"Notes on an Execution" by Danya Kukafka

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka was not an easy read but was interesting.  This book covers the last 12 hours before a serial killer is to be put to death.  The author takes us through some of the women in the killer's life.  The author does a good job of telling the story.  This unique storyline makes the book go fast.  I never read a book like this one before!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

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"Then She Was Gone" by Lisa Jewell

1.    

In Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, Ellie is 15, pretty, smart, the youngest of three and her mom’s favorite.  Then one day she was gone!  Her mother, Laurel, sees her life fall apart.  Ten years later, she meets a man and he has a daughter who looks just like Ellie!  Could it be?  This was really good.  Liked the storyline and the characters but the ending was just okay.  (Gerard's review, 5 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 Wife Upstairs" by Rachel Hawkins Is One We Both Liked

In The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins, Jane is trying to make her life better so she takes a job as a dog walker in a rich neighborhood.  By chance she meets Eddie who is rich, charming and good looking.  Things are looking up for Jane and when they decide to get married, Jane is on Easy Street, or is she?  This is a wild read with a good storyline that kept me interested.  The characters were good too with a make-up-your-own ending.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Karen's review 2/22/23:
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is a strange murder mystery/romance.  Jane, a broke dog walker with wealthy clients steals from them and falls for Eddie, a rich widower who expresses interest in her as well.  His wife was presumed dead but he has his wife stashed away in an upstairs hidden panic room!  Jane works to be accepted by the bored housewives in the neighborhood and finally is once she gets engaged to Eddie. 

This one is a crazy read, with a strange storyline and deceptive characters.  I enjoyed this book because it had an unusual storyline that kept my interest with no idea how it would end.  The people were pretty creepy.  As usual with these mysteries, the police don't do a very good job.  This book did make me want to keep reading and get back to it.  The only thing I didn't care for was the ending--I would have liked some more details.  (4 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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"The Swell" by Allie Reynolds

In The Swell by Allie Reynolds, Kenna and Mikki are childhood friends.  Fast forward the years and Mikki is going to get married.  Kenna shows up and finds the Mikki she knew has changed.  Kenna is with a bunch of people and will not leave an Australian beach they have found to be the best for surfing and want to keep secret.  Odd thing is, people go missing.  Can Kenna get Mikki to leave for her own good?  

I didn't care for any of the characters in this book; however, the storyline and action were good enough to keep my interest.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"Dog Friendly" by Victoria Schade

In Dog Friendly by Victoria Schade, Morgan is a veterinarian who really needs a vacation.  She gets a chance to go to Nantucket and become a dog sitter for a special-needs senior dog.  When she meets a guy, she is torn between going back to her old job or staying put where she is.  This book reminded me of a Hallmark movie--happy and predictable which provided me with a nice change of pace from my usual thriller mysteries.  The characters were okay and I enjoyed the dogs in the book.  (Gerard's review, 4 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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"The Prisoner" by B. A. Paris

In The Prisoner by B. A. Paris, Amelie, wife of billionaire Jed, is kidnapped and held in a dark room.  She does not know why or by whom.  What she does know is that she feels safer than being with her husband.  You will have to read the book to find out why.  

B. A. Paris's books always have good storylines and good characters; this is no exception.  This book goes back and forth in time, but I didn't mind that.  The ending is unbelievable!  (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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"For the Throne" by Hannah Whitten (teen fantasy)

For the Throne by Hannah Whitten is the sequel book to For the Wolf.  In this book, Red has contained the threat of the five kings, but at a cost.  Her sister, Neve, must give herself up to the Shadow Lands for life.  But Red wants to save her sister.  Can she?  

It was so good being back with Red and Neve again.  It did not take me long to get into this.  This book has a good storyline and action so I enjoyed this two-book series very much.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)     

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"The Christmas Spirit" by Debbie Macomber is An Enjoyable Read!

The Christmas Spirit by Debbie Macomber is a wonderful story any time of the year, but especially at Christmas.  I wish I had managed to read this last month, but am very glad I did not skip it just because it's no longer Christmas.  It's the story about a pastor of a small church exchanging places with his bartender friend the week before Christmas.  They were debating who had the harder job and they both learned some things.  This was such an enjoyable, fun read with humor and a great message.  I loved it and finished it quickly.  I highly recommend this one to anyone who wants to read something uplifting and light.  (Karen's review, 5 stars)  

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"Do Not Disturb" by Claire Douglas is Scary!

In Do Not Disturb, Kristy decides to turn an old rectory into a guesthouse.  She is the only one of the family in favor of that because it needs a lot of work!  Her mom comes to help, but they do not get along.  Later, her cousin comes whom she hates so it goes from bad to worse.  Now someone dies there!  Now what?

The storyline and characters in this book were very good with lots of action!  My advice is to not try to figure out how it all ends, just enjoy the journey!  (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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"The Therapist" by B. A. Paris is a Favorite!

In The Therapist by B. A. Paris, things are looking up for Alice.  She and her boyfriend, Leo, move into a beautiful home in a gated community; however, things change when she discovers a woman was killed in that house which Leo neglected to mention.  She turns to her new neighbors for help, but she is not sure she can trust them.  She wants out of the house and to end things with Leo.  Her life is falling apart!  I thought this book was really good with a very good storyline and very believable characters.  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"Road of Bones" by Christopher Golden

In Road of Bones by Christopher Golden, Felix is fascinated by a road called "The Highway of Bones" 1,200 miles near the Arctic Circle.  It is known as being a massive graveyard of prisoners of the U.S.S.R. who worked on the highway where bodies were paved over.  It is said to be haunted by their ghosts.  Felix gets the ride of his life.  Do NOT read this book at night!  This one was hard to put down!  It's a really good ghost story!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Perfect Marriage" by Jeneva Rose

In The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose, Sarah and Adam have been married for ten years.  Being a No. 1 lawyer for a high price law firm leaves little time for Sarah to spend with Adam; however, when Adam gets into big trouble, he has to turn to Sarah for help.  Should she or will she defend him on a murder charge of killing his mistress? 

I thought this book was really good.  Sarah and Adam were fantastic characters.  If you think you know how this plays out, I am betting that you don't!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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