AUDIOBOOK REVIEW - The Country Road Murders

Title:  The Country Road Murders

Author:  James Patterson; Mike Lupica 

Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company

Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers

Format:  ALC

Narrator:  Tom Pelphrey

Length:  10 hrs 50 mins

No. of Pages:   416

Date of Publication:   July 13, 2026

My Rating:   5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

After a shocking accident, Silas Tucker’s legendary football career is suddenly over in this action-packed sports thriller powered by loyalty, competition, and family. 

Humbled, but never defeated, he returns to his backwoods hometown, Cross Rivers, North Carolina, where his father was murdered. 

He goes back to what’s left of his family and their small, struggling farm. He reunites with his best friend in the world—Taylor McCarter Webb, who is now married. 

Then Silas is pulled into a deadly battle with the Southern Mafia who control drugs, trafficking and murder. 

As the suspense crescendos, Silas follows one rule for survival: you don’t ride these country roads alone, or in the dead of night.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

Silas Tucker was once a collegiate sports hero with dreams of playing professional baseball or football. Those dreams came to a devastating end after he is seriously injured in a car accident. Looking for a fresh start, Silas returns to his hometown of Cross Rivers, North Carolina, hoping to his life, find a new purpose, and finally discover some peace.

Instead, he finds a town in turmoil. Young women have begun disappearing, and Cross Rivers has fallen under the grip of a powerful Southern mafia organization. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the criminal organization is involved in far more than anyone imagined, and the missing women may be connected to something much bigger.

While the police work tirelessly to stop the violence, Silas finds himself pulled into the center of the investigation. Determined to protect his community, he also hopes to uncover the truth behind his father’s murder years earlier, a crime that has haunted him for much of his life.

The Country Road Murders is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller filled with suspense, danger, and a relentless search for justice. The tension steadily builds with each chapter, leading to an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Listening to the excellent audiobook narration definitely pulled me deeper into the story. James Patterson once again delivers a story that kept me turning the pages. It was nearly impossible to put down, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Many thanks to Little, Brown and Company and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

James Patterson has created more enduring fictional characters than any other novelist writing today with his Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club, Private, NYPD Red, Daniel X, Maximum Ride, and Middle School series. As of January 2016, he has sold over 350 million books worldwide and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers. In addition to writing the thriller novels for which he is best known, he also writes children’s, middle-grade, and young-adult fiction and is also the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on the New York Times adult and children’s bestseller lists.

The son of an insurance salesman and a schoolteacher, Patterson grew up in Newburgh, New York, and began casually writing at the age of nineteen. In 1969, he graduated from Manhattan College. He was given a full ride to Vanderbilt University’s graduate program in English but dropped out after a year, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to continue reading and writing for pleasure if he became a college professor.

Instead, he moved to New York to become a junior copywriter for the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, eventually becoming CEO of its North American company.

In 1976, while still working for J. Walter Thompson, Patterson published his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, with Little, Brown and Company. After being turned down by thirty-one publishers, it won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Patterson’s 1993 novel, Along Came a Spider, his first novel to feature Alex Cross, was also his first New York Times bestseller in fiction.

In 2001, Morgan Freeman starred as Alex Cross in a film adaptation of Along Came a Spider, and Tyler Perry also played the character in the 2012 film Alex Cross. A film adaptation of Patterson’s middle-grade novel Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life was released in theaters in October 2016.

For his initiatives to help kids become passionate readers and for his philanthropic efforts, Patterson was awarded the National Book Foundation’s 2015 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

James Patterson has donated more than one million books to students, emphasizing some of the most under-resourced schools and youth programs in the country. In 2015, Patterson donated $1.75 million to public school libraries throughout the United States, $1 million to independent bookstores, and a further $250,000 in holiday bonuses to individual bookstore employees. He also gave $1 million to independent bookstores in 2014.

Patterson has recently donated over $26 million to his and his wife’s alma maters—the University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, and Manhattan College—and he has established over four hundred Teacher Education Scholarships at twenty-four colleges and universities throughout the country. Patterson has also donated over 650,000 books to U.S. soldiers at home and overseas.

