mushroom's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 12 Apr 2025 08:37:16 -0700 60 mushroom's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Last Widow (Will Trent, #9)]]> 42599605 New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter brings back Will Trent and Sara Linton in this superb and timely thriller full of devious twists, disturbing secrets, and shocking surprises you won’t see coming

A mysterious kidnapping

On a hot summer night, a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. Vanished into thin air, the authorities are desperate to save the doctor.

A devastating explosion

One month later, the serenity of a sunny Sunday afternoon is shattered by the boom of a ground-shaking blast—followed by another seconds later. One of Atlanta’s busiest and most important neighborhood’s has been bombed—the location of Emory University, two major hospitals, the FBI headquarters, and the CDC.

A diabolical enemy

Medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene—and into the heart of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy thousands of innocent lives. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to save her and prevent a massacre—putting his own life on the line for the woman and the country he loves.]]> 465 Karin Slaughter 0062858084 mushroom 1 4.07 2019 The Last Widow (Will Trent, #9)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves:
review:
equating far-right paramilitary groups with "aNtiFa" is literally insane
]]> <![CDATA[The Kept Woman (Will Trent, #8)]]> 28374062 Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future.

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them.

The author of Pretty Girls returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges its fascinating protagonist into the darkest depths of a mystery that just might destroy him.

With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn't belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.

Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller -- a searing, unforgettable novel of love, loss, and redemption.Ěý

Ěý±Ő±Ő> 480 Karin Slaughter 0062430211 mushroom 4 4.09 2016 The Kept Woman (Will Trent, #8)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Practical Guide to Treating Eating Disorders: Overcome Problem Eating (Practical Guide Series)]]> 23947385 227 Patricia Furness-Smith mushroom 1 3.38 2014 A Practical Guide to Treating Eating Disorders: Overcome Problem Eating (Practical Guide Series)
author: Patricia Furness-Smith
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2014
rating: 1
read at: 2025/04/07
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves:
review:
might have rated it higher if the author wasn't a sniveling TERF
]]> I'll See You Again 16145963 Until the horrific car accident on New York State's Taconic Parkway that took the lives of her three beloved young daughters, Jackie Hance was an ordinary Long Island mom, fulfilled by the joyful chaos of a household bustling with life and chatter and love. After the tragedy, she was "The Taconic Mom", whose unimaginable loss embodied every parent's worst nightmare. Suddenly, her life-long Catholic faith no longer explained the world. Her marriage to her husband, Warren, was ravaged by wrenching grief and recrimination. And her mind, unable to cope with the unfathomable, reinvented reality each night, so she awoke each morning having forgotten the heartbreaking facts: that Emma, age 8; Alyson, age 7; and Katie, age 5, were gone forever. They were killed in a minivan driven by their aunt, Jackie's sister-in-law, Diane Schuler, while returning from a camping weekend on a sunny July morning.

I'll See You Again chronicles the day Jackie received the traumatizing phone call that defied all understanding, and the numbed and torturous events that followed, including the devastating medical findings that shattered Jackie to the core and shocked America. But this profoundly honest account is also the story of how a tight-knit community rallied around the Hances, providing the courage and strength for them to move forward. It's a story of forgiveness, hope, and rebirth, as Jackie and Warren struggle to rediscover the possibility of joy by welcoming their fourth daughter, Kasey Rose Hance.

The story that Jackie Hance shares for the first time will touch your heart and warm you to the power of love and hope.]]> 277 Jackie Hance 1451674775 mushroom 0 jfc 3.89 2013 I'll See You Again
author: Jackie Hance
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves:
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jfc
]]> <![CDATA[Cleaning the Gold (Jack Reacher, #23.6; Will Trent, #8.5)]]> 45302351 From New York Times bestselling authors Karin Slaughter and Lee Child comes this electrifying short story featuring their iconic characters Will Trent and Jack Reacher.


Twice the action.

Twice the drama.

Double the trouble.

Will Trent is undercover at Fort Knox. His assignment: to investigate a twenty-two-year-old murder. His suspect’s name: Jack Reacher.

Jack Reacher is in Fort Knox on his own mission: to bring down a dangerous criminal ring operating at the heart of America’s military. Except now Will Trent is on the scene.

But there’s a bigger conspiracy at play—one that neither the special agent nor the ex-military cop could have anticipated. And the only option is for Jack Reacher and Will Trent to team up and play nicely. If they can…]]> 129 Karin Slaughter mushroom 4 3.52 2019 Cleaning the Gold (Jack Reacher, #23.6; Will Trent, #8.5)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Unseen (Will Trent, #7) 16071767 Unseen, pits detectives, lovers, and enemies against one another in an unforgettable standoff between righteous courage and deepest evil.

Will Trent is a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent whose latest case has him posing as Bill Black, a scary ex-con who rides a motorcycle around Macon, Georgia, and trails an air of violence wherever he goes. The cover has worked and he has caught the eye of a wiry little drug dealer who thinks he might be a useful ally. But undercover and cut off from the support of the woman he loves, Sara Linton, Will finds his demons catching up with him.

Although she has no idea where Will has gone, or why, Sara herself has come to Macon because of a cop shooting: Her stepson, Jared, has been gunned down in his own home. Sara holds Lena, Jared’s wife, responsible: Lena, a detective, has been a magnet for trouble all her life, and Jared’s shooting is not the first time someone Sara loved got caught in the crossfire. Furious, Sara finds herself involved in the same case that Will is working without even knowing it, and soon danger is swirling around both of them.

In a novel of fierce intensity, shifting allegiances, and shocking twists, two investigations collide with a conspiracy straddling both sides of the law. Karin Slaughter’s latest is both an electrifying thriller and a piercing study of human nature: what happens when good people face the unseen evils in their lives.]]> 379 Karin Slaughter 0345539478 mushroom 4 4.14 2013 Unseen (Will Trent, #7)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
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]]> Busted (Will Trent, #6.5) 17857799 From Karin Slaughter comes a fast and furious tale in which no one is quite who they seem. This electrifying eBook novella featuring Will Trent is a prequel to Slaughter’s upcoming novel, Unseen.
Ěý
Detective Will Trent is standing in a Georgia convenience store, waiting on an obstinate Icee frozen drink machine. To the surveillance cameras and bored staff of the Lil� Dixie Gas-n-Go, however, Will appears to be someone very different—the menacing ex-con Bill Black. Going undercover as Bill, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent is about to infiltrate the most corrupt town in the most corrupt county in the new American South. But first: his Icee.
Ěý
Everything changes in one horrific instant, as all hell breaks loose at the Lil� Dixie. A cop is shot. A bag of cash goes flying across the floor. A young woman disappears while a killer takes off in a battered pick-up truck. Within seconds, Will is in pursuit.
Ěý
Includes an exclusive preview of Karin Slaughter’s thrilling new novel of suspense, Unseen.]]> 103 Karin Slaughter 0345545427 mushroom 4 3.80 2013 Busted (Will Trent, #6.5)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Criminal (Will Trent, #6) 12922320 ]]> 448 Karin Slaughter mushroom 4 4.27 2012 Criminal (Will Trent, #6)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
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]]> Burned (Burned, #1) 270807 I do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.

It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious—yet abusive—family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.

This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better life? For the first time Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers—about God, a woman's role, sex, love—mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it?

It's with a real boy that Pattyn gets into real trouble. After Pattyn's father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control until Pattyn ends up suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know.

Pattyn is supposed to find salvation and redemption during her exile to the wilds of rural Nevada. Yet what she finds instead is love and acceptance. And for the first time she feels worthy of both—until she realizes her old demons will not let her go. Pattyn begins down a path that will lead her to a hell—a hell that may not be the one she learned about in sacrament meetings, but it is hell all the same.

In this riveting and masterful novel told in verse, Ellen Hopkins takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From the highs of true love to the lows of abuse, Pattyn's story will have readers engrossed until the very last word.]]> 544 Ellen Hopkins 1416903542 mushroom 4
this was nuts but props to the nevermo author for really nailing not just the mormon eldest daughter experience but also getting the language right - nevermos writing mormons often give themselves (and their lack of research) away but this was really solid.

but wtaf though]]> 4.25 2006 Burned (Burned, #1)
author: Ellen Hopkins
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves:
review:
wtaf

this was nuts but props to the nevermo author for really nailing not just the mormon eldest daughter experience but also getting the language right - nevermos writing mormons often give themselves (and their lack of research) away but this was really solid.

