Ann M. Martin: Dawn and the Halloween Mystery: Babysitters club Mystery #17

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558324.Dawn_and_the_Halloween_Mystery

Book Blurb:

When Dawn witnesses a holdup and Stoneywood's trick-or-treating is called off while the investigations are underway, she and the other members of the We Love Kids Club decide to catch the robber themselves

Tropes:

*Mystery *Halloween *Robbery *middle grade *who dun it *amateur sleuth 

Thoughts:

I picked this one up to fufil my bingo board challenge for the month "Halloween" (I have a lot of arcs/alcs and wanted something shorter).  

This took me back in time, I loved this book series when I was younger and it felt like coming back to visit with old friends... only since this is later in the series Dawn is visiting her father in California and with those friends, her BSC friends pop up throughout the book but in a long distance way.

By the time this book came out I wasn't still reading the series regularly so this was my first time reading this one, even though it's later in the series it can be read as a stand alone (if you want to read Dawn and the Surfer ghost it does give spoilers for this one). 

Dawn witnesses the get away of a suspect fleeing the scene after a robbery, after this the investigation starts up and the kids are upset about Trick or Treating being cancelled until the culprit is caught (this part didn't make much sense to me as they were robbing stores... not homes but I guess extra safety ?).  

Dawn decides that she should investigate some leads too and her friends in the we <3 kids club help with the investigation... --> they are 13, kids... please do not try this (at all!)

This gave me a bit of murder she wrote vibes in that the police department didn't seem to be doing all that great investigating insert Dawn (Jessica) to do some leg work for the case.

There is a subplot from the BSC members where the girls go with kids and their families to hunt for a new home and sort out that issue... while it was nice to get a drop in from the girls I grew up with... I felt this whole situation took up way too much of the book when I wanted to get back to the mystery.

I felt this story veered away from the main mystery plot a lot as they discussed healthy meals, costumes and the party the We <3 Kids club was planning for the kids at the local elementary school for halloween since the city has cancelled Trick or Treating.  

It was nice to see that Dawn is now ok with her dad marrying hip young Carol.

I can see how a younger person reading this might find it exciting... as far as everything goes with this one It fell a bit flat and all the plots were a bit predictable and unrealistic.  

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Janice Whiteaker: Unbound

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243760203-unbound

Book Blurb:

Losing my dad was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.

He was patient and kind. Loving and smart. The funniest person in every room and the last person on every dance floor. The most amazing man I’d ever known.

Except it turns out, I didn’t really know him at all.

My father had secrets, and their trail leads me straight to McKinley Security Systems.

Straight to Walker McKinley.

Walker is so different from the man who brought us together. He’s stoic and serious. Quiet and calm. Has an intensity and focus that pulls me in.

He makes me feel seen. Understood. Safe.

But I’m not safe, and neither is Walker. Unlocking the truth of our shared past carries a danger neither of us expects.

And one of us might not survive.

Tropes:

*Hambright PR ALC/ARC *Small town romance *strangers to more *grumpy MMC 

*Protective MMC *Fierce FMC *Spice *Hidden secrets *mystery *found family *betrayal

*long term grief (both mmc and fmc) *insta lust 

Thoughts:

This is the 5th and last book of the Bradshaw Brothers series and focuses on Walker (the Bradshaw's cousin) and Sybil.  

Walker (MMC) has been a bit of a mystery throughout the other two books I read, he is fiercly loyal to his family and comes to family functions but he always felt more closed off and grumpy.

Sybil comes into Walker's life towards the end of the 4th book and even though she may have lied about some things to get there... she had her reasons, number one being she knows that her father's accident was more than that and she wants to get to the bottom of it... her search has lead her to McKinley Security Systems and she just knows that if she's given the chance she'll find the answers she's looking for and hopefully help Walker too.

Walker has been grieving the loss of his mother for a long time, recently with everything that has happened he begins to wonder if there was more to his mother's accident.

When danger comes back into his life and Sybil reveals what's really going on could their lives have been intertwined all this time?  

Sybil is smart, funny, and sassy, Walker is grumpy and hard to read but she brings out a different side to him, she makes him laugh and while he's protective of her... she's equally as protective of him.

I loved being back in this large families world again, they are protective and have each other's backs and even though they were unsure of letting Sybil back in, Walker's aunt made sure she still felt welcome at family get togethers.

The more they dig into this old mystery to try to uncover truths and figure out how the pieces fit together the closer danger is to them... again.  

