No One Aboard

No One Aboard by Emy McGuire

Published by Graydon House ISBN 9781525831621

Trade paperback, $18.99, 368 pages

From the publisher:

The White Lotus meets Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me in this debut domestic mystery about a luxury sailboat found floating adrift in the ocean and the secrets of the missing family who set sail aboard it weeks before.

"No One Aboard is a riveting, astonishing debut, and Emy McGuire is an important new voice in fiction. I will read anything she writes!" 

—Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling author

At the start of summer, billionaire couple Francis and Lila Cameron set off on their private luxury sailboat to celebrate the high school graduation of their two beloved children.

Three weeks later, the Camerons have not been heard from, the captain hasn’t responded to radio calls, and the sailboat is found floating off the coast of Florida.

Empty.

Where are the Camerons? What happened on their trip? And what secrets does the beautiful boat hold?

Set over the course of their vacation and in the aftermath of the sailboat’s discovery, No One Aboard asks who is more dangerous to a family: a stormy ocean or each other?

My thoughts:

I concur that No One Aboard has a White Lotus vibe to it. Much like The White Lotus, it was difficult to find a completely likeable character her to root for. Francis was downright cruel to his son Rylan, who doesn't show his father's aptitude or desire to be a macho seafaring dude. Rylan is quieter, more artistic, and closer to his fading movie star mother Lila. At times you wanted to shake Rylan out of his complacency, to be less meek, to speak up for himself.

Rylan's twin Tia was more like her father- tough, rash, quick to push the limits. She was sent away to a boarding school for her last year of high school because of something that happened at home, something the reader doesn't discover until well into the story. She can't wait to leave her family permanently, and she is trying to convince Rylan to do so as well.

There are many twists and turns in the story, and it is hard to know who is hiding what from whom, but it is fun trying to figure it out. Most of the crew members on the boat have been around the family for years, and they hold shifting allegiances to the various Cameron family members. 

The scenes that lead up to how the boat came to be floating off the coast are harrowing, and very cinematic. (Perhaps a miniseries in the making?) The reader does have to suspend disbelief to accept the ending, and if you can do that, you will enjoy the ride.

Thanks to Harlequin for puttingme on their Fall 2025 Blog Tours.

It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison

It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778311768

Hardcover, $27.99, 400 pages

I've read two novels recently that had unique premises- the first was Kylie Scott's romance End of Story (my review here) and the second is J.T. Ellison 's twisty suspense novel It's One of Us. 

Interior designer to the wealthy Olivia and her husband Park have been trying for a long time to have a baby. Their IVF treatments have led to pregnancies, but Olivia has miscarried several times. On the day of her most recent miscarriage, the police come to their door saying that Park's DNA has been found on the body of a local woman who was found murdered at the bottom of a lake.

The police tell Park and Olivia that they believe Park is the father of the person who killed the woman. Since she and Park have no children, Olivia believes there has been a mistake. Park then tells Olivia that while in college he donated to a sperm bank, which shocks and upsets Olivia.

Although Park was told his sperm would be only used ten times, there is a Facebook group of 28 young people who have all used an ancestry website to discover that Park is their father. One of these people could be the killer. As the police investigate, a man harasses Olivia at one of her job sites. Will she be the killer's next victim?

There are a lot of secrets being kept from everyone in this twisty story. Olivia is keeping a secret about Park's twin brother from Park. When the police discover that Park's college girlfriend was found dead at the bottom of a lake years ago, the press become relentless, staking out Park and Olivia's home.

A careful reader might be able to guess at the identity of the killer, but there are many red herrings in the novel that take the reader in different directions. The few twists at the end seem to come out of left field, and the final twist I found too unbelievable. 

It's One of Us has a fascinating premise, and people who enjoy shows like Dateline and suspense movies on Lifetime will definitely want to read this one.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Winter 2023 Mystery/Thriller Blog Tours.

Just The Nicest Couple Couple by Mary Kubica

Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica

Published by Park Row ISBN 9780778333111

Hardcover, $28.99, 320 pages

As Mary Kubica's twist domestic suspense novel Just the Nicest Couple opens, a woman is running through the woods as some unkown person is chasing her. Who is she and who is she running from?

Christian, a financial analyst, comes home from work to find his wife Lily exhausted in a chair. Lily is a high school math teacher and she is pregnant, in her first trimester. They are thrilled to be having a baby, but after a few miscarriages, they are also cautious.

