Watching From the Dark by Gytha Lodge (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Aidan Poole logs on to his laptop late at night to Skype his girlfriend, Zoe. To his horror, he realizes that there is someone else in her flat. Aidan can only listen to the sounds of a violent struggle taking place in the bathroom—and then the sound of silence. He is desperate to find out if Zoe is okay. But then why is he so hesitant to call the police?

When Aidan’s cryptic messages finally reach them, Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens and his team take the case—and discover the body. They soon find that no one has a bad word to say about Zoe, a big hearted young artist at the center of a curious web of waifs and strays, each relying on her for support, each hiding dark secrets and buried resentments. Has one of her so-called “friends” been driven to murder? Or does Aidan have the biggest secret of them all?"

My Thoughts:

Watching From the Dark is the 2nd book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series - the 1st book is She Lies in Wait which I read and loved last year.  This book was just as good as that first book which has me bumping this series to the top of my highly anticipating list!  I love a good police procedural and I especially enjoy books like this that also take the time to develop their characters well!  This book is actually told from two different viewpoints: one is the investigation into Zoe's death done by DCI Sheens and his team and the other storyline is Zoe's life and the events that led up to her murder.  I really appreciated the fact that we were able to get to know Zoe's character so well with the way that the story was told.  It almost made me sad though at the end because the loss of her life and her potential felt like such a waste.  It's rare that an author is able to make me care so much about the murdered character but that's exactly what Lodge did with this book.  I also really enjoyed the fact that we got to know DCI Sheens and his team a bit more.  They all work together well and complement each other despite their differences.  I'm eager to read more books in this series when they release because I really enjoy all of the characters so much.  This book is a slow build which fit my reading mood perfectly.  I am pretty sure that I suspected almost everyone involved at least once in Zoe's murder.  The book kept me guessing until the end - and even the ending left me with a bit of surprise.  This is both an author and series that has jumped to the top of my must read list!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book and am eagerly anticipating more books in this series!  It's going to be a long wait for that 3rd book but I know that it will be entirely worth it.  I'm so glad that I gave this author a try last year because I would have been missing out on this series otherwise.  You definitely don't need to read the series in order as this one stands alone well - it just will add to the reading experience if you do choose to read both.  I would recommend this book to fans of police procedurals, those who enjoy a good mystery, and those who enjoy suspenseful reads that keep you guessing until the end.  I highly recommend!

Bottom Line:  This author and series has jumped to my favorites list!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.  I ended up reading a copy from my local library.  Honest thoughts are my own.

Don't Make a Sound by T.R. Ragan (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Plagued by traumatic childhood memories, crime reporter Sawyer Brooks still struggles to gain control of her rage, her paranoia, and her life. Now, after finally getting promoted at work, she is forced to return home and face her past.

River Rock is where she’d been abandoned by her two older sisters to suffer alone, and in silence, the unspeakable abuses of her family. It’s also where Sawyer’s best friend disappeared and two teenage girls were murdered. Three cold cases dead and buried with the rest of the town’s secrets.

When another girl is slain in a familiar grisly fashion, Sawyer is determined to put an end to the crimes. Pulled back into the horrors of her family history, Sawyer must reconcile with her estranged sisters, who both have shattering memories of their own. As Sawyer’s investigation leads to River Rock’s darkest corners, what will prove more dangerous—what she knows of the past or what she has yet to discover? "

My Thoughts:

I feel like I need to begin this review with ALL of the trigger warnings!  This book is dark and not always easy to read so it may not be for all readers.  But it was also such a suspenseful read that kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next the entire time.  I just think that because this book was so dark that readers will want to go in knowing that ahead of time as it isn't always easy to read - Sawyer has been through some horrific things in her childhood as have both of her sisters.  If you can handle all of that, this book was a very compelling read!  Sawyer is a prickly character for very good reason.  She is also someone that I was instantly rooting for especially after we learn about everything that she has been through.  This book also gave me some serious Sharp Objects vibes thanks to the town Sawyer grew up in and all of the darkness that seemed to be contained within it.  Another interesting aspect to this book is that there is vigilante storyline (that's the best way I can describe it) that is interspersed throughout the book.  I was curious and guessing how it related to Sawyer's storyline while I was reading but my guesses weren't confirmed as correct until the end.  I'm very curious to see how this will play out in future books as this book is the first in a series.  I will definitely make sure that I'm ready for a darker read when I pick up the next book.  I'm looking forward to that next book though as well as checking out what else this author has written! 