Sean Masters and Grace Noble were amazing Narrators!!

The leads were easy to like and it made it so much easier for me to root for them and want to get to the bottom of what had happened all those years ago.  I loved how their relationship unfolded from mistrust to feeling like they finally found their missing piece.

I enjoyed this story over all and liked how everything wrapped up, I did feel that there was such a big build up towards the end that when it came to the end it kind of wrapped up really quickly (I thought it would be more of the story).  

But I've been enjoying this series and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a small town romance with a fierce protective MMC, a smart capable FMC who doesn't give up with a side of danger with secrets revealed. 

I do need to go back and read the first two books in this series and I would recommend reading these in order. 

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Tequilla Havens: The Quiet Game

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/247926582-the-quiet-game

Book Blurb:

Some silences are chosen.
Some are inherited.

Selena Wilder is tired of running into walls.

She knows what she feels for Ezra Merrick. She isn’t blind. She isn’t foolish. But loving someone who hides behind quiet can feel like shouting into a locked room. And lately, the quiet in Willow Bend has taken on a life of its own.

Notes are still appearing.
The air still shifts when no one is looking.
And the past refuses to stay buried.

Ezra has spent years believing silence is safer than truth. If he doesn’t say it, it can’t break. If he doesn’t dig, it won’t bleed. But when the echoes of 1965 begin pressing closer—closer to his family, closer to Selena—his restraint starts to look less like protection and more like fear.

As tension builds between them, the line between caution and avoidance blurs. Old loyalties are tested. Family history resurfaces. And something in Willow Bend is no longer content to wait.

Because in a town where memory lingers in every creaking floorboard and every flicker of light, the quiet isn’t empty.

It’s listening.

Tropes:

*Indie Author *Small town romance *slow burn *mystery *Age Gap *supernatural elements

*Family mystery *cover up *secrets *town lies *multiple POV *Found family *longing

*pining *Forbidden romance (Ezra thinks so... no one else feels that way) 

Thoughts:

This is the second book in the Willow Bend Trilogy and should be read in order as these books build off each other and this one picks up where the last book ended.

While this book is multiple POV between our group the leading characters of this book are Selena and Ezra (middle Merrick brother).  

Selena and Ezra have been friends for a long time but something more has been coming to the surface for a long time, Selena one night wanting to push things further into more than friends asks Ezra a question... which leads to Ezra going into a big of a spiral... truth is he feels a lot towards Selena but doesn't believe he should due to his own reasons.

Ezra was frustrating throughout this book he wanted to be with Selena but was pushing himself away and pushing her away from him as well, he was hot and cold with her and sending mixed signals... I wanted to pull him aside and tell him to get it together and tell her how he felt already! 

The small town mystery continues in this book as Ezra, Selena and their friend group work to find the clues and put together what happened to the woman the town seems set on hiding even existed... throughout the first book and this book there was a paranormal element helping/leading our group in the right direction and had me wanting to get to the bottom of what happened all those years ago.

I love the found family elements being back in this story felt like visiting with old friends, and wanting to maybe play cupid pull Ezra aside and tell him to go for it, get your woman before she gives up on you... on another note I do get Ezra's internal struggle with his feelings but I think that he was so hyper fixated on these issues that he failed to see that anyone who mattered would be happy for him and Selena.

It's Christmas time in town but spooky vibes continue throughout the story with mysterious messages from unknown beings, notes that show up at random, strange voicemails and radio static that comes through as a transmitter from beyond the veil.  

I appreciated the blend of the mystery still happening along side the Romance and the tension from the push and pull from Ezra and Selena.  

Also what is happening with the Merrick Brother's aunt and uncle?   

This book revealed some hidden truths but with all the questions left unanswered I'm looking forward to seeing how everything ties together and is revealed in book 3.  

 Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Riley Sager: The Unknown

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243596193-the-unknown

Book Blurb:

In 1926, five women disappeared from a remote island in Vermont. Now, one hundred years later, it’s happening again.

Struggling actress Marin Keane is shocked when she lands a role in a major motion picture about the unsolved mystery of New Avalon, an island on sprawling Lake Faraday in Vermont. She’s even more surprised when she learns that the role requires a weeklong research trip to that very spot.

