Robert Grandinetti

The Mirror is the second book in Nora Roberts" The Lost Bride Trilogy. The story picks up right after the first book in the series, 2023's The Inheritance, left off. Sonya McTavish has now become accustomed to the ghosts the haunted the Maine mansion she inherited after her long lost Uncle's death. Sonya learns more about the history of the lost brides through an antique mirror that appears in different rooms at various times. Sonya is able to walk through the mirror which allows her actually see the tragic deaths of each bride. Sonya also comes face to face with the witch who placed the curse that effects her both inside and outside of the mirror. Roberts fills her follow-up with good characters, good humor, and even good scares. I was surprised how much I've enjoyed the first two books in Roberts latest trilogy because I don't read many books with fantasy elements. In Roberts case, she doesn't let the ghosts overshadow the characters in the story. Sonya along with her supporting characters are as richly developed as are the history of her family and the mansion. It's a cliche, but I'm already eagerly awaiting next year's final book in The Lost Bride Trilogy which is a reflection of how much I enjoyed The Mirror.

Liane Moriarty is one of the few others today that never writes the same book twice. Here One Moment feature what has become Moriarty's trademarks such as characters that are facing a crisis, an equal blend of a satirical and the tragic tone, and the plot risks she takes in her story. Moriarty's latest begins on a flight delay where a psychic predicts the deaths of her fellow passengers. Six of the passengers included: a gulit ridden father, a pair of newlyweds, a lost soul, a harried mother, and a flight attended in constant crisis are the most effected by her predictions. Their decisions in their day to day lives now revolve around how much time that they allegedly have left on earth. The psychic herself's story about the origins of her abilities is told through alternating chapters. I loved what Moriarty does in her latest because she's taking on the theme of mortality without trying to be heavy handed or philosophical. Her multi-developed characters don't always make the best decisons which I'd rather read then people who suddenly know the right answers to the flaws in their lives. Here One Moment is one of those rare books that caused me to think about the same issues as its characters especially my own mortality. I hope that anyone who reads Moriarty's terrific latest will come away exploring that same issue as well.

The key for me to a successful biography is if it fully captures its subject's personality Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's biography perfectly captures the her high intelligence and sense of modesty that she that came through in her recent interviews promoting her memoir. Justice Jackson's background served as a roadmap to her current position. Jackson was born in Washington, but raised in Miami, Florida. Her Mother and Father were both educators, then later, her Father became the chief attorney for the Miami-Dade County School Board. The first section of the book movingly detail the values that her parents instilled in her that were the keys to her success as a star debator in high school, Harvard graduate, and a law clerk to two highly lauded judges. "Lovely" biggest success is that it perfectly balances Jackson's moments of success with her moments of self doubt. Jackson opens up about her bouts of imposter syndrome and encounters with both racism and sexism that were painful, but didn't break her down. I was greatly moved by the chapters about her family and friend's doubts and questions about her marriage to an upper class white doctor as well as their difficulties raising their autustic daughter, Talia. Jackson could've done a quick run down on both, but instead takes a step by step approach as lessons in love and understanding. I didn't know if I could write a review of Lovely One, because I thought I would end up writing an opinion piece on my admiration for Supreme Court Justice Jackson. I gave it further thought and concluded that if I came away with more admiration for Justice Jackson then that makes her memoir a great success.

I don't know if I would've finished reading Shelby Van Pelt's quirky Remarkably Bright Creatures instead of listening to it on audio. The story about an older cleaning woman, Tova Sullivan, who forms an unusual bond with an old octopus, Marcellus, is original, but the plot of how Marcellus helps Tova solve the long ago dissapearance of her son was annoyingly predictable. The audio has the advantage of two great narrators with actors @marinireland and @michaelurielikesit. Ireland dead on nails both the voices of the story's male and female characters. She achieves that rare feat of giving each character their own personalities. There are audios where I have to rewind to remember which characters are which, because the narration is so flat, but Ireland's clear understanding of her characters helped me keep track of who's who. Urie puts his great comedic skills to use in order to capture not only Marcellus' bitterness and snobbishness, but his later own unexpected affection and appreciation for Tova. I'm going to be viewed as a crumudgeon for being so critical of a book that has been labeled, "a feel good read." In my defense, I did listen to the audio all the way through and even laughed out especially in the scenes involving Tova's Knitting Club. "Remarkably" has nice moments, but Ireland and Urie narrations elevate them to make them more memorable.

J.D. Robb's provocative 59th title in her Lieutenant Eve Dallas series begins with the murder of Artist Erin Albright during her own Bachelorette Party at the notorious Down and Dirty club. Lt. Dallas and her partner Detective Amelia Peabody investigation of Erin's murder begins with their questioning of Erin's fiancee, Shauna. The suspects include: Erin's bitter ex, an art dealer who knows the value of a dead artist's works ,and the club's bartender who found Erin's body. "Passions" has less action than the previous Dallas novel, Random In Death. This is more of a slow burn police procedural novel, which is a plus because Robb successfully develops her characters motives that kept me guessing who did it? Dallas is still one of the best recurring characters in series fiction. She's more empathetic than she was in the earlier books, but she still maintains her no holds barred approach when it comes to catching criminals. Robb has scored another winner this year with Passions In Death. It shows that there's still no justice like Dallas justice.