but wtaf though
]]> Snatched (Will Trent, #5.5) 13635342 A gripping, action-packed short story available only as an eBook—from a master of character, crime, and urgent suspense.
Ěý
Will Trent, a dedicated agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for fifteen years, knows that there’s definitely such a thing as a cop’s intuition. Which is why he should have listened to his own.
Ěý
While in an airport restroom at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, Will overhears a girl’s pleading, plaintive voice: “Please, I wanna go home.� Something isn’t right here, thinks Will. He feels it in his gut. But he waits too long to act, and now the girl and the anxious, angry man she’s with have disappeared into the crowds at the busiest passenger airport in the world.
Ěý
After a desperate search and with time running out, Will makes a call to his supervisor, Amanda Wagner. Will’s partner, Faith Mitchell, immediately sends out an abducted child alert. The entire airport will soon be grinding to a halt: Almost 100 million passengers a year. Five runways. Seven concourses. Six million square feet of space that sprawled across two counties, three cities, and five jurisdictions. All shut down on a dime because Will has a hunch that he is certain is true: a girl, maybe six or seven years old, has been snatched from God knows where. And he intends to bring her back—no matter what it takes.
Ěý
Includes an exclusive excerpt from Karin Slaughter’s thrilling new novel of suspense, Criminal.
Ěý
PRAISE FOR THE CRIME FICTION OF KARIN SLAUGHTER
Ěý
“Karin Slaughter is one of the best crime novelists in America.”�The Washington Post
Ěý
“Crime fiction at its finest.”—Michael Connelly
Ěý
“An absolute master.�—Chicago Tribune
Ěý
“Slaughter writes with a razor. . . . Better than Cornwell can ever hope to be.”�The Plain Dealer
Ěý
“Slaughter will have you on the edge of your seat.”�Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ěý
“One of the boldest thriller writers working today.”—Tess Gerritsen
Ěý
“Move over, Catherine Coulter—Slaughter may be today’s top female suspense writer.”�Library Journal (starred review)]]> 73 Karin Slaughter mushroom 2 4.12 2012 Snatched (Will Trent, #5.5)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
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]]> Fallen (Will Trent, #5) 9635495 “You know what we’re here for. Hand it over, and we’ll let her go.�

There’s no police training stronger than a cop’s instinct. Faith Mitchell’s mother isn’t answering her phone. Her front door is open. There’s a bloodstain above the knob. Her infant daughter is hidden in a shed behind the house. All that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations taught Faith Mitchell goes out the window when she charges into her mother’s house, gun drawn. She sees a man dead in the laundry room. She sees a hostage situation in the bedroom. What she doesn’t see is her mother. . . .

Faith is left with too many questions and not enough answers. To find her mother, she’ll need the help of her partner, Will Trent, and they’ll both need the help of trauma doctor Sara Linton. But Faith isn’t just a cop anymore—she’s a witness. She’s also a suspect.

The thin blue line hides police corruption, bribery, even murder. Faith will have to go up against the people she respects the most in order to find her mother and bring the truth to light—or bury it forever.]]> 387 Karin Slaughter 0345528204 mushroom 4 4.19 2011 Fallen (Will Trent, #5)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Little House Living: The Make-Your-Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self-Sufficient Life]]> 25111018 Little House Living comes a motivational homemaking book, inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder;s Little House on the Prairie, featuring creative, fun ways to live your life simply and frugally.

Shortly after getting married, Merissa Alink and her husband found themselves with nothing in their pantry but a package of spaghetti and some breadcrumbs. Their life had hit rock bottom, and it was only after a touching act of charity that they were able to get on their feet again.

Inspired by this gesture of kindness as well as the beloved Little House on the Prairie books, Merissa found that a life of self-sufficiency and simplicity could be charming and blissful. She set out to live an entirely made-from-scratch life, the &#8220;Little House&#8221; way, and as a result, she slashed her household budget by nearly half&#8212;saving thousands of dollars a year. She started to write about homesteading, homemaking, and cooking from scratch, and over the next few years developed the recipes and DIY projects that would one day become part of her now beloved website, LittleHouseLiving.com.

As whole foods became staples of the family diet, Merissa realized the dangers of putting overly processed ingredients not only into our bodies, but on or near them as well. In addition to countless delicious, home-cooked meals, she developed natural, easy-to-make recipes for everything from sunscreen to taco seasoning mix, lemon poppy hand scrub to furniture polish. With their simple ingredients, these recipes are allergen friendly and many are gluten-free.

With over 130 practical, simple DIY recipes, gorgeous full-color photographs, and Merissa's trademark charm in personal stories and tips, Little House Living is the epitome of heartland warmth and prairie inspiration.]]> 306 Merissa A. Alink 1501104268 mushroom 1 3.89 2015 Little House Living: The Make-Your-Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self-Sufficient Life
author: Merissa A. Alink
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:
ah yes, the alt right pipeline
]]> <![CDATA[The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl]]> 40961608 In a tour de force of historical reportage, Timothy Egan’s National Book Award–winning story rescues an iconic chapter of American history from the shadows. Ěý The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Timothy Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, he does equal justice to the human characters who become his heroes, “the stoic, long-suffering men and women whose lives he opens up with urgency and respectâ€� (New York Times). In an era that promises ever-greater natural disasters, The Worst Hard Time is “arguably the best nonfiction book yetâ€� (Austin Statesman Journal) on the greatest environmental disaster ever to be visited upon our land and a powerful reminder about the dangers of trifling with nature.]]> 352 Timothy Egan 0547347774 mushroom 4 4.09 2005 The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
author: Timothy Egan
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)]]> 469571 302 Cormac McCarthy 0679744398 mushroom 4 4.04 1992 All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Urban Prepper's Guide: How To Become Self-Sufficient And Prepared For The Next Crisis]]> 60059666 The Urban Prepper's Guide teaches you how to become more self-sufficient while also preparing for any impending worst-case scenarios.

Recent events have shown us that our comfortable lives can be disrupted at a moment's notice by global events far beyond our control. Written by Jim Cobb, a survival expert, this book explains how you can make simple preparations now - without great expense or consuming precious living space - that will allow you to be ready the next time global disaster strikes, and can help you live more economically and self-sufficiently now.]]> 224 Jim Cobb 1787398358 mushroom 4 3.51 The Urban Prepper's Guide: How To Become Self-Sufficient And Prepared For The Next Crisis
author: Jim Cobb
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.51
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/01
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves:
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]]> Broken (Will Trent, #4) 7093222
When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner’s death. He doesn’t understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn’t understand her role in the death of Grant County’s popular police chief. He doesn’t understand why that man’s widow, Dr. Sara Linton, needs him now more than ever to help her crack this case.

While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force, putting pressure on Adams just when she’s already about to crack. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand Linton’s passionate distrust of Adams, the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver’s death, and the complexities of this insular town, Trent will unleash a case filled with explosive secrets—and encounter a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed.

Spellbinding and keenly paced, Broken is Karin Slaughter at her best. Here is an unforgettable story of raw emotions, dangerous assumptions, the deadly and layered game of betrayal, and a man’s determination to expose the most painful of human truths—no matter how deeply they’re hidden . . . or how devastating.]]> 398 Karin Slaughter 0385341970 mushroom 4 4.15 2010 Broken (Will Trent, #4)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Joy of Minimalism: A Beginner's Guide to Happiness with Less]]> 37573060
It’s natural to love stuff! More than that, it’s natural to love your stuff. That notebook from eighth grade, your Disney VHS, tangles of costume jewelry. They all have sentimental value…and they all take up space. Zoey Arielle Poulsen’s The Joy of Minimalism is a friendly guide to embarking on a life of simplicity by a former compulsive shopper who found a new way to live. By embracing minimalism, you’ll be saying goodbye to stress and everything that you never needed anyway. Discover a greater focus and true freedom—and a genuine sense of gratitude for everything and everyone around you.

Minimalism is more than a movement or fad—it’s a practice that will bring you closer to your true self. The Joy of Minimalism teaches you to live better with less. You’ll learn how ]]> 101 Zoey Arielle Poulsen 1633536874 mushroom 1 2.78 The Joy of Minimalism: A Beginner's Guide to Happiness with Less
author: Zoey Arielle Poulsen
name: mushroom
average rating: 2.78
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves:
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it's a bad sign when the very first page of a book is spent complaining about haters and trolls on the internet
]]> Night 1617 Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must simply never be allowed to happen again.]]> 120 Elie Wiesel 0374500010 mushroom 5 4.38 1956 Night
author: Elie Wiesel
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1956
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
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]]> Undone (Will Trent, #3) 5764902 436 Karin Slaughter 0385341962 mushroom 5 4.20 2009 Undone (Will Trent, #3)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves:
review:
book was just okay but 5 stars for the jokes about pre-presidential velveeta voldemort. FDT
]]> <![CDATA[Live Your Life for Half the Price]]> 7078238 160 Lyle Shamo 1606411454 mushroom 1
the blatant sexism is also quite jarring, even considering the source. page 167 discusses financial infidelity, and in the examples the wives do things like buy toothpaste and toys for their children without permission, meanwhile the husbands' monetary indiscretions include golf trips and new smartphones, because those things are equally bad and selfish.

unless you are looking for kindling to keep your family warm this winter, I would recommend literally any other financial self help book]]> 3.28 2009 Live Your Life for Half the Price
author: Lyle Shamo
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2009
rating: 1
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves:
review:
dated (obviously), and unfortunately a little too mormon for real world application. the author(s) cite a statistic that people waste 16-23% of their monthly paychecks then advocate for paying tithing a page later - the call is literally coming from inside the house. guess those shopping malls and SEC fines aren't going to pay for themselves, huh?

the blatant sexism is also quite jarring, even considering the source. page 167 discusses financial infidelity, and in the examples the wives do things like buy toothpaste and toys for their children without permission, meanwhile the husbands' monetary indiscretions include golf trips and new smartphones, because those things are equally bad and selfish.

unless you are looking for kindling to keep your family warm this winter, I would recommend literally any other financial self help book
]]> <![CDATA[Breakfast with Seneca: A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living]]> 56769533 288 David Fideler 039353166X mushroom 2 4.23 2021 Breakfast with Seneca: A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living
author: David Fideler
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves:
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]]> We Used to Live Here 199898250
As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it� (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).]]> 320 Marcus Kliewer mushroom 0 currently-reading 3.78 2024 We Used to Live Here
author: Marcus Kliewer
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Fractured (Will Trent, #2) 2199587
When the local police make a misjudgement which not only threatens the investigation but places a young girl's life in danger, the case is handed over to Special Agent Will Trent of the Criminal Apprehension Team - paired with detective Faith Mitchell, a woman who resents him from their first meeting.

