Bitterroot Lake by Alicia Beckman #CrookLaneBooks #Mystery #Suspense #BookReview

Bitterroot Lake 

by Alicia Beckman

Publication: April 13, 2021 by Crooked Lane Books

Genre: Suspense, Fiction, Mystery 

4 🌠🌠🌠🌠


My Review:

Beckman, pseudo name for Leslie Budewitz is a three-time Agatha Award winner and the bestselling author of The Spice Shop and Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries. In her suspense debut, Beckman brings readers to her native state of Montana and introduces them to protagonist Sarah McCaskill, a young widow who recently lost her husband and childhood sweetheart to cancer. Sarah is encouraged by her mother Peggy to come back to the family-owned Whitetail Lodge on Bitterroot Lake to begin her grief-healing process. Although the lodge has always held a special place in Sarah’s heart, it was also the site of a horrific tragedy and crime that occurred 25 years ago. That night so long ago involved a sexual assault and a devastating car accident that ended in one of Sarah’s friends being killed. Lucas, the driver should have been convicted but instead ended up going scot-free and even became a lawyer in the same hometown. When Sarah returns to Whitetail Lodge, she is met with the same friends of her past and a mysterious murder that may be tied to the tragedy of 25 years ago. Sarah and her friends begin to dig into the murder mystery and in doing so they uncover the secrets of Whitetail Lodge and the McCaskill family from a century ago.

Beckman paints a gorgeous picture of this idyllic small-town Montana setting. With some paranormal aspects, past and present secrets abounding, and a multitude of suspects in a murder investigation this suspense debut is sure to lure readers in. Loved it!! 4 🌠🌠🌠🌠 for me.

#BookReview The Better Sister by Alafair Burke #TheBetterSister #AlafairBurke #Mystery #Thriller #Suspense @harperbooks

Book Details
Title: The Better Sister
Author: Alafair Burke
Publisher: Harper Books
Publication Date: April 16, 2019
Pages:311



#TheBetterSister #AlafiarBurke #Suspense #Mystery #Thriller #Fiction #BookReview 

My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠

Excerpt from GoodReads: 
From Alafair Burke—New York Times bestselling author of the runaway hit, The Wife—comes another twisty tale of domestic noir. When a prominent Manhattan lawyer is murdered, two estranged sisters—one the dead man’s widow, the other his ex—must set aside mistrust and old resentments . . . but can they escape their past?

Though Chloe was the younger of the two Taylor sisters, she always seemed to be in charge. She was the honor roll student with big dreams and an even bigger work ethic. Nicky was always restless . . . and more than a little reckless—the opposite of her ambitious little sister. She floated from job to job and man to man, and stayed close to home in Cleveland.

For a while, it seemed like both sisters had found happiness. Chloe earned a scholarship to an Ivy League school and moved to New York City, where she landed a coveted publishing job. Nicky married promising young attorney Adam Macintosh, and gave birth to a baby boy they named Ethan. The Taylor sisters became virtual strangers.

Now, more than fifteen years later, their lives are drastically different—and Chloe is married to Adam. When he’s murdered by an intruder at the couple’s East Hampton beach house, Chloe reluctantly allows her teenaged stepson’s biological mother—her estranged sister, Nicky—back into her life. But when the police begin to treat Ethan as a suspect in his father’s death, the two sisters are forced to unite . . . and to confront the truth behind family secrets they have tried to bury in the past.

My Review:

This is my first read of this author and early on in the book I was intrigued. Readers are introduced to the relationship between Adam and Chloe, former in-laws now married. Adam was previously married to Chloe’s sister Nicky and they had a son, Ethan who Adam ended up getting full custody of. Chloe is very successful in her job and makes more money than Adam which she feels he resents. Chloe helps Adam get a prominent job with a fancy law firm and he quits his job as prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s office. But Adam hates his job, for him money doesn’t matter. He feels Chloe pressured him into taking a job he never wanted. So their marriage is not perfect and then Adam ends up dead.

The investigation into Adam’s murder begins and the police quickly zone in on Adam’s teenage son as a suspect. Nicky, Ethan’s real mother now shows up in New York to help out but Chloe who is just his guardian worries her sister will try to take Ethan away from her. Will Nicky want custody of Ethan after all these years? Chloe is sure her sister Nicky has never forgiven her from marrying Adam and raising her son. There is not a lot of trust between the sisters.

Chloe has always been the perfect one. She has the perfect job, the perfect husband, the perfect kid, the perfect life. Nicky on the other hand is the screw-up. Nicky can’t find the right man, she had problems with drugs and alcohol, and she lost custody of her only son. But now with problems like murder, her son dealing with drugs and guns, is Chloe’s life really as perfect as it seems?

The pacing of the book is perfect. I love how the author leads the reader along…slowly revealing tiny pieces of the puzzle. Definitely makes you want to keep reading. I can’t wait to read more books by this author. I loved the legal/courtroom proceeding portion of the book. The build-up of waiting on the jury to come back with their verdict…super exciting! I loved reading how the relationship between sisters, Nicky and Chloe, change throughout the book. Usually I can find at least one negative about a novel but not this one. 5 Stars for sure! Thanks to Alafair Burke and Harper for providing me with a copy of advanced reader edition to review.

#BookReview #TheWinterSister by Megan Collins @ImMeganCollins @AtriaBooks #Debut #Suspense #Mystery #Fiction

Book Details
Title: The Winter Sister
Author: Megan Collins
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: February 5, 2019
Pages:326



#TheWinterSister #Debut #Suspense #Mystery #Fiction #BookReview 

My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠

Excerpt from GoodReads: 
In this spellbinding and suspenseful debut, a young woman haunted by the past returns home to care for her ailing mother and begins to dig deeper into her sister’s unsolved murder.

Sixteen years ago, Sylvie’s sister Persephone never came home. Out too late with the boyfriend she was forbidden to see, Persephone was missing for three days before her body was found—and years later, her murder remains unsolved.

In the present day, Sylvie returns home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, as she undergoes treatment for cancer. Prone to unexplained “Dark Days” even before Persephone’s death, Annie’s once-close bond with Sylvie dissolved in the weeks after their loss, making for an uncomfortable reunion all these years later. Worse, Persephone’s former boyfriend, Ben, is now a nurse at the cancer center where Annie is being treated. Sylvie’s always believed Ben was responsible for the murder—but she carries her own guilt about that night, guilt that traps her in the past while the world goes on around her.

As she navigates the complicated relationship with her mother, Sylvie begins to uncover the secrets that fill their house—and what really happened the night Persephone died. As it turns out, the truth will set you free, once you can bear to look at it.

The Winter Sister is a mesmerizing portrayal of the complex bond between sisters, between mothers and daughters alike, and forces us to ask ourselves—how well do we know the people we love most?

My Review:
This book has been in my TBR pile for a few months now and so glad I chose to finally read it. The Winter Sister is the haunting debut novel by  Megan Collins. It’s a story of two sisters, Persephone and Sylvie. Persephone was murdered when she was eighteen years old. After the murder, Sylvie’s mother shut down mentally and wasn’t able to care for her only remaining child. Persephone’s murder was never solved and her sister is now grown up.

Sylvie’s mother now has cancer and Sylvie comes back to town to care for her even though their relationship had fallen apart all those years ago. This is a book of secrets…everyone has them. Sylvie tries to unravel all the threads to this twisting and turning mystery. This is a book of relationships…relationships between teenage sisters, relationships between mother and daughter.

I really enjoyed this beautifully written debut novel. I was hooked from page one and my interest was held throughout. My favorite character was Sylvie. Her pain and guilt throughout the book was heart-wrenching. The author did a wonderful job portraying all that. The mother in the story was pitiful and I had mixed feelings about her. On one hand I felt sorry for her but at other times she made me angry for being so weak. The author did a fantastic job defining the complex family relationships. The characters were not only complex but also damaged by their traumatic experience. The tension and suspense builds up to the shocking conclusion.

Overall I was impressed with this dark, haunting debut. I would definitely read more by this author. Thanks so much to Megan Collins, Isabel DaSilva and Atria Books for sending me a copy to review. I’m giving this one 4 stars and I highly recommend it to all lovers of suspense.

