REVIEW: The Stranger Diaries

The Stranger Diaries
Author: Elly Griffiths

Mysterious messages in an unknown hand. A ghost haunting the dark halls of an old school building. A long-dead gothic author who penned a chilling short story. And murder. This book has all the dark shadows of a great gothic murder mystery, with modern suspense thriller nuances thrown in to give it a more updated feel. I binge read this book -- once I got started, I couldn't stop reading!

Clare Cassidy teaches in a British high school. A famous gothic writer, R. M. Holland, used to live in the old building on campus. His former office on the upper floor has been preserved. Holland's desk, notes, photographs....everything is still there. Clare spends her days teaching and her evenings working on a book about Holland. Things take a dark turn when a teacher at the school is murdered and strange clues are left for Clare.

I enjoyed the gothic feel of this book. The short story The Stranger by Holland is told in snippets, woven in with the modern day murder investigation. The full short story is only revealed at the very end of the book. The combination of Clare's obsession with the dead author and the violent events unfolding in her life set the tone for the story.

I love it when a mystery novel keeps me guessing until the very end. Every time I thought I knew the killer's identity, this story took a sharp turn and went in another direction. The story is told from the point of view of Clare, her daughter Georgia, and a female detective investigating the case. I don't usually enjoy stories that switch POV....most of the time it just makes the story confused and muddled. But, in this case, the different POVs worked perfectly. Griffiths masterfully builds suspense by revealing the story a little bit at a time through the three main female characters. Each sees the situation from a different angle....and it all comes crashing together at the very end.

My favorite character? Herbert the dog, of course. :)

This is the first book by Elly Griffiths that I've read. Griffiths also writes the Ruth Galloway series and the Stephens and Mephisto Mysteries. This book is a standalone story, separate from her other mysteries. I'm definitely going to be reading more by this author. I loved the story, the pacing and the creative, gothic feel of The Stranger Diaries. Any book that keeps me reading for an entire day because I just can't step away from the story earns full stars from me! Gothic chill and modern suspense masterfully combined -- loved it!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Harbinger

Harbinger
Author: M.C. Bass

Eli Cohen is an agent for the Orion Society, an ancient group formed to protect the world. For the past three years he has worked retrieving ancient scrolls, artifacts and other items that hold information or powers that could be dangerous in the hands of the wrong people. In Harbinger, Eli is tasked with retrieving an ancient stone chest. This mission will be dangerous and top secret as usual.

Harbinger is an introduction to the Ancient Purge series. There are two books in the series so far.

I received a free copy of this story from the author. I love a great action/adventure story with a bit of a paranormal type slant to it...so I gladly started reading. Quickly, I was sucked into the story and enjoyed it! The story reminded me of Indiana Jones with a sprinkle of The Librarians and DaVinci Code thrown in for good measure. Although a story based on a secret society that collects magical/cursed/dangerous ancient artifacts is not a new one, I'm definitely intrigued after reading Harbinger. I like Eli Cohen as a main character. He's a Mossad agent and a member of the Orion Society. Not only is he going to complete missions in any way he can....but he's doing it for the safety of humanity. Kicking butt, taking names, and stealing dangerous artifacts....all to keep the entire world balanced and relatively peaceful. There is of course a very, very bad guy waiting in the wings to cause difficulty. This story definitely has my attention! I already have book one in the series, Awakening, on my Kindle ready to read.

Great action....interesting plot and characters....well-written. I will definitely be reading more by this indy author.

**I received a free copy of this story from the author. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Something Read, Something Dead

Something Read, Something Dead
Author: Eva Gates

Something Read, Something Dead is the 5th book in the Lighthouse Library mystery series. I enjoy the series for its characters, humor and mystery plots....but also because the series is set in Nags Head, NC. I love to visit Nags Head! I've been to the Bodie Island Lighthouse -- climbed to the top, bought the t-shirt, love the place! So, being a Carolinian, I love this cozy mystery series!

I will say that I do have to suspend reality while I read these books. Bodie Lighthouse in the books and the real deal are quite different. Bodie Lighthouse is not big enough to house a library and an apartment...not even close. It's basically big enough to house the winding staircase to the top, and that's it. But I'm willing to forget that and enjoy imagining what it would be like for the tall, magestic, black and white striped landmark to house a library. :)

In this 5th visit to the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, Librarian Lucy Richardson has a lot going on. Her cousin Josie is trying to plan her wedding, but apparently not fast enough for her Grandma Gloria. Gloria shows up with wedding planners in tow, expecting to take over the arrangements. Fussing about the venues, caterers, menus, dresses, etc ensues. All that fuss alone causes enough commotion all by itself....but it gets fundamentally worse when one of the planners drops dead at the wedding shower. Then a contractor finds major foundation damage to the lighthouse. Lucy is beside herself trying to investigate a murder....and save the library.

Great addition to this fun series. I love the mix of humor, mystery and NC coast quirkiness. :) I highly recommend both reading this series and visiting Nags Head! :)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. This review is gluten free.**

REVIEW: American Princess

American Princess
Author: Stephanie Marie Thornton

Alice Roosevelt. Daughter of a president. Wife of a Congressman. Mistress to another. Media sensation. Outspoken. Strong-willed. An icon. She lived to the age of 96 and passed away having always lived life on her own terms, no matter what the cost. Sledding down the white house stairs on a lunch tray with her brothers. Smoking cigarettes on the roof of the white house. Her favorite color becoming a fashion sensation called Alice Blue. So many world leaders and dignitaries met. So many headlines. So many photographs. America's Princess. For 96 years. Now that is a life lived fully and well!

