May's Bookish Art...

 

Osman Hamdi Bey -- Young Woman Reading

Books provided a secret door to escape through....Another world she could step into and be surrounded by characters brought to life on the page. She could meet untold people and live a thousand exciting lives through the pages. It was her solace..."

--Bella Osborne, The Library

A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers

 

First line:  "It's good you've finally summoned me," I said. "There's no doubt a spirit torments this house."

Setting:  Victorian London, 1852

The what:  A dead bride. A charlatan. A Gothic mystery. Secrets. Ghostly rumors. And a fake seance meant to find a murderer.

The who:  Genevieve Timmons, a young woman not quite 19, who learned how to perform seances to swindle the rich from her mother; she's got the threat of the noose hanging over her head if she can't get this last seance right.

Gareth Pemberton, the new earl of Somerset Park; he wants justice for Audra Linton, the young woman he was supposed to marry. He's not sure he can trust Genevieve, but he needs her help to flush out a murderer.

The why:  This is an entertaining mystery with atmosphere, a tangled web of secrets and suspects, interesting characters, and a few good twists. Genevieve was spunky, suspicious, stubborn, vulnerable and very alone in the world; I liked her and how she held her own even though everything was stacked against her. She and Pemberton made an interesting team. I would have liked a little more of them together at the end, but all in all I enjoyed this one.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Similar reads:

Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton

The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray

Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Happy Mother's Day!

 It's the first Mother's Day without my mom, and I've been thinking about her a lot lately. She was loving, kind, generous to a fault, and an extremely hard worker. She could work rings around my sisters and me. She valued education, family, and her faith. She told me bedtime stories, enjoyed music, and made the best chocolate chip cookies. She loved peanut butter and jam, and chocolate. And she LOVED to read: mysteries, travel adventures, heartwarming stories, biographies, nonfiction books, and thrillers. But she loved historical fiction most of all. So, in honor of my mom, and to celebrate her love of reading on this first Mother's Day without her, I thought I'd share three of her most favorite historical fiction series. 

Bodie Thoene's Zion Covenant series set in WWII:

The Stone of Light series set in Ancient Egypt by Christian Jacq:

And Gerald N. Lund's The Work and The Glory series:

I love you, Mom.

Happy Reading!

Head Fake by Scott Gordon

Father of the Year said that if I didn't get this job, I was back out of the house and living on the street...tomorrow. Based on my interviewing skills, my time indoors was running out.

    "Do you have any experience with mental illness, Mr. Cannon?" Dr. Tambori said, absently tapping her fingernails on the desk.

    Wow. That was a question and a half. I wanted to tell her everything: about how I could hardly pay attention to what she was saying, how at times I had trouble controlling myself, about the negative thoughts, the depression, about wanting to sleep my life away, the horror show that was my father, about living both tired and wired, about how my hands wouldn't stop sweating, how if I didn't get this job I'd die on the streets. But if the floodgates opened, everybody in this building would drown, Besides, she might think it a bad idea to hire a crazy person to drive around crazy people. "Not really." 

Every instinct was telling me to get as far away from this school as possible, but I knew down in my bones that if I had any chance to make my twenty-sixth birthday, I needed to keep this job.

The plot:  With his father's help, Mikey Cannon gets hired as a bus driver at the Mary Friedman Alternative High School for high risk offenders--students grappling with mental health issues from depression and suicidal thoughts to schizophrenia. Despite his own struggles, Mikey connects with these outcast kids, especially when he unexpectedly becomes their basketball coach. And he's determined to help them win at least one game this season...if he can keep them from fighting with each other, or losing their cool, or freaking out during every game. Because Mikey and his team of underdogs could really use a win.

My thoughts:  Quirky. Funny. Poignant. Emotional. And compelling. I loved how Mikey used humor to get through awkward and uncomfortable situations, and how he found ways to connect with all the members of his team despite his own inadequacies. Their stories and struggles were so heartbreaking.  But I loved how they all came together over the game of basketball and became like a family. Which was ironic considering basketball is one of the things that drove Mikey and his own father apart years ago. Their relationship plays a large part in this book, too, and it's an unhappy one. This book drew me in on page one and I did not want to put it down. It's a wonderful read. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

How fun is this bookish tee?

