Strangers in the Villa by Robyn Harding

A special thank you to the publisher, Grand Central Publishing, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sydney Lowe’s life in New York is shattered when her husband, Curtis, admits to a meaningless affair with a client. Begging for forgiveness and vowing to prove his devotion, Curtis suggests the couple retreat to a remote hilltop house in Spain to repair their marriage.

High above the Mediterranean, Sydney and Curtis are working on the isolated property and their relationship when a pair of Australian travellers turns up at their door in dire need of help. Lonely for companionship and desperate for free labor, Sydney and Curtis invite the attractive young couple to stay. But as the days pass, dark secrets come to light, the Lowes’ bond is tested, and not everyone will leave the villa alive. 

Harding's latest is a tightly constructed psychological thriller that utilizes shifting third-person perspectives and a two-part narrative. She masterfully blends escapism with entrapment to create a setting that's both atmospheric and suffocating. The short, punchy chapters—with cliffhangers aplenty—ratchet up the tension, making this book impossible to put down. 

Brimming with sharp twists, devastating secrets, and shocking revelations, Strangers in the Villa is a knockout from start to finish! 

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ROBYN HARDING is the author of fourteen novels including The Swap, The Party, Her Pretty Face, The Arrangement, The Drowning Woman, and The Haters. She has also written and executive produced an independent film.

Harding lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family and two cute but deadly rescue chihuahuas. 

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Q & A with Robyn Harding*

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

RH: My favourite part is all the support and cheerleading I get from readers, influencers, booksellers, and other authors. It’s such a supportive community! But I still feel the pressure of whether a book will be well received and sell well or not. 

GWR: What was the inspiration for the novel?

RH: We took an amazing trip to Spain a few years ago and met an Aussie couple who had moved to a remote house in the hills above the Costa Brava. They were living their dream life, but my brain went: How could that go horribly wrong? 

GWR: Can you talk a little about your character development—do you let your characters tell you who they are, or do you decide their characteristics? 

RH: I start by writing character profiles so that I really know who they are. How did they grow up? What’s their relationship history? What are their strengths and insecurities? This background informs how they behave as they move through the plot.


GWR: Tell us a little bit about your writing process. Do you hear your words as dialogue, or do you visualize the scenes? 

RH: I love this question! When I write, I’m almost like an actor in a film. I’m inside my characters, feeling what they feel, and seeing through their eyes.

GWR: Intuition verses craft—when do you know to make the hard turns?

RH: I use screenplay structure to make sure I’m hitting the write beats and keeping up the pacing, but I don’t outline in detail. I do a lot of re-reading as I go to intuitively know what needs to be revealed and when.

GWR: How do you write an effective red herring when you are so close to the material?

RH: Sometimes I don’t even know who the guilty party is until I’m well into the novel. Other times I know from the outset. I think knowing your characters well allows you to create red herrings.   

GWR: Strangers in the Villa is a tightly constructed psychological thriller that uses shifting third-person perspectives and a two-part narrative. How did this structure come about? 

RH: As a writer, I like to stay interested and challenged, and telling a story in unique ways is so much fun for me. I love getting excited different characters’ heads and telling the story through their voices. I’m really inspired by filmmakers who make movies in unusual or unexpected ways. 

GWR: The villa was the perfect setting with its idyllic location and winery potential that was juxtaposed with the physical remoteness and claustrophobic isolation. Why did you choose Spain?

RH: physical remoteness and claustrophobic isolation. Why did you choose Spain?

I’d spent about ten days in this exact location. It was so gorgeous and idyllic, but also very isolated and removed from my real life. Not knowing the language and customs seemed like a good way to add a layer of tension. 

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

RH: Spanish Vermut!


GWR: What are you working on now?

RH: I’m writing another thriller set on a private island in the Pacific Northwest. I’m having a lot of fun with it! 

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

Hello, Juliet by Samantha M. Bailey

A special thank you to the author, Samantha M. Bailey, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy Westcott fled LA as her acting career imploded. In a flash, she lost her first love and chosen family—her Hello, Juliet castmates. But she never discovered who turned her closest friends against her. Now the whole world knows her as #PoisonIvy.

A decade later, Ivy is horrified when a celebrity exposé thrusts the Hello, Juliet cast back into the limelight, dredging up the old scandals she hoped to escape. Desperate for a fresh start and some financial stability for her mother and manager, Ivy agrees to participate in a top-secret reunion episode.

Ivy’s poised for a comeback, but past betrayals become a present danger when she and the man who once broke her heart find their costar dead.

Determined to find justice and clear her name, Ivy must tear down the facades of cast and crew to uncover chilling secrets that have plagued the Hollywood set from day one. Or she could be the next to die. 

Hello, Juliet is a soapy thriller about the perils of fame. Told in a dual timeline from Ivy's point of view, it is a searing behind the scenes look at show business. 

With its shocking twists and satisfying epilogue, Hello, Juliet is Bailey's best book yet.

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SAMANTHA M. BAILEY is the USA TODAY and #1 international bestselling author of Woman on the Edge, optioned for series adaptation, Watch Out for Her, shortlisted for Canada Reads 2025, and A Friend in the Dark, an Amazon Charts bestseller. Her novels have sold in twelve countries. 

Bailey lives in Toronto with her family.

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Q & A with Samantha M. Bailey*

GWR: Readers may not know this about you, but you started writing what was once referred to as “chick lit.” How did you make the transition to thrillers?

SMB: After my first two books died on sub, and it was clear that chick lit was a hard sell, I started writing women's fiction. Then I had kids, and as my fears and worries grew, my books got darker. My debut, Woman on the Edge, was actually a dark women's fiction, and it was my amazing agent who encouraged me to turn it into a thriller. I'd always wanted to write thrillers, and her advice was one of the best things to ever happen for me. I found my true passion.

GWR: What was the inspiration for Hello, Juliet?

SMB: I'm addicted to TV and fascinated by celebrity. I'd always wanted to set a book in Hollywood and the world of soapy, glossy shows, especially the behind-the-scenes drama. The inciting incident came to me first. When Ivy Westcott returns to the set of the teen drama she starred in, and fled a decade earlier, to film a reunion episode, she finds the body of one of her former co-stars in her old dressing room. 

GWR: This is your fourth published novel (Samantha is also the author of Woman on the Edge, Watch Out for Her, and A Friend in the Dark). Does your writing process change book-to-book?

