Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

 Lovely contemplative fiction that hits on the issues of life and death.

I enjoyed this book. It hit all the right notes with the fantastic characters and their individual stories. The premise — people on a plane are given a death date — is so positively intriguing. Is it real or a hoax? When people start dying just as predicted, social media takes notice.

The writing, as always, was excellent and I was so drawn in that it was hard to set this book aside. I got so absorbed with each person as the narrative shifted in viewpoints. I so wanted everyone to be OK! The author has a knack of getting everything just right. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrators, Caroline Lee and Geraldine Hakewill, were absolutely brilliant. The accents and the drama were perfect and I loved every minute of the experience. It made me love the book even more.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Tags - mystery, psychological, death prediction, actuaries, family drama

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

Unforgettable novel that had me feeling all the emotions and kept me mesmerized until the end.

There’s a million things I let go while living inside the pages of this book. I am not sure how to describe how it affected me, except that even when I was trying to get stuff done, I kept wanting to return to the story. The characters were so alive and I just wanted to know them and to exist in their space.

Things I loved about this book:

The characters were all so well developed and intriguing with many different layers, desires, and motivations. I fell in love with Patch and Saint and so many others.

The setting, mostly small town Missouri, called me me because it's home. Although Monta Clare is a fictional town, it definitely describes a lot of rural areas in this state.

The plot was a combination of thriller and epic love story about an unlikely one-eyed boy who becomes a local hero and ultimately loses himself. There's the faithful friend who follows him through a life spent searching for something and someone always out of reach. A serial killer hunting girls who eludes the police and can't be caught. Lost people, with good hearts, who don't always do the right thing, but really want to. Heartache plus regrets but always a deep and abiding affection and trust. And hope.

The writing. I loved the style and the way the author paints his world with imagery and color. I could picture everything so clearly. This would make a great movie or television show with the right cast and director.

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book. The narrator did an excellent job of voicing the characters and his dramatic flair added much to my overall enjoyment of this book.

Definitely recommend.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Tags- mystery, thriller, serial killer, abortion, love, family, small towns

Home is Where the Lies Live by Kerry Wilkinson

 There’s something strange in this neighborhood.

Secrets and lies in every home on the street. What are they all doing behind closed doors and who fired the gunshot?

This psychological thriller features the viewpoints of many of the homeowners as they relate things that are going on in their households. Freddie and Heidi just moved into Huntington Grove for his new job and Heidi is at loose ends. Why has her husband suddenly started hiding things from her and locking his office door? Others on the street also have some things they don’t want everyone to know. Like Willow. She and her daughter, Isabella, argue a lot and husband isn’t hanging around home much. Then there is the widower Dylan and his daughter, Orla, whose wife was murdered 3 years ago. He’s still very upset and angry that the killer has never been arrested. Allison, the neighborhood party organizer is another weird one — her husband works overseas but the house isn’t quiet. It all comes out on the night of the block party.

This was fast and fun and I enjoyed the writing style with the shifting points of view and the insertion of the police interviews. The characters were complex and interesting. Even if the coincidences and conclusion were a bit far fetched, it was still entertaining trying to figure it out.

 I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The two narrators did an excellent job of voicing all the different characters and used an appropriate amount of dramatic flair as needed to really enhance my reading experience.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - psychological drama, family dysfunction, secrets and lies

A Midwinter Murder (Lady Eleanor Swift #20) by Verity Bright

 A 1920s Christmas is tainted by murder.

Lady Eleanor Swift and her entourage are bound to the wild Yorkshire Moors to spend Christmas at Auldwyke Hall as guests of the Duke. The only saving grace making this venture pleasant is that Eleanor’s fiancé, Hugh Seldon, is actually going to attend with them. They hope to find some quiet time alone to discuss their future plans. Alas, almost immediately after arrival, Eleanor stumbles upon the dead body of the Duke’s secretary. Mr. Porritt has been strangled and left for dead in a storeroom. 

Their holiday is near ruined now as Eleanor, Hugh, and butler Clifford spend their time trying to suss out a killer.

