After Nightfall

by AJ Banner

Mystery

Book Description

Beware of friends with secrets…

Imagine your closest friend utterly betraying you. Years later, when she seeks forgiveness, you invite her to your engagement party as a gesture of reconciliation. But seething hostilities rise to the surface, ruining everyone’s evening. After an awful night, your friend’s battered, lifeless body is found at the bottom of a rocky cliff.

Newly engaged Marissa Parlette is living this nightmare. She should be celebrating her upcoming wedding, but she can’t shake the image of her friend lying dead on the beach. Did she fall? Was she pushed? Or did she take a purposeful step into darkness? Desperate for answers, Marissa digs deep into the events of the party. But what she remembers happening after nightfall now carries sinister implications: the ugly sniping, the clandestine meetings, the drunken flirtations. The more she investigates, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about her friends, the man she once trusted, and even herself.

Bestselling author A. J. Banner keeps readers on a razor-sharp edge in this intricately plotted novel of psychological suspense…in which nothing is as it seems.

MY THOUGHTS:

3.75 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

 
After Nightfall by A.J. Banner

If you like a story where absolutely everybody is a suspect, then this is the novel for you. Even the narrator thinks she herself is to blame at some point.

The morning after Marissa and Nate’s dinner/engagement party, Marissa wakes up to find that her best frenemy and next door neighbor Lauren is dead. Did she fall or was she pushed from the cliff down to the rocks below? Marissa does her best to investigate who might have had a reason to want Lauren dead–and before ling she finds out there are plenty of potential killers.

Marissa is a likable enough main character, though she makes some decisions that left me scratching my head. There is a wide cast in this novel, and it seems all of them have something to hide, even down to Nate’s 9 year old daughter.

At times I might have felt the author was throwing in TOO many red herrings; it’s a bit tiring trying to keep up with every side character’s personal problems. Most questions do get answered by the end, but it felt more like tying up loose ends than integrating their plot lines into the story.

When the killer was revealed, I was definitely surprised, although the climax fell a little flat for me. I wish we would have gotten to see a bit more of the culprit throughout the whole of the book.

This is another good thriller offering, and you will devour it quickly just like I did.

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About the Author

Born in India and raised in North America, A. J. Banner received degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Her previous novels of psychological suspense include The Good Neighbor and The Twilight Wife, a USA Today bestseller. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and six rescued cats.

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One commenter will win a copy of After Nightfall. US/CAN only.  Leave me a comment telling me your best friend’s name! Ends 9/7/18.

Fresh Ink

An Anthology by Various Young Adult Authors

YA Short Stories

Book Description

In partnership with We Need Diverse Books, thirteen of the most recognizable, diverse authors come together in this remarkable YA anthology featuring ten short stories, a graphic short story, and a one-act play from Walter Dean Myers never before in-print.

All it takes to rewrite the rules is a little fresh ink in this remarkable YA anthology from thirteen of the most recognizable, diverse authors writing today including Nicola Yoon, Jason Reynolds, Melissa de la Cruz, and many more, and published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. This collection features ten short stories, a graphic short story, and a one-act play from Walter Dean Myers never before in-print. It will give readers the opportunity to discover how the next chapter is up to them.

Careful–you are holding fresh ink. And not hot-off-the-press, still-drying-in-your-hands ink. Instead, you are holding twelve stories with endings that are still being written–whose next chapters are up to you.

Because these stories are meant to be read. And shared.

Thirteen of the most accomplished YA authors deliver a label-defying anthology that includes ten short stories, a graphic novel, and a one-act play. This collection will inspire you to break conventions, bend the rules, and color outside the lines. All you need is fresh ink.

MY THOUGHTS:

4 out of 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Fresh Ink: An Anthology by Lamar Giles

Featuring a collection of short stories written by diverse authors and about characters that seem to be rarely featured in the majority of YA books, Fresh Ink offers something for everyone.

