Category Archives: Random House

Review: Remain Silent by Susie Steiner

Title: Remain Silent by Susie Steiner
Manon Bradshaw Series Book Three
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

An immigrant’s mysterious death sets off a chilling hunt for the truth in this gripping crime novel from the author of Missing, Presumed, featuring a “delightful protagonist who deserves a place alongside other beloved literary detectives” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Newly married and navigating life with a preschooler as well as her adopted adolescent son, Manon Bradshaw is happy to be working part-time in the cold cases department of the Cambridgeshire police force, a job that allows her to potter in, coffee in hand, and log on for a spot of Internet shopping—precisely what she had in mind when she thought of work-life balance. But beneath the surface Manon is struggling with the day-to-day realities of what she’d assumed would be domestic bliss: fights about whose turn it is to clean the kitchen, the bewildering fatigue of having a young child while in her forties, and the fact that she is going to couples counseling alone because her husband feels it would just be her complaining.

But when Manon is on a walk with her four-year-old son in a peaceful suburban neighborhood and discovers the body of a Lithuanian immigrant hanging from a tree with a mysterious note attached, she knows her life is about to change. Suddenly, she is back on the job full-force, trying to solve the suicide—or is it a murder—in what may be the most dangerous and demanding case of her life.

Review:

Remain Silent by Susie Steiner is an intriguing mystery with a topical storyline. This newest addition to the Manon Bradshaw series can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend books one and two as well.

Detective Inspector Manon Bradshaw is enjoying her shortened work schedule so she can be home with four year old Teddy, sixteen year old Fly and partner Mark. But after discovering the body of Lithuanian immigrant Lukas Balsys hanging from a tree, her new boss Detective Chief Superintendent Glenda McBain assigns her work the case with Detective Sergeant Davy Walker.  The investigation is slow moving but Manon and Davy doggedly track down every lead in hopes of catching Lukas’s killer.

Manon has been working cold cases so she is excited to be working a fresh case. Becoming more involved in the investigation, she struggles with leaving Teddy with a childminder and keeping up with everything at home.  More stress arrives when Mark is hospitalized and they nervous awaiting his test results. Gruff and to the point, Manon tries to put her family problems out of mind as she continues following each new piece of evidence.

Davy is nervous and a little uncertain as his fiancé Juliet plunges head first into wedding plans. He, too, is also dealing with the work/home balance as Juliet once again becomes a little resentful of his late nights and long hours. But Davy tries to push these worries aside as the investigation takes them to the unsettled town of Wisbech where anti-immigration sentiments are on the rise.

Lukas’ friend Mattis is of special interest to Manon since he has gone missing.  The two men came to England for a better life but they instead find themselves working for traffickers.  Their living conditions are absymal as they are crammed together with other men  in tight quarters. All of the men work long hours for little pay as their handler takes most of their money for the men’s “debt”.

Remain Silent is a clever police procedural which deftly balances murder, people trafficking and the realities of life with humor. Manon is a very true to life character who is flawed yet incredibly appealing. The investigation takes a while to gain traction, but once it does, the truth about Lukas is uncovered. With a couple of unexpected twists,  Susie Steiner brings this engrossing mystery to a satisfying and realistic conclusion.  I highly recommend this third installment of the Manon Bradshaw series to readers of the genre.

(After reading the afterword, I immediately went to Twitter and WHEW! Very relieved.)

Comments Off on Review: Remain Silent by Susie Steiner

Filed under Contemporary, Manon Bradshaw Series, Mystery, Random House, Rated B, Remain Silent, Review, Susie Steiner, Suspense

Review: Pretty Things by Janelle Brown

Title: Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary, Crime Fiction
Length: 470 pages
Book Rating: C

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Two wildly different women—one a grifter, the other an heiress—are brought together by the scam of a lifetime in a page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.

Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.

Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer—traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.

Nina’s, Vanessa’s, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.

This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.

Review:

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is an interesting crime novel with an intriguing premise.

