The House of My Mother : A Daughter's Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke

 The House of My Mother : A Daughter's Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke - 297 pages

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.”

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.” No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.

A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer

 

A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer - 184 pages

This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games—games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive—dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.

It's been a while since I first read this one; I'd forgotten how incredibly cruel David's mother was.  I found myself ebbing between sadness for David and anger towards his mother and especially his father.  Why didn't his father protect him?  This is a heart breaking story.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

 

The Glass Castle  by Jeannette Walls 288 pages

In the tradition of Mary Karr's "The Liars' Club" and Rick Bragg's "All Over But the Shouting," Jeannette Walls has written a stunning and life-affirming memoir about surviving a willfully impoverished, eccentric and severely misguided family. The child of an alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing, during which she and her siblings fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors and the authorities.

I had heard so much about this book, but I had never read it myself.  It was very intriguing, and really sad story told very well.  My heart ached for these children, yet understood the need and desire to stay with parents that really don't take care of them.  I am so glad I read it.

Right Behind You by Diana Wilkinson

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✩

Right Behind You by Diana Wilkinson - 349 pages

I have no idea why he thinks I had anything to do with Danielle’s accident. My only crime was being in the vicinity when she fell down the stairs.

Being forced into therapy for stalking, though, is well over the top. But my therapist, Justine, is quite the character. I know what she wants to hear, and I’m also a master at playing the system.

When she twigs what’s really on my mind, she might not be so cool. I’m starting to enjoy watching her try to unravel my secrets. And make no mistake, there are plenty of dark corners to explore…..

I like how the author portrays the main character, Beverley, as this very manipulative, cunning, revenge seeking individual.  Soon the hunter becomes the hunted.  While this book peaked my curiosity, and I would say it was a good book, but it wasn't a great book.  

Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey

 

Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey - 351 pages

Last Herald Mage #3

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Valdemar—the once-peaceful kingdom protected by the magic of its Herald-Mages—is now besieged on all fronts. The king lies near death, the neighboring land of Karse wages a relentless war against Valdemar, and the forces led by a master of dark forbidden magic are massing to strike the final devastating blow against the kingdom.
 
And Vanyel, the most powerful Herald-Mage Valdemar has even known, has become the primary target of the evil which is reaching out to poison all the land.
 
With all his fellow mages slain, Vanyel alone remains to defend his people against the dark master’s army. Yet a dream vision has revealed to Vanyel the fate which awaits should he and his Companion Yfandes take up the dark master’s challenge.
 
And if either Vanyel or Yfandes falters, the dream will become a horrifying reality in which both Valdemar and its last Herald-Mage must pay the ultimate price.

Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey

 

Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey - 320 pages

Last Herald Mage #2

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wild magic is taking its toll on the land. Many Heralds and Herald-Mages have died fighting to preserve the peace. Even Vanyel, the most powerful of the Herald-Mages is almost at the end of his strength, in need of a respite from the dual threats of war and dark magic.

But for Vanyel, there can be no rest. Not when his Companion, Yfandes, receives a summons which can’t be ignored—a desperate cry of a magical holocaust in the neighboring kingdom. Almost overwhelmed by the devastations they discover there, Herald-Mage and Companion must try to unravel this tragic mystery.

Is the young Prince Tashir, a newly Chosen Herald who can’t control his magic, responsible for the destruction? Or is Tashir a pawn in a deeper, more deadly game—and, if so, will Vanyel be able to find and defeat the true destroyer before this master of dark powers can strike again?

The Reckoning by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

The Reckoning: a Thriller by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir; translated from the icelandic by Victoria Cribb --- 375 paes including Pronunciation Guide; Book 2 in The Children's House Series.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir, winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for best Scandinavian Crime Novel, delivers another mesmerizing crime thriller in her new Children's House Series, which pairs the socially inept Huldar, a detective in the Reykjavík CID with Freyja, a psychologist who treats traumatized children at The Children's House, investigating crimes involving children. 

This partnership is fraught with tensions because  Huldar and Freyja have an awkward personal history that makes it difficult for them to work together at critical moments in the investigation. The story picks up shortly after the conclusion of the first book in the series, The Legacy. Reading the books in order isn't necessary to understand the plot, but is necessary to fully grasp the relationship between Huldar and Freyja.

Ten years ago a local school had a time capsule project, and the students all wrote letters predicting the future and put them into the capsule.  Now the school has dug up the capsule, and one of the  letters predicts six people will die. The problem is, the letter is unsigned, and the six people are listed only by initials. 