First, Riley Sager, Now it's Shari Lapena that I've removed from my authors I enjot list. The one thing that theyhave in common is that I read enjoyed the ARCs I read for their respective debuts Sager's Final Girls and Lapena's The Couple Next Door. Sager's books have the equavilant of campy 80s horror film which was exactly why I DNF his latest, Middle of the Night. Lapena's previous title, Everyone Here Is Lying, finally delivered on the promise of her debut. Her latest, What Have You Done?, I can only describe is to list its cliche ridden plot one by one: 1) The body of a teenage girl, Diana Brewer, is found late at night by the town's eccentric. 2) The primary suspects include the late girl's horndog boyfriend, a gym teacher that was accused of inaapropriate behavior towards Diana, and naturally the town eccentric. 3) The discovery that the victim has a history of lying which causes second thoughts by the town's inveestigators. 4) The victim's guilt ridden oblivious BFF who questions whether she really knew Diana at all. 5) The question if a two ridiculous narrative shifts are really happening or made-up by Diana's murderer? The final straw for me was how Lapena could've ended the book with a truly surprising ending that would've elevated the book up a notch, but instead she ended it with a tired gimmick that I've read for the third time this year. I don't have an issue with formula fiction as long as its author writes a good story with an interesting hero or heroine, but a novel filled with cliches leaves me feeling that no care or effort was put into the story. I don't enjoy cutting authors off my authors I read list, but there are other authors whose works I want to explore more off and authors who I have yet to tackle. I bid my farewells to both Riley Sager and Shari Lapena with gratitude for their books that kept me reading, dissapointment for the ones that made me shake my head after I finished them, and wonder which authors will take over their empty slots on my authors I enjoy list.

Like Mother Like Daughter is the first book that actually does something different with a familar trope. Kimberly McCreight's latest centers on Cleo's discovery that her mother Katrina has disappeared. Even worse Cleo discovers that there's a blood stain on her mother's carpet that possibly a link to her Mom's fate. Cleo and Katrina's POV alternates between each chapter which is the usual narrative in almost thrillers, but it suits the story because Cleo is investigating her mother's disappearance, but also discovers things that both shock and surprise her. Katrina reveals that her daughter was difficult as both a child and adult. There relationship is as complex as their personalities which is a nice change from the usual good daughter, bad daughter and vice versa plots. Kimberly McEight's Like Mother, Like Daughter is the type of book that will keep you reading at the beach until sunset.

The two things that piqued my interest about Jeneva Rose's Home is Where The Bodies Are was its great title and the bloody videocassette on the cover. The story centers on a trio of siblings, Beth, Michael, and Nicole who reunite after the death of their mother. Beth was there to hear her mother's final words that their father didn't disappear as they thought he did when they were younger. A batch of videotapes are discovered that can connect their parents with the murders of two local girls. Each chapter is covincingly each of the siblings POV'S that reveal insights about both incidents and more possible suspects. Rose does a good job with developing her characters and plotting the story which consistantly runs at a fast pace. Unfortunately, I had to lower the grade because I found two of my reader pet peeves at the book's last two chapters which were that I was able to figure out who was actually responsible for the fates of both girls and a story about Beth's estrangememt from her daughter that more then likely was chopped off in the final edit. I still reccomend Home Is Where the Bodies Are because the majority of the book is a satisfying page turner.

Nora Roberts intense latest, Mind Games, centers on Thea Fox. Thea was twelve years old when she dreamt of her parent's murder while staying at her Grandma Lucy's Kentucky ranch. Lucy had the same nightmare as well then explains that it was due to their mutual psychic abilities. Thea helps the police capturer her parent's murderer, Ray Riggs. Thea grows up to be a successful video game designer, but her connection to Ray is stronger then ever. Thea's psychic talents is both a blessing and a curse in her adult life. Her gifts help her local police and a troubled neighbor, but could also cost her chances at love and further success. You're getting the full-on "Nora" here with her usual strong-willed and independent heroine, a hero who's her equal, with a mysterious past, and a cast of loving and supportive family and friends. There's also her trademark themes of core values, good vs evil, and telepathy. The major difference between Roberts' latest and the other books that I've read by her is that Thea's story takes up almost the first half of the story that results in one of Roberts' most compelling heroines. I also want to reiterate on the high intensity of the story especially in the scenes between Thea and Ray which left my palms soaking wet. Mind Games is another benchmark in her established career. It's also a example that when it comes to romantic suspense that nobody does it better then Nora Roberts.

I vowed to never post a review with any spoilers. It's a challenge for me not to include any spoilers for @fmcfaddenauthor's bestseller The Housemaid. There are so many twists in this humdinger that I felt my brain getting tied in knots Now without further adieu, my review. Millie is hired by Nina to take care of the daily tasks at her manison that she shares with her wealthy husband Andrew. It doesn't take long for Millie to notice Nina's eccentricities then later on, how she continually gaslights her. Andrew surprisingly offers Millie a sympathetic shoulder to cry on over his wife's constantly manipulating her. The nature of Millie and Andrew's relationship begins to change which doesn't go unoticed by Nina. Millie finally gets the upper hand over Nina, but her relief is temporary when she is assigned a task that reveals the demented reason she was hired in the first place. I dismissed The Housemaid as yet another unreliable narrator thriller after I read the first three chapters. Then something unusual happened when I read Millie's first encounter with Nina's daughter Cecelia, I laughed. McFadden doesn't overload the story with humorous scenes, but they provide a good counterbalance to the darker elements of the story. I was mostly drawn into the story's gothic elements such as the enamored heroine, a villianess lady of the house, and a hero who may or may not be as heroic as he appears. Best of all is there's one room in the mansion to avoid at all costs. There's something appealing to me about a home surrounded in oppulance, but yet still has that one room that's is to be avoided all costs. The Housekepper has been one of the most discussed books here on #bookstagram. I admit that I've shared my fellow #bookstagrammers enthusiam, but my own disappointment over their choices. This time, I definetly share their enthusiasm because just like them, I was frantically turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I'll end my review now because I've successfully avoided revealing any spoilers which keeps my vow entact.