Tag: secrets

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#BookReview: Our Perfect Family by Nicola Marsh

Lots Of Moving Parts Combine For One Explosive Thriller. This is one of those books where you know from Page 1 that little is going to actually be as it seems… and yet Marsh is going to keep you guessing and keep the reveals coming all the way until almost literally the very last words of this just-shy-of-300 page tale.

This is one where pretty well every character has some dark secret they are trying to protect, which is where most of the tension throughout the text comes to bear. Everyone thinks they know everyone and everyone thinks this is a titular “perfect family”, except we know as readers that this is far from what is actually going on.

This does all happen in Australia, and apparently the narrators thus use Australian accents in their reading. I actually explicitly chose an Australian voice on my Text To Speech reader for this book because of the setting and Marsh herself being Australian, and it absolutely worked well for me.

There is also quite a bit of teen/ new adult drama to be had here, including one scene in particular that while some may find distasteful also is and has been far too common. Marsh actually plays the scene well both in what she chooses to actively show – and not – and in how she shows its impact throughout our “perfect” family, which drives a large portion of the narrative here.

Overall truly a fun, twisty family suspense/ thriller with oh so much going on on so many different levels, this really is a great end of summer/ start of the new school year read, and is thus fairly well positioned for its print release on the day after US Labor Day, when even Yankee schools start back. Southern US schools have generally been back for at least a few weeks already by this point, and indeed all of my nephew and nieces started school nearly a full month before the Kindle edition release of this book.)

Very much recommended.

This review of Our Perfect Family by Nicola Marsh was originally written on August 25, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen

Solid Family/ Psychological Drama/ Suspense. This tale takes the concept of twins – always interesting to me given that my grandfather was a twin and two of my nieces are twins – and spins a solid psychological/ suspense family drama in and around them in ways that are unfortunately all too realistic in at least some circles in the Southern US.

This is a richly complex tale with a lot going on, even as it has only a few central character and only two primary viewpoints – that of both of the twins. One twin is written in a manner that reads a touch unusually, which can be a problem for some readers, but I thought that view written in that manner actually worked quite well for the story being presented here. The other twin uses a more standard writing style and should pose little difficulty for most readers.

Overall one of the more rare and inventive ways to tell this type of tale I’ve come across, both io the use of twins and in the overall setting involved – the titular locked ward. Pekkanen easily has a solid hit here – I’m not sure that I would quite call it a home run, particularly given the struggles some will have reading the one twin, but I would absolutely call this a solid stand up double. (A baseball analogy, in case it wasn’t clear from the “home run” bit. What can I say, I *am* a dude. :D)

Very much recommended.

This review of The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen was originally written on August 4, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Miner’s Myth by Russell W. Johnson

Solid Conclusion With One Significant Flaw. As a conclusion of a trilogy, this story works *extremely* well. We get a contained story here that is on par with the other books, yet we also get closure for each of our main characters and answers about the overall mythos established in the earlier books as well. Yes, for fans of books having every possible plot thread tied into a nice little bow before “THE END”… this trilogy is “officially” for you.

Which means that by its very nature, this book was always going to be rather explosive, and it absolutely lives up to that. Johnson, a lawyer before becoming a published author, manages to bring us into a courtroom… well, like a seasoned lawyer should be able to. 😉 But seriously, he actually exposes what the process of a Grand Jury can be like, particularly through the viewpoint of someone testifying about charges the prosecutor is trying to level against the person testifying. This drives a significant part of the book, and is done quite well… mostly.

The significant flaw here is that interspersed with the Grand Jury testimony, we get flashbacks to the events at hand. Rather than staying in the courtroom, we flash back and see the events as they actually unfold. Which is awesome, to a degree – show me, don’t tell me, right? Yet even with my Autistic brain (some may argue *because of* my Autistic brain if they don’t notice this issue 😉 ), the actual manner in which we go between courtroom and flashback is a bit jarring and at times even fairly difficult to ascertain which timeline we’re currently in. Yes, there are a few clues, but with the way the testimony is written… at certain points it could truly feel like you’re in either one.

