I more than made up for all the books I did not read in April in May, reading eight books. Traveling and being sick for a couple of days definitely added to my reading time. And, I don’t know about you, but when I really like a book, I’ll pass up sleep and other forms of recreation, like the current episode of Ted Lasso, to keep reading.
Also, I still have not finished Spare. 😳
What Lies in the Woods, Kate Alice Marshall ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Three young girls spend the summer in the woods playing their favorite game, The Goddess Game. The fun ends when one of the three is viciously attacked and stabbed seventeen times, yet survives. Her two friends see the attacker, and the girls’ testimony puts a monster behind bars. But was their testimony the truth? And can your memory be altered by the memories of someone else? These are the questions Naomi Shaw is trying to answer decades later when one of the other two girls wants to tell the truth and then goes missing. The plot is twisty, it’s dark, and there’s a true crime podcast involved. It’s definitely a BORROW.
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I’m a sucker for an accent and a good whodunit. You get both in this charming and clever novel (if you choose the audiobook 😉). Ernie reluctantly attends his family reunion at a ski resort amidst warnings of a storm. Family dysfunction runs rampant in the Cunningham family, as from the start, Ernie lets the reader know that, truly, everyone in his family has killed someone. The reunion is barely off the ground when an unknown dead body turns up on the resort property. With a mix of classic and modern storytelling, the author allows the protagonist to break the fourth wall, introduces you to fully developed characters and delivers a mystery with many a twist. As Ernie says, “Family is not whose blood runs in your veins; it’s who you’d spill it for.” This one is a BUY!
The Will Trent Series, Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I am a big fan of Karin Slaughter’s novels. She writes a Southern police procedural accurately while creating compelling, imperfect characters. I read some books from the Will Trent series a few years ago, but not in any order. So when ABC announced the Will Trent series in January, I knew I’d be rereading the books. So for this review, I’m going to group them all together instead of reviewing each. There are 11 books in the Will Trent series, which follows Will, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Orphaned, dyslexic and struggling to overcome his childhood traumas, Will is surprisingly clever, observant to a fault, doesn’t miss a detail and is one of the best detectives the GBI has ever had. Each novel tells the story of a gripping case (Slaughter holds nothing back when describing these crimes) and how Will navigates his personal and professional relationships. The show is a Must Watch and the books are addictive. These can definitely be a BUY, as they won’t break the bank, or they make an excellent BORROW from your local library.
The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This title was recommended to me by a neighbor. When I saw how long the wait time was at the library, I knew it would be good. The only thing about this book I didn’t like is that I didn’t read it sooner. This is the first in a series set at Cooper’s Chase, a retirement village in England. A group of four septuagenarians work together to solve what starts as one murder but quickly becomes two. The foursome is witty and smart, and their dialogue and thoughts bring a lot of humor to this mystery. Despite their age, the group unquestionably help the two DIs solve the case. The characters are endearing and, even if you think you know who did it, you genuinely don’t until the end. I’m looking forward to the hijinks of these four in the next book. Definitely a BUY!
Just the Nicest Couple, Mary Kubica ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ½
Jake and Nina Hayes and Christian and Lilly Scott are couple friends. Nina and Lilly work together, but they’ve hung out as couples a few times, too. This is why when Jake goes missing, Nina becomes confused by what she learns about Christian and Lilly. The storyline is intriguing, as you don’t know where Jake is until more than 3/4 of the way through the book. After that, however, it becomes predictable…at least until the final chapters when the whole truth is exposed. I loved Kubica’s Local Woman Missing, but this one left me a little unsatisfied. It’s a quick reading mystery and makes a good BORROW.