72. Storm Child by Michael Robotham

listened on Libby

336 pgs.

2024
Adult Contemporary Mystery/Thriller
Finished 9/21/24
Goodreads rating: 4.26
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Nottingham, England, and the coast of Scotland

My comments: Back and forth between two points of view: Cyrus and Evie, detailing how Evie slowly gets her memories back and discovers what had happened to her, her sister, and her mother.  The first half of the book takes place in their hometown of Nottingham, the second half in Scotland, where the fishing families that continue to be involved in the movement of illegal aliens into Great Britain are still hiding their participation from ten years before....as well as currently.  Good story.  Very well narrated.

Goodreads synopsis:  The mystery of Evie Cormac’s background has followed her into adulthood. As a child, she was discovered hiding in a secret room where a man had been tortured to death. Many of her captors and abusers escaped justice, unseen but not forgotten. Now, on a hot summer’s day, the past drags Evie back as she watches the bodies of seventeen migrants wash up on a Lincolnshire beach.

There is only one survivor, a teenage boy, who tells police their small boat was deliberately rammed and sunk. Psychologist Cyrus Haven is recruited by the police to investigate the murders—but recognizes immediately that Evie has some link to the tragedy. By solving this crime, he could finally unlock the secrets of her past. But what dark forces will he set loose? And who will pay the price?

30. None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

listened on Libby
380 pgs.

2023
Adult psychological "thriller"
Finished 4/3/24
Goodreads rating: 4.15
My rating: 2....barely
Setting: contemporary London

My comments: Nope.  Not for me.  Do you want to be sad, depressed, and bored for over ten hours of your life?  Then this is the book for you!  Slow and repetitive with barely any surprises that you couldn't figure out were coming.. this is a very popular "thriller." that just didn't do it for me.  I did enjoy the setting of contemporary London, though.....

Goodreads synopsis:  Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

26. The Island Cottage by Jane Lovering

listened on Audible
250 pgs. (8:33)

2024

Adult British romance, very clean
Finished 3/24/24
Goodreads rating: 4.46
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Orkney Islands

My comments: One of the slowest moving novels I've read in a while, there were absolutely no surprises or twists, you knew exactly what was going to happen.  Very close to boring, but the charm of the Orkney Islands and Magnus, the handsome male in the light romance allowed me to push my way through.

Goodreads synopsis:  When Brid Harcus is sent to the Orkney Islands, in the far reaches of Scotland, she has high hopes for her trip being short, straightforward and lucrative.

Her mother has inherited a cottage from her Great Aunt Jennet which has been unlived in and unloved for decades, and the time has come to make it habitable and saleable. Easy, right?

But Midness Cottage has other ideas. For one thing it’s rather more ‘fixer upper’ than Country Living, with a resident goose and her goslings who have made themselves at home. And Brid definitely hadn’t planned for the strongly-held local belief that the cottage is meant to be the home of the Orkney Witch, and whomever lives in it must fulfil this role. Not the best message for the estate agent brochure and of course Brid doesn’t believe in magic, let alone have healing powers.

But Orkney does have healing powers. Its beauty and peace are enchanting, its people welcoming, and Brid’s handsome new friend Magnus is rather charming too. When her life back in York starts calling her home, will Brid sell up and ship out? Or did the last Orkney Witch cast a spell and leave a legacy of love if only Brid believed in magic…

25. Signal Moon - Short story by Kate Quinn

listened on Audible
57 pgs.

2022
Adult Historical Fiction/SciFi Short Story
Finished 3/24/24
Goodreads rating: 4.33
My rating: 5
Setting: 1943 & 2023 London

My comments: Two time periods, two Navy radio operators.  One in 1943, one in 2023.  One British, one American.  Talk about long-distance relationships!  One saves the other.  SciFi....love it more and more each time I read one.

Goodreads synopsis:  A short story about an impossible connection across two centuries that could make the difference between peace or war.

Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption.

One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.

An American ship is taking heavy fire in the North Atlantic—but no one else has reported an attack, and the information relayed by the young US officer, Matt Jackson, seems all wrong. The contact that Lily has made on the other end of the radio channel says it’s… 2023.

Across an eighty-year gap, Lily and Matt must find a way to help each other: Matt to convince her that the war she’s fighting can still be won, and Lily to help him stave off the war to come. As their connection grows stronger, they both know there’s no telling when time will run out on their inexplicable link.

21. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

#2 Harbinder Kaur

listened on Libby (I think)
315 pgs. (9;09)
2020
Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 3/18/2024
Goodreads rating: 3.93
My rating: 3.5
Setting: Contemporary Britain

My comments: 3.5  Mystery writers are being murdered, beginning with a 90-year-old woman who is a whiz at figuring out "who dunnit."  An interesting group of characters gather together to figure out what's going on.  Definitely not as good as Ruth Galloway, which I was a bit hopeful for, but entertaining.

Goodreads synopsis:  Murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel by internationally best-selling author Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.

The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.

But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.

And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes . . .

20. Weyward by Emilia Hart

listened on Libby - borrowed from library

416 pgs.
2023
Adult Historical Fiction/Magical Realism

Finished 3/10/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.10
My rating:/
Setting: Cottage in England during three different time periods:  1619, 1942, contemporary

My comments: LOVE the cover!  Told from the point of view of three women in the Weyward family:  Altha, in 1619, on trial for practicing witchcraft, supposedly using a spell to have a farmer's cows trample him to death.  Violet, in 1942, living a hugely restricted life with her brother, being intimidated by a hateful father.  And then there's Kate in 2019, never leaving her flat because of an abusive, controlling husband, until she finally takes matters into her own hands.  Three really interesting stories of three strong women, bonded by blood and history and the huge touch of magic that connects them with the natural world, the birds, the bees, the bugs, and all growing things.  It was hard to put down and beautifully narrated by three different female voices.

Goodreads synopsis:  I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Elly Griffiths - The End of the Ruth Galloway Series After 15 Installments

 I got really behind with tracking my books in 2023, and I read a lot of Elly Griffiths, so I'm going to combine all the missed ones below:

#13 The Night Hawks

     Finished 6/3/23  (4)

     I almost didn't like Ruth in some of this book!  She took over as the head of the archaeology department and it felt as if she had become a little bit snotty.  Maybe she's always been this way?  LOL.  There is the introduction of a new character, the guy what has been hired to take her old job and the university - xyzcyz Gold.  He is definitely an unknown commodity, Unking and gruff and eager...but seems to change his attitude by the end.  No reasons, in particular, for either of these personality traits. Hmmmmmm.  And why in heck is she so drawn to Nelson?  I just don't get it, his personality is pretty crappy.  Good mystery, though the reason that she and Michelle were brought together near the end was WAY too out there.  I read this on the entire drive to Maine of Brendan's graduation.

#14 The Locked Room

     Finished 6/17/2023 (4.25)

     COVID-19 hits the world.  This book is set between February and May of 2020 and consists of multiple murders that are set up to look like suicides at the beginning of the pandemic.  I don't this there were quite as many characters as usual, which made it a little easier to follow.  It was a good one, although it had very little about archaeological forensics, which was really quite ok.  During the whole time, Nelson's wife, Michelle, was out of town, staying with her mother in Blackpool, so there were a number of first time types of visits between Nelson and Ruth.  I still don't get what she sees in this guy.  He must be quite a looker!

#15  The Last Remains

     Finished 8/7/2023 (4.5)

     Listened to this one back and forth OTR to Maine.  A good one, and it appears to neatly tie up the relationship between Nelson and Ruth.  I really hate to see this series end.  One of my favorites.

14. Lying Beside You - Michael Robotham

#3 Cyrus Haven

listened on Audible
352 pgs.
2022
Adult Mystery - British

Finished 2/18/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.31
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Nottingham, England

My comments: Back-and-forth between Cyrus and Evie as we follow the progress of a murder, then kidnapping situation.  The plot drags for the first half, but moves along really well in the second half.  One drawback for me: the narrator makes all the male voices sound like the character's a little bit slow....  And no matter how much I think about it, I cannot come up with any possibilities about why it was titled the way it was. A good story, once it got moving...I plan to read the next in the series while this one is still in my head.

Goodreads synopsis:  Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac return in Robotham’s latest page-turning, psychological thriller in this series.

If I could tell you one thing about my brother, it would be this. Two days after his nineteenth birthday, he killed our parents and twin sisters because he heard voices in his head. As defining events go, nothing else comes close for Elias, or for me.

As a boy, Cyrus Haven survived a family massacre and slowly pieced his life back together. Now, after almost twenty years, his brother is applying to be released from a secure psychiatric hospital—and Cyrus is expected to forgive Elias and welcome him home.

