4 Stars • The Perfect Marriage follows Sarah Morgan, a high-powered defense attorney, whose seemingly perfect life with her husband Adam unravels when he‘s accused of murdering his mistress. The plot twists are wild—every time I thought I had it figured out, Jeneva Rose threw in another curveball. Sarah‘s fierce determination to defend Adam, kept me glued to the pages, wondering if love, betrayal, or something darker was at play.

4 Stars • Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick gripped me with Ilya‘s quest from Russia to Louisiana, chasing truth about his jailed brother, Vladimir. The mystery unfolds through vivid dual timelines, blending suspense with deep family ties. Ilya‘s bond with Sadie and their search for answers hit hard, delivering a heartfelt, hopeful tale of loyalty and sacrifice.

#LightsAllNightLong #LydiaFitzpatrick #Bookish

3.5 Stars • The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is a gripping, emotional ride through World War I. Nurse Laura Iven hunts for her lost brother Freddie in a war-ravaged world, blending raw history with a touch of spooky magic. Arden‘s beautiful writing pulls you into the heartbreak and horror, with a creepy figure, Faland, adding chills. A must-read for anyone who loves deep, atmospheric stories.

The air in the Baton Rouge airport tasted like toothpaste.

#FirstLineFriday @ShyBookOwl

Read in April 2025
18 Books
Five 5-Star reads this month:
• All Good People Here
• The Marriage Act
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
• The Seven Year Slip
• Haruki Murakami Manga Stories 3

#Goodreads #Bookstagram #OUABC #Litsy #Libby #Audible #Kindle #Bookish

5 Star • All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers is a tense thriller following journalist Margot Davies as she probes a cold case murder and a new abduction in small-town Indiana. The dual-timeline story delivers suspense and twists, though its JonBenét Ramsey parallels and ambiguous ending may polarize readers. A solid debut for true crime fans.

#AllGoodPeopleHere #AshleyFlowers #Bookish

(re)Reading on #Litsy with Christie‘s Capers (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle
#AgathaChristieClubR3

4 Stars • Agatha Christie‘s The Man in the Brown Suit (1924) is a thrilling mystery-adventure that grabs you tight. Spunky Anne Beddingfeld, chasing a shady death and a brown-suited stranger in London, follows a cryptic note to a South Africa-bound ship. ⬇️

3 Stars • Christina Lauren‘s The Paradise Problem is a sparkling rom-com blending wit and warmth. Anna Green, a struggling artist, and Liam Weston, a reserved professor, fake a marriage at a lavish island wedding to secure his $100 million inheritance. ⬇️

4 Stars • The Inmate by Freida McFadden is a gripping psychological thriller that I couldn‘t put down. Brooke Sullivan, a nurse at a maximum-security prison, faces her ex, Shane, a convicted murderer she helped put away. ⬇️

4.5⭐️ • The Undoing of Violet Claybourne by Emily Critchley is a gothic mystery set in 1938 at Thornleigh Hall. Gillian, a lonely teen, befriends Violet Claybourne and visits her decaying estate. A tragic accident entangles Gillian in the manipulative schemes of Violet‘s sisters, leading to betrayal, guilt, and decades of consequences. Alternating between 1938 and 1999, the novel explores family secrets, mental health, and the cost of belonging.

5 Stars • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston is a romantic novel with a time-slip twist. Clementine West discovers her apartment sends her seven years back, where she falls for Iwan, a chef. In the present, he‘s her neighbor with no memory of her. The story is a contemporary romance with a blend of time travel and magical realism. ⬇️

5 Stars • In The Marriage Act by John Marrs, a dystopian Britain enforces the Sanctity of Marriage Act, promoting "Smart Marriages" with AI surveillance and penalizing singles. Four couples navigate the oppressive system, facing privacy loss, betrayal, and government control. A resistance group fights back in this suspenseful, twist-filled thriller.

#TheMarriageAct #DarkFuture #JohnMarrs #Bookish

4 Stars • Eleven Numbers by Lee Child, is a short story about a math professor Nathan Tyler who is recruited by the White House to decode a Russian nuclear algorithm. Sent to a Moscow conference, he faces danger and betrayal in a tense, twisty espionage mission.

#ElevenNumbers #LeeChild #Bookish

2.5 Stars • Awe by Dacher Keltner explores the science of awe—the feeling of wonder from encountering something vast. Triggered by nature, art, kindness, or rituals, awe reduces stress, boosts empathy, and fosters connection. Keltner shows it‘s accessible daily, promoting health, creativity, and meaning. Through science and stories, he encourages cultivating awe to transform life.

#Awe #DacherKeltner #Bookish

4 Stars • American Housewife by Anita Abriel follows Maggie Lane, a 1950s radio host turned TV star of The Maggie Lane Baking Show. Despite her lack of domestic skills, she must uphold a perfect housewife image. As fame grows, her marriage falters, an old lover reappears, and a past secret threatens her career, forcing Maggie to confront her ambitions and identity.

#AmericanHousewife #AnitaAbriel #Bookish

4 Stars • Wish You Were Gone is a thriller about Emma Walsh, whose husband, James, dies in a suspicious car crash. Planning to confront him about his alcoholism, Emma instead uncovers his secrets and questions his death's circumstances. With her friends and grieving teens, she navigates mistrust and hidden truths. Multiple perspectives reveal James‘s facade, blending family drama and suspense with twists until the end.

3.5 Stars • Trust by Hernan Diaz is a Pulitzer-winning 2022 novel about wealth and perception in early 20th-century New York. Told through four perspectives—a fictional novel, a tycoon‘s memoir, a ghostwriter‘s account, and a secret journal—it follows financier Andrew Bevel and his wife, Mildred. Each section reframes their story, revealing Mildred as the true genius behind their fortune. The book explores truth, power and narrative unreliability.

5 Stars • Haruki Murakami Manga Stories 3: Scheherezade; Sleep adapts two short stories by Haruki Murakami into manga.

• Scheherezade: Habara, a confined man, relies on a woman dubbed "Scheherezade" for supplies, sex, and stories. She recounts her teenage obsession with breaking into a boy‘s house, but her tale cuts off, leaving Habara longing for her return. ⬇️

Catching up with first few books ... (re)Reading with Christie‘s Capers Group on #Litsy (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle
#AgathaChristieClubR3

4 Stars • 1920 • The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie‘s first novel, introduces Hercule Poirot. Set during World War I at Styles Court, it follows the poisoning of wealthy Emily Inglethorp. Narrated by Captain Hastings, ⬇️

5 Stars • The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is about a mixed Black and Jewish neighborhood in Pottstown, PA, back in the 1920s and ‘30s. It kicks off with a skeleton found in a well and follows Chona, who runs this little store, and her husband Moshe, who owns a theater. It‘s all about how these folks stick together and deal with life‘s messy stuff like race and belonging.

#TheHeavenAndEarthGroceryStore #JamesMcBride #Bookish

4 Stars • We Solve Murders by Richard Osman follows retired cop Steve Wheeler and his thrill-seeking daughter-in-law, Amy, a security officer. When Amy‘s client, novelist Rosie D‘Antonio, is tied to a murder and Amy‘s framed, the trio embarks on a global chase. They uncover a conspiracy linking influencers‘ deaths to a criminal, Francois Loubet, and Amy‘s firm, solving the case with humor and cleverness.

#WeSolveMurders #RichardOsman #Bookish

Catching up with first few books ... Reading with Christie‘s Capers Group on #Litsy (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle
#AgathaChristieClubR3

4 Stars • "The Secret Adversary," Agatha Christie's 1922 novel, introduces Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley, unemployed friends who start "The Young Adventurers, Ltd." ⬇️

Read in March 2025...
14 Books
Six 5-Star reads this month:
• Spells for Forgetting
• Whisper Me This
• The Pastures of Heaven
• The Only One Left
• You Killed Me First
• Do Not Disturb

#Goodreads #Bookstagram #OUABC #Litsy #Libby #Everand #Audible #Kindle #Bookish

5 Stars • 🩵 the book • Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young is a mystery with magical realism set on the fictional island of Saoirse. Emery Blackwood and August Salt, former lovers, are reunited after fourteen years when August returns to bury his mother‘s ashes. ⬇️

