What if everything you know about the worst night of your life turns out not to be true?
Nine years ago, with the world’s eyes on her, Charlie Colbert fled. The press and the police called Charlie a “witness” to the nightmarish events at her elite graduate school on Christmas Eve—events known to the public as “Scarlet Christmas”—though Charlie knows she was much more than that.
Now, Charlie has meticulously rebuilt her life: She’s the editor-in-chief of a major magazine, engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry, and hell-bent on never, ever letting her guard down again. But when a buzzy film made by one of Charlie’s former classmates threatens to shatter everything she’s worked for, Charlie realizes how much she’s changed in nine years. Now, she’s not going to let anything—not even the people she once loved most—get in her way.
Review
A solid debut! I thoroughly enjoyed this intriguing psychological thriller. As the synopsis states, Charlie is a woman who went through a traumatic experience at her school. Her mind has blocked out the details of that night to protect her and she’s done her best to move on with her life. But she still deals with anxiety and being triggered by certain things.
A former classmate upends her fragile existence by wanting to make a movie that will tell the real truth of that night. Charlie needs to make it go away and she also decides with the help of her therapist to remember everything she has repressed. Charlie is an unreliable narrator so she just might have her own reasons for not wanting the movie made.
What happened that Christmas Eve? Charlie is clearly traumatized but is she more involved in what happened than she’s let on? I love that I never knew what to expect and the twists were shocking. Go into this with an open mind and enjoy the ride. I was impressed and I will definitely read whatever Jenny Hollander writes next!
Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.
A social media influencer with a secret past buys a murder house to renovate, but finds more than she bargained for behind the peeling wallpaper in this gothic psychological debut.
Sarah Slade is starting over. As the new owner of the infamous Black Wood House—the scene of a grisly murder-suicide—she’s determined that the fixer-upper will help reach a new audience on her successful lifestyle blog, and distract her from her failing marriage.
But as Sarah paints over the house’s horrifying past, she knows better than anyone that a new façade can’t conceal every secret. Then the builders start acting erratically and experiencing bizarre accidents—and Sarah knows there’s only so long she can continue to sleep in the bedroom with the bloodstained floor and suffer the mysterious footsteps she hears from the attic.
When menacing notes start appearing everywhere, Sarah becomes convinced that someone or something is out to kill her—her husband, her neighbors, maybe even the house itself. The more she remodels Black Wood House, the angrier it seems to become.
With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. Though she desperately clings to the lies she’s crafted to conceal her own secrets, Sarah Slade must wonder . . . was it all worth it? Or will this house be her final unraveling?
Review
What did I just read?! I am blown away and unsettled by this impressive debut! This is one psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat and jumping at every little sound you hear.
Most people wouldn’t buy a house where a murder-suicide took place. They certainly wouldn’t buy one to take their life in a nice new direction. To help their career and resuscitate their struggling marriage. But Sarah Slade isn’t most people. She is desperate and determined to renovate Black Wood House and in turn renovate her life in the process.
She quickly discovers she might have bitten off more than she can chew. The community is not open to new people and her neighbors especially aren’t eager to have anyone fix Black Wood House. One neighbor in particular is downright hostile towards her. The house itself doesn’t seem to want to be fixed either…
Sarah puts on a facade of happiness and excitement for her followers as she takes them along her journey. But in reality the cracks are only getting wider. Strange things keep happening and she hears noises upstairs. She’s alone a lot of the time in this unfamiliar and unsettling place.
You soon realize though that Sarah is an unreliable narrator. There’s things in her past she’s running from. She also can’t completely trust her own mind. So when she’s increasingly paranoid, you also have no idea if someone or something is out to get her. The tension and pacing were perfect from beginning to end, I was desperate to know exactly what was going on right along with Sarah.
It takes a lot to creep me out reading wise. And let me tell you, I was genuinely creeped out in certain scenes! The StrangerUpstairs would definitely make a great movie or tv show. There’s a lot going on but the genre blending all goes together so well. Is the house actually haunted or malevolent? Are her neighbors or husband out to get her? Or is her past catching up to her? Is it all in her head? Seems the only one she can trust is her cat, Reaper. I love Reaper. And yes, he makes it to the end. A small spoiler but I felt like it should be mentioned.
I recommend not skipping the author’s note at the end. Lisa M. Matlin doesn’t use Sarah’s mental health issues for shock value. She has personal experience and she is open and honest about it. The more we talk about these things, the more we remove the stigma surrounding it.