Although he is concerned that Lily is more tired than usual, Christian dotes on his wife and offers to bring her dinner in bed so she can rest. Lily seems overly worried that the doors are locked, she thinks she sees something or someone outside their home.

Nina is a teacher at Lily's school and her husband Jake is a reknowned neurosurgeon. Nina and Jake have a fight one morning, and when Jake storms off and doesn't return home from work, Nina thinks he is staying at a hotel to punish her. 

But when Jake's hospital calls to find out why he has missed appointments with patients, Nina goes to the police to report him missing.  Word about Jake gets around, and Lily tells Christian that she saw Jake in the wooded area where she was taking a walk and shares what happened when they spoke.

Christian and Lily decide that no one can know what happened between Lily and Jake that day. And so begins a series of bad decisions they make that could have far reaching repercussions. Nina doesn't think that the police are doing enough to find Jake, so she begins searching for answers herself.

Nina and Jake and Christian and Lily are couple friends- they have been out to dinner together, at each other's homes, at school functions together. But how well do they really know each other?

There are a lot of secrets in Just the Nicest Couple, and just when you think you know what has happened, Mary Kubica throws in some twists that most readers (including myself- one of those twists really comes out of left field) did not see coming.  She expertly builds the tension in some key scenes that are just made for a good TV movie.

If you are fan of twisty suspense novels that keep you turning the pages to see what happens next, Just the Nicest Couple is one not to miss.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Winter 2023 Mystery/Thriller Blog Tour.

Out of Her Depth by Lizzy Barber

Out of Her Depth by Lizzy Barber

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778386445

Trade paperback, $16.99, 400 pages

Lizzy Barber's suspense novel Out of Her Depth opens with a sentence that will entice you to keep reading- 

"Before you judge me, remember this: a girl died, and it wasn't my fault."

Rachel is teaching French and Italian at a private girls' school when a BBC News alert flashes across her phone that a man's criminal appeal is proceeding that evening. What does this have to do with the first sentence of the story? 

The story moves back in time to when Rachel was an ambitious high school student. Her Italian teacher reaches out to an old friend, a countessa who has a villa in Tuscany that she has turned into a pensione. Although she would be working as a maid, Rachel would be escaping to beautiful Florence for the summer.

The work was not easy, but when Rachel meets another maid named Diana, Rachel becomes "intoxicated with her, almost from the very moment, an intensity of feeling that perhaps blinded me to her other faults." Unlike Rachel, Diana comes from the same wealthy class as most of the villa's guests.

Rachel also falls for Sebastian, a neighbor of the Contessa's. Sebastian is charming and handsome and he seems to like Rachel as well. Diana encourages Rachel, telling Rachel that she would help her win Sebastian's affections.

But Diana is not the friend that Rachel believes her to be. As the summer moves along, Rachel finds herself doing Diana's work as well as her own, and being seduced by the lifestyle of her new friends, a  lifetyle she cannot afford.

The story moves back and forth in time, and we read on waiting to discover who was the girl who died and if it wasn't Rachel's fault, whose fault was it? Rachel seems to be unraveling in the present time, looking for answers, and perhaps absolution, for what happened in Tuscany.

I enjoyed being immersed in Florence and Tuscan countryside. You could feel the sunshine on your face, and taste the cool gelato on your tongue. The story had a Gatsby-esque touch, with our narrator trying to explain the actions of these rich people. Lizzy Barber has the reader in the palm of her hand, right up to the shocking ending. If you are a fan of thrillers like The Girl on the Train, Out of Her Depth is one for you.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Summer 2022 Mystery & Thriller Blog Tour.

 

The Night She Went Missing by Kristen Bird

The Night She Went Missing by Kristen Bird

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778332101

Trade paperback, $16.99, 352 pages

In the prologue to Kristen Bird's intense suspense novel The Night She Went Missing, Emily is found face up in the water of the harbor. Who is she and how did she get there?

Emily is the teenage daughter of Carter and Catherine, who recently moved from their home in Oregon to Carter's hometown, the island of Galveston, Texas. The family moved because Catherine did something scandalous and it was thought best to make a fresh start.

Carter's imperious mother Rosalyn is the grand dame of Galveston. She pretty much owns the island, no one, not even the sheriff, does anything without her permission. Rosalyn is thrilled to have her son back home, and she attempts to bring Catherine into Galveston society whether she wants it or not.

Emily is angry she had to leave all her friends and school behind because of her mother. Many of the students at her new school resent her, including Anna, the reigning Queen Bee at school. Anna's former boyfriend Alex, the star athlete, is attracted to Emily and they become friends. 

