The New Mother by Nora Murphy

From Nora Murphy, author of The Favor, The New Mother is both relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling—a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia.

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It's hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it's murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

Kindle Edition, 304 pages

Expected publication May 30, 2023

 by Minotaur Books

3/5 stars

This is such a hard book for me to review. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's, previous book The Favour and jumped into this one expecting another addictive suspense read. But I didn’t get those vibes until the last 60%. To be honest, I almost gave up at 40% but since other reviews mentioned the action started later, I persevered. Also I was gifted both the audio and digital arcs and did listen to the last 40% in one go.

So what did I struggle with? The pacing was very slow and also very repetitive, but given the subject matter and reading the author notes at the end, kind of softened my view of how I felt. Does that make sense?

The New Mother is the story of Natalie, a professional attorney, highly educated, but this new, living creature named Oliver is now totally dependent on her. He doesn’t sleep so mom doesn't either, he cries all the time and she is at her wits end. Also, Nat believes she is the only one who can take care of Oliver properly, because she read that in a book or two, which then alienates her from family

Then there is Paul the neighbour, who is totally unreliable as a character but as Natalie’s new friend, he is someone she has come to lean on and trust. What follows is a twisty story that would have worked better for me if the last 40% was spread out a bit more and some of the repetitive detail was toned down.

The New Mother is a twisty story with a mystery as well as some serious subject matter for new moms. There should be trigger warnings for some which I won't mention but given the subject matter it should be obvious.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillian Audio for an early copy in exchange for a honest review.

Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III #1) by Harlan Coben

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes this thrilling story that shows what happens when a dead man's secrets fall into the hands of vigilante antihero—drawing him down a dangerous road.

Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors — and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.

Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead — not only on Patricia's kidnapping, but also on another FBI cold case — with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III — or Win, as his few friends call him — doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up with a dead man. But his interest is piqued, especially when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism — and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn't: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice. 

Hardcover, 375 pages

Audiobook, 10 hrs, 35 minutes

Published March 16th 2021 

by Grand Central Publishing

4/5 stars

I am a relatively new Harlan Coban fan, I thoroughly enjoyed his books The Boy From the Woods and  The Match. When I started reading Win there were familiar names and mannerisms from my two previous reads, which has me itching to read more of his books. That being said this is the beginning of a new series.

This ended up being an audio read for me, I did start reading it but felt the narrators voice reflected the character and made for a very enjoyable listen. Steve Weber was the narrator.

Win a.k.a. Windsor Horne Lockwood III, is a mysterious character with loads of money, not much of a conscience and thinks himself smarter than most. What follows is an intriguing story that involves the past that his family would like to forget, with old wounds, old mysteries and family strife. This tightly woven story was suspenseful with some witty banter to relief tension at the opportune moments. 

 I already have a copy of  Deal Breaker, the beginning of the Myron Bolitar Series which also features Win, but in no way do you have to read it first.  

I won this book from Grand Central Publishing back when it was first released.

The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan

Three couples. Two bodies. One secret.

Dark Fell Barn is a “perfectly isolated” retreat, or so says its website when Jayne books a reservation for her friends. A quiet place, far removed from the rest of the world, is exactly what they need.

The women arrive for a girls’ night ahead of their husbands. There’s ex-Army Jayne, hardened and serious, but also damaged. Ruth, the driven doctor and new mother who is battling demons of her own. Young Emily, just wed and insecure, the newest addition of this tight-knit band. Missing this year is Edie, who was the glue holding them together until her husband died suddenly.

But what they hoped would be a relaxing break soon turns to horror. Upon arrival at Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered. There are no phones, no cell service to check on their men. Friendships fracture as the situation spins wildly out of control. Betrayal can come in many forms.

This group has kept each other’s secrets for far too long.

Paperback, 336 pages

Published March 29, 2022

by William Morrow

4/5 stars

Sometimes, for no other reason then, a eerie cover will cause this reader to do an impulse purchase and that is what happened here. Though I was a tad nervous that this book would be another one of those stranded in one place with a deranged serial killer on the loose the whole time,  thankfully it wasn’t. 

The Long Weekend is a twisty dark story that spans over a couple of days. There is a lot going on with quite a few POVs but after a while it was not hard to keep track of who was who and the different relationships. It did got off to a slow start, but just after the half way mark I could not put this book down. The story was intriguing, the mystery creepy, that location dark and spooky. I read the last third of this book in one sitting, I had to know what was going on. I will confess that I had to suspend my belief a few times as more things continued to happen even right down to the very end. But still an entertaining suspenseful read that was a perfect fit for this long weekend here in Ontario.

Gilly McMillan is not a new author to me, while I enjoyed her book The Nanny I enjoyed this one much more just for the tension, suspense and a fun but dark read.

This book was part of my 2022 reading off my shelf challenge and takes the honour of being book number 50

Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart

From the author of Little Broken Things, a “race-to-the-finish family drama” (People) following a mother who must confront the dark summer that changed her life forever in order to reclaim the daughter she left behind.

