From Nora Murphy, author of The Favor, The New Mother is both relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling— a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia.
Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It’s hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it’s murder.
Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.
Enter Paul, the neighbor.
Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.
But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?
Review
Natalie has just had sweet, little baby boy. But he is colicky and never sleeps. She decides to take a sabbatical from her job and stay home. Enter her neighbor Paul. Paul understands everything that Natalie is going through. After all, he is a stay at home dad. He worms his way into Natalie’s life…but it is not all that it seems.
Natalie is a character which got on my nerves in places. She is very obsessive about her baby and refuses to have anyone help, including her husband. So, she sort of reaps what she sows. But Paul is the creeper. He knew exactly which buttons to push to make sure Natalie never knew of his plan.
This story could have been a very good read. But the author just kept on and on about breast feeding and new mother issues. Yes that is part of the plot. But I felt it was a bit excessive. And the ending is pretty abrupt. However, it is a slow burn and the intensity just keeps building. Plus, it is a very creative tale!
Need an unusual thriller…this is it. Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Cheyenne Ashby knows the dark and disturbing history of her hometown of Blue Cliff, Virginia, all too well. It’s why she left. Growing up deep within the woods with her eccentric mother, Constance, she was raised on the unusual customs and generational superstitions linked to the local legend of an evil entity that haunts the forest.
Five years ago, the bodies of three children were found in the woods. It was a man—not a mythical beast—named Jasper Clinton who was convicted of these heinous crimes. For five years the town breathed just a bit easier with a real-life monster behind bars. But when another child goes missing, Cheyenne and Natalie are determined to discover the truth and uncover the town’s dangerous secrets rooted in its terrifying past.
The two women must confront the reality of the superstitions they always believed in and their town’s complicated connection with who—or what—lives in the woods. In the tradition of Lisa Jewell and Ruth Ware, Katherine Greene’s debut thriller is a dark descent into the sinister traditions and customs of a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Review
Cheyenne has returned home. She has been notified by the local authorities that her mother, Constance, has gone off the deep end, AGAIN. She soon discovers another child is missing and her mother is knee deep in her superstitions and false beliefs.
I really enjoyed this read. I did figure out who the killer is, but that may have been designed by the author. The setting of the woods in the Appalachian mountains and the weird superstitions just added to the mystique.
This was almost a 5 star read for me. The only issues I had were the different narrators or the points of view. This is told from Cheyenne and Natalie’s points of view and a lot of the time it was unclear when your narrator changed. But, this was a minor inconvenience.
The narrator, Angie Hickman, is wonderful. She did a great job with the intensity.
Need a good, creepy read…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK “A Time-Twisting Delight” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club June ’23 Pick)
If you had the power to change the past…where would you start? Cassandra Penelope Dankworth is a creature of habit. She likes what she likes (museums, jumpsuits, her boyfriend, Will) and strongly dislikes what she doesn’t (mess, change, her boss drinking out of her mug). Her life runs in a pleasing, predictable order…until now.
She’s just been dumped.
She’s just been fired.
Her local café has run out of banana muffins.
Then, something truly unexpected happens: Cassie discovers she can go back and change the past. One small rewind at a time, Cassie attempts to fix the life she accidentally obliterated, but soon she’ll discover she’s trying to fix all the wrong things.
“A great read-alike for The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, and The Boys by Katie Hafner.” —Booklist (STARRED)
Review
Cassandra has lost her job and her boyfriend all in one flick. So, she decides to rewind time and fix it. So she does…it doesn’t work out the way she wants it to. So she does it again…and again.
I am in the minority on this one. I found parts of this story monotonous and I was not a huge fan of Cassandra. Now, she did redeem herself in the end. And yes, she is on the spectrum. But that does not excuse all of her behavior. I will be honest, it took me about 50 percent into this book to really decide if I was going to finish it or not. But, it does get better. So, stick with it!
Cassandra changes a bit in the middle of the book. She becomes more forgiving and accepting. She also has some family drama that reveals itself and this makes her more endearing to the reader. So, this book is not all that it seems. It is about acceptance, family and being true to oneself. So, don’t give up!
Need a good family drama and other stuff…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.
From the number one New York Times best-selling author of If You Tell comes the chilling, binge-worthy story of Sharon Nelson, the minister’s wife whose two husbands mysteriously ended up dead.
Colorado, 1976. When Reverend Mike Fuller and his beautiful wife, Sharon, arrive in the sleepy town of Rocky Ford, local residents think something’s off about the new couple. The God-fearing minister is gruff and cold, while charismatic Sharon has her husband wrapped around her finger.