After a chaotic childhood, Nina Ross worked hard to distance herself from her con artist mother, Lily. She went to college and after graduation, she took a job which she hoped when eventually lead to a lucrative career. But when her mom becomes ill, Nina returns home to help her through treatment. With medical bills piling up, Nina teams up with Lily’s friend, Lachlan and they begin robbing wealthy people in the area.  After their latest heist, she discovers her mother needs expensive medical treatment again. So, she and Lachlan head to Lake Tahoe where she plans to rob Vanessa Liebling, who comes from a family with whom Nina has an unhappy, tangled history.

Nina and Lachlan carefully set up fake identities in order to inveigle their way into Vanessa’s life. Nina has insider information that should result in a huge payday for them.  She and Lily once lived in Lake Tahoe and Nina shared an unexpectedly close friendship with Vanessa’s brother, Bennie. Their relationship ended badly and she and Lily rapidly left Tahoe behind.  Now, Nina has a two-fold reason for targeting Vanessa-revenge and a huge payday.

Vanessa has recently retreated to her family’s home in Lake Tahoe after dropping out of her Instagram-influencer “career” following her father’s death.  She is mourning her loss while she half-heartedly attempts to rebrand herself on Instagram. Now renting out the caretaker’s cottage on her property, Vanessa is desperately lonely and eager for her new renters to arrive.

Despite their careful planning, Nina and Lachlan’s scheme is off to a rocky start and after a couple of shocking discoveries, Nina finds herself in deep trouble. Unbeknownst to her, Lachlan is running his own scheme to score big.  How will Nina react when she learns what he is doing in Lake Tahoe?

Alternating between Nina and Vanessa’ points of view, Pretty Things starts off strong but soon gets bogged down in tediously long flashbacks. None of the characters are particularly likable and betrayals lurk around every corner.  After the halfway point, a few unanticipated plot twists liven up the slow pacing and  Janelle Brown brings the novel to a surprising conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: Pretty Things by Janelle Brown

Filed under Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Janelle Brown, Pretty Things, Random House, Rated C, Review

Review: Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge

Title: Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge
DCI Jonah Sheens Series Book Two
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

One crime. One witness. One question . . . Why didn’t he call the police?

When a vibrant young woman is murdered while on a video chat, a small-town detective wades into a circle of friends and lovers with dangerous secrets—in the new novel from the acclaimed author of the “enjoyably chilling”* She Lies in Wait.

*The New York Times Book Review

Aidan Poole logs on to his laptop late at night to Skype his girlfriend, Zoe. To his horror, he realizes that there is someone else in her flat. Aidan can only listen to the sounds of a violent struggle taking place in the bathroom—and then the sound of silence. He is desperate to find out if Zoe is okay. But then why is he so hesitant to call the police?

When Aidan’s cryptic messages finally reach them, Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens and his team take the case—and discover the body. They soon find that no one has a bad word to say about Zoe, a big hearted young artist at the center of a curious web of waifs and strays, each relying on her for support, each hiding dark secrets and buried resentments. Has one of her so-called “friends” been driven to murder? Or does Aidan have the biggest secret of them all?

Review:

The second installment in the DCI Jonah Sheens series, Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge is a perplexing mystery that is fast-paced and engrossing.

DCI Jonah Sheens has an uneasy feeling about a unsettling anonymous phone call  from a man reporting the possible murder of his girlfriend Zoe Swardadine. What makes the message a little difficult to believe is the caller says he witnessed the crime over Skype.  Finally nudged by another report, Sheens and his team are soon on the scene of what appears to be a possible suicide. But a sharp pathologist quickly makes note of an almost unnoticeable piece of evidence that points to murder. Sheens, PC Juliette Hanson and DS Ben Lightman are soon working long hours to solve Zoe’s murder.

Sheens is quick to interview Zoe’s close circle of friends. Her former roommate Maeve Silver is cooperative but is she being completely truthful? Her friend Angeline Judd is clearly troubled and so upset that her information about Zoe is not overly useful. Co-worker and friend Victor Varos has a volatile temper but would he harm the woman he clearly has feelings for? Jonah senses something a little off with Zoe’s landlord and friend Felix Solomon but he appears to be truthful during their interview. Then there is Zoe’s on again/off again boyfriend Aidan Poole. He reported his girlfriend’s possible murder but Sheens is convinced Aidan is not being completely honest with him and his team. Is one of the people closest to Zoe responsible for her murder?

