June, July, August, And September 2023 Reads
I’ve allocated 4 months worth of books that I delved onto in the months of June, July, August, and September. The novels I read on June were probably the most contemporary I’ve read to date. By the following months I was immersed in crime-mystery-suspense stories. I found a free ebook series on Amazon Kindle by Ty Hutchinson. The Abby Kane series that I could not put down. Usually I would phase myself and read something light and romantic in between genres but I was so into Abby Kane’s story that I went through 6 books of crime in August and early September. Then after I finished that I found another book that’s under suspense and downright diabolical from J.M. Hewitt that was just too good and twisted it kept me up all night to finish it. I’m resting my eyes for the rest of September and will start a new one in October. I need to find a few chick-lits that are funny and romantic soon though just to set my brain straight and balanced. 😅☺️
What have you read lately?
JUNE 2023
You Say It First by Susan Mallery – 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sculptor Nick Mitchell grew up in a family of artists and learned from his volatile father that passion only leads to pain. As he waits on a new commission, he takes a day job as a humble carpenter at a theme wedding venue. The job has its perks—mainly the venue’s captivating owner, Pallas Saunders. Although he won’t let love consume him, for ecstasy with an expiration date, he’s all in.
Pallas adores Weddings in a Box. But if she can’t turn the floundering business around, she’ll have no choice but cave to her domineering mother and trade taffeta for trust funds working at the family’s bank. Then when a desperate bride begs Pallas for something completely out of the box, her irresistible new hire inspires her. Nick knows she doesn’t belong behind a desk, and she knows in her heart that he’s right—where she really belongs is in his arms. (SOURCE)
The Lost Girls of Ireland by Susanne O’Leary – 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The picturesque beach of Wild Rose Bay is the last place Lydia Butler thought she’d be. But having just lost everything, the run-down cottage she inherited from her Great Aunt Nellie is the only place she can take her daughter, Sunny. Hidden away in a tiny Irish village, she can protect Sunny from the gossip in Dublin, and the real reason they have nowhere else to live…
The cottage is part of the old coastguard station and other eccentric residents are quick to introduce themselves when Lydia arrives. Lydia instantly feels less alone, fascinated by the stories they have about Nellie, and she’s charmed by American artist, Jason O’Callaghan, the mysterious man who lives next door.
But the longer Lydia relaxes under the moonlit sky, the more the secret she’s keeping from Sunny threatens to come out. And as she finds herself running into Jason’s arms, she knows she must be honest and face up to the past she has tried to forget. Has she finally found people who will truly accept her, or will the truth force her to leave the cottage for good? (SOURCE)
JULY 2023
The One Who Fell by Kerry Wilkinson – 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the seaside town of Whitecliff, everyone looks out for each other. Everyone knows your name. And everyone knows your secrets…
Moonlight falls on the figure of the girl standing on the red-tiled roof. Her white dress and blonde hair flutter in the freezing night wind. And suddenly – she is gone.
Volunteering at the local nursing home is Millie Westlake’s one escape from the rumours that swirl around Whitecliff about her past. But speaking with elderly resident, Ingrid, as they play board games, Millie gets chills at her strange story about a young girl being pushed from a roof, somewhere across the valley…
Everybody thinks Ingrid is confused: but Millie knows how it feels to not be believed. Her parents died a year ago, and the residents of Whitecliff – such a quiet place, other than crashing waves and cawing seagulls – are convinced Millie killed them. (SOURCE)
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins – 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother’s sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she’d never return. (SOURCE)
AUGUST 2023
One Left Alive by Helen Phifer – 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
When the body of a woman is found hanging from a tree in her front garden, rookie Detective Morgan Brookes is first on the scene. But Olivia Potter is past saving. And when her husband and daughters cannot be traced, Morgan knows there is more to this tragedy. And then she finds them. Lying huddled together in the dark basement, each of their faces covered with a small cotton cloth, their bodies cold to the touch.
But as Morgan kneels beside the family, she realises that one of the girls is still breathing. As she holds Bronte’s fragile hand in hers, begging her to hold on, she vows to find out who has done this.
Every day Morgan wakes at 4:25 AM, her old insomnia now mixed with a new fixation on the case. But every clue about the murdered family leads to a dead end. Until, trawling through old files, she discovers a link to a cold case from years ago. Another family was murdered in this house, and the killer was never caught. (SOURCE)
Corktown by Ty Hutchinson – 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the quiet Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, a mutilated body has the residents nervous and for good reason. Detroit Metro Police recognize the handiwork of the serial killer known as the Doctor. But there’s a problem with that. They locked him up seven years ago.