 

I also really love this one: 

(I found both of these on Amazon; and the bottom one will soon be found in my closet.)

Happy Reading!

Now this is a reading nook!

 

Isn't this cool? It's a treehouse reading nook! I could spend many happy hours in a space like this. 

(Free image from StockCake.)

What I've been reading...and viewing

This post was supposed to be a review of one of the many library books I checked out this month. And while I have been reading, I just couldn't make myself actually sit down and write a review. So you get this rambling post instead. 

I've been binge watching the first few seasons of Cobra Kai...and completely loving it! So fun to see Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence back together, still sparring. I also love all the homages to the original Karate Kid movie, which has been a favorite of mine since it first came out. All the 80s music in it is great, too. I'm looking forward to watching the last three seasons soon. 

I also just finished reading Eric Jay Dolin's well-researched book Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution. I did not know how big a role privateers played in the American Revolution or their importance in helping to defeat the British armies. This book was very informative, and I learned a lot. I thought Dolin did a good job of making all these facts and historical figures interesting, and the book is very readable, though there were a few long chapters at the end that I found myself kind of skimming. Still a 4-star nonfiction read for me. 

I've been slow reading Hosanna Wong's lovely book Uncomplicate It. It's wonderful. I love her views on how anyone can connect with God in their own way. So many of the chapters seem to speak to me and where I'm at in my life right now. It was Cindy's review that first brought this book to my attention and I'm so glad! It's one I think I need to own and read again and again. 

And in a completely different vein, I just started reading Rob Hart's second Assassins' Anonymous book, The Medusa Protocol. I'm not very far in it yet, but am liking it so far. I also have Nick Petrie's latest Peter Ash thriller, The Dark Time, waiting for me to read next. Along with Her Time Traveling Duke by Bryn Donovan and Love At First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi. So maybe I'll manage to review one of these books next week. But I make no promises. 

Happy Reading!

Haiku Reviews...

 

Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart

One year, no kills. Mark 

is making amends. Then a

killer comes after him.

Action/Thriller .... 306 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Loved the main character and the dark humor. Can't wait to read the sequel.)

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

Sasquatch. Cthulhu.

Black Witches. A missing town.

And werewolves. Oh, my!

Urban fantasy .... 358 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Anna and Charles head to the mountains in Northern California to investigate an ancient mystery; lots of magic and suspense. I loved it.)

Tell Me True by Carina Taylor

Can this marriage of

convenience take two roommates from

"just friends" to much, much more?

Sweet romance .... 316 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Cute, clean and humorous. While I do not love the cover, I did love Miles's and Lucy's friendship, and their banter. Miles's family was pretty great, too.)

Happy Reading!

April's Bookish Art...

 

Edwin Harris -- A Quiet Moment

"Throughout her life, books had always been welcome companions, offering wisdom, inspiration, and a wondrous sense of adventure as one journeyed to the world of imagination."

--Andrea Penrose, Murder at Somerset House

Sarah's Orphans by Vannetta Chapman

 

The plot:  First her father dies, then her mother leaves. And 23-year-old Sarah Yoder must care for her four younger brothers and manage their household, too. Though two of her brothers, Andy and Henry, are grown enough to work the farm. But there are debts to pay. And they are struggling. Then Sarah discovers a young Hispanic boy and his 3-year-old sister living on their own in town, and she decides she and her brothers have room for two more. Luckily, they are not alone. Their Amish community is there to help, as is their new neighbor, Paul Byler, a 30-year-old bachelor who finds he might have room in his life not only for Sarah, bur for all her charges. 

