Category: Psychological

British, Mystery, Psychological, Suspense

Twelve Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Twelve years ago, eight friends ran an exclusive group at university: The Masquerade Murder Society. The mysteries they solved may have been grisly, and brilliantly staged, but they were always fictional—until their final Christmas Masquerade, when one of the group disappeared, never to be seen again.

Now our young, privileged cast of old university friends are summoned to the depths of Scotland for a Christmas-themed masquerade party. But all are hiding something deep below the surface that could make or break their careers. Charley is a struggling actress who has always been on the periphery of this high-flying group, but has decided to reunite with her frenemies on the promise of career help if she joins the old cast for one last weekend.

When they arrive each is assigned a new identity themed around the “Twelve Days of Christmas”—they become Lady Partridge or Mr. Gold; Lord Leapworth or Doctor Swan. The game begins, and it feels just like old times. Until the next morning, when Lady Partridge is found hanging—dead—from a pear tree.

It quickly becomes clear that in this game the murder will be all too real, and the story is bringing long-hidden secrets to the surface. Will Charley’s discerning eye and outsider status allow her to uncover the truth, or will she, too, fall prey to the murderer among them?

If the group hopes to win the game and survive until Christmas morning, they will need to face the truth about their history together and who they have become—and what really happened on that fateful night twelve years before.

My Thoughts

I listened to the audiobook version of this and found it riveting. The narrator was very good, and the reading nicely paced.

The story is cleverly plotted, although the use of the Twelve Days of Christmas started out as an interesting convention, but seemed a bit unnecessary and ultimately unrelated to the conclusion of the action. Even so, it added an unusual element to the overall story.

It’s the characters who shine throughout. Cordani has written a memorable set of characters you love to hate, and the narrator does a remarkable job of communicating their personalities through her voice, especially Dasha! The story flips back and forth from the present to the past, and Cordani manages to keep both plot lines well-planned, releasing little bits of information here and there leading up to the final screaming finish in the woods. I did wish at times that Charley had a little bit more backbone, but it’s clear that this group of people devoted themselves to tearing her down over the years, so her behavior and lack of action in some instances is totally understandable.

The setting at this remote, snowbound Scottish estate is right out of Agatha Christie and the Golden Age country house murder mysteries. Cordani is brilliant at setting the scene and using narrative description to build tension.

I’m on a Christmas murder mystery binge right now and this one is definitely recommended!

Publication Date: November 7, 2023
Published By: Simon & Schuster Pegasus Crime

Historical, Horror, Magical Realism, Makes You Think, Psychological, Women

Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.

As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging – or better left behind entirely.

My Thoughts

I’ve been a fan of Arden’s work since I first read her Winternight Trilogy, which I wrote about here and here. While her previous work has been some of the best fantasy and horror I’ve read, she stretches way beyond those genres here in a book I can only describe as quietly incandescent.

The utter horror of World War I has been documented in so many ways that Arden doesn’t feel obligated to give a history lesson here. Instead, she examines the humanity (and inhumanity) experienced by average people caught up in situations too big and too awful to comprehend without going mad. She beautifully renders the utter heartbreak and the paralyzing fear experienced by soldiers, nurses, and doctors, juxtaposed with love, affection, friendship and the human capacity to just get on with it and worry about details later.

In Winternight, Arden wrote about a place called Midnight and the struggle between Chaos and Order. I recognized some aspects of both those things in some scenes here. The character of Faland reminded me a bit of The Bear – the bringer of chaos, the eater of souls – but the character here was developed in such a way that made me cringe but also want more. The concept that the war was so horrific, that it was murdering the old world and making way for the new, was so carefully balanced with the idea that it was also changing the nature of evil itself is one that has kept me thinking long after finishing the book.

I’m not often completely surprised at twists in a story, but the twist near the end of this one left me entirely nonplussed and drained. Arden’s treatment of relationships – brother & sister, mother and child, friend & enemy – is so intricate and beautiful that some scenes made me cry. That doesn’t often happen.

Despite the chaos and horror, the threads that pull it all together are love and madness. How can humans endure utter madness yet still find their way back to those who love them? How much can one person endure before they give up and what lengths would you go to in order to bring your loved one back from the brink?

This book comes out in early 2024 and I predict it will be on all the “Best of 2024” lists. It is a triumph for Katherine Arden and a gift to us all.

Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Published By: Random House Publishing Group; Ballantine; Del Rey
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Mystery, New Releases, Psychological, Suspense, Women

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Instead of presents this Christmas, a true crime podcaster is opening up a cold case…

Madeline Martin has built a life for herself as the young owner of a thriving business, The Next Chapter Bookshop, despite her tragic childhood and now needing to care for her infirm father. When Harley Granger, a failed novelist turned true crime podcaster, drifts into her shop in the days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up events that Madeline would much rather forget. She’s the only surviving victim of Evan Handy, the man who was convicted of murdering her best friend Steph, and is suspected in the disappearance of two sisters, also good friends of Madeline’s, who have been missing for nearly a decade. It’s an investigation that has obsessed her father Sheriff James Martin right up until his stroke took his faculties.

Harley Granger has a gift for seeing things that others miss. He wasn’t much of a novelist, but his work as a true crime author and podcaster has earned him fame and wealth—and some serious criticism for his various unethical practices. Still, visiting Little Valley to be closer to his dying father has caused him to look into a case that many people think is closed—and some want reopened. And he has a lot of questions about the night Stephanie Cramer was killed, Ainsley and Sam Wallace disappeared, and Madeline Martin was left for dead, bleeding out on a riverbank.

Since Evan Handy went to jail, three other young women have gone missing, most recently a young college dropout named Lolly. Five young women missing in the same area in a decade. Are they connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there some else there that night? Someone who is still satisfying his dark appetites?

As Christmas approaches and a blizzard bears down, Madeline and her childhood friend Badger return to a past they both hoped was dead—to find the missing Lolly and to answer questions that have haunted them both, discovering that the truth is more terrible and much closer to home than they think.

Coupling a picturesque, cozy setting with a deeply unsettling suspenseful plot, Christmas Presents is a chilling seasonal novella that can be enjoyed all year long.

My Thoughts

I picked up this nail-biter of a novel and set it down 2 hours later, absolutely drained. This is a whopper of a story that grabs ahold from the first chapter and doesn’t let you go until the final sentence.

While the story is shorter than others, I found myself feeling a sense of urgency while reading, adding to the tension. Everything works here from the characters to the dialog to the narrative structure and description – it all comes together in this incendiary story that will have you gripping the book, white-knuckled, as you gnaw on your fingernails.

So well done.

Publication Date: October 24, 2023
Published By: Penzler Publishers; Mysterious Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Children's, Ghosties, Middle Grade, Mystery, Psychological

Mystery of Raspberry Hill by Eva Frantz

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

A CHILLING MIDDLEGRADE GHOST STORY SET IN A SPOOKY SANATORIUM DURING THE 1920S

The grown-ups all think she’s going to die soon-she can see it in their eyes. Still, when poor twelve-year-old Stina is sent to remote Raspberry Hill Sanatorium she can’t believe her luck. She gets to ride in a real motor car to the hospital, which looks like a magnificent castle hidden deep in the forest.

But as Stina explores the long, echoey corridors of her eerie new home, she begins to suspect that the building is concealing a dark secret. How did the old East Wing burn down? Why doesn’t her mother reply to any of her letters? And what are the nurses all so afraid of? Stina is determined to solve the mystery of Raspberry Hil­l-but as she edges closer to the truth, she finds herself in terrible danger…

My Thoughts

This exciting middle grade mystery will appeal to young readers who like a lot of drama and a little bit of ghostly activity in their stories.. It is dark, to be sure, but experienced readers who like scary stories will appreciate the spooky nature of the sanatorium and the danger in which Stina finds herself.

The ghostly element is actually pretty tame. However, children who are sensitive to scary stories involving humans (not ghosts) should avoid this. Foreshadowing adult horror, here the scariest monster is flesh and blood, not supernatural.

There are many potential triggers here: abandonment, confinement, deceitful adults, and chronic illness, all of which the author conveys with a smooth delivery of story. The main character, Stina, is a very adult-like child similar in ways to Dickens’ child characters who were born into poverty and lived in unimaginable conditions. Stina, while a “poor child,” is also a loved child from a solid family, which is the red thread throughout the story. I just knew her family would come through.

Publication Date: September 26, 2023
Published By: Pushkin Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Fantasy, Ghosties, Horror, Magical, Makes You Think, Mystery, New Releases, Psychological

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothiccomes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film—and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

My Thoughts

Moreno-Garcia keeps turning out macabre, nightmarish stories that explore the darkest reaches of the human psyche. Silver Nitrate explores the needs and desires of two flawed friends who move through life dodging memories and resentments. Their shared love of old horror movies and their own skills in acting and sound editing open a door to a true nightmare.

