The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn

The remote settlement of Estuary has an issue: one of the family groups wants help to rebuild their home and the rest of the families have refused. Normally this kind of dispute wouldn't fall to an investigator, but Estuary doesn't have a committee of its own to settle arguments. And so Enid and trainee Teeg have been sent to look into the matter and make a decision. 

It's clear from arrival that Semperfi's home is doomed and so it should be a quick in and out, leaving Enid enough time to make it home for the birth of Serenity's new baby. But all hopes of a quick resolution are quashed when the body of a young woman is found near the crumbling abode. 

No one in Estuary claims to know the girl but it's clear she was murdered and Enid sees it as her responsibility to solve the case. Her job is complicated by the fact that no one in the settlement is talking. And when they do, it's to point fingers at the one house that was involved in an investigation over two decades ago - an investigation that has no bearing on the murder. 

This follow up to Vaughn's Phillip K. Dick Award winning Bannerless returns readers to the post apocalyptic setting of Enid's world.

This is a future well beyond our present. In this time, a home like Semperfi's is actually a relic from our time. Society has rebuilt itself into small settlements, connected by a well-traveled road and a governing body and set of rules meant to pay heed to available resources, rewarding those who use those resources well and restricting those who don't.

As in its predecessor, one of the driving forces in Estuary is the earning of banners, which allows a household to have children. But more than that, the struggling community relies on helping one another and the head of Semperfi feels his house has done its part helping others and deserves the same in return.

Again, this isn't the kind of thing any investigator would normally be tasked with. And Estuary is about as far as one can get on the Coast Road, which means Enid is a long way from her home. Circumstances aren't convenient either since Enid's home has earned its own banner and the baby is due any day. But Enid takes her job seriously and her name was up on the roster when the request for mediation came in. And she takes her job even more seriously when a body is discovered.

A lesser investigator might shirk off their duty by tackling the easiest route to identifying a suspect, but Enid has already proven herself as a true investigator in this world - one focused on getting to the truth of the matter rather than the simplest solution.

And again, it doesn't really earn her any friends! Which is why I like her and this series so much :)

Of course the other reason I love this series is the setting. I'm an admitted sucker for post apocalyptic stories and anything with a mystery element catches my eye. Taking away the benefit of labs and forcing the character to rely on the most basic investigative measures - pure and simple questioning and instinct - makes this a less flashy mystery series, but one that gives the characters a chance to really shine.

If you didn't know, Bannerless came out of a short story Vaughn wrote (which is part of her collection Amaryllis and Other Stories). She's also got a prequel short to the series up on Tor.com for free, you can check out "Where Would You Be Now?" here.

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XIII

Fall is right around the corner! In fact, we're already feeling it a bit here in Colorado. Just a teensy bit :)

Of course for me, this year, fall means the baby is almost here, but that's not curbing my craving for all things dark and creepy. So I'm signing on once again for the Readers Imbibing Peril (RIP) challenge.

Here's the info per Book Chatter, the official host this year.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:
Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic
Horror
Supernatural

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

The goals are simple.

1. Have fun reading.

2. Share that fun with others.

As we do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. XII without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have many other commitments) but want to participate all the same.

Multiple perils await you. You can participate in just one, or participate in them all.

Peril the First:
Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Due…or anyone in between.

Peril the Second:
Read two books of any length that you believe fit within the challenge categories.

Peril the Third:
We all want you to participate. This Peril involves reading one book that fits within the R.I.P. definition.

Peril of the Short Story:
We are fans of short stories and our desire for them is perhaps no greater than in autumn. We see Jackson in our future for sure! You can read short stories any time during the challenge. We sometimes like to read short stories over the weekend and post about them around that time. Feel free to do this however you want, but if you review short stories on your site, please link to those reviews on our RIPXII Book Review pages.

Peril on the Screen:
This is for those of us who like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows, or your favorite film. If you are so inclined, please post links to any R.I.P.-related viewing you do on our book review pages as well.

Peril of the Review:
Submit a short review of any book you read and you may see it here on the blog! Again, you may participate in one or all of the various Perils. Our one demand: enjoy yourself!

