She Lies In Wait by Gytha Lodge

Fourteen-year-old Aurora Jackson has been waiting for 30 years for her body to be found. Once it is, old wounds are re-opened and all five of the other teenagers who were with her that night are now prime suspects in her murder. Was it her older sister Topaz? Or Coralie, Topaz's jealous best friend? More likely it was one of the boys, Benner, Conner or Brett, and no one seems to suspect the tomboy, Jojo. DCI Jonah Sheens is on the case, but there's just one problem - he was slightly older than the kids at the time but still knew them, perhaps a little too well. The five characters are still a tight-knit group, protecting each other's secrets even as they've gone on to live successful lives. The book alternates back and forth between that fateful night and the present day investigation, and we also get a good look at the rest of DCI Sheens investigative team, as this is presumably the first book in a series. I like what I see, and look forward to reading the next one.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

Where Watching You starts off and where it ends are in two completely different places, but you can be sure to feel the hair on your neck raised the whole time as you wonder "who is watching me?" A quaint street in Bristol where neighbors know each other (and watch each other obsessively, apparently) becomes the scene of a grizzly murder. We don't know who is dead, but the young Joey Mullen is a prime suspect due to her infatuation with the owner of the house, a married Tom Fitzwilliam, and the fact that the police found one of her boot tassels on scene. As we alternate between present day police interviews and scenes from the past few weeks as Joey and Tom get to know each other, the image of what might have happened starts to crystallize, until new details emerge and it gets all blurry again. This is truly one of those books that will leave you uncertain until the very end.

You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart

The premise to You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart is an interesting one, and not what you might immediately think. Jessica has recently separated from her husband, their marriage having descended into complacency and general lovelessness. She holds on tight to her two sons, especially Gabe, 6, who is adopted. One day her ex doesn't show up for school pick up, and Jessica starts down a slippery slope to discover why and what happened to him. It's hard to discuss it any more without revealing some of the carefully plotted twists. I can say that there's a fair amount of sadness in this novel, but a good amount of mystery as well, and as already mentioned, it's not what you might initially think!

A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot

FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been through so much in the last year my head is starting to spin. Poor girl needs a break! While I understand the need for constant turmoil to make the series continue, her relatives and loved ones must all be fretting at this point and wondering when it's going to be their turn to get shot, raped, abducted or killed! All kidding aside, this is another great installment in the series. While I suppose you could read this as a standalone, there is so much history now with the characters that it makes more sense to start from the begging so you can understand everything that is going on. This time around, Mercy is investigating a thirty-year-old armored-car robbery after the body of one of the robbers turns up. Throw in a tabloid reporter who is nosing around the story, a creepy guy in prison a la Hannibal Lecter (minus the eating people part I guess), an abusive ex who's intent on making his wife pay, and a case of mistaken identity whereby one of Mercy's loved ones gets shot, and you have yourself another fine Eastern Oregon mystery.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The second offering from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is in the same vein as the first. There’s some mind-bending deception, a couple of twists here and there, and a satisfying conclusion. Jess, a twenty-something makeup artist, fakes her way into a morality study to make a little side-cash, only to have the study make more demands of her than she signed up for. The puppet-master, Dr. Lydia Shields, has an ax to grind and Jess becomes her blade. An Anonymous Girl lacks the “I never saw that coming” twist that was the highlight of The Wife Between Us (you can quickly guess where this storyline is going), but it’s an enjoyable ride there. My only beef is the tone that Dr. Shields was written in as she observes Jess (You fiddle with your hair, you hesitate before you answer this question, etc. [not verbatim]). It almost made me stop reading the book. But if you get past that hurdle the rest is worth it.

The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang

The Impossible Girl is an exciting romp through the lives of a gang of grave robbers in New York in the mid-1800s. This era is the heyday for medical autopsies and advancement in understanding physiology, and the doctors of the time are searching for medical anomalies to dissect and display. Enter Cora Lee, who herself is an anomaly, suspected of having two hearts. By day she flits about the city and arranges to “procure” the specimens for various doctors once the owners of the bodies have passed away, and by night she’s “Jacob,” her twin brother who does the digging. Only now the people she has her eyes on are dying in unnatural ways, and there’s a high price for anyone who can find the girl with two hearts, dead or alive. The story gets a little grim at times, but it's a unique look into parts of our history that are rarely discussed or written about in a fictional way.

