Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

Selena Murphy has recently learned that her husband is having an affair with their nanny. She hasn't told anyone. That is, until she mets the woman who calls herself Martha. 

They're seat mates on the train. And Martha opens the conversation by revealing that she's been having an affair with her boss. Something about the woman makes Selena want to open up to her. But when her nanny goes missing, Selena recalls Martha's statement that maybe things would be solved if the nanny just disappeared...

Lisa Unger's latest is a thrilling suspense tale reminiscent, a bit, of Strangers on a Train. Except in this case, Selena very clearly never asks for help with her issues. And neither does Martha aka Anne. 

See, we quickly learn that Anne is a con artist. She's playing a game. But exactly what that game is is the question. What's her aim in targeting Selena? Is it coincidence that they met on the train? Seems so, until the plot progresses further and "Martha" begins texting Selena. 

I've been a fan of Unger's work for some time. Like most of my favorites in this vein of suspense, she takes the most average, unsuspecting sort of person and throws them into a plot that upends everything around them. And sometimes, that unsuspecting person isn't so innocent at all. 

Selena and her husband's relationship is already rocky. He's had affairs before and, like her mother before her, Selena forgave him. But the suspicion was there. Which is why she moved the nanny cams around in the first place, catching him in the act this time around. And her musings about how she feels about her husband are telling. 

But Selena's isn't the only story here. Geneva, the nanny, gets her say. Martha/Anne also tells her side of the story. And then there's Pearl. How she fits into the story is something that starts to become more clear about halfway in. 

Confessions on the 7:45 is a puzzle of a thriller, one whose pieces assemble with each new chapter. It's a deliciously paced story that keeps you guessing until the final page! 

Huge thanks to the publisher for inviting me to take part in the tour! For more on Lisa Unger 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: Bookshop - Harlequin - Barnes & Noble - Books-A-Million

The Island by Ragnar Jónasson

In 1987 a girl is found dead in a summer cottage. From the start, the investigator in charge knows he has the killer dead to rights. 

Ten years later, on the anniversary of the girl's death, her friends gather for a reunion in her honor. They're to spend the weekend at a hunter's lodge on an island off the coast of Iceland. Alone. But before the weekend has ended, one of them is dead. 

Hulda Hermannsdóttir is called to investigate what at first seems like a tragic accident. But as more evidence unfolds, it becomes clear that someone in the group had a motive for murder. And it all ties back to that case from a decade earlier. A case Hulda's own boss made his career on.

This second in the Hidden Iceland series takes readers back to 1997 and the middle stages of Hulda's career as a police officer. We're getting closer to Hulda's own tragedy, which we know the details of thanks to the reveal in The Darkness, but we're not quite there yet. Even so, the weight of that event is more raw in this second book. 

As mentioned above, the book begins in 1987, which is an important year in Hulda's history, but the piece included in this book doesn't actually touch on that period for Hulda at all. Instead, we begin with a couple and their babysitter—which doesn't make much sense until we get to the end of the book—and then dive straight into a young couple and their weekend getaway. 

It's a getaway that ends in a death, but bits are missing for us, the readers. We see the suspect arrested and we also get a peek at just how the case is twisted in order to be closed so quickly. All information that Hulda herself isn't privy to...just yet. 

Ten years later, the friends of the girl who died in 1987 are reuniting for the first time in a decade. And for the reader, it's the first time we see the dead girl's boyfriend since their trip. Yep, you heard me, we meet her boyfriend, we know his girlfriend died, and we know who was accused of and arrested for the death but no one, including us, knows what her boyfriend's hand in all that may have been. 

The group includes said boyfriend, the girl's brother, and two women. And the original trip itself is a secret only the reader is privy to. Or so it seems. Because by the time their little reunion is over, one of the group is dead! Enter Hulda and her investigative skills. 

The Island can essentially be read as a standalone, but it is the second book in the series. And it's a rather enjoyable one. Hulda is an experienced detective, not as experienced as when we met her in book one, but experienced nonetheless. And it's here that we see just how Hulda's been done wrong by the department she works for! 

As was the case with the first book, Iceland itself is more than a setting here. The island in question is a tiny, uninhabited island off the coast. The cabin in the beginning is also in an incredibly isolated part of the country. Both settings as murder scenes make investigating the crimes both easier and more difficult. 

The Island is out in paperback now and is not to be missed! I will again warn you that while these are definitely closer to cozy than any other Nordic Noir I've read so far, there are some darker themes that you'll be aware of if you've read the books in order. If you haven't yet read The Darkness, I will say that while those themes are never explicitly outlined in any of the books, they're particularly less clear in this second outing. 

Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!

