Plum Island by Nelson DeMille

Plum Island My Rating: 4.4

Wounded in the line of duty, NYPD homicide detective John Corey is recuperating in the quiet Long Island town of Southold when a young couple he knows is found murdered on their patio, each shot in the head. The local police chief asks Corey to lend his big-city expertise to the investigation, and what begins as a seemingly straightforward murder case soon leads him into the history, legends, and secrets of Long Island.

Along the way, Corey meets Detective Beth Penrose and Mayflower descendant Emma Whitestone, two women who become entangled in both the investigation and his life.

We listened to Plum Island in the car during our commute between homes, and it definitely kept us entertained. That said, it felt fairly formulaic, and I think we listened to it a little too soon after another Nelson DeMille novel. There were a lot of similarities, and at times it felt like we were listening to variations on the same characters and situations.

Still, DeMille knows how to keep a story moving, and John Corey is entertaining enough that we enjoyed the ride. Despite the sense of déjà vu, this was a solid listen, and we’ll definitely be reading more Nelson DeMille in the future.

Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray

Dissection of a Murder  My Rating: 3.5

When Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case, she’s shocked by the victim: a well-known and highly respected judge whose death has sent shockwaves through the legal community. She’s also incredulous—she’s nowhere near experienced enough to handle such a high-profile case. But the defendant is insistent: he wants Leila, and only Leila, to represent him.

Except he’s refusing to talk.

And if that wasn’t complicated enough, Leila soon learns that the prosecutor she’ll be facing is the most ruthless one she’s ever known: her husband.

It’s an impossible situation, yet Leila is determined to sway the jury—until she’s blindsided by a shadowy figure from her past. Suddenly, she’s fighting not only for her client and her marriage, but to keep her own secrets buried. And if she has to rewrite the rules to win, so be it.

With unlikable characters and unreliable narrators, Dissection of a Murder leaves you questioning what exactly you just witnessed—and whether the truth was ever really there to uncover in the first place.

This wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t quite work for me. I seem to be in the minority, though, so if it sounds intriguing to you, check it out. Just don’t read any spoilers before you do!

The Ghostwriter by Julia Clark

The Ghostwriter My Rating: 4.6

Olivia is in elementary school when a classmate taunts her with, “your dad is a murderer!” She denies it, but the looks on her classmates’ faces tell her they know something she doesn’t.

Years later, Olivia has built a career as a ghostwriter, quietly shaping other people’s stories. On the brink of financial ruin, she’s offered the most personal project of all—her estranged father Vincent’s final book. But it isn’t another horror novel he wants her to write. After fifty years of silence, Vincent is ready to reveal what really happened that night in 1975.

This was an engaging gripping mystery intertwined with family drama and well developed characters. The pages flew by as everything gradually unfolded. Thoroughly enjoyable and I will read more by this author. 

WARNING: Sensitive material

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

The Only One Left My Rating: 2.5

The Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.

It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.

This one was a slog. The Only One Left dangles the promise of a gothic thriller, but what you actually get is a drawn-out exercise in manufactured suspense. The structure feels like a rinse-and-repeat cycle: the book gives you one tiny reveal, stretches it for chapters, then hands you another small clue and milks that for all it’s worth. That pattern continues endlessly, testing both patience and interest.

By the time the story barrels into its ending, it abandons even the thin thread of plausibility it had been clinging to. The final twists feel less like shocking revelations and more like the train flying off the rails—wild, unbelievable, and frustrating after so much slow build-up.

If you enjoy thrillers where atmosphere outweighs logic and you don’t mind plot points being dragged out until they snap, you might find something here. Personally, I closed the book knowing that the effort wasn't worth it.

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

The Return of Ellie Black My Rating: 4.6

It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington state.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

This was a well-paced and engaging thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The storytelling was strong, with enough twists and tension to keep the pages turning. Like many thrillers, it does require you to suspend reality a bit and just go along for the ride—but if you do, it’s a good one.

Find You First by Linwood Barclay

Find You First My Rating: 4.6

Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of—except time. He has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there is a fifty percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation. Two decades ago, a young, struggling Miles was a sperm donor. Somewhere out there, he has kids—nine of them. And they might be about to inherit both the good and the bad from him—maybe his fortune, or maybe something much worse.

When Miles eventually connects with one of his kids, their excitement at finding each other is overshadowed by a series of mysterious and terrifying events. One by one, Miles’s other potential heirs are vanishing—every trace of them wiped, like they never existed at all.