I'll be tackling Peril the First, Peril of the Short Story, and Peril on the Screen (while also trying to save some for 30 horror films in 30 days challenge).  

The challenge begins September 1 and runs through October 31. If you're interested in signing on, you can do that here. 

New Releases 8/28/18

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

Ahab's Return by Jeffrey Ford

Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison

Dim Sum of All Fears by Viven Chen

Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Stygian by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Housegirl by Michael Donko

The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart

The People's Republic of Everything by Nick Mamatas

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Toil & Trouble ed by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe

That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

The Towering Sky by Katherine McGee

New on DVD:
Tag
Book Club
Mary Shelley

Pre Pub Book Buzz: The Farm by Joanne Ramos

It's crazy to think that I'm already looking ahead to 2019 titles for my TBR! Ah, well, with a baby on the way it kind of seems like time has sped up exponentially.

And maybe it's because I have a baby on the way that Joanne Ramos's The Farm caught my eye.

Here's a bit about the book:

Welcome to Golden Oaks, the next big thing in the fertility economy. Backed by a multibillion-dollar conglomerate, “The Farm” is fitted with every amenity for the surrogates who have come to bring babies of the very rich to term. In return, these “hosts” offer a nine-month lease on their bodies for the opportunity to earn “big money” that will change the trajectory of their often difficult lives.

Meet Jane, a young Filipina immigrant whose host fee will go to support her infant daughter; idealistic college graduate Reagan, who will use hers to break from the expectations of her domineering father; Mae Yu, the HBS-educated director of Golden Oaks whose ambitions extend far beyond the facility; and Ate (“Ah-tay”) Evelyn, Jane’s 67-year-old cousin, a shrewd, in-demand baby nurse for the rich with plans of her own. Via the Farm’s vibrant cast of characters, the novel details a spectrum of female experience in a word that is very nearly ours.

As the intersecting lives of these women play out against the backdrop of the rural Hudson Valley, the lavish homes of the One Percent, and the crowded dormitory in Queens where immigrant service workers rent beds by the half day, the novel calls into question a woman’s agency over her body, and, ultimately, illuminates the tradeoffs women will make to fortify their futures, and the futures of those they love.

The Farm is due out in May from Random House.

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

Andrea Cooper lives a fairly ordinary life. She works as a 911 operator, a far cry from the aspirations she'd had for using her theater degree. But she's ok with that considering her job came as a result of moving home to help care for her mother while the woman was undergoing cancer treatment. Laura, a speech therapist who makes a living helping others, came through well but Andrea has no desire to return to her former life.

But on the morning mother and daughter are celebrating Andrea's birthday over brunch, the two come face to face with a gunman intent on wreaking as much havoc as he can. Laura steps in, pulling a move no one would expect outside of combat training, bringing down the gunman.

Rather than being recognized for her heroics, though, her actions cause some suspicion amongst local law enforcement. And when someone comes for Laura in her own home, she instructs Andrea to run. 

This book begs the question, how well do we really know our own family? As it turns out, Andrea doesn't know her own mother at all!

Pieces of Her is a bit of a dual timeline tale with sections of the story alternating between Andrea's present and the 1980s. And while it is a page turning read that I literally gobbled up, I do have to admit that I was slightly more interested in Andrea's pieces than the background that got them to this point. Only slightly, though.

Of the books I've read by Slaughter so far, this one is a bit different. At least in terms of what the book is actually about. But I kind of think telling exactly what that is is spilling the beans just a bit for potential readers.

Instead, I'll say that the plot is, as per usual of Slaughter, incredibly well crafted and fast paced. The characters are equally well crafted and keep the reader engaged and intrigued as the story progresses. And because this is a stand alone, it is the perfect diving in point for anyone who may not read Slaughter already as well as a perfect new addition to any Slaughter fan's collection!

Vox by Christina Dalcher

Imagine if you were restricted, by law, to just 100 words a day. You aren't allowed a job, a career, of any kind. Your money is controlled by someone else and your privileges as a member of society have been reduced to daily tasks and chores only.

