Weekend Review Roundup!

Zodiac Station was a really interesting read, definitely not in my usual wheelhouse, but really captivating and suspenseful. It tells the story of a station in the Arctic full of scientists, a story told  by a man who somehow skied across the freezing cold to a ship digging through the ice. But all is not as it seems. There was a lot of science, which is what makes it a book I wouldn't necessarily have picked up typically, but even if there were moments I didn't entirely understand, the story was so twisty and suspenseful I was completely drawn in.

This book was incredible! I read it in one sitting, in less than 5 hours, because I could not put it down. The main character has been in prison for 10 years for a crime we don't originally know the details of. Now that he is out, and the detective who pursued the case is retiring, he is finally ready to tell the truth of what happened. The characters are so complex, the solution is so twisty and suspenseful, and the end made me gasp out loud. 

Quiet Girl in a Noisy World is a short, powerful, meaningful collection of comics about what it truly means to be an introvert.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, which I was so excited about, because this is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I love the setting, I love the characters, I love the friendships (and possible romance), and the mysteries are always good ones. Sloan is such a strong female character in a profession that is considered a man's job, and she is also full of personal history and complications. She is a character I absolutely adore, and I can't wait to read more of her solving mysteries. 

Review: An Unwanted Guest

So I wanted to love this book. I liked it, but it didn't live up to everything I wanted it to be.

The premise is one I absolutely love, and have ever since I first read And Then There Were None. A group of people are trapped with a murderer, a murderer who must be one of them. In this case, the group are trapped in an inn by a snowstorm.

The problem is the book starts out so slow. So much time is spent introducing each character, what they like to drink, where they are from...I pushed through because I was so intrigued by the premise, and I'm glad I did, because when this book picked up, it really picked up. The suspense became almost unbearable, and I couldn't put the book down. I ended up finishing it in about a day.

The ending was good, but it seemed a little out of left field. It was impossible to have guessed, and there weren't really any clues dropped to foreshadow it.

This is a highly suspenseful read that will get you completely caught up in it once you get past the slow beginning. The ending is a surprise, but not necessarily one that will leave you completely satisfied.

Review: Date with Malice

Title: Date with Malice
Author: Julia Chapman
Publication Date: April 3, 2018
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Recommended If You Like: unique characters, colorful settings, clever endings to mysteries

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

The Book:

Samson has returned to his home town, to the father he had stopped talking to and the place that still thinks of him as a black sheep. Now he's working-temporarily he thinks-as a detective, and has been hired to look into two mysteries-strange occurrences at an old age home, and the disappearance of a prize-winning ram.

Delilah has lived in this town all her life, and now that Samson is back, she's found herself drawn into helping Samson navigate the town and its mysteries.

What I Liked:

To start with, I loved the ending! I was worried that too much was being telegraphed too early on, but the solutions to the mysteries were clever and surprising.

I also really liked the characters, from Samson and Delilah to the supporting cast. Everyone is compelling and serves a real purpose

Anything I Didn't Like?

The book started out slow for me. It did eventually pick up, but it took a while. I almost gave up on it (though I'm glad I didn't).

I also felt like I was missing some things because I hadn't read the first book in the series. There were quite a few references that I didn't get.

So...?

There were definitely things I really liked about this book, and I could see myself someday reading another entry in the series. But there are other cozy mystery series that will take priority first.

Review: She Lies in Wait

Title: She Lies in Wait
Author: Gytha Lodge
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Recommended If You Like: secrets from the past, one among them is a killer, police as characters

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

The Book:

Thirty years ago, fourteen year old Aurora Jackson disappears on a camping trip with a group of fellow teenagers, When her body is discovered, it is evident that only that group could have known about the hiding spot, and the cop who is assigned the case knew the group back when Aurora was still alive. As people come together and fall apart, lies are revealed, memories are discovered, and a killer hides in plain sight.

What I Liked:

This book is really suspenseful right from the start. It hits the ground running and doesn't stop. There are so many twists and turns that when I thought I knew where the story was going, I would find out a few pages later I was completely wrong.

The characters were really compelling as well. Each was unique, and while they each seemed to fit a stereotype at first, as the book progressed each showed layer after layer. That was what made it seem like any of them could be the killer, and like none of them could be the killer. I also really liked seeing how the main group from the past (seen through flashbacks) was affected by the disappearance and eventual reveal of the murder.

Plus I automatically love the trope of a crime from the past being revealed in the present, and the killer having to be part of a specific group.

Anything I Didn't Like?

There were so many characters that sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who in relation to everybody else. Even with how unique the characters were, the sheer number just made things tricky sometimes.

So...?

This is a really suspenseful mystery that kept me turning pages and kept me on my toes. I would definitely recommend this book.

Review: An Anonymous Girl

Title: An Anonymous Girl
Authors: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
Genre: Psychological Suspense/Thriller
Recommended If You Like: The Wife Between Us, psychological studies and experiments, secrets and lies

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

The Book:

In need of money, Jessica Farris signs up to be a part of a study in psychology, specifically ethics and morals. The questions start out slow, but quickly build, and Jessica finds herself drawn in despite her earlier intentions. But what the initial study leads to is something Jessica could never have predicted, and she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her life.

What I Liked:

This book is so suspenseful! I, like Jessica, constantly found myself guessing what was real, who could be trusted, and what was really going on. There were so many layers of secrets to peel back that I was constantly flipping pages, having to know more and more. There were some really creepy moments too, some psychological horror that left chills.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I'm still a tad unsure how I feel about the ending. I know I like it, I'm just not sure if I love it. Without giving anything away, I'm not sure if it feels like it fits with everything we had learned about the characters. The very last chapter I definitely loved though.

So...?

I would definitely recommend this book. While I didn't love it quite as much as I loved their previous book, The Wife Between Us, this was still a really good book. I can't wait to see what these authors come up with next!