Last Week of February is Here and So are the Latest New Releases
Something So Beautiful by Lee Dawna
Description
What would you do to save the man you love? What if his biggest danger was you?
When green-eyed charmer John Beller breaks through the chaos of her life, offering all the fruits of lust and love, thirty-two-year-old Mary Williams desperately wants to partake. On the verge of a mental break where footsteps echo from empty rooms and constant phone calls have no one on the other end, she craves the peaceful embrace of John’s arms. His confident sphere is the one place she can forget about her weakening grasp of reality. But he’s a demanding stranger she’s only recently met, one whose entitlement of wealth makes him dig into all her secrets. And she has no intention of letting anyone find out about her paranoid delusions.
Convinced she can control her descent into madness, Mary’s plan crashes around her when an insane driver intentionally forces her car off the road. Left for dead at the bottom of a ravine, she wakes to find herself hospitalized, then forced into confinement to recover at John’s house. And in his house, it’s his rules. While police search for the driver who nearly killed her, one detective questions whether or not John is isolating Mary for her protection or using her insanity against her. She’s sure it’s the former, and John insists it is.
One thing is certain—her nightmares are real. And the more John kisses her, the closer the threat looms. He may protect her, but who will protect him?
AUTHOR LINKS
The Broken Ones (Detective Gina Harte Book 8) by Carla Kovach
Description
Amber applies a dash of red lipstick and checks herself out in the mirror before heading out on a date. ‘Don’t wait up!’ she calls to her housemates as she leaves. But Amber never returns home that night. Amber Slater is never seen again.
The last person to see Amber was her housemate. He remembers everything she was wearing that night. He watched her leave. He listened to every word of her phone conversation with her friend before she left. He knows more about Amber’s movements than anyone.
At university, she is well-liked by her fellow students and teachers. Her tutor’s voice shakes when he is questioned by the police. Some say he and Amber were very close. Too close. Some say his wife had just found out about their relationship.
The manager at the restaurant where Amber was supposed to eat that night says she didn’t show up. Yet the chef at the restaurant is overly chatty about her. He wasn’t working that night. He wasn’t answering his phone. Nobody knows where he was when Amber went missing.
Rumours begin to circulate about Amber, it seems that everyone has a story to tell. But when the young girl’s lifeless body is found in a local park, with her blue lips glued shut, the gossip suddenly goes quiet. As the police trace the last few hours of Amber’s life, it seems that the girl simply vanished on her way to catch her bus. And when another woman goes missing in the dead of night, it’s a race against time to find her before she too is silenced forever.
Fans of crime books from Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh will love The Broken Ones.
Advance Praise
What readers are saying about Carla Kovach:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I am completely hooked on this series. I read this in a single sitting, unable to put it down.’ NetGalley reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow!… Absolutely amazing!… An incredibly clever and gripping story. I was hooked from the first page.’ Goodreads reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Fantastic. Five stars from me.’ NetGalley reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Very hard to put down. I give this book five stars just because I loved it.’ NetGalley reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow! What a great read!! This was full of so many twists and turns… This book touched every possible emotion. Can’t recommend enough!’ NetGalley reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Carla has done it again. She’s written another riveting installment in what is one of my favourite police series.’ Emma’s Biblio Treasures
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I really enjoyed this book, in fact I read it way too fast! Fast-paced and gripping… Read it! You won’t be disappointed.’ Goodreads reviewer.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘If you have never read this series, you, my friend, are missing out… I love how the author makes you feel as if you are there in each page as the story unfolds.’ Goodreads reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved the storyline and the heroes. The writer spins a beautiful tale and draws you in slowly but surely.’ Goodreads reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I didn’t get much else done from the time I first picked it up, till the last page was read… one hell of a series.’ Nigel Adams Bookworm
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This series just keeps getting better… Another fantastic read in a gripping and addictive series. An easy five stars and so highly recommended.’ Goodreads reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Engaging suspenseful plot with clever twists and turns and an ending that I never guessed.’ Goodreads reviewer
The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme
Description
“A bold girl, a kingdom under attack, magic everywhere—I devoured it in one sitting! This book is one wild ride!” —Tamora Pierce on Stormrise
Nothing is quite as it seems in this thrilling YA fantasy adventure by Jillian Boehme, The Stolen Kingdom!
For a hundred years, the once-prosperous kingdom of Perin Faye has suffered under the rule of the greedy and power-hungry Thungrave kings. Maralyth Graylaern, a vintner's daughter, has no idea her hidden magical power is proof of a secret bloodline and claim to the throne. Alac Thungrave, the king’s second son, has always been uncomfortable with his position as the spare heir—and the dark, stolen magic that comes with ruling.
When Maralyth becomes embroiled in a plot to murder the royal family and seize the throne, a cat-and-mouse chase ensues in an adventure of dark magic, court intrigue, and forbidden love.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Description
Named Most Anticipated of 2021 by Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, Hello! magazine, Oprah.com, Bustle, Popsugar, Betches, Sweet July, and GoodReads!
March 2021 Indie Next Pick and #1 LibraryReads Pick
“A bold, edgy, accomplished debut!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network
A forgotten history. A secret network of women. A legacy of poison and revenge. Welcome to The Lost Apothecary…
Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.
Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.
With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.
