Being Fictional

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. When Ellie Black reappears in the woods after being missing for two years, Detective Chelsey Calhoun tries to uncover where Ellie was and with whom. But Ellie isn’t talking. She refuses to say anything, which most chalk up to trauma, but Chelsey is suspicious. Her own sister went missing twenty years ago. The story is also told from Ellie’s perspective when…

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. Told from various perspectives and settings, the story follows Ryan, whose girlfriend, Ali, was abducted when they were teens. Five years later, Ali’s car has been found, but still no sign of her. The local deputy sheriff is tracking down every lead. While in Europe, Ryan is tracked down by the man who took Ali, which leads him down some dark paths across…

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. In the first chapter, a college student writes a book that she feels very connected to. After publisher after publisher rejects the book, one finally picks it up. Each subsequent chapter is a person who interacts with that book in some way. As you move through each chapter, you learn more about the original book and its eponymous main character, Theo. The…

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. When a friend’s wife goes missing, Andrew has to return home to help with the situation. He fled the town decades ago after a terrible tragedy that befell the friend group. Once he returns, Andrew realizes that his friends have been struggling lately. The group has a variety of issues. Not only is one’s wife missing, another’s daughter is sleepwalking, one…

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. I thought the first 2/3 of this book was excellent, but the ending just didn’t really work, and I ended up skimming most of it. Calla is the guardian for her teenage brother, Jamie. And middle child, Dre, is supposed to help. But Jamie is constantly in trouble. Calla keeps having nightmares about her brothers’ deaths, and when Jamie gets into a mess at a…

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. I’m loving these older protagonist books I’ve read recently. The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre and Killers of a Certain Age are standouts. And this one will stick with me for a while because it was so much fun. A dark comedy told from a first-person perspective, the story follows Lottie, a former serial killer who has since “retired” at 75 and is…

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. Really great vampire novel set in the 1970s. Duane Minor and his niece, Julia, are on the hunt after a vampire kills the rest of their family. Duane’s wife (Julia’s aunt), Heidi, and her parents were murdered because Duane had the gall to kick a vampire out of his bar for dealing drugs. However, Duane didn’t know who the man was. Once the vampire disappears,…

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. A slasher like none other, given that the main characters are in a retirement home. Our heroine, Rose, is spry of body and mind, but when her friends start dying, most are chalked up to natural causes or accidents, but Rose has her suspicions. Yes, they are older, but too many people are dying in too short a time frame. When the deaths become more obviously…