Everything She Forgot by Lisa Ballantyne (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"They’re calling it the worst pile-up in London history. Driving home, Margaret Holloway has her mind elsewhere—on a troubled student, her daughter’s acting class, the next day’s meeting—when she’s rear-ended and trapped in the wreckage. Just as she begins to panic, a disfigured stranger pulls her from the car just seconds before it’s engulfed in flames. Then he simply disappears.

Though she escapes with minor injuries, Margaret feels that something’s wrong. She’s having trouble concentrating. Her emotions are running wild. More than that, flashbacks to the crash are also dredging up lost associations from her childhood, fragments of events that were wiped from her memory. Whatever happened, she didn’t merely forget—she chose to forget. And somehow, Margaret knows deep down that it’s got something to do with the man who saved her life.

As Margaret uncovers a mystery with chilling implications for her family and her very identity, Everything She Forgot winds through a riveting dual narrative and asks the question: How far would you go to hide the truth—from yourself…?"

My Thoughts:

This was an unexpected read for me but in a good way.  I went into reading this book expecting a thriller but instead it was more of a story about family, the choices we make, and the consequences of those decisions.  This wasn't an easy read for me...there were times that I wanted to set it down just because I wasn't sure that I wanted to know what was going to happen next.  That is a mark of a good book for me.  When an author is able to create a level of tension that makes the reader uncomfortable without overdoing it.  I knew that things weren't going to end well just based off of the decisions that the main characters were making.  It made the tone of the book seem even darker and more ominous which added to that level of discomfort that I was feeling.  It was intense but it was also so compulsively readable that even when I wasn't sure that I wanted to be reading I couldn't set it down.  I just needed to see what would happen next and how it would all end.

One of the things that really helped this book to not become too dark for me at least was the fact that there were multiple storylines going on.  One focused on the present and Margaret as she dealt with the after effects from almost dying in a car crash.  A different storyline focused on the past..but whose past and what it meant was a mystery until the very end.  The author effortlessly tied these two storylines together so easily that I never was able to decide which one I preferred more as sometimes happens in books like this.  The ending of this book held a few surprises while there were other parts that I had figured out.  Really it tied everything together nicely and made the last one hundred pages so intense that I didn't even try to stop reading.  I couldn't get this book of my mind for a few day afterwards because I had become so attached to the characters.  I cannot wait to read more by this author!

Overall I really enjoyed this one even though it ended up being way darker than I expected.  I loved that the author was able to pull me into this book so completely and in such a way that I had to remind myself that this was fiction.  That these weren't real characters and these events actually hadn't happened.  I just cannot emphasize enough how intense this reading experience was for me!  I will definitely be reading more by this author.  Recommended but with the warning that this wasn't always an easy read to stomach.  Definitely dark but good!

Bottom Line:  One of those books that I won't be forgetting about any time soon!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this thanks to the publisher as part of a PICT Book Blog Tour.  My thanks!

Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Dr. Kay Scarpetta is about to head to Miami for a vacation when she notices seven pennies on a wall behind their home. Is this a kids' game? If so, why are all of the coins dated 1981 and so shiny they could be newly minted? Then she learns there's been a homicide five minutes away. A high school teacher was shot with uncanny precision as he unloaded groceries from his car. Yet no one heard or saw a thing.

Soon more victims surface. The shots seem impossible to achieve, yet they are so perfect they cause death in an instant. There is no pattern to indicate where the killer will strike next. First it was New Jersey, then Massachusetts, and then the murky depths off the coast. There she comes face to face with shocking news that implicates her niece, Lucy—Scarpetta's own flesh and blood."

My Thoughts:

This was a thrilling read that I won't be forgetting about any time soon!  From page one of this book I was utterly hooked and that didn't end until the very last page.  And that last page!!!  But I am getting ahead of myself.  I was originally trying to listen to this series on audio.  As we all know I have no self control and jumped at the opportunity to read this book.  I am so glad that I did because just wow!  This book was suspenseful, it was dark, it was fast-paced....basically this was everything that I look for in a thriller!  I just couldn't read this one fast enough!  It took some getting used to as I am reading this one completely out of order (I believe there are 22 books in this series so far) so things have changed some since the second book.  Okay, actually things have changed a lot but that didn't detract from my reading experience at all.  Instead I know now that I have many more good reads to look forward to that will show me more of how the characters have gotten to the places that they are at in their lives.  I can't wait!

