I have been on the lookout for more mystery thrillers written by christian authors and I came across Kate Angelo and I thought I would add her book “Girl Lost” to my to-read list. This book comes out in September so I may purchase it when it does. I did spot this book on NetGalley but decided not to request it because I’m working on my backlog of reviews to turn in. So many books, so little time.
Stephanie
Pub Date Sep 23 2025 by Revell
Christian | Mystery & Thrillers | Romance
Description
A LOST BABY
Luna Rosati found acceptance and comfort with her childhood foster family, but when she became pregnant at sixteen, she gave the baby up for adoption and left without a word. Now a CIA counterintelligence officer, Luna wants to reconcile her fractured sense of self by finding the only blood family she has–the teenage daughter she’s never met. As Luna closes in on learning the girl’s identity with the help of her mentor, Stryker, she prepares to meet him in her old neighborhood–the last place she wants to be. Then Stryker is captured.
AN INESCAPABLE PAST
Special Agent Corbin King changed his last name to escape the shadow of his convicted father serving a life sentence. When he runs into Luna, the object of his failed teenage romance, the two must put their pasts aside and work together to expose a secret that someone’s willing to kill for.
A DEADLY THREAT
But when they encounter a kidnapping, missing bodies, and murder, the secrets Corbin and Luna are keeping from one another are only the beginning of the threat they face with more than their own lives at stake.
When Jane Hardy is appointed interim sheriff in Pelican Harbor, Alabama, after her father retires, there’s no time for an adjustment period. He is arrested for theft and then implicated in a recent murder, and Jane quickly realizes she’s facing someone out to destroy her father.
They escaped from a cult fifteen years ago, and Jane has searched relentlessly for her mother—who refused to leave—ever since. Could someone from that horrible past have found them?
Reid Bechtol is a well-known journalist who makes documentaries, and his sights are currently set on covering Jane’s career. Jane has little interest in the attention, but the committee who appointed her loves the idea of the publicity.
Jane finds herself depending on Reid’s calm manner as he follows her around taping his documentary, and they begin working together to clear her father. But Reid has his own secrets from the past, and the gulf between them may be impossible to cross.
It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth.
My thoughts:
One Little Lie is the first book I have read written by Colleen Coble and I am happy to report I enjoyed this story. I love a good mystery that is a page turner and has you fully invested in the characters plight and the actions they take to right the situation they find themselves in. Those actions are not always the correct ones and that is par for the course when it comes to human nature and this story shows that. This story also shows how our past determines our choices in life in how we handle those choices. This story is faith based and gives a realistic picture of the struggles I mentioned above.
Out of all the characters relationships, I have to say Jane and her friend Olivia friendship touched me the most. Though Olivia was a side character, her gentle influence and support of Jane helps Jane through her process of healing from being in a cult and encouraging Jane to find true faith, healing, peace and reconciliation with God.
There are a few things left unanswered but I’m hoping to find those answers in the next book of this series.
If you are looking for a clean mystery with a great plot this one is for you!
Stephanie
The publishers recently made this book available on NetGalley again for review. I was delighted to read this book for an honest review.
Tasha and her older sister Alice may look alike, but they couldn’t be more different. Tasha’s married with two children and still lives in their hometown near Bristol. Alice is a high-flying scientist who travels the world with her equally successful husband.
Yet each sister would trust the other with her life.
When Tasha and her husband Aaron need a break and Alice offers to stay in their home with the kids, Tasha knows her family is in safe hands.
She couldn’t be more wrong.
The call from home is devastating. Alice and her husband Kyle have been attacked, leaving Alice in intensive care and Kyle dead. Rushing to the hospital, Tasha finds the police trying to piece events together. She can’t think why anyone would attack her sister.
Then the note arrives, addressed to Tasha:
It was supposed to be you . . .
Every family has secrets. Some more deadly than others.
My thoughts:
The Wrong Sister is the first book I’ve read by Claire Douglas and I have to say that she writes a solid family drama with twisty tuns. Everyone has a motive and the hidden secrets are so well crafted in this story, things are not what they seem in a shocking way. This story also explores what lengths people would go to for the ones they love or in some cases, the ones they despise. Lies told with what people think are “good intentions” have consequences. Family drama indeed!
The characters are engaging and flawed with interesting reactions to escalating events, even the ones they are working hard to down play which makes some of them believable in the eyes of their family members. After-all, no one wants to think the worse of someone they love. As the events escalate and unfold, the story has you racing to the end to find out the conclusion.
