3.5 Stars

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NIGHTWATCHING by Tracy Sierra

Publisher’s Synopsis:

A mother is forced to the breaking point when her life and the lives of her children are threatened by an intruder.

Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. She hears a noise — old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it’s the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs.

She sees the figure of a man appear down the hallway, shrouded in the shadows. Terrified, she quietly wakes her children and hustles them into the oldest part of the house, a tiny, secret room concealed behind a wall. There they hide as the man searches for them, trying to tempt the children out with promises and scare the mother into surrender.

In the suffocating darkness, the mother struggles to remain calm, to plan. Should she search for a weapon or attempt escape? But then she catches another glimpse of him. That face. That voice. And at once she knows her situation is even more dire than she’d feared, because she knows exactly who he is — and what he wants.

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Source: Borrowed from the Library
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

NIGHTWATCHING is a nerve-wracking literary thriller about a mother and her two young children hiding from a man who’s invaded their home. There were parts of this book that were truly terrifying, and it’s something I would not want to read if I was home alone!

Overall, I’m left with mixed feelings. There were so many flashbacks that slowed the pace, and the main character’s ongoing inner monologue was a bit much. On the flip side, the home invasion parts were riveting.

The book highlights the ways women are gaslit by men not wanting to believe them, and all the men in this book were pretty awful. Even her 5-year old son was annoying. UGH! I ended up very frustrated with the main character several times, and maybe that was the point. The reader gets to feel the same frustration that she does. NIGHTWATCHING was good, but I didn’t love it.

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NO ONE CAN KNOW by Kate Alice Marshall

Publisher’s Synopsis:

Three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.

Fourteen years ago, the Palmer sisters — Emma, Juliette, and Daphne — left their home in Arden Hills and never returned. But when Emma discovers she’s pregnant and her husband loses his job, she has no option but to return to the house that she and her estranged sisters still own…and where their parents were murdered.

Emma has never told anyone what she saw the night her parents died, even when she became the prime suspect. But her presence in the house threatens to uncover secrets that have stayed hidden for years, and the sisters are drawn together once again. As they face their memories of the past, rivalries restart, connections are forged, and, for the first time, Emma starts to ask questions about what really happened that night.

The more Emma learns, the more riddles emerge. And Emma begins to wonder just what her siblings will do to keep the past buried, and whether she did the right thing staying quiet about what was whispered that night: “No one can know.”

Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: January 23, 2024
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

In NO ONE CAN KNOW, three estranged sisters reunite in their family home where their parents were murdered 14 years earlier. The case was never solved, and the sisters never shared with each other what they saw that night. Their return to Arden Hills stirs up terrible memories and threatens to expose long-buried secrets.

Up until the last 15% or so, I was thoroughly absorbed in this suspenseful family drama/small town murder mystery. I was intrigued by the dynamic between the sisters and their complicated and tragic history together, as well as being invested in figuring out what really happened to their mother and father. The POVs alternate between the sisters, then and now, though they don’t all get equal “screen time,” unfortunately.

I was frustrated by the ending though. So much kept getting added on, some things didn’t make sense, and how it finally wrapped up was not a big surprise. Other than the ending, I enjoyed the book, so I’ll mark it as 3.5 stars.

This was a Goodreads giveaway win. Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

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THE WINTER SPIRITS: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights by Bridget Collins and Others

Publisher’s Synopsis:

FROM THE CREATORS OF THE HAUNTING SEASON COMES A DAZZLING COLLECTION OF NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GHOSTLY TALES.

The tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. These twelve stories — authored by some of today’s most loved and lauded writers of historical and gothic fiction — are all centered around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience.

Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights. So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past…

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Publication Date: October 19, 2023
Source: Purchased eBook (Nook)
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

This collection is the follow up to 2021’s THE HAUNTING SEASON, with more spooky Gothic tales for the holidays. Again, the stories were good overall, with some I enjoyed more than others:

• Host by Kiran Millwood Hargrave: 4 Stars (séance gone wrong — or right?)
• Inferno by Laura Shepherd-Robinson: 4 Stars (Dante-inspired tale)
• The Old Play by Andrew Michael Hurley: 2 Stars (son visits his father performing in an annual play)

• A Double Thread by Imogen Hermes Gowar: 3 Stars (mean girl needs a new gown for a Christmas ball)
• The Salt Miracles by Natasha Pulley: 4.5 Stars (missing pilgrims on an eerie remote island)
• Banished by Elizabeth Macneal: 4 Stars (woman called to banish a vengeful spirit)

• The Gargoyle by Bridget Collins: 3 Stars (writer’s block in a creepy town)
• The Master of the House by Stuart Turton: 4.25 Stars (father searches for his missing son)
• Ada Lark by Jess Kidd: 2 Stars (child forced to work for a phony medium)

• Jenkin by Catriona Ward: 4.25 Stars (mysterious lie-detecting cat)
• Widow’s Walk by Susan Stokes-Chapman: 4 Stars (widow makes sought-after fans for a Christmas ball)
• Carol of the Bells and Chains by Laura Purcell: 4 Stars (Krampus legend)

Twelve spooky stories for 12 nights of Christmas — averaged out to 3.58 stars, rounded up on Goodreads! Are you a fan of short story collections? I don’t usually gravitate towards them, but ghost stories are just too tempting.

