Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks

Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks

Published by MIRA, ISBN 9780778312048

Trade paperback, $16.99, 384 pages

Much like her last novel, Just My Luck, Adele Parks latest novel, Woman Last Seen, has twists and turns that the reader may not see coming, even if she is an experienced domestic suspense novel reader.

Leigh is a young woman who sees a handsome man with his young sons at a park. When the younger son falls off a slide, Leigh rushes to his aid when it appears the father is unable to render help. Leigh accompanies the family to the hospital and soon she and Mark, the father, begin dating.

Flash forward, Leigh and Mark have been married for years, and Leigh is a loving stepmum to the two boys. She works out of town three days a week, returning for four days to care for her family. They have a comfortable, happy family life until the older son, Oli, has become surly and angry with Leigh. Is it just typical teenage behavior or something more?

After Mark and Leigh have a fight, she heads off out of town for work. When she doesn't return on Thursday, and the family can't reach her by phone, they call the police. DCI Clements and her eager partner come to investigate, but get nowhere.

Soon another man, a wealthy Dutch businessman living in London, calls the police to say that his wife Kai has disappeared. DCI Clements handles this case as well, and begins to believe that there may be a connection with Leigh's disappearance, although her boss thinks both women just ran away from their lives, and tells Clements not to waste any more time.

The reader is drawn into this mystery of the two missing women- is there a connection?  Both women have secrets they are keeping from the their husbands- is that the connection? The police usually suspect the husband, did either of these men have anything to do with their missing wives either separately or together?

As the story unfolds, there are several red herrings, and the reader will try and put the pieces together even after a big twist in the middle of the story, and a surprise ending that some may find jarring. If you're a fan of the shows on the ID Channel, or a dedicated Dateline watcher, Woman Last Seen is a page-turner of a novel that you will find irresistable. (Note- contains graphic sex scenes and explicit language.)

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Winter 2022 Winter Reads  Blog Tour.

Friday 5ive- January 28, 2022

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. We're preparing for a Nor'easter storm here in NYC, we'll see if we get one inch of snow or 8-12 inches of snow. Either way, we have enough wine and books in our apartment to survive.

1)  Everyone is playing the new Internet game sensation Wordle, and so I gave it a try this week. Once a day, a new puzzle is released. You get six chances to guess the 5 letter word of the day (you can only play once a day, which I like). I've only been doing it for four days, and each day I got the word in four tries- until today, I needed all six tries to get the word. You start by guessing a random five-letter word. If a letter is in the correct place, the tile turns green. If the letter is in the word but in the wrong place, the tile turns yellow. If the letter is not in the word at all, the tile turns black. It's a lot of fun and it really makes you use your brain power. You can play or get more information here. This is my Wordle from the other day.

2)  I saw this ad from McDonald's for their new "off the menu" items, specialty items you can ask for that aren't featured on their regular menu. When I saw their Surf 'n Turf- which appears to be a Big Mac with a Filet O' Fish stacked inside- I thought it was a joke. I'm guessing perhaps it was created by someone who had the munchies after smoking something. 

3)  I joined in on two terrific online book events on Wednesday evening. The first was Buzz Books Editors Panel, presented by Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association. Six editors each presented a book they were excited about in a short conversation with the authors. The Buzz Books Editors Panel was always one of my favorite events at the late, lamented Book Expo, and I really like the new addition of hearing from the authors as well. I'm most excited to read Robin Peguero's debut legal thriller With Prejudice from Grand Central Publishing (publishing May 17th) and Take My Hand, a historical fiction from Dolen Perkins-Valdez (publishing April 12th from Berkley).

The second event was William Morrow's Summer Fiction Showcase. Tavia from William Morrow was our delightful host as authors from six novels publishing this summer introduced their books in taped pieces. Interspersed in the event were short messages from popular authors- Christopher Moore, Paul Tremblay, Susan Wiggs and more- who gave us a quick peek at their upcoming books. It was so well done and moved so quickly, they covered a lot of books in a short time. The ones I am most intrigued by are Shirlene Obuobi's On Rotation, (publishing June 21st) a novel about a Black female medical resident in Chicago, and Kirsten Miller's The Change, (publishing May 3rd) a "feel-good feminist revenge fantasy". You can watch the presentation on William Morrow's Crowdcast channel here. My To-Be-Read list expanded exponentially this week.

