Upgrade

 

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Fiction

2022

Finished on June 22, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.

But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.

Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.

Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.

And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?

Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.

Upgrade is the third novel by Blake Crouch that I've read and enjoyed. As with Dark Matter and Recursion, I was quickly drawn into the story, the pages practically turning themselves. Similar to my reading experience with Crouch's books, as well as Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary, I found that I could read about science, and specifically molecular genetics and genetic engineering, without getting hung up on the specifics. Published just four years ago, this timely novel struck several chords with how our nation (and world) is evolving:

And I was struck again with the awareness that I was alive in strange times. There was a palpable sense of things in decline.

Africa alone had four billion people, most of whom were food insecure and worse. Even here in America, we were still crippled by rolling food shortages, supply-chain disruptions, and labor scarcity. With the cost of meat having skyrocketed, most restaurants that had closed during the Great Starvation never reopened.

We lived in a veritable surveillance state, engaged with screens more than with our loved ones, and the algorithms knew us better than we knew ourselves.

Each passing year, more jobs were lost to automation and artificial intelligence.

Crouch's characters are rich and fully realized, and the dialogue flows smoothly. And yet, by the halfway mark, I grew impatient. The momentum of the story was beginning to wane. I pushed through and finished, but what I thought would be a 5-star read dropped down a full point. The author has sold the rights to Amblin, Steven Spielberg's company. I enjoyed the 9-episode Apple TV series of Dark Matter, and look forward to watching Upgrade once it hits a streaming platform. 

If you haven't read Blake Crouch, I recommend starting with one of his previous books. This one is somewhat underwhelming.

Dark Matter (4.5/5)

Recursion (5/5)

The Trap

 

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

Mystery

Narrated by John Keating and Alana Kerr Collins

2023

Finished on August 4, 2025

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

From award-winning, internationally bestselling crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard comes The Trap: an unsettling mystery inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances in Ireland in the nineties, wherein one young woman risks everything to catch a faceless killer.

One year ago, Lucy's sister, Nicki, left to meet friends at a pub in Dublin and never came home. The third Irish woman to vanish inexplicably in as many years, the agony of not knowing what happened that night has turned Lucy's life into a waking nightmare. So, she's going to take matters into her own hands. 

Angela works as a civilian paper-pusher in the Missing Persons Unit, but wants nothing more than to be a fully fledged member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. With the official investigation into the missing women stalled, she begins pulling on a thread that could break the case wide open -- and destroy her chances of ever joining the force. A nameless man drives through the night, his latest victim in the back seat. He's going to tell her everything, from the beginning. And soon, she'll realize: what you don't know can hurt you...

Nonlinear timelines and misdirection kept me guessing, and even shaking my head in disbelief, as the final pages drew near. This was my first read of Catherine Ryan Howard's thrillers, and it won't be my last. I enjoyed the audio narration, although the nameless abductor was creepy to listen to as he shared details of his process with one of the victims. It's been years since I've read anything by Mo Hayder, but there is something about The Trap that brought her Jack Caffery thrillers (Birdman, The Treatment, and Gone) to mind. Thankfully, this book didn't give me nightmares! 

Catherine Ryan Howard is an award-winning, no. 1 bestselling thriller writer from Cork, Ireland.

Her work has been shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Novel, the UK Crime Writers Association John Creasey/New Blood and Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Awards, and the An Post Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year multiple times. Her novels have been included in the New York Times Best Thrillers of the Year, the Washington Post’s Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the Year and the Sunday Times Best Thrillers of the Year. She is published in 20 languages and a number of her titles have been optioned for screen.

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Sequel

 

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

The Book Series #2

Mystery/Thriller

2024

Finished on February 7, 2025

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

(Spoiler Alert - Don't read this publisher's blurb if you haven't read The Plot)

Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business. That is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Something has gone very wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly... Anna, herself. What does this person want and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story. And she is, by any standard, a master storyteller.