Because of her expertise with serial killers, former hotshot detective and now FBI agent, Abby Kane, is tasked with figuring out how this madman is able to kill again. When she visits The Doctor behind bars, he swears he’s innocent and not the psychopath everyone thinks he is. Oddly enough, Abby believes him. (SOURCE)
Tenderloin by Ty Hutchinson – 3 ⭐⭐⭐
Life in San Francisco could not be better for FBI Agent Abby Kane and family. With white-collar crimes dominating her work schedule, chasing deranged killers is a thing of the past, until the body of a dead DEA agent pops up in Bogotá.
Ordered to Colombia for answers, Abby’s investigation takes her deep into the Amazon jungle where she discovers evidence of strange experiments at a rundown lab. When she later crosses paths with one of the scientists involved, she learns that a new drug has been invented, and its danger isn’t the addictive high but the terrifying side effects.
Abby believes the cartels are behind the drug, but the locals think it’s one man. They call him the Monster.(SOURCE)
Russian Hill by Ty Hutchinson – 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the first book of the thrilling Chasing Chinatown trilogy, a killer is loose in San Francisco, and he’s collecting body parts.
SFPD has no witnesses and no suspects, but FBI Agent Abby Kane believes a dead hiker found ten miles north of the city is the key to solving those crimes.
The detective involved with the case thinks Abby might be chasing a ghost down a rabbit hole, but the more Abby digs, the more she begins to think the killer is playing a game and there’s an audience cheering him on. (SOURCE)
Lumpini Park by Ty Hutchinson – 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the second book of the thrilling Chasing Chinatown trilogy, FBI agent Abby Kane hunts the man behind the sadistic challenges the only way she knows how: by playing the game and moving up the bloody leaderboard herself.
Abby arrives in Bangkok, Thailand, where she discovers a killer is already roaming the Big Mango looking for his next grand kill to win the game. As Abby is pulled further into the world of deadly play, the dynamics of the game suddenly change. Out of her jurisdiction and unsure of who she can trust, Abby is faced with two choices: walk away or die. (SOURCE)
Coit Tower by Ty Hutchinson – 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The hunt continues in the third installment of the Chasing Chinatown Trilogy. FBI Agent Abby Kane is the sole Attraction in a bloody game designed for one reason: to take lives. Deliver her head and collect the $10 million bounty.
Abby doesn’t know who her attackers are. She doesn’t know when they will strike. But she does know they will come.
In this deadly game of murder, nothing is off-limits—not even her family. There are no rules, no restrictions, and only one ending: Winner takes… a life. (SOURCE)
Kowloon Bay by Ty Hutchinson – 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Every family has a secret that’s best left alone.
After the murder of her husband in Hong Kong, FBI Agent Abby Kane moved her family to San Francisco as a way to start over. Nearly three years have passed, and now she’s returning to her homeland for a family holiday.
In an effort to help her children learn more about their Chinese heritage and remember their father, Abby discovers an unthinkable secret that has her questioning the entire family she married into. (SOURCE)
The Life She Wants by J.M. Hewitt – 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
You want to save your marriage. She wants to destroy it. Paula worries that her marriage to Tommy is hanging by a thread. She loves how safe her husband makes her feel, but lately, it seems like he’s pulling away from her, and he keeps avoiding a much-needed conversation about finally having children. When Tommy suggests a cruise getaway for the two of them, Paula is thrilled. He’s fighting for this marriage, and he’s even promised that they will talk about growing their family. It’s Paula’s dream come true. Until the couple meets beautiful Anna. From the moment Anna appears in their lives, things start to go wrong for Paula. She finds herself trapped in a sauna. Her hair is destroyed at the salon. Money goes missing from her cabin. At first, Paula thinks she’s paranoid in suspecting Anna is turning her dream holiday into a nightmare. But soon, it becomes clear that Paula may not be the only woman fighting for Tommy’s affections. How far will Anna go to get what she wants? What lines will Paula cross to protect her marriage? And whose dark past will return to destroy them first? (SOURCE)
Once Upon a Lie by Rebecca Taylor – 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mia Strauss is trying to be a good mother. She’s worked hard to build a stable life since losing her memory at eighteen when the assailant, who shot and killed her famous father, pushed her from the third-story landing of their gold coast mansion. But lately, Mia is losing control and feels she’s being watched wherever she goes. The eyes…they are everywhere. She is trying to keep herself together and is taking more and more of her prescription drugs to quiet the rising panic and anxiety. But when her husband, Alexander, comes home to find her face down on their living room floor, she’ll need to make some drastic changes, or risk losing her girls. (SOURCE)