4)  We watched the first part of season four of Ozark, all seven episodes over the weekend. Things are winding down for the Byrde family, and not in a good way. It's reminding me more and more of Breaking Bad, as these people are in way over their head, and the tension is racheting up moment by moment. I find it interesting that the women are leading the way- Wendy Byrde is very scary, her daughter Charlotte is becoming a mini-version of Mom, Wendy's archenemy Darlene Snell is seriously unhinged, FBI Agent Maya Miller is walking a dangerous line, and Ruth, oh dear, Ruth, what will happen to you? We can't wait for the second part of season four, the end of the story (or do we already know the end???) 

5)  I read three good and very different books this week. My favorite was Steven Rowley's novel 

The Guncle, a sweet story about Patrick, a gay man who opens up his home to his young niece and nephew for the summer after their mother (his best friend from college) dies and their father (his brother) has to go to rehab. Patrick made his fortune as an actor on a hit TV sitcom, and left LA for Palm Springs once the show was over, leaving acting behind. I absolutely loved the characters and the relationship between the children and Patrick.  (His Guncle Rules are delightful.) This book made me smile as I read it, and you can actually feel your heart opening up to bring these characters inside. I hope this becomes a movie, because I heard Dan Levy's voice (Schitt's Creek) as Patrick as I was reading. He would be perfect! This is a truly feel-good book, albeit tinged with some sadness. Kind of like life, right? 

I read a thriller by Adele Parks titled Woman Last Seen. Leigh is married to Mark and stepmum to his two sons. The older son has become surly and angry with her, and Leigh doesn't know why. It hurts her that Mark doesn't defend her to his son. When Leigh fails to return home from work, Mark contacts the police. At the same time, a woman named Kai, who is married to a wealthy Dutch businessman, goes missing as well. DCI Clements is investigating the women's disappearance, which she believes may be connected even if her boss thinks both women are runaways. This book has a huge twist in the middle that shakes up the whole story. My full review publishes on Sunday. 

The third book I read was Brenda Janowitz's fascinating family story The Liz Taylor Ring. When a young Lizzie marries her sister's former boyfriend Ritchie (against her parents' better judgement), they have their ups and downs, and Ritchie doesn't seem to be able to keep a job. When Lizzie and Ritchie separate and reunite after nine months, Ritchie gifts Lizzie with a huge diamond ring like the one Richard Burton gave Liz Taylor after their separation. The ring resurfaces after the death of Ritchie many years later and that causes their three children- Addy, Nathan and Courtney- to fight over what to do with the ring. This is a wonderful family story, a love story between Lizzie and Ritchie, and there is much here that people will be able to relate to- sibling relationships, parental loss, and issues of addiction. My full review publishes Monday. 

 

Stay safe and warm everyone.

Just My Luck by Adele Parks

Just My Luck by Adele Parks

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778331735

Trade paperback, $17.99, 384 pages

Adele Parks' domestic drama Just My Luck begins with an intriguing premise, one that many of us wish for- what would you do if you won the lottery? 

Three families have been friends since the birth of their children fifteen years ago. Each month they get together on a Saturday evening for dinner, and they put money into the pot to play the national lottery. Lexi Greenwood, "the woman everyone knows as the fixer, the smiler- some may even slightly snidely call a do-gooder" collects the money and buys the ticket, playing the same numbers each month.

Lexi and her husband Jake are less-well off than the other two couples, and one Saturday evening the other two couples decide that the lottery is "too common" and decide to stop playing. The following week their numbers were drawn, and Lexi and Jake are the big winners of nearly 18 million pounds, a life-changing amount of money.