Advance Praise
"In The Lost Apothecary, Sarah Penner convincingly weaves three heroines and two timelines into one tale of poison, revenge, and the silent network of women helping other women in a world stacked against them.... A bold, edgy, accomplished debut!" —Kate Quinn, New York Timesbestselling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress
"Dark, clever, and wickedly fun, The Lost Apothecary is a true page-turner. Sarah Perry has given us a puzzle box of women's lives, betrayal, power, and history. It's a book that slyly asks what any of us deserve and if, sometimes, that might not be a little poison." —Erika Swyler, bestselling author of The Book of Speculation
"Penner’s debut had me completely under its spell. The women of The Lost Apothecary, separated by centuries, seek both revenge and truth in this powerful story. Riveting and utterly original." —Fiona Davis, bestselling author of The Dollhouse
"Sarah Penner kept me guessing until the last page of this addictive, atmospheric novel about an apothecary, who concocts poisons to help women exact revenge on their men, and the woman who uncovers her secrets over 200 years later. Meticulously researched, The Lost Apothecary is both a cure for idleness and a recipe for intrigue. Prepare to be consumed by this carefully plotted, propulsive debut." —Amy Meyerson, bestselling author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays
Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
Description
"This debut is gripping from the first bone-chilling line until the final page."—Newsweek
One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021: • Newsweek • Goodreads • BuzzFeed • PopSugar • BookBub • Bibliofile • Mystery and Suspense
A LibraryReads Selection — A Top Book Voted by Librarians for March 2021
An Indie Next Pick — A Top Book Voted by Independent Bookstores for March 2021
In one of the year’s most anticipated debut psychological thrillers, a family made infamous by a true crime documentary is found dead, leaving their surviving son to uncover the truth about their final days.
“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.
After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain—and they won’t tell Matt why.
The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.
When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison—putting his own life in peril—and forcing him to confront his every last fear.
Told through multiple points-of-view and alternating between past and present, Alex Finlay's Every Last Fear is not only a page-turning thriller, it’s also a poignant story about a family managing heartbreak and tragedy, and living through a fame they never wanted.
Advance Praise
"Prepare yourself for twist after exciting twist. A standout novel plotted with surgical precision.”
—Karin Slaughter, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
"Explosive! A knife-edged thriller that explores the true meaning of family, including love, loyalty, and lies."
—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Brilliant. Finlay weaves a story as mesmerizing as it is heartbreaking. Hooks you from the very first page and keeps you guessing until the final explosive twist. Taut, smart, and compelling. A do not miss!”
—Liv Constantine, internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish
"Every Last Fear is a hugely ambitious novel that satisfies on so many different levels. It's a riveting mystery, a propulsive thriller, and a moving portrait of a family torn apart, and brought together, by tragedy."
—Lou Berney, bestselling author of November Road
"Alex Finlay’s jaw-dropping Every Last Fear, about a family found dead years after their true-crime Netflix documentary makes them infamous, is a powerful, standout thriller. Finlay is a masterful storyteller, seamlessly shifting perspectives and timelines to add layers of emotional depth and suspense to this fast-paced, expertly plotted, utterly engrossing novel. Hands down the best thriller I’ve read this year."
—Jennifer Hillier, author of Little Secrets and the award-winning Jar of Hearts
"I loved Every Last Fear. What elevates this thriller are the characters: real, flawed, heroic, driven. What would you do if someone you loved was convicted of a crime you were certain they didn't commit? You won't be able to put down this fast-moving, thoroughly compelling story until the very last page. A winner."
—Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author
"Alex Finlay's Every Last Fear reads like a bullet and had me hooked from the first few brutal pages."
—Brian Panowich, author of Hard Cash Valley and the award-winning Bull Mountain
Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering
Description
ONE LOVE STORY. TWO MARRIAGES. THREE VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH.
Too Good to Be True is an obsessive, addictive love story for fans of Lisa Jewell and The Wife Upstairs, from Carola Lovering, the beloved author of Tell Me Lies.
Skye Starling is overjoyed when her boyfriend, Burke Michaels, proposes after a whirlwind courtship. Though Skye seems to have the world at her fingertips—she’s smart, beautiful, and from a well-off family—she’s also battled crippling OCD ever since her mother’s death when she was eleven, and her romantic relationships have suffered as a result.
But now Burke—handsome, older, and more emotionally mature than any man she’s met before—says he wants her. Forever. Except, Burke isn’t who he claims to be. And interspersed letters to his therapist reveal the truth: he’s happily married, and using Skye for his own, deceptive ends.
In a third perspective, set thirty years earlier, a scrappy seventeen-year-old named Heather is determined to end things with Burke, a local bad boy, and make a better life for herself in New York City. But can her adolescent love stay firmly in her past—or will he find his way into her future?
On a collision course she doesn’t see coming, Skye throws herself into wedding planning, as Burke’s scheme grows ever more twisted. But of course, even the best laid plans can go astray. And just when you think you know where this story is going, you’ll discover that there’s more than one way to spin the truth.
The Cyanide Ghost by Linda Startmann
Description
Someone from Mina’s past has returned to plague her…
Brighton, 1872
Mina Scarletti is helping prepare for her brother Edward’s imminent wedding when she finds out Mr. Beckler – a man who previously courted her under false pretenses – is once more on the scene.
Mr. Beckler claims to be able to capture spirits when taking photographs, and with her brother Richard now working for him, Mina is curious to see his pictures for herself.
She is shocked when the ghost of her father does indeed seem to appear in a photo taken of her family, yet certain it must be a fraud.
Mina soon realizes that Beckler is targeting the families of the deceased whose spirits appear in his photographs, many of whom have died in mysterious circumstances.
And before long, Beckler’s claims attract her worst enemy back to Brighton…
Is Mr. Beckler genuine in his claims to be able to photograph the dead? What connects the families he is targeting?
And is he determined once again to try and ruin Mina’s reputation…?