The exploration of film as the vehicle for possession and magic is such an apt allegory of the Hollywood experience. Moreno-Garcia lays bare the superficiality of the film business combined with the insatiable desire of those in that industry for power, love, money, and youth.

I’d love to see this as a film directed by Quentin Tarantino because Moreno-Garcia writes like he directs.

What a wild ride.

Publication Date: July 18, 2023
Published By: Random House Publishing Group; Ballantine, Del Rey
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Mystery, Psychological, Suspense

Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

She escaped a serial killer. Then things got weird.

Amber Jamison can’t believe she’s about to become the latest victim of a serial killer. She’s savvy and street smart, so when she gets pushed into, of all things, a white windowless van, she is more angry than afraid. Things get even weirder when she’s miraculously saved by a mysterious woman . . . who promptly disappears. Who was she? And why is she hunting serial killers?

You’d think escaping one psychopath would be enough, but Amber’s problems are just beginning. Her close call has law enforcement circling a past she’s tried to outrun. She’s forced to flee across the country, ending up at a seedy motel in Las Vegas with a noir-obsessed manager and a sex worker as her unlikely companions . . . and danger right behind. She’s landed in the cross hairs of the world’s most prolific killer, caught up in a deadly game that’s been going on for years. To survive, she is forced to dust off her old playbook and partner with someone she can’t trust. The odds are against her, but sometimes you just have to roll the dice.

My Thoughts

This is the latest selection in Jenny Lawson’s Fantastic Strangelings Book Club and it is a doozy! Crime readers who enjoy quirky, damaged-but-strong female leads will not be able to put this one down.

The first 30 pages of this book are so wild that I was worried the rest would be a let-down, but that is most certainly not the case. Amber, who is caught by a serial killer in the beginning and is so disappointed and angry that she got caught, is the model of a survivor. Her “saviour,” Grace, is also a survivor but of a different sort. Both light up the pages of this unusual story, along with a cast of endearing and colorful characters.

I immediately passed this book on to my daughter, the true-crime fanatic.

What I love about Lawson’s book club is the eclectic selection of titles. I can always count on Lawson to select something that I likely would never pick up on my own, and the reading experience is always worth it. Grab this one for an engrossing read this summer!

Utterly original and wildly entertaining, Killing Me is a laugh-loud-loud thriller with a protagonist whose life is a total mess.

Horror, Psychological, Suspense, Women

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she must discover the truth—or suffer the same fate.

A claustrophobic and propulsive thriller exploring the dark side of female relationships and fame, The Writing Retreat is the unputdownable debut novel from a compelling new talent.

My Thoughts

I’ve read several reviews of this incandescent debut comparing it The Plot, The Secret History, and other novels. But I am here to tell you that this is like nothing you’ve ever read before.

This is psychological mayhem at its very best.

All I’m going to say is READ THIS!

Advance Praise

“Sex, suspense, and the supernatural fuel this propulsive debut.” —People
“Darkly satirical and action-packed….An absolutely splendid debut!” —Wendy Walker, nationally bestselling author of Don’t Look for Me

“I loved this chilling, tightly plotted, feminist, seriously effed-up thriller…and not just because my brilliant sister wrote it! Can’t wait for everyone else to fall in love with this wicked debut.” —Andrea Bartz, NYT bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick WE WERE NEVER HERE

“A sexy, thrilling, compulsive mediation on art and competition amongst women who ought to be sisters, only something malignant gets in the way.” —Sarah Langan, award-winning author of GOOD NEIGHBORS

• “A wild ride from page one . . . This thrill-packed story brims with secrets, intrigue and murder. I dare you to put it down.” —Janice Hallett, internationally bestselling author of THE TWYFORD CODE

“THE WRITING RETREAT is bonkers in the best way, and it left me with a brutal case of author envy.” —Layne Fargo, author of THEY NEVER LEARN

“NIGHT FILM meets THE SECRET HISTORY in Julia Bartz’s bold, brilliant, and genuinely scary debut . . . Palpable atmosphere, sinister characters, full-body chills, jaw-dropping twists, and stay-up-all-night suspense. I am obsessed with this book. I never wanted it to end.” —Megan Collins, author of THE FAMILY PLOT

“Equal parts nightmare and erotic fantasy as five would-be writers are pulled deeper into the secrets of Blackbriar and its inhabitants.”—Jennifer Fawcett, author of BENEATH THE STAIRS

Food & Drink, Mystery, Psychological, Suspense, Women

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as “America’s Grandmother,” Betsy Martin isn’t as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut.