With her signature wit and sardonic humor, Jean Hanff Korelitz gives readers an antihero to root for while illuminating and satirizing the world of publishing in this deliciously fun and suspenseful read.

I don't have any trips planned that involve flying, but if I did The Sequel would be the perfect book to read while confined inside an airplane. I was immediately drawn into this sequel to Jean Hanff Korelitz's previous book, The Plot, and the pages practically turned themselves. I only wish that I had read both books back-to-back. While Korelitz provides details to the backstory of her original work, I had to stop and think about that timeline and the details in that novel as I worked to untangle Anna's meticulously woven web of deceit and guile. Korelitz kept me guessing, taking me down multiple paths that I was certain would lead to the big reveal (I even grew suspicious of Anna's editor!). The ending is well-executed; no plot holes in this one! If pressed, I'd have to say that I enjoyed The Plot a tad bit more than The Sequel, but they are both very entertaining (and would make a great TV series).

Fun feature: Korelitz cleverly assigns the title of a real sequel to each chapter. 

The Sequel is most assuredly not a stand-alone. Highly recommend after you have read The Plot. 

Naked Prey

 

Naked Prey by John Sandford

Lucas Davenport #14

2003

Finished on January 19, 2025

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

Lucas Davenport finds some changes — and some nasty surprises — in store, in the chilling novel by the number-one-bestselling author.

After thirteen years and thirteen Prey novels, John Sandford's writing is as fresh as ever. His last book, Mortal Prey, was "a model of the genre" (People) and "the cop novel of the year" (Kirkus Reviews). In the words of the Washington Post: "John Sandford does everything right."

Now, in Naked Prey, he puts Lucas Davenport through some changes. His old boss, Rose Marie Roux, has moved up to the state level and taken Lucas with her, creating a special troubleshooter job for him for cases that are too complicated or too politically touchy for others to handle. In addition, Lucas is married now, and a new father, all of which is fine with him; he doesn't mind being a family man. But he is a little worried. For every bit of peace you get, you have to pay — and he's waiting for the bill.

It comes in the form of two people found hanging from a tree in the woods of northern Minnesota. What makes the situation particularly sensitive is that the bodies are of a black man and a white woman, and they're naked. "Lynching" is the word everybody's trying not to say — but, as Lucas begins to discover, in fact the murders are nothing like what they appear to be. There is worse to come — much, much worse.

The night I finished Naked Prey, I stayed up reading until after midnight. I rarely do that, but I simply could not put this book down! It's been over 15 years since I read a John Sandford book (Mortal Prey), and quite honestly, I'm surprised that I enjoyed this installment as well as I did; the last few books in the Prey series were very disappointing. I'm not sure if the long break helped boost my enjoyment, but I couldn't read fast enough. The tension is taut, the dialogue snappy, and I enjoyed the introduction of the gun-toting, foul-mouthed, twelve-year-old girl named Letty West. I think Lucas and Del thought she was pretty sharp, too, and I hope to see more of her in the next book. 

Highly recommend!

Holly

Holly by Stephen King

Holly Gibney #3

Fiction/Thriller

2023

Finished on October 24, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

Fantastic! Another winner by King. Holly is less of a mystery (the reader is privy to all that is going on while Holly is trying to find out if there's a serial killer at large), and definitely not horror (at least not in the supernatural sense), so I'd categorize this one as a thriller. I couldn't put it down! Each night I would read a few chapters before falling asleep, only to wake up an hour later, eager to read more. I knocked off half a point due to the heavy-handed commentary about Covid. I don't mind revisiting the pandemic in my reading, and King doesn't shy away from opportunities to voice his opinion (which I share) about Trump and antivaxxers. However, it's a bit on the nose for over 400 pages. 

I enjoyed meeting Holly Gibney in The Outsider and If It Bleeds, and I'm looking forward to reading the Bill Hodges' trilogy (in which she first appears) that I somehow overlooked when they were first released starting back in 2014. I may even reread Holly once I've finished those three. 

