Category: Contemporary

Title: Vanishing Girls (Detective Josie Quinn #1)
Author: Lisa Regan
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Author, Bookstagrammers.com
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 17, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

She was close enough to see that the girl had written a word on the wall in bright, warm red blood. Not a word, actually. A name…

Everyone in the small American town of Denton is searching for Isabelle Coleman, a missing seventeen-year-old girl. All they’ve found so far is her phone and another girl they didn’t even know was missing.

Mute and completely unresponsive to the world around her, it’s clear this mysterious girl has been damaged beyond repair. All Detective Josie Quinn can get from her is a name: Ramona.

Currently suspended from the force for misconduct, Josie takes matters into her own hands as the name leads her to evidence linking the two girls. She knows the race is on to find Isabelle alive, and she fears there may be others… 

The trail leads Josie to another victim, a girl who escaped but whose case was labelled a hoax by authorities. To catch this monster, Josie must confront her own nightmares and follow her instinct to the darkest of places. But can she make it out alive?

Fans of Angela Marsons, Helen Fields and Robert Dugoni will be utterly gripped and sleeping with the lights on once they discover the first in this unputdownable new crime thriller series.

Review:

The small town of Denton gathers together to search for missing Isabelle Coleman. While they’re searching for her, Detective Josie Quinn finds another girl who she didn’t realize was missing. However, that girl is wearing a tongue piercing that matches the one Isabelle wore. She then discovers another missing person’s case which was later determined to be a hoax, but that determination doesn’t sit right with Josie. She has to investigate a string of missing girls and women, which is a lot more extensive that anyone could have imagined. 

This was a very fast paced and thrilling story! It was so well plotted. I couldn’t piece together what was happening, but it made sense by the end of the story. It was quite clever, the way everyone was connected to the plot and the mystery. Based on the many twists at the end, I’m curious to see where this story goes in the rest of the series. 

There were many scenes in this story that dealt with difficult issues. There was human trafficking, rape, sexual assault, child abuse, suicide, murder, and abduction. It was honestly difficult to read at times because the scenes were emotional and graphic. Unfortunately, there are things like this happening in the world every day. Though this book had some disturbing scenes, I am giving it five stars because it was a cleverly crafted plot. 

Vanishing Girls is a heart-pounding thriller!

Thank you Lisa Regan and Bookstagrammers.com for sending me a copy of this book!

What to read next:

The Girl With No Name by Lisa Regan

Have you read Vanishing Girls? What did you think of it?

Title: Are You Sara?
Author: S.C. Lalli
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: August 9, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two women named Sara each get into a rideshare. . . but only one makes it home alive. Which Sara was the real target?

Law student Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri holds down two jobs in order to make her way through school, but it’s still a struggle. She’s had to do things to pay the bills that most people wouldn’t expect from “a nice Indian girl.” It seems like an ordinary busy Tuesday night at the local dive bar until her boss demands Sara deal with a drunk girl in the bathroom.

The two become fast friends. Why? Because they both have the same name. And despite their different circumstances, the two connect. When they both order rideshares home, they tumble in the back of the cars and head out into the night.

But when Sara awakes in her rideshare, she finds she’s on the wrong side of town—the rich side—and she realizes: she and Sarah took the wrong cars home.

With no money, Sara walks back to her apartment on the shady side of town only to discover police lights flashing and a body crumpled on her doorstep: Sarah.

Was Sarah Ellis or Sara Bhaduri the target? And why would anyone want either of them dead?

In this smart, twisty novel about ambition, wealth, and dangerous longing, the layers are peeled back on two young women desperate to break out of the expectations placed on them, with devastating results.

Review:

Sarawati “Sara” Bhaduri works at a dive bar while attending law school. One evening, her boss asks her to help a drunk customer out of the bar. That girl is also named Sarah, and they spend time together, waiting for their rideshares to arrive. When Sara’s ride let’s her out, she realizes she’s on the wrong side of town. She had gotten into the other Sarah’s ride by accident. Sara makes her way across town to her home, where she finds the police and the body of Sarah on her doorstep. Now Sara has to wonder why Sarah was killed in front of her house, and if she was the real target. 

This was the fastest book I’ve read in a long time. I read it in a day! I couldn’t put it down. The chapters were short and many ended on a cliffhanger, that kept me reading. It alternated between a few different timelines: Sara in the present, Sara in the past, and Sarah in the past. All of these storylines were fast paced. 

The premise of this story was terrifying and realistic. It would be quite a coincidence, but it’s believable that two people with the same name could get into the wrong rideshares in real life. That part was just the beginning of the story. The rest of the story was about the events that led to them both being there at the same time, as well as Sara investigating the murder on her own. The premise drew me to the story and the exciting plot kept me reading!

I highly recommend Are You Sara? for a fast paced thriller!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for sending me a copy of this book!

Have you read Are You Sara? What did you think of it?

Title: The It Girl
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Gallery
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook, paperback arc
Release Date: July 12, 2022
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of One by One returns with an unputdownable mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friend’s murder.

April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.

Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.

Review:

April Clarke-Cliveden was the “It Girl” on the Oxford campus, who seemed to have it all. Her roommate, Hannah Jones, was dazzled by her. They had a close group of friends (Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily) who did everything together, but by the end of their first year, April was dead. Hannah’s testimony that the creepy porter, John Neville, was the last person seen leaving their room, is what convicted him for murder. Now, ten years later, Hannah is expecting her first child with April’s ex-boyfriend, Will. When they get the news that John Neville has died in prison, it brings the case back into the spotlight. Journalists start asking questions about the case, which makes Hannah question if she was correct in her assumption that John killed April. She does her own investigation, digging up everyone’s secrets, and discovering things that should have stayed hidden. 

I was looking forward to reading this book but I found it disappointing. I was certain that I knew who the murderer was from the beginning. The twist that I predicted is one that I’ve read a few times in similar thrillers so it wasn’t original. I seemed to be right, but the story took a strange turn at the end that felt forced. There were also a couple of red herring clues that went nowhere and didn’t actually have anything to do with the story. 

I’ve rated this book three stars because I did finish it, and I’m sure some readers could enjoy it. I just found it disappointing because it was like other thrillers I’ve read in the past. 

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me a copy of this book.

Have you read The It Girl? What did you think of it?