Because New Avalon isn’t your ordinary island. A century ago, it was a commune for spiritual mediums—until they all vanished in 1926. The only trace of them was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree in the middle of the island, one for each missing woman. Some locals say they simply left. Others think they were murdered. But the prevailing opinion, thanks to a diary left behind by one of the vanished, a young woman named Daisy Rue, is that a séance gone wrong conjured something supernatural that took them all one by one.

Not long after arriving, Marin and her castmates, including legendary actress Violet Wright and white-hot director Ronan Peters, begin to realize all is not right with New Avalon. They hear strange noises in the night and notice mysterious symbols left behind by the island's previous occupants. And after a sudden health emergency leaves Marin, Ronan, and the other actors stranded on the island, the disappearances begin again.

Is it the work of someone trying to derail the movie? Or is the island’s alleged supernatural past catching up with the present? As fear and suspicion mount, Marin turns to Daisy’s diary, hoping it holds the key to figuring out what really happened to the women of New Avalon—and how to keep the island’s terrible history from repeating itself.

Tropes:

*Thriller *Mystery *horror *State Challenge Vermont (Repeat) *Paranormal 

*locked room (island) *paranoia *abnormal events 

*trigger warnings (death, long term grief check yours)

Thoughts:

Marin is looking for her big break in acting and believes she finally has it when she last minute gets cast for the role of a life time in a big budget film... she just has to be ready to go immediately putting her life on hold she knows this will be worth it she's goign to be working with legendary actress Violet Wright and Ronan Peters who is a big time director this will be worth it and she prepares for her trip.

Ronan Peters is known for having his cast prepare for their roles by doing method acting it's easier to get in character if you are living the way your character does... to prepare for the movie Marin, Ronan, Violet and the rest of the cast go to New Avalon an Island in Vermont that has an unsolved mystery attached to it in 1926 five woman went to the Island... and never returned to the main land.  

Marin wants to do a good job and impress her more famous co-stars, but is also dealing with emotional distress as her past his coming back to haunt her along the way. 

The author does a great job creating a eerie and mysterious atmosphere with a small cast of characters but with the story being from Marin's POV we see the others on the island from her side and this leads us to not truly know who of Marin's cast mates can be trusted, they all seem to possibly be up to something or have ulterior motives.

Going off of Daisy Rue's Diary, one of the women who vanished all those years ago, Marin and her cast members are now living how these women lived 100 years ago including no cell phones, no electricity, they have to wear the same clothing and they are stuck on this Island for several more days, when the director decides they will hold a séance just like the women did and then odd things begin happening including her cast members beginning to disappear... in the same order they do in Daisy's diary it appears that history is repeating itself.

The longer the story goes along the more you begin to wonder what is really going on, on this Island you know something sinister is happening but is the Island really haunted?  Or is something else happening entirely?  

This story definately had me thinking of the movie Exorcist at times... especially with the creepy séance gone wrong, it was even more eerie with the characters described in the Diary having very similar personalities to the ladies in the future playing them.  

I didn't like how Marin was treated by some of the others on the Island (I'll leave it at that, if you read it you'll understand). 

This for me kept me turning pages it is eerie, there are so many weird things happening that you don't know at points what is real and what isn't, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.  I don't want to say too much more about it because I don't want to give anything away but I thought this was a great read for spooky season.

Have you read this one?  What did you think?  

Joanna St Amour: Girl with the Gifts

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249223833-girl-with-the-gifts

Book Blurb:

Transformation has a cost, and the price is everything she loves.

Aviana “Avi”, a perfume chemist, is about to earn the promotion she’s dreamed of. But when Pacific Perfume’s prized lavender oil is sabotaged, Avi becomes the convenient scapegoat.

Determined to clear her name, Avi plunges into a hidden world, forging unlikely alliances and drawing the attention of an enemy whose reach is ruthless and resolve relentless.

When her plan goes horribly wrong, she’s forced to partner with the last man she wants in her her ex-fiancé, Fritz.

Fritz can no longer keep his secret locked he isn’t human. She isn’t human.

They’re Grounders. And with each passing day, Avi’s dormant power, Slyfen, tests the limits of her control.

Fritz vies to stand by her side, but Avi must rise alone to become who she was never meant to be, for some truths burn hotter than fire.

