The Witch by Freida McFadden

 The Witch by Freida McFadden-344 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Some secrets don't die―they wait.

When Julia Barlow loses her job and her apartment, she has nowhere left to go but Pemberton, her family's sprawling seventeenth-century estate in rural Massachusetts. Officially, she's there to check in on her aging grandmother. Unofficially, she's hoping the old house will give her a place to disappear.

Instead, Pemberton begins to unravel her.

Every night, the grandfather clock stops at exactly 3:41 a.m. The lights flicker without warning. And a disembodied voice cries for help outside Julia's bedroom door.

As Julia digs into the house's dark history, she uncovers the story of a woman executed for witchcraft in 1692―and realizes the past may not be finished with Pemberton yet. When decades of family lies begin to surface, Julia must confront a terrifying truth: Pemberton may be haunted by women whose voices refuse to stay silent.

Thoughts: I liked this one. It's not my favorite McFadden book, but it's pretty good. I liked the added paranormal element. She always keeps the reader guessing and I have yet to guess the entire ending. I find her books to be easy, mostly fun reads. 

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

 

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier - 311 pages

This is the story of three best friends: one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who's been searching for the truth all these years . . .

When she was sixteen years old, Angela Wong—one of the most popular girls in school—disappeared without a trace. Nobody ever suspected that her best friend, Georgina Shaw, now an executive and rising star at her Seattle pharmaceutical company, was involved in any way. Certainly not Kaiser Brody, who was close with both girls back in high school.

But fourteen years later, Angela Wong's remains are discovered in the woods near Geo's childhood home. And Kaiser—now a detective with Seattle PD—finally learns the truth: Angela was a victim of Calvin James. The same Calvin James who murdered at least three other women.

To the authorities, Calvin is a serial killer. But to Geo, he's something else entirely. Back in high school, Calvin was Geo's first love. Turbulent and often volatile, their relationship bordered on obsession from the moment they met right up until the night Angela was killed.

For fourteen years, Geo knew what happened to Angela and told no one. For fourteen years, she carried the secret of Angela's death until Geo was arrested and sent to prison.

While everyone thinks they finally know the truth, there are dark secrets buried deep. And what happened that fateful night is more complex and more chilling than anyone really knows. Now the obsessive past catches up with the deadly present when new bodies begin to turn up, killed in the exact same manner as Angela Wong.

How far will someone go to bury her secrets and hide her grief? How long can you get away with a lie? How long can you live with it?

This was a pretty good story, Geo is a tiny bit annoying but to so much that I didn't like the book.  Overall a good interesting tale.

You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose

 

You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose - 292 pages

Grace Evans, an overworked New Yorker looking for a total escape from her busy life, books an Airbnb on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming. When she arrives, she's pleasantly surprised to find that the owner is a handsome man by the name of Calvin Wells. But there are things Grace discovers that she's not too pleased about: A lack of cell phone service. A missing woman. And a feeling that something isn't right with the town.

Despite her uneasiness and misgivings from Calvin's friends and family, the two grow close and start to fall for one another. However, as her departure date nears, things between them start to change for the worse. Grace grows wary of Calvin as his infatuation for her seems to turn into obsession. Calvin fears that Grace is hiding something from him.

Told from dual points of view, You Shouldn't Have Come Here is a thrill ride and a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when you open up your house and your heart to a total stranger.

I read this b/c it was a recommendation, but I was a bit disappointed.  About 90% of it felt more romance than thriller.  The whole "will they, won't they" did keep me curious only b/c I was waiting for the shoe to drop and for the thrilling part to happen.  It did happen the last 10% of the book and boy was I disappointed.  Not Jeneva Rose's best work.

The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier

 

The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier - 352 pages

A rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous "Beacon Hill Butcher" was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.

Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he’s never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him… Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile Matt’s girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher—two years after the supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt’s terrible secret.

This was a really good book, it was very interesting finding out about the Butcher, I like where it went.  Kept me curious the whole time, I didn't want to put it down.

I'm a Therapist, and My Patient is Going to be the Next School Shooter: 6 Patient Files That Will Keep You Up At Night - Dr. Harper

 

I'm a Therapist, and My Patient is Going to be the Next School Shooter: 6 Patient Files That Will Keep You Up At Night - Dr. Harper - 120 pages

I'm a therapist, and I work with the most dangerous patients. I've seen it all... A boy who planned to be the next school shooter. A patient with OCD whose loved ones really did suffer every time he missed a ritual. A choir boy who claimed he was being molested -- not by a priest -- but by God Himself. A patient with PTSD who gave me nightmares. A husband and wife who accused each other of abuse, and only one of them was telling the truth. And how could I ever forget, Patient #220.The problem is, my patients have a habit of dying. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the common denominator. Or maybe that's just the cost of taking on exceptionally broken clients. Either way, I'll never stop trying to help.

