The Garden Girls (FBI: Strange Crimes Unit #3) by Jessica R. Patch

Genre: Mystery, Romance, Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Publication Date: April 2024

In his youth, Tiberius Granger escaped a cult. The girl he loved wasn’t so fortunate. Now an FBI agent, he hunts monsters, unravels the macabre, and seeks justice for the victims. His latest case has him on the trail of The Artist, a deranged serial killer who kidnaps women, tattooing them with flowers that match their names and posing them in front of lighthouses. A shocking connection to his past brings him face to face with Bexley Hemmingway, the woman he had loved and believed dead, and a teenaged son he never knew existed. But to find Bex’s missing sister, Ty must push beyond the hurt, anger, and betrayal, and return to a place he’d hoped never to revisit.

Wow, wow, WOW! A psychological thriller through and through, reading The Garden Girls feels likes stepping into an episode of Criminal Minds. This adrenaline-pumping tale snatches the reader’s breath from the first page as a twisted villain, broken protagonists, and mind-bending plot comes to life, all filtered through a lens of hope.

A gifted wordsmith, Jessica R. Patch painted the setting with such vibrant strokes, it became its own entity. The images rose around me as vividly as any of the characters. And no, the lighthouse didn’t bias this beacon-loving reader, though I reveled in that addition. Patch penned the Outer Banks, the storm, everything so expertly that I was transported into their midst. Even now, long after finishing the book, I still feel the rain drenching my clothes and the wind whipping my face.

The ending wrecked me as it depicted a beautiful reflection of God’s love. Have a box of tissues and your heart ready to go through the wringer.

I only discovered Patch a year ago, but she immediately skyrocketed to one of my favorite psychological thriller authors. While this story could potentially stand alone, I recommend starting with Her Darkest Secret and A Cry in the Dark, not only to fully understand the characters but because this series is too good to miss any part of it.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

The Wrong Woman by Leanne Kale Sparks

Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: February 2022

Years ago, Kendall Beck’s path collided with that of the notorious serial killer known as “Reaper.” She survived, but the traumatic events of that day have haunted and driven her ever since. Now an FBI Special Agent, Kendall will stop at nothing to secure justice for other victims. While in the middle of a heart-wrenching case — the disappearance of a five-year-old girl — Kendall’s own best friend and roommate vanishes only to be found dead, floating in a lake. To find the murderer, Kendall joins forces with detective Adam Taylor. She soon discovers that those around her concealed more secrets than she ever imagined, and the Reaper might not be as far in the past as she thought.

Leanne Kale Sparks’ The Wrong Woman is an intense, twisted thriller. While a strong debut, it felt a bit like a rollercoaster at times — a slow start, brilliant middle, and disappointing end. The novel opens with several seemingly unrelated threads. Although everything connects eventually, at first it comes across as too disjointed and feels like too much set up while waiting to reach the actual story. As it is no spoiler, Kendall’s traumatic past and how it has colored her present should have been hinted at from the start as it made her more relatable. In addition, it would have tied the events together more seamlessly.

Once Gwen’s body appears and the investigation begins, the story kicks off, gripping the reader. I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. I was riveted and needed to know what would happen to the characters, why Reaper had come back into Kendall’s life after all these years, and how they would stop him/her. Sparks masterfully built up the story, pinning me to my seat and snatching the air right from my lungs. I couldn’t wait for the big twist. The end came, but not the twist. Reaper turned out to be the obvious character who didn’t make sense or fit as the serial killer. The investigators themselves mentioned that the culprit didn’t follow the known pattern for that type of serial killer and that the case wrapped up a bit too nicely. Possibly, the story is being set up as a series, but if so, that should have been made clear. As is, with all the build up, the reader walks away feeling disappointed and cheated.

Although the crimes take place off the page, due to their disturbing, sexual nature (toward women and children), I had to skip over a few of the conversations between the investigators. While it is, unfortunately, a horrid reality for some, I just couldn’t stomach it.

All in all, Sparks talent for storytelling and mysteries has me looking forward to what else she brings in the future.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication Date: September 2021

On the outside, television reporter Lily Atwood has it all, fame, wealth, looks, and an equally perfect daughter she would do anything for. On the inside, she conceals a dark secret that would shatter the perfect facade she has built.

For months, an anonymous source has fed her tips, exposing society’s deepest secrets and giving Lily news-breaking stories. But now, the sights have turned. The source is revealing things about her own life that no one should know and threatening to expose her.

