Category Archives: Pamela Dorman Books

August 12, 2018 · 11:56 pm

Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

Title: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

The twisty new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House

A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway . . . but when the storm hits, no one is getting away

It’s winter in the Catskills and Mitchell’s Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing–maybe even romantic–weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge woodburning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery.

So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity–and all contact with the outside world–the guests settle in for the long haul.

Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead–it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic.

Within the snowed-in paradise, something–or someone–is picking off the guests one by one. And there’s nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm.

Review:

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena is an atmospheric murder mystery set at a secluded inn in the Catskills.

Ten guests arrive for a weekend at Mitchell’s Inn in the midst of a winter storm which leaves them cut off from the outside world. Inn owner James Harwood and his son Bradley are short-staffed due to the storm but they creatively provide for their weekend guests. The first evening is off to a festive beginning as each of the visitors enjoy one another’s company. But there is a layer of unease that runs beneath their interactions with some of the attendees taking an instant dislike to some of their fellow guests. Others notice that things appear to be a little off with some their companions.  At the evening’s end, everyone adjourns to the rooms for the night, but morning brings a shocking surprise. One of the guests is found dead at the base of the stairs and it quickly becomes apparent that the death might not be an accident. With the wind howling, no electricity and no way of contacting the authorities, tensions mount when the killer strikes again. With no apparent motive for murders or connection between the guests, everyone is soon casting a suspicious eye toward the remaining members of the group.

Gwen Delaney is hoping the getaway is just what her college friend Riley Shuter needs to recover from her years of reporting from combat zones. Although both women were journalism majors in college, Gwen works for PR firm. Their friendship has survived through the intervening years and while Riley knows Gwen’s darkest (and most shameful) secret, she is not as forthcoming about the troubles she is experiencing from her career.

Lauren Day and her companion Ian Beeton are looking forward to spending the weekend together. Lauren is sharp-eyed and observant while Ian is more friendly and outgoing. Although Lauren is a bit restless as she ponders her future with Ian, the couple are enjoying their weekend getaway. However, as the weekend progresses, they are dismayed to learn they do not know one another as well as they would like.

Dana Hart and her fiancé Matthew Hutchinson are in the midst of planning their upcoming wedding. Matthew is hoping the break will provide Dana the opportunity to relax and recharge since she is wound a little tight as they enter the homestretch of wedding planning.

Beverly Sullivan is convinced the weekend away will put the spark back in her twenty year marriage to Henry. They have grown apart over the years and with their kids almost ready to leave the nest, she knows it is time to rebuild their connection. However, she is dismayed to discover that Henry is not too keen to spend time with her but she is undeterred as she continues with her plans.

Candice White is an author who is taking advantage of her time away from her caretaker duties to work on her current novel. She does not interact much with the other guests but she is extremely observant as she joins them for meals. Candice continues to keep to herself even after the discovery of the first victim.

David Paley is a defense attorney who has a lot to mull over during his stay at Mitchell’s Inn. He is immediately drawn to Gwen but Riley is not exactly his biggest fan. After the discovery of the first dead body, he becomes the de facto leader  due to his experience with the criminal justice system.

Rounding out the cast of characters are Bradley and James. Bradley is in his early twenties and he yearns for a life away from the isolated inn. James is a widower whose concern for Bradley intensifies over the course of the weekend. He notices little things about his son’s behavior that make him a little uneasy since Bradley was involved in a spot of trouble in the past.

An Unwanted Guest is a very clever and well-written mystery with a wonderful old-fashioned storyline. The cast of characters is diverse but some of them downright impossible to like. The setting is absolutely outstanding and the isolation leads to some very stressful situations as suspicions mount among the survivors.  Shari Lapena brilliantly keeps the perpetrator’s identity and motive the murders under wraps until the novel’s twist-filled and jaw-dropping conclusions. This spellbinding whodunit is sure to be a hit with readers of the genre.