With Spooky Season swiftly approaching (not fast enough for my liking!) pre-order The Stranger Upstairs now and be able to read it at the most perfect time! It’s a fantastic horror tinged psychological thriller that will stay with you long after you’ve finished. I will read anything Lisa M. Matlin writes!
Thank you Bantam, NetGalley and Lisa M. Matlin for the opportunity to read this early!
After posting a negative book review, a woman living in a remote location begins to wonder if the author is a little touchy—or very, very dangerous—in this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspense and terror from the critically acclaimed author of No Exit and Hairpin Bridge.
Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules.
One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?
As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of?
Review
If you’re in the mood for a non-stop thrill ride, you must read The Last Word! Taylor Adams is back with another fast paced thriller that blew me away. Like his previous novels I’ve read, The Last Word is about a woman fighting to survive against insurmountable odds.
Emma is house sitting at a remote beach house. Due to a tragedy she prefers the isolation the house provides, her dog Laika being the only company she keeps. She does chat with a distant elderly neighbor via whiteboard though. She reads a lot to pass the time and the neighbor recommends a book. Reading this book was her first mistake. Giving it a one star review was another.
The author reaches out to Emma and expects her to take down her review. Emma refuses and it turns into a whole back and forth argument. Then disturbing things start happening. Emma has to wonder if this author is angry enough and unhinged enough to actually find her and exact revenge.
The tension never lets up, I was flying through the pages. There were so many twists and turns that I had whiplash! It’s dark, not for the faint of heart. But it’s also humorous and emotional at times to balance things out. Also be sure to suspend disbelief and let yourself get lost in the story, you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you William Morrow and Taylor Adams. Special thanks to Gretchen Koss at Tandem Literary for sending me an advanced reading copy.
A professor’s life is turned upside down when he takes in his charming, wildly dangerous nephew, whose wealthy parents have just died under mysterious circumstances, in this propulsive, edge-of-your-seat debut psychological thriller.
Gil is living a quiet life as a creative writing professor in a bucolic Vermont town, when he receives some shocking news: His sister and her husband have been killed in a car accident, and their only son is coming to live with him and his family.
Gil and his wife are apprehensive about taking in seventeen-year-old Matthew. Yes, he has just lost both his parents, but they haven’t seen him in seven years–and the last time the families were together, Matthew lured their young daughter into a terrifying, life-threatening situation. Since that incident, Gil has been estranged from his sister and her flashy, wealthy banker husband.
Now Matthew is their charge, living under their roof.
The boy seems charming, smart, and urbane, if strangely unaffected by his parents’ deaths. Gil hopes they can put the past behind them, though he’s surprised when Matthew signs up for his creative writing class. Then Matthew begins turning in chilling stories about the imagined deaths of Gil’s family and his own parents. Bewildered and panicked, Gil ultimately decides he must take matters into his own hands–before life imitates art.
Review
Gil really doesn’t like his nephew. And yet, he’s agreed to take Matthew in after his parents are killed in an accident. From the moment he picks him up at the airport, he’s suspicious of the boy and dreads bringing him into his home. He’s never forgiven or forgotten an incident involving Matthew that resulted in harm towards his youngest daughter.
Gil is the narrator and he is constantly judging Matthew’s words and actions. Though the boy seems to have mellowed and is nice to his family, he refuses to trust Matthew has changed. He believes every smile is actually a sneer, everything he says and does has an ulterior motive.
Is Matthew truly dangerous or is Gil just paranoid? The tension never lets up as Gil attempts to constantly keep track of Matthew’s whereabouts, certain he’s up to something. Matthew also seems to taunt him by taking Gil’s writing class and creating fiction that might be based on things he’s done and could do.
Gil becomes desperate to prove Matthew is dangerous but every bit of possible evidence is circumstantial at best. Is Matthew a monster or is Gil blinded by the past? Gil doesn’t come across as completely reliable and Matthew is never completely trustworthy. So you’re never sure what to expect or just how far Gil will go to take his nephew down.
I read over 70% of A Flaw in the Design in one sitting then picked it back up the very next night and finished it. So I was definitely into it. Though you’re along for the ride on Gil’s one track mind, the story never lags or becomes boring. I was hooked from beginning to surprising end. I for one am hoping we get a sequel.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC.
First comes love. Then comes murder. Lucas Forester didn’t hate his wife. Michelle was brilliant, sophisticated and beautiful. Sure, she had extravagant spending habits and that petty attitude, a total disregard for anyone below her status. But she also had a lot to offer. Most notably, wealth that only the one percent could comprehend.
