NetGalley ARC | Tell Them You Lied

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

Anna and Willow met at art school in 1996. They became friends quickly; Willow was her muse and Anna was sure that this would be a life-long friendship. Everyone was obsessed with Willow, so effortlessly cool and mysterious - and moody.

Fast forward to 2001 and Anna is tired. The realities of the art world weigh heavily on her and in the five years since they first met, Willow has shown time and again who she has always been. She is her own muse and cares little for others - even her supposed best friend.

So, one perfect day in September - with a sky so beautiful and blue that people will argue over it's color even decades later - Anna and her boyfriend plan to stage a little drama to send Willow back to her best friend. A fake mugging is the obvious way to do this, no?

If you hadn't guessed by the sky description, the day of their planned mugging turns out to be one of the worst days in the history of the United States. It is against the backdrop of 9/11 that the plan unfolds - or does it? Willow never returns home and Anna begins to panic. Hours, then days, crawl by and still no word from Willow. Is Anna the mastermind she thought she was by taking control back, or has Willow retained that power all along?

I liked the alternating timelines. We see the friendship develop during their art school days, and their 'current' lives in 2001 NYC.

I love a good toxic friendship story. The enigmatic girl who controls everyone around her, while being arrogant and manipulative and self-serving, can't exactly be blamed for the fact that people trip over themselves to be her friend. It's clear from the start that Willow is exactly this type of person, so it's hard to feel sorry for people who refuse to see her for who she is.

But everyone else is toxic in their own ways; they're self-centered and arrogant as well, though they all show it in different ways. They can't see that they cause as much damage as Willow.

Some reviews I saw said that 9/11 didn't need to be involved because it had nothing to do with the story, but...it's a pretty big part in terms of how it triggers Anna's panic. She has this elaborate plan to fake this mugging of Willow, basically to shake some sense into her I guess, and then once everything starts happening in Manhatten Anna is worried that something worse has happened to Willow as a result. I get how our minds can play tricks on us and always think of the worst possible scenario, and we shouldn't do that. But in this case, a really terrible unexpected scenario came true that day and Anna's fears seem justified. 9/11 occurring is the catalyst to make Anna freak out.

This one definitely kept me guessing because I had no idea what Willow was going to do. We know Anna's motivations because we are in her head. Willow is the big unknown here - though given her past behavior, we can ake educated guesses.

That being said, Anna drove me absolutely bonkers at times. It's like sometimes she had no concept of reality when she was so focused on Willow, when the world was falling apart around her. She continued to stay in Willow's orbit even after it was clear Willow was not nice to her, or even really a friend. Hence why I wasn't so worried about her disappearing. It was just another mean wake to wreck Anna and keep her around. But that didn't stop me from wanting to know what was really going on.

I didn't guess the ending entirely, though I got some things right. There were some decent twists that tripped me up, so that's always a bonus. I think the two timelines worked well and I would read this author again.

Recommended.

NetGalley ARC | The Lost House

I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Forty years ago a young mother and her infant daughter were found buried in the snow in the small village of Bifrost, Iceland. The mother's throat was slashed and the baby had drowned. The case remains unsolved, though after the husband took their son and left for California, that seems to be enough proof for the villagers that he'd murdered his wife and daughter, but escaped justice for lack of evidence.

Fast forward to the present, Agnes is determined to clear her gradfather's name. He passed away a year prior, and Agnes needs a distraction from her own life as she recovers from a serious leg injury and the recent break-up with her girlfriend, while dealing with an addiction to painkillers because of said injury. Agnes accepts an invitation from Nora Carver, a true crime expert, to be interviewed for her podcast on the topic. Agnes heads off to Iceland to figure out what happened to part of her family all those years ago.

Upon Agnes's arrival, she learns that a local girl has been reported missing. She had last been seen at a party at Agnes's old family home where her grandparents, father, and aunt once lived. The home has a new owner who kept the home much the same as it had been forty years earlier. Now the outsiders, Agnes and Nora, have two investigations on their hands, as it couldn't possibly be a coincidence, could it? Nora's focus is drawn to the current case and Agnes must get to the bottom of her family story, no matter what revelations come to light. Either her grandfather was a murderer, or not. One way or another, she will find out what people are willing to do to protect themselves, their families, and their secrets.

