Book Review: Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane @helenkaydimon @WmMorrowBooks @HarperCollins #prettylittlewife #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblog #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf

PUBLISHER: William Morrow

PUBLICATION DATE: December 29th, 2020

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to the publisher William Morrow for the eARC of this book via Edelweiss.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Lila Ridgefield lives in an idyllic college town, but not everything is what it seems. Lila isn’t what she seems.A student vanished months ago. Now, Lila’s husband, Aaron, is also missing. At first these cases are treated as horrible coincidences until it’s discovered the student is really the third of three unexplained disappearances over the last few years. The police are desperate to find the connection, if there even is one. Little do they know they might be stumbling over only part of the truth….

With the small town in an uproar, everyone is worried about the whereabouts of their beloved high school teacher. Everyone except Lila, his wife. She’s definitely confused about her missing husband but only because she was the last person to see his body, and now it’s gone. 

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MY REVIEW:

An addictive, who-done-it novel that will have you guessing and guessing again as you flip through the pages. A scorned wife, a missing husband, and a whole lot of twists and turns, you will devour this book!

Meet Lila Ridgefield. She is married to Aaron, and she finds a hidden phone of his that has questionable videos on it. Of course Aaron downplays it and says it is not what it looks like, but Lila is no fool. Suddenly Aaron disappears and no one has a clue where he could be or why he suddenly vanished. Of course, eyes all turn to Lila. She pleads she has no idea where he is, but she has to play it cool and not look suspicious, even though she is shaking inside – after all she IS the last one to see him. And when she left him, he was not alive. How does a body suddenly go missing?

I loved the suspense surrounding the plot. Where did Aaron’s body disappear, and how? Was he truly not dead when she left him and now he is out to seek his revenge? Is someone else involved? There is so much going on it it unsure who to trust and who to believe. I kind of suspected what was going on but wasn’t 100% certain, so I enjoyed how this novel kept me guessing until the end, when all is revealed. A definite must add to your TBR.

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MY RATING: 4/5 stars

Book Review: The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn @simonschuster @laurellizabeth #thegirlsareallsonicehere #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblog #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf #5starreview @edelweiss_squad

PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster

PUBLICATION DATE: March 9th, 2021

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the eARC of this book via Edelweiss.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Two former best friends return to their college reunion to find that they’re being circled by someone who wants revenge for what they did ten years before—and will stop at nothing to get it—in this shocking psychological thriller about ambition, toxic friendship, and deadly desire.

A lot has changed in the years since Ambrosia Wellington graduated from college, and she’s worked hard to create a new life for herself. But then an invitation to her ten-year reunion arrives in the mail, along with an anonymous note that reads “We need to talk about what we did that night.”

It seems that the secrets of Ambrosia’s past—and the people she thought she’d left there—aren’t as buried as she’d believed. Amb can’t stop fixating on what she did or who she did it with: larger-than-life Sloane “Sully” Sullivan, Amb’s former best friend, who could make anyone do anything.

At the reunion, Amb and Sully receive increasingly menacing messages, and it becomes clear that they’re being pursued by someone who wants more than just the truth of what happened that first semester. This person wants revenge for what they did and the damage they caused—the extent of which Amb is only now fully understanding. And it was all because of the game they played to get a boy who belonged to someone else, and the girl who paid the price.

Alternating between the reunion and Amb’s freshman year, The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a shocking novel about the brutal lengths girls can go to get what they think they’re owed, and what happens when the games we play in college become matters of life and death.

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MY REVIEW:

OMG this book!! I loved it!!

Witty, dark, fast-paced, full of lies, betrayal, deception and wild parties. This book will have you hooked as you read through the chapters. Chapters alternate between “then” and “now” and I loved getting little glimpses at a time into the past and what happened al those years ago, piece by piece. It adds to the suspense of the novel and leaves you wanting to know more, before jumping ahead to the present again, only building the suspense.

I enjoyed reading about the main character Amb and her wild University days. So many shocks and twists as you read about her budding friendship with Sully. They were wild girls and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. It was a toxic relationship, and they might not have been fully aware of it at the time, or maybe one of them did. They did awful things together, things that would haunt them in the future, as we are to fid out as we read along.

A book that I devoured and highly recommend you get your hands on as soon as it is released on March 9th, 2021.

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MY REVIEW: 5/5 stars

Book Review: Five Little Monkeys by C.W. Johnston @Real_CWJohnston #FiveLittleMonkeys #FiveLittleMonkeysBook #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblog #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf

PUBLICATION DATE: December 15th, 2020

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to the author for the eARC of this book.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

“Once you hear it, you can’t escape it…”

Something is luring people into the woods surrounding Providence … and they’re not coming back. When one of his friends becomes the latest resident to vanish, thirteen-year-old Jermaine is desperate for answers. The arrival into town of an enigmatic stranger piques his interest; her conviction about the cause of the mysterious disappearances emboldens his determination. Together with his buddies, plans are forged that will change their lives forever. One thing is evident: ending the mayhem will demand confronting the evil that lurks in the forest.

