The New Neighbors by Simon Lelic

What if your perfect home turned out to be the scene of the perfect crime?

Londoners Jack and Syd moved into the house a year ago. It seemed like their dream home: tons of space, the perfect location, and a friendly owner who wanted a young couple to have it.

So when they made a grisly discovery in the attic, Jack and Syd chose to ignore it. That was a mistake.

Because someone has just been murdered. Right outside their back door.

And now the police are watching them..

Honestly I didn't really care for the way this book started off, written in the form of a journal, switching back and forth between Jack's point of view and then Syd's. A few times I wasn't even sure which point of view I was reading. I was considering giving up on it. I'm glad I stayed with it,

Jack and Syd were two broken people before they found each other. Now happily in love and moved into their new home it seems like maybe life will turn out ok after all. Except for that foul smell of death in the attic and the strange box hidden towards the back. Then there's the sound of footsteps where nobody should be walking, and the neighbor who threatens you for daring to be nice to his abused daughter. Something from the past has followed the couple to their new home and it's not the welcome wagon.  This was a dark and twisty psychological thriller and the ending took me by surprise.
4 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy for review

The Presence by Kirk Kilgrave

Description

This is not your friendly neighborhood library.
During a job interview for a branch manager position, Rosalind Lanners learns that some think the library is haunted. But with a horrible credit score, a mountain of school debt, and less than three figures in her bank account, Rosalind takes the job and hides out there at night until she can find an affordable apartment.
When cold spots precede unsettling, seemingly impossible events, Rosalind begins to wonder if the stories are true. These strange occurrences soon take on a more sinister edge, but circumstances outside her control force her to stay in the one place she'd like to escape at all costs.

As she discovers clues about what might be lurking inside the branch, Rosalind learns that those who work in the library...may be just as evil as what lives inside it.


Rosalind is a young woman who has recently moved away from her friends and in with her boyfriend. With no money and homeless after a break up she and her faithful pup Tofu move into a secret room in the building where she has been made branch manager by the creepy and dirty old man who interviewed several applicants before her but could never find anyone willing to take the job. Strange occurrences and bumps in the night follow as Rosalind gets closer to untangling the mystery of what really happened to the branch manager before her.
This story was a bit more tame than what I would normally expect from a book I found in the horror section. It's more a mystery/ghost story than horror and at first I thought it was  geared towards a young adult audience until some of the language, and a journal describing one character's  sexual proclivities changed my mind on that notion.

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie

Can you hide a secret with the whole world watching?

When an explosion rips apart a Chicago building, the lives of three women are forever altered.
A year later, Cecily is in mourning. She was supposed to be in the building that day. Instead, she stood on the street and witnessed it going down, with her husband and best friend inside. Kate, now living thousands of miles away, fled the disaster and is hoping that her past won’t catch up with her. And Franny, a young woman in search of her birth mother, watched the horror unfold on the morning news, knowing that the woman she was so desperate to reconnect with was in the building.

Now, despite the marks left by the tragedy, they all seem safe. But as its anniversary dominates the media, the memories of that terrifying morning become dangerous triggers. All these women are guarding important secrets. Just how far will they go to keep them?

A fitting title for a novel holding so many secrets.
As the anniversary of the explosion that took the lives of over 500 people approaches, a documentary is being made about the effects on 3 families who've lost loved ones to the tragic accident. Cecily in particular, is a big part of it since a photo was taken of her that day at the site that now has made her face the poster for that deadly shocking day. Cecily has kept a secret about her reason for intending to meet her husband there, but she is not the only one. There are deeper, darker secrets that will be revealed. This was a real page turner that started with an explosion and ended with a bang!

I received an advance copy for review

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

Description

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.

This small town neighborhood drama started off really strong, but it wasn't long before it was just too easy to tell where it was headed and how it would end up.
Kristin wasn't just gone, her twins were gone, her belongings were gone and her perfect soon to be ex husband was back. Everyone had their own suspicions but it was all just too simplistic for me.
3 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review