The Girl in White

 

The Girl in White  by Lindsay Currie               Middle Grade Mystery/Ghost Story

(from Amazon)  Mallory hasn't quite adapted to life in her new town of Eastport yet. Maybe it's because everyone is obsessed with keeping the town's reputation as the most cursed town in the US.  And thanks to the nightmares she's had since arriving, Mallory hardly sleeps. Combined with the unsettling sensation of being watched, she's quickly becoming convinced there's more to her town. Something darker.  When Mallory has a terrifying encounter with the same old woman from her dreams, she knows she has to do something―but what? With Eastport gearing up to celebrate the anniversary of their first recorded legend Mallory is forced to investigate the one legend she's always secretly been afraid of . . . Sweet Molly.

(My Review)  I enjoyed this book so much.  Mallory moves to this small town with her family.  She is not as excited as her family.  The town is famous for a ghost story, and plays it up for the tourists.  Mallory is not a fan of this.    Then Mallory starts having dreams of an old woman, and other creepy things starts to happen.  Mallory and her friends start to investigate.  Can they unravel the mystery before it's too late???   This was soooo good!!!

The Homewreckers

 

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews                     Contemporary Romance/Cozy Mystery

(from Amazon)  Hattie Kavanaugh went to work restoring homes for Kavanaugh & Son Restorations at eighteen, married the boss’s son at twenty, and became a widow at twenty-five. Now, she’s passionate about her work, but that’s the only passion in her life. “Never love something that can’t love you back,” is advice her father-in-law gives her, but Hattie doesn’t follow it and falls head-over-heels for a money pit of a house. She’s determined to make it work, but disaster after disaster occurs, and Hattie’s dream might cost Kavanaugh & Son their livelihood. Hattie needs money, and fast.   When a slick Hollywood producer shows up in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: star in a beach house renovation reality show called The Homewreckers, cast against a male lead who may be a love interest, or may be the ultimate antagonist. Soon, there’s more at stake than bad pipes and dry rot: during the demolition, evidence comes to light that points to the mysterious disappearance of a young wife and mother years before.  With a burned out detective investigating the case, an arsonist on the loose, two men playing with her emotions, and layers upon layers of vintage wallpaper causing havoc, it's a question of who will flip, who will flop, and if Hattie will ever get her happily-ever-after.

(My Review) 

I wasn't expecting too much from this book.  I was expecting a sweet romance, like a Hallmark movie in a book.  I was surprised to find a cute little cozy mystery in the book which made it all the more enjoyable.  So, Hattie restores homes, and gets hired to film a renovation show (think Fixer Upper).  As she is fixing up a beach house on Tybee Island, she and her crew find a dead body, which starts the search for the murderer.  This book was so delightful.

TH1RT3EN

 

TH1RT3EN  by Steve Cavanagh                  Legal Thriller/Crime Thriller

(from Amazon) It’s the murder trial of the century. And Joshua Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house - and to be sure the wrong man goes down for the crime. Because this time, the killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury.    But there’s someone on his tail. Former conman turned criminal-defense attorney Eddie Flynn doesn’t believe his movie-star client killed two people. He suspects the real killer is closer than they think - but who would guess just how close?    

(My Review)

This was a very suspenseful read!  Told from two points of view, this story is about a serial killer who gets on the jury of the murder he committed.  It's so creepy to get inside of the mind of the killer as you hear his side of the story.  Great read!  This book is a wild ride that keeps you glued until the very end.

Hidden Pictures

 

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak             Horror/Thriller

(from Amazon)  Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.  Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.  Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.  Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

(My Review)

Wow!  This was a great page-turner!  A nanny is watching a boy who draws creepy pictures.  Things just start to get creepier from there.  Great book!

Hide

 

Hide by Kiersten White                  Suspense/Supernatural Thriller

(from Amazon)  The challenge: Spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught.  The prize: enough money to change everything.  Even though everyone is desperate to win—to seize a dream future or escape a haunting past—Mack is sure she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that.  It’s the reason she’s alive and her family isn’t.  But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes that this competition is even more sinister than she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.  Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide but nowhere to run.

(My Review)

This is not the book I was hoping it to be.  I was hoping for it to go in one direction and it went in a completely different direction.  I think to say more would give too much away.  I think the premise had sooo much potential.

The Agathas

 

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow    Teen & Young Adult/Mystery & Detective Story

(from Amazon)  Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She's not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . .  Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory.  In order to get the reward and prove Steve’s innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into.

(My Review)

I enjoyed this YA mystery.  This was a solid mystery, with a "friend"-group trying to solve the murder of a classmate.  If you liked A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, you'll like this one.

Daisy Darker

 

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney   Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

(from Amazon)  After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.  The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…  Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.  With a wicked wink to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Daisy Darker’s unforgettable twists will leave listeners reeling.

(My Review)  This book was so atmospheric and had me guessing until the very end.  I loved the whole Agatha Christie feel to this book, as well as the isolated setting.  This was a very good read.