And yet the story overall really is richly layered, really on par with the movie version of For Love Of The Game, wherein there also we get a “real time” event and glimpses of what led to that moment as the moment plays out. (Except that doesn’t actually happen in the book form of that tale, btw. This is absolutely one case where the movie form of the tale is *so* much stronger.) Indeed, it is this rich layering that makes the Grand Jury scenes pop as much as they do, as well really begin to see how Mary Beth thinks in ways we didnt get even in the first couple of books here.

All of this noted… with this trilogy, each book really does build on the one before it, so go pick up Moonshine Messiah, book 1, first. Then work your way up through this book. If you like kick ass action and cops who aren’t afraid to at least test the boundaries… you’re going to love this entire series.

When you read it, make sure you leave a review wherever you see this one. It doesn’t have to be anywhere near as long as this one, it doesn’t even actually have to be as long as this sentence. But no matter how verbose or brief you may be and no matter your opinion of the book, it will help the book sell. Even if you absolutely *hate* the book and think Johnson is a complete idiot, some will agree with you… and some (to be clear, I’ll tell you right now I’ll be in this camp 😉 ) will think you’re the idiot and buy the book to spite your “negative” review. Thus, either way, reviews help sell books. So please, write one, no matter your thoughts on the book. If the trilogy sells well, maybe we’ll get another series from Johnson. Which would be awesome, based on how good a storyteller he proved to be in this trilogy.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Miner’s Myth by Russell W. Johnson was originally written on July 31, 2025.

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#BookReview: This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs

Less Destination-y, Less Thrill-y, Still Solid Sophomore Submittal. Ochs’ debut last year, The Resort, was a book where the exotic tropical setting played nearly as much into the plot as any of the characters themselves, and where the cat and mouse game kept you guessing nearly through the last words (at least per my review I wrote back then – nearly a year and over 200 books between reading this one and that one… I remembered it as solid, but yeah, I don’t retain most details that long. :D).

This one still takes you to the destination, and you absolutely still see the beauty in the various areas of Australia that she brings us to… it just isn’t *as* critical to the overall plot as the destination itself felt in The Resort. The thrills and suspense are still absolutely here, but in a more dual timeline nature where we see stuff happening in each that we know won’t end well in either, rather than the more cat and mouse active timeline investigation of the first book. Not to say that element is completely gone, as there is in fact an investigation here, and there are absolutely several twists even through the last words yet again. It just felt somehow… slightly “less” again. More solid standard than spectacular standout.

This could well be from the sheer fact that an author has a lifetime to craft their debut… and then just weeks, months if they are lucky, to craft their sophomore and subsequent efforts. So this isn’t really a knock on Ochs at all, just the nature of the beast, really. I’m not disparaging this book in any way whatsoever – it really was quite good, and actively better than some. This bodes well indeed for future efforts, as if *this* is *all* the dropoff we get from that phenomenal first foray, Ochs will certainly be an author to watch for the rest of her writing career, however long that may be.

Truly an excellent work that shows off several different regions of Australia well enough for someone who has only ever seen those regions on a screen and has never once so much as seen the Pacific Ocean – or even been within 300 miles (roughly 500 km, for those who refuse to use freedom units) of it. I’m sure my friends and colleagues who have actually been to – or even in some cases live in – the areas depicted might have a different take there, but it absolutely worked well enough for this Southern US man.

Very much recommended.

This review of This Stays Between Us by Sara Ochs was originally written on July 23, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Lake Escape by Jamie Day

Complex Web Of Secrets. You’re in your 30’s/ 40’s or so – old enough to have mid teen kids yourself – and you’ve been going to the same lake houses for literally decades at this point with the same neighbor families, so you’ve effectively grown up with these people. Considered them close friends. Perhaps even family. You know you know them.

But do you? Do they know you? Do you as a collective know all the secrets the lake – or even the houses you’ve come to all these years – may hold?

You have your secrets. They have theirs. The lake has its.

