Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone by Eric Klinenberg

As someone who has chosen to live alone since I graduated college, I was very interested to read this book, especially as it is a subject I had not seen written about in depth before.

Klinenberg has clearly done his research, both by reading studies and going out to talk to people from around the world. This means he is able to present a well-rounded argument that the uprise in people living alone does not mean society as we know it is crumbling. Rather, it is a positive that needs to be well-supported so as to remain a positive.

Looking at everything from the impact of social media on the sense of community, to which countries support their "singletons" best in terms of housing, Klinenberg deftly explains how this is a trend that is not going away, and that it is the world at large who needs to adjust.

Release Day Review and Giveaway: The Widow by Fiona Barton

I'm lucky enough to be able to participate in the blog tour for The Widow, a new psychological thriller by Fiona Barton. I'm also hosting a giveaway, sponsored by the publisher, for one reader to win their very own copy of this book!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. This did not effect my opinion of the book or my review.

The Widow is being billed as the next The Girl on the Train , and for good reason. It too features a female narrator who may not know the whole truth, or may be choosing not to tell all that she knows.

The narrator in this case is Jean Taylor, whose husband, Glen, may have committed a terrible crime years ago. The prime suspect, Glen has recently died, leaving Jean weighing the decision that it may finally be time to tell her side of the story.

While Jean is the primary narrator, readers also hear from a detective and a journalist, who remain deeply involved in a case that continues to haunt them. These alternating perspectives amp up the tension, as readers put together bits and pieces of the puzzle right along with the characters.

This is one of those books that is so good, it flies right by. I looked down at my Kindle to suddenly realize I was over three quarters of the way through. This is a book that grabs you and refuses to let go. You have to keep reading, because you have to know what happens. You have to find out what the crime was, who was responsible, and what Jean knew then and knows now.

I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers, and The Widow is a welcome addition to the genre. This is a book I would highly recommend, especially to those who loved Before I Go to Sleep and The Girl on the Train. 

If you would like to win a copy of this book, please enter the giveaway below! This is open only to US residents, the winner needs to be over 18 or enter with a parent or legal guardian's permission, and must provide their mailing address if they win.




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As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

The Flavia de Luce series is one of those rare collections of books that divides my family in opinion. My father finds Flavia too precocious (and thus unrealistic and somewhat irritating) for her purported age, while I consider her a brilliant heroine who makes me think of my beloved Nancy Drew, if Nancy had a lot more attitude and a fascination with chemistry and famous poisoners.

In this entry in the series, Flavia has been sent away from home to a boarding school. Homesick and feeling like an outcast, she soon finds her footing when she happens onto a corpse.

The mystery is exciting, full of intrigue, twists, turns, and a lot of highly unique characters. Readers (at least this reader) can't help but cheer for Flavia as she uses her immense intellectual aptitude to outsmart the adults around her, conduct clandestine chemistry experiments, and sneak around after hours in search of clues.

If you haven't read any of this series before, you should start with the first book in the series, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I'm hopeful you'll agree with me, and walk away wanting to spend more time with the indomitable spirit of Flavia de Luce.

The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver

I was given an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for a review. This did not effect my opinion of the book or my review.

I'm a major Jeffery Deaver fan. I especially love his Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs series. So I actually squealed out loud in excitement when I saw I had been approved for an ARC of the newest Rhyme and Sachs thriller, and The Steel Kiss did not disappoint.

The book begins with Sachs tracking down a suspect in a recent homicide investigation, but her attention is quickly diverted by an escalator seemingly malfunctioning in a crowded mall.

To say much more about the plot would be to risk giving away the amazing twists and turns Deaver has plotted out for his readers. That is one of the things I love most about Deaver's books, how he expertly turns everything you thought you knew about the plot completely on its head, but when you look back at previous chapters, it all makes sense.

I highly recommend this book. You may get more out of it if you have read the previous entries in the Rhyme and Sachs series, as there is a lot of important character development, but the plot can absolutely be enjoyed by a newbie to the series as well.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Cozy Mysteries With a Twist of Romance!

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful The Broke and The Bookish !

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a Valentine's Freebie! I kept going back and forth over what I wanted to do, and decided to combine up a post I've been wanting to do for a while (cozy mysteries) with a Valentine's Day spin.

So in no particular order, here are ten cozy mysteries I love, with some romance I love too!

1) The Death on Demand series by Carolyn G. Hart

The couple: Annie Laurance and Max Darling, a mystery bookstore owner and a self-declared private investigator

2) The Murder 101 series by Maggie Barbieri

The couple: Alison Bergeron and Bobby Crawford, an English professor and a police officer

3) The Bad Hair Day Mysteries by Nancy J. Cohen

The couple: Marla Shore and Detective Dalton Vail, a beauty salon owner and a police officer

4) A Psychic Eye series by Victoria Laurie

The couple: Abby Cooper and Dutch Rivers, a professional psychic and a FBI agent

5) The Sophie Katz Murder Mystery series by Kyra Davis

The couple: Sophie Katz and Anatoly Darinsky, a mystery writer and a private investigator

6) The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich

The couple(s): Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli, a bounty hunter and a police officer; Stephanie Plum and Ranger, a bounty hunter and a security expert

7) The Anneke Haagen series by Susan Holtzer

The couple: Anneke Haagen and Karl Genesko, a computer consultant and an ex-professional football player/police officer

8) The Coffeehouse Mystery series by Cleo Coyle

The couple: Clare Cosi and Mike Quinn, a coffehouse manager and a police officer

9) The Claire Malloy Mysteries by Joan Hess

The couple: Claire Malloy and Peter Rosen, a bookseller and a police officer

10) The Mantra for Murder Mysteries by Diana Killian

The couple: A.J. Alexander and Jake Oberlin, yoga instruction/yoga studio owner and police officer

My "Comfort Food" Books

I was sick this weekend, and it got me thinking about books that are, to me, like comfort food.

They are the ones I go to when the outside world seems too frightening, when my anxiety spikes, when I don't feel well emotionally or physically.

For me, it's mysteries, specifically books by Agatha Christie, and any of the original canon of Sherlock Holmes' stories.

This may seem strange, as mysteries are typically filled with murder and mayhem.

But in most of the stories so expertly spun by Christie and Doyle, they end with the villain being apprehended, the mystery solved, and justice served.

And even when they don't quite end this way, for me, at least, there is the comfort of familiarity, of books and authors I have visited and revisited many times before, of well-written stories and tantalizing clues, and London streets and moors and little villages.

What are your comfort food books?

Find Her by Lisa Gardner

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not effect my opinion of the book or the review itself.

In Find Her, Gardner tells the story of Flora Dane, who was kidnapped and held captive for four hundred and seventy two days.

Her ordeal may technically be over, but five years later, Flora is found at a crime scene. Detective D.D. Warren is forced to question if Flora is a victim or a perpetrator, and her search for answers leads both her and Flora down a twisting rabbit hole. Gardner questions what it means to be a victim and a survivor, and how much life can change and shape a person.

I really liked this book a lot. What I liked the most was that it kept me guessing. I kept thinking I had it all figured out, and then another twist would happen, and I would realize I had been completely wrong. Gardner is an expert at doling out twists and turns slowly, building an almost unbearable sense of suspense.

This was a book that I was thinking about when I wasn't reading it, and I was mostly thinking about how I wanted to finish what I was doing so I could read more of the book!