Cul-de-sac, By Joy Fielding ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Domestic Abuse, Gun Violence, Mystery, PTSD, Sexual Abuse, Substance Abuse, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 10th, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: A shooting lays bare the secrets harbored by five families in a sleepy suburban cul-de-sac in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of All the Wrong Places.

Someone on this quiet, unassuming cul-de-sac will be shot dead in the middle of a sultry July night.

Will it be Maggie, the perfectionist wife, or Craig, the husband who can’t quite live up to her expectations? They’ve packed up their two children and fled their life in California, hoping for a fresh start in Florida, only to find the demons of the past hovering on their doorstep.

Maybe it will be Nick, a highly respected oncologist, or his wife, Dani, a successful dentist, both with well-kept secrets of their own.

Or Julia, an elderly widow, whose troubled grandson has recently moved in with her, introducing unsavory habits and even more unsavory acquaintances into her formerly quiet existence.

Then there’s Olivia and her husband, Sean. Having lost his job at a prestigious advertising agency, Sean is depressed, resentful of his working wife, and drinking heavily. He is also prone to increasingly violent fantasies.

And what of the newlyweds, Aiden and Heidi, whose marriage is already on the rocks, due to Aiden’s reluctance to stand up to his intrusive mother? Matters aren’t helped when Heidi befriends Julia’s grandson, setting the stage for a major blowup.

A diverse group of neighbors, to be sure. Yet all harbor secrets. All bear scars. And all have access to guns.

Not all will survive the night. (Goodreads)

It’s normally such a quiet street. Small, unassuming, solidly middle class. Not the sort of place one usually associates with the shocking events of that hot July night. Ask any of the residents and they will agree that none of their neighbors seemed capable of committing such a cold-blooded heinous act.

I’ve been reading Joy Fielding’s books since the mid-1980s, and for the most part Cul-de-sac is further proof that despite her being seventy-six, she hasn’t lost any of her mojo. 

There are five houses on this small Palm Beach cul-de-sac, and while at first glance the inhabitants seem fairly ordinary, it soon becomes clear that they’re all keeping secrets and for most of the book it’s anyone’s guess who will turn out to be the shooter and the victim. There are multiple POVs but Maggie’s is the one that takes center stage. Her backstory doesn’t resemble what’s said in the premise. She actually witnessed a brutal crime, and after trying to do the right thing, she and her family are threatened and move to Florida in an attempt to start over. I really liked and emphasized with her, although there’s one incredibly stupid thing that she does near the end that puts not only her life in danger, but also her young son’s as well. The other households of this seemingly serene little neighborhood for the most part fit squarely into various tropes with a few tweaks to each one. My favorite was Julia and her grandson Mark, who is a bit of a troublemaker, yet shows promise. They have a sweet relationship and are surprisingly good for each other. As I reached the final chapters I surmised who this ultimate violent act was going to involve, but it was still interesting to see it play out. I also appreciated the epilogue as it wraps everyone’s stories up leaving no loose ends.

Cul-de-sac, is what I would call a popcorn book. Although it deals with some heavy topics: domestic abuse, sexual assault, PTSD, gun violence, and substance abuse, it doesn’t require any deep thinking and it’s an entertaining and quick read. I unhesitatingly recommend it especially for fans of the late Mary Higgins Clark.

 

Legacy, By Nora Roberts ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Domestic Abuse, Mystery, Romance, Serial Killers, Stalkers, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 25th, 2021

448 Pages

Synopsis: The #1 New York Times Bestselling author presents a new novel of a mother and a daughter, of ambition and romance, and of a traumatic past reawakened by a terrifying threat…

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was  the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in.

Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend—and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.

A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps, but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial, as long as neither crosses the other.

But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving—the postmarks changing but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins… (Goodreads)

Many of you know what that I’m a fan of Nora Roberts from the reviews I’ve written for some of her previous books. She’s an author I’ve come to rely on for exciting stories with complex yet relatable characters and steamy romance. While Legacy isn’t destined to be one of my favorites by the prolific author, I did enjoy it and finished it in two days.

There were a few things that prevented this from being a perfect read for me. First, there was the protagonist, Adrian, who I had mixed feelings about. She’s one of those strong female characters that Robert’s is famous for writing, but in this case there are a few times that her strength veers into obnoxious pushiness, particularly in regards to her health and fitness business. The romance winds up being sizzling, but the usual build-up that you find in a Roberts book is missing here due to the sheer volume of details and side stories. The mystery villain was a tad predictable, and like the romance didn’t truly make a full on appearance until the second half of the book. However, all that being said, all the characters come across as being very real, the romance, once it made an appearance was as passionate as I’ve come to expect, and the climax and ending were thrilling and utterly satisfying.

