Beneath an Indian Sky by Renita D'Silva

"All it takes is one decision, one moment of madness, of curiosity winning over sense, for your life to change for ever."

Mary and Sita meet in India as children but then tragedy interupts their idyllic life of freedom. Each girl fights against expectations of parents and society as they grow into adulthood. Both independent and single-minded, Mary and Sita try to make their dreams come true. Unfortunately, betrayal and jealousy mar their lives and prevent happiness.

Set against the lush background of India beginning in 1925, the narrative goes back and forth in time and alternates between the voices of the Englishwoman, Mary, and the Indian, Sita. One can almost see, smell, hear and taste the country through the eyes of the women. This novel is rich in detail and description.

Those readers who enjoy historical fiction will surely find a dramatic and moving story within these pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

No Safe Place (DI Lottie Parker #4) by Patricia Gibney

"Love can do strange things to people."

DI Lottie Parker has her hands full. A recently dead body found in an open grave, a missing girl and a stand-in boss who won't let her chase her cases in her own way. Not to mention the usual havoc on the home front -- it's not easy working full stop when you're a widow with 3 children and a new grandson. Lottie's life is very complicated and she doesn't always handle things..."a past master at burying emotional turmoil deep beneath the mundanity of everyday life." Some of those events have led her to pills and drink but she's trying hard to get a handle on that even while holding her partner, (and maybe a new love) DS Boyd, at arm's length.

During the course of the investigations, a ten years old missing persons case looks to have some similarity to the current situation. It's coming up on the anniversary date of when Lynn O'Donnell got off the train in Ragmullin and was never seen again. It seems that the girl in the grave, Elizabeth, and the missing girl, Mollie, were also on the train before they went missing. DON'T TAKE THE TRAIN FROM DUBLIN TO RAGMULLIN...

This is so much more than a hunt for missing girls or to solve a murder. The investigation by Lottie and her team is complicated and tedious. There is definitely something rotten in Ragmullin and the menace is probably in their midst. Although you may figure out where this is going, the process is excellent police procedural.

I note that others have said that this can be read as a standalone, but I disagree. There is too much of Lottie's backstory that gives history for her behaviors both professionally and personally. I have read #1, #3 and unfortunately missed #2 -- which I need to rectify. I want to know ALL about Lottie. Can't wait for the next in this great series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

The Third Victim by Phillip Margolin

Well there went a good night of sleep! I started this one late in the evening and did not put it down until after 3 am -- definitely a "read in one sitting" type of legal thriller that I hope is the first in a new series by this talented author.

The plot is described in the blurb but essentially it is full of twists, turns and surprises that begs the question -- who is the real victim? No spoilers, but when a tortured and starved woman is found at the edge of a road in Whisper Lake -- one whose horrible treatment bears similarities to two other cases of dead women -- many different groups of law enforcement and justice kick into action. The prime suspect is a prominent attorney and the prosecutor goes for the death penalty.

A large cast of characters and interesting detail about their lives provide a sidebar to the legal maneuvering. I found all of it quite absorbing and, though I guessed where it all might be going, I love to see the process of how the truth is revealed despite the red herrings.

I really would like to see more of Robin Lockwood and the legal team. I'm worried about Regina Barrister. I liked the Oregon setting. I do enjoy a good legal thriller and this fit the bill. Bring it on!
It was a refreshing change for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Exhibit Alexandra by Natasha Bell

"The very worst things in life, our most fearful nightmares, they don't happen all at once. They creep up, lodge themsevles gradually in our brains..."

I just finished reading this, in one sitting, because I could not put it down. From the blurb, believe me when I say that you can't imagine what a ride you're getting on. I would say that this psychological thriller will be very polarizing and that you'll either love it or hate it. I fall on the love side because it was quite unique, despite the inevitable (and so tiring) comparisons to GONE GIRL and the like. It seems I read so many books in this genre that are full of secrets and lies between husbands and wives, etc. Well, most have nothing on this one.

I'm trying to figure out how to review this without ruining it for future readers  -- the initial point is "explaining the absolute abnormality of a woman who had always come home...not walking through our front door that night," says Marc when Alexandra Southwood goes missing. The family, living in York, has two young daughters. The police get involved quickly and begin an intense hunt, but this is not a typical 'detectives searching for a missing person' novel. The narrative is so bizarre as Alex tells an unidentified man her story "more honest than the police reports and newspaper articles. If it is not an actual truth, it is very much a human one." Interspersed between Alex's account are other points of view -- that of Marc, letters from her college friend, Amelia, and flashbacks painting a picture of their married life together. Bizarre, right?

