The Vacation by M M Chouniard

 

One of them is missing… One of them did it… 

The Thanksgiving retreat was meant to be a time for them to get away from it all, miles from the secrets that threaten to tear their family apart. But they’re each hiding something: 

Rose hopes the pretty house overlooking the sea is just the break her family needs. But as she gazes at the water and remembers her own childhood, she is utterly terrified. 

Brandon knows his wife Rose has barely forgiven him for his affair. He’s started drinking again, a road that led him to disaster once before.

 Brianna, Rose’s sister-in-law, is recovering from her fifth miscarriage, and when she looks at her adorable niece, she can’t help but see the daughter she deserves. 

Then three-year-old Lily disappears from her bed in the villa. Isolated in what should have been paradise, it quickly becomes clear that one of them took her. 

As one by one their secrets are uncovered, who will be destroyed next? 

A completely addictive thriller about every parent’s worst nightmare that will keep you guessing into the early hours of the morning. Perfect for fans of The Guest List, One by One and The Sister-in-Law.

What did I think

A brand new author for me so wasn't sure what to expect.

What I got was a thriller which by the time I reached the end I was thinking I wasn't 100% sure what actually happened.

If you like your stories fast paced then this is one for you. So many twists and turns to keep you guessing all the way through.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Other books I have read recently have made me want to go off on holiday somewhere warm. But not this book......

M.M. Chouinard writes crime fiction (including suspense, procedurals, and cozies), and women's fiction. M.M. Chouinard's first fiction story was published in her local paper when she was eight, and she fell in love with Agatha Christie novels not long after. While pursuing a Ph.D in psychology and helping to found the first U.S. research university of the new millenium, the stories kept rattling around inside her skull, demanding to come out. For sanity's sake, she released them.

 

Author Social Media Links:

Website: www.mmchouinard.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mmchouinardauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/m_m_chouinard

The Marriage Lie by Ali Mercer

 

My husband is asking me to do the impossible. But if I don’t do what he wants, he will tell our daughter everything 

Stella follows her handsome husband Rob to the beautifully laid-out table in the restaurant he’s chosen specially for her fortieth birthday lunch. As the waiter pops the champagne, Rob proposes a toast and their crystal glasses clink together in celebration. Stella knows how they must look to anyone watching. Two people very much in love, with the perfect marriage and the perfect life. 

But Rob is about to drop a bombshell on Stella. He wants a divorce. 

If she doesn’t give him exactly what he wants – the house, the money and full custody of fourteen-year-old Georgie – he will tell their precious daughter the one secret Stella has worked so hard to protect her from.

 Stella has a choice to make. To fight for her daughter, there is only one person she can turn to for help. Someone she hasn’t spoken to in over a decade. If she doesn’t, Rob will win. But to do it means facing up to her biggest regret, and risks losing Georgie forever, once she learns the truth… 

An absolutely heart-breaking and gripping novel about the price of keeping a secret. Fans of Amanda Prowse, Kate Hewitt and Susan Lewis will be gripped by this emotional family drama from the very first page.

What did I think.

I love Ali Mercers books and was really looking forward to reading her new offering. 

Stella has it all. Or does she. Who knows what goes on inside a marriage?

A story of family secrets covering many years - secrets that come to the surface.

I like the style of writing which really drew me into the story and the characters. It was a pleasant and easy read.

Ali decided she wanted to be a writer early on and wrote her first novel when she was at primary school. She did an English degree and spent her early twenties working in various jobs in journalism, including as a reporter for the showbusiness newspaper The Stage. She started writing fiction in earnest after getting married, moving out of London to the Oxfordshire market town of Abingdon and starting a family. She has two children, a daughter and a son who is autistic and was diagnosed when he was four years old.
Ali is fascinated by families, their myths and secrets, and the forces that hold them together, split them up and (sometimes) bring them back together again. She always travels with tissues and a book and has been known to cry over a good story, but is also a big fan of the hopeful ending.

 

Author Social Media Links:

For updates and pictures, follow Ali on Twitter (@AlisonLMercer) or Instagram (@alimercerwriter), or on her Facebook page (AliMercerwriter)

The Mix Up by Elizabeth Neep

 

What if you meet the love of your life, but he thinks you’re someone else?

Anna and Marley are best friends. So when Anna rings Marley, panicking because she has to miss a tour of an exclusive wedding venue, Marley agrees to go in her friend’s place.

After being totally ignored by the glamorous receptionist who can tell she doesn’t belong there, Marley meets handsome hotel manager Cameron. He assumes she’s Anna and instead of admitting that she’s not the blushing bride, but the unlucky-in-love single friend, Marley plays along to see what it’s like to be Anna for a day.