*High Gravity Audio books ALC *Romantic Fantasy  *Slow Burn  *Elemental Abilities

*found family  *Family drama  *love triangle (kind of)  *mystery  *just kisses *action

*Ending  *secrets revealed

Thoughts:

I think to start with I was kind of thrown off by this book because the blurb had me thinking this was going to be a story about Aviana a perfume chemist finding out that someone is sabotaging her at work with maybe some romance on the side... I think I'll start by saying this was just a very small portion of this story like it's in the beginning of this book then sporadically thrown in throughout the rest of the book to maybe just remind us as the reader that this is still being thought of... the remainder of the story this plot line is on the back burner on another stove in another galaxy far far away.

It took me a bit to get into this story but I kind of had to throw out this blurb entirely and just go with the flow for this one.  So I'll talk about what this book really turned into being:

Aviana has thrown herself into work as a perfume chemist to keep her mind off of her broken relationship with her ex Fritz... she just doesn't understand what happened he proposed to her then very shortly after just decided things were off and left on a secret mission for work which he wouldn't talk about.  While at work Avi discovers that there is something wrong with the ingredients in the perfume formulas it feels like sabotage and while she knows she didn't do anything to the perfume she is determined to find out who is responsible since this could have a negative effect on the company.

There is another plot line where a larger number of people with genetic "defects" are going missing (being abducted) and while coming out of work one evening someone attempts to take her but she is saved when a handsome stranger helps protect her against the attackers... he happens to be a private investigator.

I listened to this book and I felt the narrators did a good job but I'm not sure if this handsome strangers name is Raidan? (maybe... that's what I'm going to call him).  Avi enlists Raidan to help with finding out who is sabotaging things at work.  He agrees to help but basically tells her that she has to be ok with how he accesses the information.  From this point on the story very rarely goes back to her work life... I'm not sure how much time has passed at any given time and the work mystery only comes back into play a few times.

Avi feels that something was off with the people who were trying to abduct her... she at first feels maybe she was just seeing things since she was scared... but it turns out that there are "Grounders" (essentially aliens from a different planet living on earth... their planet is low on resources and some now live on earth).  Grounders have special elemental abilities that are very vast and kind of hard to keep track of... if you watch anime consider this like all the different abilities/quirks from My Hero Academia or Hunter x Hunter (etc...).  

Avi shortly after learns that everything she thought she knew of her life is a lie, she was a foster child and doesn't remember her parents only that she was abandoned when she was younger.  From there she finds that her ex Fritz is a grounder from this other planet and she is too.  Avi is color blind and quick to develop stress rashes... but it turns out that Avi has special elemental abilities but when she was sent to earth someone on her home planet had a binder implanted so that if she tries to use her abilities she can't (or she gets the rash), most of the other people closest to her are Grounders and were sent to guard her while she's on earth... and all of them were also sworn to secrecy in that they were not allowed to tell her any of this and have taken the decision away from her to know her past and about their lives on this other world naturally she gets upset that her life has been decided for her (Naturally they have mind wiping capabilities... think men in black type stuff).

Avi starts to fight her growing feelings towards Raidan (?) and her old feelings of being near Fritz again as they both help her navigate her new normal of learning more about the culture of her home planet, her lineage, her family drama, and her abilities... if she is ever able to use them.  

Avi also finds out more about why Fritz left and why his mom seems to harbor some harsh feelings towards her.  She struggles throughout with wondering who she can actually trust since she has been lied to by everyone close to her for ages and the new guy in her life Raidan can she trust him?  Time will tell.  

She decides to learn how to defend herself (her friends help) which comes in handy as the Grounder Hunters are still after her and take her a few more times throughout the book where she needs to be resourceful sometimes she gets away and a few times she is captured.

A few times after this it will be randomly dropped that she went to work for a day or they found more information about the sabotager... but it felt kind of thrown in to keep that plot line going not that it really was fitting the story line at the time.

Avi learns that the binder that's implanted has an expiration date and it's coming to the end of it if it isn't removed by then there will be severe complications (death)... but they need a special doctor from their home planet to remove it... and the one that knows how to do it and is in the area is a mad man who likes to do unhinged experiments... oh no... she needs this guy though maybe they can come to an agreement??  If they can find him.

There is also another plot line where there is a missing tiara that binds with the wearer and releases some kind of evil entity but only Grounders with certain abilities can even attempt to wear it... naturally Avi is one of the ones with an ability that can bind with the tiara.  There are several people after the missing Tiara and While Raidan has been tasked by his employer to find and return the tiara... Fritz has been tasked to find the tiara to destroy it by his employer...drama!!

