"Behind Her Eyes" by Sarah Pinborough

In Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough, Louise and Adele become friends after an accidental meeting.  They really do not have much in common at all except for one thing--DAVID.  He is Adele's husband and Louise' boss.  I think you can figure out where this is going.

I really enjoyed getting into the heads of these two women.  It is told by both of them.  The writing is really good and I just had to see how all this was going to play out.  The ending is not to be missed.  LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"All Dressed in White" by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

All Dressed in White is a contemporary fiction thriller about a show called Under Suspicion that is like Unsolved Mysteries.   The book focuses on the most recent cold case the show is investigating about a missing woman who disappeared the day before her wedding from the Florida resort she was supposed to get married at. 

This book was very good.  I was never sure exactly what happened to Amanda until it was finally revealed near the end and the killer ready to kill again was a twist I did not expect!  This book is a warning to choose your friends carefully.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

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"The Kind Worth Killing" by Peter Swanson

In The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson, Ted and Lily meet at an airport bar.  They get to talking and drinking and all of a sudden, they feel a connection.  They decide to hatch a plan.  If it goes as planned, their lives will be forever changed.  I enjoyed this book.  The plot is good and the characters are cold-blooded to say the least.  I loved the ending!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

In When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Paul is this close to completing a decade's worth of training to be a neurosurgeon.  All his late hours and 24-hour days are almost done.  His marriage is having problems and his wife is also a doctor.  Paul though is on top of his game and could have his choice of top-notch hospitals at only 37 years old.  But the unthinkable happens and all of his plans are changed!

This is a very emotional book!  I felt so bad for Paul, his wife and their families.  There is a lot of medical terms in this book that were over my head so that is why I gave this one 4 stars instead of 5.  It is worth reading for sure!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"Truly Madly Guilty" by Liane Moriarty is One We Did Not See Eye to Eye On (updated)

I read Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty on my husband's recommendation and because he laughed out loud as he read through it.  Unfortunately, I did not find it all that funny and plowed through it.  (To be fair though, I just got done reading A Torch in the Night by Sabaa Tahir which was one I could hardly put down which had lots of adventure, action and interesting characters.)  Compared to that, this one really fell flat.

The tiny bit of action in it was alluded to all through the book in an attempt to build up some mystery, but moved along much too slow for my taste.  It is primarily about three couples and their marriages.  I really hated that the chapters went back and forth between the day of the big incident and the present and the past.  I just wanted to know what happened already and found the writing annoying.  Of the characters, I found the girl Dakota interesting and liked Tiffany and Sam best of the adults.  I also thought Harry, the grumpy neighbor was an interesting character but he wasn't in it much.  I loved Big Little Lies by this author so expected to like this book as well, but I didn't. 
(Karen's review, 2 stars)


Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty is about three couples and their children who gather together for a backyard barbecue.  What could possibly go wrong?  First of all, this is an adult novel.  I read a lot of YA and fantasy novels so this was a change for me which I thought was fantastic but find I am in the minority compared to other reviewers on Amazon.

I enjoyed all the characters and laughed out loud through it!  The dialogue among the characters made this a very enjoyable read.  This is the third book I have read by this author and I loved them all!  You cannot zoom through this book, because if you miss one thing, you miss a lot of the story!  LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review 10-9-16, 5++ stars)

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"Behind Closed Doors" by B. A. Paris (The Perfect Marriage or the Perfect Lie?)

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris was a psychological thriller that was better than I expected.  I certainly felt sorry for Grace because of the monster she married.  He completely had her fooled to get at her sister, Millie who has Down Syndrome. 

I enjoyed this book and was eager to see how Grace was going to manage to get away from her husband, Jack and save her sister.   There are a lot of mind games going on in this book and liked that there was no graphic violence or sex scenes.  The only thing I didn't care for was the organization of the book because it jumped back and forth between the present and the past all the way through which I found annoying. 
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review 8/20/16, 5 stars:
In Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris, Grace is in the park with her sister, Millie.  Millie is a special needs person and Grace takes to caring for her after their parents reject her.  In the park one day, Jack befriends Millie and begins to romance Grace.  When Jack asks Grace to marry him, she knows better days are coming for her and Millie.