Overall, it feels kind of wrong to say I enjoyed this one when it had such difficult subject matter but I really did.  It wasn't always easy for me to read but it was a very compelling book.  I'm eager to read more about Sawyer and to see what other kinds of trouble she will find herself in next.  Make no mistake, I'm 100 percent sure that she will find herself in other trouble - that is just the type of person she is.  I'm rooting for her though and looking forward to future books because of it.  I would recommend this book to readers that don't mind darker reads, those who enjoy a good mystery, and those who like suspenseful reads that they don't want to set down.  I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone though because it could be very triggering - please message me if you need specific trigger warnings.  In the end, I'm excited to have found this new to me author and looking forward to checking out what else she has written!

Bottom Line:  A very dark, suspenseful and compelling read - but be warned that it may not be for everyone!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher as part of a Great Escape Virtual Book Tour.  Honest thoughts are my own.

If you are interested in reading a copy, check out the tour giveaway for this book below:

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Have You Seen Me? by Kate White (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"On a cold, rainy morning, finance journalist Ally Linden arrives early to work in her Manhattan office, only to find that she’s forgotten her keycard and needs to have a colleague she’s never met let her in. When her boss finally arrives, he seems surprised to see her—because she hasn’t worked there in five years.

Ally knows her name, but little else, and it’s only after several hours in an emergency room and multiple interviews with the hospital psychiatrist that she begins to piece together important facts: she lives on the Upper West Side; she’s now a freelance personal finance journalist; she’s married to a lovely man named Hugh. But she still can’t recall what happened to her during the previous two days. When she learns that she’s experienced a dissociative fugue state, Ally tries to think of triggers and remembers that she’d been seeing a therapist about a traumatic event from her childhood, in which she came across evidence for a murder that was never solved.

Desperate to unearth answers, Ally focuses on figuring out where she spent the missing forty-eight hours. As ominous details of the two days pile up, so does the terrifying pressure: she must recover the time she lost before the time she has left runs out."

My Thoughts:

This book has cemented my love of Kate White's books - she has become yet another author where I plan to read everything and anything that she has written.  There is just something about her books that I cannot help but enjoy!  Have You Seen Me? has such an intriguing premise that I couldn't help but want to read it as soon as I had read the above summary.  Unreliable narrators are a popular choice in thrillers but the idea of showing up to work only to find that you don't work there (and haven't for some time) is horrifying to contemplate.  I cannot even imagine!  I loved that the author then took us one this suspenseful journey where Ally is trying to find her missing memories.  I spent my entire time reading this book trying to figure out what was going on and what had caused Ally to disassociate from her life.  The short chapters helped to make this book one very tense and fast paced read!  My one and only complaint with this book was that I didn't love the ending.  I can't really say why without sharing spoilers but I will say that I was a bit unsatisfied with the ending.  It wasn't horrible or anything - just a bit unsatisfying (and really it's a me thing more than the book itself honestly).  That being said - the fact that I enjoyed this book so much up until that ending still made this book a really enjoyable read for me!  I think that this is my 4th book by White and they have all been at least four star reads.  I WILL be reading more by White and soon.  

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely and can easily recommend it!  It was a page turner that kept me reading late into the night.  This book is labeled as a novel of suspense which I would definitely agree with as it was a very suspenseful read!  There was just a description on bookstagram the other day on the difference between mysteries, thrillers and suspense which has really stuck with me.  I think that it's important to try and share what kind of book it is so that people go in with the right expectations (if that's something they worry about I suppose).  Anyways, I can easily recommend this one to fans of suspense, those readers who enjoy unreliable narrators (not necessarily the case here but similar feel since Ally is missing memories), and those readers who love a good mystery.  

Bottom Line:  A page turning and suspenseful read that I couldn't stop reading!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher.  Honest thoughts are my own.

Cross Her Heart by Melinda Leigh (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"For more than twenty-five years, Philadelphia homicide detective Bree Taggert has tucked away the nightmarish childhood memories of her parents’ murder-suicide…Until her younger sister, Erin, is killed in a crime that echoes that tragic night: innocent witnesses and a stormy marriage that ended in gunfire. There’s just one chilling difference. Erin’s husband, Justin, has vanished.