A couple of standout stories were: “Don’t Pass Me By” by Eric Gainsworth. In this tale, a Native American boy celebrates his background in a time where most like him seemed to be trying to hide it. It was beautiful to see him claim himself and stand up for those who couldn’t or wouldn’t say anything. “Meet Cute” by Malinda Lo–a love story, or a beginning of one. This was exactly as its’ title suggests. Two girls meet at a convention and get to know each other through unconventional means. The dialogue felt real and appropriate for the age of the characters. “Catch, Pull, Drive” is about a transgender swimmer, and how just one person standing up for what’s right can really make a difference in a life.

This anthology is perfect for this point in time, where more and more teens are feeling free to be who they really are and express it to the world. Inclusion is important, and no matter your race, gender, sexuality, or ethnicity, you will find a story you like in Fresh Ink.

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AUTHORS INCLUDE:

Lamar Giles, Nicola Yoon, Malinda Lo, Melissa de la Cruz, Sara Farizan, Eric Gansworth, Walter Dean Myers, Daniel José Older, Thien Pham, Jason Reynolds, Gene Luen Yang, Sharon G. Flake, Schuyler Bailar, Aminah Mae Safi

“I absolutely love this mix of established and newer talents, and I’m really intrigued and excited by the mixed formats.” –BookRiot

“A powerful and varied collection…”—Booklist, starred review

“The stories are distinct in themes, subjects, genres, and formats, creating an inclusive, authentic, and incredible collection”—School Library Journal, starred review

Purchase it: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD

3 winners will win a finished copy of FRESH INK US Only.

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Jane Doe

by Victoria Helen Stone

Thriller

Book Description

A double life with a single purpose: revenge.

Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes—meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. No one has any idea who Jane really is. Least of all Steven.

But plain Jane is hiding something. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her.

Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. So she can take it all away.

Just as he did to her.

MY THOUGHTS:

3 out of 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

Jane has learned from a young age not to rely on anybody. So when she finally does find her person, her best friend, they become close as sisters. And then Jane loses her to suicide. So Jane decides to make someone pay.

Her target is pastor’s son Steven Hepsworth. Steven is as white bread as it gets–working in an office, single, preys on women. Steven had a relationship with Jane’s friend, and treated her horribly, which Jane thinks is to blame for her suicide. Jane gets to work seducing him, and she’s fun to watch.

It’s always interesting to me when the narrator of a story knows exactly what kind of person they are, but they embrace it instead of trying to change. Jane is not a good person, in fact she is a self described sociopath. She uses her lack of emotions to her benefit, and it has seemed to work for her in her life so far.

I wish there would have been a bit more thrill in this book. I didn’t feel much of a sense of danger or suspense–the mystery basically lies around finding out the truth about Steven. Jane knows what she is doing, she plans meticulously, and therefore there is never a point where the reader thinks she might fail or get caught.

One issue I had with this book is that at times, it seemed like the author was going out of her way to make sure that the reader knew how bad of a guy Steven was. So much of the stuff he says and does is excessive, to the point where it felt like it was being forced.

I liked the end of this book, if only because it was unexpected. From the way Jane was talking throughout the whole rest of the book, I would have thought she would have taken a different course of action. Jane Doe was a quick read, and Jane is an interesting character, but the rest of the book didn’t have the depth I hoped for.

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About the Author

Victoria Helen Stone is the nom de plume for USA Today bestselling author Victoria Dahl. After publishing more than twenty-five novels, she is now taking a turn toward the darker side of genre fiction. Born and educated in the Midwest, she finished her first manuscript just after college. In 2016, the American Library Association awarded her the prestigious Reading List Award for outstanding genre fiction. Having escaped the plains of her youth, she now resides with her family in a small town high in the Rocky Mountains, where she enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, and not skiing (too dangerous).

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Please let me know your favorite thriller you’ve read. Ends 8/15.

The Last Time I Lied

by Riley Sager

Mystery

Book Description

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she–or anyone–saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings–massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it’s immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp’s twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present. And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

MY THOUGHTS:

4 out of 5 FLEURS DE LIS

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

This novel kind of blurs the line between YA and adult. There are alternating sections between the current life of 28 year old Emma Davis, and the summer 15 years ago when she was a witness to her 3 summer camp bunk mates vanishing without a trace. Against her better judgment, Emma returns to the newly reopened camp as an instructor. She hopes to find some closure to the event that’s been haunting her, and to find out the truth.