Carefully combing through CCTV backs up some of the witness statements but also exposes some surprising and puzzling information.  Tracking Zoe’s movements the day of her murder reveals a gap in time in which her whereabouts are unaccounted for. And who was waiting for Zoe outside her apartment the evening of her death? Equally unknown is the identity of the person that Zoe argued with a few hours before her death. Although Aidan appears to be telling the truth about the Skype call, Sheen and his team remain suspicious of him.

Watching from the Dark is a riveting mystery with a clever storyline. Sheens and the rest of the team are well-developed appealing characters who tenaciously investigate Zoe’s death. Zoe and her friends are three-dimensional characters who are deeply flawed but are any of them capable of murder? With a cunning, late in the story discovery, Gytha Lodge brings this compelling mystery to a twist-filled, stunning conclusion.  A brilliant addition to the DCI Jonah Sheens series that I absolutely loved and highly recommend to readers who enjoy British police procedurals.

Comments Off on Review: Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge

Filed under Contemporary, DCI Jonah Sheens Series, Gytha Lodge, Mystery, Random House, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

Review: She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge

Title: She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge
DCI Jonah Sheens Series Book One
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Six friends. One killer. Who do you trust? A teen girl is missing after a night of partying; thirty years later, the discovery of her body reopens a cold case in an absorbing novel featuring a small-town cop determined to finally get to the truth—for fans of Tana French and Kate Atkinson.

On a scorching July night in 1983, a group of teenagers goes camping in the forest. Bright and brilliant, they are destined for great things, and the youngest of the group—Aurora Jackson—is delighted to be allowed to tag along. The evening starts like any other—they drink, they dance, they fight, they kiss. Some of them slip off into the woods in pairs, others are left jealous and heartbroken. But by morning, Aurora has disappeared. Her friends claim that she was safe the last time they saw her, right before she went to sleep. An exhaustive investigation is launched, but no trace of the teenager is ever found.

Thirty years later, Aurora’s body is unearthed in a hideaway that only the six friends knew about, and Jonah Sheens is put in charge of solving the long-cold case. Back in 1983, as a young cop in their small town, he had known the teenagers—including Aurora—personally, even before taking part in the search. Now he’s determined to finally get to the truth of what happened that night. Sheens’s investigation brings the members of the camping party back to the forest, where they will be confronted once again with the events that left one of them dead, and all of them profoundly changed forever.

This searing, psychologically captivating novel marks the arrival of a dazzling new talent, and the start of a new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens.

Review:

The first release in the DCI Jonah Sheens series, She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge is a fascinating mystery about a thirty year old cold case.

In 1983, fourteen year old Aurora Jackson, her older sister, Topaz,  friends Daniel, Connor, Brett, Coralie and JoJo go on a camping trip together.  The older teenagers spend the evening drinking, dancing, getting high and hooking up.  Jealousy spills over into heated outbursts but hurt feelings are quickly smoothed over.  Aurora feels like an outsider but after one of her sister’s friends encourages her to let loose a little, she also begins drinking. They eventually fall asleep but they are startled awake early the next morning by the shocking discovery that Aurora is missing. When no trace of her is found, everyone is left to wonder what happened to Aurora.

Thirty years later, the discovery of a set of bones in the vicinity of the long ago camping trip answers the question to Aurora’s fate. Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens hopes he and his team can uncover the truth about the circumstances that led to her death. Working this case is not easy for him since he was a young constable when she went missing and he personally knew her and the other people involved in the case. Despite his unease, Sheens hopes re-interviewing the six friends will shine new light on the night Aurora vanished.

Jonah is surprised to discover they are still tight-knit friends but there are definitely a few cracks in the circle. Some of the interviews differ from the original accounts but he must carefully consider possible motivations for the altered recollections. He also suspects one the friends might have an ulterior motive for divulging new information.  As he hands out assignments to the detectives working with him,  Jonah fears one of them will uncover the secret he has been keeping for thirty years.

