I Never Lie by Jody Sabral

Are you in the mood to read a book from the point of view of a thoroughly unlikeable alcoholic who spends most of her days in a haze in the grip of her addiction? Alex South is meant to be a crime reporter, but unfortunately she's got a bad rap because she can't stay sober. Given (not sure how in the world she managed to get the job) the chance to report on a serial killer in the neighborhood close to where she lives, Alex discovers that she knows all the women who are dead.

I'm not sure exactly how to classify this book. It's not a detective mystery, it's not a psychological thriller (unless you count the fact that Alex is delusional about herself), and it's not crime fiction. The prose centers mainly on Alex promising herself to detox and then proceeding to drink away. How she manages to actually do any on air reporting defies belief. She's not even remotely a "functional alcoholic" because she misses work, passes out, and has blackouts. I couldn't stand her character. It was obvious where this was going and I won't spoil it in case someone who reads it doesn't guess right off. How she could even manage to look presentable to go to work is beyond my ability to buy as well. The woman drank almost non-stop. I guess you could say I don't have any empathy for Alex and you'd be right. There wasn't much to get from this novel and I was disappointed with the pace and the revelations. The "pull it all together" epilogue at the end made me want to throw my Kindle AND Alex across the room!

I do thank NetGalley and Canelo for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I really don't like reading books with unreliable, nearly psycho narrators who have major issues, so I need to be more careful when reading the blurbs and selecting the titles.

Standalone

Nobody's Child (#3 King and Lane) by Victoria Jenkins

"Monsters come in all shapes and forms...sometimes there is no explanation for evil."

Arson and murder with no end to the list of possible suspects and the lingering question of how they are all related. It seems the perpetrator is attacking the vulnerable. The case is complicated and it's been very hard to get a real feel for any motive behind these senseless killings. I had my "ah-ha" moment just a bit before the revelations, but this was very cleverly written and I enjoyed the pace and details of the investigation.

Excellent police procedural featuring Detective Inspector Alex King and Detective Constable Chloe Lane working out of the area around the Rhondda valleys. Although this is the third in the series, this is the first one I have read -- much to my chagrin. I'm sorry to have missed the first two and hope to correct that at some point. I would love to know more about the main characters on the police team and all the backstory.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this e-book ARC to read and review. Note that this book was initially titled COUNTING THE DEAD.

The Date by Louise Jensen

"Memories can be dangerous and not just for the person affected."

Lies, secrets, betrayal, and duplicity are at the heart of this psychological drama. The main character, Alison (Ali) Taylor goes on a blind date and wakes with no memory of the previous evening and, furthermore, her injuries have resulted in an incurable, rare condition that will forever prevent her from being able to recognize faces -- prosopagnosia. The events that occur after "the date" are only slightly more plausible because of that unusual disorder and it is what propels the plot. It's hard to really understand anything that happens to you if you can't tell WHO the people are when they appear in front of you. So -- the gist is that something bad happened that night and now someone is after Ali but she can't remember a thing, has amnesia, on top of the prosopagnosia.

The narrative is told in Ali's voice and moves along quickly despite the reader having to suck up a huge dose of disbelief and buy into her condition. She is constantly crying and emotional and histrionic as things go from bad to worse. I couldn't really identify with her character, and there were many other players in this convoluted story. Events from Ali's past are connected to the current torment and the savvy reader catches on quite quickly that the people in her life may not be what they seem. I'm sure that the climax and revelation was meant to be a shocking twist, but I have read far too many of this type of book to be surprised. Despite all these issues, I did enjoy the pace and the clinical information about the prosopagnosia.

The author writes a letter to the reader at the end of the book explaining that she had seen a documentary on the condition and kept wanting to write a story where the main character had it. Although I didn't care for Ali, I can see how the struggle to "do" life would be so much harder for a person who can't tell friends and family from strangers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. I've read several other books by this author and will continue to follow her.

Standalone.

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

 Oh, 'mommy dearest'.

The family Fitzsimons lives in a beautiful old mansion in Dublin. Andrew, the father, is a respected judge and Lydia enjoys being the lady of the manor. Though beset by fertility issues, they do manage to have a son, Laurence. Unfortunately, Lydia wants another child and urges Andrew to impregnate a local girl, Annie Doyle, so they can have her baby. Things go wrong as they often do, and Annie ends up dead. Covering up her murder isn't so hard, but living with it is...

This was a slow-burner of a psychological thriller and I'm glad that I stuck with it though tempted to give up several times. NO SPOILERS but you will have to just get into it all yourself at your own pace and stick in until the ultimate shocker of a conclusion. I think you'll end up seeing it worth your while.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Simon & Schuster for the e-book ARC to read and review.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

"We humans are amazing in our capacity for adaptation, aren't we?"