Juniper Baker had just graduated from high school and was deep in the throes of a summer romance when Cal and Beth Murphy, a childless couple who lived on a neighboring farm, were brutally murdered. When her younger brother became the prime suspect, June’s world collapsed and everything she loved that summer fell away. She left, promising never to return to tiny Jericho, Iowa.

Until now. Officially, she’s back in town to help an ill friend manage the local library. But really, she’s returned to repair her relationship with her teenage daughter, who’s been raised by Juniper’s mother and stepfather since birth—and to solve the infamous Murphy murders once and for all. She knows the key to both lies in the darkest secret of that long-ago summer night, one that’s haunted her for nearly fifteen years.

As history begins to repeat itself and a dogged local true crime podcaster starts delving into the murders, the race to the truth puts past and present on a dangerous collision course. Juniper lands back in an all-too-familiar place with the answers to everything finally in her sights, but this time it’s her daughter’s life that hangs in the balance. Will revealing what really happened mean a fresh start? Or will the truth destroy everything Juniper loves for a second time? Baart once again brilliantly weaves mystery into family drama in this expertly-crafted novel for fans of Lisa Jewell and Megan Miranda.

Paperback, 368 pages

Published November 2, 2021

 by Atria Books

4/5 stars

Nicole Baart is a new author to me, it's not for lack of desire because I do have a number of her books on my tbr shelf.  I've loaned them out and they come back with rave reviews but also with comments like 'heartbreaking' or 'an emotional' read.  Which then makes me a little hesitate.   I was surprised to see this mystery/suspense book and anxiously awaited for my turn at the library - I was #1 on the hold list, lucky me!

This was an entertaining read. I enjoyed the mystery, lots of clues, finger pointing but still I couldn't quite grasp what happened.  With the story weaving back and forth from past to present made from me taking my own advice and reading just one more chapter.

The characters really made this story, they were flawed, some unlikable and others suspicious. There are those keeping secrets while Juniper tries to unravel them.  The ending was not what I expected but it totally worked.

My introduction to Nicole Baart was a success, can't wait to read more.

My copy obtained from my local public library.

Creep by Jennifer Hillier

Pulsing with the dark obsession of Radiohead’s song “Creep,” this taut thriller—Jennifer Hillier’s superb debut—rockets from its seductive opening to a heartpounding climax not easily forgotten.

If he can’t have her . . .

Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behavior. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, riddled with guilt when they weren’t, she knows the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she’s finally engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and she’s taking control of her life. But when she attempts to end the affair, Ethan Wolfe won’t let her walk away.

. . . no one else can.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex video that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancé discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail . . . and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn’t resist—who is now the monster who won’t let her go.

 Kindle Edition, 432 pages

First published July 5, 2011 

by Gallery Books

4/5 stars 

If Jennifer Hillier wasn't already in my auto read list, Creep clinched it.  This was her debut?

Contrary to what the title feels like this book was not as creepy as anticipated.  It wasn't until closer to the end when I learned how it originated.  But rather Creep is a suspense mystery that kept me on my toes.

Coming in at 432 pages it isn't a small book but action packed with the depth of character and twists that made the pages fly by.  Creep messes with the mind as Sheila tries to control a situation her lust got her into.  Beware who you get involved with, could turn around and bite you...well you know where.

Creep is a well written story with a complicated plot and many layers. The characters are unreliable rounding out this book nicely. Definitely an author and book I recommend.

Creep is part of my Kindle library, originally purchased as a Kindle deal.

Review: The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor, Morgan Baines, is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie, who is terrified by the thought of a killer in her very own backyard.

But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. It’s their eerie old home, with its decrepit decor and creepy attic, which they inherited from Will’s sister after she died unexpectedly. It’s Will’s disturbed teenage niece Imogen, with her dark and threatening presence. And it’s the troubling past that continues to wear at the seams of their family.

As the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of Morgan’s death. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.

Kindle, 405 pages

Expected publication: February 18th, 2020

by Park Row

**** 1/2

So the lovey Laurie (aka TheBakingBookworm - click on link for her blog) and I did our first Buddy Read - what fun! We started on Monday planning to read 20% a day and finish on Friday. Monday we read 19%, Tuesday we got to 51% and Wednesday we both decided we couldn’t wait till Friday and basically planned to stay up late to read, it was time get all these puzzle pieces put together. We chatted, we questioned this and that and shared our theories. It was a blast!

The Other Mrs is atmospheric with its setting on a little island 3 miles off the coast of Maine. There is an old house with its dark history, a teen who resents the intrusion then add a little murder and it’s the perfect recipe for the mayhem that follows.

I’m a new Mary Kubica reader and actually went into this book blind. I didn't know what to expect and loved this experience. Told from 3 different POVs, with distinct voices, I found myself immersed in their stories. Some characters I would have liked to hear more from and others I wasn’t crazy about (which always adds that extra oomph).

As for the story, well that was some ride. It was fast-paced, full of twists and turns to keep me on my toes. Just when I thought I had things figured out, wham comes another clue to mess with my brain.

Definitely a book I will recommend and if you think you won’t have time to read it, you will because once you start it’s hard to put down.

My thanks to Park Row Books for a digital ARC (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.