My Thoughts

I’ve heard a lot of buzz about this debut and I wasn’t disappointed. The plot is well-constructed and slick in it’s blending of the baking competition show and a semi-locked-room mystery. The format, featuring short sections channeling the thoughts of the characters, might put off readers who like their mysteries complex, but I found it a pleasant change from lengthy prose. The multiple perspectives of the characters added confusion and tension to the plot, leading to the bombshell ending.

I spent some time last year bingeing a rather silly series called The Great Witches Bake Off, so I am guessing that setting murders on set of these kinds of shows might be a new trend. I’d welcome it because The Golden Spoon was a lot of fun!

Highly recommended.

“This delicious combination of Clue and The Great British Bake Off kept me turning the pages all night!” —Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Only Murders in the Building meets The Maid in this darkly beguiling locked-room mystery where someone turns up dead on the set of TV’s hottest baking competition—perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman, and Anthony Horowitz.

Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Published By: Atria Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Mystery, Psychological, Suspense, Women

Chalice of Darkness by Sarah Rayne

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Introducing the Fitzglens and their theatre of thieves in this spellbinding gothic mystery!

London, 1908. The Fitzglens are proud of their reputation as one of London’s leading theatre families.  They are, however, equally proud of another profession which they pursue very discreetly . . . When not on stage, they are thieves.

Jack Fitzglen’s latest plan is to seek out the infamous Talisman Chalice, steal it and create a dazzling piece of theatre around it. He travels to Vallow Hall in Northumberland to find the mysterious Maude – the last known link to the Chalice – but uncovers something far darker. Scandal, secrets and danger lurk in every shady corner. Perhaps the legend of the Chalice has come true: that in the wrong hands, the Chalice drags a person into a darkness from which he or she can never emerge…

As past and present collide, can Jack find the Chalice, the truth and return to his theatre of thieves unscathed?

My Thoughts

I was first introduced to Sarah Rayne through one of her non-series books, The Death Chamber, which remains one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. I’m glad to see her again deviating from her series regulars Phinneas Fox and Nell West in Chalice of Darkness, and possibly introducing a new series family, the Fitzglens!

The storytelling here is as intriguing and well-plotted as usual with Rayne’s work, and is accompanied by a surprisingly tender treatment of a woman horribly wronged. Maude endures unthinkable punishment from her husband, driven by his own inadequacy and his fear and loathing of her. Quite a reminder that the times when women were considered their husband’s property isn’t all that long ago.

In addition to Maude, the Fitzglen family is fascinating. The blend of thespian and thief was fun to read, and the ending was so satisfying. I would welcome additional stories featuring this troupe of performers and con artists!

This will appeal to fans of Simone St. James and of course to Raynes’ fans.

“Superb  . . . Lovers of British historical mysteries with a dash of romance and gothic atmosphere will clamor for more” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Publication Date: February 7, 2023
Published By: Severn House
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Fantasy, Makes You Think, Psychological

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.

Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.

When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.

But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.

My Thoughts

This is one of those books that is hard to characterize. Is it a mystery? Horror? Weirdly devised chick/bro lit? Bitingly witty workplace angst? This is ALL that! The author offers brilliantly imagined facets of Hell, ranging from the C-suite to never-ending puddles, and every page offers some new observation about daily life.

Keeping everything straight was a little chaotic, but well worth the effort. This is a multi-layered book that I can see generating some really lively book discussions about what it means to live a decent life. There is a lot to unpack here in terms of what it takes to tip people to the dark side.

If you’re familiar with the legendary story of Dr. Faust, you’ll recognize some of that. There is more of Marlowe’s original Faust here – the successful but unsatisfied man who sells his soul to the Devil for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasure – than Goethe’s intellectual Faust. Why do people want more and what is it about those in our society who are obscenely wealthy and fortunate that makes regular people idolize them? What kind of person would sell their very soul for unlimited wealth? Timely questions I’d say.

Final word – this is some of the best modern satire I’ve read in a long time.