By Ande Pliego
** Publication Date 11 February 2025 **
4.5 stars

This one kept me guessing right up until the end. A little bit of horror, a little bit of suspense. The debut novel from Ande Pliego is gripping. Never know what is going to come next.


A group of authors has been invited to a writer’s retreat on a private island. The island is owned by the reclusive author known as JR Alastor. No one really knows who this person is, but Alastor is a successful, published mystery writer. Alastor has invited a specific group of authors to share his private retreat for one week. There will be mystery dinners every night. A lot of games afoot.


Mila is Alastor’s assistant. She has been responsible for rehabbing the entire estate and island to her boss’s specifics. Alastor even insisted on the two staff members - the cook and housekeeper. Mila has been responsible for planning the daily games, but she is also unaware of any secret plans that Alastor has. She’s also never met JR Alastor. 


When the ferry arrives with the invitees, Mila is there to greet them. Each person has their own room, with the exception of the one married couple in the group. They are informed about the dinner plans and left to their own devices until then. Come dinnertime, they are treated to game number one. Later that evening, one of the authors goes missing.


The next day that author is found dead in the island’s cemetery. And the plot thickens.


Really amazing novel. It is a bit long, but it needs to be to cover the amount of information with this group. It’s also a bit graphic and horrific, but not unduly. The novel is a horror/mystery novel after all. I loved it. I enjoyed the wild ride. Each new section made me wonder, is it this person? I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

By S. F. Baumgartner
​** Publication Date 26 November 2024 **
4 stars 


I love Christmas themed books. They’re so much fun to read around the holidays. Usually they’re not murder mysteries, which adds a new twist to this one.


KC is a detective with a small police force in Pine Grove, Florida. She’s the only detective on the force, so when things happen in their town, she gets called. Just a few days before Christmas, a local councilman is killed. When the detective from the Sheriff’s office shows up to help, KC is less than thrilled. But being this was a councilman, she feels like she has no choice but to let him assist.


As the days pile up, so do the bodies. An investigative journalist, a police officer. The pressure is on KC to solve this one. She enlists the help of the local FBI office, one very attractive agent named Nate Tanner. Together they realize this case goes deep into local government. They are on the clock to solve the mystery before another body appears.


This was a short one, but boy was it good. I finished it in one afternoon! Loved KC. She’s tough and driven. Smart. Not easily pushed around by the men. The mystery itself was good. I had my suspicions from the beginning, but it wasn’t confirmed until near the end. Also, there were others involved. Well tied up at the end, but there for the next installment as well.


Good read and will definitely want to read the rest of the series. 

By Jessica Goodman
** Publication Date 4 February 2025**
4 stars 



A good murder mystery has you pointing fingers at everyone before the final reveal of the murder. This novel certainly didn’t disappoint, as I had guessed just about everyone. 


Meadowbrook Academy is a very elite, private prep school in Connecticut. As is tradition, the senior class arrives a week prior to the underclassmen. A time to bond, party, prepare for the final year of high school.


Amy Alterman is a senior from Palo Alto, California. Her best friend since freshman year, and her roommate, Sarah Oliver grew up in the east. Both are only children. Both raised in wealth. Both smart, athletic, beautiful. Until one of them ends up dead, and the other appears to be a suspect.


Fantastic novel with lots of misunderstandings, as will happen in a high school setting. The adults in the room (or in this case, in the school) sometimes seem as childish as teenagers can be. The adults do not set the best example. Meanwhile we have a high school student ending up rooming with the one person she never wanted to, and learning that those you might never consider your friends, might be the next person you rely on.


I truly enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and well pieced together. While there are hints of the perpetrator, it isn’t an easy guess. There are lots of life lessons inserted along the way as well. 


Great read. 
​

By Melissa Larsen
** Publication Date 14 January 2025 **
​5 stars 

This was one heck of a thriller. Larsen writes beautifully, sharing the wild nature of Iceland with us. 


Agnes was devoted to her grandfather. While she felt very removed from her father, her grandfather doted on her and made her feel loved. Agnes knows little of the story of her family and why they fled Iceland for northern California, but she does know that it involved the murder of her grandmother and aunt.


When a true crime podcaster reaches out to the family, near the 40th anniversary of the Frozen Madonna’s murder, Agnes’ father Magnús declines to participate. But Agnes decides she wants to know more. So Agnes agrees to meet Nora in Iceland and help shed some light on her family.


Agnes doesn’t know how her arrival in the small town of Bïfrost is going to upset the locals. Apparently she looks just like her grandmother Marie, the Frozen Madonna. While in a Starbucks she also sees that another doppelgänger who has gone missing from Bïfrost. The plot deepens and Agnes finds that she’s not only immersed in the history of her grandmother and aunt, but also this latest missing person’s case.


This was an amazing story about trying to find yourself in the midst of life upheaval. Agnes has been to hell and back after the death of her grandfather. While in Iceland, Agnes comes to terms with a lot of what has been haunting her. It’s so well written. Agnes is very layered.


I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the concept and location. Truly makes me want to visit Iceland someday. 

By Sash Bischoff
** Publication Date 7 January 2025 **
4.5 stars
​
I like to think that I can usually puzzle out the culprit in a suspense or mystery novel. Not this one. This one kept me guessing. So many lies and unexpected twists. Hard to believe this is a debut novel.


Lila Crayne is a beautiful, young actress, living a stellar life with her partner, director Kurt Royall. They have just started working on a new film to be based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. It’s an adaptation with a twist. Lila will star and Kurt will direct and it should be the movie of a lifetime.


Lila is also entering into therapy for emotional and physical trauma suffered as a child when her father was killed in a car accident. She and her mother were in the car. Lila has some issues to resolve, and she thinks therapy will help her better understand her role in the movie. Maybe also heal her from the tragedy of her father’s death.


Step in Jonah Gabriel, a psychotherapist who specializes in helping abused women resolve their trauma and leave unhealthy relationships. Jonah and his fiancé Maggie live in NYC in a building that houses both their home and his office. Jonah has an obsession with Fitzgerald. Has for many years. He also has an obsession with a young actress named Lila Crayne. Also for many years.


Here they are, Jonah the therapist and Lila the actress starting this therapy journey together. This, however, will be a journey unlike any therapy journey before it. Especially for Jonah. 


Truly brilliantly written. So many loose ends that are not tied up neatly in the end, but leave us wondering and saying holy moly. I loved this one. Such a page turner.