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Monday, July 11, 2022

Show Me Your Books - June

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Hi all! So June was a good month for reading for me at least. I started the month off in Graeagle and ended the month in surgery recovery. I got quickly tired of TV, so I did a lot of reading. Now that isn't to say that I wouldn't fall asleep reading and pick it back up when I woke up, but I read 3 books and started number 4. That hasn't happened in months.

So what did I read last month?

The Night Shift - Alex Finlay
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Rating: 4 to 4 1/2 stars

The Night Shift - Alex Finley

I have read a lot of Alex Finlay's books and have always enjoyed them. A few other blogger friends recommended this book as they got it right before it came out. So when it became available to me, I read it quickly. It was the first book that I read on my Graeagle trip.

The premise of the book is straight out a horror movie. Four friends who work at a Blockbuster are attacked and killed with only one survivor. That survivor is now a trauma counselor. It has been 15 years since the Blockbuster murders, and now the same thing happens at a local ice cream shop. Are they connected?

The story goes between Ella, the girl who survived the first attack and FBI agent Sarah. They are both invested in finding the killer and seeing if it is connected to the first set of murders. Especially when the same comment was said to Ella and the lone survivor of the ice cream attack.

While this gets very mixed review on Amazon, I thought it was a good book. It kept me guessing, even though I figured out a few things ahead of time. I did feel like it needed a chapter or more to tie up a few things, but overall, I enjoyed it.

Here is Amazon's synopsis:

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in New Jersey, four teenagers working late at the store are attacked. Only one inexplicably survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again.

Fifteen years later, more teenage employees are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive.

In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who’s convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller who must delve into the secrets of both nights—stirring up memories of teen love and lies—to uncover the truth about murders on the night shift.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Nine Lives - Peter Swanson

I have also read a lot of Peter Swanson's books. This one gets so so reviews on Amazon as well. Nine people get a letter or basically a piece of paper mailed to them that has just nine names on it, including the person it was sent to. There is nothing else on it. And one of the people it is sent to is a FBI agent. Since it was sent to a FBI agent, obviously the FBI steps in. They try to contact all nine people to see if there is any connection. 

So basically it goes through nine different perspectives, but that is only at first as each section, someone from that list dies. It is up to the FBI and these nine people to figure out how they are connected, if they are connected and how to stop this from happening.

While I found it difficult to remember everyone at the beginning of the book, it was still an enjoyable read. I just didn't remember many of the "first to die" people. 

While I did guess some of what happened, I didn't guess the whole thing. And one part seemed a bit outlandish, but it is a book and you want books to take you to other places.

Here is Amazon's synopsis:

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list.

First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it?

FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next…

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Rating: 4 stars
Last Girl Ghosted - Lisa Unger

I read this in one day. I love how Lisa Unger writes. This book I have had three different times, but never read more than one page as I had other books in que that expired first and just kept getting this book. But I finally read it while I was recovering and reading it in one day, says a lot about this book.

While I did guess the big twist before it came, I didn't guess the whole ending. But since I read it so quickly, love the way Lisa Unger writes and captivates you, I gave it 4 stars.

Wren is lonely, so her friend convinces her to go on a dating site. She matches with Adam, and at first she doesn't think too much of him. But after their first date, she is smitten. They spend months together before he just ups and disappears. She is devastated. Then she gets a visit from a PI looking for Adam, and that Adam may have been connected to some girls disappearances. Wren doesn't think this could be her Adam, so she guards herself and what she knows about Adam.

I really liked learning about Wren's upbringing, how it shaped her to be who she is today and how she could be ghosted like she was. 

Here is Amazon's synopsis:

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?

But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn't that always what women think—that they're the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she's looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she's not sure whether she's the predator—or the prey.

And now I am reading The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, which is so far really good.

What have you read recently?

14 comments :

  1. Last Girl Ghosted sounds interesting, I will have to check that one out. I loved Night Shift.

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    1. It was good. I think it is definitely worth the read. Night Shift was really good!

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  2. I really liked the Night Shift and I still have Nine Lives to read.

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    1. It is a good one and maybe better to listen to? Maybe you won't mix the characters up as much. But still a great read.

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  3. I’m happy to hear you are really liking your current read. Regine
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  4. Oh adding these to my list! Thanks for sharing :)

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  5. One upside of surgery is getting to read more! Sounds like you found some really interesting stories.

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  6. Oh wow - last girl ghosted sounds really good!! I loved the Golden Couple!

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    1. It is really good. I LOVED the Golden Couple. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

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  7. All of these sound really good! My reading wish list is a mile long!

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