Right away the reader senses something really off about this whole scenario. Where is Alex? What happened? Why? Lots of questions. Along with the forward motion of the story describing how Marc, his friends and family react to Alex's disappearance and the search for at least a body so they can have some closure, there is ART. ALL CAPS ART. I don't pretend to know much about art other than to be able to say whether or not I like a particular piece of it or not. It's not my thing, so I learned a lot about it from a much more learned source! I must say that was the least compelling part of this book to me until I got further in and found out more about Alex and what makes her tick. I can't say I liked her at all, was totally empathetic to Marc all along, and the other characters in the story were only peripheral to their relationship. Alex's main relationship was with herself.

So forgive this meandering and probably pointless review and take a chance on reading the book itself as it is far too complex for me to reduce to these few paragraphs to try to explain my reaction. I think the ending was quite a masterpiece even as I anticipated what was coming as I rushed to the conclusion. Certainly it would make an excellent book club book as there are so many ideas and issues that could be discussed and debated. Definitely one that was thought-provoking and I'll be pondering some of it for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the e-book ARC to read and review.

Dark Waters (#3 Alex Devlin) by Mary-Jane Riley

"Nothing was black and white in life, nothing was certain."

Alex Devlin has moved from London where she previously worked as a journalist for THE POST. She fills her time doing a bit of freelancing, feature stories, etc. Her father suffers from early onset dementia and her sister, Sasha, is being released from the psych institute where she was committed. Alex returned to Sole Bay to be close by to help them out.

Her quiet and somewhat lonely life is disrupted, however, when two men are found dead on a pleasure boat off the Norfolk Broads. Her investigative instincts kick in when she discovers that the two men were chatting online about suicide. When she learns the identity of the men, she calls her old boss in London and begs to be put on the story but another reporter, Heath Maitland, is sent down instead. Alex and Heath agree to a quid pro quo as there is something that Alex wants him to do for her in exchange for her doing a lot of the legwork for the story. Abruptly, both are called off by the home office, but Alex can't let it go. She's figured out some interesting connections...

This was a mystery with a lot going on in the plot. Many different characters -- some who featured in the previous 2 books in the series (which, unfortunately, I have not read). That said, there was enough information about some of the backstory so that I didn't feel entirely lost. It moved along quickly with the pieces slowly coming into place. Of course there is no one that Alex can work with or trust while she is busy ferreting out the truth. Goes to show, again, that the past won't stay buried.

I enjoyed this and will definitely look for another in the series should there be a 4th book. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the e-book ARC to read and review.

Cold Heart (Kate Matthews #3) by Stephen Edger

A missing 15-year-old girl, a severed female foot found in a school sports center marked for demolition, and the heart of a male victim delivered to the police station. Are these connected? That is what Detective Kate Matthews and her team try to figure out in this police procedural.

The investigation hits one wall after another as little headway is made. The painstaking methods of tracking down all leads and clues take valuable time with hope running out that Daisy is still alive. They can't find her and the other two who were eventually identified offer no evidence to chase. As they haul in first one suspect and then another, the team is working long hours and nearing exhaustion without having any luck. Meanwhile, Kate is dealing with one of her fellow team members and a personal situation. NO SPOILERS.

This is the third in the series featuring Kate Matthews and the second that I have read. I am fully vested in learning more about the characters on the team and about Kate's personal life outside of the police. The author is able to evoke reader response as tension builds and frustration mounts. I am definitely looking forward to further revelations in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I Know Where She Is by S.B. Caves

"A white envelope, unmarked, no stamp. Scrawled in chicken scratch: I KNOW WHERE SHE IS."

Francine receives this message ten years after her daughter, Autumn Cooper-Wright, went missing and no amount of searching ever turned up a clue. Francine descended into an alcoholic haze, she and her husband, Will, divorced and only recently has she begun to get herself put back together. Francine frantically calls her husband for a meet, but he's moved on, has a new wife and is expecting a child, and he thinks it's just a prank. When Francine meets 18-year-old Lena out by her car next to her job place the next day, she's not convinced that Lena is anything but a cruel joke when Lena says she knows Autumn -- whom she knows as Melody. And, Lena says that Autumn is still alive. Lena only begins to believe it when Lena tells her things that make her blood run cold.

"Even if you got her back...She's not the same little girl you lost...None of us are."

As messed up and unstable as Francine appears at first, she pulls herself together quickly and is off on a mission to rescue her daughter from unspeakable circumstances. NO SPOILERS, but the situation Autumn is in is horrible and one that no parent wants to imagine. The book really takes off after this and ratchets toward a spectacular, if somewhat unbelievable, climax. The narrative is well-paced and tension builds as Francine seeks to find and regain her daughter. Francine changes into something approaching Super Woman before the reader's eyes and the transformation is necessary considering what she is up against. Can she rescue Autumn when there is no one to turn to for help?