I've said it more than once, but I'll say it again. Stephen King is a master storyteller. He is on my list of all-time favorite authors, and easily in the top ten. Highly recommend!

The Golden Couple

 

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Fiction

2022

Narrated by Karissa Vacker & Marin Ireland

Finished on August 21, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers.

Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.

When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

The Golden Couple is a compelling tale of many secrets, and not just those of Marissa's. Every character withheld information, causing me to suspect one person before flipping my suspicion to another. The tension is taut, holding my interest from beginning to end. At one point, I was tempted to stay in my parked car, in our garage, to continue listening. I was riveted, eager to learn what lay ahead. 

This was my first encounter with Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, and I look forward to reading more by this duo. It's always nice when I find a new author(s) with a decent backlist. 

Kudos to both audio narrators, as well. I was able to distinguish the voices of each character, and found the male and young child's voices authentic. Marin Ireland is a favorite, but I also enjoyed Karissa Vacker's performance.

Highly recommend, especially if you're in need of a fast-paced read. This would be a great book for a long flight!

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Plot

 

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Mystery/Thriller

2021

Finished on March 30, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a psychologically suspenseful novel about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that—a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?

I missed all the fuss over The Plot when it first hit the shelves in 2021, so I didn't know anything about it when I found it on the shelf at our neighborhood library. What caught my attention was this tiny blurb on the cover: "Insanely readable." - Stephen King. I have read and loved many books with King's endorsement, so I took the book home and added it to my stacks. A day later, I saw a few Instagram posts about a new book by Korelitz called The Sequel. Everyone seemed very excited about this follow-up, so as soon as I finished The Stonecutter, I immediately picked up The Plot.

Wow! I could not put the book down! This is the quintessential page-turner, but I forced myself to slow down and enjoy the read rather than rushing ahead to see how it would end. And what an ending! Of course, now I can't wait to read The Sequel, which is due out on October 1st. I went into The Plot without any knowledge of, well, the plot, and I intend to stay away from any blurbs about The Sequel. I love to be utterly surprised by a book, particularly a mystery/thriller.

In addition to the suspenseful aspect of this novel, I enjoyed the details about writing, publishing, and marketing a book. As you know, my husband is a writer (you can learn more about his books on his website), and I have spent many years working in bookstores, so it was fun to read more about the process from an author's point of view.

Meanwhile, I happen to have another book by Korelitz in my stacks. Who knew! I read so many rave reviews about various novels and eventually buy those books to add to my TBR piles. The Latecomer is one that I bought with some Christmas money, so now I'm very eager to give it a read. In addition to The Latecomer, Korelitz has six others to sample. I love discovering a new-to-me author who has a decent backlist. Whoohoo!

Have you read The Plot? I can't wait for my husband and mom to read it so I have someone with whom to discuss the big denouement. Maybe I'll recommend it to my book group for next year's reading list. 

Oh! And have you watched the HBO series, The Undoing (starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant)? It's based on Korelitz's novel You Should Have Known. Great show!

More from Stephen King:

The Plot is one of the best novels I've ever read about writers and writing. It's so insanely readable and the suspense quotient is through the roof. It's remarkable. 

I agree!

Since We Fell

Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane

Fiction - Suspense/Thriller

2017

Finished on February 26, 2024

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

Since We Fell follows Rachel Childs, a former journalist who, after an on-air mental breakdown, now lives as a virtual shut-in. In all other respects, however, she enjoys an ideal life with an ideal husband. Until a chance encounter on a rainy afternoon causes that ideal life to fray. As does Rachel’s marriage. As does Rachel herself. Sucked into a conspiracy thick with deception, violence, and possibly madness, Rachel must find the strength within herself to conquer unimaginable fears and mind-altering truths. 

By turns heart-breaking, suspenseful, romantic, and sophisticated, Since We Fell is a novel of profound psychological insight and tension. It is Dennis Lehane at his very best.