SMB: Yes and no. I usually start with the premise and characters then create a detailed outline. At the same time, I draft chapters to see if the premise is propulsive and has enough forward momentum. I also compose countless emails to myself, jot ideas on any paper I can find, record ideas when I'm on the go. My process is all-consuming. I'm trying, though, to find a better balance and shut off my brain at the end of the day and on weekends, depending on how tight my deadline is. 

GWR: Do you pair your characters to the book—who would survive the scenario—or do you write them situationally?

SMB: While I generally know by the time I finish the outline who survives and who doesn't, I'm much better at rewriting than drafting. So, it often takes a few drafts for me to truly understand my characters, what they want, who they are, and what's at stake for them. I follow their lead so the story unfolds as organically as possible.

GWR: How do you write effective red herrings when you are so close to the material?

SMB: Good question! By rewriting and working with excellent editors. It will be a few drafts before I can effectively place red herrings, reveals, and twists, because it's not until I'm fully immersed in my characters' worlds that I can see where I need to add those details.

GWR: Tell us about the research you did for the novel. 

SMB: It was the most fun I've ever had writing a book because it was the first time I could travel for research. I spent five glorious days in LA with Meredith Schorr, my author BFF. We went everywhere Hello, Juliet takes place. We strolled Santa Monica Beach and the pier, went to Culver City, West Hollywood, and took a bus tour of all the hot spots, including a dangerously steep drive up Mulholland Drive, where we stopped to gaze at the Hollywood sign. We spent a lot of time on Sunset Boulevard, where we had dinner with Jon Lindstrom, my fellow thriller author, who's also currently an actor on General Hospital and Beyond the Gates. He also drove us up and down the Sunset Strip, so I could hop out and take photos inside iconic bars, like Whiskey a Go Go.

GWR: Hello, Juliet is told in a dual timeline, but from only one character's point of view and with the use of social media—how did this structure come about? 

SMB: Painfully. Ha ha. I generally do a dual timeline/dual POV, but this is my first novel with a dual POV for one character, told ten years apart. It took a lot of hair pulling and teeth gnashing to fit it all together. And the social media was really exciting to write but also tricky because I had to go back to 2014 to make it as accurate as possible. Because it's a book about the dangers of fame and how quickly public perception can change, social media needed to be included. 

GWR: Give us your best Hollywood pitch. Who would you cast?

SMB: I don't envision actors when I'm writing because I need to see my characters as themselves, if that makes sense. But Melissa A of @mel_thebookfairy made a fantastic cast list. She chose: Gracie Lawrence for Ivy, Cassie Randolph for Lauren, Callum Kerr as Jesse, Kyle Allen as Caleb, Victor Webster for Mack, Linda Cardellini as Elizabeth, Fiona Rene for Detective Tanaka, and Jenna Dewan as Rachel. A dream cast! 

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

 

SMB: I'm going to say a cosmopolitan because it's fun and pretty with a tart bite.

GWR: Can you share what you are working on now?

 

SMB: I'm working on book five, currently untitled, and it's slowly taking shape. I can't give too much away because it's still in the early stages, but it might be my wildest and most ambitious book yet. 

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

The Offing by Roz Nay

A special thank you to the publisher, Viking, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy is in trouble. A recent break-up has left her humiliated and raw, so when her best friend, Regan, offers her a month-long escape in the form of a trip to Australia, it feels like a lifeline, one that Ivy grabs with both hands.

Regan is everything Ivy’s not—confident, free-spirited, charismatic—and a natural at backpacker fun. But Ivy is drawn to a calmer type of holiday, so when she spots an ad for crewmembers on a small yacht being sailed by a doting father and his daughter, the girls decide to take the job. Together with a handsome third crewmember, they set off north into tropical heat, but it's not long before doubts start to creep in. Are the girls simply claustrophobic on the boat, or have they stumbled into something they don't understand? 

Tensions rise as the past threatens to catch up with them, and dark secrets emerge that will change everything. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game on land and at sea, this fast-paced, twisty thriller keeps you guessing until the very last page.

Two young women are trapped in a deadly chase through the beautiful, dangerous waters around Australia. Drawing on her own crew experience, Nay is an expert guide to reader. 

Perfectly paced and expertly plotted, The Offing is a claustrophobic, high-octane thriller that can easily be devoured in one sitting. It is slick and propulsive and full of shocking twists. This escapist novel is as menacing as it is beautiful—a must-read this summer. 

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ROZ NAY is the award winning bestselling author of Our Little Secret, Hurry Home, and The Hunted.

Nay has lived and worked in Africa, Australia, the US, and the UK. She lives in British Columbia, Canada with her husband and two children.

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Q & A with Roz Nay*

GWR: How did you start writing/become a writer?    

RN: I always wrote stories as a child and remember being sent out of English to a music lesson in fifth grade, only to return early and find the teacher reading my work to the class. I was mortified! (That hasn't changed.) Beyond that, my husband signed me up for a writing class as a hobby after we had kids. I loved that class and it kind of snowballed from there.

GWR: How long did it take you to write The Offing, and how many drafts were there before publication?

RN: From start to finish, it took me about a year to write this one, but the early drafts took a while to pin down. Sometimes I'm impatient with the characters and think I know them before I really do. I find that I write scenes that don't make the second draft, because once I'm deeper into knowing who these messy people are, I can spot all the moments that don't quite ring true.

GWR: What was the genesis of the novel?

RN: The Offing is actually frighteningly autobiographical. When I was 27, I went backpacking on my own to Australia, and took a job on a whim as crew on a family-owned yacht. The boat in the story is an exact replica of the real one, along with the journey, the dad, the daughter, and the cat. Obviously in my version, there's less murder and more of a successful finish line, but I'm ashamed to say that I did all of the stupid and dangerous things these girls did, which is why it was easy for me to write about them.

GWR: Do you pair your characters to the book—what characters would survive the scenario—or do you write them situationally?

RN: With this one, I had the boat, the skipper, the daughter, and the cat first, because they were in the original true version. I also knew the setting, including how claustrophobic the boat was, so that part was also in place. After that, I had to figure out where the danger was coming from, and who might be running from it. I wanted to explore female friendship, too, so I knew I needed two young backpackers who knew each other but not that well... In a sense, with The Offing, the main characters came late to the cast list, but I think that's because I lived this story and had some characters ready to go. 

GWR: What do you have more fun with, character development or plot?