When I was starting to put the pieces of the mystery together, I have to admit I was blind-sided by the ending. Especially by a character I was hoping would make the right decision regarding a family member.
I rated this book three stars.
Stephanie
I obtained an ARC from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
I must caution you, there is profanity in this book. More so in the beginning and then it tapers off with just a bit randomly sprinkled in.
Years after leaving home due to her father’s suffocating and oppressive treatment, Estella receives a phone call from Annie-her family’s housekeeper-that she must come home. Estella’s father has had a stroke that caused his death and her mother has gone missing. When she returns home, everything is disjointed and up in the air and she takes a teaching position at the college where her father influence was powerful to say the least. Not only that, their family house is celebrated throughout the decades and her Father’s library holds rare books that her father closely guards and with strict orders, Estella is not allowed to touch the books.
With her father’s death, her mother missing and the war that is raging on, Estella must figure out how she will support Annie, the house and the gorgeous land it sits on. The more she looks into her father’s and mother’s life, she realizes how much she doesn’t know about them and the secrets they have kept.
This Gothic tale of mystery, buried secrets, death, family and local town intrigue begins slowly and half way through the story, unfolds in a major way. I must confess, at first, I didn’t have high hope for this story but as the plot reveals itself, you have a better understanding of why the story starts out the way it does. It gave me a better understanding of the-bread crumbs-if you will- the author was dropping. You won’t be shown an explanation of why the story is called “The Dark Library” until the second half of the book and it is a shocker! I did not see that coming a mile away. The premise of this story is unique and the author sure can weave a story of intrigue and deceptive people that leaves you trusting no one. The ending does tie up loose ends the reader wonders about and I want to encourage readers who might be frustrated with the beginning to rally on. You won’t regret it.
A truly atmospheric story with Gothic themes, deadly secrets and twisty turns of events that has you racing to the end to discover the deceptions, truths and the fate of Estella and the people in her life.
I rated this book four stars and I obtained an ARC from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
Propelled on a cross-country chase, devoted parents become desperate fugitives in a heart-racing novel of suspense by the author of Family Money and All He Has Left.
Thirteen years ago, Cole and Lisa Shipley were fostering an infant with hopes of adopting her. Overnight everything was turned upside down, when the child’s mother bled to death on their front doorstep. Her last words: He’s coming here…for her! Save her. Afraid, bewildered, and with a baby in their arms, they fled. The longer they hid, the guiltier they looked.
Now in a small Colorado town under assumed identities, they’ve been seemingly safe. But when a tip exposes them and Cole is framed for another murder, they take it on the run again, barreling across the western US—this time with a confused and resistant teenage girl awakening to a terrifying new reality. In the rearview is the relentless FBI agent who has never given up the hunt. And he’s not the only one.
Every frightening mile brings a family closer to the truth about that fateful night thirteen years ago. And to a killer who’s determined to finish what he started.
My Thoughts:
Lately I’ve been reading books involving the FBI and their race to catch criminals-particularly killers. I’m just going to come right out and say that I’m not a fan of the FBI nor stories written involving their investigations. There have always been or usually variables of their investigations and the way they often go about it that have irked me. That said, the ones I’ve read lately have been fast paced, better character development, uniquely written plots and entertaining reads.
In this story I felt they relied more on leads, technology -cameras, taps on phones, tips and etc. That is all well and done but one thing they failed to do in this story was look more closely at the murder, Cole “supposedly” had newly committed. If I’m correct, they didn’t look more into it until Cole spoke to the FBI agent of his innocence. Maybe I’m missing something and need to go and reread that part but that is what I’m recalling. Or it could be that it was written this way to add to the element of intensity and interest of the chase or hunt-if you will to capture the Shipleys?
When I read the scene of the murder that Cole is accused of, I immediately thought that a wider method of using forensics and a Ballistic report would definitely give the agents more information to help their investigation. Hmm… whatever the case, this story involving Cole’s family’s situation had my attention and I was completely invested in their horrific plight.
This was a fast pace, intense and thrilling read with twist and turns so much so that it had me finish reading the story less than a day. I couldn’t put it down! I needed to keep reading as I felt I was right there with the Shipley family, going through everything they were.
If you are a fan of FBI stories or looking for a great one to read, this story is for you!
I obtained an ARC from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
Expected publication January 14, 2025, by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
The Last Room on the Left is a darkly woven philological thriller that takes place in the mountains of the Catskills in New York during the winter and presents the reader with an immensely isolated, and claustrophobic setting.