Overall once I got into this story I enjoyed it wasn't what I was expecting and it ended without finishing out the full story but I would like to check out the next in the series to find out where it goes next. 

The narrators did a good job with this story and kept me wanting to know what would happen next. 

Thank you to the author and High Gravity Audio for this ALC copy!   

Claire Rose: The Cove

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240019622-the-cove

Book Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just been kicked out of yet another prep school and exiled to her uncle’s farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine. But Uncle Levi is gone, leaving the farmhouse under the strict rule of his new zealously evangelical wife, who runs a reform camp for troubled teens. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones. No computers. No way out.

When Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass, who live on a nearby island, everything changes. One reckless night, she convinces the others to sneak out for a party. The night is unforgettable—at least, the parts they can remember. The next morning, they wake in their own beds, clutching seashell tokens, hearts pounding, with no memory of how they got home. Except one camper never made it back.

As disappearances mount and dark secrets rise, Lindsay and her friends must unravel the mystery of the island—before The Cove claims them all.

*Netgalley ALC 10/12  *Young Adult *Thriller  *Mystery *Eerie  *Cult *trust no one  

*State Challenge:  Maine  *LGBT  *Light romance vibes *place for wayward teens *Found family

*Teen angst  *gore/violence *religion *family drama  *Secrets  *💀 

*Folk lore/paranormal

Thoughts:

To start with we have Lindsay (FMC) she is a teenager and is sick of her rich parents just dumping her at ritzy boarding school after boarding school not even making sure she moves in ok they have their driver take her there.  She has been kicked out of multiple schools at this point for various degrees of juvenile delinquency and is working towards getting kicked out of this one too... she wants to go home she doesn't make friends easily and is a loner at heart but what she really craves is some attention from either... or both of her parents.

Thanking her lucky stars that she has been called to the headmaster's (mistress?) office she makes herself ready for the usual speech about how she is no longer welcome at the school... only this visit is a mix of that and something else... while she is kicked out for now she is to be given another chance and due to return in the fall semester.  She's told that her parents are actually showing up to pick her up... only when the car comes of course they couldn't make time for her... again in fact it's not even the usual driver but some guy she doesn't know who doesn't take her home but takes her to her long lost uncle's home in the middle of nowhere Maine... What??  she needs out of this now... fine she'll just call an uber they are still in some form of civilization.

Lindsay quickly realizes there are worse places to be than the school she was just at... and it's here in this creepy house with 4 other teens she doesn't know and this woman she's never met but is claiming to be her uncle's wife... where is her uncle anyways?  He's supposedly away for business but shouldn't he have returned by now?  Not like she can call for help the phones don't work, and even if her cell phone hadn't been taken the battery died ages ago and there are surprisingly no outlets... what kind of place is this?  

I was intrigued by the sounds of the plot and requested this ALC from Netgalley, at first I wasn't sure if I would like this because... I'm just going to call it out our girl Lindsay is a straight up brat and I just didn't know how long I could tolerate listening to her constant whining... about everything... I totally get that she felt hurt by her parents neglect and the fact that she was now stuck at this creepy farm house in the middle of nowhere doing manual labor but the other part of me was like... girl you got yourself into this situation you could have still been at the boring but safe boarding school.

Pushing past my initial issues with Lindsay I grew to like her more throughout the book she's got a good sense of humor and once she started actually getting to know the other members of the house she was more tolerable as a main character.  

The pacing is slow at times with nothing really happening other than eerie vibes.  Things start to pick up towards the middle of the book when Lindsay convinces her new friends to sneak out and go to a party on an Island near the farm house... to get to it they have to walk dangerous steps of a cliff to get to the beach then out to the Island which is only walkable at low tide.... after a night of merriment with these Islanders who are most definately in some kind of cult... that ends in no one remembering what happened or how they got back to their own beds the next morning one more thing has happened... one of their friends didn't return home.

The author does well at creating a creepy atmosphere with Lindsay not knowing anyone well enough to fully trust anyone, cut off from civilization with no cell service, internet or land line phone to call anyone for help and even her attempts to get help when in town fail... there are Creepy children of the corn type teenage twins that pop up randomly to do things like Invite her to the Island party... or tell her not to trust anyone in town, there are her own thoughts of she doesn't know if her Aunt is even her Aunt she's never met the woman, then there are strange encounters with the townspeople.

