Release Week Review: The Girl Upstairs by Jessica R. Patch

  

“Jessica R. Patch weaves a dark, twisty tapestry that’s both unsettling and unexpectedly hopeful. Masterful.” –New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan

She bought this house to save her marriage. Unearthing its secrets might just claim her life.

Gwen McDaniel’s life is broken. But she knows the perfect place to fix it. Cold Harbor, Maine is where she used to vacation with her parents as a child, an idyllic small town with views of Acadia National Park. Here, she and Steven can start over, renovating their cliff-side fixer-upper while patching up their marriage. Soon, everything will be better.

Except from the moment they arrive, Gwen sees and hears things, and it’s more than just the drafts and shadows that are part of any old house. Steven downplays her fears, warning her not to fixate on problems as she has in the past. But Gwen spent years as a homicide detective, and her instincts don’t lie. Something happened here. Proof comes when she rips up the attic’s old carpet to discover a chilling message carved into the wood.

As Gwen delves into the history of the house and Cold Harbor community, she begins to piece the fragments together. And gradually, a terrifying picture emerges: A missing girl. A house of horrors. And a dark, decades-old nightmare that is more haunting than Gwen ever imagined…

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What I thought about The Girl Upstairs

Something is creepy from the start in this psychological suspense tale, complete with the rumors of a haunted house, stories of murder, human bones on the property and a family that just seems "off", and I don't mean just a little! I spent the day reading this because I couldn't put it down. 

Gwen McDaniel is the narrator. She's a former detective who has lost purpose in her life, along with her job. There are hints from the start that she's had some sort of trauma. Her marriage rest on tenuous ground. I just had to keep reading very early on to find out what was going on with this family and their new home. 

I've been reading this author for a while and each book is better than the last. While branded a Christian fiction writer, this aspect of the story is handled with sensitivity rather than righteousness and when juxtaposed with the dark elements of the story, the inclusion seems understandable. And I like that not everything is spelled out specifically and calls for the reader to complete the picture. 

I really enjoyed this story. It grabbed my attention right away and kept it until the end. The characters are not flat. They are multi-layered and interesting. The story is intriguing with the feel of a haunted house to maintain the suspense of the setting. And the clues. The twists and turns made for a good mystery to unravel. This one checked all my boxes. 5 stars.

 

Review: The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

 

She can hop into any novel, she just can’t stay there. Come along with the book witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game.

Rainy March is a proud third-generation book witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps into and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes. 

Book witches live by a strict Real people belong in the real word; fictional characters belong in works of fiction…. Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don’t even think about it.

Which is why Rainy has been forbidden from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series. If she’s ever caught with him again, she’ll be expelled from her book coven—and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name.

But when her beloved grandfather disappears and a priceless book is stolen, there’s only one person she trusts to help her solve the case: the Duke. Their quest takes them through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets. 

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What I thought about The Book Witch

What if you could just jump into your favorite story and interact with your favorite characters? Book witch Rainy March can, and she is called to help in the fictional world. There are rules of course, but rules are made for breaking!

This story is super creative and a bit mind bending as I've come to expect from this author. The attention to detail and realism of it all is just fabulous. The writing moves along nicely and the twists and reveals keep coming.   It touched about my early reading experiences, which were wonderful. It made me remember books like the Nancy Drew series, which were required reading in my early days.  I really enjoyed this story. Very clever and lots of fun.

 

Review: The Ten Year Lie (Dark and Dangerous #1) by Debra Webb

A wrongfully convicted man and the key witness against him join forces to figure out who framed him for murder in a riveting novel of small-town secrets by USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb.

Every person in Pine Bluff, Alabama, stood behind Emily Wallace when she testified against Clint Austin. After all, Emily knows what she saw that terrible Clint, covered in blood, holding the body of her best friend Heather.

But Clint has always maintained his innocence, and now, after a successful appeal, he has come home to prove it.

The whole town is furious about his return, and Emily becomes obsessed with sending Clint back to prison—until her father reveals a devastating secret that casts doubt on the whole trial. What if she was wrong?

When another person with a connection to Heather turns up dead, Clint and Emily embark on a desperate search to find the truth. Because ten years ago, they were both betrayed by someone they know. So who, in a town full of liars, is getting away with murder?

Revised Previously published as Traceless, this edition of The Ten Year Lie includes editorial revisions.

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What I thought about The Ten Year Lie

Clint Austin goes to jail for ten years for a crime he didn't commit. When he is released due to issues with the evidence against him, he returns to Pine Bluff to look for who set him up.

Emily Wallace also returns home to make sure Clint never forgets he's a killer. The people in Pine Bluff hate him and want him gone.

But there are real holes in the evidence and the stories from all involved. Can Emily and Clint work together to solve the case? After all, Emily did have a little thing for Clint before he killed her friend!

I liked this story and became really involved once Emily and Clint deal with their relationship. The romantic elements were solid and entertaining, and the mystery of who killed Heather unravels with a few surprises. My only complaint was that the first half was a bit slow and it took some time for this to become a page-turner for me. 4 stars.