saltygalreads's reviews
306 reviews

This was a different kind of read for me. Interestingly, it was categorized as a supernatural thriller, but I would describe it more as a blend of Sci-Fi and Mystery. Beck and Riley are two sisters who have lost their mother to cancer. She was a vibrant, driven journalist that became immersed in her research and writing, and in so doing, was a distant and enigmatic figure to her daughters. After her death, Beck receives a note in her handwriting to "come and find me" in a little town called Backravel AZ. The town and its mysterious leader was the subject of her mother's obsession for years prior to her death, so Beck cannot resist the temptation to try and learn more about her mother's time there. Beck and Riley go there to stay in a trailer for two weeks prior to moving to Texas with their father and step-mother.

Backravel has a strange and otherworldly aspect, with a mix of shiny new construction alongside the ruins of old military buildings. The town residents seem to have no memory of their lives prior to moving to Backravel, and there are no churches, vehicles or cemeteries. Beck feels a bizarre pulsating energy in the town that seems to emanate from underground, and the only ones who seem to know the town history are the town leader Ricky and his daughter Avery. Riley must get to the bottom of this mystery before she has to leave and move to Texas.

The author did a masterful job of describing Backravel - ominous, strangely empty and stuck in a time warp with its vague inhabitants. Beck must decide whether to stay in Backravel and continue to live in her past life or to move forward with whatever unknowns life has in store. What will she do and what impact will her decision have on her sister?

Backravel is a metaphor for the state of grief, where one can stay immersed in their memories of the person they lost and times past, or consciously choose to keep moving forward and rejoin the world of the living. It is well-imagined and well-written, with a perfect desert setting and memorable characters. Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan.

I stayed up late last night to finish this one. This is the fourth book in the series about Detective Natalie Lockhart and it's a nail-biter to the finish! When we last saw Burning Lake NY, Natalie's boss and longtime friend, Luke, was found at the bottom of a ravine, seriously injured by their corrupt colleague Peter Murphy. In this instalment, the recently-recovered Luke and Natalie try to fit all the pieces together and link up the violence and strange events in Burning Lake. Natalie makes a gruesome and unsettling discovery at a property in Burning Lake, uncovers startling new information about her missing friend Bella Striver, and makes some decisions about her relationship with Hunter Rose.

The tension is ratcheted way up in this latest book about Burning Lake. The descriptions of the grim discoveries, dark witchcraft, and dilapidated houses create that classic Burning Lake atmosphere of foreboding mixed with anticipation. The pace is quick and the revelations come fast and furious, especially in the final chapters of the book (the reason for my late night). Natalie's hesitation to commit to Hunter finally comes to a resolution, proving that you should never, never ignore that little voice inside, and there are some character stories that take a surprising turn.

I was definitely all in on this one. It is a satisfying conclusion to the many professional and personal mysteries haunting Natalie throughout the four books. It felt rather final in the last pages which leads me to question if perhaps Alice Blanchard is finished her series about Natalie Lockhart. I certainly hope not, as I have grown very attached to her. So many thanks to Alice and Minotaur for allowing me to read an advanced copy. It was a complete pleasure and a privilege.

If you love a tense mystery and a modern, gothic Salem-ish setting with witchy themes then, witch, get yourself to the bookstore and buy this series!

Aly Jackson has her dream job. She is the Editor in Chief of All Good magazine (think Real Simple combined with Good Housekeeping) and absolutely loves her work. One day Aly accidentally eavesdrops on her co-workers, only to hear some very unfair criticism about herself. After months of late work nights, stress and the grief of her brother's accidental death, Aly loses her temper and tells her co-workers what she thinks of them. Unfortunately, the entire scene is recorded and uploaded to the internet.

All Good management tells Aly to take a month off work, so humiliated and hurt, she heads to her brother's lake house which was willed to her by her brother a year ago. Aly shows up at the house and is dismayed to find her brother's friend Wyatt comfortably settled into the house already. In an unexpected twist, her brother has left the house to both Aly and Wyatt.

How is Aly going to prove her worth to All Good and get back to her job? And how will she manage to clear out the lake house and sell it when Wyatt owns 50% of it?

