pickThis was a cute respite from my usual reads - mysteries, serial killers, murders, et al. Emily is extremely likable even though she isn‘t likable (INTROVERTS UNITE!!) which makes the story better. I‘m never a fan of perfection. I like my characters flawed and fabulous and that‘s Emily. Full review IG ScrappyMags (I follow book peeps back!)
pickI‘ve read alllll of the “Cork” books and this is a solid installment. My only issue is it‘s a little “been there” as far as Cork, the setting, and running from something in the Minnesota wilderness, but it‘s also why I enjoy Krueger‘s books so how can I complain? It‘s how Aurora wound up on my bucket list. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pickFlowers embraces the small twisted-town spirit and runs with it in this novel with a Jon Benet Ramsey-ish nod from the 90‘s. Dead pageant-loving daughter, parents and brother survive, fingers pointed firmly at all of them at one time. All sketch. Quick read this adroit pacing. Great characters. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2: I am officially fan-girling Vega! (At the right time when my personal life I‘m in a “let me get lost in a book” mode). Badass female protagonist with relatable vulnerability? Sign me up for the next 10 books! Vega is a female Harry Bosch (M. Connelly character) in that everyone matters or no one matters - and that includes her family. Love her strength of character but also the softness behind the shield. Full: ScrappyMags.com
pickThe kicker in this one is that it‘s an extensive emotional ride, moment to moment changes in my thinking - did Liv do it? Yup, smugly convinced she did. 10 seconds later I‘m feeling so much compassion for someone who forgets a heap of time every time she wakes up (terrifying!) and am absolutely convinced she‘s innocent. Ugh… the back and forth was riveting and I loved it (c‘mon that‘s goooood reading Y‘all!) Full review: ScrappyMags.com
panAt 40% I was 100% annoyed with Beth - how she worked for the CIA is beyond me. She holds no patience or common sense, is inept, impulsive, and irrational - and I understand her life is upside down, but it‘s the cliché: women are ruled by emotion. This woman is too “emotional” to do her CIA job. (Sigh)…so another “professional” woman who doesn‘t act like a professional under stress (Unless “nitwit” is a new profession?) ScrappyMags.com full review
pickEnjoyed this book and definitely recommend it. This novel is a stretch - different, slower, and less “twisty”, but still intriguing with an entertaining character dive into Abby Lovett, who I liked as the protagonist. I totally relate to the town because my bro is a major hiker - one built for hikers but the people who live there are insular and secretive. I found that plot angle engaging and enjoyable and accurate in portrayal. ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Full review ScrappyMags.com The book is cerebral; you‘re going to need your brain and might lose some minutes (hours) Googling about genetics (fascinating!), but it‘s not so bogged down in science that it loses its thrill, and this I‘m discovering might be a Crouch trait because like Dark Matter, I was pulled in, churned and spun like a centrifuge, and spit out the other end contemplating , “What just happened?” And loved every minute!
pick💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: This latest Rizzoli installment is a proverbial breath of blessed air in the running series, focusing a bit on Angela Rizzoli - retired, bored, kinda-Karening her ‘hood in search of something wrong, marking herself as the local busy body. And Angela is convinced something is wrong. Jane is eye rolling her way through the ordeal with a REAL murder to solve - and this one is a head scratcher. Full details ScrappyMags.com
pickI enjoyed Dicks the first time, but A 2nd round of good Dicks was what the summer ordered (it doesn‘t count when you‘re on vacation). Mostly I love the fact I got to say “Dicks” so many times (and yes, autocorrect I am sure that should not be DUCKS!!) summary: Andie Stern is back, this time eyeing a mystery even closer to home - the sudden death of a friend‘s husband. Everyone writes it off as natural causes, but uh-uh, not Andie. ScrappyMags.com
pickAriel Pryce‘s husband John has been kidnapped in Lisbon. Poof. Gone. To get him back, Ariel has to delve into her past to cover the ransom. But it‘s a past fraught with trauma and mystery and Ariel is flung back into the spotlight. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Ooooh Lisbon! Sign me up for this trip (minus the kidnapping!), but what a backdrop for this well-fashioned, tautly-told tale that reads like an action movie with a twist of mystery.