For years, Lucas had been honing a flawless plan to inherit Michelle’s fortune. Unfortunately, it involved taking a hit out on her.
Every track was covered, no trace left behind, and now Lucas plays the grieving husband so well he deserves an award. But when a shocking photo and cryptic note show up on his doorstep, Lucas goes from hunter to prey.
Someone is onto him. And they’re closing in.
Told with dark wit and a sharply feminist sensibility, Never Coming Home is a terrifying tale of duplicity that will have you side-eyeing your spouse as you dash to the breathtaking end.
Review
Who would’ve thought a book entirely from the point of view of a man that took a hit out on his wife would be so entertaining? This is the first book I’ve read by Hannah Mary McKinnon and it certainly won’t be my last.
Lucas Forester had already lead a rather difficult life before moving to the U.S. and meeting Michelle. He immediately makes her part of his plan to get rich. He plays the dutiful husband while hating how entitled and extravagant she is. He doesn’t really hate her though, she’s just a means to an end. With her dad already dead, her mom soon to follow due to cancer and her brother being an out of control addict, he just needs Michelle out of the way and everything is his.
He’s smart, has thought of everything. The hit goes off without a hitch and he’s able to pretend he’s distraught by his wife’s disappearance. He’s playing everyone perfectly and being patient. Then strange things start happening, someone is messing with him. Someone knows the truth.
This of course leads Lucas to become increasingly paranoid and desperately trying to find out who is trying to ruin his carefully made plans. He’s so close to having it all and can’t lose now. Lucas could’ve just been a typical piece of trash man. He could’ve also been too smart and arrogant and that would’ve been annoying not to mention boring. But let me tell you, Lucas is complex. There are actually layers to him. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a bad dude and completely irredeemable. But there were some surprising aspects to his personality that made him just slightly sympathetic at times. Only slightly..
Yes, I did guess correctly on a certain plot twist. Well, I had assumed before I even started that a certain something had to be true and it was. But there was no way I could’ve guessed exactly how everything played out! I did have some issues with the details and maybe some questions I might have missed explanations for. But the ending was satisfying overall. Especially the very end, it was the most fitting way to finish Lucas’s story.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for the e-ARC.
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers―a stranger who now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.
Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend, dating a new man, and thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, the same message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing as she tries to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.
Review
This is the first book I’ve read by Megan Goldin. I saw it on NetGalley as a Read Now book and had to try it. I think it’s safe to say I’ll be reading her previous titles. Stay Awake is a fast-paced thriller that’s hard to put down.
The story opens with Liv Reese, a woman who quickly discovers her life is upside down. She can’t remember how she ended up in a cab and finds out other people live in her apartment. Her friend/roommate and also her boyfriend are not answering their phones. It’s autumn when it should be summer. And oh yeah, there’s a bloody knife in her pocket.
You’re as lost as Liv wondering how she got to this point and why she doesn’t remember anything. Eventually you find out there’s a two year gap in her memory and her mind resets to two years ago every single time she falls asleep. Which is why there’s writing on her hands telling her to stay awake.
There’s dual timelines between two years ago and now. In the present there’s the detectives’ investigating alongside Liv’s point of view. I will say the timelines were written well and were cohesive. I was never confused as to if I was reading something happening now or in the past. Clues and red herrings are dropped at the right moments to keep you interested.
I will say I preferred reading from Liv’s perspective. I didn’t really warm up to the detectives though I did like Halliday more. I do think breaking up Liv’s parts to focus on the investigation was a good call though. Because her parts would end on a cliffhanger and make you eager to get back to her. If the story had only focused on her, it would have been a lot shorter and way more repetitive.
That’s another thing I appreciated, Liv forgets everything constantly and that could have easily become annoying, having to read the same things over and over. But that wasn’t the case here. The times she fell asleep it didn’t feel like I was forced to repeat the same information.
The reasons why this isn’t a five star read for me is there are some plot holes and like I said I felt ehhh about the detectives and all their scenes. And it might just be me but I think I missed the killer’s motivation. Though I can assume the reason for it so it’s not a big deal. Overall, I enjoyed Stay Awake and I will be catching up on everything else Megan Goldin has written.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC.
“I could just kill you right now!” It’s something we’ve all thought at one time or another. But Ruby has actually acted on it. Three times, to be exact.
