Mother is Watching by Karma Brown

A special thank you to Dutton/Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Mathilde “Tilly” Crewson, a thirty-nine-year-old mother and art conservator, is tasked with restoring The Mother. The painting, believed to be the work of a female surgeon-turned-artist after a personal tragedy, is the rumored fourth piece in a collection of only three known works. But this newly discovered painting, scarred by fire, holds more than meets the eye.

Soon after receiving the painting, Tilly discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant. But almost immediately, strange, inexplicable things begin to terrifying insect swarms, eerie visits from her long-deceased mother, and sinister whispers that invade her mind. As these malevolent forces intensify, Tilly comes to a harrowing the only way to sever the perilous bond she shares with the painting is to destroy it. But The Mother has plans of her own—and they’re darker than Tilly could ever imagine…

Set in near-future Georgia, Mother is Watching is compulsive, deeply atmospheric, and is as sinister as it is smart. Brown's horror debut delves into themes of bodily autonomy, female agency, and fractured identity. With its canvas of horror, feminist fiction, and dystopia, this is a masterpiece!

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KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and author of the bestsellers Come Away With Me, The Choices We Make, In This Moment, The Life Lucy Knew, and Recipe for a Perfect Wife. Her first non-fiction book, The 4% Fix, published in 2020. Karma's writing has appeared in publications such as Redbook, SELF, and Chatelaine. She’s also one half of the writing duo behind The Holiday Swap and All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox and writes under the pen name Kristine Winters (The Christmas Cure). 

Brown lives just outside Toronto, Canada with her husband, daughter, and their adorably handsome labradoodle, Fred.

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Q & A with Karma Brown*

GWR: Being a seasoned author, what is your favourite part of the publishing process? Is there anything that you still find difficult?

KB: I have two favourite parts, and two least favourite parts—balance! The hardest and most challenging aspects are the first draft, because I love editing and won’t let myself edit at that stage, and promotion. Meeting readers and having great conversations about the book are highlights, but as an 85/15 introvert/extrovert, I’m more comfortable behind my desk and laptop. The best stages are brainstorming the idea and gathering research, followed by editing, which is hands-down the phase I love the most. 


GWR: This is your first foray into horror. What attracted you to the genre? 

KB: I’m a lifelong horror fan—ghost stories by the cottage campfire, devouring Stephen King’s Pet Sematary when I was about 10, and watching iconic ‘80s movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and Poltergeist at sleepovers. Looking back, I realize the sensation of controlled fear—knowing it lived on the page or on the screen, but not in my real life—was as cathartic as it was entertaining. As an adult, horror is the genre I lean into when I need that catharsis, as well as escape, and it never fails me. It’s a safe way to work through fear. And creatively, I love the world-building in the horror genre. It pushes the boundaries of what you’re willing to accept and believe.

GWR: What’s are some of the key elements that are a must in a horror novel?

KB: I’m not sure there’s a right answer, so I’ll offer my personal ‘musts.’ First, a truly scary “monster in the house” (as Jamie Nash describes in Save the Cat! Writes Horror), though I’m flexible about what constitutes a “house.” As long as the premise fills me with dread, I’m in. Second, a protagonist I’m deeply invested in and am rooting for. Horror is full of emotional depth, which can be overlooked by readers who dismiss the genre as simply “scary.” Finally, I love an ambiguous ending. Our imaginations can be far scarier than anything resolved neatly on the page. 


GWR: The conservation of a painting is a unique take on the “spooky painting” horror trope. Can you talk about the research that you did?

KB: I was incredibly lucky to connect with a conservator at the Art Gallery of Ontario who specializes in paintings and was willing to talk with me. She prefers to stay backstage, so I won’t name her here, but she generously answered endless questions and emails, and even read an early draft of the book. She also took me behind the scenes on several occasions, giving me a first-hand look at how the work is done, and the scope of the job. We had many conversations over coffee about art, conservation, and being a young woman in the field. It was an unprecedented level of access, and I truly couldn’t have written this book without her. She helped me bring Tilly—and The Mother—to life, and it’s the most fascinating research I’ve ever done for a book.