This was a quick and interesting read.  I'd be interested to read the next one in the series if I can find it.  

He Started It by Samantha Downing

 

He Started It by Samantha Downing - 384 pages

Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan haven't all been together in years. And for very good reasons—we'll get to those later. But when their wealthy grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his wake, the siblings and their respective partners must come together for a cross-country road trip to fulfill his final wish and—more importantly—secure their inheritance.

But time with your family can be tough. It is for everyone.

It's even harder when you're all keeping secrets and trying to forget a memory, a missing person, an act of revenge, the man in the black truck who won't stop following your car—and especially when at least one of you is a killer and there's a body in the trunk. Just to name a few reasons.

But money is a powerful motivator. It is for everyone.

Wow, this was so good!  I think I've read most books by this author and once again it was fantastic!  Grandpa sounds like a jerk!

You Killed Me First by John Marrs

 

You Killed Me First by John Marrs - 368 pages

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in – she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret – and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?

This was great from beginning to end.  Great character development, narration, and of course surprises. Would definitely recommend!

Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden

 Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden-358 pages

⭐⭐⭐.75/5

Everyone has secrets.

YouTube baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she’d rather you didn’t know.

Like where did her son go when he snuck out of the house? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows? And what’s buried in her backyard?

Everyone has secrets. Some are worse than others. April’s secrets are enough to destroy her.

I’ll make sure of that.

Thoughts: This one is pretty good. I guessed some of the twists, but not all. Overall, this is not one of my favorites of McFadden's, but it's still a pretty good read. 

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing

 

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing - 373 pages

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the esteemed Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.

He says his wife couldn't be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while.

Teddy really can’t be bothered with the death of a school parent that’s looking more and more like murder or the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is on pushing these kids to their full academic potential.

All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way.

It's really too bad that sometimes excellence can come at such a high cost

Wow, Teddy really takes it upon himself to "help" people.  I like how self-righteous the author makes him and the different POV of the characters throughout the chapters.  I really enjoyed this one and liked the ending....it leaves a bit to the imagination.

Too Old For This by Samantha Downing

 

Too Old For This by Samantha Downing - 385 pages

A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends. 

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…

This was a pretty good book, sometimes I found myself shaking my head but overall it was good.  I like the main character especially, she's a firecracker.

The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter

The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter -- 416 pages

Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.

1601 Iris Drive looks like any other house on the quiet, residential street. But rumors are rampant about the Vickery family, and what goes on behind closed doors. When gunshots ring out, Sheriff Emmy Clifton and her sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, discover a devastating crime scene. Allison Vickery has been murdered in her own kitchen, and her teenage daughter is bleeding upstairs, left for dead. Everyone thinks they know what happened. But secrets are buried everywhere in this small town. And it’s up to Emmy Clifton to uncover the truth…

Twilight Tides by Samantha Young

Twilight Tides by Samantha Young -- 417 pages

When I escaped to a Scottish island, I never expected I’d agree to a marriage of convenience with rugged local businessman and single dad, Murray Shaw.

That was before my dangerous ex started threatening me and my visa. The thought of being kicked out of Scotland, leaving behind my friends and the safety I’ve found here, is unthinkable. I’m determined to solve the problem myself. Everyone knows Murray is battling his ex-wife for control of his company and the only way to stop her is to remarry. So I propose a marriage deal that’ll solve both our issues. The fact that I’ve been attracted to the handsome, gentle giant of a Scot since we met is something I’ll just have to ignore if I want to remain in Scotland.

But marriage to Murray is proving to be complicated. Living under the same roof is a far bigger temptation than I anticipated. Beneath Murray’s reserve is a passionate nature that stokes the fires of my own. Soon we’re fighting a searing attraction and an intense emotional connection that’s as thrilling as it is terrifying. After my last disastrous relationship, I don’t trust myself enough to admit there’s far more than physical desire between us. Yet when Murray finds himself caught in the grasp of a criminal organization intent on using his business for their own means, just as my ex decides to intensify his harassment, I realize there’s no denying that what I feel for my husband is a life-changing kind of love. However, just as I begin to trust myself enough to give our marriage a real chance, danger rushes to our shore on rough tides, submerging us in a battle that might tear us apart forever…

Try Not to Die: In Slattery Falls: An Interactive Adventure - Brennan LaFaro

 

Try Not to Die: In Slattery Falls: An Interactive Adventure - Brennan LaFaro - 405 pages

This is a multi option book about two people that go into a forbidden abandoned house; a house of many spooky rumors.  After they enter the house they are trapped and must navigate their way through to try to make it out alive.  Honestly, this one was a bit long-winded, with not enough choices.  But maybe I'm spoiled by the others I read.  This one just seemed to drag on and on; honestly I skimmed some of it and don't feel that I missed anything.

