Tag: thriller

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“everything we fear finds us eventually, so there’s no point trying to outrun it.”
― Stuart Turton, The Last Murder at the End of the World

Stuart Turton’s latest novel, The Last Murder at the End of the World, is a genre-bending murder mystery that contains elements of science fiction, crime thrillers, and dystopia.

An island in the middle of the ocean holds what is left of humanity. A fog swept the world, killing anyone and everything it touched. Thanks to the work of three scientists living on the island, a security system is in place keeping the fog at bay. 122 villagers live with the scientists, fishing and farming, supplying the island with what they need to survive.

Their idyllic lives are shattered when, upon waking one morning, they discover one of the scientists dead in a burning building. They quickly learn that the death triggered the security system to lower, bringing the fog closer and closer to the island. With only hours left before the fog destroys the island and kills them all, they must figure out what happened to the scientist. Obstacles repeatedly pop up during the investigation, leading the villagers chasing leads all over the island. The truth will be hard to figure out, but the clock is ticking. If they don’t solve this mystery, the fog will wipe their problems, and their lives, away.

This is a book that is hard to talk about without giving too much away. Let me start by saying that the beginning of this book gives off very much ‘hippie commune thrown for a loop by a crime’ vibes. I love that. The rest of the book is chock full of twists and turns as they try to solve the crime. This was a very quick read, but I found it to be difficult to follow at times in the audiobook as two of the characters’ accents were only *slightly* different. Overall, The Last Murder at the End of the World was intriguing and had me hooked to the very end.

Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Do you keep a list of what you’re reading? I do! When looking over my list recently, I noticed that it’s been a while since I read a psychological thriller. For my latest read, I turned to Shari Lapena, a psychological thriller writer, and her 2023 book, Everyone Here is Lying. This domestic suspense title is quickly paced, well-written, and ripe with suspicion. The author switches between multiple points-of-view which adds layers to this book, making readers unsure of who is actually telling the truth and what their true motivations are. While some parts of this book had me rolling my eyes, the twist caught me out of nowhere and I didn’t see the ending coming!

Stanhope is a safe neighborhood where nothing bad ever happens. Saying that practically guarantees that something bad is going to happen immediately and destroy many families. Well, the residents of Stanhope are about to have their worlds shattered on the afternoon of a normal Tuesday.

William Wooler is a stand-up guy. He’s a family man, a practicing doctor, but he’s also been having a torrid affair. Every Tuesday for months he’s been meeting his mistress at a motel in town. He thought they would leave their spouses and start a new life. Those plans are shattered when the affair ends horribly at the at motel. Left shattered and angry, William returns home, hoping for silence. His bad mood only worsens when he walks into the house to find his nine-year-old daughter Avery in the kitchen, sent home early from choir practice. Avery is difficult. Their conversation soon turns testy and William lashes out, losing his temper.

Flash forward a couple hours and Avery is declared missing. The community rallies around the Wooler family as they are united in grief over the missing Avery. When the detectives start poking around, they soon realize that Avery’s disappearance isn’t what they thought it was. William isn’t the only one lying. Others in their neighborhood are keeping secrets. When witnesses start coming forward, the detectives must wade through their stories to determine who is telling the truth. They all want the same thing after all. They all want to know who took Avery. They all want Avery to come home safely. Right?

As always, Lapena ends this book leaving you wanting more, yet sadly she writes standalone. You’ll have to come to your own conclusions about what happens to the characters after the book ends!

This title is also available in large print, CD audiobook, and Playaway audiobook.

The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

- Stephanie Leave a comment

My latest read is a continuation of my favorite young adult series of all time. The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the first in a new series of the same name. This series takes place in the world of the Inheritance Games series written by the same author. If you want to avoid spoilers, make sure to read the Inheritance Games series first – at least through book 3, The Final Gambit, where the Grandest Game competition is announced. (Confused? Scroll to the bottom of this blog for a list of both series!) Let’s get into the book.

Ok! It’s time for the Grandest Game! This annual competition was started by billionaire heiress Avery Grambs and the four Hawthorne brothers. Why are they doing this? Well Avery inherited the Hawthorne family fortune out of nowhere and honestly it doesn’t feel right to her to keep it all. As a way to give anyone and everyone a shot at winning fame and fortune, they have designed the Grandest Game! The competition this year requires participants to claim one of seven golden tickets – some people find the tickets, while others are hand-chosen by Avery. What do you get when you win? Millions of dollars (and maybe something else).

All seven players have different motivations for competing and are committed to doing whatever it takes to win. What they don’t know is that Avery and the Hawthorne brothers aren’t going to make this easy. Where’s the fun in that? The challenges they have concocted are designed to push each player to their limits. The players may have secrets, but Avery and the Hawthorne brothers know all and aren’t afraid to use that to their advantage. The longer the games advance though, the more it becomes apparent that someone is cheating and working outside the prescribed rules. With their lives on the line, each player must ask themselves if they are willing to risk it all.

This title is also available in large print.

Inheritance Games series

  1. The Inheritance Games (2020)
  2. The Hawthorne Legacy (2021)
  3. The Final Gambit (2022)
  4. The Brothers Hawthorne (2023)
  5. Games Untold (2024)

Grandest Game series

  1. The Grandest Game (2024)
  2. Glorious Rivals (2025)

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“You couldn’t question it, or take it for granted. You had to be grateful. Because what had been given to you could just as easily be taken away.”
― Sally Hepworth, Darling Girls

Norah, Jessica, and Alicia may not be blood related, but they are sisters in every other sense of the word. The three women met when they were each placed separately with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother, at a gorgeous and idyllic farming estate called Wild Meadows. Each girl was rescued from a different family tragedy and told how lucky they were to be brought to Miss Fairchild. They hoped for a second chance at a happy family life, but Miss Fairchild had other plans.

Miss Fairchild may have greeted them with positive hopeful intentions, but their childhoods slowly morphed into something for which the three girls were unprepared. Their hopeful fairy tale shattered into pieces when Miss Fairchild revealed her not-so-nice side. Crossing Miss Fairchild by not following her rules or for any unpredictable reason could land the girls in major trouble.

The girls, desperate to escape, search for a way to save themselves. Once they are able to run away from Miss Fairchild, they are hopeful that they will never have to see her or visit Wild Meadows again. Their hopes are dashed when, as adults, they receive phone calls from detectives alerting them that a body had been found under the Wild Meadows house. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are called back, but be it as victims or suspects is still up for debate. Returning as adults isn’t easy for the sisters. Long-held secrets are drudged up as the three work through issues from their past and their present in an attempt to solve this new crime.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth had me hooked from the beginning. Set in Australia, Hepworth breaths life into her characters and surroundings with compelling narratives and well-written dialogue. Just when you think you have the story figured out, she throws in twists and turns that push you in a completely different direction. What really drew me in was the deep connection between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia and how that bond was unbreakable. Hepworth doesn’t hesitate to discuss how childhood traumas can affect adults, even taking time to discuss the nitty gritty of the traumas they suffered.

This title is also available in Playaway audiobook, large print, and CD audiobook.

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“Always know your own weaknesses,” her father told her. “Know them better than your worst enemy and no one will be able to pull the wool over your eyes.”
― Jean Kwok, The Leftover Woman

Two women from vastly different circumstances face impossible choices in Jean Kwok’s newest novel, The Leftover Woman.

Jasmine has arrived in New York City with little money, no family support, and no plan. All she knows is that she needs to get money together to pay off her smugglers so she won’t be forced into servitude. Jasmine escaped her rural Chinese village after learning that her controlling husband had lied to her about her stillborn daughter. Her daughter is actually alive, was taken from Jasmine at birth and sent away. When Jasmine finally finds a steady way to make money in New York City, she knows that her freedom is limited. It’s only a matter of time before her husband tracks her down and drags her back home with him. If she hopes to find her daughter, she must act fast.