About the Author:
Megan Collins holds an MFA in creative writing from Boston University. She has taught creative writing at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and Central Connecticut State University, and she is the managing editor of 3Elements Review. A Pushcart Prize and two-time Best of the Net nominee, her work has appeared in many print and online journals, including Off the Coast, Spillway, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and Rattle. She lives in Connecticut.

#BookReview Ask Me No Questions by Shelley Noble @ShelleyNoble3 @freezin4books @Joni2345zb #mystery #series #historical #crimefiction

Book Details
Title: Ask Me No Questions
Author: Shelley Noble
Publisher: Forge
Publication Date: October 16, 2018
Pages:349
ISBN: 9780765398710 Hardcover

 My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠

My Review

Ask Me No Questions is the first book in the new Lady Dunbridge Mystery Series and my first read by Shelley Noble. Lady Philomena Dunbridge is our protagonist, a 26 year old widowed countess who is also an amateur crime-solver.

The story takes place in the early 1900’s in Manhattan, New York. Lady Dunbridge is originally from England but she has decided to come to America after being in mourning for her husband. As soon as she arrives and meets her friend at the boat dock she finds herself in the middle of a mystery. Her friend’s husband has been found murdered.
Readers are introduced to a great group of characters. I loved the main character Lady Phil as well as her maid, Lily and her faithful butler, Preswick. The author did an excellent job describing the early 20th century New York setting. This is one of my favorite time periods and the historical detail was amazing.

Ask Me No Questions was such a joy to read. A great start to a new series…can’t wait for the next installment in the Lady Dunbridge Mystery Series. Highly recommended. Thanks to the author and Forge for providing me a copy to review. Highly recommended for those who love mysteries set in the early 20th century.

About the Author:

Shelley Noble is the New York Times bestselling author of Lighthouse Beach, The Beach at Painter’s Cove, and Whisper Beach. A former professional dancer and choreographer for stage, television, and film, she’s a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Liberty States Fiction Writers. Noble lives at the Jersey shore and is always on the lookout for lighthouses and murder plots. You can find her online at www.shelleynoble.com, on Facebook as ShelleyNobleAuthor, and on Twitter as @ShelleyNoble3

#BookReview The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton @AuthorSJBolton @MinotaurBooks @Joni2345zb #mystery #GNWR #Thriller

Book Details
Title: The Craftsman
Author: Sharon Bolton
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 16, 2018
Pages: 418
ISBN: 978-1-250-30003-4 Hardcover

 My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠 

My Review

The Craftsman is Sharon Bolton’s latest terrifying standalone suspense novel. The protagonist, Florence Lovelady starts out in 1969 in Lancashire, UK working in police department where the force is dominated by men. Some teenagers disappear and they end up being found buried alive in coffins. Florence Lovelady begins to help with the investigation but being a woman she is not always treated the same. But she couldn’t be ignored because she was able to look at things differently proving she was a very good investigator.

Florence Lovelady is such a strong female character. She is tough and persistent in order to make it but she couldn’t come off too strong. I admired her for hanging in there with a tough profession especially during that time period when she the only woman around. The story shifts ahead 30 years to 1999 and someone else disappears under similar circumstances. Had Florence Lovelady caught the right man all those years ago or is it a copycat?

I love the short chapters and the pacing of the novel was perfect. The build-up to the ending was amazing and the truth is carefully masked right up to the conclusion. My interest was held throughout and I couldn’t wait to see where the story led next. With hints in the story of witches and Freemasons, the supernatural aspect brings in another level of interest for readers.

I loved this book so much. Definitely 5 stars for me…can’t wait for the next Sharon Bolton novel. Thanks to the author and Minotaur Books for providing me a copy to review. Highly recommended for those who love dark terrifying thrillers. 

About the Author:

Sharon Bolton (having previously written as S.J. Bolton) is a two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award winner and an ITW Thriller Award, CWA Gold Dagger, and Barry Award nominee. She grew up in Lancashire, England, and now lives near Oxford with her family. Her highly acclaimed thrillers include Sacrifice, Awakening, Blood Harvest, Little Black Lies, Daisy in Chains, and Dead Woman Walking in addition to her Lacey Flint books Now You See Me, Dead Scared, Lost, and A Dark and Twisted Tide.