I Otter Be Reading

Overall:  Rosaline Palmer is chosen to be on a British baking reality show called, “Bake Expectations”.  She is a bisexual, single mom of a spunky, precocious, 8 year old daughter, Amelie.  Rosaline is barely making ends meet working at a stationery shop after dropping out of medical school when she became pregnant.  Her parents are both wealthy, workaholic doctors who disapprove of Rosaline’s life choices.  This book is structured in chapters through the weeks of the baking competition.  It is about all the interesting things they have to bake, what it’s really like to be on a tv reality baking show, and all the unique people she meets there. 
She meets two totally different men in the competition who are interested in her.  There is Alain who is posh, handsome, accomplished, and her parents will love him.  Then there also is Harry, who is sweet, hot, thoughtful, and a bit rough around the edges.  She becomes involved in a love triangle of sorts between these two men.  While this book is a romance, it is also about Rosalie learning about herself, and what she wants out of her life.  She is in her late 20’s and is not sure if she wants to go back to school and finish her medical degree, or if that is just what her parents want her to do.  She is a people pleaser and has not really learned to stand up for herself and decide what she wants her life to look like yet.  Through the trials of the baking competition and the people she meets there, she starts to figure out herself and her life, and what her own road to happiness looks like.    

Ovations:  This book is very funny!  Alexis Hall writes wonderfully witty dialogue
and snappy humor very well.  I was laughing out loud many times!  (There is a lot of swearing in the book, so if that is not your cup of tea, this book won’t be either.)  I like the setting being back and forth between going to the mansion where they taped the baking “reality show” and then also back at her small house with her daughter in her “real life” world.  Rosaline’s young daughter, Amelie, is smart, sassy, funny, and fantastic!  Rosaline’s ex-girlfriend Lauren, is honest, hilarious, and fun.  I love that they are exe’s but are still able to be best friends.  I liked that the plot has a love triangle for romance, I love a good love triangle!  I appreciate the way that this book is so well written that you get a very funny book, but also a romance book, but also a thoughtful book about a woman in her 20’s who is growing up and finding both her voice and her own direction for her life.   

Oh Well:  There are several parts in the book where it gets sort of preachy, over explaining bisexuality and lesbian issues…..and also other gender and consent issues.  I am all for treating people with equality and respect, but I don’t need it constantly brought up in this book so much.  I feel it detracted from the story more than it added anything to it.

Opinion:  This book was about a young woman gets chosen to be on tv in a British baking show.  It is fun to read about the competition, what they are baking, and about all the quirky people she meets and interacts with on the show.  There is plenty of hilarious dialogue and witty banter to make the book enjoyable.  But this book also dives into some deeper issues that Rosaline is dealing with in her life.  Plus, Rosaline is involved in a love triangle (two actually!).  There are a lot of things going on in this book all at once, it is not a short book.  If you love watching baking shows, or are a baker yourself, or love British books about life in England, or like LGBTQ books with bisexual female main characters, I think you will especially enjoy this entertaining book.  Rating 8 out of 10

Overall:  Jess needs to get out of London, so she asks her half-brother if she can crash with him for a while.  He is not excited about this unexpected visit, but agrees anyway and leaves her a voicemail with his address in Paris.  But, when Ben’s sister Jess arrives to the address he told her, she is first very surprised by the fact that her brother can afford to live in such a beautiful French apartment in Paris.  Secondly, she is surprised to find out that her brother is not home.  He is not there to buzz her in, and once she does get into his apartment on her own after picking the lock, Ben is not there at all.  However, oddly his keys and wallet are still there.  Also there, broken on the floor, is his St. Christopher medal necklace, that matches her own, that their mother gave them, and that they never take off. 
Jess goes around the building to talk to the other tenants to ask if any of them know where her brother Ben is.  The tenants range from indifferent to hostile in response to her asking questions about his disappearance.  Strangely, not many of them seem surprised by the fact that he is missing.  She does not speak French, and has no choice but to start looking into his disappearance on her own.  All of the people who live in his building are suspicious, and most are not at all friendly to her.  The apartment building itself is very old and has hidden passageways and strange attic rooms no one goes into or tells her about.  The more she investigates, the more the other residents of the building want her to leave.  Only one of them is at all friendly towards her, supposedly a friend of her brother, and says he will help her look for Ben.  However, Jess soon discovers that he may just be helping her to get close and find out what she is doing.  She does not know if her brother is just missing, or kidnapped, or alive, or dead.   The more she uncovers, the deeper and more tangled the mysteries get.  Despite the increasing dangers, Jess is determined to find out what happened to her brother.    