The landscape of Iceland is practically a character in itself and I enjoyed that immensely. Iceland in the winter is not for the faint of heart and seeing Agnes struggle with this as she tries to understand what happened to her family was an important part of this well-written mystery. The author sets the scene brilliantly, and you really feel like you are there with Agnes every step of the way.

The build-up of suspense was incredible, as Agnes tracks down every last person she can who knew her grandparents. The clues unfold slowly and we hear most of the stories from friends and neighbors, but not in a way that felt like an info-dump. We also know going in that obviously someone is not telling the whole truth, and Agnes must figure out whose recollection is purposely not accurate. We get to know the characters really well in this way and the author did a wonderful job keeping voices distinct. Through Agnes the reader can determine viable suspects, though nothing felt obvious or out of place, like it was thrown in to make the answer clear. It was hard to know who to trust as more and more was revealed.

I really loved this book quite a lot. The author masterfully told a compelling story that kept me reading; I had to know the answer. Agnes has to overcome so much to find the truth, given her own difficulties with the injury and addiction on top of thinking about what it could possibly mean for her if her much-loved grandfather turns out to be the murderer.

Highly recommended

NetGalley ARC | Something in the Walls

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

Ugh. Yet another gorgeous cover that tricked me. But to be fair, the synopsis got me, too. This is my second book by this author and will likely be my last, as both were only two-star reads for me.

The main character, Mina, has just finished her schooling to become a child psychologist. She's having trouble gaining experience in her field, so she is a bit unmoored as she thinks almost exclusively about her upcoming wedding to Oscar, and the death of her brother many years ago.

Mina attends a grief-share type group to cope with her brother's death and there she meets a journalist named Sam. He shares with Mina the story of Alice, a thirteen year old who claims a witch is haunting her. Alice travels to the remote village where Alice and her family live, hoping to make a difference and help the family. Mina needs the money and the experience; Sam will get the story; Alice will be cured; everyone will be happy.

Instead, Alice's behavior becomes increasingly worse and intense. It doesn't help that the residents of the small village still believe deeply in superstition and witchcraft. They know how to deal with this evil themselves and don't expect Mina to understand what must be done.

Sounds GREAT, right??

I was super into this one, but then we move on from Alice being a witch and never getting any conclusion about that. The twist wasn't even a twist, it was so obvious once the story started to meander away from the set-up towards a completely different story. I still would've liked the book if there had been a real resolution, and just completely ignored the first half of the book.

Once I started this one, I was hooked. I could not put it down, but the complete pivot away from eveything else was jarring and disappointing. It wasn't even ambiguous, which can be phenomenal when done well. There was just...nothing.

I like to think I am intelligent, so I'm not sure if I missed something, but...what was in the walls? How did I miss this piece of information that seems super important, given the title of the book? Yet when I started looking at other reviews, I found I was not the only one confused by this whole book, after loving the beginning.

It's not just that we don't know the answer to that, but the whole thing about Alice being haunted by a witch, or being a witch? That just gets completely dropped. We hear nothing more about it with the reveal of a child molester within the village. It would be easy to point to that and say that's the source of Alice's behavior.

But it's not, and that makes everything all the more confusing than it already is.

Not recommended.

NetGalley ARC | You Are Fatally Invited

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

Tricked by a cover again! I know, it is my own fault, judging and all, but COME ON. The cover is gorgeous.

J.R. Alastor (pseudonym), a renowned author, hires Mila to host a writing retreat. Alastor will be hosting it at his private manor tucked peacefully away on an island off the coast of Maine. Mila is excited for the opportuity - for many reasons. She's a former aspiring writer herself, and she desperately needs to get revenge on one of the attendees.

The guest list is small, just six well-known authors who have all mastered their craft and are writers of thrillers and mysteries. They know the tropes inside and out, can toss out red herrings, create misdirection and mayhem, and are above all else, deceitful.

Alastor and Mila have planned a whole week's worth of events and the plan is to use the cover of the retreat to take her revenge. But before she can, a different guest ends up dead and Mila realizes things are not what she thought, and Alastor may not be who she believed.

Then the storm comes along and they are cut off from the mainland. More die and Mila has to figure out what the game really is before she is next.

Well, this was a big fat disappointment for me. It had all the things I love: small group of unlikeable characters, no contact with the outside world, and murder.

It was hard to even decide how to rate this one. The plot itself I really enjoyed, because this type of thriller is my favorite. Do not, however, for one moment compare it to And Then There Were None. I see that as a alllllll the time and nothing ever even comes a tiny bit close. It's one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time. 