Rebecca Whitney is a publishing executive whose high-powered career, adoring husband, and adopted Chinese daughter keep her beyond busy. To help her family stay on track, they have hired a Chinese nanny to make sure their daughter is immersed in her birth culture and to give them some free time. Rebecca is grateful for the nanny, especially when she finds herself part of a publishing scandal that could destroy her career, her family, and the business her father worked so hard to secure. Her family name won’t be enough to shield Rebecca and her family from the disaster lurking in the shadows.

Though Rebecca and Jasmine couldn’t be more different, they face similar issues. Running from their problems won’t work forever, forcing the two to confront their issues in order to move forward. This book is full of unreliable narrators, a staple of this author’s writing style. The characters explore issues of identity, belonging, family, and what it means to be a mother. Economic and cultural differences may separate them, but the issues they face are all similar deep down.

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

- Stephanie Leave a comment

What would you be willing to sacrifice to become a writer? Sulari Gentill explores this question in her latest novel, The Mystery Writer.

Theodosia Benton is in crisis. She doesn’t want to be in law school anymore, so she drops out, flees Australia, and ends up on the doorstep of her older brother Gus, a practicing lawyer in Lawrence, Kansas. She expects Gus to be disappointed, to try to talk her out of her decision, and to tell their parents on her, especially when he finds out that she wants to be an author. Instead, Gus welcomes her into his home, helps her establish a routine, and supports her on her journey to be a writer.

Theo spends her days writing at a pub, finding solace amongst other writers and working hard on her first novel. She finds a mentor who gives her tips and advice on her book. When her mentor is brutally murdered, Theo finds herself drawn into a underground world full of people who aren’t what they say they are and who are willing to do whatever it takes to find the truth. Theo wants answers, but when the police focus in on her brother and his partner as their prime suspects, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to save them all. The race to the truth will take years.

This story had me captured from the start. There’s murder, conspiracy theories, disappearances, doomsday preppers, lawyers, writers, and shady people galore throughout this book. As a true crime lover, I also love conspiracy theories and this book is full of all different kinds. This book goes off the rails and I loved it. The mixed media elements in the book added to the chaos and helped add context to the plot. The characters were off-kilter, yet lovable, and the conspiracy theories were based enough in reality that I could picture this happening in real life. I can’t wait for the author’s next book.

QCL Book Club March Wrap-up and Introduction to April Reads!

- Brittany Leave a comment
woman with pearls with a salmon background

In March, Morgan and I read The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict to celebrate Women’s History Month. Below is a short synopsis of the book and what I thought of it! 

woman with pearls with a salmon backgroundThe Only Woman in the Room is a fictionalized first-person account of famous actress, Hedy Lamarr. From her time starting out as an aspiring actress in Austria, to a marriage to a powerful gentleman known as The Merchant of Death, Hedy faced many trials pre-war. Leaving acting to be a wife, Hedy spends many evenings hosting dinner parties with her husband and honing in on her acting abilities to hide her true feelings towards her husband and his colleagues. Often the only woman in the room, Hedy found herself learning the horrors of war and the power that her husband’s business acquaintances held. Afraid for her life, Hedy flees to America to find refuge but cannot escape the horrors of her past decisions and the events affecting her loved ones back in Austria.

Once in America, Hedy uses her influence and a key confidant to develop technology to end the war and redeem her for the decisions of her past.

This book had such an interesting premise and was such a great read to celebrate Women’s History Month!

 

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Morgan and I have a very exciting lineup of book options for April, below are four titles including our winning read! Feel free to check them all out from Davenport Public Library! 

**April Pick!
Someone We Know by Shari Lapeña (In Honor of National Letter Writing Month) 

It’s a quiet suburb in upstate New York, until anonymous letters start to arrive. “My son broke into your home recently while you were out.” Into their homes, and into their computers as well. Learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too. When a woman down the street is found murdered, the tension reaches the breaking point. Who killed her? Who knows more than they’re telling? And how far will all these very nice people go to protect their own secrets? — adapted from back cover   

 

 

Sunrise on Half Moon Bay by Robyn Carr (In Honor of National Siblings Day on April 10th) 

