Curled Up With a Good Book and a Cup of Tea

I Found You by Lisa Jewell  (out now) Thanks to the dominance of the psychological thriller in the book market over the last two years, I have been reading a lot of mysteries lately. And recently, they’ve all started to blur into one and I have been getting tired of them. Enter this book. I Found You renewed my love for the genre and showed me that Lisa Jewell is one to read. Right from the start I was hooked on this one. I really liked how the book went between different people and their parts of the story. Then when the book picked up in the past in the second part, I really didn’t want to put it down. I spent the majority of the book playing detective, trying to piece it all together before the book did it for me, which I absolutely enjoyed in this one. Jewell gives you just enough in each chapter to move the story line along and keep you absolutely hooked, wanting to know what happens next. The Child by Fiona Barton  (release date: June 27) The Widow...

Release Date: March 7, 2017 Tiger mothers have nothing on Karen Bloom. Things may have not turned out so well with her son Ewan but she is definitely not letting her daughter Bronte slip through the cracks. Straight A’s, music lessons, and dance classes dominate the young prodigy’s life. Karen expects her family to always be at 200 percent and nothing less. But behind the facade of the perfect family lies a wealth of secrets. Karen’s husband Noel, a successful small-town doctor has a taste for women and alcohol. Noel’s teenage daughter Verity is under strict discipline at school and at home due to her aggressive behaviour. And Bronte, the one on whom everything rests, longs to run away from it all. When Bronte actually does go missing, a domino effect hits the family. As tragedy strikes the family again, all of their secrets and lies begin to spill out, leading readers to wonder how far people will go in their quest for perfection in The Trophy Child by Paula Daly. ...

When Clare moves into a new home with her eleven-year-old daughter Pip and thirteen-year-old daughter Grace, she is pleased to find that the private garden square they back on to is shared by other families with children around the same age. In the bustling city of London, the garden is a place where children can roam free and are encouraged to make other people’s homes their own. Especially the home of Adele, Leo, and their three daughters. Clare and her daughters are starting over and the girls are thrilled to quickly fall in with the crowd of kids. Clare isn’t sure she will fit in with the adults, but is happy her daughters have made friends. It may be a motley group of kids but everyone seems nice enough. Until Grace becomes the girlfriend of one of the boys in the group and runs afoul of a couple of the other girls. One summer night, after the annual party in the garden, Pip discovers Grace lying unconscious and bloody in a tucked away area of the park. No one knows wha...

When Jenna Gray’s life changed in a split second, the world became too much for her to handle. Knowing the only way she would be able put it all behind her was to escape, and so she left her home to live in a remote cottage on the Welsh coast. But no matter how far from home she was, she couldn’t escape the events of that terrible night in November. The detectives investigating the case couldn’t just walk away. Though there were few leads, they knew that if they just kept with it long enough, there would be a breakthrough. And when that happens, the past comes crashing back down on Jenna just as she thinks she may once again be able to experience a little happiness in her life. I Let You Go , by Clare Mackintosh, is a heartbreaking, thrill ride of a novel that will have you hooked with every twist and turn. Whenever someone asks me if I have read this book, all I can say is “yes and wow.” This book gets a big, huge “WOW” from me. It is incredible. Twice, I gasped so loud...

Clare is on the run and the remote mining town of Blackmore may be the best place for her to hide. Blackmore was once a prosperous town but when the mine closed after a devastating accident, the town and its residents began to crumble. The people are already suspicious of the newcomer in their midst and when she begins to ask questions about Shayna Fowles, a local girl who is missing, they want to know what she is really doing in their town. But Clare isn’t the only one with secrets. Jared is Shayna’s ex-husband and suspect number one according to most people in the town. There is also Charlie, the town’s dealer and the one who supplied Shayna with the drugs she was addicted to when she went missing. Shayna’s parents Louise and Wilfred are not only dealing with tragedy of their missing daughter but the deterioration of Louise’s mind.  And Louise’s doctor Derek, who tried desperately to get Shayna to go to rehab, seems to be a little to close to the family. As Clare gets to k...

Iris is a single mother with a demanding job as a lawyer. She is trying to keep it together, caring for her son who has behaviour issues and dealing with her judgmental mother. Though she only works part-time, her job has her representing people like a man who is accused of making child pornography. She lives each day thinking that she is a failure, unable to cope. One day, while she is house-sitting for her mother, one of the fish in her mothers aquarium dies. Iris has never understood why her mother would keep such a large tank filled with tropical fish and her mother always refused to say why. But as Iris looks into caring for the fish, she makes a shocking discovery - she has an older brother named Ray. Iris’ mother has never mentioned Ray and she can’t figure out why. As she searches for answers she discovers that he is autistic and in a home for the criminally insane, where he was placed after being charged with brutally murdering his neighbour and her young child. ...