But there were too many POVs and some of the voices were not distrinct enough to carry their own chapters; I had to keep going back to the beginning to see who I was reading. Other characters were basically caricatures of pretentious and self-absorbed authors who had no idea they were about to finally being held accountable for some past behavior because they's JUST SUCH TALENTED WRITERS. As the game progressed wildly off-course, the chapters with various sins as titles were added and those were even worse.

Even so, I was enjoying the mystery itself - until the reveal. It fell flat and was so disappointing because it was something I considered early on after the first two deaths, but then dismissed because I felt like it was too obvious to actually be the thing that this all led up to. What an unsatisfying ending for such great build-up. I am always willing to suspend some belief for a fantastic reveal, but this was too much for me.

So again, I am torn. The plot itself was great and I loved the build-up. But the uncompelling characters and suspension of belief needed for the reveal are the reason for two stars.

I guess I would recommend with caution. Don't say I didn't warn you about the bad bits though.

NetGalley ARC | A Killer Wedding

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐1/2

This was a lot of fun and I was highly engaged throughout. The reveals weren't shocking, but they were interesting. The final reveal wasn't something that could easily be guessed because of all the moving parts, but it was entirely possible in most respects, though some things stretched the bounds of believability. Easily a solid four-star read.

EXCEPT!

The history lover in me absolutely hated the incorrect information about Brian Boru and Ballymoon Castle. First of all, Ballymoon Castle is ruins now. Beautiful, yes, but still ruins and obviously not renovated into a high-end hotel-like structure that caters to the extremely and obnoxiously rich. Secondly, it was most decidedly NOT the home base of one of Ireland's greatest medieval kings, Brian Boru. Boru was born around 941 and died in 1014. Based on architecture of the time, Ballymoon wasn't built until 1290-1310. Thirdly, even if the timelines matched up, Boru was killed in battle - though he did not directly participate due to his age and health. This means his third wife, Gormflaith, did NOT conspire with his enemies to kill him, then attempt to use the tunnels of the castle to flee. I also can't remember exactly for sure, but the author may have placed the castle in the wrong county. Ballymoon is in County Carlow and I feel like the author said County Clare. I can't remember for sure, so don't quote me on this. It could be mis-remembering, since the county names are so similar.

Seriously, this kind of stuff annoys me. All of this was easily searchable within seconds for anyone not familiar with this part of Ireland's history. I even looked Boru up just to make sure I was not imagining things when it was discussed in the beginning when and how he supposedly died.

Okay, now for the book itself, because it was a very fun and complicated little mystery.

Christine Russo has scored the gig of a lifetime - to cover the wedding of Gloria Beaufort's favorite grandson, Graham Ripton. Beaufort is a beauty icon, found of the massively successful beauty empire Glo. Russo has just been promoted to senior editor of Bespoke Weddings, a sub-publication of Bespoke, a high-end fashion magazine. She's off to Ireland on an all-expenses paid trip that will make her career.

Except the morning following a disastrous family dinner, Gloria is found dead in her suite. The family decides they have to keep her death a secret and control the flow of information - meaning Christine is basically threatened into silence - until the ceremony is over and everyone can get back home. A lot of bad press and impending lawsuits are about to mess with the wealthy world of the Ripton family, and the press that would come with the murder of their matriarch is the last thing they need.

The suspect list is endless and Christine does her best to navigate the situation, as someone starts leaving her clues to direct her that all is not what it seems. There's her son Trey, a complete embarassment who has no idea how to run a company and is driving Glo into the ground, and his wife Clementine who is losing her marbles as the chaos erupts. Their son Ben is walking time bomb and raging alcoholic with a temper to match, and his wife Carlyle is definitely pissed about several goings-on related to both her business and personal life. Father Kenneth has been involved with the family for decades and knows them all very well. Elliott, the constantly-frazzled wedding planner, was arguing with Gloria the night before she died. There's even Jane, Graham's bride-to-be, to whom there is more than meets the eye. Graham, Trey and Clem's second son and the groom, seems to be the only one without any skeletons.

Initially the book is mainly told from Christine's point of view. As the threads begin to tie together, we get POVs from the other characters as flashbacks, giving us the information we needed, when we needed it, to figure out who was involved with what. I felt like this was a great way to deliver those aspects, instead of random info-dumps that would have felt out of place and contrived. We find out why they should or should not be considered a suspect without slowing down the action in the present day.

