The Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherley

Synopsis: One sunny August afternoon, the residents of Cedar Close throw their annual summer barbecue. Children play in the cherry-tree lined street, tables are laden with food, and the wine is flowing. For Laurie Mills, it’s her first time meeting the neighbours. And it’s the first time she discovers her husband Robert is having an affair.

Overall this is a good thriller with some twists, but I saw most of them coming very early on in the story.  There are quite a few one-dimensional characters that don't add much and some situations that are far-fetched even if you allow yourself to suspend belief. It's a 3.5 stars for me. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. It's part two of a series about Detective Dan Riley, which I didn't know going into it, but you don't need to read part one to jump into this. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict

Wowsa! I read this awhile ago and somehow forgot to post my review. This book and its characters stayed with me for days after I finished it. They're all horrible and equally suspicious, including the main character  Kimber, but the author really kept me wanting to find out who had taken over her home and why. Lots of fun twists and turns, some of which are pretty nutty. Sadly, I've been reading lots of duds lately but this stands out as something I definitely would recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and Mulholland for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Case of the Hidden Daemon by Lucy Banks

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite series! The merging of Ribero and "the Higgins" agencies worked even better than I expected. The characters all have endearing quirks and a few definitely have room to expand and let us learn more about them. This book focused primarily on Kester's relationship with Anya, as well as his father's less than clandestine arrangement with Miss Wellbeloved. I suspect that more about their relationship and about Kester's mother will be revealed in subsequent books. I'm totally hooked and eagerly await the next one! Thank you to Netgalley and Amberjack for granting my request for this book.

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

This is a really great story! I've read all of Elly Griffiths books about forensics expert Ruth Galloway and honestly it's hard not to compare Clare, the main character of the Stranger Diaries, to Ruth. They're around the same age and both are raising a daughter on their own. This book revolves around a real-life murder mystery mirroring a gothic novel. Great setting and interesting characters. I highly recommend it!

Enchanted: The Wedding Story by Barbara Bretton

This is the 5th book in the Sugar Maple Chronicles. I would characterize these as supernatural cozy romances. In this installment, Chloe and Luke are finally getting married and dealing with being new parents to their half-magick child, Laria. Enter Luke's nosy human mother and a long-lost cousin of Chloe's and it's enough to turn Sugar Maple into total chaos. Meanwhile, someone from another dimension is intent on stopping the wedding and causing even more serious trouble for Chloe, Luke, and the entire town. I enjoy these books and am looking forward to the next one, which sounds like it will expand the universe of Sugar Maple and add more interesting characters.

The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley

Alan Bradley, you've done it again! I've read all of the Flavia de Luce books and always look forward to a new one. Still, I can't believe this is book 10. If you are a follower of this series you know that Flavia has gone through some pretty rough times in the last few books. Now sister Feely is finally getting married and Flavia is an orphaned pre-teen starting her own detective agency. As always, she has her trusty bicycle Gladys and her old friend (now father figure) Dogger to assist her with this latest mystery. I hope that this is not the last installment of these books as some people are saying because I think we all need a little Flavia in our lives from time to time.

[Review] The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft

Synopsis: Eighteen years ago, Simone Porter's six-month-old daughter, Helena, was abducted. Simone and husband, Matt, have slowly rebuilt their shattered lives, but the pain at losing their child has never left them. Then a young woman, Grace, appears out of the blue and tells Simone she has information about her stolen baby. But just who is Grace - and can Simone trust her? When Grace herself disappears, Simone becomes embroiled in a desperate search for her baby and the woman who has vital clues about her whereabouts.

So Netgalley kindly gifted me this as an ARC way back when and then I stupidly ran out of time to read it before it was archived. Anyway, I ended up borrowing it from the library and I'm so glad I did! It's creepy and addictive and I could not put it down. I figured out who was involved fairly early on in the book and hoped I was wrong because, gross! But nope, I was right about that character all along although that didn't take anything away from the reveal, which was fantastic. I highly recommend this dark, twisted psychological thriller!