Five Little Monkeys is a suspense-laden, pulse-pounding nail-biter. If you enjoy thrilling horror stories, edge-of-your-seat suspense, coming-of-age journeys, determined heroes, and harrowing twists and turns, then you’ll love C. W. Johnston’s second novel. Buy Five Little Monkeys to end the madness today! 

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MY REVIEW:

I love a good thriller/horror/suspense novel and this book was perfect for that. What exactly is going on in the woods surrounding Providence. Strange things are happening, people are disappearing, and no one knows why, what it is, or how to stop it. Once you hear this certain sounds, that’s it. You cannot unhear it. That’s when strange things occur and you disappear. 

I enjoyed reading about the dynamics amongst this group of young friends. They are determined to stick together and figure out what exactly is going on in their town. I enjoyed reading about their meetings and their searches trying to play detective to uncover the mystery they found themselves in. Then when a stranger suddenly enters town, and has a sense of what is going in, your interest gets piqued. I loved the horror/thriller vibe of this book and the suspense of what exactly was lurking in the woods. What did it want with the towns residents. 

A super creepy, addictive novel that you must be sure to read. Just don’t read it in the dark! Lots of spooks and chills!

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MY REVIEW: 4/5 stars

Book Review: Figment by C.W. Johnston @Real_CWJohnston #Figment #FigmentBook #bookblogger #bookblog #bookreview #bookreviewer #booksonthebookshelf

PUBLICATION DATE: April 28th, 2020

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to the author for the eARC of this novel.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

He loves getting away from civilization. Now he might be the only person who can save it…

Professor Tyler Stevens believes there’s nothing like fresh mountain air to clear the mind. But on a weekend trip in the rugged Montana countryside with zero cell phone service, he’s shocked then terrified by a cascade of ominous texts. Struggling to comprehend the surreal messages, he stumbles into a world where delusion and horrific realities swirl.

Fearing he may have lost his sanity, he ventures deeper into the dark futurescape and makes a shocking discovery. To prevent the apocalypse, he must commit cold-blooded murder…

Has the professor’s isolation driven him crazy, or is he destined to rescue humanity?

Figment is a pulse-pounding psychological thriller. If you like edge-of-your-seat action, determined heroes, and harrowing twists and turns, then you’ll love C. W. Johnston’s mind-bending novel.

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MY REVIEW:

This book had me intrigued and hooked on finding out what was going to happen next. I enjoyed reading about Professor Tyler Stevens. He was a dynamic and interesting main character and he was enjoyable to read about. I found myself flipping through the chapters just to see what crazy thing was going to happen next. This book takes you on a wild ride, and you won’t know what to believe, what is truly happening, and it sucks you in.

I loved the psychological/thriller.horror/post-apocalyptic type feel of the book. This alternate reality he would find himself in, where strange things happened (and continue to happen). It begs many questions that you want to know the answer to, and I loved this about the book. I wanted to know what was going on, whether the things Tyler was seeing were really and truly there, was he losing his mind, what was going on?

An enjoyable read that I recommend.

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MY RATING: 4/5 stars

Book Review: The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins @StMartinsPress @LadyHawkins #TheWifeUpstairs #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblog #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf #5starreviews

PUBLISHER: St. Martin’s Press

PUBLICATION DATE: January 5th, 2021

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this title via NetGalley.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie­ Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

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MY REVIEW:

A roller-coaster, wile ride! I enjoyed this one from beginning to climatic ending! With so many twists and turns, shocking revelations, and a big one at the end that you won’t see coming, this book must be added to your TBR list right now! You won’t be disappointed.

I enjoyed reading about Jane. She was determined to fight for what she believed in, and she was badass. She became a dog walker and lived out of town with a room mate she despised and was desperate to get away from. Her luck changed when she suddenly met the handsome, rich, and eligible Eddie Rochester. What begins as a friendly chat when he almost runs her over with his car one morning, turns into a budding romance as the two really seem to hit it off.

When both people in a relationship are hiding secrets, can those secrets remain hidden or will some eventually come to the surface, ruining everything you’ve worked so hard for and destroy everything? I was always waiting for that one shoe to drop. It kept me hooked as I flipped from page to page, seeing what would happen next. Eddie seemed perfect, or almost perfect. He was sweet, charming, handsome, filthy rich, mourning the death of his wife and her best friend. He treated Jane well and they were happy together. Until strange, unexplainable things begin to happen, and makes you question everything.

Full of shocking twists and turns, deception and betrayal, you will devour and love this book as much as I did. With a shocking ending that came out of left field, I certainly didn’t see that coming. But I loved it!

