Sally Hepworth does it again with Darling Girls, a thrilling mystery about sisters, secrets, and murder. 

From the outside, Jessica, Norah (“with an -h,” please!), and Alicia are very lucky girls, despite the sadness of their early years. Foster children as a result of various family tragedies, they’ve each landed on the idyllic Wild Meadows estate under the doting care of Miss Holly Fairchild. 

But that’s just what it looks like from the outside.

From the inside, things look very different. Miss Fairchild’s “darling girls” are manipulated and mistreated in a myriad of ways, and they learn early on to tread carefully around the whims of their foster mother. 

The girls form a bond that is as strong as that of any biological sisters, and they rely on each other well into adulthood — especially after human remains are found on the estate where they spent their childhood! ☠️

Every Sally Hepworth novel I have read deals with emotional, real topics, and that is what I love about her books! This story is no exception, so be warned, it has plenty of triggers:  child abuse, mental illness, drug addiction, overdose, and childhood trauma. 

🌪 But it also has love, loyalty, and that Sally Hepworth hallmark twist of an ending!

This book hooked me from the beginning (glad I was on a long road trip so I could listen to the entire book in one day!). And, yes, the audiobook narration by Jessica Clarke, was perfection!

If you enjoy a good family drama with a twisty side of mystery, put this one on your reading list!

“The drought started in the west. we watched on the news as the waters dropped in the reservoirs and lakes, and their secrets and ghosts slowly emerged.”

When a book starts like this, you know you’re in for a thrill of a read!

Growing up in Mirror Lake nestled in the mountains of North Carolina, Hazel Sharp is the daughter of the town’s most respected detective and the town’s most hated swindler — which is why she left her hometown for good many years ago.

But on the day of her father’s memorial service — 62 days into a devastating drought — she’s back with her brothers, both now on the police force, as a car is pulled from the dwindling waters of Mirror Lake. The old car is not the day’s only surprise: Hazel has inherited the family home, much to everyone’s surprise and to her brothers’ outrage.

As secret after secret is discovered in the family home and under the receding waters of the lake, doubt is cast on everything — and everyone — Hazel has ever known. Why did her mother disappear without a trace all those years ago? Was she a criminal, or was she a victim? The answer to this question — and the more dangerous one: Who’s victim was she? — will either devastate or, quite literally, kill Hazel. 

This novel is not only a family mystery, but a family drama, and the structure of the novel reflects that. The book is broken into four parts — Father, Mother, Sons, Daughter — each delving into the characters’ past and current lives. Every family member has endured their own personal traumas, and the scars are still raw. 

Everyone was suspect in this one! Was there a murder? Possibly. Everyone had a motive. One thing that is certain: someone wants Hazel to stop digging into the past and to leave Mirror Lake once and for all.

If you are a fan of suspense and family drama, Daughter of Mine needs to be in your book bag!

Twenty rabid-fan “Bookface Ladies,” a ten day Italian book tour, three dead bodies, and one stalker…what could possibly go wrong?

 Wanna hear a funny? As I was listening to this book I thought it would be great for fans of the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano. Later I saw that Elle was the first reviewer on the publisher’s website, so there ya go! 🤣 

Eleanor Dash wrote a bestselling book (by accident!) that catapulted her to fame — and into a book contract for the Vacation Mystery series. But she made one mistake. She didn’t change the name of her main character:  her ex-boyfriend Connor Smith, who turned out to be married, a con-artist, and now he’s blackmailing her for a take of her fame and fortune.

Now Eleanor is on a 10th anniversary book tour with Connor, his ex-wife, Eleanor’s more recent ex Oliver, and a host of rather competitive authors and crazy fans — all of whom become suspect when people start dying! ☠️

This is a fun, hilarious romp through Italy. Despite the fact that people are dropping like flies and no one can be trusted, you’ll find very little suspenseful angst in this mystery. But you will be entertained — Catherine Mack’s writing style in this book is very engaging, with frequent breaks in the story where the narrator speaks directly to reader.👌

I listened to the audiobook and can’t heap enough praise on Elizabeth Evans! She knocked the narration out of the park, and this may well be a book that is even better on audio!

I would point out, however, that the book opens in a church with Eleanor confessing to a priest for obviously the first time in her life. Fictional characters often treat religion with disdain, but this felt flippant and mocking, which didn’t sit well with me. Keep that in mind if it’s something that affects your reading choices.

If you want a laugh-out-loud audiobook experience and an escapist read that doesn’t require a heavy dose of mental commitment, grab your earphones and download Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies. It published on April 30th, so you don’t even have to wait for it!

This fun, feel good book is an ode to — and a defense of — the romantic comedy!

If you’ve ever thought romcoms are predictable, this book is a must-read for you. Because yes, they are predictable — but you really need to understand why that’s a good thing!

I am a fan of both audiobooks and a good Katherine Center novel, and I wasn’t disappointed in either! The audiobook narration was excellent and kept me thoroughly engaged (and awake!) on a long solo road trip.

In true Katherine Center fashion, there was no shying away from heavier topics, despite the title of this book. Both of the main characters have their own tragic experiences, but Center manages to balance that pain perfectly with humor and hope.

Charlie Yates does not understand the secret to good a romantic comedy. One of Hollywood’s most acclaimed screenwriters, he is a fan of action, twisted plots, and the surprise ending. But he is not good at writing romcoms.

Emma Wheeler is not an acclaimed screenwriter, though she’s dreamed of being just that since she was young. She is, however, an excellent romcom writer. So good, in fact, she is hired to help Charlie re-write his own disastrous attempt. Leaving the care of her sweet father, who needs constant supervision due to an accident, in the hands of her younger sister, she packs her bags and jets off to LA for six weeks. And that’s where the trouble begins…

Charlie doesn’t believe in love anymore, and it shows in every line of his manuscript. But he’s not having a “failed, nobody screenwriter” tell him how to do it. 

Emma has idolized Charlie for years, but when the two meet she finally understands the old saying, “Don’t meet your heroes.” Emma, however, is no shrinking violet:  she believes in her work, she believes in love, and she believes in all the reasons millions of fans love romantic comedies (hint: the ending! 😉).

Between worry for her father, Charlie’s oversized ego (I mean, what normal ego would toss all of those awards in a drawer??), and an ex-wife who shows up at all the wrong times, Emma must find a way to make Charlie believe in what he’s writing. 

Enter The Kiss Demonstration.

You know, the one that is just supposed to help him write a better scene, but — wow! — did that just become something….more?

I recommend you toss this one in your book bag when it releases on June 11th and find out, so get your pre-orders or library holds in today!

“You’re either a Saint, or an Ain’t.” It all depends on which side of the river you grew up on…💎

A cross between a whodunit and love story, drama and scandal abound in this new release by Mary Kay Andrews.

Her husband’s untimely death four years ago left Traci Eddings the owner of the St. Cecilia, the five star resort her husband’s family has owned for generations. But with post-Covid staff shortages, financial obstacles, and her greedy brother-in-law who’s always felt she didn’t belong in the family — let alone own the resort! — Traci is struggling to maintain the exacting demands of their uberwealthy clientele.

When the tragic death of one of their own and a horrible accident from years ago collide, all the buried secrets twist their way into the light.

I’m a firm believer that the narration can either make or break an audiobook. Sadly, the narration broke this one for me. The pacing was very slow (had to increase the speed to 1.5+), and the overly-exaggerated southern accents made the characters sound whiny, spoiled, and cruel to the extreme. For this listener, it made intriguing characters come across as silly.

The story itself was interesting, and I did enjoy it. But…it felt like too many subplots happening: the patriarch, the greedy brother-in-law, the old accident, the death, the shenanigans of the staff, the love story… Each had a compelling premise, but some could have been developed better. The ending felt rushed to tie up all the action.

This is an easy, quick read perfect for a day by the water, but I recommend a physical or e-copy, not the audio for this one.