After finishing this I can tell you Legacy is a story told in three parts. The first looks at Adrian’s childhood and her relationship with her mother and grandparents. The second focuses mainly on the adult Adrian her business, and how it impacts the relationships she has. The third finally does a deep dive into the romance department and the mystery, and this of course was my favorite part of the book. As I said, I don’t think Legacy is one of Roberts’ best, but it’s still an entertaining and worthwhile read that I have little doubt will please her legions of fans. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, (here’s my one and only spoiler), as fans already know, Nora Roberts usually has dogs in her stories, and Legacy has two that will capture your heart. And, nothing bad happens to them!

Mirrorland, By Carole Johnstone ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Dysfunctional Families, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Substance Abuse

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 20th, 2021

320 Pages

Synopsis: With the startling twists of “Gone Girl” and the haunting emotional power of “Room,” “Mirrorland” is a thrilling work of psychological suspense about twin sisters, the man they both love, and the dark childhood they can’t leave behind.

Cat lives in Los Angeles, far away from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh were she and her estranged twin sister, El, grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs, full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband Ross.

But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to 36 Westeryk Road, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. The grand old house is still full of shadowy corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?— has left Cat clues in almost every room: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting…

A twisty, dark, and brilliantly crafted thriller about love and betrayal, redemption and revenge, Mirrorland is a propulsive page-turning debut about the power of imagination and the price of freedom. (Goodreads)

I need to begin by saying that Mirrorland is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s extremely dark, deals with domestic and child abuse, and at times is mind-numbingly complex. More than once I felt as though I had gone so far down the rabbit hole that I’d never find my way back. But given all that, this debut is pretty impressive and deserving of the kudos it’s receiving including a rave from Stephen King.

At the heart of this twisty tale are twin sisters Cat and El. Despite having a close bond as children, something has driven them apart as adults and while I had more than one theory, in the end it wasn’t what I expected. The book starts out a little slow, as Johnstone teasingly lays out a trail of breadcrumbs for the reader to follow. Bit by bit snippets of the girls childhood is revealed as well as the creation of Mirrorland. I was constantly trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t. The story is told from Cat’s POV and she’s an unreliable narrator so that adds to the uncertainty. The more I discovered about Cat, and the horrors that were hidden behind the doors of 36 Westeryk Road, the more I related to her because of my own unhappy childhood. One coping mechanism she unknowingly uses, I unwillingly use myself even to this day. 

El, I had more of a difficult time with, but that was because until the last third of the book, I was seeing her through Cat’s eyes, and she wasn’t a very sympathetic figure. The last several chapters, while somewhat overwrought, clears up all the murkiness and while I still questioned some of El’s actions, I understood them.

The third person that needs mentioning is Ross, the childhood friend of the twins and now grieving husband of El. His past and present role in their lives I continually guessed at, and although some of the mystery began to clear by the halfway point of the story, there were still plenty of shocking revelations to come.

The ending was relayed in multiple parts, and each time I thought the surprises were done, another one was thrown in. When the finale came though, I thought it perfect. Overall, this dark, psychological suspense/mystery is a memorable debut from Carole Johnstone, and it has me eagerly looking forward to what she comes out with next.

You’ll Thank Me ForThis, By Nina Siegal ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Domestic Abuse, Mystery, Suspense, The Netherlands

Thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 23rd, 2021

256 Pages

Synopsis: A pulse-pounding psychological thriller based on the popular Dutch tradition of blindfolding teens and pre-teens and dropping them in the middle of a forest—and what happens when it goes horribly wrong.

Twelve-year-old Karin is blindfolded and dropped into the Hoge Veluwe National Forest with three other children. With nothing but a few basic supplies and emergency food, the children are tasked with working together to navigate one of the Netherlands’ most beautiful and wild locations and return to where their families are anxiously waiting.

Karin quickly finds herself at odds with two of the older teens, and suddenly looks up to see that the other children have vanished. As Karin struggles against the elements to find her way back, she soon realizes that something far more sinister lurks in the woods.

Grace, Karin’s mother,and an American married to a Dutch husband, has been nervous about this practice from the start. At first she tells herself that the space is good for her daughter, but as the hours begin to tick by and the children fail to arrive at their designated campsite, she becomes certain that something has gone horribly wrong.

