The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda

 A beautiful but sinister setting, a town full of secrets. What are they hiding?

Abigail Lovett has worked at The Passage Inn for the past ten years. The little resort is located in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter's Pass and right off the popular Appalachian trail. The Inn offers many activities for all the tourists who are interested in hiking, camping, and other outdoor pursuits. More recently, however, the town has become infamous for a series of mysterious disappearances of visitors to the area. Seven people have gone missing over the last decade. No trace of any has ever been found. The last to vanish was a journalist, Landon West, who was there to investigate the story. When his brother, Trey, shows up in Cutter's Pass and stays in the room that had been Landon's, things start happening. Will this mystery finally be solved?

This suspense thriller was full of some dubious characters, none that are forthright or talkative about the truth of who saw what when. Everyone seems to be intent on hiding something. The narrator, Abby, is very unreliable and is sort of an outsider who wants to be in. The story moves rather slowly and it builds tension as the reader tries to figure out where this is going and what happened to those people. I was so stoked up for something big that when the revelations come at the very end, I was so disappointed. I mean, that's where this is going?? After all that build up, the conclusion and explanations were a big let down. I would have to say that the setting was the biggest star of the book. I'm not an outdoorsy type myself, but the description made me want to visit the area.

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

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

Genre - mystery, suspense

Verity by Colleen Hoover

 Fast, dark, disturbing and totally fun thriller.

Are you in a reading slump or just looking for something different in the suspense genre? If you're thinking about this one, just start it already. Don't read anything about it ahead of time so the shocks and twists will surprise you.

I'm not a romance reader and I really don't like graphic sex scenes so I was a bit hesitant about this book though I had heard it was a one-off speculative novel by this author. I know I'm late to the party, but I am so glad I picked it up. I started reading it last evening and had to basically put my life on pause while I devoured it over a couple of hours. It's got some gothic vibes with the gated mansion, handsome husband, and incapacitated wife upstairs.

The premise -- an introverted struggling author gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she is offered a peach of a contract: finish the last 3 novels of a popular series written by Verity Crawford. The poor woman is unable to write them and her publisher thinks that Lowen might be able to pull it off. Since she's basically homeless and broke, Lowen accepts and travels to the Crawford home to examine notes and drafts of the proposed books. The house is lovely but the people inside are broken. Too much tragedy and sadness. The setting is ripe for drama and Lowen gets drawn in quickly, especially after discovering an autobiography hidden away in Verity's office.

A review of a book like this is hard to write without giving anything away. I could not help but enjoy it though I had to do a lot of skimming as I'm not a fan of detailed sex scenes. The characters were all deeply flawed and everything was creepy messy. I liked the writing style and the way the narrative was framed around the autobiography manuscript.

I have no idea how I happened to have this book on my Kindle, but I'm super glad I did.

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

Genre - suspense thriller, dark, disturbing, lots of sex scenes

Death Down the Aisle (Lady Eleanor Swift #11) by Verity Bright

 Another entertaining read in this cozy historical mystery series.

In this eleventh installment, Lady Eleanor Swift needs to find out who murdered Daisy Balforth so that her best friend, Constance Grainger, can marry the dashing Lord Peregrine Davencourt. It seems that Peregrine had once promised marriage to Daisy and now she is suing him for breach of promise! Not only is he in trouble for that offense, he's now the main suspect in Daisy's death.

Eleanor and her butler, Clifford, join forces with her beau, Detective Hugh Seldon, to get to the bottom of the situation so that the wedding can go on as planned.

Although Eleanor is an unlikely amateur sleuth given this time period (1920s), she is not an ordinary lady of the manor having come into the title quite late in her life. In her early 30s, she has had some crazy adventures in her past and is now quite fearless -- much to the chagrin of both her butler and her beau. I enjoy her independent sprint, her generous nature, and her sense of humor and wit. This is one of the few series that I continue to follow having tired of so many of the others. I enjoy all the period details and descriptions and the plots are always complicated trying to figure out the whodunit aspect. Can't wait for the next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. Be sure to give it a try and start at the beginning. 

