Two Kinds of Stranger (Eddie Flynn #9) by Steve Steve Cavanagh

 This was such a good legal thriller and I enjoyed everything about it EXCEPT the last chapter.

Elly Parker is a high profile social media influencer famous for her public acts of kindness. Her curated, perfect life shatters publicly, however, when shse accidentally live streams her new husband having sex with her best friend. Reeling from that ultimate betrayal, Elly tries to pick up the pieces and get over her bitterness. When she spots a man on crutches struggling with a heavy yellow suitcase at a subway entrance, she decides to help. It’s a decision that plungers her into a living nightmare. For the stranger is a meticulous diabolical serial killer who has chosen Elly as his next target. Then she’s accused of murder and all the forensic evidence points to her so she turns to Eddie Flynn, defense attorney, and his brilliant team for help. 

I love a mystery and a legal thriller with all kinds of great lawyer maneuvers and terrific courtroom drama. Great pacing and alternating points of view kept me glued to the pages. The bad guy is super chilling as a villain and it sure makes one question the next act of kindness for a stranger! You’ll need a bit of suspension of disbelief as Eddie’s team goes a bit off piste and you might suffer some whiplash with the twists, but it was hard to put down and I really enjoyed it. Except as I said, for the last chapter which I didn’t like at all. No spoilers but I’m curious if you agree.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Adam Sims, did a decent job with the male voices but this production could definitely have benefitted from a larger cast as the female voices weren’t up to par. I love immersing myself in a book while listening and reading, so I always enjoy a book more when I do this. 

This is the ninth in a series. I haven't read them all but this was easy to follow without needing any extra detail not already included.

Genre and tags: legal thriller, suspense, mystery, serial killer, murder, criminals, defense lawyer

Of Hoaxes and Homicide (Miss Hermione #2) by Anastasia Hastings

 Highly entertaining atmospheric whodunit.

In 1885 London, practical Violet Manville secretly writes a very popular advice column under the pseudonym "Miss Hermione." Bored with etiquette questions and endless whining, Violet gets her wish for a real mystery when a letter arrives from a frantic mother. Her daughter has run away to join a nature-worshiping cult that hints at rituals and orgies and is called the Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed. The stakes turn personal when Violet realizes that this very girl is actually Margaret, the best friend of her spoiled, fashionable, society obsessed half-sister, Sephora. 

Violet decides to infiltrate the cult's compound inside the old ruins of the Alburn Abbey in Nottingham. When one of the members is found poisoned to death and Margaret is accused of the crime, Violet must use her keen eye for human nature to separate the grand hoaxes from a very real homicide. And who should appear but Violet's crush, American investigator Eli Marsh. 

I enjoyed this second installment in the series. This was a classic cozy but with a hint of gothic intrigue and the creepy cult vibe. I love how Violet's intellect plays off Sephora's ditzy vanity and how they have this comedic friction. Very surprised to see Sephora develop a bit of resourcefulness. Appreciated that the romance factor didn't have a lot of play. Look forward to the third book.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in this e-book. The narrator, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, did a decent job trying to voice all the characters but this really needed a male performer to really enhance the production. 

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

Genre and tags: cozy mystery, historical, London, cult, poison, murder, penny dreadfuls, sisters 

Beach Thriller by Jamie Day

 Can we say domestic pop-gothic noir…

Holly Sinclair is broke. She is a struggling New York author who has hit a slump so she decides to move back to Beaufort, Massachusetts, to check out her late mother’s dilapidated beachfront home — the very town where her sister Anna died almost 20 years ago. Desperate to pen a bestselling thriller to save her finances, Halley finds herself drawn to investigate what really happened the night of the fire that resulted in her sister’s death. Was it an accident or was it murder.

