LOVE YOU, MEAN IT......AN UNLIKELY COUPLE MIX BUSINESS AND DISPLEASURE....(**)

 Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon (2024)

     As a complete sucker for romance, I'm normally pre-wired to love a book like this.......but sorry, I couldn't on board with this one.

    The problems........a not particularly lovable pair of leads and a traffic jam pile up of multiple tropes - a brief fling at with a bout of amnesia for the guy followed by the girl coping with simultaneous fake dating and clandestine matchmaking on behalf of the guy's 'one-who-got-away'. Which results in all kinds of self-hating agony for her while engaging in steamy episodes with the guy herself.

       Since Ellie Greco's dreams of theatrical costume designing were thwarted by rejection, she's back to running the family legacy business, a much beloved neighborhood Italian deli. But the Taylor family, the town's ruling business dynasty might bring in 'Mangia' a big-box Italian food Emporium that would put Ellie out of business faster than Tom Hanks 'You've Got Mail' book chain did to Meg Ryan's little bookstore.

      To put a stop to 'Mangia' Ellie pleads her case to the Taylors's somewhat rebellious scion Theo, who's looking to bring his own independent business ideas to the forefront apart from his imperious family. And then all of those colliding romance tropes kick in. There's Ellie and Theo's fake engagement, designed to stop Theo's ruthless father from bringing in any business that would destroy the livelihood of his son's future bride. And then there's Ellie's unwise decision to try to secretly help Theo's ex-flame (and newly appointed Taylor business exec) to rekindle her romance with him.......not the best idea, given the fake daters' steam-and-spice quotient is clearly apparent.

      I truly would not have minded all of this over-plotting if Ellie and Theo were a sympathetic couple worth rooting for. But Theo smirks a lot and Ellie's endless woe-is-me-I"m-a-terrible-person internal monologues grow tiresome. I did want to love 'em both......but they just plain wore me out. 2 stars (**).

DARLING GIRLS.....FOSTERED ABUSE VICTIMS GO BACK TO THE SCENE OF A CRIME....(*****)

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth (2024)

         Psychological domestic thrillers don't get much better than this. And the 'domestic' part of this one involves three women, the 'Darling Girls', who together suffered terrible childhood abuse at the hands of their monstrous foster mother.

         Now grown women and bonded together as much as blood related sisters, Jessica, Norah and Alicia still struggle to cope in various ways with the trauma of their upbringing. Jessica's career as a 'home organizer' is jeopardized by her drug addiction. Norah can hardly control her impulses for anger and violence. And family social worker Alicia can't find any measure of happiness for herself as she tries to find fostered children homes where they'll never encounter the horrors she endured.

        All of them, in different ways, were forever damaged by their time spent in the care of the odious Miss Fairchild, a deceptively benevolent woman. Her home's a spacious farm, complete with swimming pool and barn for horses. But Miss Fairchild, once she drops her false mask of normality, is a real life, flesh and blood Wicked Stepmother straight out of the darkest fairy tales. And the amount of emotional and physical abuse she inflicts on the three girls finally brings them to the breaking point of going to the authorities.

        Years later, the three women have been summoned back to the town of their former foster home. Police would like to question them about skeletal remains found buried on the farm grounds, and every miserable memory of that place comes flooding back to them.......especially with the return of their hated and feared nemesis Miss Fairchild, who exists in her own self-contained bubble of thinking she's never done anything wrong.

          This is easily one of the most compelling thrillers I've read so far this year. There's no shortage of shocking, disturbing twists right up the very last pages and author Sally Hepworth, constantly breaks your heart and fuels your anger on behalf of her three lead characters. I stood in complete awe of how the final wrap-up is handled, with a skilled mixture of surprise, heartfelt empathy......and dread. For every reader who can't enough of this genre, this one's a must read.

            5 stars (*****). Put this one high on your '-summer 'must' list.

EXTINCTION......WHAT KIND OF BLOODTHIRTY PREDATORS ARE LOOSE IN A ROCKIES RESORT?

 Extinction by Douglas Preston (2024)

        Though I was simultaneously reading this book and three others, I found myself devoting way more time to racing through "Extinction" than the others competing for my full attention.

        I just couldn't wait to find out what in the horrific world was going on and what terrifying thing was going to happen next......so I felt I was in the middle of a guaranteed 5 star read.
And author Douglas Preston didn't disappoint in this variation of "Jurassic Park" with far more fear, horror, gore and science gone terribly awry.

          Up in the breathtaking Colorado Rockies, the Erebus resort offers its guests the astounding spectacular sights of Wooly Mammoths and other giant prehistoric creatures whose names I wouldn't dare try to type without spellcheck.