Alex was accused a few years ago of sexually assaulting a female student, something he vehemently denied, and while he was cleared of the charges, there is still a cloud of suspicion surrounding him. When Emily disappears after a gathering where Alex was with her, once again people believe he was involved- even his mother Morgan has her doubts about him.

Much of the book takes place during the ten weeks that Emily was missing. Carter and Catherine are beside themselves, Emily's twin little sisters are distraught, and Rosalyn is determined to turn over every stone to find her granddaughter.

Emily's car was found by the gulf, with her keys and cell phone inside, but no sign of her. After an exhaustive search, the pervailing belief was that Emily drowned, but Catherine will not give up hope that Emily is alive.

We meet the people of this insular community- Anna's mother Leslie, who is Rosalyn's right-hand woman, always there to organize school functions and push her daughter to be number one. Alex's mother Morgan is divorced and her doubts about her son eat away at her. Robert Steele is the handsome, hardworking doctor who supports his widowed sister-in-law Leslie after his brother died, and he dates Morgan.

After Emily is found, the next step is to discover where she was all this time. Anyone who is a careful reader of suspense novels will probably be able to guess who is responsible for Emily's disappearance even though the author throws in some red herrings, but you may have to suspend disbelief for some of the other plot revelations. 

 I found Catherine's scandal back home an interesting twist, it's unusual to have such a big character flaw in a protagonist. Emily's ability to hold her faith as well as her belief in science shows a mature intellectual capability which is refreshing. The island community of Gavelston was also a unique setting, I can't remember reading a novel set there. Fans of J.T. Ellison will enjoy this one.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on Kristen Bird's tour.

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.

The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton

The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton

Published by Graydon House ISBN 9781525811609

Trade paperback, $16.99, 352 pages

January seems to be the month for domestic thrillers about shady husbands (I read Kimberly Belle's My Darling Husband last week). Karen Hamilton's twisty novel, The Ex-Husband, takes the reader through the relationship between Sam, a charming cruise ship croupier and grifter/con man and Charlotte, the woman who becomes entranced with Sam and his exciting and dangerous lifestyle.

The novel opens up in the present day with Charlotte, now separated from Sam and building an events planning business in Cornwall, England. When she gets word that Sam has disappeared and feared dead, Charlotte thinks it is just another one of Sam's cons.

The story then moves back in time. We see how Sam swept Charlotte off her feet when they both worked on a cruise ship. Charlotte became a willing participant in Sam's cons, believing Sam when he tells her that the people they are stealing from are not victims. Those people have more than enough money, they will never miss what Sam and Charlotte are taking from them. 

At first, it was exciting, and Charlotte enjoyed the gifts Sam lavished on her. But soon, Charlotte sees a darker side to Sam. He cheats on her, and eventually becomes violent when she dares to criticize his plans. When they nearly get caught stealing an expensive necklace, and Sam leaves Charlotte holding the bag, she has finally had enough.

In the present day, Charlotte takes a job as an assistant planner on a luxury yacht sailing to the Caribbean. Things seem fine at first, but then someone leaves threatening notes for Charlotte, telling her that she must pay up or she will die. Charlotte has no money, and when she begins to suffer from "accidents", she believes that Sam is somehow behind all this.  

Fans of Bravo's Below Deck will enjoy the luxury yacht setting, as so much of the story takes place on the yacht with the demanding and wealthy travelers. The "locked room" trope of the story rachets up the suspense as Charlotte is trapped on the yacht with someone who means her harm. The Ex-Husband will appeal to readers of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley's novels. 

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

Remedios by Deborah Clearman

Remedios by Deborah Clearman

Published by New Meridian ISBN 9781734383508

Trade paperback, $18, 228 pages

Two of the most intense television series I have watched are Breaking Bad and Ozark. Both deal with seemingly average people who become involved in the drug trade, dragging their families into the situation.

Deborah Clearman's novel, Remedios, is the literary equivalent of those two series. Fernando is a college professor, living with his wife and three children in Guatemala. They have a comfortable life, although Fernando borrowed money from a loan shark to renovate their home, and the payment is due. Fernando is unsure how he will be able to repay the money.

A childhood friend, Memo, shows up on his doorstep after nearly thirty years. The last time Fernando saw Memo was when they were teenagers, at a meeting that was violently attacked by the military. Fernando and his brother escaped, but Memo was caught and forced to become a soldier.