Excerpt: The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

Happy Monday, readers! Today I am excited to share a taste of Jillian Cantor's The Code for Love and Heartbreak with you, courtesy of Inkyard Press. But first, here's a bit about the book from Goodreads:

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma's sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers...those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma's senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma's idea, accusing her of meddling in people's lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma's code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there's nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

And now for a little taste:

PROLOGUE

I’ve always loved numbers a whole lot more than I love people. For one thing, I can make numbers behave any way I want them to. No arguments, no questions. I write a line of code, and my computer performs a specific and very regulated task. Numbers don’t play games or hide behind some nuance I’ve missed. I write an equation, then formulate a definitive and absolutely correct answer.

And maybe most importantly, numbers never leave me. I tell this to Izzy as she’s sitting on her suitcase, trying to force it closed, having just packed the last of her closet before leaving for her freshman year at UCLA, which is exactly 2,764 miles from our house in Highbury, New Jersey. A number which seems insurmountable, and which makes me think that after this day, Izzy’s last one at home until Christmas break, we’ll be more like two strangers floating across a continent from one another than sisters.

“Numbers,” I say to Izzy now, “are much better than people.”

“You’re such a nerd, Em,” Izzy says, but she stops what she’s doing and squeezes my arm affectionately, before finally getting the suitcase to zip. She’s a nerd, too, but not for numbers like me—for books. Izzy is running 2,764 miles away from New Jersey to read, to major in English at UCLA. Which is ridiculous, given she could’ve done the same at Rutgers, or the College of New Jersey, or almost any one of the other sixty-two colleges in our state, any of which would’ve been within driving distance so we could’ve seen each other on weekends. Izzy says she’s going to California for the sunshine, but Dad and I both know the real reason is that her boyfriend, John, decided to go to UCLA to study film. Izzy chose John over me, and that part stings the most.

“I can’t believe you’re actually going,” I say, and not for the first time. I’ve been saying this to Izzy all summer, hoping she might change her mind. But now that her suitcase is zipped, it feels like she’s really leaving, and my eyes start to well up. I do love numbers more than people. Most people.

Izzy and I are only seventeen months apart, and our mom died when we were both toddlers. Dad works a lot, and Izzy and I have barely been apart for more than a night in as long as I can remember, much less months.

She stops messing with her suitcase now, walks over to where I’m sitting on her bed and puts her arm around me. I lean my head on her shoulder, and breathe in the comforting scent of her strawberry shampoo, one last time. “I’m going to miss you, too, Em,” she says. “But you’re going to have a great senior year.” She says it emphatically, her voice filled with enthusiasm that I don’t believe or even understand.

“You really could stay,” I say. “You got into two colleges in New Jersey.” This has been my argument to her all summer. I keep thinking if I say it enough she really will change her mind. But even as I say it, I know it’s probably too late for her to change anything for fall semester now, no matter how much I might want her to. And she just looks back at me with worry all over her face.

“Em, you know I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” I wipe my nose with the back of my hand, pulling away from her.

She leaves me on her bed, and goes back to her suitcase. She shifts it around, props it upright and then looks back at me. “You know what you need?” she says, breathing hard from managing the weight of her entire life, crammed inside this giant suitcase. “To get out there this year. Be more social. Get some friends. Maybe even a boyfriend.”

“A boyfriend?” I half laugh, half sniffle at the ridiculousness of it.

“If you keep busy, you won’t even notice I’m gone.” She speaks quickly, excitedly. There’s nothing Izzy likes more than a good plan, but this sounds terrible to me. “Christmas will be here before you know it—” she’s still talking “—then next year, you’ll be off to college, too.”

Maybe that would be true for her, if I were the one leaving, and if she were staying here. If I were the older one, leaving for California first, Izzy would stay here, spend the year with John and barely even notice my absence. Which is what I guess she’s about to do at UCLA. But I’ve always needed Izzy much more than she’s needed me.

“I hate being social. And I don’t want a boyfriend,” I say. “And anyway, you know what the boys are like at our high school. No thanks.” Mostly, they’re intimidated by me and my penchant for math, and I find their intimidation so annoying that I can barely even stand to have a conversation with them, much less a date. And the few that aren’t? Well, the one that isn’t—George—is my equal and co-president of coding club. He also happens to be John’s younger brother. We’re something like friends, George and I. Or maybe not, because we don’t really hang out outside of family stuff, school or coding club, and I guess in a way we’re supposed to be rivals. One of us will for certain be valedictorian of our class this year. The other will be salutatorian. And knowing George, he’s going to be more than a little bit annoyed when he’s staring at my back during graduation.

“You love numbers so much and you’re so good at coding,” Izzy says now with a flip of her blond curls over her shoulder. She wheels the suitcase toward her bedroom door and stops and looks back at me. “You could always code yourself a boyfriend.” She shrugs, then laughs a little, trying to make this moment lighter.

I don’t even crack a smile. “That’s a really ridiculous thing to say,” I tell her. “Thank God you’re going to be an English major.”