In May 2015, Patterson launched a new children’s book imprint at Little, Brown, called JIMMY Patterson, that is unwaveringly focused on one goal: turning kids into lifelong readers. This imprint also provides resources, strategies, and programs to serve teachers, parents, librarians, and booksellers. Patterson invests proceeds from the sales of JIMMY Patterson Books in pro-reading initiatives.

Patterson has also founded ReadKiddoRead.com, a website designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians ignite a new generation’s excitement for reading. Awarded the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize and the American Library Association’s Great Websites for Kids, the site features thoughtful book reviews from a variety of genres and age ranges, a large and lively Facebook community, and contributions from other authors.

Mr. Patterson’s awards for adult and children’s literature include the Edgar Award, the International Thriller of the Year Award, and the Children’s Choice Award for Author of the Year.

He lives in Palm Beach with his wife, Sue, and his son, Jack.

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Mike Lupica is one of the most prominent sports writers in America. His longevity at the top of his field is based on his experience and insider's knowledge, coupled with a provocative presentation that takes an uncompromising look at the tumultuous world of professional sports. Today he is a syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News, which includes his popular "Shooting from the Lip" column, which appears every Sunday.

He began his newspaper career covering the New York Knicks for the New York Post at age 23. He became the youngest columnist ever at a New York paper with the New York Daily News, which he joined in 1977. For more than 30 years, Lupica has added magazines, novels, sports biographies, other non-fiction books on sports, as well as television to his professional resume. For the past fifteen years, he has been a TV anchor for ESPN's The Sports Reporters. He also hosted his own program, The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN2

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Review - Dark Horse

Title:   Dark Horse

Author:  Gregg Hurwitz

Series:  Orphan X
Publisher:  Minotaur Books

Genre:      Mystery & Thrillers

Format:  Print and Audiobook ARC

Narrator:  Scott Brick

No. of Pages:   432

Date of Publication:   February 8, 2022

My Rating:   5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

Gregg Hurwitz's New York Times bestselling series returns when Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever in Dark Horse.

Evan Smoak is a man with many identities and a challenging past. As Orphan X, he was a government assassin for the off-the-books Orphan Program. After he broke with the Program, he adopted a new name and a new mission—The Nowhere Man, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. Having just survived an attack on his life and the complete devastation of his base of operations, as well as his complicated (and deepening) relationship with his neighbor Mia Hall, Evan isn't interested in taking on a new mission. But one finds him anyway.

Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He's also the patron of the local area—supplying employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. He's complicated—a not completely good man, who does bad things for often good reasons. However, for all his money and power, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent eighteen year old daughter, spiriting her away into the armored complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. With no other way to rescue his daughter, he turns to The Nowhere Man.

Now not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, but he must decide if he should help a very bad man—no matter how just the cause.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

 

Evan Smoak had been trained and known as Orphan X for years. Also known as The Nowhere Man. And many other identities. Evan is all things to all people when it comes to saving and protecting as many lives as possible. However, Evan had enough. He left the program, but his desire to help others still remained paramount to him.

A very interesting man, a man with OCD, he will take on any challenge, even if these challenges put his very life at risk, and that is something Evan has experienced time and again, and will likely experience until he takes his very last breath.

Evan faces what just might be his biggest challenge yet - that of actually working with and for the kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation.The fact that Urrea mixes illegal and legal operations does not make him a good man and this goes against everything Evan stands for, but the kingpin, Aragon Urrea nees help and Evan is man for the job. Urrea's eighteen-year-old-daughter has been kidnapped and the location where she is being held can only be penetrated by someone with Evan's experience. In fact, Evan, The Nowhere Man once again, is the only man for the job.

Evan is not alone in this incredible task. In fact, some of the best characters from the previous books in this series - other Orphans - Mia, Joey, Peter and even Dog, the dog, are right in the thick of things. While I really love Evan, Joey, the teenage tech guru is trying hard to steal first place in my heart in this series. This continuity is important. Important enough that this is a series that should really be read in order.

Factor in that I was able to get this book also as an audiobook ARC while having the print ARC was stellar. The narration was just perfect, making Evan come alive and the adventure and danger utterly realistic.

Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Here is a YouTube video review of all of the 
previous books in the series:

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And here is a picture of all of the previous books in this amazing series:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gregg Hurwitz is the New York Times, #1 internationally bestselling author of 22 thrillers, including the ORPHAN X series, and two award-winning thriller novels for teens. His novels have won numerous literary awards, graced top ten lists, and have been published in 33 languages. Gregg currently serves as the Co-President of International Thriller Writers (ITW).