Vox by Christina Dalcher

It’s hard not to compare Vox to The Handmaid’s Tale, and frankly, it feels a little derivative. Set in the “now” but with a slight twist, the religious right has risen up after that hopey-changey African American president and hijacked, and silenced, half the country. Women now have to wear a bracelet on their wrists that limit them to 100 words a day or they get an electric shock, and the government has plans to silence them permanently. They’ve conscripted Dr. Jean McClellen to help them in their efforts, and she’s received a temporary reprieve from her bracelet, only to have her husband say that he liked her better when she was silent. Her teenaged son is swallowing the propaganda hook line and sinker, and her five-year-old daughter gets an award for not saying an entire word all day at school. The premise is great… but then the rest of the plot happens. There are some unnecessary coincidences (her mother has a stroke in the exact part of her brain that Jean is an expert on, really?) and the events at the end are murky and hard to understand. I feel like this book could have been so much more, and that it needed a bit more time in development to flesh out the details better. Sorry, I’m a details gal!

Girl's Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Ashley, Natalie and Lauren head to Tulum, Mexico, to have some bonding time and reconnect. Things have been strained between them since the death of Lauren’s husband a year earlier – she hasn’t spoken to either of them even though they are all longtime best friends. Ashley and Natalie are business partners, but that relationship is taking its toll; when they get a buyout offer Nat wants to take it but Ashley doesn’t. Amid this turmoil that ladies land in Tulum, but when things should be getting better they just get worse. Girl’s Night Out is told in alternating timelines between their last day in Mexico, when Natalie wakes up and finds that Ashley is missing, and when they first landed and the events leading up to her disappearance. I like the effect, as the tension keeps building until you find out what happened to Ashley. She spent more time flirting with a handsome stranger than hanging out with her girlfriends, Natalie can’t remember what happened the night before, and Lauren is acting suspiciously … but where is Ashley? Liz & Lisa will take you on a wild ride once again with plenty of unexpected twists and turns.

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

I’m not sure how to rate this one. It was so creepy that I almost stopped reading it several times, and yet so captivating that I couldn’t help but stick it out to the end. Suzette and Alex have a seven-year-old daughter, Hanna, who won’t speak. Not can’t, won’t. Until one day she does, but it’s to terrify her mother by pretending she is possessed by a long-deceased “witch” from France. And so the turmoil begins, though really it’s been building for years. Hanna is precocious, psychopathic, and out to kill Suzette so she can have her dad all to herself. Really, that’s the plot! Every parent out there is cringing! Suzette is hyper-vulnerable; she suffers from Crohn’s Disease, and since no school will keep Hanna for more than a couple of days, she's stuck homeschooling her mute Bride-of-Chucky daughter. Alex thinks Hanna can do no wrong, and turns a blind eye each time he is confronted with evidence of his daughter’s devilish ways. Sure, it’s a little sensationalist, and probably a step beyond what parents of violent or psychopathic kids really go through, or is it??

Everything We Give by Kerry Lonsdale

Aimee, Ian, and James are back with the conclusion to the Everything series, though James and his messed up family only have a small part to play in this installment. Instead, we get to learn Ian’s backstory, which, as it turns out, is equally messed up. He was raised by a mother with multiple-personalities and a distant father, so how he ended up so well-adjusted and successful is beyond me. But, he’s actually not okay inside and he needs to find some closure with his parents (who he hasn’t seen in almost 20 years since his mom got out of prison). But first, he needs to go to Spain, take some amazing photographs for National Geographic and confront his own ex. The whirlwind plots and steamy sex scenes continue in this installment, and it’s an entertaining summer read.

Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King

When Maisey returns to her hometown after an incident that leaves both of her aging parents in the hospital, she’s not sure what she is going to find. Running away from her problems and drifting through life seems to be her way of dealing with things, but now she’s stuck back in small-town Washington trying to figure out what secrets her parents have been keeping from her all these years. Throw in her controlling ex and a hot local firefighter, and you have some drama! The real core of this book is about abuse though, including the many forms it can take and what people do to get away from it. I shed many a tear but was also uplifted by the hope and love along the way.