Memo now works for a dangerous Mexican cartel, and he comes to Fernando with a offer:  let them build a meth lab on his property. The money Memo will give him will enable him to pay off the loan shark, and  no one but Fernando needs to know what is going on. Fernando resists, but ultimately he agrees.

They concoct a story that Memo is building a cleaning supply manufacturing plant on Fernando's property, and Fernando is able to live with that until he discovers that his 14 year-old son Felix is working with Memo. 

Fernando's younger wife Sandra has also become entranced by Memo, bringing him food and spending time with him. Memo encourages Felix and Sandra's affections for him, pulling them deeper into his web. Fernando feels helpless and impotent to save his family. 

Remedios is a taut, intense novel that had my stomach in knots. Like Breaking Bad and Ozark, you watch as good people make bad decision after bad decision, wanting to warn them away from the danger. Reading Remedios also gave me a better understanding of the history of the civil war in Guatemala in the 1980s, and how drug cartels were able to use that to gain a foothold in that country.

If you're looking for a book that will get your pulse racing, a quick read at only 228 pages,  put Remedios on your list. I highly recommend it.

 

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Deborah Clearman's tour. The rest of her stops are here:

Tuesday, September 8th: JulzReads

Wednesday, September 9th: Instagram: @bookin.good

Thursday, September 10th: Thoughts From a Highly Caffeinated Mind

Friday, September 11th: Helen’s Book Blog

Monday, September 14th: Barks Beaches Books

Tuesday, September 15th: bookchickdi

Thursday, September 17th: Kahakai Kitchen

Monday, September 21st: Literary Quicksand

Tuesday, September 22nd: Jessicamap Reviews

Wednesday, September 23rd: Girl Who Reads

Thursday, September 24th: Instagram: @mentallybooked

Friday, September 25th: Instagram: @my_read_feed 

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian
Published by Doubleday ISBN 9780385544801
Hardcover, $27.95, 400 pages

Last year Chris Bohjalian's thriller novel, The Flight Attendant, (my review here) was about a troubled flight attendant who becomes involved in a murder done by a murky Russian organization. It was good timing on Bohjalian's part that his book published at the height of the Russian election influence scandal.

This year his book, The Red Lotus, is about a group of nefarious people who are involved in a possible worldwide pandemic. (It makes me afraid to see what his next book will be!) Alex is on duty in a New York City hospital when a handsome man, Austin, comes into her emergency room after being stabbed in a bar by a homeless man.

They discover that Austin also works at the hospital, in fund development. They begin dating, and seven months later Austin and Alex are in Vietnam where they are taking part in a group bicycle tour. When Austin goes off on his own for a ride to visit the places where his uncle was killed in the Vietnam War and his father was shot, he doesn't comes back.

Alex has to work with the FBI, police, and embassy officials in Vietnam to try and find out what happened to Austin.  She  discovers that Austin lied to her- his uncle was not killed anywhere near where he was riding, and his father had not been shot in the war.

These lies bother her, and she wonders if she really knew Austin. She hires a private investigator to dig into Austin's life, and it turns out that there is a lot more to Austin than she knew, and it involves the hospital where they both work.

Once again, Bohjalian writes a smart, fast-paced thriller that had me reading well up past my bedtime. (Note to self- don't start reading his books after 9pm.) He keeps the reader guessing, and his characters are always interesting and well-drawn. I particularly liked Ken, the private investigator and Vietnam vet, and Toril, who worked in the American embassy in Vietnam, as well as Alex.

There is a scene at the end of the book that is so fraught with tension and action, I was gripping the pages so hard my hands hurt, and if it was a movie,  I would have been peeking through my fingers at the screen. I could feel my heart pounding. (The Red Lotus would make a great movie.)

I live in New York City, and rats are a part of life here, and I do NOT like rats. I will warn readers that rats do play a big role in the story, and even though I really HATE rats (did I tell you that?), I still really liked The Red Lotus. I highly recommend it for readers who like a smart thriller. My heart is pounding just writing this review.

Chris Bohjalian's website is here ,where you can read the first two chapters online.

Winter Thrillers

Reprinted from the Citizen:

Now that winter has finally shown itself, it’s a great time to hunker down and read a good book. Here are three mystery/thrillers that will have your heart pounding, your pulse racing and your mind working overtime to figure out what happened.

A.J. Finn’s debut novel, “The Woman in the Window” hit the bestseller list on the first week, which is quite an accomplishment. This book has had a lot of buzz since last spring, and it lives up to the hype.