But in the relentless heat of a Georgia summer, Will and Faith realise that they must work together to find the brutal killer who has targeted one of Atlanta's wealthiest, most privileged communities - before it's too late...]]> 388 Karin Slaughter 0385341954 mushroom 4 4.14 2008 Fractured (Will Trent, #2)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves:
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]]> Triptych (Will Trent, #1) 21717
But another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer's trail in the most coincidental of ways—someone who may be the key to breaking the case wide open...]]> 393 Karin Slaughter mushroom 4 4.11 2006 Triptych (Will Trent, #1)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Faithless (Grant County, #5) 21722
For as Jeffrey and Sara move further down a trail of shocking surprises and hidden passions, neither is prepared for the most stunning discovery of all: the identity of a killer who is more evil and dangerous than anyone could have guessed.]]> 549 Karin Slaughter 0440242916 mushroom 3 4.09 2005 Faithless (Grant County, #5)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[1001 Ways to Cut Your Expenses: Here Are Money-Saving Tips from an Expert on How to Find Hidden Money When You Need It Most]]> 153950 304 Jonathan D. Pond 0440504953 mushroom 2 2.86 1992 1001 Ways to Cut Your Expenses: Here Are Money-Saving Tips from an Expert on How to Find Hidden Money When You Need It Most
author: Jonathan D. Pond
name: mushroom
average rating: 2.86
book published: 1992
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
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very outdated though I did lol at the part where he shaded his wife for buying a real xmas tree every year and refusing to tell him how much it cost
]]> <![CDATA[That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story]]> 51200095 Yes, I'm Hot in This, Huda Fahmy tells the hilarious story of how she met and married her husband. Navigating mismatched suitors, gossiping aunties, and societal expectations for Muslim women, That Can Be Arranged deftly and hilariously reveals to readers what it can be like to find a husband as an observant Muslim woman in the twenty-first century.

So relevant in today's evolving cultural climate, Fahmy's story offers a perceptive and personal glimpse into the sometimes sticky but ultimately rewarding balance of independent choice and tradition.]]> 192 Huda Fahmy 1524856223 mushroom 4 4.20 2020 That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story
author: Huda Fahmy
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom]]> 214151420 From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.�

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.� No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.]]> 320 Shari Franke 1668065398 mushroom 2 4.44 2025 The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom
author: Shari Franke
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Faint Cold Fear (Grant County, #3)]]> 21721 The third pulse-pounding novel in the Grant County series from New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter.

Sara Linton, medical examiner in the small town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is called out to an apparent suicide on the local college campus. The mutilated body provides little in the way of clues -- and the college authorities are eager to avoid a scandal -- but for Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, things don't add up.

Two more suspicious suicides follow, and a young woman is brutally attacked. For Sara, the violence strikes far too close to home. And as Jeffrey pursues the sadistic killer, he discovers that ex-police detective Lena Adams, now a security guard on campus, may be in possession of crucial information. But, bruised and angered by her expulsion from the force, Lena seems to be barely capable of protecting herself, let alone saving the next victim...

]]> 422 Karin Slaughter 0060534052 mushroom 2 4.04 2003 A Faint Cold Fear (Grant County, #3)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Pieces of Her (Andrea Oliver, #1)]]> 35887251
Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . .]]> 476 Karin Slaughter 0062430297 mushroom 4 3.81 2018 Pieces of Her (Andrea Oliver, #1)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/03
date added: 2025/01/10
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]]> Kisscut (Grant County, #2) 21719
What seemed at first to be a horrific but individual catastrophe proves to have wider implications. The autopsy reveals evidence of long-term abuse, of ritualistic self -mutilation, but when Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver start to investigate, they are frustrated at every turn.

The children surrounding the victim close ranks. The families turn their backs. Then a young girl is abducted, and it becomes clear that the first death is linked to an even more brutal crime, one far more shocking than anyone could have imagined. Meanwhile, detective Lena Adams, still recovering from her sister's death and her own brutal attack, finds herself drawn to a young man who might hold the answers. But unless Lena, Sara, and Jeffrey can uncover the deadly secrets the children hide, it's going to happen again . . .]]> 436 Karin Slaughter 0060534044 mushroom 1 4.07 2002 Kisscut (Grant County, #2)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2002
rating: 1
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Blindsighted (Grant County, #1)]]> 21718 From New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter, the first novel in her acclaimed Grant County series.

A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the local diner. But it’s only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer’s twisted work becomes clear.

Sara’s ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, leads the investigation—a trail of terror that grows increasingly macabre when another local woman is found crucified a few days later. But he’s got more than a sadistic serial killer on his hands, because the county’s only female detective, Lena Adams—the first victim’s sister—wants to serve her own justice.

But it is Sara who holds the key to finding the killer. A secret from her past could unmask the brilliantly malevolent psychopath� or mean her death.]]> 418 Karin Slaughter 0380820889 mushroom 4 4.09 2001 Blindsighted (Grant County, #1)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/07
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]]> Crazy Love You 176443634
Darkness has a way of finding Ian when he is with Priss. Even when they were kids, playing in the woods of their small upstate New York town, he could feel it. Still, Priss was his best friend, his salvation from the bullies who teased him mercilessly and from his family’s deadly secrets.

Now that they’ve both escaped to New York City, Ian is no longer the tortured victim. He is a talented and successful graphic novelist, and Priss…Priss is still trouble. The booze, the drugs, the sex—Ian is growing tired of late nights together trying to forget the past. Especially now that he’s met sweet, beautiful Megan, whose love makes him want to change for the better. But Priss doesn’t like change. Change makes her angry. And when Priss is angry, terrible things begin to happen…]]> 400 Lisa Unger 1668034468 mushroom 1 3.39 2015 Crazy Love You
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at: 2025/01/02
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves:
review:
every single one of this author's main characters inevitably goes on a boomeresque tirade about cellphones and technology but this one managed to do that AND declare himself too lazy to do book research because he is so dependent on search engines. if the author hates technology so much, why not set their books in the 1950s or write about the amish or something?
]]> <![CDATA[How the Grinch Stole Christmas!]]> 113946 "The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason."

Dr. Seuss's small-hearted Grinch ranks right up there with Scrooge when it comes to the crankiest, scowling holiday grumps of all time.

For 53 years, the Grinch has lived in a cave on the side of a mountain, looming above the Whos in Whoville. The noisy holiday preparations and infernal singing of the happy little citizens below annoy him to no end. The Grinch decides this frivolous merriment must stop. His "wonderful, awful" idea is to don a Santa outfit, strap heavy antlers on his poor, quivering dog Max, construct a makeshift sleigh, head down to Whoville, and strip the chafingly cheerful Whos of their Yuletide glee once and for all.

Looking quite out of place and very disturbing in his makeshift Santa get-up, the Grinch slithers down chimneys with empty bags and stealing the Whos' presents, their food, even the logs from their humble Who-fires. He takes the ramshackle sleigh to Mt. Crumpit to dump it and waits to hear the sobs of the Whos when they wake up and discover the trappings of Christmas have disappeared. Imagine the Whos' dismay when they discover the evil-doings of Grinch in his anti-Santa guise. But what is that sound? It's not sobbing, but singing! Children simultaneously adore and fear this triumphant, twisted Seussian testimonial to the undaunted cheerfulness of the Whos, the transcendent nature of joy, and of course, the growth potential of a heart that's two sizes too small.

This holiday classic is perfect for reading aloud to your favorite little Whos.]]> 64 Dr. Seuss 0007173040 mushroom 5 4.38 1957 How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
author: Dr. Seuss
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1957
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/30
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]]> Under My Skin 50893851 What if the nightmares are actually memories?

It's been a year since Poppy's husband, Jack, was brutally murdered during his morning run through Manhattan's Riverside Park. In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiraled into an oblivion of grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused wearing a tight red dress she didn't recognize. What happened to Poppy during those lost days? And more importantly, what happened to Jack?

The case was never solved, and Poppy has finally begun to move on. But those lost days have never stopped haunting her. Poppy starts having nightmares and blackouts--there are periods of time she can't remember, and she's unable to tell the difference between what is real and what she's imagining. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy is plunged into a game of cat and mouse, determined to unravel the mystery around her husband's death. But can she handle the truth about what really happened?]]> 369 Lisa Unger mushroom 2 3.72 2018 Under My Skin
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/30
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]]> The Red Hunter 40744537 What is the difference between justice and revenge? In this “heart-stopping thriller� (Publishers Weekly) with “plenty of action� (Kirkus Reviews) by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, two wronged women on very different paths find themselves in the same dark place�

Claudia Bishop’s perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house—one that unbeknownst to her has an ugly history and may hide long buried secrets.

For Zoey Drake the defining moment of her childhood was the horrific home invasion murder of her parents. Years later, she has embraced the rage that fuels her. Training in the martial arts has made her strong and ready to face the demons from the past—and within.

Strangers to each other, and walking very different paths in the wake of trauma, these two women are on a collision course—because Zoey’s past nightmare and Claudia’s dreams for her future take place in the very same house. As Zoey seeks justice, and Claudia seeks peace, both will confront the monsters at the door that are the most frightening of all.