This is #11 in a series that should be read in order.

Genre - cozy historical mystery 1920s

Girl, Forgotten (Andrea Oliver#2) by Karin Slaughter

 Sequel is an absorbing mystery thriller.

I read Pieces of Her and watched the adaptation on Netflix and never quite liked either so I had a bit of trepidation when I saw this sequel. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this a lot more than the first that featured Andrea Oliver. Andrea's character was much more maturely portrayed and I was able to tolerate her behavior and the plot because of that.

The story takes place two years after the events in book one and has a much better premise. Andrea has just completed US Marshal training, her psychopath father is safely behind bars, and her mother is back home and barely in the picture. Shortly after graduation, Andrea is approached by her uncle because her father is going up for parole and everyone is concerned that this time he might actually get it. The  uncle wants Andrea to take an assignment at Longbill Beach, ostensibly to protect a judge who is getting death threats, but really to investigate whether or not Clayton Morrow could have murdered a young, pregnant teenager there when he was in high school. That discovery would definitely prevent his parole.

Told in a dual timeline, one part is the voice of Emily Vaughn who was raped by one of her high school friends and became pregnant. Unable to identify the rapist or name the father of this baby, she tries to do a bit of sleuthing after being shunned by all of the hideous people in the small town of Longbill Beach. She is murdered on the night of Prom and the killer was never apprehended. The second voice is that of Andrea as she arrives in town and starts to look into the events from those 40 years ago and to do her current job with partner Catfish Bible. Met with a wall of silence and the same set of suspects, she also finds that two of them are partners in a successful fava bean company and have a sort of cult thing going on with young female volunteers. So, there's a lot going on in this book, but the author skillfully weaves it together and kept me guessing.

I would have preferred less of the Emily narrative and more focus on Andrea's activities, but it kept my attention and I'm glad I returned for this installment. I suspect there will be another in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. I do think it important to have read the first in the series to fully appreciate this one.

This is the second in series and it should be read in order.

Genre - mystery thriller

You're Invited by Amanda Jayatissa

 Fast and fun mystery thriller that will keep you guessing!

I really enjoyed this well-plotted and twisty tale of a Sri Lankan wedding gone wrong. From the start, when Amaya decides to attend her former best friend's celebration, the narrative is such that the reader can't wait to read more to find out what exactly is going on. Told from several points of view in a bit of a time shift fashion, it also includes excepts from interviews done by the investigation team.

Amaya and Kaavi used to be as close as sisters but they stopped all contact years ago so Amaya is quite surprised to get an invite to the social event of the season in Sri Lanka where they grew up together. The kicker that gets her on the plane back home is that Kaavi is marrying Spencer, Amaya's old boyfriend from their college days. This can't happen and Amaya is determined to stop the wedding. Everything comes to a head during the days of preparation and, when Kaavi is missing on the big day, all the clues point to Amaya being responsible.

Half the time while reading I was not sure what was going on. So many secrets and lies and manipulations behind the scenes. I loved it! Amaya seemed a jealous, self-harming, psycho mess but she was certainly resolute. Kaavi, the indulged princess of her wealthy family, appeared to be set on the marriage, and her parents and sister were leading her through all the festivities with a dogged purpose. But when things started to go awry, everything exploded in a spectacular fashion. What a great ending. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. 

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Genre - mystery thriller set in Sri Lanka

The Sleepless by Victor Manibo

 Unique and absorbing science fiction thriller.

When the global pandemic struck in 2033, the panic and confusion it created started a massive world shift. The condition did not actively kill -- it produced sleeplessness. Since no one understood where it came from or the vector or the mode of transmission, those affected were hauled to quarantine as scientists scrambled for answers. Things settled down in the ensuing decade, but Jamie Vega is a bit envious of those who are now sleepless. They have a lot more time in their lives to work, to pursue all sorts of hobbies or talents. The lure of becoming sleepless makes Jamie do something really daring.