It isn’t long before Sharon is charming her husband’s congregation and finds herself in a tryst with local, married optometrist Perry Nelson. After the affair ends both their marriages, Sharon and Perry tie the knot. But shortly afterward, Perry disappears. When his body is shockingly discovered the bottom of a canyon, his death is ruled an accident, allowing grieving widow Sharon to claim his substantial life insurance.
Trying to move on from the tragedy, Sharon soon remarries fireman Glenn Harrelson. But when the charred remains of Glenn’s body are discovered with two bullet holes in his skull, the police can’t help but question if both men dying in such mysterious circumstances is one coincidence too many….
Shocking, sensational, and gripping, this is the true story of the black widow Sharon Nelson, a must-hear tale of greed, sex, and murder in a sleepy Colorado town that will have true crime fans of The Staircase, American Mother, and Making a Murderer hooked from start to finish.
This book was originally published as Confessions of an American Black Widow and Bitch on Wheels.
Review
Sharon is married to a Seventh Day Adventist pastor. But that does not stop her from flaunting her goods. She struts around town in short-shorts and flirts with every man she sees. Before long, her husband has lost his job and they have to move to Colorado. This is where their marriage falls completely apart. Sharon has set her eyes on an optometrist and she is not to be stopped.
There is a lot that occurs in this lady’s life and IF she doesn’t like it, she gets rid of it and moves on to the next. It just amazes me the hold on the men this woman had. She was a master manipulator. And since she got away with it once, keep trying! She definitely lived in the moment. She did not expect any consequences to her actions. It was all about her and her WANTS! (Not needs…WANTS!)
The narrator, Karen Peakes, is excellent. She is very matter of fact. Which to me, is the best way to be reading a true crime.
Need a a good true crime thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
For fans of A League of Their Own, a debut historical novel that gives voice to the pioneering Black women of the of the Six Triple Eight Battalion who made history by sorting over one million pieces of mail overseas for the US Army.
“What a beautifully imagined and important narrative. Sanders’ clear-eyed and powerful writing made this a hard one to stop reading!”
—Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-Winning Author
“This is a novel to cherish and share. And this is a history to sing about and affirm — to proclaim.”
— Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, New York Times Bestselling author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, an Oprah Book Club Novel
Inspired by true events, Women of the Post brings to life the heroines who proudly served in the all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps in WWII, finding purpose in their mission and lifelong friendship.
1944, New York City. Judy Washington is tired of having to work at the Bronx Slave Market, cleaning white women’s houses for next to nothing. She dreams of a bigger life, but with her husband fighting overseas, it’s up to her and her mother to earn enough for food and rent. When she’s recruited to join the Women’s Army Corps—offering a steady paycheck and the chance to see the world—Judy jumps at the opportunity.
During training, Judy becomes fast friends with the other women in her unit—Stacy, Bernadette and Mary Alyce—who all come from different cities and circumstances. Under Second Officer Charity Adams’s leadership, they receive orders to sort over one million pieces of mail in England, becoming the only unit of Black women to serve overseas during WWII.
The women work diligently, knowing that they’re reuniting soldiers with their loved ones through their letters. However, their work becomes personal when Mary Alyce discovers a backlogged letter addressed to Judy. Told through the alternating perspectives of Judy, Charity and Mary Alyce, Women of the Post is an unforgettable story of perseverance, female friendship and self-discovery.
Review
Judy is tired of working for pennies. She joins the WAC. She wants a steady paycheck and she wants to know where her husband is. He joined the army and she has not heard a word from him. She ends up becoming friends with several other women in her group. They all end up overseas (even though they are not allowed to go!) with specific orders to fix the mess of the mail.
Well! I am a huge WWII reader (if you have not guessed!). And I had never heard of the women who straighten out the mess of the mail in WWII. I learned so much reading this novel.
First of all, I didn’t know about the African American women in the Army. I didn’t know all the trials they had to overcome. But these women were amazing. Then there is the Slave Market in the Bronx during the 1930s and 1940s. You can read more about that piece of awful history here. Plus, Mary McLeod Bethune is mentioned in this novel. She has a special place in my childhood reading so I learned more about her in these pages.
There is so much that this novel encompasses. Not only is it full of rich history, it is also full of friendship, strength and a bit of romance.
Need a unique, well researched, WWII tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Joshunda Sanders is an award-winning author, journalist and speechwriter. A former Obama Administration political appointee, her fiction, essays and poetry have appeared in dozens of anthologies. She has been awarded residencies and fellowships at Hedgebrook, Lambda Literary, The Key West Literary Seminars and the Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing. Women of the Post is her first novel.
A Most Anticipated Book by Real Simple ∙ SheReads ∙ BookBub ∙ and more!
Inspired by a remarkable true story, a young teacher evacuates children to safety across perilous waters, in a moving and triumphant new novel from New York Timesbestselling author Hazel Gaynor.