Though she may be a murderer, Ruby is not a sociopath. She is an animal-loving therapist with a thriving practice. She’s felt empathy and sympathy. She’s had long-lasting friendships and relationships, and has a husband, Jason, whom she adores. But the homicide detectives at Miami Beach PD are not convinced of her happy marriage. When we meet Ruby, she is in a police interrogation room, being accused of Jason’s murder. Which, ironically, is one murder that she did not commit, though her vicious mother-in-law and a scandal-obsessed public believe differently. As she undergoes questioning, Ruby’s mind races back to all the details of her life that led her to this exact moment, and to the three dead bodies in her wake. Because though she may not have killed her husband, Ruby certainly isn’t innocent.
Alternating between Ruby’s memories of her past crimes and her present-day fight to clear her name, Blood Sugar is a twisty, clever debut with an unforgettable protagonist who you can’t help but root for—an addicting mixture of sour and sweet.
Review
Wow. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like this. Blood Sugar is definitely going to end up on my top ten books of 2022 list. Sascha Rothchild has written an utterly captivating thriller with a complex and nuanced protagonist.
You wouldn’t normally want to like or root for someone that has admittedly committed murder several times and would again if the need arose, right? Well, say hello to Ruby Simon. It’s a good thing she is such an intriguing person because you are fully in her head so to speak. You learn how she thinks and what kind of person she is deep down. Let’s just say if someone says, “But she’s a remorseless killer!” I’d be inclined to respond, “Yeah…but…”
Blood Sugar begins with Ruby being interrogated in regards to her husband’s recent death. Ruby is absolutely certain of her innocence and decides to keep her cool and answer the detective’s questions. While of course keeping some things to herself. The detective shows her photos of each of her victims and with each one Ruby reflects on what lead up to each incident.
I thoroughly devoured this in less than a day. Blood Sugar is so well written, once you start you won’t be able to stop, so plan accordingly! Ruby is so fascinating, you’ll be racing to the finish wondering if she’ll have to do time for the one murder she didn’t commit. Or did she? All the stars for this thought provoking thriller. I’m going to be thinking about it for a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley, Putnam’s and Sascha Rothchild for the opportunity to read an e-ARC.
A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade.
Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see—confident, beautiful, indifferent—not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather’s murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she’d been closest to since freshman year. Ten years ago, everything fell apart, including the dreams she worked for her whole life—and her relationship with the one person she wasn’t supposed to love.
But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years ago, and not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer, to make the guilty pay. When the six friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that night—and the years’ worth of secrets each of them would do anything to keep hidden.
Review
This one had a lot of hype. Everyone I follow on Goodreads that read it were blown away and gave it five stars. So I absolutely had to read it. I’d be lying if I said I felt the same way they did. But I did enjoy it a lot. I was over a hundred pages in before I got into it but admittedly I was distracted somewhat.
What I loved about it was that despite being dark academia, it wasn’t overly pretentious. I don’t want to be expected to know everything about art and whatnot when I’m trying to get into a murder mystery. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife is well written and the characters are distinctive. There are a lot of them but they’re unique and therefore easily distinguished.
I feel like everyone loved this for the same reasons they like reality shows. In both things there are a group of people labeled with a certain type of personality. They play up those personalities to the fullest. Like the mean girl is always rude as hell, the spoiled rich boy is a total d-bag. And everyone is expected and encouraged to lie, scheme and betray at every turn. So that’s what made this novel so thrilling and makes you think what did I just read.
And for the reviews that say the characters are too immature and it’s like reading YA? That only tells me you judge YA as immature. The genre and real life young adults are not all immature. You also can’t really expect people to be completely different just because they’re older. Age has nothing to do with maturity. Unless you’re an older person saying this to justify hooking up with a much younger person in which case, no, you’re garbage.
And I’ve gone on another rant.. Okay, I’m done. Give this book a shot. It will definitely take you out of your head for awhile and that’s always a good thing. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Seventeen-year-old Farrah Turner is one of two Black girls in her country club community, and the only one with Black parents. Her best friend, Cherish Whitman, adopted by a white, wealthy family, is something Farrah likes to call WGS–White Girl Spoiled. With Brianne and Jerry Whitman as parents, Cherish is given the kind of adoration and coddling that even upper-class Black parents can’t seem to afford–and it creates a dissonance in her best friend that Farrah can exploit. When her own family is unexpectedly confronted with foreclosure, the calculating Farrah is determined to reassert the control she’s convinced she’s always had over her life by staying with Cherish, the only person she loves–even when she hates her.
