April Books

 

All My Secrets by Lynn Austin -- Three generations of women, Junietta, Sylvia, and Adelaide, live together during the Gilded Age, and the older two are trying to influence the youngest. Does she want to marry to save her family home, or should she look to do whatever makes her fulfilled?

My Name Was Eden by Eleanor Barker-White -- After a drowning incident, Lucy is relieved when her daughter Eden coughs up the water and lives. However her personality is totally different and Eden now declares that she is Eli, the name Lucy gave the twin she carried for a short time during her pregnancy.

The Silence in Her Eyes by Armando Lucas Correa -- Leah has lived with motion blindness since an accident when she was eight. Now at 28, her sharpened senses of smell and hearing have her befriending her new neighbor, Alice, and attempting to save Alice from her abusive husband.

Family Family by Laurie Frankel -- Alternating between now and when India was in high school and college, this story explores what makes a family. Fig and Jack are twins, and Fig has a secret: she's met (online) a child her mom placed for adoption when she was 16. Rebecca now goes by Bex, and she does something to "out" her biological mom.

Note: I have seen Bex in several books lately. Usually books located in the UK, but this one is in the US. Still, it's worth noting as a thing.  The Eden book above also had a Bex.

The Truth About the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline -- TJ is the black sheep of the Devlin family, but he has a good heart, and wants to solve the mystery his older brother John brought him into. Things turn weirder when John starts accusing TJ of relapsing and committing a crime. 

End of Story by A.J. Finn -- I read a bit over a fourth of this 400+ page book, and decided it wasn't good enough to keep reading.  DNF

Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf -- Five contestants gather at an estate for a new reality TV show that promises ten million dollars to the winner! Although the contests are grueling and bordering unethical, Maire, Camille, and the three guys duel it out as the assistant/host Fern encourages them on. Pretty good.

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan -- When Germans bomb London and the library is destroyed, Juliet, the deputy librarian in Bethnal Green, and her friends Sofie and Katie among others decide to move books to the underground where folks sheltering from bombs can enjoy the stories. Pretty good.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris -- Grace is the main caretaker for her sister Millie who was born with Down's Syndrome. Grace would like a husband and family, but knowing that she is the one who will care for Millie, often has boyfriends scrambling when they find out. Enter Jack Angel...who not only loves Grace, but adores Millie, and wants to take care of them both. After a whirlwind engagement and marriage, Grace is stunned to discover Jack missing on the night of their wedding. Where has he gone? And what will it be like to be married to Jack?

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French -- Three incidents - two of them over thirty years prior - and one recent murder. Are they somehow connected to the disappearance of Charlotte Salter the evening of her husband's fiftieth birthday party? When Morgan decides to do a podcast about the events - and gets his brother Greg to give his side of the story, the police reluctantly decide to take a closer look.

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf -- Wylie is in Iowa renting a house and writing a true crime story about an event that took place decades before. Josie lost both her parents on the same night that her best friend Becky and her brother Ethan went missing. No one was ever arrested for this crime. Meanwhile a little girl lives with her mother in a basement. Her father sometimes brings her treats and food, and sometimes he doesn't.

The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen -- Lindsey has always been the smart twin who worked hard to make it to the top whereas her sister Alex seemed to have it made easily because of her stunning looks. When Lindsey moves back to Maryland due to a major job fiasco in New York, she and Alex have more time together than they have in years. A pretty good story.

Never Lie by Freida McFadden -- Tricia and Ethan are on the way to a remote area to look at a house that's for sale. Unfortunately a blizzard means they are stuck at this house, but thankfully they are able to get inside and spend the night there. They realize they are in the house of a therapist, Adrienne, who went missing three years ago and presumably killed by her boyfriend. A pretty good thriller/mystery type.

Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher -- Iris is a teenager when her twin Piper is taken by some men. The police wonder if it's truly a kidnapping or if Piper just ran away. This is told in the timelines of Iris then - as a teen begging for help in finding her sister - and today as she gets a job helping those deemed incompetent to stand trial. She wants to get close to someone she believes is connected to her sister's disappearance. 

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay -- Years ago Ella was the only survivor of a stabbing spree where she worked at Blockbuster. Now that a similar crime has occurred, she's been summoned to talk with Jesse, the only survivor who has been hospitalized. Sarah Keller is an FBI agent called in to help (because the local police needs the feds' resources), and Chris is a public defender with ties to the past case. Pretty good. 

Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen -- After Maple's husband dies in the war, she turns her hobby of making doll houses into a business in order to support herself. She has always had perfect recall for details, and after witnessing a disturbing scene, she recreates it in order to solve a possible murder.

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray -- An interesting book about an impressive lady, Frances Perkins (sometimes Wilson), who served in FDR's cabinet among many things.

If Looks Could Kill by Kate White -- Since I read several of her books already, I decided to read the first of the Bailey Weggins Mystery series. In this story, Bailey is helping her friend Cat solve the mystery of the nanny who winds up dead in Cat's house. 

The Dilemma by B. A. Paris -- This alternates between Adam and Livia on the day of Livia's fortieth birthday party, something she's been saving for and planning since the couple was young and needy.  Fast read

She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica -- Meghan is a critical care nurse charged with caring for a young woman brought in as having attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge. Later a witness comes forth claiming someone else was on the bridge with Caitlin and it might be more than meets the eye. Meanwhile Meghan is trying to raise her 16 year old daughter mostly by herself since she and her husband divorced recently. Also she's trying to help a high school friend, Natalie, who recently came back into her life.  Pretty interesting story.

Watch Where They Hide by Tamron Hall -- This is the second book in the Jordan Manning series. Jordan is called by a distraught woman who claims her sister disappeared, but she's getting little help from authorities. As an investigative reporter, Jordan is asked to help. This book was OK.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay -- Jenna, Donnie, and NIco were best friends at a group home, and years later weird things happen that reunite these friends in order to solve a mystery. Pretty good.

A Body to Die For by Kate White -- Second in the Bailey Weggins series... Bailey is looking forward to her weekend getaway to her mom's college friend's spa, but when one of the massage therapists ends up dead, Bailey gets involved with trying to figure out what happened.