The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

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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.

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang

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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 Voice Upstairs by Laura E. Weymouth

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A spooky mystery!

Wil and Ed have been best friends for as long as they can remember. They enjoy spending time together more than with anyone else and their feelings are growing stronger towards each other. Wil is known for her close connection with death and being able to see when someone will be dying soon. When mysterious and suspicious deaths happen at Ed’s manor, he asks Wil to help. The two soon discover that they are in way over their heads.

Likes/dislikes: The prose is beautiful. Wil and Ed are wonderful characters and I grew to love them both. The mystery surrounding them pulled me into the story and created intense suspense. The hauntings added a creepy vibe that gave another dimension to the story.
Language: PG-13 for 19 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: PG for passionate kissing.
Violence: PG-13 for deaths and bullying.
Ethnicity: falls to white. Ebony skinned maid and a terra cotta skinned laborer.

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis

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Intense mystery with fictional Holocaust ties!
Deception and suspicion fill this mystery. Friends are invited to the place where they gathered as young adults, years ago, The Chateau. Darcy is now 42 and her grandmother owns the Chateau and has invited Darcy and her friends for a gathering. I can’t say much without spoilers, but I enjoyed reading The Chateau and seeing the mystery unravel. I like how the history of each character intertwines within the story to make intense personal connections. I appreciate how the author tied the history of the Holocaust into the past, present and future. I enjoyed the artistic ties and the interesting information, fact and fiction, about Vincent Van Gogh.

Language: R for 78 swears and 41 f-words.
Mature content: implied sex and affair
Violence: fatal stabbing, two non fatal shootings
Ethnicity: Olive skin, caramel skin, white.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

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Another great book with a twist!
Mariana reminisces about her late husband and their memories as she tries to hang onto him a little longer. She’s a group therapist and has one patient she and the group struggle with, Henry. Henry has anger issues and was overcoming the extreme childhood abuse inflicted by his father until he began college. Then college overwhelmed him. Marina has a niece, Zoe, who’s attending Cambridge and calls Mariana when her friend Tara goes missing. As Mariana is traveling on a train to meet Zoe, she encounters Fred, a young man who kindly insists that they will meet again. After Mariana arrives at the college, she’s pulled into a belief that a professor is a murderer and she wants to prove it and goes to great lengths to do so as young women are murdered. The story alternates with the background of an abused victim and eventually the reader learns who it is. Another great book with a twist from Alex Michaelides, 5 stars!

We’ll Never Tell by Wendy Heard

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Mystery Explorers!

Eddie and Jacob, both 18, and Zoe and Casey, 17, have created a popular show about Los Angeles buildings that are sealed off or partly sealed off to the public. The show is called “We’ll Never Tell” and the teenagers keep their true identities secret as they investigate, search and record what they discover. One of these places is known as the Murder House where a couple died fifty years ago. After they’ve broken into the Murder House and are searching, Jacob is stabbed. The other three freak out and the mystery pulls the police into a twisted investigation that will change everything.

Likes/dislikes: The mystery is interesting. I enjoyed the variety of character personalities. I like how the mystery was revealed.
Language: R for 61 swears and 1 f-word.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex with no details, detailed kissing.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody stabbing, breaking and entering, bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Jacob is white, Eddie is Chinese American, Zoe is Philippine American and Casey is white.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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The best twist I didn’t see coming!

Alicia (painter) loves her husband but stops herself from thinking too deeply about how far she would go to be one with him. Next, she’s accused of murdering him after being found in their home with her wrists cut and her husband chained to a chair dead from a shooting to his face.
Then Theo, a psychotherapist, is introduced and he’s hired for a job at Grove, the hospital where Alicia now resides.
Theo breaks through Alicia’s silence and she gives him her diary. This gives Theo insight into Alicia’s trauma and evidence of the murder.
I don’t want to say more because it may spoil it for future readers, but this is an encompassing book full of intelligent twists! I highly recommend reading this intense murder mystery!

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

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A haunting that takes the reader into the mind of a killer!

In 1982, 20yo Vivian opens the story as she arrives at work for the night shift in Fell, New York at the Sun Down Motel. Thirty five years later in 2017, Vivian’s niece, 20yo Carly, arrives in Fell to investigate her aunt’s disappearance. Vivian is one among several women that are surrounded by unknown circumstances, four others were found murdered. This begins a haunted story that will take Carly through her Aunt Vivian’s last days and into the thoughts of a killer. Excellent story, 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: Spooky hauntings and great writing with alternating points of view between Carly and Vivian.
Language: R for 127 swears and 17 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex by mentioning getting rid of virginity.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: predominantly white.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard

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Riveting mystery!

32yo Summer and 22yo Leo are con artists and thieves who prey on rich people and they’re very good at it. Summer comes from a hippie lifestyle and her mom never gave her a last name and she doesn’t have a clue who her father is or where her mom has been for the last fifteen years after she left so Summer could “spread her wings”. Leo left her desolate family after her sister died because everyone was so depressed and when her parents looked at her they became sad all over again because Leo looks so much like her deceased sister Amber. When Leo doesn’t keep in contact with Summer for a day, she assumes Leo is missing. She’s determined to find her and make sure she’s alright but when the guy Leo was with denies being with her still, Summer worries that the worst has happened. Riveting mystery! 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: The story kept my attention and I didn’t want to put it down. I liked learning the backstory of Summer and Leo and the mystery was nicely intertwined. I don’t appreciate the book being promoted as young adult because it is written for adults as the characters are full-fledged adults.
Language: R for 100 swears and 24 f-words.
Mature content: R for somewhat detailed sex and gaslighting.
Violence: PG-13 for strangulation and shooting.
Ethnicity: White and olive skin main characters and mixed races present in side characters.