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Filed under An Unwanted Guest, Contemporary, Mystery, Pamela Dorman Books, Rated B, Review, Shari Lapena, Suspense

July 23, 2018 · 11:57 pm

Review: Ghosted by Rosie Walsh

Title: Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

Seven perfect days. Then he disappeared. A love story with a secret at its heart.

When Sarah meets Eddie, they connect instantly and fall in love. To Sarah, it seems as though her life has finally begun. And it’s mutual: It’s as though Eddie has been waiting for her, too. Sarah has never been so certain of anything. So when Eddie leaves for a long-booked vacation and promises to call from the airport, she has no cause to doubt him. But he doesn’t call.

Sarah’s friends tell her to forget about him, but she can’t. She knows something’s happened–there must be an explanation.

Minutes, days, weeks go by as Sarah becomes increasingly worried. But then she discovers she’s right. There is a reason for Eddie’s disappearance, and it’s the one thing they didn’t share with each other: the truth.

Review:

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh is a contemporary novel with  an intriguing premise which is socially relevant in today’s world.

Sarah Mackey and Eddie David spend a blissful week together and make plans to reunite after he returns from vacation. However, Sarah is hurt and confused when her messages and phone calls to him go unanswered. Despite the short amount of time they were together, she is convinced Eddie is “The One” and she refuses trying to reconnect with him. Her good friend Jo tries to reason with her to give up her quest, but surprisingly her other bestie Tommy Stenham agrees with Sarah that the relationship is worth trying to save. Unfortunately, Sarah quickly crosses into obsession as she absolutely refuses to stop attempting to resume contact with him.

Sarah’s seventeen year marriage has recently ended yet she is surprisingly unaffected by her divorce. A US transplant from Great Britain, her annual vacation is a bittersweet reunion with her parents. Not expecting to meet anyone, Sarah is absolutely charmed by Eddie and she is quite introspective after their relationship hits a wall. Her efforts to locate Eddie are cringe-worthy as is her compulsive checking for replies to her messages. It is a huge relief when Sarah finally realizes how completely ridiculous she has been behaving and hopefully her return home will put an end to her immature behavior.

With over half the book focusing on Sarah’s unrequited love and fanatical attempts to communicate with Eddie, Ghosted is a slow-moving, rather tedious and unrealistic read. The second part of the novel is faster paced and finally fills in much needed details about Sarah’s and Eddie’s respective pasts. There are some intriguing twists and turns but after waiting so long for any type of progress, readers might not remain invested in what the future holds for the erstwhile couple. With a couple of very clever and unanticipated plot twists, Rosie Walsh brings the novel to a heartwarming conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Ghosted, Pamela Dorman Books, Rated C+, Review, Rosie Walsh, Women's Fiction

May 21, 2018 · 11:58 pm

Review: The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet

Title: The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: C

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

A hypnotic domestic noir novel in which a house swap becomes the eerie backdrop to a crumbling marriage, a torrid affair, and the fatal consequences that unfold

Be careful who you let in . . .

When Caroline and Francis receive an offer to house swap–from their city apartment to a house in a leafy, upscale London suburb–they jump at the chance for a week away from home, their son, and the tensions that have pushed their marriage to the brink.

As the couple settles in, the old problems that permeate their marriage–his unhealthy behaviors, her indiscretions–start bubbling to the surface. But while they attempt to mend their relationship, their neighbor, an intense young woman, is showing a little too much interest in their activities.

Meanwhile, Caroline slowly begins to uncover some signs of life in the stark house–signs of her life. The flowers in the bathroom or the music might seem innocent to anyone else–but to her they are clues. It seems the person they have swapped with is someone who knows her, someone who knows the secrets she’s desperate to forget

Review:

The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet is a domestic mystery with elements of suspense.

In May of 2015, Caroline and her husband, Francis, swap houses for a week with another homeowner who is a complete stranger. Caroline’s marriage has been somewhat rocky for the past a few years and they are hoping the time away from their young son Eddie and the stresses of regular life will help them reconnect. However, Caroline is oddly uneasy in their new surroundings especially after meeting their temporary neighbor, Amber. When she begins noticing strange objects that remind her of an affair she ended eighteen months earlier, Caroline begins to suspects her former lover, Carl, is somehow involved. But why would he want to come back into her life? And more importantly, does she want him to?

