The Girl in the Missing Poster
by Barbara Copperthwaite

24 June, 1994 – Nineteen-year-old Leila Hawkins runs from her father’s birthday party into the stormy night wearing her sister Stella’s long red coat. Some say she was crying, others swear they saw her get into a passing car. Nobody ever saw her again.

Present – This time every year, on the anniversary of that fateful night, Stella decorates the small seaside town she grew up in with pictures of her beautiful missing sister. But after twenty-five years, is it even worth hoping someone will come forward? Perhaps the upcoming documentary will spark people’s memories by reuniting all the guests who were there the night Leila went missing.

As old friends gather and long-buried secrets begin to surface, the last thing Stella ever expects is a direct response from someone claiming they took Leila. They want private details of Stella’s life in return for answers. But as the true events of the night of the party play out once again, who is lying? And who is next?

From the bestselling author of The Perfect Friend, this absolutely gripping psychological thriller will keep you up all night and leave you sleeping with the light on. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and The Wife Between Us this book is for you!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I’m thrown by him, I admit. One minute he’s a gentleman coming to the rescue, the next he’s trying to sabotage me, then claiming he did it all for my good; he’s got more sides than a Rubik’s Cube.

It’s been a long time since anyone showed interest in me, and I’m not sure how to feel or how much to trust myself. Lately, there’s been a lot of blood rushing around neglected places, and lots of feelings churning around me that I thought I’d outgrown.

Leila wouldn’t have touched him with a barge pole – not even someone else’s barge pole. She liked the quieter, more studious type. The kind you could settle down with and introduce to your parents without cringing.

That woman doesn’t grab life, she hugs it to her bosom, covers it with air kisses, then presses some diamonds into its hands as thanks…

My Review:

This busy tale was brilliantly plotted and shrewdly paced while it had more twists and curves than a rope factory. I found myself holding my breath while reading the intense and treacherous written exchanges between the murderer and obsessed sister of his long-ago victim. There were multiple suspects who were cleverly built-up and ever so slowly eliminated. I lost track of how many theories I had spun and cast aside. The writing was superb and kept me riveted to my Kindle all day.   I was as obsessed and driven as the surviving twin to unravel this perplexing murder mystery and fear there may have actually been some growling and hissing when my reading was interrupted.   Barbara Copperthwaite is an evil genius and master storyteller. I was utterly bamboozled.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

The woman must think she buttoned up the back.

At the end of the short affair, she’d come out of it with her soul stained with self-loathing and the knowledge that sometimes the open ocean was better than the wrong port in a storm.

Tolerance and diversity extend to the little things in life. It isn’t just about colour or gender or sexuality or religion. It’s about everyone being allowed to do things their way. If we can’t be tolerant of other people’s choices, how can we be expected to be tolerant of the things they have no choice over?’

He had the gift of saying everything while he said nothing, sharing a secret while keeping it safe.

My Review:

Jo Allen has conjured another twisty and clever conundrum that taunted and teased my curious and cynical nature. She has strong word voodoo and a massive top-shelf vocabulary that keeps the little pea in my brain purring. Her latest missive was a busy and absorbing police procedural with multiple storylines involving family drama, romance, workplace tension, unresolved ex-issues, and a confounding killing spree in a Cumbrian village that kept the detectives hopping. There were no shortages of relationship and homophobic issues or suspects, although the exact cause for the odd selection of victims remained elusive.

I had devised several creative and elaborate theories and while I had it narrowed down to the correct suspect and method, I erred in their motivation. So, not a total win, but more than a partial victory.  I still scored an entertaining read that also taught me a new Scottish phrase for my word list with “buttoned up the back,” which Mr. Google tells me means being thought a fool.

Kandra brought me to my knees when she fled Cross Creek to follow dreams that didn’t include me. I picked up the pieces of my broken world and built a new life—one free of heartache. I thought she was in the past and would stay there, but I thought wrong. Kandra is back, and if I’m not careful, she’ll gut me again. As much as she stole my heart, she left behind the longing. What happens if I let her in again and she …

I escaped small-town life, searching for more, and thought I found it. I lived the life I dreamed of, a big city, a great job, a doting boyfriend. It’s funny how quickly dreams turned into nightmares. My ex-boyfriend fooled me into believing I could have everything, but he left me with nothing. I never imagined I’d wind up back in Cross Creek, scared, alone, and pregnant. Seeing Noah makes me wonder how I could have ever left him. He’s everything I didn’t know I needed. I love my child, and I love Noah. Is it too late to have it all?

Find out in Broken Hart, the first book in the long-awaited Cross Creek Series.

Paperback: 347 Pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (February 1, 2021)

Needing to escape her abusive marriage, Hadley flees with her two kids, knowing it might be her only chance. A woman who can’t even kill a spider, Hadley soon finds herself pushed to the limits as she fights to protect her family.

Grace, new mother of baby Miles, desperately wants to put her rough past behind her for good, but she finds it impossible when her path crosses with Hadley’s, and her quest for a new start quickly spirals out of control and turns into a terrifying flight for survival.

Stronger together than apart, the two find their fates inextricably entwined, and as the danger closes in, each must decide how much she is willing to risk for the other.

A powerful story of self-discovery, Hadley & Grace is the heart-racing tale of two women facing insurmountable odds, racing to stay one step ahead of the trouble that is chasing them, and discovering new kinds of love and family along the way.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Handing him over to Vanessa feels a little like handing a live grenade to a known sufferer of seizures.

