Her One Mistake - Heidi Perks

Her One Mistake  - Heidi Perks

She read

Release date: Jan. 8, 2019

Harriet lets her daughter, Alice, visit a school fair with Charlotte and Charlotte’s three children. The first time she has let Alice accompany another adult, the child disappears.

The chapters alternate between points of view of the two women as well as between two time frames, “before” and “now”.  Although a few things are a little too convenient in this psychological thriller, it is well written and engrossing.  The author gives readers a lot to think about concerning friendship, jealousy, and guilt.

She Lies in Wait = Gytha Lodge

She Lies in Wait - Gytha Lodge

She read

Publication date: Jan. 8, 2019

Thirty years after the youngest of a group of teenagers who went camping disappears, her remains are found.  The investigation is reopened, with the lead detective, DCI Jonah Sheens harboring his own secret involvement with this group.

The story is told in two different timelines,  alternating between the present investigation and the past camping event.  It is a solid police procedural and will be enjoyed by those who like that genre.  A good start to what is supposed to become a series.  I look forward to the next one.

Watching You - Lisa Jewell

Watching You - Lisa Jewell

She read

Publication date: Dec. 26, 2018

Tom Fitzwilliam is the new fifty something school headmaster who seems to be a magnet for the attentions of many of his female students as well as a young newly wed neighbor.  He also is the focus of the ravings of the paranoid mother of one of his students as his son spends much of his time recording the comings and goings in the neighborhood.  There is a murder; who is it and who did it?

While the characters may not be the most likable, I did enjoy the book which is a quick read.  There are teases and hints that are dropped as the story progresses from different points of view in this well written novel.

Dark Sacred Night - Michael Connelly

Dark Sacred Night - Michael Connelly

He and she read

I always enjoy Michael Connelly’s police procedurals, and especially those featuring Bosch. In this one, old standard Harry Bosch works with Connelly’s latest new character, Renee Ballard, introduced last year in The Late Show

The story alternates between the two main characters as they pursue their separate cases and the one they are working on together, a cold case murder of a young runaway turned prostitute. Bosch is Bosch and, while I wasn’t sure about Ballard in the first book featuring her, I found her more likable here.  Both she and Bosch share an independent streak,  which drive them to pursue their cases to resolution.

The Reckoning - John Grisham

The Reckoning - John Grisham

He and she read

Taking place in 1940s rural Mississippi, this is not a typical Grisham courtroom drama.  I would say Southern gothic comes closer to describing the genre.

Grisham is a good story teller and he captures the essence of small town America.  The book is divided into three parts, with the middle part describing the Bataan death march and its aftermath in which the family patriarch participated.  The war scenes are brutal but realistic and a good reminder that war is indeed hell.  This section is long and may not be to everyone’s liking.

The Witch Elm - Tana French

The Witch Elm - Tana French

She read; he is trying to get through it.

I have really liked all of Tana French’s books….up til now.  She is a a very good writer and tells a good story.  But, this one was a bit of a slog to get through…long and slow.  At one point, I found my self skimming through a number of pages.

HE said..."was this woman on dope when she wrote this?"