1940, Kent: Alice King is not brave or daring—she’s happiest finding adventure through the safe pages of books. But times of war demand courage, and as the threat of German invasion looms, a plane crash near her home awakens a strength in Alice she’d long forgotten. Determined to do her part, she finds a role perfectly suited to her experience as a schoolteacher—to help evacuate Britain’s children overseas.
1940, London: Lily Nichols once dreamed of using her mathematical talents for more than tabulating the cost of groceries, but life, and love, charted her a different course. With two lively children and a loving husband, Lily’s humble home is her world, until war tears everything asunder. With her husband gone and bombs raining down, Lily is faced with an impossible choice: keep her son and daughter close, knowing she may not be able to protect them, or enroll them in a risky evacuation scheme, where safety awaits so very far away.
When a Nazi U-boat torpedoes the S. S. Carlisle carrying a ship of children to Canada, a single lifeboat is left adrift in the storm-tossed Atlantic. Alice and Lily, strangers to each other—one on land, the other at sea—will quickly become one another’s very best hope as their lives are fatefully entwined.
Review
Alice has had a shock. She has found a downed airman and he dies right in front of her. From then on, she is determined to do her part in the war. She decides to escort a group of children away from the bombing in London to safer shores.
Lilly is a widowed mother of two. She makes the horrendous decision to send her children to a safe place, away from the blitz in London. Little does she know her life will be forever changed.
The ship carrying these children and Alice is torpedoed after their navy escort leaves them unattended. You can just imagine the heartbreak. A few manage to get on a life boat. It is a lifeboat not counted. So it stays for days out a sea. What these children and Alice experience is horrendous. And you will need to read this to see exactly how they are rescued…YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY!
Talk about an emotional read. This novel unravels you! I cannot imagine being a mother and having to make a decision to send my children away. And then not be able to save them. This book pulls at every heart string you have. And to know it is based on real life events. GEEZ!
Hazel Gaynor has done it again!
Need a fabulous story based on real events…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
For fans of The Age of Light and Z comes a “beguiling novel of artistic ambition, perseverance, and friendship” (Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author) based on the true story of the 20th-century painters and tarot devotees Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington.
In this “unforgettable adventure, and one you don’t want to miss” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author), painter Remedios Varo and her lover, poet Benjamin Peret escape the Nazis by fleeing Paris and arriving at a safe house for artists on the Rivieria.
Along with Max Ernst, Peggy Guggenheim, and others, the two anxiously wait for exit papers.
As the months pass, Remedios begins to sense that the others don’t see her as a fellow artist; they have cast her in the stifling role of a surrealist ideal: the beautiful innocent. She finds refuge in a mysterious bookshop, where she stumbles into a world of occult learning and intensifies an esoteric practice in the tarot that helps her light the bright fire of her creative genius.
When travel documents come through, Remedios and Benjamin flee to Mexico where she is reunited with friend and fellow painter Leonora Carrington. Together, the women tap into their creativity, stake their independence, and each find their true loves. But it is the tarot that enables them to access the transcendent that lies on the other side of consciousness and to become the truest Surrealists of all.
Review
Remedios accidentally comes across a shop. Basically, she was being chased by the gendarme and she ran in to hide! The owner of the shop ends up teaching her about the tarot cards. This becomes Remedios faith. She discovers herself in these cards and she will never let herself be changed again.
I enjoyed Remedios. She has suffered at the hands of the Nazis and it traumatizes her. But, she never quits. She also is a true believer of the tarot. It is how she stays sane during all of her trials. And Benjamin, he is just a bit passive and not my favorite person.
This book fell a bit short for me. But honestly, it was probably because I had such high expectations. I love a good book about tarot cards and the occult. This one could have been better, and this is just my opinion. I did expect more of a mystical element than the author portrays.
Need a story about the practice of tarot cards…THIS IS IT. Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Caribbean-island innkeeper Holly Walker is hunkering down against a monster hurricane. Unfortunately, so is player Lord Anthony Bascombe, a man who excuses his bad behavior by saying he is descended from pirates. Then her grown son, Byron, and his father, Montez—the man she’s never stopped wanting—go missing. Will she ever see them again? What about the many others hurt and dying? And will help ever arrive? With each passing day, Holly’s tumultuous past and the epic storm send her hurtling toward a shattering climax that will change the island—and Holly’s life—forever.
Review
Holly owns an inn on Turks and Caicos. Her world is basically consumed with all the logistics. So, when a hurricane has its eye on her whole world, she refuses to evacuate. When her ex and her son Byron go missing, Holly’s world is turned upside down and she is afraid it will never be the same again.