�The Red Hunter succeeds as a suspense novel on every level. It has a meticulously-woven plot, multi-layered characters, and the irony most desired by storytellers: Where the reader can’t wait to see how it ends, but then is remorseful when it does.� —Sandra Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author]]> 448 Lisa Unger 1501101714 mushroom 3 3.84 2006 The Red Hunter
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/26
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]]> Christmas Presents 122494784 Instead of presents this Christmas, one true crime podcaster is opening up a cold case�

When true crime podcaster Harley Granger drifts into Madeline Martin's bookshop days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up a past that Madeline would much rather forget.

Granger's work has earned him fame and wealth - and some serious criticism for his various unethical practices. Granger also has a lot of questions about the night Madeline was left for dead, the only surviving victim of killer Evan Handy.

Handy, who also murdered Madeline's best friend and is suspected in the disappearance of two local sisters, has been in jail for a decade. Since then, though, three other young women have gone missing in similar circumstances. Is the true predator still out there somewhere?

As Christmas approaches and a blizzard bears down, Madeline must confront the past to answer questions that have haunted her since that day. Is the truth more terrible than she ever imagined?

Coupling a picturesque, cosy setting with a deeply unsettling and suspenseful plot, Christmas Presents is a chilling seasonal tale that can be enjoyed all year long.]]> 260 Lisa Unger 1613164513 mushroom 3 3.56 2023 Christmas Presents
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
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]]> Confessions on the 7:45 61199290 From master of suspense Lisa Unger comes a riveting thriller about a chance encounter that unravels a stunning web of lies.

Selena Murphy is commuting home on the train when she strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat. The woman introduces herself as Martha and soon confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.

Then the nanny disappears.

As Selena is pulled into the mystery of what happened, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, she begins to wonder, who was Martha really ? But she is hardly prepared for what she’ll discover�

Don't miss The New Couple in 5B , Lisa Unger's newest psychological thriller about a couple that inherits an apartment with a truly chilling past.]]> 448 Lisa Unger 0778333892 mushroom 3 3.81 2019 Confessions on the 7:45
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/22
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]]> Last Girl Ghosted 60023133 Secrets, obsession and vengeance converge in this riveting thriller about an online dating match turned deadly cat-and-mouse game, from the New York Times bestselling author of Confessions on the 7:45

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?

But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn't that always what women think—that they're the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she's looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she's not sure whether she's the predator—or the prey.]]> 432 Lisa Unger 0778333264 mushroom 5 3.53 2021 Last Girl Ghosted
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/19
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]]> Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six 60023131 to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller.

What could be more restful than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s generous brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It'll be three couples on this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R.

But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare.

A deadly storm is brewing.ĚýThe rental host seems just a little too present.ĚýThe personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history.ĚýAnd the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep.

How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?]]> 396 Lisa Unger 077833323X mushroom 3 3.38 2022 Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves:
review:
if you can get through the slog of mombie drivel it's a fascinating story.
]]> <![CDATA[Christmas Card Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #26.5)]]> 51163670
CHRISTMAS CARD MURDER by Leslie Meier
In the midst of holiday home renovations, Lucy Stone accidentally unwraps a murder mystery decades in the making when she discovers an old Christmas card with a nasty message belonging to one of her farmhouse's previous residents. The case may be colder than a New England Christmas, but Lucy's determined to sort it out before Santa comes to town.

DEATH OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Lee Hollis
The Island Times Christmas soiree gets off to a scroogey start when Hayley Powell, Mona Barnes, and Rosana Moretti receive a Christmas card from the town flirt, Carol Waterman, who threatens to run off with one of their husbands! The ladies chalk it up to an imprudent prank...until they find Carol mistletoe-up under her tree...

DEATH OF A CHRISTMAS CARD CRAFTER by Peggy Ehrhart
Slay bells ring when the body of Arborville High School's beloved art teacher (and annual Christmas card designer), Karma Karling, is discovered on the first day of the Holiday Craft Fair. Now, Pamela Paterson and the Knit and Nibble crew must swap swatching for sleuthing in order to put a Christmas killer on ice.]]> 352 Leslie Meier 149672822X mushroom 2 3.51 Christmas Card Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #26.5)
author: Leslie Meier
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.51
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
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]]> The New Couple in 5B 128007059 A couple inherits an apartment with a spine-tingling past in this binge-worthy thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six.

Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad’s late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.

At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn’t feel more welcoming. But as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there’s more to the Windermere than meets the eye. Why is the doorman ever-present? Why are there cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the Windermere before she, too, falls under its dangerous spell.]]> 384 Lisa Unger 0778333345 mushroom 3 3.55 2024 The New Couple in 5B
author: Lisa Unger
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/13
date added: 2024/12/13
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]]> <![CDATA[The Charm Bracelet (Fairy Realm, #1)]]> 1105380 Enter the Realm of Magic...

When Jessie visits her grandmother at beautiful Blue Moon, she discovers an amazing secret, and enters the Realm for the first time.

Fairies, elves, tiny horses, and all kinds of magical beings live in the Realm. A noble Queen in a great golden palace rules them all. A high hedge keeps out dangerous creatures.

But the Realm is in terrible danger. Jessie must outwit an evil enemy and save the land before it is destroyed forever.]]> 128 Emily Rodda 0060095849 mushroom 4 3.89 2001 The Charm Bracelet (Fairy Realm, #1)
author: Emily Rodda
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/11
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves:
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]]> What Lies in the Woods 60784373
For decades afterward, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods―no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.]]> 336 Kate Alice Marshall 1250859883 mushroom 4 3.93 2023 What Lies in the Woods
author: Kate Alice Marshall
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/06
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]]> <![CDATA[One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)]]> 58679358 On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.]]> 416 Karen M. McManus 0593565371 mushroom 3 3.87 2017 One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)
author: Karen M. McManus
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/03
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Waiting for Christmas 209399791 The year is 1901 and the hustle and bustle of the holidays is descending on New York’s Fifth Avenue. For the first time in her privileged life, Adelaide Forsythe won’t be swept up in it. She couldn’t be happier about the prospect of a quieter Christmas. That’s not to say her transition from Miss to Mrs. has been without challenge. Though she doesn’t regret marrying for love instead of wealth, she can barely light the hearth or cook more than burnt toast. She feels woefully unprepared to run her own household. Then, on the first Sunday of Advent, winter winds bring change through two unlikely a young orphan boy, hiding near Adelaide’s front steps, and a seasoned housekeeper who seems too good to be true. The boy, Jack, claims he isn’t an orphan at all and is desperate to reunite his family. Adelaide and her husband Howard work tirelessly to solve the riddle of Jack’s story, while Adelaide’s new endeavors open her eyes to a world beyond her past experience—and all the challenge and possibility it holds. As Christmas approaches, small glimmers of wonder light the way toward the answers Adaleide seeks and the most miraculous gift of all.]]> 274 Lynn Austin 149647628X mushroom 1 4.16 2024 Waiting for Christmas
author: Lynn Austin
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves:
review:
I don't like Jesus, I'm not a fan of precocious children, I didn't care for the jarring 21st century ideals shoehorned into a story that supposedly takes place in 1901. main character has big white savior energy (except that literally every character in the book is white, but, you know). picking this up and seeing it through to the end was a mistake.
]]> When the Lights Go Out 36513009 A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?]]> 336 Mary Kubica 1488023573 mushroom 1 you've GOT to be kidding me 3.18 2018 When the Lights Go Out
author: Mary Kubica
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2024/11/24
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves:
review:
you've GOT to be kidding me
]]> She's Not Sorry 140111148
Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom to a teenage daughter and working as a full time nurse. While on duty at the hospital one day, a patient named Caitlin arrives in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, having jumped from a bridge and plunging over twenty feet to the train tracks below.Ěý

But when a witness comes forward with shocking details about the fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was CaitlinĚý pushed Ěýand if so, by whom and why?Ěý

Meghan has always tried to stay emotionally detached from her patients, but this time, she mistakenly lets herself get too close until she’s deeply entangled in Caitlin’s and her family’s lives. Only when it’s too late, does she realize that she and her daughter could be the next victims.]]> 330 Mary Kubica 0778308065 mushroom 4 3.77 2024 She's Not Sorry
author: Mary Kubica
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
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]]> None of This Is True 62334530 Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?]]> 390 Lisa Jewell 1982179007 mushroom 2 4.08 2023 None of This Is True
author: Lisa Jewell
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/12
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves:
review:
it's never okay to blame a child for getting involved with a pedophile even if the child sucks
]]> Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679783268]]> 279 Jane Austen 1441341706 mushroom 0 currently-reading 4.28 1813 Pride and Prejudice
author: Jane Austen
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1813
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Haunting of Hill House 89717 182 Shirley Jackson 0143039989 mushroom 4 3.85 1959 The Haunting of Hill House
author: Shirley Jackson
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1959
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
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]]> What Have You Done? 201102399 The new binge-worthy novel from the “queen of the one-sit read,� and New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. But this morning that will change. And one innocent question could be deadly. What have you done?

The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked.

But Diana Brewer isn’t lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer.

How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects, a place of fear and paranoia.

Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers.]]> 307 Shari Lapena 0593489969 mushroom 2 3.73 2024 What Have You Done?
author: Shari Lapena
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2024/10/08
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]]> Desperation 10584
There's a place along Interstate 50 that some call the loneliest place on Earth. It's known as Desperation, Nevada.
It's not a very nice place to live. It's an even worse place to die.
Let the battle against evil begin.
Welcome to ... Desperation]]> 547 Stephen King mushroom 4 3.86 1996 Desperation
author: Stephen King
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/06
date added: 2024/10/07
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]]> Fairy Tale 60177373 Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.� And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.]]> 607 Stephen King 1668002175 mushroom 3 4.05 2022 Fairy Tale
author: Stephen King
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/30
date added: 2024/10/01
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]]> Rage 66370 131 Richard Bachman 0451076451 mushroom 0 currently-reading 3.73 1977 Rage
author: Richard Bachman
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1977
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Elevation 38355410
Scott also has new neighbors who have opened a "fine dining experience" in town, although it's an experience being shunned by the locals: Deirdre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don't exactly conform to a lifestyle the community approves of. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be warm and friendly, but Deirdre is as cold as ice.

As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12K run, Scott begins to understand the prejudices the women face, and tries to help. Unlikely alliances form, and the mystery of Scott's affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

From the master storyteller Stephen King comes this compelling tale about finding common ground despite differences, a magical story with deep resonance for our time.]]> 146 Stephen King 1982102314 mushroom 3 3.59 2018 Elevation
author: Stephen King
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/09/22
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]]> Children of the Corn 29952803
From the unrivaled master of horror and the supernatural, Stephen King. �Children of the Corn,� first collected in the extraordinary collection Night Shift in 1973 and then adapted into a horror film franchise of the same name, is a terrifying and unforgettable classic of the genre.]]> 46 Stephen King 1101974044 mushroom 5 4.09 1977 Children of the Corn
author: Stephen King
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/09/22
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]]> Home Is Where the Bodies Are 194020321
After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm’s length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn’t been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.

While going through their parent’s belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends.

Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.]]> 256 Jeneva Rose mushroom 4 3.77 2024 Home Is Where the Bodies Are
author: Jeneva Rose
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/12
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this reinforced my childfree status
]]> Things Not Seen (Things, #1) 542752
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby's new condition; even his dad the physicist can't figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He's a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. She's blind, and Bobby can't resist talking to her, trusting her. But people are starting to wonder where Bobby is. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen again before it's too late.]]> 256 Andrew Clements 0142400769 mushroom 4 3.89 2002 Things Not Seen (Things, #1)
author: Andrew Clements
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/11
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Village in the Dark (Cara Kennedy, #2)]]> 154488336 Detective Cara Kennedy thought she’d lost her husband and son in an accident, but harrowing evidence has emerged that points to murder--and she will stop at nothing to find the truth in this riveting mystery from the author of City Under One Roof.

On a frigid February day, Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy stands by the graves of her husband and son, watching as their caskets are raised from the earth.ĚýIt feels sacrilegious, but she has no choice. Aaron and Dylan disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances.Ěý
Ěý
Somehow tied to the mystery is Mia Upash, who grew up in an isolated village called Unity, a community of women and children in hiding from abusive men. Mia never imagined the trouble she would find herself in when she left home to live in Man’s World. Although she remains haunted by the tragedy of what happened to the man and the boy in the woods, she has her own reasons for keeping quiet.
Ěý
Aided by police officer Joe Barkowski and other residents of Point Mettier, Cara’s investigation will lead them on a dangerous path that puts their lives and the lives of everyone around them in mortal jeopardy.]]> 288 Iris Yamashita 0593336704 mushroom 2 3.54 2024 Village in the Dark (Cara Kennedy, #2)
author: Iris Yamashita
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
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]]> <![CDATA[I Know What You Did Last Summer]]> 47763
The horror is starting again. There is an unknown avenger out there who is stalking them in a deadly game. Will he stop at terror-or is he out for revenge?]]> 199 Lois Duncan 0440228441 mushroom 4 3.46 1973 I Know What You Did Last Summer
author: Lois Duncan
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.46
book published: 1973
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/22
date added: 2024/08/22
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]]> Little Paula (Eden #2) 61273724
Faith Eden’s brief foray into motherhood is marked by tragedy. Distraught that her baby was ripped away from her, she is determined to get little Paula back from the wealthy family who adopted her. Her brother, Trevor, is also anxious to get the baby back and will do anything necessary to do so. But when the dark truth comes to light, this twisted family will stop at nothing to keep outsiders out and secrets in—no matter the cost.]]> 304 V.C. Andrews 1982156414 mushroom 1 3.28 2023 Little Paula (Eden #2)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2024/08/21
date added: 2024/08/21
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every character, with the exception of the baby, is miserable and insufferable. it's shocking how little neiderman's writing has improved since the 1980s (recently finished the Cutler series). his understanding of police procedure seems on par with a 7th grader who's seen 1-2 episodes of law & order. I don't know why I keep torturing myself with these books.
]]> <![CDATA[Eden's Children (1) (The Eden Series)]]> 60321415 400 V.C. Andrews 1982156368 mushroom 3 3.09 2022 Eden's Children (1) (The Eden Series)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.09
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/09
date added: 2024/08/09
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]]> <![CDATA[Forbidden Sister (The Forbidden, #1)]]> 15801684
I HAD EVERY REASON TO HATE HER, MY FORBIDDEN SISTER. SHE WAS LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAD DIED BUT WOULDN’T STAY BURIED. . . .

Bestselling author V.C. Andrews unlocks an adventure of intrigue and temptation that shatters the innocence of a girl in search of the sister she’s never known.

Emmie Wilcox was only six when her older sister, Roxy, was thrown out of their New York City apartment. Their stern father’s military-style rules left no room for rebellion, and Roxy was continually defiant and rebellious. Emmie, now an outstanding student at a private school, is obedient, respectful, a fille parfaite, as her Parisian-born mother lovingly calls her. Two sisters, total opposites—yet Emmie is secretly obsessed with the mystery and imposed silence surrounding What had she finally done to deserve being cast out of her home? Where is she now? Emmie can’t help but wonder if there is a hidden side to her that resembles Roxy’s defiant nature. Sometimes she fantasizes that she is more like Roxy than she appears. Sometimes she wants to be. She wants excitement, and being a good girl all the time is harder than it seems. Finally learning that Roxy is a highly paid escort to wealthy and powerful men, Emmie goes behind her father’s back to track down and spy on the sister she can’t help but be fascinated with, a sister whose influence might run deeper than Emmie ever dreamed.

In a tale twisting with heart-pounding suspense, shocking revelations, and the compelling family drama for which V.C. Andrews is known, Forbidden Sister introduces two new original heroines to capture any reader’s imagination.]]> 400 V.C. Andrews 1439155062 mushroom 4 3.66 2013 Forbidden Sister (The Forbidden, #1)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/18
date added: 2024/08/09
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]]> Killer (Alex Delaware, #29) 17910538 Ěý
The City of Angels has more than its share of psychopaths, and no one recognizes that more acutely than the brilliant psychologist and police consultant Dr. Alex Delaware. Despite that, Constance Sykes, a sophisticated, successful physician, hardly seems like someone Alex needs to fear. Then, at the behest of the court, he becomes embroiled in a bizarre child custody dispute initiated by Connie against her sister and begins to realize that there is much about the siblings he has failed to comprehend. And when the court battle between the Sykes sisters erupts into cold, calculating murder and a rapidly growing number of victims, Alex knows he’s been snared in a toxic web of pathology.
Ěý
Nothing would please Alex more than to be free of the ugly spectacle known as Sykes v. Sykes. But then the little girl at the center of the vicious dispute disappears and Alex knows he must work with longtime friend Detective Milo Sturgis, braving an obstacle course ofĚý Hollywood washouts, gangbangers, and self-serving jurists in order to save an innocent life.
Ěý
Killer is Kellerman—and Delaware—at their finest.]]> 335 Jonathan Kellerman 0345505751 mushroom 3 3.89 Killer (Alex Delaware, #29)
author: Jonathan Kellerman
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2014/01/01
date added: 2024/08/07
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]]> Darkest Hour (Cutler, #5) 563452
But when tragedy befalls her best friend Lillian comes to believe Emily's grim words. Meekly, she endures her penance, finding a strange solace in the endless repetition of prayers. Then Papa loses The Meadows in a card game, and Lillian is faced with a new and terrifying prospect. Arrogant, handsome playboy Bill Cutler will return the plantation if Lillian will marry him...]]> 394 V.C. Andrews 0671759329 mushroom 4 3.87 1993 Darkest Hour (Cutler, #5)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/17
date added: 2024/06/26
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]]> <![CDATA[Midnight Whispers (Cutler, #4)]]> 563462
Yet Christie can't help feeling as if a dark cloud hovers over Cutler's Cove ... a cloud whose origins lie in her family's troubled history, and the many questions no one, not even Dawn, will answer. Only one person can always chase away her blues: Gavin, Daddy Jimmy's young and handsome stepbrother.

Then, in one harsh night, Christie's world is changed forever. She is shocked to discover her Uncle Philip's unbrotherly love for her mother, but even worse is the way he now looks at Christie, his eyes bright with tortured passion. Fleeing to New York City, she finds her real father, a pathetic, helpless has-been. Desperate and heartbroken, she turns to Gavin, who travels with her to The Meadows, the plantation where Christie was born. In Gavin's arms, in the first, tender moments of true love, Christie finds a refuge from her painful memories. But The Meadows is blighted by its own dark secrets --- and all too soon Christie is torn from Gavin's embrace. Now as black storms of evil gather around her, Christie must struggle to break the cruel bonds of the past ... to defy the curse that has haunted Cutler's Cove for generations ...
(back cover)]]> 440 V.C. Andrews 0671695169 mushroom 4 3.85 1992 Midnight Whispers (Cutler, #4)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/31
date added: 2024/06/26
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]]> Girl, Interrupted 33799602
Kaysen's memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 156 Susanna Kaysen 0804151113 mushroom 4 3.86 1993 Girl, Interrupted
author: Susanna Kaysen
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/26
date added: 2024/06/26
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]]> Twilight's Child (Cutler, #3) 397429
At last, Dawn can create a haven of warmth and love for her beautiful baby girl, Christie, and her darling Jimmy. Dawn is a huge success as the new owner of the Cutler's Cove hotel and soon she and Jimmy will be blessed with a child of their own.