I was hooked from the beginning chapter, and I knew I had to find out the truth about what happened to the missing girls. Emma has not been coping well with the night from 15 years ago; she did a stint in a psychiatric facility, she sees the faces of the girls in random places, and she’s been painting them over and over again, trying to clear herself of the blame she feels for their disappearance.

Emma is haunted, and it’s the defining aspect of her personality. The most interesting character in this book though is only seen through Emma’s memories of the past. Vivian, one of the 16 year olds who went missing, was a whirlwind of charm and bite, a girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it. Viv was the queen bee, and Emma felt pleased to be taken under the wing of a girl three years older. The relationship between them was complicated though, and helped shape the events of the night of the disappearances.

The final chapters of this book are fantastic; there are twists I definitely didn’t see coming and the action felt believable. The end left me wanting more, but I think the way things played out was perfect. I would absolutely read more books by this author.

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About the Author

Riley Sager is the pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer who previously published mysteries under his real name.

Now a full-time author, Riley’s first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called “the first great thriller of 2017” by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries and a film version is being developed by Universal Pictures.

Riley’s next book, THE LAST TIME I LIED, will be published in July. It was inspired by the classic novel and film “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and one horrible week Riley spent at summer camp when he was ten.

A native of Pennsylvania, Riley now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he’s not working on his next novel, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is “Rear Window.” Or maybe “Jaws.” But probably, if he’s being honest, “Mary Poppins.”

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Let me know if you have ever been to summer camp!

The Widow’s Watcher

by Eliza Maxwell

Contemporary Fiction

Book Description

From Eliza Maxwell, the bestselling author of The Unremembered Girl, comes a gripping novel about the mysteries that haunt us and the twists of fate that can unravel them…

Living in the shadow of a decades-old crime that stole his children from him, reclusive Lars Jorgensen is an unlikely savior. But when a stranger walks onto the ice of a frozen Minnesota lake, her intentions are brutally clear, and the old man isn’t about to let her follow through.

Jenna Shaw didn’t ask for Lars’s help, nor does she want it. After he pulls her from the brink, however, Jenna finds her desire to give up challenged by their unlikely friendship. In Jenna, Lars recognizes his last chance for redemption. And in her quest to solve the mysteries of Lars’s past and bring him closure, Jenna may find the way out of her own darkness.

But the truth that waits threatens to shatter it all. When secrets are surrendered and lies are laid bare, Jenna and Lars may find that accepting the past isn’t their greatest challenge. Can they afford the heartbreaking price of forgiveness?

3.5 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Not much exciting happens in the tiny frozen town of Raven, Minnesota.  So when old man Lars Jorgensen spots a woman trying to sink herself into an icy lake, he saves her against her wishes.  Seeing a woman in distress rips him back to his own sad past.

Jenna Shaw has a death wish.  She cannot find the will to continue living after she loses her husband and three children.  Her imagination is all she has left, and her van which takes her from Houston to Minnesota where she forcefully comes together with Lars.  Jenna and Lars must face the circumstances and eventually get to know each other and just what they have that they’re hiding from.

The wintry feel of Minnesota itself seems to be a character in this novel.  You can feel the wind, ice, and snow, and the desolate nature of the place.

Are the characters kind of stereotypical? Yes.  Everyone knows the trope of the grumpy old man with loss in his past.  As the novel goes on you can predict where the relationship between Jenna and Lars will grow, through a shared sense of grief and both sharing certain characteristics such as stubbornness.  Learning exactly why each character is so sad is an emotional journey.

In my opinion the book is a little Hallmark movie-ish, but it deals with grief in a very interesting way, and shows that connections between people are not something you can substitute for.

About the Author

Eliza Maxwell is the author of The Unremembered Girl, The Grave Tender, and The Kinfolk. She writes fiction from her home in Texas, which she shares with her ever-patient husband, two impatient kids, a ridiculous English setter, and a bird named Sarah. An artist and writer, a dedicated introvert, and a British cop-drama addict, she enjoys nothing more than sitting on the front porch with a good cup of coffee.

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One commenter will win a copy of the book! (US/CAN) Tell me if you’ve ever been to Minnesota.