The Woman in the Window

Anna Fox sits in the window of her Harlem brownstone, watching the neighbors go about their daily business. She hasn’t left her apartment in ten months, and her husband and eight-year-old daughter no longer live with her.

She spends her days playing online chess, dispensing advice on agoraphobia message boards and watching old black and white movies, like Alfred Hitchcock’s classics. Anna is also drunk most of the day and night, and takes numerous prescription pills.

We slowly get that something traumatic happened to Anna ten months ago, but exactly what is unknown to the reader. She is quite frankly a mess.

One day Anna sees new neighbors moving in- a mom, dad and teenage boy. The son comes to visit, and then later his mom stops by and she and Anna spend an enjoyable, drunken afternoon together.

Then Anna sees something disturbing happen at the new neighbors. She reports this to the police, but no evidence is found and Anna is not believed because she is such a mess. Anna is not even quite sure if she saw what she believes she saw.

Slowly, Finn reveals to the reader what happened ten months ago to Anna, and what happened to the neighbors. The last third of this crackerjack of a book will keep you up at night to finish. You will gasp in astonishment as events unfold. This book will be a blockbuster in 2018.

Lisa Scottoline’s thriller “One Perfect Lie” begins with Chris Brennan applying for a job as a high school teacher and assistant baseball coach in a small Pennsylvania town. But Brennan is also up to something more nefarious. 

One Perfect Lie

He needs to recruit a young male student for something bad, something that will happen on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. He insinuates himself in the lives of three of his students- one a boy whose father died last year, one who never knew his father, and one a rich, spoiled young man.

Everyone loves Coach Brennan, and he works hard to quickly gain the trust of the people in this small community. 

Just when you think you know where this story is going, Scottoline turns everything upside down halfway through the story. It is a brilliant turn of events, and one I did not see coming. It turned what was a pretty good story into a crazy great story.

Other than a scene at the end of the book that was really over-the-top, “One Perfect Lie” is a fantastic ride of a book, and I tip my hat to the author, she really fooled me.

If you like your mysteries set in days of yore, Lauren Willig’s “The English Wife” is set in Cold Springs, NY in 1899. Bay Van Duyvil, a wealthy American heir, had a replica built of his English wife Annabelle’s family home on the banks of the Hudson River. 

The English Wife

On the day of their big Twelfth Night Ball to show their new home to the elite, Bay is stabbed and Annabelle is missing. Did she run away with the architect of the house, with whom she was rumored to be having an affair? And how to explain that Bay’s sister Janie saw Annabelle’s body floating in the Hudson?

Janie teams up with a newspaper reporter to find out what happened to Bay and Annabelle. The story shifts back and forth in time, from 1895 London where Bay and Annabelle met to 1899 Cold Springs. 

There are so many great characters here-  Janie, London dance hall performer Georgie, Bay’s nasty mother Alva, and Bay and Janie’s cousin Anne who stole Janie’s fiancee and was a bit too close to Bay.

There are also lots of secrets and secret alliances in “The English Wife” that keep the reader on her toes. The attention to period detail is also so well done here, you’ll feel like you are in 1899 as your read this terrific novel. 

New In Paperback- Behind Closed Doors by B.A.Paris

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Published by St. Martin's Griffin ISBN 9781250132369
Trade paperback, $16.99, 352 pages

Jack and Grace seem like the perfect couple to their friends. When they give dinner parties, Jack helps Grace in the kitchen. He lavishes her with beautiful clothes, gifts and compliments, and while it's true that Grace frequently cancels plans for lunch or shopping with her friends, well there can't be anything behind that, can there?

Grace met Jack in the park where she takes her sister Millie every weekend. Millie has Down's syndrome and lives in a boarding school near Grace. Millie was dancing to the music in the park and when others were laughing at her, Jack came over to Millie and danced with her. Grace was immediately smitten.

Jack courted Grace fervently. He was a perfect gentleman, a lawyer who represents victims of domestic violence. When he proposed marriage, he told Grace he would like to build her the house of her dreams where they could live with Millie happily ever after. It was a fairytale come true for Grace.

B.A. Paris' novel Behind Closed Doors takes off from there. To say anything more about the plot would be to give away too much, but suffice it to say I spent three hours reading this propulsive thriller without looking up until I finished, finally letting out a long breath. It reminded me of reading Harlan Coben's thrillers.

I'm not one for thrillers because I find them too gory and scary, and while this one did have my heart racing, it wasn't gory. You will get completely lost in Grace and Jack's story, trying to figure out how it will all end.

