Julie's Review: Three Days Missing

Author: Kimberly Belle
Series: None
Publication Date: August 26, 2018
Publisher: Park Row
Pages: 352
Obtained: author
Genre:  Psychological Thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: A mother's view of when her child goes missing and the frantic search for him
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Summary: It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: the call that comes in the middle of the night. When Kat Jenkins awakens to the police on her doorstep, her greatest fear is realized. Her nine-year-old son, Ethan, is missing—vanished from the cabin where he’d been on an overnight class trip. Shocked and distraught, Kat rushes to the campground, but she’s too late; the authorities have returned from their search empty-handed after losing Ethan’s trail in the mountain forest. Another mother from the school, Stef Huntington, seems like she has it all: money, prominence in the community, a popular son and a loving husband. She hardly knows Kat, except for the vicious gossip that swirls around Kat’s traumatic past. But as the police investigation unfolds, Ethan’s disappearance has earth-shattering consequences for Stef, as her path crosses with Kat. As the two mothers race against the clock, their desperate search for answers reveals how the greatest dangers lie behind the everyday smiles of those they trust the most. ~amazon.com  

Review: What would you do if your son went missing on a school camp out? How would you feel if it turned out that your kid wasn’t the target? This is what single mom, Kat is dealing with. Her son, Ethan is a seriously smart kid, probably bordering on genius but he's not so good with social interaction. So when she drops him off to go on an overnight trip, she's apprehensive but she's got to let him do it. When the loud knocking interrupts her sleep she thinks it's her ex-husband but when she opens the door and it's the police, she knows her whole world is about to turn upside down.

Stephanie is devastated when she hears that another boy from her son's class is missing. She's frantic to get in touch with someone from the school to see what is going on but can't get a hold of anyone. It's not quite evident why she's so frantic and involved in this situation. Other than the fact that she's the mayor's wife, she already knows that her son is fine.

As Stephanie and Kat's worlds collide, you realize that they have more in common than you thought before. It takes them by surprise as they didn't really know each other other than because of their boys being in the same class.

Ms. Belle has a knack for writing engaging characters and plot. You feel for Kat and wonder how much Stephanie has turned a blind eye too. As you finish the end of the book, she turns it on its head yet again. So much so that I had to make sure that I read it a few times.

If you haven't read any of her books, then Three Days Missing is a great one to start with.



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Julie's Review: The Summer I Met Jack

Author: Michelle Gable
Series: None
Publication Date: May 29, 2018
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 528
Obtained: Great Thoughts,Great Readers Book Salon
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Before the Kennedy's were considered Camelot, JFK was in love with someone else
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Summary: Based on a real story - in 1950, a young, beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, Massachusetts to work as a maid for one of the wealthiest families in America. Alicia is at once dazzled by the large and charismatic family, in particular the oldest son, a rising politician named Jack. Alicia and Jack are soon engaged, but his domineering father forbids the marriage. And so, Alicia trades Hyannisport for Hollywood, and eventually Rome. She dates famous actors and athletes and royalty, including Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, and Katharine Hepburn, all the while staying close with Jack. A decade after they meet, on the eve of Jack’s inauguration as the thirty-fifth President of the United States, the two must confront what they mean to each other. The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable is based on the fascinating real life of Alicia Corning Clark, a woman who J. Edgar Hoover insisted was paid by the Kennedy's to keep quiet, not only about her romance with Jack Kennedy, but also a baby they may have had together. ~amazon.com  

Review: I’m not obsessed with the Kennedy’s by any means but this book about JFK’s romantic involvement with Alicia Darr was interesting.  I’m of the opinion that JFK was an ass and Alicia saw what he could do for her and she took it. I have no doubt they were in lust with each other but while she let him in a little, she never opened completely up. There was something she always held back about herself.

For me it wasn’t their romance that intrigued me it was the setting of the story. I loved the old school movie theater that Alicia work in and her friendship with George. For me he was her confidante and true friend. He always told her how he saw it, even if at times she didn't want to here it.

I do enjoy books that make me use google and The Summer I Met Jack made me do that. If you are looking for another view into the Kennedy clan, then this book is for you.

