears), he intervenes and starts a fight with whoever is with Verity. Then Mike and Verity have passionate sex, sometimes right there in the public eye of a nightclub. Sometimes they take the game further, luring men and women into their hotel rooms.Â
Upon Verity's insistence, Mike leaves London to take a high paying job in the banking industry. According to Mike, Verity encouraged him to take the job so that they could save up enough money to retire in their 40s. He also took the job so that he could buy Verity a beautiful house in London.Â
However, Mike is lonely on his own in New York and makes a fatal mistake by having a one night stand with a coworker who he doesn't even like. When Mike returns to London for Christmas, he admits his betrayal to Verity, who immediately breaks up with him. Mike cannot believe that one brief affair could lead to the destruction of their long-term relationship. He begins to think that this is a new form of the Crave, as absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Much to his surprise, Mike discovers that Verity is getting married to a wealthy socialite a short 9 months after she broke up with him. He cannot believe Verity would move on so quickly after nearly 9 years of dating, so Mike continues to believe this is all part of the Crave. To what length will Mike go to get Verity back? Is her engagement part of an extended version of the Crave? Or is Verity playing both partners as part of a more elaborate game?
I read this book in a day. I absolutely could not put it down. The narrator's voice is infused with intensity, making you wonder what Mike is truly capable of. Is, for instance, the Crave all in Mike's head? Or is something even more twisted than the Crave taking place?Â
Thank you to Araminta Hall and the publisher, MCD/Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, for an advanced reader copy ofOur Kind of Cruelty.I cannot wait to see what Hall publishes in the future!
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"...the worst kind of secrets are always the ones we keep from ourselves."
"Even therapists have secrets."
Lorna has a deep, da**5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars**
"...the worst kind of secrets are always the ones we keep from ourselves."
"Even therapists have secrets."
Lorna has a deep, dark secret that threatens to destroy her family and her career. Her secret is so thorny that she will do everything in her power to keep it from the people she loves.
What is this secret?Â
Lorna has been hiding an affair from her coworkers, friends, and family for nearly a year. It's an intensely passionate relationship, one that caused her to violate her professional code of ethics as a practicing clinical psychologist. This is because the affair involved one of her patients, Andrew. Lorna tries to end the smoldering affair by up and leaving her psychology practice for a new one, but Andrew hunts her down at her new practice. And despite Lorna's best intentions, they rekindle old flames.
But there's someone watching from afar, taking note of Andrew and Lorna. They want revenge. They want to settle the score. They are stalking Lorna like prey. And Lorna and Andrew have no clue.
Samantha Hayes'Tell Me a Secretcould be used in a master class on writing a suspenseful psychological thriller, one that shocks at every turn. I can't reveal much without revealing significant plot twists and turns, but I can promise you that this book will keep you on your toes. This would be the perfect book for a women's book club; when I finished it, I wanted to talk about the ending to anyone who would listen. I did not see the ending coming, which is all the more reason I enjoyed it!
Another thing that I enjoyed about the book was the different ways Hayes' told Lorna's story. She gives readers insight into Lorna's deep thoughts by providing snippets of Lorna's journals (take note, readers!). She also incorporates illicit conversations via text and a dating website into the narrative, giving us hints of what is to come with Lorna and Andrew. This writing style kept the book current and fresh for me.
Thank you to the author, Samantha Hayes, the publisher, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy ofTell Me a Secret!
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Clare Boyd'sThree Secretsstarted off slowly for me, but it picked up by the 30% mark. I struggled to figure out who was who **4 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars**
Clare Boyd'sThree Secretsstarted off slowly for me, but it picked up by the 30% mark. I struggled to figure out who was who at the beginning because there are a number of characters, though there are only two people telling the story (John and Francesca). I admit I wasn't quite sure what the "three secrets" were because there are SO many secrets in this book.
What made me enjoy it, however, was the lead character of Francesca, who makes a life-altering decision to marry Robert, a movie executive from a wealthy family. Francesca makes this decision after being rejected by Robert's handsome brother, John. John marries Dilys, a piercingly beautiful real estate mogul who is sharp, callous, and shrewd. Robert is an equally difficult partner to love, though Francesca accepts him for who he is in the face of John's rejection.
What propels the story forward is Robert's death, which was ruled a suicide. His death is shrouded in suspicion. Why would he kill himself? What would propel him to do such a thing when he has a loving wife and a beautiful young daughter?
The book seeks to understand Robert's reasons for killing himself, and through this process, we discover he had demons and secrets of his own. The characters will keep you turning the pages wanting to know what happened to Robert the nights leading up to his death.
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**4.5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "In the health-conscious mindset that has prevailed among the world's affluent people for about four decades now, health is **4.5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "In the health-conscious mindset that has prevailed among the world's affluent people for about four decades now, health is indistinguishable from virtue, tasty foods are 'sinfully delicious,' while healthful foods may taste good enough to be advertised as 'guilt-free.' Those seeking to compensate for a lapse undertake punitive measures like fasts, purges, or diets composed of different juices carefully sequenced throughout the day.
I had a different reaction to aging: I gradually came to realize that I was old enough to die, by which I am not suggesting that each of us bears an expiration date. There is of course no fixed age at which a person ceases to be worthy of further medical investment, whether aimed at prevention or cure."
