When you write mystery/thriller novels like I do, one of the questions frequently asked by editors, reviewers, and readers is: “But is this story really believable?” It’s a tough balance to maintain in a fiction book. If the story is totally “believable,” it might also be boring, But you don’t want to push the envelope…

Chapter 1 He knew he was a lucky guy. First of all, how many guys loved their jobs, made good money, and could honestly say their work had changed the way people saw the world? He’d recently returned to a part of the planet he loved, a place where the night sky shone with brilliance.…

Wall Street whiz Lindsey Bakewell has abandoned her entire life in New York City following the discovery of her now-ex-fiancé, hot-shot restaurateur Jeffrey Plank, cheating on her with his pastry chef, Mia Long. In a moment of drunken self-pity, she decides to buy a dilapidated lighthouse in a Michigan town she has fond memories of…

Mike Lawson is one of those writers that seems to fly under the radar. House Standoff is the fifteenth title in his Joe DeMarco series and it just as solid as the other titles I have read from him. What makes this novel even more appealing is that it can be read as a stand-alone,…

Ocean Prey by John Sandford is the 31st book in the Prey series, where fan-favorite heroes Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces on a deadly maritime case. The first official Lucas Davenport/Virgil Flowers crossover novel finds our two heroes only too happy to escape the Minnesota cold for the Florida heat—even if it is…

Chapter 5: Sheep’s Clothing While Shele financed the family, Rod’s enthusiasm for work continued to dissipate. Rose assumed most of the child-rearing duties for Anna and Myles while Shele kept long hours at the office. Liberated from both fatherly and professional obligations, Rod found himself with a surfeit of idle time. Instead of blanketing the…

Prologue The cold was different here. It got inside you, the raw knife edge of it slipping beneath your clothes at your collar and your cuffs, taking your breath and setting your nerves to alarm. The skin on his face and neck stung; his hands and feet were going about the business of going numb,…

“The lies we tell ourselves during stable hours—like I’m a good person or I don’t deserve this—become the lies we bury deep down, too far to access, in times of pain.” These thoughts are from the mind of protagonist Claire Lou a.k.a. Marissa Mo who is one of the more troubled narrators you will come…

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes is the highly anticipated third thriller in her hit You series—now a blockbuster Netflix show—and a compulsively readable trip into the deviant mind of the uniquely antisocial, savvy bookseller Joe Goldberg. New York Times bestselling author Caroline Kepnes is among an elite group of writers who have crafted such…

The Perfect Daughter Reading Group Discussion Guide 1. Family dynamics play an essential role in shaping the story. Did you empathize with Grace’s plight? Did you agree with her choices despite the impact on her family? 2. Grace pushed to adopt Penny over some objections/hesitation on the part of Arthur. What are your views on…