For my 3rd blog today, I’ll be doing the Wanderlust Book Tag. This one will be done with books on my tbr just to make sure I’m not using the same ones over and over again in all of these blogs.
Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, re the case of January Jacobs, who was found dead in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January—and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist, but she’s always been haunted by the fear that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice.
When Margot returns home to help care for her sick uncle, it feels like walking into a time capsule. Wakarusa is exactly how she ed: genial, stifled, secretive. Then news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over, who’s gone missing under eerily similar circumstances. With all the old feelings rushing back, Margot vows to find Natalie and solve January’s murder once and for all.
But the police, the family, the townspeople—they all seem to be hiding something. And the deeper Margot digs into Natalie’s disappearance, the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January’s case feels. Could the killer still be out there? Could it be the same person who kidnapped Natalie? And what will it cost to finally discover what truly happened that night?
My Thoughts
So I’m mostly reading this book cuz it’s my book club pick, as I wasn’t crazy into the premise. Which is strange since I love mysteries and thrillers, but perhaps I’ve just been disappointed too often with more contemporary mysteries. There isn’t really a fascinating setting or unique background and journalist protagonists often aren’t favorite, but I will do my best to go into this with an open mind. I have been really into a true crime podcast lately and this case could’ve been taken right from there if it wasn’t fiction.
Ellery Wainwright is alone at the edge of the world. She and her husband, Luke, were supposed to spend their twentieth wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California. Where better to celebrate a marriage, a family, and a life together than at one of the most stunning places on earth?
But now, she’s traveling solo. To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery re how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now, she isn’t certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling.
When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it’s clear something horrible is brewing. Everyone at Broken Point has a secret. And everyone has a shadow. Including Ellery.
My Thoughts
I’m in my summerween era, so having another vacation thriller was bound to happen. I can’t say I’m super excited to have more flashbacks or pages taken up by Ellery’s past (I swear 90% of them do one of these nowadays) unless it’s actually related to the current plot. However, I do enjoy a good locked-room mystery especially if it’s on an island, so I can’t complain too much.
Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness to secure his reign of the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she’s only ever read about.
The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader—Lorelei’s beloved mentor—is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are her five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again—and a coup begins in earnest.
But there are other dangers lurking in the forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons waiting beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.
As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth—and resist their growing feelings for one another—they discover that their professor had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, or if this kingdom is worth saving at all.
My Thoughts
I know I’ve talked about this book too many times on my profile now, but it was the only one on my tbr that deals with a voyage. I do think we need more ship murder mysteries and hopefully this satisfies my craving. This story also seems jammed pack with murder, magic, and romance so it’ll probably have a fast pacing which I’ve been missing out on. Also, both editions they released have gorgeous covers!
Dr. Willa Watters is a prominent child psychologist at the height of her career. But when a viral video of a disastrous television interview puts her reputation on the line, Willa retreats to Broken Bayou, the town where she spent most of her childhood summers. There she visits her aunts’ old house and discovers some of her troubled mother’s belongings still languishing in the attic—dusty mementos harboring secrets of her harrowing past.
Willa’s hopes for a respite are quickly crushed, not only by what she finds in that attic but also by what’s been found in the bayou.
With waters dropping due to drought, mysterious barrels containing human remains have surfaced, alongside something else from Willa’s past, something she never thought she’d see again. Divers, police, and media flood the area, including a news reporter gunning for Willa and Travis Arceneaux—a local deputy and old flame.
Willa’s fate seems eerily tied to the murders. And with no one to trust, she must use her wits to stay above water and make it out alive.
My Thoughts
I do enjoy a good abandoned house with a creepy attic in my thrillers, so I am pretty interested in this one. I like when the mc learns secrets about their deceased loved ones. I hope Willa’s career as a psychologist is elaborated on and something that will push the story forward. This will be the first mystery that features a bayou and the way the author uses its draining waters to reveal evidence is intriguing.
On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads imable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.
Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate. Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?
There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?
Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape. But who can she trust?
My Thoughts
I’ve had multiple people recommend me this book, which has been on my tbr for a little bit now. I did like The Last Word by the same author, so I’m totally down for this. I don’t usually read this type of thriller where the mc is actually alongside the victim trying to save them the whole time. I’m looking forward to the snowy atmosphere, as well as the cramped setting that features vans and rest stops.
The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap.
Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear—including one another.
Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.
My Thoughts
I don’t think I’ve ever really read any book that takes place at a wilderness spa, so I’m hoping the setting will be descriptive and vital to the story. We have another locked room mystery and another cast of secretive characters just like I’m familiar with, but there’s also the addition of two police officers. I’m hoping that we get a lot of povs so we can see both the victims and the investigators. Usually, I won’t read mysteries that focus only on certified detectives so I do like that there’s a mix of protagonists.
James Carson has gotten away with murder three times. The only thing that might stop him from killing again? The three women he murdered.
He hunted them online, masquerading as an eligible bachelor. Then he played the perfect gentleman, a thick layer of charm and a thousand-watt smile hiding the fact that his first dates end in shallow graves.
What James doesn’t know is that his three victims have found each other. And that they're coming for him. Brecia, Meghan, and Skye might be dead, but they’re not gone. And they won’t rest until they find a way to keep him from killing again.
My Thoughts
I’ve known about this book ever since my cousin first brought it up to me, but only just added it to my tbr. I usually don’t like paranormal thrillers unless I already know it’s paranormal. Even then, I don’t usually grab them as my go-to novels. However, the true crime podcast I’ve been listening to talks a lot about serial killers so it must’ve influenced my reading moods. Also, I’m all for these ghosts being the ones to stop their own murderer; it’s pretty badass. I like this type of irony where the readers know something that an mc doesn’t (at least I’m hoping it goes that route!).
Ninos has been training all his life to be a sylvan mage. Trees, plants, herbs, flowers, fruits, berries, nuts—he knows them all, and he intends to use that knowledge for the good of his home, a village he has not seen in more than a decade.
The final step to becoming a full-fledged mage is the conjuring and binding of a familiar, a faithful companion and guide who will supplement his power and remain at his side the rest of his life. Instead of a sylvan familiar, like a unicorn or stag, however, something goes horribly awry and Ninos finds himself bound instead to Sinn, a raven familiar meant for dark magics.
Neither is happy about it. Ninos wants a familiar who can help him with life, with growing and restoring a place destroyed by fire and plague. Sinn should be helping to raise the dead or cast blood workings. They were never meant to meet, let alone be bound.
Bindings are permanent, however, and cannot be broken. Their only chance at setting this wrong to rights is to locate the dark mage that Sinn was meant for, hope they in turn have Ninos' true familiar, and perform a rare but not impossible switch...
My Thoughts
Megan Derr is very much a guilty pleasure author for me. Most of them are a quick read and feature super cute romances that mesh well with whatever adventure the characters are going on. I don’t read nearly as much fantasy as I want to, so I’m glad to be picking it up again. I’m actually very much into the mages/witches species (and necromancers, send me recs) so the premise sounds interesting. I don’t hold any particular feelings on the familiars aspect, but I do like animals in books so it will probably be something I appreciate in this.
Comments (2)
Loving all the book tags!
Thanks! I’m excited to see you write pieces again!