RN: Again, with every book it's different but with The Offing, I liked how I was pushing myself structurally as a writer. The book has several worlds running concurrently—that of the boat itself (which feels present but isn't), the police interviews (which are present), and anything that might have happened prior to the girls climbing on board. I also had to solve the problem, plot-wise, of creating a thriller on a boat but not letting the girls feel so freaked out that they'd simply get off at the next stop. That's more complicated than it sounds and I enjoyed the challenge of it. 

GWR: What’s the one element of a thriller that is a must?

RN: Menace. I think you can create compelling characters, a cool setting, some hooky love interest, a good twist - but unless you have a pervasive sense of dread and menace right from the outset, you'll lose your thriller reader to the TBR pile. It's a busy genre and you have to keep them turning pages.

GWR: How do you write effective red herrings when you are so close to the material?

RN: By the time I've finished a first draft, I've got my red herrings in place—and in fact, they present themselves quite quickly once the plot is watertight. What I do in the second draft—now that I've told myself the story—is make sure I'm not overcooking them. The trick is to keep readers unsure for as long as possible, so that those blind alleys remain tempting and don't feel like too obvious a decoy.

GWR: Did the story end the way you’d initially thought?

RN: Yes, although the body count stacked up a bit. I didn't have all the outcomes for the villain(s), but I knew who'd done what and to whom.

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

RN: I'm going to say it's a Negroni because it's layered—it has solid gin that you can trust, but then that complex, bitter Campari, and can you really rely on the sweetness of the Vermouth? 

GWR: What are you working on now?

RN: I'm writing my fifth thriller which is about a house swap that takes place between a woman in the UK and a man in the USA. It's like the movie The Holiday, but the thriller version. So, you know. Creepy plotline and no Jude Law.

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

A Man Downstairs by Nicole Lundrigan

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

What if the childhood you remember isn’t really what happened at all?

Molly Wynters has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, recently felled by a stroke and no longer able to communicate. She is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home.

What Molly recalls of her young life with her father is full of love and care, even though a violent trauma defined her when she was a young girl, she witnessed her mother’s murder, and her testimony—“There was a man downstairs”—sent a teenager to prison. This tragic episode is still very much alive in the culture of the town, and the more Molly remembers, the more she fears that what she said on the stand all those years ago might not have been the whole truth.

After Molly, a trained therapist, volunteers for a local helpline, the threats begin. At first they seem random, but soon Molly realizes that she is a target, and even those closest to her seem suspicious, especially as unsuspected links between them emerge. More than one life was destroyed on that horrific long-ago day, and now someone intends to hold Molly accountable.

Lundigran's latest is a psychological thriller about a woman who is tormented by her memories. The thread that has kept Molly sewn together begins to unravel when she returns home to the small town that is both the keeper of secrets and the scene of her mother's murder.

On the simplest level, this is a page-turner. With short, punchy chapters, Lundrigan deftly shifts between a dual timeline and multiple points of view—Molly's, Gil's, and "His." The beautiful writing is juxtaposed with the grittiness of the novel. It is sublimely atmospheric and wickedly suspenseful.

A Man Downstairs is a compelling examination into the human psyche and the unreliability of memory.

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NICOLE LUNDRIGAN is the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including Hideaway, which was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, The Substitute, Glass Boys, and An Unthinkable Thing. Her work has appeared on “best of” selections from The Globe and Mail, Amazon.ca, Chatelaine, Now magazine, and others. 

Lundrigan grew up in Newfoundland, and now lives in Toronto.

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Q & A with Nicole Lundrigan* 

GWR: How did you start writing/become a writer?    

NL: When I was young, I never considered becoming a fiction writer. I had my daughter shortly after finishing an MSc, and while I was home with her, I wrote various articles. At some point I opted to continue down that creative path and attempted a book. And then a second book…

GWR: This is your ninth novel—do you approach each the same way? Can you share a little about your writing process?

NL: With my first novel, I had no idea what I was doing. At one point I remember googling ‘rules of writing fiction,’ and quickly closed my laptop. In hindsight, I believe being completely naïve gave me the confidence to try. I have learned a great deal by going through the process, but with each new project there is fresh insecurity. Part of my approach is not focusing on writing a book, but instead a little cluster of words each day. 

GWR: What is your favourite part of the publishing process?  

 NL: I find writing the first draft to be daunting, but once I have something down, the process becomes more enjoyable. When I receive feedback (sometimes in the form of really good questions), and the direction is suddenly illuminated, that’s an amazing feeling.

GWR: Character development or plot—what do you have more fun with?

NL: Definitely character. While I’ve gotten better at developing plotlines, exploring the psychology of the characters is what draws me in. When I’m thinking about writing a book, it usually starts with an emotion.

GWR: What’s the one element of a thriller that is a must?

NL: Sense of tension. That something *might* happen, even if the character is just walking to the fridge to get milk for coffee.

GWR: What was the genesis of A Man Downstairs?

NL: I happened upon a news article about a three-year-old boy testifying in court against his mother’s boyfriend. At the end the judge gave him a bag of chips. That was the spark, and various threads rolled out from there.

GWR: Tell me about the research you did for the novel?

NL: I tend to research in dribs and drabs, usually when I have a question during writing. Occasionally I get lost for a few hours, slipping down various rabbit holes. It’s neat when certain tidbits of information seem to find me, instead of the other way around.

GWR: Did the story end the way you’d initially thought?

NL: With this book, I had a clear(ish) sense of what would happen from the start but didn’t quite know why. During the writing process, I discovered a great deal about my character’s experiences and intentions and by the end, I understood their behaviour much better.

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

NL: Tricky question! Ideally a drink that is intense, involves a combination of distinct flavours, was popular in the seventies, and has come around again. Let’s go with a Sloe Gin Fizz.

GWR: Can you share what you are working on now and if you have any events/appearances coming up?

NL: I’ve been working on my tenth novel, which is currently unnamed. This will be the first time writing an entire book about women who are around my age. Though I’m not sure why, I’ve always resisted that. We will see what happens.

For events, I’m really looking forward to attending Montreal Mystère in May, which is downtown Montreal’s inaugural mystery book festival. I think it’s going to be a fantastic time.

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

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie

A special thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At thirty-nine, Nicole Muller’s life is on the rocks. Her once brilliant law career is falling apart. She and her husband are soon to be forced out of the apartment they love. After a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from an exclusive women’s networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. So, despite her husband, Dan’s, concerns the group might be a cult, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado.

Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride. A CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally as impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.

Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. The favors she has to provide in return seem benign. But then she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night where she’s pressed into helping her cover up a crime. And suddenly, Dan’s concerns that something more sinister is at play seem all too relevant. Can Nicole extricate herself from the group before it’s too late? Or will joining Panthera Leo be the biggest mistake of her life?

With its incredible premise—a group of women that are working the system like a boys' club—Please Join Us is a union of contemporary fiction and thriller through a feminist lens. And like Panthera Leo, this book has claws!

Struggling corporate lawyer, Nicole Mueller, is the narrator of Catherine McKenzie's thirteenth novel. Alternating between past and present, Please Join Us is an exploration of toxic relationships and the influence of power. Not without flaws, Nicole is a perceptive and intriguing character that readers will root for.  

McKenzie is a master storyteller—the plot is exceptionally clever and the pacing is spot on. She brilliantly explains the intricacies of the law into something palatable for her reader and weaves these threads into a brilliant and satisfying conclusion. 

Please Join Us is a feminist thriller about a secret organization, the challenges women face in the workplace, and just how far one woman will go to claim what is rightfully hers. 

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CATHERINE McKENZIE is the bestselling author of numerous bestsellers including Six Weeks to Live, You Can't Catch Me, Hidden, Fractured, The Good Liar, and I'll Never Tell. Her works have been translated into multiple languages and I'll Never Tell, The Good Liar, and You Can't Catch Me have all been optioned for development into television series.

McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill in History and Law, Catherine practiced law for twenty years before leaving the practice to write full time.

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Q & A with Catherine McKenzie*

GWR: Is there a particular author/work that inspired you to become a writer or the way you write? 

CM: Such a hard question! I’ve definitely always been a big reader ever since I learned to read when I was three. When I was a girl I loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and then of course Anne of Green Gables and the entire Anne series. Later, I discovered Jane Austen, Nick Hornby, John Irving and books like The Time Traveller’s Wife and The Fault in Our Stars. A Million Little Pieces was a big influence right when I started writing. Hopefully I’ve stolen the best bits from all of those and added something of my own.

GWR: Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect? Have you approached each book the same way, or has your writing process changed/evolved?

CM: I am a panster for sure, though I do plot in my head. My process has evolved over the years, and I am TRYING to be a better plotter in advance. But I do love the spontaneity of writing without a fixed outline. That’s where the magic happens.

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

CM: A lot of it is still difficult! I love when it’s just me and the manuscript and it’s all working out the way I planned. And then when the book is out and people enjoy it—that’s always special.

GWR: Overall, what do you have more fun with, character development or plot?

CM: I’d say both, honestly. I hope what makes me stand out as an author is that I have lots of people and well developed characters.

GWR: What was the inspiration behind Please Join Us?

CM: I received an invitation to an anonymous women’s group—and did not go! But the idea stuck...

GWR: I love how the characters are feminist, intelligent, and fierce. Do you have a favourite? 

CM: Thank you! I really like Athena, and Nicole of course, the narrator, because I spend the most time with her.

GWR: Did you build Please Join Us around a twist/reveal, or did this happen organically?

CM: I always know the end before I start writing, though in this case, the end was going to happen earlier and I realized that I was missing a twist while I was writing. Thankfully, the answer was already in the manuscript as is often the case.

GWR: What’s the one element of a thriller that is a must?

CM: Secrets!

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

CM: A Moscow Mule.

GWR: Can you share what are you working on now?

CM: A book loosely based on the Gabbie Petito disappearance called Have You Seen Her. 

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

Are You Sara? by S. C. Lalli

A special thank you to the author, S. C. Lalli, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two women named Sara each get into a rideshare...but only one makes it home alive. Which Sara was the real target?

Law student Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri holds down two jobs in order to make her way through school, but it’s still a struggle. She’s had to do things to pay the bills that most people wouldn’t expect from “a nice Indian girl.” It seems like an ordinary busy Tuesday night at Gavin's, the local dive bar, until her boss demands Sara deal with a drunk girl in the bathroom.

The two have an instant connection despite their different circumstances. Why? Because they both have the same name. When they both order rideshares home, Sara and Sarah tumble in the back of the cars and head out into the night.

But when Sara awakes in her rideshare, she finds she's on the wrong side of town—the rich side—and she realizes: she and Sarah took the wrong cars home.

With no money, Sara walks back to her apartment—on the shady side of town—only to discover police lights flashing and a body crumpled on her doorstep: Sarah.

Was Sarah Ellis or Sara Bhaduri the target? And why would anyone want either of them dead?

The result of Lalli's foray into the thriller genre is an unflinching and compulsive novel which features two dynamic and powerful voices with present day Sara Bhaduri and past Sarah Ellis. Because the two women only meet each other once in real life, Sarah's flashbacks fully flesh out the story.

This whip-smart psychological thriller is a comment on social status and expectations—both societal and familial. Sara Bhaduri's character also has the added layers of race and class, and because of Lalli's tight character development, she is incredibly complex and compelling. 

If you like a darker, grittier read, Are You Sara? is a perfect addition for your shelves. Congratulations, S. C. Lalli on a remarkable thriller debut.

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S. C. LALLI is an author of Punjabi and Bengali heritage who writes romance and women’s fiction novels under her full name Sonya Lalli. She studied law in her hometown of Saskatoon, Canada, and at Columbia University in New York. Sonya has worked in law, legal journalism and book publishing. 

Lalli lives in Vancouver with her husband.

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Q & A with S. C. Lalli*

GWR: Are You Sara? is your first foray into the crime thriller genre, did your writing process differ from the way you would approach a romance novel?

SCL: I am a plotter, not a pantser, when writing my romcoms. I know who my characters are, I have a general idea of the different obstacles they will face during the story, and I know where they will end up.

When it came to writing my thriller, I was definitely a major plotter as well—and I thought I really had a handle on my main characters, the important plot points, all the necessary red herrings, etc. before I started writing. However, I still found that during writing the draft a lot happened that I hadn’t planned for or thought of before. I found out that you really need to leave enough room to be creative as you go and let the characters take interesting twist and turns—sometimes with interesting results that surprised me and I hope will surprise readers as well. For example, one subplot that ties into the overall plot of the novel is Sara’s romantic life and interests—it changed completely as I was writing the story. After spending time with Sara, writing her, watching her character evolve and become more nuanced, the subplot of how she handles her romantic life and interacts with the people around her changed a lot. 