B.A. Paris has crafted a crackerjack of a thrilling debut novel, and she is an author that I will be looking forward to reading more of in the future. Her new novel, The Breakdown, publishes July 18, and has already garnered similar high praise. You can find out more here.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Published by St. Martin's Press ISBN 978-1-250-12100-4
Hardcover, $25.99, 293 pages

Jack and Grace seem like the perfect couple to their friends. When they give dinner parties, Jack helps Grace in the kitchen. He lavishes her with beautiful clothes, gifts and compliments, and while it's true that Grace frequently cancels plans for lunch or shopping with her friends, well there can't be anything behind that, can there?

Grace met Jack in the park where she takes her sister Millie every weekend. Millie has Down's syndrome and lives in a boarding school near Grace. Millie was dancing to the music in the park and when others were laughing at her, Jack came over to Millie and danced with her. Grace was immediately smitten.

Jack courted Grace fervently. He was a perfect gentleman, a lawyer who represents victims of domestic violence. When he proposed marriage, he told Grace he would like to build her the house of her dreams where they could live with Millie happily ever after. It was a fairytale come true for Grace.

B.A. Paris' novel Behind Closed Doors takes off from there. To say anything more about the plot would be to give away too much, but suffice it to say I spent three hours reading this propulsive thriller without looking up until I finished, finally letting out a long breath. It reminded me of reading Harlan Coben's thrillers.

I'm not one for thrillers because I find them too gory and scary, and while this one did have my heart racing, it wasn't gory. You will get completely lost in Grace and Jack's story, trying to figure out how it will all end.

B.A. Paris has crafted a crackerjack of a thrilling debut novel, and she is an author that I will be looking forward to reading more of in the future.

The Beach Club Book Club Reads The Daughter

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt
Published by William Morrow ISBN 9780062320476
Trade paperback, $14.99, 341 pages

Jenny is a hardworking doctor, married to a successful surgeon and mother to three teenagers. Her fifteen-year-old daughter Naomi has been acting distant lately, which bothers Jenny since they have always been close. She attributes it to all the pressures of school, working hard on the school play and just normal teenage angst.

Then one night Jenny doesn't come home from play rehearsal. Jenny and Ted call her friends, drive around the town, and still no Naomi. Shemilt captures the raw fear and panic of realizing that your child is missing. Any parent reading it will have a visceral reaction to this story.

The story is told in alternating time lines, from the day she disappears and then one year later, with Naomi still gone and no answers from the police. Writing it this way made the story stronger for me, knowing that Naomi hasn't been found allows the reader to concentrate on the emotions of the family, rather than the actual search for Naomi.

Naomi's disappearance reveals many secrets about Jenny's family. She discovers that the things she believes to be true about her marriage and her children aren't necessarily so. Naomi hid many things from her mother, and one thing you find from reading The Daughter is that you may think you know everything about your children, but they may have an entirely different life than the one you think they do.

Watching Jenny suffer through her daughter's disappearance is tough. She tries to get through each day, wondering where her daughter is and what happened to her. Then there are the reactions of her two sons; as time goes on, she discovers things about them she never thought possible.

I'm not sure how I feel about the resolution to the story. It is definitely one that will engender conversation and controversy. One of our members said she felt it fell flat at the end, and she wasn't crazy about the characters.

The Daughter is a suspense thriller that does make a good book club pick because it will have people, especially mothers of teenagers, talking. It provokes strong reactions, and as a mother to sons, I wonder if I have a different reaction than mothers of daughters.

The Dismantling- by Brian DeLeeuw

The Dismantling by Brian DeLeeuw
Published by Plume Books, ISBN 978-0-14-218174-4
Trade paperback, $16, 272 pages

Brian DeLeeuw's novel The Dismantling has some topical elements in its plot- injuries suffered by NFL players, the lack of available organs for those needing a transplant- and combines them with a young man trying to come to terms with the loss of his younger sister years ago and a woman with a mysterious past into a fast-paced thriller that also makes you think.

We meet Simon, a twenty-five year-old man who has dropped out of medical school but has yet to tell his father. His friend hooks him up with a under-the-radar company that connects people who need kidney or liver transplants with people who are willing to sell them their body parts.

Simon lost his mother to a horrible death when he was just a young child, and his teenage sister died, the circumstances of which are unraveled during the story. We do know that Simon feels that her death was his fault, but we don't know why for a long time.

Simon is tasked by his boss to find a liver donor for Lenny Pellegrini, a retired NFL player with a drinking problem who suffers from too many hits to the head during his playing days. Lenny's friend Howard, also a former NFL player, is paying for the liver and he and Simon must convince Lenny to do this for his wife and two young children.

