Don’t Know Tough

 

Author: Eli Cranor

Publisher: Soho Press

Year: 2022

🏈 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲 🏈

Don’t Know Tough is an impressive debut novel from Eli Cranor. It is the personification of southern noir - gritty and bleak. 

The tiny town of Denton, Arkansas lives and breathes high school football. The team’s success is in the hands of Billy Lowe, a talented but troubled kid. Billy’s home life is a mess. His mother is an addict and turns a blind eye when her boyfriend physically abuses Billy. Billy has anger issues and his rage comes out on the football field. 

The team has a new head coach, Trent Powers. He sees a lot of his younger self in Billy and is determined to help the boy at any cost. When Billy’s abuser is murdered, Billy is the main suspect. Will the truth come with more deadly consequences? 

There are lots of villains in this story- from Billy’s abuser to the school administrator who only cares about the teaming winning to the coach’s resentful, manipulative wife. Cranor does a masterful job portraying Billy’s character. He gives  Billy layers of hidden depth. Billy is a character who will stay long after you finish reading his story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @soho_press for the digital review copy. Don’t Know Tough is available now. 

#dontknowtough #elicranor #sohopress #crimefiction #mysteryfiction #thrillerbooks #highschoolfootball #noir #southernnoir #abuse #addiction #bookstagram #igreads #debutbook #publicationday #football #netgalley

Currently Reading

 

☕️ 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ☕️

QOTD: What are you reading this week? 

I started reading Like a Sister by @kellyekell last night. This book has gotten lots of buzz and I couldn’t wait to start it. 

Synopsis: When the body of disgraced reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found on a playground in the Bronx the morning after her 25th birthday party, the police and the media are quick to declare her death an overdose. It’s a tragedy, certainly, but not a crime.

But Desiree’s half-sister Lena Scott knows that can’t be the case. A graduate student at Columbia, Lena has spent the past decade forging her own path far from the spotlight, but some facts about Desiree just couldn’t have changed since their childhood. And Desiree would never travel above 125th Street. So why is no one listening to her?

Despite the bitter truth that the two haven’t spoken in two years, torn apart by Desiree’s partying and by their father, Mel, a wealthy and influential hip-hop mogul, Lena becomes determined to find justice for her sister, even if it means untangling her family’s darkest secrets—or ending up dead herself.

#likeasister #kellyegarrett #mulhollandbooks #mystery #crimefiction #mysteryfiction #thrillerfiction #murdermysery #thebronx #bookstagram #igreads #currentlyreading #thatsnotcoffeeinmycup #readerlife #bookworm #bibliophile #alwaysreading

The Suicide House

 

Author: Charlie Donlea

Publisher: Kensington Books 

Year: 2020

📖 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 📖

Psychological Lane Phillips is asked to be a guest on a true crime podcast. The podcast is about the grizzly murders of two students at an exclusive boarding school. A teacher at the school was accused of the murders, but attempted suicide before his arrest. Now friends of the victims have gone back to the site of the murders and committed suicide. When the host of the podcast is killed, Lane and Rory must find the truth before more students die. 

Did I just inadvertently turn my bookstagram into a Charlie Donlea stan account? Yesterday I reviewed Donlea’s latest book, Twenty Years Later. The Suicide House is the third Donlea book I’ve read this year and it’s still only March. Guess I found a new favorite author. 

This was a great thriller filled with lots of twists. Rory is a wonderful main character and I like the way Donlea portrays her. Even though this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. Check out Donlea’s books and join my unofficial Charlie Donlea fan club! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: is your March Madness bracket toast already? Or if you have no idea what March Madness is- what are your plans for the weekend? 

My bracket went up in flames last night! 🏀🏀🏀 

#thesuicidehouse #charliedonlea #kensingtonbooks #crimefiction #thriller #thrillerfiction #mystery #mysteryfiction #boardingschool #murdermystery #librarybook #lovemylibrary #bookstagram #igreads #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #readerlife 

Twenty Years Later

 

Author: Charlie Donlea

Publisher: Kensington Books

Year: 2021

☘️ 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐭. 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲! ☘️

Twenty years after 9/11, the NY medical examiner’s office makes an victim identification thanks to new DNA technology. The victim, Victoria Ford, was a young woman who was accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. Avery Mason, an ambitious tv anchorwoman, knows this story will be a ratings blockbuster. The more Avery investigates Victoria’s life and death, the more questions she finds- including questions about her own family’s secrets. 