It's probably just some kind of adolescent prank, but Huldar is assigned to evaluate the potential threat. Huldar suspects he's been given the job just to keep him busy so he can't screw up another major case like he did the last one. But it's an excuse to call Freyja, and try again to ingratiate himself with her. 

However the case takes a sudden dark turn when a series of horrifying events culminate in the savage murder of a retired prosecutor whose initials match one set of initials in the time capsule note. And this is just the start of a series of attacks that seem to be triggered by the release from prison of a paedophile who raped and murdered a young girl from that same school twelve years ago.

Huldar and Freyja realize they only have a short time to discover what links all of these events together in order to find the killers and stop them.

This is an expertly plotted and paced psychological thriller, and a furious indictment of any society that tolerates those who use their privilege and power to abuse the innocent. 

Click HERE to read the * review in Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review from Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE to read the review from the Crime by the Book blog.

Ghost Girl by Torey L. Hayden

Ghost Girl by Torey L. Hayden - 230 pages


As a new teacher in a small Midwestern town, Torey meets eight-year-old Jadie, a child so wounded by the events in her life that she believes she is a ghost. 

A fragile, delicately balanced relationship builds between the two, but the more Torey struggles to unlock the mystery of Jadie’s pain, the more frightening Jadie’s story becomes.  The things she says to Torey, whether obscure or shockingly clear, amount to a series of clues in a real-life detective story tinged with fear and fantasy.  The more Torey learns, the more convoluted the puzzle of Jadie’s life outside school becomes.

The child’s preoccupation with strange symbols and perverted sex acts seems to point to an interpretation even Torey is unwilling to acknowledge.  Is it possible that Jadie is a victim of ritual abuse?  Or appalling sexual abuse?  Or the tortured imaginings of a seriously disturbed child?

With her inimitable blend of compassion, insight and masterful storytelling, Torey Hayden once more shows us the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit.  Narrated with honesty and humanity, GHOST GIRL is both an insightful account of the problems of dealing with suspected child abuse and an utterly gripping psychological horror story.

Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus

Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus - 464 pages
Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein (Book 2)

The second entry into this German police procedural series doesn't disappoint.  Readers are drawn into a web of lies that conceals horrible crimes happening at the highest levels of German society.  Neuhaus successfully merges elements from classic Grimm fairy tale into a modern day plot of violence and murder.  The discovery of a dead girl on a riverbank draws Detective Superintendents Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein into the mystery when it is linked to an offender in a previous headlining crime.  The overall plot is more clear to the reader than the main characters since its occurring in several independent threads at first, but just when you think you know what's happening, there's a twist to be enjoyed!   

Black Butler (Manga) by Yana Toboso

Black Butler (Manga) by Yana Toboso, 704 pages
v. 5 - 176 pages  - Introduces Prince Soma and his butler Agni. Earl Ciel Phantomhive has Sebastian enter a curry contest to win the Royal Warrant and foil the plan of an ambitious business owner who will stop at nothing to get what he desires... including blackmailing the prince's own butler.
v. 6 -176 pages - Children are disappearing without a trace. The trail seems to follow the circuit of Noah's Ark Traveling Circus. What better way to infiltrate than to become a part of the circus act?
v. 7 -176 pages - Having successfully infiltrated the circus, Ciel and Sebastian must now discover what sinister plots lurk under the big top. Most especially why there is a letter written with Ciel's name and birth date on it.
v. 8 -176 pages - Uncovering the secrets held inside an estate, Ciel faces a living nightmare from his past. While Ciel and Sebastian are battling away from the Phantomhive manor, the servants of Phantomhive will have to protect Ciel's home from invasion. As the chapter closes on Noah's Ark, yet another case awaits for the Queen's Watchdog.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, 352 pages
Book 1 of the series

Ender Wiggins is a third. Bred when his brother and sister failed to exhibit the traits the military was looking for to end the war against the "buggers". Born to be intelligent, Ender is whisked from his family at a young age to become a soldier. Every moment of his life is filled with games and military training until he no longer thinks like a boy. Ender faces daily challenges due to the extreme pressure he is placed under by his superiors -- including his superiors purposefully setting up Ender to be hated among his peers. It's no different from the intense bullying he received at the hands of his older brother, Peter, but Ender starts to show strain at the constant jostling he receives while in the academy. Somehow Ender rises above his mistreatment and becomes the commander the military was hoping he would be. Yet not everything goes as planned and the final show down truly becomes Ender's game.