Have you ever struggled to get a medical diagnosis? Been told that you aren't sick or been dismissed by a doctor? I am guessing most people at some point in their lives have experienced this frustration, and while Barbara Ehrenreich'sNatural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Our Illusion of Controlisn't specifically about misdiagnosis, it's about the many problems involved in the healthcare industry.Â
Some people have written about this book as though it's merely about deciding not to have preventative care once you reach a certain age, but that's only part of the picture. Ehrenreich takes on the health industry full stop, debunking the myths that manage to still dictate patient care and revealing the industry as it is, which is that it is a business. She also unravels the wellness and mindfulness industry that pervades America right now, which severely lacks evidence to support its claims.Â
What I came away with after reading this book is that medicine (and the mindfulness industry), while wonderful and helpful, is still in the dark ages on certain issues, such as the immune system. We still have a lot to learn about how the immune system compromises and interacts with the rest of the body. The book also made me feel less responsible for what happens to my body, because sometimes you can do all of the right things that society tells you to do - exercise, eat well, meditate, etc. - and still end up with a body that turns on you. As Ehrenreich states:Â "What is the point of minutely calibrating one's diet and time spent on the treadmill when you could be vanquished entirely by a few rogue cells within your own body?"
I like that Ehrenreich explores both the business side of medicine as well as how our culture pushes for control over one's body. Controlling one's body has become a business, whether it is one's looks, one's weight, or one's health. It's not just the medical industry that is trying to create more tests and interventions to prevent the inevitable - death - but it is also patients demanding more testing. But Ehrenreich does not see value in subjecting herself to more testing that has no evidence to prolong people's lives when they get to old age. She writes: "I reject the torment of a medicalized death, but I refuse to accept a medicalized life, and my determination only deepens with age. As the time that remains to me shrinks, each month and day becomes too precious to spend in windowless waiting rooms and under the cold scrutiny of machines. Being old enough to die is an achievement, not a defeat, and the freedom it brings is worth celebrating."
Her reflections, of course, only apply to those of us healthy enough to not need regular prescriptions. It does not apply to people with chronic health issues or those who have been and are sustained by medicine. I personally know I could not get my inhalers - which I rely upon twice a day to breathe - without seeing my asthma doc at least once a year.Â
This review barely scrapes the surface of this book. There is so much good information here and so many thoughtful discussions about healthcare, medicine, and culture in the Western world. I think I highlighted half of the book. This is one of those books that will have a permanent place on my bookshelf for years to come (as is the case with Ehrenreich's other publications!). Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!
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**5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "Everything you know is a lie. There was a stranger in my house, and I was married to her."
Joe's ordinary life as a part-time**5 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Stars** "Everything you know is a lie. There was a stranger in my house, and I was married to her."
Joe's ordinary life as a part-time English high school teacher and stay-at-home-dad to his adorable 4-year-old son William is thrown into absolute chaos when William sees his mother's car parked at a seedy hotel. William begs his dad to stop to see his mommy, which Joe does out of curiosity.
What is his wife, a stunning, successful businesswoman, doing at a rundown hotel in the middle of the afternoon when she should be at work?
Joe reluctantly parks their car and enters the hotel. There, he discovers that his wife is meeting with a mutual family friend, Ben, who is wealthy beyond imagination. Ben and Joe's wife are having what appears to be a heated discussion over a meal. Realizing this isn't the best place for a 4-year-old, Joe quickly exits the hotel hoping his wife and Ben did not see them. As soon as they get to their car, Ben appears out of nowhere. Joe and Ben get into a confrontation, which leads to Joe pushing Ben onto the ground. Ben's head hits the pavement and he is knocked unconscious.
As if things can't get worse, William starts to have an asthma attack and Joe can't find his inhaler. Joe abandons Ben in the parking lot and speeds home to get William's inhaler. Plagued with guilt, Joe heads back to the parking lot once William is better only to discover Ben is no longer there. What happened to Ben? Is he okay? Or did something terrible happen?
Even worse, Joe confronts his wife about Ben and fails to get a straight answer from her about their meeting. What is Joe's wife lying about? Why won't she tell Joe the truth? In the meantime, Ben has gone missing. Ben's wife, Beth, and teenage daughter, Alice, are distraught and report his disappearance to the police. Soon Joe is drawn into a police investigation and becomes the number one suspect in Ben's possible murder. Joe's friends and family doubt his innocence, leaving him on his own to solve the mystery of what happened to Ben.
TM Logan'sLiesis a heart-pounding, fast-paced thriller that never has a dull moment. There are so many creative twists and turns in this book and I was sad to see it end. I loved all the cyber espionage in the story and the discussions of how technology can be used to sabotage a police investigation and conceal reality. Logan has a gift for drawing the reader into the story. I love books that have characters who are relatable, empathetic, and authentic. Joe, the lead character, was all of these things and more. While the ending was a bit Lifetime Movie-esque, I was captivated by all the scenes leading up to the finale. If you like novels that keep you guessing until the very last page,Liesis definitely for you.
Thank you to the author, TM Logan, and NetGalley for an advanced e-galley ofLies.I look forward to reading Logan's next book!
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