The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

 Synopsis:

It all started at a dinner party. . .

A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors--a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . .

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all--a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years.

What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family--a chilling tale of deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.

I started this book and ended this book not really knowing if I enjoyed it or not. I don’t quite know how that could be, but let’s take a look and try to sort this out. 

Characters

I think this is where the book lost me from the beginning. Nothing made me care about the characters. Everyone seemed overly suspicious just for the sake of being suspicious. The detective assigned to the case seemed unnecessarily cocky and all-knowing. I hated his character. The rest of them, I just felt no connection to. 

They all ended up with pretty solid character arcs and a surprising amount of depth. But there wasn’t enough to make me feel connected to them or find myself rooting for them. I wanted the baby to be alive and found well, but that’s about it. I think I had to keep reading just to see how that would end. 

Plot Line

The plot was fine. There was nothing really wrong with it. The book was pretty short and it packed a punch. It was GO GO GO right from the beginning. 

I did find myself interested in the story and wanting to find out what actually happened. 

Twists

It felt like every chapter added a new twist to the story. Financial troubles, mental illness, infidelity . . . you name it. There was a lot to unpack here. But, I cannot do much unpacking without spoilers. Just know that if you read this book, it’s a rollercoaster. 

Writing

There was something about this book being completely written in third person that didn’t sit well with me. If I had to choose, I’d say that the chapters centering Anne or the detective should have been written in first person. Other than that, I felt that the writing style was easy to read and flowed nicely. 

After breaking that down, it seems that I just didn’t connect with this book and the characters didn’t matter to me. I could see it getting great reviews from some and terrible reviews from others. That said, it’s pretty short so it makes for a quick read. You can decide for yourself without wasting too much time. It’ll definitely take you for a ride. 

2/5 Stars

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It Was You by Jade Lee Wright

 Synopsis:

"I don't understand. Everything I did, I did for her..."When Regan Pen discovers that her long-term boyfriend has been cheating on her with over eight women, she packs her bags and leaves the sunny island in Spain that she had called home for a year. She returns to South Africa where she is given the chance to start over in life. Reassemble herself. Now is her time to be selfish. Find a new career, get a home of her own. Become whoever she wants to be... but when her best friend, Peyton, is brutally murdered, Regan is forced to put her life on hold to take responsibility for her friends thirteen year old daughter, Harley. As the police battle to solve the murder of Peyton and her unborn child, Regan becomes convinced that her Godchild is not the sweet, innocent little girl everyone seems to think she is. Could Harley have been so consumed by her jealousy and fear of not being the epicenter of her mother's universe that it lead to murder? If so, is Regan safe in her own home?

This book was interesting as it felt like you, as the reader, were spiraling into insanity. I could never quite put my finger on what was happening. You think you figure it out, then something changes. Then changes again. Then changes again. 

Then you think the story is wrapped up. 

Then it changes again. And a huge bomb is thrown at the reader in the final page to try to make it all make sense.

I didn’t really care about any of the characters. They all kinda sucked in their own ways, but they were supposed to. 

It was a book that I just didn’t really connect with. It wasn’t bad, I just didn’t connect with it. 

2/5 Stars

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Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Synopsis:

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.
NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.
And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.
Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.
Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.
Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.
What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?
Who still has secrets to hide?

A Tale of Two Books, you could say. The first half of this novel really hooked me. I was into the story. I was into the mystery. I wanted to know what happened.

Then I hit the halfway point. By then, I had mostly guessed the twist and my interest in it died. None of the characters were all that likeable. I didn’t feel connected to any of them, and I didn’t really care how it turned out. I just wanted the book to be over, but I wanted to finish it to at least confirm whether I was right or night.

I guess, it was at least good enough to finish. But, this isn’t a book I’ll be recommending. I’m willing to give her other books a shot. It could have just been the fact I didn’t care about any of the character that made so nonchalant about this one. Who knows.

2.5 Stars

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The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz (Jane Hawk #3)

Synopsis:

Jane Hawk -- who dazzled readers in The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room -- faces the fight of her life, against the threat of a lifetime in this electrifying new thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz. "I could be dead tomorrow. Or something worse than dead." Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she's breathing, she'll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom--and free will--of millions. Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane's husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot. Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane's enemies are determined to see her dead . . . or make her wish she was. Jane's ruthless pursuers can't stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born.

This was a truly creepy edition to the series and also massively heartbreaking.

I almost felt like I never knew what was actually happening while reading this book. It seemed like it was being set up for a dramatic turn, and while it did have that, it wasn’t the one I was expecting.