Elias is returning to a very different world. Cyrus is now a successful psychologist, working with the police, sharing his house with Evie Cormac, a damaged and gifted teenager who can tell when someone is lying. Evie has gone back to school and is working part-time at an inner-city bar, but she continues to struggle with authority and following rules.

When a man is murdered and his daughter disappears, Cyrus is called in to profile the killer and help piece together Maya Kirk’s last hours. Police believe she was drugged and driven away from the same bar where Evie is working. Soon, a second victim is taken, and Evie is the only person who glimpsed the man behind the wheel.

But there’s a problem. Only two people believe her. One is Cyrus.

38. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths

#12 Ruth Galloway

listened on Audible

2020
373 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 5/27/2023
Goodreads rating: 4.20
My rating: 3.75

Setting: Contemporary Norfolk, England

My comments: It's been two years, and Ruth and Kate - now nine - live with Frank in Cambridge where both Ruth and Frank teach.  The mystery for this episode, back in Norfolk, is a bit convoluted with a large group of ex-hippie-type people who hang around together totally supporting each other and the man who is arrested for the murder of two women.  At the end of this one Ruth has said no to Frank's marriage proposal and decides to move back to her much-loved cottage in Norfolk.  There will be an opening for the head of archaeology at her previous university, and she and Nelson have gotten closer and closer...so the next book is going to definitely take us in a more positive direction in that respect, I think.  Pretty decent mystery, but a little dragged out.

Goodreads synopsis:  Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway changed her life—until a convicted killer tells her that four of his victims were never found, drawing her back to the place she left behind.

6. The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths

#10 Ruth Galloway

listened on Audible

2018
368 pgs.
Adult Forensic/Murder Mystery
Finished 1/17/2023
Goodreads rating: 4.04
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Italian mountainside AND Norfolk, England

My comments: This one was a little different ... set mostly in a picturesque mountain village in Italy where Ruth has been invited to help with an investigative gig/dig by an old "friend."  Kate is now six years old and accompanies her along with Shona and Shona's son.  The climax of the story is a bit horrifying and very unexpected.  So much of the story is actually about Ruth (and Nelson's) personal lives, so the climax is a bit unsettling.  The story also has a completely unnecessary epilogue - I'm definitely not into epilogues 90% of the time.  Wondering in what direction Ms. Griffiths is going with these.....

Goodreads synopsis:  Dr Ruth Galloway is flattered when she receives a lett2er from Italian archaeologist Dr Angelo Morelli, asking for her help. He's discovered a group of bones in a tiny hilltop village but doesn't know what to make of them. It's years since Ruth has had a holiday, and even a working holiday to Italy is very welcome!

So Ruth travels to Fontana Liri, accompanied by her daughter Kate and friend Shona. In the town she finds a medieval shrine and a dark secret involving the war years and the Resistance. To her amazement she also finds Harry Nelson, who is enduring a terrible holiday at a resort nearby. But there is no time to overcome their mutual shock - the ancient bones spark a modern murder, and Ruth must discover what secrets there are in Fontana Liri that someone would kill to protect.

1. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

listened on Libby

2022
352 pgs.
Adult Mystery Thriller
Finished 1/5/2023
Goodreads rating: 3.84
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary British coastline (Cornwall?)

My comments: I knew that this book would be a difficult one to figure out, but I was determined. I was also wrong. I didn’t figure it out correctly, lol. Many of the books I read, gets smooshed together in my mind, but I think I will be remembering this one for a while…

Goodreads synopsis:  The New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists returns…with a family reunion that leads to murder.

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.

With a wicked wink to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Daisy Darker’s unforgettable twists will leave readers reeling.

73. Christmas Every Day by Beth Moran

listened on Audible

2019
408 pgs.
Adult (British) Romance
Finished 12/2/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.05
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary British small town

My comments: Not actually a Christmas story.  Filled with hilarious situations, but balanced out with some serious ones, too.  Set in a small, friendly British village, a very enjoyable read/listen.

Goodreads synopsis:  When Jenny inherits her estranged grandmother’s cottage in Sherwood Forest, she has nothing to lose - no money, no job, no friends, no family to speak of, and zero self-respect. Things can only get better...

