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mystery

reviews

Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh

Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh

When socialite Nina Rai disappeared without a trace, everyone wrote it off as another trophy wife tired of her wealthy husband. But now her bones have turned up in the shadowed green of the forest that surrounds her elite neighborhood, a haven of privilege and secrets that’s housed the same influential families for decades.

The rich live here, along with those whose job it is to make their lives easier. And somebody knows what happened to Nina one rainy night ten years ago. Her son Aarav heard a chilling scream that night, and he’s determined to uncover the ugly truth that lives beneath the moneyed elegance . . . but no one is ready for the murderous secrets about to crawl out of the dark.

Even the dead aren’t allowed to break the rules in this cul-de-sac. (publisher)

Ten years ago, Aarav Rai’s mother, a socialite, disappeared with the money she took from her husband’s safe. Ishaan was convinced that she was a thief who just took off. But her son isn’t convinced, especially because he remembers a scream from that night. A decade later Aarav is an author, back in his childhood home after an accident, when his mother’s body is found.

I was curious to read this since I’ve loved the Guild Hunter series, but this was my first of her mystery book and the first book I’ve read that’s set in New Zeeland.

Set in Auckland, New Zeeland in a privileged neighbourhood in a cul-de-sac. Aarav isn’t happy to be back living with his controlling father, his new wife and daughter, and there are old family issues. I actually liked Aarav’s relationship with his half-sister Pari and the way he was looking after her. That was a good thing in this dysfunctional family.

Aarav wasn’t always, and I mean often, likeable but he was an interesting character. The victim wasn’t very likeable either, but you could see the love between mother and son, although a very complex one.

There are quite a few characters since we meet a lot of neighbours and many of those were interesting in their own right.

I loved the book, and I couldn’t figure out who did it. A bit different from what I usually read but very enjoyable.

4/5

Published: Atria Books (February 9, 2021)
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley

reviews

She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell

She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell

For Rose Enright, enrolling in a prestigious New England boarding school is the opportunity of a lifetime. But for Rose’s vulnerable twin sister Bel, Odell Academy is a place of temptation and danger. When Bel falls in with a crowd of wild rich kids who pressure her into hazing Rose, the sisters’ relationship is shattered. Rose turns to her dorm mother, Sarah Donovan, for advice. But Bel turns to Sarah’s husband Heath, a charismatic and ambitious teacher. Is Heath trying to help Bel or take advantage of her? In a world of privilege, seduction, and manipulation, only one sister will live to tell the truth.

In a novel full of twists, turns, and dark secrets, Michele Campbell once again proves her skill at crafting intricately spun and completely compelling plots. (publisher)

When their mother dies, twins Rose and Bel move in with their grandmother who they barely know. They are sent to The Odell Academy, a boarding school for the rich kids, where the academic Rose fits right in, but the wilder Bel becomes friends with the popular kids, but the friendship comes with a price. Bel has a crush on Heath Donovan, an ambitious teacher, which sets her against the older popular kids.

The book has some Gossip Girl vibes and I have to say that I hated all the characters. I wanted to know what happens but didn’t feel much sympathy for any of the people.

The book starts with a murder, but we don’t know who died or who did it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to guess who it was, but it takes the cops waay to much time to get it or understand at all what goes on in the school. So much eye-rolling here…

It was a solid read, but I had higher hopes for this one.

3/5

Published: St. Martin’s Press (July 31, 2018)
Format: ebook
Source: Netgalley

reviews

Oracles of Delphi by Marie Savage

9780989207935-Perfect.inddOracles of Delphi by Marie Savage

All Althaia wants on her trip to Delphi is to fulfill her father’s last wish. Finding the body of a woman in the Sacred Precinct is not in her plans. Neither is getting involved in the search for the killer, falling for the son of a famous priestess, or getting pulled into the ancient struggle for control of the two most powerful oracles in the world. But that’s what happens when Theron, Althaia’s tutor and a man with a reputation for finding the truth, is asked to investigate. When a priest hints that Theron himself may be involved, Althaia is certain the old man is crazy — until Nikos, son of a famous priestess, arrives with an urgent message. Theron’s past, greedy priests, paranoid priestesses, prophecies, and stolen treasures complicate the investigation, and as Althaia falls for Nikos, whose dangerous secrets hold the key to the young woman’s death, she discovers that love often comes at a high price and that the true meaning of family is more than a bond of blood.

