Books Set in North America, Virginia, USA

The Perfect Marriage, by Jeneva Rose (2020)

Sarah Morgan is a high-level and successful defense lawyer.  She seems to have the perfect life with her husband, Adam.  Sarah, however, works long hours and Adam is a would-be writer with too much time on his hands.  He tries to write in their lake house, which is about an hour away from their home.  He spends most of his time there.  He runs into Kelly Summers, with whom he has an affair.  When she is found dead in his bed at the lake house, he is accused of her murder.  Sarah takes on the case to defend him.

There are lots of twists and turns in the book, but specific trial matter doesn't make sense.  That aside, it was a fun and quick read.

Read:  April 29, 2026

3 Stars

 

Books Set in North America; United States, New York and California

The Night We Lost Him, by Laura Dave (2024)

This was a mindless, but fun suspense drama.  Nora and her half-brother Sam investigate their father's death.  He appeared to have fallen from a cliff to his death, but was it an accident?  

Read: February 24, 2026

3 Stars

Books Set in North America, New Hampshire, United States of America

The Last One at the Wedding, by Jason Rekulak (2024)

Read:  November 25, 2025

5 Stars

Books Set in North America; Louisiana United States

First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston (2024)

This suspense thriller is narrated by a con woman calling herself Evie Porter who works for a mysterious man known only as “Mr. Smith.”  She is sent out around the South to find dirt on others.  The novel opens when she moves in with her latest mark, Ryan Sumner, who lives in a fictious small town in Southern Louisiana near the Texas border.

Although initially Evie was supposed to investigate Ryan’s mysterious side business, she soon finds herself falling in love with him.  One day Evie meets a woman calling herself Lucca Marino, which is Evie actual name.  Lucca is impersonating Evie and providing all the details of Evie’s actual life.  Soon after their meeting, the fake Lucca is killed in a car accident.

The plot goes back and forth in time as the layers of Evie’s life are slowly peeled back.  We learn of other jobs Evie has done for Mr. Smith and how these jobs impacted her life.  Evie realizes that some of the jobs she is assigned are actual jobs, but others are test of her loyalty to Mr. Smith.

When Evie is accused of murder and an arrest warrant is issued, she realized that Mr. Smith is testing her, possibly for a final time.  She must trust her instincts to take steps to protect herself, all the while considering who she can trust.

I have been reading some rather heavy books over the past few months.  This was just the ticket for a light and fast read.  Plus, the references to and about Louisiana were fun.  The suspense was sufficient to keep my attention.  A fun book.

Read: May 11, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, Baton Rouge and Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

A Flicker in the Dark, by Stacy Willingham (2022)

A Flicker in the Dark is a thriller narrated by Chloe Davis, a psychologist from the small bayou town of Breaux Bridge, but now living and working in Baton Rouge.  When she was a young girl, her life was shattered when her father, Dick Davis, convicted of the murder of several teenaged girls.  Chloe was the one who turned her father into the police, an act that follows her where ever she goes.

Now as the twentieth anniversary of her father’s conviction and incarceration, more teenaged girls go missing.  Chloe is haunted by memories of the past with the news of more missing girls.  She is further troubled when Aaron Jansen, a reporter for the New York Times, approaches her for an interview for an anniversary story about the original murders.

Due to her past, Chloe has had a hard maintaining long-term relationships, so when she meets Daniel Briggs, he seems to be her savior.  She withholds telling him the full story of her childhood and her infamous father, however.  Daniel’s sister also vanished twenty years earlier and Chloe wonders if there may be a link to the earlier murders.

I picked up this book solely because it takes place in Baton Rouge and Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.  The author description of the bayous and marshes of Louisiana in a way that the reader feels the humidity and moss covered trees.  It was a very quick read and was filled with twists and turns.

Read:  January 25, 2024

4.5 Stars

Books Set in North America: Baltimore, Maryland USA

Lady in the Lake, by Laura Lippman (2019)

 

This is a delightful suspense novel that takes place in Baltimore in the 1960s.  Maddie Schwartz is a 37-year old bored Jewish housewife who suddenly leaves her husband and son to be on her own.  She realized that she needs money, so stages a fake robbery so she can collect the insurance money on her engagement and wedding rings.  This brings her in contact with Ferdie, an African-American police officer.  Soon they find themselves in a passionate affair.  They can’t be seen in public, however, because (1) she is still married, and (2) because interracial relationships are illegal in 1960s Maryland.

