Fiction

Psychological Thriller – Hello Again by Brenda Novak

February 27, 2018 by Leah 12 Comments

Psychological thrillers are my favorite books to read. My husband always shakes his head when he sees what I’m reading. I just find them super interesting. They are filled with mystery, drama and usually, serial killers! However, Brenda Novak’s latest book, part of the Dr. Evelyn Talbot series, Hello Again is a must read! You will NOT be able to put this book down! I had many late nights reading this book! Be sure to keep on reading to the end for a chance to win a signed copy of this book!

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Like I mentioned above, Hello Again by Brenda Novak is part of the Dr. Evelyn Talbot series. The other books in this series are:

Hanover House
Her Darkest Nightmare <–read my review

Why Psychological Thrillers?

Why not? With this particular series, Dr. Evelyn Talbot experienced an absolutely horrific experience at the hands of her high school boyfriend. Rather than shut down and withdraw from the world, Evelyn Talbot fought back. She opened a prison in Alaska that houses the worst kind of criminal. The psychopaths. Her main objective with this prison is to study these men and draw conclusions about why they do what they do. She does this, all while, never giving up hope that the psychopath that tormented her so many years ago, will be caught.

Hanover House Her Darkest Nightmare (Dr. Evelyn Talbot Novels)Hello Again (Dr. Evelyn Talbot Novels)Face Off (Dr. Evelyn Talbot Novels)

The next book in this awesome psychological thriller series, Face Off, comes out in August of 2018! I’ve already marked my calendar so I can make sure to get a copy! I need to see how this continues!

How would you like to win a signed copy of Hello Again?!? Simply enter using the giveaway widget below and one lucky winner will be chosen at random (US and Canada only please).

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Harlan Coben Suspense Novel – Caught

February 14, 2018 by Leah 17 Comments

One of my favorite authors, that is relatively new to me, is Harlan Coben. His novels draw you in and you literally don’t want to put it down. This latest novel I read by him called Caught, was one that kept me up late into the night! While I love reading late at night (it’s just so quiet), it’s not so great when I realize it’s 3 a.m. and my alarm is going off at 6 a.m.! As a reader, I’m sure you’ve been there. You get to that point in a book where you literally can’t stop reading!

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Image via Pexels

Caught By Harlan Coben

I love books that are suspenseful. If it has me on the edge of my seat and possibly even scares me a bit, I’m happy. That’s my kind of book. Caught by Harlan Coben fit that category completely.

17 year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst.

Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission, to identify and bring down sexual predators via elaborate—and nationally televised—sting operations. Working with local police on her news program Caught in the Act, Wendy and her team have publicly shamed dozens of men by the time she encounters her latest target. Dan Mercer is a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens, but his story soon becomes more complicated than Wendy could have imagined.

Caught

With a teenager of my own (and another soon to be teenager), this book scared me in a completely different way than most I read. Having your teen go missing is any parents worst nightmare. Harlan Coben did a phenomenal job breaking down exactly how a parent would feel if this were to happen to them. The addition of the sexual predator storyline was also key. Especially in this day and age. So both aspects of the book worked for me and definitely drew me in.

The ending though…my gosh…I did NOT see that coming. I actually thought I had the book figured out. Nope! Harlan Coben totally took the book in another direction that I totally did not see coming. BUT…it totally worked. As I thought about the book afterwards, while I didn’t think about that possible ending, I realized that it was excellent for this storyline and something that would totally happen. Maybe not 100% the way it all played out, but pieces of it were spot on.

Kindle Paperwhite E-reader – Black, 6 Fire HD 8 Tablet with Alexa, 8 All-New Kindle Oasis E-reader – 7

Other Books by Harlan Coben

As I mentioned before, this is a newer author to me. Another book I read by him that I really enjoyed is Home. I highly recommend you pick up a copy of that book. It was very good! Two others by Harlan Coben that I recommend are Hold Tight and The Stranger.

What is your favorite Harlan Coben book that you think I should read?

Mary Burton – The Last Move

January 11, 2018 by Leah Leave a Comment

Last Friday I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. My surgeon gave me several restrictions: no driving for at least a week; no picking up/pushing/pulling anything over 10 pounds for three weeks; and most importantly, just relax and listen to my body. While I have cabin fever right now, I have enjoyed all the reading I’ve done. Since the day of the surgery, I finished 4.5 books! The latest book was by a new to me author, Mary Burton. The Last Move was an excellent book and made me want to read more and more by this author!