The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton

 

The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton - 305 pages

Hazel Russon’s life in 1879 Utah territory is defined by three the Mormon church, polygamy, and the men who control both. She knows she’s supposed to suppress her sinful dreams of a monogamous life with her sweetheart, and her desire for the freedom to play her beloved piano. Every Mormon woman’s duty is to live obediently and meekly, devoted to her husband and her calling as a sister wife. Her eternal salvation depends upon it.

Commanded to become the fourth wife of a man she’s never met, Hazel is relieved that Jacob Manwaring is attentive and handsome. However, she is shocked to discover that instead of living separately as is custom, all of Jacob’s wives and children live in the same house—a large, dilapidated manor that inexplicably fills Hazel with dread. 

Despite Jacob’s tenderness, Hazel senses dark secrets and resentments among her sister wives. She hears strange music, sees blood oozing from the very walls, and glimpses apparitions that grow more terrifying every day. And as her nightmares worsen, Hazel can’t be sure if she has more to fear from the living—including her mysterious husband—or from a sinister presence that seems to animate the house itself . . .

Drawing on little-known Mormon folklore and the author’s own polygamous ancestors, this fascinating, suspense-filled historical novel debut is by turns darkly romantic, spine-tingling, and wholly unforgettable.

This book was ok, I normally don't like historical fiction but I liked the idea of this one since it leans horror, but is really more thriller.  The author does a good job of developing each character and unfolding the tale.  I didn't mind this, I wish it were scarier, although come to think of it being in a plural marriage does seem pretty horrific anyway....  

The Chain House by J.H. Markhert

 

The Chain House by J.H. Markhert - 336 pages

A dangerous cult leader, days away from execution, reveals he is the famous author behind a bestselling series. With his death, the final, unpublished manuscript—and the crucial evidence it contains—will never see the light of day. 

In the tradition of Stephen King, this page-turning thriller from author J. H. Markert is packed with mindbending twists.

Days before his execution, notorious cult leader and mass murderer Sal Batise grants an unlikely interview to a young filmmaker, Sam Harper.

This interview could launch Sam’s career. But his carefully planned questions—including the one about the recently kidnapped governor’s wife—fall apart when Batise seizes control. 

On live TV, Batise claims that he is Mallard Malone, the anonymous author of a blockbuster thriller series. Stay his execution, and he’ll release the final unpublished manuscript that holds the key to finding his victims’ bodies.  

At the same time, a ransom note arrives with a single demand to save the governor’s Batise’s execution must go on as planned. 

As fiction and reality collide, Batise refuses to talk to anyone but Sam. 

Sam teams up with Jennifer Daley, a childhood survivor of Batise’s cult, to locate the missing manuscript and uncover the truth behind their own ties to Batise, as the clock ticks down to the execution—and the fate of the governor’s wife.

This was another great book by this author.  I would recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers.  This kept me guessing until the end.

The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter

 

The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter - 464 pages

The next thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent Series.

Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.

1601 Iris Drive looks like any other house on the quiet, residential street. But rumors are rampant about the Vickery family, and what goes on behind closed doors.

When gunshots ring out, Sheriff Emmy Clifton and her sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, discover a devastating crime scene. Allison Vickery has been murdered in her own kitchen, and her teenage daughter is bleeding upstairs, left for dead.

Everyone thinks they know what happened. But secrets are buried everywhere in this small town.

And it’s up to Emmy Clifton to uncover the truth…

A patron turned me on to this series and I am glad he did.  I think I enjoyed this one even better than the first book in the series.  The character development is great and I was enthralled from beginning to end.

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

 

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter - 432 pages

Twenty years ago Claire Scott's eldest sister, Julia, went missing. No one knew where she went - no note, no body. It was a mystery that was never solved and it tore her family apart.

Now another girl has disappeared, with chilling echoes of the past. And it seems that she might not be the only one.

Claire is convinced Julia's disappearance is linked.

But when she begins to learn the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery, and nothing will ever be the same...

This was a brutal but good read.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera -- 336 pages

Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all and, if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. But after Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer.

It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast Listen for the Lie and its too-good looking host, Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one who did it. The truth is out there, if we just listen.

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain -- 421 pages

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide. This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World--and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something - her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou - a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history - Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent--and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter -- 439 pages

Welcome to North Falls-a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites. For Officer Emmy Clifton, it's personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help-and now she must bring her home. But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did. Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?