Book Review: Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers

-
Image
Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers opens with four high school friends meeting up in Cape Cod, Massachusetts for a reunion of sorts. When one of them doesn't show up, and no one can get a hold of her, the other friends are desperate to find out what happened. NetGalley, thank you for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this novel. I requested a copy of this book based on their synopsis and the author. When my request was approved, I was thrilled. The story started off well and kept me wanting to know more. Early on, I thought I had everything figured out, but much to my surprise, there was a plot twist I didn't count on.  I won't say more as to not spoil it for others. It's an easy read and perfect to take on vacation. Although I enjoyed Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers a lot, I wish there was more action in the first half of the book. The second half was action packed, and I found myself rushing to finish the story to see if my gut instinct was correct. As for the charact...
Post a Comment

Book Review: The Engagement Party by Darby Kane

-
The Engagement Party by Darby Kane opens with college friends meeting at a luxurious house on a private island in Maine to celebrate an engagement. Tensions arise when Emily's name is brought up and secrets about her death are about to be spilled. Will this friend group stay intact for the weekend?

A big thank you goes out to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) that I received for free in exchange for my honest opinion. I was excited to read The Engagement Party by Darby Kane as I love "locked room" stories and always enjoy seeing if I can figure out who the culprit or culprits are before they're revealed.

Darby Kane did a fantastic job with throwing suspicion across various characters making me second guess myself at times. The characters I suspected are as follows:
  • Ruthie - the fiancé of Will
  • Sierra - the protector, friend, and business partner of Mitch
  • Cassie - attorney and wife of Alex, mother of Zara, friends with Mitch and Will
  • Alex - attorney and husband of Cassie, father of Zara, friends with Mitch and Will 
  • Dylan - a police officer who shows up to the island

Ruthie is the obvious suspect right off the bat partly because she isn't part of the original friend group. The author really set up the story to put this character in a bad light. I kept trying to figure out how she was connected to the death of Emily (or the person suspected of killing her), and I thought she might be a sibling or cousin. Sierra seemed like she might be in on it as a second culprit since she really didn't have a direct connection to the friend group either. It just seemed like she came into Mitch's life suddenly and took over.

Cassie is part of the original friend group and was there when Emily died. She is such an overpowering character that I didn't necessarily trust her . . . she's just too much of a control freak and too confrontational. Alex is part of the original friend group as well and is definitely hiding something that his wife Cassie is in on. This is why I thought he might be in on something, but I didn't really think it was anything too grievous, so Alex really was low man on the totem pole. I really hoped he was one of the good guys.

Dylan is a police officer that just randomly showed up on the island without much of a reason, and I definitely thought he was one of the people involved. When he shows up a second time, it definitely confirmed my suspicions. Even if he thought something fishy was going on, I don't think he would've left in the first place . . . he would've stuck around.

Was I correct in any of my assumptions? That's for me to know and you to find out. The Engagement Party by Darby Kane is a must read and a story that I gave five out of five stars. It's one of the best "locked room" stories I've read in a while, and there was just something that made me think of Richie Tankersley Cusick's Someone At The Door, which was a young adult locked room story that I adored when I was in high school.

Follow Us On Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/runningbibliophile/https://www.instagram.com/therunningbibliophile/https://www.pinterest.com/therunningbibliophile/youtube the running bibliophile

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Dare by Natasha Preston

-
Image
The Dare by Natasha Preston is a young adult horror novel about Marley and her friends Atlas, Lucia, and Jesse are seniors in high school.  The senior pranks are fun and lighthearted until Rhett starts doling out dares that are more serious.  Will Marley and her friends survive? A huge thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of The Dare  by Natasha Preston.  The last book I read by this author was so well written, I knew I wanted to give her latest story a try. The first thing I noticed about the story is it's reminiscent of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series, which brought back all the feels from my childhood.  Pretty quickly, the storyline shifts and is eerily similar to the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer .  It's at this point that I became disappointed with the book and almost stopped reading it.   Additionally, there were other parts t hat reminded me of The Secret Diaries by Janice Harrell.  So, overall, The Dare wasn't ...
Read more

Book Review: The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

-
Image
The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia is about two women from Madison who are completely different from one another and are on an airplane bound for Denver, Colorado. Jasmine is a waitress and is escaping an abusive relationship. Stephanie is a news director for a local news station headed to a news conference. Friends and family of both women receive texts that they've met a man named Trent. Then, both women disappear. Panic starts to set in with loved ones. Who is Trent, and what has he done to them? I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) that they sent to me for free in exchange for my honest review. The synopsis of The Business Trip intrigued me, and I was excited to dive into the book. The story hooked me from the very beginning. I was rooting for Jasmine to escape her boyfriend and live happily ever after. I was also rooting for Stephanie to find the happiness she was looking for. Then, the book took a very disturbing turn, and I ended up loathing J...
Read more

Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich

-
Image
Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich  is the latest installment in the Stephanie Plum book series and opens with Joe Morelli asking Stephanie to dog sit his dog Bob while he is out of town testifying at a trial.  The typical chaos ensues when Stephanie has to bring Bob along to apprehend all of her FTAs and has her asking herself if she wants to be married. Each book in this series typically follows the same formula and is wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow at the end.  It's because of this that I enjoy the series . . . I always know that Stephanie is going to get herself into some sort of trouble and need Ranger or Morelli to help her, and the bad guy is always caught.  Sometimes, I just need something familiar and predictable to read.  And, I don't mean that in a bad way either because it allows me to escape reality and gives me a few chuckles along the way.  It's like the ...
Read more