Some of the characters are quite unlikeable, which I always love. Gloria herself is kind of awful, in only the way an uber-rich, judgy old lady can be. Christine had a fairly strong voice, even as she realized she was way out of her element and could easily end up the next victim.

Overall, I really liked this one. It's clever and funny, and when everything comes together, things mostly make sense. I had ideas of who was involved and some ideas for how, but did not guess the biggest reveal. I'm not sure anyone would. Even so, it was a good way to spend a few hours and I would read the author's next book.

If only the history would have been accurate.

Recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Party of Liars

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I freaking loved this one!

Sophie's dad Ethan has spared no expense for her sweet sixteen birthday party. It will be a night that no one will ever forget - not least of all because of the body that falls from the balconey to the dance floor just as Sophie is about to blow out the candles on her cake.

Do not be fooled by the cover or the fact that this takes place at a teen's birthday party, it is not YA - which I thought it was at first. This is not a knock on YA, I love the genre, but this book turned out to be so much deeper than I thought it would be, with a cast of characters who are flawed, intriguing, enigmatic, and so much more.

Over a decade ago Ethan and his first wife, Kim, purchased the dilapitated Victorian mansion deep in the Hill Country of Texas. With over one hundred years of history, it's no surprise that there are rumors of the house being haunted, and most locals have avoided the place for as long as they've lived there.

Fast forward to Sophie's birthday, which is hosted in the gorgeously renovated mansion by Ethan and her step-mother, Dani. Sophie's mom Kim is also attending the party. Then there is the ever-present nanny, Orlaith, hired to care for Ethan and Dani's new baby, Charlotte. Sophie's best friend Mikayla, her ex-boyfriend Mason, and a variety of other characters fill out the cast. All will have varying degrees of importance at different times in the story, as it is split into three parts.

The 'Before the Party' introduces us to our four narrators: Dani, Orlaith, Kim, and Mikayla. We get to know each of these women very well as we observe events through their eyes and are privy to their thoughts and secrets.

Dani is Sophie's step-mom and recently gave birth to Charlotte. She feels like she's failing at everything and sees a psychiatrist - who happens to be her husband's best friend. No conflict of interest AT ALL there. Dani is convinced someone is stalking her and wants Charlotte for themselves. Rumors of the house being haunted by 'the mother' do not help at all as odd things keep happening in their home. It's incredibly easy to have so much empathy for a woman who is clearly drowning but trying her best to not let it show. She's put her dream of opening a bakery on hold and settles for social media to showcase her talent for now.

Kim is Sophie's mom, Ethan's ex-wife. She's got a bit of a drinking problem and a habit of holding onto grudges forever - as she should, perhaps. She's definitely angry at Ethan, this was once her home after all, too. But she's going to try her best (maybe) to hold it all together for Sophie's big night - if she can control her rage and her alcohol intake. At times it is harder to have empathy for Kim, you want to shake her and just tell her to stop drinking for ONE NIGHT. But she deserves that empathy as much as Dani.

Mikayla is Sophie's best friend, though perhaps she's not been quite as good of a friend as Sophie thought. There's a side to her that none of her friends have seen before and it's possible her secrets will come out at the party. 

Last but certainly not least is my favorite, Orlaith. She's the Irish nanny who perceives danger around every corner. Rumors about the house have circulated for decades, and there has to be a reason. She knows something is not right in the home and will protect Charlotte, and anyone else who needs her, at all costs.

Sometimes an author runs the risk of characters sounding alike with multiple narrators, but that was not the case here at all. Each lead was her own fully fleshed out person. It's been a while since I've read a multi-POV book and have not had to go back and see who is narrating at least once or twice. But here, each female has such a unique voice and situation, though they're so closely entwined, that there is no trouble telling them apart.

The majority of the action takes place in part two. We see events unfold in real time and as we move from character to character, slowly each layer of the mystery is peeled back as the pieces quickly or slowly move into place.

The third part takes place after the party, where we get other points of view from more minor characters, which adds to some of the confusion for those who don't know what's really happened. There was so much I did not see coming.

I feel like the pacing was fantastic, especially for a book where most of the story takes place in a span of a few hours. Things were constantly happening and bummer for you if you weren't paying attention. The tension is constantly building, because between Dani and Orlaith, there is clearly something not right about the house. Whether it's a paranormal cause, or another human toying with them, it's impossible to tell.