My thoughts:  This is a lovely novel about found family, community, God, faith, and love. That Amish setting is one of my favs, and I liked Sarah and her brothers and their interactions with young Mateo and his little sister, Mia. Paul was a great character, very thoughtful and kind. I enjoyed the quiet romance between him and Sarah. All in all, this is a charming and heartwarming novel.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This week's theme is a fun one: BOOK TITLES THAT DESCRIBE ME AND MY LIFE.

Here are the titles I chose from books I've read:

Quiet

by Susan Cain

Sister

by Rosamund Lupton

Buried in a Book

by Lucy Arlington

Practice Makes Perfect

by Sarah Adams

The Happiness Project

by Gretchen Rubin

A Walk in the Woods

by Bill Bryson

Lost Among the Birds

by Neil Hayward

So Many Books, So Little Time

by Sara Nelson

The Magic of Ordinary Days

by Ann Howard Creel

All Shall Be Well

by Deborah Crombie

What book titles describe you?

Happy Reading!

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly

 "It's the Titanic, sir," (First Officer) Dean interrupted, his voice nearing a frantic pace and pitch. "We've just received an urgent distress message. She's struck ice and is sinking fast. She requires immediate assistance."

(Captain Rostron's) eyes darted to the chart, marking his position in relation to the Titanic with a stub of a pencil. They were not as close as he would like to be, not nearly close enough, but he wasn't about to let that stop him.  Other boats would have heard the call and replied to her message as well, so all he had to do was get his ship there as fast as he could and be prepared for whatever they might face.

"...we must have order, discipline, and quietness, and we must avoid all confusion. We must be better sailors, better crew, and better men than we have ever been."  

I'm sure the story of Titanic is familiar to everyone. But what about Capt. Arthur Rostron and the valiant crew of the Carpathia who took extreme and heroic efforts to go to her rescue as fast as they could? They are the ones who pulled the 705 survivors from the icy sea that night. Rebecca Connolly tells their story in this compelling and poignant novel. I was familiar with Carpathia's name, but knew nothing of her Captain and the decisive actions he took that fateful night. He was truly a remarkable man...though he would tell you he just did what anyone else would have done in his situation. Connolly also weaves in the story of Kate Connolly, an Irish lass and third class passenger on the Titanic who managed to survive. I liked reading their contrasting perspectives of that night. Altogether, this was an amazing novel. I loved it. 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is a fun one:  BOOKS SET IN PLACES ON MY BUCKET LIST.

The hardest part for me was narrowing my list down to just 10 titles because there are SO many places in the world I want to visit someday. But here are my top 10:

1. A Thousand Days in Venice by Malena de Blasi

2. A Street in Marrakech by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

3. Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes

4. The Dubrovnik Book Club by Eva Glyn

5. A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen

6. The Orkney Scroll by Lyn Hamilton

7. The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies

(Wales is high on my bucket list, but I couldn't find any good book titles with the word Wales in them, so I had to go with Welsh instead.)

8. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro

9. Cry of the Kalahari by Mark & Delia Owens

10. The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood

(I've actually already been to Paris, but I really want to go back, so that's why it's still on my bucket list.)

Happy Reading!

Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams

 Two women. 

A remote cave system.

One stranger.

A struggle for survival. 

Secrets...and a lie.

The plot:  As kids, Tess and Allie were best friends. Now, Allie travels the world as a successful travel influencer and Tess works as her part-time assistant. Allie is adventurous and fearless. Tess is more of an introvert. But she's also a survivor. Going caving together is supposed to help them reconnect. But then a stranger follows them into the cave, threatening them. And when Allie gets shot, Tess finds herself alone and on the run, going deeper and deeper underground, with the man following close behind. 

My thoughts:  This book is part survival story, part psychological thriller. And it's very entertaining. The chapters alternate between Tess's harrowing experiences underground, and her time in the hospital where she recounts what happened to her and Allie to a police detective. Which lessened the suspense a little, because you know right from page 40 that she survives her ordeal. But the cave scenes are intense. And there are several surprises along the way. I guessed one of the big plot twists early on, though there were moments later on that I started to doubt my suspicions. I liked that Adams kept me guessing. And the ending was great! 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

I won another book from Goodreads! Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson. Haven't read it yet, but it looks good, doesn't it? 

