Tag: Book Reviews

Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong: When family secrets won’t stay buried

Mandy Webster

When Kelley Armstrong writes horror, you know you’re in for a story that goes beyond simple scares—and The Haunting of Paynes Hollow (releasing October 14, 2025) is no exception. This chilling, supernatural thriller digs into the shadows of family history, twisted memory, and the things we inherit whether we want to or not. The book is available now for pre-order on Amazon.

Get your copy of The Haunting of Payne’s Hollow from my independent online bookstore today!

Samantha Payne never expected to inherit anything from her grandfather, not after years of distance and the painful memory of her father’s alleged crime. Fourteen years earlier, Sam witnessed her father burying the body of a child—an image that convinced her he was guilty, despite his own father’s unshakable belief in his innocence. But at the reading of the will, Sam is shocked to discover she’s been left the family’s valuable lakefront property at Paynes Hollow, with one strange condition: she must stay in the cottage for a month and “face the fact she was wrong.”

That’s when the real terror begins.

Continue reading “The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong: When family secrets won’t stay buried” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce is a haunting #spooktober thriller that cuts deep

Mandy Webster

Daisy Pearce’s Something in the Walls is the kind of book that makes you glance over your shoulder while reading. Equal parts folklore horror and psychological suspense, it delivers a chilling blend of witchcraft, mob mentality, and small-town secrets that feel both timeless and terrifying. If you’re looking for a gripping #Spooktober read, this one absolutely delivers.

Get your copy of Something in the Walls from my independent online bookstore today!

The story follows Mina, a young psychologist still finding her footing, who takes on the case of Alice Webber, a troubled thirteen-year-old girl in the remote village of Banathel. Alice insists she’s haunted by a witch, and her symptoms grow more alarming as the days pass. Mina, desperate to prove herself and help the girl, joins forces with journalist Sam Hunter. But Banathel is a place steeped in superstition, and the villagers have their own brutal methods of “dealing with” witches. The deeper Mina digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes—especially as echoes of her own past begin to surface.

Continue reading “Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce is a haunting #spooktober thriller that cuts deep” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

She’s Going to Pay by Alexandra Ivy struggles with execution despite a promising premise

Mandy Webster

I’m always drawn to novels set in overlooked places—small towns that don’t typically get the spotlight—and Alexandra Ivy’s She’s Going to Pay caught my attention for that reason. Set in Canton, Missouri, it has all the ingredients of a juicy domestic suspense: a missing father, a stepmother with a hidden identity, a hometown full of secrets, and a daughter who reluctantly returns to face it all.

Get your copy of She’s Going to Pay from my independent online bookstore today!

The setup is fantastic. Jesse Hudson left Canton years ago after her stepmother and stepsister vanished under suspicious circumstances and her father was suspected of murder. When he also disappeared, Jesse built a life elsewhere. Now she’s back to sell his old bar, only to learn her stepmother was never who she claimed to be. As Jesse digs into the past, she becomes convinced her father’s disappearance is tied to this buried identity—and discovers that someone in town has been waiting for her return.

Continue reading “She’s Going to Pay by Alexandra Ivy struggles with execution despite a promising premise” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Poison Wood by Jennifer Moorhead is a sharp psychological thriller about secrets, ambition, and survival

Mandy Webster

Some thrillers grip you not just with their twists but with the way they expose the lies we tell ourselves to get by. Poison Wood by Jennifer Moorhead (releasing October 28, 2025, available now for pre-order on Amazon) is one of those novels.

Get your copy of Poison Wood from my independent online bookstore today!

Rita Meade is an ambitious crime reporter still riding the wave of her acclaimed docuseries on the Broken Bayou serial killer. But when a skull turns up in the Louisiana forest where she once attended the troubled Poison Wood Therapeutic Academy for Girls, the story hits too close to home. The murder conviction of her former classmate’s killer is unraveling, her father—the judge who presided over the case—is in failing health, and returning to the woods means confronting long-buried secrets. As Rita investigates, what she uncovers threatens not only her career but also her family, her relationships, and her sense of self.

Continue reading “Poison Wood by Jennifer Moorhead is a sharp psychological thriller about secrets, ambition, and survival” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Keep This for Me by Jennifer Fawcett is a suspenseful novel about inheritance, identity, and dark family legacies

Mandy Webster

Some thrillers hook you with the crime itself, but Jennifer Fawcett’s Keep This for Me lingers because of the questions it raises about what we inherit from our families—by blood, by silence, and by circumstance.

Get your copy of Keep This For Me from my independent online bookstore today!

The story begins in 1993 when Fiona Green’s mother, Ana, disappears after a roadside abduction by Eddie Ward, a truck driver later revealed to be a prolific serial killer. Although authorities uncover a mass grave of his victims, Ana’s body is never found. Thirty years later, Eddie Ward is on his deathbed and insists he didn’t kill Ana, leaving Fiona with more questions than answers. Returning to her hometown, she finds herself reliving the past when another young woman vanishes—and this time, suspicion falls on Jason Ward, Eddie’s son.

