Title: If Something Happens to Me
Author: Alex Finlay
Publication Date: May 28, 2024
Genre: Thriller
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Quote: "Something's not right. The puzzle pieces are warped, disfigured."

In Philadelphia, Anthony O'Leary, teenage son of mobster Scott O'Leary is being bullied at an elite school.  What happens as a result of this leaves a town a few less in number.

Five years ago, in Kansas, Ryan Richardson and his girlfriend, Alison Lane were on a date when Ryan gets hit over the head so hard that he blacks out.  Upon waking up, Alison and her car are gone. Ryan is automatically a suspect.  With a good lawyer and lack of evidence, Ryan gets let off the hook and allowed to carry on with his life. He travels to Italy on a school trip and that's where the story of Alison begins to unfold.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, there's a new deputy by the name of Poppy McGee. Her first day on the job finds her at Suncatcher Lake while a car with two bodies are being lifted out. Once the car is processed, a handbag is found.  Inside the handbag is an envelope containing some sort of number code with the title "If Something Happens to Me" written on it. 

What does this code mean?

Where's Alison Lane?

Who do the bodies in the car belong to?

Poppy will stop at nothing to find the answers to those questions.

In If Something Happens to Me, Alex Finlay introduces us to a lot of characters. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first but trust me they are all connected. In the end, you will not be left wondering where any of them fit within the storyline.  

If you enjoy different locations, different points of view, and several interconnected characters, then, I would definitely recommend If Something Happens to Me.  Alex Finlay does a great job with pacing.  I wanted to keep reading way past my bedtime. There is a bit of language, so just be aware of that if that bothers you. 

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review If Something Happens to Me.

Title: You Me Her

Author: Sue Watson

Publication Date: June 3, 2024

Genre: Thriller

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5

One Marriage.  Three People.  One Murder.

You = Tom

Me = Rachel

Her = Chloe - Maybe?

In You Me Her, we are following the lives of the Frazer family; Rachel, her husband Tom, and their 4-year-old son Sam.

Rachel's dad died and left her with a large sum of money as an inheritance. Rachel and Sam are currently staying in her hometown, while Tom is spending the inheritance money to give Rachel the home of her dreams in another town. Tom is handling all the decisions that come along with fixing up a house: tile, paint color, garden, etc.

When Rachel and Sam move into the new house, Rachel is hoping to leave tragedy behind and finally be able to get on with her life. Rachel loves the new house, but she is very concerned about all the money being spent. 

In walks Chloe, a younger, very pretty girl. She does not knock she just lets herself right in. Chloe is shocked to see that Rachel is there. Tom plays it off and says that Chloe works with the real estate agency and that's why she has keys to their house. 

Quote: "But nothing is ever quite what it seems, and storm clouds can gather quickly."

Rachel befriends Chloe and they begin to spend lots of time together. Tom does not like this at all because he has told Rachel that Chloe is very dangerous and should not be trusted. Strange things start happening at the house. Sam sees things. Rachel sees things. 

Is Tom being overdramatic?

Can Chloe be trusted?

Is Rachel going crazy?

You Me Her by Sue Watson has twists and turns aplenty. I trusted no one. There are several characters that play a role in this story. All of them - sketchy! You will not know who to believe. Sue does a good job with that. There's just something not quite right with each one of them, you just cannot put your finger on it. 

Secrets

Fear

Lies

Friendship

Betrayal

I try not to go too in depth with thriller reviews, because I think they are better gone into blind. I did enjoy You Me Her. I thought I had it figured out, but I did not. If you like domestic trillers, I would recommend putting this one on your list.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review You Me Her.

Title: The Nurse Behind the Gates

Author: Shari J. Ryan

Publication Date: May 20, 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Quote: "A rare honeybee."

The Nurse Behind the Gates by Shari J. Ryan is told from two points of view - Emilie and Danner. It also travels back and forth from now and years leading up to now.