Fifteen years ago, Caroline Shipley was on vacation in Mexico with her family and friends, there to celebrate her tenth wedding anniversary.  Fifteen years ago on that vacation, her life was changed forever. On the last night of their trip, Caroline and her husband Hunter left their children, five-year-old Michelle and two-year-old Samantha, asleep in the hotel room while they had dinner with their friends a few floors below. Checking in on the children every half hour, they told themselves everything would be okay. Until they returned to the room at the end of the night to find Samantha missing from her crib. Fifteen years later Caroline is divorced and alone, dreading the yearly calls from reporters that force her to relive the kidnapping. But when the phone rings this year, it’s a voice she wasn’t sure she would ever hear. It’s a seventeen-year-old girl who thinks that she may be her long-lost daughter. While Caroline has been disappointed by calls like this before some...

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace, that perfect couple everyone wants to be. He is a handsome lawyer, who represents women who are victims of domestic violence. She is a beautiful and doting wife who takes immaculate care of their home. It’s safe to say that their friends are in awe and possibly a tiny bit jealous. But if you take a closer look at Jack and Grace you’ll notice some cracks in the facade. They are never apart. She never answers the phone and she always cancels last minute when she has plans. And the house has a security system that not only keeps people out but also keeps them in. Behind Closed Doors , by B.A. Paris, is a chilling and terrifying thriller that shows how no one can really know what goes on in a marriage. Wow. As I sit down to write about this book a month after I read it, all I can still say is, wow. This is a good read. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book with page-turning suspense, that I must absolutely keep reading because ...

Casey Duncan is a talented police detective, dedicated to her job and her best friend Diana.  Other than her no strings attached relationship with ex-con Kurt, her life is focused on those two things.  But Casey carries with her a very dark secret - she once killed a man, and she got away with it. Casey and Diana have been on the run for years, from Diana’s powerful and abusive ex-husband.  Once again, he’s found her and now it’s time for Diana to run once more.  But when a figure from Casey’s past shows up and threatens her life, the two women realize that they need to go somewhere they will never be found. Diana has heard of a place, a town where people who need to disappear completely can go.  Located in the far northern reaches of Canada, this town is their only hope.  Casey and Diana are thrilled to be accepted into Rockton, but when they arrive Casey quickly discovers that all is not as it seems.  Because a hunter has come to Rockton, ...

When the ghost of a woman appears alongside Inspector Ricardo Ramirez, he knows that it won’t be long before a woman turns up dead in Havana.  And while he is investigating a case of vandalism in the art world, a prostitute is found murdered, with nylons wrapped around her neck.  The nylons connect this case to Ramirez’s only cold case and now he fears he has a serial killer on his hands. Detective Charlie Pike is investigating a murder on a First Nation reserve in Northern Ontario, and people are worried that this body is another victim of the Highway Strangler.  This woman too has a pair of nylons tied around her neck. It is a race against the clock for both officers to find their killer before it strikes again.  With the Cuban government trying to silence Inspector Ramirez and Detective Pike having to navigate the delicate relations between the First Nations and the Canadian forces, the pressure mounts for these two to track an international serial kill...

Canadian Publication Date: 16 February 2016 Jean Taylor’s husband died last week and while it is expected she would be mourning, she is actually quite relieved.  Because for years, she kept quiet about her husband- from her family, friends, the media, and the police.  But she doesn’t have to keep quiet anymore. Years ago, Jean’s husband Glen was accused in the disappearance of a young girl but the police were never actually able to prove that it was him.  Jean remained the perfect wife and insisted to the police that her husband couldn’t have committed the crime.  Throughout all of the accusations and harassment, she stood by Glen.   But now that Glen is gone, she can tell the truth.  It’s what everyone has been waiting to hear, and the police and the media are ready to listen.  But if Jean has been covering up for so long, will it be easy for her to finally tell the truth? The Widow is a stunning debut psychological thriller by for...

Who Should Read This:   Mystery/Thriller fans, anyone who enjoyed The Silent Wife, Before I Go To Sleep, The Girl on the Train, etc. The year is 1993 and the city of Toronto and surrounding areas are haunted by the disappearance and murders of two young girls.  Evie Jones is the rookie reporter assigned to cover the story, staking out the crime scene and digging around in the past to look at over a decades worth of missing girls. But all of this brings back the haunting memories of when Evie was eleven years old and her best friend Lianne Gagnon was kidnapped and murdered.  Though the police knew who did it, a man named Robert Cameron, he was never found and arrested.   As her work takes her into a troubling world, she decides to find out what really happened to Lianne.  But her queries make her mind race toward unimaginable places.  And when she catches a man standing outside her home, watching her through the window, she becomes convinced t...

Who Should Read It:  Mystery fans and anyone who wants to read the books everyone is talking about in 2015. Each day, Rachel Watson takes the same train to work in London and back.  Sitting in the same seat each day, she watches as lovely suburban homes flash past, thinking about the people who live inside them.  As the train stops at the same signal each day, she watches a couple in their home, living what she imagines is the perfect life.  Rachel gives them a story, even gives them names - Jason and Jess - and these little moments take her mind off the fact that she used to be just like them. One morning, the train stops at the signal and Rachel sees something that shocks her.  The next day, she learns on the news that Jess, real name Megan, is missing.  Convinced she may know what happened to Megan, Rachel goes to the police, but she isn’t what would be considered a reliable witness.  Convinced she can find Megan, she becomes a part of th...