5 Stars • "Whisper Me This" by Kerry Anne King follows Maisey Addington, a single mother who returns home when her mother falls into a coma and her father is suspected of abuse. As Maisey uncovers family secrets, including a hidden twin sister, she confronts a legacy of domestic abuse that has shaped her life. ⬇️

5 Stars • The Pastures of Heaven is a short story collection, published in 1932, that weaves together the lives of various residents in a California valley. The book consists of twelve interconnected tales, each focusing on different characters whose dreams, flaws, and struggles subtly intersect. The valley, described as a paradise-like setting, serves as a backdrop that contrasts with the often troubled or unfulfilled lives of its inhabitants.

Thank you #FarrarStrausAndGiroux and #NetGalley for providing this #ARC. Publication: May 20, 2025.

3 Stars • The Doorman by Chris Pavone is a thriller set in a tense NYC night, where Chicky Diaz, a doorman at the elite Bohemia building, navigates chaos after an NYPD shooting sparks protests. Amid class and racial divides, Chicky carries a gun, secrets unravel among residents, and a deadly showdown looms, blending suspense with social commentary.

Reading on #Litsy with Christie‘s Capers (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle
#AgathaChristieClubR3

4 Stars • The Murder on the Links is the second novel featuring Agatha Christie's famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Published in 1923, the story begins when Poirot receives an urgent letter from Paul Renauld, a wealthy Frenchman living in Merlinville-sur-Mer, requesting his help due to fears for his life.

3.5 Stars • The Family Inside is a tense psychological thriller about Iris Blodgett and her daughter, Ellory. Reeling from her husband‘s unsolved murder three years earlier, Iris faces eviction after losing her job. Her boyfriend, Hugh Smoll, an architect, offers them a place in his mother‘s eerie, old mansion, Ravencliff, which he‘s renovating. Iris soon learns Hugh‘s family—siblings and spouses—lives there too, a detail he hid. ⬇️

5 Stars • "The Only One Left" by Riley Sager is a Gothic thriller set in 1983. Kit McDeere, a home-health aide with a troubled past, cares for Lenora Hope, an elderly, mute woman suspected of murdering her family in 1929 at Hope‘s End, a decaying Maine mansion. As Lenora types her story, Kit uncovers deception among the estate‘s odd staff, leading to shocking twists in a suspenseful mystery.

#TheOnlyOneLeft #RileySager #Bookish

4 Stars • "How to Sell a Haunted House" by Grady Hendrix follows siblings Louise and Mark as they try to sell their late parents‘ home, only to face supernatural chaos from a sinister puppet, Pupkin, and their family‘s dark secrets. Released in January 2023, it‘s a horror-comedy mix of grief, rivalry, and spooky absurdity.

#HowToSellAHauntedHouse #GradyHendrix #Bookish

3 Stars • Meant for Me by Tay Marley follows Addie May, who, after losing her sister, flees to Georgetown, Texas. Taken in by ranchers, she meets Zac, a farmhand who helps her heal. Confronting her past, Addie finds hope and love, rediscovering life after grief.

#MeantForMe #TayMarley #Bookish

5 Stars • "You Killed Me First" by John Marrs is a psychological thriller about three women—Margot, Anna, and Liv—whose lives collide in a suburban neighborhood. Starting with a woman waking up bound in a burning bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night, the story rewinds eleven months to reveal their secrets and escalating conflicts. What begins as a shaky friendship unravels into blackmail, attempted murder, and a deadly climax.

Seriously.

3 Stars • Zachary Ezra Rawlins, a graduate student, finds a mysterious book containing a story from his childhood, leading him to the Starless Sea—a magical underground library of stories. With allies like Dorian and Mirabel, he explores this labyrinthine realm, uncovering nested tales of pirates and bees, and facing threats to its existence. As he navigates love, fate, and storytelling, ⬇️

3.5 Stars • In The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry, set in 1980s Smiths Hollow, teenage Lauren grapples with her dad‘s unsolved murder while the town ignores the gruesome deaths of two girls. As her friend Miranda drifts away, Lauren‘s visions of a monster reveal a dark secret: a witch‘s curse demands sacrifices for the town‘s prosperity. With a curious new cop in town, Lauren must face the evil herself in this eerie, bloody coming-of-age story.