I found this thriller to be a real page turner.  The story goes back and forth in time but that only builds up the suspense.  As the author's first book, I say it is very well done!


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"The Widow" by Fiona Barton

The Widow by Fiona Barton is about a young girl that goes missing.  It's also about a married couple, Glen and Jean who both have secrets about the missing girl, but then Glen dies.  Jean is free now to tell her secret, or is she? 

This book goes back in time to set up the missing girl's disappearance.  It is also told by a few detectives who want to know the truth.  This novel kept me interested, the writing was good and the ending pleased me.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Unhinge" by Calia Read is a "Must Read" (Book 2 in the Fairfax series)

In Unhinge by Calia Read, the sequel to Unravel, Victoria Donovan's life was going very well.  She married Wes, so handsome, so loving, had a great wedding and a beautiful house.  But then it all came undone.  Now she is in a mental hospital.  Her husband is dead, but Victoria is sure he is still coming to see her.  Is he?  Will a stranger help her and make her all right?

Wow!! What a read this is!  This book grabbed me from the start with good writing.  When it all plays out, in the end you will be like "What was that?"  I highly recommend this one--must read!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Neighbor" by Lisa Gardner--Who Is the Real Monster?

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner is a mystery told from multiple points of view about a wife and cat who turn up missing. She has a husband who works second shift and a 4-yr-old daughter who was the last person to see her mother before she disappeared. Both husband and wife had bad childhoods but love their daughter very much and want to give her a good family. The cops are clueless as to what happened to the wife but have lots of suspects.  The husband and wife are both good liars and very good at keeping secrets.

This book kept me guessing right to the unexpected ending but I felt really bad for the neighbor. It deals with family secrets, marriage issues, prejudice, computers and sexual abuse.  This book is an eye opener to the problems pedophiles face. The plot is similar to Gone Girl; however, I liked both the main characters in this and didn’t like either of the main characters in Gone Girl. This book doesn’t have near as much swearing as Gone Girl does either. I liked it!
 (Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's Review, 5++ stars:
In The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner, a husband comes home and finds that his wife and cat are missing.  The rest of the house is normal and his young 4-yr.-old daughter is fine.  The police are on it and have plenty of suspects including the husband, but no body.  This is a real page turner!  The author keeps dropping tidbits that change the focus every so often to different possible suspects, but there's really no evidence.  I really enjoyed it a lot and was blown away by the ending!

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"The Christmas List" by Richard Paul Evans

The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans is a contemporary Scrooge story.  A real estate mogul who is focused on making money at any cost regardless of who he hurts, is mistakenly reported to have died in an auto accident.  He then finds out what people really think of him when reading the comments to the news article online.  He decides to try to change and starts by contacting people he has hurt to apologize and try to make things right.  He realizes that the ones he hurt most were his wife and son and seeks to reconcile with them before it's too late. 

This quick read is heartwarming and thought provoking.  This book makes you take a look at life and make the most of the time we have.  I liked seeing how he changed for the better and seriously tried to make up for hurting people. 
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

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"Lost No More" by CeeCee James

Lost No More (Ghost no More series) by CeeCee James is based on her husband’s true story about a boy growing up with an alcoholic father and how their relationship changed over the years. It is a touching story about the complicated feelings between a father and son. This was an interesting read that I enjoyed. I really liked the ending.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

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"The Stranger" by Harlan Coben is a Page Turner!