GWR: How do you balance genuine fear with plot?

KB: For me, fear has to serve the story. If something is scary but doesn’t move the plot forward or deepen the characters, it loses its impact. A well-placed scare can absolutely ratchet up the tension, but it has to feel earned, otherwise it risks pulling the reader out of the story.  


GWR: Mother is Watching straddles the line between sci-fi and horror, with a utopian/dystopian overlay—how did this come about? 

KB: Initially I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was my first foray into writing horror, and I had so many beloved horror tropes and world-building ideas that it took time to whittle them down into a cohesive vision. I wanted the world to feel both utopian and dystopian, with feminist themes threading through the story, a protagonist with a fascinating job, and a unique “monster.” I also wanted to explore horror that feels plausible—where the terror comes not just from something supernatural, but from systems, technology, and ideas we already live with. I’m endlessly curious about what the future holds, and I have a healthy dose of fear about the unknown. This novel gave me space to explore all of that.    


GWR: Did you use any real-life fears as inspiration?

KB: Absolutely. The idea of possession has always terrified me. What would you do if someone was trying to take over your body and life, but no one else noticed? Losing my mind is right up there as well. And metaphorically, when I first became a mother I feared losing myself—and my ambition—to the label. Society places enormous pressure on women through the concept of the “good mother,” and some of those fears found their way into the story.


GWR: What questions did you ask yourself in the work? 

KB: One question I kept returning to was a simple one: Does this scare me?

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

KB: A Long Black. It’s made by pouring a double shot of espresso over hot water—unlike an Americano, where hot water is added to the espresso. The crema stays intact on top, but beneath that creamy, silky layer is something strong and dark. 


GWR: What are you working on now?

KB: More horror. Stay tuned!

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

Safe in My Arms by Sara Shepard

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Andrea, Lauren, and Ronnie all see themselves as good, loving moms who are trying their best, but they each arrive at the Welcome Breakfast for the Silver Swans preschool with something to hide. Andrea is running away from a past on the East Coast; Lauren is recovering from a postpartum condition her husband has warned her not to disclose; and Ronnie is hiding herself and her daughter from the one man who could appear at any moment and ruin their lives. The women already feel like impostors among the school’s community of polished parents. But then after the first day of school, they each get a note in their  children’s backpacks, notes that indicate that someone knows their deepest, darkest secrets and needs them gone. Does someone not want them in the community? Or is it something more menacing—does someone know everything? 

When the principal of the school is the victim of an almost-fatal attack, it quickly becomes clear that the Silver Swans community is not as flawless as the brochures and website would have you believe. The three moms must band together to uncover the school’s many secrets before the other suspicious parents and town police close in and use their outsider status to blame them...and before they lose what they have worked so hard for. 

In Safe in My Arms, Shepard dispatches too many red herring characters right out of the gate that are impossible to keep track of, and the narrative never quite recovers. She relies on the exhausted, overdone, and all too familiar trope of a woman who can't rely on her memory and comes off as hysterical and unreasonable. And although this is a high-drama type mystery, the characters are exaggerated and unlikable, with the exception of Andrea (refreshing to have a trans character as one of the main characters in a novel). 

Based on the Epilogue and Author's Note, the theme of the book is that it is a challenge to be a mother, to be the "best" or "perfect," but that you should accept where you are and cut yourself some slack. But it is confusing that the vehicle for these messages are characters that could not only benefit from hearing this, but are terrible role models. 

Unfortunately, Shepard misses the mark with this one. 

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SARA SHEPARD is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game, as well as the series The Perfectionists. She is a graduate from New York University and holds an MFA from Brooklyn College. 

Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Penguin Random House Canada, and Penguin/Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife is a dual narrative novel wherein a modern woman finds inspiration from a 1950s housewife in the form of a cookbook and handwritten notes.

Alice Hale has left not only her career in publicity, but the city she loves, and finds herself in the suburbs attempting to write a novel. In the basement of her fixer upper century home, she uncovers a well-loved cookbook and within its pages, notations and handwritten letters. She comes to learn that they are written by the previous home owner, Nellie Murdoch, to her mother.

Feeling inspired, and an affinity towards Nellie, Alice starts cooking from her recipes and wearing vintage clothing. As she experiments with the tried-and-true recipes, she uncovers a dangerous side to Nellie's marriage and comes to the realization that she too is unhappy with the pressures that are also in her relationship. Alice begins to take control of her life and like Nellie, arms herself with some secrets of her own.

The dual narrative was the perfect vehicle to tell this story. The chapters alternate between Nellie's narrative, and Alice learning about Nellie's past which she uses to frame her own marriage. Nellie's chapters begin with (often shocking) marital advice, whereas Alice's open with recipes from the cookbook.

I adore Karma's writing and this book delivered! Both storylines are equally well-written and engaging—I found myself completely immersed in the narratives and didn't favour one over the other. The women are highly developed and complex, yet there is an intimacy that the reader will feel with them. Alice and Nellie have tremendous depth and incredible strength.

What I most appreciated was Brown tackling some weighty and timely topics, keeping the spotlight on the issues that many women face and can relate to: white male privilege, inequality, misogyny, abuse, and reproductive rights. It is a comment on how women are confined by the limited number of choices they have in order to conform with what is expected of them. Many women are completely stifled in their lives, and lose a sense of who they are after becoming wives and/or mothers.

True to her style, the ending is not wrapped up with a bow and presented to the reader. Instead, there is a satisfying conclusion, leaving her audience with some sense of closure, but also left pondering. As such, this would make a fantastic book club choice.

Congratulations, Karma! This is a truly remarkable book.

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KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and author of the bestsellers Come Away With Me, The Choices We Make, In This Moment, and The Life Lucy Knew. In addition to her novels, Karma's writing has appeared in publications such as Redbook, SELF, and Chatelaine.

Brown lives just outside Toronto, Canada with her husband, daughter, and their adorably handsome labradoodle, Fred.

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Q & A with Karma Brown*

GWR: Can you tell me a little bit about the research you did for Recipe for a Perfect Wife?

KB: I’m a former journalist, so sourcing people, things, quotes…it’s my go-to. But this novel was my first stab at writing historical fiction and I knew the research would be more intense, as I wanted those 1950s sections to feel authentic. A lot of the research was anecdotal—I had many conversations with my parents and read first-hand accounts of life in the 1950s—but I also watched dozens of home economics videos from that decade, and went through stacks of old magazines and newspaper clippings from that era. Finally, the recipes: though I didn’t make all of the recipes in the book (I’m a vegetarian, so meatloaf is never on the menu), my daughter and I tackled a handful. Most impressively, the Baked Alaska!

GWR: What’s the inspiration behind Recipe for a Perfect Wife?

KB: My mom gave me a few vintage cookbooks that had been passed down through our family, and there was one in particular—a Canadian cookbook called The Purity Cookbook from the 1940s—that inspired Nellie’s 1950s character. I had a clear image of Nellie, smoking one of her cigarettes out in her beloved garden, flipping through this cookbook and searching for a dinner recipe. Her life looked simple on the surface—the quintessential housewife—but I knew underneath the façade there was a lot more to Nellie. Everything started from that one scene, actually.

GWR: Do you have a favourite character?

KB: It’s impossible for me to choose, to be honest. Though I will say I loved writing the two older women—Miriam in the 1950s and Sally, her daughter, in the present day—into the story. They both acted as surrogate mothers for my main characters, Nellie and Alice, and offered wisdom, kindness and guidance for these younger women.