This was quite the unexpected thrill read for me as I had not anticipated the direction it was going. I enjoyed it as the pages flew by. As others have said, set aside a block of time as this begs to be read in a single sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo Publishing for the e-book ARC to read and review.

The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne

This suspenseful thriller is like a train wreck. You don't really want to see the damage, but you can't help yourself and look anyway. Throughout the whole of the novel, I was screaming at the characters to open their eyes and see what was happening.

Now let me ask you, ladies especially -- would you really take a near stranger into your home and put her in charge of your children?? NO WAY. Especially if she was young and pretty and seemed the answer to an overworked mother's dream. So when Melissa and Mark Cain try to help their poor neighbor who was burned out of her home by a fire, you just KNOW that nothing good is going to come of this. They are too nice and you sense the menace of Jade immediately. Would you check references before you hire on a nanny -- of course you would. But, do they? Oh no, they are so happy to have some help in their busy and chaotic lives.

What Jade does to this family is pure evil. Should we overlook Jade's past and excuse her behavior? I don't think so! Even as the chapters roll by and as you are glued to the pages to see what heinous act Jade will pull next, you can't help but turn the pages as fast as you can to see if she is a master manipulator and a shrewd planner.

This book was great fun to read because, even as you knew (hoped) that Jade would be outed and taken out before she could ruin the family, you weren't quite sure what damage she would leave behind. What I didn't understand was how Mark and Melissa so totally missed the clues and evidence that Jade was not the paragon she seemed to be. When everything started to fall apart right after Jade came to live with them, I was sure that one of them would be suspicious. But, oh no, we had to go through a lot of drama. Nevertheless, I guess it wouldn't have been such a story if they had!

You can read this in a couple of hours and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it though there is one character I would have liked to see get his comeuppance! And, I'm a little worried about Dylan...

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book to read and review.

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

"...love makes us behave out of character...it drives us to do things we never thought we'd do."

Finn McQuaid and his girlfriend, Layla, are driving back home to St. Mary's (in Devon) after skiing in Megeve when they pulled off the motorway into a picnic area at Fonches. It's not a service station, its main appeal is that it has a toilet. When Finn returns to the car after using the facilities, Layla is gone. Over the next 12 years he exhausts various methods looking for her, but never finds a trace. Was she kidnapped, is she dead? Finn has no clue.

Though she was the love of his life, he has finally managed to move on and has become involved in a serious relationship -- with Layla's sister, Ellen. They are to be married and Finn is happy enough. Soon after the wedding announcement, Finn starts to receive some creepy indications that perhaps Layla is still alive. Or is someone just messing with his head not wanting him to finally have some happiness. Has she finally come back to him and what in the world is he to do about Ellen?

Creepy is a good word to describe this novel of psychological drama. It will become clear to the reader quite quickly that something weird is going on here, but NO SPOILERS. There are many clues and the astute reader will see where it's leading fairly quickly though the author makes a valiant effort to throw in many red herrings to divert away to other conclusions. It was hard to really get into the true nature of the characters and I didn't find myself identifying with any of them except I could feel the tension and frustration that Finn experienced. The believablity factor also comes into play so you have to allow for the fact that you'd probably do things a bit differently to Finn as events spiral out of control. The writing was good and the pacing was appropriate to the story. I think I can say that the overall feeling I came away with was just sadness.

I've read both other novels and still think that Behind Closed Doors was the best of the 3, but I enjoyed this one. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-book ARC to read and review. B.A. Paris is still on my "to-read" list.

Don't Believe It by Charlie Donlea

WOWZA -- fantastic read! "Is fame and fortune enough or is the truth the only thing that matters?"

Wow, Charlie Donlea -- you have done it again! Written a suspense thriller that grabs from the first page and never lets go. It took me through all of the emotions on a twisty ride where I first thought one thing, and then another. Just be careful -- and don't believe anything!

The story -- in 2007, at Gros Piton on St. Lucia at the Jalousie Plantation resort, Julien Crist fell to his death from the bluff. In addition to those injuries, the fatal wound, however, was to his head before he went over. His girlfriend at the time, Grace Sebold -- a medical school graduate about to embark on a neurosurgery residency -- was convicted of his murder.

Ten years later, Sidney Ryan, a documentary producer of some renown, decides to take on this case as a possible expose of miscarried justice. She plans to go back over every element of the situation and show, in real time, everything that she discovers through interviews and evidence. The main question -- did Grace really kill her boyfriend? As her show rockets to unimagined ratings success, Sidney becomes emeshed in a deeper mystery than she anticipated. Her investigation leads her to secrets and lies -- but can she get Grace the reprieve that many believe she deserves?

