Anna is a trained psychiatrist who hasn’t left her apartment in over a year due to acute agoraphobia. She spends her days watching old Hitchcock movies, drinking wine, doing things online, and watching her neighbors. Her ex-husband and young daughter do not see her much, but they talk often. When she notices a new family move in with a teenage son she begins watching them as she does all the other neighbors, but one day she witnesses something terrible and reports it to the police. Unfortunately, when they investigate Anna’s life begins to implode as she is forced to face everything in her life that is real and everything she has imagined since she has been trapped inside her house. No one believes she saw anything sinister since she is a heavy drinker and has anxiety issues, but she is positive she witnessed something. Did she really see something or is her mind playing tricks on her again?
This thrilling mystery will keep mystery lovers intrigued all the way until the end. There are many twists and turns in the plot and even seasoned mystery readers will struggle to put all the pieces together. The main character has many similarities to the Woman on the Train and the Woman in Cabin 10, but each mystery is very different and will satisfy readers independently. Highly recommended for mystery lovers.
Imogene Chively has been raised to find a wealthy husband in 1917 England and her family believes they have done just that when she attracts the interest of Ernest, but unfortunately, Imogene is much more intrigued by his younger brother, Benjamin. Ernest is perfectly friendly and accommodating but she feels they have very little in common while Benjamin is an architect’s apprentice and desperately needs her help in improving his drawing skills so that he can bring his architectural visions to life. As the two work together they begin to get closer and closer which makes Imogene wonder if she is brave enough to go against her family’s wishes and reject the heir for the younger working class brother. Meanwhile, a series of unfortunate accidents leads Imogene to believe that someone is trying to do Benjamin harm and no one believes her. She grows more frustrated as the incidents escalate and everyone dismisses her warnings since she is a young woman. Is there someone trying to harm Benjamin and if so why? Will she find the strength to be with the man of her dreams versus the one who can give her a comfortable life?
Serina and her sister, Nomi, live in Veridia where women have no rights and are not allowed to learn how to read. Serina has been trained her entire life to be beautiful, graceful, and alluring in the hopes of attracting the heir to the throne so that he chooses her to be one of his graces. Each year the ruler gets to pick three women or “graces” who live with him in the castle and produce heirs, among other things. This year the heir gets to begin choosing graces and Serina’s family is desperately hoping he will choose her and shower them with favor. Nomi does not believe in this tradition or the fact that women are not allowed an education and has learned how to read secretly. When Serina is sent to the castle to catch the heir’s attention, it is actually Nomi (who had gone along as a handmaiden) who gets chosen. Shortly thereafter Serina is accused of a crime she did not commit and is sent to a prison on a volcanic island where women literally have to fight each other to survive. Each sister must fight for her rights and her voice in their own way. Can they survive to somehow find their way back together again?
Young Adult Book Reviews 