Who is the vicious killer—another heir methodically erasing rivals? Or is something even more sinister going on? It’s a deadly race against time . . .

I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging this book turned out to be. One thing that really stood out was the character development — each character felt distinct and real enough to keep me invested in the story, even as the plot took some pretty wild turns.

Admittedly, there were moments where the story seemed to “jump the shark” a bit — twists and developments that stretched believability. But even so, it was undeniably entertaining, and the fast pace helped smooth over some of those more unbelievable elements.

Overall, Found You First delivered an enjoyable reading experience. It’s a solid choice if you’re in the mood for a suspenseful thriller that balances a compelling premise with characters you’ll actually care about, even if it occasionally veers into the implausible.

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

My Rating: 3.0

A wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

I enjoyed this light mystery/thriller book until about one hour was left in the book. As with all of these types of books, it required the reader to suspend reality and just go with it. I did until the last hour when it did a serious left turn that was a bait and switch and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I put it on double speed to finish it but was glad when it was over.

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

 My Rating: 4.1

Lee never thought she’d find herself living on the streets—no one ever does—but when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla. In Seattle, she parks in a secluded spot by the beach to lay low and plan her next move—until early one morning, she sees a sobbing woman throw herself into the ocean. Lee hauls the woman back to the surface, but instead of appreciation, she is met with fury. The drowning woman, Hazel, tells her that she wanted to die, that she’s trapped in a toxic, abusive marriage, that she’s a prisoner in her own home. Lee has thwarted her one chance to escape her life. Bonded by disparate but difficult circumstances, the women soon strike up a close and unlikely friendship. And then one day, Hazel makes a shocking request: she wants Lee to help her disappear. It’ll be easy, Hazel assures her, but Lee soon learns that nothing is as it seems, and that Hazel may not be the friend Lee thought she was.

This is one of those books that you just have to go with and, if you do, it is a wild ride with lots of twists. WARNING: There is domestic abuse.

Pines: Wayward Pines #1 by Blake Couch

 My Rating: 1.0

Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a mission: locate two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. He can't place any phone calls to the outside world, no one believes who he is and he discovers he not only can't leave the town but there is an electrified fence around the town.

This was akin to a very bad episode of The Twilight Zone. Oh the drama! It is hard to care when you don't connect with any of the characters, to go along with a VERY far fetched plot. It was one far fetched scene after another - all of which were supposed to be nail biters but failed since the plot dragged and the characters weren't likable. It was annoying, not scary. Ethan makes poor decisions and expects everyone to listen to him, give him free meals and hotels, etc. because he is a Federal Agent, despite having no I.D. This book was very poorly written. I loved Dark Matters by this author so was very disappointed with how much this book dragged. I will definitely NOT be reading the other books in this series and wish I could get my time back from this one.

Kill For Me, Kill For You

My Rating: 4.7

One dark evening on New York City’s Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, including an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed their families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect plan: if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you. 

In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shares with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She’s attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there?

This was VERY twisted and at times, uncomfortable. I didn't have everything figured out till quite far in to the book. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Twenty Years Later by Charles Donlea

 My Rating: 4.6

Avery Mason, host of American Events, knows the subjects that grab a TV audience’s attention. Her latest story—a murder mystery laced with kinky sex, tragedy, and betrayal—is guaranteed to be ratings gold. New DNA technology has allowed the New York medical examiner’s office to make its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: the victim, Victoria Ford, had been accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. In a chilling last phone call to her sister, Victoria begged her to prove her innocence.

This is about an ambitious television personality trying to hide her past as well as to build her career and the Detective that worked on the case. Some graphic parts. Lots of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages till the very end.

Hush Little Baby by Suzanne

 My Rating: 4.8

If I stay, he will kill me. If I leave, he'll destroy Addie and Drew.Jillian Kane appears to have it all - a successful career, a gorgeous home, a loving husband, and two wonderful children. The reality behind closed doors is something else entirely. For nine years, she has hid the bruises and the truth of her abusive marriage in order to protect Addie and Drew, knowing that if she left, Gordon would destroy her and destroy them.When she flees in an act of desperation, her worst nightmare is realized and she finds herself on the run with her two young children, no money, and no plan. With Gordon in hot pursuit, there is only one inescapable certainty: No matter where she goes, he will find her. Kill her. And take her children.A riveting page-turner, HUSH LITTLE BABY exposes the shame and terror of domestic violence as well as the disturbing role manipulation and sabotage can play in the high-stakes game of child custody. Suspenseful and unforgettably moving, it's a novel about the unbreakable bonds of family and the astounding, terrifying devotion of a mother's love.