All is about to be revealed…

(Yeah, yeah. I don’t normally do a version of a description for a review, but seriously, *for this book*, I think the above is largely the best way to do the review. There are elements here that some will love and some will hate – there are a lot of characters and at least a few different narrators here, and the book takes over 350 pages to tell a somewhat simple (at a high level at least) tale. Breakneck action, this is not. But it *was* a *really* good tale of relatable friends and family… even when some of them are pretty open scumbags. The tale is rather dark, and there are no white knights to be had here. Just a group of people doing the best they can in rather interesting and stressful situations. So give this book a chance, read it, and write your own review and let us know what *you* thought about it.)

Very much recommended.

This review of The Lake Escape by Jamie Day was originally written on July 16, 2025.

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#BlogTour: Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf

For this blog tour, we’re looking at another strong Southern Gothic tale that serves as an emerging author’s sophomore effort for adult readers. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Strong Southern Gothic Tale. Perfect for those who love to start “spooky season” on July 5th (with no other major (decorative, at least) holidays in the US before Halloween), yet also has a strong small town mystery and even a touch of romance, this is one book that checks a lot of boxes – yet manages to do them all quite well.

Even as a native of the South, specifically the borderlands between southern Appalachia and exurban Atlanta, I had never heard of the concept of a “grave bird”, yet Elemndorf both (quickly) explains it well… and then uses it particularly well throughout the novel whose title notes that it is all about these creatures. 😉

But seriously, the titular grave birds give this tale a magical realism/ fantasy tone that is exactly what one would expect in a Southern Gothic tale, but really the core of this book is one woman’s dreams and the depths she will go through to achieve them – even if it means unravelling a decades old town mystery so well hidden that virtually no one even actually knows there is a mystery to solve!

Truly a strong and stirring sophomore effort (for adult audiences, at least), this really is a strong tale told particularly well, and one that is both familiar enough to be understood and even relatable, yet innovative enough so that the reader will still be caught quite breathless at times.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf”

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#BookReview: Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine

I Thought I Was The Only One. It is no secret that my book reviews are in part confessionals, that is my entire schtick as a reviewer and literally the basis of my brand name. So here’s one I don’t talk about often, but which those who have known me since I was a kid are aware of – it actually caused a bit of drama a couple of times back then: The dream sequences that happen in this book? The ones that our lead character feels are so vivid and real, that they really could be glimpses into the future?

I’ve lived with those same types of dreams off and on for over forty years now. And no, it isn’t deja vu. It is pretty well exactly as Constantine describes here – so real and visceral that you *know* you’ve lived those very events before.

Except unlike our lead character – or in some ways perhaps exactly like her – I learned early on, from a couple of blunders that caused the drama I referenced above, to not (obviously) act on the dreams, but instead to prepare myself for the outcomes they warned me of so that I could at least be prepared if or when they happened.

So for me in particular, that part of this book was *phenomenal*. It was easily relatable to one of those aspects of my life that I virtually *never* talk about anymore, because as our lead character in the book learns, people – even those closest to you – rapidly begin to think you’re crazy when you so openly talk about it. (Which is one reason I’m not going into any real details about my own experiences, and indeed I can actively state that these types of dreams don’t happen nearly as often anymore as they did when I was younger. My overall life is also *dramatically* different than it was, and I suspect this plays a role.)

But that aspect is only roughly half this tale, the setup. And while a phenomenal setup, it *is* a rather slow one. It takes time for those less accustomed to these types of dreams to wrap your head around what is going on with this character, and Constantine gives you that kind of time. She needs to, because the later stages, where the action picks up and indeed becomes rather breathtaking, *need* you to understand that part of this character and believe it as much as she does.

Thus, when the action picks up, the dreams become less a part of the active story and more a part of what is informing the action sequences as they play out. At this point, it becomes a far more typical thriller, one of the exact type Constantine is known for and excels at, and it shows brilliantly here.

Overall truly a great thriller that shows a side of life that most likely aren’t as familiar with, and does so in a way that rings true to at least my own experiences with similar experiences in real life.

Very much recommended.