GWR: How did you come up with the concept? What sparked the idea?

SCL: Several years ago (pre-Covid), while I was out in Toronto with friends and waiting for my Uber to arrive, I looked across the street and saw another woman waiting for her ride. Our cars pulled up at the same time and they were the same colour. We both went our separate ways but on my way home I ended up thinking about what might have happened if we had gotten into each other’s rides? 

It sparked an idea—what if this scenario happened to a woman and she got into the wrong car, and ended up at the wrong house? What happens after she eventually gets home and finds the other woman dead on her doorstep? Everything else—the story of who Sara is and why someone might want to kill her—all came later, and was based on other half-baked concepts I had thought about before. 

GWR: What comes first for you—the overall idea or the characters?  

SCL: Usually the overall idea comes first for me and this was what happened for Are You Sara?. That being said, I had the seed for a character like Sara for a long time. Sara is a woman who defies stereotypes—she always does what she wants and is independent, unabashedly ambitious and driven. A no nonsense type of person. While developing this book idea, I realized that it was the perfect plot for a character like Sara.

GWR: What do you have more fun with, character development or plot?

SCL: I usually have more fun with the plot because I get to play around with it a lot more. Once my characters are in place, I have so much fun crafting the plot and subplots and figuring out how everything fits together. It’s like a puzzle. 

GWR: Why did you decide to write Are you Sara? from a dual point of view and timeline? Was it easier or more difficult to explore parallel storylines? 

SCL: Sara Bhaduri is the main character and we see the majority of the novel unfold through her eyes. However, it was really important for readers to understand and get to know Sarah Ellis, the victim in the first chapter. We get to see Sarah Ellis evolve in the years, months, and days leading up to her murder. We get to know her as a person, not just a victim. Writing flashback chapters from her POV made natural sense. Because the two women only meet each other once in real life, right before the murder, writing from Sara’s POV alone wouldn’t have been enough to really flesh out the story.

GWR: How did your background in law and previous legal journalism experience shape the novel?  

SCL: My background definitely informed a lot. Sara is in law school and I was able to use my own university experience to inform this. Sara is very cynical about the law and the justice system—it’s a huge part of her character—and having a background in law helped me write that part of her character in a more nuanced way.

GWR: What is your favourite part of the publishing process? 

SCL: The first edit. I love drafting a novel, but at some point, I know I need fresh eyes and I am lucky to have editors who I trust and who understand exactly what I’m trying to accomplish. I love that feeling of getting an editorial letter and know that I’m about to begin working on a substantive edit. Editors see the holes, what can be improved/ polished, and seeing their ideas/ suggestions often spurs my own creativity and I end up finding all sorts of ways to improve my characters and the story. 

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

SCL: Definitely an Old Fashioned. I think in general any kind of stiff cocktail would describe Sara—she’s a bad ass who can handle her liquor. But I think the Old Fashioned is also the perfect homage to the old school law clique/Boys Club that Sara finds herself in.

GWR: Can you share what you are working on now?

SCL: Right now, I am editing my fifth rom-com—which will publish in April 2023. (Name TBC) It’s a companion novel to a A Holly Jolly Diwali (published under Sonya Lalli) and focuses on the main character in that book’s older sister Jasmine. After that, I’ll turn to writing my next thriller. I have a few ideas and can’t wait to get started...

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

An Honest Lie by Tarryn Fisher

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

“I’m going to kill her. You’d better come if you want to save her.” 

Lorraine—“Rainy”—lives at the top of Tiger Mountain. Remote, moody, cloistered in pine trees and fog, it’s a sanctuary, a new life. She can hide from the disturbing past she wants to forget.

If she’s allowed to. 

When Rainy reluctantly agrees to a girls’ weekend in Vegas, she’s prepared for an exhausting parade of shots and slot machines. But after a wild night, her friend Braithe doesn’t come back to the hotel room.

And then Rainy gets the text message, sent from Braithe’s phone: someone has her. But Rainy is who they really want, and Rainy knows why.

What follows is a twisted, shocking journey on the knife-edge of life and death. If she wants to save Braithe—and herself—the only way is to step back into the past.

Tarryn Fisher has a wicked and brilliant mind. Her writing is captivating and compelling—Fisher wields words, they are definitely her weapon. She is an incredible champion of women and this is what the premise of the book is supposed to be, but the story is not believable enough (especially the ending) and the dual storylines are far too disjointed.  

Although there were parts that were excellent and well-written, most of the story felt like an afterthought in order to connect the dots and right a few plot holes. 

An Honest Lie is a miss. Where Fisher excels is when she is writing about angsty relationships that are tinged with her signature darkness.    

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TARRYN FISHER is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Wives.

Born a sun hater, she currently makes her home in Seattle, Washington with her children, husband, and psychotic husky.

Tarryn writes about villains.

Watch Out for Her: A Novel by Samantha M. Bailey

A special thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Wherever you go…she’ll be watching.

Sarah Goldman, mother to six-year-old Jacob, is relieved to move across the country. She has a lot she wants to leave behind, especially Holly Monroe, the pretty twenty-two-year-old babysitter she and her husband, Daniel, hired to take care of their young son last summer. It started out as a perfect arrangement—Sarah had a childminder her son adored, and Holly found the mother figure she’d always wanted. But Sarah’s never been one to trust very easily, so she kept a close eye on Holly, maybe too close at times. What she saw raised some questions, not only about who Holly really was but what she was hiding. The more Sarah watched, the more she learned—until one day, she saw something she couldn’t unsee, something so shocking that all she could do was flee.

Sarah has put it all behind her and is starting over in a different city with her husband and son. They’ve settled into a friendly suburb where the neighbors, a tight clique of good citizens, are always on the lookout for danger. But when Sarah finds hidden cameras in her new home, she has to wonder: Has her past caught up to her, and worse yet, who’s watching her now?

Samantha M. Bailey's latest is a tense, acerbic psychological thriller. 

Set in Toronto and Vancouver, Watch Our for Her is smart, suspenseful, and full of shocking twists. It is intricately plotted—Bailey reveals just enough to create frenzy and momentum. Her characters are well-developed and propel the expertly paced story. She deftly employs a dual timeline and alternating perspectives, writing from both Sarah's and Holly's viewpoints. The leading ladies are compelling and complex.