Phew! I almost missed out on a great thriller. I've had Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane on my shelves since April 2017! I was working at Barnes & Noble in Lincoln, Nebraska when I brought the ARC home, only to pack it up with the rest of my books, move it to Oregon, unpack it and place it on a shelf where it remained untouched until this month. I don't know why I ignored it for seven years, but had I read the buyer's sell sheet when I first got the ARC, I would have immediately begun reading the book. (I was about to share part of that sell sheet to entice you to read Lehane's page-turner, but this is one to go into cold.)

A word of warning, though. After reading over 50 pages, I considered calling it quits, not really caring about the main character and her quest to find her father. I'm not sure what pushed me to read further, but I did, and truthfully it still took another 100 pages before I was completely sucked into this riveting story, but by that point, I knew I was in for something great. I set the book aside and turned out my reading light, but woke up a few hours later, realizing that I had been trying to solve a part of the mystery in my sleep. I even had an ah-ha moment from my nocturnal sleuthing when I knew that I had figured out the motivation behind one of the characters' actions. In spite of the late hour, I turned my light back on, flipped back through the book to confirm my assumptions, then read for another hour! I know I'm being obtuse, but this is the kind of book that could be completely ruined by the revelation of spoilers. Don't read any reviews if you aren't certain that they're spoiler-free. The twists and turns in the final chapters kept me engrossed and marveling at Lehane's imagination. And, yes, I would love to see this book made into a movie. The intensity of at least a half dozen scenes would be so satisfying to watch on a big screen. Dreamworks optioned the rights, but don't get too excited. That was back in 2015.

I typically knock off half a point if I struggle with the beginning of a book, but the remainder of this one was so entertaining that I'm going with a full 5-star rating. Highly recommend!

Nine Lives

 

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Fiction - Suspense/Thriller

2022

Finished on February 21, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Eight Perfect Murders comes the heart-pounding story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it--and then begin to die under highly unusual circumstances.

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke - until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor. 

FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next....

I loved this book! I started it one night and quickly read the first 100 pages, completely hooked, eager to see how the mystery would unfold. I know some readers have complained about the multiple points-of-view, but I never felt that the multi-character narrative became tedious. And, for once, I didn't have any trouble keeping track of the individual characters' personal stories. I kept telling my husband that it would make a great TV series. I've read two of Peter Swanson's earlier works (Her Every Fear and The Kind Worth Killing), and while I enjoyed those two, Nine Lives is my favorite. I was going to give it a 4.5 rating, but the final chapter, which was completely unnecessary and ridiculous, forced me to knock my rating down half a point. Looks like there are six more books by Swanson that I have yet to read. All I need to do is decide which one to choose next. Highly recommend.

The Weight of Silence

 

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Fiction - Mystery/Thriller

2009

Finished on February 12, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Masterfully written and beautifully told, Heather Gudenkauf's debut is a stunning novel of family devotion, honesty and regret that will linger long after the last page is turned.

It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by a tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler. Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.

Unputdownable! I literally couldn't read this one fast enough. The suspense didn't build slowly over the course of the novel, but began with the prologue. I had to force myself to ignore the temptation to flip to the ending to see whodunnit. I'm glad I decided to overlook the newer books on my top shelf and delve into some of those that have been languishing in my bookshelf for many years. (This debut is 15 years old!) Alternating between the voices of six characters, the short chapters made it easy to keep reading late into the night. Just one more chapter. OK, one more... Gudenkauf kept me guessing, throwing out a red herring or two, but I was very satisfied with her conclusion, and look forward to reading more from her backlist. This particular novel would make a great Netflix series! Recommend.

Nothing More Dangerous

 

Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens

Boady Sanden #1

Mystery

2019

Finished on January 21, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In a small town where loyalty to family and to “your people” carries the weight of a sacred oath, defying those unspoken rules can be a deadly proposition.