Oh my my my. What started tentatively as an engaging summertime thriller turned quickly to a story that was so over the top and unbelievable that I had to shake my head. What a disappointment. The coincidences and the characters were just too much with their actions and motivations. The plot was eventually rather preposterous as the premise of a desperate writer confronting her sister’s cold case has potential, the execution spins into pure ridiculousness. The wrap up at the end as everything is revealed and, surprise, tied together, was just way out there. The characters are one dimensional and make baffling choices such as Holly allowing a random teenager hiding in her attic to move into the house. Then there’s the psychic medium and the busy body real estate agent along with some other crazy others. The insta romance also a turn off. Anyway. I didn’t end up liking this as much as I’d hoped.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, a cast of women, included Emily Shaffer, Jane Oppenheimer, Jennifer Pickens, and Megan Tusing. I preferred some of the voices over the others but really disliked when they veered into melodramatic screeching and overacting. I do not know who voiced which character. Usually an audio production enhances my enjoyment of a book and this one did that for me but it was ultimately the story that fell short, not the performances. 

2.5 stars raised

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

Genre and tags: beach read, convoluted plot, domestic, amateur investigation, author, runaway, rich people 

Heather by Caitlin Mullen

 A meticulous and atmospheric examination of a small town’s collective sins.

This was a haunting mystery that is set in the shadows of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. It takes place across dual timelines and is a slow burn noir that has a lot of deep emotional resonance. 

In the before: it’s 1990 and 16-year-old twins Annabelle and Sabrina Riley are seduced by an older man. Their father is often absent and their mother has vanished, so when they face a dire situation, no one really notices when both vanish without a trace. At the same time, a local girl delivering newspapers discovers a dead baby girl in the forest. 

Decades later, Callie Hauser returns to her hometown of Pine Lakes to serve as the new police chief. Her best friend, Jane Caputo, was severely injured in an accident and Callie wants to help Jane, her husband, Damien, and their small daughter as much as she can. 

Despite her own past and her messy situation with her mother, Jenna, Callie soon finds that her professional life and her personal life collide. A revelation by genealogical DNA forces Callie to face a legacy of family trauma that exposes the truth surrounding her own parents and uncovers the secrets tied to the disappearance of the twin sisters. 

Very well plotted with a slow unraveling of all the bits and pieces of the back story. I felt deeply for some of the characters whose life circumstances put them into such terrible situations with no one to help. I still don’t understand and was not happy about the legal charges but can’t say much due to possible spoilers. There were a few overwrought moments that veered into melodrama, but overall I enjoyed this book. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers via NetGalley. The three female narrators, Bailey Carr, Christine Lakin, and Mia Wurgaft, did an excellent job of voicing the main characters. Their dramatic flair was appropriate and created an immersive experience that enhanced my appreciation of the book. 

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

Genre and tags: mystery, investigation, twin sisters, bad men, small town, bad parenting, drugs, murder, stillbirth, teen pregnancy, missing women, DNA, police 

The Break-up Retreat by Camilla Sten

 In the isolated Swedish wilderness sits the Himlafall Clinic, an ultra exclusive psychological sanctuary promising to cure vulnerable women of their devastating heartbreaks. Intrigued by whispers of malpractice and traumatized patients, investigative journalist Isobel Anderssen goes undercover armed with a fabricated backstory. She intends to expose the clinic’s popular founder, Dr. Martina Hastings. 

Upon arrival, Isobel’s investigation quickly unravels. Her inside contact has not shown up and someone steals her hidden phone. Worst of all, Dr. Hastings displays a predatory ability to get under Isobel’s skin and starts battering her psychological defenses by exposing her relationship issues. It’s as though the doctor is manipulating her and the others in therapy there. The unorthodox methods seem dangerous and Isobel starts to feel threatened as the other women crumble under the strange cult like treatment. 