We begin in 1942 Germany with Emilie and her husband Otto. They have been married three weeks when Otto tells Emilie that they will be quickly moving out of their current town. Emilie does not like surprises, and she is not happy about this change one bit. She has lots of questions. 

As we travel backwards in time, we get to meet Danner, Felix and Gerty. These three, along with Emilie and Otto are all best friends and live in the same neighborhood growing up. That is until the Jews begin to be asked to leave.

Quote: "No matter where we go or what challenges come, we'll always have each other."

Danner and Emilie know they love each other and want nothing more than to spend forever together. However, with Danner being a Jew, he knows this cannot possibly happen. He makes Emilie promise that she will marry Otto and he assures her that Otto will give her the life she deserves. A life that he cannot give her. 

Emilie and Otto begin working in Dachau, a concentration camp the Nazi's built to intern political protestors...or so they thought. The reality, it was a camp for medical research and Jews were used as the subjects. Imagine Emilie's shock when she walks in and finds Danner slumped over in the corner. Danner is in fact, a research subject, based on the choices he was given. 

Quote: "If you had a secret - one that could destroy your life if shared, what would you do to protect it?"

The Nurse Behind the Gates is an emotional read. I found myself so invested in the characters and I could not stop reading. I just had to know what was going to happen. Shari J. Ryan did a fantastic job with the pace, as well as giving me all the feels. Such a powerful story from beginning until the very end.

What would you do to keep someone you love safe?

Would you make deals with the enemy, if it meant keeping someone you love alive?

The Nurse Behind the Gates is a story about two boys and one girl. But it's also about so much more!

Love

War

Friendship

Trust

Hope

Choices

Family

I would definitely recommend this book is you like books that make you feel.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Nurse Behind the Gates. 

Title: The Other Passenger

Author: JE Rowney

Publish Date: May 30, 2024

Genre: Thriller

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Paranoia.
Jealousy.
Betrayal.
Murder.
Secrets.

Anger.

Quote: "He wished he had planned ahead but tonight was a night he hadn't expected."

In The Other Passenger by JE Rowney, we follow the journey of David and Emma. Their story is told between "now" and the hours leading up to "now." The journey starts off with a murder. However, we do not know who, what, or why.

In the "now" David is driving down a dark an isolated road in the rain. David has just experienced an unfortunate event at his work's awards ceremony. The ceremony in which David attended alone per usual. His wife Amanda just could not be bothered to support her husband, who was supposed to receive a prestigious award. David and Amanda used to be happy. That happiness has become more of just a game of cat and mouse. There had been a time when David was not a failure. 

Quote: "Perhaps she had been lucky, but the night wasn't over yet. There was a storm to get through first."

Emma has had a really tough year. She is quite troubled, to say the least. She has migraines all the time, and her life is falling apart. She still talks to her sister, Angelina, who never responds because Angeliana really isn't there anymore. Emma sets off to search for answers as to why that is. 

David and Emma are complete strangers from totally different generations. However, they are both running from something.

Along the road, David picks up a young female hitchhiker. She appears to be around the same age as his nineteen-year-old daughter, Charlotte. The girl is very focused on her phone but eventually her and David begin to talk. David is asking the typical "get to know you" questions when an alert comes across the radio. "The discovery of a women's body in a shallow grave..." 

Will David and Emma get away from what they are running from? Do they have secrets they hope will never see the light of day?

Quote: "Sometimes it's better to be two strangers in the night sharing a ride."

The Other Passenger by JE Rowney is a quick read. The pace is well written. It will keep you engaged. I do feel like the ending was abrupt and could have been a little more detailed. All in all, I would recommend this book to my fellow thriller lovers.

This book has minimal foul language, which I really appreciate.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Other Passenger.

Title: When We Were Brave
Author: Suzanne Kelman
Publish Date: February 24, 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Quote: "She needed everything in her life, including her history, to make sense."

In When We Were Brave, Suzanne Kelman takes us through a dual timeline.
She does a great job with the dual timelines. It didn't matter which timeline I was in, the past or the present, I felt like I was in that time.