This review of Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine was originally written on June 30, 2025. (With apologies for the tardiness on this Advance Review Copy. Some major life events happened just before the release of this book that unfortunately delayed me reading it.)

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#BlogTour: Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book that represents a refreshing change of pace for its author. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Brennan Expands Her Storytelling In A New And Refreshing Direction. Long time fans of Brennan, and even those who have only started reading her this decade like me, know she is most well known for very *dark* murder tales and the teams investigating them.

This book is not that. At all. While it retains *some* elements of that – bodies are piling up rather rapidly at a small private island resort – this is much more a pure romantic suspense with strong island vibes. Thus, we get a lot more tropical/ island feel here than is typical of Brennan’s writing to date… and that is an *amazing* thing to see, as she executes it so well. About the only thing Brennan could have done to be even more different than her usual style would be to go pure bubblegum pop romcom, and while this is nowhere near that… there are certainly both comedic and spicy moments, making the reader literally laugh out loud at times while offering perhaps around a jalapeno level spice – more than a warm glass of milk, but also far less than the ghost peppers of books I read earlier in the week before reading this book.

Truly well done, and a very welcome and refreshing departure from where Brennan has been these last several years at minimum, this reader at least is hoping both sides of her storytelling will continue.

Very much recommend.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Beach Reads And Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan”

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#BookReview: Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda

Orwellian. 1984 was originally published in 1949 – 76 yrs and 2 days before the publication of this book – and its final line in particular is echoed in this book. (Not revealing it here so as to avoid spoilers, though yes, *some* people – me, I am “some people” – will remember it exactly.)

Here, we get a very similar effect in the end, if not a retelling of the overall story of someone rebelling against a thing they are tied to in so many ways before being abused back into loving the thing they originally rebelled against. Obviously without the political commentary, as (as another reviewer noted), Rouda is clearly making a name for herself in the trainwreck popcorn thriller market. Why insert any overt politics and piss off whatever segment of potential readers, after all? 🙂

Thus, fans of Rouda will love this new entry. Those new to Rouda’s writing will find a pretty spot on example of it here, at least in my reading of her last few books (though not all of them, yet). And yes, her style doesn’t leave anyone looking particularly great or give the reader really anyone to “root for” 100%. Nobody is a truly “good” character, but all of the characters work reasonably well for their role in the story being told. And the story being told will have you on the edge of your seat much of the time, with little time for any “potty break” sections.

If you’re looking for a darkly entertaining thriller with minimal blood or sex or even really cursing… you’ve found exactly that. If you’re looking for something that is not pretty well exactly that… this ain’t what you’re looking for. It really is as simple as that, as is the case with pretty well every Rouda book. (Some may have more sex than others, some may have more cursing than others, but largely if you’re ok with reading about people doing horrible things to each other, up to and including murder both onscreen and off… you’re going to be ok here.)

Overall a darkly fun book that will be perfect summer reading for some, and that may be either too dark or even not dark enough for others.

Very much recommended.

This review of Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda was originally written on June 17, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

Strong Small Town Tale. This is one of those tales that has a bit of a lot. Rich boy falls in love with trailer park trash girl over the course of one fateful teenage summer. Events happen in their small seasonal town, and small seasonal townspeople – including police – respond as small seasonable townspeople all too often do, even in real life.

But what if… what if damn near *everyone* was wrong?

What if the truth of that summer all those years ago was so much more complex? What if virtually *no one* had anywhere near a complete picture of what was happening, due to *everyone* having far too many prejudices and preconceptions?

Can wrongs done that summer all those years ago be corrected all this time later – at least to some degree or another? Can relationships destroyed then – family, community, romantically, and others – be repaired after so much time has passed and so much bitterness has been so deeply internalized?

Novak here provides a stunning tale perfect for summer reading that delves into all of the above in a tale that ultimately leaves the reader a bit breathless and a lot of emotions to deal with. It isn’t a comedy, though it has a touch of that. It isn’t a romance per se, though it does in fact meet all known qualifications there and may be marketed as such. This is far more a family/ small town drama, and one that plays out quite remarkably well.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak was originally written on June 15, 2025.