GWR: One of my favourite quotes in the book is: “Sally, the hardest question we have to ask ourselves in this life is, ‘Who am I?’. Ideally, we answer it for ourselves, but be warned that others will strive to do it for you—so don’t let them.” It’s so powerful. Did you receive this advice at some point in your life?

KB: It isn’t advice I received, but something I saw one afternoon when I was procrastibaking (procrastinating via baking) and watching Netflix. It was a soapy FBI show, and the main character, who was struggling to find her footing, was told to ask herself who she wanted to be. I immediately went and wrote it down…because it was a perfect theme for the book and precisely the advice I imagined Sally imparting to Alice. Who says bingeing Netflix can’t be considered, ‘working’?

GWR: Recipe for a Perfect Wife has been categorized as historical fiction and somewhat of a ‘departure’ for you. How did the writing process differ? Were there any challenges to writing historical fiction?

KB: I research every book I write, and whether it’s a setting or a character’s career or a medical condition, there’s always so much to learn. But with historical fiction it wasn’t only accurate details I had to worry about. It was also capturing the flavour and ambiance of the decade—including language, fashion, social norms—and being able to translate those on to the page. It was a challenge, but it was fun and I loved every bit of it.

GWR: Each of Alice’s chapters open with a piece of advice from various publications. What surprised you most about these?

KB: Aside from the fact that they even exist? Probably how widespread and longstanding this misogyny and inequality really was…and in more subtle ways, how it continues today. There are snippets of advice from the early 1900s up to the 1960s…and in all cases the general consensus was this: a woman only gets to be happy if she makes a man happy first.

GWR: What was the hardest scene to write?

KB: There’s a scene with Nellie and her husband Richard that takes place in their living room, and it’s violent and tragic and awful, yet I know many women in those times endured similar situations. As a woman it was a tough scene to write.

GWR: What are you working on now?

KB: I have a non-fiction book coming out with HarperCollins Canada in December 2020 called THE 4% FIX: How one hour can change your life, and it delves into my 5 a.m. writing habit, as well as how protecting your time is the best investment you can make. And I’ve just started working on my next novel, which is set in the Adirondacks and again will be a dual narrative story shifting between the 1970s (and the second wave of feminism) and the present day. Look for that one sometime in 2022!

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

Karma Brown in Conversation

Photo credit: Girl Well Read and Penguin Random House Canada. Do not use without written permission.

Karma Brown was in conversation with Marci Ien (The Social) about her captivating dual narrative novel, Recipe for a Perfect Wife, a thrilling novel about women daring to take control. Brown spoke about her inspiration and her writing process. A question and answer period, as well as a book signing followed.

MI: I love the dual narrative: two women that are sixty years apart. Please introduce us to Nellie and Alice.

KB: "There is Nellie, she's the quintessential 1950s housewife. On the surface her life looks nice and easy. She's cooking the meals for her husband and keeping house, and she seems happy.

"And then we have Alice in the present day who has been reluctantly moved from Manhattan into the suburbs, into this old house that requires a lot of work. She has recently left her job and she is feeling a little unsure as to what is next for her."

Karma elaborated; "It really is, at its core, a marriage book. It is looking at these two women, sixty years apart, but what are the things that have been the same for them, and what are the struggles that they are each facing? So what are the similarities between despite the different eras and you know, have we come as far as we think we have as women and within our marriages? So, it is a story of these two very distinct women in these very distinct times, but there are a lot of crossover between them."

MI: There are many things that they have in common, one of which is the secrets that they are keeping from their partners.

Alice is 29 and doesn't know what she wants yet. She has had to leave her job—she is a career woman with great visions who thought at some point she would write a novel—to go along with her husband's plan. Because Alice is not bringing in an income, she assumes she's lost some of the power where making decisions are concerned and instead takes on a domestic role because that is what is expected of her. She is keeping a number of secrets and a result, makes poor choices throughout the story. "Part of it is that she is trying to figure out who she is, she's young." Karma said. 

