Month: February 2023

The Soulmate

Mary Macmillan Audio, Mystery, NetGalley, Sally Hepworth, St. Martin's Press, Thriller

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

Expected Pub. date:  April 4, 2023 – St. Martin’s Press

Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Macmillan Audio/NetGalley

My take:

Pippa and Gabe live in a cliffside cottage that seemed idyllic when they bought it. Since moving in they’ve found it to be a spot where despondent people want to end it all. Gabe has managed to dissuade several people from jumping until one evening when it seems nothing he can do or say is enough and a woman falls to her death.
This story! It was a one day read because I couldn’t put it down. It’s told from the perspectives of Gabe’s wife Pippa and that of Amanda, the woman who fell. It begs the question ‘How well do you know your soulmate?’ The short chapters made the pages fly. Sally Hepworth inserted twists at a good pace that kept me guessing on the whys and whats. An intriguing story that didn’t lag – even once. I loved that.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio (via NetGalley) for allowing me early access to the audiobook. Barrie Kreinik’s narration was wonderful. The story flowed as she gave voice to each character (even the children, which is not often my experience). Her performance enhanced the novel.

Publisher’s description:

There’s a cottage on a cliff. Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.

When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral…Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?

And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate…lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.

Primer and Punishment

Mary Cozy, Diane Kelly, St. Martin's Press

Primer and Punishment by Diane Kelly

A House-Flipper Mystery, #5

Published:  Feb. 21, 2023 – St. Martin’s Press

Review galley courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley

My take:

Cousins Whitney and Buck are house-flippers embarking on a project unlike any they’ve done before: a houseboat. All that’s needed are a new motor, generator and cosmetic updates that can be done in a few weeks. That is a good thing since Buck is getting married soon. Easy-peasy, right? So it seems until an incident involving the boat in the adjacent slip throws a wrench into Whitney and Buck’s construction plan.

Without spoiling by going into the specific crime I’ll just say this was an interesting and fun cozy. I enjoyed the different directions the plot took which kept me on my toes. I also appreciated the possible suspects/red herrings added into the mix.

I got to the point where I gave up trying to solve the crime and just enjoyed the ride to the solution. Honestly, that is the way it usually works out for me, ha. I think fans of the series will love the book. It’s the first I’ve had the pleasure to read and I didn’t feel lost.

About the author:

A former tax advisor, Diane Kelly inadvertently worked with white-collar criminals more than once. Not surprisingly, Diane decided self-employment would be a good idea. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her Death and Taxes romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown’s Citizen Police Academy, Diane Kelly also writes the hilarious K-9 cop Paw Enforcement series, the Busted female motorcycle cop series, and the House Flipper cozy mystery series. 2021 marked the debut of her new Southern Homebrew moonshine series and her Mountain Lodge Mysteries with The Moonshine Shack Murder and Getaway with Murder.

Be the first to receive book news and access exclusive content by signing up for Diane’s newsletter at DianeKelly.com. Follow the Author Diane Kelly page on Facebook @dianekellybooks for fun, prizes, and more! Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @dianekellybooks. (Source: Amazon)

 

Spotlight: Stone Cold Fox

Mary Berkley, Rachel Koller Croft, Spotlight

 

Happy publication day to Rachel Koller Croft

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft

Published: February 14, 2023 – Berkley

Content provided by the publisher 

Description:

A perfectly wicked debut thriller about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country’s wealthiest families.

Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.

When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she’s ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.

Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be.

Like mother, like daughter?

About the author:

Rachel Koller Croft is an author and screenwriter in Los Angeles where she has scripted projects for Blumhouse, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Comedy Central, among others. She lives by the beach with her husband, Charles, and their rescue pitbull, Juniper. STONE COLD FOX is her first novel.

Advance Praise for STONE COLD FOX:

“A blast of perfectly wicked escapism.”—Paste Magazine

 

“This thriller is sexy, darkly funny, and filled with rich people behaving badly, begging the question:
who really is the villain here?”—HelloGiggles

“This clever tale of jealousy, revenge, deception, and betrayal marks
Croft as a writer to watch.”—Publishers Weekly

 

“An absorbing story that plays with ideas of good and evil, keeping readers guessing
who is the hero and who the villain.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

 

“This is excellent writing for a debut author and is a must-read for fans of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or Lisa Unger’s Confessions on the 7:45.”—Library Journal, Starred Review

 

Spotlight: Right By My Side

Mary David Haynes, Penguin Classic

Right By My Side by David Haynes

Pub. date:  Jan. 31, 2023 – Penguin Classics Trade PB

Content courtesy of the publisher

Description:

Move over, Holden Caulfield, and meet Marshall Field Finney, in the 30th anniversary edition of Right by My Side, by a celebrated chronicler of Black middle class life in the American Midwest

A Penguin Classic

With wit and realism, David Haynes presents a different kind of Holden Caulfield in fifteen-year-old Marshall Field Finney, an ordinary, sullen teenager who discovers storytelling as a way to ease his adolescent anger and family tensions. Living with his parents in “Washington Park,” a housing development outside St. Louis, Missouri in the 1980s, his high-strung mother walks out on him and his father, a flawed yet strong man who manages the local landfill. Marshall’s two best friends, one Black and one white, are his only allies, as they navigate school and family life together. Through these relationships, Haynes poses Marshall’s universal questions about his place in his community and what’s next in his life. Ultimately, Marshall’s story proves that people take care of each other, families take care of others, and a boy finds his own resilience to become a young man. (publisher)

About the author:

David Haynes is a novelist and professor emeritus of English at Southern Methodist University. He is board chair and co-founder of Kimbilio Center for Fiction, a national organization for fiction writers of the African Diaspora.

By David Haynes; Foreword by Jamel Brinkley

Penguin Classics

Trade Paperback

On Sale: January 31, 2023

ISBN: 9780143137559

$16.00

208 pgs

Praise for Right By My Side

“[Haynes] belongs to the old realist tradition that believes that everyday life, if truly rendered, is more than exciting enough.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Enjoyable reading–witty insight–Haynes has created a likeable, heroic character.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Marvelous–[Haynes] has created one of the most vivid and idiosyncratic first-person narrators I’ve run up against in recent years.  You trust Marshall’s voice, and you trust Haynes’ gifts.  He’s a prose writer of the first order.” —Hungry Mind Review

“In Right By My Side David Haynes crafts a story that is both humorous and heartbreaking. It is a moving coming-of-age and a complex portrait of an entire community all at once. Marshall Field Finney is the kind of charismatic, world-wary young narrator whose voice leaps off the page and grabs hold of your heart. How thrilling for a new generation of readers to get to know him.” —Angela Flournoy

“A charming debut–a funny and cynical coming-of-age novel.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Haynes offers engaging characters who tackle fundamental issues such as love, family and benevolence.” —Publishers Weekly