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Blog Tour Review: THE NURSE by Jenna Kernan

Synopsis from the Publisher:

“Can you start right away?” I can hear the desperation in Dr Roth’s voice. He’s longing for someone to look after his poor, sick wife Sabrina in their perfect Florida home. The job pays an awful lot. And I really need the money. As long as they don’t ask too many questions…

I spend my days by Sabrina’s side. She has everything money could buy – a luxurious home, a handsome, doting husband who would do anything for her. I hate cleaning up her mess, picking her designer clothes off the floor, and driving her to the golf club. I hate how she sneers at me, no matter what I do. But I have to remember why I’m really here.

Dr Roth has made it clear I have to make sure she takes her medication. Because if she doesn’t, there’s hell to pay. Three times a day, I count her sedative pills carefully. Sabrina rambles about the death of a child. About a terrible accident. Dr Roth shakes his head sadly. Delusions are a heartbreaking symptom of his wife’s illness, he says.

But when Dr Roth leaves the house, Sabrina becomes more clear-headed. She tells me she’s done something terrible. And that her husband is lying. He keeps her trapped because of what she did. And I’m the only one who can help her escape.

Can I believe the words of a woman suffering from delusions? Or is Dr Roth not as trustworthy as he seems? Someone is lying. And if the Roths find out why I’m really here, this could take a deadly turn…

An unbelievably gripping psychological thriller with a mind-blowing twist that will have you flipping the pages deep into the night. Fans of The Doctor’s Wife, The Perfect Marriage and The Surgeon won’t be able to put this down!

Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: October 2, 2023
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Just out of nursing school and struggling financially, main character Emily is thrilled when a wealthy psychiatrist wants her to care for his wife. What seems like a dream job turns out to be anything but when Emily sees what’s going on behind closed doors. Clearly, something odd is going on with his wife. Is she in danger from her husband? Emily wants to help, but after signing a strict NDA, what can she do?

THE NURSE is a simmering domestic thriller that put me on edge wondering who could be trusted. The first half of the book was a slow burn with lots of details about the workings of the Roths’ bizarre life and their expectations of Emily. Maybe a bit too slow for my taste, but the mystery about what’s really going on kept me reading as secrets are revealed.

The last third of the book was very exciting and super twisty. While I loved the final outcome, I felt like much of the ending was just an explanation of how things fit together, instead of showing. Still, I thought that the conclusion was wildly entertaining and satisfying. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

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About the Author:

Publishers Weekly bestselling author Jenna Kernan is a two-time RITA nominee and winner of the Book Buyers’ Best award. Prior to signing with Bookouture, she published over thirty novels including her popular APACHE PROTECTOR series, and is a member of numerous writing groups, including International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Florida Mystery Writers and Novelists, Inc. and frequently attends conferences on police procedure at the Writers Police Academy and MurderCon. Jenna currently lives on Florida’s Gulf Coast with her husband. A natural redhead, she has recently increased her sunblock to SPF 50.

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SCAREDY CAT by Sofie Ryan #20booksofsummer23

Synopsis from the Publisher:

Secondhand store owner Sarah Grayson and her affectionate rescue cat, Elvis, will scare up a few leads to find a killer in the newest installment of this captivating New York Times bestselling series.

After a long, cold, and snowy winter, it seems as though spring may be arriving early in Maine. Sarah Grayson is busy at her store, Second Chance, and she’s looking forward to an afternoon break from the hustle and bustle, tagging along to the North Harbor Spring House Tour with her friend Detective Michelle Andrews.

But it turns out one of the houses has a haunted history, and when a ghost hunter is found dead on the premises, Sarah knows the best way to uncover the killer/to solve the mystery is by investigating the not-so-dearly departed. With help from Elvis and Charlotte’s Angels, the crew of senior citizen private detectives who work out of the store, she’ll close the case on this creepy crime.

Series: Second Chance Cat Mystery, #10
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 4, 2023
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

The tenth book in the Second Chance Cat Mystery series finds secondhand shop owner Sarah, her rescue cat, Elvis, and a group of senior sleuths, investigating the murder of a ghost hunter. While on a spring house tour, Sarah finds the deceased inside a supposedly haunted B&B. It’s up to Sarah and friends to dive into the history of Gladstone House and figure out what the victim was up to before he died.

I couldn’t resist a mystery involving a haunted house and a TV ghost hunter. Sarah’s investigation was tough as there were lots of viable suspects with believable motives. I enjoyed how she was able to put the pieces together, and also learning the background of the mysterious ghost girl.

I’ve read a couple of the previous books, and still I felt like I couldn’t keep the large cast of characters straight. I also thought things veered off track when so much time was spent on refinishing furniture for the secondhand shop. I wanted more haunted house, and more ghostly stuff.

SCAREDY CAT is a solid, clever mystery with likable, sincere characters, and a surprising ending. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a digital copy of this book. Opinions are my own.