As always, the characters make this such a fun and satisfying cozy mystery. It’s definitely a series that should be read in order from the beginning in order to develop a relationship with each of them. Eleanor is definitely unconventional, compassionate, and clever as she helps investigate nasty crimes and find justice.  I enjoy all the period details and a particularly interesting aspect is that the book includes a recipe for genuine Yorkshire Christmas Pie (circa 1747) and some historical notes on rural policing, clay pigeon shooting, Prussic acid, inheritance laws, miniature books, and Edwardian Christmas trees. All of which feature in the story. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC — both provided by the publisher. The narrator, Karen Cass, did a fabulous job of voicing all the different characters and bringing them to life with appropriate dramatic flair. This excellent production definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

If you are looking for a great cozy mystery series set in the UK in the 1920s, I can highly recommend this one. I’m already looking forward to the next installment. 

This is the 20th book in a series that should be read from the beginning in order.

Genre - historical cozy mystery, 1920s UK

The Butcher Game (Dr. Wren Muller #2) by Alaina Urquhart

 Overwrought second in series was a fail for me.

I only barely enjoyed the first book so I'm not sure why I wanted to read this one. In between the melodrama and the repetition, interspersed with crazy dream sequences, I should have just put it aside but forced myself to finish.

What a disappointment. More of Wren and John chasing Jeremy Rose around. More lurid descriptions of Jeremy's carnage. Then the final insult to the reader was a character kill off that just didn't need to happen. The whole book seemed like a teenage horror flick. The writing was choppy and over the top histrionic. I won't read another by this author. 

I listened to the audiobook while reading along in the e-book. The narration flipped between the points of view of Wren and Jeremy. The male and female voices were done decently given the script they had to work with. Then, the absolutely worst thing happened at the very end when these atonal screeching and cackling voices discuss the author's writing process and the book. I had to turn it off quickly. Definitely don't listen to it. If that is an example of the podcast, it's a hard pass. 

This is the second in a series that should be read in order. I won't read any further installments.

Genre - graphic thriller, lurid horror, murder, serial killer

The Wilds (Detective Elin Warner #3) by Sarah Pearse

 Absorbing atmospheric mystery thriller.

The wilds isn't a place but a feeling. 

Detective Elin Warner and her brother, Issac, head off to Portugal to search for a missing woman. They find some clues in a camp located in a Portuguese national park from where Kier Templer disappeared. As they try to figure out what happened to Kier as well as rebuild their own family relationship, Elin and Issac discover the secrets hidden in a map that was painted by Kier while she was hiding from herself, fleeing her own past. 

This was so good. The writing was very evocative as it described all of what the characters were experiencing. Told in shifting points of view between Elin and Kier, and also jumping in timeline, the narrative relates the raw emotions and uncertainty in each woman. Both are coming from a sort of identity crisis point and both are desperate to figure it all out. As Elin investigates, she is conflicted about what she finds with plenty of confusing details and twists in the discoveries. 

I'll say no more about the plot or give any spoilers, but the conclusion was quite satisfying although I'm very sad to hear that this is the end of the series. I will miss Elin Warner and I hope she will be OK now. I do feel that this should not be read as a standalone as the other two installments provide important background to the main characters. 

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. I thought that Elizabeth Knowelden did a great job but honestly feel that the whole production would have been so enhanced if there had been a male narrator as well. That would have really given depth to the story and added a degree of dramatic flair. I do believe, however, that listening while reading really amplifies my enjoyment of a book.

This is the third and last book in a series that should be read in order.

Genre and tags - domestic violence, mystery thriller, secrets

Last One Alive (#3 Emily Hartford) by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

 Following the first two in the series, Emily is still mucking about and unsure of who and what she wants to be when she grows up. She’s on and off again with a past boyfriend when Nick goes off on assignment to China and vanishes. 

Somehow she gets involved with a cold case where a family was murdered leaving only one survivor. All of Emily’s amateur sleuthing keeps her away from her new surgery practice in Chicago and once again finds her back in Freeport. All the previous characters make an appearance. No one is more than a stereotype of the best friend, newfound sister and nieces, helpful ex FBI agent. 

I listened to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher for as long as I could stand it before the narrators voice drove me crazy. The attempts at accents and voice adjustments to take on different character’s personas was not successful and I finally quit listening. 

And then, the ultimate sin to me — a cliffhanger ending. Not nice. I know there is another book in the series that I’m meant to read as well and I just don’t know if I can force myself to do it. I can’t stand Emily. The writing is so bad as plot holes hang and details get turned around and mixed up. It was also overly long.

This is the third book in the Coroner’s Daughter series that should be read from the beginning in order.

Genre - mystery, medical, forensics, murder