This is a novel about building a new life after loss, and finding a better definition of happiness when your old one fails you. It is a quick read with with two very likeable main characters. There is some romance involved but it isn't over the top. (I am definitely not a romance reader!) I wouldn't classify it as a romance, as the focus of the story is Aly's journey to redefine her life and adjust her vision of what a happy life would look like. It was an enjoyable read, so thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours for my copy.

My struggle with this novel continues...from the reading and now into attempting to write a review.

While I was drawn into the storyline and the plot, I did not enjoy the format of this book, presented as "batches" of transcripts of a series of recordings by the main character, Steven Smith. Smith has recorded his account of his misadventures in searching for his childhood English teacher, Miss Iles, who disappeared on a school outing forty years prior. The transcripts, from a computer transcription program, contain many transcription errors, which for some readers might seem charmingly authentic, but for me was merely irritating. For example, Miss Iles was printed as "missiles", must have as "mustard" and R.E. or Remedial English as "are E". This continues throughout the entire book.

The transcripts are forwarded to a Professor Mansfield by an Inspector Waliso, who is investigating Smith's disappearance and hopes that the transcripts will shed some light on the case. While searching for his long-lost RE teacher, Miss Iles, Smith also becomes embroiled in an old conspiracy theory called The Twyford Code which posits that clues to a cache of lost wartime British gold bullion are hidden in a series of children's adventures books called The Super Six (inspired by Enid Blyton and The Famous Five). The plot chases around and around in search of clues buried in the books, while simultaneously relating Steven's difficult childhood and subsequent life of crime resulting in an extended prison sentence.

The entire novel is one large puzzle containing multitudes of smaller ones - great for those who just love acrostics, anagrams and the like. Even the final paragraph is an acrostic. I like a twisty mystery but it is no exaggeration when I say that I had a headache when I finished this book.

In summary, I will say that I didn't hate this novel, but I do feel that the author tried too hard to be clever. It was unnecessarily convoluted and overstuffed - there was just much going on in it. I cannot give a really low rating because, to be fair, it was well-written (with the exception of one glaring error in word choice on page 338). It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Such a lovely and inspirational book about finding joy in the simple pleasures of life. The author knows her subject - she survived some very dark and existential experiences to come out the other side and find value in the smallest of joys. It is a wonderfully reassuring book to read when living in such dark times. In the post-pandemic work it feels like so much of the joy has been sucked out of life, and on our screens we see soul-crushing cruelty and misery all around the world. It is a source of hope to be reminded that we need only look around - fireflies, microscopic sea life, the night sky - to remember that there is still resilience and beauty in the world.

If some parts of the book are a little preachy, repetitive or cliched, then I am willing to overlook it. Every now and then we need a reminder to step back and look for small signs of beauty and hope in an increasingly bleak world. The simple joys can get us through it.

Of Manners and Murder is the first book in a series, set in 1880s London, about genteel lady detective Violet, sister Sephora and their live-in housekeeper, Bunty. Violet's Aunt Adelia is London's foremost agony column writer, Dear Miss Hermione. She dispenses practical advice on everything from etiquette to delinquent and unfaithful husbands. Aunt Adelia is whisked off to Europe by her new love interest and leaves her column in Violet's startled and unprepared hands. However Violet is intelligent, courageous and in her own words "commonsensical", so she plunges in without hesitation. When Ivy Armstrong writes to Dear Hermione indicating that she is worried that someone in her friend and family circle is trying to kill her, Violet is alarmed and intrigued. Violet travels to Ivy's village to meet with her, only to arrive in the middle of Ivy's funeral! Dismayed and set on avenging Ivy's murder, Violet embarks on an adventurous investigation, while trying to keep a watchful eye on her misled and lovelorn sister Sephora.

This is an enjoyable romp through polite society, gossip and scandal in 1880s England, where well-bred ladies knew their place and deferred to the decision-making authority of the men in their lives. Violet, as an independent young woman with plenty of opinions of her own, makes an unassuming and wily detective in this short novel. There are no major surprises here and I had a good idea of the outcome, but it was a fun read nonetheless. If you enjoy a cozy British mystery with a quick pace and a female lead, you won't be disappointed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Abby, Chelsea and Bree are three good friends enjoying their first year of college. They are growing up together and struggling to define who they are and what they want to do with their lives, as we all do at 18. But Chelsea and Abby share a secret that leaves Bree out of the loop - they are lovers and have been for some time. Neither has publicly come out or told family or friends about the relationship. Tensions increase in the trio until there is an argument on Halloween night, and Abby disappears. It has always been assumed she was a victim of Jon Allan Blue, a serial killer who murdered young college women, but her body has never been found.