Ovations:  I loved the Paris setting of the book!  I love almost any book set in Paris!  The beautiful, old, Paris apartment building where they all lived was like its own character in the book.  I liked the strong, brave, tough, resourceful, independent, able-to-take-care-of-herself, female, lead character Jess. I liked that each chapter was from a different character’s point of view.  It kept switching back and forth in each of the short chapters to a different person’s point of view.  It was not confusing because there were not that many characters.  It helps you really get to know the characters better and what they are thinking and what their motivations are.  It really helped me get involved in the plot more.  The plot is well paced, keeps you guessing with lots of new clues and information.  The story was complex and entertaining.  I always wanted to keep reading to find out
what happens next.  It kept me guessing and I could not figure out how it was going to end at all. 

Oh Well:  The only thing I can think of about this book that could have been better is that most of the book takes place in the apartment building itself and you don’t  get to enjoy the magical and romantic atmosphere of the beautiful city of Paris in the book at all really.

Opinion:  This is a wonderful, atmospheric, mystery / thriller set in Paris.  It is interesting, complex, and full of twists and turns that will keep you on your toes.  There is a nice surprise ending that you will not guess.  I recommend this book, as well as Lucy Foley’s last mystery/ thriller book too called, The Guest List, which I also rated  a 10.  The rating for this book is also a 10 out of 10    

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  The Paris Apartment

Overall:  A 10 year college graduation reunion celebration is about to be happening for “The East House 7” of Duquette University.  It would be a fun occasion, except for the fact that one of their group, a popular girl named Heather was brutally murdered their senior year of college.  One of them was accused of the murder, but there was not enough evidence and the charges were dropped.  Since then, they have all been staying away from that horrible crime, and from Duquette, and trying to just forget and move on.  They are all protecting their own secrets.  Jessica Miller, one member of the group, is excited to go back to the reunion to finally show everyone how beautiful and successful and perfect she turned out.  The story is told mostly through her point of view.  It goes back and forth in time
between their college days and the present time at the reunion.  Heather’s brother is at the reunion too, and has been obsessing over his sister’s murder for the past 10 years.  He is there to question the group of “friends” and get to the bottom of things once and for all.  He knows that one of them had to be the one who killed Heather. He is there to solve his sister’s murder and finally bring her killer to justice.  

Ovations:  The thing I liked best about his book was that it kept me guessing the whole time.  I did not know who the killer was until it was revealed at the very end.  There were lots of twists and turns and things you did not know were going to be revealed by the characters. Also, there was a romantic love triangle with the main character Jessica, and I always enjoy a good love triangle.  

Oh Well:  The books goes back and forth in time every chapter and it gets very confusing what time you are in.  There are also a lot of characters at the beginning and you have to try and remember who is who because you have just met them at that point.  So, for a while you don’t know who is who really.  Also, almost none of the characters are likeable, so I found it hard to really get invested in caring about them.  It’s hard when the main narrator is not a good person.  Also, I found it moves quite slowly, and most of the book is backstory that you have to read through to get to the present day situation that is actually the exciting part. 

Opinion:  Many people on Bookstagram loved this book.  That is why I bought and read it.  However, as thrillers go, I found it rather slow.  It also did not help that most of the characters are very unlikeable.  However, on the plus side, there are lots of surprising things revealed throughout the book… good twists, and I could not guess the ending at all.  But, I can’t recommend this book, when there are others that are so much better.  Rating 6 out of 10  

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  In My Dreams I Hold A Knife