Erin and Mark Roberts are on their magical honeymoon in Bora, Bora when they find something in the water. This 'something' will rock their world and totally turn their lives in a new direction. NO SPOILERS, you'll just have to find out what it was and what Erin and Mark do. I'm sure you have some idea...

Actually, this was a fun, suspenseful thriller and I had a hard time putting it down as I raced through the pages to find out what happened next. Although I didn't  really care for Erin (her point of view drives the narrative), and though I know that I'd definitely not make any of the same choices that she made, it certainly made for an action-packed plot. I really wasn't quite sure how it would all end up despite my many attempts at guessing. Given how the novel starts, I thought I had some idea of where it was all going. Maybe I did, and maybe I fell for some clever plot twists.

This is one that you won't want to miss this summer. The only false note was that I didn't really get very invested in the side story of Erin's documentary though I see now how it was essential to some of the story, albeit a bit far-fetched. Despite those moments of suspended disbelief, I just went with the flow and enjoyed the theme (despite it being quite common).

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

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

"There are two kinds of people in the world: the people you can fool into liking you, and the ones clever enough not to fall for it."

Wow -- what did I just read? This short novel was full of completely hideous characters that say and do things that actually caused me to shudder and gasp out loud. The gist of it in simple terms, a poor girl (Louise) gets "adopted" like a stray pet by the rich, crazy girl (Lavinia). They hang out, go to wild parties, post tons of photos and status updates on social media and Louise eventually loses her various jobs, has no way to continue to support herself, so she's ends up living in Lavinia's apartment. And that's just the start of this totally messed up story. Bad things happen, but no spoilers. Nobody's dreams come true in this tale.

Just wondering who I could recommend this to, and can't come up with a name. If you are the type who enjoys a book that is populated by characters you'd never want to meet, much less befriend, then maybe you would like this one. So many literary references that my mind was boggled with the continuous nagging thought -- how pretentious. I definitely don't KNOW this New York and can honestly say that I'm very glad about that! Wondered if anything like this was really happening out there in the real world, and hoped not.

Just leaving it here -- read if you want your mind blown. Although not my cup of tea (or glass of champagne), I do want to thank NetGalley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review.

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

 Well now -- you know how it is when you pick up a book you know next to nothing about and then can't put it down? One that is written in such an engaging style as to be addictive, and you want to keep reading? That was this one -- a psychological thriller that dots all the i's and crosses the t's. Until the end.

Geo (Georgiana) Shaw is just 16 when she meets the man who will help her destroy her life. Calvin James. They end up committing the crime that puts Geo in prison for 5 years and Calvin for life. Though Geo had moved on and was never held to account for the murder and burial of Geo's best friend, Angela Wong 14 years prior. But the authorities finally found out the truth, and Geo tries to serve her time and lay the past to rest.

Unfortuntely, the past really never fades and when Geo gets out of prison, she's faced with a new trauma. Cavin has escaped prison and more murders are occuring. No spoilers, but at near the very end was a twist I actually didn't see coming. I never really cared for Geo as a character, I thought she got off easy, and I couldn't understand the love and devotion extended to her by her high school friend, now cop, Kaiser. I didn't like her no matter how sympathetic the author tried to make her. And did I already say this? I hated the ending. It just didn't seem right to me after I'd invested all that time reading! Nevertheless, I did like the book a lot until that point.

Despite the offending conclusion, I enjoyed this novel and will most likely read another by this author.

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

The Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder

A convoluted, twisty tale of marital infidelity, scheming, and people who aren't who you think they are. The 3 main characters are Natasha, Nick, and Jen -- actually I didn't find any of them relatable or likeable, but surely everyone has a redeeming quality or two. Maybe.

Jen and Nick, childhood sweethearts, were married for 20 years. Unsuccessful at having a child, Nick has an affair with Natasha and decides to divorce Jen and marry Natasha when she becomes pregant. Pretty common domestic drama, right? Well the plot thickens when, out of the blue, Natasha returns to the home she shares with Nick anad their daughter, Emily, to find herself locked out and both Nick and Emily vanished. No spoilers, but the reader is treated to cross and double cross and a few 'gotcha' moments as this sordid saga reaches a climax. It's told in multiple points of view and flips back and forth in time to increase what is meant to be a degree of suspense and tension. How will it all end and what actually did happen to these characters?

I read a lot of psychological thrillers so my anticipation and thrill meter is often lower than that of other readers. It kept my interest and I was curious to see how it all played out. I can't say that there were any real surprises at the climax, but the author did try very hard to weave a complicated web that required the slow unraveling to all make sense. This is a standalone novel and not part of any series.

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

Follow Me Home (Alton and Kane #3) by D.K. Hood

This third book in the Sheriff Jenna Alton and Deputy Dave Kane series focuses on the search for a vigilante who is killing men suspected of child kidnapping and rape. Set in Black Rock Falls and the surrounding wilderness, the investigation takes Jenna and her entire team on a fast-paced effort to discover the identity of the killer and also figure out the names of all the men possibly involved in the pedophile ring who might need to be protected from the revenge murders. They come to the conclusion rather rapidly that the vigilante is a woman -- but there were many previous victims of this child molestation pack and most of the girls have never been found. Can they stop the killer before she strikes again -- and though Jenna feels sick about the damaged and killed children, she does not believe in this type of vengeance.