As Karin fights for survival, and Grace hastens to find her daughter, the night culminates in the reveal of a deadly secret—and a shocking confrontation—that will push each of them to her edge. (Goodreads)

As you can see in the synopsis, You’ll Thank Me Later is based on the Dutch tradition of “dropping,” in which groups of pre-teens are left in the woods, where they have to work together to find their way out. Here’s a 2019 New York Times article which tells more about it.

Admittedly my first reaction was: “Are they crazy? Oh my God! How can they blindfold their babies and desert them in the woods? What kind of horrible parents would do that?” However, that reaction is coming from my deep belief in Murphy’s Law, and the pretty much irrefutable fact that if anything can go wrong, it will. Then I started reading more about it and learned that the UK has a right of passage called the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and even the Boy Scouts of America have sponsored similar outings. And I do understand the purpose behind these: Cooperation, self reliance, etc.

After finishing this book though, I say again Murphy’s Law people! The story itself is a quick one at a little over 256 pages. I liked the main characters Karin and her mother, Grace, and the chapters alternate between the two of them. The mystery certainly kept me guessing almost right up until the end. My biggest issue concerns the dialogue which often comes across as stilted and rather awkward, which is surprising as the author is American. Overall though, I found You’ll Thank Me For This an entertaining read that I easily finished in under two hours.

The Echo Wife, by Sarah Gailey ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Science Fiction, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 16th, 2021

256 Pages

Synopsis: Evelyn Caldwell’s husband has been having an affair—with Evelyn Caldwell. Or, to be exact, a genetically cloned replica.

After a morning that begins with a confrontation, and ends with Nathan’s body bleeding out on the kitchen floor, the two Caldwell wives will have to think fast—before sharing everything includes sharing a jail cell.

I’m going to straight up say that The Echo Wife needs to be made into a movie! What a fantastic read this was, filled with surprising twists and turns right up until the last pages. It’s both a character and plot driven tale with each pushing the other. Evelyn is a cold, calculating researcher and empathy doesn’t come easily to her. Yet ultimately she come across sympathetically through her flashbacks to her unhappy childhood. Martine, Evelyn’s clone and a complete innocent, is someone who will make your heart ache. But as these two women work together, they find strength in each other and make quite the formidable team. The Echo Wife has been compared to Westworld, and while it shares a few similarities, it’s not a thriller. Instead, it’s a slow burning suspense, that chapter by chapter, reels you in. I easily finished it in one sitting and I highly recommend it to readers who are not only looking for a good suspense tale, but also ones who enjoy pondering ethics, and the nature vs nurture debate.

The Obsession (The Obsession #1), By Jesse Q. Sutanto ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Domestic Abuse, Drug Dealing, Mental Illness, Suicide, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 2nd, 2021

304 Pages

Synopsis: 

A classic sort of love story…except somebody might wind up dead.

No one knows Delilah like Logan does. Nobody. He makes sure of it by learning everything he can through her social media and watching her through a hidden camera he has trained on her house. Some might call him a stalker. Logan prefers to be called “romantic.” 

But after Logan sees Delilah killing her abusive stepfather, he realizes there’s still more about her to discover. His sweet, perfect Delilah isn’t so perfect after all.

Delilah knows she should feel guilty, but all she feels is free. She’s so over the men in her life controlling her. Except Logan saw what she did, and he won’t let her forget it.

Delilah is done being the victim. And she refuses to be a character in Logan’s twisted fantasy. If Logan won’t let her go…she’ll make him.

Ahh, young love. Is there anything sweeter than that first teen romance? Well, not in Jesse Sotanto’s crazy, twisted The Obsession. The premise is quite simple: Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Boy discovers secret about girl and blackmails her. Girl is not what she seems and turns the tables on her stalker/blackmailer. The alternating views between Logan and Delilah help flesh out both their personalities which is essential because as you can probably guess from the synopsis, they’re pretty complicated. The dialogue between them is sharp and even occasionally humorous which is a nice contrast to the dark themes of the story. The pace is very fast, in some scenes, a little too fast, especially with regards to the ending, but I can unequivocally state that The Obsession kept me completely mesmerized and I can’t wait for the sequel. I highly recommend this for fans of Pretty Little Liars, and You, by Caroline Kepnes.

