Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst

From the No.1 bestselling author of HOW I LOST YOU, which Clare Mackintosh called 'utterly gripping', comes a chilling new novel. Perfect for fans of Louise Jensen's THE SISTER and Katerina Diamond's THE SECRET, Linda Green and Paula Hawkins.

Karen is meant to be the one who fixes problems.
It's her job, as a psychiatrist - and it's always been her role as a friend.
But Jessica is different. She should be the patient, the one that Karen helps.
But she knows things about Karen. Her friends, her personal life. Things no patient should know.
And Karen is starting to wonder if she should have let her in . . .


Karen, Bea, and Eleanor have been the best of friends since they were kids. Karen was always the one Bea and Eleanor could count on, come hell or high water. One day a threat presents itself to this friendship, in the form of a new patient who seems to know far too much about Karen and the lives of her friends. Wanting to protect them as she has always done, Karen struggles with how much information she is able to share since giving away too much would breach patient confidentiality. Tensions mount under the stress of too many secrets that even these best of friends have kept hidden from each other, and the dangers that lurk may threaten not only friendships but lives.
This was a brilliant psychological thriller full of suspense and domestic drama.
5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

The Sound of Broken Ribs by Edward Lorn

Lei Duncan has it all: the ideal life, the perfect career, a loving husband. What more could someone ask for? It is with this in mind that Lei takes her morning run.

Belinda Walsh has just lost it all: her home, her husband, her sanity. Everything she’s known to be true is a lie. It is with this in mind that she goes looking for something—or someone—to destroy.

When the lives of two strangers intersect, something will be born of the connection. For one of these two women, the truth of the world will shift and morph into something powerful and dangerous. A darkness of the mind. A rip in sanity.

And something will peek through that darkness, beckoned by the sound of broken ribs.


I have never read an Edward Lorn that I didn't enjoy. There are very few authors I can say that about.
The Sound Of Broken Ribs is as twisted as it's title. I'm not sure there's a lot I can say without giving away too much plot so I will stick with how it made me feel, because for me the best books are those that make you feel something.
For the briefest moment I felt sympathy for Belinda who had just had her ordinary hum drum life ripped out from under her, and then BAM I spent the rest of the book wanting to beat her to a pulp for making me feel sorry for her. Lets face it, lots of us have at some point been screwed over by a man we expected to live happily ever after with, but we didn't pull a Belinda.
The depth and scope of Lei's pain literally made my heart hurt. The suspense of not knowing for sure whether there were supernatural elements afoot or who would survive to the end kept me up turning pages until long past my bedtime. The ending was spectacular.
5 out of 5 stars

Gorilla in My Room by Jack Ketchum

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Description

I’m done.

 

Jack Ketchum is back with a brand new short story collection, full of the horror and terror we've come to love and expect from the author Stephen King has called, "one of the best in the business."

What Ketchum has crafted in these stories are portrayals of the starkest, darkest aspects of the human condition. These stories are enthJack Ketchum is back with a brand new short story collection, full of the horror and terror we've come to love and expect from the author Stephen King has called, "one of the best in the business."

What Ketchum has crafted in these stories are portrayals of the starkest, darkest aspects of the human condition. These stories are enthralling, expertly constructed, and very very powerful. Some will put a lump in your throat. Some will have you squirming. Some might be so intense and disturbing that they leave you no choice but to put it aside for awhile, catch your breath, and finish when you've worked up the guts.

This is fiction that does far more than "entertain," and it goes far beyond what we expect when we read "horror." No haunted houses here, no pitchfork-wielding devils with horns on their heads. The only monsters are the very worst kind: humans.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Edward Lee
Gorilla in My Room
The Western Dead
Bully
Listen
Polaroids
Squirrely Shirley (with Lucky McKee)
Group of Thirty
Winter Child
Cow (with Lucky McKee)
The Transformed Mouse
The Right Thing
Awake
That Moment
Oldies
Seconds

Shortly after this book was published, we lost Jack Ketchum. I put off reading it for a while because I hated that it would be the last of his work that I would ever read, and I was not ready for it to be over. Now I wish I had started it sooner so that I could have asked him what in the world the title story was about. I didn't know him in person, but we were Facebook friends, and had I asked he would have answered because that is the kind of guy he was. He always had time for his fans, It was probably genius and whooshed right over my head? I don't know but it was a head scratcher for me. I loved the rest. My favorites were Squirrely Shirley, Group of Thirty, Winter Child, Cow, Oldies, and Seconds. Writing this review is harder than I expected it to be. The world has lost a master story teller. Thank you for the fears, the tears, the suspense and the gut wrenching horrors over the years.

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

Description

THE NEW TWISTY, GRIPPING READ FROM B. A. PARIS, THE AUTHOR OF THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING NOVELS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND THE BREAKDOWN
“We’re in a new Golden Age of suspense writing now, because of amazing books like Bring Me Back, and I for one am loving it.” —Lee Child
She went missing. He moved on. A whole world of secrets remained—until now.

Finn and Layla are young, in love, and on vacation. They’re driving along the highway when Finn decides to stop at a service station to use the restroom. He hops out of the car, locks the doors behind him, and goes inside. When he returns Layla is gone—never to be seen again. That is the story Finn told to the police. But it is not the whole story.
Ten years later Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister, Ellen. Their shared grief over what happened to Layla drew them close and now they intend to remain together. Still, there’s something about Ellen that Finn has never fully understood. His heart wants to believe that she is the one for him...even though a sixth sense tells him not to trust her.
Then, not long before he and Ellen are to be married, Finn gets a phone call. Someone from his past has seen Layla—hiding in plain sight. There are other odd occurrences: Long-lost items from Layla’s past that keep turning up around Finn and Ellen’s house. Emails from strangers who seem to know too much. Secret messages, clues, warnings. If Layla is alive—and on Finn’s trail—what does she want? And how much does she know?
A tour de force of psychological suspense, Bring Me Back will have you questioning everything and everyone until its stunning climax.
 

I enjoyed The Breakdown and Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris so I already knew that this would be a good read for me as soon as I saw her name on it.
I love being right!
Finn was head over heels for Layla from the minute she wandered, lost and lonely into his life and interrupted his plans. He was devastated when she disappeared.
Time may forge ahead but do we ever really escape the past? Finn had a secret all those years ago  that caused him to lie to the police when Layla went missing in order to avoid being a suspect.
B.A. Paris has a knack for turning domestic bliss into a suspenseful roller coaster ride. I was over halfway finished before I suspected the real twist, and even then the ending was a bit of a surprise.


4 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy for review.