Twelve years later, Bree and Chelsea are reunited by the impending execution of Blue, and by a hugely popular murder podcast that wants to tell Abby's story. The two women finally have to deal with the emotional damage that Abby's disappearance, and their own actions, created.

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel from Rebecca McKanna. Many of us don't realize the impact of our decision and choices at 18 years of age, and this is something that Bree and Chelsea grapple with for years in the novel. Twelve years later they wonder whether they could have changed the outcome if they had done things differently and maybe Abby would still be alive. The characters, with their inner turmoil and buried emotions, are realistic and likeable with all their deeply human flaws. The depiction of Jon Allan Blue, the unremarkable and ordinary guy who happens to be a serial killer, is chilling.

I also appreciate all the themes explored in the book: the glorification and monetization of murderers; the struggle of maintaining faith in a dark world; and the lasting impact that crime can have on family and friends of the victim. A fantastic job for a debut novel and I am not surprised that this has been optioned for production. It would make a great series! Sincere thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. Highly recommended.

Here we have a promising concept: Richard is a retired middle-aged Brit who runs a bed and breakfast in the "Val de Follet" (fictional) in the Loire Valley of France. He has separated from his wife Clare as their marriage had come somewhat stale and unsatisfying. Richard lives a quiet life with his trio of chickens, Joan Crawford, Ava Gardner and Lana Turner. Life takes a chaotic turn when an elderly male guest suddenly goes missing, leaving ominous clues behind - broken and bloodied spectacles and a bloody handprint on the expensive wallpaper. His flamboyant and glamourous guest Valerie decides to embark on an investigation of the disappearance and drags Richard along for a crazy and hazardous ride.

There were things I loved about this novel - the contrast of staid and reluctant Richard with the uber-confident Valerie, the quintessential French village setting, and the bewildered but tolerant estranged wife. There were some hilarious lines in here: "but for the love of God, it was a bit rich for one half of a pair of plump, tied-up rubber fetishists with bulldog clips on his nipples to question someone else's choice of evening attire".

Unfortunately, the plot resembled more a plate of spaghetti with storylines going every which way than a crisp croissant. Amusing confusion is the best phrase I can apply to this book. And I am still immensely frustrated and disturbed that I don't know who murdered Ava Gardner!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy of this book to review. I wish I could give it a more glowing review.

On rare occasions, a reader will open a book that touches them, educates and makes them think deeply about a subject. The Meth Lunches is just such a book.

I have long been a fan of Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert. My husband and I have been there six times, and I hope to go again and venture further around the state. Yes Las Vegas has that glam factor, with the shows, chef restaurants, gambling and high-end shopping. But beyond that, it has a stunning natural environment which intrigues. I love the landscape and the tenacity of the plants and wildlife. The brilliant sunshine and cool morning air. And underneath all the glamour, there is an ever-present grimy underside to Las Vegas which you can easily see if you open your eyes to it - homelessness, prostitution and exploitation of women, begging, heart-breaking poverty, ramshackle homes and buildings and untreated mental illness.

Kim Foster and her family call Las Vegas home. Her collection of essays tells a story about living in this troubled city, while she and her husband operated a community pantry to feed struggling people, lent a compassionate ear to those struggling with addiction, family trauma and homelessness, and fostered children coming from broken families and broken lives. Her depth of understanding and practice of non-judgement is inspirational. While there is much heart break in these pages, there is also hope and plenty of discussion about the changes required to turn things around. It should be a required read for any city mayor or councilor facing housing shortages, addiction issues and poverty, which is just about everywhere these days. Kim clearly explains that there are no easy fixes or quick solutions for these deep and far-reaching problems, but the solutions lie in empathy, a commitment to community and faith in the human ability to grow and change.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy to read. I plan on purchasing a hard copy when it comes out in October 2023 and rereading it. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time. Highly recommended.