Category: Mystery

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Middle aged man and woman having marital problems. Woman meets young, sexy man on beach and affair ensues. But then things start to get out of hand.

The first half of this book was incredible. It reminded me of You by Caroline Kepnes and I loved the stalkerish feel. I was totally invested in the affair and was wrapped up in where the author was going to take it. The second half…. was more of a struggle for me. It took a completely different turn which ended up feeling a little bit long and drawn out.

To be completely honest, I saw where this book was headed from a mile away so I’ve got to say that I didn’t really find any of the twists to be all that surprising. But, despite that, I still enjoyed the story.

One major issue: I don’t want to give anything away, but now that I know the ending, I have a hard time understanding the decisions of some of the main characters in the beginning. They made sense at the time when I was living under certain assumptions, but given how everything transpired, some of the narration at the start doesn’t really work. So I had a hard time with the inconsistency, but I’m willing to look past it.

-I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Michelle Campbell, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review.-

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The Truth Behind the Lie by Sara Lövestam

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely not what I expected (in a good way)!

I wasn’t overwhelmingly drawn to the cover of this book (which sadly can sometimes be a deterrent for me). But once I started reading, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found.

Man is trying to make money while he’s living off the grid. Advertises himself as a private investigator. Woman with missing child who doesn’t want to involve the police. Perfect combination. As they investigate the whereabouts of the missing child, we found out that things are not really as they seem.

I very much enjoyed the main twist at the end of the book and thought it was cleverly executed. I will say there were some pieces of the story that I felt lacked relevance. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t really understand the very last line of the book and how it tied in to the rest of the story. As this is the first in a series, I’m thinking it may be further explained in future books, but it felt somewhat randomly placed in the context of this book.

As the book is set in Sweden, there were a few cultural elements that didn’t really translate for me. And I had a hard time envisioning the geography given my lack of Swedish knowledge. But it didn’t take away from the book for me.

Overall, this was a quick read and was enjoyable. I would recommend it to thriller/mystery readers.

-I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Lovestam, and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to review.-

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