In Christina Dalcher's debut, this is the reality of the new America and the life women are forced to live when an evangelical-led government comes into power and decides it's time for a change.

Jean lives in this reality. She can recall a time when this wasn't the case - when she was allowed to speak as much as she wanted, when she held a job she was proud of, when she didn't have to constantly worry about her own daughter facing the painful consequences of speaking too many words in one day. And Jean is a linguist, so she worries about the overall effect this limit will have on her daughter as she grows, not just in terms of changing social norms but in terms of education and development. 

But for now, this is Jean's reality. 

And then things change. Jean's expertise is requested by none other than the president himself, giving Jean the bargaining chip she needs to garner some bit of freedom for herself and her daughter. But she soon learns that her own freedom will come at great cost. 

This book. This book! Yes, it's one of those reads. The kind that shakes you to the core. The kind that's all too close to reality. The kind that gives you the chance to see just how something so horrific and previously unimaginable could actually happen. And it's terrifying, to be totally honest!

I liked this book in the same way that I liked The Handmaid's Tale, which is to say that experience reading it was tempered by the constant and overriding fear that this could indeed one day happen. And we'd all like to say, never. Or at least, never hear. And yet...

Vox is a great read if for no reason other than it will get people talking. TALKING! So even if you're potentially turned off by the fact that it definitely does hit a bit too close to home these days, it is absolutely thought provoking and may even get people thinking about just how close to a precipice we are and what we need to to do make sure something like this never happens!

New Releases 8/21/18

Some of the books hitting shelves this week are:

Vox by Christina Dalcher

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

The Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams

Putney by Sofka Zinovieff

Windhaven: A Graphic Novel by George R. R. Martin & Lisa Tuttle

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèli Clark

Coldfall Wood by Steven Savile

Terra Incognita by Connie Willis

Ohio by Stephen Markley

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal

Heartbreaker by Claudia Day

Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison

The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles

Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey

Red White Blue by Lea Carpenter

The Devoted by Blair Hurley

New on DVD:
Deadpool 2

Pre Pub Book Buzz: Cravings: Hungry For More by Chrissy Tiegen

My love of books extends to cookbooks as well, if you didn't know, and I'm always on the lookout for the next one I just have to have. After the buzz and attention Chrissy Tiegen's first outing got, her upcoming release immediately got added to my must have list!

Here's a bit about the book from Goodreads:

Cravings: Hungry for More takes us further into Chrissy’s kitchen…and life. It’s a life of pancakes that remind you of blueberry pie, eating onion dip with your glam squad, banana bread that breaks the internet, and a little something called Pad Thai Carbonara. After two years of parenthood, falling in love with different flavors, and relearning the healing power of comfort food, this book is like Chrissy’s new edible diary: recipes for quick-as-a-snap meals; recipes for lighter, brighter, healthier-ish living; and recipes that, well, are gonna put you to bed, holding your belly. And it will have you hungry for more.

I know she caught flack for putting cheese in her guacamole (it's yummy, so don't knock it) but that's kind of what I love about her recipes so far: she does what she wants! And it turns out tasty!

Cravings: Hungry For More is due out in September - so not that much longer to wait. Now if only she'd release a cookbook for new moms trying to cook with kids, that'll be something I REALLY need coming up :)

Short Fiction Friday: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

After finding out the truth about its past, Murderbot has set a new initiative for itself.

Murderbot has decided it's time to help its new owner. Dr. Mensah purchased the SecUnit, basically setting it free. For all intents and purposes, that is. While Dr. Mensah never implicitly said that the SecUnit can go out on its own, the scientist's actions do allow for autonomous existence on the part of Murderbot.

And Murderbot is still a little burned up about what happened when it was working for Dr. Mensah in the first place. Now, it's decided it's time to find out more about the plot that put Mensah and the rest of the team in danger. And that means traveling to Milu, an abandoned planet that was once being terraformed by GreyCris. The SecUnit's hope is that it can finally get evidence Dr. Mensah can use against GreyCris. Evidence that will prove once and for all that the corporation is up to no good.

Unfortunately, Murderbot didn't plan for yet another group of unprepared and uninformed humans being involved. It appears someone is out to scavenge Milu and Murderbot can either attempt to avoid contact and notice or, once again, lend a hand where needed.

I really do love Murderbot. It's quite probably my absolute favorite character in fiction right now!

Above all, Murderbot has to protect itself from being caught as a free SecUnit. And people are looking for it, which makes it that much harder. Alterations in the previous installment have allowed it to mask itself a bit, but it can't avoid detection forever, especially when other bots are involved.

It would be easier if it didn't repeatedly find itself having to choose between saving people or leaving them to their own devices! Ah, the plight of a conscientious security android. Time and again, Murderbot proves that it's more than just a series of codes and programming!

If you haven't treated yourself to Martha Wells's Murderbot Diaries novellas yet, do it now! I think there's probably no better science fiction out there right at this moment than this series!

Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Lori Rader-Day's latest, Under at Dark Sky.

In the year since her husband's death, Eden has become inexplicably afraid of the dark. She sleeps, when she can, during the day and spends each evening holed up in her house with the lights burning. 

When she finds out that her husband had booked a trip to a dark sky park for their anniversary, she decides to take the opportunity to try and work through her fear. A week alone in a beach house at a park devoted to star watching might just be the thing she needs to get on with her life. But when she arrives she finds the house in question has also been rented by a group of six celebrating their own anniversary. Her husband had simply rented a suite within the house. And Eden doesn't want to share her week with strangers. 

Though some of the group encourage her to stay, Eden vows to leave first thing the following day - when she knows she can make it home to Chicago before nightfall. But in the early hours of the morning, Eden is awakened by screaming and stumbles out of her room to discover that one of the group has been murdered. Now, everyone in the house is a suspect and Eden can't leave until the killer is revealed. 

Under a Dark Sky proves once again that Lori Rader-Day has a true talent for creating page turners that delve deep into the emotion and psyche of her characters.

Eden is revealed layer by layer as the story progresses. She's afraid of the dark, she's a widow, she's trying to decide if she wants to sell her house, and this vacation is the first outing she's allowed herself in the wake of her husband's death. This is what we know when we start. And though we suspect things weren't great between her and her husband by the little pieces of info she doles out through her narrative, we can't be sure if it's grief or something more.

Meanwhile, the six strangers she meets are seen through her eyes. Two couples and two additional friends, all but one of whom attended the same college and are getting together on the almost anniversary of their graduation. But there are hints that something more is going on with these friends. As an outsider, though, Eden isn't privy to their history or their potential secrets.

I really enjoyed my time with this book and with Eden. This was the kind of read that I was able to just sink into for hours, retreating from the real world and becoming part of the story!

I want to add here that almost a year ago, I had the pleasure of attending a conference that featured Lori as a keynote speaker. I had just read her previous book and was excited to hear her talk about her journey as a writer. She was a fantastic speaker and a joy to hear, leaving me even more excited to read each and every new book she creates!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Lori Rader-Day and her work you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

Stars Uncharted by S. K. Dunstall

Josune Arriola has been sent on a mission. Her captain has arranged a rendezvous with Hammond Royston of the ship The Road. Except the rendezvous is a secret and Josune has been dispatched undercover.

Her ship, The Hassim, arrives three days late and unresponsive to calls from The Road. Upon boarding, Josune, Royston, and the others find The Hassim has been attacked, the crew have been murdered, and only a few of those behind the hostile takeover remain.

Everyone knows exactly why The Hassim would be a target for attack. Their mission is exploration and their discoveries are legend. So the knowledge saved within the memory of the ship is of the highest value. But salvaging The Hassim leaves Royston and his crew the targets of a group of mercenaries seemingly unwilling to give up their lost bounty, leaving Josune no choice but to keep her identity secret all the while trying to discover why her captain wanted to meet with Royston in the first place!

This latest from sisters and cowriters Sherylyn and Karen, aka S. K. Dunstall, is a truly fantastic space adventure!