Mayhem, by Estelle Laure ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

1980s, Domestic Abuse, Horror, Mystery, Substance Abuse, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 14th, 2020

304 Pages

Synopsis: It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else. But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There, she meets the kids who live with her aunt and, it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage of her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit, and which will change her life for good. But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.

From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.

The premise for Mayhem checked all my boxes. It’s set in 1987 (the eighties is my favorite decade), and it’s described as a combination of The Craft, and Lost Boys. As soon as I read that, I just knew I had to get my greedy little fingers on it. As I made my way through the first half of the book though, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with how much it directly lifts from The Lost Boys, without adding anything new. I mean, the Frog brothers, and Sax Man, are included. Even grandpa’s quote: “One thing living in Santa Carla I never could stomach, all the damn vampires” makes its way in, except the setting is changed to Santa Maria. The cave’s description sounds exactly like the vampire’s nest in the movie, and the characters start out eerily similar. But after I reached the halfway point, the story seemed to find a little of its own footing. I wound up liking the story behind the Brayburn legacy, and the characters grew on me. I particularly like the way the mother-daughter relationship progresses, as Roxy begins to recover, Mayhem is able to get out of the unhealthy caretaker role she’s trapped in. In the end I’ve settled on a neutral rating of 3 stars. I’m almost positive there’s going to be a sequel, so I’m curious as to where Laure takes this.

All the Pretty Things, by Emily Arsenault~ 2.0 Stars

Tags

Domestic Abuse, Mystery, Overdose, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harrassment, Suicidal Thoughts, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 17th, 2020

352 Pages

Synopsis: For Ivy, summer means roller-coaster season, spinning cotton candy at the Fabuland amusement park, and hanging out with her best friend, Morgan. But this summer is different.

One morning, Morgan finds a dead body. It’s their former classmate and coworker Ethan. To make matters worse, Morgan is taken to a hospital psych ward only days later, and she’s not saying much—not even to Ivy.

The police claim that Ethan simply took a bad fall, but Ivy isn’t convinced and realizes it’s up to her to get answers. What she finds is unsettling—it’s clear that some people aren’t being honest about Ethan’s last night at Fabuland. Including Morgan. And the more secrets Ivy uncovers, the closer she gets to unraveling dark truths that will change her life forever.

From the premise I was expecting All the Pretty Things to be a fun mystery in the same vein as Nancy Drew. Instead, I wound up actively disliking most of the characters including Ivy, and the mystery was easily solved before the halfway point. The rather cavalier and outdated manner in which Morgan’s mental health was treated, also made me cringe. The only reason why I’m giving this two stars is because I loved the seedy, somewhat menacing setting of Fabuland (although it left me with unwanted cravings for cotton candy and fried dough), and I was appreciative of Ivy’s devotion to Morgan. Otherwise, I had to force myself through scene after scene of Ivy wandering around intrusively questioning other characters who insisted on giving annoyingly vague and coded answers. And this, while all the time the person who obviously had something to do with not only Ethan’s death but also other tawdry goings on, was right there in front of her with a neon sign flashing above his head stating “I am loathsome scum!” Every scene this character was in had me wanting to take a shower after. While I can’t bring myself to recommend All the Pretty Things, there are some readers who enjoyed it, so as always I encourage you to check out other reviews. I also want to warn you that there are some themes that could be triggers including: suicidal thoughts, overdose, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and assault, mental health.

The Exes’ Revenge, by Jo Jakeman ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Domestic Abuse, Thriller

Thanks to Edelweiss and Penguin Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: A wickedly dark debut thriller about three women who’ve all been involved with the same man and realize the one thing they all have in common is that they all want revenge against him…

Divorces are often messy, and Imogen’s is no exception. Phillip Rochester is controlling, abusive, and determined to make things as difficult as possible. When he shows up without warning demanding that Imogen move out of their house by the end of the month or he’ll sue for sole custody of their young son, Imogen is ready to snap. 

In a moment of madness, Imogen does something unthinkable—something that puts her in control for the first time in years. She’s desperate to protect her son, and to claim authority over her own life.

But she wasn’t expecting both Phillip’s ex-wife and his new girlfriend to get tangled up in her plans. These three very different women—and unlikely allies—reluctantly team up to take revenge against a man who’s wronged them all.

The Exes’ Revenge is a book that I really shouldn’t have liked as much as I did. It’s insanely over-the-top, with completely ridiculous and unbelievable plot twists, and characters that make truly horrendous decisions, yet despite all this it somehow worked and I don’t even know why. I do want to include a warning though for any reader who’s been a victim of domestic abuse, both physical and psychological. There are quite a few scenes that could serve as triggers so this might not be the right book for you.