Gregg has written screenplays for or sold spec scripts to many of the major studios (including THE BOOK OF HENRY), and written, developed, and produced television for various networks. He is also a New York Times bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin). He has published numerous academic articles on Shakespeare, taught fiction writing in the USC English Department, and guest lectured for UCLA, and for Harvard in the United States and internationally. In the course of researching his thrillers, he has sneaked onto demolition ranges with Navy SEALs, swum with sharks in the Galápagos, and gone undercover into mind-control cults.

Additionally, Gregg is actively working to end polarization in politics and on college campuses. To that end, he's produced several hundred commercials which got over a hundred million views on digital and TV platforms. His editorial pieces have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Bulwark, and others.

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BLOG TOUR - My Darling Husband

Title:   My Darling Husband

Author:  Kimberly Belle\

Publisher:  Park Row

Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   352

Date of Publication:   4 Stars

My Rating:  March 8, 2022

DESCRIPTION:

Bestselling author of DEAR WIFE and THE MARRIAGE LIE, Kimberly Belle returns with her most heart-pounding thriller to date, as a masked home invader reveals the cracks in a marriage.

Everyone is about to know what her husband isn’t telling her…

Jade and Cam Lasky are by all accounts a happily married couple with two adorable kids, a spacious home and a rapidly growing restaurant business. But their world is tipped upside down when Jade is confronted by a masked home invader. As Cam scrambles to gather the ransom money, Jade starts to wonder if they’re as financially secure as their lifestyle suggests, and what other secrets her husband is keeping from her.

Cam may be a good father, a celebrity chef and a darling husband, but there’s another side he’s kept hidden from Jade that has put their family in danger. Unbeknownst to Cam and Jade, the home invader has been watching them and is about to turn their family secrets into a public scandal.

With riveting twists and a breakneck pace, My Darling Husband is an utterly compelling thriller that once again showcases Kimberly Belle's exceptional talent for domestic suspense.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

 

Jade Lasky and her two children are being held captive by a masked man who invaded their home. He issue instruction to Jade's husband Cam to have a very specific ransom amount gathered with a very tight deadline. Will Cam be able to gather the large amount demanded in time and save his wife and children? Who is the man that broke into the Lasky home? Why their family, why now and why so much of a ransom amount?

Cam is a successful restauranteer and is known as the steak king. His restaurants should be profitable enough for him to gather the money. Right? Or are things not as they seem? 

All while Jade is being held captive, she worries for her children. And for Cam. However, as the day wears on questions begin to plague her regarding the family's finances. 

In this riveting story by Kimberly Belle the character development is spot on, as is the incredible tension. Tension that never lets up for one second. Jade's strength and bravery shines though, as does that of her daughter. Cam struggles fast and furiously to liquidate his assets. This is definitely a pulse-pounding read from beginning to end. 

Many thanks to Park Row and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Home is where the laptop is.

I grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee, a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. A gorgeous area, but I couldn’t find an ounce of beauty in the place. I was too focused on planning my escape, which I made to Agnes Scott College, a liberal arts school in Atlanta for women. It was In Atlanta that I met the Dutchman, who whisked me off to the Netherlands. What was meant to be a six-month stay turned into twelve freezing but fabulous years, during which I began checking off the countries on my to-see list. All these years later, I’ve still not seen them all.

Living abroad changed me in ways I can’t count, and though I don’t have the passport to prove it, I am in my heart and soul half Dutch. I know the culture, I speak the language like a native, I love that country like my own.

Fifteen years ago, the Dutchman and I moved back to Atlanta with our two kids, but every chance I get, I hop a plane to Amsterdam so I can stick my toes in sandy Dutch soil.

And of course, wherever I go, the laptop also travels.