Through their website, Simon has found Maria, a single young mother willing to sell a piece of her liver to Lenny. Since it is illegal to sell organs for transplant, the woman is presented as a cousin of Lenny's, and she is flown in and coached as to how the process works.

Maria seems like the perfect candidate, but things start to unravel shortly after the transplant. Maria disappears and Lenny is still in a state of severe depression. Simon's boss threatens him that he better fix this situation before too many questions are asked.

The Dismantling is a fast read, one that you want to finish in one sitting while at the same time taking time to ponder all of the bigger issues here. At its heart, it is Simon's story, about his coming to terms with everything in his life, where he has been and where he is going.

While Simon is in medical school, he has to participate in autopsying a cadaver, and the scenes set there are vivid and not for those with weak stomachs. It is in these sessions that Simon's past comes back to haunt him, and he ends up in the dangerous situation he finds himself in.

Simon is an interesting character, and his relationship with his dad was so real and heartbreaking. The Dismantling combines a thought provoking story with some heart-stopping action scenes and twists and turns, and seems tailor-made for a movie, maybe for a Hemsworth brother. I also enjoyed the New York City setting, especially since Simon and I lived on the same street.

rating 4 of 5

Brian DeLeeuw's website is here.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Brian's tour. The rest of the tour stops are here:

Brian DeLeeuw’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, May 4th: Kissin’ Blue Karen

Monday, May 4th: Vic’s Media Room

Tuesday, May 5th: 5 Minutes for Books

Wednesday, May 6th: Reading Reality

Thursday, May 7th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Friday, May 8th: Life is Story

Monday, May 11th: Bookchickdi

Tuesday, May 12th: My Bookish Ways

Wednesday, May 13th: A Reader’s Oasis

Monday, May 18th: Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Wednesday, May 20th: Books a la Mode – author Q&A

Thursday, May 21st: Read. Write. Repeat.

Friday, May 22nd: Kay’s Reading Life

Monday, May 25th: Books on the Table

Tuesday, May 26th: Bell, Book & Candle

Wednesday, May 27th: She Treads Softly

Thursday, May 28th: Drey’s Library

Friday, May 29th: The Discerning Reader

Supreme Justice by Max Collins

Supreme Justice by Max Allan Collins
Published by Thomas & Mercer ISBN 9781612185309
Trade paperback, $14.95, 302 pages

Joseph Reeder is a former Secret Service agent who took a bullet for the president, a man whom he didn't respect and whose conservative politics he did not like in Max Allan Collins' political thriller Supreme Justice. His politics put him at odds with his superiors and coworkers, and he compared himself to Pete Rose, who didn't get into baseball's Hall of Fame due to his gambling, saying that, like Rose, "he accomplished great things, but would spend eternity on the outside."

Reeder now owns a private security company, and is called into help when a very conservative Supreme Court justice is killed during a robbery at a restaurant where Reeder's company provides security. After viewing the security camera footage, Reeder concludes that the justice was targeted, and the robbery was a coverup for murder.

A task force investigating the case, consisting of DC local police, FBI and Homeland Security, are all protecting their turf and squabbling amongst themselves as to who the culprit is and what their motives are. Reeder's murder theory is dismissed until another incident occurs, and now Reeder wonders if someone is targeting conservative justices, trying to change the direction of the Supreme Court after they have overturned Roe v Wade and made abortion illegal.

The new president is a liberal, and if he can appoint more liberal justices, abortion could be made legal again. But would someone in the White House go so far as to eliminate justices to change the law back? It is an intriguing premise for this action-packed novel.

Reeder is paired with a young female FBI agent, and his relationships with his former coworkers come into play here. They have to investigate on their own, being careful not to tip off anyone who may be involved in the murder.

Supreme Justice is a fast-paced thriller, heavier on the action than on character development. It is the kind of summer read that you can polish off at a day at the beach, quickly turning the pages to find out if Reeder's theory is the right one. Careful readers may be able to figure out who the culprit is, although there are plenty of red herrings here to throw the reader off track.

As I was reading this, I thought that if it was the 1980's, this would make a perfect Clint Eastwood movie: Reeder is a loner, an honorable man, loyal to his values who ends up caught in a situation only he can resolve.

I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Joe Reeder; this is the kind of character who could conceivably spawn an entire series of thrillers for those who like their action spiked with a dose of political intrigue.

rating 3.5 of 5

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on this tour. The rest of Max Allan Collins stops are here.

