Murder Road by Simone St. James

Book #15 in 2024
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

This was an ok book for me but not one of my favorites by this author. Parts of it were slow and kind of boring. I didn’t feel all that connected to any of the characters. There were some spooky/creepy parts. I liked the concept of the plot but I felt there were some hole by the time things concluded. It was a bit neat that the plot took place in Michigan.

April and Eddie are on their honeymoon. They end up late at night on a dark road in a small town. They see a hitchhiker and they stop. They take her to the hospital where she dies. This makes them suspects in her murder. They also find out that other murders have also taken place on this road and have gone unsolved.

Atticus Line has a history of hitchhikers being murdered. Over several decades hitchhikers have been killed but their murders have not be solved. Other than being on the same road and the people killed are hitchhikers, there is no other pattern to the crimes.

April and Eddie start to look into the past murders as a way to help clear their name. As they start to uncover what has happened in the past on Atticus Line they’re drawn into the past as their future is in the balance.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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The Stranger in Her House by John Marrs

Book #14 in 2024
2.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

Kind of ho hum book for me. Wasn’t horrible but wan’t exceptional either. The first almost half dragged for me. The middle got a little better and then things felt a little slow in the end. I didn’t feel like the characters were all that compelling and while the plot was interesting, I wasn’t sucked in and felt like I wanted to keep reading.

Connie is taking care of her mother who has dementia. Paul enters the scene as someone who does work around the yard on a volunteer basis. But he quickly gets too close and tries to take over Gwen’s life. Connie tries to stop him and the two become adversaries.

There’s a back and forth between Connie and Paul. Who can feel like the upper hand is in their favor? Who has more information on the other that could be used against him or her? After a while it got a little old. And much of the book didn’t really feel plausible so there was a lot of suspension of belief that had to go on in order to keep *believe* the plot.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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The Fury by Alex Michaelides

Book #13 in 2024
2.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I felt so underwhelmed by this book. It wandered and meandered but not in a good way. I didn’t find the characters likable and the plot was so slow. I really liked The Silent Patient. The Maidens was just okay for me. This book was my least favorite.

Elliot is the narrator of the book. He tells the story of murder on a secluded island. Bits of the story are unveiled slowly. I felt somewhat curious about how things were going to be revealed but overall the delivery was lacking for me.

Elliot explains his relationship with some of the other main characters. You’re told there’s going to be a murder on the island but you don’t know for a while who will be killed. Then it takes a while longer to be told who the murder is. But then there’s another twist, but by that point I didn’t really care.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker

Book #12 in 2024
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I enjoyed this book and if it weren’t for an almost too complex storyline (a soap opera kind of plot) and a bit of too much jumping around I would have rated this a 4.5 or 5.

Cecily Larson is in her 90s. She has lived a long and complicated life. She was given up by her mother when she was four years old. At the age of seven, she was “adopted” by someone who owned a circus so she could be used as an act.

The storyline tells of Cecily’s life in the circus. It also tells the stories of Cecily’s daughter and granddaughter. Until I got a better grip on who was who I had to keep reminding myself who I was reading about. And then suddenly a seemingly new (but predictable to me) set of characters was introduced.

There was a lot of drama in the plot. All of the main characters had secrets and/or issues they were dealing with which made the overall story a bit unrealistic. You can see where the story is going before it gets there but that didn’t distract me too much from wanting to continue to read and see how everything and everyone tied together.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!!

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Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Book #11 in 2024
2.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

Not a horrible read but parts of it felt tedious, repetative, and when the twist was revealed some prior events didn’t make sense. I didn’t feel for or care for any of the characters. I did feel sorry for Luke but his role was minor.

Tricia and Ethan are looking for their dream house. They go to look at the house of psychiatrist Adrienne Hall, who vanished four years ago. They end up stuck at the house overnight due to a bad snowstorm.

Tricia finds a secret room in the house that contains cassettes with recordings of the doctor’s meetings with patients. She begins listening to them and starts to put the pieces together surrounding the disappearance of Adrienne. There are also flashbacks to Adrienne that help to fill in some of the blanks as Tricia is listening to the tapes.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine

Book #10 in 2024
2.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I was hoping to read about the stories of immigrants living in Dearborn. Those stories were told, but overall I didn’t care for them. There are 10 short stories and maybe one or two did I find interesting.

