Who Slays the Wicked/ CS Harris/ 341 pgs

This is book 14 in Harris' long-running series. Sebastian St. Cyr is a viscount and an amateur sleuth who helps out Bow Street every now and then. In this one, his niece's nasty husband has been found brutally stabbed to death while bound in his bedroom. Sebastian had warned his niece, Stephanie that her future husband was not a nice man, but she married him anyway. She does not, however, live with him, instead choosing to safely reside with his father. There are plenty of suspects in this one, as well as related murders and quite a bit of carnage left by Sebastian as he tries to get to the truth. This is a solid entry in the series, however I am disappointed that at least the last two books have ignored the overarching mystery of Sebastian's parentage.

The Flatshare/ Beth O'Leary/ 336 pgs

This was quite a lovely story with a unique premise. Tiffy, an editorial assistant at a small publishing house, needs to move out of her ex's flat and into something cheap. Leon, a hospice nurse, works nights and needs extra cash to help his falsely imprisoned brother. He posts an ad offering to share his flat--he'll only be there 9AM-6PM weekdays (weekends he's at his girlfriend's place, though she's not in the picture for long). Though they agree to share the flat, Tiffy and Leon don't meet for months. They do, however, communicate through post-it notes in a fun and quirky way. Tiffy is like a big ball of sunshine--with a shadowy side. As the book progresses, she comes to a serious realization about her previous relationship. Leon is more introverted, which shows in the way his chapters are written, but his humor and kindness still show through. I really enjoyed this one and hope O'Leary plans to write more of the same.

A Dark and Twisted Tide/ Sharon (SJ) Bolton/ 444 pgs

This is book four in the Lacey Flint series. I think Bolton writes outstanding stand alone novels. The Flint series is good too, just not quite to the same level. In this installment Lacey is living on a boat in a creek that feeds into the Thames as well as working for the River Police. Suddenly, shrouded bodies of Pashtun women from Afghanistan are discovered in the river. The question is if those who traffic in illegal immigration are disposing of the bodies or if something more sinister is going on. The river makes for a creepy atmosphere here. The ending was a stretch but it's a fast, intense read.

The Girl Before/ JP Delaney / 336 pgs

Despite my weariness with publishers using the word "girl" in titles when referring to full-grown women, I decided to read this suspense novel I'd heard a lot about. And unlike with The Couple Next Door, I'm glad I read this one! While it is also written in the present tense, it's first person, and though I occasionally found this annoying, it wasn't nearly as bad as the third person present of the previous book.

It's told from the alternating viewpoints of Emma and Jane, two women who end up renting the same house, years apart. It's creepy and intriguing and there are many twists--good twists. You really have no idea what's going on until the very last page. I'd love to say more about the plot but almost everything would be a spoiler. This is an emotional story too. Jane has recently lost a stillborn child and her feelings are real and palpable. I can definitely recommend this story.

I See You/Clare Mackintosh/384 pgs

If  you regularly commute to work via public transportation, you may not want to read this book:-) Zoe Walker takes the London Underground to work and back every day. One day she notices her picture in a classified ad in the paper. This rightly creeps her out, but she becomes even more worried and paranoid when she discovers that another woman whose picture appeared in the same ad has been murdered. As with Mackintosh's first book, I Let You Go, this one alternates between the victim's (Zoe's) point of view and that of the investigating officer. Here that's Kelly Swift. Kelly has been demoted, for reasons the reader will discover, and at first is the only member of the police who will listen to Zoe. This is a truly creepy tale, especially when we get a few short chapters from the "stalker/mastermind." I was engrossed by this book up until the reveal of the mastermind, whose motivation I found wholly unbelievable. The book was only saved, by a narrow margin, by the very, very end. I seem to always find flaws with Mackintosh's books, but I enjoy her writing style and intend to keep reading her books.

House of Silk / Anthony Horowitz 294 p.

Anthony Horowitz captures the essence of the Sherlock Holmes genre.  Dr. Watson is back with Sherlock Holmes at 221 B Baker Street while Mary Watson is off to care for an ailing child.  A fine arts dealer, Edmund Carstairs, comes to Holmes for help-- a strange man with a flat hat is stalking him very publicly.  Carstairs relates that man is a ring leader for a Boston crime gang who's ire he provoked when he attempted to get the culprits who stole his four valuable landscape paintings.  The murder investigation of the Boston criminal drags the pair deeper into intrigue.