Yet Dawn cannot quell her forebodings of evil. She can sense Grandmother Cutler's presence everywhere ... can feel her bitter hatred as if the old lady plotted her vengeance from the grave. When Dawn discovers that her brother, Philip, still clings to his mad, shameful passion for her, she is heartstricken. Her spiteful, jealous sister, Clara, is far easier to ignore until the day Clara's childish rage explodes into violence, destroying Dawn's most cherished, precious dream.

Then Christie's father, debonair singing star Michael Sutton, returns. Now, as the heartaches and scandals of the past threaten to engulf her, Dawn must fight for her steadfast Jimmy ... for only with Jimmy's love can she find the rainbow at the end of the storm.
(back cover)]]> 410 V.C. Andrews 0671695142 mushroom 3 3.85 1992 Twilight's Child (Cutler, #3)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/27
date added: 2024/06/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland]]> 40163119
Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders.

Patrick Radden Keefe writes an intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.]]> 441 Patrick Radden Keefe 0385521316 mushroom 0 to-read 4.47 2018 Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
author: Patrick Radden Keefe
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Secrets of the Morning (Cutler, #2)]]> 660523 Dawn can hardly believe she's a student at one of New York City's best music schools. Now her most precious wish, to become a singer, can come true. But Dawn still dreams about Jimmy, her strong, intense boyfriend, and the love and anguished secrets they share.
Then Michael Sutton arrives, a new teacher at the school, a singing star and the most wonderful looking man Dawn has ever seen. Together they create a world of feeling Dawn has never known. In his embrace Dawn awakens to disturbing, unfamiliar desires, and Michael's promises offer a vision of music and romance forever...until he disappears.
Dazed by his cruelty, alone with the bitter fruit of his betrayal, Dawn becomes, once again, a victim of her grandmothers twisted schemes. Desolate, she clings to the tender hope that Jimmy will return and renew with her their deepest hearts' dream...]]> 405 V.C. Andrews 0671695126 mushroom 3 3.85 1991 Secrets of the Morning (Cutler, #2)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/12
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves:
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]]> Dawn (Cutler, #1) 397456 Now Dawn and her older brother Jimmy have a chance for a decent, respectable life, and Dawn's secret, precious hope to study singing can come true. Philip Cutler, the handsomest boy in school, sets Dawn's heart on fire. She is deeply devoted to her brooding brother; but with Philip, she imagines a lovely dream of romance...
Then Dawn's mother suddenly dies, and her entire world begins to crumble. After a terrible new shock, she is thrust into a different family and an evil web of unspoken sins. Her sweet innocence lost, humiliated and scorned, Dawn is desperate to find Jimmy again and...strip away the wicked lies that will change all their lives forever!]]> 407 V.C. Andrews 0671670689 mushroom 3 3.90 1990 Dawn (Cutler, #1)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/05
date added: 2024/05/14
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]]> The Firm (The Firm, #1) 452235 --jgrisham.com]]> 501 John Grisham 044021145X mushroom 3 4.26 1991 The Firm (The Firm, #1)
author: John Grisham
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at: 2018/08/07
date added: 2024/04/25
shelves:
review:

]]> Black Cat (Gemini, #2) 226682 She hid her true self. Now the truth will be revealed.

Living a life of lies under the thumb of her widowed, spiritually-obsessed mother, Celeste has been forced to take on the identity of her dead twin brother, Noble. She's almost forgotten what it's like to be Celeste—except for the one thing that keeps her sane: caring for her darling daughter, Baby Celeste. But when Celeste's mother marries a kindly neighbor, a new breed of poisonous secrets and vicious enemies will force Celeste to do what she must—to survive the darkness....]]> 400 V.C. Andrews 0743428609 mushroom 2 3.76 2004 Black Cat (Gemini, #2)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2004
rating: 2
read at: 2024/04/25
date added: 2024/04/25
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music]]> 57648017
Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I've recorded and can't wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.

This certainly doesn't mean that I'm quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it's like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.]]> 384 Dave Grohl 0063076098 mushroom 4 4.45 2021 The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
author: Dave Grohl
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/03
date added: 2024/03/03
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[After That Night (Will Trent, #11)]]> 63833664 After that night, nothing was ever the same again

Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton's life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.

Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who's been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper's assault is uncannily linked to Sara's.

And it seems the past isn't going to stay buried forever.]]> 432 Karin Slaughter 0063157780 mushroom 4 4.15 2023 After That Night (Will Trent, #11)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/21
date added: 2024/02/21
shelves:
review:
The book was pretty good but the line that was like 'lesbian sex couldn't possibly leave bruises and abrasions' took me out
]]> The Amish Wife 175532363 The #1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen solves a murder among the Amish and reveals the conspiracy to keep it a secret in a heartbreaking and horrifying true-crime story.

In 1977, in an Ohio Amish community, pregnant wife and mother Ida Stutzman perished during a barn fire. The coroner’s natural causes. Ida’s husband, Eli, was never considered a suspect. But when he eventually rejected the faith and took his son, Danny, with him, murder followed.

What really happened to Ida? The dubious circumstances of the tragic blaze were willfully ignored and Eli’s shifting narratives disregarded. Could Eli’s subsequent cross-country journey of death—including that of his own son—have been prevented if just one person came forward with what they knew about the real Eli Stutzman?

The questions haunted Gregg Olsen and Ida’s brother Daniel Gingerich for decades. At Daniel’s urging, Olsen now returns to Amish Country and to Eli’s crimes first exposed in Olsen’s Abandoned Prayers, one of which has remained a mystery until now. With the help of aging witnesses and shocking long-buried letters, Olsen finally uncovers the disturbing truth—about Ida’s murder and the conspiracy of silence and secrets that kept it hidden for forty-five years.]]> 387 Gregg Olsen 1542016495 mushroom 0 to-read 3.48 2023 The Amish Wife
author: Gregg Olsen
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Queen's Gambit 62022 258 Walter Tevis 1400030609 mushroom 5 4.14 1983 The Queen's Gambit
author: Walter Tevis
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/11
date added: 2024/02/11
shelves:
review:

]]> False Witness 55809780
Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defence attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised - her life is just as unremarkable as she'd always hoped it would be.

HIDES A DEVASTATING PAST

But Leigh's ordinary life masks a childhood which was far from average... a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence.

BUT NOW THE PAST IS CATCHING UP

Then a case lands on her desk - defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It's the highest profile case she's ever been given - a case which could transform her career, if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realises that it's no coincidence that he's chosen her as his attorney. She knows him. And he knows her. More to the point, he knows what happened twenty years ago, and why Leigh has spent two decades running.

AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT

If she can't get him acquitted, she'll lose much more than the case. The only person who can help her is her younger, estranged sister Calli, the last person Leigh would ever want to ask for help. But suddenly she has no choice...]]> 440 Karin Slaughter 0062858092 mushroom 2 4.05 2021 False Witness
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2024/02/07
date added: 2024/02/07
shelves:
review:
The ridiculousness of two teenage girls being able to murder, dismember, and successfully hide all of the evidence was really distracting. Couldn't stop thinking throughout the book that literally none of this would have happened if they'd just called 911 for what was very clearly an act of self defense. The idea that they wouldn't be believed because they wore tight clothing and Callie had a record (of petty theft) was shaky at best. Not a bad book per se, just one built on an extremely weak foundation.
]]> Runaways (Orphans, #5) 43490 The spellbinding Orphans series concludes in this thrilling new novel from V.C. Andrews(R)...
"All for one and one for all" was the girls' motto. In the grim foster home for orphans run by Louise and Gordon Tooey, at least Brooke, Crystal, Raven, and Butterfly had each other. Calling themselves "sisters," together they could forget the past and dream of a new chance...a real home. Then they discovered a secret even more haunting than Gordon's heavy boots pounding on the wooden floors. Their fragile hopes of a better life shattered, they escaped the only way they could. Soon they were runaways in a borrowed car, desperately wishing to wake up one morning in a place of sunshine and love.
Raven hoped to be a singer, Butterfly wanted to be a dancer, Crystal planned for college, and Brooke privately hoped to find her mother in California. On the open road the chains of sadness that had bound them seemed to melt away, and the kindness of strangers made a secure future seem almost real. But the highway was a dangerous place, and soon they were penniless and more vulnerable than ever. Alone under the wide western sky, they had only each other to ask if they should give up their dreams...or if they were really halfway to a haven of safety and happiness....]]> 342 V.C. Andrews 0671007637 mushroom 3 3.79 1998 Runaways (Orphans, #5)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/01/31
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]]> The Girl from Widow Hills 52754102
Arden Maynor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Strangers and friends, neighbors and rescue workers, set up search parties and held vigils, praying for her safe return. Against all odds, she was found, alive, clinging to a storm drain. The girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden’s mother wrote a book. Fame followed. Fans and fan letters, creeps, and stalkers. And every year, the anniversary. It all became too much. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from the public eye.

Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. She’s managed to stay off the radar for the last few years. But with the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Where is she now? Soon Olivia feels like she’s being watched and begins sleepwalking again, like she did long ago, even waking outside her home. Until late one night she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet is the corpse of a man she knows—from her previous life, as Arden Maynor.

And now, the girl from Widow Hills is about to become the center of the story, once again, in this propulsive page-turner from suspense master Megan Miranda.]]> 325 Megan Miranda 1501165429 mushroom 4 3.68 2020 The Girl from Widow Hills
author: Megan Miranda
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/09
date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> Cop Town 18594594 416 Karin Slaughter 0345547497 mushroom 4 3.86 2014 Cop Town
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/06
date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes 25613362 A missing girl in the news reminds Julia Carroll of herself: nineteen, beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes.

Julia begins to dig deeper and plans an article for her college paper. She becomes gradually more obsessed with the case, never imagining how close she herself is to danger.

Includes an extract from Karin Slaughter’s gripping new novel, Pretty Girls. ]]> 67 Karin Slaughter 147353562X mushroom 4 3.43 2015 Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/24
date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Last Breath (Good Daughter, #0.5)]]> 34603169 The Good Daughter, the stunning new standalone from the No. 1 bestselling author of the Will Trent and Grant County series.

Protecting someone always comes at a cost.

At the age of thirteen, Charlie Quinn’s childhood came to an abrupt and devastating end. Two men, with a grudge against her lawyer father, broke into her home � and after that shocking night, Charlie's world was never the same.

Now a lawyer herself, Charlie has made it her mission to defend those with no one else to turn to. So when Flora Faulkner, a motherless teen, begs for help, Charlie is reminded of her own past, and is powerless to say no.

But honour-student Flora is in far deeper trouble than Charlie could ever have anticipated. Soon she must ask herself: How far should she go to protect her client? And can she truly believe everything she is being told?]]> 176 Karin Slaughter 0062742159 mushroom 4 3.80 2017 Last Breath (Good Daughter, #0.5)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/19
date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> The Safest Lies 26192557 Can fear be inherited?

Kelsey has lived most of her life in a shadow of fear, raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with nothing but her attacker’s baby growing inside her—Kelsey.

Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile for their own protection, but that plan is shattered when she drives off a cliff and is rescued by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker.

A few days later, she arrives home to face her greatest fear: her mother is missing. She and her mother have drilled for all contingencies—except this one. Luckily, Ryan is as skilled at emergency rescues as Kelsey is at escape and evasion.

To have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face all her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her.

And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all.]]> 357 Megan Miranda 0553537512 mushroom 4 3.80 2016 The Safest Lies
author: Megan Miranda
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/04
date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> Indelible (Grant County, #4) 182012
Going back and forth between present and past, the narrative takes place in two time frames: present and ten years prior to the shooting. The “present� narration evolves over several hours; the “past� takes place over the course of a week.

Lena will primarily get the present narration, working outside the station with Frank trying to figure out who the shooter is and how to resolve the hostage situation. Inside the station, Jeffrey has not been fatally wounded, but Sara knows he could easily die if the bleeding is not stopped. He drifts in and out of consciousness and through Sara and Jeffrey we get the past, and the case that leads up to the present day shooting.]]> 384 Karin Slaughter 0060567112 mushroom 4 4.15 2004 Indelible (Grant County, #4)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/03
date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Girl, Forgotten (Andrea Oliver, #2)]]> 59445976
Who killed Emily Vaughn?

Prom Night. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what's supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead.

Nearly forty years later, Andrea Oliver, newly qualified as a US Marshal, receives her first assignment: to go to Longbill Beach to protect a judge receiving death threats. But Andrea's real focus isn't the judge � it's Emily Vaughn. Ever since she first heard Emily's name a year ago, she's been haunted by her brutal death. Nobody was ever convicted � her friends closed ranks, her family shut themselves off in their grief, the town moved on � so the killer is still out there. But now Andrea has a chance to find out what really happened…]]> 400 Karin Slaughter 0062858114 mushroom 4 3.99 2022 Girl, Forgotten (Andrea Oliver, #2)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/29
date added: 2024/01/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hobbit, or There and Back Again]]> 5907 Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).]]> 366 J.R.R. Tolkien mushroom 0 to-read 4.29 1937 The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1937
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/01/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Good Daughter (Good Daughter, #1)]]> 33230889
InstantĚýNew York TimesĚýBestseller

theSkimm Book Club Pick!

The stunning new novel from the international #1 bestselling authorĚý—Ěýa searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense.

Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind�

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn's happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father � Pikeville's notorious defense attorney � devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer herself â€� the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again â€� and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized â€� Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it's a caseĚýthat unleashesĚýthe terrible memories she's spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won't stay buried foreverâ€�

Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart,ĚýThe Good DaughterĚýis fiction at its most thrilling.]]> 519 Karin Slaughter 0062430262 mushroom 5 4.10 2017 The Good Daughter (Good Daughter, #1)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/23
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement]]> 6114317
The hard knocks of her environment were just the beginning of Irene's shocking tale. Insanity ran rampant in her husband's family and was the source of inconceivable events that unfolded throughout Irene's adult life. CULT INSANITY takes readers deeper into her story to uncover the outrageous behavior of her brother-in-law Ervil -- a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he was called to set the house of God in order -- and how he terrorized their colony. Claiming to be God's avenger and to have a license to kill in the name of God, Ervil ordered the murders of friends and family members, eliminating all those who challenged his authority.

For those who were gripped by Shattered Dreams , the rest of the story will blow them away. CULT INSANITY is a riveting, terrifying memoir of polygamist life under the tyranny of a madman.]]> 330 Irene Spencer 0446538191 mushroom 4 3.64 2009 Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
author: Irene Spencer
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/11
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[The Silent Wife (Will Trent, #10)]]> 53065750 The New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her and The Last Widow returns with another electrifying Will Trent thriller.

Investigating the killing of a prisoner during a riot inside a state penitentiary, GBI investigator Will Trent is confronted with disturbing information. One of the inmates claims that he is innocent of a brutal attack for which he has always been the prime suspect. The man insists that he was framed by a corrupt law enforcement team led by Jeffrey Tolliver and that the real culprit is still out there—a serial killer who has systematically been preying on women across the state for years. If Will reopens the investigation and implicates the dead police officer with a hero’s reputation of wrongdoing, the opportunistic convict is willing to provide the information GBI needs about the riot murder.

Only days ago, another young woman was viciously murdered in a state park in northern Georgia. Is it a fluke, or could there be a serial killer on the loose?

As Will Trent digs into both crimes it becomes clear that he must solve the cold case in order to find the answer. Yet nearly a decade has passed—time for memories to fade, witnesses to vanish, evidence to disappear, and lies to become truth. But Will can’t crack either mystery without the help of the one person he doesn’t want involved: his girlfriend and Jeffrey Tolliver’s widow, medical examiner Sara Linton.

When the past and present begin to collide, Will realizes that everything he values is at stake . . .]]> 496 Karin Slaughter 0062858106 mushroom 5 4.16 2020 The Silent Wife (Will Trent, #10)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/04
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming (An Insider's Look at the True Crime Story of the BTK Killer, Dennis Rader)]]> 38915935 What is it like to learn that your ordinary, loving father is a serial killer?
Ěý
In 2005, Kerri Rawson heard a knock on the door of her apartment. When she opened it, an FBI agent informed her that her father had been arrested for murdering ten people, including two children. It was then that she learned her father was the notorious serial killer known as BTK, a name he’d given himself that described the horrific way he committed his crimes: bind, torture, kill. As news of his capture spread, Wichita celebrated the end of a thirty-one-year nightmare.

ĚýFor Kerri Rawson, another was just beginning. She was plunged into a black hole of horror and disbelief. The same man who had been a loving father, a devoted husband, church president, Boy Scout leader, and a public servant had been using their family as a cover for his heinous crimes since before she was born. Everything she had believed about her life had been a lie.

Written with candor and extraordinary courage, A Serial Killer’s DaughterĚýis an unflinching exploration of life with one of America’s most infamous killers and an astonishing tale of personal and spiritual transformation. For all who suffer from unhealed wounds or the crippling effects of violence, betrayal, and anger, Kerri Rawson’s story offers the hope of reclaiming sanity in the midst of madness, rebuilding a life in the shadow of death, and learning to forgive the unforgivable.]]> 336 Kerri Rawson 1400201756 mushroom 2 3.38 2019 A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming (An Insider's Look at the True Crime Story of the BTK Killer, Dennis Rader)
author: Kerri Rawson
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2020/11/04
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints]]> 11489698
Despite considerable press coverage and a lengthy trial, the full story has remained largely untold. Only one man can reveal the whole, astounding truth: Sam Brower, the private investigator who devoted years of his life to breaking open the secret practices of the FLDS and bringing Warren Jeffs and his inner circle to justice. In Prophet's Prey, Brower implicates Jeffs in his own words, bringing to light the contents of Jeffs's personal priesthood journal, discovered in a hidden underground vault, and revealing to readers the shocking inside world of FLDS members, whose trust he earned and who showed him the staggering truth of their lives.