Overall:  This book is a seductive, twisting, turning, psychological thriller where you think you know what is going to happen, but you are always surprisingly wrong.  In the bar, while waiting for the flight from London to Boston, the wealthy Ted Severson meets the beautiful Lily Kintner.  They chat in the bar and switch
seats on the plane to be able to keep talking on the long flight back to Boston.  After many martinis, Ted tells Lily about his marriage to Miranda, how they are complete opposites as people.  She married him for his money and he married
her for her looks.  But, now Ted thinks she is cheating on him.  Venting to Lily, he tells her that if his wife is in fact cheating, we wishes he could kill her.  Instead of believing that it was just the martinis and Ted’s frustrations talking, Lily calmly agrees to help Ted kill his wife.  Once they get back to Boston, they make secret plans to meet again, but go their separate ways until the meeting.  In the meantime, Ted finds out for sure that his wife Miranda is in fact cheating on him with their contractor.  Then him and Lily secretly meet up and start making solid plans on how to go about killing Ted’s wife.  They want everything to go perfectly so they do not get caught.  They don’t even want anyone to find out they even know eachother, so they are very careful.  Why would Lily even help Ted with this crime you might be wondering?  Well, I won’t give too much away, but Lily has lots of dark secrets from her past that make her a willing participant in committing
this murder of Miranda.  There are lots of surprises in this book that you won’t see coming.  You may think you know where things are going, but you will be dead wrong.  

Ovations:  The author, Peter Swanson, has written a book full of unlikeable characters, but because it is so well written, you get invested in the characters, understand them, and even care about what happens to them.  The chapters are written from alternating character’s points of view.  So that really helps you understand each character and what they are like because you get to know what they are thinking and seeing.  The smart author knew that writing it this way is key to you caring about these characters and getting invested into this storyline, which you really do.  While this book does have many shocking major twists and turns, they are very well written and totally make sense in the overall plot of the book.  

Oh Well:  The only issue I had with this book was the very end.  While I can’t go into details of course, I can say that it is somewhat open-ended.  It’s not a cliff hanger or anything.  There is no sequel, it does actually end.  However, you really don’t
know for sure the exact ending.  It is not all tied up in a neat bow for you.  I personally do not love unclear endings. 

Opinion:  This is a fast paced, smartly written, psychological thriller.  It is a roller coaster ride full of surprising twists and turns.  You believe that the book is going to be about one thing, but it turns into something else.  It is suspenseful and interesting and a book you don’t want to stop reading, because you need to know what happens next.  The Kind Worth Killing is definitely a book worth reading!  Rating 10 out of 10.  

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  The Kind Worth Killing

Overall:  June Jones is a thirty year old librarian who is painfully shy and prefers books to people.  She lives in Chalcot, a small village in England.  She lives alone, in the home her and her mom shared with their disapproving cat, Alan Bennett.  She had big dreams to leave the small town and go away to college to become a writer.  But, her Mom got sick and she gave up her dreams to help her mom, who was the town librarian.  June got a job as a library assistant during that time, and is still doing that today, many years later.  She does not realize it, but she is very lonely, stuck in a rut, and living in a bubble of memories from when her mother was still alive.  But, when budget cuts threaten to shut down her town library and several others, June wants to do something to help keep her job and keep the library full of memories where her mother worked alive too.  So, when a group of regulars from the library form a protest group to try and save the library, June wants to join them, but her boss tells her she can’t or she will be fired.  This makes June think about her life, and everything that is important to her.  Fighting to save the library is the wake-up call that June has been needing in her life. She decides to help the group of protesters secretly at first.  But, then, eventually, she has to break out of her comfort zone of shyness and stand up for herself and the friends she has made at the library, and do everything she can to try to help save it.  

Ovations:  I love the small, English village setting.  And of course I love books about libraries, librarians,  and books!  I enjoyed all the quirky library patrons that June sees, and helps everyday.  They all have nothing in common, except that the library is important in their lives.  I admire June for giving up her dreams to help her sick mother.  But, then she gets stuck in her grief.  So, I love at the end how she gets through it and does move on with her life, lets people into her heart, and starts enjoying things again.  It is a sweet, charming story written with humor, emotion, depth, and heart. 

Oh Well:  The romance element in this book is very minimal.  It does follow along the lines of June’s character being super shy and having social anxiety.  But, it might have been nice to have more of a romance between Alex and June blossoming throughout the book.  Also, the book in general is just a slow- moving story of small- town life, so you have to know that going in. 