It was so hard to tell who to trust, which is what made it so difficult to determine who the killer was. Each narrator was complex and had things they were hiding, so it felt like with each chapter I was constantly changing my mind about who was capable of murder. At that same time, all of the woman had motive, and would have been well within their right to do something drastic.

I can happily say I was wrong a lot. I'd keep changing my mind, sure that I had it figured out THIS TIME, and then boom! New information.

This was a fantastically written novel, don't let the sparkly cover fool you. It's not a cheap thriller that you'll forget about when it's over. You get to know the characters so well, and there are several themes that weave their way throughout the story - focuses on mental health, the dark side of motherhood we don't talk about enough, the deep feelings of regret and rage. 

You won't necessarily like all the characters, but you'll definitely feel empathy and respect.

Highly, highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Parents Weekend

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐

I freaking LOVED If Something Happens to Me and The Night Shift. Five and four star reads, easy.

I wasn't totally sold on the premise, to be honest. But given my enjoyment of the previous two novels I read, I went for it anyway.

Should have listened to my gut.

Five families are in town to celebrate the end of the first year of college for their children at a small private school in northern California.

The first event of the evening starts with dinner and cocktails for the families, but five students all from the same dorm never show up. My first issue came right away with this - everyone just kidn of shrugs it off as, "Oh, they're just being kids, went off to party, blah blah,"

...like, what?

Your family travels all this way to see you and celebrate with you, and you have a track record that would make it make sense to them that you just didn't show? Okay...

Anyway, the hours fly by and none of the missing students have contacted their parents. Everyone panics, the campus police call in help, they get search parties going and reporters pop up quick.

Armchair sleuths are quick to compile theories and share them widely. Do their disappearances have to do with their parents, or something the students have done themselves?

I could not have cared less.

Not one single character had a unique voice. I didn't care what happened to any of them, because we didn't get to know the kids. They were just kind of there, but not, since they'd been kidnapped and were absent for much of the book.

The single biggest problem with this book, that then causes all the other problems, is because there were too many characters. You've got five kidnapped kids, which equals five sets of parents, though some were divorced or single parents. Way too many points of view.

TOO MANY CHARACTERS. TOO MANY TOO MANY TOO MANY.

With that many people milling around, you don't get to know any of them. I don't typically demand to know characters of thrillers and mysteries inside-out, but I would like to know enough about them to at least care somewhat about their survival, when warrented.

Given the fact that we don't get to know the kids very well, it's was extremely hard for me to remember which kid belong to which parent(s). And honestly, it didn't really make a difference because the story could have easily taken place with fewer kids/parents and still been the same. Excet maybe then I would have been more invested because I would have actually been able to keep straight who was with who.

The pacing was fast, but not the way it was probably intended. Instead of creating the tension and making readers feel like it was a race against time to save these kids, it was more like the faster we go, the fewer plot holes able to be pondered because you're already on to the next event.

So there's chaos because the kids are missing, chaos because there's too many characters, chaos because nothing is making any kind of sense.

I also found the reference to the brutal murders of the four Idaho students gross and unnecessary. And Calling the missing kids 'The Five' was weird, like trying to link them to the 'Idaho Four'.

Absolutely not recommended.

NetGalley ARC | So Happy Together

I receved a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

So delightfully unhinged and bonkers, I could not put it down.

Jane is trying to make it as a playwrite in New York City and also find the love of her life. Dating apps are not helpful, until she meets Colin. She is at once smitten, completely head over heels. Thus, you can imagine her confusion and hurt when the love of her life breaks off the relationship after six dates.

Determined to win him back, Jane is sure she can accomplish this with time. Until she finds out he is already dating someone new.

Enter Zoe, Jane's competition. Zoe is everything - kind and welcoming, beautiful, a talented artist. Jane knows Zoe will never love Colin the way she does though, so of course, chaos ensues.

It seems like there is a very fine line between love and obsession, so watching Jane creep around on the edges of Colin's life, only to suddenly be thrust dead-center in the middle of it was such a trip. Especially because Zoe is the one who draws Jane deeper and deeper into their lives.

Jane and Zoe become close as Jane plays the part of a college friend of Colin's, which he goes along with as well, though he is clearly uncomfortable with the developing friendship between the two. Colin begins to pull away from Zoe as the book goes on, which only confuses Jane further.

