"Into the Water" by Paula Hawkins (UPDATED)

In Into the Water by Paula Hawkins (author of The Girl on the Train which I loved), a single mother is found dead in a river.  Earlier, a young teen girl was found in the same river--dead.  Lena, the 15-yr.-old daughter of the single mom, is alone until her aunt Jules comes to look after her.  This town is the last place Jules wants to be.  The law is looking for answers.  Will the secrets people in this town are hiding come out?

Teaser from page 50:  "So two women have did in that river this year?" I said.  "Two women who knew each other, who were connected . . ."

In the Water is just as good, if not better than The Girl on the Train! There are lots of characters in this which make for tons of story lines.  I enjoyed all of them and as I read along, I tried to put the pieces together.  It took me to the very end to figure it out!  I LOVED IT!  What a great book to end with in 2017!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins is a mystery surrounding several deaths in a river running through a small town.  When Lena's mother. Nell, dies in the river, her aunt Jules comes to take care of her.  There is a lot of tension between them since the aunt hadn't talked to Lena's mother in years. 

This book has lots of characters to keep straight, including dead ones.  Much of the book hops back to the past and some of the past is told through a manuscript Lena's mother was writing.  There was enough interesting relationship drama to keep my interest but didn't really care for all the deaths which kind of creeped me out.  I admit, I did not know what really happened to Lena's mom until the very end.  I didn't like that there were some loose ends either so I give this one 3 stars.  If you are a fan of creepy things, you would probably like this book more than I did.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Best Day Ever" by Kaira Rouda (Updated--Husband & Wife Differ on This One)

In Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda, Paul Strom has been waiting for the day for Just him and his beautiful wife Mia to go on a getaway weekend together.  This is going to be his "best day ever"!  Or is it?

Teaser from page 50:  This is a challenge, I know it, but how and when did Mia become so confident?  Where did she come from, this new Mia?

The pacing of this book is very well done as you learn little by little what is going down.  Paul Strom is a very interesting character to say the least!  This book kept me engaged from page 1!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Karen's review:
Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda is about Paul Strom, a scumbag husband and his wealthy wife, Mia who can't seem to please him no matter what.  Paul decides to take his wife up to their cottage on Lake Erie to give her a special time and have the best day ever, but most of the time they spend arguing.  Will one or both really have the best day ever? 

I did not like Paul right from the beginning because he was so arrogant and controlling.  He is the narrator of the whole book except the Epilogue.  It was shocking to me how he rationalized his actions!  The book kept my interest because I wanted to see how it would end, but then was somewhat disappointed.  I have lots more I could say, but not without spoiling it for you so I'll stop here.  (3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Breakdown" by B. A. Paris (Mystery)

In The Breakdown by B. A. Paris, on a stormy night Cass passes a car off the road in the woods.  She thinks about stopping to help, but after thinking about worst case scenarios, decides to drive on.  The next day she finds out the woman is dead and that she knew her  Does she tell the police what she saw?  Can she stop blaming herself for not stopping?  Will she tell anyone?

I thought this book was very good!  The pace is well done and the story is believable.  I enjoyed this author's first book, Behind Closed Doors and this book is just as good, if not better!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

The Breakdown by B. A. Paris is full of mystery.  Cass, the main character, last sees her new friend through her car window on a dark road during a storm on her way home from a party.  Her friend's car is stopped on the side of the road but does not appear to be in need of help.  The next day though, Cass hears on the news that her friend was killed!  Then the silent phone calls start up and Cass gets freaked out.  Plus, not only is Cass upset about the murder but she notices she keeps forgetting things and is afraid she has early dementia!  

This book is a disturbing read because strange things keep happening with Cass.  I can't say too much without giving things away but it is a very good mystery.  I got into it right away and looked forward to getting back to it.  Things really picked up and got interesting in the second half, so don't give up on it!  I highly recommend this book and only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because the turning point was far-fetched and pretty unbelievable.  
(Karen's review, 4 stars)     

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Silent Wife" by A. S. A. Harrison

If you read Gone Girl, then you have pretty much read The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison which alternates chapters between her (Jodi) and him (Todd).  I loved Gone Girl but this book is pretty good too.  It kept my interest and the ending was sort of a surprise.  I think it is worth your time, enjoy.  My wife didn't care for it though and gave up after four chapters, but then she didn't like Gone Girl either.   

Here is a teaser for you:

And now you want to throw it all away and join the ranks of pussy-addled middle-aged men like me whose brains are in their pants. I'm disappointed in you, Todd.

From page 156 of The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison.

(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"You Don't Want To Know" by Lisa Jackson (UPDAATED)

You Don't Want To Know by Lisa Jackson is about an unbelievable dysfunctional family who lives in a big house on an island that is a house of horrors!  These people are nuts!  Poor Ave is devastated when her little 2-yr.-old boy, Noah, turns up missing after a family Christmas party.  Her memory is foggy and she was in a mental institution for awhile.  She feels in her heart that Noah is still alive after being gone for two years, but her family is convinced wandered off and drowned and tries getting Ava to face facts.  Ava, however, is determined to find her boy no matter what since his body was never found.

There are a lot of people in this book and as Ava tells the story through her eyes, she feels she can't trust anyone and I didn't know who she could trust either until I was over halfway through the book.  It seemed like there definitely was a conspiracy against her even though her family and relatives thought she was being paranoid.  This is an amazing story about betrayal, revenge and hatred with an exciting surprise ending.  I would make for good discussion for a book club. 
(Karen's review, rating 5 stars)

You Don't Want To Know by Lisa Jackson tells the story of Ava, who in her dreams hears her son, Noah, crying out.  Her son has been missing for two years.  Ava believes her son is out there somewhere, but gets no support from her husband, relatives or the hired hands who help run her island home. 

This book got a lot of hype about this being the "can't miss book of the summer" and I'm here to tell you that it is all true!  I couldn't put this book down once I started it.  It moves along and I was shocked as the details came out little by little to make for a great ending too!  Don't miss this one--it is SO Good!
(Gerard's review, rating 5++ stars!)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper

Disappointing

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper centers on a dad's death bed plea that he wanted his grown up kids and his wife to spend seven days together like a real family. I enjoyed the beginning very much and thought it had a lot of promise. The kids got on each other and their significant others. Parts were funny and sad as well; however, I just scanned through the last 100 pages which was about who was having sex with whom. I'm not into reading that and felt I had better books to read. If the author had stuck with the main premise, it would have been much better in my opinion. It also had offensive language so I can't really recommend this. Read it at your own risk.
(Gerard's review, rating 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!