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    The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

    With the incredible amount of hype surrounding Meg Wolitzer’s new book, The Female Persuasion, I was tempted to grab it…then remembered how I felt about the last book of hers that I read. That was the widely praised The Interestings, but in my opinion, they weren’t. But, FOMO took over and after reading things like …

    The Hellfire Club by Jake Tapper

       Jake Tapper, CNN’s chief Washington Correspondent, has written The Hellfire Club, a political thriller set in Washington, D.C. the 1950s.The main character, Charlie Marder, has been appointed (thanks to his father’s political connections) to fill out the term of a Congressman representing a district in New York. Once there, Charlie dives in to his …

    The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

    Intriguing premise, 5 women on a reality show called Goal Diggers – right? Although I can’t bear to watch shows like Real Housewives or KUWTK, the fact that this was described as “Big Little Lies meets Real Housewives” made me somewhat optimistic that it might be a guilty pleasure kind of read – sort of …

    Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

        I love “unputdownable psychological thrillers,” and because I was a huge fan of B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed Doors (2016), I was happy to receive a copy of her latest book, Bring Me Back, from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in return for my honest review. Similar to Behind Closed Doors, this story revolves …

    Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco

    I admit I wasn’t very familiar with Alyssa Mastromonaco prior to 2017. After Obama left office, I began to hear her on one of my two favorite podcasts, Pod Save America, from time to time. I loved hearing her stories about her time working for Barack Obama and her commentary about the current state of …

    Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks

    Back in 2009, Brad Parks introduced his Carter Ross series…and somehow I totally missed them all. Then, in 2017, his standalone thriller Say Nothing came out. Somehow I stumbled on it and it was TERRIFIC. So I was happy to have the chance to write an honest review of his latest standalone novel, Closer Than …

    After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

    For some reason, I’d stopped reading Lisa Scottoline. As I recall, the last one I read seemed formulaic and just didn’t grab me. But, when I read about After Anna, a standalone “domestic thriller,” I was looking forward to digging into the copy I received from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in return for my …

    White Houses by Amy Bloom

    My book club selected Amy Bloom’s White Houses, and I was looking forward to reading it. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. I generally enjoy historical fiction, I am not bothered by “faction,” and I truly enjoy a good roman a clef. So why did …

    With One Shot by Dorothy Marcic

    With One Shot, by Dorothy Marcic, is a well-written look at injustice in a small Wisconsin town. The crime seems straightforward: a man is murdered and his wife confesses. So, what is the book about? The victim, LaVerne Stordock, was a former police detective who disrupted his whole life to marry Suzanne. Their relationship was …

    Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen

    I’ve been an Anna Quindlen fan for quite awhile – Black and Blue is among my favorites. I was really looking forward to her latest, Alternate Side…and, as usual, it was well-written with excellent dialogue, setting, and characterization. The problem for me was that I not only didn’t care for the setting, I really didn’t care …

    Sidetracked by Richard T. Cahill

    I remember the bare outlines of the Tawana Brawley case, when a young African-American girl was reportedly raped and beaten…this was around the time when there were well-publicized racist incidents in places like Howard Beach…and in my memory, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are always on the scene, outraged and speaking publicly at every opportunity. …

    The Escape Artist by Brad Melzer

      Not sure I have read any Brad Melzer books before, but the marketing, which includes a comparison to Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and high praise from Harlan Coben (one of my favorites) made me want to read The Escape Artist (Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NeGalley, whp provided a copy in exchange …

    Twisted Prey by John Sandford

    Seriously, #28 in John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport/Prey series? Wow – I am pretty sure I have read them all. Some of them knocked me out, while others were more in the better-than-average-and-sufficiently-entertaining vein. Twisted Prey, which I received from Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, falls into the second category. …

    Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufmann

    Amy Kauffman, a journalist at the Los Angeles Times, has been a “member of Bachelor Nation” for many years and, for awhile, she was able to attend studio events, screenings, etc. – until the show’s producers decided she was “too negative” in her commentary. I confess, I’ve watched more episodes than I would probably admit, …

    In Plain Sight by Kathryn Casey

    Over the years, I have read and enjoyed Kathryn Casey’s Texas-centric true crime books, including Deadly Secrets, She Wanted It All, and Shattered. TC is my “guilty pleasure” genre, and I have read a TON of books, ranging from the truly terrible to the incredibly interesting. And I was happy to receive a copy of …

    Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

    In spring of 2016 I read and reviewed Clare Mackintosh’s debut novel I Let You Go, and loved it. Then, somehow, last year I completely missed her second novel I See You. But this spring along comes her latest psychological thriller, Let Me Lie, and because I loved the first book, I jumped at the …

    Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover

      Perhaps I should wait to write this, because I just finished reading it fifteen minutes ago and my head is still spinning. I scanned the reviews and found tons of 5-stars, and then several one-stars. I loved it, so I thought WTF? And then realized a few of those 1-stars were admittedly written by …

    The Hush by John Hart

    I haven’t read all of John Hart’s books, but the ones I have read have been terrific, so I was especially eager to read his latest, The Hush (thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley). This story happens to be a follow-up to The Last Child (2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel), which featured Johnny …

    The French Girl by Lexie Elliott

    Promos call it “I Know What You Did Last Summer meets the French countryside.” For me, it was more like…maybe The Big Chill meets Ghost Story? (showing my age here). In any case, it sounded intriguing and potentially a good story, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to read Lexie Elliott’s The French …