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Review: Killers of a Certain Age

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Review: Killers of a Certain AgeKillers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Published by Berkley on September 6, 2022
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 365
Goodreads
three-stars

FINAL DECISION: I really wanted to like this book, but it felt muddy, and the pacing was much slower than I wanted. Instead, I got bored just about the time things should have been getting exciting. Ultimately the book was okay but not up to a great premise.

THE STORY: After working for a secret network of assassins for forty years, four women are sent on a vacation to celebrate their retirement. During the trip, they are targeted for assassination themselves. Now Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have to work together to discover who wants them dead and to uncover the plot against them.

OPINION: The premise of this book is amazing, and the beginning had much promise. The problem is that there are just too many characters, too many stories, and not enough depth to any character. Instead, they always remain just out of reach, which made me lose interest about halfway through the book.

I’m glad I pressed through because the ending of the book was better, although I had figured out the twist. Because the book was unique, I think some people will really enjoy the story, but it wasn’t the book for me.

WORTH MENTIONING: The women here are in their sixties, and this is not a romance.

CONNECTED BOOKS: KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE is a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

three-stars

Review: The Other Mrs.

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Review: The Other Mrs.The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica
Published by Park Row on February 18, 2020
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 405
Goodreads
three-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: I enjoyed this book which starts out slow and then ratchets up the tension a little at a time until it is unbearable by the end and then the big twist comes. Great pacing. The ending was a little too gimmicky to give this a super great rating, but it was an enjoyable one time read.

THE STORY: Dr. Sadie Foust has moved to Maine with her husband and two children. Things are complicated in Maine. She is a substitute parents to her niece by marriage after the apparent suicide of Sadie’s sister-in-law.  When her neighbor is murdered, things become even stranger as Sadie begins to question many of the people around her.

OPINION: This is an interesting thinking book. It is told by three characters and their stories are intertwined in unexpected ways. This book has a final twist and it is difficult to explain much of what happens in this book without giving away the twist. The book was like a really entertaining suspense movie. I enjoyed getting to the twist and it was certainly worth the reading time to get there.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is NOT a romance but rather a psychological suspense/thriller.

CONNECTED BOOKS: THE OTHER MRS. is a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3.5 stars.

three-half-stars

Review: The Look-Alike

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Review: The Look-AlikeThe Look-Alike by Erica Spindler
Published by St. Martin's Press on January 28, 2020
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 311
Goodreads
four-stars

FINAL DECISION: Very creepy, twisty book. This was enjoyable although I found the ending not as dramatic as I would have expected. The journey in this one was better than the destination…but it was a good journey.

THE STORY: Sienna Scott discovers a murdered girl one night at college and knows that it could have been her. Even worse, maybe it was supposed to be her. Ten years later, the murder is still unsolved. Sienna returns home to a mother with psychological problems and a fear that she might be subject to the same paranoid persecution delusions as her mother.  Is Sienna delusional or is someone trying to kill her?

OPINION: This one is certainly better if a reader doesn’t know what will happen. As soon as I had it figured out, I didn’t find the book as compelling. I really did enjoy the twisting and suspense of the story until close to the ending. This was an enjoyable read and even if the ending wasn’t as good as I had expected, I thought the journey was definitely worth the time I took to read it.

WORTH MENTIONING: This book is a thriller but there are romantic elements.

CONNECTED BOOKS: THE LOOK-ALIKE is a a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

four-stars

Review: A Madness of Sunshine

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Review: A Madness of SunshineA Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
Published by Berkley Books on December 3, 2019
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 352
Goodreads
four-half-stars

“Everyone has hidden corners of their life, even the people we think we know inside out.”

FINAL DECISION: A thriller/suspense story about the secrets that rest in small towns where everyone thinks they know everyone but where there are dangerous secrets. I found this book compelling and it kept me turning page after page wanting to see the secrets being revealed.

THE STORY: Anahera Rawiri returns to her hometown in New Zealand. A hometown that she is reluctant to return to and yet is drawn back. There are dark secrets in this town and even more secrets among the people who live there. Will Gallagher is the new cop in town who was sent there after an incident in Christchurch. It was a way of putting him on ice. The town of Golden Cove seemingly is a dead end job without any need for Will’s detective skills until a young woman disappears. Then the dark secrets of the town begin to be revealed.

OPINION: Nicely centered in the community relationships and characters (which is an area that Singh excels in her romances), the story kept me guessing throughout. As varying stories are slowly revealed, there is no doubt that everyone is deeper than what is known at the outset. Nicely, that is also true of the two main characters in the story. As readers, we know some of the pasts of these characters, but their story is slowly unwound even as the mystery unfolds as well.

Although not overly creepy, there is something unsettling about the town and its surroundings. The overwhelming feeling that everyone has secrets and some of those secrets are dangerous makes this book compelling.

I liked both Anahera and Will. Both out of sync with the town…Will an outsider and Anahera a local who has spent a decade away and thus straddles the line between being a part of the town and being a stranger. This gives them a nice connection as they are the “outsiders” doing the investigation while both have one foot in the town.

I enjoyed this story because I kept changing my mind about what was going on and how it was connected with the past. I kept reading page after page because I wanted to know more about Will and Anahera — not just the mystery. That nice balance made this a really good read.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is not a romance. Please don’t read it looking for a Singh romance and then complain that it isn’t a romance. It is also not a paranormal, fantasy or sci-fi book. The book does have romantic elements, but romance is definitely not the focus here. There is sex but it is pretty much all off screen.

CONNECTED BOOKS: A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE is a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

four-half-stars