Bailey is a master at manipulating her reader. With short and punchy chapters, she cleverly delivers on so many levels. 

Watch Out for Her is a deep dive into obsession, trust, toxic relationships and the lengths one woman will go to in order to keep her family safe. A must read!  

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SAMANTHA M. BAILEY is the USA TODAY and #1 nationally bestselling author of Woman on the Edge, which has sold in eleven countries to date. She is also a journalist and freelance editor; her work has appeared in NOW Magazine, The Village Post, The Thrill Begins, and The Crime Hub, among other publications. 

Bailey lives in Toronto with her family.

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Q & A with Samantha M. Bailey*

GWR: Describe your ideal writing/reading experience (when, where, what, how).

SB: My ideal writing/reading experience includes solitude, so for the last two years, that's only been a dream. I've learned to write and read in chaos, wherever I am, but if I had the opportunity, I'd love to have a whole day, starting at around 5 am, when it's dark and quiet, at a cottage on a lake. I imagine that it's summer, and I can see the water from a cozy couch in front of a large bay window. There's no one else around, and I have a cup of hot coffee and my words keeping me company as the sun rises and sets.

GWR: What is it that draws you to darker themes? 

SB: Motherhood. I've always been fascinated by the dark side of life, how far people will go to get what they want, but it's having children that compels me to write about it. Being a woman responsible for the care and well-being of people I love more than anything in the world evokes fear, an almost anguished feeling of love, and a fierce need to protect them. I know I can't control much of what happens around them, but I want to try to understand what drives people to dark thoughts and behaviors.

GWR: Is there a particular author/work that inspired you to become a writer or the way you write? 

SB: So many authors have and do inspire me. As a teenager and in my early twenties, it was Ernest Hemingway, Milan Kundera, Margaret Atwood, and so many others. When I began seriously writing novels at the age of twenty-nine, it was Jennifer Weiner. As a thriller author, it is my entire community of talented, fearless fellow writers who unflinchingly delve deep to explore all the complexities of life, love, and desire. 

GWR: How do you decide what point to start the story at and how much detail you’re going to provide?

SB: I usually begin my story immediately after an inciting incident that changes my main character's life. That single moment that shifts their perspective, and in my books, their safety. How much detail depends on what drives the scene and moves it forward the most.

GWR: What comes first for you—the overall idea or the characters?

SB: The premise generally comes to me first, then the themes I want to explore. Once I have an idea that I feel in my bones, and I need to feel that flutter of excitement and anticipation, I turn to the characters then the structure.

GWR: The themes of this book—toxic relationships, voyeurism, trust—are popular in thrillers, yet your take on them was exciting and fresh. Where did you draw inspiration from?

SB: Ever since I can remember, I've been intrigued by what goes on behind closed doors. On walks, as I pass by the different houses, I glance—not peer—into the windows. Most of the time I'm actually looking at the decor and layout of people's spaces, and I’ve never taken photos, because I'm not a voyeur like Sarah. But I do think we all like to people watch. Were I not a writer, I probably would have been a psychologist because I'm fascinated by our minds, how complex and complicated we all are: likeable, unlikeable, moral, and messy all at once. So, I think I'd say I take inspiration from how real and flawed we all are. 

GWR: What made you decide to write Watch Out for Her from a dual point of view? Was it easier or more challenging to explore the parallel storyline?

SB: It was never a question. From the moment I started writing, I knew I had to tell both Sarah and Holly's stories, separately, yet also together in their scenes. I love the concept of perspective: how we see things is often not how other people see them. Our views tend to be based on our experiences, traumas, hopes, and dreams. No matter what structure an author chooses, I think it's always challenging. What was difficult with the structure of Watch Out for Her was making sure the past tense story propelled the present tense story forward so organizing the chapters was tricky. 

GWR: Did you build your story around a twist/reveal, or did that happen organically as you wrote it?

SB: I knew my major twists before I started, but there were a few that knocked me off my chair, as the characters led me to them organically. So, they were both built and just happened as I wrote the story piece by piece.

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

SB: The beverage that would be Watch Out for Her is a collaboration with me and Blair of the wonderful Instagram account: books.and.bevies. We decided the perfect drink would be a Caesar: Canadian for the setting, spicy, sharp, and blood red.

GWR: Can you share what you’re working on now?

SB: I'd love to because I'm very excited about it, but it's only at the beginning stages. That's a magical time for an author when much of the writing process is deep thoughts, notes, middle-of-the-night brainstorms. I'm currently working on a thriller about women seeking a fresh start that might end in murder.

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

Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

A special thank you to the author, Hannah Mary McKinnon, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

First comes love. Then comes murder.

Lucas Forester didn't hate his wife. Michelle was brilliant, sophisticated and beautiful. Sure, she had extravagant spending habits and that petty attitude, a total disregard for anyone below her status. But she also had a lot to offer. Most notably, wealth that only the one percent could comprehend.

For years, Lucas had been honing a flawless plan to inherit Michelle’s fortune. Unfortunately, it involved taking a hit out on her.

Every track was covered, no trace left behind, and now Lucas plays the grieving husband so well he deserves an award. But when a shocking photo and cryptic note show up on his doorstep, Lucas goes from hunter to prey. 

Someone is onto him. And they’re closing in.

Written from the perspective of Lucas Forester—a compelling and dynamic character that readers won't know whether to revere or abhore—Never Coming Home is deftly plotted and deliciously deceitful. Told with McKinnon's signature wit, this novel is both sinister and humorous. So much so that you may never look at your spouse the same way again. 

Never Coming Home is a slow and suspenseful burn that absolutely explodes at the end. Hannah is the queen of shocking finales and this is no exception.  

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HANNAH MARY MCKINNON was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland, and moved to Canada in 2010. After a successful career in recruitment, she quit the corporate world in favour of writing.

McKinnon now lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons.

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Q & A with Hannah Mary McKinnon*

GWR: Describe Never Coming Home in 3 words.

HMM: Twisted, surprising, funny.

GWR: What would be your ideal writing/reading experience (when, where, what, how)? How does this differ from reality?

HMM: I’d love for me to think about my books and have those thoughts appear on the page fully formed—I’d save so much time. Alas, no such luck. Like any job, writing is hard at times, but I get to disappear into the worlds I create and spend time with my characters there. If that isn’t close to the definition of a magical career, I’m not sure what is.

GWR: How did inspiration strike for Never Coming Home? 