          Created by a mega-billionaire, the resort's scientists have 'de-extincted' the massive animals by mixing up assorted cocktails of DNA. (Although the Erebus science crew openly mocks and derides the fiction of "Jurassic Park", it does sound like pretty much the same thing......and what could possibly go wrong with mixing and matching DNA.....heh, heh, heh.....)

           But amid the jaw-dropping creatures and picture postcard scenery, something's going very, very wrong.......starting with the abduction and probable evisceration of newlywed campers, one of whom was the son of yet another powerful biillionaire..

           Colorado Bureau Of Investigation agent Frances Cash and county sheriff James Colcord join forces to hunt the killers. And it starts to look like they're up against either a deranged religious cult or determined eco-terrorists who prefer committing blood drenched atrocities rather than tree hugging.

          But they can't possibly know how much worse and fantastic their assumptions are. Way, way worse. This all leads to a catastrophic finish that combines all the tropes of every disaster movie you've ever seen with every gut-shredding horror movie you've ever cringed through.
And that explains why I slowed down reading my other three books so I could keep diving into this one.

        As you can tell, I had a great time with this book and for thriller fans (especially of the science-based page turners), mark this one down as a number one beach read......or, for that matter, as soon as you get your hands on the book.  5 stars (*****)  Strap in a prehistoric thrill ride.

LISTEN FOR THE LIE....A MOST LIKELY MURDER SUSPECT HELPS PODCASTER FIND OUT IF SHE DID IT....(*****)

  Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera (2024)

      You might have picked up on the advance hype for this one and wondered if it's as good as everyone's raving about......

       Please allow me to let you know.

       It is. And I speak as a reader who's been led astray countless times by the gross hyperbole of authors' blurbs on the back of book covers.  (....muttering, "Did these people actually read the same book I did??"_)

         Nice to know this one's the real deal. 

         Lucy's come back to her home town of Plumpton Texas and that's no picnic considering she's the official town Pariah. 

          Everyone thinks she murdered her best friend Savvy way back when. Ever since they found her wandering about, suffering from memory loss and covered with Savvy's blood. Hmmmm.......

           She escaped charges due to lack of 'beyond-a-reasonable-doubt' evidence, but the town's found her guilty and even her parents, who still pledge their support, hold doubts as well. 

           But her grandmother lures her back to participate in Ben Owen's popular 'Listen For The Lie' true crime podcast.  Ben's in town to repeat the success of his first episode, where his candid, fearless interviewing of everyone involved in an unsolved case led to the killer's reveal. 

            And for his second season case, guess who he'd like to join him for some online chats to figure out if she really killed Savvy or not. 

           Strangely enough, Lucy's dying to know herself, but if it turns out it was someone else besides her, she might end up just plain dying.......

            When Lucy and Ben encounter the town's full roster of usual and unusual suspects, that includes Lucy's loathed ex-husband.with whom she shares a tortured, disturbing history. 

             But whenever she comes across old friends or people who think she got away with murder, Lucy's never afraid to let fly with her knife-sharp, laugh-out-loud observations, in both her narration and dialogue.         

           And that's what makes 'Listen For The Lie' (the book not the podcast) one of the best fun mystery reads so far this year.  I don't doubt for a minute that it'll pop up under lots of beach umbrellas this summer. 

             Oh, screw the beach.... here at BQ, I couldn't wait and preferred to dive into this one right away......but if your TBR list stretches forever, don't forget to throw 'Lies' in the bag along with the sunblock....

           Imagine the delight of discovering the author blurbs (including Stephen King's) were positively accurate. 5 stars (*****)

NONE OF THIS IS TRUE......BEWARE WHOM YOU PODCAST ABOUT.........(****).

 None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell (2023) 

          Now here's a perfect recipe for a domestic psychological thriller....

           Two women.....a chance meeting......dark secrets......and murders. Just another day in the neighborhood.

           At a restaurant, two women randomly, briefly meet, discovering they share the same birthday. They couldn't be more different.

            Alix Summer, a well known podcaster, lives an upperclass life of wealth and comfort. Josie Fair lives a lower middle class existence with a husband much, much older than she.  A husband and a sad life she's eager to jettison and begin anew. 

           What a terrific idea for a podcast, which is the concept Josie pitches to Alix......the story of Josie breaking free from her dreary, unhappy marriage.

            Alix agrees, not knowing what a Pandora's Box of dysfunction, mystery and murderous violence she's opened......because Josie and her family carry with them all manner of disturbing histories......

            And some people involved won't  be coming out of this alive.....

            For domestic thriller fans, this one will suck you in till the last page and the final ironic twists.  Not as fast paced as I usually prefer, but the characters are deeply drawn and you can't stop reading as Alix and Josie's lives start to spiral out of control......

          As for the truth of what's really going on?