I've been learning to make wire jewelry with my niece; I'm not very good at it yet, but it's a lot of fun, and next week we're going to learn how to grow Bonsai trees! 

Two Saturdays ago I went with my sisters to see the funniest play: PETER PAN GOES WRONG! It's hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard since I saw their first play: THE PLAY GOES WRONG. If you ever get a chance to see either of these...GO! They're so entertaining. 

I have spring break coming up next week and I'm very much looking forward to having seven days free of work in which to hike, sleep in, read a slew of books, play some board games, catch a movie or two, craft, paint, and just have some needed fun. 

Other good things:  all the pink blossoms on the flowering plum trees in my neighborhood, the bright yellow forsythia bushes that are blooming, the morning songs of the robins in my backyard, warm sunshiny days, cool breezes at night, and the lovely light of spring. 

What I'm reading...

 

I actually just finished reading Gregg Hurwitz's latest Evan Smoak novel, Antihero. And I loved it. It's another action-packed book in this thrilling series. Evan's working with Joey and Candy in this one to make certain bad things right; Mia and Peter are back, too. I'm not going to say much else about it, only that for me this was another 5 star read. 

And I'm right in the middle of reading American Spring by Walter R. Borneman. It mostly focuses on the first six months of 1775 and the decisions and turning points that led to America's revolution. It's interesting and well-written and I'm enjoying it. I'm just not getting through it very fast. But I hope to finish it up soon, because I want to start reading Dolin's Rebels At Sea next month. 

And I just started reading Janice Hallett's The Killer Question. It's an epistolary mystery set in a pub in England and is told through texts, group messages, police interviews, and emails. It's pretty amusing so far, even though I have no idea where it's headed. I do know there will be a murder. The characters are pretty funny, especially how caught up they get in the pub's weekly Monday night quiz contest. If you want to read an excellent review of it, check out Helen's review. It's what made me want to check it out myself. 

So no reviews today. 

Just some good books and some happy reading. 

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

 "...his voice is both exultant and sad. Both happy and unhappy. Because it's that sort of story, with that sort of ending."

I was not planning on reading this book. It wasn't even on my TBR list. But then my co-worker, Leigh, raved about it, said I had to read it, even brought me her copy to borrow. So I very reluctantly took it home. But once I started it, I did not want it to end. It's the loveliest of books: poignant, heartbreaking at times, but heartwarming, too, lyrical, captivating, endearing, and utterly unforgettable. 

It's a book about four friends one very memorable summer, a painting that changes everyone, and a girl. And it's so much more! It's a coming of age book about friendship and love, art, life, desperation, hope, grief, beauty, laughter, daring to dream and finding family. 

It made me laugh.

And it made me cry.

There were parts so good I had to go back and read them a second time. I loved these characters and their profound friendships. I loved their triumphs and their struggles. Most of all, I loved the beautiful prose. There's truth and beauty in this book. And it will definitely be at the top of my favorites list this year.

"The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else's belief in them."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

 

From the blurb:  "A glamorous woman is murdered in her ultra-luxurious and highly secure London mansion, and her husband goes missing. But according to public records, neither of them exists. The only leads police have are several items arranged around the woman's body, including a set of keys and a book called How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees, an academic and forensic expert who does not work live cases. But the presence of her book at the scene draws her into this high-profile investigation working alongside DCI Tannahill Khan. As the dark objects found beside the body lead them closer to the victim's identity, a dangerous threat to Laughton and her daughter emerges." 

My thoughts:  Tantalizing and compelling. This mystery is a nice blend of police procedural and psychological thriller. And I really like DCI Tannahill Khan and Dr. Laughton Rees; it was fun seeing how they met and connected. Rees is a nicely complicated character who is still dealing with the traumatic death of her mother when she was younger. She's very smart and has some interesting quirks and OCD tendencies centering around the number three. And the mystery itself has some nice twists. I hope Toyne writes many more books with her and Khan. This is the first book in the series; I previously read the second book, The Clearing, last month, which is an equally good read.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

In honor of it being March 17th, today's theme is GREEN BOOK COVERS.