The Hassim has made a name for itself following in the footsteps of Goberling, a famed space explorer whose biggest accomplishment was discovering a world packed full of a Dellarine, a metal used in every kind of technology imaginable. But no one had ever found a mother lode even close to Goberling's. Unfortunately, before vanishing altogether, Goberling himself forgot where his discovery was located. And so others had taken up the mantle in search of it themselves.

The Hassim, but last account, hadn't yet discovered the world but had found many others and a record of the ship's travels is one any company would pay dearly for.

But the story doesn't begin on The Hassim. Instead, the story begins with a body modder called Nika Rik Terri, who's discovered a way to allow two people to swap minds for a period of up to 24 hours. Unfortunately for Nika, her tech is exactly what lands her on the run and on the path of Josune and Royston.

Half the fun of the book is waiting for the two groups to meet - Nika and a young apprentice she picks up along the way, and Josune, Royston, and The Road. And boy is this book some serious fun!

Stars Uncharted was like the perfect mash up of Expanse (books) style space opera and Killjoys (show, but I wish there were books!) style adventure. In other words, exactly the kind of book I'm looking for right at this moment! And though there were times when the story became a little easy to figure out, the fact that it was so entertaining and enjoyable made that totally fine with me.

Day of the Dead by Nicci French

Happy Monday, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Nicci French's final Frieda Klein thriller, Day of The Dead.

It's been coming for years, the final showdown between therapist Frieda Klein and serial killer Dean Reeve. And now it's finally here!

A car crashes into a clothing store but the body of the suspected driver has been dead for days. Just a week later, another body is found, burning but covered in flame resistant material. They're clearly meant to be found, to be noticed. A spectacle put on display by a killer who wants attention. But it isn't until Frieda Klein's name is connected that the police realize they're dealing with Dean Reeve. 

Meanwhile, Klein is nowhere to be found. Her friends and family haven't heard from her. She's gone underground, seemingly without a trace. And the police aren't the only ones interested in finding her. 

Lola Hayes isn't sure what she'll write her dissertation on but the suggestion that she dig into Frieda Klein's story piques her interest. Unfortunately, her attempts to ferret out information on Klein catches the unwanted attention of Dean Reeve himself. Now, Lola is at the center of a cat and mouse game that has been playing out for almost a decade and only the mysterious Frieda Klein can help her. 

As a long time fan of this series, this is the book that each new installment has been building towards. And that comes with a lot of expectation and anticipation! I won't torture you by making you wait - the book lives up to it!

Frieda has gone into hiding. No one knows where and no one has heard from her. Which is why it's particularly hard for Lola Hayes to successfully research her suggested topic of study. But she's curious, even if she has only passing familiarity with a few of the cases Frieda has been involved in.

Part of her research involves following in Frieda's footsteps, walking the city and discovering the things around her. This particular piece of the story is a great way to illustrate just how innocent and naive Lola is when the story begins.

Meanwhile, a full quarter of the book goes by before the reader actually meets up with Frieda again! This little detail also helps build the suspense, introducing two new detectives involved in the latest stream of crimes with brief snippets updating us on the current state of Frieda's closest friends and family.

But of course the biggest build of suspense involves Dean Reeves and his actions. The crime that kicks off the book and the subsequent crimes that are tied to his latest endeavor to tease Frieda out of hiding, all building to a denouement that has literally been years - and books - in the making.

While I am sad to say goodbye to this series and these characters, Day of the Dead is a satisfying end to the story. These authors work together so seamlessly, bringing to life smart and suspenseful thrillers with each and every new book, and I'm dying to see what they'll do now!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on the husband and wife team that make up Nicci French and their work you can like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

New Releases 8/14/18

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

Stars Uncharted by S. K. Dunstall

Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear

The Sapphire Widow by Dinah Jefferies

The Million by Karl Schroeder

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Feared by Lisa Scottoline

Relic by Alan Dean Foster

Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper

Abandoned by Allison Brennan

His Favorites by Kate Walbert

Ball Lightning by Cixin Liu

Cherry by Nico Walker

Fresh Ink ed by Lamar Giles

The Dark Vault by Victoria Schwab

New on DVD:
Bad Samaritan
Avengers: Infinity War
How to Talk To Girls at Parties

Our House by Louise Candlish

Happy Book Birthday to Louise Candlish whose US debut, Our House, hits shelves this week!