When more of her friends start disappearing she knows she needs to kick up her Nancy Drew senses and get to the bottom of things quickly or she might be the next to go.  There are some small romance type scenes thrown in which really don't add much to the story over all, but I did like the found family vibes.  

Over all it reminded me kind of like the R.L. Stein books I used to read occasionally as a teenager and I got a sense of nostalgia from it.  The Narrator did a great job with bringing all of these creepy characters to life and I think that I enjoyed this way more listening to it, I might have given up on it as a read but ultimately I'm glad that I powered through it while it had a lot of predictable elements there were a few twists.  I wouldn't recommend this one for younger kids/teens it got pretty dark at times.  

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this early release ALC!

Have you read this one?  What did you think?  

Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss: The Escape Game

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236226582-the-escape-game

This story starts several seasons into a popular reality TV game show competition where teenagers work in teams to solve escape rooms and compete against several other teams.  While filming the season four finale tragedy strikes when a beautiful and popular contestant Alicia Angelos is found in one of the props dead... but who could have done it?  

Even with the tragedy from last season in their minds the show continues to gather cast members for season 5 including Beck who creates their own escape rooms at home and has a bit of a family secret, Adi the handsome son of a woman who used to be a celebrity and will do anything to get back in the lime light... even if it means getting there thru her son; Carter a math whiz and influencer (but only thru a character she's created as her alter ego... she's shy and awkward in person) and last but certainly not least Siera Angelos sister of Alicia --> everyone knows that she didn't get along with her sister and even though they were not able to prove her guilt they believe she is the culprit... but it does make for higher ratings with this "surprise" return contestant.

Sierra while she has a tough girl image and wants to keep that appearance she's not just there to play this season she wants answers... she didn't hurt her sister no matter what anyone else believes and she knows if she gets a chance she can help solve her sisters case since the police clearly have focused on the wrong person this whole time.

What started out as fun and games this season quickly becomes dangerous as the team has to learn to work together and trust each other to escape these rooms and as they begin to uncover more clues and get closer to solving the mystery of what happened to Alicia... the more they have to worry about being next.  

*Young Adult  *Mystery *Murder mystery *escape room *puzzles *2026  *ARC NetGalley

*game show  *Reality TV  *State Challenge:  California  *multiple POV  

Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the premise of this book a mystery inside of an escape room game show.  The authors did a good job explaining the puzzles and the outcomes but at times it almost felt like reading a play with the sets and puzzles being maybe too detailed leading to it being a bit slower in places and since I wasn't actually in the room with them I had a harder time following the puzzles they were trying to solve.  

I enjoyed the multiple POV aspect and watching all of the kids get to know each other better and come together as a cohesive team by the end of the book.  

While I know I'm not the target audience for this book (it's definately YA) I had a really hard time with the fact that these were teenagers and felt the book would have made a bit more sense if the kids in the book were even 18+... these kids were sent to stay by themselves in a villa that the show put them up at I highly doubt that the parents would not come with these underage kids while filming this show and I really don't think they would be ok with letting them stay to continue after it appeared they could truly be in danger... I don't even think the show would keep going at that point considering it would be a huge liability.

Going on with that line of thinking I had a hard time suspending my disbelief I don't see how the show was brought back for a 5th season given that season 4 ended up with the death of a contestant with law enforcement no closer to finding who did it... and people think it was the sister and they bring her back to the show!!?  What??

There were twists, turns, betrayals and sabotage who can you trust in this game?  Can you even trust your team mates?  Some of the twists I could predict and some I couldn't mainly because it kind of comes out of Left field and the motive felt pretty flimsy at best. 

I did find the book entertaining enough to keep me turning pages and I do plan to read the next in the series.  

Thank you netgalley and the authors for letting me read an advance copy of the book! 

Guilty Crime Story Magazine Issue One

Doing a general post about this magazine each issue offers many short stories from a variety of writers it focuses on crime and detective work and if you enjoy this genre you will be likely to enjoy the stories featured in the issues of this magazine.  Available for kindle and Paperback.

Blurb: Guilty is a magazine of crime stories, of criminals, their motivations and their beginnings and ends.  

In issue: 

“Midnight at the Oasis” by Robb T. White - Nate thought he and his uncle Rex were as close as brothers until one midnight at the Oasis changed everything.

“French Twist” by Joe Giordano - While on vacation in Paris, American Max Caspian offers police his assistance with a very unusual murder.

“Unprincipaled” by Stephen Sottong - Everyone wondered about the day Principal Taylor stole the truck. Nobody would have ever guessed the reason.