The Intermission by Elyssa Friedland

Cass and Jonathan seem to have it all: a great apartment in NYC, tons of money, and hopefully a baby on the way soon. But can a relationship built on a foundation of lies actually last? Cass starts to question this herself and decides that what they really need is a break, or “intermission,” from their marriage. She’ll spend hers in LA, rediscovering herself, while Jonathan will just sink under his heavy workload until she gets back, or so she thinks. The reality is quite different, and while absence can often make the heart grow fonder, in this case the couple starts to grow apart. As the truths about what they’ve done to each other and the secrets they’re keeping start to spill out, you might find yourself thinking that they’re better off apart, or that they truly deserve each other! Friedland leaves you guessing until the very end, and this book is just begging to be read on vacation by a beach somewhere.

A Merciful Silence by Kendra Elliot

Book Four of the Mercy Kilpatrick series was a great installment and slightly better than the middle two. This time Elliot tackles the Sovereign Citizens movement, and doesn’t give them the same respect as she does the preppers, and rightfully so! Truman pulls over one these wingnuts only to learn that he’s kicked a hornet’s nest and is soon abducted by them. Mercy goes into rescue mode, while concurrently trying to solve a series of grisly murders. Are they connected, and can she get to Truman before it’s too late? I was a little sad while reading the book as this was supposed to be the end of the four-book series, but in the author’s note Elliot reveals that there is more to come. Yay! I just hope it doesn’t involve either Mercy or her beau being on the brink of death again… I think they’ve been through enough for a while.

The Ever After by Sarah Pekkanen

Josie finds out that her husband, Frank, is having an affair. This story could go so many ways, but Sarah Pekkanen tees it up for a reconciliation right from the start. They didn’t actually sleep together. It was only a couple of times. He’s so sorry. He is a five-star human, going to church and volunteering at a homeless shelter. He’ll be her punching bag forever as long as she takes him back. By the end of the book, Josie starts to look like the “bad guy” because she used to go to bed early to avoid hanging out or having sex with Frank! The other example of an “affair” is equally weird, with Josie’s best friend admitting that another guy kissed her once. Huh? That’s not an affair people! There are some funny moments about motherhood tucked in between (Josie notes that she can easily fill up a half hour chit chatting about nothing with an acquaintance so as to avoid talking about her separation) and you’ll feel happy for them all at the predictable conclusion. 

The Summer Children by Dot Hutchison

If the Roses of May was a bit of a letdown after The Butterfly Garden, The Summer Children brought the level of the trilogy back up again. Told from Agent Ramirez’s perspective this time, this installment really brought home the agony that working with abused children must bring, particularly for someone who experienced it herself. I liked Mercedes’ point of view, and her connection to the “subjects” is heartbreaking. Bloodied children keep showing up at Mercedes’ door, after an “angel” killed their abusive parents in front of them. The killer is clearly someone who was abused herself, and she trusts Mercedes to take care of these kids after she gets rid of their abusers. The identity of the killer this time is still pretty obvious (obfuscation is not the author’s strongest skill), but the rest of the plot is well done. There is a new addition to the team as well, so maybe the trilogy will be expanded? One can only hope.

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hiller

Georgina Shaw was involved with covering up the murder of her high school best friend, Angela, by her boyfriend, Calvin. When the truth comes to light years later, she goes to prison for five years for her role, and Calvin gets a life sentence but soon escapes. When it’s time for Geo to be released, more bodies start turning up, killed the same way as Angela, and it seems as though Calvin is on the hunt again and coming back for Geo. All is not as it seems in this suspenseful novel though. Told in alternating timelines between present day and the days leading up to Angela’s murder, the truth slowly and eerily unravels. Complicating matters is Geo and Angela's other best friend, Kaiser, who still carries a torch for Geo but was responsible for sending her to prison. Can they reconcile and move forward, or will Geo's past and her terrible deeds haunt her forever? The final ‘denouement’ is rather sad, with Geo having to make a heartbreaking but necessary decision. A worthy “summer” read!

The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie

A gas line explosion takes down an entire office building in Chicago, killing over 500 people. One year later, the families of the victims are still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. There’s Cecily, who was supposed to be there that day to meet her husband who worked there, but was running late and missed the explosion. She became the poster-child of the tragedy, thanks to a photographer, Teo, who happened to be there. While Cecily is the picture perfect grieving widow, her marriage was actually on the rocks and she feels like a fraud. Then there is Kate, who is connected to the disaster somehow, but living a new life in Montreal and trying (unsuccessfully) to forget her past. And then there’s Franny, a young woman who showed up at the funeral of one of the victims and declared herself the daughter that was given up for adoption, which no one knew about. She’s now moved into that woman’s house and is helping to take care of her two young girls, and her husband. Franny is a little “off,” but then, so are the rest of the characters in this book, with secrets galore and suspect motivations. What those are and how these women are all connected will keep you guessing until the very end, and even when you think you’ve figured everyone out there will be one last surprise for you. My favorite part were the interview transcripts between Franny and Teo, who is shooting a documentary about the tragedy. You can just see Franny squirming and working through her lies on the page. An excellent read!

