The Drift | C.J. Tudor |  Penguin Random House Canada | Pub : January 19, 2023 | Pages : 340 So many twists and turns!! I really didn’t think I would like this one as it gave me Resident Evil vibes, but wow, this was such a creepy, atmospheric read that kept me on my toes the whole way through. At first, I had a bit of a harder time getting into it just because there were a lot of characters being introduced, but once I got a hang of who was who, it was such a fast-paced, quick read. C.J. Tudor was so good at building suspense in every chapter! I really loved that it was sort of a locked room mystery as well. The ending was so surprising, I thought I had it figured out from the start, but I was so wrong.  I really am surprised at how much I loved this, but I highly recommend if you want a super fast-paced, suspenseful, twisty read!  Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley. As usual, my reviews are my ho......
A Death at the Party | Amy Stuart |  Simon & Schuster | Pub : March 7, 2023 | Pages : 304 A Death at the Party is an intriguing neighbourhood suspense that takes place over the course of one day, and was divided into three segments: morning, afternoon, and evening. In the first chapter, Nadine discovers a body in her cellar while her elegant garden party is taking place upstairs. Since the book is divided into three segments, the following chapter goes back to the morning of the party where Nadine is preparing for her mother's birthday party with her close friends and family. For me, this was the slowest portion, but as the day wore on and we got closer to the celebration that night, things started to take up. Since the chapters are brief, you can finish this book pretty quickly. Along the way, there were also some fantastic twists. I was left wondering because the identity of the body wasn't revealed until the very end. The author skillfully weaves together all of the m......
Don't Open the Door | Allison Brennan | MIRA | Pub : January 24, 2023 | Pages : 384 This is the second novel in the Regan Merritt Series . You could read this book as a stand-alone. The Sorority Murders and Don’t Open the Door are two distinct stories. However, it is nice to get more background on Reagan, so I would definitely recommend reading The Sorority Murders prior, if you can. I’m a big fan of Allison Brennan! I love the Quinn and Costa series, but this series moves at a much slower pace than that one, and I don’t love love it. Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoyed the story, but I do admit it took me a while to read and get into it. Allison is such a great writer! The characters are believable and well-developed. It is rife with mysteries, murder, suspense, and secrets. Even though it was very slow-paced, the conclusion was unpredictable, and the author is a pro at building suspense. One other thing I just love about Allison Brennan is that she develops such strong,......
A Pen Dipped in Poison | J.M. Hall | Avon Books UK | Pub : March 30, 2023 | Pages : 378 I really had high hopes for this. I was expecting a cozy mystery but, in my opinion, that is not what I got. I think I might have enjoyed this more if it wasn’t British, and I hate to say that. I really do love British books generally, but this one was too British for my understanding. There were lots of slang that I didn’t understand, coming from a French-Canadian person. This left me quite confused most of the time. Plus, there were lots of characters, which didn’t help with my comprehension of the story. Also, one thing that bugged me was the POV would change out of nowhere. It wouldn’t necessarily change every chapter; it would change in a random paragraph, so it was extra hard to keep track of everything. You might love this story if you are British, or know a lot of British terminology, especially if you like a slow-moving storyline. This one would be for you, unfortunately, this one just w......
I Love it When You Lie | Kristen Bird | MIRA | Pub : March 14, 2023 | Pages : 352 This was a pretty good read. There was something very special about how it all played out. The Williams family is present to bury their cherished Gran, but there are other graves being visited that weekend in addition to hers… We were aware that police are investigating a missing person, but we were unsure of the details, including who, what, when, and how.  The story is told using multiple POVs such as the three Williams sisters and their sister-in-law. All I know is that you shouldn't mess with a Southern woman! I loved how funny these characters were, and their southern sayings made me laugh. Add to that the fact that they were unethical and morally dubious, and I was hooked. I wouldn’t consider this book as an edge-of-your-seat suspenseful thriller, it's more of a character-driven mystery that you can watch unfold while relaxing. It did a good job of keeping my interest throughout. The lives a......
  What a wild ride! After a few books that didn’t quite hit the mark, I was really looking for a great thriller, and J. T. Ellison delivered! Action packed from beginning to end, there were twists and turns to keep me turning the pages and find out what was going to happen. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is that the ending kind of felt rushed and left questions unanswered.   (Trigger warming) Olivia Bender desperately wants to be a mother so when she miscarries again, she doesn’t want to tell her husband Park that she failed again. Before she can talk to him, the police show up at their home with news of DNA from a crime scene at a recent murder investigation show up as Park’s son. But Park doesn’t have children, right? Turns out that when he was in college, he donated sperm to a clinic, and has no idea how many times his sperm was used. Plus, the scene of the murder resemble the one from his ex-girlfriend murder in college, which Park was briefly a suspect. ......
A few years ago, I read another book from the author and absolutely loved it so I was very excited to read this one. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet the bar I had set for this novel. The book started with great promise, and then it felt like it came up short in the middle, but the ending was mind blowing.   There are several POVs in this novel – Lee, Grace and Noah), as well as 2 timelines. Fairly early in the book, the reader quickly realise that all the main characters are keeping secrets from each other, secrets that they are not willing to share. I’m used to unreliable characters, but this book took it to another level. It became impossible to tell the truth from the lies, until the WTH moment came at the end that I did not suspect at all. Everything was suddenly thrown in the air. Great job from the author for this amazing twisty ending.   Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC in exchange for a review. As always, my reviews are my own and unbiased opini......
  Another great read! The pacing was excellent and it kept me turning page after page to know what would happen next. Although, I did prefer the first half to the second half.   The concept of the Chain is that a parent receives word that their child has been kidnapped and in order to get their child back alive, the parent must go and kidnap another child. This Chain has been going on for years and there are some rules to follow to ensure your child is returned to you alive. Some of the events were questionable as to it being realistic or not. Although this book is meant to entertain, the plot is definitely disturbing, and had my interest until the end.   Thank you to Mulholland Books for the physical ARC in exchange for a review. As always, my reviews are my honest and unbiased opinions.   Rating: 4 stars Synopsis :  It's something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone cal......