Diagnosis: Bookaholic

SYNOPSIS If you hear it, it’s too late.  In the shadow of Mount Hood, sixteen-year-old Tennant is checking rabbit traps with her eight-year-old sister Sophie when the girls are suddenly overcome by a strange vibration rising out of the forest, building in intensity until it sounds like a deafening crescendo of screams. From out of nowhere, their father sweeps them up and drops them through a trapdoor into a storm cellar. But the sound only gets worse. Title: The Noise Author: James Patterson & J.D. Barker Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Publication date: August 16, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐⭐ I’ve been a huge fan of J.D. Barker since I first read his 4MK trilogy a couple of years back. I love how he doesn’t stick to a genre and jumps from police procedurals to action packed thrillers or stories with a touch of sci-fi or supernatural (She has a broken thing where her heart should be was one of my favorite books last year).  In his latest collab with James Patterson (how m...

SYNOPSIS Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. An anniversary they’ll never forget. Adam and Amelia are spending the weekend in the Scottish Highlands. The remote location is perfect for what they have planned. But when their romantic trip takes a dark turn, they both start to wonder – can they trust the one they’re with? Because every couple tells little white lies. Only for Adam and Amelia, the truth is far more dangerous. Title: Rock Paper Scissors Author: Alice Feeney Publisher: HQ Publication date: August 19, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 I had really high expectations put into Rock Paper Scissors, especially after reading the reviews of several trusted friends and I’m delighted to say they were absolutely right! I adored the setting of the story, an old chapel turned guest house in the Scottish Highlands. Did I mentioned there was a snowstorm? My favorite! Add two very unreliable narrators and you have all the ingredients for this to be a perfect read. Adam and Amelia were no...

  SYNOPSIS In the most inhospitable environment - cut off from the rest of the world - there's a killer on the loose. A&E doctor Kate North has been knocked out of her orbit by a personal tragedy. So when she's offered the opportunity to be an emergency replacement at the UN research station in Antarctica, she jumps at the chance. The previous doctor, Jean-Luc, died in a tragic accident while out on the ice. The move seems an ideal solution for Kate: no one knows about her past; no one is checking up on her. But as total darkness descends for the winter, she begins to suspect that Jean-Luc's death wasn't accidental at all. And the more questions she asks, the more dangerous it becomes. Title: The Dark Author: Ema Haughton Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Publication date: August 19, 2021 REVIEW RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Dark has to be the ultimate locked room mystery in an isolated setting. Have you ever heard of anywhere more isolated than Antarctica during winter, with pe...

  SYNOPSIS Whitney had some misgivings when she dropped her increasingly moody teenage daughter, Amelia, off at Lauren’s house. She’d never met the parents, and usually she’d go in, but Amelia clearly wasn’t going to let something so humiliating happen, so instead Whitney waved to her daughter before pulling away from the little house with the roses in front. But when she goes back the next day, an elderly couple answers the door—Amelia and Lauren aren’t there, and this couple swears they never were, that she’s at the wrong house. As Whitney searches for Amelia, she uncovers a trail of lies her daughter has told her—from the Finsta account to rumors of a secret relationship. Does she really even know this girl she’s raised? And Amelia’s not the only one with secrets. Could Whitney’s own demons have something to do with her daughter’s disappearance, and can Whitney find her before it’s too late? Title: Where I left her Author: Amber Garza Publisher: MIRA Publication date: August 24,...

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 ...