I have a few pages of this thread to get caught up on - you all are doing such a great job with your reading & recommendations. Keep 'em coming! Hard to believe we are already HALFWAY through 2022! What?! How?!
27/45 - The Midnight Lock by Jeffrey Deaver (real book)
When a woman arrives home to her Manhattan apartment to find that her personal items have been rearranged while she slept, police initially dismiss her complaint. Nothing was stolen, and there's no sign of breaking and entering. But when the same woman turns up dead, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to investigate the murder. The soon learn that the murderer calls himself "the Locksmith." He is obsessed with locks, slipping into homes in the dead of night and tying his victims up with knots or locks, ultimately strangling them. Their hunt for the killer is interrupted when an internal investigation in the police force uncovers what seems to be a crucial mistake in one of Rhyme's previous cases. He is removed from the case, and must investigate the Locksmith in secret to untangle the mysteries behind the psychotic killer before he can set his ultimate trap.
I liked the premise of things being rearranged because that's a real scare factor for me - I can walk into any room and know instantly if anything is a little off. But the author didn't really focus on that - wish they could have played more with the minds of these women haha. The book just fell flat for me. I don't think crime fiction is really my genre.
28/45 - The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (ebook)
As England prepares to fight the Nazis in 1940, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East-End London poverty, works the legendary code-breaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip seven years later whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter—the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger—and their true enemy—closer...
5 stars for me! Took me almost half the book before I really got into it, but once I did, the book was unputdownable (is that a word?) On waiting list now for The Diamond Eye (newest by Quinn) and can't wait!
29/45 - The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella (ebook)
It's been over two years since Effie's beloved parents got divorced, destroying the image of the happy, loving childhood she thought she had. Since then, she's become estranged from her father and embarked on a feud with his hot (and much younger) girlfriend, Krista. And now, more earth-shattering news: Greenoaks, the rambling Victorian country house Effie called home her whole life, has been sold. When Krista decides to throw a grand "house cooling" party, Effie is originally left off the guest list--and then receives a last-minute "anti-invitation" (maybe it's because she called Krista a gold-digger, but Krista totally deserved it, and it was mostly a joke anyway). Effie declines, but then remembers a beloved childhood treasure is still hidden in the house. Her only chance to retrieve it is to break into Greenoaks while everyone is busy celebrating. As Effie sneaks around the house, hiding under tables and peeping through trapdoors, she realizes the secrets Greenoaks holds aren't just in the dusty passageways and hidden attics she grew up exploring. Watching how her sister, brother, and dad behave when they think no one is looking, Effie overhears conversations, makes discoveries, and begins to see her family in a new light. Then she runs into Joe--the love of her life, who long ago broke her heart, and who's still as handsome and funny as ever--and even more truths emerge. But will Effie act on these revelations? Will she stay hidden or step out into the party and take her place with her family? And truthfully, what did she really come back to Greenoaks for? Over the course of one blowout party, Effie realizes that she must be honest with herself and confront her past before she'll ever be able to face her future.
I had a 6-hour plane trip ahead of me so chose a couple of chick-lit books to hold my attention while being surrounded by people and distractions. I've enjoyed the Shopaholic books by Kinsella, but this one was not a favorite. It kept my attention somewhat but lacked the humor I usually find in Kinsella's previous books.
30/45 - November 9 by Colleen Hoover (real book)
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
I'm sort of embarrassed to admit but this is the 2nd book by Hoover that I have loved! Definitely held my attention and I LOVED the premise of this book - so original. I wish there was more of a twist to the plot. Love the kind of twists that actually make me gasp out loud. Will be adding a couple more of her books to my TBR this year for sure.
Now to get caught up on what you all are reading!