Alton and Kane are partners and neighbors who may or may not realize that they are probably romantically interested in each other though they disguise it with talk of "friendship." Both have previous lives doing other law enforcement type of work and ended up, somehow, together in this backwater country town under different names. They're very tough, emotionally and physically, and despite the fact that Jenna is the boss and Kane her deputy, they operate more or less on equal footing. It does, however, seem that Jenna requires a lot of rescuing and backup -- when she has sense enough to ask for it! The characters have been developing and becoming more fully fleshed out as the series continues from one book into the next but the reader doesn't get much glimpse into their personal lives because it seems they are always working or rushing off to another crime scene! I actually like Kane a lot more than I do Alton, mostly because it seems she's trying too hard to be the boss, control the situations, and overcompensate.

I enjoy the pace of the writing, the detail of the setting, and the cases that Alton and Kane tackle. I'm looking forward to #4 and suggest that anyone new to Alton and Kane read the books from the beginning, in order.

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

Now She's Gone (DI Rachel Prince #2) by Alison James

Very strong second book in the DI Rachel Prince crime thriller series. This police procedural focuses on the death of a Dutch student, Emily van Meijer, who fell off a cliff while on a sponsored trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. Emily was attending the Fringe Festival through an organization, White Crystal Tours, along with other teenagers from all over Europe. The students boarded together and were chaperoned by a married couple, Will and Hazel MacBain.

Emily's father does not believe that his daughter's death was an accident, though ruled so by the patholgist in Scotland. Since he is a powerful, wealthy man, he calls in the favors necessary to get London and Rachel involved since she is an International Liaison Officer. So Rachel and DS Mark Brickall head off to Scotland where they find that Emily was not the first teen to die under suspicious circumstances.

At the same time, Rachel is dealing with crisis in her personal life that affects some of her actions and responses to the ongoing investigation. I was sort of disappointed that Rachel turns out to be just as messed up as many other female dectectives in other series I read. Very weak on the interpersonal relationship scale and never tend to follow established procedures.

I did enjoy the particulars of this case and the investigation into Emily's death. I like the details and the writing, especially some of the interaction between Rachel and Mark. Though she's his boss, they seem more like partners. I look forward to the next in the series to see what is in store for Rachel, both professionally and personally.

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

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

Hal receives a letter from a solictor advising her that she has inherited an estate from her deceased grandmother, Mrs. Westaway. The problem is -- Hal has no living relatives. That she knows of. She decides, however, to go and meet the "family" and try to get some money.

I don't like writing reviews of books that I didn't enjoy. This one had no menace, no thrills, no suspense and no mystery -- I had figured out what was going on a few chapters in. It seems to have been written for a high schooler and, though I muddled through, I felt that the melodrama and the contrived attempt to create a gothic atmosphere only irritated me. I didn't like the main character, Hal, and the others were so paper thin as to be caricatures. Can someone say the obvious -- DNA test??? Glad I'm done. I won't be recommending.

I do thank NetGalley and the publisher for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Blood Runs Cold (#2 DI Anna Anna Gwynne) by Dylan Young

This second book in the DI Anna Gwynne with the MCRTF at Avon and Somerset is an abosrbing and well-written police procedural. Along with other members of her team, specifically DCs Justin Holder and Ryia Khosa, their unit looks at cold cases hoping that some fresh insight will bring closure. The old case they are working on is a child murder; Rosie Dawson had been kidnapped in 2008 when she was 10 years old. When her bones were found demonstrating a horrific murder story, the squad can't help but wonder if a recent abduction, that of Blair Smeaton from Ediburgh, could be related.

Although I typically like to read book of series in order, there is quite a bit of backstory within so that you could read it as a standalone if you like. In fact, I'd actually forgotten much of the first book anyway by the time I got to this one, and I was able to follow along just fine. The details of the investigation take the reader along as the squad reinterviews witnesses and reviews specifics about Rosie Dawson's case. Once they find that, indeed, there is a tenuous link between the old and new, the action gears up as suspects and persons of interest are examined. This particular story involves crimes against children involving the Dark Net and pay per view torture so not for the squeamish.
Again, Anna has an unlikely colleage in the imprisoned Harvey Shaw -- who seems to know the mind of a serial killer. And, could it be, that there is romance in the making for Anna?

Great characters (that I want to know more about) and lots of interesting information about the detestable underbelly of the Dark Web make this one that any fan of police procedurals won't want to miss. I can't wait for #3 in the series! Anna is growing on me, though some things about her I still find rather annoying!

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