The Stranger by Harlan Coben is a unique concept for a thriller.  A stranger comes up to you and tells you a secret about one of your loved ones that you did not know, and it's a bombshell.  Not only that, but he has evidence that he gives you to back it up!  That is the main story line in this book about Adam and his wife, Corinne.  Adam confronts her and she takes off telling him she will be back in a few days.  The other sub plots in the book are also really good with a surprise ending for me.  Don't let this book get past you--it is very good!  I LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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LOVED "Saving Grace" by Jane Green

Saving Grace by Jane Green is about the good life of Grace Chapman.  She is married to Ted, a well-known, rich author. Ted's assistant is a woman named Ellen who also runs the household to allow Grace to do as she pleases.  However, when Ellen leaves, Ted goes into a panic and tells Grace that she is nothing like Ellen.  Can things get back to normal?  You'll have to read the book.

WOW!  The writing in this book is very good.  I loved all the characters because they were true to life.  It does not get much better than this!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Pocket Wife" by Susan Crawford

The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford centers on a woman with bipolar disorder named Dana Catrell.  Her husband, Peter, is a lawyer and has little if any time for his wife.  One afternoon, a neighbor of Dana's is found dead.  Dana wants to know who killed her neighbor and wonders if it was her.  Dana saw her neighbor that day but does not really remember too well.

Great stuff here!  I enjoyed all the characters and the book flowed well with just enough action to keep my interest throughout.
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"The First Wife" by Erica Spindler is GREAT!

The First Wife by Erica Spindler is about Baily, a young woman who dreams of meeting "Mr. Right."  She meets Logan Abbot and quickly falls in love.  They get married but when they get back to his farm after the honeymoon, she hears rumors about women who have gone missing and Logan is a suspect!  She does not want to believe it but as time goes on and events happen, she wonders if it is true and if she is safe.

This is a GREAT book, a real page turner with a fantastic ending!  There are lots of twists and turns before you finally know how it all plays out.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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We Disagree on "Before I Go" by Colleen Oakley--UPDATED (Writer's Workshop)

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley is about a married couple, Daisy and Jack.  Daisy has a Cancer and she needs to find someone to be there for Jack if her condition goes from bad to worse.  I loved this book!  People Magazine gave it a high rating and they were right!  It goes quickly, keeping my interest from beginning to end.  The story is told from Daisy view for the most part.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Updated 2/12/15
My husband and I have very different views on this book.  Here's mine:

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley is about Daisy, a 27-yr. old woman who had breast Cancer four years ago but then the Cancer came back again, this time with a vengeance!  This is an emotional read.  It deals with facing death, knowing you only have 4-6 months, possibly a year at the most if the trial works.

I did not like this book at all!  It hit too close to home for me, having had breast cancer and having some of the same concerns as Daisy about how her husband would manage when she died.  I found it to be pretty depressing and did not like how she let the cancer take over her life instead of making the most of the time she did have.  I would rather read just about anything instead of this one, just sayin'.  However, if you really want to get insight into what women think about who are fighting cancer, then read this. 
(Karen's review, 2 stars)

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"Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty is GREAT! (UPDATED)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty is realistic contemporary fiction about school politics, parenting, bullying, secrets, friendship, and domestic violence.  The novel primarily focuses on four couples and one single mother who all have children starting kindergarten at Pirriwee Public School.  The mothers are all very involved at the school and have a lots of interesting interaction.   The whole book leads up to the climax at the School’s annual Parent Trivia Night when one of the parents is killed.  Here is a teaser from pg. 637 that really sums up this whole book spoken by one of the mothers:

It occurred to her that there were so many levels of evil in the world.  Small evils like her own malicious words.  Like not inviting a child to a party.  Bigger evils like walking out on your wife and newborn baby or sleeping with your child’s nanny.  And then there was the sort of evil of which Madeline had no experience:  cruelty in hotel rooms and violence in suburban homes and little girls being sold like merchandise, shattering innocent hearts.

Right from the start the reader finds out there is a murder investigation and interspersed throughout the book are snippets of different people telling the detective what happened.  The writing is outstanding and cleverly done with a surprise ending, at least for me.  This is a page turner that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys family drama and a good mystery.  I think this would be a great book for a book club!