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About the Mary Burton Novel from Amazon

Catching monsters helps FBI agent Kate Hayden keep her nightmares at bay. Now an urgent call brings her back to San Antonio, the scene of her violent past. A brutal new murder shows hallmarks of a serial killer nicknamed the Samaritan. Tricky part is, Kate already caught him.

Either Kate made a deadly error, or she’s got a copycat on her hands. Paired with homicide detective Theo Mazur, she quickly realizes this murder is more twisted than it first appeared. Then a second body is found, the mode of death identical to a different case that Kate thought she’d put behind her.

Now Kate and Detective Mazur aren’t just working a homicide; the investigative pair is facing a formidable enemy who knows Kate intimately. While Mazur is personally trying to protect Kate, the closer they are drawn to the killer, the cleaner it becomes that in this terrifying game, there is only one rule: don’t believe everything you see…

The Last Move

My Thoughts

As I said in the beginning, Mary Burton is a new to me author. I found her on Amazon with my Kindle Unlimited subscription (Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans). If you haven’t tried Kindle Unlimited yet, do it! You can try it out for 30 days for FREE!

Kindle Paperwhite E-reader – Black, 6 All-New Kindle Oasis E-reader – 7

Anyway, as I was saying, Mary Burton was a new author for me. Her MANY books got really great reviews. Normally I prefer to read series books, but The Last Move caught my eye. I love books with serial killers, suspense and the FBI. This book had it all! I couldn’t put the book down. Anytime I wasn’t sleeping while recovering after surgery, I was reading this book. I liked this book and it’s characters so much that I hope Mary Burton decides to write more with Agent Kate Hayden and Detective Mazur!

What are you currently reading?

Rachel Caine – Stillhouse Lake Series

December 29, 2017 by Leah Leave a Comment

As you know, reading is my biggest passion in life. Picking up a book and getting lost in a story is something I really enjoy a lot. My favorite are series books. Especially those series books that I can’t bring myself to put down. The Stillhouse Lake series by Rachel Caine is not only a series that I couldn’t put down, but I literally was counting down the days until book two came out earlier this month! And then I read that book in less than three days!

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Photo by Flash Bros from Pexels

When we get married, we dream about having the best life together. Gina Royal thought she had all that. She was your average, midwest mom and wife. With two great kids and a husband she loved, Gina Royal thought she had it all. That is, until a car accident showed her otherwise. In the blink of an eye, the world Gina thought she knew, blew up in her face. Her husband was a serial killer and she was forced to prove her innocence and protect her children from the horrors of the world.

Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake Series)Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake Series) asaassas

Rachel Caine does a fantastic job with character development. As a mother, I immediately felt for Gina. When she and her children assumed new identities to protect themselves, I not only felt for what Gwen (formally Gina Royal) and her quest to protect her children, but I also felt for the children who had everything they had once known, ripped away from them. Like I said, I literally counted down the days until book two came out! If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, these books are free! Don’t fret…if you aren’t a Kindle Unlimited subscriber or you don’t use a Kindle, the books are VERY reasonably priced!

The Stillhouse Lake series by Rachel Caine is not over with book two! I am back to counting the days down because on October 2, 2018, Wolfhunter River, book three in the Stillhouse Lake series comes out! Pre-order your copy by clicking on the link! I have it marked on my calendar…no really, I do!

Have you read the Stillhouse Lake series by Rachel Caine? What did you think?

True Love Story – Crossing Lex by Debby Caruso

September 29, 2017 by Leah 19 Comments

About six years ago, I read a book that really affected me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. That book was The Shack. Literally, for weeks after finishing the book, I had that book on my mind. It made me think differently about things. I haven’t had the pleasure of reading a book like that since…until now. Crossing Lex, by Debby Caruso is a must read, true love story and one of those books that will stick with you, well after you read the last page.

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About This True Love Story – from Amazon

It’s 1999 and Danielle is living the dream: working in New York City, creating a brand-new life for herself, and looking for romance. On the cusp of finding just what she’s always dreamed of, memories of past trauma threaten to interfere with what may be the love story of a lifetime. As she moves forward, she will have to decide if she is defined by her past, doomed by her past, or perhaps made better because of it.

Crossing Lex

We all have those memories that seem to pop up when we least expect it. Those moments in time that seem to shape us as a person. The picture that Debby Caruso paints of the main character, Danielle, is amazing. You immediately connect with Danielle and are willing her to push past her demons and have that true love story she is so desperately seeking.

Part way through the book, I started to suspect the ending. Sometimes that annoys me with books. Not with Crossing Lex. With this book it made me want to continue reading all the more. I think part of me was hoping I was wrong. The last few chapters will have you holding your breath as you read them. The imagery Debby Caruso’s words invoke is excellent and leaves you wanting more.