Diagnosis: Bookaholic

SYNOPSIS What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love? 'Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend's phone?' 'He left it in my car. You must be the blonde in the red dress? I'm the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.' And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday. So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn't expecting a personalised itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more. Title: The meeting point Author: Olivia Lara Publisher: Aria Publication date: September 2, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 I...

SYNOPSIS Trying to find some normalcy during the Covid-19 pandemic, Brian Murphy and his family are on a summer excursion in Cape Cod when his wife, Emma, comes down with concerning flu-like symptoms. But their leisurely return home to New York City quickly becomes a race to the local hospital as she suddenly begins seizing in the car. At the ICU, she is diagnosed with eastern equine encephalitis, a rare and highly lethal mosquito-borne viral disease seemingly caught during one of their evening cookouts. Complicating the situation further, Brian and Emma’s young daughter then begins to exhibit alarming physical and behavioral symptoms, too.   Emma’s harrowing hospital stay becomes even more fraught when Brian receives a staggering hospital bill full of outrageous charges and murky language. To add insult to injury, his health insurance company refuses to cover any of the cost, citing dubious clauses in Brian’s policy. Forced to choose between the ongoing care of family and bills he...

  SYNOPSIS SHE HAD THE PERFECT MARRIAGE. UNTIL HER MOTHER-IN-LAW MOVED IN… Saffron vowed to love Miles no matter what life threw at them both. But when her mother-in-law moves into their happy family home, Saffron’s shiny life begins to tarnish.   Even as Caprice’s barbed comments turn to something more sinister, Saffron hopes the new nanny’s arrival will shield her from the worst of it. She’s starting to feel paranoid in her own home.   Little does she realise that Caprice longs for a new daughter-in-law – and she’ll do anything to make that happen… Title: The unwelcome guest Author: Amanda Robson Publisher: Avon Publication date: August 19, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ No one does bonkers like Amanda Robson. Period. I discovered her last year with My Darling and immediately became a fan. That one was totally insane and while The Unwelcome Guest didn’t reach that level of craziness it was still a really enjoyable read. I’m sure if you asked a large group of people who would ...

  SYNOPSIS Off the coast of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly are a balmy haven with never-ending beaches and aqua-blue sea. But unbeknown to the happy tourists and cheerful locals, someone is about to commit a terrible crime.... Librarian Jemima Jago’s summer is off to a delightful start. By day she works on cataloguing the oldest library in Cornwall, and by night she can be found catching up over tea and chocolate biscuits with her old friend Pauley Gwynn. When the body of Hermie Castleberry is found on the beach at Candlewick Castle, Jem’s perfect summer is turned upside down. Jem doesn’t want to get involved, but when somebody close to her is arrested for murder, she springs into action to clear their name. Jem soon discovers that Hermie had already ruffled a few feathers in St. Morwenna, and she’s worried that the police seem to have overlooked other suspects. Could Jimmy the scorned salesman or Seth the shifty scout leader have killed Hermie? As she hunts down more leads, she but...

  SYNOPSIS When it comes to horror movies, the rules are clear: x Avoid abandoned buildings, warehouses, and cabins at all times. x Stay together: don't split up, not even just to "check something out." x If there's a murderer on the loose, do not make out with anyone. If only surviving in real life were this easy... New girl Rachel Chavez turns to horror movies for comfort, preferring stabby serial killers and homicidal dolls to the bored rich kids of Manhattan Prep...and to certain memories she'd preferred to keep buried. Then Rachel is recruited by the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious society of students who orchestrate Fear Tests, elaborate pranks inspired by urban legends and movie tropes. At first, Rachel embraces the power that comes with reckless pranking. But as the Fear Tests escalate, the competition turns deadly, and it's clear Rachel is playing a game she can't afford to lose. Title: The Mary Shelley Club Author: Goldy Moldavsky Publisher: Henr...

  SYNOPSIS A DARK FAMILY SECRET When Alice’s father dies after a tragic hit and run, his death stirs up unanswered questions about her childhood. Who was her mother, why did her father never speak of the past, and why can’t she remember anything before the age of seven? AN ISLAND CUT OFF But when she receives an anonymous letter containing a photograph of a refurbished gothic guesthouse surrounded by water, and an invitation to stay, old memories fight to resurface. Alice has visited before. She is certain of it. WHO WILL SURVIVE? Convinced the clues to her past lie at the hotel, she checks in. But once on the island, a wild storm rages, waves crash violently into the rocks, and the house is cut off by the roaring sea. Then two guests are found dead. And the hotel owner is missing. Will Alice ever uncover her secret past? And will anyone leave the island alive? Title: The Island House Author: Amanda Brittany Publisher: HQ Digital Publication date: August 11, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐⭐...

  SYNOPSIS With their long necks and matching buns and pink tights, Dara and Marie Durant have been dancers since they can remember. Growing up, they were trained by their glamorous mother, founder of the Durant School of Dance. After their parents' death in a tragic accident nearly a dozen years ago, the sisters began running the school together, along with Charlie, Dara's husband and once their mother's prized student. The three have perfected a dance that keeps the studio thriving. But when a suspicious accident occurs, just at the onset of the school's annual performance of The Nutcracker-a season of competition, anxiety, and exhilaration-an interloper arrives and threatens their delicate balance. Title: The Turnout Author: Megan Abbott Publisher: Virago Publication date: August 3, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐ Talk about huge disappointment! I had such high hopes in The Turnout. Look at that cover! It’s gorgeous! I had already read this year a book set in the ballet worl...

  SYNOPSIS “Sometimes teenagers run away…Give her a few days. She’ll be back.” That’s what the police tell Jessica Moore when her seventeen-year-old daughter, Wyn, vanishes. All signs point to this being true. But days become weeks. Weeks become months. And Jessica begins to fear the terrible truth—that she may never see her daughter again. Then, one year later, when all hope seems lost, Jessica gets a flurry of text messages from Wyn that freeze her blood: mom. please help. i think he’s going to kill me. But Wyn’s terrified plea comes with a warning not to call the police. Her kidnapper wears a badge. As Jessica’s fears are raised again, so are the stakes. Delving into the months leading up to Wyn’s disappearance, Jessica stumbles upon information that could put her own life in danger. With each revelation, the nightmare deepens. Now she must decide just how far she’ll go to bring her daughter home. Title: One Year Gone Author: Avery Bishop Publisher: Lake Union Publishing Publica...

There are some cities here in Spain already installing Christmas lights (with outside temperatures of up to 45ºC) and my Christmas spirit just got turn on!   Christmas is coming and you better get your Christmas reads ready. Today I bring you the perfect one!   A Cosy Christmas at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery by Alex Brown, the feel good Christmas read of 2021 (you had me at Bakery!). It will be published October 14th and you can preorder it here http://mybook.to/BridgetsBicycleBakery SYNOPSIS All you knead is love this Christmas … and plenty of baked goods! Finding yourself without a home in the weeks before Christmas would break most people, but for Bridget Carrington it’s a chance to start again. Mulberry-On-Sea has always been her happy place and she’s hoping it can work its magic this festive season and heal her family after a difficult year. Now, as the community wraps Bridget and her children – six-year-old Freya and fourteen-year-old twins, Oscar and Olly – in their warm e...

  SYNOPSIS He thinks he’s safe up there. But he’ll never be safe from you.    The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Tower Bridge, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him.  Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years.  You know this for a fact.   Because you’re the one who killed him.  It’s time to confess what we did up there.   Title: The Heights Author: Louise Candlish Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Publication date: August 5, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Heights was all about hate and revenge. Those two intense feelings are overtaking Ellen’s life after her son Lucas dies. She could not protect him from some undesirable...

SYNOPSIS They had everything they needed for a perfect family vacation: close-knit relatives, a bucolic setting . . . and a murderer in their midst? Summer’s looking forward to a break from hustling for acting work in Manhattan when she, her husband Gabe, and Gabe’s nine-year-old son arrive at the annual family get-together at her in-laws’ sprawling estate. On the agenda are leisurely gourmet meals, tennis matches, and plenty of relaxation by the pool. But this year, Gabe’s brother Nick has invited his new flame Hannah, whom Summer immediately recognizes from a few years before. Oddly, her brother-in-law’s girlfriend claims not to know her. Yet she charms the other family members, and after Nick announces that he’s proposed to Hannah, Summer doesn’t have much choice but to grin and bear it. Then the reunion is rocked by tragedy when a family member is found dead. Though the doctors attribute the loss to natural causes, a grieving Summer fears that the too-good-to-be-true Hannah is invo...

SYNOPSIS Six friends. One college reunion. One unsolved murder. Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to her southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see—confident, beautiful, indifferent. Not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather Shelby's murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she'd been closest to since freshman year. But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years ago, and not everyone can let Heather's murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer, to make the guilty pay. When the six friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that night—and the years' worth of secrets each of them would do anything to keep hidden. Title: In my dreams I hold a knife Author: Ashley Winstead Publisher: Sour...

SYNOPSIS Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer—all on one street. Hollow’s Edge used to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow’s Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby’s back. With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow’s Edge, and into the home she once shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she’s terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby ...