In A Quiet Town by Amber Garza

In A Quiet Town by Amber Garza

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778334255

Trade paperback, $18.99, 336 pages

In Amber Garza's new suspense novel In A Quiet Town, Tatum is a pastor's wife who has begun to question her direction in life.

Her pastor husband is consumed with his job and her every move in their small Californian town is monitored closely the members of his congregation. Their adult daughter Adrienne is estranged from them, something that troubles Tatum. Adrienne struggled under the overly strict rules of her father and moved out.

Tatum has begun to secretly visit Adrienne's place of work, a bar just outside town. She goes every Wednesday when Adrienne is working, and it appears that her efforts are being rewarded. At first wary of her mother, lately Adrienne has been friendlier to her mother, and even agrred to an appointment for a mother-daughter mani-pedi day.

When Adrienne fails to show up for work and misses her appointment with her mother, Tatum becomes worried. She goes to Adrienne's empty apartment, and her texts are unanswered. Convinced that something bad happened to Adrienne, she goes to the police who, after a cursory look around, decide that Adrienne probably just went away with a boyfriend.

Tatum's concerns grow when she notices a man following her. She confronts the man who says that he is  Adrienne's fiance Seth, and he too is worried that something happened to Adrienne. They were to go away for a weekend trip and she didn't show up. They team up to find her.

What happened to Adrienne? And why doesn't anyone know about Seth, Adrienne's coworkers or her best friend Mara? 

In A Quiet Town is a twisty suspense story, told from the viewpoints of Tatum, Adrienne, and her fiance. There is a a big twist at the end, and while I found parts of the ending a little too unbelievable, you can't deny that a mother will find the strength do anything for her child.

Tatum suffers from a medical issue that her husband seems to have no patience or understanding for, and I think many people will be able to relate to that. Readers of John Searles' recent pyschological suspense novel, Her Last Affair, and fans of Dateline and 20/20 will want to put In a Quiet Town on their list to read.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their 2023 Summer Blog Tours.

My review of Amber Garza's Where I Left Her is here.

My review of Amber Garza's When I Was You is here.

Friday 5ive- August 27, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post featuring five things that caught my eye this week. The Friday 5ive took last week for a mini-vacation.

1)  Can you believe August is almost over? Why does summer go by so fast? I love summer, but my youngest sister loves autumn and can't wait for it to begin so she can have her pumpkin spice latte. Our brother made her a board for her "Coffee Corner" at her house. I'm always impressed by anyone with artistic skill (as I lack it). 

2) We traveled to Boston last weekend to visit our youngest son. He took us to his golf club, Granite Hills Links in Quincy, for lunch and the view there is incredible. You can golf while overlooking the skyline of Boston as seen in this photo. Apparently the club is one of the most popular wedding venues in Massachusetts and there was a wedding and a bridal shower there on the day we visited.

3) While the guys golfed, the gals spent the day at Nantasket Beach in Hull, and while walking the beach we came across a large group of young children talking surfing lessons. It was fun to watch them get up on their boards.  

4) Speaking of different seasons, I watched the Christmas episode of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ and it was so delightful. If it didn't put a smile on your face, you are truly a Grinch. I particularly enjoyed the homage to my favorite Christmas movie, Love, Actually. Whenever I am feeling down or losing faith in humanity, I will play this episode. 

5) As I spent time in airports and on planes, I was able to read uninterrupted.  First up was Kristin van Ogtrop's memoir Did I Say That Out Loud-Midlife Indignities and How to Survive Them. Ogtrop, was the former editor of Real Simple magazine, and her essays on such things as her climb up the corporate ladder from joy to agony as magazines folded up publication, to the time she nearly died from accidentally swallowing a plastic fork tine, to the vacation home her family bought with her sister's family will have you laughing and crying. It makes a good pairing with Sara Arnell's midlife crisis book from a few weeks ago, There Will Be Lobster. While I've been reading books about midlife crisis, I don't think I'm in one. (right?) 

Laura Dave's suspense novel, The Last Thing He Told Me, tops the bestseller list and I can see why. When Hannah receives a note from Owen, her husband of one year, reading "Protect her", she is totally unprepared for what is ahead of her. Her husband has disappeared after the company he works for is raided by the SEC and FBI and the head of the company is arrested. What happens next as Hannah attempts to keep her 16 year-old stepdaughter safe and unravel Owen's true identity kept me frantically turning the pages. Dave has written a few other books, but not suspense novels like this. I think she has found her genre and this is scheduled to be a limited series on Apple TV+ with Julia Roberts. 

I also read a psychological thriller, Where I Left Her, by Amber Garza, about a parent's worst nightmare. Whitney drops off her 16 year-old daughter Amelia at a sleepover with her new friend Lauren. When Whitney returns to pick Amelia up the next day, an elderly woman answers the door and says that no one named Lauren lives there, Whitney agonizes over what happened to her daughter. Like The Last Thing He Told Me, this book keeps you turning the pages, and the ending twist is a shocker. My full review is here. 

We seem to be going backwards with COVID, so please wear a mask, wash your hands, stay socially distant and get a vaccine. It's the best way to keep each other, especially young children who can't get a vaccine yet, safe.

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza

Where I Left Her byAmber Garza

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778332060

Trade paperback, $16.99, 304 pages

The opening of Amber Garza's novel, Where I Left Her, will leave any parent's stomach in knots. Whitney drops her 16 year-old daughter Amelia off at her new friend Lauren's house for a sleepover. The next morning she texts Amelia asking what time to pick her up and Amelia does not answer.

After hours of no contact with Amelia, Whitney checks Amelia's social media accounts and there is no activity, which is strange. Whitney then goes to what she believes is Lauren's house, and an older woman answers the door and tells her there is no Lauren or Amelia there, just her and her husband. 

Now Whitney starts to panic. She calls Becca, Amelia's best friend who hasn't been around much lately. Becca tries to text Amelia to no avail. Becca reluctantly tells Whitney that Amelia has been seeing an older man but she doesn't know more than that.

Whitney contacts her ex-husband who is in Amsterdam when she learns that Amelia was planning on getting a passport to come visit him and his new young wife. She also discovers Amelia took all her money out the bank.

Now the police have been called, and Whitney is in true panic mode as any parent would be. When Whitney was a teenager, she got into some trouble with her best friend Millie, getting involved with some older boys. Could Amelia be following in her footsteps?

As Whitney delves deeper into her daughter's life, and more time goes by with no word from Amelia, she becomes more and more frightened. 

Garza does a terrific job putting us into the head of a panicked parent. Any parent who has survived the teenager years will relate to trying to get information out them. Becca is less than forthcoming, trying to protect her friend. That so rang true.

The twist at the end of the book, while hinted at, took me by surprise. It is one that you will gasp at, and maybe even throw the book against the wall  (in a good way) when it comes. 

If twisty psychological thrillers that keep your heat pounding all the way through are your idea of a good read, definitely pick up Where I Left Her. 

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer 2021 Mystery/Thriller Tour.

When I Was You by Amber Garza

When I Was You by Amber Garza

Published by MIRA Books ISBN 9780778361046

Trade paperback, $17.99, 368 pages

If you like reading psychological thrillers that leave you breadcrumbs along the way to try and figure out what is going on, Amber Garza's new novel, When I Was You, is your next good read.

Kelly Medina is a empty nester, with her son Aaron off to college ten long hours away. Her husband Rafael is a professor at a college two hours away, and he lives there during the week, returning home on weekends.

Things don't seem good between Kelly and Rafael, Kelly talks about how he was very hard on Aaron growing up, and not always kind to his wife either. Kelly is lonely, has no job, and only a few friends with whom she goes to yoga class and lunch.

She gets a call one day from Aaron's pediatrician reminding her of a well baby appointment the next day. Knowing it can't be for her, she tells the receptionist who discovers there is another Kelly Medina in town, and apologizes for the mixup.

Curious, the next day Kelly drives to the doctor's office and waits in the parking lot. She sees a young woman struggling to get her baby out of the car, and when the baby loses a sock, Kelly jumps in to the rescue. She introduces herself, and the younger Kelly is surprised to find out they have the same name.

Older Kelly befriends the younger Kelly. She is drawn to baby Sullivan, and wants to help the new mom out. She is shocked at the home they are renting; it is in dirty disarray and there is no crib, high chair or furniture. Kelly goes on a major shopping spree for the new mom and baby boy. The young mom is grateful, but wary of this insistent older woman.

We're given clues that something happened to Kelly, and it involved a child not her own. Her friend Christine is very concerned about her well-being, and becomes worried when Kelly tells her that she has befriended the new mom. Rafael is concerned as well, on the rare occasions he talks to his wife. We know that Kelly sees a therapist, but we don't know why.

Along with the aforementioned breadcrumbs along the way, there is a big twist at the end that I didn't see coming, and it is a shocker. (Although there seems to be one plot point I couldn't quite wrap my head around.)  If you are a fan of the Lifetime movies, When I Was You would make a perfect addition to their collection. 

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer Mystery & Thrillers Tour.