BookishDramas

The Village Killer by Ross Greenwood My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read as an ARC. This review is based on my completing this story and is an honest reflection of my views about it. This is a thrilling addition to the DI Barton series, though it can be enjoyed as a standalone lie I did. This solid police procedural blends mystery, suspense, and character-driven drama, keeping readers hooked from the start. DI John Barton, returning to active duty after three years behind a desk, investigates two seemingly unrelated cases in the sleepy village of Castor: a near-fatal hit-and-run and the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl. As Barton and his team dig deeper, they uncover connections that lead to shocking twists and unexpected turns. The novel offers a gripping plot that skillfully ties together multiple mysteries, with Greenwood's writing adding layers of tension and intrigue. The story explores themes of secrecy, hidden lives, and the dark side of subur...

  ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐  Stars From the Back Cover A detective has a charming client, but there’s a problem. He might be a killer. Quinn is a private detective with scorch marks from her last relationship and a smooth-talking heartbreaker for a client. There’s chemistry between them, but there’s a problem. Ben might have killed his twin brother. He demands to work the case with her, claiming it’s his life on the line. A partner is the last thing Quinn wants. What she wants is to prove him innocent. But she’s finding plenty of evidence he isn’t. Murder at the College by P.H. Turner - Review I received the Review Copy of this book and my thanks to the team of NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the copy. All views expressed in this review are my own and based on my reading of this book. Some of the initial comments were made as I progressed in this book and I have not tried editing them as it expresses my contiguous thoughts as I proceeded with the story. The title of this book is ...

  ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐   Stars Book released Blurb You won't feel a thing… but you'll still be dead. People are dying under mysterious circumstances in the small town of New Haven. And the city’s best hope of uncovering the truth rests with a troubled teen and the girl who can't stand him. Cassie Underwood’s life is shattered when her younger sister dies in a freak car accident. In her grief, Cassie unfairly blames her sister’s constant companion—Taggart McGill—a boy with a sketchy past and abrasive personality. As Cassie attempts to recover from the loss, she struggles to honor her late-sister’s memory by befriending the person she resents most. Things get complicated when Cassie overhears a fellow student asking Taggart to convince the police another death in the accident had nothing to do with the crash at all. Taggart surprisingly agrees and a suspicious Cassie decides to accompany him in his snooping. She soon learns everything she knows about Taggart is wrong… and he has insight int...

  ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐   Stars Blurb Four went in, one came out. It was meant to be their last hurrah. Four friends spend their senior Spring Break of high school hiking the Yosemite forest. Alone for one week where they can prove that, despite their cracked relationships, they’re still a team. And maybe recapture some of the magic that brought them together in the first place. But something went wrong. One by one they’re murdered, until only one survivor emerges from the forest. He says he’s innocent. The evidence says he’s not. Now he’s on trial for the deaths of his friends, fighting for his life and freedom. It doesn’t matter that he loved them fiercely, one as a friend, one as an ex, and one that still tangles his soul. The only thing that matters is his final words weren’t “I love you,” they were “I’m sorry.” Told from past/present perspective, ONLY THE TREES KNOW is a story of untangling friendships: lies, misunderstandings, broken promises, and twisted love. Only The Trees Know Revie...

  ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐  Stars Blurb Would you sell your hand for a million dollars?  Regan “Roz” Osbourne is broke. Her ex-boyfriend won’t take no for an answer, and no one is taking her art work seriously. So when a mysterious stranger offers her a million dollars and safety from her unstable ex in exchange for her left hand, she can’t afford to refuse. Immediately following the amputation, she’s racked with insufferable phantom limb pain. Desperate for relief, she enrolls in an experimental drug trial. But this drug has a peculiar side effect—she develops a psychic connection to her missing limb. She soon discovers that Chicago’s long-dormant Phantom Strangler is now wearing her hand and is using it… to kill. Phantom Book Review The statement that stayed with me and incited me to try the book - Would you sell your hand for a million dollars? The book blurb was fabulously enticing and the book lived up to most of the expectations for me. The story straddles the horrifying and the bizar...

  ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐  Stars Book Blurb She's a tool in his deception, sculpting twisted beliefs of life beyond death. Kidnapped by Volga County’s serial killer, Emily “Mills” Ellis finds herself trapped in a luxury building with everything she needs: art supplies, the time to create, and the support of a budding family. Everything, that is, except for food and rest. While her best friend Livvy searches to find her hiding place, Mills battles with her beliefs in art and her purpose within a creative universe. Falling deeper into the faith of artists around her, Mills has to choose to either participate in events to move on to the next realm where artists are revered, or fall back to the realm of reality, where she and the world will never be saved. Paper Machete  Book Review  I received the Review Copy of this book and my thanks to the team of BookSirens, the publisher and the author for the copy. All views expressed in this review are my own and based on my reading of this book. ...