A book I definitely recommend!

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MY RATING: 5/5 stars

Audiobook Review: The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose @Dreamscapeaudio @jenevarosebooks #ThePerfectMarriage #audiobooks #audiobookreview #audiobookreviewer #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf #5starreads

PUBLISHER: Dreamscape Media

PUBLICATION DATE: December 29th, 2020

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the audiobook version of this novel via NetGalley.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in Washington D.C. As a named partner at her firm, life is going exactly how she planned.

The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He’s a struggling writer who has had little success in his career and he tires of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working.

Out in the secluded woods, at the couple’s lake house, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers.

Then, one morning everything changes. Kelly is found brutally stabbed to death and now, Sarah must take on her hardest case yet, defending her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress.

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MY REVIEW:

Wow! What an amazing roller-coaster of a ride that this book took me on! And it was AMAZING!! Meet Adam and Sarah, married couple with no children. Due to her work and long hours, Adam feels he doesn’t get the attention he needs from his wife. So, he looks elsewhere. Enter Kelly, Adam’s mistress. They meet up from time to time and enter into a romantic relationship, unbeknownst to Adam’s wife Sarah. Adam spends the night at the lake house with Kelly, and leaves early the next morning while she is still sleeping, only to find out that she was found at the lake house in his bed, murdered. Adam is adamant that he is innocent, that he did not kill her, and that she was very much alive when he left her that morning. Now of course he is hit with a double whammy – now his wife Sarah knows that he has been cheating on her. Sarah is now faced with not only dealing with the news that her husband has cheated on her, but now she decides to also represent him as his lawyer in the murder trial.

A whirlwind of a story that will have you hooked on every single page, eager to learn more. Who killed Kelly? Was it Adam? Was it her own husband? Was it someone from her past who might know her secrets? There are so many lies and betrayals going on in this book and I loved it! Kept me guessing and second guessing. A true edge-of-your-seat book that you will devour, whether you read it or listen as an audiobook. With an ending that I did not see coming at all! Wow! Cannot say enough good things about this book!

A book that I definitely recommend! Be sure to grab your copy now!

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MY RATING: 5/5 stars

Book Review: The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher @HarlequinBooks #TheWrongFamily #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblog #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf

PUBLISHER: Graydon House

PUBLICATION DATE: December 29th, 2020

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to the publisher for the eARC of this book via NetGalley.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Have you ever been wrong about someone?

Juno was wrong about Winnie Crouch.

Before moving in with the Crouch family, Juno thought Winnie and her husband, Nigel, had the perfect marriage, the perfect son—the perfect life. Only now that she’s living in their beautiful house, she sees the cracks in the crumbling facade are too deep to ignore.

Still, she isn’t one to judge. After her grim diagnosis, the retired therapist simply wants a place to live out the rest of her days in peace. But that peace is shattered the day Juno overhears a chilling conversation between Winnie and Nigel…

She shouldn’t get involved.

She really shouldn’t.

But this could be her chance to make a few things right.

Because if you thought Juno didn’t have a secret of her own, then you were wrong about her, too.

From the wickedly dark mind of bestselling author Tarryn Fisher, The Wrong Family is a taut new thriller that’s riddled with twists in all the right places.

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MY REVIEW:

We are introduced to a family that live in one home – there is Nigel, his wife Winnie, their son Samuel, and Juno. One evening Nigel and his wife Winnie have an argument that results in smashed glass all over the floor, and later on Juno walks into the kitchen and makes her way to the fridge for some food. Why is there still glass all over the floor? What were they arguing over? With a beginning like this, I was hooked and intrigued on what was going on.

Juno was an interesting and complex character full of her own secrets, lies, and betrayals. She was interested for for and I enjoyed reading through her eyes and the story unfolded from her POV. I also enjoyed reading the novel from Winnie’s POV. They were both different yet similar in many ways, and they had strong personalities that was interesting to read about.

A book that I recommend.

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MY RATING: 3/5 stars

Blog Tour: The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous @BerkleyPub @EJRous #ThePerfectGuests #ThePerfectGuestsBlogTour #bookblogger #bookblog #bookreview #bookreviewer #blogtour #booksonthebookshelf

PUBLISHER: Berkley

PUBLICATION DATE: January 12th, 2021

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to Berkley for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for this exciting novel by Emma Rous. I was thrilled to get an invite for this blog tour and trust me, this is definitely a book that you must get like right now! You’ll love it!

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she’s truly part of the family…until they ask her to help them with a harmless game—and nothing is ever the same.

2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It’s strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she’ll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose. 