House of Silk / Anthony Horowitz 294 p.

Girl on the Train/ Paula Hawkins/ 323 pages

The Girl on the Train is a debut novel for reporter Paula Hawkins.  Rachel rides the train into London on a daily basis.  At one stop she has created a fantasy couple that she watches daily.  Just a few houses away is Rachel's former house, now inhabited by Tom and Anna and their baby girl.  One day Rachel sees something that does not fit with her fantasy and the next day Megan, the female half of the fantasy couple, disappears.  Who hurt Megan?  Did she leave on her own, was it Scott, her husband?  Or did Rachel have something to do with it?  Drinking and blackouts hinder Rachel as she tries to solve the riddle.  This book would appeal to readers of 'Gone Girl' and similar psycho-dramas.  For more information see the SCCCLD website.

The Canterbury Sisters by Kim Wright (316 p.)

After her mother dies and her long-time boyfriend leaves her, Che Milan travels to London to fulfill a promise to spread her mother's ashes along the Canterbury Trail in England.  Che joins a group of women who are also making this sixty mile pilgrimage from London to Canterbury.  The leader of the tour is an English professor of Chaucer.  She tells the group that they will choose a theme and each person will have a day to share their story (real or fictional) that follows the theme.  The theme she presents to them is "love." The individual stories will move you, make you think and even make you laugh.  There is plenty to talk about in a book club after reading this book!

Before I Go to Sleep / S.J. Watson 360 p. ALA Rusa Reading List - Best Adult Genre Fiction Award

Christine Lucas lives one day at a time virtually the same day over and over again because she cannot retain any memory overnight. Every day Ben, her husband, must introduce himself. She doesn't remember her son or her best friend. Dr. Nash is helping her with her memory. He calls after Ben leaves for work to remind of her journal. There she learns about her life; and, bit by bit ads more each day. Gradually begins to see inconsistencies in what Ben tells her. In her journal she writes of her love for Ben. Why did she write "Don't Trust Ben" at the beginning. She loves him. He tells of the death of her soldier son in Afghanistan. Reconnecting with an old friend brings more inconsistencies in what Ben tells her. She doesn't know what to do especially as she can barely hold onto her thoughts. A psychological thriller.

2012 ALA Best Adult Genre Fiction

Before I Go to Sleep / S.J. Watson / 360 Pages

This is the ARC book that I won last month.  It's coming out this month sometime.  If anyone else would like to read it, let me know and I will pass it on.

Every morning when Christine wakes up, she can't remember who she is, where she is, or sometimes even how old she is.  She has a rare type of memory loss.  She can remember what she has done years ago, but nothing from the last few days, weeks, months, and years.  She can make new memories of that day, but once she goes to sleep she forgets everything she has learned.  A doctor is writing a paper and wants to try to help her.  He tells her to keep a journal of the day's events.  Each morning, he calls her and tells her where it is so she can read it.  Slowly, she begins to remember some things on her own, and the writing seems to be helping.  But then some things aren't adding up.  Her memories don't match what her husband says has been going on, and soon she gets suspicious.  But how can someone who can't even remember who they are when they get out of bed be sure of anything they remember?

I really liked the story line of this book.  It was very engrossing and kept my attention.  There is a LOT of very foul language, though, which is very disappointing to me.  If the story had been less interesting I probably would have stopped reading it because of that.

Confessions of a Shopaholic/Sophie Kinsella/350 Pages

Adapted into a movie.

This book was pretty good, and very easy to read.  I was done reading it before I knew it.  It was a nice story, and had several humorous spots throughout.  The characters weren't developed as well as they could have been, and considering the movie was rated PG, I was not expecting there to be so much language in it.  The ending was OK, but kind of left you hanging, but there's several sequels, so I'm sure that will be taken cake of in the next book.  I saw the movie first, and the movie doesn't follow the book much at all, really, except that the main characters have the same names and she has a shopping addiction, debt, and works as a financial journalist.  That was a bit disappointing, because I actually liked the way the movie went with the storyline.  But overall it was a nice book and I enjoyed reading it.