Little Secrets

 Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier  340 pages  

Summary from Goodreads: Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.

A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

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I liked this thriller, with the cat-and-mouse games between Marin and Kenzie, Marin and her husband, and Marin and her best friend (who just happens to know a contract killer). The description early on of Marin and her son and how she loses him on a busy shopping day, is written realistically -- which means it's scary and heartrending. I appreciated that this was realistic, along with Marin's grief.  And, I admit it, I appreciated Marin's dedication to revenge when she finds out that her husband is having an affair. What starts out as a story that seems obvious takes some pretty strong twists and turns partway through the story, which is a lot of fun.  This is a pageturner that's got some surprises up its sleeve.

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara   250 pages

"Three children venture into the darkest corners of a sprawling Indian city to find their missing classmate, in a stunningly original debut novel—based on a true story."

Jai knows he is smarter than his friend Pari (even though she gets better grades) and considers himself to be a better boss than Faiz (even though Jai doesn't have a job). When a classmate goes missing, Jai is sure he can find him, relying on tricks he has learned on a TV show. Asking for help from Pari and Faiz, it seems like they'll find their classmate -- until things become scary and other children start to disappear from their neighborhood.

Okay - I didn't finish this one. The summary made it sound like an interesting book but I got halfway through and just couldn't go any further. I found I wasn't that invested in the characters of the children, and while the setting was very realistic, maybe that was the problem.  I guess I was expecting magical realism? But the real realism got me bogged down into some of the depressing details and I just couldn't make this book work.

The Whisper Man

The Whisper Man by Alex North   369 pages  I read a galley

Dark and atmospheric, this thriller weaves together a multi-generational story of a father and son, along with a town's dark past and lingering fears about a serial killer. If you like high tension with your suspense, mixed with some menace, this is the book for you.

Tom Kennedy thinks a new start, in a new town, is just what he and his son need after the sudden death of his wife. However, the town they move to has a dark past and their own house seems to have some sinister secrets all its own. It doesn't help that right when they're settling in, a young boy vanishes on his way home. To add to the tension, it seems that this disappearance bears a strong resemblance to the terrible crimes committed by "The Whisper Man" years before.  But "The Whisper Man" is in prison, isn't he?  And just who is Tom's son hearing at the window?

This is a nailbiter of a book. The characters are realistic, so even when you start wondering if there might be some bit of a supernatural element to the story, you tell yourself you must be wrong. But there's seriously something going on --- who is the little girl that only Tom's son can see?  If you think you know what's going to happen next in the story, prepare yourself for some twists.

Gone by Midnight

Gone by Midnight (Crimson Lake #3) by Candice Fox   400 pages  I read a galley 

Taut and suspenseful, with a touch of wry humor, Candice Fox brings back ex-cop Ted Conkaffey and his partner, Amanda Pharrell, in this story of a race against time to find a missing boy. Perfect for fans of books by Dennis Lehane or Sophie Hannah.
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Ex-copy Ted Conkaffey is trying to rebuild his life and connect with his young daughter when he gets called to help the police with a case. An eight-year old boy has gone missing and the boy's mother insists that Conkaffey be brought in to help. Which, of course, means that Conkaffey will bring his partner, Amanda Pharrell, in to help. As a convicted killer, Amanda has never had the best relationship with the police. However, her clockwork brain and sharp instincts will be essential to finding the missing boy. Filled with twists and turns, and bits of dark and wry humor, this book has a pace that slowly builds until you realize you're turning page after page, letting your dinner grow cold or staying up past your bedtime, just to find out what happens.

This is the third book in the Crimson Lake series, and partway into the first few chapters, I realized I had read the previous book and not realized it was a series. So, I was very happy to be rejoined with these two characters.

Bringing Magge Home

Bringing Maggie Home  by Kim Vogel Sawyer    352 pages

Everyone has secrets, and secrets are the essence of this wonderful novel by bestselling Christian author, Kim Vogel Sawyer.  It has many of my favorite categories: dualing timelines, a cold case, a missing child, historical fiction and mystery.

The story begins in mid-July 1943 in a little town in Arkansas. Ten-year-old Hazel and her three-year-old sister, Maggie, have been sent to the blackberry bushes to pick the berries so their momma could make their daddy a blackberry cobbler for his birthday dinner. Hazel is distracted by a black snake that she saw headed in the general direction of a bunny burrow, complete with several baby bunnies. She runs after the snake, trying to change its direction, and when she gets back to the bushes, Maggie is gone. Without a trace. She is never found.

Maggie’s disappearance tears the family apart, and emotionally scars Hazel for life.

Fast forward to Las Vegas in 2013. Hazel lives there, a widow. Her only granddaughter, Meghan, is coming to visit for about six weeks, while she heals from injuries she suffered in a car accident. What neither Hazel nor Meghan, is that Meghan’s mother, Margaret Diane, also shows up on Hazel’s doorstep with her four dachshunds.

In alternating chapters, readers learn what makes each woman tick. Sometimes the identifiers of each woman are jarring. For example, when Margaret Diane is speaking, she refers to Hazel as Mother, while Meghan refers to Margaret Diane as Mom. But that doesn’t get in the way of a great story.

Meghan wants to create a scrapbook for her grandmother’s 80^th birthday, and it’s while they are gathering pictures that little Maggie’s is discovered and secrets are unearthed. It takes about half of the book for Meghan to realize that cold cases are her specialty. She then enlists the help of her partner to solve the riddle of Maggie’s disappearance.