In this book though, Scarpetta finds herself caught up in the midst of multiple cases that seem to have a few disturbing similarities.  From the moment that she finds the seven pennies on the wall outside of her house I just knew it was going to be personal.  It was a feeling that I had and because of this there was an extra level of tension for me while reading as I tried to figure it all out.  I wasn't sure who she could trust and there were just so many questions that I didn't have answers to.  Even those who are closest to her seemed to have secrets that they weren't sharing.  I cannot emphasize enough just how intense this book was for me while I was reading it!  I was completely sucked in!  For the majority of the book I was just trying to keep up with everything that was going on while also trying to figure it out for myself.  The last section of the book was spent reading as fast as I possibly could trying to see how everything would end.  I cannot tell you how many times I had to stop myself from peeking at the last few pages just because I didn't want to wait any longer.  I needed to know everything was going to be okay!  I resisted (barely) and it was well worth the wait!  Although that last page left me completely at a loss for words.  I NEED the next book right NOW!!!  

Overall, I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end.  It could easily make my top reads list for this year based off the intensity factor alone!  This book was a page turner and those are my favorites!  I am left wishing that I had book twenty-three in my hands but until then I think I will work on catching up with all of the other books I have missed.  Maybe that will satisfy me and make the wait seem less awful?  A girl can hope!   Highly recommended but be warned you aren't going to want to put it down!!

Bottom Line:  A thrilling read that had me flying through the pages!  

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher as part of a Partners in Crime Book Tour.  Thoughts are my own!

What The Fly Saw by Frankie Y. Bailey (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"The morning after a blizzard that shut down the city, funeral director Kevin Novak is found dead in the basement of his funeral home. The arrow sticking out of his chest came from his own hunting bow. A loving husband and father and an active member of a local megachurch, Novak had no known enemies. His family and friends say he had been depressed because his best friend died suddenly of a heart attack and Novak blamed himself. But what does his guilt have to do with his death? Maybe nothing, maybe a lot. The minister of the megachurch, the psychiatrist who provides counseling to church members, or the folksy Southern medium who irritates both men—one of these people may know why Novak was murdered.  Detective Hannah McCabe and her partner, Mike Baxter, sort through lies and evasions to find the person who killed their “Cock Robin,” But McCabe is distracted by a political controversy involving her family, unanswered  questions from another high-profile case, and her own guilt when a young woman dies after McCabe fails to act."

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons!  It was a great way to find a new mystery series that I will definitely be reading more of.  This was such an interesting mystery thanks to the unique futuristic world that it is set in.  In this book we meet detectives Hannah McCabe and Mike Baxter who are assigned to investigate the murder of the dead funeral director.  They soon begin to realize that this isn't going to be an easily solved case as the victim seems to be well liked by all that knew him.  This scenario instantly had me intrigued.  For one, I loved how the author used a winter storm to add to the creepy feel that came with the victim's murder in his own funeral home.  The storm gave a sense of isolation and really got the book off to a great start for me.  Then add multiple suspects and no clear motive for murder and I was truly hooked.  The added bonus for me was all of the little details that the author gave that brought to life this futuristic world that the author has created.  I really felt like this is one of the more unique mysteries that I have ever read!

My one and only complaint was that I feel like I missed out a bit on some back story thanks to starting on the second book in the series.  That's my own fault as the reader.  The author did a really great job of sharing details to catch the me up but there is an ongoing mystery that started at the first book and it looks like will play a role in the next one as well.  This just ensures that I am definitely going to be reading book one sooner rather than later.  Other readers might want to start at the beginning though which is why I mentioned it.  

Overall, this was such a great read thanks to the world building and the mystery itself.  I loved that I didn't figure out who the killer was until the end.  I really like the way the author ended this book with questions left that made me wishing that I had my hands on the next book.  Aack!  I hate waiting but I am really excited about this series.  At least I have the first book to help lessen the wait.  This is definitely a mystery series to check out.  Easily recommended!!

Bottom Line:  A unique futuristic setting made this mystery a instant win for me!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book as part of Partners in Crime book tour thanks to the publisher.  Thoughts are my own.

 

The Girl With a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson (thoughts)

The Girl With a Clock For a Heart was a book filled with both layers and questions.  Add to that almost constant suspense and lots of action and you are in for a very thrilling read!  I feel like this is a book that is a bit outside of what I usually read, and I enjoyed it all the more because of that fact.  This was another book that I just didn't want to set down! 