This is a very atmospheric novel. The setting is amazing. I could just picture all the surrounding beauty. But, this novel just has a bit of hum-drum, everyday details. It is a good read and it is action packed in places, especially when the hurricane hits. It just took a while to get there. I did enjoy the fact that it is a quick read. And sometimes you just need a good, quick story to get you through the week.
Need a good tale about Turks and Caicos…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
In The Last Drop of Hemlock, the dazzling follow up to Last Call at the Nightingale, even a dance can come with a price…
The rumor went through the Nightingale like a flood, quietly rising, whispers hovering on lips in pockets of silence.
Life as a working-class girl in Prohibition-era New York isn’t safe or easy. But Vivian Kelly has a new job at the Nightingale, an underground speakeasy where the jazz is hot and the employees look out for each other in a world that doesn’t care about them. Things are finally looking up for her and her sister Florence… until the night Vivian learns that her friend Bea’s uncle, a bouncer at the Nightingale, has died.
His death is ruled a suicide, but Bea isn’t so convinced. She knew her uncle was keeping a secret: a payoff from a mob boss that was going to take him out of the tenements and into a better life. Now, the money is missing.
Though her better judgment tells her to stay out of it, Vivian agrees to help Bea find the truth about her uncle’s death. But they uncover more than they expected when rumors surface of a mysterious letter writer, blackmailing Vivian’s poorest neighbors for their most valuable possessions, threatening poison if they don’t comply.
Death is always a heartbeat away in Jazz Age New York, where mob bosses rule the back alleys and cops take bootleggers’ hush money. But whoever is targeting Vivian’s poor and unprotected neighbors is playing a different game. With the Nightingale’s dangerously lovely owner, Honor, worried for her employees’ safety and Bea determined to discover who is responsible for her uncle’s death, Vivian once again finds herself digging through a dead man’s past in hopes of stopping a killer.
Review
Bea’s uncle has died. It has been ruled a suicide. But, Bea has her suspicions. She and her best friend, Vivian decide to investigate. They discover more than they bargained for. A blackmail scheme is occurring in their poor neighborhood. The scheme is designed to rob their neighbors of what little they have and threatening their lives with poison if they don’t comply.
I enjoyed the setting of prohibition and the speak easy, The Nightingale. There are a bunch of characters and this led to a bit of confusion in places. But the story moves quickly and is pretty intriguing!
The narrator, Sara Young, is wonderful. She did a great job with all the characters…even when she had to drunk sing in a scene.
Need a quick, atmospheric mystery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
For fans of fast-paced historical thrillers like Our Woman in Moscow and The Rose Code, Kelly Rimmer’s dramatic new novel follows two female SOE operatives whose lives will be determined by a double agent in their midst.
Twenty-five years after the end of the war, Noah Ainsworth is still preoccupied with those perilous, exhilarating years as a British SOE operative in France. A head injury sustained on his final operation has caused frustrating gaps in his memory—in particular about the agent who saved his life during that mission gone wrong, whose real name he never knew, nor whether she even survived the war.
Moved by her father’s frustration, Noah’s daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers that resurrects the stories of Chloe and Fleur, the code names for two otherwise ordinary women whose lives intersect in 1943 when they’re called up by the SOE for deployment in France. Taking enormous risks to support the allied troops with very little information or resources, the women have no idea they’re at the mercy of a double agent among them who’s causing chaos within the French circuits, whose efforts will affect the outcome of their lives…and the war.
But as Charlotte’s search for answers bears fruit, overlooked clues come to light about the identity of the double agent—with unsettling hints pointing close to home—and more shocking events are unearthed from the dangerous, dramatic last days of the war that lead to Chloe and Fleur’s eventual fates.
Review
Noah Ainsworth served in WWII as an SOE operative. But his family thinks he was an airplane mechanic. After his wife dies, Noah mentions to his beloved daughter, Charlotte, about his secret life as an agent. He wants to find the operative which saved his life. He wants to thank him, because without him, Noah would have never had this wonderful life. But, this opens more than one can of worms and Noah is having severe issues with his memories.
This is one of my “go to” authors. I love her novels. This one is not my favorite(my favorite is Truths I Never Told You) but it is still a wonderful read. I loved the chase, or the quest for the person which saved Noah’s life. All the secrets start to unfold and and unveil some unique situations that Noah is not very inclined to remember.
This is told in two separate time periods, WWII and the 1970s. I enjoyed the 1970s section much more than the war section…GASP! I know. This is so unlike me. This is probably why this is more of a 4 star instead of a 5 star read for me. The part during the war is a bit anticipated and expected. However, the search leads to some more secrets which keep this story moving along….secrets, secrets and more secrets…makes the world go around!
Need a very good WWII spy novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
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