If you have read this one, who were your favorite characters?  Gerard liked all the mothers in the book.  I liked Ed most and Celeste second.  I loved how generous she was with her husband’s money!

(Karen's review-10/24/14, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 5++ stars:
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty is told by three women:  Madeline, Celeste and Jane.  They all have children attending the same grade school.  This is a fantastic read!  I loved all the women and their different story lines along with plenty of action!  This novel builds up to one night when all the story lines finally come together.  I LOVED the ending!  Do not miss this one--it's a must read!  It does not get any better than this.  This is my new book of the month without a doubt!

We both liked The Husband's Secret by this author, but this one is way better than that even!

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!

"Five Days Left" by Julie Lawson Timmer is one We Both Liked! (UPDATED)

Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer contains two story lines:  the first one is about a woman named Mara who is battling severe health problems; the second one is about Scott, a teacher, who takes in a younger brother of a star pupil of his.  When the boy's mom wants her son back, Scott has a hard time letting go.  Although the Scott story line is good, the Mara story line is gripping!  The endings of both are stunning.  It doesn't get much better than this!  I found this book very hard to put down, finishing it in just two days.  LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review 10/11/14, 5 stars:
I liked Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer for the following reasons:
(1)  I learned about Huntington's disease, one I had never even heard of before;
(2)  Since I am a legal secretary, I could identify with the career aspect of Mara and her secretary;
(3)  The story line about Scott, a teacher, having temporary guardianship of Curtis was very interesting to me;
(4)  It brought out a lot of emotions for me:  sadness, anger, sympathy, empathy and
(5)  I wasn't sure how either story lines would end.

I felt very sad for Mara and her family and could easily understand why she planned to commit suicide.  I loved how Scott took in Curtis while his mom was in jail and was so upset at the thought of losing him.  It was kind of an interesting sideline how the author brought Mara and Scott together through an online forum that they both used for support.  This book shows how sometimes people need strangers who they can open up to as Mara did with her cab driver, Harry, a recovering alcoholic and with the online forum.

I was more interested in Scott's story line than Mara's because Mara's was just so sad.  In Scott's, I at least had hope!  I think this would make for a good book club read!  

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!

"Rekindled" by Tamera Alexander

Rekindled by Tamera Alexander is about Kathryn and Larson, a married couple struggling to save their ranch in the Colorado territory in 1864.  Larson takes off on what he expects to be a 3-day business trip but doesn’t return until five months later, scarred but more in love with his wife than ever.  Having a new found faith in God, he prays she will still want him.  She prayed during that time that God would take care of him and bring him home, but when he returned, she didn’t even recognize him! 

This is a fantastic historical Christian fiction novel that kept my interest right from the first page to the last.  It has touching moments, action, some mystery and a strong romantic plot.  I liked how the chapters alternated between Larson’s perspective and Kathryn’s.  The main theme of this book is to appreciate what you have and not judge others by outward appearances.  This is the first book in the Fountain Creek Chronicles series.  I LOVED IT and couldn’t help but pull for the couple to be reunited. 

(Karen's review, 5 stars)

 

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"The Preacher's Bride" by Jody Hedlund

The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund is historical fiction based on the true story of John Bunyon, the author of Pilgrim's Progress.  It is about the woman behind the great man who refused to preach God's Word in spite of imprisonment and persecution.  It takes place in Bedford, England during the mid-late 1600s.  Much of the book is about Elizabeth, before she became John's wife.  She started out as his housekeeper/nanny.  She was a good Puritan woman who gave sacrificially to help others and who suffered persecution just because she worked for John.

I felt sorry for Elizabeth through most of the book and learned how cruelly the Puritans who were poor were treated.  I think most women would enjoy this book since a great amount of it is about Elizabeth's feelings toward the men in her life, the children she took care of and her desire to do God's will in the face of danger.  This is the first book I have read by Jody Hedlund but intend to read some more; I enjoyed it!    Visit Jody's blog where you can find more of her books and learn about writing books:  Author, Jody Hedlund.

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