Mystery & Thriller – Don't Miss(y) These Reads

Don’t Miss: All The Dangerous Things

Posted on February 2, 2023 by missylynnreads

All the Dangerous Things — Stacy Willingham
Macmillan Audio — Karissa Vacker
January 10, 2023
9 hrs 59 min
Thriller, Mystery
4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @librofm for the #gifted audiobook.

Summary: One year after Isabelle’s son, Mason, is kidnapped from his crib in the middle of night, she is still relentlessly looking for answers. She doesn’t sleep, she loses time, and she wonders how she could have let this happen. In a quest for answers, she agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster who digs further into her life than she could imagine. It makes her start questioning herself and her memories of that night.

💭 Having not read A Flicker in the Dark, this was my first experience with Stacy Willingham’s writing. The pacing of this story started slow as all the characters were identified, but it moved at lightning pace once it got going. The flashback scenes, while important, slowed the story.

Isabelle’s insomnia being introduced at the very beginning set the stage for a possible unreliable narrator situation. As the story progressed, it was hard not to want her to succeed in finding all the answers. As she started to trust Waylon, his motive for telling her true crime story in his podcast became suspect to me.

There were several great twists, only one of which I figured out before it hit the story. I love being surprised when the plot takes a turn I don’t expect.

Overall, this was a captivating read that kept me guessing to the end.

Mystery & Thriller

Don’t Miss: Find Me

Posted on January 19, 2022January 18, 2022 by missylynnreads

Would you be willing to start over?

Thank you to Harper Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary digital edition for review.

Hope Miller has rebuilt her life from the moment that she had an accident and lost her memory fifteen years ago. So one night when she sees someone following her, she wonders if her past is catching up with her. Instead of being excited, she’s afraid.

Lindsay Kelly, Hope’s rescuer and best friend, can’t get in touch with Hope and after investigating discovers blood in the last place Hope was seen. The DNA matches with a notorious Kansas murder.

Ellie Hatcher is an NYPD homicide detective with a unique connection to the Kansas murder case. Her father was the investigating detective and he died before it could be solved. Ellie always suspected there was more to her father’s death and the case.

These three women collide on a quest to find out what happened to Hope, how she is connected to the Kansas murder, and how the death of Ellie’s dad may have related to the recent events.

My thoughts: Like always, Alafiar Burke delivers an interesting plot with twists and surprises. Although this is the 6th book featuring Ellie Hatcher, it really can be read as a standalone, as Ellie has at most a supporting role. Knowing Burke’s writing style, the number of characters did not surprise me, but I can understand how they could all be confusing at first. I love how past and present in Ellie’s story wove together and tied in with the current mystery. The ending shocked me enough that I had to listen to it twice to fully grasp what happened. This was a great listen and I look forward to the next Alafair Burke book!

Don’t Miss: The Last House on the Street

Posted on January 18, 2022January 18, 2022 by missylynnreads

House in the woods, House in a bustling suburb, Loft in a big city?

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for a complimentary digital copy.

In 1965, Ellie Hockley is determined to make her life stand for something. As the daughter of a popular town pharmacist, she herself is going to school for pharmacy and is dating a bank manager. She puts all that aside to spend her summer helping Black people register to vote. In the process, she finds out the true nature of the town she grew up in.

In 2010, Kayla Carter and her young daughter are moving to a house they built in Shadow Ridge Estates, down the street from the Hockley homestead. Right before she moves in, she receives a visit from a mysterious woman cautioning her about the property and the haunted reputation of the woods behind her house. Her neighbor, Ellie Hockley, also seems to have some long held secrets.

💭 Once again, Diane Chamberlain weaves the perfect tale with a clashing of past and present. One of the things I most love about this book was that it was an easy transition between the timelines. I loved them both equally and was always sad for a page or two when switching, until I became re-immersed in the other timeline.

This is almost two distinct genres wrapped in one. Historical fiction in a time of civil unrest and contemporary thriller. The characters, especially those in the 1965 timeline are so powerful. This book wrecked me when the stories finally came together. Such an impressive work. It’s definitely a must read!

Mystery & Thriller

Don’t Miss: Reckless Girls

Posted on January 2, 2022January 2, 2022 by missylynnreads

How adventurous are you?

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the complimentary digital edition for review.

In Rachel Hawkins’ new novel, Lux is about to find out just that. After following Nico to Hawaii, he decides to charter a girls’ trip to a remote atoll with a haunting history. The story goes that anyone who spends too much time on the island begins to go a little crazy.

Amma and Brittany seem like two nice girls who are looking for a great graduation adventure before beginning their post-graduation lives. But are they as innocent as they appear? When they arrive on the atoll, they find another vacationing couple willing to share their good fortune. As we can expect, when 3 pairs of strangers all end up on an island together so much can happen.

Told in dual timelines, we slowly learn the pasts of each of the characters. Little by little we see how those pasts are impacting their current island experience. Secrets are revealed and will shock you!

None of the characters are particularly likable or trustworthy in this novel. It is definitely one that will keep you guessing all the way through and make you wonder what you would do in that situation. Would you trust or would you be suspicious? In true Rachel Hawkins’ fashion, there are some major twists that will shock you. Including the end!