Bree knows how explosive the line between love and hate can be, yet the evidence against her troubled brother-in-law isn’t adding up. Teaming up with Justin’s old friend, former sheriff’s investigator and K-9 handler Matt Flynn, Bree vows to uncover the secrets of her sister’s life and death, as she promised Erin’s children. But as her investigation unfolds, the danger hits close to home. Once again, Bree’s family is caught in a death grip. And this time, it could be fatal for her."

My Thoughts:

Cross Her Heart was a really good page turner that fit my reading mood perfectly.  I was in the mood for a book that would keep me reading and unable to set down - and that's exactly what this book did!  I've been struggling to really concentrate lately with everything that's going on in the world so I needed a book like this that helped keep my mind off of everything.  Because let me tell you that this book starts off fast paced and that didn't stop until the very end.  One of the things that surprised me about this book is how dark it was and how much of a role grief played in this novel.  I feel like you don't always get to see the effects of grief in a mystery like we did in this book.  It really gave this book a realistic feel that I couldn't help but appreciate.  I also liked how this book kept me guessing throughout the book.  I didn't have a clue on how everything was going to turn out until I was actually supposed to know.  This book begins a new series but the ending wrapped everything up perfectly.  I couldn't help appreciating the fact that there were just a few new questions that were left that I'm hoping we will get answers to in future books.  I will definitely be continuing on with this series, that's for sure!

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and am excited to have found this author!  She's got another series for me to check out while I wait for the next book in this series to release which has me happy.  I love finding new mystery authors to follow especially because that seems to be all I want to read lately.  I need ALL of the mystery recommendations at this point.  I think that readers that enjoy mysteries, suspense, and even those romantic suspense readers would enjoy this one.  There isn't a romance in this book BUT there are hints that one might be forming in future books which I am definitely here for.  Recommended!

Bottom Line: A solid beginning to this new mystery series!  I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.  Honest thoughts are my own.

Sugar and Vice by Eve Calder (thoughts)

Summary from Amazon:

"OUT OF THE OVEN

Lately, Kate has a lot on her dessert plate. She’s launching a cookie-of-the-day challenge in the heart of Coral Cay, providing sweet treats for the reception of the town’s handsome new veterinarian—not to mention dealing with tourists in town for a pirate festival and the surprise arrival of her former fiancé, Evan, who seems determined to win her back.

AND INTO THE FIRE

And if that’s not enough, a skeleton has been found—in the backyard behind her best friend Maxi’s floral shop. Kate knows Maxi could never hurt a fly. Maybe the remains belong to Sir George Bly, a long-dead pirate whose name has become urban legend—until now? It’s time for Kate to use every trick in the recipe book to prove Maxi’s innocence, and find the truth about the skeleton, before the last of the cookies crumble…"

My Thoughts:

Sugar and Vice is the 2nd book in the Cookie House cozy mystery series.  I've read books one and two in this series and enjoyed them both.  The thing that I enjoy about this series is that in book one (slight spoiler although not really much of one) Kate moves to Coral Cay to get a fresh start in her life.  I really enjoy that in these two books we have gotten to see her work towards that new life.  I can't help rooting for her because of it.  I also really enjoy all of the characters in this series!  Maxi especially is a great secondary character so I liked the fact that this book focused on her and her business so much.  One of the things that surprised me most about this book though was the ending.  I didn't see it coming which really added to my enjoyment.  I fully admit that there are many times with cozy mysteries where you can guess the ending early on (even though I find that still doesn't affect my enjoyment too often).  That did not happen here as I didn't see the ending coming from a mile away!  I loved how surprised I was by the ending of this one and also where the author went with it.  I'll leave it at that because I don't want to spoil anything for others.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will continue reading more of this series with future books!  This book was fun and a good way to keep my mind off of everything that has been going on in the world lately.  I'm curious to see where the author goes next with this series.  It should be interesting and I will definitely be there for it!  I think that readers that enjoy cozy mysteries or are looking for mysteries that are on the lighter side (meaning not dark and gory) would enjoy this one.  I do think that this book can be read out of order, but I would recommend reading the books in order if possible.  There's only two currently so you have plenty of time before the next book releases!  Recommended.

Bottom Line: A fun addition to this cozy mystery series!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Honest thoughts are my own.