pickIt‘s the summer of ‘85 & four-year-old Sally goes missing. Everyone was there. Then… everything happens. Life. A town in turmoil. A family that isn‘t as together as it seems. Yup, Life. And it‘s all it should be - good, bad, and tragic. I love the simplicity of this book. It‘s a taut tale of life sprinkled with immense tragedy. Winn foreshadows it. The reader knows it‘s coming. And it still took me by surprise. 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The psycho babysitter is a bit cliché so I worried it would be another “been there, read that” situation, but nope; this book is written well and plot advanced quickly. The “domestic thriller” has become a difficult one to navigate since Gone Girl but Watch Out separates itself by being a bit less “shocking” and more character driven with constant questioning of which of these well-painted characters are trustworthy. Full ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ one of my best of 2022! This taut, suspenseful what-the-whaa book reads like fiction until you pause to remind yourself: THIS. IS. REAL. 100% REAL, and that‘s why the heeby-jeeby factor runs high. 😳And along with this smack-me-in-the-face reality comes crushing sympathy for the families and friends who lost loved ones in truly terrible ways. How they pick up those pieces is a testament to the human spirit. Full review ScrappyMags.com
panI was 100% insulted by this book as a female reader. Women are not magnanimously stupid so please stop writing them as such. Here‘s my chief review point, spoiler be damned: the author portrays not 1 but 2 women who suffer physical abuse who then convince themselves they aren‘t abused, in favor of them being… “drunk” and/or “crazy.” Yup. I really just read that. In 2022. Full review ScrappyMags.com
so-soA book about people I kinda wanna slap. HARD. 😆 Marissa & Matthew are the Golden Couple until Marissa reveals infidelity & they seek out Avery, a 10-session “therapist.” Oh, then everything goes completely cray-cray.
𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I may be a bit (𝐀. 𝐋𝐎𝐓.) over the domestic poor-beautiful-rich-chick-with-problems-she-causes-herself-boo-hoo thriller books that I‘m eye rolling this one hard. VERY. Hard. ScrappyMags.com for full review
pickI said brrr, It‘s cold in here! Val is an anxiety-fighting linguist grappling with the suicide of her twin Andy, when fellow scientist Wyatt calls for help. In Greenland. He claims to have thawed a native girl from ice who speaks an unknown language. Cue the cocoa! Everything about this book is chilling - from the location, to the cold demeanor of some characters, to the biting plot. 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐲‘𝐚𝐥𝐥. ScrappyMags.com full review
pickYikes, let‘s NOT party like it‘s 1999! Three teens are dead, one left alive. Flashback fifteen years ago, New Year‘s Eve 1999 and the same crime occurred at a Blockbuster video. Many interesting characters and a few hmmms and ooooohs, questions and drama - all the elements that mixed together made a well-seasoned, perfectly-paced, minute-by-suspenseful-minute enjoyable mystery. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dark missive that touched this teacher‘s heart… From the first page, author J.J. Bola wants the reader to see Michael separate, all the way to the telling of the story - dual viewpoints: first person from Michael in London versus third person Michael in America, almost as if the moment he arrives in the U.S., a disconnect is established and someone else has to tell his painful story. It IS painful. And raw. And REAL. ScrappyMags.com
pickI avoided all reviews on this book once I realized it was an “IT” book to read, and so happy I did. I felt like I had to keep looking over my shoulder the whole time, so either I‘m paranoid or this book grabbed my senses and didn‘t let go. Deliciously twisted. Just how I like it. 😈 full review ScrappyMags.com
pickOhhhh man this one was good fun. If you‘re weird like me and consider a weekend murder read “fun” (yep I do, I truly do), this won‘t disappoint. You want to hate so many characters in the book - rich, spoiled, annoying, but find comfort because you won‘t be alone. Many characters in the book are right there hating‘ on each other. You just have to unearth the “why?” Happy digging. ScrappyMags.com for full review
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 The word I would use for this police procedural mystery is “basic.” It‘s basically good. Basically quick. It‘s basically effective and plot-driven. Copenhagen. 15-year old Oscar is missing, & everyone is asking, “Did he run away?” Or did something nefarious happen? Enter Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner, the duo of detectives who swim through family secrets, hidden notes, clandestine messages, and Some really dead bodies. ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A bit overhyped for me, but a solid psychological read that had me guessing. Twist! Wondering how many of the writers here would jump at the chance to ghost write for a crazy famous author? 🤔 Full review at ScrappyMags.com