This was VERY well told. You never know where there will domestic abuse. That Gordon was a cop made her even more vulnerable. The game of cat and mouse had me hooked as I waited to see how it would play out. Will definitely read more by this author.

None of this is True by Lisa Jewell

My Rating: 4.6

Alix Summer is famous for her true crime podcasts. Alix is out celebrating her 44th birthday when she crosses path with Josie Fair who is her birthday twin, born in the same day and year. 

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

This was a very unique psychological thriller plot and I enjoyed the twists BUT I found Alix's lack of backbone with Josie very irritating but, I guess if Alix had good boundaries, there wouldn't be a story so, just go with it!

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

 My Rating: 4.6

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening.

Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter. Catherine would never rebel, would never question anything about her mother's past or background. But when Ruth's desperate quest to keep her daughter by her side begins to reveal cracks in Ruth's carefully-constructed world, both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception.

This story is told in alternating chapters from the point of view of Ruth and her daughter Catherine. We get somewhat of a dual timeline with Ruth writing about the past in her journal. I enjoyed how this was laid out as well as that the chapters were short and easy to digest. So many secrets! Pekkanen tells a great mystery/thriller. It is told through flashbacks of Ruth's life and the present day where Catherine starts to unravel the truth - and this causes Catherine to question everything she thought she knew about her mother.

Vera Wongs Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

My Rating: 4.9

Spunk Vera Wong lives above her tea shop in San Francisco. Vera has one customer, the same customer, every day. No matter as Vera stays busy checking up on her adult son. One morning, Vera comes downstairs and finds a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.

This was such a great book. I HIGHLY recommend that you get it on audio as the fabulous narration added so much to the story. While all of the characters were well done, Vera was such a great character and so full of energy and good intentions. I was laughing and cheering for Vera through the whole book.

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann

 

My Rating: 4.7

A woman held captive finally escapes and wakes up in the hospital. She says her name is Lena. Lena, who disappeared without a trace 14 years prior. She fits the profile. She has the distinctive scar. But her family swears that she isn’t their Lena.

I am a huge fan of books translated from other languages. Combine this with a great narrator on the audio version and it is a definite win. I had only some very minor pieces figured out and there were some definite 'reveals' that I had no clue about. Well done! Great thriller/mystery.

The Maid by Nita Prose

My Rating: 4.5

Molly isn't like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her Gran used to interpret the world for her, but Gran died a few months ago. Since then, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. Molly gets to know the regular guests of Mr and Mrs Black along with several co-workers.

But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?

This is a cute light thriller that was a quick read.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

 My Rating: 4.7

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken. A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

I really enjoyed this light thriller. I didn't see the twist at the end coming at all and when they revealed it, it took me a minute to piece it together (say WHAT?!). Really enjoyed having to catch up and not having an author treat the reader like they are stupid. Very fun fast paced book. I have read one other book by this author and will continue to read more by her.

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon

My Rating: 4.7

Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life.

This is told primarily from three different women's perspectives: Rachel, Aidan's daughter Cecilia, and Emily a local woman who has a crush on Aidan. There are very mixed reviews on this one but I liked it (not loved it but a solid like). I thought the author did a fabulous job of pulling off the three different viewpoints but also communicating Aidan - with the different personas that he had around different people in the town as well as with the women. WARNING: abuse, sexual abuse and captivity.

Light It Up by Nick Petrie

My Rating: 3.4

Peter Nash helps his good friend Henry, whose daughter runs a Denver security company that protects cash-rich cannabis entrepreneurs from modern-day highwaymen. When Peter is riding shotgun, the cargo he’s guarding comes under attack and he narrowly escapes with his life. As the assaults escalate, Peter has to wonder: for criminals this sophisticated, is it really just about the cash?

This book was not enjoyable for me as the prior books in this series. Like the prior books, Peter Ash is the main character and he has a mission but, this book has some VERY unlikable characters that detracted from the book. I understand having bad men/unlikable characters but, I felt that Petrie went to extreme with this book and the explicit fantasies were very off-putting. Hopefully future books return to the great story lines and leave a lot of the graphic repulsive traits out of the characters.