Opinion:  This is a sweet, charming book about libraries, books, librarians, and patrons in a small village in England.  It is about their real, day-to-day lives.  So sometimes it is sad and heartbreaking.  But, there are lots of humorous happenings, quirky characters, personal growth, brave moments, and life lessons throughout the book too.  All that is woven together into this delightful book full of hope.  Rating 6 out of 10         

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  The Last Chance Library

Overall:  Olive Smith is a PHD student in Biology at Stanford, studying pancreatic cancer.  She went on a couple dates with another student named Jeremy.  She was not into him, but she sees that her best friend, Anh is. So, to convince her best friend that she has moved-on to dating someone else, she randomly chooses a guy to kiss when her friend Anh is watching.  However, the guy she spontaneously chooses to lock-lips with is a hot, young, professor that everyone is scared of.  He is brutally and unflinchingly honest when reviewing his student’s work, and if it is not perfect, it is not acceptable.  All his students despise him for being so demanding.  Luckily, Olive is not one of his students.  Olive and Dr. Adam Carlsen meet later to discuss the kissing incident.  Once he hears why she did it, they mutually decide to start fake-dating because they both need something.  Olive needs her best friend Anh to stop worrying about “girl code” and know it’s ok to start dating Jeremy.  Adam needs the department to believe that he has no plans to leave for another institution.  They froze some of his research funds to try and ensure that he not leave Stanford.  If he had a girlfriend, it would help the department believe that he had a reason to stay put at Stanford, and they could release his funding.  So, the two of them agree to fake-date eachother to both accomplish their goals.  But, as we all know, fake-dating situations can lead to real romantic feelings becoming involved.  However, in this case, one or both of them might have already had some feelings for the other one, before the random kiss even happened!                                                                   

Ovations: I love that this book was about the science world, and smart women in STEM.  I like that it talked about what a dedicated and intelligent scientist Olive was, but that she still faced lots of issues due to it being a male dominated career area.  I also think that the lack of communications between Olive and Adam can
easily be explained by the fact that they are academics used to being alone and
focusing on their work.  In other rom-coms there are always misunderstands that you think, “why did they not just have a conversation about this and clear it up?”  But, in the world of science academia, they are not used to having to communicate their feeling about anything.  Feelings are not part of their science, data is.   Also, I have to add how much I loved Adam.  He is a wonderful book boyfriend…. tall, handsome, brilliant, humble, funny, sarcastic, perfectionistic, muscular, protective, loyal, sweet, caring, mysterious… you get the picture.   I also loved the witty banter between Olive and Adam.  It was very flirty and adorable how they teased eachother for their differences, but with absolute acceptance. 

Oh Well:  There are lots of things in this book that don’t seem all that realistic.  The very first being the Prologue, and what it has to do with the book.  I can’t explain more, because I don’t want to spoil things, but right from the start there are things that you kind of just have to go with as reasonable, that maybe are not.  Also, I do have to mention that while there is only one sex scene in the book, is sort of awkward, and weirdly written.

Opinion:  I love the academic setting of the book and that the main character is a smart, scientist female out to help rid the world of pancreatic cancer.  The storyline is entertaining, and the characters are well written.  I did like the relationship between Olive and Adam.  It was very sweet and romantic.  I enjoyed all their private-joke banter together.  But, there were some issues I had with some of the stuff being not too believable.  However, If you like rom-coms, you will like this book too.  Rating 7 out of 10         

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  The Love Hypothesis

Opening Line:  “Dead-eyed, that’s what they said, wasn’t it?  Lifeless, glassy, empty.”

Overall:   This is the 3rd and final book in the, “Good Girls Guide To Murder” series.  This trilogy has to be read in order:  A Good Girls Guide To Murder, Good Girl, Bad Blood, As Good As Dead.   The first book was about a senior in High school named Pippa, who is working on her senior class project.  She starts investigating a cold-case murder of some teens from her same school.  During her investigations, she decides to start a true crime podcast about it too.  Because of her being able to solve these past crimes in the first book, in the second book she is asked by a friend to help solve the disappearance of his brother when the police won’t take it seriously.  Now, in this third book, from all of her crime investigating and involvement into all these bad things that she had to deal with previously to solve those crimes, she is suffering with PTSD, anxiety, depression, guilt, and insomnia.  She started going for runs, and is taking Xanax to try and help, but they are not really helping much.  She is due to start college in the fall.  However, now she starts getting messages that say, “Who will look for you when you’re the one that disappears?”  Other creepy things start happening too, and she realizes that she has a stalker.  She realizes that there may be a connection between the messages, the stalker, and a serial killer.  But, the serial killer confessed and is in jail, so he couldn’t be doing all this.  Unless they have the wrong guy?  The stalking continues and Pippa has no choice to investigate this with all the skills she has learned so far.  She has to try and piece together this new mystery to try and keep herself safe somehow.  She is the one all the others have turned to for help, but now she has to save her own life.                                                               