 Adele and Justine have never been close. Born twenty years apart, Justine was already an adult when Addie was born. The sisters love each other but they don’t really know each other. When Addie dropped out of university to care for their ailing parents, Justine, a successful lawyer, covered the expenses. It was the best arrangement at the time but now that their parents are gone, the future has changed dramatically for both women. Addie had great plans for her life but has been worn down by the pressures of being a caregiver and doesn’t know how to live for herself. And Justine’s success has come at a price. Her marriage is falling apart despite her best efforts. Neither woman knows how to start life over, but both realize they can and must support each other the way only sisters can. Together they find the strength to accept their failures and overcome their challenges. Happiness is within reach, if only they have the courage to fight for it. — adapted from back cover

 

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle (In Honor of Lovers Day on April 23rd) 

Maybell Parrish prefers living in her own mind than socializing with others. When Maybell inherits a stately old Tennessee manor from her eccentric Great Aunt Violet, she realizes it’s the perfect opportunity to escape. After Maybell arrives at her new home, the manor is practically falling apart around her. Enter the handsome yet reclusive groundskeeper, Wesley Koehler who seems to want nothing to do with her. Beneath Wesley’s brooding exterior lies an anxiety that exceeds her own, she realizes they might have more in common than Maybell ever dreamed. — adapted from back cover 

 

 

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult (In Honor of Tell a Story Day on April 27th)

Sage Singer becomes friends with an old man who is particularly beloved in her community after they strike up a conversation at the bakery where she works. Josef Weber is everyone’s favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. One day he asks Sage for a favor, to kill him. Shocked, Sage refuses, but then he tells her he deserves to die. Once he reveals his secret, Sage wonders if he is right. Can someone who has committed a truly heinous act ever redeem themselves with good behavior? Should you offer forgiveness to someone if you are not the party who was wronged? And most of all, if Sage even considers his request, is it murder, or justice? What do you do when evil lives next door? — adapted from back cover 

 

If you are interested in any of these titles, or have read them, I want to talk about them! Please consider leaving a comment! Want to converse with other QCL Book Club followers? Consider joining our Goodreads Group! Our next QCL Book Club segment will be held May 6th during Quad Cities Live at 3pm on KWQC TV6!

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“And before you accuse me of telling my story in a labyrinthine manner, let me remind you this is a true story—and in real life, that’s how we communicate, isn’t it? We’re all over the place: we jump back and forth in time; slow down and expand on some moments; fast-forward through others; editing as we go, minimizing flaws and maximizing assets. We are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives.”
― Alex Michaelides, The Fury

Alex Michaelides’ latest novel, The Fury, relies heavily on unreliable narrators, which given the plots of his previous two books, The Silent Patient and The Maidens, shouldn’t come as a surprise. Unreliable narrators are narrators who can’t be relied upon to provide a trustworthy or completely accurate story. They may mislead readers, sometimes accidentally or deliberately. In my opinion, all first person narrators (those who are telling the story from their own point of view within the book) are unreliable narrators until you get to the end. The narrator in The Fury, Elliot Chase, tells the story from his perspective, whether or not it’s the 100% truth is up for you, the reader, to decide once he’s finished his story.

Have you ever read a story about a murder in the news and been curious about what led up to the crime? Well, Elliot Chase has a story for you. His best friend, an incredibly famous reclusive ex-movie star named Lana, has invited himself and her other closest friends to her private Greek island for a getaway over the Easter weekend. This isn’t anything new. Lana frequently invites her friends to the island as a way to escape the dreary English weather. What’s out of the ordinary this time? Murder. One of them will be dead before the weekend is over. This should be pretty easy to figure out. Everyone is trapped on an island cut off from others due to whipping winds and weather – this is a finite pool of people to figure out who the murderer and victim is. The murder, what led up to it, and its consequences were splattered all over the tabloids, but Elliot is able to give readers an insight into the story that no one else has. After all, he was privy to the gossip, revenge, and pettiness within their friend group. Elliot has been silent long enough. He has his own story to tell.

The Fury is also available in large print, as a CD audiobook, and as a Playaway audiobook.