In the present day, we are following Sophie, a woman who is dealing with the death of her daughter and her mother, as well as a boyfriend who has been cheating on her. Everybody handles grief in different ways. Sophie wants to be surrounded by reminders of her daughter, Emily. Matt wants to be surrounded by his female co-worker.

Sophie comes across a photograph with a woman in it, with a stance that resembles that of her family. She takes a picture of the photograph and sets off to visit her grandmother to find out if, by chance, this woman is kin to them. With reluctance, Sophie's grandmother tells her that it is her Great Aunt Vivienne, and that they do not talk about her. She also tells her that sometimes the past is better left right where it is. Sophie cannot just let the past stay in the past. She cannot stop thinking about the woman in the photograph and her story.

Quote:  "On some level she felt that is was no accident that the photograph had come into her life right now."

In the past, we follow Vivienne, a British spy in WWII. Or is she?

We jump back and forth as we follow Sophie trying to find the answer to that question.

In When We Were Brave, we go on a journey for the truth. Was Vivi really a spy for her country, or was she a traitor? Some things are not as they seem. There's always more to the story.

Quote:  "I'm a firm believer that the truth always comes out in the end."

How far will Sophie go to find answers?

Love. What will be sacrificed in the name of love?
War. What will be sacrificed for country?

Love.
War.
Grief.
Betrayal.
Loyalty.
Unlikely relationships.
Travel.

I highly recommend this book, if you enjoy any of the above. Oh, and remember the swallows...

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review When We Were Brave.

Title: The Orphan House
Author: Ann Bennett
Publish Date:  February 28, 2020
My Rating: 4.75 out of 5

"One day, everything changed."

Home. Everybody has a reason for going home.
Secrets. Everybody has secrets. Sometimes the secrets are not our secrets we are keeping.

In The Orphan House, Ann Bennett takes us into the lives of Connie and Sarah. The Orphan House, is dual perspective. Well, it is actually triple, if you consider the mysterious diary that was given to Connie by Anna.

We start off in 1934, with Connie walking to the door of Cedar Hall Orphanage, and seeing the housekeeper holding a tiny baby...another abandoned baby. Connie's dad is in charge of the orphanage, and as always, he will take care of the paperwork.

Then, we jump to present day and Sarah Jennings has left her husband and is headed back home to tell her dad. She's not sure she will ever be able to go back to Alex. After what he has done, how can she?

These two women have a lot of questions they need to find the answers to. How will the lives of these two women intersect?

What lengths will Connie go to in order to protect her dad's secrets?
What lengths will Sarah go to in order to find the answers to her dad's past?

Daughters usually put their dads on a pedestal, but what happens when that pedestal gets shattered by the truth?

In The Orphan House, Ann Bennett takes us down a path that ultimately leads to healing. The twists and turns of how we get there, will sometimes find you breathless.

Reasons to read The Orphan House:
If you like drama.
If you like father/daughter relationships.
If you like secrets.
If you like full circle moments.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Orphan House.

Title: Sanctification: God's Passion for His People
Author: John F. MacArthur Jr.
Publish Date: February 11, 2020
Genre: Christian, Religion & Spirituality
Page Count: 80
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Quote: "Sanctification is a process of fighting for full joy and not selling out for a cheap substitute along the way."

John MacArthur, like Paul, has no problem being the unpopular opinion. In his book, Sanctification: God's Passion for His People, he shares his unpopular opinion on sanctification.

As believers, we must have a heart for the souls of the lost. We must not sugarcoat sins. We must also be ready to call out fellow believers who are more concerned with being popular, instead of following what Paul warned the early church about.

I appreciate that MacArthur uses Scripture as the backbone for his books. This book is no different. I believe that every believer would benefit from reading, Sanctification: God's Passion for His People. This book puts into perspective how all believers should not be concerned with popularity, but instead, be concerned with the sanctification of the saints.

#Sanctification #NetGalley