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BLOG TOUR - A Secret at Tansy Falls

DESCRIPTION:

The old farmhouse at Tansy Falls. A little patch of paradise in the hills of Vermont. Home to happy couple Connie and Nate. And a long-buried secret that will ignite a devastating spark…

As the summer sun sets over the sleepy Vermont town of TansyFalls, Connie is reminded of how lucky she is. Every day, when she leaves the job she loves, managing the Covered Bridge Inn with her best friend Piper, she looks forward to returning to the farmhouse she shares with her husband Nate. At home, her flowerbeds overflow with day lilies and the weathered brick walls of her beautiful house glow in the evening light. The air is filled with the scent of the puffed apple pancakes she prepared that morning.

But one night, when Nate returns home, he is distant. He and Connie have been married for a long time, and while the laughter and lingering kisses have dwindled, Connie believed they would be together forever. So when a stranger arrives on their doorstep with a shocking secret about Nate, Connie’s life changes beyond all recognition.

Connie never thought she’d need to start over and live a life without Nate by her side. But as her heart breaks, Piper and the team at the inn are ready to help stitch it back together, with thoughtful advice washed down with warm spiced cider. As Connie begins to feel whole again, distraction arrives in the form of olive-skinned, broad-shouldered newcomer James. Nate has taught Connie that she doesn’t need a man, but James’s arrival helps her discover that she can follow her own dreams too. But as more secrets come to the surface, Connie wonders if she’ll ever truly be able to leave behind her past for good…

If you love gripping, heartbreaking romantic stories by Elin Hildebrand and Robyn Carr, you will be hooked by A Secret at Tansy Falls. A completely compelling read about secrets and betrayal that will have you reaching for the tissues.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3qpVGgU

Apple: https://apple.co/3pr8vYr

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3pox0W7

Google: https://bit.ly/3vBIYg1

MY THOUGHTS:

 

Title:   A Secret at Tansy Falls

Author:  Cate Woods

Series:  Tansy Falls #2

Publisher:  Bookouture

Genre:   Women's Fiction

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   222

Date of Publication:  January 20, 2022 

My Rating:   4 Stars

Starting over is never easy and that proves to be the case for Connie. She had been married to Nate for two decades but she finds him less and less engaged. Finances get rather tight, especially after Nate loses his job. They decide to take in a boarder named James. Meanwhile, Connie is working hard at her job managing a small hotel. She faces difficulty with staff and an impending event. Meanwhile, James begins paying her more attention than Nate had been of late. Also, Connie finds herself very worried about her father as he becomes involved with a woman many years his junior.

The drama facing Connie meets no end. Unable to connect with Nate, finding herself drawn to James, Then her concern for her father and her relationship with her sister come into play. Although this is the second book in a trilogy, having not read the first book didn't lessen the enjoyment of this one. The characters and the plot were engaging, as well as the setting. As someone who lives in New England, I loved reading this book set in the hills of Vermont.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cate Woods made the most of her university degree in Anglo-Saxon Literature by embarking on a career making tea on programmes including The Big Breakfast, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and French & Saunders. After narrowly missing out on the chance to become a Channel 5 weather girl, she moved into the world of magazine journalism, then ghostwriting and now writes novels under her own name. She has written two best-selling romantic comedies – Just Haven't Met You Yet and More Than a Feeling – and a festive novel, The Christmas Guest, under the name Daisy Bell. Cate lives in London with her husband and two children.

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BLOG TOUR - The Ex-Husband

DESCRIPTION:

It’s an offer she can’t refuse…and can’t escape.

True: Charlotte has an unsavory past. She married the wrong man, got caught up in his con artist games, took what wasn’t hers. She got out, though: divorced Sam, started fresh.

False: She left him before things went too far. Nothing bad happened.

True: Sam is missing, and before he disappeared, he left cryptic messages about someone threatening him—someone who has been threatening Charlotte, too.

True: She’s on the straight and narrow, has accepted a job as a personal assistant for an engagement party on board a private luxury cruise ship, the Cleobella.

False: No one on board knows about her past, and she’s far away from anyone who means her harm.

As the Cleobella sails through its glittering destinations—the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago—increasingly sinister events haunt the guests, and the turquoise waves and sun-drenched beaches give way to something darker. Someone knows what Charlotte did. Is it the blushing bride? The seemingly placid mother-in-law? Or the mysterious heiress?

Someone knows, and someone wants revenge—before the ship reaches its final port.