The story is told in Kerry’s, Siobhan’s, and Allison’s point of view. Kerry- whose husband has left her because of her drinking problems and Kerry needing to finish writing a book due to a deadline- takes a job as caretaker at a motel. When she arrives, almost immediately, bizarre and creepy things start to happen. Not only that, she also discovers a dead and frozen body in the snow, and the mystery of who the victim is and what happened, begins to take shape, and unfold in the most astonishing way.
The reader quickly begins to doubt Kerry’s perspective due to alcohol and pills in the mix. As the story further escalates, all three of the women end up heavily drinking while emotions are running high. This highly charged element makes an interesting mix of dysfunction and drama among them to say the least.
The whole “feminist take on The Shining” by Stephen King mention as a “praiseworthy” comparison in the description of this book is quite a stretch. I did not see any sense of true feminism in this story whatsoever. If anything, there are few thoughts on two of the white males from two of the female’s perspective that are straight up assumptions at best. Not sure what Konen was trying to achieve with this. As for the comparison to “The Shining”, it isn’t in the least bit like it. There are literally zero supernatural elements, nor are the characters going totally mental in this story. Harsh, I know, but it is too glaring for me not to point out.
Despite my criticisms, Konen is a great storyteller, and I enjoyed this fast pace physiological thriller. There are a lot of twists and turns that leave the reader guessing as to what is really going on and there is suspense in all the right places. Everyone is a suspect and Konen did a terrific job in portraying that. An atmospheric, chilling and a perfect read to hunker down with during the winter season.
I’ve rated this book 3 stars.
Stephanie
I obtained an ARC from the Publishers for an honest review.
Side bar: In the beginning of November of last year, I blogged about differentiating between red herrings and explicit content for shock value or book sales in mystery-thrillers. I use this book as an example. You may want to check it out for further information about my thoughts on this book: Link HERE or you can search the title of the post: Reader’s Log 023: Current Read and Difficult Passages
Book description from goodreads:
The caretaker at an isolated mountain hotel finds herself fighting for her life—and sanity—in this “twisty, addictive, feminist take on The Shining” (Andrea Bartz).
Kerry’s life is in shambles: Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal—the one that was supposed to change everything—is looming, she can’t write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It’s the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh.
But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ . . .
The New Year is almost upon us and many book lovers are sharing their anticipated reads for 2025. That has always been hard for me to do since I’m a mood reader. That said, I usually have a list of projected titles I want to achieve. Do I read all the titles on my curated lists I select to read in a year? Err… Not usually but in my defense, the lists I make do help in regards to keeping track of the books I want to read whether it be sooner or later. There is also something so satisfying about making book lists. I may have shard these thoughts before.
Now when it comes to reviewing ARCs, organizing is key. I’m pretty much set on 2025 ARC’s and I’m looking forward to a new year of book reviewing, discovering new titles, reading and sharing them. Below are three new ARC’s I’ve recently obtained. Excited!
What are some of the titles you are looking forward to in the new year? Are you a NetGalley member? No? I highly recommend becoming one.
Stephanie
Every Precious and Fragile Thing by Barbara Davis
Pub Date Feb 18 2025 by Lake Union Publishing
Description:
A mother and daughter try desperately to reconcile just as a decades-old secret threatens to shatter their relationship forever in this powerful story from the bestselling author of The Echo of Old Books.
For social worker Mallory Ward, working with at-risk youth is a calling. But when one of her clients is tragically killed, she finds herself at a crossroads. Despite long-held resentments toward her distant mother, Mallory retreats to her childhood home on the Rhode Island coast to contemplate her future. Instead, she’s confronted by her past, not only in the renewed tensions with her mother but in the unexpected appearance of a familiar face—and the wrenching losses that drove her away a decade ago.
Helen Ward’s home is filled with precious keepsakes from her patients, a testament to decades spent caring for the terminally ill. Her work has always come first, though, leaving little time to connect with her daughter. Over the years, the rift between them has become a chasm, so when Mallory appears unannounced, Helen sees it as an opportunity to repair their broken relationship.
But hidden among Helen’s mementos are the keys to her past…and a terrible secret that threatens to destroy the fragile new trust between them forever.
No Precious Truth by Chris Nickson
Pub Date Apr 01 2025 by Severn House
Description:
The first in a brand-new WWII historical thriller series introduces Sergeant Cathy Marsden – a female police officer working for the Special Investigation Branch – who risks her life to protect the city of Leeds from an escaped German spy!