Prophet's Prey offers the gripping, behind-the-scenes account of a bizarre world from the only man who knows the full story.]]> 336 Sam Brower 160819275X mushroom 5 3.95 2011 Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints
author: Sam Brower
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/29
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Triumph: Life After the Cult--A Survivor's Lessons]]> 8193750 A moving and inspirational true story of one woman’s life after fleeing the ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect featured in Keep Pray and Obey—from the New York Times bestselling author of EscapeĚý“Triumph is thoughtful, intelligent, and engaging.”—Meg Wolitzer, bestselling author of The InterestingsĚýIn 2003,ĚýCarolynĚýJessop, a lifelong member of the extremist Mormon sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), gathered up her eight children, including her profoundly disabled four-year-old son, and escaped in the middle of the night to freedom. After detailing the shocking conditions of FLDS and her harrowing flight in her memoir, Escape,ĚýCarolynĚýreveled in her newfound identity as a bestselling author, a devoted mom, and a loving companion to the wonderful man in her life. She thought she had put her past firmly behind her.ĚýThen, on April 3, 2008, it came roaring back when the state of Texas, acting on a tip from a young girl who’d called a hotline alleging abuse, staged a surprise raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch, a sprawling, 1700-acre compound near Eldorado, Texas, where the jailedĚýFLDSĚý “prophetâ€� Warren Jeffs had relocated his sect’s most “worthyâ€� members three years earlier. The ranch was being run by MerrilĚýJessop,ĚýCarolyn’s ex-husband and one of the cult’s most powerful leaders. As a mesmerized nation watched the crisis unfold,ĚýCarolynĚýwas called upon as an expert to help authorities understand the customs and beliefs of the extremist religious sect.ĚýIn Triumph,ĚýCarolynĚýtells the real, harrowing story behind the raid and sets the record straight on much of the damaging misinformation that flooded the media in its aftermath. She recounts the setbacks and the successes, all while weaving in details of her own life in the years since her escape—including her budding role as a social critic and her struggle to make peace with her eldest daughter’s heartbreaking decision to return to the cult.ĚýAn extraordinary woman who has overcome countless challenges and tragedies in her life,ĚýCarolynĚýshows us in this book how she has triumphed in spite of everything—and how you can, too, no matter what adversity you face.]]> 290 Carolyn Jessop 0307590720 mushroom 5 3.85 2010 Triumph: Life After the Cult--A Survivor's Lessons
author: Carolyn Jessop
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/20
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[If I Can't Have You: Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of Her Children]]> 18404221 In If I Can't Have You, bestselling author Gregg Olsen and co-author Rebecca Morris investigate one of the 21st Century's most puzzling disappearances and how it resulted in the murder of two children by their father.

Every once in a great while a genuine murder mystery unfolds before the eyes of the American public. The tragic story of Susan Powell and her murdered boys, Charlie and Braden, is the only case that rivals the Jon Benet Ramsey saga in the annals of true crime. When the pretty, blonde Utah mother went missing in December of 2009 the media was swept up in the story � with lenses and microphones trained on Susan's husband, Josh. He said he had no idea what happened to his young wife, and that he and the boys had been camping in the middle of a snowstorm.

Over the next three years bombshell by bombshell, the story would reveal more shocking secrets. Josh's father, Steve, who was sexually obsessed with Susan, would ultimately be convicted of unspeakable perversion. Josh's brother, Michael, would commit suicide. And in the most stunning event of them all, Josh Powell would murder his two little boys and kill himself with brutality beyond belief.]]> 336 Gregg Olsen 1250027144 mushroom 5 3.97 2014 If I Can't Have You: Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of Her Children
author: Gregg Olsen
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/15
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy]]> 292782 His Favorite Wife is the heart-stopping, inspirational narrative of a courageous, fifteen-year-old girl who becomes the sixth wife in a polygamous marriage. Cascading with rich, well-developed characters, this true story will capture your soul and imagination as the author reveals how a group of kind-hearted, sincere people are led to embrace this controversial lifestyle in their pursuit of the highest degree of glory. Laced with surprising brush-strokes of humor, this heart-rending saga will take its readers on a journey that outsiders whisper of and shudder about. It answers the question that a polygamist's wife is asked countless times: How can you tolerate sharing your husband?

In North America today there are over thirty thousand polygamists. They lead secret lives in their attempt to hide from society and U.S. laws. Their women are taught that obedience, unquestioning acceptance of polygamy, and giving birth to huge families of children to follow in their parent's footsteps will assure them a celestial crown. Few search out truth for themselves, but trustingly follow their prophet. Susan's book deals with this head-in-the-sand ignorance. She too, was one of these women.]]> 434 Susan Ray Schmidt 097797300X mushroom 5 3.91 2009 His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy
author: Susan Ray Schmidt
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/06
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> Breaking Free 34217597 In this searing memoir of survival in the spirit of Stolen Innocence, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it.

Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey. No one in this radical splinter sect of the Mormon Church was more powerful or terrifying than its leader Warren Jeffs—Rachel’s father.

Living outside mainstream Mormonism and federal law, Jeffs arranged marriages between under-age girls and middle-aged and elderly members of his congregation. In 2006, he gained international notoriety when the FBI placed him on its Ten Most Wanted List. Though he is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault, Jeffs� iron grip on the church remains firm, and his edicts to his followers increasingly restrictive and bizarre.

In Breaking Free, Rachel blows the lid off this taciturn community made famous by John Krakauer’s bestselling Under the Banner of Heaven to offer a harrowing look at her life with Warren Jeffs, and the years of physical and emotional abuse she suffered. Sexually assaulted, compelled into an arranged polygamous marriage, locked away in "houses of hiding" as punishment for perceived transgressions, and physically separated from her children, Rachel, Jeffs� first plural daughter by his second of more than fifty wives, eventually found the courage to leave the church in 2015. But Breaking Free is not only her story—Rachel’s experiences illuminate those of her family and the countless others who remain trapped in the strange world she left behind.

A shocking and mesmerizing memoir of faith, abuse, courage, and freedom, Breaking Free is an expose of religious extremism and a beacon of hope for anyone trying to overcome personal obstacles.]]> 400 Rachel Jeffs 0062692828 mushroom 5 4.05 2017 Breaking Free
author: Rachel Jeffs
name: mushroom
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/04
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> Escape 818811
When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger: a man thirty-two years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn’s heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church that had settled in small communities along the Arizona-Utah border. Over the next fifteen years, Carolyn had eight children and withstood her husband’s psychological abuse and the watchful eyes of his other wives who were locked in a constant battle for supremacy.

Carolyn’s every move was dictated by her husband’s whims. He decided where she lived and how her children would be treated. He controlled the money she earned as a school teacher. He chose when they had sex; Carolyn could only refuse—at her peril. For in the FLDS, a wife’s compliance with her husband determined how much status both she and her children held in the family. Carolyn was miserable for years and wanted out, but she knew that if she tried to leave and got caught, her children would be taken away from her. No woman in the country had ever escaped from the FLDS and managed to get her children out, too. But in 2003, Carolyn chose freedom over fear and fled her home with her eight children. She had $20 to her name.

Escape exposes a world tantamount to a prison camp, created by religious fanatics who, in the name of God, deprive their followers the right to make choices, force women to be totally subservient to men, and brainwash children in church-run schools. Against this background, Carolyn Jessop’s flight takes on an extraordinary, inspiring power. Not only did she manage a daring escape from a brutal environment, she became the first woman ever granted full custody of her children in a contested suit involving the FLDS. And in 2006, her reports to the Utah attorney general on church abuses formed a crucial part of the case that led to the arrest of their notorious leader, Warren Jeffs.]]> 413 Carolyn Jessop 0767927567 mushroom 5 3.95 2007 Escape
author: Carolyn Jessop
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/03
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> Come Find Me 35065766
In a neighboring county, seventeen-year-old Nolan Chandler is determined to find out what really happened to his brother, who disappeared the day after Nolan had an eerie premonition. There hasn't been a single lead for two years, until Nolan picks up an odd signal--a pattern coming from his brother's bedroom.

Drawn together by these strange signals--and their family tragedies--Kennedy and Nolan search for the origin of the mysterious frequency. But the more they uncover, the more they believe that everything's connected--even their pasts--as it appears the signal is meant for them alone, sharing a message that only they can understand. Is something coming for them? Or is the frequency warning them about something that's already here?]]> 327 Megan Miranda 0525578293 mushroom 4 3.68 2019 Come Find Me
author: Megan Miranda
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/27
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]> Someone Knows 41439562 From the New York Times-bestselling author comes a pulse-pounding domestic thriller about a group of friends who have been bound for twenty years by a single secret—and will now be undone by it. Someone Knows is an emotional exploration of friendship and family, as well as a psychological exploration of guilt and memory.

Twenty years ago, in an upscale suburb of Philadelphia, four teenagers spent a summer as closest friends: drinking, sharing secrets, testing boundaries. When a new boy looked to join them, they decided to pull a prank on him, convincing him to play Russian roulette as an initiation into their group. They secretly planned to leave the gun unloaded—but what happened next would change each of them forever.

Now three of the four reunite for the first time since that horrible summer. The guilt—and the lingering question about who loaded the gun—drove them apart. But after one of the group apparently commits suicide with a gun, their old secrets come roaring back. One of them is going to figure out if the new suicide is what it seems, and if it connects to the events of that long-ago summer. Someone knows exactly what happened—but who? And how far will they go to keep their secrets buried?]]> 400 Lisa Scottoline 0525539646 mushroom 3 3.71 2019 Someone Knows
author: Lisa Scottoline
name: mushroom
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/22
date added: 2024/01/24
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]]>