Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann

So this book came to me on a recommendation from Andrew Smith.  As a general rule, if Andrew says so, I read it.  And as expected, Dear Child by Romy Hausmann did not disappoint.  This story is terrifying in all the right ways.  It will keeping you guessing throughout, trying to figure out who you can trust and who you can't.  If you love those WTF?!?! moments in a book, this one will definitely deliver.  It was just unfortunate that I had students in my room when I read one of those parts.  I really wanted to yell out loud, but I restrained myself.  If you are looking for a read that will keep you on edge and take you on a roller coaster of emotions, look no further than Dear Child.  This one will for sure be on my list of favorite books of 2020!

 

From Amazon

“[A] tantalizingly disturbing debut…As enthralling as it is thought-provoking.” -New York Times Book Review

Bustle Best Books of Fall 2020
Publishers Weekly Top 10 Mysteries & Thrillers of Fall 2020
She Reads Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2020

A woman held captive finally escapes―but can she ever really get away?

Gone Girl
meets Room in this page-turning, #1 internationally bestselling thriller from one of Germany’s hottest new talents


A windowless shack in the woods. A dash to safety. But when a woman finally escapes her captor, the end of the story is only the beginning of her nightmare.

She says her name is Lena. Lena, who disappeared without a trace 14 years prior. She fits the profile. She has the distinctive scar. But her family swears that she isn’t their Lena.

The little girl who escaped the woods with her knows things she isn’t sharing, and Lena’s devastated father is trying to piece together details that don’t quite fit. Lena is desperate to begin again, but something tells her that her tormentor still wants to get back what belongs to him…and that she may not be able to truly escape until the whole truth about what happened in the woods finally emerges.

Twisty, suspenseful, and psychologically clever, Romy Hausmann's Dear Child is a captivating thriller with all the ingredients of a breakout hit.

“Chilling, original and mesmerizing.” ―David Baldacci

Thursday, December 3, 2020

All the Pretty Things by Emily Arsenault

All the Pretty Things by Emily Arsenault is a delightful mystery novel that may also have you devastated as the truth comes to light.  While a mystery, this story is all about family and friendship and what exactly those things mean when they don't always fit together.  The main setting for this story is an amusement park, Fabuland, and all that goes along with it.  This setting makes for a fun place to be as Ivy tries to unravel the mysterious death of Ethan, a coworker and classmate, who appears to have fallen off a bridge walking home from work one night.  Ivy was out of town at the time, but her best friend Morgan is the one who found Ethan's body.  This discovery has shaken Morgan to the core.  As Ivy begins to ask questions about the night of Ethan's death, she soon discovers there is more to Morgan's fragile mental state than just her gruesome discovery.  Ivy now has to figure out what role her father, the owner of Fabuland, has played in all the strange things that have been going on with the employees at the park.  Arsenault keeps the read on edge throughout this enjoyable novel. 

 

From Amazon

"A skillfully plotted mystery, bursting with the glare and feverish energy of its summer amusement park setting." --Holly Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

For fans of Sadie and The Cheerleaders comes an all new thriller about a boy who turns up dead under suspicious circumstances and the one girl who may be the key to solving the mystery of his untimely death.


For Ivy, summer means roller-coaster season, spinning cotton candy at the Fabuland amusement park, and hanging out with her best friend, Morgan. But this summer is different.

One morning, Morgan finds a dead body. It's their former classmate and coworker Ethan. To make matters worse, Morgan is taken to a hospital psych ward only days later, and she's not saying much--not even to Ivy.

The police claim that Ethan simply took a bad fall, but Ivy isn't convinced and realizes it's up to her to get answers. What she finds is unsettling--it's clear that some people aren't being honest about Ethan's last night at Fabuland. Including Morgan. And the more secrets Ivy uncovers, the closer she gets to unraveling dark truths that will change her life forever.