Zoe was confusing to me too, but only because I could not figure out what her end-game was. She was just as much of a trip as Jane, in a wildly different way because I just could not figure her out.

Learning more about Jane's past was the sobering aspect of the book, which kind of made her actions in the present make more sense, and why she was so susceptible to Zoe's charm.

The book is fast-paced and delusional and chaotic and messy. It's not life-changing but it is so much fun.

Recommended.

NetGalley ARC | The Bachelorette Party

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed The Lost Village, so I am game to read more of this author's work. Unfortunately for me, this one did work quite as well for me, but it was still a decent read.

Every year four friends get together on a remote island off the coast of Sweden. No one knows where they disappear to each year, only that they are off somewhere together. They've been best friends since they were children, and once a year they come back together to be drink and dance and enjoy each other's company before returning to their adult lives full of expectations and responsibilities.

One year, they do not return. It's presumed to be an accident, though their bodies are never found.

Ten years later, Tessa Nilsson is obsessed by the story. That obsession became a popular true crime podcast and this is the one case that Tessa longs to solve. Few clues were ever found to indicate what truly happened, and authorities could only guess. A presumed boating accident involving alcohol was their best idea, though Tessa does not believe that's accurate.

Unfortunately for Tessa, due to a major misstep ending in tragedy, her podcast and reputation are in shambles and gone is her chance to find out what really happened.

UNTIL.

Because of course there is always an UNTIL.

Tessa's best friend Anneliese is to be married soon and her bachelorette party is set to take place at a yoga retreat on a remote island off the coast of Sweden. When Tessa realizes it is the same island - owned now by one of the victim's sisters - she knows this might be her last chance to find out what really happened.

The problem is, Tessa wants the truth, but someone else on the island wants revenge.

With only two others on the island in addition to the handful in the party, there is a small suspect pool to draw from. I worked out pretty quickly who, but given the back and forth between the time lines, I wasn't quite sure why, and what exactly they were intent on getting revenge for.

Dual timelines can be difficult to write but I think it is a strength for the author. Even when I was not totally sure at first how they connected, the clues are there and they come together well. The pacing was also well-done in both timelines. Neither lagged at any point, so I was invested in both.

I was also intrigued by Tessa's own personal mystery, and what could have possibly happened to absolutely make her life explode. That was engaging enough in itself, without overshadowing the events that Tessa needed in order to start rebuilding her life again.

My main issue with the book is that the timelines themselves kept tripping me up. It seems like the dates are a bit off, things don't necessarily seem to line up in the way they are described, so it kept throwing me. I can't tell if it was intentionally off, which could be possible but then other parts don't work. I am honestly not really sure how to describe it without bringing up spoilers, which I will happily do with books I hate, but I didn't hate this one and still want to recommend it.

As a result, this one did not quite grab me the way The Lost Village did, but I still recommend it. It's not groundbreaking in the genre, but readers will still enjoy the mystery. I still ntend to read other work by this author.

Recommended.

But please also read The Lost Village.

NetGalley ARC | The Clinic

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐ (second ⭐ is only for the cover!)

Just LOOK at that cover! Seems super creepy and thriller-y and gothic-y, right? JUST WHAT I LOVE, RIGHT??!!

*sigh*

Meg works at a casino in LA. Her sister Haley is a famous actress. When reports start coming out that Haley has died at the rehab facility to recently went to, there is talk of suicide. Meg doesn't believe this and decides to check herself into the same facility. Unfortunately Meg also is struggling with addiction so she will have to contend with that, while being completely on her own trying to figure out what really happened to her sister.

So the premise is great. The cover is great. I'm expecting a great thriller in one of my favorite settings, because that is what has been implied.

Unfortunately, the book moved so slowly at times that it was hard to even stay interested.

It also required massive suspension of belief in several instances, as well as some things that just did not make sense.

There was also disappointment over it not really being a thriller. I considered DNF-ing a couple times, but I stuck with it because I kept hoping things would get better. Plus...THAT COVER! How could the cover and story not match?

Well, they never came together, unfortunately.

I expected a bit of gothic-y goodness based on the cover and the premise, but given the way this remote rehab facility operated, none of it came together in a way that made sense. Instead we just get this clinical, sterile, celeb-filled environment, characters who all ran together after a while and to be frank, there was a lot of things happening at this clinic that are simply unrealistic and would not happen in an actual rehab center.