After fifteen years of growing up in the Ozark hills with his widowed mother, high-school freshman Boady Sanden is beyond ready to move on. He dreams of glass towers and cityscapes, driven by his desire to be anywhere other than Jessup, Missouri. The new kid at St. Ignatius High School, if he isn’t being pushed around, he is being completely ignored. Even his beloved woods, his playground as a child and his sanctuary as he grew older, seem to be closing in on him, suffocating him.

Then Thomas Elgin moves in across the road, and Boady’s life begins to twist and turn. Coming to know the Elgins--a black family settling into a community where notions of “us” and “them” carry the weight of history--forces Boady to rethink his understanding of the world he’s taken for granted. Secrets hidden in plain sight begin to unfold: the mother who wraps herself in the loss of her husband, the neighbor who carries the wounds of a mysterious past that he holds close, the quiet boss who is fighting his own hidden battle.

But the biggest secret of all is the disappearance of Lida Poe, the African-American woman who keeps the books at the local plastics factory. Word has it that Ms. Poe left town, along with a hundred thousand dollars of company money. Although Boady has never met the missing woman, he discovers that the threads of her life are woven into the deepest fabric of his world.

As the mystery of her fate plays out, Boady begins to see the stark lines of race and class that both bind and divide this small town, and he is forced to choose sides.

After reading two of Allen Eskens' books back-to-back last month, I was eager to try another and picked up a copy of Nothing More Dangerous at the library. Shelved in the mystery section, I was surprised that this prequel to the Boady Sanden series reads more like a coming-of-age tale rather than a whodunnit. At least, initially. The introductory chapters failed to pull me in as quickly as either Saving Emma or Forsaken Country, and it wasn't until well over a hundred pages when the story propelled Boady into a full-fledged mystery, that I became hooked. The foreshadowing had me on the edge of my seat, with bullying, race, and prejudice at front and center. Eskens' characters are well-drawn and I was rooting for Boady and Thomas as I read the final chapters. Exciting stuff! Recommend.

Saving Emma

 

Saving Emma by Allen Eskens

Boady Sanden #2

Mystery

2023 Mulholland Books

Finished on December 18, 2023

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A lawyer's race to reveal a wrongful conviction collides with the dark shadow of a murder in his own home in this propulsive and perfectly-plotted new thriller from award-winning writer Allen Eskens.

When Boady Sanden first receives the case of Elijah Matthews, he's certain there's not much he can do. Elijah, who believes himself to be a prophet, has been locked up in a psychiatric hospital for the past four years, convicted of brutally murdering the pastor of a megachurch. But as a law professor working for the Innocence Project, Boady agrees to look into Elijah's file. When he does, he is alarmed to find threads that lead back to the death of his colleague and friend, Ben Pruitt, a man shot to death four years earlier in Boady's own home.

Ben's daughter, Emma, has lived with Boady and Boady's wife Dee ever since that awful night. Now fourteen years old, Emma has been growing distant, and soon makes a fateful choice that takes her far from the safety of her godparents. Desperate to bring her home, and to free an innocent man, Boady must do all he can to investigate Elijah's case while fighting to save the family he has deeply come to love.

Written with energy, propulsion, and his characteristic pathos and insight, Eskens delivers another pitch-perfect legal thriller that reveals a twisted murder and explores faith, love, family, and redemption along the way.

I can't remember the last time I read a book (and one with more than 300 pages) in a single day. I could not put this one down! Eskens' thrillers are the proverbial page-turners, and I'm hooked. It's tempting to read the remaining books on his backlist, but I'm going to try to spread them out, maybe reading one a month. This is another one of Eskens' that I've read out of order, but I don't mind. Not one bit. 

Forsaken Country

 

Forsaken Country by Allen Eskens

Detective Max Rupert #6

Mystery/Thriller

2022 Mulholland Books

Finished on December 17, 2023

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Max Rupert has left his position as a Minneapolis homicide detective to live in solitude. Mourning the tragic death of his wife, he’s also racked by guilt—he alone knows what happened to her killer. But then the former local sheriff, Lyle Voight, arrives with a desperate plea: Lyle’s daughter Sandy and his six-year-old grandson Pip have disappeared. Lyle’s certain Sandy’s ex-husband Reed is behind it, but the new sheriff is refusing to investigate.