As troubled Farrah manipulates her way further into the Whitman family, the longer she stays, the more her own parents suggest that something is wrong in the Whitman house. She might trust them–if they didn’t think something was wrong with Farrah, too. When strange things start happening at the Whitman household–debilitating illnesses, upsetting fever dreams, an inexplicable tension with Cherish’s hotheaded boyfriend, and a mysterious journal that seems to keep track of what is happening to Farrah–it’s nothing she can’t handle. But soon everything begins to unravel when the Whitmans invite Farrah closer, and it’s anyone’s guess who is really in control.
Review
Cherish Farrah is pretty dark and delivers on the tension. But the synopsis had me thinking I’d be reading a story with a different feel from what I actually experienced. I don’t even mind how slow it was like so many others seem to. What I got from it overall is ‘meh’ and ‘messy’. It’s more like a 2.5 star rating for me. I did like it but…
I will say the story is unique and could’ve been great. But being in Farrah’s head became so tedious and frustrating. I don’t know if another point of view would’ve helped. Maybe if Farrah had a little more going on in the personality department. I get that she has issues, that is very clear. But she sees everyone’s words and facial expressions as moves in a game everyone is playing with her and changes her opinions accordingly and that got old fast.
I’m left with lots of questions, wondering if most of what happened was even necessary to the plot. Also, no one acts in a realistic way. Suspend disbelief and maybe it would be really good? Maybe I’m just not the right person for this story. I do appreciate what Cherish Farrah is trying to say, just not how the story was executed overall.
Expected Publication Date: February 8th
Thank you Dutton Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.
Here’s a list of 30 books I’m interested in reading this year so far. Listed in order of expected publication date.
#1 The Maid – Nita Prose – January 4th
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.
But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?
#2 All I Want – Darcey Bell – January 11th
When Emma’s husband, Ben, falls in love with a large Victorian mansion for sale in upstate New York, he swears to her the fixer-upper will be worth the risk. With a baby on the way, Emma would like to live in a charming, safe community, after all—and in a space larger than a one-bedroom New York City apartment. On impulse, she agrees to Ben’s plan and they put in an offer on the house.
Sure, the mansion has a somewhat creepy backstory and is a bit dilapidated, but Emma and Ben are in this together, aren’t they? When strange things start happening, Emma begins to experience a little buyer’s remorse. What’s the real history of this house? Is its dark history repeating itself? Why does her husband suddenly seem so distant? Is she in danger? Is her baby?
#3 A Flicker in the Dark – Stacy Willingham – January 11th
When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.
Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren’t really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?
#4 The Other Family – Wendy Corsi Staub – January 18th
It’s the perfect home for the perfect family: pretty Nora Howell, her handsome husband, their two teenage daughters, and lovable dog. As California transplants making a fresh start in Brooklyn, they expected to live in a shoebox, but the brownstone has a huge kitchen, lots of light, and a backyard. The catch: its previous residents were victims of a grisly triple homicide that remains unsolved.
Soon, peculiar things begin happening. The pug is nosing around like a bloodhound. Nora unearths a long-hidden rusty box in the flowerbed. Oldest daughter Stacey, obsessed with the family murdered in their house, pokes into the bloody past and becomes convinced that a stranger is watching the house. Watching them.
She’s right. But one of the Howells will recognize his face. Because one of them has a secret that will blindside the others with a truth that lies shockingly close to home–and to this one’s terrifying history.
#5 Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead (Finlay Donovan Series #2) – Elle Cosimano – February 1st
Finlay Donovan is—once again—struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she’s dealt with lately is that of her daughter’s pet goldfish. On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he’s a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of soccer moms disguised as hit-women, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she’d like. Meanwhile, Vero’s keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay’s first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes… and if that means bending a few laws then so be it. With her next book’s deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn’t a noose at the end of it…
#6 The Night She Went Missing – Kristen Bird – February 8th
An intriguing and twisty domestic suspense about loyalty and deceit in a tight-knit Texas community where parents are known to behave badly and people are not always who they appear to be.
Emily, a popular but bookish prep school senior, goes missing after a night out with friends. She was last seen leaving a party with Alex, a football player with a dubious reputation. But no one is talking.
Now three mothers, Catherine, Leslie and Morgan, friends turned frenemies, have their lives turned upside down as they are forced to look to their own children—and each other’s—for answers to questions they don’t want to ask.
