Fiction

Rating: 10/10

There is nothing I can say that will do this book justice, no grouping of words that can embody how I felt at its conclusion. This is a staggeringly beautiful and powerful story; it will imbed itself in you, it will linger long after the final page is turned, and it will break you a little. If you are lucky. If you allow it to. I originally read this in 2021 and as we sit on the cusp of 2024, I am no less impacted by it.

Mystery

Rating: 9/10

Let’s begin at the end shall we. Hands down the cleverest denouement I’ve read in a long time. Dramatic, snarky, and deliciously gossipy, it was an absolute delight! An old-fashioned murder mystery with a touch of glitz and glamour with a cast of the rich and infamous. Dorothy has got time on her hands after losing the bid for presidential candidate, so she decides to hire a ghostwriter to help her with her memoir. Then someone dies. You know where we go from here…

Wrap It Up!-Chapter Six

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those waiting for my 2023 Top Picks. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

Wrap It Up!-Chapter Five

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those seeking mastery in their storytelling. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

Wrap It Up!-Chapter Four

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those wanting to tease their brain with a puzzle. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

Wrap It Up!-Chapter Three

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those wanting to lose themselves in make believe. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

Wrap It Up!-Chapter Two

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those seeking some sustenance or indulgence. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

Wrap It Up!-Chapter One

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those seeking a glimpse into someone else’s story. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

Crime Fiction

Rating: 9/10

Titus, a newly appointment Sheriff, and his deputies are called to the scene of a reported school shooter, one who has killed a beloved teacher and is himself killed when officers believe he is going to turn his weapon on them. Sounds straightforward, a bad man killed a good man and then a good man killed the bad man, what more could there be to talk about? Turns out quite a lot. This author is a masterful storyteller, able to have his characters stare into the abyss and yet still maintain their hope.

True Crime

Rating: 7.5/10

When I feature a non-fiction pick, it’s undoubtedly narrative in style, and if it’s a story chockfull of transgressions? Then count me in! If you call Stephane Breitwieser a thief or a con man, he will correct you in short order. He’s an art lover, a collector, a guardian of beauty. And if his method of acquisition is rather unorthodox? Well risks must be taken to shield art from the philistines putting it on display for all to see.

Mystery

Rating: 7/10

Imagine that you happened upon a mystery that you tasked yourself with solving, only to realize that the clues to its being pieced together were buried within a mind muddled by forgetfulness. Your own mind. Edie is an eighty something year old widow who is showing signs of dementia. While in town one afternoon she spots Lucy, her childhood friend. The problem is that Lucy has been missing since they were fifteen.

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

We find ourselves at a tension filled gothic university where duplicity seeps into the place as much as the people. Where the art of the lie knows no bounds. While most students have fled campus for some spring break fun in the sun, a group of graduate students studying the psychology of deception are otherwise engaged. When one of them ends up dead during a harsh wintery storm, it turns out they may be as skilled in telling the lies they study as they are in detecting them.

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

She missed the red flags. Like how after they were married he casually said to her that she would never feel more alive than when she didn’t know what was coming next. Now her life has fallen apart in spectacular fashion, with her husband keeping her locked in a shipping container until she can accept his doctrine. That however, isn’t really going to work for her.

Creature Feature Collection - Happy Halloween!

In celebration I wanted to share this collection of short tales of terror written by some the best horror authors! A haunted baby stroller, an evil lurking under the bed, a big bad wolf, epic bad luck, scary stories at the vampire and some very big yuck! Full of all kinds of scary fun!

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

A stay-at-home mom with a past she can’t escape, no matter how hard she tries. A has been rock star with a drinking problem prone to making poor decisions. A reality TV producer who owes a lot of money to the wrong sort of people, for all the wrong reasons. They have been keeping a secret for twenty five years, one someone is threatening to reveal to the world and now they must come together, no matter how much they don’t want to!

Thriller

Rating: 8.5/10

The first murder takes place in 1999 as employees at Blockbuster close up for the night. As I worked for over ten years at Blockbuster, I enjoyed reliving the store descriptions. Not so much, as that might be unseemly, given the blood letting and all. Gives a whole new meaning to “make it a Blockbuster night”.

Humorous Essays

Rating: 7.5/10

I have news for you. Are you sitting down? Maybe grab a cocktail. If you are in your forties, you have reached middle age. It’s a mathematical fact that cannot be disputed. You can smooth out the edges by adding the word “early” in front of it, but facts are facts my friends. This hilarious book brings it all front and centre in the best possible way!

Fiction

Rating: 7.5/10

When Shelby and Gibson join two separate therapy groups, they instantly connect with the same woman, Cammie. She’s perfect, giving them both exactly what they need at this point in their lives. Only she is not what she appears to be, seemingly not the same woman at all. A brilliant and irresistible novel that bravely casts a morally bereft character and upends the expected scammer narrative.

Thriller

Rating: 8.5/10

An immersive, outstanding thriller that will sweep you away from its action packed first page to its last. When her husband’s car is found abandoned and burned out, physicist Eve becomes suspect number one. When Jonah, a psychic, appears on her doorstep with an offer to help, she is just desperate enough to accept. I loved the dichotomy of these two characters, not to mention their chemistry!

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

Olivia has been missing for one day and counting. Last seen entering a dead-end alley and not coming out again. Julia, a veteran investigator, expects the pressure of the ticking clock she is up against. What she doesn’t expect is to find a masked man in her backseat, threatening to expose a secret that could blow up her entire life unless she plants evidence. And not just her own life either.