Another excellent supernatural mystery by Simone St. James!
April and Eddie drive to their honeymoon destination but are waylaid when they find a young woman walking down the road. They offer her a ride and then discover she’s been stabbed so they rush her to the hospital. Little do they know, they’re opening a door to the evil that’s the cause of the disappearances over the past 20 years.
I could not put this book down!
Lauren just moved to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania to get away from the horrible experience she had during her junior year in California and will be starting her senior year in high school soon. She’s seeing Robbie secretly and uses their time together to escape the guilt of harming her ex-boyfriend in California and disfiguring him permanently. When school starts up, Lauren learns about Robbie’s past and she becomes afraid of him. Robbie and his brother Trevor are both suspected of killing their girlfriends. The more Lauren learns about the murders, the more danger she gets pulled into!
Likes/dislikes: I could not put the book down! It was so interesting and the suspense continued to build as I read the story. Two mysteries, with a third added in, made the book intense.
Mature content: R for on page sex, repeated underage drinking, smoking, and drugs.
Language: R for 105 swears and 53 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death, mention of murders, arson, and abduction.
Ethnicity: a mix of white, brown and black characters.
Another great mystery read from Holly Jackson!
Rachel Price, mother of 18yo Bel, has been missing for over sixteen years. Bel’s father needs money to care for his elderly father, so he decides to participate in a documentary about the disappearance of his wife, Rachel Price. Bel doesn’t want to rehash everything over and over again but she wants to help her dad. She wonders if the documentary will help find her mom by rekindling the investigation. Also, Bel can’t shake the thought that her mom abandoned her all those years ago and that she just might be alive somewhere. The documentary is just the beginning of the chaos that’s to come.
Likes/dislikes: I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! The character development was interesting and the author showed Bel’s coping mechanisms of cruelty and shoplifting small items as a way to deal with the abandonment she’s had in her lifetime. The documentary idea was great as it helped show the changes in the family and Bel’s perspective of the situation.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 53 swears and 121 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for assault.
Ethnicity: predominantly white with mention of a brown skin background character.
I highly recommend this mystery for young adults!
16yo Paige and 16yo Audrey are summertime best friends. Paige is looking forward to seeing Audrey and 18yo Dylan, Paige’s long time crush, this summer when they all arrive at Clearwater Ridge. Audrey starts off the summer by talking about jobs and her goal to save enough money to buy her own horse, since she’s always wanted one and spends so much time at the equestrian club. Since Audrey is busy and growing distant, Paige and Dylan get to spend more time together. One summer night, Audrey never returns home and she becomes a missing person case and a year later there’s still no evidence or help in finding her. Dylan and Paige take it upon themselves to find Audrey and the deeper they dig, the more dangerous the situation becomes.
Likes/dislikes:
Mature Content: PG-13 for underage drinking.
Language: R for 61 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death and abuse.
Ethnicity: predominantly white.
Delightfully creepy!
17yo Emer is a curse writer that gives spells to women that are afraid and want protection. 17yo Jude has a demon following her and she’s suffering physically from the toll it’s taking on her. 17yo Zara wants to reanimate the sister she lost a year ago when she was murdered. The three young women end up working together to solve the murder mystery of a serial killer the police are calling the London Ripper. They get themselves in deeper than they bargained for and hopefully they won’t be the next victims.
Likes/dislikes: I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and the twists. I was spooked a few times by the creepy descriptions. I like the strength and perseverance of the three main characters, Emer, Jude and Zara. Jude adds humor to the story.
Mature Content: PG-13 for mention of drug use.
Language: R for 162 swears and 27 f-words.
Violence: R for repeated bloodshed and deaths.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mostly white with some Black, brown and olive skin tones included.
A fun, spooky read!
Tabatha apprentices for the famous and magical Solomon. He states, through several prophecies, that he will die. It’s a shock to everyone when he actually dies and it’s a brutal death. Tabatha is told by Solomon, before his death, to only trust his son Callum and no one else. Callum and Tabatha try to solve the murder mystery but get swept up in the unknown along the way.