Narrated mainly from Caroline’s point of view, the novel weaves back and forth in time beginning in  December of 2012 with Caroline’s affair until it ends early July 2013 and the house swap in 2015. Caroline is not a particularly likable or sympathetic character not just due to her infidelity but because she could have walked away from her marriage yet she did not. She is incredibly focused on her illicit relationship and while she has good reason to resent Francis, she made the choice to stay with him despite his downward spiral. Caroline is incredibly self-absorbed but it is not until the truth comes out about her house swapping partner that readers understand how incredibly selfish she truly is.

Francis also narrates several chapters and well, he is not exactly any more likable than his wife. A therapist who is several years older than Caroline, he, for unknown reasons, has fallen into a deep depression that results in a very unhealthy coping mechanism. Francis has checked out of his marriage and he is not an attentive father to his young son. Everyone around him, including his patients, suffer because of his choices and it is not at all understandable why Caroline did not leave him. Their marriage remains a work in progress but their old issues continue to crop up especially in times of stress.

A handful of chapters are written from the unknown house swapper’s perspective and it is very obvious right from the start this person is deeply troubled.  There are no hints about the motivation for the swap but over the course of the week, it becomes clear that Caroline is the target of this person’s unhealthy obsession. The revelation of the person’s identity also includes the explanation for exactly why Caroline’s affair finally ended and how Amber fits into the present day events.

Despite an intriguing premise, The House Swap is an incredibly slow-paced novel. The reasons for Caroline’s decisions both in the past and present are unfathomable.  It is impossible to understand why she remains in the swapped house when it becomes obvious someone is targeting her for unknown reasons. Rebecca Fleet does throw in a few plot twists late in the novel but it is difficult to remain invested in the final outcome due to the slow parceling of information and the cast of unlikable, under developed characters.

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Filed under Contemporary, Mystery, Pamela Dorman Books, Rated C, Rebecca Fleet, Review, Suspense, The House Swap

January 15, 2018 · 11:57 pm

Review: Blood Sisters by Jane Corry

Title: Blood Sisters by Jane Corry
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

From the bestselling author of My Husband’s Wife, a new thriller featuring three girls, one accident, and a lifetime of lies.

Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead.

Fifteen years later, Kitty can’t speak and has no memory of the accident that’s to blame. She lives in an institution, unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn’t keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face.

Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. She’s struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Maybe this is her chance to set things right. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence.

Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do.

Review:

Blood Sisters by Jane Corry is a suspenseful mystery that is filled with secrets and lies from a childhood car accident that occurred fifteen years ago.

Allison Baker is in her thirties but she is still haunted by the car accident that left her younger half-sister Kitty James with severe brain damage. An artist who teaches at several colleges, she is barely making rent since she is helping her mom pay for Kitty’s care. When she learns about an artist in residence job at a local minimum security prison, Allison applies for the position. With much trepidation, she begins working there three times a week but she is rather nervous due to some threatening letters and phone calls she has been receiving. Beginning an unexpected romance with Clive Black, Allison is cautiously optimistic about her future when she forced to deal with her unresolved past.

Allison is wracked with guilt over the circumstances surrounding the car accident. Her relationship with her Kitty was never easy and she is unable to allow herself to do the things her sister will never get to do. Her entire life changed irrevocably after the accident and Allison cannot seem to put the incident behind her.  Instinctively knowing the threatening notes and phone calls are somehow linked to the accident, Allison avoids dealing with them as she begins her job at the prison.

Kitty was extremely spoiled and her childhood friendship with Vanessa turned her into  cruel, spiteful young girl. She deliberately sabotaged some of Allison’s school projects and never let her social outcast sister forget she was unpopular. In the days leading up to the tragic car accident, Kitty and Vanessa were on the outs but her friend picked that day to try to salvage their friendship.

The chapters primarily alternate between Allison and Kitty’s points of view. Allison is a sympathetic character who cannot seem to give herself permission to be happy. Kitty is trapped in her mind, unable to verbalize her thoughts and prone to violent outbursts when she is unhappy. She does enter into a relationship with a young man from the group home and their relationship has many unintended consequences.

With a slow building storyline and a sympathetic but sometimes frustrating lead character, Blood Sisters is an engrossing mystery. Who is responsible for the threatening notes and phone calls to Kitty? Is it possible someone knows the truth about the car accident? With breathtaking plot twists, Jane Corry provides a stunning array of answers to these very intriguing questions. The novel ends with a jaw-dropping revelation that is guaranteed to shock readers. An outstanding read that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Blood Sisters, Contemporary, Jane Corry, Mystery, Pamela Dorman Books, Rated B, Review, Suspense

August 22, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Title: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 313 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

How well do you know the couple next door? Or your husband? Or even—yourself?  

People are capable of almost anything. . . 

A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors—a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . . 

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco  soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they’ve kept for years.

What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of  deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.

Review:

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is a suspense-laden mystery about a parents’ worst fear: a kidnapped child.  In this case, the missing child is a six month old baby and the police uncover few leads which gives the novel an overwhelming sense of urgency as the search continues.

Anne and Marco Conti are, by all appearances, happily married and devoted to their baby Cora.  They live in a rather affluent neighborhood and their home is beautifully and tastefully decorated.  Marco is a self-made man who owns his own business and Anne is a stay at home mom to their daughter.  With plans to go their next door neighbors Cynthia and Graham Stillwell’s home for a birthday party, they are dismayed by their sitter’s last minute cancellation.   Anne offers to stay home to care for Cora, but Marco convinces her to attend the celebration.  Armed with the baby monitor and taking turns checking in on Cora every thirty minutes, Anne and Marco are stunned when they return home to discover the front standing open and their baby is missing.  What possible motive would anyone have to kidnap their daughter?  Detective Rashbach is called in to investigate and he has quite a few theories about what happened but will any of them pan out?

Scratch below the surface and it is quickly obvious all is not perfect with Anne and Marco.  Both are quite distraught about their daughter’s disappearance and while at first they present a united front, doubts soon begin to creep in.  Following the birth of their daughter, their marriage has become strained and Anne is having trouble coping with a fussy baby and a lack of adult interaction.  Marco’s business has fallen on very tough times and he feels helpless when trying to help Anne through her difficulties.  Both are keeping secrets from the other and Anne becomes increasingly convinced her husband’s relationship with next door neighbor Cynthia might go beyond friendship.  With the couple’s complicated family dynamics with Anne’s wealthy parents, Anne’s complex history and Marco’s growing desperation his business will fail, Anne and Marco grow suspicious of one another as days pass with no news about their missing baby.

Detective Rashbach senses Anne and Marco are holding something back and he is immediately convinced one or both of them might be involved in the kidnapping.  His suspicions grow when they turn up little evidence in the house and he takes a much closer look at the baby’s parents.  He uncovers possibly incriminating evidence but with nothing to support his theories, he is unable to leverage either of them into confessing.  While it appears Rashbach is just going through the motions, there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes that might just blow the case wide open.

By the midpoint of The Couple Next Door, the first major plot twist occurs and it becomes quite intriguing anticipating  what is going to happen next.  However this is just the first of many unexpected twists and turns and after a puzzling murder occurs, it is clear that things have spun out of control.  The next major revelation is jaw-dropping but hold to your hat, because the wild ride is not quite over.  Another shocking  discovery is on the way and boy is it is humdinger.  The denouement is convoluted yet easy to follow and Shari Lapena  brings the novel to an absolutely stunning conclusion.  All in all, a solid debut that mystery lovers will enjoy.

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Filed under Contemporary, Mystery, Pamela Dorman Books, Rated B, Review, Shari Lapena, Suspense, The Couple Next Door