Jamie is now finally sleepless and working as a journalist for a huge media company in the midst of a corporate takeover. He's living his best life and doing hard core investigative journalism when he finds his mentor, Simon Parrish, dead in the office right before a big board vote. Not believing in the line that this was a suicide, Jamie gets caught up in something that changes everything he believed about hyperinsomnia and has to face the consequences of how what he did was more than dangerous.

This was so much fun and I really enjoyed it. The character of Jamie is well-developed and certainly an unusual protagonist. I do not understand the emphasis in advertising the book about it being queer genre as that is such a small part of the narrative that it was inconsequential to any part of the story and certainly should need keep anyone from picking up this book to read. The science fiction part, the condition of hyperinsomnia or sleeplessness, was quite an interesting theme to explore with how all of those with it must consume so many resources and how they count time. It gave me lots to ponder and the plot, though a bit typical with good vs evil and someone being tasked to save the world, was entertaining. I liked the author's writing style and the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Publishing for the e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. 

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

Genre - science fiction, future, mystery thriller

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

 Historical mystery aboard the Queen Mary bound to New York in 1936.

Lena Aldridge aspires to a life on the stage so she jumps at the chance to travel to New York when Charlie Bacon offers her a job on Broadway and a first class cabin on the Queen Mary. Let's just say that she is leaving London under a bit of a cloud so she does not ask the right questions when she accepts this opportunity from a stranger who claims to be there at the behest of an old friend of her recently deceased father. Once aboard the ship, she meets an upper class family that is traveling together and, although she is mixed race, Lena allows others to believe she is Italian. Not that they really pay much attention to her as they have enough drama among them. Soon enough there's a murder and Lena has no idea whom to trust.

This was an entertaining read but I especially enjoyed the historical and period details more than the plot. The timeline jumps between events that transpired in London and those that happen on the ship. Mostly told from Lena's point of view, there is, however, another character whose narrative informs that they know what is going on and why with a very elaborate plan. The character of Lena is tolerable, but she did not capture my interest as she seemed very shallow and immature. The secondary cast personified all the types that you might find on a ship during that time period doing all the things that would be normal behavior for them. Casual drug use, alcohol, sexual trysts, and smoking combine with the class dynamics between the upper and lower deck people. I just never really became totally convinced by their authenticity enough to care about any of them. I had already figured out the mind behind the intrigue so the reveal was no surprise.

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

This is a standalone at present and not part of a series.

Genre - historical mystery 1936

All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work by Hayley Campbell

 Superb nonfiction that will make you examine everything you think about death.

I don't read a lot of nonfiction, but usually find one or two books a year that entice me and I was quite surprised to have found this. The timing is spot on as the world enters a sort of recovery post Covid pandemic and during this period as there are new and looming threats to our health and well-being.

I'm no stranger to death. As an RN for over for over 40 years, I've seen quite enough of it, but honestly never thought too much about what happens after I have cared for the deceased or escorted them to the morgue. I've nursed the dying at work and at home. I've attended far too many funerals and grieved losses. I must say, however, that I never peered behind the curtain or had any conversations with the workers that the author interviewed for this book.

Not sure if this exploration is for everyone, but the stories and the thought-provoking detail will linger in my psyche for a long time. The discussions and research were both fascinating and disturbing though I was left with a larger understanding as I learned about the reasons why some have a calling to do the jobs they do.

A memorable quote: "Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness, the tender mercy of its people, their respect for the law of the land and their loyalty to high ideals." William Gladstone (1809-1898)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book to read, review, and recommend. 

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

Genre - nonfiction, philosophy and cultural crticism

Under Pressure (Lucas Page #2) by Robert Pobi

 The second in this thrilling series finds Lucas once again helping the FBI as New York City is rocked by a series of horrific explosions.