Here are 10 books from off my own shelves with lovely green covers: 

My Lucky Charm by Courtney Walsh

A Judgement of Powers by Benedict Jacka

The Geographer's Guide to Romance by India Holton

The Detective Wins the Witch by Kristen Painter

This Green Hell by Greig Beck

Kilt to Order by Susannah Nix

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Shadowland by Adam Wright

Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle

Have you read any of these?

🍀 Happy Reading! 🍀

Haiku Reviews...

 

Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Two ghosts. Two hauntings.

Morgan wants hers gone; Sawyer doesn't.

What do the ghosts want?

Romance.... 322 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(So many poignant moments as Sawyer copes with tragic loss and grief, and finds new life, hope and love. He and Morgan are so good together.)

Hail Marry by Martha Keyes

He saves her life; she

saves his football dream by offering

a marriage of convenience.

Romance .... 337 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(A cute and clean rom-com with one of my favorite romance tropes.)

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

Hikers. Miners. Spies?

Two murders put Haven's Rock

on high alert.

Mystery .... 337 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Another excellent mystery; I really love Casey Duncan and her husband, Eric Dalton, and their cute Newfie, Storm. And Haven's Rock, hidden somewhere in the heart of the Yukon, is such a great setting.)

Happy Reading!

March's Bookish Art...

 

Ulisse Caputo -- Leisure Hours

"There's no better escape from life than into a book."

--Heather Webber, South of the Buttonwood Tree

The World Beneath by Rebecca Cantrell

 

The plot in brief: Joe Tesla is a successful multi-millionaire tech genius who helped develop some cutting-edge facial recognition software. 181 days ago, a severe case of agoraphobia drove him underground. Now he spends his days exploring the subterranean world beneath New York City with his psychiatric service dog, Edison. Then on one such exploration, in an abandoned tunnel, he discovers a walled-up train car, two long dead skeletons, a murdered soldier, and some long buried secrets that will put his own life in danger.

My thoughts:  I first heard about this series from Cath @ Read-Warbler, and I'm glad I was able to get a copy of this first Joe Tesla novel from my library because it's a very fun read. Joe Tesla is an intelligent and engaging character; I liked him a lot. I also loved the labyrinth of New York subway tunnels setting, the old Victorian manor built beneath Grand Central Station where he lives, and his cute dog, Edison. There's good tension and lots of action, and an entertaining plot. And the ending sets the stage for the next Joe Tesla book, The Tesla Legacy, which I can't wait to check out. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

 "Strange things happen in Fell, New York."

Growing up with two absent parents in a house haunted by shadows, bad dreams, and a ghostly presence none of them ever dared talk about did not leave the three Esmie children with many happy memories growing up. Except for their little brother, Ben, whom they all loved. Ben made everything better. Until the day he disappeared without a trace during a game of hide-and-seek when he was just six. It's the one moment from their past that haunts them all.

Now, two decades later, Violet, Vail and Dodie are headed back to Fell, New York, and their childhood home. It's time to find out what happened to Ben...and to lay all their ghosts. Especially the one they fear the most. If they can. 

My thoughts:  Eerie. Engrossing. And unsettling. I enjoyed this latest chilling ghost story from Simone St. James. The chapters alternate between the three siblings' POVs, which created nice layers to the mystery of what happened to Ben, because Violet, Vail, and Dodie each have their own memories and perceptions of what happened back then...and they all have their own unique encounters with what's haunting their childhood home now. I liked getting to know Violet, Vail, and Dodie, who are all flawed, but likable, and I enjoyed their sibling interactions...and their mutual adoration of their little brother. 