This premise was good but the execution stumbled because Isobel made some really reckless and frustrating choices. It made me question her journalistic integrity and competence in her pursuit of an expose. The writing really forced that sense of doom as the author focused on creating an atmosphere involving bad weather, isolation, mistrust, the lack of outside communication, and no free will. I struggled to connect with the characters, especially the other patients. I never felt any emotional stake. Definitely the reader will have to suspend a lot of disbelief through some of the melodramatic turns and the over the top conclusion. The wrap up didn’t deliver the payoff I’d hoped for nor any revelations about the whole clinic process.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, (in her debut performance) Payton Mader, did a fabulous job of voicing the characters and bringing them to life. She wasn’t overly dramatic and her smooth tone and pitch brought a welcome change to audio books where the narrators sometimes sound overwrought and screechy in tense situations. I enjoyed listening to her and the production definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

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

Genre and tags: psychological thriller, treatment, clinic, therapy, murder, unhinged characters

Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughn

 Slow burner of a psychological and domestic thriller

Dame Eleanor Kingman has meticulously crafted her life story, transforming her journey from poverty to a multimillion dollar franchise as a children’s author. Her books, based somewhat on her youngest daughter, have made her rich and… now she finds that she’s a target. 

She’s preparing to celebrate her 70th birthday at a lavish party on her newly purchased Cornish cliff side estate. Suddenly, the carefully curated facade beings to crack. While a journalist and his crew prepare to film a documentary about her life and rise to fame, Eleanor starts to receive threatening emails. Someone wants to expose her and out the lies she’s hidden for almost fifty years. 

All of the tension is not just Eleanor’s as her three adult daughters, Gilly, Rachel, and Delia, are also having some intense issues and are hiding some serious secrets of their own. 

This is a slow burning family drama that focuses on identity, truth, and betrayal. The setting on the isolated, windswept cliff at Cornwall creates a mood as well. This was not a bad novel, it just took so long to get to the point and it seemed eons until it got there while also being quite predictable and contained all the typical tropes of the genre. 

The narrative shifted in points of view with some time jumps as well. Granted, the family is dysfunctional and the characters are not really likable. The theme reflecting the nature and cost of maintaining a public persona especially rings true when the main character is threatened with revelation of those long buried secrets.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Juliet Stevenson, had a huge job trying to differentiate all the female characters to make them unique. Since so many were female, this story would have been better served in this format to have a larger cast. All those female voices blended together and it was hard to distinguish between the characters if I had not been reading along at the same time. She did a decent job, but some of those accents and tones were a bit much. As always, however, I always enjoy the immersive experience of a simultaneous read while listening. 

3.5 stars

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

Genre and tags: psychological and domestic drama, thriller, mystery, author, murder, assault, secrets and lies, adultery, Cornwall

Marion by Leah Rowan

 Debut author delivers a razor sharp, modern “rage thriller” adaptation of Hitchcock’s iconic movie, PSYCHO. The story flips the classic horror script on its head, centering on a woman who is on the run with stolen money when she meets up with a deeply unstable man. 

Marion Cage, the name she uses when she checks into the secluded, outdated Billings Motel, is full of contemporary fury over toxic power dynamics and a situation of spousal abuse involving her sister. When she’s attacked in the shower by a knife wielding Norman Billings, things don’t end in the familiar way. Now she’s started something. 

I had such high hopes for this novel and it started out with a fast pace. The core suspense and the angry woman aspects were good, but then it got over the top and veered into the unbelievable. I particularly didn’t care for so much repetition and also this constant voice of Marion’s mother in her head. The attempted twists and red herrings were a bit far fetched and kept the reader off kilter. There are several unanswered questions and I was not a fan of the ending. 

The story alternates between the point of view of Marion (we never learn her real first name) and a private investigator named Hannah. Now Hannah really irritated me with her social commentary and virtue signaling and I didn’t care for her character at all. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, Tawny Platis and Natalie Naudus, had a satisfactory, if not somewhat overwrought at times, performance. Some of my annoyance might be due to the text they had to speak and the repetition of certain words. Since most of the novel involved female dialogue, they both managed to come up with accents and tones to try to make them sound unique and different. Listening while reading always enhances my enjoyment of a book. 

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

Genre tags: spousal abuse, murder, toxic masculinity, rage, revenge, embezzlement, adaptation or reimagining of Hitchcock’s movie Psycho