A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

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A man is discovered murdered on his houseboat. A neighbor lady finds his body. Several characters are added into the mix, each with a connection to the murdered man, Daniel. We learn about Daniel, his mother Angela, his Aunt Carla and Uncle Theo, his one night stand Laura, all alternating with snippets from a killer’s point of view. The writing is impressive in the way everything and everyone connects and once the characters were all introduced, the storyline fell into place and flowed through to the ending. A very interesting mystery involving a few different timelines that’s worth every minute spent reading, 5 stars!

They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

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The Steckler sisters are on their high school cross country running team. They live in Edgewater which is known for a string of murders of young adult women runners. The town’s name was changed to Deadwater in the papers because of these unsolved murders. Nothing fatal has happened recently and the town is booming with tourism once again. Ellie and Stella Steckler are both keeping secrets from each other but they eventually realize that they are there for each other to lean on and have each other’s backs. A runner goes missing and the town goes into lockdown mode once again until safety can be ensured. Secrets are revealed and eyes are opened in this small tourist town, 4 stars!

Burden Falls by Kat Ellis

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Creepy fun!

Ava lives with her Uncle Ty and his wife Carolyn. They became her guardians after her parents were killed in a car accident not long ago. They’re now moving into a cottage and out of the family ancestral manor to save money. Uncle Ty is a teacher at her school and that’s good and not so good, depending on the situation. Ava loves art and drawing and has applied to an art program that will only accept one student from her school. Freya happens to be another applicant and Ava and Freya aren’t kind to each other. Freya is a Miller and Ava is a Thorn. The two families have a long-standing feud and no one is sure what exactly started it. Freya’s father ran into the car that Ava’s parents and Ava were in when they died. Ava blames him for her parents’ deaths. A girl is found dead and soon more deaths follow. The supernatural legends run deep in this story and Ava is right in the middle of it all. One of my favorite frightening reads to date and a deliciously creepy read for young adults, 5 stars!

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

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The accused Ruby returns to town after the trial is thrown out. So, fourteen months after being arrested for killing the neighbors by gas asphyxiation, Ruby walks right into Harper’s home almost like she never left. Harper doesn’t know what to think or how to handle the situation. There’s a neighborhood meeting called, Ruby wasn’t invited, and it’s a reminder to watch for anything or anyone that doesn’t belong. Basically, Ruby. The situation twists and becomes something no one expects. Megan Miranda weaves another mystery worth reading, 5 stars!

Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie Richards

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A fun, fantastic horror story!

Cleo gets done showering and sees a gift- wrapped package on the bathroom sink that wasn’t there before she got in the shower. She assumes it’s from a family member or friend but when she asks about it, no one has any idea about the package. This freaks Cleo out so she calls the police and the cop is respectful and helps her realize that she did the right thing by calling. No victim shaming. Her best friend Hope shows up in the meantime. The officer finds a few windows unlocked in her house but nothing else. After the officer leaves, the two friends find another box containing a scavenger hunt clue like the first package. The hunt grows creepier as the clues dredge up memories that Cleo would like to forget. This mystery gets more interesting as the creep factor cranks up! A fun, fantastic horror story, 5 stars!

Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant

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Unique, interesting mystery!

Viv has somehow ended up in a coma. The story alternates between the police officer questioning people that know Viv and the time lines before and after the episode that sent her into a coma. We get the points of view from Viv, Davida, Tim and the people being questioned. Through this, we discover more about the characters and what happened before and after the party. Viv struggles with her dysfunctional family life and deals with her problems by drinking alcohol. She’s hiding it from everyone except a taxi driver that’s helped her and wants to protect her. The suspense builds the closer the party gets and the suspect pool grows and then narrows as the mystery winds down. A unique, interesting mystery, 4 stars!

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

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Twisty mystery!

Pip is determined to never investigate another mystery until her friend’s brother ends up missing. Connor and his mom, Joanne, convince Pip that they need her help to find Jamie and the more she investigates, the more questions pop up. It’s a tangled web of people, clues and history. Ravi is with her completely, once again and Pip realizes that she’s lying to her parents more and more so they don’t get upset about her over-involvement in the investigation. This is a twisty mystery that kept me guessing, 5 stars! I’m completely looking forward to the third book of this series!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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Intricate, enjoyable mystery!

Pip is doing her Capstone Project on a five-year-old disappearance case that took place in her town. She isn’t sure that the case was truly solved. She introduces herself to everyone that she thinks was involved in Andie Bell’s disappearance and ruffles lots of feathers as she continues her investigation. Pip and Ravi become friends as they work on solving the mystery. Ravi’s older brother was accused of killing Andie and then committing suicide afterward. The amateur sleuths dive into the case and unravel a complicated weave of problems. Soon, Pip is receiving threats to stay away from the case and it seems that every time she finds a piece of evidence to someone’s guilt, she inevitably discovers more to the story. An enjoyable and intricate mystery, 5 stars!

Incognito by Katie Delahanty

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Ellie is deep into the Keystone Academy curriculum and the story opens with her on a mission to steal a voice recording from the Andy Warhol Museum collection. The famous artist was known for saving everything. While completing her goal, a colleague arrives and sneakily steals the cassette from her. So, she fails the mission. She moves on with other students to go undercover and learn as much as they can about a new program that’s based on whether free will is real or not. The group gets brain scans and disguises and they discover who’s trustworthy and who isn’t. This new program is a little too close to Ellie’s past and her old journal becomes a topic of interest and the story ends with a twist that leaves the opening for a third book in the Keystone series. Riddles and intrigue, 4 stars!

Where Secrets Lie by Eva V. Gibson

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A wonderful friendship has been injured and the three friends are holding grudges against each other. The grudges are put on hold when Nat, Teddy’s younger sister, comes up missing. I love the character development! The author does a great job bringing her characters to life. Ben’s colorful personality has grown from his dysfunctional family life full of contradictions and hypocrisy, but he’s loyal to his best friends, who are his cousin Amy and their mutual friend Teddy. Nat is precious and precocious and adorable. Amy is hounded by her mother and her extreme expectations and Teddy and Nat live with their single mother in a trailer on Ben and Amy’s grandparents’ property. The three friends work together to try to figure out what happened to Nat. The timeline alternates between two summers and the changes that occurred in their relationships. The police believe that Nat drowned but the three friends know she would have never gone into the water alone. Nat was terrified of swimming after she almost drowned years earlier. As Ben, Teddy and Amy search for clues, they stumble across a trophy box from a possible serial killer. Intensity and suspense amid a large amount of dysfunction kept me reading into the wee hours of the night, 5 stars!