In this book George Foss runs into a girl from his past,  Liana Decter, at a local bar.  Liana is an old college girlfriend that he has never forgotten and even after all these years still thinks about from time to time.  Liana is in trouble and asks George for his help which he reluctantly agrees to.  But it is that hesitation and events from George's past when he knew Liana before that really comes into play.  Because George knows that he should stay as far away from Liana and her troubles as possible, but he just can't seem to tell her no....

There are two different story arcs in this book but they both tie together perfectly.  One is the story of Liana and George's past and what happened to make him suspect her of murder.  The second story line is all about Liana and George as she pulls him into her current troubles.  Both of these story lines are completely compelling and fast paced.  The majority of the time when an author does this I prefer one over the other but that wasn't the case with this book.  Because I was so caught up with what was happening and the whys of it all, that I just wanted to know it all.  I wanted to know the truth behind what had happened between George and Liana when they first met.  And I really, really wanted to know what was going on in the present day and why Liana had come to George for help a second time. 

I felt like from the very beginning I knew that I didn't quite trust Liana's motives.  I was frustrated with George's actions at times because of this.  If I knew that he shouldn't trust her without even knowing all of their shared history, then he should have been smarter than getting involved.  George's constant questioning of her actions and true feeling added to the layers of questions that I had though.  Then you had the pieces of their history that were given and I really had even more questions rather than answers.  It all combined into this constant feeling of suspense and waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I knew it was coming and still I was taken by surprise.  The ending of the book was frustrating but it fit so perfectly with the way the story was going so I couldn't complain.  This book was one hell of a ride and completely worth it!

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and am eager to read more by this author.  It was fast paced, intense, and filled with suspense.....three of my favorite things!  I liked the way the author took events from the two character's past and tied them to the present.  It made the book that much more suspenseful for me!  I can easily recommend this one but especially to fans of both suspense and thrillers.  This is a book that shouldn't be missed!

Bottom Line:  A book that pulled me into the story with layers of suspense and never let me go! 

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a Partners in Crime book tour.  Thoughts are my own!

Remains of Innocence by J.A. Jance (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Sheriff Joanna Brady must solve two perplexing cases that may be tied together in New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance’s thrilling tale of suspense that brings to life Arizona’s Cochise County and the desert Southwest in all its beauty and mystery.

An old woman, a hoarder, is dying of emphysema in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In cleaning out her house, her daughter, Liza Machett, discovers a fortune in hundred dollar bills hidden in the tall stacks of books and magazines that crowd every corner.

Tracing the money’s origins will take Liza on a journey that will end in Cochise County, where Sheriff Joanna Brady is embroiled in a personal mystery of her own. A man she considers a family friend is found dead at the bottom of a hole in a limestone cavern near Bisbee. And now there is the mystery of Liza and the money. Are the two disparate cases connected? It’s up to Joanna to find out" 

My Thoughts:

Remains of Innocence is one of those books that captured my interest based off of the synopsis alone.  The idea of finding hidden money had me instantly intrigued so that I just couldn't wait to figure out where it had all come from.  It was just that easy for me to fall into the pages of this book.  I feel like this has been the year of mystery reading for me, and books like this are what keep me coming back for more.  Although I haven't read the previous books in this series, I never felt like that detracted from my reading experience.  Instead, the author took the time to really allow for me to get to know these characters.  What made this book so great for me was the details.  The author used all of these different details to really build up two different storylines in a way that allowed for them to come together at the end perfectly.  Joanna has two separate investigations that she is focusing all of her efforts on, and the author does a great job of showing her struggle to balance them both equally.  Because we were able to see the investigation from the very beginning, it almost felt like I was a part of it.  The author did an amazing job of adding some unexpected twists and turns that kept me glued to the pages.  The ending itself was very well done as it managed to tie everything up but in a realistic manner (considering there was so much going on I was quite impressed).

This isn't a fast paced book per say but instead it is one of those books that slowly builds until you just can't put it down.  The intensity came from not only the twists and turns but also from the way that I was drawn into this book.  Partly this came from how easily I connected to the characters.  And partly it was the fact that I just felt immersed in the investigation thanks to the author's writing style.  It is what turned this book into a great read for me compared to just good or average.  I can't wait to read more from this author!

Overall, I am very excited to have found a new to me mystery author with so many books to look forward to.  I loved both the setting and the characters that are a part of this series so I know that I will be visiting them with again in future reads.  This books reminds me a bit of Still Life by Louise Penny as they both have such a strong focus on characters which I love.  This book is easily one that I would recommend but especially to other mystery fans!  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A book that built up slowly to a page turning finish!  I couldn't get enough!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher as part of a Partners in Crime book tour.  Thoughts are my own!