#7 Wish You Were Gone – Kieran Scott – February 22nd
Emma Walsh has finally worked up the courage to confront her husband James about his drinking—his alcoholic rages, his blackouts, and the fear his behavior has created for her and their two kids. But James never shows up to meet her as planned, and all her righteous words go unsaid. And unsaid they remain, because the next time Emma sees James, his body lies crumpled amidst the wreckage of his flashy car, which has been smashed to its final resting place halfway through the back wall of their suburban house’s roomy garage.
In the aftermath of the fatal crash, Emma and her teenage children begin to embrace life without James’s looming, volcanic presence. Buoyed by the support of her two closest friends, she struggles to deal with her grief, complicated by the knowledge that her husband’s legacy as an upstanding business owner and family man shines only because so many people, for so long, were so willing to keep his secrets—secrets that twist into new and unexpected shapes as the mysterious details of his last day of life begin to come to light.
#8 The Paris Apartment – Lucy Foley – February 22nd
Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there. The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question. The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.
#9 This Might Hurt – Stephanie Wrobel – February 22nd
Natalie Collins hasn’t heard from her sister in more than half a year. The last time they spoke, Kit was slogging from mundane workdays to obligatory happy hours to crying in the shower about their dead mother. She told Natalie she was sure there was something more out there. And then she found Wisewood. On a private island off the coast of Maine, Wisewood’s guests commit to six-month stays. During this time, they’re prohibited from contact with the rest of the world–no Internet, no phones, no exceptions. But the rules are for a good reason: to keep guests focused on achieving true fearlessness so they can become their Maximized Selves. Natalie thinks it’s a bad idea, but Kit has had enough of her sister’s cynicism and voluntarily disappears off the grid. Six months later Natalie receives a menacing e-mail from a Wisewood account threatening to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from Kit. Panicked, Natalie hurries north to come clean to her sister and bring her home. But she’s about to learn that Wisewood won’t let either of them go without a fight.
#10 The Paradox Hotel – Rob Hart – February 22nd
For someone with January Cole’s background, running security at a fancy hotel shouldn’t be much of a challenge.
Except the Paradox is no ordinary hotel. Here, the ultra-wealthy guests are costumed for a dozen different time periods, all anxiously waiting to catch their “flights” to the past. And proximity to the timeport makes for an interesting stay. The clocks run backwards on occasion—and, rumor has it, ghosts stroll the halls.
Now, January’s job is about to get a whole lot harder. Because the U.S. government is getting ready to privatize time-travel technology—and a handful of trillionaires have just arrived to put down their bids.
Meanwhile there’s a blizzard rolling in, and the timestream’s acting strange. Which means nobody’s leaving until further notice.
And there’s a murderer on the loose.
Or at least, that’s what January suspects. Except the corpse in question is one that somehow only she can see. And the accidents stalking their prestigious guests…well, the only way a killer could engineer those is by operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once. Which is surely impossible.
There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and forcing her to confront secrets of her own.
Because here at the Paradox Hotel, the past is waiting around every corner.
#11 The Night Shift – Alex Finlay – March 1st
It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey, four teenage girls working the night shift are attacked. Only one survives. Police quickly identify a suspect who flees and is never seen again.
Fifteen years later, in the same town, four teenage employees working late at an ice cream store are attacked, and again only one makes it out alive.
Both surviving victims recall the killer speaking only a few final words… “Goodnight, pretty girl.”
In the aftermath, three lives intersect: the survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive her tragedy; the brother of the original suspect, who’s convinced the police have it wrong; and the FBI agent, who’s determined to solve both cases. On a collision course toward the truth, all three lives will forever be changed, and not everyone will make it out alive.
#12 The Golden Couple – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen – March 8th
If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal–she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault–and almost absorb the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death.
Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple–until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their 8-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist, who lost her license due to controversial methods.
When the Bishops glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.
#13 The Book of Cold Cases – Simone St. James – March 15th
In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect–a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion. Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases–a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea’s surprise, Beth says yes. They meet regularly at Beth’s mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she’s not looking, and she could swear she’s seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, Shea senses something isn’t right. Is she making friends with a manipulative murderer, or are there other dangers lurking in the darkness of the Greer house?
#14 Nine Lives – Peter Swanson – March 15th
Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke–until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it? FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next…
#15 The Resting Place – Camilla Sten – March 29th
The medical term is prosopagnosia. The average person calls it face blindness—the inability to recognize a familiar person’s face, even the faces of those closest to you.