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

The Broken Girls is 2/3 psychological suspense and 1/3 ghost story, which, I’ll admit, is not my favorite genre. In fact, it would have worked just as well without the “ghost” parts, but it does add a creepiness to the storyline that might not have been there otherwise. It’s set in small-town Vermont, where a girl’s boarding school has sat empty for decades. Journalist Fiona Sheridan is somewhat obsessed with its locale, as this is where her sister’s murdered body was dumped 20 years ago. Fiona was 17 at the time, and the murder tore her family apart and seems to have kept her in limbo ever since, even though her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of the murder. She keeps her police officer boyfriend at arm’s length, and when she learns that someone is renovating the old school she thinks it would be a good idea for her to investigate and write a story about it. Flashing back and forth between this timeline and the 1950’s, we learn that the girls at the school were all afraid of the ghost of Mary Hand, and that one of them, Sophia, is about to be murdered as well. Through her research on the school, Fiona discovers some clues to Sophia’s murder, and unearths some new information about her sister’s death as well. This book will suck you in, and the final dénouement is riveting, with or without the ghosts.

The Naturalist and Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

Dr. Theo Cray is working on field research in Montana when a former student of his is killed by a grizzly bear, or so everyone thinks. Theo is not convinced, and he lends his considerable intellect to the task of finding the real killer. By approaching the task as a biologist and computer programmer, he sees a pattern of missing people in the state that reminds him of the predatory area of a great white shark. When he gets close to an area where he knows one girl went missing, he also realizes that he can tell where the dead bodies are buried. This leads to the rather gruesome task of Theo trying to dig them up in order to show the authorities that the killer is real. Fans of Andy Weir’s The Martian will appreciate the heavy-duty science Theo uses to “MacGyver” any number of situations, and he finds himself in many, let me tell you! There’s a side romance plot that seems a little like an afterthought, and a final get-the-bad-guy scene that’s right out of the movies. While there are thousands of books and series out there about cops, private investigators, or other law enforcement personnel chasing down the bad guys, it’s a nice change-up to have it be a nerdy science-guy instead. 

After successfully finding a serial killer that no one even knew existed, Dr. Theo Cray is in high demand. He’s working for a shadowy arm of the government, trying to find connections between suspected terrorists. He’s also being hounded by people who’ve lost loved ones, looking for answers where there seemingly are none. The sad eyes of a father missing his only son gets to Theo, and he’s on the case in L.A., looking for missing African American children with light-colored eyes. I’m happy to report that he escapes the physical trauma that beset him in the first novel, though this episode seems to take a more psychological toll. Expect more of the same solid pacing from Mayne’s first installment, along with Cray continuing to “science the shit” out of every situation. The ending did seem slightly far-fetched, and it left me a little sad for Cray – is he going down to the dark side? I’m looking forward to finding out in the third book.

Digging In by Loretta Nyhan

Paige and her teenage son Trey have had two years to deal with the unexpected loss of their husband/father, Jesse. Yet, understandably, they are stuck in a rut. Paige is trying to keep her act together, but after some stressful events at work she starts digging in her back yard, and doesn’t stop until she’s torn her entire lawn up. This one act opens her up to a variety of new experiences and people, including a young farmer named Mykia, her ornery neighbor, and a friendly police officer who makes her realizes that there are some parts of life that she’s missing out on.  There are some truly touching discussions about loss, change, and grief between Paige and Trey which felt completely authentic – it was not surprising to find out in the author’s notes at the end that she has gone through something similar herself. It is a surprisingly dry-eyed book though, given then subject matter, as it takes place long enough after the initial loss that the emotions are not so raw. There’s also the hilarious side-plot of her boss obsessing over a corporate self-help book and subjecting her and her co-workers to endless shenanigans. Overall it’s a funny and heartwarming read.