Max Allan Collins’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, June 16th:  5 Minutes for Books

Tuesday, June 17th:  My Bookshelf

Wednesday, June 18th:  FictionZeal

Thursday, June 19th:  Kritter’s Ramblings

Monday, June 23rd:  Reading Reality

Wednesday, June 25th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, June 26th:  Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Friday, June 27th:  A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, June 30th:  Bookchickdi

Tuesday, July 1st:  Bookish Ardour – author guest post

Wednesday, July 2nd:  Patricia’s Wisdom

Monday, July 7th:  Bibliotica

Tuesday, July 8th:  Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Wednesday, July 9th:  From the TBR Pile

Thursday, July 10th:  Traveling with T

Monday, July 14th:  Staircase Wit

Wednesday, July 16th:  Literally Jen

The Accident by Chris Pavone

The Accident by Chris Pavone
Published by Crown Publishing ISBN 978-0-385-34845-4
Hardcover, $26, 385 pages

Chris Pavone won the Edgar Award for his first novel last year, The Expats, which I read and enjoyed. It featured Kate, a former CIA operative who moves to Europe with her husband and son and finds herself caught up in a dangerous situation that her nerdy husband created. It was a fast-paced read, with lots of twists and turns, a real page-turner.

His newest novel, The Accident, has as one of it's main characters, Hayden, a mysterious CIA operative (is there any other kind?) who worked with Kate in The Expats. (Kate makes a cameo appearance here, which is fun.)

Pavone worked in the publishing business, which plays a big role in The Accident. Isabel Reed, a literary agent, receives a mysterious manuscript at her office. It is a biography of media mogul Charlie Wolfe, one of the most powerful people on the planet, who just happens to be planning a Senate run.

The author is "Anonymous", and this person has some bombshell revelations about Mr. Wolfe, including the fact that he accidentally killed a college coed and, with his father, a deputy CIA director, and his best friend David, who was with him, got rid of the body. Oh, and he also helped the CIA destroy reputations and influence elections in other countries.

It would seem that the author is David, but David committed suicide by flying his plane into the sea after getting a terminal cancer diagnosis. But did he really die? They found the plane, but no body.

Hayden is tasked with finding the real author and retrieving every copy of the manuscript that exists. When people who have made copies of the manuscript end up dead, Isabel Reed must go on the run and try to outwit the killer.

Just like The Expats, The Accident is a real barn burner. You must be prepared to set aside enough time to read it in one sitting, because you will not be able to put it down. I find it interesting that Pavone writes such fascinating female characters, first Kate, and now Isabel, as the protagonists in his thrillers. They are the real stars of these action-packed novels.

If you are interested in the publishing world, Pavone gives you a real insider's look. I only hope that it is not as dangerous as it appears here. In his Acknowledgements, he lists many of the people who don't always get a thank you, including the sales and marketing team, and the copy editors and proofreaders at Crown Publishing, which was a nice touch.

Fans of John Grisham will enjoy Pavone's books, as they are heavy on plot twists, with a few jaw-dropping revelations that had me nearly dropping my book. I highly recommend both of Pavone's books, and was happy to see that in this book, I wasn't as confused by the ending as I was by The Expats.  I could see both of these books as films, and if they haven't been optioned yet, they should be.

rating 4 of 5

Chris Pavone's website is here.

My review of The Expats is here. 

Read an excerpt of The Accident here.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on this tour. The rest of Chris Pavone's stops are here.

Monday, March 3rd:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Monday, March 3rd:  Drey’s Library

Monday, March 3rd:  Why Girls are Weird

Wednesday, March 5th:  A Bookish Way of Life

Thursday, March 6th:  Bookish Ardour

Friday, March 7th:  She Treads Softly

Monday, March 10th:  Joyfully Retired

Tuesday, March 11th:  Bound by Words

Tuesday, March 11th:  Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Tuesday, March 11th:  Kritter’s Ramblings

Wednesday, March 12th:  Book Dilettante

Friday, March 14th:  River City Reading

Monday, March 17th:  Staircase Wit

Tuesday, March 18th:  Bookchickdi

Wednesday, March 19th:  Book-alicious Mama

Thursday, March 20th:  Chaotic Compendiums

Friday, March 21st:  Not in Jersey

Monday, March 24th:  A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, March 25th:  Reading Reality

Wednesday, March 26th:  Bibliotica

Thursday, March 27th:  Ageless Pages Reviews

Friday, March 28th:  Patricia’s Wisdom