Seven years after a serial killer is caught, the detective
who arrested him is working in cold cases, the journalist who told his story is
selling cosmetics at the mall, and his wife is trying to hide in plain
sight. Then the murders begin
again. Is Jacky Severs manipulating
someone on the outside from death row or does someone need to get Jacky’s
crimes back in the spotlight in order to regain their life? Told from three points of view along with an
omniscient narrative observing the action from time to time, the unique
structure of this novel helps propel the plot forward and keep tension high in
this debut psychological thriller.
A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong
Homicide detective Casey Duncan moved to the off-the-grid
town of Rockton looking for safe haven from her past, but instead found
murder. Starting a new job in a new
town, especially one as secretive as Rockton, is hard enough, but Casey has
also started a relationship with her boss Dalton, the Sheriff of Rockton, who
has his own set of secrets from his past.
As the winter comes to the Yukon, Casey finds herself, with Will, a
sheriff’s deputy, searching for a runner in the woods outside of Rockton. Stranded in a blizzard, they seek shelter in
a cave system where they find a woman who disappeared from Rockton over a year
ago and was presumed dead. After Nicole
is safely back in Rockton, Casey and Will find the bodies of two other women
missing from Rockton in the cave system.
They still have a resident missing, are being stalked by a man in a
snowmobile suit and need to find who is kidnapping the women of Rockton before
another goes missing. Not sure if it is
a resident or someone from the groups of outliers who live in the woods and
caves, further off the grid, if that is possible, than the residents of
Rockton. Once again, Casey and the
people of Rockton pull readers into their world; well-developed characters, a twisty plot and
a strange setting will quickly pull readers into Casey’s world, wanting to stay
as long as Rockton will have them.
This vividly rendered novel, by the best-selling author of The Orphan Train, tells the story of Andrew Wyeth and his muse for the painting Christina's World, Christina Olson. Christina lives in her family's legacy, a home off the coast of Maine and has a debilitating disease that leaves her unable to walk. Stubbornly, sometimes to her detriment, Christina pulls herself through life and it is only through Wyeth's painting is she able to see how others see her and how she presents herself to others. The deceptively simple prose imbues so much detail the reader is quickly transported to early 20th century Maine were the story of Christina, her ancestors and her legacy is revealed.
Hunter Cady is almost thirty but in many ways feels as if
he’s sometimes still in high school and is startled and amazed when he meets
Kaitlyn who is not only smart, beautiful, and funny but also loves Hunter to
distraction. The two marry and are
planning to start a family when the unthinkable happens: Kaitlyn dies
unexpectedly, and to compound the tragedy, she dies of an ectopic
pregnancy. Hunter doesn’t have the skill
set to handle this tragedy and cannot deal with Kaitlyn’s family who are still
very attached to her and feel they have a claim on her ashes. Hunter feels they are “his” and puts them in
his car and sets off on a cross country trip without much of a plan. Along the way he grieves, and grows up so
that his return to home and rather jarring reentry into his world that has been
turned around finds him better able to cope with Kaitlyn’s death and the new
life he must forge for himself.
The Mother’s Promise by Sally Hepworth
Alice and her daughter Zoe have created a tight family unit,
Zoe, who has a severe anxiety disorder, relying heavily on her mother for
shelter and protection until Alice is diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. With no family to speak of, her parents are
dead, her brother and alcoholic, Zoe’s father never acknowledged, Alice does
not know where to turn for help and for assistance in caring for
fifteen-year-old Zoe during her treatment and possibly longer term if the inevitable
and yet unthinkable occurs. Alice, and
in turn Zoe, find help from two unexpected women, neither of whom have been in
Alice’s or Zoe’s lives before yet become the most important part of their
present and possibly future. As Alice
and Zoe each come to their own terms with Alice’s disease and prognosis and
with Zoe’s need to gain some confidence and coping skills for her own disorder,
they form an unusual partnership with Kate and Sonja and in the process, Kate
and Sonja face their own demons, revealing secrets that have the potential to
change everything for everyone, not only in a good way, but perhaps in a
negative way as well. Filled with love,
heart, and the willingness to go to the ends of the earth for those we love and
hold dearest, there is not one character in this book left unchanged by the
courage show by Alice and Zoe as they face the hardest thing they must ever
learn to do: say goodbye all the while keeping faith that love will abide.
As World War II comes to England, more and more young men
are being called up, vanishing from the small villages, fighting in the war;
Chilbury is no exception. When the last
of the men are called up, the Vicar declares the choir will be disbanded due to
the lack of male voices; the women of the village band together declaring if
ever there is a time for uplifting, spiritual music, the time is now, and form
their own choir. Told from the points of
view of five choir members, through their letters and journals, a portrait of a
village emerges, with romance, heartbreak, and all the foibles of human nature
as a young girl pines for her childhood crush, her older sister becomes
involved with a man who is not who he seems; a mother watches her friend bury a
son and worries for her own son, and a mid-wife sees the chance to earn some
illicit extra money, hoping that it will mend fences with her sister. This debut will charm and warm the soul as
endearing characters are introduced intrepid while they keep the home fires
burning and hope alive.
Commuting home on the London tubes one evening, Zoe is
startled to see her face in a classified ad for a dating service called
FindTheOne.com. Her live-in boyfriend
Simon and her grown children Justin and Katie convince Zoe it is just a
coincidence and only someone who looks like her. Day after day, the advert changes and Zoe
realizes the women in the pictures are victims of crimes ranging from petty
theft to murder. Finding someone to
investigate is difficult, as when Zoe brings her concerns to the police they
chalk it up to coincidence; Zoe chases down the advert’s purpose and finds a
cop who will listen to her, but the closer Zoe gets to the truth, she realizes
that the person behind this evil ad is closer to her than she realized. This taut thriller has one surprise after
another until at last, it seems all has been uncovered…or has it? A shocking
last revelation will have readers turning back to see what clues were missed.
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