I have to confess I hadn’t heard about the Oracle of Delphi before this and I realized how little I actually know about ancient Greece.

Althaia is a privileged young woman from Athens but thanks to her lenient and loving father she’s had more rights than most women. She has knowledge to perform an autopias on a dead body, which becomes handy when a dead woman is found.

I liked Althaia, Theron and her two slaves. Praxis was almost like a brother to her even though he was a slave and it was nice to see their close relationship. Althaia was very likeable character: strong, compassionate and quite outspoken for that time. We get another perspective of her from the point of view of Nepthys, her personal slave.
Little by little we learn more about their past and how they became to each other’s lives.

I loved reading about the Oracles of Delphi because there the women could have power and be quite independent since women didn’t have much rights in Ancient Greece. And many of the women were born peasants and they could still be powerful.

3,5/5

Published: Blank Slate Press (2014)
Format: eBook
Pages: 324
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

04_Oracles of Delphi_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL You can check the tour schedule here

About the author

Marie Savage is the pen name of Kristina Marie Blank Makansi who always wanted to be a Savage (her grandmother’s maiden name) rather than a Blank. She is co-founder and publisher of Blank Slate Press, an award-winning small press in St. Louis, and founder of Treehouse Author Services. Books she has published and/or edited have been recognized by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), the Beverly Hills Book Awards, the David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction, the British Kitchie awards, and others. She serves on the board of the Missouri Center for the Book and the Missouri Writers Guild. Along with her two daughters, she has authored The Sowing and The Reaping (Oct. 2014), the first two books of a young adult, science fiction trilogy. Oracles of Delphi, is her first solo novel.

For more information visit Kristina Makansi’s website and the Blank Slate Press website. You can also follow Krisina Makansi and Blank Slate Press on Twitter.

reviews

The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner

The Tudor Secret (The Spymaster Chronicles 1) by C.W. Gortner

Summer 1553: A time of danger and deceit. Brendan Prescott, an orphan, is reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family. Brought to court, Prescott finds himself sent on an illicit mission to the king’s brilliant but enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth. But Brendan is soon compelled to work as a double agent by Elizabeth’s protector, William Cecil, who promises in exchange to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.

A dark plot swirls around Elizabeth’s quest to unravel the truth about the ominous disappearance of her seriously ill brother, King Edward VI. With only a bold stable boy and an audacious lady-in-waiting at his side, Brendan plunges into a ruthless gambit of half-truths, lies, and murder. Filled with the intrigue and pageantry of Tudor England, The Tudor Secret is the first book in The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles. (Goodreads)

Brendan Prescott was abandoned as a baby and he was brought up in the Dudley family. Living with the Dudley boys isn’t always easy and they makes sure that Brendan knows he’s just a foundling. When he’s 20 he is brought to court to be squire to Robert Dudley. Soon an errand for Robert takes Brendan to meet Princess Elizabeth. She makes quite an impression and soon Brendan finds that making Elizabeth safe doesn’t go well with serving the Dudleys. It doesn’t take long for him to come to the attention of William Cecil and finds himself to be a spy in exchange to learn who he is.

I truly enjoyed this and almost read it in a day. I adored Brendan and I loved watching how he grows from the quite innocent boy to more mature and intelligent young man. Living in the court isn’t always easy and you find yourself growing tougher.

I also loved Peregrin and it was great that Brendan found someone to watch he’s back.Robert was vain, short tempered and kind of a bully but it was refreshing to see that side of him. He certainly had ambition. I loved how Elizabeth was portrayed and how she came through as a person and friend.

While the book takes certain liberties and I admit having a thing for historical accurancies, I didn’t have problems with this one. It’s mystery and not straight historical novel and it’s stated in the author’s notes.

Great book and it seems you can never go wrong with Gortner and I can’t wait for the next book in the serie!

4/5
Published: St. Martin’s Griffin (2011)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 327
Source: publisher