Continue reading “Keep This for Me by Jennifer Fawcett is a suspenseful novel about inheritance, identity, and dark family legacies” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

One dark night by Hannah Richell: a gripping thriller full of secrets

Mandy Webster

What starts as a Halloween dare in the woods spirals into tragedy in Hannah Richell’s One Dark Night, a novel that blends small-town secrets, teenage vulnerability, and the long shadow of trauma into an atmospheric thriller you’ll race through. The story unfolds after a student is found dead near the notorious Sally in the Wood—a place steeped in eerie folklore and whispered warnings.

Get your copy of One Dark Night from my independent online bookstore today!

At the heart of the novel are Rachel, a guidance counselor struggling to connect with her daughter Ellie, and Ben, her detective ex-husband who’s investigating the case while facing personal turmoil. As the community reels, Ellie hides dangerous secrets of her own, and the past refuses to stay buried. Told through multiple perspectives, Richell keeps the tension taut, weaving in folklore, atmosphere, and a growing sense that danger lurks where you least expect it.

Continue reading “One dark night by Hannah Richell: a gripping thriller full of secrets” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Secrets, lies, and fascism in The Stranger in Room Six by Jane Corry

Mandy Webster

What happens when old secrets surface in the unlikeliest of places? Jane Corry’s upcoming novel The Stranger in Room Six (releasing October 7, 2025) is a cozy mystery that blends history, intrigue, and the complicated lives of women who’ve carried more than their share of burdens.

Get your copy of The Stranger in Room Six from my independent online bookstore today!

At the heart of the story are two women connected to Sunnyside Home for the Young at Heart. Belinda, newly released after serving fifteen years for her husband’s murder, is determined to rebuild her life and keep her past hidden. Taking a job at Sunnyside seems like the perfect way to start over. Then there’s Mabel, the home’s oldest resident, who first arrived as an evacuee during the Blitz. She knows Sunnyside’s darkest truths—secrets that, if exposed, could endanger everything. And lurking behind it all is the mysterious Room Six, where someone is watching and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Continue reading “Secrets, lies, and fascism in The Stranger in Room Six by Jane Corry” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

The Break-in by Katherine Faulkner asks how far you’d go to protect your family

Mandy Webster

How would you deal with killing a violent intruder in self-defense—with your child just a room away? Katherine Faulkner’s The Break-in explores the terrifying aftermath of that choice, blending suspense with tough moral questions about justice, guilt, and survival.

Get your copy of The Break-in from my independent online bookstore today!

Alice, a London mother, is hosting a playdate when a disturbed man forces his way inside. Acting on instinct, she kills him, an act later ruled self-defense. But the relief doesn’t last. Anonymous online comments, cryptic phone calls, and unsettling behavior from her husband, nanny, and friends make Alice question who the intruder really was—and whether the threat has truly ended.

Continue reading “The Break-in by Katherine Faulkner asks how far you’d go to protect your family” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski is a layered psychological thriller that reads like a true-crime docuseries

Mandy Webster

In If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski (out September 23, 2025), the lines between journalist and subject blur in a story that feels part true-crime, part literary thriller. Parker Dillon is a novice reporter whose career is already teetering—her aunt has sold the website where she works, and the new owner is keen to swap human writers for AI. But when she discovers a buried cold pitch from a woman named Ann Mason, her luck seems to change. Ann claims she once did something terrible and got away with it, and she’s strangely obsessed with a washed-up TV star. Parker pursues the story, chasing Ann from Seattle to Arizona, only to find herself in a dangerous game where she may be more prey than hunter.

Get your copy of If You Knew Me from my independent online bookstore today!

What makes this book especially compelling is how much it reads like one of those binge-worthy Netflix docudramas (Inventing Anna comes to mind). Miskowski weaves together Ann’s unsettling narrative and Parker’s journalistic pursuit with the same fascination those shows inspire—watching an extraordinary crime unravel while peering into the lives it warps. There’s even a late-chapter epilogue styled like a “Where Are They Now?” segment, the kind you’d expect to see at the end of a documentary.

Continue reading “If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski is a layered psychological thriller that reads like a true-crime docuseries” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

The Wrong Daughter by Dandy Smith is a diabolically twisty psychological thriller

Mandy Webster

What if your sister disappeared one summer night—and then walked back into your life sixteen years later? The Wrong Daughter by Dandy Smith takes this premise and spins it into one of the most anxiety-inducing psychological thrillers I’ve read this year.

Get your copy of The Wrong Daughter from my independent online bookstore today!

The story follows Caitlin, whose older sister Olivia was abducted when they were children. When a woman claiming to be Olivia suddenly reappears, Caitlin should feel joy. Instead, her carefully rebuilt world begins to unravel piece by piece. The tension comes not only from the mystery of whether this is truly Olivia, but also from the way she manipulates every situation to Caitlin’s detriment.

Continue reading “The Wrong Daughter by Dandy Smith is a diabolically twisty psychological thriller” →