Her grumpy, but decidedly handsome new neighbour, Mack, has a habit of bestowing unsolicited good deeds on her. And when Jenny is welcomed into a rather unusual book club, life seems to finally be getting more interesting.

Instead of reading, the members pledge to complete individual challenges before Christmas: from finding new love, learning to bake, to completing a daredevil bucket list. Jenny can’t resist joining in, and soon a year of friendship and laughter, tears and regrets unfolds in the most unexpected ways.

Warm, wise, funny and utterly uplifting, what one thing would you change in your life before Christmas comes around?

60. Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

listened on Libby

copyright 2021
304pgs.
Adult mystery/thriller
Finished 9/19/2022
Goodreads rating: 3.97
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary Scotland

My comments: This was on of those unusual mysteries thrillers where you really have no clue about what is going on.  That doesn't happen to me very often and I truly enjoyed this.  Set in the middle of newhere in Scotland during a blizzard, a husband and wife stay in an abandoned church that has been converted into a home - like a airb&b experience.  Lots of dark happenings, lots of mystery really well told!

Goodreads synopsis:  Think you know the person you married? Think again…

Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.

Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin – and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.

Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

Rock Paper Scissors is the latest exciting domestic thriller from the queen of the killer twist, New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney.

47. The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths

#7 Ruth Galloway

read on Kindle
2015

370 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 7/5/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.09
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Norfolk, England

My comments: Kate is now five years old.  The mystery is interesting, a three generation family, the Blackstocks, that live in a huge old manor, finds one of the first generation's sons shot in the head and buried in an airplane in a place where he did not die.  Outside of the mystery, Michelle spends a good part of the year cheating on Nelson...and Ruth and Frank get together, though Ruth admits she's in love with someone else (Nelson of course)  A good one, though lots of bleakness.

Goodreads synopsis:  The chilling discovery of a downed World War II plane with a body inside leads Ruth and DCI Nelson to uncover a wealthy family’s secrets in the seventh Ruth Galloway mystery.

Norfolk is suffering from record summer heat when a construction crew unearths a macabre discovery—a downed World War II plane with the pilot still inside. Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway quickly realizes that the skeleton couldn’t possibly be the pilot, and DNA tests identify the man as Fred Blackstock, a local aristocrat who had been reported dead at sea. When the remaining members of the Blackstock family learn about the discovery, they seem strangely frightened by the news.

Events are further complicated by a TV company that wants to make a film about Norfolk’s deserted air force bases, the so-called Ghost Fields, which have been partially converted into a pig farm run by one of the younger Blackstocks. As production begins, Ruth notices a mysterious man lurking on the outskirts of Fred Blackstock’s memorial service. Then human bones are found on the family’s pig farm. Can the team outrace a looming flood to find a killer?

Laced with dry humor and anchored by perennial fan favorite Ruth, The Ghost Fields will delight fans new and old.

36. Thornyhold by Mary Stewart

read on Kindle

1988
207 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction
Finished 5/1/2022
Goodreads rating: 3.83
My rating: 5
Setting: southern England

My comments: I’m sure I read this book years and years ago when I first got married… I read a lot of Mary Stewart that I found at the Northeast Harbor Library, where I hung out while Steve was at basic training. However, since this one was written in 1988 and Steve's basic training was in 1971, I must be wrong.  I did read lots of Mary Stewart's back then, though!

     I decided to read this book instead of listen to it. So I was able to digest it a little more slowly, and I completely enjoyed it. The Gothic feel of it, the witchiness, the description of cleaning out an old, isolated house in southern England… it’s flowers and brambles and old gardens. … with a thoroughly lovely, satisfying ending!

Goodreads synopsis:  The story is about a lonely child who is made to see the world through her cousin's unusual eyes. When the child becomes a young woman, she inherits her dead cousin's house, as well as her reputation among the local community as a witch. However, as she finds out, this is no normal community, and worries quickly present themselves.