HMM: Instead of a news article or a radio segment, which is typically where the inspiration for my books comes from, for Never Coming Home the character appeared first. I wanted to write about someone who was evil, despicable, but also relatable on some levels, and definitely funny—and whose enemies were even worse. Cue Lucas and Bobby Boyle. The story evolved from there, so it was very much character driven, and writing from the antagonist’s point of view was an entirely new experience. I had so much fun, and thoroughly enjoyed crafting another novel entirely from a man’s perspective. 

While I probably shouldn’t admit to this, despite his many flaws, I enjoyed spending time with Lucas because I found him hilarious. I wrote the book during the second half of 2020, so this was very much a pandemic project. My lovely mum passed away that summer, so I needed a place to escape to when everything felt so bleak. I think that’s why this book is my funniest. I needed something to make me laugh.

GWR: What do you have more fun with, character development or plot?

HMM: Oh, both, definitely. Lucas was hilarious and it was so refreshing to be fully immersed in the mind of a killer, to see everything from his perspective and try to have him justify his actions. His character formed in an instant, and the plot came together fast, too. I wrote this novel more quickly than any of my others and it was such a joy to work on from start to finish. I kept telling my husband, “It’s going well, too well, it’s all going to collapse.” But it didn’t. Because of this I fully expect my next ten novels to repeatedly kick me in the crotch.

GWR: Do you like writing from the perspective of the opposite sex, or is it more of a challenge? 

HMM: I enjoy both although I find when I write a man’s point-of-view I’m more direct. Nevertheless, one of my first questions is, “Whose story is this?” After that, I try not to overthink whether I’m writing a man or a woman. The important thing is to give them a voice, develop their character and backstory, and make them seem as human to the reader as they are to me.

GWR: Did any minor characters develop into more major ones over the course of writing the novel? 

HMM: Yes! Bobby Boyle grew as I wrote the novel and the banter between him and Lucas made me laugh so much. Bobby may well deserve his very own story one day. I was very keen on his sidekick, Heinz, too.

GWR: Your books always have incredible plot twists and jaw-dropping endings. Are they planned in advance, or do they happen organically as you write, or a little of both?

HMM: A little of both. I love twists and turns, and the more books I write, the more I plot them. Detailed outlines make me more productive and efficient because I know where I’m headed, but it’s impossible for me to foresee every twist and it also doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll end up at the destination I mapped out though. In The Neighbors, for example, the ending changed quite dramatically as I got closer to finishing my first draft. In Her Secret Son, the final chapters were different because I wasn’t happy with whom I’d planned to kill off. Sister Dear’s and You Will Remember Me’s endings are close to how I’d imagined but more sinister. 

GWR: Spoiler-free of course, did Never Coming Home end the way you originally thought it would?

HMM: Out of all my books so far, Never Coming Home turned out the closest to my initial vision and was the smoothest to write and edit. I even knew the final word before I sat down and typed “Chapter 1,” which is something that has never happened before. The storyline was crystal clear in my mind and the bones of the story didn’t change significantly during the editing process. Having said that, and as mentioned before, more twists and turns appeared when I wrote. That’s another fun part of writing, discovering what your characters will do when you let them loose. I can’t possibly know everything from the beginning.

GWR: Can you share a bit about what you are working on now?

HMM: With pleasure. Book 7 (slated for 2023) is another psychological thriller. It’s about a woman named Frankie who has some anger issues, and writes a list of people she could work to forgive as a therapy exercise. She thinks nothing of it when she loses her list in an Uber, until one by one the individuals become victims of freak accidents. Frankie desperately tries to determine if the tragedies are indeed accidental, and if not, who’s behind them before someone else gets hurt, especially as one of the names on the list is her own… I’m so excited for this next novel and can’t wait for you to meet Frankie and the rest of my cast.

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

The Maid by Nita Prose

A special thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

The Maid is a Clue-like, heartwarming mystery that explores the art of deception, morality, and what it means to be accepted. 

Molly the Maid takes comfort in order and completing tasks to perfection. Being a maid compliments her personality and gives Molly the security of being invisible as she often misreads social cues and situations. With her innocence and eccentricities, Molly is an endearing, likeable, and standout character that readers will find themselves rooting for from start to finish. 

With elegance and flair, this character-rich whodunnit is flawlessly paced and intricately plotted—The Maid is as perfect and polished as one of Molly's hotel rooms. The writing is rich in such a way that you can smell the lemon wax and hotel soap as well as feel the crisp sheets and plush seating. 

Prose's highly original and stunningly clever debut will both delight and charm mystery lovers. Check in to this book and enjoy your stay. 

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NITA PROSE is a longtime editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. The Maid is her debut.

Prose lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean.

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Q & A with Nita Prose*

GWR: The Maid is a fresh take on a traditional mystery. How did you come up with the concept?

NP: It happened on a business trip about two years ago. I was staying at a London hotel. One day, after a meeting outside the hotel, I returned to my room and startled the maid who was folding the jogging pants I’d left in a tangled mess on the bed (embarrassing!). The second I entered the room, the maid jumped backward into a shadowy corner. It occurred to me in that moment what an intimate and invisible job it is to be a room maid. Simply by cleaning my room every day, this maid knew so much about me. But what did I know about her? On the plane home a few days later, my protagonist Molly’s voice came to me. I grabbed a pen and a napkin, and wrote the prologue in a single burst. I didn't know it at the time, but I'd just begun my debut novel. 

GWR: Tell us about your writing process. Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect? 

NP: I am a plotter/architect. I need some scaffolding and plans set out on paper before I can really go for it with the writing.

GWR: You are also a longtime editor who has worked on many bestsellers—did this help or hinder your writing?

NP: My years of experience as an editor mean I’ve been steeped in story structure and narrative for a long time. Still, that didn’t mean there weren’t psychological hurdles I had to get over in order to write my debut. 

When I finished the first draft of The Maid, I was terrified to share my work. Why? Because all of my professional colleagues would know about it! I kept running through scenarios where I’d receive horrible rejections from agents and publishers who, always polite, would call my work “lovely” and then “regrettably decline” while eye-rolling.

Eventually, though, I put my big girl boots on and pressed send. I was thrilled when my dream agent decided to take me on. She understood my novel not only as a mystery but as “uplit”—a novel driven by a life-affirming spirit of hope. And that’s what I want readers carry away with them once the last page is turned—hope. I suppose it was hope, too, that made me get over my own fears and share my manuscript in the first place! 