Lexi is cautious about their win, wanting to take it slow and figure out how best to handle their new situation. Jake and Emily (their 15 year-old daughter), buy expensive new clothes, a fancy sportscar for Jake, luxury vacations, and a huge new home. Lexi fears this money will turn them into people no one likes.

Right away things become complicated. Three people break into their home while Lexi is home demanding money and threatening her. Family, people they don't know, and charities all over the world send them requests for money. The two couples who stopped playing demand their fair share of the money, claiming that Lexi and Jake are cheating them.

Emily's best friends are the children of the two couples, including her boyfriend Ridley. The lottery win shows the cracks in all their friendships, and even in Jake and Lexi's marriage. Lexi is forced to take a leave of absence from her job at the Citizen's Advice Bureau helping people in need when people mob her place of employment.

Just My Luck has some twists and turns you don't see coming, and Parks does a good job keeping the reader engaged and guessing. As you read it, in the back of your mind, you wonder how you would handle the situation. Would the money change you or reveal the person you truly are? Jake and Lexi are both keeping secrets from each other, secrets that create an crackerjack of an ending. Adele Parks does a fantastic job combining domestic drama with suspense, in a page-turner of a story.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on the Winter 2021 Mystery & Thriller Tour.

Friday 5ive- March 26, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. Can you believe that it is the last Friday in March already? This month has flown by.

1)  Spring is here and we passed by The Mark Hotel in our neighborhood which has this lovely cart of flowers outside their front door to brighten everyone's day.

2)  We had our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner on Saturday, a few days late. I made the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, with carrots and Irish champ potatoes. The highlight of our dinner is always the Irish Bread Pudding with Caramel Whiskey Sauce, our favorite dessert of the year. I found the recipe in Cooking Light magazine years ago, and it is a family legacy now. The recipe is here. This year I also found these cute cookies at Citerella, a gourmet food store in our neighborhood. They were tasty!

3)  With the weather turning nicer, I met my husband at La Villetta, a local Italian restaurant halfway between his office and our apartment. We ate outside, and I ordered an appetizer of figs stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts and wrapped in proscuitto, over a bed of greens with a light creamy dressing over all. The presentation was so pretty and it was delicious.

4)  I watched the Academy Award Best Picture nominee Nomadland on Hulu this week. Frances McDormand is deservedly nominated for Best Actress in her role as Fern, a 60-something woman who lost her husband, and then her job and home when the manufacturing plant where she worked at closed. Fern ends up living in a van, and traveling around the west looking for work. She works the holiday season at an Amazon fullfilment center, and follows her friends around working in jobs like maintenance at a campground. The movie is based on Jessica Bruder's book of the same name, and Chloe Zhao's magnificent direction of the movie has earned her an Academy Award nomination as well. The one thing that you take from this movie is how invisible women of this age can be. It's a thought-provoking, heart-breaking piece of art.

5)  I read two books this week, one nonfiction and one fiction. Dorothy Wickenden's The Agitators, tells the true story of three women who lived in Auburn in the 1860s- Frances Seward (wife of Henry Seward), Martha Wright, and Harriet Tubman- and fought for women's suffrage, and the abolition of slavery. It's filled with lots of fascinating historical facts about my hometown of Auburn, NY, and students of Civil War era-history will want to put this one on their To Be Read list. My full review will publish in April in The Citizen newspaper and online at auburnpub.com. 

Adele Parks' domestic drama, Just My Luck, asks the question "what would you do if you won millions of dollars in the lottery?" Three couples who have been friends for fifteen years since their babies were born play the lottery once a month together. When two of the families decide they no longer wish to play and drop out, the lone couple left hits the winning numbers the following week. What happens next reveals cracks in their friendship and marriages, affects their children, and may make you rethink playing Lotto every week. My full review publishes on Monday. 

Stay safe, socially distant, wear a mask, wash your hands, and get the vaccine when it's your turn. We are so close to getting back to some type of normalcy.

This post was shared with The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader's Weekend Cooking posts.