1. The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths

#6 Ruth Galloway (Forensic Anthropologist)

listened on Audible

2014
374 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Series
Finished 1/1/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.13
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Norfolk, England

My comments: I continue to enjoy Ruth Galloway, a feisty, believable archeological anthropologist who lives in Norfolk, England. In this episode, two major plots intertwine to tell the story, much of it set in Norwich (where I visited for a day, on foot, and have many pleasant memories, so I could picture it a bit...). Notorious Jemima Green's 150 year-old bones have been excavated, and an American TV company has come to film it. Ruth unwillingly becomes involved -she doesn't like any limelight - because she's the expert on the case. At the same time, the police are pursuing the possibility that a mother has killed her babies ... and then there are two kidnappings of one-year-olds nearby. This keeps the familiar police team of Nelson, Clough, Judy and Tim harried and busy. Good storytelling, fun going back and forth between points of view. Great narration with enough of a British accent to keep it very British, but not so much that you cannot understand it.

Goodreads synopsis:  Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of what might be a notorious Victorian child murderess and a baby snatcher known as "The Childminder" threatens modern-day Norfolk in the latest irresistible mystery from Elly Griffiths.

Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of a Victorian murderess while a baby snatcher threatens modern-day Norfolk in this exciting new entry in a beloved series.
Every year a ceremony is held in Norwich for the bodies in the paupers' graves: the Service for the Outcast Dead. Ruth has a particular interest in this year's proceedings. Her recent dig at Norwich Castle turned up the body of the notorious Mother Hook, who was hanged in 1867 for the murder of five children. Now Ruth is the reluctant star of the TV series Women Who Kill, working alongside the program's alluring history expert, Professor Frank Barker.

DCI Harry Nelson is immersed in the case of three children found dead in their home. He is sure that the mother is responsible. Then another child is abducted and a kidnapper dubbed the Childminder claims responsibility. Are there two murderers afoot, or is the Childminder behind all the deaths? The team must race to find out-and the stakes couldn't be any higher when another child goes missing. 

41. Shadow Sands by Robert Bryndza

#2 Kate Marshall

listened on Audible

narrated by Kristin Atherton

Unabridged audio (9:46)
2020
384 pgs.
Adult Mystery - Series
Finished 4/17/21
Goodreads rating: 4.30 - 4521 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Dartmoor, southern coast of England

First line/s: "Simon gasped and choked on the brackish, freezing water as he swam for his life."

My comments: Kate Marshall and her research assistant, Tristan Harper, set out to find out what happened to an Italian lecturer, Magdalena, who disappeared on Sunday near Shadow Sands Reservoir, where Kater and her son, Jake, had discovered the body of a drowned young man while scuba diving a few months before.  A good followup to the Nine Elms start of the series.  NOTE:  Jake decides to meet his father, the Nine Elms Cannibal, much to his mother's distress.

Goodreads synopsis:  The internationally bestselling author of Nine Elms and The Girl in the Ice is back with a nail-biting new Kate Marshall case, a woman with a dark secret and a powerful sense of justice.
          When Kate Marshall finds the bloated body of a young man floating in the Shadow Sands reservoir, the authorities label it a tragic accident.
          But the details don't add up: why was the victim there, in the middle of the night? If he was such a strong swimmer, how did he drown?
          Kate is certain there is more to this case than meets the eye. As she and her research assistant Tristan Harper dig deeper, they discover a bloody trail that points towards an active serial killer hiding in plain sight. People have been silently disappearing for years, and when another woman is taken, Kate and Tristan have a matter of days to save her from meeting the same fate.

30. Girl, Lost by Vikki Patis

listened on Chirp

narrated by Esther Wayne

Unabridged audio (7:19)
2020
268 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 4/2/2021
Goodreads rating: 
My rating: 3
Setting: contemporary somewhere-in-England

First line/s: "We all get what we deserve.  A favourite phrase of my mother's, whenever something bad would happen."

My comments: Two families living in a duplex in England, side-by-side.  Twin girls Imogen and Freya with their loving parents.  Next door, Emily and her brother Jamie with their mother and physically abusive father.  Until one night  when Freya and Emily disappear.  The story takes place five years later, from three points-of-view: Emily, Imogen, and a little bit of Freya.  And there's now four-year old Ella, who appears with Imogen, added to the mix.  And although we, the reader, pretty much can tell exactly what happened, we find out all the tiny bits and pieces that complete the story along with Imogen.  I do wish there had been a little more mystery, any kind of astute reader could pretty much figure out from the beginning what was going on.