Leeds, 1941. As the war rages across Europe, Police Sergeant Cathy Marsden’s life since she was seconded to the Special Investigation Branch has remained focused on deserters and home-front crimes. Until now.
Things take a chilling turn when Cathy’s civil servant brother, Dan, arrives from London with a dark secret: he is working for the XX Committee – a special MI5 unit set up to turn German spies into double agents. But one of these agents has escaped and is heading for Leeds, sent to destroy targets key to the war effort. Suddenly Cathy and the squad are plunged into an unfamiliar world of espionage and subterfuge.
With the fate of the country and the war in the balance, failure is not an option, and Cathy must risk everything, including her own life, to stop a spy.
Trust Me On This by Lauren Parvizi
Pub Date Apr 08 2025 by Lake Union Publishing
Description:
Two half-sisters on a road trip to see their dying father end up miles from where they expected in an emotional novel about secrets, forgiveness, and what it means to be family by the author of La Vie, According to Rose.
Zahra Starling and her younger half-sister, Aurora, have nothing in common. Not their childhoods or their personalities. And certainly not their outlooks. After a terrible loss, Zahra prefers the solitude of her LA kitchen to people, especially family. Bubbly Aurora, a rising Hollywood starlet, has everything she’s ever dreamed of, except a relationship with her sister.
Then comes a plea from their dying father, who wants both daughters by his side. He has a secret to share that’s been a long time coming.
It’s Zahra’s last chance to bring closure to the past, even if traumatic memories mean there’s no way she’s stepping foot on a plane. For Aurora, road-tripping to Seattle is the perfect escape and the chance to win over prickly Zahra.
What starts as a rough ride reopening old wounds evolves into something neither expects. When they finally reach their destination—and the truth that awaits them—the sisters will need each other like never before.
As Katie Lynch makes her way home, she spots a car on the side of the road that seems to be in trouble. As she approaches the car, she soon recognizes the motorist as Jerome. He appears to be in some sort of trance and says the word “Cold”. She loans him her jacket and is deeply concerned about him and decides to go get help. Shortly after her decision to get help, an officer shows up identifying himself as Deputy Brown. In so many words, he tells her that he has it under control, and she can be on her way. After she leaves, she can’t get her mind off what happened. The next day she calls Point Pleasant, West Virginia sheriff’s department to speak to her friend Officer Ryan to find out if Jerome is okay. She quickly discovers that there is no Deputy Brown and Jerome was never admitted to the hospital. Officer Ryan, knowing it isn’t likely for Katie to make things up and considering the town’s strange, odd and disturbing occurrences, begins to investigate the disappearance of Jerome which connects them to the mysteries of the town’s lore of the Mothman, UFO sightings around the town and the TNT and lights appearing in the sky.
As the story unfolds further, Katie’s young son’s father shows up in town out of the blue-which is a threat, and it comes apparent that there is more to the story of why he showed up in the first place. Officer Caden, Officer Ryan’s brother, helps his brother and Katie to solve the mystery of Jerome’s disappearance and the town’s troubles. As they race to solve the mysterious and troubling happenings in their town, while keeping Katie’s son safe, Katie and Ryan form an attachment and become involved.
Another of the many elements of this story is the relationship between Katie and her mother, Doreen. Without giving too much away, their story touches on a troubled past in more ways than one, which leads to a strained relationship and Katie keeping her mom at arm’s length. Is there healing and forgiveness in the mother and daughter relationship? I’m glad the author wrote this in the story and will leave an impression on many readers’ hearts.
This book is the second in a trilogy and I recommend reading the first book in the series before beginning this one. That said, while there are a few details that are unclear to me, it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading this story. After I read this book, I was curious if there is such a thing called “The Mothman” lore and what was the TNT. I discovered that such a place and the lore exist! This made, “A Cold Tomorrow” even more intriguing and mysterious.
Readers who enjoy reading about lore, UFOs and small-town events will enjoy this entertaining story.
I rated this book three and a half stars but bumped it up to four stars due to my interest in the lore and TNT.
Stephanie Hopkins
Pub Date Dec 20 2016 by Kensington Books
I obtained a reviewer copy from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
Eleven years ago, Liv’s husband Rich and their son Maddox left the house to fly a kite at a park and she began to worry they had not returned home. A storm was brewing, and it was not like her husband to not respond to her calls or texts. She began to search for them and soon after, her son was discovered but her husband was nowhere to be found. Soon after, Liv changed her name and she and her son moved to start a new life.