⭐⭐⭐ Stars No Plan B (Jack Reacher 27) by Lee Child  Blurb In Gerrardsville, Colorado, a woman dies under the wheels of a moving bus. The death is ruled a suicide. But Jack Reacher saw what really happened: A man in a gray hoodie and jeans, moving stealthily, pushed the victim to her demise, before swiftly grabbing the dead woman’s purse and strolling away. When another homicide is ruled an accident, Reacher knows this is no coincidence. With a killer on the loose, Reacher has no time to waste to track down those responsible. But Reacher is unaware that these crimes are part of something much larger and more far-reaching: an arsonist out for revenge, a foster kid on the run, a cabal of powerful people involved in a secret conspiracy with many moving parts. There is no room for error, but they make a grave one. They don’t consider Reacher a threat. “If any step is compromised, the threat will have to be quickly and permanently removed. There’s too much at stake to start running from ...

⭐⭐⭐   Stars Book Blurb Her talent couldn't save their lives. Can it save hers? Girls are dying in the town of Volga, and no one seems to be talking about who or what is behind their deaths. Emily Ellis, aka Mills, knows her talent as an artist has a purpose: to tell the stories of girls who are no longer able to tell their stories themselves. In her hands, Mills’ brushes do the talking. They take over her hands and mind, and what they produce seem to have a connection to the girls and what happened to them. There’s only one person who knows how dark that connection is, and he’ll stop at nothing to use that connection for his own ends. With Mills in his crosshairs, she has to do whatever it takes to survive. Paint by Murders Book Review  I received a Review Copy of this book and my thanks to the team of BookSirens, the publisher and the author for the copy. All views expressed in this review are my own and based on my reading of this book. Some of the initial comments were made...

  ⭐⭐⭐  Stars Book Blurb A practical joke goes chillingly, murderously wrong in Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie’s classic detective story, The Seven Dials Mystery. Gerry Wade had proved himself to be a champion sleeper, so the other houseguests decided to play a practical joke on him. Eight alarm clocks were set to go off, one after the other, starting at 6:30 a.m. But when morning arrived, one clock was missing and the prank then backfired, with tragic consequences. For Jimmy Thesiger in particular, the words "Seven Dials" were to take on a new and chilling significance... First published January 24, 1929 In my short journey of reviewing books, I have yet to cover notable authors whose books I have read over the decades with the current ones always in focus. My brother @pinakrath  (IG) who is holding the flame of book-reading aloft in the family asked me to review a few Dame Christie books.  Pinak this one is for you. This book, my first #agathachristie book, is th...

⭐⭐⭐    Stars Book Blurb A dark secret separated them, a sinister invitation brought them all back together again. A group of college friends got away with an unthinkable crime, or so they thought. Ten years after that fateful night, Riley and her friends all receive a mysterious invitation to spend the weekend at a cabin on Meadow Lake. It's obvious to all that it isn't a coincidence the gathering falls on the anniversary of the evening that changed their lives forever. Once everyone arrives, tensions run high in the midst of a snowstorm, as everyone tries to figure out who brought them together and to what end. As the snow continues to fall, the body count begins to rise. The survivors must confront their dark pasts and the secret that brought them back together if they have any chance of surviving. Will they make it out alive, or does whoever knows their secret have other plans for them? Secrets At Meadow Lake Review I received a free copy of this book and my thanks to the a...

  ⭐⭐⭐  . 5    Stars Book Blurb An innocent father serving life for the murder of his own son receives evidence that his child may still be alive, and must break out of prison to find out the truth in #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben’s latest breathtaking thriller. David and Cheryl Burroughs were living the dream life when tragedy struck. Now, five years after that terrible night, Cheryl is remarried. And David is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison for the brutal murder of their son. Then Cheryl’s sister, Rachel, arrives unexpectedly during visiting hours and drops a bombshell. She’s come with a photograph that a friend took on vacation at a theme park with a boy in the background who has a familiar, distinctive birthmark … and even though David and Rachel realize it can’t be, they both just know. It's David’s son, Matthew, and he's still alive. David plans a harrowing escape from prison, determined to do what seems impossible–save h...