Nothing is as it appears to be for either woman.

The Structure

Recipe for a Perfect Wife is a dual narrative. Nellie's chapters feature a recipe because that is her talent. In 1950, it was in the kitchen where women showed their power and their worth. Nellie was known for her dinner parties, her gardening, and her skills in the kitchen, but there was this woman trying to break out.

When Karma was writing this book she was thinking about her grandmother who loved to sing, she even sang on the radio in high school. But then she got married and had children and didn't sing anymore. Instead, she was a mother and a housewife—it was not an option to do both. Karma thought about all these women, like her grandmother, who had amazing talents and hopes. They were unable to really live them out because of the time they were living in and the expectations that were placed upon them. Nellie has a whole other side to her that is finding its way out throughout the story. 

Relationships

There are some strong female relationships in the book. Nellie has Miriam (the elderly neighbour) who has taken Nellie under her wing and is a mother figure—she protects and encourages her. In present day, Alice has befriended Miriam's daughter, Sally, who lives in Miriam's house. Sally is a modern woman who has never married and became a physician in a time where there weren't many women in medical school. Sally acts as an anchor for Alice. 

The characters in the book are all strong and by extension, feminists. Karma had a very clear vision of Nellie where she was sitting, smoking one of her Lucky cigarettes, and drinking lemonade with her cookbook and she wondered what Nellie's life looked like if you went beneath the surface. In some ways, she is very much a victim, but is not a victim throughout. These women are flawed and they make mistakes, but were able to find their power and make their own choices.

Research

A journalist by trade, Karma did a lot of research which extended into the copyediting process—things that she didn't get exactly right. She read old magazine articles and watched a lot of home economic videos from the fifties so that she could see what girls were learning in school in order to prepare them for becoming proper housewives. Jennifer Robson (author of The Gown) is a brilliant historian and was an invaluable resource for Brown. 

Each of Alice's chapters open with a piece of advice or a tip for wives/women and they are all vintage quotes. Karma pointed out that they are all "pretty depressing" and are essentially all about making your husband happy. 

MI: Did you set out on a path when writing this book? 

KB: "I just wanted to write these two women's stories and have this cookbook—I have some old cookbooks that I grew up with in my family and I love them and I love the notations. I have picked up a few that are not from my family just to look through and see the notations that people put in their cookbooks.

"I love the idea of having these women connected. I wanted [the house] to feel like another character because it was holding secrets from the past and the present and I loved the idea of the house being part of the story. 

"It was a secret book, I mean I was working on [it] between contracts and no one really knew about it and I just had this amazing freedom to write it however it wanted to be written. I'm really lucky with how it turned out."  

Sally sat up straighter, put on an animated face, and waggled a finger the way Alice assumed her mother must have. “She said, 'Sally, the hardest question we have to ask ourselves in this life is, Who am I?' Ideally, we answer it for ourselves, but be warned that others will strive to do it for you—so don’t let them.” Is there a story behind that quote?

Karma said that this quote has resonated with so many and a popular topic that everyone wants to talk about. 

The story behind the quote is that while she was baking, she was watching Quantico and in the episode, the main character was struggling with some things in her life—she learned some secrets from her past that she hadn't been aware of—and someone said to her "you need to decide who you want to be." Karma thought that this was exactly what Sally needs to say to Alice in this scene. She also mentioned that this was added in a later edit. "It's so perfect for the story. It's true for everyone. Who am I? Who do I want to be? What's imprortant to me? How can I make sure that I am doing the things I need to be doing to be true to that? It is a hard question to ask and to know the answer to. And I think it changes." 

Title

Karma said that the titles for her books have always changed. She sent this book to her group of author friends and Recipe for a Perfect Wife was the title of the early draft and everyone loved it! "It resonates so well with people."

MI: What's next?