Likes/dislikes: This book is such a fun read! I loved the spooky atmosphere and the mystery. Tabatha is a strong, persistent, interesting character.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 50 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG for deaths.
Ethnicity: The Solomon family members are white and Tabatha is Chinese American.
A perfect ending to this historical fantasy duology!
Two weeks after 18yo Iris was forced to watch her husband struggle against a gas bomb in the attack on Avalon Bluff, she’s back in Oath living with her brother Forest. 19yo Roman is trapped in Avalon Bluff under Dacre’s watchful care with no memory of who he is or his past. Iris manages to get her hands on the Alouette typewriter in the museum and uses it to search for Roman or anyone who may be using one of the other two Alouettes. Roman unknowingly writes back and forth with Iris as he gets his memory back a little at a time. He also sends a warning that Dacre will be invading the area that Iris is staying at while writing war correspondence. Roman is terrified that Dacre will learn of his secret messages and Iris is terrified of an invasion.
Likes/dislikes: Beautiful story telling. I love the brave and loyal characters. A riveting story and I didn’t want to put the book down.
Mature content: PG-13 for nondescript implied sex
Language: PG for 7 swears and no f-words
Violence: PG-13 for bloody fights and bloody wounds
Ethnicity: The ethnicity falls to white.
Alternating timelines in this engrossing mystery!
15yo Sana moves into a decrepit large house in Africa with her father. The other residents say it’s haunted and this makes Sana curious. She asks the other residents questions about the house and its past and she explores everything and every place in the house. In the attic, Sana discovers a diary and she reads until the ending. What she finds, haunts her and she hopes there’s more of the story to unravel.
Likes/dislikes: The book is slow and builds the setting and characters until the second half when the mystery piqued my interest and grabbed my attention. I found it fascinating that Sana was a conjoined twin but she’s the only one who survived and now Sana sees and hears her dead sister. I loved discovering the background of the haunted home that is the setting for this story.
Mature Content: G for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 14 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Indian and African with some white.
A perfectly enjoyable read!
18yo Iris works at a newspaper to help support her mother after her brother Forest was sent to war. She dropped out of college to work and she’s hoping for a promotion to columnist. 19yo Roman, Iris’ competitor for the columnist promotion, is rich and discovers that he’s been betrothed to a daughter of his father’s business acquaintance completely against Roman’s will. Iris and Roman have an unusual connection that he soon discovers but Iris is oblivious to. The mythological war soon takes over their lives and they have to fight to stay alive and get closer to the battle than they ever expected.
Likes/dislikes: I adore the slow burn romance. The fact that this book has very few swears is refreshing. I love Roman and Iris and enjoyed getting to know them and I also enjoyed the mystery of the letters.
Mature content: PG for kissing and implied sex, on page.
Language: PG for 5 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for grenade explosion in battle; bleeding from chemical weapons.
Ethnicity: Falls to white and the Bed and Breakfast owner has light brown skin.
Tenacity, bravery, and loyalty!
26yo Opal fiercely takes care of Jasper, her teenage brother, and has been his guardian since their mother drowned twelve years ago. Opal is bound and determined to give Jasper a promising future away from Eden, Kentucky. She earns money with part time jobs until she starts cleaning for Arthur Starling, the owner of Starling House. She knows there’s something off about the house but she doesn’t care. Opal just wants to earn money for Jasper to attend private school and Arthur pays nicely, even though the longer she stays there, the more she sees the strange goings on and can’t seem to pull herself away.
Likes/dislikes: I love Opal’s tenacity, bravery, and loyalty to her brother. The I was pulled into the story because of the mystery surrounding Starling House. I like how the author shared the background of the community, characters and Starling House.
Language: R for 172 swears and 63 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex, off page.
Violence: PG-13 for self harm blood sacrifice.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity falls to white Jasper has a brown skin father.
The Thought Spot 