When Max reluctantly looks into their disappearance, he too becomes convinced something has gone very wrong. But the closer Max and Lyle get to finding proof, the more slippery Reed becomes, until he makes a break for the beautiful but formidable Boundary Waters wilderness with vulnerable Pip in tow.

Racing after the most dangerous kind of criminal—a desperate father—and with the ghosts of their own pasts never far behind, Max and Lyle go on the hunt within a treacherous landscape, determined to bring an evil man to justice, and to bring a terrified child home alive.

I was returning a book at the library last week and came across a new release by Allen Eskens. Up until now, I'd only read his first book, The Life We Bury, which I enjoyed quite a lot on audio. Over the years, I kept seeing his new releases, but never got around to reading any others. So, last week I snagged Eskens' latest book (Saving Emma) and headed over to the stacks to see if there were any more of his that I could borrow. I jumped onto Fantastic Fiction to ensure that I wasn't going to accidentally read one from his series, preferring to try a stand-alone. I got that wrong! (Or, should I say, Fantastic Fiction got it wrong. Sigh.) Forsaken Country is the sixth in the Max Rupert series. Oh, well. I know I read a major spoiler, but the book was so good, it was worth it. Honestly, I zipped through this thrilling crime novel in record speed, compulsively reading when I should have been sleeping.

Allen Eskens' stories and style remind me of Dennis Lehane's early books, but also of Peter Heller's, particularly with regard to his settings and characters. You can be sure I won't wait another half dozen years before I read more by Eskens. As a matter of fact, as soon as I finished Forsaken Country, I immediately started Saving Emma. 

Highly recommend!

Wrong Place Wrong Time

 

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Mystery/Thriller

2022 HarperAudio

Narrated by Lesley Sharp

Finished on December 11, 2023

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?

It is midnight on the morning of Halloween, and Jen anxiously waits up for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to return home. But worries about his broken curfew transform into something much more dangerous when Todd finally emerges from the darkness. As Jen watches through the window, she sees her funny, seemingly happy teenage son stab a total stranger.

She doesn’t know who the victim is, or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life, and Todd’s, have been shattered.

After her son is taken into custody, Jen falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up… it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place.

Whoa! I don't remember who mentioned this book, but thank you! I spent two enjoyable weeks listening to this compelling story, not wanting it to end, but eager to find out what the heck was going on in Jen's world! Technically, it's a time travel tale, however Jen doesn't bounce back and forth between past and present, but rather continues traveling further back in time until she learns why the present day events occur. I guessed one of the twists early on, but there were plenty more to keep me entertained. The pacing is uneven at times, but Lesley Sharp's outstanding performance helped hold my interest, and I'll be on the lookout for more narrations by her. I also look forward to reading more by Gillian McAllister. Any suggestions as to what I should try next? Highly recommend.

The Downstairs Neighbor

 

The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper

Mystery

2021 G.P. Putnam's Sons

Finished on August 5, 2023

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

An addicting and twisty debut about an apartment building devastated by the disappearance of a teenage girl–and by the secrets that won’t be kept behind each closed door–that will thrill fans of Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena.

One House. Three Families. Countless Secrets.

From her downstairs apartment in suburban London, Emma has often overheard the everyday life of the seemingly perfect family upstairs–Steph, Paul and teenage daughter Freya–but has never got to know them. Until one day, she hears something that seizes her attention: Freya has vanished and the police are questioning Steph and Paul about their life. Do either of you have any enemies? Anyone who might want to harm or threaten you?

The effects of Freya’s disappearance ripple outward, affecting not just her parents, but everyone who lives in the building, including Emma and local driving instructor Chris, who was the last person to see the teenager before she went missing. Each character’s life is thrown into sharp focus as devastating mistakes and long-held secrets are picked apart and other crimes come to light–including a child gone missing 25 years before, and a shocking murder–that make clear that the past never stays where we leave it, and that homes can be built on foundations of lies.