Ovations: I love that even though Pippa is a smart, brave, strong, witty, gutsy, logical, strong-willed female lead character, this book is showing us the toll all this work she has done involving murders, kidnappings, shootings, and her true crime podcast is having on her mental health.  She is a normal person and dealing with all that is traumatizing her.  In the first book she was much more upbeat, fun, and cheerful, then in the second book, she was more acting much more serious, and now in this book we get to see the darker side to who she is becoming because of doing all this work with crime and murder.  I love that we get to see this changing her personality, not for the better, and how she is struggling to deal with it all.  This book is fast paced, suspenseful, and well written.  There are no plot holes or storyline issues.  There are some surprises.  It is very exciting and keeps you reading to find out what happens next.  Pippa is a great female character to root for.      

Oh Well:  I do have to mention the fact that I did figure out who the serial killer was before Pippa figured it out.  I can’t say much more, but she is smart and should have known from the daughter’s hidden email.  Also, I think she maybe planted too much evidence at the major crime scene.  But, these are small issues with the book, that do not effect your enjoyment of it at all. 

Opinion:  I really loved this third book in the series!  I loved the first book so much, I thought that one would end up being the best one, since I gave it 10 out of 10 in my ratings.  The second one I think I gave a 9.  (You can find and read the reviews I gave those two books in under “Book Reviews” tab on my Home Page.)   But, this third book is for sure a 10 again.  It was much more exciting and suspenseful than the other books because it was Pippa fighting for her own life this time.  She was having to figure out clues to save her own life before it was too late.  I love how all 3 books were connected and how the end perfectly wrapped-up all the loose ends from everything before and ended on a positive note.  Rating 10 out of 10       

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  As Good As Dead

I am a huge Agatha Christie fan!  I have read every single book and play by Agatha Christie.  I have purchased them all, and have them all organized by publication order on my bookshelf.  Since she wrote 66 novels, 14 short story collection books, and over 30 plays, I am often asked which one is best.  My response is always the same:

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (1939):  That book was written by Christie in 1939, and is still the best selling crime novel of all time, by anyone, ever!  It is a masterpiece of a novel, and by far Christie’s best murder mystery.  Ten strangers are invited by a mysterious host to a party on an isolated island, cut off from mainland England, only accessible by boat.  Since they don’t know eachother, they also don’t know why they are all invited there together.  But, they all have dark secrets they are hiding.  Then, one by one, they start to die.  They think the first one or two are accidents, until they realize they were really murders.  They also realize that the killer is stuck there with them on the island.  Is the killer the mysterious host that invited them there and never showed up?  Or is the killer one of them?  Will they figure out who the killer is before they are all murdered?  This book is a perfectly plotted, suspenseful, murder mystery, thriller.  It will leave you on the edge of your seat the whole time, and you will not want to put it down. 

But, after you read that one, where do you go next?  If you don’t want to read all of her books in order as I did, (although that is a good idea for you all, and well worth your time if you love murder mysteries).  I thought I would suggest some of my random favorites.  I should mention that Ms. Christie’s most famous crime solving detectives are Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot.  But, out of the favorites I chose here, only one is one of their books.  The ABC MURDERS is a Poirot book.  The rest are stand alone books, that just have a narrator or a random detective.  I found I generally liked those better.  Also, Ms. Christie is famous for her “closed-room” murder mysteries.  Three out of the five of these I selected are “closed-room” mysteries.  She is brilliant at writing those.  So, here are the other four books I have selected as my favorites.  I will write a Part 2 at some point later and give you a few more of my favorites then.  In the meantime, enjoy these wonderful books!          

ABC MURDERS (1936):This book is about a serial killer, before the phrase “serial killer” even existed.  There is a killer on the loose in England.  People seem to be being killed both randomly and alphabetically.  A is for Ms. Ascher in Andover who is murdered first.  Then B is for Betty Barnard in Bexhill, who is killed second.  This killer is so confident, brazen, and bold that they inform Detective Hercule Poirot in advance of their next murder!  Basically challenging the world’s best detective to solve the murders and save the next life before the murder kills again.  It is an exciting, race-against-time thriller.  There is a lot of reflections about early criminal psychology, which is interesting.  This book is different in many ways from other Christie mystery novels, so that is why it made my favorites list. 