When Eleanor walked in on the scene of her capriciously cruel grandmother, Vivianne’s, murder, she came face to face with the killer—a maddening expression that means nothing to someone like her. With each passing day, her anxiety mounts. The dark feelings of having brushed by a killer, yet not know who could do this—or if they’d be back—overtakes both her dreams and her waking moments, thwarting her perception of reality.
Then a lawyer calls. Vivianne has left her a house—a looming estate tucked away in the Swedish woods. The place her grandfather died, suddenly. A place that has housed a dark past for over fifty years.
Eleanor. Her steadfast boyfriend, Sebastian. Her reckless aunt, Veronika. The lawyer. All will go to this house of secrets, looking for answers. But as they get closer to bringing the truth to light, they’ll wish they had never come to disturb what rests there.
#16 The Shadow House – Anna Downes – April 5th
Alex, a single mother-of-two, is determined to make a fresh start for her and her children. In an effort to escape her troubled past, she seeks refuge in a rural community. Pine Ridge is idyllic; the surrounding forests are beautiful and the locals welcoming. Mostly.
But Alex finds that she may have disturbed barely hidden secrets in her new home. As a chain of bizarre events is set off, events eerily familiar to those who have lived there for years, Alex realizes that she and her family might be in greater danger than ever before. And that the only way to protect them all is to confront the shadows lurking in Pine Ridge.
#17 Insomnia – Sarah Pinborough – April 12th
Emma Averell loves her life—her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband—but it wasn’t always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and “normal,” but Emma can only remember her as one thing—a monster. And that monster emerged right around their mother’s fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now.
Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then she’s unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?
#18 Gone Dark – Amanda Panitch – April 12th
When seventeen-year-old Zara escaped her father’s backwoods survivalist compound five years ago, she traded crossbows and skinning hides for electricity and video games…and tried to forget the tragedy that drove her away.
Until a malware attack on the United States electrical grids cuts off the entire country’s power.
In the wake of the disaster and the chaos that ensues, Zara is forced to call upon skills she thought she’d never use again—and her best bet to survive is to go back to the home she left behind. Drawing upon a resilience she didn’t know she had, Zara leads a growing group of friends on an epic journey across a crumbling country back to her father’s compound, where their only hope for salvation lies.
But with every step she takes, Zara wonders if she truly has what it takes to face her father and the secrets of her past, or if she’d be better off hiding in the dark.
#19 Pay Dirt Road – Samantha Jayne Allen – April 19th
Annie McIntyre has a love/hate relationship with Garnett, Texas. Recently graduated from college and home waitressing, lacking not in ambition but certainly in direction, Annie is lured into the family business—a private investigation firm—by her supposed-to-be-retired grandfather, Leroy, despite the rest of the clan’s misgivings. When a waitress at the café goes missing, Annie and Leroy begin an investigation that leads them down rural routes and haunted byways, to noxious-smelling oil fields and to the glowing neon of local honky-tonks. As Annie works to uncover the truth she finds herself identifying with the victim in increasing, unsettling ways, and realizes she must confront her own past—failed romances, a disturbing experience she’d rather forget, and the trick mirror of nostalgia itself—if she wants to survive this homecoming.
#20 I’ll Be You – Janelle Brown – April 26th
As children, Sam and Elli were two halves of a perfect whole: Gorgeous identical twins whose parents sometimes couldn’t even tell them apart. They fell asleep to the sound of each other’s breath at night, holding hands in the dark. And once Hollywood discovered them, they became B-list child TV stars, often inhabiting the same role.
But as adults their lives have splintered. After leaving acting, Elli reinvented herself as the perfect suburban wife: Married to a real-estate lawyer, in a house two blocks from the beach. Meanwhile, Sam has never recovered from her failed Hollywood career, or from her addiction to the pills and booze that have propped her up for the last fifteen years.
After her destructive behavior finally drove a wedge between them, Sam hasn’t spoken to her sister in a year when their father calls out of the blue. Unbeknownst to Sam, Elli’s life lately has been in turmoil: Her husband moved out, and Elli just adopted a two-year-old girl. Now she’s checked in to a mysterious spa in Ojai, and has stopped answering her phone. As Sam works to connect the dots left by Elli’s baffling disappearance, she realizes that the bond between her and her sister is more complicated than she ever knew.
#21 The Honeys – Ryan La Sala – May 3rd
Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline’s radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who’d grown tragically distant.
Mars’s genderfluidity means he’s often excluded from the traditions — and expectations — of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place.
What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. Mars seeks out his sister’s old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying — and Mars is certain they’re connected to Caroline’s death.
