Tropical Delusions……

I was fortunate to receive this advance reader copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.

On a sunny afternoon, a young girl is running through the woods to avoid her father and settles into a small hollowed area she finds near a tree. A stick digs into her side and as she goes to remove the offending object, she realizes it’s a skeletonized finger…

DCI Jonas Sheens is cycling when he receives the call for a homicide. As he listens to the details, he realizes that the remains may very well be those of Aurora Jackson, a young teenaged girl who disappeared after a party, over thirty years ago.

Assisted by DC Juliette Hanson, Jonas revisits the past and reopens a long cold investigation. When Aurora disappeared, she was in the woods, camping with her older sister, and several teenaged friends. As the interviews begin, those same teens, now adults, begin to tell subtly different stories, yet all of them continue to dent knowing what had happened to Aurora that night. A teacher with a fondness for his students was also in the area that night – could he be the suspect they’ve been seeking? Or is there a killer in the group of teens from 30 years ago? As Jonas and Juliette fight to bring Aurora’s killer to justice, a killer will do anything to keep his secret… Jonas learns the answer to a long-ago question of his own, as well…

I very much enjoyed this English mystery! Told from the past and present, you experience Aurora’s last night in increments, as Jonas and Juliette unravel the mystery here in the present. A great read, with many side plots that will keep you guessing until the end…

Due out in stores Jan 8, 2019!! Don’t miss it!!

I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley.com as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

This is a sweet story about four women whose summer breaks end up happening far differently than they had each imagined.

Sabrina, newly engaged, is ambivalent about planning the wedding to her physician boyfriend and his wealthy family. While happy in her relationship, settling down makes her nervous – and then she re-connects with the boy who broke her heart in high school…

Heather, recovering after a bout of cancer and chemotherapy, is restless and wants to begin living again, while her doting husband wants her to rest and ‘take it easy’. While summering on Cape Cod, she meets a man who helps her recover her strength and her spirit, but at what cost to her marriage?

Molly has recently moved from Colorado to Rye, NY, and meets her first friend, Jeannie, on a local playground. It quickly becomes apparent that Jeannie and her friends come with wealth, and Molly tries hard to fit into that lifestyle. Will she risk everything to ‘keep up with the Joneses’?

Megan is a teenager who will soon be a senior in high school, and she’s looking forward to spending the summer with her boyfriend Ryan before he heads off to college in the fall. But at the last minute, Ryan is sent to London to work for his father’s company, leaving Megan with an empty summer stretching before her. With no plans in sight, Megan reluctantly accepts a summer job on Cape Cod as a companion to Heather and her family, and it will change her life.

This book gets off to a quick start, as each chapter spotlights one of the four women and it is a bit confusing, but once you have them sorted out, it rapidly becomes a great read, with characters you’ll start to love, and want to step right in and give advice to! A great, mellow read, perfect for vacation, or a day at the beach!

Publication date of 8 Nov 2018!

I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley.com and Thomas & Mercer as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Dr. Daniel Winters seems to have it all. A gorgeous home in the Hollywood Hills, a beautiful new wife, and a part in a thriving pediatric medical practice that caters to the Hollywood elite. Fresh from a honeymoon to the Cayman Islands, he returns to work and learns of an astounding new medication that the practice has been supporting, called Respira. Respira is being touted as a wonder drug, expected to cure the common cold and boost children’s immune systems in the process. Dr. Winters is a bit reserved about the drug but is advised by his boss and mentor that it is safe.

Rachel Jacobs is a young single mother, whose daughter Suzie receives a dose of Respira, and has a seizure a few days later. But she recovers quickly, and her mother reluctantly consents to a second dose of the vaccine, with devastating results…

Mia Winters is Daniel’s new wife. Still enchanted by their fairy-tale courtship and wedding, she seems to be the perfect companion. But Daniel sees her texting someone, when she thinks he’s not watching. And he soon learns that she’s not at work when she tells him she will be. Plagued with self-doubt, Daniel assumes the worst, and a chasm develops between husband and wife. He hires a private investigator to follow her. And he begins to drink steadily as a result of his suspicions about Mia – and about Respira.

Attempts to discuss concerns about the new drug with his boss are met first with reassurance, then condescension, and finally outright anger, threats, and insistence that he continue to administer the drug. But Daniel fears for his patients and attends a clandestine meeting with a reporter – and soon finds that nothing is as it seems – and danger is everywhere…

Wow – this book grabs you by the hand right off the bat, takes you on a wild ride, and doesn’t let go until the very last page!! I LOVED it and I couldn’t put it down! A fortunately fictional (for the most part) novel about big pharma, money and greed, filled with non-stop action, crazy twists, and some surprises too. A great read!!

I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley.com as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Liza and Molly were best friends all through childhood, and well into adulthood. But marriage, children and a move all have a way of creating distance, so the girls have arranged a girl’s night out via computer. When Molly goes to check on a crying child, Liza, through her webcam, sees a masked assailant enter Molly’s home. Frightened, she yells at him to stop, and he closes the computer.

Liza, terrified for her friend’s safety, drives several hours to check on Molly personally. When she arrives at her home, she finds Molly, cold and aloof, and denying that anything took place. Hurt, and puzzled, Liza returns home only to find her apartment building has been destroyed by fire, throwing her into a mental debate about fate and chance.

This novel, told in the third person, chronicles the friendship of the girls, as well as the ups and downs of Molly’s marriage to her husband Daniel. As each relationship has grown apart, and each individual has developed what seem like insurmountable personal obstacles, they find hope and strength in the bonds of friendship and love to overcome, flourish, and re-discover the true meaning of love, commitment and second chances.

This is my second read by author Jessica Strawser, and it will not be my last. Filled with love, regrets, a touch of drama and second chances, this a book that women readers can take to heart. A sweet, heart-warming story!!

Due out Feb 5th, 2019