This book grabbed me right from the start and pulled me in. I loved all the twists and turns in both Avery’s investigation and in personal life. This is a gripping thriller that won’t let you go. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Big thanks to @andrea.c.lowry.reads for sending me this book! Loved it! 

QOTD: any St. Patrick’s Day plans? My husband and I are going out for fish and chips tonight. There might even be some Jameson’s involved. Sláinte! 

#twentyyearslater #charliedonlea #kensingtonpublishing #thriller #thrillerthursday #crimefiction #mysteryfiction #newsanchor #familysecrets #murdermystery #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookstagram #igreads #readerlife #sharingiscaring 

Book Haul

 

📚 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐇𝐚𝐮𝐥 📚 

I stopped at Island Bookstore in Corolla, NC this afternoon and came home with theses lovely books. Northern Heist has been on my TBR for awhile and since tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, I figured I might as well splurge. The story is based on one of the biggest and still unsolved bank robberies in history. I also bought Saint X. It’s about a girl whose sister was killed while the family was on vacation. 

The bookstore has a box of free ARCs. I was thrilled to see No Second Chances in the box and grabbed it. It was a lucky find because @ohiobookgal posted about No Second Chance just this morning and it sounded so good. Serendipity that I was able to pick up a free copy this afternoon. I’ll chalk it up to a little early luck of the Irish! 

QOTD: do you believe in luck? Are you a lucky person or what is something lucky that happened to you recently? 

#bookhaul #northernheist #saintx #nosecondchances #thrillers #crimefiction #luckyday #bookstagram #igreads #readerlife #indiebookstore #supportsmallbusiness #supportindiebookstores #shoplocal #bibliophile #bibliophilelife 

Nine Lives

 

Author: Peter Swanson

Publisher: William Morrow 

Year: 2022

📖 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲! 📖

Nine people, who seem to have nothing in common and no connections, receive a list with their names on it. Then they start dying. 

I flew through this story even though there’s a large cast of characters. I didn’t have any difficulty keeping track of who was who. I liked that the focus was on the victims throughout most of the story. This is an homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. The Christie book is referenced several times throughout the story. This was a fun, fast paced read that’s sure to delight any mystery fan. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the digital review copy. 

QOTD: how you feel if you received a mysterious list of names and you were on it? 

It would seriously creep me out! 

#ninelives #peterswanson #williammorrorbooks #crimefiction #mystery #mysteryfiction #listofnames #andthentherewerenone #thriller #thrillerbooks #revengethriller #bookworm #netgalley #publicationday #onsaletoday

No One Will Miss Her

 

Author: Kar Rosenfield

Publisher: William Morrow Books

Year: 2021

📖 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 📖

“My name is Lizzie Ouellette, and if you’re reading this, I’m already dead.”

That opening line certainty grabbed my attention and then didn’t let go. This was full of twists and turns and I loved it. Set in a small New England town, Lizzie has always been the outcast. The one good thing Lizzie has is a small cottage on a lake which she rents out for some extra income. Lizzie becomes friendly with the rich social media influencer who rents the cottage. The woman and her husband have secrets of their own. Lizzie’s life become entwined with these rich people and that’s when things start to get deadly. 

I loved that Lizzie was kind of an antihero. The atmosphere is descriptive, the pacing is quick yet steady, and the twists are plentiful. I really enjoyed this one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: do you hate daylight savings time too? 

I just don’t see the point in changing the clocks twice a year. 

#noonewillmissher #katrosenfield #williammorrowbooks #crimefiction #mystery #mysteryfiction #thrillerbooks #thrillerfiction #lakehouse #smalltown #murdermystery #socialmediainfluencer #financialcrime #bookstagram #igreads #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #booknerd #bibliophile #librarybook #lovemylibrary