BUY LINKS:

BookShop.org | Harlequin | Barnes & Noble
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Powell’s

MY THOUGHTS:

 

Title:   The Ex-Husband

Author:  Karen Hamilton

Publisher:  Graydon House

Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   352

Date of Publication:   January 18, 2022

My Rating:   4 Stars

Charlotte and Sam started off small, but their lives as con artists grew exponentially. But, Charlotte intended on starting over - without Sam, the man that melted her heart. From cruise ship to luxury yacht, the pair developed the best cons. Now Sam is nowhere to be found, but Charlotte must go on.

With her newest job, that of a personal assistant on a smaller, yet incredibly luxurious cruise ship, Charlotte tries to go straight. That does not come easy for her as she begins to receive threatening notes. These notes prove that her past is not a secret. In fact, her very life might be at stake. Someone on the ship is out to get her, but who? And, what did happen to Sam?

Who is after Charlotte and what do they want from her? She is not sure she wants to know. In fact, this new job proves a good opportunity for her. She finds herself well suited to the job. If only her stalker would leave her alone. 

Will Charlotte be able to stay straight and also find out what happened to Sam? Also, the cruise ship has a limited population so then the issue also means that someone she is in contact with might be the one after her. What a mystery this book is, especially as the story seamlessly blends together two timelines, that of the past and of the present. This engaging book was wrapped up with a fabulous conclusion.

Many thanks to Graydon House and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy the following excerpt:

