Book Life Rambles

Murder Runs in the Family by Tamara Berry  G👀dreads  About Summary Amber thought she had troubles before her grandma was arrested for murder… Former PI-in-training Amber Winslow has decided to flee her life in the dead of night, carrying nothing but the clothes on her back. Down on her luck and with no other choice, she heads to the sunny state of Arizona to the luxury accommodations of her grandmother's retirement community. Never mind that Amber's never actually met her estranged and eccentric Grandma Jade. As soon as she sneaks her things into Seven Ponds (a place she technically doesn't qualify for and definitely can't afford), she's shocked to learn that George Vincent, a.k.a. the Admiral, was found dead the very night of her arrival. What's even more shocking is that no one seems particularly distraught over the news of the Admiral's death or the disappearance of his prize pet tortoise. All anyone can talk about is a missing Vincent family heirloom, a...

The Dead Girls Book Club by Zia Rayyan G👀dreads  About Summary Amelia knows her marriage isn’t normal. It’s always been more than just her and Ken. Her detective husband is married to his cases, and more often than not, Amelia ends up sleeping alone. When an exclusive book club extends her an invitation, Amelia finally finds the connection she’s been craving. But this isn’t a normal book club. As her husband’s investigation escalates, Amelia is beginning to see unsettling parallels between the women she’s growing close to and the murders he can’t seem to solve. But these murders aren’t random. And neither was her invitation to the Dead Girls Book Club. Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense The How/Why: This one was an ad by the author on IG. She said she modeled the characters after her real life girlfriends, relatable, flawed, and inspiring tribe of women she knows. Although this book is fictional she also belongs to a thriller book club.  It's been...

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay NetGalley  About Summary On May 1, 1992, Jules Delaney and Quinn Riley hardly know each other. Jules is high school queen bee in a small Midwestern town when she survives a brutal attack by the elusive May Day Killer—a predator who strikes every May 1st and then vanishes without a trace. Quinn, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, is arrested the same night after trying to break up a fight and nearly killing someone. By morning, their lives are forever connected. A year later, Jules is haunted by trauma and guilt, tormented by one question: Why was she spared? Quinn is newly released from juvenile detention and returns home to devastating news—the unsolved murder of his mother. Over the next decade, their lives are revisited on a single day each year: May 1st. As the years pass, secrets surface, lies unravel, and the paths of Jules and Quinn draw closer together. Two mysteries edge toward the truth—what really happened the night Jules was attack...

Nora Goes Off Script  by Annabel Monaghan G👀dreads  About Summary Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it's her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage's collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it's picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne'er-do-well husband Nora's life will never be the same. The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He'll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it's the need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven days: it's the blink of an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough t...

The Great Italian Holiday Mix-Up by Sandy Barker G👀dreads  About Summary Nick and Delaney each think they’ve planned the perfect romantic getaway – a mystery holiday designed by a travel matchmaking service. And what’s more idyllic than the sun-soaked Isle of Capri with its stunning scenery, air of romance and endless Aperol Spritzes? But when the itineraries go astray, Nick walks into a hotel suite that’s already occupied – just not by his fiancée. Two frantic phone calls later, Nick and Delaney discover the their partners are together in Reykjavík and they’re stuck sharing a room in one of the most romantic places on earth. As they scramble to fix the mix-up, fate steps in and they start to wonder if the wrong holiday might just be the right one after all. Genre: Fiction, Romance, Humor The How/Why: 🤷 It was just published last week so it might have been SM ad. OR I was searching Hoopla for a different Italian Holiday title and this one popped up so I tagged it. I was looking f...

The Amethyst Heart by Penelope J. Stokes Cover Wars G👀dreads  About Summary In The Amethyst Heart, she weaves the past and present into an unforgettable story of one Mississippi family's joy, sorrow, and hope. Amethyst's 93rd birthday celebration is a big disappointment. Not only has her great-granddaughter "Little Am" become a sullen stranger, but her son Conrad announces plans to sell the historical family home and put his mother into a retirement facility. When Conrad leaves to get the realtor, Amethyst pulls out a 12-gauge shotgun, then rushes to lock the doors. While great-grandmother and great-granddaughter anxiously wait for Conrad's return, Amethyst passes on the family's rich legacy of stories-but will she be able to protect her beloved home? Narrator Cristine McMurdo-Wallis' stirring performance transports you from the days of pre-Civil War plantations, through the turbulent unrest of the 60s, to the present-day South. For some reason GR has two...

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum Hard Cover, Audio, Kindle (Flatiron; Boekerj) Cover Wars Kindle (Hodder & Stoughton) German Swedish G👀dreads  About Summary Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different “against all odds” survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy’s experience with severe narcolepsy, they’ve been the best friends everyone wants to befriend—and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy’s husband, Xander, they’ve built a lucrative empire. The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander’s one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple’s disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy’s memoir. Benny will stop at nothing to find them, even as the poli...

No Job for a Woman by Alina Rubin Goodreads  About Summary She sailed against the current. Ella Parker’s male alias was a star pupil in medical school. But as a woman in 1810 England, Ella cannot find a job as a doctor’s assistant. In a life-or-death emergency with a mother in labor, she oversteps her boundaries and risks arrest. Determined to practice medicine, she decides to join her mentor on the Neptune, a warship heading for open waters. Following an accident, she is quickly thrust into the role of ship surgeon, and her skills are put to the test. Hoping to fit in with the all-male crew and make friends, instead, Ella creates chaos and suspicion among the superstitious sailors. Lieutenant Jack Wyse, though charged by the captain with protecting Ella, is keen on making her leave. After a fierce battle, Ella saves the handsome officer, Robert Weston. Her commitment to her profession is tested, however, when he asks for her hand in marriage. But are Weston’s intentions sincere,...

I Died on a Tuesday by Jane Corry There's the story everyone believes... and then there's the truth.  Goodreads  About Summary ...comes another edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a harrowing crime, the long-buried secrets surrounding it, and the explosive uncovering of the truth. 18-year-old Janie has the world and her bright future ahead of her. She's about to leave behind the small seaside town she's known all her life to embark on a career in London in book publishing and couldn't be more excited. She'll miss home—especially her dad. They've only had each other since her mother died years earlier. But she's about to start her life and she can't wait. She's on her way home after her last early dawn swim in the bay when the peaceful stillness of the quiet Tuesday morning is suddenly shattered. A white van careens around the corner and onto the quiet street Janie is riding her bike along, and in one swift moment, her life is forever c...