⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ As a Minnesota native, I always get a little thrill when a novel captures the setting with real authenticity—and Allen Eskens *nails* it in *The Stolen Hours*. From downtown Minneapolis to the courthouse corridors, his descriptions feel lived-in and true. I’ve been to many of the places he references, and it made the story all the more vivid. This is a fast-paced legal thriller that follows Lila Nash, a young assistant county attorney still haunted by a brutal assault in her past. When a woman is pulled from the Mississippi River barely alive, Lila starts connecting dots that others have missed—and realizes a predator has been hiding in plain […]
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Coben’s Twisty Thriller Keeps You Guessing
(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½) Nobody’s Fool was my fourth Harlan Coben book—and hands down, my favorite. It kicks off with a jaw-dropper: twenty-something Sami Kierce wakes up in a Spanish hostel, covered in blood, with his girlfriend Anna dead beside him and no clue what happened. So he panics and runs. Fast forward 22 years—he’s now a struggling PI, new dad, and night school teacher in NYC. And one evening, in walks Anna. Alive. Or is she? That’s the moment this twisty thrill ride really takes off. Coben juggles multiple timelines and threads—a decades-old kidnapping, a released killer, and a deeply personal mystery—with sharp dialogue and a healthy dose of dark humor. Sami’s […]
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Aching, Thrilling, Unforgettable — Broken Country Is a Masterpiece of Love and Loss
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 glowing stars!) If you’ve been waiting for a book that grabs your heart, twists it around, and leaves you breathless in the best possible way—Broken Country is it. This novel has everything I love: an aching love story, rich emotional layers, and the kind of tension that keeps you turning pages way past bedtime. Clare Leslie Hall’s American debut is set in the wilds of the English countryside and tells the story of Beth, a woman torn between the life she chose and the love she never forgot. The narrative shifts between past and present, slowly revealing the legacy of first love—and the secrets it left behind. And […]
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Funny, Quirky, and Totally Entertaining!
Vera Wong is back, and she’s nosier than ever. In Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man), Jesse Q. Sutanto serves up another delightful cozy mystery with a side of dumplings and unsolicited advice. This time, Vera stumbles upon a case involving a drowned influencer with more aliases than a spy. While cat-sitting for her son Tilly and his detective girlfriend Selena, Vera finds a file in Selena’s briefcase about the mysterious death. Naturally, she takes it upon herself to investigate, because why let the professionals have all the fun? What follows is a hilarious, heartwarming romp through San Francisco’s Chinatown as Vera inserts herself into the lives of her suspects—who […]
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Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr: A Hot Mess in More Ways Than One
You know that feeling when you pick up a book that should be amazing… and then it just kind of punches you in the face with bad decisions? Welcome to my experience with Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr. On paper, it sounds like a slam dunk: a young journalist chasing down a stolen masterpiece tied to Nazi lootings. Art! Secrets! Betrayal! I was ready for a high-stakes thriller that kept me up at night. Instead, I got a melodrama that kept making me mutter, “Oh, come on.” Let’s start with the audiobook. Oof. The narrator, who is originally from Italy, had a strange tonality that didn’t match the American […]
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She Writes About Killers. Now She Might Be One
Talk about twists and turns—The Writer is a wild ride from page one. It checked all my boxes: tense, gripping, fast-paced, and flat-out fun for anyone who loves thrillers. The plot is a maze. Just when you think you’ve cracked it—boom—another twist hits. Patterson’s name is everywhere, and let’s be honest—some are hits, some are misses. But teaming up with J.D. Barker? Total win. The story opens with a bloody crime scene, a true-crime author covered in blood, and one big question: did she do it? NYPD Detective Declan Shaw thinks it’s an open-and-shut case. The deeper he digs, the murkier it gets. The pacing is classic Patterson—short chapters, punchy […]
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An Emotional Conclusion to the Murphy Shepherd Series
Charles Martin delivers another gripping, emotional, and thought-provoking novel in The Keeper, the fourth installment in the Murphy Shepherd series. With faith, family, and honor woven throughout, this book is as much a spiritual journey as it is a high-stakes thriller. Murphy is reeling from the loss of his mentor, Bones, when he’s thrust into another mission: rescuing the kidnapped daughters of a presidential candidate. The race against time is intense, but the deeper battle—Murphy’s struggle to find his footing without Bones—is just as interesting. As always, Martin masterfully balances action with heartfelt reflection, though the novel leans a bit too introspective. While the themes of faith and redemption shine, […]
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Slow Start, Steamy Distractions, and a Solid Twist in Blood Moon
3.5 stars Sandra Brown delivers another suspenseful thriller in Blood Moon, in which a troubled detective and a determined TV producer race against time to prevent another disappearance. Detective John Bowie, teetering on the edge of professional disaster, teams up with Beth Collins, a true crime producer convinced that a series of teenage girls vanishing under a blood moon isn’t a coincidence. With only four days until the next blood moon, they dig into a case riddled with corruption, danger, and an undeniable attractio The plot had promise, with an intricate mystery and a solid twist at the end. However, the book struggled to keep my attention. The pacing was sluggish […]
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A Twisty Literary Thriller with a Haunting Premise
In this gripping debut, a small town is rocked by the suspicious death of Dr. Erin Landry, with all clues pointing to reclusive failed writer Elijah Leith. As the town turns against him, Elijah must prove his innocence before it’s too late. Elijah returns to his childhood home in Point Orchards, Washington, after his writing career collapses, only to find himself at the center of a murder investigation. When Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on his property, the police suspect suicide—until eerie similarities to Elijah’s own novel emerge. As the investigation deepens, secrets unravel, forcing Elijah to confront past betrayals and an unexpected enemy intent on framing […]
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A Small-Town Mystery with Northwoods Charm but Missing Depth
Murder shakes the quiet Wisconsin Northwoods in Wolf Hollow, the first book in Victoria Houston’s new series featuring police chief Lewellyn “Lew” Ferris. With a sheriff’s race underway, Lew juggles multiple cases—some of which hit too close to home. When local landowner Grace McDonough’s son, Noah, is accused of a sex crime, Lew makes the arrest. But when her own brother, Pete, turns up dead, things take a darker turn. Then Grace is found dead in her submerged car, and Noah is soon murdered as well. As Lew digs deeper, she uncovers a web of secrets surrounding a controversial mining deal and a conspiracy that could cost her everything. Houston […]
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