THEN Eighteen Months Ago Barbados A TIP-OFF. THAT COULD BE THE ONLY EXPLANATION. Dreaded realization filtered through the rows of passengers and crew in the cruise terminal via mutters about delays intermingled with curiosity and general resignation at the inevitable holdup. Sickening dread roiled deep in my gut. Surreptitiously, I glanced back at the queue snaking behind me. Still no sign of Sam. Where was he? The person in front of me took a step forward, pushing his backpack with a foot. Reluctantly, I followed. Sam had only darted back to the ship to pick up his watch, carelessly left beside the basin in his cabin. It should have taken him fifteen minutes—twenty max. He had insisted that I save our place in the line to save time. Our flight to freedom was less than four hours away. I messaged him. Where the hell are you? Hurry up! I am nearly at the front of the line. Well, not quite, but it was true enough. No reply. Indecision kept me rooted to the spot. Sam would be annoyed if I lost our place. It would break one of our rules about blending in. Then again, neither of us was thinking straight. Our nerves were frayed. We were both tense after a wakeful night dissecting what had gone wrong, each of us blaming the other. But he left me with no choice. We always disembarked together. We had each other’s backs. Rule number one. I tried to calm my fears. The upheaval wasn’t necessarily anything to do with us. I was too quick to jump to worst-case scenarios, usually after my conscience had given me a good poke. Sam and I excelled at slipping beneath the radar, despite his popularity. In the corner of the vast, high-ceilinged building, portable air-conditioning units blasted out woefully inadequate cool air. My heart pounded so hard it almost hurt. Sweat slid down my spine. I stepped out of line and walked back in the direction of the ship. James, head of the ship’s security team, was standing by the exit. Relief. He would know where Sam was. Strangely, James didn’t acknowledge or return my greeting. His manner was uncharacteristically off. No, he said. I couldn’t go back on board. “But Sam should have been back by now,” I said. “He only went for something he’d forgotten.” James shrugged. “Just wait for him in line. He’ll show up. There’s nowhere else for him to go. This is the only exit.” “What’s going on?” I said, trying to cajole James into thawing his attitude. I opted for a friendly, neutral tone. And why not? We were colleagues, after all. Friends, companions. Equals, really. “There are searches, from time to time.” “Not that I’ve ever seen,” I said. “I hope it doesn’t hold us up. What is it? Drugs? Weapons?” I smiled, safe in the knowledge that I was carrying neither. “Get back in the line,” said James. “Wait for Sam there.” I had no choice. As I turned, I saw Sam up ahead. He must have joined a different line. His bag was already being searched. How the hell had we missed each other? Why hadn’t he called me? Why did he go through without me? There was nothing I could do but rejoin the queue and watch. I couldn’t read the expression of the person searching his bag, but the body language appeared at ease. Jolly, even. Everything felt off, badly wrong. Fragments of our heated conversation last night started piecing together. Just wait until I get hold of Sam, I thought. I would kill him for breaking our rules and putting me through all this extra stress. I watched as Sam exited into the outside world. I could imagine the sun brushing his face as he inhaled the warmth of the Caribbean air. I distracted myself by dissecting the type of people they were pulling over. Lone travelers. Fresh, bubbling red rage at Sam rose. I called him. Straight to voice mail. I was now among the stragglers, recognizing some of the faces. God, this was torture. I fought the urge to push to the front, explain about Sam and ask to be whisked through so that I could catch up with him, find out what the hell he was playing at. Breathe, breathe, breathe, I repeated over and over in my mind. I can do this. It’s all about playing the game. A calmness descended over me as I was beckoned forward. One step after another, a neutral expression on my face. I could see the sun through the glass doors. No sign of Sam in the crowds beyond. I focused on the large brandy or whiskey I was going to order on the flight. I thought about the type of movie I would watch, a comedy or something light and easy to absorb. Or maybe I wouldn’t bother with any distractions at all. I could use the time to think. Half a yard, then another. The man in front was pulled over to my right, with a brusque wave. A harmless-looking elderly couple was also summoned. Not me. Not yet. I was so nearly there. Please, God. I know I’ve made mistakes. I know I’ve made bad choices, but just let me keep walking and I will make amends. “Miss?” Shit. “Yes?” “Can you come over this way, please, and place your bags on the table?” I smiled. “Yes, of course.” Everything turned numb, as though this was happening to someone else. Invincibility was Sam’s superpower, not mine. Victimless. That is what Sam and I had always said about the people we befriended. Relax, I told myself. They won’t find anything. I’d triple-checked, hadn’t I? My bag felt unusually heavy as I lifted it up. It was still covered in hotel, airline and cruise stickers. Funny, the inconsequential things I focused on. Sam often told me to scrape them off. “Bland and anonymous is always best. The smallest of details can offer up rich clues to the wrong people.” He would know. “Open your bags, please.” “Sure.” My mouth was dry. I rotated the combination on my lock: one, eight, eight, my birth date and month, a small act of rebellion when it came to Sam’s insistence never to do the obvious. It clicked open. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to lift the lid, to display my personal belongings ready for public inspection. It was humiliating. The officer lost patience and did it for me. Time slowed as he unzipped the bag. Nestling on top of my favorite red blouse was something that, although familiar, didn’t belong to me. Blind panic. “That’s not mine.” I reached to grab it, to remove the emerald necklace from its nest among my possessions. Someone had put it there. “Stand back, please.” I felt the fresh horror rise inside me as two other customs officers walked over and peered at the necklace. “I said it’s not mine. Someone has been in my bag.” Stony faces, bland expressions, dismissive words. I tried again. “You need to go through the CCTV, check who entered our cabin. Someone planted this.” I looked from face to face. Still nothing. I should’ve kept quiet. They’d already decided that I was guilty. A thief. Someone without rights. Anger replaced fear as my privacy was violated. My swimwear, toiletries, underwear, shoes, travel guides, my Spanish-language course books, my costume jewelry, my every-bloody-thing was removed and examined by careless rubber-gloved hands. A glimmer of hope ignited when their search concluded. All they had found was something that was such an obvious plant. The necklace rested on the side of the counter, taunting me. Not for the first time either. Magpie-like, the moment I had first spotted the emerald-and-diamond choker with a teardrop pendant, I longed to own it. Green was most definitely the color of envy. “Come with us, please.” I was shown to an interview room. I could hear a baby crying outside. Alone, without my belongings, I had time to piece things together. Grim reality, like a blast of icy water. I had been sacrificed, thrown under the bus. Sam knew. He’d been tipped off. Instead of saving the two of us, he’d chosen to save himself. “For better, for worse” clearly no longer applied. It was a final act of cruelty. A brutal end, regardless of how rocky our marriage had been. All that mattered was himself. Time spooled and distorted. I sat, trying to appear nonchalant, yet as outraged as an innocent could be, robbed of her freedom. I felt watched. The heat stifled me. I wanted to plunge into a cold pool, swim below the surface, somehow wash away the dirty feelings that threatened to swallow me whole. Anger took over as I sat there. I wasn’t taking the rap—no way. As two police officers walked into the room, I was prepared to embrace my inner canary. Whatever it took. But it became clear I wouldn’t need to sing that day. I was free to go. It had all been a terrible mistake. Huge apologies. Strange, but true. My belongings—even the necklace—were returned. Outside, despite the heat of the midday sun, I wanted to run. I had got away with it. I was free. Except… I wasn’t. I didn’t like the person I had become—hadn’t for a long time. Something needed to change. Sam’s customary reassurances that “all would be well” had been my elixir. It smoothed away fears and doubts, the ones my conscience tried in vain to shove to the forefront of my mind during the darkest hours. The sudden and horrible unraveling of our gilded situation was the result of arrogance. His and mine. But for now, I had to put myself first. I walked toward the shade and sat on a bench beneath a palm tree. I had less than two hours to catch my flight, but I could still make it. I sent Sam a message. Call me. ASAP. Nothing. I hailed a cab to take me from the cruise terminal to the airport, deciding to make one detour to a friend’s house en route. I wanted to hide my pot of gold somewhere safe. As we drew into the airport, fear took hold again. What if I was making a mistake? In a daze, I checked in. The airline staff wouldn’t tell me if Sam had checked in too. I called him again even though I knew, deep down, that there wouldn’t be an answer. As I placed my bag down to go through the X-ray machine, I heard my phone beep. I had to wait more painful minutes while my bag passed through the checks before I could snatch up my phone and read it. Sam! One word. Sorry. What the hell was he doing? Sam’s empty plane seat taunted me all the way to London as I planned the things I was going to say and do when I next saw him. Because I would see him again. He wasn’t the only piece of unfinished business, because there was someone else I needed to track down too. The real owner of the necklace and the catalyst behind our downfall and the death of our marriage. Excerpted from The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton, Copyright © 2022 by Karen Hamilton. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Karen Hamilton spent her childhood in Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy and worked as a flight attendant for many years. She has now put down roots in the UK to raise her three children with her husband and she also writes full time. Her books include The Perfect Girlfriend, The Last Wife, and The Ex-Husband, out January 2022.