I loved the narrative as it highlights excerpts from the initial police interviews and investigation as well as examination of all the evidence from the case. Since the trial took place in St. Lucia, it could be that the US government was derelict in duty to one of its citizens. A very complicated endeavor, but Sidney has the clout and the brains to do this well. She's a new network darling and everything she worked for is about to pay off big time. And then... (NO SPOILERS). Yeah, I was sure I knew where this was going -- several times. It wasn't until the very last paragraph that I got my answer!

If you read any of my reviews, you know that I am partical to this genre and read almost everything of this nature. This was exceptional on several counts, but mostly it is the writing style and the way that Donlea tells a great story. Trust me on this, you won't want to miss it!  And if you haven't read his other two novels (all standalones), SUMMIT LAKE and THE GIRL WHO WAS TAKEN, you need to rectify that immediately. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this e-book ARC to read and review. I admit that I shamelessly begged for it! And I'm so happy I did. Sign me up for #4 now!

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

What are you willing to do to protect your family?

Vivian Miller is a CIA counterintelligence agent working to uncover a network of Russian sleeper agents hidden in the USA. She's married to Matt, an IT guy, and has 4 children. Just a normal family with two working parents and busy hectic lives. Except that Vivian's job is going to take them all to the brink of disaster because she's uncovered a secret that calls into question everything she knows and believes.

This is an incredibly fast-paced suspenseful thriller that draws you in so fast -- by the time I got to the second chapter, I felt that I WAS Vivian. And that this was my life and my problem. Told in the first person, it ricochets from one tense moment to another mind-numbing revelation. You can feel her anxiety and her fear -- and you are almost afraid to read on to see what happens next. Vivian's main goal is to protect her family and to avoid being a traitor to the government she has sworn allegiance to serve.

NO SPOILERS, but if you haven't read this yet, put it on your list immediately. It's one crazy, wild ride and would make a fantastic movie. It's not often I gush about a book, but forgive me this time because I loved this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the e-book ARC to read and review.

The Visitor by K.L. Slater

"I'm always just a visitor in everyone's life...I come and go, but nothing ever changes."

Holly grew up in Nottingham but ran off to Manchester for a better life. Things happened and she's now returned to try and make a new start. She's been taken in as a "visitor" by elderly Cora Bennett and soon gets a job selling furniture. But, poor Holly, nothing ever seems to go right. Has her past caught up with her?

David is an odd duck who's had his share of problems -- and he still lives at home with mom at age 40. Although he's on meds and has a job of sorts, he's consumed with monitoring all that is going on in the neighborhood. Keeping everyone safe. He lives right next door to Holly and can't help but notice that she seems to need his help. Is he offering friendly protection or is he a stalker?

The chapters are told in the alternating point of view of Holly and David. Also shifting back and forth in time for the history of each, we finally come to present day and some interesting revelations. It seems that neither of these two are really the people they pretended to be.

I had a hard time dredging up any empathy for either of the main characters, nor did I identify with them. There was a huge sense of menace as the reader knew something was off and that bad things were coming, but not quite from which direction. After all the hints that were dropped, it was not so much a twisty or surprising conclusion as it was a relief to finally have the salient points exposed. I don't really like when dangled snippets and then have an abrupt shift just when the truth is about to be revealed! Regardless of these annoyances, I did enjoy this pscyholgical drama and am glad that I'll never meet Holly or David.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. I enjoy the titles by K.L. Slater and will definitely read more from her.

The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard

Imagine that your college boyfriend, Will, turned out to be a serial killer and has been locked away in the Central Psychiatric Hospital for the past 10 years. He, at age 19, confessed to the murders of four young women -- and was dubbed "the Canal Killer".  Alison Smith barely survived the emotional trauma and hasn't returned to Dublin since she fled both Will and St. John's.

Flash forward 10 years -- another college girl has been killed in the same manner.  Alison is asked to return to Dublin to meet with Will -- who may be innocent after all. Along with the Garda detectives Malone and Shaw, Alison visits the CPH and all of the feelings she thought she had long buried come again to the light. Can Alison make up for the past and help free Will now even though she feels responsibile for helping put him where he is?

Well written but predictable drama with a time shifting first person narrative as Alison goes back and forth between "then" and "now".  There is another voice that appears in the story line every so often. Alison isn't the most sympathetic character nor did I identify with her nor understand most of her reactions and actions. The Garda detectives and other characters are fairly one dimensional with the main focus on Alison and only vaguely on Will. This wasn't action packed but more of a plodding expose with the revelations coming slowly as Alison is supposedly drawn into the investigation. Will she be able to prove that Will is not the Canal Killer? And has he now, finally, told her EVERYTHING?

This is the second book by this author that I've read and I'll look out for another by her. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing Company for the e-book ARC to read and review.