Then, there was the building dread around Jane’s son and the Washingtons.

I always enjoy finding out what the cryptic names of the books in this series mean. This one didn’t disappoint. It’s definitely nothing I would have guessed.

Finishing this one really makes you need to start the next one immediately.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quotes: “When you loved enough important qualities of a person, then you loved him or her, and you had better say it while time remained.”

“There was always a moment when iron will and a determined heart could no longer compensate for the fatigue of mind and muscle.”

“The sky was a sea of suns afloat in the eternal dark that only their light relented. The nearest sun of all, which warmed the earth, was hours below the eastern horizon. When it rose, it would reveal a world of wonders, a world on which had been lavished such natural beauty of such astonishing depth and complexity that an honest heart perceived meaning in it and yearned to know. In the night as it was now and in the morning light, there were men and women making music, writing poetry and novels, researching new medicines, fighting wars against malevolent forces, doing hard and honest work, raising families, loving, caring, hoping.”

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Synopsis

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...

This is the first book in awhile that I started and couldn’t put down until it was over. I read it in just over 24 hours – due to having to work during the day. I don’t know what about it really hooked me, but I needed to see what happened.

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m into psychology and I wanted to know what was keeping Alicia silent, or if the writing was just good enough to keep me turning the page. Either way, I sped through this one and was not disappointed.

I can see why it’s one of the books of the year. It keeps you on your toes. The story winds and weaves and you never really know what’s going on. It had almost a Gone Girl feel (which I loved) but I’m guessing that’s due to the journal entries.

The ending and twist reveal actually got me. I think I was predicting everything except what actually happened. I’ve read some reviews where people said they saw it coming a mile away – I’m just glad that I didn’t. As the chapter was building up to the reveal, I could feel my eyes widening and my jaw actually dropped.

It was a fun ride! The writing was decent. I enjoyed the shorter chapters. I think I would pick up another of Alex’s books to see if I like more of his work. Alas, this was his first novel. I’m interested to see if his next work is also a hit.

4/5 Stars

Memorable Quote: “I remember thinking, there’s no going back now. We were crashing through every last boundary between therapist and patient. Soon it would be impossible to tell who was who.”

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Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton

Synopsis:

She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the murder remained unsolved.

That was eighteen years ago. Now the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to help with their legwork and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued and agrees to the job.

But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

Q is for Quarry is the first Kinsey Millhone book that didn’t completely hook me in. I don’t know what it was about this book. I did enjoy it and the story was interesting. But, it kept losing me and took me a few months to read. That could also be due to the reading slump I’ve been in lately. Maybe a bit of both.

What I didn’t know going into it was that it’s based on a true story. I wish I had known that from the start. I may have been more invested.  Sue Grafton added some details that weren’t from the real story because this is a work of fiction, but she kept the integrity of the case in tact. What’s even better is that she got involved in trying to help solve the case. All of this was added as a note at the end of the book.

You can pretty much get what the whole thing was about from the synopsis. So, I’m just going to include a link where you can read about the Jane Doe of Santa Barbara. Someone has to know who this woman is. We can only hope it’ll get solved and she will get the justice she deserves all these years later.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/205ufca.html

https://www.independent.com/2011/07/21/who-was-jane-doe/

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Synopsis:

France, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another. 

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

My first impression was “wow, this book is long.” I abandoned that notion pretty quick because I almost wanted it to go on forever.

This book is H-E-A-V-Y. When I started it, it was just a sad book about WWII in France. The more I read, though, the more breaks I had to take. It was just gut wrenching to read. Yeah, these may be fictional characters, but this was reality for so many people.

You really become attached to every single character that you read about. Its really hard to express my feelings about this book because it’s almost pure sadness. But then there is the joy of having read it because it really is a great read.

I’m not huge on historical fiction but I do tend to enjoy books about WWII/Holocaust. It’s just so incomprehensible that these things happened to real people. It’s tough to digest but it makes these books that much more interesting.

If you are in the mood to feel every single feeling – pick this up. It is definitely worth the read. Even if it does leave you empty and hopelessly sad.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quotes: “As I approach the end of my years, I know that grief, like regret, settles into our DNA and remains forever a part of us.”

“Everything looked exactly as it always had and that surprised her. War was coming, and she’d imagined it would leave a mark on the countryside somehow, changing the grass color or killing the trees or scaring away the birds, but now, as she sat on this train chugging into Paris, she saw that everything looked completely ordinary.”

“Some images, once seen, can never be forgotten.”

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