Social Links:
Author Website
Twitter: @KJHAuthor
Facebook: @karenhamiltonwriter
Instagram: @karenhamiltonauthor
Goodreads

Review - Can't Go Back

Title:   Can't Go Back

Author:  Debra Webb

Series:   Devlin & Falco #3
Publisher:  Thomas & Mercer

Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   320

Date of Publication:   December 14, 2021

My Rating:   4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

The past and the present collide in the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb’s Devlin & Falco series, threatening everything these two detectives care about.

Birmingham detectives Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco arrive at the scene of a double homicide to discover that nothing makes sense. A woman and her child are dead, and though the husband says he killed them, the evidence says otherwise. Why would a man confess to unspeakable murders he didn’t commit?

What starts as an open-and-shut case explodes into a web of new leads. Devlin and Falco get to work tracking down every single one—including a disturbing connection between the murders and Falco’s dark past.

Falco knows the incident from eight years ago will jeopardize the partnership he’s built with Devlin, both on and off the job. If he could go back, he would—but what happened happened, and there’s a murderer on the loose. Devlin and Falco must slog through the pain to get to the truth; and so far the only truth they know is that everyone is lying.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

This gripping Devlin and Falco series by Debra Webb is filled excitement and danger as the series comes to a close. After a woman and her child are found dead, and the husband confesses to the murder, detectives Devlin and Falco should be able to wrap the case up quickly. Instead the case begins to unravel something from Falco's past from nearly ten years ago. His partnership with Devlin had been thriving, and now everything could come toppling down. 

The investigation that Devlin and Falco undertake is extemely intense with the partners desperate to sort the connection to Falco's past. I have loved both of the previous books in this series, Trust No One and Gone Too Far. Each book in this series could do well as standalone novels. However, if you enjoy continuity as much as I do then I definitely recommend reading this series in order. I do feel a measure of sadness that this series has drawn to a close.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Debra Webb is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of more than 130 novels, including reader favorites the Faces of Evil, the Colby Agency, and the Shades of Death series. With more than four million books sold in numerous languages and countries, Debra's love of storytelling goes back to her childhood on a farm in Alabama. Visit Debra at www.DebraWebb.com

or write to her at PO Box 176, Madison, AL 35758.

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