 

After a young girl goes missing, Maddie joins a search group and discovers the body.  This sparks her interest in pursuing a job as a reporter.  She wrangles her way into a small job at one of Baltimore’s newspapers. When the body of Cleo Sherwood, a young African-American woman, is discovered in a fountain, Maddie becomes obsessed with the woman’s death.  She relentlessly pursues leads to find out what happened to the dead woman.

 

The story slowly unfolds from Maddie’s point of view, as well as that of several other characters, including the ghost of Cleo.  The novel gently also touches upon many social issues of the 1960s, including racism, classism, sexism, and gender matters.  The solution, once it was revealed, was a surprise twist, but one that fit nicely into the story.  [Spoiler Alert:  Cleo, it turns out, didn't die.  The body in the fountain was that of her roommate, whom no one would miss.  Cleo wanted to disappear so she could marry her lover.]

Read: February 21, 2023

4 Stars

 

Books Set in Europe; England

A Slow Fire Burning, by Paula Hawkins (2021)

Read: August 25, 2022

4 Stars

Books Set in the United States

Bring Her Home, by David Bell (2017)

A forgettable thriller about mistaken identities.  

I read this on the flight to Budapest, so I was a captive audience.

Read: June 5, 2022

2 Stars

Books Set in Australia

The Mother-in-Law, by Sally Hepworth (2019)

 

The novel begins with the death of Diane Goodwin, the title’s mother-in-law.  She was mother to Ollie and Nettie and mother-in-law to Lucy.  Diana’s death appeared to be a suicide, but certain evidence caused the police to investigate.  Why was a suicide note left in a drawer, and not out where it would immediately be discovered?  Where did those mysterious gold threads come from, and why is there only one pillow in the sofa?  Diana was very rich, so there is motive and opportunity for foul play.

 

Lucy lost her mother when she was 13-years old, so she had hoped to be able to establish a warm and loving relationship with her mother-in-law.  Diana, however, does not have the warmest personality and keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself.  Even her friends do not really know Diana.  Thus, Lucy’s relationship with Diana is strained.

 

The novel goes back and forth in time and between Lucy and Diana.  Lucy and Ollie have what seems to be a perfect marriage.  They have three young children, Lucy is a stay-at-home mother who supports her husband’s business ventures.  Lucy is not keen on Ollie’s business partner, but believes in her husband.

 

Lucy and her mother-in-law have a strained relationship.  Lucy seemingly can do anything to please her mother-in-law.  From Diana’s voice, we learn that she had a very traumatic experience in her early years that shaped her ability to interact with others.  Diana worked hard to achieve her goals and believes that her children should do the same.

 

As we delve into the novel, we discover that each family member has secrets.  Nettie is desperate to have a child and is willing to do anything to have a baby.  All she needs is money.  Patrick, Nellie’s husband has secrets he is keeping from his wife.  Ollie’s business is not doing as well as he leads Lucy to believe.  All he needs is money.  Lucy has her own secrets.

 

This book has some wonderful twists and turns, that kept me guessing right to the end.  The conclusion of the novel did not disappoint.  I read it in one sitting.

 

5 Stars

 

Read:  February 27, 2022

 

 

Books Set in North America, Washington State, United States

Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson (1995)

 

Snow Falling on Cedars is part trial novel, part mystery.  Set in San Piedro, a remote island in the Puget Sound in the 1950s, it takes place in the years after World War II, where Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese-American stands trial for the murder of fellow fisherman, Carl Heine.  Many of the men of San Piedro had fought in the War, and many are still skeptical of the Japanese.

 

Although Kabuo was born in the United States, and thus was American, he was born of immigrant parents.  Even before the War, there was considerable prejudice against the Japanese who lived on the island.  Furthermore, there were laws which prevented its Japanese citizens from owning land.  Underlying this novel is a feud between the Heine and Kabuo families.  Carl’s father had an arrangement to sell Kabuo’s father 7 acres of property for growing strawberries.  Kabuo’s father was making regular payments, but before he could make the final two payments, he and his family were sent off to an internment camp.  While Miyamoto family was interned, Carl Heine’s father died.  Carl’s mother, Etta, was a bitter and prejudiced woman, who took the opportunity to sell the land to another strawberry family.  When the Miyamoto family tried to claim their land, they were surprised to find it had been sold out from under them.  This feud brewed for many years.