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Julie's Review: Another Side of Paradise

Author: Sally Koslow
Series: None
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 352
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A look into one of F Scott Fitzgerald's many loves
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Summary: In 1937 Hollywood, gossip columnist Sheilah Graham’s star is on the rise, while literary wonder boy F. Scott Fitzgerald’s career is slowly drowning in booze. But the once-famous author, desperate to make money penning scripts for the silver screen, is charismatic enough to attract the gorgeous Miss Graham, a woman who exposes the secrets of others while carefully guarding her own. Like Fitzgerald’s hero Jay Gatsby, Graham has meticulously constructed a life far removed from the poverty of her childhood in London’s slums. And like Gatsby, the onetime guttersnipe learned early how to use her charms to become a hardworking success; she is feted and feared by both the movie studios and their luminaries. A notorious drunk famously married to the doomed Zelda, Fitzgerald fell hard for his “Shielah” (he never learned to spell her name), a shrewd yet softhearted woman—both a fool for love and nobody’s fool—who would stay with him and help revive his career until his tragic death three years later. Working from Sheilah’s memoirs, interviews, and letters, Sally Koslow revisits their scandalous love affair and Graham’s dramatic transformation in London, bringing Graham and Fitzgerald gloriously to life with the color, glitter, magic, and passion of 1930s Hollywood. ~amazon.com

Review:  While this novel is about the love affair between Sheilah and F. Scott, for me Sheilah's backstory is the most interesting part of the novel. At this time, F. Scott was a washed up writer trying to become a screenwriter in Hollywood but even that isn't going well for him. By the end of this book I took pity on F. Scott Fitzgerald because he really wasn't going to make a huge comeback.

As I said, this story was really about Ms. Graham. It was about how her past shaped her and how her relationship with Scott might have been the first time she was truly in love. He also taught her to believe in herself and with his guidance she educated herself by reading books she had never experienced previously.

I really enjoyed Sheilah and her story. She has reinvented herself for gain and because she had to get out of where she grew up. Ms. Koslow did right by Sheilah by telling her side of the story and giving her a voice.
 

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Julie's Review: Regrets Only

Author: Erin Duffy
Series: None
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 416
Obtained: author
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Picking up the pieces of a life shattered isn't easy but you have to do it
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Summary: Claire thought she had everything a woman was supposed to want—a loving husband, a newborn son, a beautiful home in the suburbs. Then she walks in on her husband canoodling with their realtor in their newly renovated kitchen, and in an instant, her perfect life comes crashing down. With her marriage heading for divorce, Claire knows it’s time to stop feeling sorry for herself. But how can she move on when she’s still stuck in the orbit of her husband’s world? For starters, she can get rid of her soon-to-be ex’s possessions—including his prized, gigantic foosball table—by dumping them onto the curb…until complaints from the neighbors get the police involved. Now Claire is busy dodging the mean mommies at story hour and hiding from her ex-husband’s girlfriend in the grocery store. But as Claire soon learns, suburbia still has a few surprises in store for her—surprises that will make her question her choices from the past, send her down an unexpected road to self-discovery, and maybe even lead to new love. Desperate for a positive outlet to channel her frustrations, she turns to girlfriends Lissy and Antonia for help. Together they join forces to rebrand Lissy’s local stationery store and turn it into a thriving business. But as Claire soon learns, suburbia still has a few surprises in store for her—surprises that will make her question her choices from the past, send her down an unexpected road to self-discovery, and maybe even new love. Featuring a second coming-of-age story, Regrets Only deftly explores the subtle nuances of marriage, family, friendship, and what it means to be a woman today, while delighting readers as its unforgettable heroine acts on impulses we’ve all been guilty of having. ~amazon.com

Review: Regrets Only was a welcome break from the psychological thrillers I've been reading and plus have loved all of Ms. Duffy's previous books, so I was looking forward to this one.  I loved Claire and even loved her mood swings. Who wouldn’t go a little bad crazy walking in on their husband having an affair with his ex girlfriend? Not to mention having a young baby to take care oh and giving up everything to move to his hometown. So while yes it seemed like she might have been losing it, she was really just reclaiming herself because she was a little lost.