With the chapters alternating between the unfolding investigation in the present and flashbacks to the night of Aurora’s disappearance, She Lies in Wait is an engrossing police procedural. The pacing is a little slow but this fits the meticulous investigation. Jonah and his team are well-rounded characters with interesting backstories.  With a few well paced red herrings and clever misdirects, Gytha Lodge keeps the murderer’s identity and motive for the crime under wraps until the novel’s action-packed conclusion. This first installment in the DCI Jonah Sheens series is a well-written mystery that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.

Comments Off on Review: She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge

Filed under Contemporary, DCI Jonah Sheens Series, Gytha Lodge, Mystery, Random House, Rated B, Review, She Lies in Wait, Suspense

Review: Brass by Xhenet Aliu

Title: Brass by Xhenet Aliu
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary/Historical, Fiction
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: C

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

“A fierce, big-hearted, unflinching debut”* novel about mothers and daughters, haves and have-nots, and the stark realities behind the American Dream

A waitress at the Betsy Ross Diner, Elsie hopes her nickel-and-dime tips will add up to a new life. Then she meets Bashkim, who is at once both worldly and naïve, a married man who left Albania to chase his dreams—and wound up working as a line cook in Waterbury, Connecticut. Back when the brass mills were still open, this bustling factory town drew one wave of immigrants after another. Now it’s the place they can’t seem to leave. Elsie, herself the granddaughter of Lithuanian immigrants, falls in love quickly, but when she learns that she’s pregnant, Elsie can’t help wondering where Bashkim’s heart really lies, and what he’ll do about the wife he left behind.

Seventeen years later, headstrong and independent Luljeta receives a rejection letter from NYU and her first-ever suspension from school on the same day. Instead of striking out on her own in Manhattan, she’s stuck in Connecticut with her mother, Elsie—a fate she refuses to accept. Wondering if the key to her future is unlocking the secrets of the past, Lulu decides to find out what exactly her mother has been hiding about the father she never knew. As she soon discovers, the truth is closer than she ever imagined.

Told in equally gripping parallel narratives with biting wit and grace, Brass announces a fearless new voice with a timely, tender, and quintessentially American story.

Review:

Brass by Xhenet Aliu explores the relationship of a mother and daughter who both dream of escaping their economically depressed town.

In 1996, Elsie Kuzavinas is working as a waitress at a diner owned by Alabanian immigrants. She has big dreams of earning enough money to purchase a car and leave behind both her dead-end job and hometown.  Entering into an affair with Bashkim, whose wife, Agnes did not accompany him to America, an unplanned pregnancy threatens to derail her plans. With promises to help raise their baby, Bashkim convinces her to continue the pregnancy but he leaves before she gives birth. Now following in the path of her own mother (but hopefully minus the drinking problem),  Elsie barely ekes out a living for herself and her daughter Luljeta “Lulu”.

Fast forward seventeen years and Lulu also dreams of leaving Waterbury for New York where she plans to attend college.  A bit of a social outcast, she is a painfully shy young woman who always follows the rules.  When she receives a college rejection letter, she ends up suspended from school following an altercation with the school bully. Lulu decides it is time to learn the truth about the father she has never met.

The storyline weaves back and forth in time so readers get to see both mother and daughter at the same age as they each attempt to reach the same goal: leave their bleak hometown with hopes of a brighter future.  Elsie and Bashkim are both a little naive about finances but once Elsie gets pregnant, reality strikes rather quickly. Life with Bashkim is not easy and she is planning a way out when he betrays her. Lulu wants to avoid the same fate as her mother and she has worked hard to ensure she makes it into college, but the rejection letter hits her hard and she becomes a little cynical.

Brass is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of life in a financially depressed town.  Xhenet Aliu paints a rather hopeless and depressing future for both Elsie and Lulu as they fail to realize their dreams of escaping the same fate as the previous generations. While the storyline is interesting, the pacing of the story is rather slow. Elsie’s chapters are much easier to read than Lulu’s which are written in second person.  The novel comes to a bit of an unexpected conclusion that is a little heartrending.

