PLBR Book Reviews 2018 - ELLES BOOK BLOG

ELLES BOOK BLOG

THE COUSINS BY KAREN M. MCMANUS

12/25/2020

Young adult mystery and thrillers are my guilty pleasure and McManus slays the genre! I love a book that not only keeps me interested but surprises the heck out of me just like this one!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: December 1, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Mystery and Thriller
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 330 pages
Format: Hardcover. Purchased.

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they've never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they're surprised . . . and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point--not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother's good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it's immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious--and dark--their family's past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn't over--and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

THE NIGHT SWIM BY MEGAN GOLDIN

12/7/2020

The Night Swim is by far one of my favorite books of 2020! It's a relevant thriller with all the pieces of a well woven mystery too. I highly recommend it!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: August 4, 2020
Genre: Crime. Thriller. Suspense.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 352 pages
Format: Hardcover. Book of the Month Box.

In The Night Swim, a new thriller from Megan Goldin, author of the “gripping and unforgettable” (Harlan Coben) The Escape Room, a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before.

Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name—and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The new season of Rachel's podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING BY ALYSSA COLE

11/2/2020

While When No One is Watching is one of the most original thrillers I've ever read, the story was extremely slow. I loved the plot but I feel like I needed it to be faster paced.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Genre: Psychological Thriller. Suspense.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 360 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning…

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not

CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 BY LISA UNGER

10/6/2020

Lisa Unger has set up a good, twisty thriller in Confessions on the 7:45. However, I found the book to be very slow. This type of book would be a better fast paced thriller.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Genre: Domestic Thriller. Suspense.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 418 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

From master of suspense Lisa Unger comes a riveting thriller about a chance encounter that unravels a stunning web of lies and deceit.

Be careful to whom you tell your darkest secrets…

Selena Murphy is commuting home from her job in the city when the train stalls out on the tracks. She strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat, and their connection is fast and easy. The woman introduces herself as Martha and 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.

But days later, Selena’s nanny disappears.

ONE BY ONE BY RUTH WARE

9/6/2020

One By One is a chilling murder mystery and I devoured this book from beginning to end. Ruth Ware has one again proven why she is a pro in the mystery/suspense genre.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: September 8, 2020
Genre: Murder Mystery. Suspense.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 383 pages
Format: eBook. Arc.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.

Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.

When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech startup, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the

THE WHISPER MAN BY ALEX NORTH

7/4/2020

The Whisper Man is a creepy mystery/thriller novel with a touch of the supernatural. I enjoyed this one a lot and am looking forward to reading the authors next book!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Genre: Mystery. Thriller. Suspense.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 350 pages
Format: Print Copy. Purchased.

In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.

After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.

But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must

STRANGER IN THE LAKE BY KIMBERLY BELLE

6/9/2020

Stranger in the Lake is an exceptional murder mystery and it keeps me interested from beginning to end. The plot is taut, suspenseful, and builds at a slow pace. I really enjoyed it!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: June 9, 2020
Genre: Murder Mystery. Suspense.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 352 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Charlotte didn’t know her greatest risk was saying, “I do.”

When Charlotte married the wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her humble past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned.

At first, it seems like a horrific coincidence, but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two.

As Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries about the man she married, she doesn’t know what to trust—her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s hiding in the water.

GHOSTER BY JASON ARNOPP

4/26/2020

I absolutely loved Jason Arnopp's debut novel and jumped at the chance to read this one! A supernatural story involving social media? Yes, please!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: October 22, 2019
Genre: Supernatural Horror.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 496 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

Jason Arnopp - author of acclaimed cult hit The Last Days of Jack Sparks - returns with a razor-sharp thriller for a social-media obsessed world. Prepare to never look at your phone the same way again . . .

Kate Collins has been ghosted.

She was supposed to be moving in with her new boyfriend Scott, but all she finds after relocating to Brighton is an empty apartment. Scott has vanished. His possessions have all disappeared.

Except for his mobile phone.

Kate knows she shouldn't hack into Scott's phone. She shouldn't look at his Tinder, his calls, his social media. But she can't quite help herself.

That's when the trouble starts. Strange, whispering phone calls

ONE OF US IS LYING BY KAREN MCMANUS

2/6/2020

One of Us is Lying is a great young adult mystery and thriller! I remember trying to read it when it was first released and not really enjoying it but I'm so glad I picked it up again!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Genre: Young Adult. Mystery and Thriller.
Series: One of Us is Lying series #1
Pages: 359 pages
Format: Hardcover. Purchased.