pickLove! Molly Gray is used to being misunderstood. The only person who helped her understand this crazy, verbally-confusing world was her dear grandma, who died some months ago. Molly absorbs herself in her work as a hotel maid until one day a maid nightmare comes true - finding a dead body. Suddenly Molly is thrust into an investigation- one that‘s firmly pointing the finger of guilt at her as the #1 suspect. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Pure paradise page-turning murdery, evil fun here! This is the COVID society antidote right here - shameless, guilty-reading pleasure with paradise as the setting. Hawkins has found her stride in this novel and what I‘m discovering is she takes RISKS in her writing (YES!!!!), and I‘m in the front row applauding. Full review at ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ballard will always be Olivia Benson to me… 😂 Connelly nails what it‘s like during the pandemic- masks, those who don‘t wear them and working in the public - being a cop in 2021. I related as a teacher to all of it including the career fatigue all mixed in with an edge-of-the-seat mystery (2 actually!)… one of Connellys best. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️. Bit “been there” for me - full review ScrappyMags.com. Dani Callahan lost her daughter Tinsley 5 years ago - taken. Right from school. A parents‘ worst nightmare. This traumatic event propelled Dani into a new life as a private investigator, helping others to find their loved ones. Divorced now and working with her side-kick-chick Quinn (whose mother went missing), they take on the case of a missing 17 year old named Ali
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Diana O‘Toole is the proverbial New York “has it all” girl: amazing job, dedicated boyfriend, a wondrous, goal-oriented life planned out in pristine perfect detail. Until she doesn‘t have anything. COVID interrupts and Diana is separated from it all - stranded on the Galápagos Islands. Diana makes due, makes a few friends, adapts to her new life, and in the process questions every one of her life choices… full review ScrappyMags.com
pickMan, this has Hollywood movie script, M. Night Shyamalan written allllll over it! I haven‘t enjoyed twists this good since I binged some Twizzlers yo! Okay now that I‘ve got that out of my system, ugh my reading has been side-lined due to a new job. Absolutely LOVED the angle of this one - a past in a foreign country, crazy weird events, and there‘s me, just lapping up mystery like a dog in his bowl. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ full review Scrappymags.com Annalisa Vega is a legacy cop, and that legacy includes finding The Lovelorn Killer, the same serial killer her father hunted 20 years ago. Now, the killer has gone after Grace, an avid member of an online amateur sleuth group, and Vega has drawn Lovelorn‘s attention in her pursuit to uncover what it was that Grace knew and why that resulted in her death…
pickIn 3: “Friendship in words.” 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Theo and Joel have a long history, all the way back to high school where they promised one day to hike the Thames Path together. But then they never spoke… until now at age 30. Joel seems the epitome of success while Theo is its antithesis. But Joel is hiding a secret - the reason he truly wants to spend time with Theo. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: William Melville, the now-deceased queen‘s personal bodyguard, uncovers a nefarious plot to kill the Kaiser of Germany at the queen‘s pending funeral. He teams with Gustav Steinhauer - his contemporary from Germany to unveil who is the assassin “Akushku” before the funeral proceeds… full review at ScrappyMags.com!
pick🌟🌟🌟🌟 MM is a new favorite and Quiet does NOT disappoint. If you‘ve been side eyeing some neighbors doing COVID this one‘s for you! 😂 Ruby Fletcher is acquitted of murder and returns to live with her roomie in their quiet neighborhood… except everyone still thinks Ruby is guilty. Is she? Check out the full review at ScrappyMags.com!
pick🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2 (scrappymags.com for full review). 🤯!!! I am not a big Sci-Fi reader but I‘m starting to vastly appreciate this genre of Sci-Fi Mystery. 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 is inventive, intelligent, and ingenious - a fast ride that had me gripping the book handlebars from first page to last. Truly a mind-bender, blower, exploder. Summary: Madison May has this tiny little problem; she keeps getting murdered across different worlds by the same man…
panWhen you kinda hope they all die? Not a good sign. My main issue was the unrealistic “final girl” aspect - it‘s a movie trope, not a REAL thing. Who knows ANY final girl IRL? They have stalkers and weirdos who try to get them? Uhhh I‘m pretty sure this would be on Dateline. It was implausible and each chapter ended with some like “a scared girl. Running girl. Final girl.” CHEESE. Full review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3846573838
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Kindergarten 101: Never, ever, ever talk to strangers. (Full review scrappymags.com)
⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: It‘s 1991. After the murder of her roommate and as a serial killer stalks the campus, Charlie Jordan desperately needs a ride home to Ohio, so she enlists the help of Josh Baxter whom she meets at a ride-share board. But the further she drives the further she suspects something isn‘t quite right with “Josh.”