GWR: Did you perform any research?

NP: Covert hotel missions, which involved sneaking around back corridors and the workers’ quarters—places guests aren’t supposed to go. 

GWR: Molly is a charming character with a unique way of viewing the world—how did you develop her?

NP: Something important to me was that readers not approach Molly with any preconceptions. Therefore, I didn’t want her to be labelled as different or as “other” in any way. This is a novel about what it means to be the same as everyone else…and yet entirely different. If I flagged the “different” part, readers might miss the most important part—how Molly is the same as all of us. I wanted readers simply to be invited to step behind her eyes, to live as her. I hoped that to live as her was to love her. 

GWR: Gran gives such sage and comforting advice. Was she based on someone in your life?

NP: Gran is an invention, but there are facets of my mother in her. My mother died a few years ago, and in some ways Molly allowed me to study my own grief and to resurrect the parts of my mother I miss the most. Gran is also my way of offering the reader a gift that I was so lucky to have in real life—a fiercely loyal matriarch who loved unconditionally and led with her heart.

GWR: Did any minor characters become major characters over the course of writing the book?

NP: Not really, no. But I did gain sympathy for and understanding of certain characters (Giselle, for instance) the more I wrote about them.  

GWR: What is the best advice you have received as an author and what is the best advice you give as an editor?

NP: The best advice I’ve received as an author is to trust your story to lead you, to search it for clues and a sense of direction. As an editor, I often advise my authors to do exactly that.

GWR: What are you working on now?

NP: I have a few different projects in the hopper, but true to form, I’m going to leave the details a bit of a mystery.

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

Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger

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

Think twice before you swipe.

Intrigued by his picture on a dating app—a dark handsome stranger—they go on a date at a downtown bar. Wren thought it was just going to be another hookup, but it quickly becomes so much more. With their powerful connection, she is falling for him hard. Is it love?

But then he stands her up and disappears—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. Adam ghosts her.

Maybe it was her fault. Did she shared too much, too fast? But then Wren learns that there were others before her. Girls who also thought that they were in love only these girls went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she's looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—Wren finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she's not sure whether she's the predator—or the prey.

In this online dating match turned deadly cat-and-mouse game, Unger delivers a captivating thriller of secrets, obsession, and vengeance.  

Wren is a complex and engaging character who is harbouring secrets of her own. Last Girl Ghosted is written in first-person narration and utilizes dual timelines to flesh out the story. Also lurking in the background, and just as unsettling as the plot, is the pandemic. The only negative in this riveting thriller is the length—there are times where the narrative is repetitious and it creates unnecessary bulk.   

With perfectly crafted characters and just enough plot twists, that are both believable and propulsive, Last Girl Ghosted is utterly captivating.   

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LISA UNGER is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author. Her books have been published in thirty languages, sold millions of copies worldwide, and have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, and many others. 

Unger lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Stephen Aston is getting married to Heather. Not only is she the same age as one of his daughters, but he is still married to his first wife, who is living in a care facility with dementia. But he'll take care of that easily by divorcing her.  

Tully and Rachel Aston look upon Heather as nothing but an interloper. She's the same age as Rachel, and even younger than Tully—clearly she's a golddigger and after their father's money. But Heather has secrets that she's keeping close, and her own reasons for wanting to marry Stephen. 

With their mother unable to speak for herself, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family's secrets, the new wife, and who their father really is. But will this unleash the most dangerous impulses...in all of them?

The Younger Wife is completely binge-worthy. With its dynamic plot, this twisty domestic thriller explores one family's secrets, lies, and compulsions. 

Told from multiple points of view—Tully's, Rachel's, Heather's, and another important character (no spoilers)—The Younger Wife is perfectly paced and expertly plotted. Hepworth employs her opening hook as the scene that unfolds at various points in the story. Her writing is enthralling and addictive and her characters are layered and complex. 

With an ending that will completely blindside the reader, this is Sally Hepworth at her best. And do yourself a favour and be sure to read the Author's Note.

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SALLY HEPWORTH  is the author of seven books, most notably The Mother-in-Law and The Good Sister. She has been featured in media outlets that have included USA Today, The New York Times, and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Hepworth lives in Australia with her family.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Lux McAllister and her boyfriend, Nico, are hired to sail two women to a remote island in the South Pacific, it seems like the perfect opportunity. Stuck in a dead-end job in Hawaii, and longing to travel the world after a family tragedy, Lux is eager to climb on board The Susannah and set sail for an adventure. She’s also quick to bond with their passengers, college best friends Brittany and Amma. The two women say they want to travel off the beaten path, but like Lux, they may have other reasons to be seeking an escape.

Shimmering on the horizon after days at sea, Meroe Island is every bit the paradise the foursome anticipate, despite its mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumours of murder. But what they don’t expect is to discover another boat already anchored off Meroe’s sandy beaches. The owners of the Azure Sky, Jake and Eliza, are a true golden couple: gorgeous, laidback, and if their sleek catamaran and well-stocked bar are any indication, rich. Now a party of six, the new friends settle in to experience life on an exotic island, and the serenity of being completely off the grid. Lux hasn’t felt like she truly belonged anywhere in years, yet here on Meroe, with these fellow free spirits, she finally has a sense of peace.

But with the arrival of a skeevy stranger sailing alone in pursuit of a darker kind of good time, the balance of the group is disrupted. Soon, cracks begin to emerge: it seems that Brittany and Amma haven’t been completely honest with Lux about their pasts––and perhaps not even with each other. And though Jake and Eliza seem like the perfect pair, the rocky history of their relationship begins to resurface, and their reasons for sailing to Meroe might not be as innocent as they first appeared.

When it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in on them. And when one person goes missing, and another turns up dead, Lux begins to wonder if any of them are going to make it off the island alive. 

Reckless Girls is a wicked gothic suspense novel set on an isolated Pacific island with a dark history. 

Primarily told from Lux's perspective, there are flashbacks with different narrators to flesh out the characters and their backstories. Hawkins also employs the use of letters, emails, and old diaries to give context to the island and its history. 

The strengths of the story lie in the compelling narration and atmospheric setting. Meroe's remote location is the perfect choice of setting—its isolation adds another layer of tension.

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RACHEL HAWKINS is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books for young readers, and her work has been translated in over a dozen countries. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and The Wife Upstairs was her first adult novel.

Hawkins currently lives in Alabama.