What would you do if your friends child disappeared while under your care?   Lisa Kallisto is just plain overwhelmed.  A mother of three and tireless worker at an animal shelter, she is always on the go and always exhausted.  One freezing day in December, in the Lake District of England, Lisa is going through the motions and when she takes her eye off the ball, thirteen-year-old Lucinda goes missing.  And not only that, she's the second teenage girl to go missing in two weeks. Lisa is consumed with guilt and sets out to do everything she can to find her.  Lucinda's family publicly blames Lisa and she takes that on herself.  But when the first girl turns up and Lucinda doesn't, Lisa begins to discover that the small, quiet town she lives in has many secrets and friends may not be who they appear to be. Just What Kind of Mother Are You? is the debut novel from Paula Daly. This  book takes every mother's worst nightmare and turns it into...

While investigating the murder of a young boy, Cuban Inspector Ricardo Ramirez uncovered shocking secrets about the dissemination of child pornography through the internet and the years of abuse of young children at the hands of people running orphanages throughout the country.  Now, he is about to discover just how widespread it really is.   Inspector Ramirez has been dispatched to Canada to pick up and bring home a Cuban priest who has been found in possession of child pornography depicting Cuban children.  But what seems to be a straightforward job turns into much more.  The wife of Mike Ellis, a Canadian detective who Ramirez had arrested in Cuba on suspicion of murder, has dropped dead on her flight from Cuba to Canada.  Mike is thought to be the culprit, but when a Canadian tourist and a Cuban national die in Cuba under similar circumstances, things aren't so clear.  Ramirez finds himself caught up in the search for a suspect that spans two co...

Ava Lee is spending her summer recovering from her last investigation at a cottage north of Toronto.  She has no foreseeable plans to work, but when her mother introduces to her a woman whose family lost millions in a Ponzi scheme, she agrees to take on the easy case.  However, this case is anything but easy.   Ava soon finds herself investigating an Indonesian bank run by a Scot.  After a troubling run with the Scot, she discovers that the bank is in reality a front for a money-laundering operation run by Italian mobsters.  Will Ava be able to successfully return the money to it's rightful owners or is she finally in over her head? The Scottish Banker of Surabaya by Ian Hamilton is the fifth instalment in the Ava Lee series, but the first one I have read.  I must say, I'm hooked on this series.  It's not necessary to start at the beginning in the series and I imagine all of the books would stand alone no matter which order you read them i...

It's November 1940 and war is spreading throughout Europe.  In Britain, the Blitz (a sustained strategic bombing by Germany) is underway.  Men have gone off to fight and those who remain face the regular occurrences of air raids, while doing their part on the home front to support the war effort. The city of Birmingham was already an important industrial area in England when the war broke out and many factories devoted themselves to the war effort.  It was in these factories that many women went to work for the first time manufacturing munitions, putting their lives at risk for the war effort.  And it is one of these factories that Maureen Jenning's Beware this Boy begins. An explosion has ripped through a factory, killing or badly injuring several of the young women who work in the dangerous area.  It seems like an unfortunate accident but the chief of police calls in an investigator just to be sure. Detective Inspector Tom Tyler works in a sma...

Inspector Zhang is a member of the Singapore Police Force and a fan of mystery books.  His biggest wish is to one day encounter a locked room mystery, a true mystery that is seemingly impossible to solve.  But for Inspector Zhang, this may never happen, as Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and barely one murder a year.   Until one day Inspector Zhang is called to a five star hotel to investigate the murder of a wealthy American businessman.  After reviewing the hotel security tapes, Zhang realizes that he is in the midst of an actual locked room mystery.  Using the principles set out by famed mystery writer John Dickson Carr, Zhang relishes the fact that he has finally got his wish.  But will all of his reading help him solve the case or will he get more than he wished for? Inspector Zhang Gets His Wish is a short story by Stephen Leather, one of the UK's most successful thriller writers.  It is one of four Inspecto...

The small town of Port Dundas, Ontario is shocked when beloved hardware store owner Henry Weist is found dead in the parking lot of a First Nation reserve cigarette shop.  All signs point to Henry dying of a bee sting but Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef isn't so sure.  When more deaths follow, Hazel and the police force find themselves embroiled in a mystery that involves illegal gambling, modern day slavery and a suspect bent on getting revenge. A Door in the River is the third offering in the Hazel Micallef series by Inger Ash Wolfe.  I haven't read the first two books but it is not necessary to have done so.  This book stands on its own and any references to the previous books are explained well enough that you don't need background information.  This is a wonderfully written, deep thriller that pulls you in right away and keeps you hooked until the very last page.  The secondary stories of personnel changes at the police station and Micallef's...