Alex Marks, a copywriter for a pharmaceutical company, is a lonely woman who works from home. Really, the only things that make her happy are her two Alex Marks, a copywriter for a pharmaceutical company, is a lonely woman who works from home. Really, the only things that make her happy are her two friends - Janice, a waitress at a diner, and Raymond, a former detective who is a regular at said diner - and reading. One of her favorite things to read is a weekly advice column in the New York Herald, called “Dear Constance”. For decades, Francis Keen, aka Constance, has given advice to a national audience - an audience that is stunned when they hear that she was murdered at her summer house.
Alex is one of her readers who is devastated by the news. She looked up to Francis, and never missed her columns. It’s not until she sees an advertisement from Howard Dimitri, the paper’s editor in chief, that she decides to come out of a shell she’d imposed on herself, and applies to be the new Constance. When a snooty secretary named Jonathan calls Alex with the news that Howard wants to meet her, she almost backs out. Luckily (or maybe not), she decides to go ahead with the interview, where she is hired on the spot. They loved her sample columns, and want her to start right away.
After months of having no advice columnist, the letters have piled up, and Alex is looking through all of them, trying to find the perfect story for her first column. She finds many letters signed by “Lost Girl”, asking for advice about how to leave her abusive relationship, but she decides to go with a different person - and her first column of advice was a hit. “Dear Constance” is back, and Alex is loving her new job, despite it putting her in the spotlight. Soon, she has made a couple of work friends, and she also met a man at the coffee shop by her office. Tom just happens to be a banker with an office directly across the street from Howard’s, and has seen some interesting sights when working late. Howard is married to Regina, whose father owns the building and the newspaper. Is he risking it all by having an affair?
This was a great mystery, with an ending I definitely did not see coming! This also makes me nostalgic for the job I had in college, writing news briefs and obituaries for the local paper. I, too, had a boss who had liquid lunches. I, too, had to occasionally go to the old part of the building, where everything felt scary yet amazing. And I, too, loved everything about it - the smells, the sounds, the grueling hours and how delicate the pages from over a century ago are. This book took me back there, while also giving me a page-turner of a story. I absolutely loved it! 4.5 stars, rounded up.
(Thank you to Atria Books, Jessa Maxwell and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on August 13, 2024.)...more
Addison McKellar has a problem on her hands. Her husband Dean has vanished, and it’s been a week since she or their children have heard from him. DeanAddison McKellar has a problem on her hands. Her husband Dean has vanished, and it’s been a week since she or their children have heard from him. Dean did this once before - he ran off for five days, leaving her frantic. But the last time it happened, he promised it would never happen again. She keeps calling his office, but all his secretary Amanda will say is that he’s in the UK.
Finally, Addison goes to Dean’s office at McKellar Construction, trying to get some answers. She hits the elevator button for his floor, but when the doors open, all she finds is a decorating business that has been there for two years. They’ve never heard of Dean, or his construction company. That’s when Addison decides to hire a private investigator, Porter Hayes.
The part of the book I just wrote about was great, but soon after, the book completely unraveled for me, with way too many plot lines, way too many characters, some with multiple names, and several government agencies that get involved. Addison and Porter are great characters, but the rest of the disjointed book steeped in international crime took away from their stories. I don’t think I’d call this a thriller; this is more a slow burn action/crime book. It definitely has an audience, but unfortunately, not with me. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
(Thank you to William Morrow, Ace Atkins and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)...more
Gina and Owen have been dating for just seven weeks when he secretly decides he wants to propose to her. Before he does, he wants to take her to meet Gina and Owen have been dating for just seven weeks when he secretly decides he wants to propose to her. Before he does, he wants to take her to meet his parents - he’s very close with them, especially his mother, and this will be the first woman he’s brought home to meet them. Gina is more than happy to go…because this just so happens to be a chance to close a terrible chapter in her life.
Marta and Grant Whitlock are definitely imposing characters, with their “little cabin in the woods” that is more like a mansion, and their perfect images. Marta is homemaker supreme, never mind that her son no longer lives with her and is in his 40s. Grant is retired, no longer constantly on hectic business trips, which makes Marta happy because those trips usually ended up with extracurricular activities. Their taste is eclectic yet refined, they live for Owen and have spent their lives making sure he has the best of everything, and they are both absolutely wicked.
From the start, we see that Gina is with Owen for revenge, and that Marta knows something about Gina’s past. Though they’ve just met, they already have a horrible, and unspoken, bond - the question is, who will crack first? These women both want to kill each other, and only one will be victorious. The event that binds them is surprising, and the surprises keep coming all the way to the final page, even after the Whitaker house burns to the ground.
This was a really fun thriller - it was suspenseful with some dark humor sprinkled throughout - or maybe that was just me laughing at how deviously delicious this story is! Definitely a page-turner, this will keep you enthralled the whole way through; the story spans twenty years, but it never became disjointed or convoluted. Overall, this is a great read that most thriller readers will enjoy! Four stars.
(Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me on this book tour. “Meet The Parents” is slated to be released on August 28, 2024.)...more
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