After all, Marley is unemployed, single and was woken up that morning by her flatmate playing the bagpipes. Anna has a high-flying career and is planning the perfect wedding. Why wouldn’t Marley want to be her?

Only she wasn’t counting on Cameron being so smart and funny. Or this spark between them that she can’t ignore. She hasn’t felt this way about a guy in forever. But he thinks she’s somebody better.

Marley needs a way out of this mix-up to get her shot at true love. But her fictional fiancé is now standing in her way and it’s harder than she thought to stop living someone else’s life…

A funny, uplifting and poignant story of friendship, love and finding your way. Fans of Dolly Alderton, Mhairi McFarlane and Holly Bourne will adore Elizabeth Neep’s wit and warmth.

What did I think:

I had been wanting to read this books as soon as I saw the cover - it looked like a fun read.

I wasn't disappointed.

The cast of characters were quirky to say the least and the story is a bit of a tangled web - but one that is fun to try and unwind. I loved how all the stories were all tied up in each other.

Overall this is a fun read which kept my interest from start to finish. I will certainly be checking out this authors other books.

Elizabeth Neep was born in 1990 in Derbyshire and now lives in London Bridge. After studying Law at the University of Nottingham and the University of New South Wales, she worked in magazine journalism, most noticeably writing for Dazed and Confused and PETRIe. Elizabeth now works as a non-fiction Senior Commissioning Editor and writes and paints in her spare time.

https://www.elizabethneep.com/

https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_neep/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/elizabeth_neep

 

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3uZ292h

Apple: https://apple.co/2OuQrMs

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3ejXmmo

Google: https://bit.ly/3v4z7Pe

 

 

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

 It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

What I Read Last Week.

What I'm Reading Now.

What I'm reading Next.

Blog tours - Victoria Jenkins, Elizabeth Neep, Ali Mercer

Audio - Louise Sharland

The Pigeonhole - Matt Cain

Bookclub - Sarah Moss

Going Greek by Sue Roberts

 

Sun, sea and a sizzling romance… the perfect holiday, right? Wrong.

After a work party gone disastrously wrong, Samantha suddenly finds herself jobless and jilted. So when her sister invites Sam to stay at her little whitewashed farmhouse on a Greek island, Sam leaps at the chance to escape. Before long, she’s trundling up the cobbled driveway, almost colliding with sexy neighbour Spyros.

It isn’t all sunshine and smiles though. For every afternoon spent lounging by the pool, cocktail in hand, there is a morning spent adjusting to life with boisterous six-year-old nieces. When Spyros invites Sam to explore the island with him she’s tempted, but with his carefree, live-for-the-moment attitude, he couldn’t be more different to Sam with her five-year plans and high-maintenance hair. One drink, as friends, couldn’t hurt though? Over glasses of fruity Greek wine and honey-sweet baklava, can he – and the other charming locals – help city girl Sam to appreciate the simple pleasures the Greek life has to offer?

Just as Sam is considering ditching her designer gear for good though, she runs in to an old flame from home, and suddenly her London life comes hurtling back. Can her smooth-talking ex convince Sam to return to the concrete jungle, or will the lessons she’s learned from her Greek escape persuade her to stay?

A fun, fabulous and completely laugh-out-loud summer read perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Jenny Colgan and Sophie Kinsella.

What Did I Think:

I have never been to Greece - and I'm not likely to be going on holiday abroad as I have a house to renovate - but this book really made me want to visit the country,

Firstly - isn't the cover a delight. Just made me want to dive straight in and get reading.

This book was a joy to read - a perfect piece of escapism and sunshine in paper form. It is funny. It is a romance. But it is a bit more than that. It is about making decisions and finding out what makes Sam happy in life - something maybe we could all do a little of especially in these odd and difficult times.

The writing just flowed and transported you to this delicious Greek paradise. Laugh out loud in places. A delight to read. 

Now I need to go back and read some more os Sue's books - as on first glance all the covers look just as delicious.

Sue Roberts lives in Lancashire with her long term partner Derek and has had a lifelong love of writing, encouraged by winning a school writing competition at the age of 11. 

She always assumed that ‘one day’ she would write a book, always having a busy household and a job, the idea remained firmly on the back burner but never forgotten. 

The inspiration for her first novel came to her on a holiday to a Greek village. Her daughters had left home and suddenly the time had come to write that book!

 

https://twitter.com/suerobertsautho

 

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3bFSHt2

Apple: https://apple.co/3bI9LhZ

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2ScJhOB

Google: https://bit.ly/37YjSNW

The Playdate by Victoria Jenkins

 

Arranging the playdate was easy. Child’s play. Preparing the house was more difficult. It was only now she realised how many photographs there were: the picture-perfect unit. Wife, husband, child. All of it a lie. 

I made a new friend at playgroup today. She’s different from the other mothers. She feels like someone I can trust. Someone I can confide in. 