SPARKLING CYANIDE (1944):  This is a murder mystery written from several people’s point of view.  The story centers around beautiful, young, wealthy, Rosemary Barton.  She went out to dinner with 6 others for her Birthday celebration.  She dies at this dinner from poison, but the police think it was suicide, not murder.  One year later, her widowed husband thinks she was murdered and did not kill herself.  So, he decides to invite all the same people to eat at the same place to “remember Rosemary”.  But, he is really trying to find out which one of them really killed her.  I love the storyline that he re-enacts the “crime scene” to try and find out what really happened to Rosemary a year ago.  It is a Christie classic “closed-room murder mystery”.  Meaning that someone in that room from that cast of characters is the murder, and you have to figure out what exactly happened, who exactly did it, and why.  She specialized in writing this kind of murder mystery.       

CROOKED HOUSE (1948):  This is one of Agatha Christie’s personal favorites that she wrote, and one of my favorites as well.  There is a surprise ending that you don’t see coming!  The story is about three generations of a very wealthy family that live together in a sprawling mansion.  The head of the family is murdered.  The prime suspect is the man’s beautiful widow, who is a woman 50 years younger than him.  But, the Chief Inspector investigating the crime has an inside view of this “closed-room murder”, because he is engaged to the victim’s granddaughter.  However, everyone in the family are suspects to investigate.  You might wonder is the name of the book, Crooked House, refer to the whimsical, strangely designed, old mansion?  Or to the mentality/morality of the family living in it?  Maybe it’s both.  You should read this unusual murder mystery to find out. 

ENDLESS NIGHT (1967):  Ms. Christie says this is one of her favorites, and I agree, it is one of mine too.  This book is different than her usual murder mysteries, this book is a thriller with twists and turns. This is not a Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot book either.   It is narrated by the main character, Michael Rogers.  He becomes fascinated by a plot of land for sale, called Gypsy Acre.  He has been warned that it has been cursed.  But, he is poor and can’t afford to buy the property anyway.  Then he meets a beautiful, wealthy, American heiress named Ellie.  While Michael is without money, he is handsome and full of charm.  The two of them fall in love and then get married.  They buy Gypsy Acre and build their dream house on the land.  Seemingly, things are going to be blissful for the couple.   But, sinister things start happening, and these two young lovebirds will not be getting their “Happily Ever After”, after all.        

If you are interested in these books and want to buy them now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on these safe Amazon links that will bring you directly to the books pages where you can buy them.  Click Here:  And Then There Were None , The ABC Murders , Sparkling Cyanide , Crooked House , Endless Night . 

Opening Line:  “Screw you, Bing Crosby.”

Overall:  On December 23^rd, Darby Thorne is on her way from Colorado to Utah to see her estranged mother before she has cancer surgery.  But, as she is driving up in the mountains, there is a massive snowstorm that forces Darby off the roads and into the nearest Rest Stop.  There are 4 other stranded motorists at the Rest Stop also.  When Darby goes outside to try, unsuccessfully, to get a cell phone signal to tell her sister that she is stuck at the Rest Stop until morning, she walks by a van in the parking lot.  Inside the van she sees a small girl locked in a dog kennel with duct tape over her mouth.  Who is this child?  Who does she belong to?  Where is she from?  Why is she in the back of the cold van like that?  Why
is she in a dog cage?  Who kidnapped her?  Who owns this van?  Which one of the people at the rest stop did this to her?  Which one of them can she trust?  How can she get this girl out of the locked van and safe?  How can she contact the Police?  With the roads all closed down because of this massive snow storm, Darby is stuck at the rest stop at least until morning.  There is no cell phone signal up there in the mountains and she has to try and save this little girl’s life somehow.  But, how can she get her out?  And how can she do it without being seen?  And where does she go with the girl once she is out?  What will happen if she decides to try and rescue the little girl alone?  They are all trapped at the Rest Area with a relentless snowstorm outside.  Who knows when a snow plow or the police will
come and open the roads up again?  What is Darby going to choose to do in the meantime?                                                                  

Ovations:  This is a riveting thriller that is action packed!  It’s twists and turns keep you guessing as to what might happen next.  It is a well written novel with no
wasted filler.  Every action leads to another action and keeps the story moving along at a non-stop fast pace.  Darby is an engaging heroine.  She is smart, caring, determined, tough, sensitive, resourceful, and brave.  But, she is human too and makes mistakes along the way, like a normal young woman would.  She is not some super human character that is unbelievable.  She has strengths and weaknesses that are realistic.  But she is a fighter, and is the perfect woman to be able to root for here.    