3.5 Stars • "The House of Cross" (Alex Cross #33) by James Patterson follows FBI contractor Alex Cross as he investigates a serial killer targeting Supreme Court candidates amid a president-elect‘s inauguration. When his wife Bree and partner John Sampson vanish while pursuing the murderer, known as "M" or "Maestro," Cross must unravel a conspiracy threatening the judicial system, rescue his loved ones, and survive a deadly trap. ⬇️

5 Stars • "Do Not Disturb" by Freida McFadden is a tense thriller about Quinn Alexander, who, after killing her abusive husband, seeks refuge at the creepy Baxter Motel during a snowstorm. Run by the suspicious Nick Baxter, the motel harbors dark secrets and odd characters, like a fortune teller. As Quinn unravels the truth, twists reveal a dangerous web, culminating in a shocking finale.

#DoNotDisturb #FreidaMcFadden #Bookish

Read in February 2025...
18 Books
Three 5-Star reads this month:
• The Push
• The Overnight Guest
• The Collected Regrets of Clover

#Goodreads #Bookstagram #OUABC #Litsy #Libby #Everand #Audible #Kindle #Bookish

5 Stars • The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer is about Clover Brooks, a death doula in NYC who helps dying people while collecting their regrets. Her work with an elderly woman named Claudia forces her to face her own isolated life, past losses, and fears, leading her to new relationships and a chance to embrace living fully.

#Bookish #TheCollectedRegretsOfClover #MikkiBrammer

3.5 Stars • "The Sequel" by Jean Hanff Korelitz follows Anna Williams-Bonner, a widow enjoying her late husband‘s success as a novelist. When she writes her own hit book, "The Afterword," someone starts sending her threatening messages hinting at a dark past involving her brother and husband. Anna fights to protect her new life in this suspenseful, satirical take on publishing.

#TheSequel #TheBookSeries #JeanHanffKorelitz #Bookish

3.5 Stars • Frank O'Hara's "Selected Poems" is all about capturing life's moments as they happen, especially in New York City. His poems are like personal chats or diary entries, mixing everyday life with art and culture. He writes about things like having lunch or hearing about Billie Holiday's death, making everyday stuff seem poetic. ⬇️

4 Stars • "The Change" by Kirsten Miller follows three women in their late forties—Nessa, Harriett, and Jo—who gain unique powers in midlife. In Mattauk, Long Island, they unite to solve a teenage girl‘s murder, ignored by police, uncovering a dark network of privilege. Part mystery, part fantasy, it‘s a fierce tale of justice and empowerment.

#TheChange #KirstenMiller #Bookish

4 Stars • In "The Hidden Child," Erica Falck finds a Nazi medal among her mother's things, sparking an investigation into her family's past. This leads to the murder of a retired teacher, intertwining with Detective Patrik Hedström's case. The story alternates between WWII and the present, revealing secrets of espionage, romance, and murder linked to Nazi activities in Sweden

3 Stars • "Good Energy" by Casey and Calley Means argues that metabolic health is key to preventing and reversing diseases. They link modern lifestyle issues to metabolic problems and offer a practical four-week plan to optimize health through diet, sleep, exercise, and stress management. It's a blend of science and actionable advice for better health.

#GoodEnergy #CaseyMeans #CalleyMeans #Bookish

4 Stars • In "The Twist of a Knife," Anthony Horowitz is struggling with his latest novel when he's drawn into the premiere of his own play, which ends in disaster. When a renowned drama critic, Harriet Throsby, is murdered shortly after publishing a scathing review of the play. Detective Daniel Hawthorne, with Horowitz as his reluctant chronicler, dives into the investigation. ⬇️

4 Stars • "None of This Is True" by Lisa Jewell is a psychological thriller where podcaster Alix Summer becomes entangled with the mysterious Josie Fair. Josie convinces Alix to feature her dark, possibly fabricated life story in a podcast. As Alix investigates, she uncovers disturbing secrets, leading to manipulation and murder, with the truth becoming increasingly elusive.

#Bookish #NoneOfThisIsTrue #LisaJewell