[Note: Even though Alex Michaelides’ books aren’t in a series, they are interconnected. Characters from certain books are mentioned in others. Parts of some books are also mentioned in others. (This is all incredibly vague, but I can’t talk specifics without spoiling some parts). While they all may not seem like plot spoilers at the time of reading, some are, so I would recommend that you read his books in the order of publication: The Silent Patient (2019), The Maidens (2021), and The Fury (2024). ]

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann

- Stephanie Leave a comment

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp is the first book in the Agnes Sharp Murder Mysteries series written by Leonie Swann. This book is dark, but also funny and full of twists and turns. If you’re looking for a cozy mystery series featuring a group of senior citizens trying to solve a murder, this is for you!

Agnes Sharp has always wanted to be able to control her own life. Wanting to be surrounded by like-minded people, she created Sunset Hall, a house share for the elderly in the sleepy English countryside. At Sunset Hall, they all can control how they live and how they choose to spend their time. They may have mobility issues, misplaced reading glasses, different dietary tastes, and many other problems, but the most important fact is that the residents of Sunset Hall are all there for each other.

When a police officer knocks on their door one morning, nothing could prepare them for what he says: a dead body has been discovered at a house close to them. Quickly taking in this news, the group is relieved that the officer is there to tell them about their neighbor’s dead body and not the body that they are currently hiding in their shed out back. Confused about what to do with the dead body in their shed, the discovery of their dead neighbor couldn’t have come at a better time. They just have to find out who murdered their neighbor and then pin that murder on them (after all, said person has already murdered their neighbor, there’s nothing to say that they wouldn’t have murdered again, given the chance). Easy, right? With a plan in place, Agnes and her cohorts start looking for clues, venturing outside their comfortable norms and head to the village where they will have to interview locals and steer clear of the authorities to find the killer.

This book follows an eccentric group of seniors who are attempting to solve one murder while covering up another. The author mixes multiple sub-plots amongst the different points-of-view, which I enjoyed. The residents of Sunset Hall, alongside their pets, Hettie the tortoise and Brexit the dog, are delightful. The author portrayed the characters from their own point of view, which I appreciate in cozy mysteries. Readers are then allowed to see why these senior citizens choose to live on their own terms, alongside the challenges of aging and all the associated needs that come along with it. The twist at the end was also unexpected! I am intrigued enough to read more of their work.

What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie

- Stephanie Leave a comment

What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie may be a juvenile fiction book, but parts still left me scared, checking my back seat for ghosts, my basement for shadows, and jumping at noises. Did that stop me from reading? No way!

Ginny Anderson has her summer all figured out. She will be spending time with her best friend at a mystery writing workshop. The kink to her plan: her dad. He works as a restoration expert in Chicago, traveling and restoring old buildings. He has surprised the family with a month-long trip to Michigan where they will be staying at Woodmoor Manor, a twenty-six room mansion surrounded by a dense forest.

In case being separated from her best friend isn’t bad enough, the grounds and the mansion are supposedly haunted! It’s not just a falling apart mansion determined to ruin this vacation – it’s the rumors swirling around town. The locals are leery of Woodmoor Manor. They believe that the surrounding woods are home to mutated creatures with glowing eyes. Locals say that many campers set foot in the woods, disappearing, never to be seen again. Great place to vacation, right?

The forest around Woodmoor Manor can’t be the only reason that locals want to tear the mansion to the ground though. From the moment Ginny sets foot inside, weird things start happening. The mansion seems to have a life of its own. Creaky floors, unexplained shadows, ticking clocks, power surges, and much more increase in frequency the longer they stay. Wanting to head back to Chicago as quickly as possible, Ginny seeks to learn the history of Woodmoor Manor and the surrounding areas with the help of her brother and a new friend. What they discover is certainly not what they expected.

If you’re looking for a spooky mystery book with a strong female protagonist, this is for you. Currie has crafted a story that won’t leave readers scared, perfect for juvenile fiction! This book ends with all the creepy elements tied up neat and tidy. Readers will also explore strong themes of family, bravery, and friendship – essential topics for readers of all ages.

This title is also available as a CD audiobook.