As the years go by the authorities declared Liv’s husband dead despite never finding his body. As Maddox got older his attitude and behavior became troubling to Liv and the school he attends. While her concerns for her son grow, a woman named Kait appears and claims that she is Rich’s wife, and she believes her husband-whose name is Daniel- is the son of Maddox.
Detectives, Helena and Brewster are investigating a case that leads them to Maddox and the detectives find themselves trying to connect the dots of what on the surface seems to be two different situations.
Liv has been hiding secrets as to why her husband disappeared all those years ago and her troubles are about to explode, and her life is spiraling out of control.
At first, I couldn’t stop asking myself if there was one redeemable or likeable character in this story. Nothing is as it should be, and everyone has something to hide. When secrets and lies start to reveal themselves, I felt like I just experienced whiplash. There are so many turns of events going in many different directions but oddly enough, they are all connected. When I began to think I had figured it out, another detail came to light, and I was shocked all over again.
What an extraordinary psychological thriller. K.L. Slater certainly knows how to weave a thrilling story.
Stephanie
I obtained an ARC from Bethany House through NetGalley for an honest review.
1956: In the quiet village of Wilbeth Green, the smoldering ruins of Rosemont Abbey set the residents’ tongues wagging, and everyone is quick to accuse troublemaker Paul Everly of being the arsonist. Paul has vanished without a trace, leaving only his twin sister, Louisa, certain of his innocence. Fueling her conviction is an inexplicable connection–she felt her twin’s death an hour before the abbey went up in flames. Knowing no one will believe her, Louisa embarks on her own investigation, challenging the skepticism of her neighbors and the disdain of her aunt and uncle. Even Inspector Malcolm Sinclair, once Paul’s closest friend, is torn between his duty and a lingering loyalty to Paul and warns Louisa to abandon her pursuit. But Louisa is determined to solve a murder no one else believes was committed, even if it means unraveling secrets that could shake Wilbeth Green to its core.
My Thoughts:
The title of this book is what captured my attention to this story in the first place because of my deep fascination of Monasteries in England and its history. My heart clinches when I imagine an old abbey burning that survived through the centuries despite its history. Why would someone do such a deliberate act of destruction to such an historic building. Particular one that can be traced back to the pre-Norman conquest. I needed to find out plus I love a good mystery.
The mystery surrounding the burning of the abbey had me thinking of all sorts of scenarios of who could have done it, Paul being the number one suspect. Stephens does a brilliant portrayal of bringing to light of other potential suspects, their backgrounds, connections and the possibility of how it could have happened and why. I must say, I was really caught off guard on who the arsonist was and the plot twist I did not see coming! Despite Louisa’s feeling her brother’s death, I couldn’t help feeling and hoping throughout reading the story, that she was wrong.
Louisa’s inner turmoil is shown throughout the story and she is flawed-of course-as we all are. Louisa certainly gets herself in sticky situations and despite her rocky relationship with her brother Paul and her disapproval towards him, her convictions to find out what happen to him, despite the obstacles she faces, is commendable. It is an extraordinary thing to see someone seeking redemption for a person whose lifestyle they don’t approve of or no matter how strain their relationship is to each other. We see that with Louisa in regards to her brother and I am proud of her.
What an excellent period for the setting of this story and I admire a writer who can develop realistic characters of the time period, and culture. I also love how the author weaves in a brief history of the Abbey and how much the building meant to the community. My heart was saddened right along with the congregation.
Wonderfully written mystery, fast paced, suspenseful, thought provoking, and a great plot! I will definitely be on the lookout for more stories by this author.
Stephanie Hopkins
I obtained an ARC from Bethany House through NetGalley for an honest review.
Side Bar: It has been quite a while since I’ve read a Christian fiction story. In the past, oftentimes, I found the stories to be cheesy and unrealistic. I felt the genre was too confining and I sensed-at times-writers were walking on egg shells. While I understand the sensitivities on topics and how it is to be written for the genre and such, I feel like that is where many writers failed to make the characters actions, and speech at times believable. My feelings on the genre left me not picking it up any longer. This is NOT to say I want to read explicit scenes and such. I don’t particularly care for that one bit. You can write strong dialog, plot, conflict, danger, character development and relationships without explicit scenes, profanity and so forth, while getting your point across. The Burning of Rosemont Abbey has proven that and I’m delighted I chose to read this story.
Layered Pages 