But there are some things I can’t tell her. Things I can’t tell anyone. 

Because I have a secret that no one else knows. One that still haunts my dreams, wakes me up in a cold sweat at night. 

Even another mother would never understand. Unless, of course, she’s hiding something too…

What Did I Think:

Another brand new author to be but that cover drew me in straight away - very eyecatching.

The story started off quite dark making me wonder what was going to happen next - and making me want to carry on reading,

It is the story of 2 mothers - but they and their backgrounds are polar opposites of each other. But both are very vulnerable. And both have secrets.

I don't want to give anything away but the way the story was told - each chapter alternating between each character - kept the book rolling a long at a good pace and all the twists kept me entertained.

I have now seen this author has written quite a few books which I must look into in the future - her Detective King and Lane books sound particularly good.

Author Bio:

 

Victoria Jenkins lives with her husband and daughter in South Wales, where her series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based. Her debut novel The Girls in the Water is an Amazon UK top 30 bestseller, and top 5 bestseller in the Amazon US chart.

Her first psychological thriller, The Divorce, was published in July 2019. The second, The Argument, was published December 10^th 2019 and The Accusation was published June 9th 2020. Her latest novel, The Playdate is out now.

 

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/victoriajenkinswriter/

Twitter:      @vicwritescrime

https://twitter.com/vicwritescrime

 

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

 It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

What I Read Last Week:

What I'm Reading Now:

What I'm Going to Read Next:

On audio - Louise Sharland

Pigeonhole - Matt Cain

Readalong - Caroline Hulse and Jodi Picoult

Blog tour - Liz Eeles and Victoria Jenkins

Bookclub - Sarah Moss

The Frozen Girl by Roberta Gately

 

 

Description: 

The young woman’s mouth is slightly parted, as if waiting to speak. Her body is frozen in ice and her blue eyes stare at the sky, perhaps wanting to look at the stars one last time…

When the body of a woman is found in the frozen Neponset River, just where it meets the sea, Jessie Novak and her partner Detective Sam Dallas rush to the scene. When Jessie sees a flash of a familiar silk scarf, she’s shocked to realize the girl in the ice is Sheila Logan, who she worked closely with for years at Boston City Hospital. Jessie desperately wants to find out how this young and talented nurse ended up an innocent victim.

But who would want to kill her? As she digs into Sheila’s past, Jessie realizes she was having an affair with a colleague and may even have been pregnant. Was her lover unwilling to be a father to her child? The pain of Sheila’s death threatens to tear open Jessie’s old wounds—Jessie’s own mother walked out on her when she was just a baby and never looked back. She can’t change her own past, but she’s determined to get justice for Sheila.

When Sheila’s neighbor is found dead, also wearing a distinctive scarf, Jessie sees a lethal pattern forming. Next, someone breaks into Jessie’s car and she knows she’s being warned off the case. But with the killer in her sights, will she take the deadliest risk of her life? Can Jessie catch him, before he catches up to her?

This utterly addictive novel will keep you up all night! Fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Abbott and Tess Gerritsen will be totally hooked until the last heart-thumping page.

What Did I Think:

A new author to me yet again.

When I started this book I didn't realise it was the second book in a series - maybe I would have been best reading them in order - I'm not sure.

The book was an easy enough read although I didn't really warm to the central character. And maybe I am a creature of habit as I do prefer my books to be set in the UK for some reason.

If you like a well written police procedural then this is one for you - I did like the medical twist on the usual storyline - when I found out she was a nurse then I could see why, And I will go back and read the first book in the series.

Author Bio:

 

Roberta Gately, lives in Boston where she works as a nurse at the Boston Medical Center. It was in the ER where she developed an interest in the investigations behind the crimes and the victims she encountered. Working in a busy ER is much like being a detective—the search for answers is a methodical process, not unlike the work required to solve a murder! 

Her crime series with Bookouture stars the brave and brilliant ER nurse Jessie Novak who teams up with her detective friend to solve tricky Boston murder cases. Expect addictive mysteries, breathtaking suspense and a gutsy heroine you’ll never forget. When she’s not writing or working at the hospital, Roberta enjoys reading, working out and spending time with friends and family. 

She has also worked in humanitarian aid, providing medical care in some of the world’s bleakest spots ranging from Africa to Afghanistan. Her two previous novels, Lipstick in Afghanistan and The Bracelet were based upon her experiences of nursing abroad. Her memoir—Footprints in the Dust tells the true stories of some of the extraordinary people she met.

 

Author Social Media Links

Roberta loves hearing from readers and you can get in touch with her using the links below.

Author website: robertagately.com

Twitter: twitter.com/RobertaGately

Facebook page: facebook.com/RobertaGatelyAuthor

Instagram instagram.com/roberta_gately