1 Comment

Filed under Brass, Contemporary, Fiction, Historical, Historical (90s), Random House, Rated C, Review, Xhenet Aliu

Review: The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker

Title: The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

She was the first person to see me as I had always wanted to be seen. It was enough to indebt me to her forever.

In the male-dominated field of animation, Mel Vaught and Sharon Kisses are a dynamic duo, the friction of their differences driving them: Sharon, quietly ambitious but self-doubting; Mel, brash and unapologetic, always the life of the party. Best friends and artistic partners since the first week of college, where they bonded over their working-class roots and obvious talent, they spent their twenties ensconced in a gritty Brooklyn studio. Working, drinking, laughing. Drawing: Mel, to understand her tumultuous past, and Sharon, to lose herself altogether.

Now, after a decade of striving, the two are finally celebrating the release of their first full-length feature, which transforms Mel’s difficult childhood into a provocative and visually daring work of art. The toast of the indie film scene, they stand at the cusp of making it big. But with their success come doubt and destruction, cracks in their relationship threatening the delicate balance of their partnership. Sharon begins to feel expendable, suspecting that the ever-more raucous Mel is the real artist. During a trip to Sharon’s home state of Kentucky, the only other partner she has ever truly known—her troubled, charismatic childhood best friend, Teddy—reenters her life, and long-buried resentments rise to the surface, hastening a reckoning no one sees coming.

A funny, heartbreaking novel of friendship, art, and trauma, The Animators is about the secrets we keep and the burdens we shed on the road to adulthood.

Review:

The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker is an engrossing novel that explores the deep bond of friendship between two women who are also business partners.

Throughout her childhood, Sharon Kisses lost herself in cartoons in an effort to keep loneliness at bay while dreaming of escaping her small Kentucky town.  Winning a scholarship to a prestigious college in Upper New York is her ticket to freedom and while she still feels like an outsider, she is enjoying the opportunity to hone her artistic skills.  Striking up an unlikely friendship with vibrant and gregarious Mel Vaught is a huge turning point in her life and following college, the two women become business partners.  It takes ten years of hard work, but they are finally attaining professional success after their first full-length animated  project, based on Mel’s childhood, garners them a prestigious grant for their next as yet undetermined project.  As Mel begins to self-destruct during a publicity tour, Sharon experiences self-doubt about her role in their partnership.  Dual tragedies strike and the women’s friendship is tested as they begin working on their next project.

Both Mel and Sharon carry the scars from their dysfunctional childhoods but the two women cannot be more different.  Mel is the outgoing, brash life of the party while Sharon is quiet and rather introspective.  Neither have quite come to terms with the damage wrought by their respective pasts but they deal with their emotional pain in very different ways.  Mel drinks heavily and self-medicates with a number of legal and illegal substances.  Sharon is the responsible one who tries to reel in her out of control friend with varying degrees of success. She is also a bit of a follower who often finds herself swept up into Mel’s craziness.

In the aftermath of a health crisis, Mel prods Sharon into confronting the demons of her past.  During their visit to Kentucky, Mel persuades her friend to renew her acquaintance with her childhood friend, Teddy Caudill. Teddy abruptly moved away when they were still children, but a traumatic incident involving him still haunts Sharon. After their reunion, Sharon and Teddy unexpectedly fall in love but will their relationship survive after he uncovers the truth about Sharon and Mel’s current project?

Written in first person from Sharon’s perspective, The Animators is a spellbinding exploration of friendship and professional collaboration between two damaged but very appealing characters. Although portions of the story are easy to predict, the overall storyline is refreshingly unique and quite engaging. This outstanding debut by Kayla Rae Whitaker  is an emotional story of friendship that will linger in readers’ hearts long after the last page is turned.

1 Comment

Filed under Contemporary, Kayla Rae Whitaker, Literary Fiction, Random House, Rated B+, Review, The Animators