Tuesday, February 12, 2019

#BookReview The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty @MinotaurBooks @CJ_Daugherty #books #bookblogger #bookish #TheEchoKilling #CrimeFiction

Book Details
Title: The Echo Killing
Author
Christi Daugherty
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 13, 2018




#TheEchoKilling #Debut #Fiction #BookReview #CrimeFiction



My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠

Excerpt from GoodReads: 
When a murder echoing a fifteen-year-old cold case rocks the Southern town of Savannah, crime reporter Harper McClain risks everything to find the identity of this calculated killer.

A city of antebellum architecture, picturesque parks, and cobblestone streets, Savannah moves at a graceful pace. But for Harper McClain, the timeless beauty and culture that distinguishes her home’s Southern heritage vanishes during the dark and dangerous nights. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Not even finding her mother brutally murdered in their home when she was twelve has made her love Savannah any less.

Her mother’s killer was never found, and that unsolved murder left Harper with an obsession that drove her to become one of the best crime reporters in the state of Georgia. She spends her nights with the police, searching for criminals. Her latest investigation takes her to the scene of a homicide where the details are hauntingly familiar: a young girl being led from the scene by a detective, a female victim naked and stabbed multiple times in the kitchen, and no traces of any evidence pointing towards a suspect.

Harper has seen all of this before in her own life. The similarities between the murder of Marie Whitney and her own mother’s death lead her to believe they’re both victims of the same killer. At last, she has the chance to find the murderer who’s eluded justice for fifteen years and make sure another little girl isn’t forever haunted by a senseless act of violence―even if it puts Harper in the killer’s cross-hairs…


My Review
Only one way to start this book review of The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty…WOW, WOW, WOW!!! I read a lot of crime fiction and the majority of those are told from the perspective of police investigators so it was nice that The Echo Killing was a little different. The story takes place in Savannah, Georgia and is told from the perspective of Harper McClain, a 27 year old crime reporter.

One day Harper is called out to the murder scene of victim Marie Whitney and Whitney’s daughter finds her body just like Harper found her mom 15 years ago. Harper’s mother’s murder was never solved and this new murder scene is so similar Harper thinks it may be the same killer.

“It’s like my mother’s death made this huge noise a long time ago. And this murder is the echo of it.”

I love Harper. She has been through so much in her life and for the most part she is keeping it together the best she can. But all the memories from her mother’s murder come flooding back when she sees similarities in the present murder of Marie Whitney.

Harper finds herself in a dangerous situation as she digs deeper into the two investigations. Her character is totally realistic and believable. She is pretty stubborn and not much for listening to people in authority.

Overall I thought this book was a well-written crime fiction debut. The author’s description of Savannah makes it feel like you are there. The plot was intriguing and steadily paced. The ending was unexpected and it leaves the reader with a little mystery to continue to ponder. I can’t wait to get started on the second Harper McClain book called A Beautiful Corpse. Thanks so much to the author and Minotaur Books for sending me a copy to review. I’m giving this one 5 stars and I highly recommend it to all lovers of crime fiction.



Saturday, February 9, 2019

#BookReview Call Me Evie by J P Pomare @JPPomare @PutnamBooks #books #bookblogger #bookish #debut #CallMeEvie


Book Details
Title: Call Me Evie
Author: J.P. Pomare
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: April 18, 2019
Pages:400

#CallMeEvie #Debut #Suspense #Psychological #BookReview 




My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠




My Review:
Call Me Evie is the debut novel by J.P. Pomare and I was totally blown away by this one. The story starts with 17-year-old Kate Bennet being in a remote cabin with a man named Jim. Kate has no memory of how she ended up in this cabin in New Zealand. She is going on what this man Jim is telling her. He claims she did something awful in Melbourne, Australia and they had to run away for her protection. But little by little parts of Kate’s memory comes back and it isn’t always matching with what Jim is telling her. So Kate isn’t sure if Jim is really her protector or her captor.



The story alternates between past and present. The author masterfully and slowly reveals pieces of the puzzle throughout the story keeping the reader fixated. A lot of books claim to be unable to be put down and truthfully for me anyways that is rarely the case. Call Me Evie is a different story…I couldn’t wait to see what was happening and Pomare had me hooked right from the get-go.




The characters were compelling and realistic. The dialogue was perfect. The intriguing plot was entertaining and steadily paced. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout ending with an edge-of-your-seat conclusion. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn and those who love well-written psychological suspense novels. 5 stars, highly recommended.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

#BookReview Little Darlings by Melanie Golding #LittleDarlingsBook #BlogTour #Debut #Creepy #Suspense @CrookedLaneBooks @Joni2345zb @mk_golding

Thanks so much to author Melanie Golding and Sarah Poppe of Crooked Lane Books for inviting me to participate in the #LittleDarlingsBook Blog Tour. 



Book Details
Title: Little Darlings
Author: Melanie Golding
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: April 30, 2019
Pages:312
ISBN: 978-1-68331-997-9 (Hardcover)

#BlogTour #LittleDarlingsBook #Debut #Suspense #BookReview




Excerpt from GoodReads:

 “Mother knows best” takes on a sinister new meaning in this unsettling thriller perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things.

A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley―to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies.

Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.

Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking―and rechecking―your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe.

 


My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠

My Review


Little Darlings, is a debut novel by Melanie Golding. A well-written creepy read with a dark fairy tale aspect. What a great debut!! I love reading new authors and this one will definitely be added to my favorites list.  
The main characters are Lauren and Patrick Tranter, new parents of twin baby boys. Lauren is quickly feeling overwhelmed after the birth and gets little help from her husband. Patrick is a little jerk…once the babies are born his true selfish side comes out when he doesn’t want to help Lauren out.  
My favorite character would have to be Detective Sergeant Jo Harper. Jo has issues from her past that haunt her making Lauren’s case something that she couldn’t brush off. When no one else believes Lauren, Jo does. Jo is a “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of police officer. She isn’t a dirty cop but she doesn’t always follow all the correct procedures. She had a chance to try for an inspector job but she likes the hands-on part of investigating, she doesn’t want to be stuck in an office.  
Little Darlings is an atmospheric tale that kept me interested throughout. The build up to the ending was spot-on. I would recommend this book to those who love psychological thrillers mixed with a little supernatural and dark fairy tale. Thanks so much to author, Melanie Golding and Crooked Lane Books for providing me a copy of this book and an opportunity to participate in the #LittleDarlingsBook Blog Tour.

About the Author

Melanie Golding grew up in a village in Leicestershire. She has been employed in many occupations including farm hand, factory worker, childminder and music teacher. Throughout all this, because and in spite of it, there was always the writing. In recent years she has won and been shortlisted in several local and national short story competitions. In 2016, she graduated from the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, with distinction. Little Darlings is her first novel.