When Fiona and her husband, Bram, split due to his infidelity, Fi agrees to a different sort of arrangement for the kids' sake. It's called a bird's nest agreement, one in which the kids will stay in the family home and Fi and Bram will alternate time between that home and the kids and a flat that they'll share for the off days. Fi asks that no new significant others be brought to the family home, but otherwise it's an agreeable arrangement that allows Bram to stay in their sons' lives without - hopefully - too much upheaval for the children. 

But when Fi arrives at the house on one of her off days to find moving trucks and a new couple taking up residence in the house and Bram and the boys have gone missing, it becomes clear something has gone very wrong. 

This tale of psychological suspense plays out in four main storylines - the timeline that begins with Fi's discovery of the house being sold, Bram's parallel storyline in that same timeframe, Fi's story as part of a podcast called The Victim, and a Word doc Bram has prepared to explain everything as a final confession.

As the four storylines progress, Bram's infidelity is revealed to be just the tip of the iceberg. His lies secrets have snowballed to the point that this final, massive betrayal was the only way he thought he could get out. And Fi is completely in the dark!

The story took more than a few twists I didn't see coming and my own suspicion about what might be coming next made the story that much more fun to read. The pacing is purposeful, slower due to the way the story plays out, which could be agonizing to some but built the tension quite nicely for me personally.

Candlish has a pretty big backlist in the UK, so it's somewhat surprising that this is the first release to make its way to the States. I've actually had one of her older titles in my own wishlist for quite some time, so I was definitely excited to get my hands on a copy of Our House and will be seeking out some of her older titles now for sure!

What Remains of Her By Eric Rickstad

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Eric Rickstad's latest, What Remains of Her. 

Twenty-five years ago, Jonah's wife and daughter went missing. The police suspected Jonah was behind it, but with no bodies and no evidence, the case remained unsolved. Unable to cope with the loss, Jonah eventually lost everything, retreating into the woods to live away from the suspicious eyes of his one time friends and neighbors. 

And then another girl goes missing. One that looks an awful lot like Jonah's little girl. And it can't be ignored that the day she disappears just happens to be the anniversary of Jonah's family's vanishing. 

The book is split into two parts - 1987 and present day. In 1987 we meet Jonah, we know his marriage is a bit rocky and that he's hesitant to mention the strain he and his wife have been feeling. Understandable considering as soon as anyone catches a whiff of it they immediately turn an eye to Jonah as the potential culprit in a crime no one yet knows has been committed.

We also meet young Lucinda, Jonah's daughter's best friend. And the daughter of the local sheriff - who just happens to be Jonah's only friend.

Cut to present day and Lucinda still hasn't forgotten her friend. She's in her early thirties now, running her dad's old store and serving as the town's sheriff's deputy, a job she never wanted but that fell on her because of her dad's old position. Lucinda thinks of Sally all the time, especially as she considers their one-time plans for adulthood and the fact that she's lived the past twenty-five years without Sally by her side. And without knowing what happened.

Jonah is a bit of a pariah. Jonah believes that everyone remembers the case and holds onto a suspicion that Jonah was responsible, even though there've never been any bodies recovered or any evidence of foul play. And so he keeps to himself.

But of course the anniversary of the disappearance and the new missing girl means that Jonah is even more on edge. Especially when he happens to find the girl in question.

What Remains of Her is more than just a thriller about an unsolved missing person's case. It's a harrowing look at what happens to those left behind in the wake of a mystery. Neither Jonah or Lucinda is able to move on. At the same time, Lucinda's own father is still haunted by the case as well. In fact, it could be argued that the entire town is still suffering from the lack of closure in the case.

The combination of tension and emotion is pitch perfect!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Eric Rickstad and his work you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble