Book Review: Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

 

A wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

My Thoughts

Why did I wait so long to read this book?? This was a very good book. When flipping through the pages when I bought this I was like brrrr why are there pictures in this? Honestly the illustrations are what made this story so great.

In Hidden Pictures we meet twenty one year old Mallory. Mallory was a recovering addict trying to start over after being clean for a while. She lands a job with Ted and Caroline Maxwell to be a nanny for.their.five year old son Teddy. While this family seems perfect, strange things begin happening as Teddy begins drawing pictures.

The pictures were becoming elaborate and seemed to be telling a very sinister story. These pictures unlock secrets that will have you shook. A gripping tale, Hidden Pictures is definitely a book to read.

Book Review: The Inmate by Freida Mc Fadden

 

There are three rules Brooke Sullivan must follow as a new nurse practitioner at a men's maximum-security:
1) Treat all prisoners with respect.
2) Never reveal any personal information.
3) Never EVER become too friendly with the inmates.

But none of the staff at the prison knows Brooke has already broken the rules. Nobody knows about her intimate connection to Shane Nelson, one of the penitentiary's most notorious and dangerous inmates. And they certainly don't know that Shane was Brooke's high school sweetheart―the star quarterback who is now spending the rest of his life in prison for a series of grisly murders. Or that Brooke's testimony was what put him there.

MY THOUGHTS 

Another action packed story from the author I refer to as "The Queen of Twists" Freida Mc Fadden. In The Inmate we meet Brooke the nurse practitioner who was assigned to work at the prison that houses her ex boyfriend and father of her son Shane Nelson. Shane was accused of some heinous crimes that occurred eleven years prior and it was Brooke's testimony that made him go to jail.

As they reconnect, Brooke begins to question the events of that night. She wonders if it was indeed Shane or was she mistaken....As the mystery unfolded I was at the edge of my seat eager find out who was guilty. It was indeed as usual a surprise at the end.
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Book Review: Tempest Old West #3 by Beverly Jenkins

 

From USA Today Bestselling Author Beverly Jenkins comes a new novel in a mesmerizing series set in the Old West, where an arranged marriage becomes a grand passion . . .

What kind of mail-order bride greets her intended with a bullet instead of a kiss? One like Regan Carmichael—an independent spirit equally at home in denims and dresses. Shooting Dr. Colton Lee in the shoulder is an honest error, but soon Regan wonders if her entire plan to marry a man she’s never met is a mistake. Colton, who buried his heart along with his first wife, insists he only wants someone to care for his daughter. Yet Regan is drawn to the unmistakable desire in his gaze.

Regan’s far from the docile bride Colton was expecting. Still, few women would brave the wilds of Wyoming Territory for an uncertain future with a widower and his child. The thought of having a bold, forthright woman like Regan in his life—and in his arms—begins to inspire a new dream. And despite his family’s disapproval and an unseen enemy, he’ll risk all to make this match a real union of body and soul.

My Thoughts

Yet another hit Ms. Jenkins!!!

This book had everything. Romance, Action. History. The writing was excellent and Regan and Dr. Colton Lee's chemistry was off the chains. 

Book Review: Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

 

Mother. Hero. Liar. Killer. How can you tell when all you have is...

PIECES OF HER

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all...?

Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them...

My Thoughts

I loved this book. The action, the drama, the intrigue. Karin Slaughter is now a go to author for me.

Andrea thought she knew everything about her mother, Laura. After a mall visit, turned attempted robbery, Andrea discovers things about her mother that she couldn't even imagine possible. Laura is not your average middle aged suburban professional she has a past. This past is one of a young woman from a wealthy influential family, a young woman who was abused by a father, a young girl who was abused by a boyfriend who seemed like a narcissist cult leader, Laura was a damaged girl, with a dangerous past.

As Andrea peels the layers off her mother's past she realizes that maybe her life could be in danger. She needed to RUN.... This is where the action in the book becomes amazing. I am looking forward to reading more books by Karin Slaughter in the future.

Book Review: The Crash By Freida Mc Fadden

 

About

The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.

My Thoughts

Freida never disappoints me one bit. The Crash really had me on edge the entire time and in true FMF style there was an unexpected twist in the end. In this story we meet twenty three year old Tegan. Tegan is eight months pregnant for a guy she barely knows, so it seems she is destined to be a single mother. After an invitation to go spend some time with her brother Dennis, Tegan hits the road but soon crashes in the middle of a blizzard.

Hank upon discovering the crash and Tegan decides to take her home to assist her until the snowstorm blows over. His wife Polly seems kind as well, a nurse by profession, Tegan thought she was in good hands. Except everything is not as it appears with this couple. Polly has sinister plans for the young mother to be.....

This is a tale of how far some people will go to get what they want. It is Freida in her best form. I enjoyed this just like the others..