"Small Mercies" by Dennis Lehane

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane takes place the summer in Boston before black and white kids are bussed so they can go to school together.  A white girl goes missing and a black teen boy is killed by a train under mysterious circumstances.  This is a good book.  The main characters were developed very well!  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"Collateral Damage" by J. A. Jance

Collateral Damage by J. A. Jance is about a crooked ex-cop who is out on parole.  He wants revenge on the people who sent him to prison.  He also has information on well-known people who do not want what he knows to get out.  This has a good storyline that is easy to follow with action throughout the book.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Writing Retreat" by Julia Bartz

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz is wild in a good way.  Alex wants to be a published author and winning a writing retreat would go a long way to doing that.  However, all is not right at the estate of horror writer Roza Vallo, where she has to be to win a big contract.  Soon Alex will have more than just writing a book to worry about.  A good storyline with twists and turns make this book very good!  This is the one I read when on jury duty.  I'm glad I had a good book to read!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Puzzle Master" by Danielle Trussoni

In The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni, Mike Brink, because of a football head injury, can solve puzzles at an alarming rate.  Jess Prell is in prison and she has a secret no one has been able to solve.  Mike is asked to try.  For the most part, this book was good; however, the last quarter it seemed that the author did not know how to end it.  Due to that, I give it 4 stars.  It was not as good as I expected.  (Gerard's review)

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"The Soulmate" by Sally Hepworth

In The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth, Gabe and Pippa's house is near a cliff where people sometimes go to end their lives.  Gabe has a way of talking people off that cliff.  However, one day with Pippa watching, a woman and Gabe talk until the woman is falling off that cliff!  To Pippa, it looks like Gabe pushed her, but she doesn't really believe it!  Could he have?  

Sally Hepworth is always good, but this book is fantastic!  The characters are really good and I thought I knew how it would end, but I was wrong!  LOVED THIS ONE!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"All the Dangerous Things" by Stacy Willingham

In All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham, Isabella's life changes forever when she wakes up one day and her baby boy is gone!  She cannot sleep at all and her own past is hunting her.  This is the second book I've read by this author.  Flicker in the Dark was the first one and I loved that and this one too!  She got me engaged in both and I loved her endings as well!  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"Her Darkest Nightmare" by Brenda Novak

In Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak, Evellyn survived what no 16-yr.-old girl should have to go through.  Now, she is a psychiatrist trying to figure out what goes on in men who do bad things to women.  She works at a maximum security prison. When women turn up dead, things soon take a turn for the worse.  

This book had a good storyline and Evelyn was a good lead character; however, there were too many parts that dragged along with no action.  That being said, I was glad I read it.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"Look Closer" by David Ellis

In Look Closer by David Ellis, Simon and Vicky’s secrets start to emerge when a woman is found dead on Halloween in a gated community. The thing is, they are both very good lying con artists! I thought this book was really good! Simon and Vicky were great and I never knew what was going to happen next. Loved the ending! (Gerard’s review, 5+ stars)

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"The Finalists" by David Bell

In The Finalists by David Bell, six college students show up to try to win a scholarship to Hyde.  They must stay in the building for eight hours.  If they leave, they cannot win.  When one of the six is found dead , is anyone safe?  People are also protesting outside and tension is real high.  This was pretty good though I would have liked more character development.  The storyline was just okay but the ending was good!  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"Hidden Pictures" by Jason Rekulak is a Creepy Thriller!

In Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak, Mallory really needs a job.  So when a job comes up to look after a 5-yr.-old boy for a nice couple in a real nice neighborhood, she jumps at the chance to take it.  How hard could it be to look after a 5-yr.-old boy?  You'll have to read it to find out.  This thriller is very good!  I had a hard time putting it down.  It has a great storyline and the characters were developed really well too with a heck of an ending!  I highly recommend this one!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Lies I Tell" by Julie Clark

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark centers around Meg and Kat.  Ten years ago, Meg just about destroyed Kat's life.  Kat wants to even the score and now, ten years later, Meg is back.  Does Kat even the score or does Meg win Round 2?  This is a great read!  Meg and Kat were both great characters and the storyline is very good too!  It was better than I expected and liked the ending.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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Not Impressed With "Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are" by Kathryn Foxfield

In Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are by Kathryn Foxfield, five teens go on a reality show.  They need to survive a night in haunted caves, but should they be afraid of each other?  This book was okay.  The storyline was pretty good, but not great.  I never connected with the characters and wasn't impressed with the ending.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars) 

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"Five Survive" by Holly Jackson is so Good It's a Must Read!

Five Survive by Holly Jackson is a teen thriller than kept my interest.  Six friends head to spring break in an RV and end up in a deserted area with a shooter shooting out their tires and gas tank!  He says one of them has a secret and he'll only let them go if they tell him what he wants to know.  What does he want to know?  He doesn't say!  He just says they know who they are.  They can't call for help because there is no cell service.  How will they get out?    