First off, the characters. The book altermates between Meg, the sister and Cara, the office manager, but there were times when I would have to go back and look at who was talking. Despite having very different lives, backstories, and personalities/characteristics supposedly, it was hard to tell them apart. Neither had a unique voice and neither were particularly likeable. This isn't always a bad thing, but this time around it just did not work. Rounding out the patients we have Sierra, Jade, Tom, and Dex. I can not tell you anything about them, because they blended together after a while.

The second thing that simply did not work is the facility itself. Sure, it's a private clinic. But it is a place known to celebs, so it is not a secret. There is simply no way the facility could do what they do and get away with keeping their license. Not to mention there doesn't seem to be much staff around to do anything useful. Given my non-fiction interests, it will surprise no one that I know quite a bit about this topic, and believe me when I say there is simply NO. WAY.

Let's start with the biggest glaring issue - Haley's death. She overdosed on heroin.

In a licensed medical rehabilitation facility.

That claims she OD-ed on "medical grade" heroin.

What. The. Fuck.

I'm not sure if the author was trying to imply that Dr. Lutz was doing illegal stuff that authorities and clinic boards and insurance companies didn't know about, or what, but he even talks to the police about it. He legit says that all professional rehab facilities keep federally approved supplies of drugs for use in clinic settings.

Again I ask...what the fuck?

This is simply not true. Heroin is not an available drug to use in rehab clinics, for anything. I don't even know what "medical grade" heroin is supposed to be. Heroin is an illegal substance in the US. The story takes place in the US. Therefore, no licensed and certified clinic operating in the US could ever use heroin as pain management for their patients.

There were lots of other shady/weird things about this clinic. Meg snuck in her phone and some drugs of her own, I don't even remember if she was searched. If so, obviously not very thoroughly. And with Haley supposedly over-dosing on the magic heroin, shouldn't it have been a huge security breach that she was somehow able to access more than whatever magic dose she was supposed to be taking? So why was there not staff constantly monitoring the meds and drugs even as they were locked up? Clearly we are to believe that Haley somehow accessed them, so couldn't any of the other patients also do that?

And speaking of staff...where are they? We know Cara, the office manager. Then Dr. Lutz. The owner, whose name I forget, and some nurses are around there somewhere, carrying on helping with treatments that are sometimes experimental (and therefore unlikely to be approved by insurance, but done anyway), which the patients are not informed of. And on top of that, patients are also not informed about what they are taking, and when. Basically, they're being drugged all the time.

So, in reality this is a one-star read. The only reason I gave it a second star here on my blog is because I love the cover so much and am sad that it has gone to waste.

Not recommended.

NetGalley ARC | No One Can Know

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kate Alice Marshall is a rare author who writes both YA and Adult really, really well. It's a tough thing to do, but she's phenomenal and I will read everything she ever writes. This is her second Adult novel, and I absolutely devoured her first, What Lies in the Woods. While that novel is still my favorite, this one was an excellent follow-up.

Fourteen years ago, sisters Juliette, Emma, and Daphne were forced to leave home. Their parents were brutally murdered in said home, so Juliette went off to college while Emma and Daphnew went into foster care. Emma has not seen or spoken to either of her sisters since then, and none of them have talked about what happened that night, or what they saw - even as Emma became the prime suspect in the investigation.

In the present, Emma and her husband must relocate after he loses his job and she finds out she is pregnant. Since all three sisters share ownership of the house, one of them can't just sell it on their own, but any of them can live there.

So, that's exactly what Emma has to do when there are no other options for her and her new little family.

Emma has never talked to anyone about that night, not even her husband. When she finally gives him the gist of it, he is shocked to say the least. But Emma being back home has stirred up some trouble - people in town still talk, convinced she is guilty. The case is still open, so the police are eager to finally have another chance to get Emma to confess. And best/worst of all, Emma's reappearance at home brings Juliette and Daphne back as well.

The author is highly skilled in the area of developing and maintaining complex relationships among her characters and she does an exceptional job with these three very different sisters. Juliette was the good one, always quick to follow the rules and do as her parents asked. Emma was the rebellious one, Juliette's complete opposite. The baby, Daphne, was something else altogether - content to hide in plain sight, observing all that goes on around her, perhaps a bit psychotic?