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

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

THE OTHER PEOPLE BY C.J. TUDOR

1/25/2020

WHAT A BOOK! Wow. Just processing this one is giving me major tingles across my body! C.J. Tudor KNOWS how to write a psychological thriller that will CONSUME you.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: January 28, 2020
Genre: Psychological Thriller. Psychological Horror.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 324 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Q: Why are you called the Other People?
A: We are people just like you. People to whom terrible things have happened. We’ve found solace not in forgiveness or forgetting. But in helping each other find justice.

Driving home one night, Gabe is stuck behind a rusty old car. He sees a little girl’s face appear in its rear window. She mouths one word: Daddy. It’s his five-year-old daughter, Izzy. He never sees her again.

Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights traveling up and down the highway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe she’s dead.

When the car that he saw escape with his little girl is found abandoned with a body inside, Gabe must confront not just the day

THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS BY LISA JEWELL

1/19/2020

Lisa Jewell has written a riveting family thriller in The Family Upstairs and I was glued to this book from beginning to end. I'm so glad I took a chance on a new to me author and grabbed this one in my Book of the Month box!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Genre: Domestic Thriller. Gothic Thriller.
Series: None. Complete Standalone.
Pages: 349 pages
Format: Hardcover. Book of the Month Club.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.

Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have

UNSPEAKABLE THINGS BY JESS LOURNEY

1/2/2020

Unspeakable things that all the makings of an excellent read. However, it fell short for me in so many areas. I think the blurb is deceiving as well and doesn't live up to what it says it will be.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: January 1, 2020
Genre: Mystery. Thriller. Suspense. Crime.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 296 pages
Format: eBook. Amazon First Reads.

Inspired by a terrifying true story from the author’s hometown, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota community where nothing is as quiet—or as safe—as it seems.

Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them.

All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale.

One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed—violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets

THE PERFECT COUPLE BY ELIN HILDERBRAND

7/18/2019

A women's fiction, domestic drama, and who-dun-it all rolled into one! The Perfect Couple is the PERFECT beach read. I devoured this one from start to finish. I highly recommend it.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: June 19, 2018
Genre: Women's Fiction
Series: Standalone
Pages: 480 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

It's Nantucket wedding season, also known as summer-the sight of a bride racing down Main Street is as common as the sun setting at Madaket Beach. The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be an event to remember: the groom's wealthy parents have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony at their oceanfront estate.

But it's going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom's famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect. Featuring beloved characters from The Castaways, Beautiful Day, and A Summer Affair, The Perfect Couple proves once again that Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the summer beach read.

AN EASY DEATH BY CHARLAINE HARRIS

3/9/2019

When I first started reading this novel I honestly didn't think I was going to like it but I surprisingly enjoyed it a lot. This is more of a fantasy/alternate history novel than anything else but has some pretty cool magic & wizards as well.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Genre: Paranormal. Fantasy. Alternate History.
Series: Gunnie Rose series #1
Pages: 336 pages
Format: Hardcover. Purchased.

The beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, the inspiration for HBO’s True Blood, and the Midnight Crossroad trilogy adapted for NBC’s Midnight, Texas, has written a taut new thriller—the first in the Gunnie Rose series—centered on a young gunslinging mercenary, Lizbeth Rose.

Set in a fractured United States, in the southwestern country now known as Texoma. A world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted, especially by a young gunslinger named Lizbeth Rose. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards to be their local guide and gunnie. For the wizards, Gunnie Rose has already acquired a fearsome reputation and they’re at a desperate crossroad, even if they won’t admit it. They’re searching through the small border towns near Mexico, trying to locate a low-level magic practitioner, Oleg Karkarov. The wizards believe Oleg is a direct descendant of

THE NIGHT OLIVIA FELL BY CHRISTINA MCDONALD

2/12/2019

Woah! This book blew me away! I devoured it in a day because I simply couldn't take my eyes off the pages. I think this is one of the best domestic thrillers I have read in a long time.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: February 5, 2019
Genre: Domestic Thriller.
Series: None. Standalone.
Pages: 368 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

In the vein of Big Little Lies and Reconstructing Amelia comes an emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unraveling the truth behind how her daughter became brain dead. And pregnant.

A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

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