I didn't know much about Alice Roosevelt when I started reading this book based on her life. The more I read, the more I liked her. She refused to conform to the limited life that most women lived at the time. It created scandal and she had some embarrassing moments when her mouth got a bit ahead of her brain....but she was always 100% ALIVE and living all her moments to the fullest. Intelligent and Feisty with a capital F.

I'm glad I read this book and got to know about her life, her experiences, the triumphs and the sorrows. What a wonderful life she lived!

I'm definitely going to read more by this author. She's written several historical fiction books about women in history, including the women of Ghengis Khan, and the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Berkley via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: The Trial of Lizzie Borden

The Trial of Lizzie Borden
Author: Cara Robertson

"Lizzie Borden took an axe...gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done...gave her father 41" ~Playground chant

In August 1892, the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in their home in Fall River, MA created a media frenzy. Their daughter, Lizzie, was arrested for the crime and put on trial. The murder trial was an instant sensation. At the time, nobody could believe a woman would hack her father and stepmother to death with an axe.

After more than 120 years, many still wonder.....

Did she? Or didn't she?

Cara Robertson has spent 20 years researching the murders and the trial. The Trial of Lizzie Borden is her first book.

This book is so interesting! The Borden case is one of the most interesting and intriguing unsolved mysteries in American history, in my opinion. I don't believe the case was really solved by the investigation or outcome of the trial because at that time nobody could believe a woman was really capable of such a violent crime. Lizzie was found not guilty (as we all know) but faced public scrutiny until her death in 1927 because nobody was sure. The question hung in the air for the rest of her life....was she really guilty? Or innocent? And...if she was innocent....who killed the Bordens?

After reading this book, I can't really sway my opinion one way or the other. The evidence in the case is long gone. If such a murder occurred today, there would be DNA analysis, fingerprint evidence, and the investigation would not be impeded by the sex of the accused. A person is assumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. In my opinion, the trial did not prove her guilt so she was freed. Did she actually murder her parents? After 127 years any proof is just dust in the wind...there is no way to know.

Awesome book! Obviously well researched, and definitely well-written. Awesome debut book. I will be looking for more from this author! I will be running over the facts of this case in my head now for days I'm sure.....did she? Maybe she did. But maybe she didn't. That's the rough beauty of an unsolvable mystery....it can be pondered, but never really brought to a satisfying conclusion. Brain candy. Things for me to mull over in my head. Love it!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: They Came With the Snow

They Came With the Snow
Author: Christopher Coleman

Five weeks after a strange explosion started an intense never-ending blizzard in May, professor Dominic Daniels and his former student Naia are hunkered down in the student union building of a small local community college. Food, shelter, warm clothing....safety from Them. Outside the snow keeps falling. After weeks of hiding out from strange white crab-like monsters lurking out in the snow, supplies are dwindling. Dominic and Naia need to try and make a run for the near-by mall. Can they make it past the monsters? Are there more survivors out there?

They Came With the Snow is a quick, creepy read. I enjoyed the story. There isn't anything new here really.....government/military/scientist conspiracy goes horribly wrong, causing an apocalyptic event. Survivors run from monsters. Horror ensues. It makes for an enjoyable, entertaining read. I was a bit confused as to the exact nature of the blast/bomb/whatever caused the sudden blizzard and demise of most people in this small college town....but this is Sci-FICTION, not science fact....so I can suspend reality a bit and just enjoy the monsters. The author has written a second story in this series that is longer and more detailed -- The Melting. So I'm hoping for some event clarification in the next book.

All in all, a well-written, enjoyable quick read. I'm always up for a good apocalyptic monster story! The monsters were weird and creepy. The premise is believable enough to keep me reading. And the characters are engaging. Dominic is a bit of an ass....but we all make bad decisions sometimes, right? At least he is honest about it. He knows he's an ass.... Makes for an awesome conflicted character.

I have The Melting waiting in my Kindle. More cold! More monsters! I'm ready! Bring it on!

Christopher Coleman has written several other horror novels including The Sighting and the Gretel series.

REVIEW: The Wolf and the Watchman

The Wolf and the Watchman
Author: Niklas Natt Och Dag

1793. Stockholm. Crippled, former soldier, Mikel Cardell, discovers a mutilated corpse floating in a filth-filled lake. The body's arms, legs, eyes, and tongue have been removed. Cardell teams up with a dying lawyer to identify the body and find a killer. Turns out the pretty, painted elite class in the city aren't quite as beautiful as they seem....and the city has a very dirty, disturbing underbelly.

This book.....wow.....I had to let my thoughts percolate for a few days before I could write a review on this one. This one was a rough read. Not because it wasn't good....but because it was extremely and masterfully dark! The story is disturbing and even grotesque in places....but utterly mesmerizing. I couldn't stop reading....but there were a few scenes I found hard to read. Definitely not a book to read over dinner. I'm not going to comment on the plot at all beyond the basic blurb above...as spoilers would ruin parts of the story for others. All I will say is it's disturbing and masterfully suspenseful.

The characters are gritty and realistic. It paints a bleak picture of class separation, hidden secrets and just the filth and brutal nature of life in the 18th century.

Great book! But be prepared for some gruesome violence, cruel characters and a disturbing look at poverty, death and deception in the 1790s.

I'm definitely going to be reading more by this author. He is one hell of a storyteller!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**