From 8th grade through high school I lived in Dearborn. I had Arabic friends in high school. While it was nice to read the names of some familiar places, I felt like the stories didn’t keep my attention. I’m not sure if it was the stories themselves or the author’s style.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Book #9 in 2024
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I really enjoyed Martha’s story. I now wish that this author would write about the life of someone from the Titanic (after reading Unsinkable and having high hopes of a good read crushed). While I gave this five stars, I don’t feel like it’s a book that will keep me thinking after completing it. I do, however, want to look more at the life of the real Martha.

Martha Ballard a midwife in the 18th century. Her life is complex dealing with her own family and those she cares for outside of her home. She is called at all hours of the day and night to help deliver babies.

There’s also a mystery involved. A dead man is pulled from the frozen river. Throughout the book, the mystery surrounding his death and who did it weaves through the pages.

If rape is a trigger for you, this isn’t the book for you. It plays a notable role throughout the book, including some descriptions that may feel too graphic for those sensitive to the topic.

I felt like I really got to know Martha throughout the book. I enjoy this author’s writing style (I’ve also read Code Name Helene) and will look to pick up her other books. At times I did feel like the plot dragged a bit and was even bogged down a bit by too much description. But overall I didn’t mind.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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I loved Martha as a character. I wanted to be able to sit down and have a conversation with her about her life. In a time before social media, news, and other means of sharing your story, it’s hard to get real accounts of life during the time Martha lived. I found it interesting to know what life was like during this time.

Martha experienced a lot. But she also took it all in stride. Learning from the bad times, making her a stronger person. I did wonder at some point if she was raped and that’s why she felt the need to protect Rebecca. I also wondered if Jonathan was involved in the murder. It’s too bad that Judge North didn’t what should have come to him – getting away with rape just because he was in a position of power. And likely in that time because he was a man.

Unsinkable by Jenni Walsh

Book #8 in 2024
2.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I wanted so much to like this book, but it fell flat in so many areas. The cover is gorgeous. I like reading about people’s individual stories during different times in history. I’m intrigued by Titanic and the stories of those who were onboard. I like reading about different aspects of WWII. All of the elements were there for me to really enjoy this book. But I did not.

For the most part, the book feels like two different books. The alternating storylines don’t seem to be connected. For the stories of both women, I felt more like I was reading a textbook about them versus a first-hand account of things they lived through. There was little emotion. Little connection was felt with the characters.

By the time I figured out how the two women were connected I kind of didn’t care. And the end was too tied up in a nice bow. The author does address this and it was done purposely, but it was too “perfect” for me.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Book #7 in 2024
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I enjoyed this book. It’s a mystery but not in the sense of being a whodunit thriller. I felt like the plot, while mysterious, focuses more on family dynamics as the characters try to figure out what happened.

Adam goes missing. The story is told from the point of view of his 20-year-old daughter, Mia. She and her twin brother, John, along with their mom try and figure out why Adam has not returned home. He was out with Eugene, the special needs son in the family who is in his early teens. He is non-verbal and returns home alone from a hike in a park where he was with his dad.

As the family tries to figure out what happened to Adam various things are revealed about members of the family. Mia talks about their strengths and weaknesses. She talks about her doubts. It took me a little bit to get used to the rambling nature of Mia, but by the end, I didn’t mind it.

Stop reading if you want to avoid spoilers!

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The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

Book #6 in 2024
2.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I had higher hopes for this book and for me it didn’t deliver. I’m not sure if it was the writing style, my not caring about the characters, or something else. But I didn’t feel drawn in at all. The premise of the book sounds good. Maybe I should have ditched this at some point along the way but I kept reading hoping it would get better.

Two girls from a small town vanish. Two friends have seen something but vow to each other not to tell anyone. But they can’t help but wonder if what they saw has something to do with the missing girls.

Meh. I don’t even feel like writing much about this one, even what I didn’t like. That’s how little of an impact it had on me.