Claire loses it after walking in on her husband and their real estate agent having an affair. She only finds out because Owen offered her a day in the city at the spa but she forgot her wallet, so she had to go home for it. This completely unravels Claire. How is she going to be a single mom to an 8 month old boy? How is she going to support them? Not only that but she's new to town and knows no one. She moved back east to be with Owen; she gave up her life in Chicago for him. 

Luckily a few things happen around the same time, her best friend shows up on her doorstep to help her get back on her feet and she meets Lissy, who owns a stationery store that turns into a project for Claire. Let me tell you, if that store existed in my town, I would most certainly be in there for cards and notepaper I probably don't need. The name and theme they come up with for the store is awesome. I love how her and Lissy form an immediate bond and support each other. She starts to come up for air and then her sadness/anger engulf her again. I felt that this was realistic because no one is going to be ok after a few weeks.

I adored all the other characters Lissy, Antonia and Fred. They brought Claire back down when she’s gone a bit too far. She’s surrounded herself with people that have her best interest at heart. If you are looking to read a book about picking yourself up again when life doesn't turn out like you thought, you should grab Regrets Only.


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Julie's Review: Then She Was Gone

Author: Lisa Jewell
Series: None
Publication Date: April 17, 2018
Publisher: Atria
Pages: 368
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Can you ever fully recover from the loss of a child?
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Summary: Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. And then she was gone. Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl? ~amazon.com

Review: Then She Was Gone is one of those psychological thrillers that as a parent will scare the crap out of you but as a fan of thrillers, will delight you and will keep you turning the pages. It is creepy in a this could really happen. It will make you hesitate about those you let into your lives and the lives of your children. 

Laurel is still reeling from her golden child, Ellie, going missing 7 years prior. She lost her marriage and her other 2 children over her inability to get over it. Now there's a new development in it and in some ways it brings all the pain back and in other ways it helps her find some closure. She's decided that she needs to move on with her life and that is what Ellie would want her to do. Pretty soon after deciding to move on she meets Floyd. Floyd seems a little too good to be true and then when she meets his youngest daughter, Poppy; her alerts go on high. You see Poppy looks like Ellie but not just her mannerisms are like Ellie's as well. She brushes it off given everything that has happened lately her brain is in overdrive. It's not like over the years other girls haven't looked like Ellie to her. 

We get flashbacks to what happened to Ellie and it's not pretty. In fact, it's every parents nightmare. We see her struggles and her fighting to defend herself. We see her cope with the situation she is in and how she focuses on her family. Is Ellie really linked to Poppy? If so, how? 

While reading this book I did wonder if Ellie was truly the golden child or if she was hiding something from everyone. It turns out that she really was a good kid who happened across an unstable person who became obsessed with her. 

The ending of the book will leave you hopeful and yet a bit shattered. Ms. Jewell certainly has a way of writing an engaging psychological thriller.

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Julie's Review: Not That I Could Tell

Author: Jessica Strawser
Series: None
Publication Date: March 27, 2018
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 338
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense
Rating: 4/5

Bottom Line: Another book that asks: "How well do you know your neighbors?"
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Summary: When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce―and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her―and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions―especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own. As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors―and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else. ~amazon.com

 Review: Not That I Could Tell is another novel that makes us question how well we know our neighbors and our friends. Appearances aren't always what they seem and people can keep things they don't want out hidden.

Izzy, the new neighbor, doesn't want her new friends to know just how lonely she really is. She's been through a lot and trying to figure out how to move on. Clara, is the person that everyone wants to be friends with because she's the stay at home mom who tries to have it all together but you know she doesn't. It makes her endearing. Then there is Kristin that we don't get to know but learn about her through her friends. She remains a mystery right up until the end.

Each of them have a little something to hide. Although I didn't think any of them had major issues to keep to themselves except for Paul. Paul was creepy. Paul was off kilter and frankly a bit weird. He didn't seem too upset about his missing wife and kids which of course is always the case in a book like this; the husband is the suspect. Except the case fizzles out pretty quickly and the police have no reason to keep him in their sights. Especially since Kristin took the money and ran.


What got me was the ending of this book. It completely took me by surprise and made the whole journey worth it to me. I would definitely recommend this one for fans of suspense.



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