In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she’d imagined—even with damage from a fire decades before—but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone…including her.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Emma Rous is the USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair. She grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal and Fiji, and from a young age she had two ambitions: to write stories, and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge, and worked as a small animal veterinarian for eighteen years before starting to write fiction. Emma lives near Cambridge in England with her husband and three sons, and she now writes full time.

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MY REVIEW:

After reading (and loving!) Rous’ previous novel, The Au Pair, I was thrilled to find out about her latest book The Perfect Guests! 

This book! OMG! I loved the back-stabbing, the secrets, the lies, the betrayals, the romance, the background history, the multiple POV’s… ok I loved EVERYTHING about this book! With characters that you will love, or love to hate or simply hate from the start, there is so much drama and interesting things going on that you will be hooked from the very first page. 

I enjoyed the many different characters in the book and learning about their various personalities and also getting a glimpse into their life and understanding their past and what makes them who they are now in the present. I enjoyed the main character, Beth, and reading the book through her POV and learning about her life, especially once she moves into the Averell’s home. The mystery around the Averell’s and why they sometimes would act strangely, especially Nina. Why didn’t she go to school; why was she not allowed into the village; why did she end up sick each time her grandfather came for a visit, who she has yet to meet? So may questions and mysterious happenings to keep you hooked and entertained.

I loved when the “guests” are invited to take part of a murder mystery and invited to stay in the Averell’s home all those years later. I loved how it felt like the game Clue (which I love) and the dynamics of each of the guests. With many shocking revelations and twists, especially the shocking ending that I didn’t see coming, this is definitely one that you need to read, right now!

This book is on sale now so be sure to grab your copy today.

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MY RATING: 5/5 stars

Book Review: Unfaithful by Natalie Barelli @Dreamscapeaudio #unfaithful #ufaithfulbook #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblog #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf

PUBLISHER: Dreamscape Media

PUBLICATION DATE: November 27th, 2020

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the audiobook version of this novel via NetGalley.

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ABOUT THE BOOK: 

When I arrive unannounced at my husband’s studio in need of a shoulder to cry on after hearing that my best student, Alex, has died, I see a pair of wineglasses drying by the sink and my deepest fear is confirmed: my husband is having an affair.

Most women would fall to their knees in tears and throw him out of the house – but I just can’t bring myself to do it.

Instead, I go home and cook a healthy dinner for our children, walk the dog and unload the dishwasher without complaint. I will make him see that I’m still the woman he married; attractive, successful, the glue that holds our perfect family together. I need this marriage to work to protect a terrible secret of my own, something that would destroy everything I’ve already sacrificed so much for.

But when the police arrive at my door asking questions about Alex’s death that I can’t answer, and threatening text messages start appearing on my phone, I know that someone close has been watching me very carefully.

The truth is, there are three people in my marriage, but only one of them is deadly. . .

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MY REVIEW:

This book is full of edge of your seat, twisty, turny, oh my gosh moments that you will not see coming. Just when you think you have it all figured out, BAM you find out you are wrong as something else is thrown into the mix. I loved how fast paced this novel was and I flew through the audiobook, listening every chance that I got. I loved the main character Anna. She was smart and ambitious, but she was scattered, unreliable and all over the place, which made for a great book. Her student Alex has jumped out the window in front of her, she just found out her husband has been cheating on her. She has a lot going on right? Then she is questioned about Alex’s death. What is she going to do?

I loved how the story evolved and there was so much going on in this storyline that it will keep you interested and hooked right to the very end. You definitely want to add this book to your TBR, you will not be disappointed!

This is the first book I have read or listened to by Natalie Barelli and I was impressed. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more of Natalie’s novels in future.

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MY RATING: 4/5 stars

Book Review: Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner @DuttonBooks @LisaGardnerBks #beforeshedisappeared #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookblog #bookblogger #booksonthebookshelf

PUBLISHER: Dutton

PUBLICATION DATE: January 19th, 2021

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Thank you to Dutton Books for the eARC of this title via NetGalley.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman, a recovering alcoholic with more regrets than belongings. But she spends her life doing what no one else will–searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.

A new case brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier. Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim’s wary family tells Frankie she’s on her own–and she soon learns she’s asking questions someone doesn’t want answered. But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing could be her.

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MY REVIEW: 

An enjoyable read that you will devour and not want to put down. I loved reading about the main character Frankie Elkin. She was determined to help find those who have gone missing that the locals, police, and society have forgotten about, and she wants to help bring closure to the family members affected by the disappearance. She was full of fire, fought for what she believed in, and she worked alone and was quite successful at what she did.

Frankie was a fierce and interesting main character and I loved to read about her search and rescue attempts as well as get glimpses of her past and what made her the kind of person that she is today. Of all the missing persons that Frankie has found, none of the have been found alive.

An overall enjoyable read that you will love. I’m looking forward to read more from this author.

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MY REVIEW: 4/5 stars