 

When Carl was found drowned under suspicious circumstances, the local law enforcement was quick to settle on Kabuo as their prime suspect.  The novel begins with the trial, but the story is told in flashbacks as the reader meets the characters.  The reader learns their backstories and the interactions between the townspeople and the island’s Japanese community.  As evidence piles up against Kabuo, prejudices of the entire community are exposed.  The novel builds the suspense to the end.

 

Read first: December 29, 2003 / Second time: October 21, 2021 (for Hadassah Attorney Council Book discussion)

 

4 Stars

Books Set in North America: United States, Nashville, Tennessee

No One Knows, by J. T. Ellison (2016)

 

No One Knows, by J.T. Ellison is a fast-paced thriller.  The novel begins on the day that Aubrey Hamilton’s husband, Josh, has been officially been declared dead.  He disappeared 5 years earlier, shortly before amending his life insurance policy listing Aubrey as the beneficiary of his $5M policy.  His mother, Daisy, however, always had an intense dislike of Aubrey and threatens to contest the policy.

 

Josh disappeared on the eve of his best friend’s wedding.  Aubrey and Josh were to attend separate bachelor parties, but Josh never showed up at the groom’s party.  What happened to him?

 

All that was left was a large pool of blood in their home.  Aubrey was immediately cast as suspect in foul play and was tried for his murder.  She was subsequently acquitted, but the experience, along with her past encounters with law enforcement left her shattered and bitter.

 

As we delve into the shared history of Josh and Aubrey, we go back and forth in time from Aubrey’s troubled childhood.  Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was a young child and Aubrey spent much of her childhood living in a foster home.  Her best friend there was her foster brother, Tyler, who became a druggie and minor criminal.  Josh had his own childhood traumas.  He grew up believing that his biological father was dead and was adopted by Tom, his step-father.

 

It was serendipity that Aubrey ran into Chase Boden, a man who resembles Josh.  After a one-night stand, Aubrey finds herself falling for him.  Chase claims to be from Chicago but is always just a few short minutes away from Aubrey.  What are his motives?

 

Aubrey begins to hear rumor that Josh is still alive, so seeks to find out more of his past.  The story is told from many points of view: Aubrey, Daisy, Josh, Tom, Chase … There is also Meghan, the care-free spirit who owns the coffee shop where Aubrey works to supplement her salary as a Montessori teacher.

 

Ultimately, the ending left me unsatisfied.  The ending just come to any logical conclusion.

 

Spoiler Alert:  I felt that Meghan should have played a greater role in the novel’s resolution.  Furthermore, when Josh did appear, his behaviour over the past 5 years changed him from the loving husband to a mean, bitter and controlling man.  We also learn that Daisy had been briefly been married before she was married to Josh’s father.  She had a brief affair and gave birth to a son, who turns out to have been Chase.  Thus, it was no coincidence that he resembled Josh and that he “bumped” into Aubrey.  Then, we learn that Aubrey was in on the disappearing scheme all along.  Sorry.  Up until the last few pages, however, I enjoyed the book.  I probably won’t seek out other books by this author, however.

 

Read:  May 15, 2021

 

3 Stars

 

 

Books Set in North America: United States: Arizona

Credible Threat, by J.A. Jance (2020)  //  Ali Reynolds Series # 15

 

This is the first book I have read by J.A. Jance, but it is the 15^th book in her Ali Reynolds series.  The author spends some time providing the reader with some background from prior books in the series, but the novel can stand on its own.  Apparently in prior novels, Ali works with her husband B. Simpson in solving mysteries.  In this book, B. Simpson is abroad working on his own project, so Ali is left to work on her own to solve this mystery.

 

Rachel Higgins is a 70-year old woman whose marriage to a controlling husband has fallen apart.  When their only son, David, died of an overdose years earlier, her husband basically lost his will to go on.  He lost his job and spends his days making bird houses.  Rachel and her husband barely speak to each other.  The book begins when Rachel learns that David turned to drugs because he had been abused by a priest when in high school and he couldn’t confide in anyone.  

 

Rachel vows to take revenge upon the Church and her target is Francis Gillespie, the aged Archbishop in Phoenix, Arizona.  Little does she know that the Archbishop had taken a strong stand against the pedophilic priests in his diocese.  Rachel begins by sending the Archbishop threatening notes that she drops into the collection plates in a number of churches throughout the diocese.  The Archbishop went to the local police; however, he was told that the threats were not credible, hence, he turns to his friend Ali.

 

Rachel has gone to great lengths to create the “perfect” crime as she continues to plot her revenge on the Archbishop.  Can Ali stop Rachel before she kills?  Will Rachel’s husband come out of his shell and thwart Rachel’s plans?