Oh Well:  The major problem with this book is that it was so suspenseful that I could not stop reading it and go to bed! Lol  I read it in two nights, stayed up way too late and lost some sleep.  So, that is a negative….but a positive one, if that is possible!?!  But, about the book, yes, there are some parts that are a bit implausible, but for the most part everything is realistic and very smartly written.

Opinion:  This book is an exciting, twisty, rollercoaster ride of a thriller!   It ultimately is about 2 people trying to outwit eachother in the most chilling cat and mouse game of their lives.  I don’t read horror books, and this is not one, although it does get very violent in some parts.  It is a tense, psychological thriller that I really enjoyed reading!  Rating is 10 out of 10  

(It is now a HULU film too!  The film does not follow the book exactly, there are a few changes, but it is still a very good thriller well worth watching after you have read the book.)       

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here:  No Exit

Opening Line:  “Lila Nash counted her steps as she walked from the kitchen to the bathroom of her apartment.”

Overall:  Lila Nash is working in Minneapolis at the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, waiting for the results of her bar exam.  She gets assigned to work for a smart, fierce, female attorney named Andi.  They start working on a case that ends up having connections to a horrible situation in Lila’s past.  Gavin Spencer is a serial rapist and killer that they are trying to convict.  All of his victims were drugged with GHB, raped, then thrown into the Mississippi River near the Falls.  But, his most recent victim, Sadie,  woke up enough to be able to swim to safety and was rescued.  However, her memory is foggy from the drug.  The two detectives that are working on the case realize that there is a pattern here that may be connected to other past cases. It turns out there are more victims from the past who’s cases are similar and have never been solved.  So, with the help of Andi and Lila in the Prosecutor’s Office, the police start putting a case together to try and prove that it was Gavin who had done this many times before Sadie.   But, Gavin is very smart, and always plans out every single step of his crimes.  No evidence has ever linked him to any of the crimes before, and he is confident he has covered his tracks again.  He believes he will never be charged with these crimes.  Because of this case, Lila is having to face a painful past that she has always tried to forget.  Working on this new case has opened up her old memories, and she believes that Gavin is somehow connected to the attack she
survived years ago.  But, her memories have been buried deep, and she does not remember who attacked her.  But, she believes it is somehow related to this case.  She just has to figure out how, before it’s too late.                                                                

Ovations:  I love that this book is set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because that is where I am from.  The book’s author is from Minnesota too.  I love the strong female characters in the book, Andi, Lila, and Niki.  Andi is a successful, intelligent, tough, no-nonsense prosecutor who wants to help Lila succeed as an attorney as well.  She is a great role model for Lila.  Lila is strong too, she is a survivor.  She survived an assault many years ago and has been living with the lingering effects of it.  Her own family won’t acknowledge it.  She lost friends over it.  She even attempted suicide.  But, she is strong, and got her life together all on her own.  She is resilient and smart and went to law school, and now has gotten this great job at the prosecutor’s office.  She is also in a good, loving relationship with her boyfriend who she lives with.  She is doing well for herself.  Lastly, the female detective, Niki Vang is another smart, strong, successful, positive female character in this book.     

Oh Well:  While there were several strong female characters in this book, as I just pointed out above, this book is about the drugging, rape, and murders of several females.  That is very tough, depressing and sad to read about.  The title, The Stolen Hours, refers to the hours that the female victims are drugged and do not remember what happened to them during those horrible hours.  Also, I found the book very slow reading.  To me, it was not really a thriller because it was just not exciting enough for that.  It was not really a mystery because you know who the criminal is right away in the story.  I guess the mystery part is will he get away with the crimes or not?  But, I found the book rather depressing and boring with nothing really to keep my interest.  Plus, some of the stuff at the end was not realistic at all in my opinion.  

Opinion:  I really wanted to like this book because I saw this author on a local tv show and learned that he has written a number of books.  I was excited to find another successful local author from Minnesota to read.  Unfortunately, I thought the book was quite slow and very depressing.  It barely kept my interest.  I always finish the books I start, even if I don’t like them at first, because sometimes they surprise you and get interesting half way through.  But, that was not the case here.  I would not recommend this book.  Rating 4 out of 10.       

If you are interested in this book and want to buy it now so you don’t forget, as I often do, you can click on this safe Amazon link that will bring you directly to the books page where you can buy it.  Click Here: The Stolen Hours