All the books I read in January 2024
1. Anna O
Anna O is a 25 year old woman in the prime of her life. But one night she kills two people for seemingly no reason. And afterwards falls into a deep sleep and never wakes up. The clinical term is resignation syndrome and Anna is held in a psychiatric facility with hopes that she will wake up one day and face the consequences of her horrendous actions. After 5 years of no success in waking her, Anna is transferred to a new facility to be under the care of Dr. Benedict Prince, an expert in the field of sleep-related homicides.
Dr. Prince’s techniques work and soon Anna is awake and can finally explain what happened that fateful night. But the actual events that occurred are not what people think. And soon both Dr. Prince and Anna are in danger. It wasn’t my favorite book of the bunch but it did keep me engaged and there are a bunch of twists and turns that throw me off. Rating: 8
2. The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti
I am more of a fan of mysteries and thrillers, but I do love a feel good book from time to time. Priscilla, Devon and Bailey are sisters mourning the recent loss of their mother. And while settling her estate, they discover that she had a home on the Amalfi Coast that they never knew about. Along with the ownership papers, the sisters find a love letter from a complete stranger that seemed to have a relationship with their mother years ago. Though the 3 sisters have grown apart, they decide to travel to Italy to settle their mother’s estate and get answers about her past. They discover things about their mother that they never knew and a romance that shaped the course of their mother’s life. A tad emotional from time to time, but it’s a cozy read that gives you a nice boost of serotonin. Rating: 8
3. The Other Mothers
Back to regularly scheduled programming with this next mystery. Lots of characters so it can be hard at first to keep up but it gets easier as the book goes on. Tash is a freelance journalist and mother to a young son. She befriends other mothers at her son’s playgroup in hopes of building relationships and feeling less alone. But when a local nanny is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Tash’s journalist mind kicks into action. She wants to find out what happened to this nanny and soon realizes that many of the other other mothers know more about this than they are letting on. Rating: 8
4. The Perfect Son
I know Frieda McFadden’s books are very popular but I’ve only really ever LOVED one. And the others are enjoyable but not amazing in my opinion. This was a really good but not great mystery but still worth reading especially if you like her books. Erika’s life seems perfect and happy with her loving husband and two teenage children. But Erika’s son has always been a bit off. He is incredibly charming, handsome and intelligent but exhibited very disturbing behavior as a child that Erika fears could eventually escalate into something more dangerous. So she is vigilant about his life, his whereabouts and especially the girls he likes.
Erika’s worst fear comes true one night when a young teenage girl goes missing and her son, Liam was one of the last people to see her. Did he kidnap her? Or even worse? Liam is adamant that he did not do anything to her and doesn’t know where she is, but Erika isn’t sure she believes him. The ending will definitely be a surprise and one that you may not see coming! Rating: 8.5
5. Watching You
I kept thinking I had this book figured out but each twist and turn kept me second guessing myself. Joey is a newlywed and after living in Ibiza for a few years, returns to her hometown of Bristol England with her new husband, Alfie, to start their life together. Because finances are tight, Joey and Alfie move in with Joey’s brother and his wife to save some money in order to eventually move out on their own.
Joey’s neighbor, Tom Fitzwilliam, is the principal of the local high school and incredibly charming. And soon Joey finds herself somewhat infatuated with him. But there are allegations surrounding Tom Fitzwilliam and a local woman is convinced that he is responsible for inappropriate relationships with his students. After a horrific murder occurs, it looks like Tom Fitzwilliam may just be the monster that some think he is. But Joey isn’t sure and worries they are pinning this crime on the wrong person. Rating: 8.5
6. Dead of Winter
Ugh, I really struggled to get through this one. So many characters and while the premise of the book seems interesting, it dragged on and on without ever building much suspense. Which was odd because the reviews all talk about how gripping and intense the story is but I did not agree. Christa and her boyfriend join a tour group heading to the Rocky Mountains to go exploring. It’s the dead of winter so conditions are dangerous. But their tour guide is experienced and well-versed in guiding groups through this area. But an intense snowstorm unexpectedly hits the area and the group is forced to take shelter in a small remote cabin.
While they are waiting out the storm, their tour guide goes missing and is found mutilated a short distance away from the cabin. The group has no idea who could have committed such a heinous crime. But before long more of them are killed and Christa is wondering why this is happening. There is definitely a huge twist at the end but the build up to it was so tedious that I almost didn’t get through to that point. Rating: 6
See more book reviews.
Comments