Imogen is the despicable Phillip’s soon to be ex-wife. I liked her a lot and her devotion to her son Alistair. I found her very empathetic, so much so, that when it’s her appalling decisions and actions that set everything into motion, I was still rooting for her much to my shock. Ruby is Phillip’s first wife and she doesn’t really make a personal appearance until about halfway through the book. Out of the three women, she was the one who annoyed me the most with her persistent and sickening devotion to Phillip. But something changes and I did wind up liking her near the end. Naomi is Phillip’s current girlfriend and initially comes across as selfish and callous. There’s a lot more to her though and after Imogen, she wound up being my favorite character. Which brings us to Phillip who is one of the most despicable characters I’ve come across in a very long time. I’m not usually a violent person, but I wanted him to die slowly and painfully.

The story, as I said is completely bonkers and I kept shaking my head in disbelief, yet I couldn’t tear myself away. There are some truly brutal scenes that made me wince, but there’s also some unexpected black humor which had me laughing a few times. The ending is perfect and ties everything up in a nice neat bow.

Overall I think the Exes’ Revenge is a highly entertaining thriller that captured my attention from the very first page. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys thriller and would just advise that before you jump in, leave any expectations of believability at the door and hang on for a roller coaster of a ride!

 

 

 

Mind Games (Lock & Mori #2) ~ By Heather Petty – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Domestic Abuse, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: December 6th, 2016

304 Pages

Synopsis: You know their names. Now discover their beginnings.

Mori’s abusive father is behind bars…and she has never felt less safe. Threatening letters have started appearing on her doorstep, and the police are receiving anonymous tips suggesting that Mori–not her father–is the Regent’s Park killer. To make matters worse, the police are starting to believe them.

Through it all, Lock–frustrating, brilliant, gorgeous Lock–is by her side. The two of them set out to discover who is framing Mori, but in a city full of suspects, the task is easier said than done. With the clock ticking, Mori will discover just how far she is willing to go to make sure that justice is served, and no one–not even Lock–will be able to stop her.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Sherlock Holmes and will give any adaptation a try? Well, Lock & Mori is one of the latest incarnations and it’s truly unique because it not only doesn’t just modernize the Sherlock and Moriarty relationship, but Jamie Moriarty aka Mori, is a girl. Before picking Mind Games up, even though it works as a standalone I recommend reading the previous book because you’ll get so much more out of the story, especially in regards to Mori’s relationships with Sherlock and her completely batshit crazy father. Sorry for the language, but I really can’t stand this guy. Mind Games begins exactly where Lock & Mori ended. Mori’s abusive and murderous police sergeant father is locked up in jail, but that hasn’t made her or her brothers any safer. Not only are the police doing just about everything they can to throw doubt on Mori’s story and exonerate her father, but there’s someone out there equally determined to bring Mori down and the suspect pool just keeps widening. Before I get to the actual mystery, let me first address the romance between Mori and Sherlock. Heather Petty has done a marvelous job in recreating these two characters. Sherlock loves Mori, but is constantly overstepping boundaries in his efforts to protect her. Normally this would annoy the heck out of me, but Petty balances Sherlock’s more irritating qualities, with his loyalty and love for Mori. His cluelessness in regards to his treatment of Mori is actually endearing at times. It’s obvious he respects her, but his innate stubbornness has him constantly trying to take over. Mori, the true star of the story, refuses Sherlocks take charge attitude, and even if you didn’t know that Holmes and Moriarty are two of literatures greatest arch-enemies, this foreshadows that their romance is not meant to be. Throughout the story Mori battles her feelings for Lock, while trying to maintain her independence. Heartbreakingly, this is mostly due to her feelings that she doesn’t deserve happiness, and her determination to keep Lock safe. She has a prickly personality and can come off as being unlikable at times, but Mori is trapped in a horrible situation and her upbringing hasn’t exactly taught her how to trust. The story itself is fast-paced and the mystery had me guessing right up until the cliffhanger ending, which caught me completely by surprise. There are a couple of loose threads that are left hanging, but hopefully those will be resolved in the 3rd book. I believe teens who love exciting mysteries will love this series. I also highly recommend this to any Sherlock aficionados who have always been fascinated by the complex relationship between Holmes and Moriarty. I can’t wait to see where Petty takes her two main characters next!