The first hint that NYC is under siege occurs when a detonation and conflagration at the Guggenheim Museum results in over 700 casualties. Further explosions rock the city and every available resource is needed to analyze the situation. The SAIC of Manhattan, Brett Kehoe, knows that Lucas Page is the man he needs. So many deaths in such intricately planned bombs. Who is behind this and what is the motive?

Lucas Page is quite the protagonist and is uniquely positioned to be able to sift through massive amounts of data with his gifted mathematical mind. He's a survivor -- a near death event cost him a leg, an arm, and one eye. Evidence points to a very diabolical plot, but the public is quite quick to want to attach blame to conspiracy theorists and lunatic fringe factions. Lucas puts himself right in the middle of the action and the danger as he pits himself against a vast amount of unknown entities.

Again, this is masterful plotting with lots of action and a high body count. Lucas is a very interesting character and there is a lot going on his head. He's antisocial, does not suffer fools, and thinks rings around everyone else as he's always the smartest person in the room. Every other character in the books is basically a foil for him and not typically fleshed out beyond the basic details, but it works in this series. I've read all 3 of them not, not in the correct order, but I am really looking forward to the fourth installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. I had hoped that eventually this would manifest as as film or series adaptation, but it seems the author is not interested in the movie business. 

This is the second in a series that should be read in order.

Genre - action suspense thriller

City of Windows (Lucas page #1) by Robert Pobi

 Exciting start to a new series!

It is frigid and snowing like mad in New York City when an FBI agent is killed by a single bullet while driving down a busy street. When the logistics prove difficult and the investigation hampered, the head of the local FBI office, Brett Kehoe, calls in Lucas Page.

This is the first book in a very action packed and clever series. I had read the third installment before realizing that Lucas had appeared in two previous novels so had to go back to the beginning as I enjoyed it so much. Lucas is a very interesting character -- missing one arm, a leg, and an eye, he has some crazy skills in mathematical analysis that make him the person for the impossible jobs. He's also not got much of a social personality and does not suffer fools. He left the FBI after the accident that disabled him and has started over as a professor at a local university and a bestselling author. He's married to Erin and they have adopted 5 children so he really has no interest in helping until he is told that the casualty was his former partner. Unfortunately, the sniper is not finished and when the additional victims are also found to be associated with law enforcement, Lucas must use all his skills to figure out the killer's identity and motive. The stakes are raised when Lucas's own family is targeted.

I really like the writing style and the way the investigation details are related. The only irritant was that I could not really find a reason for Lucas's family to be twice involved in life-threatening situations as neither incident made any logical sense. The investigation is complicated and requires meticulous examination of redacted files and a historic tragedy that lends to a revenge motive and an unlikely suspect. There is some political editorializing in the narrative that may be off-putting to some readers. Despite those vexations, I do want to find out more about Lucas Page as his backstory is revealed and plan to read his second in this series next.

I would recommend these books and would love to see as a television program.

This is the first in a series that is best read in order.

Genre - suspense thriller

Do No Harm (Lucas Page #3) by Robert Pobi

 Don't miss this clever, action-packed suspense thriller.

Lucas Page is unlike most modern day serial killer hunters. His expertise lies in his ability to assess and analyze patterns that has the FBI asking for his help time and again when they are faced with unique situations. He's married to Erin, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, and they've adopted 5 children and live in Manhattan where he also teaches, writes books, and tries to avoid people as much as he can. Lucas used to work for the FBI but left when he ended up with catastrophic injuries while working a case. He's outfitted with prosthetics and a fake eye that makes his appearance even more formidable than his personality. Because he's a complex package and his mind is always "on", he notices that quite a few colleagues of Erin's have died recently. A lot of them -- and in unusual circumstances that look like accidents and suicide. These coincidences appear random, but Lucas can't help but analyze what seems like murder to him. It takes a bit of convincing, but soon the NYPD and the FBI have joined Lucas in the hunt for a very elusive type of psychopath.

