Archive for May, 2024

That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally

Published May 23, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Suspenseful Mystery

This story alternates between Drew who is desperately trying to find his missing girlfriend, Lola, and “Mary” who was found on the side of the road and doesn’t remember who she is. Drew has become the police’s number one suspect, which has turned the whole town against him. Obviously, he doesn’t want to go to jail, but even more so he can’t understand why everyone has stopped looking for Lola. Meanwhile, “Mary” was found on the side of the road and taken to the local police office, but shortly after arriving there a frantic man arrived claiming to be her father. He had photos and documentation to prove who he is, but she can’t help feel like something isn’t right. Plus, he keeps trying to tell her what kind of person she is and what she likes to do and none of it seems right to her either. After Drew convinces Lola’s best friend that he did not hurt Lola and does in fact want to find her she agrees to help along with Drew’s cousin. It isn’t too long before they find out that a tip was called into the tip line with a possible Lola sighting five weeks after her disappearance that the police did not follow up on. How many other tips did they ignore because they were so sure Drew killed her? What lengths will Drew go to in order to find Lola? Who is the man who claimed to be “Mary’s” dad?

This thriller tale will keep readers riveted until the exciting end. It is very well written and the clues are all there, but many readers will not put them together until the end. The character development really helps the reader care about these characters and what they are going through, including the aftermath. Recommended for those who like fast paced thriller mysteries, like April Henry’s titles.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

Published May 15, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Mystery

Bel is an eighteen year old girl who was raised by her father when her mother disappeared suddenly sixteen years ago. Rachel Price’s disappearance captured local news for years because she was last seen with Bel, who was found in a running car alone in her car seat on the side of the road. Bel’s father was tried for the crime, but found not guilty and Bel was hoping to put all of the pain behind her. However, when they are approached about a documentary on her mother’s disappearance she only agrees because her father seems to think it’s a good idea. As they start shooting the documentary, though, she starts to have misgivings. Before she can decide if she wants to continue, Rachel shows up still wearing the clothes she disappeared in 16 years ago. Bel isn’t sure exactly why but something about her mother’s story about getting kidnapped and held against her will only to escape now after all this time seems farfetched and the facts don’t always line up. Her father’s reaction to her mother’s reappearance seems odd as well. Her mother moves back in with them and attempts to form a relationship with her and her cousin, Carter. Bel finds it difficult to connect with her mother after all these years, but Carter thinks Rachel is amazing and doesn’t understand why Bel isn’t overjoyed to have her back. Can Bel find out the truth behind Rachel’s disappearance? Will she be able to handle the truth?

This mystery story is engaging right from the beginning, but the ending will really thrill mystery lovers. Rachel’s disappearance and reappearance leave so many questions that it takes awhile to unravel it all, but the journey is totally worth it when it all comes spilling out. The backdrop of the documentary is also a great way to show how the outside world is viewing this incredible story. The characters are also really well depicted to help shape the actions in the story and why each character had certain motivations. The premise is very interesting, but the ending is what readers will be talking about. Highly recommended for mystery readers.

Vermilion Sunrise by Lydia P. Brownlow

Published May 8, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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**Special Review**

Genre: Sci/Fi futuristic and Survival

Seventeen-year-old Leigh wakes up on a spaceship with no recent memories of how she came to be there. She soon learns that she has been transported to another planet where humans are trying to begin a colony. She is part of the third landing party to her location, but they do not know how many colonies there are or how many landing parties there will be. She decides this could be a chance to escape her family’s past and chooses to tell everyone her name is Lorelei. As her group settles in to this new place it becomes obvious that they are all under eighteen and ill prepared for this unfamiliar terrain. They all rise to the challenge, however, and create jobs and rules for making this a community. Lorelei decides she wants to interview everyone to see if she can discover any correlations between their stories and maybe get some answers for how they came to be here. There are many challenges they face due to their limited supplies and knowledge of their new planet, but they all remain hopeful that eventually as more people join them that they will get answers. Will they ever remember how they came to volunteer for this mission? Will they ever learn why they had to leave Earth? Will they ever start to feel like this is home?

A solid beginning to what I assume will be a series. The premise is interesting and there are definitely plot twists and developments throughout as the characters learn more about their situation. There is definitely more for them to find out, however, including nearby colonies they have heard terrible things about as well as a suspected spaceship crash nearby. There are many characters, so at first it is really important to keep everyone straight, but as the story goes on and they get to know each other better each character starts to stand out more. Definitely recommended for readers who enjoy sci/fi and futuristic stores.

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang

Published May 2, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Fantasy

Disappointing her parents, Asian American Tabatha has chosen to study fortune telling with a renowned sorcerer as her mentor, Julian. As part of that training she has learned how to decipher the truth from lies, which is why she is stunned when Julian states that he has seen a fortune and it includes his own murder. She can tell he is not lying about the fortune he saw, but she cannot imagine it to be true. He makes her promise to find his son, Callum, if he is murdered but doesn’t tell her why. As the days go by, she is starting to hope the prophecy was flawed, but one day she is informed as she arrives for work that Julian was in fact dismembered late the night before in his workshop. Unfortunately, the cameras were all disabled so the police do not have a lot of clues, but they believe magic could have been involved. Tabatha keeps her promise and finds Callum and the two of them decide to try to find the killer, despite the many warnings they receive to stay out of it. To make things even more complicated, the will is lost so the ex-wife comes up with the crazy plan to hold a seance and ask Julian himself who he would like to carry on his magical legacy. Will Callum and Tabatha find themselves in danger if they get too close to the killer? Out of all his family, who will Julian entrust his legacy to? Will Julian’s magical family fall apart without their patriarch? Is Tabatha destined for law school like he parents wanted now that her mentor is dead?

This fantasy is fun because it is different than a lot of fantasies. You have people with magical abilities, but they do not use it for everything and it takes a great deal of training. Also, you have people hungry for the power that comes with powerful spells and magical knowledge. Finally, there is a mystery element that keeps the plot twisting and turning all throughout the book. The characters are decently fleshed out so that when the ending is revealed you can see everyone for who they truly are (and what their motivations are), which isn’t necessarily how they were first presented. Recommended for fantasy lovers.

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