The Downstairs Neighbor is a solid mystery that kept me reading late into the night. The opening chapters reminded me just how much I enjoy thrillers. Gone Girl, The Woman in the Window, The Girl on the Train, and Behind Closed Doors came to mind as the lies and secrets were slowly revealed. Thankfully, none of the protagonists are drunks (with memory issues due to blackouts) or unreliable narrators, but there are several threads and backstories to keep the reader on their toes. I liked how the mystery was resolved, and how the ending didn't feel convoluted or rushed. I'm looking forward to reading more by Helen Cooper.

These Silent Woods

 

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

Fiction

2021 Minotaur

Finished on June 17, 2023

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.

The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper's old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn't show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.

Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.

I loved this book! These Silent Woods is another popular book that, thankfully, lives up to all the hype. Had we not been traveling, I could have read it in one sitting; it's that compelling. As it was, I spent an afternoon curled up with the book unable to stop reading except for the occasional glance up from the page to gaze at the beautiful mountains surrounding our campsite. In some ways, being near those majestic mountains, in a small campground with no power or water, helped immerse me in Cooper and Finch's world. I was mesmerized by their story, anxious and concerned that someone might recognize them, potentially shattering the life Cooper had so carefully built to keep them together. 

I'm a big fan of young protagonists, and eight-year-old Finch stole my heart. She's intelligent and wise beyond her years. Finch and Cooper's sole neighbor, Scotland, also tugged at my heartstrings. Kimi Cunningham Grant is a masterful writer, creating vivid characters that I won't soon forget. 

As I read, I was reminded of Peter Heller's marvelous novel, The Dog Stars.  Grant's novel is not a post-apocalyptic tale, but both involve survival and solitary lives, and the characters and taut pacing are similar to those of Heller's. Coincidentally, the author includes Heller in her list of literary influences (Anthony Doerr, Leif Enger, Marilynne Robinson, Ann Patchett, Peter Heller). I'm looking forward to reading her earlier book, Fallen Mountains, and eagerly await the release of her new novel (Wilderness) in 2024.

These Silent Woods is one to read again. Highly recommend!

Note: Grant includes a "Recommend Reading" list at the back of her novel, and since she included a couple of my favorites (The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley and Where the Crawdads Sing), I quickly added two of her recs (The Bear by Andrew Krivak and Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff) to my TBR list. Have you read either of these?

Looking Back - Tell No One

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Tell No One by Harlan Coben

Thriller

2001 Delacorte Press

Finished on December 10, 2001

Rating: 4.5/5 (Terrific!)

Publisher's Blurb:

For Dr. David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams. The night his wife was taken. The last night he saw her alive.

Everyone tells him it's time to move on, to forget the past once and for all. But for David Beck, there can be no closure. A message has appeared on his computer, a phrase only he and his dead wife know. Suddenly Beck is taunted with the impossible -- that somewhere, somehow, Elizabeth is alive.

Beck has been warned to tell no one. And he doesn't. Instead, he runs from the people he trusts the most, plunging headlong into a search for the shadowy figure whose messages hold out a desperate hope.

But already Beck is being hunted down. He's headed straight into the heart of a dark and deadly secret -- and someone intends to stop him before he gets there.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Don't plan on getting to sleep on time with this one. I don't read a lot of thrillers, but when I do I wonder why they aren't part of my regular reading routine. I enjoy the suspense and mystery of a well-crafted tale and get a rush from the intensity of a good page-turner. This book was completely satisfying in those aspects. A little confusing as it wrapped up at the end, but I highly recommend it. Lots of twists and turns. Some sarcastic, snide humor. Simplistic writing style-- is this typical of this genre? As good as 24 Hours by Greg Isles. 

