The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
Flight attendant Cassie Bowden is a blackout drunk and often
finds herself in strange beds, though not always alone. After a flight from JFK to Dubai, she finds
herself not only in the bed of a stranger, but in the bed of a dead stranger,
one who, judging from the blood in the bed, was murdered. Rather than calling authorities or even hotel
security, Cassie slips out of the hotel, attempting to erase all evidence of
the night of drinking and sex that she and Alex Sokolov shared. When Sokolov’s body is discovered, Cassie and
her colleagues are questioned, as Sokolov was a first class passenger on the
flight to Dubai. Back in Manhattan,
Cassie is still certain no one will be able to tie her to the dead man, other
than serving him drinks, but after a series of bad choices, lying to the FBI,
her attorney, and her family, she decides to come clean and reveals she was the
woman in the hotel room with Sokolov, but that there was another woman who
arrived sometime in the evening with another bottle of vodka. Even with all of Cassie’s flaws, Bohjalian
remains neutral and doesn’t judge her or try to make readers feel sorry for her
and her bad choices: she just is what she is, yet readers will find themselves
rooting for Cassie not to succumb to temptations and to do the right thing. Told in alternating chapters between Cassie
and Elena, the hit woman with the vodka, readers will race to the end of this
book, though it is obvious where it is going.
Close to Home by Cara Hunter
One evening Sharon and Barry Mason hold a summer evening party
in the backyard of the Oxford home on a canal complete with costumes for the
children and fireworks. The son Leo and
their eight-year-old daughter Daisy, dressed as her name, appear to be having a
wonderful time until the party ends and Sharon and Barry realize that Daisy has
vanished. As DI Fawley and DC Everett
begin searching for Daisy, they learn that no one can say for certain whether
or not Daisy was actually at the party or if the girls switched costumes. As the police begin to ask questions of the
neighbors, the teachers at Daisy’s school, and her friends and classmates, they
learn that there was much more to each member of Daisy’s family life than meets
the eye: everyone, including Daisy herself, has secrets and is living a life of
deceit. Fawley has his own family
troubles and finds them at the forefront of his mind as he dissects the family’s
and the little girl’s lives. The further
the police delve into the secrets, the more Barry looks suspicious, the more
complicate Sharon looks, and the more disturbed and detached Leo becomes. As the tangled knots of the Mason’s lives are
exposed, more people speculate on social media, and accusations begin building
to a startling conclusion that few will see coming.
Exhibit Alexandra by Natasha Bell
In this highly addictive debut novel, Alexandra Southwood
does not return home one evening after work, leaving her husband Marc and her
two young girls desperate to find her.
Alexandra is being held, against her will, in a small room, and through
news clips of Marc’s public appeals she has an almost sentient knowledge of
what Marc is going through. After
Alexandra’s blood and clothing is found near the river, the police turn their
missing person investigation into a murder investigation. Working through his grief, Marc begins to
shift through Alexandra’s life and uncovers a much different woman than he
thought he had married. This is an
originally plotted thriller that gives readers a unique look into a descent
into madness, and then the horror we feel when we realize what we thought we
knew to be true is not, and that with the slightest shifting of the lens, our
narratives change in an instant. Highly
recommended.
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
In the days after Christmas, radio show host Amber Reynolds
is lying in a coma in a hospital outside of London. She is aware of her circumstances, but is
unable to show any signs of life. As she
lies in the bed, hearing the visitors who come in and out of her room, trying
to piece together what happened to her and why she is here. The police suspect her husband Paul; Amber
suspects Paul has fallen in love with her sister Claire. As the days go by, Amber remembers the weeks
leading up to her accident, the trouble at work, the concerns about Paul’s
fidelity; these memories intermingle with diary entries from Amber’s childhood,
beginning when she was eleven, entries that reveal a more than an unhappy
childhood and usual angst riddled teenage years, something much more
sinister. Plot twists come fast and
furious at the end, some make sense, some are curious, tenuous connections, but
overall, this tightly written plot full of secrets and suspense will keep many
readers up late into the night to learn Amber’s secrets, and about what she is
lying, and if she ever tells a truth.