 

Great literature this is not, however, it was a fun and quick read.  I will definitely go back and start reading this series from its first book.

 

Read:  May 7, 2021

 

4 Stars

 

Books Set in Europe: Germany: Bavaria

The Play of Death, by Oliver Pölzsch (2016)

In 1633, the Black Plague raged through Europe.  In the village of Oberammergau, 80 villagers died.  The people of the village vowed to put on a Passion play (the story of the crucifixion of Jesus) every 10 years if they would be spared.  The play was first performed in 1634.  This is the backdrop of this 6^th novel in the Hangman’s Daughter series.  We are once again acquainted with Magdalena Fronweiser and her family, which consists of her husband, Simon, her 2 sons, her father, Jakob Kuisl, the hangman, and her sister, Barbara.

The novel takes place in 1670.  The village of Oberammergau is preparing for their next performance, however, it is 4 years early for the 10-year anniversary mark.  This causes some of the superstitious villagers concern.  When actors in some of the key roles are found murdered, concern among the villagers heightens.

The first death was that of the actor playing the role of Jesus.  He was found murdered on a cross just as Simon Fronwieser, the medicus of Schongau, is in the village to bring his young son to boarding school of Simon’s friend and teacher, Georg Kaiser.  The village doctor has recently died, so Simon is naturally asked investigate the murder.  Meanwhile, Johann Lechner, Schongau’s secretary and town leader brings Jakob Kuisl, to Oberammergau because the village’s executioner has also recently died.  He, too, gets caught up in the investigation of the eerie murders.

While Lechner is out of Schnogau is out of town, other members of the town’s council decide to take advantage of his absence to oust him.  When Barbara Kuisl is accused of witchcraft she is thrown in the town’s dungeon and is awaiting torture.  With Lechner out of town, Barbara has no advocate.  Magdalena sneaks out of town to go to Oberammargau to seek Lechner’s assistance.  Along the way, however, she is abducted.

In the meantime, the people of Oberammergau are protesting the immigrant workers from Italy.  They are scorned and their children keep going missing.  Is there a connection between the murders of the actors in the Passion play and the missing immigrant children?

This book has multiple plot twists as it unravels the murders of the Passion play and the abduction of Magdalena.

As with the other books in this series, this book is based on historical facts, which is what I find must interesting.  I enjoyed this book as a light and easy read.

Read:  April 15, 2020

4 Stars

The Hangman’s Daughter; Book I / Read: June 1, 2013

The Dark Monk; Book II / Read: October 6, 2013

The Beggar King; Book III / Read: March 9, 2014

The Poisoned Pilgrim; Book IV / Read: December 28, 2017

The Werewolf of Bamberg; Book V / Read: July 21, 2019

The Play of Death; Book VI / Read: April 15, 2020

Books Set in Europe: Germany, Bavaria

The Werewolf of Bamberg, by Oliver Pötzsch (2014)

This is the 5th novel in the Hangman's Daughter series.  The year is 1668, and the Kuisl family has traveled from Schongau to Bamberg to celebrate the marriage of Barthalomäus, the estranged brother of the Kuisl patriarch, Jakob.  Until recently, his children were unaware that their father even had a brother.  A misunderstanding years earlier had caused a split between the brothers.

When the family arrives in Bamberg, they learn that the city has been terrorized by a series of murders.  Several elders of the city have gone missing, only to have their mangled bodies appear scattered around the city.  Rumors spread that the deaths are caused by a werewolf.

What I like about this mystery series is the careful research the author does in his novels.  In the afterward, he explains the history behind this mystery.  While the events seem supernatural to the citizens of this German town in the late 1660s, they actually have a basis in science.

I have enjoyed the other books in the series, and this one was no exception.

Read: July 21, 2019

5 Stars

Books Set in North America: United States: New York City

The Wife Between Us, by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (2017)

Read: May 5, 2019

4 Stars

Books Set in North America: United States: New York

The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn (2018)

The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn is similar to the book The Girl on the Train, except not as good. Anne Fox experienced a traumatic event that left her an agoraphobe. She hasn't left her house in years, but sits and drinks wine all day. (She has food and wine delivered.) She has very little contact with the outside and has virtually cut herself off from other people. She has a somewhat mysterious tenant living in her basement.

One day, while sitting in her window she sees something happening in a house across the park. Then, she meets the family who lives in that house, or does she?