“Give Me a Reason” by Brandon Barrows - Something was taken from Chris Zender while serving in Afghanistan and if he can't get it back, he'll get revenge.

“Bridal Wreath” by Jill Hand - Robin was lonely for a long time. Then she met Richard, then Richard brought the flowers...

“Cymbaline” by Alec Cizak - When Raven and Sparrow saw an opportunity, naturally, they took it. Wouldn't you?

“Chasing 61” by Bruce Harris - The Babe set the record of sixty homeruns. Both Roger Maris and Frankie Z. aim to break it.

The Famous Last Words of Mickey Spillane” (Article) by Mike McHone All brand-new material by top crime writers!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58143802-guilty-crime-story-magazine?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=b86c8tR5l6&rank=1

amazon link:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095N7H23Q?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_0&storeType=ebooks

*Crime fiction  *Mystery  *Detective  *Multiple authors  *magazine 

Brandon Barrows: The Last Request

 

Our lead character Holly Shaw gets invited to a remote location in Alaska (a creepy, creaky old mansion on a mountain) summoned by a great aunt she has never met and now surrounded by family she hasn't seen since childhood all gathered together for the news that their aunt is dying (or is she?).

The great aunt reports that she is dying with an unknown life expectancy but as a very wealthy widow with no children of her own she has decided to split a great deal of money between Holly and her 5 cousins, $60 million at $10 million for each cousin sounds fair, however, in order to receive this money all of them must stay in residence at her creepy isolated home with no cell service until the time of her passing if anyone is not residing in her home prior to her death they do not get any of the money and the money then gets split between the remaining cousins in residence at time of her passing.

Shortly after this announcement one of the cousins is found dead not of natural causes, then another goes missing... with this book having a small cast of mostly unlikeable and shady characters as a reader I found myself making multiple guesses as to who could have done it, it really could have been any of them, a lot of money is on the line and everyone is a potential suspect.

It was a quick read and I recommend this book for anyone looking for a murder mystery it had a lot of twists and when I thought I had it figured out it twisted again to make me think again about who the real suspect could be. This book reminds me a bit of an episode of Murder She wrote with it's older cop who hasn't really had many murder cases and possibly needs some help solving the crime mixed with a classic horror/slasher film where you find yourself saying "no don't go with them anywhere they are creepy" but of course they don't listen to you and go anyway.

*Murder Mystery  *And then there were none vibes  *Alaska  *crime *fiction *psychological suspense

*female lead  *creepy atmosphere 

What is your favorite crime/mystery/thriller? 

--> This is my husband's book it also has an audible version I don't usually read crime/mystery stuff in general I read romance (all sorts) but will occasionally branch out to read something else and try to read my husbands books and help support him when I can 💓

Blurb on the back:

Sixty million dollars. Five potential heirs. One house in remote rural Alaska. It’s a recipe for murder . . .

Summoned by letter, Holly Shaw and five of her cousins—virtual strangers to each other—have gathered at a grand house in the rugged wilds of Alaska. Equally unfamiliar to Holly is her great aunt Lydia, the woman who has called the family together and is dangling a massive inheritance before them. Her condition: they must remain in the house, with Lydia and her butler and caregiver, until she passes. Anyone not in residence at that time is out of the will, their share of the money split among the others. That night, everyone settles in. And the next morning, the murders begin . . .

Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Request-engrossing-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B0CDCQ8L18/ref=sr_1_3?crid=ZDFGN2M77U9S&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.P_RB2nzPbTzZ6IvOyV-HRm5fcMdzTSZAHA-sLa6UZndiSZi8RUsMQ-Cuf-ZUCc_CpW88QlLhlGgILSKCYRP27d-_x6bp8G4_bkMaX8Q8-vq-ThXvy8-eOfRpYPmPw194vK8DzqVlVMNrCn07GX_ypMulkMCKSiO58-oFiu8PNMR7_mD9tvvOFrYXBJVRGz2tegYa3WkUTZM1uTVNho-04RMfNN5ykN_-a6OK4W_W6rE.B2rCPENkF5j68YIWAO_lvbEI1jtoKXOJ3mrh8Nyh_24&dib_tag=se&keywords=Brandon+Barrows&qid=1750883420&sprefix=brandon+barrows%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-3

Good Reads link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193392588-the-last-request?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=F5Qptln829&rank=2