KB: "All I can say is that it will be another dual narrative, set in present day and the 1970s. Two women, again, and there will be some secrets. And it will be a little dark again, like this one...set in the Adirondacks."

Recipe for a Perfect Wife 

Alice Hale has left not only her career in publicity, but the city she loves, and finds herself in the suburbs attempting to write a novel. In the basement of her fixer upper century home, she uncovers a well-loved cookbook and within its pages, there are notations and handwritten letters. She comes to learn that they are written by the previous home owner, Nellie Murdoch, to her mother.

Feeling inspired, and an affinity towards Nellie, Alice starts cooking from her recipes and wearing vintage clothing. As she experiments with the tried-and-true recipes, she uncovers a dangerous side to Nellie's marriage and comes to the realization that she too is unhappy with the pressures that are also in her relationship. Alice begins to take control of her life and like Nellie, arms herself with some secrets of her own.

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KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and author of the bestsellers Come Away With Me, The Choices We Make, In This Moment, and The Life Lucy Knew. In addition to her novels, Karma's writing has appeared in publications such as Redbook, SELF, and Chatelaine.

Brown lives just outside Toronto, Canada with her husband, daughter, and their adorably handsome labradoodle, Fred. 

The Woman Inside by E. G. Scott

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Husband and wife, Rebecca and Paul, are both meant to be and a highly dangerous match.

Drawn together by their dark and painful pasts, the couple met when charismatic Paul was married. Now they are hitched, and after two decades, the relationship is failing just like Paul's contracting business. Rebecca however, is successful. She's a rep for a pharmaceutical company—a convenient job for someone with an opioid addiction.

But both of them are liars: Paul constantly lies about his cheating and womanizing, whereas Rebecca lies about how many drugs she is taking. Their relationship volleys between passion and paranoia—when you add to the mix a crazy mistress and a murder, it becomes the ultimate game of cat and mouse.

The Woman Inside is an explosive novel about secrets, lies, and revenge.

Told through multiple first-person narrators, this domestic thriller jumps between past and present. There are a few instances where the reader may be confused by the timeline towards the middle, but the narrative gets back on track for the last part where the authors ratchet up the suspense to a frenzied finish. The pace is partly why this book works—the whiplash speed does not leave the reader much time to ponder the plot issues. They will need to suspend their disbelief, and if they can, they will love this book.

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E. G. SCOTT is the pseudonym for two writers, Elizabeth Keenan and Greg Wands. The duo have been friends for over twenty years and have been writing plays, screenplays, and short fiction separately since childhood.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Newly heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules Larson is determined to put her past behind her and accepts a job as an apartment sitter. The famed Bartholomew is one of Manhattan's most prestigious and mysterious buildings. Assuming this responsibility means that Jules has to adhere to some very strict rules: no visitors, no nights spent away from the apartment, and no disturbing the other residents—all of which are rich or famous (or both).

One of the other apartment sitters reminds Jules of the sister she lost eight yers ago. She is drawn to Ingrid, and the two agree to meet every day for lunch. Ingrid confides in Jules that she is becoming frightened of the Bartholomew with its sinister yet mysterious history. Enamoured with the grandeur of her surroundings, Jules brushes off Ingrid's concerns as nothing more than stories. That is until Ingrid vanishes.

Jules digs deeper into the history of the Bartholomew in the hopes of finding out what happened to Ingrid. What she uncovers is astonishing—Ingrid is just one of many apartment sitters to go missing. She must figure out who the killer is and expose what is really going on at the Bartholomew before her life becomes temporary.

The gothic Bartholomew with its creepy wallpaper, dark and haunted past, and looming gargoyles was the perfect setting. Tightly plotted, Sager perfectly executes this thriller/mystery and leaves no loose ends, although some of what happens is a little far fetched.  