David Beck thinks his wife died eight years ago. Now he's receiving emails and videocam images of her! Oh, and he's been accused of murder, flees the police after assaulting an officer and hangs out with drug dealer, Tyrese. And, he's an upstanding citizen with a pediatric practice. Will definitely read more by Coben!

My Current Thoughts:

I've searched my blog and it looks like Tell No One was the first book I read of Coben's. I've since read several others, as well as many thrillers by other authors. This one might be fun to read again, since of course, I've long forgotten the details! 

Looking Back - Cold

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Cold by John Smolens

Mystery

2001 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.

Finished on October 26, 2001

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In the frozen reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, fierce winter storms can hit without notice. In the white translucence of one such blizzard, Norman Haas simply walks away from his prison work detail without detection.

After agonizing days of blistering cold, Norman finds himself at the farmhouse of a lonely middle-aged woman who gives him temporary shelter while keeping him at a comfortable distance with her late husband’s shotgun. When she tries to turn him in, he escapes again. Thus begins a riveting story of Norman’s journey back to his past, back to the woman he loved—and still loves—who betrayed him, back to the brother who helped put him away, and back to a dangerous web of family allegiances, deceptions, and intrigue.

On Norman’s trail is Del Maki, the hardworking sheriff of Yellow Dog Township, a fork in the road on the way to Canada. Cold takes us deep into an intricate, fascinating tale, where love, greed, and the promise of a last chance compel six people toward a chilling and inevitable reckoning.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Captured my interest from the first page. Part mystery/thriller, part contemporary fiction. Reminiscent of House of Sand and Fog (Andre Dubus III). Quick, enjoyable read. 

My Current Thoughts:

I have no memory of this book, and I wonder what prompted me to pick it up. I haven't read anything else by Smolens.

A World of Curiosities

 

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #18

Mystery

2022 Minotaur Books

Finished on January 30, 2023

Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding)

Publisher's Blurb:

It’s spring and Three Pines is reemerging after the harsh winter. But not everything buried should come alive again. Not everything lying dormant should reemerge.

But something has.

As the villagers prepare for a special celebration, Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves increasingly worried. A young man and woman have reappeared in the Sûreté du Québec investigators’ lives after many years. The two were young children when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged, shattered. Now they’ve arrived in the village of Three Pines.

But to what end?

Gamache and Beauvoir’s memories of that tragic case, the one that first brought them together, come rushing back. Did their mother’s murder hurt these children beyond repair? Have those terrible wounds, buried for decades, festered, and are they now about to erupt?

As Chief Inspector Gamache works to uncover answers, his alarm grows when a letter written by a long-dead stonemason is discovered. In it, the man describes his terror when bricking up an attic room somewhere in the village. Every word of the 160-year-old letter is filled with dread. When the room is found, the villagers decide to open it up.

As the bricks are removed, Gamache, Beauvoir, and the villagers discover a world of curiosities. But the head of homicide soon realizes there’s more in that room than meets the eye. There are puzzles within puzzles, and hidden messages warning of mayhem and revenge.

In unsealing that room, an old enemy is released into their world. Into their lives. And into the very heart of Armand Gamache’s home.

Another winner from Louise Penny! Looking back on my previous reviews of her books, I notice that most of her more recent installments in the series have been much more suspenseful than her earlier works. A World of Curiosities is no exception. As Gamache and Beauvoir learn the terrifying news about a notorious serial killer, the tension increases, and I struggled to put the book down at night. I was reminded of the powerful sense of foreboding while watching The Silence of the Lambs, and like Hannibal Lecter, Gamache's sinister nemesis is what nightmares are made of. It's no exaggeration that I was holding my breath while reading the final pages. 

The mystery is well-paced, and the characters (new and recurring) are fully realized. Penny does an excellent job leading her readers down one path, only to turn in a completely different direction, revealing what in reality transpired when one was ready to assume the opposite. While not for the faint of heart, this is an exceptional thriller and one which I'm tempted to quickly read again. (Who isn't tempted to revisit a mystery to see if they missed the obvious clues?)

Highly recommend!