But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars’s memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can’t find it soon, it will eat him alive.
#22 Hidden Pictures – Jason Rekulak – May 3rd
Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy. Mallory immediately loves this new job. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body. As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, and his stick figures steadily evolve into more detailed, complex, and lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to suspect these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell’s house. With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy—while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past—before it’s too late.
#23 Summer’s Edge – Dana Mele – May 31st
Emily Joiner was once part of an inseparable group—she was a sister, a best friend, a lover, and a rival. Summers without Emily were unthinkable. Until the fire burned the lake house to ashes with her inside. A year later, it’s in Emily’s honor that Chelsea and her four friends decide to return. The house awaits them, meticulously rebuilt. Only, Chelsea is haunted by ghostly visions. Loner Ryan stirs up old hurts and forces golden boy Chase to play peacemaker. Which has perfect hostess Kennedy on edge as eerie events culminate in a stunning accusation: Emily’s death wasn’t an accident. And all the clues needed to find the person responsible are right here. As old betrayals rise to the surface, Chelsea and her friends have one night to unravel a mystery spanning three summers before a killer among them exacts their revenge.
#24 Games for Dead Girls – Jen Williams – June 7th
In the seaside town of Hithechurch, England, eleven-year-old Charlotte meets Emily, a clever and secretive girl her own age with a dark family history. In an attempt to get rid of Emily’s abusive father, Charlie and Emily perform a ritual to try and summon the spirit of a Hithechurch girl of urban legend—named Stitch Face Sue by Charlie—who was killed by pirates and supposedly haunts the town in a quest for revenge. When it appears that the macabre game they’ve invented is working, Emily becomes obsessed with Stitch Face Sue, and ropes in another girl—but the game goes tragically wrong when the new girl is killed. Charlie and Emily are caught trying to hide the body, and both are carted away to institutions.
Past meets present when Charlie returns to Hithechurch as an adult to research a book on the folklore of the area, but is drawn into the cases of several girls who have mysteriously vanished. And she has other motives for coming back as well. Emily has published a bestselling memoir on the fateful incident from their childhoods, one that lays the blame squarely at Charlie’s feet. Outraged, Charlie scours the town for evidence to back up her side of the story—and in doing so exposes an older, even darker tale.
Charlie is set on discovering the truth about the girls’ disappearances, but someone is watching, and her own past is nipping at her heels. In a town haunted by tragic disappearances and unrelenting urban legends, Charlie’s determination for truth is laced with secrets buried deep in Hithechurch’s past.
#25 The House Across the Lake – Riley Sager – June 21st
It looks like a familiar story: A woman reeling from a great loss with too much time on her hands and too much booze in her glass watches her neighbors, sees things she shouldn’t see, and starts to suspect the worst. But looks can be deceiving. . . . Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of liquor, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. Everything about the Royces seems perfect. Their marriage. Their house. The bucolic lake it sits beside. But when Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. In the process, she discovers the darker truths lurking just beneath the surface of the Royces’ picture-perfect marriage. Truths no suspicious voyeur could begin to imagine–even with a few drinks under her belt. Like Casey, you’ll think you know where this story is headed. Think again. Because once you open the door to obsession, you never know what you might find on the other side.
#26 Just Like Home – Sarah Gailey – July 19th
“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she’s come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there.
Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back, and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?
There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them, and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.
#27 Stay Awake – Megan Goldin – August 9th
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers—a stranger who now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.
Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend, dating a new man, and thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, the same message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing as she tries to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget—permanently.
#28 Daisy Darker – Alice Feeney – August 30th
Daisy Darker is arriving at her grandmother’s house for her eightieth birthday. It is Halloween, and Seaglass – the crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island – is at one with the granite rocks it sits on. The Darker family haven’t all been in the same place for over a decade, and when the tide comes in they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again, because one of them is a killer . . .
#29 The Weight of Blood – Tiffany D. Jackson – September 6th
The Weight of Blood is a remix of Stephen King’s Carrie set at a school’s first integrated prom.
#30 Dark Room Etiquette – Robin Roe – October ?
Sixteen-year-old Sayers Wayte has everything—until he’s kidnapped by a man who takes it all away. A man who tells him that the privileged life he’s been living is based on a lie. To survive, Sayers must forget the world he once knew and play the part his abductor has created for him. But as time goes by, the line between fact and fiction blurs, and Sayers begins to wonder if he can escape without losing himself entirely.
A Good Mystery 