This is not the scariest ghost story I've ever read, but there's a nice building of suspense and the ending is intense...and satisfying. A fun read.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

P.S. The Sun Down Motel (one of St. James's previous novels) shares the same Fell, New York, setting and is mentioned in this one...which kind of made me want to go back and reread it. The link will take you to my review of that one. 😎

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  GENRE FREEBIE

I decided to go with one of my favorite genres: Twisty Thrillers. You know, those books that keep you in suspense all the way to the end and  make you say, "Wow! I did not see that coming."  

Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton 

Sister by Rosamund Lupton 

Good As Gone by Amy Gentry

The Never List by Koethi Zan

Find Me by Anne Frasier

Where Monsters Dwell by Jorgen Brekke

The Assignment by Mark Andrew Olsen

Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf

Safe by S.K. Barnett

Lightning by Dean Koontz

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan 

Oops! That's 12 books. Oh, well. It is one of my most favorite genres, so that makes it hard to narrow it down to just 10 books. And all of these are so good. At least, I loved them all.

Happy Reading!

Thirty Below by Cassidy Randall

 

WHO:  Grace Hoeman, Arlene Blum, Margaret Clark, Margaret Young, Faye Kerr, and Dana Isherwood...also known as 'the Denali Damsels'. 

WHAT:  "The harrowing and heroic story of the first all-women's ascent of Denali."

WHEN:  1970

WHY READ IT:  This is a compelling account of women who loved to climb at a time when mountaineering was a hyper-masculine, male-dominated sport sadly full of misogynistic men who did not believe that women belonged on any mountain. These six women were out to prove them wrong. And Randall does an excellent job of capturing their individual stories and personalities, portraying the time period they were living in, and relating their challenging ascent up Denali. It's as good as any mountaineering book I've read. I love reading these kinds of extreme adventures and was completely enthralled by this one. Denali is nearly as challenging to climb as Everest, especially back in the 70s, and these women's climb is full of drama, peril, suspense, and personal triumph. 

RATING:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

SIMILAR READS:

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson 

The Next Everest by Jim Davidson 

Left For Dead by Beck Weathers 

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  QUOTES FROM or  ABOUT BOOKS.

I often jot down favorite quotes from books I'm reading, and I love quotes about books and reading, too. So this week's TTT was right up my alley. Here a few recent favs:

"No one likes third-act breakups."

--Sarah Monzen, Hearts in Circulation

"The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she's treated."

--George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion

"In the book of life, everyone has chapters they don't like reading out loud."

--Heather Webber, South of the Buttonwood Tree

"Devouring books came as naturally to us as breathing."

--Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

"I consume romance novels for the same reason I watch birds--for the sparks of joy, because I prefer to be happy when the world gives us so many reasons to be sad."

--Sarah T. Dubbs, Birding With Benefits

"Adventures are measured in moments and memories, not minutes."

--Savannah Scott, Are We There Yet?

"It's all about writing the very best story of your life. Not just how you live it--but how you choose to tell it."

--Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers

Happy Reading!

The Clearing by Simon Toyne

 "Never go back into the woods.

That's what she and Maddie had vowed to each other after they had escaped.

Never go back and never look back.

Maddie had done both."

And now she was missing.

Midsummer's Eve. The Forest of Dean. A local legend known as the Cinderman--a local legend who supposedly haunts the woods and preys on young women. An off-grid commune in the forest called The Clearing. Two sisters (Adele and Maddie)...one missing, the other desperate to find her. An Earl and his son. And Dr. Laughton Rees, a criminologist who's been tracking cases of missing women. She heads to the insular community of Cinderfield to help investigate Maddie's disappearance, not knowing there are other dark secrets in play. 

My thoughts:  I think I've found a new favorite author. I really enjoyed this mystery. Toyne creates a real sense of urgency as the evil in Cinderfield starts to close in on Rees and Adele. The tension is palpable. Good writing and good suspense made this a very compelling read. And I really liked Laughton Rees. I very much want to read Toyne's previous mystery with her now. There is one major plot twist at the end of this one that had me questioning the feasibility of it in regards to the timeline. But then I decided to let it go and just enjoy the moment.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!