The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy

Release Date: July 4, 2017
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Pages: 400
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"Thick with mystery, buried secrets, and magic, nothing is safe in The Disappearances. Be careful, or you might lose yourself in this strange and wondrous world, where stars go missing, reflections don’t exist, and the question, how much would you sacrifice for love? is given entirely new meaning. I adored this book!" – Stephanie Garber, author of Caraval 

What if the ordinary things in life suddenly…disappeared? 

Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery: vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila’s reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town far from home--and the place where Juliet grew up. 

Sterling is a place with mysteries of its own. A place where the experiences that weave life together--scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream--vanish every seven years.
No one knows what caused these “Disappearances,” or what will slip away next. But Sterling always suspected that Juliet Quinn was somehow responsible--and Aila must bear the brunt of their blame while she follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind.

As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn’t going to hold on to anyone's secrets for long before it starts giving them up.

The Disappearances is a fantastic debut novel expertly mixing fantasy with suspense. The story follows brother and sister Aila and Miles, whose mother has just passed away, their father has been drafted into the war, and the siblings are sent to live with their mother's best friend in Sterling, the town where their mother grew up.

Everything seems idylic but things are definitely not what they seem! Sterling is one of the sister towns who have been experiencing disappearences every 7 years. The stars go missing, dreams, the sense of smell, and the list goes on. It's a well kept secret that the people of Sterling are all too eager to keep hidden.

Convinced that it must be a curse, the residents are all too eager to place blame on Aila and Milies, the newcommers. There is much more going on beneath the surface and Aila wants to clear her family's name and restor the town to its original glory.

Riddled with mystery, suspense, a curse and deep buried family secrets, this book kept me thinking to the very end! It was well written and you guys, that cover! *swoons*

I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down and before I knew it I had read it from cover to cover. Absolutely can't wait for more by this author!

 

Review: The Stranger Inside

The Stranger Inside by Jennifer Jaynes

Release Date: May 9, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Pages: 284
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In this tautly crafted tale of psychological suspense, a recently widowed mother resorts to the unthinkable to protect her shattered family. But does she go too far?

After mystery author Diane Christie loses her husband to suicide, she and her son move to the small coastal town of Fog Harbor, Massachusetts. Her daughter is attending college nearby, and Diane hopes that her family can now begin to heal. But rebuilding their lives after the tragedy isn't so simple.

Diane's depressed college-age daughter, Alexa, still avoids her, critical of everything Diane does, and even her generally amiable teenage son, Josh, has started acting out. Diane pushes forward, focusing on her writing and her volunteer work at a local crisis hotline. She knows that healing takes time.

But then a girl from Alexa's college is found strangled. Worse still, the murderer uses the crisis hotline to confess to Diane . . . and claims she is the only one who can stop the killing. And just when the glow of new love from an attractive admirer begins to chase away some of the darkness, more girls turn up dead, and Diane races to solve a mystery she fears will hit terrifyingly close to home.

The Stranger Inside is a fantastically twisted psychological ride that had me hooked from the very first page! This is quite possibly my favorite read so far this year, I honestly can't say enough how much I loved it. I really had no expectations going in and I was blown away. I've been reading mystery/thrillers since I was a kid, so I'm not easily scared by a book. the Stranger Inside had jumping at every little noise, biting my nails, and loving every scary minute of it!

Main character Diane, who co-incidently is a mystery writer ( love her already!) and her son Josh and daughter Alexa move to Massachusetts after her husbands suicide. Her life begins to get more complicated, just as students at Alexa's college start turning up dead. Meanwhile at the crisis center Diane volunteer's at, she starts receiving mysterious distorted phone calls from the killer, who claims only she can stop the murders. With a serial killer on the loose, no one is safe, especially not Diane!

This was so expertly written, the pacing was fantastic, there were never any lags in the story or parts that dragged on. It was a quick, fast paced read, which are my favorite kind. It was extremely suspenseful and I found myself screaming things out loud as I read along "no don't go in there," "pick up the phone!!!" "don't get in the car!!!"

This is one of those stories where your suspicious of everyone and see shadows everywhere. The ending was mind blowing, there were so many shocking twists and turns one right after another, I was truly left speechless when I finished this one. I absolutely loved this one, and highly recommend it! Can't wait to read more from this amazing author!