Goodreads synopsis:  'Girl, Lost is a read that will stay with you... Patis is proving herself to be the queen of page turning reads.' - Tiffany McDaniel, author of The Summer That Melted Everything
          I was never missing. I just didn't want to be found.
          On a bright summer's day in 2013, Freya Rivers disappears, leaving twin sister Imogen behind. Did Freya leave to travel alone without telling anyone?
          When friend Emily also disappears three days later, Imogen knows there's something dark lurking beneath the surface.
          Five years later, Imogen is living in Australia, having searched the world for her sister. So, when her mother calls, she knows it's time to return home.
          Because Emily is back. And she has a child with her.
          Where has Emily been and why did she disappear?
          Does she know Freya’s whereabouts?
          Imogen is desperate to uncover the truth about her twin and the truth is closer to home than she ever imagined…
          A gripping and suspenseful psychological thriller by bestselling author Vikki Patis. Girl, Lost will appeal to fans of domestic noir, as well as to readers of authors like C.L. Taylor, Claire McGowan and B A Paris. Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize 2020.

16. Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

Listened on Libby/Library
narrated by Imani Jade Powers
Unabridged audio (11:26)
2021
308 pgs.
Adult RomCom w/steam
Finished 2/20/21
Goodreads rating: 3.79 - 4219 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Northumberland, England - Protagonist is American

First line/s: "I had not gone on a date in two years."

What I posted on Goodreads:  same as "my comments," below

My comments: 
A sweet romance that takes place between an American female and a British male set in Northumberland, England.  She's a 5' 10" Shakespeare lover who rents and runs a quaint bookshop in a small village on the coast.  He is a "farmer" with a Great Dane named Shadow that he adores.  It follows the usual trajectory and at about 85% is when the huge conflict comes.  This conflict was more ridiculous than most, this otherwise perfect man had lied to her about his age - he is six years younger - and financial status - he was rich and had a title - and this "lying" set her off.  So stupid, imo. But it was a fun and entertaining read.

Goodreads synopsis:  The cozy comforts of an English village bookstore open up a world of new possibilities for Evie Starling in this charming new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.

          At thirty-three-years old Evangeline Starling's life in Chicago is missing that special something. And when she's passed over for promotion at work, Evie realizes she needs to make a change. Some time away to regain perspective might be just the thing. In a burst of impulsivity, she plans a holiday in a quaint English village. The holiday package comes with a temporary position at Much Ado About Books, the bookstore located beneath her rental apartment. There's no better dream vacation for the bookish Evie, a life-long Shakespeare lover.
          Not only is Evie swept up in running the delightful store as soon as she arrives, she's drawn into the lives, loves and drama of the friendly villagers. Including Roane Robson, the charismatic and sexy farmer who tempts Evie every day with his friendly flirtations. Evie is determined to keep him at bay because a holiday romance can only end in heartbreak, right? But Evie can't deny their connection and longs to trust in her handsome farmer that their whirlwind romance could turn in to the forever kind of love. 

15. Map of Shadows by J. F. Penn

#1 Mapwalker

Listened on Chirp

narrated by Charlie Sanderson
Unabridged audio (5:23)
2017
208 pgs.
YA Fantasy
Finished 2/18/21
Goodreads rating: 
My rating: 1.5
Setting: Bath, England

First line/s: "Michael Farren sat at his desk in the old map shop, an antique parchment in front of him portraying the ancient city of Bath."

What I posted on Goodreads:  Just didn't do it for me, for some reason.  I DO usually like this type of book...

My comments: Although I listened to the entire book, I really couldn't get into it.  I didn't care about the characters or either of the worlds that were described.  Because it seemed more like they were being described, not shown.  I loved that the main setting was Bath, England.  Other than that, it just  wasn't for me.  

Goodreads synopsis:  A map of skin etched in blood.
          A world under threat from the Borderlands.
          A young woman who must risk the shadows to save her family.
          When her Grandfather is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Sienna Farren inherits his map shop in the ancient city of Bath, England. Once there, she discovers that her family is bound up with the Ministry of Maps, a mysterious agency who maintain the borders between this world and the Uncharted.
          With the help of Mila Wendell, a traveller on the canals, Sienna discovers her own magical ability and a terrifying place of blood that awaits in the world beyond.
          But when she discovers a truth about her past and the Borderlands begin to push through the defenses, Sienna must join the team of Mapwalkers on their mission to find the Map of Shadows – whatever the cost.
          In a place written out of history, a world off the edge of the map, Sienna must risk everything to find her father … and her true path as a Mapwalker.
          This dark fantasy novel is the first in the new Mapwalker series.