The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty
As the crime reporter for Savannah’s Daily News Harper McClain is glued to her police scanner---most of
the time---hoping for something that will put her name on the front page. Over the years, she has developed a very good
relationship with the cops and a close, personal relationship with Lieutenant Robert
Smith: ever since he arrived at the scene of her mother’s, still unsolved,
murder, fifteen years ago. When, Harper
covers the murder of a woman in a good neighborhood, she realizes the scene is
eerily like that of the scene in the kitchen where Harper found her mother;
Harper become certain that the same person committed both crimes and that the
person is a cop. Not knowing where to
turn, Harper begins her own investigation, putting her job and relationships on
the line, not caring about where the path leads her, as long as it is to the
truth. Harper is an outstanding
character: she is nervy, has some self-doubt, and puts truth and honor above
all else, including her own safety. She
often finds herself in a minefield, but manages to work her way out, sometimes
worse for the wear, but always wiser. The
steamy, gothic-esque Savannah setting only adds to the atmosphere. Fans of Hank Ryan’s Jane Ryland and Jake
Brogan series will devour this debut in one sitting.
The Girlfriend by Sarah J. Naughton
Mary Magdalene, Mags, left Scotland at the age of sixteen;
after university in London, she got a law degree from Columbia and went to Las
Vegas to start her career. Over two
decades later, she finds herself back on her way to London where her brother
Abe lies in a coma after a fall from the staircase in his apartment
building. When Mags arrives, she finds
Abe’s girlfriend Jody Currie sitting at his bedside. Mags did not know of Jody, but she and Abe were
not terribly close so she is not surprised.
Mags moves into Abe’s apartment which is on the same floor as Jody’s and
the more she gets to know Jody, the more suspicious of her she becomes; Jody
was the only witness to Abe’s accident, or so Mags thinks, but there is definitely
more to the story than Jody is telling.
In the shadows is another tenant, Mira, who has her own story to tell
about Abe’s accident and somewhere therein lies the truth. The more Mags starts to dig into Abe’s life,
the more she realizes how little she knew about her brother, but in one final
act of loyalty is willing to risk all to bring a killer to justice. If a lie is told often enough, does it become
the truth? This terrifying trip through Abe’s life leads his sister Mags to
places she never thought she would go.
Readers will not be able to look away from this fast-paced twisty tale
of love and revenge.
The Other Mother by Carol Goodman
Daphne Marist met Laurel Hobbes at a new mother’s group and
seemed to have a lot in common, including newborn daughters named Chloe; so
much in common that when Daphne feels her life is in danger from her husband,
she takes Chloe, Laurel’s identity, and becomes an archivist for Schuyler
Bennett, a semi-reclusive author who lives in the Catskills next to a mental
institution. As Daphne’s time with
Schuyler unfolds, Daphne beings to wonder how bad is her postpartum depression?
Is her husband really trying to kill her, and is she mentally unstable as
Laurel’s husband told Daphne Laurel was, or are others trying to control her to
their end. When Daphne is committed to
the mental institution, the kaleidoscope shifts and the scene changes, making
Daphne more reliable than she originally appeared, casting doubt on others’
stories and motives. This gothic setting
and atmosphere is perfect for all the secretive characters and the twisty,
turning plot that leads readers uncertain where they will end up next.
If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin
Single mother Jackie Reed is doing the best she can to raise
her two teenaged boys, Wade and Connor in the quiet Hudson Valley town of
Havenkill. One night changes everything
for everyone and brings to light the secrets a small town had thought were
hidden forever. Aimeee En, a has-been
pop music icon, claims she was the victim of a carjacking that turned deadly
when the carjacker ran down Liam Miller.
As the investigation unfolds, eyes turn to the angry outcast Wade Reed who
insists he’s innocent, but to Pearl Maze, the investigating officer, and to his
mother, knows a lot more than he is willing to reveal. Told from multiple points of view, stories
unfold, family secrets are revealed, lives are torn apart, only to be slowly repaired
and put back together through understanding and forgiveness.