Atmospheric, shocking, and thrilling. This was bonkers! And I mean that in the best way. I didn't fully buy in with Final Girls, and thought that The Last Time I Lied was a better effort, but Lock Every Door has solidified Sager for me as an author that I wouldn't hesitate to pick up.

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RILEY SAGER is a pseudonym of the author whose first book Final Girls was a national and international bestseller. His second book The Last Time I Lied was a New York Times bestseller.

Sager lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Reputation: A Novel by Sara Shepard

A special thank you to Edelweiss, NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When a hacker dumps 40,000 people's emails onto an easily accessible database, the entire student body, faculty, staff, and alums at Aldrich University are rocked. Secrets, affairs, scandals...it's all there.

But when Kit Manning's husband, Dr. Greg Strasser, is found murdered in his kitchen, things take a dramatic turn. Kit's sister, Willa, returns home to attend Greg's funeral. She fled fifteen years ago after a night she desperately would like to forget. Willa is an investigative reporter and knows that something is off with the events surrounding Greg's death—she's determined to find out what actually happened before someone else ends up dead.

Sara Shepard is always a standout. This explosive, sharp, and propulsive novel is full of twists and shocking reveals. Her writing is captivating, clever, and above all, entertaining. It is framed more like a TV series, with Shepards foot firmly on the gas, but it works. There are several moving pieces to this story—none of the characters are innocent and they all have something to hide. She skillfully tells the story from multiple female perspectives. None of these women are particularly enjoyable, but that just amps up the drama and pettiness.  

Given the number of twists and turns the narrative takes, unfortunately the #MeToo tie-in gets lost and ultimately ends up as more of a comment in passing. For me, this was the difference between 4 and 5 stars.

Reputation is a soapy story of intrigue, sabotage, secrets, and the lengths we go to keep them. I devoured it for the gossipy treat it was.

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SARA SHEPARD is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game, as well as the series The Perfectionists. She is a graduate from New York University and holds an MFA from Brooklyn College. 

Final Girls: A Novel by Riley Sager

A special thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ten years ago, a group of college friends went on a getaway to a cabin in the woods, and only one of them came back.  Quincey Carpenter was the lone survivor of this horror movie-style massacre at Pine Cottage.  The press has dubbed her as a "Final Girl" (a term that refers to the last woman standing in a horror movie).  There are two other women in this club: Lisa Milner, who survived a knife attack that claimed the life of nine of her sorority sisters, and Samantha Boyd, who survived the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn.  The women have never met despite attempts to get them together, they all want to put the past behind them and move on.  

On the surface, Quincey seems to be holding it together—she has a successful baking blog, an understanding fiancé, Jeff, and a beautiful apartment.  In actuality, she is using Xanax, and relies on the steadfast support of Coop, the police officer who saved her life that night in the woods.  She also has no recollection of what actually happened.  It is not until Lisa, the first Final Girl is found dead, and Sam, the second girl shows up on her doorway, that Quincey is forced to deal with the past and what actually happened that night.

Quincey invites Samantha, who now goes by Sam, to stay with her and Jeff at the apartment.  Sam begins to influence Quincey and she engages in some destructive behaviour which is completely uncharacteristic and her actions are threatening to jeopardize the "normal" life she has worked so hard to build.  Quincey begins to question Sam's motives—what are the truths and what are the lies?  Why after all this time did Sam decide to show up?  And why is she pushing Quincey to remember things she has blocked out?  Can she trust Sam?

I didn't fully buy in.  How could a complete stranger influence Quincey's behaviour so much?  I understand that Sagar was using Sam as a vehicle for Quincey to deal with the past and uncover what happened, but it was forced.  Unfortunately I had it figured out before the big reveal. 

Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book rather dull, and the writing seemed a little basic. It read more as two separate books, one of which was regurgitating facts from the civil war battles, a topic which is not of any interest to me. I was hoping for more from the story of the women in the title, that was the part of the story that I enjoyed and wanted more of. Perhaps the author was trying to do too much in the span of the novel.