pickAn English teacher 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 A tale, a fable, and some bangin‘ good literature… 🔥 There‘s a fairy-tale, “other world”, almost pagan quality to this novel. A dash of Mysticism. A pinch of Magic. It feels something like a dream in places, but then realistic and down to earth in others. Symbolism is rampant in the forest, the river, and all the nature elements. Full review at Scrappymags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ꪮꫝ ᦓ᭙ꫀꫀꪻ, ᦓ᭙ꫀꫀꪻ rꫀꪜꫀꪀᧁꫀ... If you‘ve ever thought for a split second of having an Angela Bassett burn-your-cheating-husband‘s-stuff-up-in-his-Mercedes moment (Waiting to Exhale, BEST. REVENGE. SCENE. EVER.), and you saw that movie and cheered with your SO side-eyeing you the entire time? Oh this book is soooooo for you. Scrappymags.com for full review
pick🍸 𝙄𝙩‘𝙨 𝙖 𝘿𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙠, 𝘽𝙞-𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨! 🍸 Sophie O‘Neill has a gorgeous hubby and an adorable son, but her ho-hum upper middle class Texas life needs some kick. Enter Margot Banks - the Regina George with minions, money, and martinis! Sophie can‘t help but fall under her spell and soon becomes embroiled in murder. http://scrappymags.com/2021/05/22/book-review-the-hunting-wives-by-may-cobb/
pickBest of 2021!! Please read my review on this - scrappymags.com Jenny Lawson battles many things - depression, anxiety, cock chafers... say whaaaa? Life is tough, yo. Yup, welcome to Lawson‘s world where she combats mental illness, conquers her fears (um... ok maybe one), and engages is a war of words with her hubby Victor (spoiler: Lawson always wins). Strange and hilarious thoughts are discussed in her irreverent, hysterical way.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Even detectives can‘t run away... perfect summer-is-almost-here mystery read! Anna, a San Francisco detective is running away, to the only place she feels roots, Northern Cali. But if she thought she‘d clear her head she‘s mistaken because girls are missing and things are looking “sus.” Anna joins up with local police to nab the culprit while battling her own demons and depression. Scrappymags.com full review!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Even detectives can‘t run away...Anna, a San Fran detective is running away, or getting away... to the only place she feels roots, Northern Cali, where she resided with her loving foster parents. But if she thought she‘d clear her head she‘s mistaken because girls are missing and as my middle school students would say, things are looking “sus.” Anna dives in and joins up with local police to nab the culprit... full review scrappymags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Edwardian urban dictionary? 🤔Historical fiction - a woman who loves words & discovers more thru life. Add in the tumult of the Suffragists and I‘m in literary heaven! Full review Scrappymags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I never suspected love and forgiveness could be so layered, but this book reveals shades like the dawning of a new day. Full review at ScrappyMags.com Caroline finds out thru DNA testing she has a 1/2 sister named Sela. While Caroline comes to terms with dad‘s infidelity, Sela wages a war against chronic kidney disease.This book explores what family and love mean. To someone like me with chronic illness? This book hit a soft spot.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ makes Regina George look like a nun. ScrappyMags.com full review. Amb returns to Wesleyan (10 yr reunion) where whispers abound, rumors are reborn and fake kisses and hugs prevail. Amb is married, but she has kept this part of her past in the past. One problem - someone is sending “I-know-what-you-did” letters to her..This one is SINISTER. Get ready for the muck of wicked people. Wade in it. Watch out for the sharks. They are circling.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 I applaud Oliva for creating a novel that tickles my cerebral side while still offering the exciting escape of an intense mystery! If you grew up abandoned by your mom, uncertain what happened to your sister, left to fend for yourself... and then everything crashes back. Full review ScrappyMags.com
pickThis is a book that made me mad, sick, and troubled - which is what it should be. I was engrossed in every shocking turn and several moments forgot I was reading non-fiction. I‘m off to go hug my mom...Liza has a pretty awful mom who drags her around working jobs, partying, and leaving her kids w/random people. One of these random people was serial killer Tony Costa. Liza‘s recollection is captured here. Full review on ScrappyMags.com
pickOut March 2!!! “Pulse-pounding mystery...the entire book strips layer by layer a fascinating, captivating tale of a family that simply wants truth, even if the price to pay is their lives. “” - ScrappyMags.com Starred review! (I‘m needing my blood pressure meds on this one!)
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Hugging my neighbors... even THAT one!
Shortest Summary Ever: There‘s a group of neighbors on Long Island. A queen bee named Rhea. A giant sink hole. A child falls in. And the neighbors lose their minds. This book is the big WHAT IF. what if you were with THE world‘s worst neighbors, in a neighborhood that‘s literally and figuratively being swallowed by blackness and depravity. The book isn‘t for Ev1 but full review ScrappyMags.com
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Creepy British countryside church? Strange airings? I‘m soooo there. Weird and horrible things happened to the last vicar and now Vicar Jack and teen daughter Flo are experiencing strange moments as well. The townspeople are secretive and quiet and Jack sets out to discover the story...no matter the consequences. ScrappyMags.com for full reviews