Although this is the 3rd in a series and I have not read the previous two (I will remedy that shortly), I had no difficulty jumping right in to the case. The author gives enough details in backstory to provide a frame of reference for the character that is Lucas Page. I was hooked in the first chapter and could not turn the pages fast enough as I read this in a single sitting last evening. The author dangles clues and red herrings that had me guessing with heart racing tension as it sped to the revelations and conclusion. I really liked all the characters in this book and can't wait to read more about them. It's so wonderful to discover an author who is new to you and to totally enjoy a favorite genre with such a unique and intelligent protagonist. I enjoyed the action and the writing style, all the while imagining this novel on the big screen.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur/St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and highly recommend. 

This is the third in a series. I did not read the previous two before this but plan to do so now.

Genre - suspense thriller, clever and unique protagonist, police procedural, FBI

Alias Emma by Ava Glass

 Romance and running are two main themes in this spy thriller when Emma Makepeace is tapped to bring in a target of the Russian spy network (the GRU) who have descended into London to acquire the son of defectors.

Most of the action centers on Emma and the initially unwilling recipient of her rescue efforts, Michael Primalov, a young doctor, who must cross London during the night while evading the ubiquitous cameras and the GRU. It's all just too much and way too predictable to be very entertaining. I was bored with the characters and the descriptions of what the pair had to endure during their efforts to get him to MI6 headquarters before the Russians can kill them both. They evade their pursuers in myriad ways and endure all sorts of attempts on their lives along with various injuries they sustain. I just never found the thrills I was expecting and the premise was quite thin. I could not relate to Emma nor would I be interested in further stories that feature her.

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

This is -- so far -- a standalone and not part of any series. I would not read another about this character.

Genre - watered down spy thriller

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jonasson

 A ghost story set in a very small village in Iceland.

Una takes herself off to Skalar and accepts a job there as teacher to two young girls. She's living in the home of one of her pupils and trying not feel like an outsider in this town of 10 people. This move is hard for Una; she is very isolated and finds things a bit strange. Especially the haunting lullaby that she keeps hearing at night and the appearance of a little girl in a white dress at the window. Is she drinking too much wine or is something really odd going on here?

There's also a parallel story line in italics that the reader assumes will eventually connect with the main tale, but I did not find it interesting and it just bogged down the narrative and made the pace seem glacially slow. The author tried very hard to set a foreboding and menacing atmosphere and a gothic tone with the dark nights, the cold weather, and the isolation of both Una and the town.

This was meant to be in the mid 1980s so a lot of items that could have made the town seem less insular were not being used then. No internet and no television meant that news was hard to acquire and research difficult. I just never really got that interested or invested in the whole plot and never took to Una. In other words, this just wasn't that appealing to me and, though I usually really like the Icelandic and Nordic noir, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.  I will likely give the author another chance as long as the premise does not involve ghosts, haunting, women who think they are losing the minds, or other supernatural elements.

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

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Genre - mystery, paranormal thriller, Icleand

Influencer Island by Kyle Rutkin

 3.5 stars to this crazy quick read that kept me entirely entertained as I read it in a single sitting.

Drama! Art! Murder! Cults! Secret societies! Add that to a social media frenzy based on 10 popular influencers being invited to a secluded island in a contest that reads like Hunger Games. The guests find their environs much like those unlucky enough to sign on to the ill-fated Fyre Festival — except they discover quickly that only one of the contestants is meant to make it out alive.

I really liked the use of the transcript type format as different characters relate events from their own points of view in a sort of interview style for the podcast produced by Cal Everett. Unfortunately, I did not relate to any of those involved in this entire island fiasco despite the tragic ends for so many. Obviously there was some real insanity behind this plan to basically punish all those who seek fame and fortune by being fake on social media. The connection between the competitors was sort of lame, really, but the story was very fast-paced and the author quite imaginative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greater Path LLC for this e-book ARC to read and review. 

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

Genre - dark psychological thriller