Currently I’m listening two audio books through Audible and I’m quite enjoying both of them. I’m also working on a draft for a review of “Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin.” While many have given the story a glowing review, I have mix feelings about the story-line and have to admit it took me a while to get through it. This reason is why I have delayed in writing my review but I have finally decided to get my thoughts down and put it out there. In the next few days you will see what I have to say about the story. As for the audio books, it’s interesting to be listening to a crime thriller (fiction) and a true crime story at the same time. I’ll be Gone in the Dark is powerful, chilling, and well told and one of the best true crime stories published I’ve come across.
I’m looking forward to this weekend so I am able to spend time drafting another review and hopefully I will be able to pick up a couple more stories to either listen too or read. If you have any recommendations for me, do share! I’m always on the lookout for new titles I have not heard of before. -Stephanie M. Hopkins
The Good Daughter (The Good Daughter #1)
by Karin Slaughter
Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind.
Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father—Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney—devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.
Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself—the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again—and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized—Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
by Michelle McNamara, Gillian Flynn (Goodreads Author) (Introduction), Patton Oswal
A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer–the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade–from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case. “You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark. “For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area. Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called “the Golden State Killer.” Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was. At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of eighteen and thirty, Caucasian, and athletic–capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim–he favored suburban couples–he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark–the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death–offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by Michelle’s lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic–and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.
Burning Fields by Alli Sinclair
About the book:
As the sisters enjoyed the feel of warm air washing over them they were oblivious to the door being locked behind them. They looked around the room to find it was small, barely twenty-foot square with several tables and chairs set across the flagged floor with the only illumination coming from a blazing fire and some tallow candles set on a single table around which sat four men who eyed the girls with grim faces. All were dressed in the thick, warm, hard-wearing clothing of those who made their living hunting the herring shoals in the cold waters of the German Ocean. Their weathered faces were as care-worn as their clothes and not a single smile welcomed the girls to the Dolphin. Only sullen, suspicious and unfriendly eyes stared darkly at them. That sour welcome was an unfamiliar sensation. Generally, they received, by dint of class and breeding, warm words and fulsome praise on how attractive they were. The only ‘compliment’ they heard here was a chuckled, “Aye, they’d dae for warming yer bed on a night like this, eh?”
Emma Haddon-Wright is from Plymouth UK and a lover of all things macabre & mysterious. She has a BA (Hons) Medieval to Modern European History. She is devoted to her family, history and is thrilled to be included in Sexuality & Its Impact on History: The British Stripped Bare! You can find her on Twitter 
Annie Whitehead spends her life researching and writing about Anglo-Saxon history; the kingdom of Mercia in particular. She is an editor for English Historical Fiction Authors, the winner of the Historical Writers’ Association/Dorothy Dunnett Award, and is a member of the Royal Historical Society. She’s written three novels set in Mercia, blogs at Casts Light upon the Shadow, and was a previous Independent Author Network Book of the Year Finalist. She is currently writing a history of Mercia to be published in the autumn of 2018. Find Annie online at her 
Jessica Cale is a romance author, editor, and historian based in North Carolina. Originally from Minnesota, she lived in Wales for several years where she earned a B.A. in History and an MFA in Creative Writing while climbing castles and photographing mines for history magazines. She kidnapped (“married”) her very own British prince (close enough) and is enjoying her happily ever after with him in a place where no one understands his accent. She is the editor of 
Maryanne Coleman lives in the English countryside and can be found mainly digging in archives, or her garden. Her passions are King Arthur, Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe. She has many degrees, mainly in English Literature, Tudor History, and Elizabethan Theatre. She isn’t online, so no need to look for her. Although she may often be found at Heathrow Airport waiting on a flight to the French Riviera.
where she gained a B.A. in English and Creative Writing, and a Masters in Medieval History. Her first novel, Peaceweaver was published in 2009, quickly followed by two others. Her best-selling Tudor novel, The Winchester Goose lead her to create five more novels covering the lives of Anne Boleyn, Katheryn Parr and Elizabeth of York. The King’s Mother is the third book in The Beaufort Chronicles a trilogy following the fascinating life of Margaret Beaufort. She is researching her eleventh novel. Judith’s non-fiction work has been published in various historical anthologies and she is active online at her 
Gayle Hulme was born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland and after many years of soaking up island life in Jersey, Channel Islands she returned to Scotland via historic Warwickshire, England. Back in bonnie Scotland she now enjoys hanging out with husband Paul, son Jamie and two silly, but adorable dogs, Millie and Spot. Weekdays are spent motivating women as a group fitness instructor. She spends weekends travelling the UK investigating dusty corners of historical castles, palaces and museums. Her passions and fascinations are hugely diverse. In the morning she could be reading about her favourite royal heroine Queen Anne Boleyn and by the afternoon she might be at Ibrox Stadium cheering on the Glasgow Rangers FC. By evening she could be away with the fairies or learning about ancient Hawaiian wisdom. Find her 
Dr. Beth Lynne is a freelance editor and author. She has a Bachelors in English (SUNY Albany), Masters in Elementary Education, Special Education (LIU/CUNY Queens), Education Administration, and a doctorate in Education Leadership (Rowan University). Originally from New York, Beth worked as a teacher in the New York City Public Schools before moving to New Jersey, where she worked teaching social studies, science, math, and English to a variety of grade levels. She decided to pursue her passion and self-published four books on Amazon. During this time, she discovered her forte was editing. Thus, BZ Hercules, named after her pets at the time, was born! Beth devoted herself to the art of examining the work of others, creating e-books and print books. This venture has been so successful it enabled her to retire from teaching in 2017. Beth currently lives in sunny Florida with her husband, daughter, and several pets. Contact Beth at her 
Hunter S, Jones is passionate about the history of romance, science and music, a.k.a. sex, drugs and rock & roll. She has a popular history blog, and is a historian for Past Preservers Casting. When she isn’t writing, talking or tweeting about kings, queens and rock stars, she’s living the dream in Atlanta, Georgia with her Scottish born husband. Find out more at her 
Zadie Anson and Emma Colley have been best friends since their early twenties, when they first began navigating serious romantic relationships amid the intensity of medical school. Now they’re happily married wives and mothers with successful careers–Zadie as a pediatric cardiologist and Emma as a trauma surgeon. Their lives in Charlotte, North Carolina are chaotic but fulfilling, until the return of a former colleague unearths a secret one of them has been harboring for years.
Layered Pages 