“You don’t need to gloat about it,” Grace says. “I’m not gloating.” “You are. You’re gloating all over the place. You’re completely covered in gloat.”

The media storm around this is going to blow up. He can already see a Lifetime Original Movie being made. Hell, the motel clerk, that scrawny kid at the desk who went white as the walls around him when Mark showed his badge, probably has six marriage proposals by now and a dozen benefactors willing to give him a new smile. Every damn person in the article is going to be a celebrity and a hero, while the FBI is being painted as the Big Bad Wolf hunting Little Red Riding Hood and taking money from little old ladies and young men who need dental work.

She looks like a Greek goddess—empowered, bold, and fearless— like she should be chiseled of marble and holding up a temple.

… rumors have been floating around about a movie being made. Grace cringes at the idea, certain someone like Angelina Jolie will be cast to play Hadley, while some actress who looks like Nanny McPhee will play her.

My Review:

I was riveted and on edge while reading this cunningly crafted book and was holding my breath that the two protagonists would survive, and it didn’t look likely. The storylines were intriguing, tragic, highly emotive, and perfectly pitched to maintain an undercurrent of tension while also balancing out the emotions with more lighthearted and amusing observations and memories of two women who by happenstance and a series of poor choices became bonded and accidental fugitives on a cross-country run from the FBI with their children in tow.

The pacing and storytelling were nothing short of brilliant and evoked a steady stream of heart clenches and keen visuals. I ached for the woman working as hard as she could to keep her head above water and wearing worn-out shoes with superglued soles while contending with a screaming inconsolable baby. Suzanne Redfearn has mad skills and a rabid new fangirl.

Love comes when you least expect it…

Tressa Buckland likes her quiet life in Port Lowdy, with its cobbled streets and colorful terraced houses overlooking the sea. Her job at the local paper allows her to pursue her art in her free time, with no one but her tabby cat Ginger Pickles to mind her in Mermaid Terrace. But then the owner of the paper is called away on an emergency, and it’s up to Tressa to run the paper for six months. Her first task: find a new part-time journalist.

Dan Byrne is the angriest man in Ireland – or so the readers of his very successful column, ‘Dan takes on the world’, think. But after a story goes south and he loses his job in Dublin, Dan has no choice but to start afresh. When an opportunity comes up in sleepy Cornwall, Dan and his Golden Retriever Ritchie set off for a new adventure.

For Tressa, Dan’s arrival to Port Lowdy changes everything. Tressa tries not to look too deeply at her own life, but Dan sees a story to uncover in absolutely everyone – even her. The two of them couldn’t be more different… yet, if they can find a way to work together, they may just breathe new life and joy into this sleepy seaside village.

Finding Love at Mermaid Terrace is a heartwarming new village romance about the power of love and kindness, from the bestselling author of Starting Over at Acorn Cottage.

What Now?
by Shari Low

Twenty years ago, Carly Cooper went on an epic quest to track down all the men she’d ever loved and lost in the hope that one of them was her Mr Right.

Now, two decades and two teenage sons later, she thinks she might have got it all wrong.

As the years have passed, lots of things have changed, leaving Carly asking ‘What Now?’

With a divorce and an empty nest on the horizon, Carly sets off once more to Los Angeles with her band of trusty girlfriends, to find the carefree, wild and adventurous Carly Cooper that she used to be.

On this latest quest, Carly discovers a few home truths and has to decide If her marriage is worth saving or is there a new happy-ever-after out there, just waiting for her…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I realised we were both wearing the same outfit: white jumpers, ripped faded jeans. However, with my size fourteen figure and her size eight, we looked like a before and after poster advertising weight-loss shakes.

…it icked me out even to think about women lusting after my brother, but, to his credit, he only had eyes for Carol. Especially as she’d assured him that she’d take her straightening irons to his pubic hair while he slept if he dared to consider infidelity.

She could have married George Clooney and she’d still have found fault. She always had that sour expression – like her knickers were on too tight.

Christ on a bike, I wouldn’t want to have to Hoover that place. You’d just be finished and it’d be time to start again.

‘Is she the one that did that orgasm scene in the café? Our Josie once copied that at a coffee morning in the community centre. They asked us to leave.’ I turned to Carol. ‘Is it just me, or is she the gift that keeps on giving?’

‘…blame the menopause,’ Val announced, making several people around us choke on their drinks. ‘When I was going through the change, I was forever just blurting out whatever was on my mind. Although, my Don says I’m still doing it, so this must be the longest menopause in history.’

My Review:

I enjoyed every perfectly pitched word of this highly engaging and delightful book. It was definitely giggle-snort worthy. Ms. Low’s storylines and writing style were good fun and sparkled with wry wit, clever levity, and situations that resonated deeply with me. The characters were endearingly quirky, highly invested, tirelessly supportive, and interesting women whom I covet to have as my own circle of friends.   My favorite of all was of course Auntie Val. I suspect Ms. Low was following me around and taking notes, although I am not quite as well accessorized. I aspire to ascend to Val’s lofty heights of Auntiedom and colorful fashion sense. I adore Shari Low and am scheming to read all of her past and future scribblings as I am enamored with her deliciously amusing and pleasantly absorbing wordcraft.