This book kept me entertained during my plane trip, but I probably would have left it alone if I had picked it up while at home.

Read: May 2, 20189 (on plane to New Hampshire)

3 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

Into the Water, by Paula Hawkins (2017)

Into the Water is a very confusing suspense thriller.  The novel it told through numerous voices.  Each chapter moves the novel forward through a different voice, however, sometimes that voice is in first person and sometimes in third person.  This causes a bumpy read.

The novel begins with the death of Nel Abbott, a single mother.  Nel was found in the Drowning Pool, where many “troublesome” women had been found dead over the centuries.  Nel, however, was the second death in the drowning pool in just a few short months.  Did Nel commit suicide by diving into the pool, or was she pushed.  And if she was pushed, who would have motive?

Nel’s daughter, Lena, is a typical 15-year old with all the angst that goes with it.  She is suddenly found under the care of Jules, her aunt.  Jules and her sister, Nel, were estranged, which creates a complicated relationship between Jules and Lena.

Lena’s best friend was Katie Whittaker, who had died in the drowning pool only a few months before Nel.  In the months before her death, Katie and Lena had a falling out.  Is there a link between her death and Lena?

The novel delves into the past life of Nel and Katie Whittaker, the young teenaged girl who died earlier in the year.  The plot involves some very dark issues, including rape.

There are also many plot strings that are not satisfactorily resolved.  This novel didn’t live up to Hawkins’s previous novel, The Girl on the Train.

Read:  May 31, 2018

3 Stars

Books Set in the United States: Seattle, Washington

Girl Last Seen, by Nina Lauren (2017)

Billed as a psychological thriller, Girl Last Seen was based on a very odd premise.  The novel opens when 13-year old Ella Santos was found by Office Sean Ortiz after having been abducted three years earlier.  She had been sexually abused during her abduction, and when she was finally freed, she was pregnant.

The abduction destroyed her, and 10 years later, she has changed her name to Laine Moreno, and is working as a bartender in a seedy bar.  She watches for abductions similar to hers.  When Olivia Shaw is abducted, Laine realized that this young girl has been stolen by the same person who captured her years ago.  Laine seeks to assist the police in finding Olivia.  What happens next defies logic.

The same police officer, Sean Ortiz, is involved in the Olivia Shaw kidnapping.  We also learn that  Olivia is Laine's daughter, who was taken from her immediately after her birth.  Laine then becomes friends with Olivia's adopted mother, although the adoptive father is distant.  The ending was not very satisfactory.

Read: April 30, 2018

2 Stars

Books Set in Europe: Bavaria, Germany

The Poisoned Pilgrim, by Oliver Pötzsch (2013)

This is the fourth book in the delightful Hangman's Daughter series, a series of historical fiction/suspense novels following Jakob Kuisl, his daughter, Magdalena and her "bathhouse" doctor, Simon Fronwieser.

The novel is set in 1666 in Bavaria.  Magdalena and her husband leave their home town of Schongau to participate in a religious festival and pilgrimage in nearby Andechs.  Almost as soon as they arrive in Andechs, two monks are found dead under mysterious circumstances.  Simon examines the bodies and discovers that one of the victim's, who ostensibly drown, was probably a victim of murder.  When Jokob learns that his old friend, Brother Johannes is arrested, joins his daughter to investigate the events occurring in the pilgrimage town.

Two of the monks are experimenting with the phenomenon of lightening and electricity, while the rest of the town considers this witchcraft.  There are several plot threads in this novel, which make for a very suspenseful and exciting mystery.

From the first book in the series, The Hangman's Daughter, we learned that hangmen and their families are disrespected.  The hangmen, however, are also learned men in medicines, so are a necessary component of the medieval villages.

The author is from the Bavaria and there was a hangman in his family's history.  This makes the novel really come alive.

5 Stars

This is the fourth book in the Hangman's Daughter series.

Read:  December 28, 2017

5 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins (2015)

This is a fascinating murder mystery / suspense novel, told in three voices.  First, there is Rachel, the alcoholic who rides the train into London each day.  She creates lives for a young couple she sees along the route.  Only later, she meets the couple and learns their lives are not as romantic as she imagined.

Then there is Anna, the new wife of Rachel's former husband.  Anna fears the drunken Rachel and believes that Rachel is constantly coming around to harass Anna and her family.

Finally, there is Megan, the young wife who has gone missing.  She is the young woman that Rachel observed on her train ride each day.

Read: October 11, 2015

5 Stars.