         Well, that's for you to find out if you're in the mood for a page turner that peels off what's going on with that slightly strange family who live down the block.....4 stars (****)   

        And watch out for folks who claim, "I just want to speak my truth...."

EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION SOMEONE DIES......A BOOK TOUR OF ITALY TO DIE FOR.....LITERALLY (****)

 Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies by Catherine Mack (release date 4/30/24)

         Couldn't wait to tell you to be on the lookout for this one....so much thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martins Publishing for the advance copy of one of this spring's most entertaining reads. 

      I can only hope that every time I go on vacation, I take a book with me as much fun to read as this one was.

      What a perfect way to kick off the spring-summer reading season. A clever, laugh-out-loud and beautifully scenic whodunit, especially a romp for those of us immersed in all the tropes of murder mysteries.....and author Catherine Mack loads her story up with wickedly sharp asides from her narrator, bestselling author Eleanor Dash.

       Ellie and her sister Hayley, who functions as her assistant, are on a publicity book tour through sunny but broiling hot Italy. The tour's for the latest in her wildly popular romantic mystery series. It's another of the travelogue-worthy thrillers with a fictionalized version of Ellie and lovable rogue Connor Smith, based on their original real life Rome adventure together.

      Except that Connor's not fictional and Ellie's grievous error in using his real name left her a permanent victim of his extortion for a percentage of her royalties. Ellie's one time romance with Connor has turned to hate. And she's looking to free herself of him by killing him off in her next book,. But Connor's claiming, much to her disbelief that someone's trying to do him in for real. Her skepticism quickly evaporates when attempts are made on her life as well.

        There's certainly no shortage of suspects on the tour with them........two rival bestselling mystery authors,, Connor's ex wife and his new girlfriend, Ellie's one-that-got-away former lover, and a busload of avid women fans, including one notorious stalker. Careening around Italy they all go, with a hapless tour guide who's literally a Trevi Fountain of misinformation

       Needless to say, when the twists, revelations and surprises start detonating, some of these folks might be taking leave of the tour....along with their lives.

      Dialogue-driven and funny all the way through, this book stands as one of the fastest and tongue-in-cheekiest reads I've come across (And I challenge any of you to keep a straight face at the Goodreads reference.....). 

        If you've plowed through who knows how many deep, dark, violent psychological mysteries, consider this book to reward yourself with a perfect sweet dessert - with cherries, whipped cream, and a few dead bodies on top. 4 stars (****).....(can't wait till Ellie books her next getaway.....)

GHOST STATION.....IN OUTER SPACE, ARE YOUR OWN SCREAMS FOR REAL? (****)

 Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes (2024)

         As a lifelong fan of sci-fi/horror, I couldn't wait to dive into this one. And it did not disappoint in checking all the boxes for a book or film that blends space exploration with gut wrenching fear of the unknown and mysterious, grisly deaths.

         As expected, we're in a bleak future where space exploration is controlled by rapacious corporations for their own monetary benefit. And these greedy oligarchs depend on the overworked, underpaid crews who put their lives on the line travelling to remote barren planets to collect valuable samples......and possibly alien artifacts, if they find any.

        Joining such a crew is psychologist Olivia Bray and she brings with her a background steeped in horrific childhood trauma and a lifelong toxic relationship with her family.......the family that owns and runs one of those corporations that sends out the exploration crews.

        She's seeking a measure of redemption for herself by hoping to diagnose and prevent any outbreak of a syndrome that drives crew members mad to the point of making them dangerous to themselves and others.

        But this particular crew, knowing the family she comes from, resent and despise her from day one, despite all her futile efforts to win their trust. The planet they're exploring puts them all on edge even more.......a storm-wracked inhospitable world, dominated by the crumbling structures of a long extinct alien civilization.

       Or maybe, as a series of unsettling, nightmarish incidents start to pile up, one after the other, there's something else on this planet with them........something that might explain why the previous exploration team fled the planet in an awful big hurry....

       I wouldn't dare explain anything further, but as you can expect, the elements are all in place here for a scary good time. Fear, loathing, paranoia and increasing terror run rampant. And Libby, who's already weighed down with enough previous miseries to fuel her own separate novel, is forced to cope with way more than her own personal demons.

       I realize many readers may find "Ghost Station" repetitive and redundant, given that its basic storyline has been done in literally dozens of familiar films and books. And I did find the final chapters rushed into a quick abrupt wrap-up.....(which may work well for a film version but you always expect more from the book) But I loved that author S.A. Barnes was truly committed to delivering a full fledged, full-speed-ahead edition of this well worn genre.

       Sure, I'm familiar with tales of a space crew beset by who knows what.......but that didn't stop me from turning the pages at light speed. For fans who can't get enough of sci-fi-horror mashups, here's your cup of dread right here.

      4 stars (****)....and maybe keep the lights on..........