Her Perfect Life plunges readers into an intense, twisty page-turner. Hank Phillippi Ryan brilliantly utilizes the unreliable narrator to the novel’s advantage. Alternating between Lily and her producer’s POV (point of view), each woman has vastly different perceptions of themselves and each other which left me questioning which one, if either, was the truth. I often didn’t know whether to like or dislike them, but I always needed to know what would happen next, making the book hard to put down. With an additional group of characters who aren’t always what they seem, I was kept guessing until the last page. Even when I figured out several of the secrets, shocking twists still awaited me at the end. I love it when an author manages to surprise me!

A story of deceit, appearances, and consequences, Ryan shows that the “perfect life” is rarely what it’s cracked up to be. The truth has a way of finding the light. Fast-paced and intriguing, I recommend Her Perfect Life to readers who enjoy suspense and matching wits with the author.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

Everybody Lies by Emily Cavanagh

Genre: Mystery, Thrillers, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: October 2020

While to most Great Rock Island is a summer-holiday destination, to Evvy and a small group of locals, it is home. Every year, when the cold rolls in carrying storms off the Atlantic, the island reverts to being just theirs for a few months. However, the discovery of an outsider’s body lying on the snow-covered beach shakes the community. Evvy’s own life is plunged into fear and chaos when it comes to the light that Ian, her partner, was the last person to see the victim alive. As questions, suspicions, and gossip mount, Evvy will do whatever it takes to protect her daughter.

The promise of a murder-mystery set to the backdrop of an isolated community where beauty turns to nightmare and tight-knit to claustrophobic had me running to read Everybody Lies by Emily Cavanagh. Sadly, I soon discovered it was more small-town drama and less mystery — specifically that of two families and their twisted lives. Between the lies, the cheating, the drugs, and enough bad decisions between them to sink the entire island, I couldn’t connect or empathize with any of them. The writing itself is not bad, but with no likable characters to keep me invested, I found myself skimming after the forty percent mark, even then only because I had committed to reviewing it.

In the end, I think the main issue was a book not reaching the right hands. A reader looking for a family drama, a story that dwells on the downward spiral of poor choices, and the heartbreaking effects of drugs could like Everybody Lies.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

Robert B. Parker’s Fool’s Paradise by Mike Lupica

Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: GP Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: September 2020

When a body is found at the lake in Paradise, Chief of Police Jesse Stone is surprised to recognize the victim. Jesse doesn’t know his name, where he comes from, why he is in town, but the evening before both sat in the same AA meeting. Without an ID or a missing person’s report matching the victim, Jesse’s only lead comes in the form of a taxi driver who recalls dropping off the stranger outside the mansion of one of Paradise’s wealthiest families.

After Jesse escapes a meteor shower of bullets sprayed into his home, he wonders if it could be related to the case. But when someone also targets Molly Crane and Suitcase Simpson, it becomes evident that someone is out for Paradise PD blood.

I am a fan of Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series. I have read the books multiple times and watched the films based on them even more. However, I had never read any of the installments that came after the author’s passing, until now. Mostly because I feared they wouldn’t live up to the original. The experience has left me feeling somewhat indifferent.

Penned by Mike Lupica, Fool’s Paradise delivers that slow-burn mystery Parker fans expect; however, it never quite managed to grasp that Jesse Stone feel. At all times, it felt like I read someone else’s take on the series and characters. Granted that’s essentially what this is, and I can only imagine how difficult it must be for a writer to step into another author’s shoes. Still, I’d hoped to have moments where I forgot that fact.

Since Lupica isn’t the only writer to continue Parker’s legacy, I will give some other books a chance to see if this was a one off or all of them missed the Jesse Stone vibe. Even if they all fall short, I might continue reading them simply going in with lower expectations.

The mystery itself was okay, nothing surprising but entertaining. It also brought back a lot of the original characters. Consequently, readers who know Parker’s stories will probably connect with this one more than those coming into it for the first time.

Though some expletives are expected from this series, I could have done with a lot less. Readers should be aware of potential triggers, namely in regard to attempted rape and the talk about it.

On page one, the author included a paragraph telling about how diverse Paradise had become in the past twenty years. It felt tacked on and out of place, as though added as a marketing ploy for the current environment. I don’t want to be told something is a certain way, I want to see it. After that paragraph, the story continued on as any other Jesse Stone novel.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!