All three were somehow involved that night, though if that involvement equals murder, the author is quick to provide all kinds of clues and twists to keep readers on their toes.

They are bound together forever not just because they are family, but because of what happened that night. They continue to keep secrets from each other and Emma has to wonder just what either sister is not telling her. Yet it was Emma who found her sisters standing over their parents bodies, Juliette shivering and soaked with water, Daphne covered in blood.

And it was Emma who took charge immediately, constructing a timeline that would ensure all were accounted for at all times, that would protect them from being implicated.

This time around though, Emma can only focus on her unborn baby, and will do whatever she must to protect her child - even if it means no longer covering for one of her sisters.

This one truly had be hooked from beginning to end. Watching the dynamic between the sisters play out in both past and present points of view ensured that one would not easily guess the identity of the killer. I'm usually pretty good at that, but this one got me, for sure.

On the note of the timelines and points of view - this sounds like it could be overwhelming, but it is a strength of the author to give her characters unique and distinct personalities and voices. I did not have to constantly go back to the start of a chapter to see who was speaking.

All three were so frustrating at times because it was clear that everyone was hiding something, but just how those secrets fit with the murders was revealed slowly, peeling back layer by layer. But given the fact that these girls endured serious trauma in their formative years, it does make sense that they're all kind of not quite normal. First they lost their parents, then they lost each other.

I can happily say that I was left guessing for quite a long time as to what actually happened that night. Marshall is an incredibly gifted writer who gives possibilities and takes them away, all while leaving plenty to mull over in the mean time. I suspected pretty much every single character at one point or another.

Highly recommended.

Publicist/Marketing Gift via NetGalley | The Heiress

I received a free digital ARC from the publicist/marketing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

I absolutely LOVED Reckless Girls. The Villa was great. The Wife Upstairs was okay, but not quite on par with the other two for me. The same goes for The Heiress; it is just not Hawkins' strongest book, to me. There were some interesting twists but I figured out who Jules was pretty quickly, having read Hawkins' other novels, and many in this genre in general.

To sum it up in one sentence: unlikeable rich people doing unlikeable rich people shit.

Meaning - lots of secrets and lies and backstabbing to get their hands on the family fortune.

Ruby McTavish Woodward Miller Kenmore was the richest woman in North Carolina when she died. Her life was practically out of a movie - kidnapped as a young girl, a widow many times over (to the point the townspeople started calling her Mrs. Killmore), a beautiful family estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and ruling over the tiny, nearby town of Tavistock. With her death, the property and fortune went to her adopted son, Camden, leaving the rest of the family with nothing except the agreement that they can live in the sprawling home.

Cam, however, wants nothing to do with the money or any of his remaining family and we quickly find out why. He's made a life for himself over halfway across the country in Colorado, is married to a woman named Jules, and spends his days as an English teacher.

Unfortunately for Cam, his uncle's death leads to him being summoned back home to Ashby House, the elegant, breathtaking home where he was raised. Jules is enthralled immediately and is determined to make sure Cam claims every last cent of his fortune.

The story is told in three perspectives: Cam, Jules, and Ruby (via letters she wrote before she passed). There is also some mixed media, which I am always on the fence about. Here the author chose to tell parts of the story through magazine and newspaper articles related to the family and I would say it worked for the most part.

Given the set-up, I was hoping for something at least a little gothic-y, only because the family home is so central to the story and Cam being called back to Ashby was the starting point of the story. I love when the atmosphere makes the house almost a character in itself, but that did not happen here. I also don't think it was the author's intention anyway, as it's not gothic-y at all. That's just my personal preference.

As the truth is slowly revealed through Ruby's letters, there seem to be more questions than answers. More questions arise about Ruby's childhood, and the kidnapping that made her so famous. Then, there are the ever-present four dead husbands - surely all four could not have ben accidents or natural causes? Then there is the question of Camden himself. Why did Ruby choose to adopt him, after all was said and done? Ruby's relatives certainly see him as an obstacle. They want that fortune and some would do anything to get it.

As far as this type of mystery/thriller goes, it's not bad. It's just the weakest of all Hawkins' work, I feel like. The story was suspenseful even when I had things sort of worked out, because it's always fun to see how wrong or right you are. I just did not feel nearly as wrapped up in this one as I did Reckless Girls or The Villa.

Even so, I read it in a few hours, because I do like this author's work and will continue to read future her books.

Recommended.