The Daughter by AR Simmons

Description

Blue Creek's "golden girl" is gone.

Two days ago, Shara McGregor, the girl whose face adorns the junior college billboard on the highway, headed west to Springfield. A bright future lay ahead. After she completed her undergraduate degree, her mentor, former State Senator Willis Sparkes would pull the right strings to get her into a good law school. Despite her humble origins, the small-town girl seemed destined to be among the "movers and shakers." However, Shara never made it to Springfield.

Yesterday, two counties away, three drunken teenagers found her car hidden in the woods near an abandoned cemetery in the Irish Wilderness area. Having lost the keys to their own car, they "borrowed" it to go home for another key. When a deputy stopped them, he found blood in the car--lots of blood.

Since the girl came from Blue Creek, Hawthorn County has jurisdiction. Deputy Richard Carter begins what he assumes will be a short investigation. After all, this wasn't criminal genius at work--or was it?

The more he learns about the girl, the more Richard becomes emotionally involved. She seems one of his own, one of the "good people." The obsessive-compulsive ex-Marine pours his soul into the investigation, spurred by an irrational fear that something similar could happen to his own seven-year-old daughter Mirabelle someday.

Except for Shara's blood in the car, there is no physical evidence: no murder weapon, no crime scene, no body, and no one with a motive. There are no suspects and no motive. Everyone liked the girl, and she had no history of high-risk behavior. What happened to her shouldn't have. She wasn't that kind of girl.

Don't imagine that everyone in a small town knows everything about everyone else. There are secrets. And there is evil to match anything in the wider world.

If Shara had a secret that cost her life, what was it?
Maybe it was someone else's secret.

If you're looking for a good mystery with lots of twists and turns this is it.
When a pretty and popular teen disappears, leaving behind her abandoned blood soaked car, keys and all it doesn't look like things could possibly end well.
With a cast of characters full of shady pasts and their own agenda thrown into the mix this story will keep you guessing til the end.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill

 Description

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Preview — Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill

  

In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in and no one comes out, and it's been that way for 50 years, until the night a watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and is drawn to investigate. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever. Soon after, a young American woman, Apryl, arrives at Barrington House. She's been left an apartment by her mysterious Great Aunt Lillian who died in strange circumstances. Rumors claim Lillian was mad, but her diary suggests she was implicated in a horrific and inexplicable event decades ago. Determined to learn something of this eccentric woman, Apryl begins to unravel the hidden story of Barrington House. She discovers that a transforming, evil force still inhabits the building, and that the doorway to Apartment 16 is a gateway to something altogether more terrifying.

 

 

This was a good old fashioned horror and I loved it.

It was very atmospheric and descriptive, almost poetic. On the one hand we have Apryl who has arrived alone at Barrington House to clear out her Late Aunt's apartment which has been left to her in the will. People suggest that her aunt was perhaps a little batty but all is not as it seems.

Also at Barrington we have Seth who is experiencing some odd and ghostly occurrences of his own.

This was a very well crafted tale and I would rate it 4 out of 5 sinister stars.

Tell Me A Secret (Tales of the Unexpected #3) by Ann Girdharry

Description

Deceit, lies and hidden secrets…
How well do we know those closest to us?

Jared and Nalini have been married for eighteen months. They enjoy an affluent lifestyle but all is not as it seems. Nalini is a complex character, emotionally fragile and with a troubled past. Jared has his own failings, not least a passion for alluring women.

Their past lives are fast catching up, along with old deceptions and lies. When a stranger comes to stand sentinel outside their house, time is up for Nalini and Jared.

Awarded Readers' Favourite 5 Star Seal.
Tell Me A Secret is about the treachery of human emotions, the impossibility of love and the worst deception of them all. A psychological suspense and a short story of 8000 words. This is the third, stand-alone story in the Tales of the Unexpected, Mystery and Suspense series.

This was a short story and a fun read.
Jared and Nalini are a newlywed couple who have it all, including dark pasts and secrets they have kept from each other. But those secrets don't stay hidden long when he meets Vanessa, the strange woman who stands peering at their window each day. It's hard to say too much without giving it all away but it reminded me a bit of an old movie I saw many years ago called Diabolique.

I received a complimentary copy for review
It is also currently free at amazon so check I out if you are so inclined

How to Grow an Addict by J.A. Wright

Description
Randall Grange has been tricked into admitting herself into a treatment center and she doesn’t know why. She’s not a party hound like the others in her therapy group—but then again, she knows she can’t live without pills or booze. Raised by an abusive father, a detached mother, and a loving aunt and uncle, Randall both loves and hates her life. She’s awkward and a misfit. Her parents introduced her to alcohol and tranquilizers at a young age, ensuring that her teenage years would be full of bad choices, and by the time she’s twenty-three years old, she’s a full-blown drug addict, well acquainted with the miraculous power chemicals have to cure just about any problem she could possibly have—and she’s in more trouble than she’s ever known was possible.

This is my first time reading anything by J.A. Wright, and honestly I'm blown away.
How To Grow An Addict is an expertly crafted realistic look at a dysfunctional family and all it's ugly consequences. It made me laugh one minute and broke my heart the next. Poor Randall grew up with an abusive hard drinking father and a mother who popped pills to calm her nerves. From the time she was old enough to mix a drink she was playing bartender and fetching her mother's pills, and sometimes helping herself to one or 2 so she could calm her own nerves and get some sleep. Almost always made to feel unwelcome in her own home she looked forward to spending time with her Aunt Flo and Uncle Hank, until tragedy took even that small measure of comfort away from her. This was an amazing story. 5 out of 5 stars from me.

I received a complimentary copy for review