Bringing Maggie Home  is highly readable and unputdownable.  I want to give it 6 stars, but the two flaws mentioned earlier are why it only gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world

I received this book from Blogging for Book in exchange for this review.

Blackberry Winter

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio    290 pages

A blackberry winter is a colloquial expression used in the Southern and Midwest sections of North America. It refers to a cold snap in occurs in the later spring when the blackberries are in bloom. To me, it seemed odd then that this story takes place in the state of Washington, and Google was no help in researching if the tasty fruit grows in the Pacific Northwest or not. It’s of little consequence since the title is one of the main reasons I picked up this novel. The other reason is one that always captures my attention: dualing timelines.

In this novel the story vacillates between 1933 and current time. On May 1, 1933, a snowstorm rattled Seattle. In contemporary times, another snowstorm blankets the city on May 2.

In 1933, the Great Depression is strangling America. Vera Ray is lucky. She has a job as a night maid at one of the local hotels. The downside is that she’s forced to leave her three-year-old son, Daniel, home alone.

In present day, Claire Aldridge is a feature writer for the Seattle Herald. Her editor assigns her the task of writing a 6,000 word piece on the blackberry winter in two days. She isn’t thrilled and is wondering where she is going to find enough interesting info to create a piece of that magnitude. Not only is she face with a seemingly impossible task, her marriage is on the verge of collapse.

Digging through the archives, Claire discovers that Vera’s son disappeared without a trace. The only thing she ever found was Daniel’s teddy bear, Max, face down in the snow. There were no reports of is ever being found. Having recently lost a child, Claire is eager to learn what happened to Vera and Daniel. And so the hunt begins.The story weaves back and forth across the decades.

Blackberry Winter isn’t the best written novel I’ve ever read. However, it kept my attention, and I didn’t want to put it down. Jio’s third novel receives 5 out of 5 stars for those reasons.

The Lake House

The Lake House by Kate Morton    512 pages

Better clear your calendar before you start bestselling author Kate Morton’s fifth, and latest, novel; yes it’s that good.

The prologue is one of the best that I have ever read. A heavy rain is falling over Cornwall, England in August 1933. A woman is burying something…or someone. It doesn’t give away the ending as most prologues do, and it set the reader up to keep guessing what…or who…is being buried until almost the end…exactly where Morton wants the reader to figure it out.

Alice Edevane is sixteen when the events above occur. She lives there with her parents, an oder and younger sister, and a baby brother.  Previously on that day, the lakeside estate is bustling with servants and hired help in preparation of the annual Midsummer’s Eve party. It’s to be another grand affair. The next morning, eleven-month-old Theo has vanished without a trace.

Fast forward seventy years. Detective Constable Sadie Sparrow is on a forced leave of absence. She is visiting her grandfather who has recently moved to the area. While out jogging, Sadie stumbles across a decaying mansion. Peeking in the windows, the house is fully furnished. It seems that whoever lived there also vanished.

Sadie’s grandfather knows about the property and the supposed kidnapping of Theo. The lake house was once part of a much grander estate. The house is called Loeanneth, which in Gaelic means the lake house.

Sadie becomes obsessed with the cold case. Much to her surprise, Alice is still living in London. She is the famous mystery writer, A. C. Edevane.

The story weaves between past and present. I felt as if I’d known the Edevane’s all my life by the end of the novel. Be prepared to be drawn into their happiness and sorrow with many twists and surprise that will keep you guessing until the end.

In Julie’s world, The Lake House, gets 6 out of 5 stars.

The Year of Fog

The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond     432 pages

When I go on vacation, I like to read books that place in that locale. This year my destination was San Francisco, and I happened upon this wonderful novel about memory, obsession, and one woman’s search for a missing child.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear about a child who has gone missing without a single trace, I shake my head, say a quick prayer, and tell others that I cannot imagine what the parents are feeling. Michelle Richmond did an amazing job in keep the character in one place yet moving forward at the same time, all the while letting readers be voyeurs of this horrific happening.

Freelance photographer Abby Mason is the step-mother-to-be to six-year-old Emma. Abby loves her new role as fiancée and as friend and mom. Abby and Emma go to the foggy Ocean Beach almost every day. Today it may be summer, but it’s almost always cold and foggy at this remote beach. Emma twists her tiny hand from Abby’s and runs ahead. Momentarily distracted by a dead seal pup, when Abby turns back to Emma, she has disappeared in the fog. Literally, she is gone.

Readers will get a behind-the-scenes look at a search for a missing child. The police and volunteers who comb the area, the flyers, the reward posting, the sleepless nights, the inability to choke down more than a few morsels of food, the fear that grips Abby and Jake, Emma’s father.

Police at first believe she has drowned. Then they look at the Jake and Abby as possible suspects. Jake goes on national television to plead with anyone who may have seen Emma, especially her mother, Lisbeth, who abandoned Jake and Emma three years earlier.

As the minutes turn to hours to days to weeks to months, the police give up as new, more solvable cases capture their attention. After months, Jake wants to hold a memorial service and move on with life. But not Abby, she refuses to believe that Emma cannot be found.

Readers go with her on her travels through the Bay area, shoving flyers into strangers’ hands, practically begging for help. Readers go with Abby on her quest to locate any memory of their surroundings on the beach that day.

I don’t often have a need to peek at a novel’s ending, but the tension is so great that it was all I could do not to peep at the ending.

I give The Year of Fog 6 out of 5 stars.