This has lots of suspense in it as the friends try to figure out ways to escape and send for help.  This is a really good book because all through it, I was trying to figure out who was the one going to die (based on the title), how they would get out of this predicament and what the secret was and who had it.  I agree with my husband about this one--it's a page-turner and a must read if you enjoy mysteries and thrillers.  Even the ending is a shocker!    (Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review 1/23/23:
In Five Survive by Holly Jackson, six friends pile into an RV for a fun weekend at a camp.  They get lost in the dark and go into the woods where their RV breaks down!  Just when they are about to go, someone makes sure that they are not going anywhere until they give him what he wants.

This was SO GOOD from the writing, to lots of action, the storyline, the believable characters, and a great ending!  This went really fast because I couldn't stop turning the pages!  Do not miss this one!  (5++ stars)

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"Curfew" by Jayne Cowie

In Curfew, by Jayne Cowie, men and young boys have a curfew.  They cannot be outside after 7:00 p.m. to protect the women.  But does everyone agree that this is the best way?  And, as they say, "rules are meant to be broken."  I thought this book was very good!  It has a great storyline and the author did a great job of developing the characters!  I loved it!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)  

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"Stay Awake" by Megan Goldin

In Stay Awake by Megan Goldin, Liv wakes up in the back of a cab with no memory of where she is or how she got there.  Every time Liv falls asleep and wakes up, her head is a blank.  Someone wants to make sure she does not remember committing a crime.  This is a very good thriller.  The last 20 or so pages are just fantastic!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"Nine Liars" by Maureen Johnson--A YA Contemporary Thriller

In Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson, nine friends are on a sightseeing trip to London.  They decide to play a night time game of hide and seek at an England country home.  The next morning, two of the nine are found dead, killed by an axe.  The other seven say they know nothing about it.  See if you can figure out who killed the two people.  I thought this was really good because of the characters and storyline.  It kept me turning pages.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"No Bad Deed" by Heather Chavez is Quite the Thriller With Lots of Bad Guys!

1.    

No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez is a thriller filled with twists that so much so I got confused at one point. This is about a family of four being stalked, harassed and set up to be murdered.  Once again, the police and detectives are pretty useless in helping this family.  Cassie, the mom, is the heroin who never gives up looking for her missing husband and later her teenage son.  This book has lots of action in it and lots of terrible people!  It certainly kept my attention all through it and if you like puzzles, this is a good one!  Eventually all the pieces fall into place except for the title.  I still don't understand that!  (Karen's review, 4 stars) 

Gerard's review 1/6/23:
In No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez, Cassie sees a man and woman fighting in the dark.  She calls 911 to report it and is told to stay in the car.  However, she cannot just sit in her car and decides to go help the woman.  Turns out that was a huge mistake!  This is my first book of 2023 and I’m off to a good start.  This has good action with an interesting storyline that kept me reading as well as Cassie being a very good character.  (5+ stars)  

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Beware of "The Perfect Child" by Lucinda Berry which is WILD and Extremely Sad!

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry is a very sad and depressing read.  If I had known that before, I would not have read this one, but once I started it I got invested in the Hannah, the mother.  This is the story of the family who adopted an abused 6-yr.-old child and the struggles that they encountered.  This book got me riled up and even angry at times.  It's an emotional read with a child far from perfect.  I really don't understand the title.  I would not recommend this one.  (Karen's review, 2 stars)

Gerard's review 11/30/22:
In The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry, a young girl is found who has been mistreated and needs help in the worst way.  Christopher, a surgeon, fixes her up.  He wants to adopt her since the girl has no relatives.  His wife, Hannah, agrees and they take her in.  Is it happy ever after? or the worst decision they ever made?  This book is wild!  The storyline kept my interest.  (4 stars)

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"Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six" by Lisa Unger is Fantastic!

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger is a thriller about six people who go to a cabin for relaxation and to unplug, but encounter foul play that they totally did not expect.  This storyline converges with a second storyline about Henry, who discovers his father was a sperm donor and a very bad man!   

This book was pretty good, but there are a lot of characters and I didn't like how it jumped back and forth between the two storylines.  I liked the first storyline better.  The theme of the book is that our DNA does not have to control us.  We can choose who we want to be.  (Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review 11/18/22:
In Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger, six couples rent a cabin in the woods for a weekend.  It is away from everyone, very secluded.  They look forward to a week of fun, relaxation and making happy memories.  One person wants these people to remember this weekend too for all the wrong reasons.   This is a fantastic book that kept me turning pages.  (5++ stars)

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"The IT GIRL" by Ruth Ware is Fantastic!

In The IT GIRL by Ruth Ware, Hannah is a girl from a small town who is a hard worker and finds herself at Oxford College.  Her roommate is April, who is different from Hannah in every way.  They become close friends.  Hannah finds April dead in her bed and wonders why and who would do that.  This book is fantastic with good writing, storyline and characters.  LOVED IT!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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