Silver's Reviews

Two sisters disappear after a fight over a necklace, two sisters leave no trace except a pair of shoes and a car on the beach, two sisters leave and then one sister returns after three years.

The police have questions for Cass about where she and Emma were, but Cass can't pinpoint where they have been held captive for the past three years.  Cass only knows it was an island.

EMMA IN THE NIGHT moves along as we join in the questioning of Cass by the police and a psychologist.  Cass tells all, but holds back some things on purpose.  What Cass doesn't hold back is what she wants to shock her mother with because her mother was abusive and a narcissist.

Mrs. Martin as Cass calls her mother was the reason they left.  Cass's story about their three years away was filled with half truths, and Cass seemed to lie quite a lot about many things.

The characters all seemed mentally disturbed and as if they had to be top dog competing with and against each other.

As the book continued, the tension about the story of the girls leaving home and the investigation increased. You never knew who to trust or to believe.

EMMA IN THE NIGHT is definitely a psychological thriller.  The most interesting aspect was learning about narcissism and how it affects an entire family.  It actually was an education and thoroughly frightening to learn about this disorder.

Readers who enjoy unusual family drama along with intense psychological situations to the point of unbelievable will enjoy EMMA IN THE NIGHT.  

The ending was exceptional and unexpected, and the book was a bit disturbing.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

A teenager not being home at curfew time, a phone call no parent wants to get, and a lot of questions.

Summer and Haley were the best of friends since first grade, and now that they are teenagers they share secrets and go everywhere together.

Going everywhere together one fateful night turned into a nightmare for Bill, Summer's father, and Haley's mother.

The police were investigating everyone who had known the girls and everything that had happened to Bill and Summer before and after the death of Summer's mother a year ago.   I suspected a few characters as I continued reading and one in particular.

The police never had a handle on things because something new would turn up to turn the investigation back to square one.  Some of the findings were unbelievable.

BRING HER HOME led us through the horror of a child gone missing and dying as well as learning the steps taken in a police investigation with this type of crime.

The characters and their emotions were credible, but trusting a few of them was difficult. Bill was very emotional to the point of doing crazy things, but who wouldn't when your daughter was missing. The teenagers did some things that were quite unimaginable.  The neighbor, Adam, was too nice to be believable.

The secrecy of teenagers was one of the major themes and was very well done by Mr. Bell.

My only criticism is that BRING HER HOME was a bit long and dragged out.

All in all, though, the book kept me guessing, and the end was good.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Marti, the wife of a busy, important member of the OB/GYN hospital staff decides it is time for her to go back to work as a social worker.

Marti joins a new department at the hospital that helps unwed teenage mothers.

Marti gets completely involved in the lives of these girls and leaves her children's care to her mother-in-law.

Meanwhile, Marti's husband, Eliott isn't happy she is working at the same hospital as he is.  Their marriage is a bit rocky to begin with, and this seems to cause more turmoil.

BEST INTENTIONS dragged for me for most of the book even though the writing was good.  There was confusion for me about where I was in the story.  One minute Marti was at a party or with her kids and the next minute she was with her attorney. I never was sure if she was in jail awaiting trial or out on bail talking to her attorney.

It was interesting, though, to get a glimpse into a doctor’s life both at the hospital and at home. The insight into a social worker's life was an eye opener as well and frightening how medical mistakes could escalate into what happened in BEST INTENTIONS.

BEST INTENTIONS kept me reading because I wanted to see what the outcome of the trial would be, but I did have a lack of interest in the love affairs and other situations.  The last 50 pages that covered the trial were the best part of the book.

BEST INTENTIONS had good intentions as a book, but it just wasn’t a grab you story line for me.  3/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Your mother returning after no contact for 20 years?  Would you be happy or resentful?

Abby was actually shocked that her mother came back to the small village of Hartley-by-the-Sea in England after being in New York.  Her mother, Laura, left when Abby was two, and rarely kept in touch.

Laura went on with her life without her daughter, and her mother  took care of Abby for her.  Her mother now has Abby as an adult and her grandson living with her since Abby's fiancé was killed.

The Rhodes women own a coffee/ice cream shop and live in the attached apartment.

Laura's return caused hard feelings for all and an upset in the living arrangements.

The characters were believable in the sense that similar relationships do exist.

I loved Mary, the grandmother.

Abby was likable.

Laura wasn't too likable, but became somewhat likable as the book continued.

A MOTHER LIKE MINE is a book that made me appreciate my mother and the love and care she selfishly gave to all eight of us.

A MOTHER LIKE MINE  was a bit slow for me and out of my usual genre, but I loved the setting of the book and the premise of the book was good.

If you enjoy family interaction and drama, A MOTHER LIKE MINE is a book you will want to read.

ENJOY if you read the book.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A summer home that has been left abandoned for years, but a summer home that Bonny now desperately needs to return to regardless of the pain and memories it holds.

The town of Watersend, South Carolina, was quaint, a treasure from childhood, and had the best bookstore with a marvelous bookstore owner that could pick out a book you "need" not a book that you want.

We meet many likable and believable characters except one in THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END. You are able to empathize with the characters as well as want everything to turn out for them.

The main character, Bonny, was a successful doctor, but a tragic mistake in the emergency room one night caused Bonny to be put on sabbatical and has her deciding to return to the childhood summer home that contains secrets and some happy and not so happy memories.

A happy memory was the friendship between Bonny and Lainey. They were labeled the "summer sisters."

They had made a pact to always be there for each other. Bonny needed Lainey now, and Lainey came back to the house with her two children even though she also had some bad summer memories and really didn’t want to.

The bookstore and its owner were definitely a happy memory.  Mimi, the bookstore owner was marvelous.   Any book that has a bookstore and a book club in it definitely makes the story line even more appealing.

Two not-so-happy memories and ones that were difficult to forget gnawed at both women. The disappearance of Lainey's mother and Bonny's love for Lainey's brother, Owen, who was the love of her life, but a love she could never get to stay were memories difficult to get over.

The book’s setting was perfect, and the descriptions of the house, the town, the beach, and the ocean put you there with the characters sharing their days and their feelings both good and bad.

THE BOOK SHOP AT WATER'S END was a warm, inviting read bringing women together for what we do best - support each other.

This was my first book by Ms. Henry, and it was a delightful, summer treat.

ENJOY!!  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Nick?  My Nick?  It can't be.

Nick wouldn't hurt a fly or tell a lie... EVER.

Did Clara really know her Nick?

Nick's life kept spinning and spiraling out of control as debts mounted and his savings was depleted, and then the unthinkable happened.

Clara couldn't believe her husband was talking on the phone while driving, driving too fast around a curve when he had their daughter in the car, and having an affair.

When the police came to Clara's door and said there had been an accident, Clara didn't want to believe it was Nick until she saw him lifeless on the table in the emergency room . The only saving grace was that Maisie miraculously hadn't been harmed.

As the days after Nick's death turned into weeks and Clara still hadn't told her daughter her father had died, Maisie began to scream about a bad man and continually asked when her daddy would be home. This made a sleep-deprived and grieving Clara believe someone had killed Nick and that it wasn’t his speeding that had killed him.

EVERY LAST LIE begins with a car crash that turned Clara's life upside down for more than one reason and turns worse every day as things about her husband are revealed.  Nick lied about their finances and who knows what else.  Clara just couldn't believe it.

Clara was an annoying character for me because she had no clue about what was going on in her household, and her parenting skills were awful.  She left children in a running car and didn't know how to handle crying children.  She didn't even know how to take care of herself.

Nick seemed to be a good father and husband on the surface but a sleaze bag in every other way.

There actually were not too many trustworthy characters in this book, but oh did they all make EVERY LAST LIE an excellent read.

Ms. Kubica cleverly moves from past to present with chapters headed CLARA and chapters headed NICK - BEFORE And AFTER as she takes us on a secret-revealing ride with the secrets having been better left unknown.

This was my first book by Mary Kubica, and it grabbed me the minute I read the suspenseful, attention-grabbing opening lines.

EVERY LAST LIE is a book every reader of psychological thrillers won't want to miss.

EVERY LAST LIE is marvelous from the first word to the last even though the ending was a bit flat.  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Can Olivia have some connection to Elsie and Frances who lived 100 years ago? Can Olivia find it?

Is the connection somewhere in the pages of the rare books in the bookshop, SOMETHING OLD, that Olivia's grandfather left her?  Is it in the story she finds that leads her to believe in herself like Elsie and Frances believed in fairies?

Olivia lives in present day and finds a manuscript in her grandfather's things that refers to fairies.  As she reads the manuscript and deals with her unhappy life at this time, she believes her grandmother knew Frances.

Olivia is excited that she inherited the bookshop, but doesn't know what to do with it.   What decision will she make about the bookshop and her life?  Will she decide to move to Ireland and run the bookshop and most importantly follow what will make her happy or marry the man that she realizes isn't the man she should marry?

We move to 1917 and visit with Elsie and Frances who are cousins and live under the same roof since Frances moved there from South Africa while her father was called to serve in the war.

Frances is a precocious child and believes she sees fairies at the beck, but no one believes her .  She and Elsie get together to prove the fairies are really there, and their story becomes a sensation.

THE COTTINGLEY SECRET took a few pages for me to connect, but once I got hooked and also realized that this fairy story was famous, I couldn't stop reading.

I loved how the book went back and forth from 1917 to present day, and I truly enjoyed the secrets and connections between the characters from both time periods as they were revealed.

Who doesn't love a book that has a bookshop in it? And who doesn't love an old bookshop with secrets and memories that might help you make personal decisions and find connections?

Hazel Gaynor's books are always magical whether there is magic in them or not. 

And…her books are always filled with love.

ENJOY!!  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

For three years, Cass Anderson had been taking care of her mother who had dementia.  It has taken its toll on her, and has also made her worry that she too may have dementia some day.

The worry actually seemed to be coming true since Cass has been forgetting everything including appointments, where she left money given to her to buy a gift, and lunch dates.

On her way home from a work party, Cass passed by a car on a deserted road and didn't stop because the driver gave no indication that any help was needed. The next morning the news announced that a woman had been murdered on that same road.

The guilt Cass felt from not stopping to help caused her memory to get worse and her fears that the murderer saw her that night and was after her escalated.  She did get phone calls that had no one on the other end of the line as well as many other instances that made her think she was heading the path of her mother. Was it dementia or stress?  Or could it be someone making her think her memory was declining.

THE BREAKDOWN was very tense, and did have me thinking someone was purposely doing all of these things to stress her to the point of losing her memory and deciding to not go back to work.

THE BREAKDOWN had me turning the pages as well as being nervous for Cass, but it was nothing like the tension and terror of her first book.

As the ending neared, the suspense was very high as the truth came out.

I sort of figured out toward the end what was going on, but the plot and revelation were carefully and cleverly carried out by Ms. Paris.

ENJOY!!  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Applecote Manor in 1959 was home for Perry, Sylvia, and Audrey as well as the summer vacation place for the Wildling sisters Margot, Flora, Pam, and Dot until the summer Audrey disappeared.

When Audrey disappeared, the girls never went back until one summer when their mother decided she needed to get away from it all.  She sent her daughters back to Applecote Manor to stay with their aunt and uncle.

This summer wasn't the best for anyone, though.  The close knit sisters drew apart, and Margot was obsessed with finding out what really happened to Audrey.   Along with everything else, Aunt Sylvia did a few odd things and kept things from the girls.

Meanwhile back to present day at Applecote Manor.  Applecote Manor has just been bought by Jessie and Will against the wishes of their rebellious teenage daughter, Bella, who is mourning the loss of her mother.  Bella gives her stepmother, Jessie, a rough time by continually making hurtful comments to Jessie about how she isn't her mother.  Once Bella finds boxes of her mother's things, the comments get worse.

Bella also feels that Applecote Manor still houses the ghost of Audrey and her family.  A few things happen that might make that true especially since Bella is living in the attic rooms where Audrey lived.

As we go back and forth, we find out the personalities of the characters are mostly carefree in 1959 until the disappearance of Audrey and quite tense in present day.

THE WILDLING SISTERS grabs you from the first sentence.  Ms. Chase's writing is marvelous, enticing, and detailed.

I enjoyed both the present and past stories and loved the descriptions of Applecote Manor and its grounds when they were in pristine shape and in present day when both the house and grounds needed a lot of work.

If you like mysteries and family drama, the WILDLING SISTERS is for you.  It has a hint of Gothic and an undertone of foreboding.

ENJOY!!  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

"Hello Sunshine” normally meant someone was leaving a compliment on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

The day of Sunshine Stephens’ 35th birthday didn't bode well for the “hello sunshine” greeting.

Everything she had made up about herself was being made public by a hacker, and no one knew who the hacker was.

Sunshine's life was turned upside down personally and professionally.  Not telling the truth from the start backfired on her.

When Sunshine started her career as a TV chef, she should have been truthful and said she was from the Hamptons and not from a Georgia farm town.

Telling the truth was something she hadn't done for years, and telling the truth now had no credence.  No one believed anything she said.

Where could the real Sunny Stephens go except back home? When she got home she had a big surprise too.

The characters in HELLO SUNSHINE were for the most part likable, but they also were on the side of deceitful.

HELLO SUNSHINE was an easy, breezy read for me. I loved the cooking theme, and I loved the glimpse into the life in the Hamptons even though it was on the wrong side of town.

If you enjoy people watching, family situations, and food, HELLO SUNSHINE fits the bill.

I enjoyed HELLO SUNSHINE  and the wisdom of life decisions which was a major theme.  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Flossy Merrill's children, her husband, and The Summer House have always been her first loves.

Nothing mattered to her as much as her family. The family wasn’t together for a few summers in a row because of commitments, but this summer Flossy managed to get everyone together to celebrate their father's 75th birthday party.

Flossy also had another reason to get the family together, but she and Richard couldn't bring themselves to tell their children even though they knew they had to sooner than later.

Getting together was easy this year, but wasn't easy once everyone arrived. Sibling rivalry still continued into adulthood, and each of Flossy and Richard's children had some issue with each other and in their lives.

Paige still seemed bossy, Sam still liked to pick on Clem, and Clem was still mourning the loss of her husband.

The characters will grow on you and bring you into their problems and their heartaches as well as their joys. I enjoyed the sibling and parental interactions with some being comical, some being emotional, and some being serious.

THE SUMMER HOUSE is a perfect read for anyone who has a tradition of spending family vacations together. We never did that, but it would be fun to compare what your family vacations were like and how they might be compared to the family vacations of the Merrills. It would be interesting to see any similarities and differences.

This was my first book by Ms. McKinnon, and I truly enjoyed THE SUMMER HOUSE. I would love to spend some time in that gorgeous house. :)

THE SUMMER HOUSE was a heartfelt, lovely read about a family I think most readers could identify with.

If you know this author's work and have enjoyed it, you will not be disappointed in THE SUMMER HOUSE as you become involved in the lives of the characters and feel the emotions they are experiencing. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Ronni Sunshine is a famous, wonderful, pleasant actress on stage, but at home she is anything but wonderful and pleasant. She has no time for her daughters.

We follow Meredith, Nell, and Lizzy as they grow up in an unloving household with a mother who is more of a tyrant than a mother and a mother who cares only for herself.

The girls flee the nest one at a time and have troubles of their own because of their childhood, but now that Ronni is dying, she wants her daughters to rally around her. Ronni also had something else in mind when she invited her daughters back to their childhood home.

Each sister has a totally different personality, and it was interesting to follow them to see the path each one took.  Nell seemed to be the responsible one.  Meredith seemed to still be looking for happiness.  Lizzy was still the fly-by-night, spoiled one.

The family issues and the different lifestyles the girls led were nicely developed by Ms. Green and could be the lifestyle of any young girl growing up trying to make choices.

This is my first book by Ms. Green.  It was an enjoyable read and not something I normally read so I was surprised how her writing and story line pulled me in.

Nell seemed like a genuine person who worked hard in her life to make up what she had missed during her childhood.

Meredith kept speaking to me because of the way she put everyone before herself and kept the peace.

Lizzy was self-centered like her mother, and I liked her the least.

The characters did grow on me as they grew emotionally and made choices they never thought they would.

Women's fiction fans will enjoy this book because of the family drama, the regrets, the healing, and how Ms. Green addressed both family and friend relationships, as well as addressing end-of-life decisions..  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.

An unsolved mystery resurfaced when a baby's skeleton was found at a building site.

Along with the skeleton, three main characters emerge too.  Kate is a reporter investigating the story.  Emma is a nervous adult who became intrigued as well as possessed when she sees the story of the baby.  Angela is the mother whose baby disappeared more than 40 years ago never to be found.

THE CHILD took a while to get interesting simply because it was a bit slow, and there were too many characters thrown in. I was lost with so many different characters and couldn't seem to figure out the connection until around half way through the book so don’t give up because it is worth the wait.

As the pages turned and I reached the halfway point, the book started making a connection for me and kept my attention.  The mystery became intriguing.

The characters seemed genuine for their roles, but something was odd and different about each of them.

This was my first book by Ms. Barton so I imagine I needed to get used to her writing style and her attention to detail.

There are some good twists to the story as well as some disturbing subjects that are addressed.

All in all, THE CHILD is a good read that will keep you guessing. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.

 
When a child disappears, the pain never goes away no matter how long ago it has been.

Lis Woodham's four-year-old sister, Janey, along with her doll disappeared forty years ago and was never found.  There were no clues about what happened then and no clues now.

Each year Janey's mother, Miss Sorrel, would put an ad in the paper on the anniversary of the disappearance in hopes that someone would come forward with the doll or information about her daughter's disappearance and earn the reward offered.  There never was an answer to the ad for all of those years except for now.  Someone saw the ad and brought a battered doll to their house hoping it was Janey's.

Before they could tell if the doll was actually Janey's, the person bringing the doll ran out of the house and disappeared.

This caused more anxiety for the family, and it seemed that once the doll was returned, the family was plagued with danger. Their house was burglarized and then filled with carbon monoxide causing harm to Grandma Sorrel and Lis.

The accident brought Lis's daughter, Vanessa, home to help take care of her mother and grandmother, and Vanessa got involved in the forty-year-old investigation.

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR was a mystery that will definitely hold your interest because of Ms. Ephron’s talent of drawing the reader into the story.

YOU’LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR wasn't fast paced or gripping, but had just enough intrigue to keep you turning the pages.

The ending revealed quite a few secrets that some of the characters wished had not been revealed and other secrets that were welcome revelations.

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR was a good mystery with tense moments and a mystery that will keep you guessing.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.



As if losing your hearing because of a hit-and-run driver wasn't enough trauma, Amelia and her service dog, Stitch, found a dead body of a fellow nurse on the beach. 



In addition to losing her hearing and her job as a trauma nurse, Amelia's depression and drinking also caused the failure of her marriage and her income. She desperately needed a job and needed to get back into society because she was still living on her savings after two years and was lonely.


We follow Amelia through her days and nights and her fear about the killer knowing she was the one who found the body, her fear about little things happening while she is away from home, her fear about public interaction, and her continued fear of living in her silent world with people who have the ability to hear even though she can sign and read lips.



We also follow the police investigation with Jake, the head detective, and his protectiveness of Amelia.  Is he only being overly protective because he is Ameilia's brother's best friend or for some other reason.  Is he also being overprotective when she does investigating herself because she is putting herself in danger by "snooping ?"


Ms. Gudenkauf puts you into Amelia's life and has you wondering what it would be like to be deaf as you empathize with Amelia. Ms. Gudenkauf’s research must have been extensive to make the reader completely feel and experience what Amelia was experiencing as she dealt with the everyday trials of her hearing loss and trying to find out who the murderer was.


The suspense in NOT A SOUND picked up at every turn of the page, and I had a few suspects in mind.  Ms. Gudenkauf's writing style pulls you in and keeps you interested and wondering what secrets some of the characters are keeping.

If you enjoy suspense at its best, you won't want to miss NOT A SOUND.  I couldn't stop reading.  5/5



This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

As Della was released from prison after her life sentence and returning to Puerto Pesar, The Port of Regret, she wondered if she would regret going back since her life had definitely been a regret for more than one reason.

Della had been found guilty of murdering her sister Eula. The trial and the story became well known, and portraits of both Della and her sister became famous. Eula's portrait, the Santa Bonita, was most talked about and rumored to have actual tears falling from her eyes. Della should have been the one with tears for having to spend her life in prison only four hours after she had married Tomas.

We move to another family in town that also had two sisters and a grandmother that raised them. They were sisters, Paloma and Mercedes, who knew the story of Della and Eula. Paloma went to New York to become a doctor and has returned for a month to take care of her grandmother who had a heart attack. The younger sister, Mercedes, was trouble from the beginning and still was but Paloma was trying to reconnect and help Mercedes.

Another person who knew the story of the murder, Della's prison term, and the crying portrait was, Mick, a reporter from New York looking for a story to boost his career. When all three of these characters meet, an intriguing story is created that you won't want to put down.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS has a mesmerizing cover and a mesmerizing story line. The characters are very easy to connect with and love. We follow the story and the characters as the author takes us back and forth between what Della's life was like before and during her prison term, when she returns home, and her interaction with the town and its residents. All characters are connected to Della's story in one way or another.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS had me completely absorbed. Ms. Di Maio has a writing style that just pulls you in, allows you to meet characters you will fall in love with, and meet characters you would want to have in your life.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS has love, family, tears, heartbreak, and yearning, but ultimately gives you a warm feeling inside.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS has a beautiful cover, a beautiful story line, and beautiful, heartfelt characters.

Do NOT miss reading BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS.

It is a perfect book for women's fiction fans and makes you feel the need to hug all your women friends and family. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by NetGalley in return for an honest review.