But later, after it all fell apart, I would blame her. I’d say that it was all Izzy’s fault, that she started the unraveling of everything with her one stupid offhand comment on the morning that she left me.

Excerpted from The Code For Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor Copyright © Jillian Cantor. Published by Inkyard Press.

This modern day take on Emma is out tomorrow!

Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the excerpt today!

For more on Jillian Cantor and her work you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. 

Order a copy: Bookshop - Harlequin - Barnes & Noble - Books-A-Million

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson

At 64, Hulda Hermannsdóttir is not looking forward to retirement. Especially not the forced retirement she's now facing. After giving her all to the police force, she's been asked to leave to make room for a younger detective who needs her desk. But, after some negotiating, Hulda gains permission to use her final days looking in a cold case. 

The case she chooses: the death of a Russian immigrant. Ruled a suicide just one year ago, Hulda is certain the case has more to it. And she's right. She immediately surmises that the officer in charge of the investigation cut corners in order to close the case. But Hulda's digging isn't winning her any friends in the department. What's more, the case forces her to face some of her own inner demons she's long tried to suppress. 

This first in Hulda's series (Hidden Iceland) is an interesting read because, while it's the first in her series, it's actually the end of her career. The other two books (The Island and The Mist) in the series take part in the middle of and closer to the beginning of her career, before she has as much life and work experience under her belt. Tracking her story backwards is a novel approach.  

Hulda is a healthy middle aged woman, finally dating again after years of being a single widow. As the story progresses, she finally starts to look forward to days outside of the department. In fact, she's finally starting to feel some freedom from the things in her past that haunt her so. 

I really liked Hulda. She begins the book confident but damaged in ways that only become clear as the book progresses. The book does stand alone, but I guarantee that once you've been introduced to Hulda, you'll want to dive directly into her two other stories. The desire to know where she came from pulls at you through the entirety of the book, making it impossible to read just the one installment. 

The book features two sets of flashbacks, and it's not clear just how those stories all weave together until we start to get closer to the conclusion of the book. Don't worry, the pacing is great—this was a one day read for me start to finish!

I have to be honest in that it's not just Hulda and her case that are such a draw. The Darkness is set in Iceland, a place that looms large as setting! It's one that calls to me any time I see it in a book description, especially if the author calls it home as well. 

But unlike much of the other Nordic Noir fare that I've delved into of late, this series is by far less graphic. It's still got some pretty dark themes, but by no means as dark as most. In fact, these are much closer to classic crime novels than anything else. (Don't go thinking these are cozy by any means. Like I said, there are still pretty dark themes, overall.)

There's an article making the rounds today regarding binge reading, and I have to say that this series in particular is perfect for a binge read session! Like I said, you'll absolutely want to delve into book two just as soon as you turn the final pages. And since it's one of those, just one more chapter books (you know the ones), I'll bet you'll find it won't take you long. I'd suggest making sure you're prepared ahead of time, with both subsequent books queued up and ready to go :)

Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!

The Nesting by C. J. Cooke

Lexi Ellis is out of options. She's been dumped, has nowhere to live, and is out of work when she overhears mention of a nanny job that includes room and board in Norway. And when the girl who mentions the job gives Lexi the perfect intro to steal her application, Lexi goes for it. 

Lexi is hired, as Sophie, to work as nanny to two little girls whose mother has recently passed away. The girls' father, an architect, is determined to complete construction on a house he'd been building for his wife and has decided that the girls need to be by his side as work continues. The opportunity to leave everything behind and assume a new identity with a family who knows nothing of her past is a perfect opportunity for Lexi and the remote location means she has little to fear by way of being discovered. 

But things are not all rosy in Norway. First, there's the remoteness of the location, both a benefit and a bit of a disadvantage for Lexi. It means she's solely responsible for keeping the girls entertained; there are no parks and no other children nearby. Plus the construction site outside is really no place for children. Second, Lexi's assumed identity is that of a girl trained in vegan cooking and, apparently, Montessori school techniques, all things Lexi must pick up on the spot if she's to succeed in keeping the job. 

And then there are the strange happenings around the house itself. As it turns out, the house being built is the second attempt at a home on this spot. The site is plagued by trouble and the workers are superstitious. Lexi herself has witnessed some odd things since taking up residence with the family. But what those things mean is still a mystery. As is, potentially, the truth about the death of the woman whose family she's been hired to care for. 

Lexi is recovering from a suicide attempt when her boyfriend breaks up with her. He says he's had it and Lexi frankly can't argue with him. Foggy and overwhelmed, she leaves without even the necessities unsure where she'll turn. Fortunately, though, she has her ex's rail pass in hand!

It's thanks to that one resource that Lexi overhears word about the nannying job in Norway. And fortunately she gets the job. But it's a precarious start considering she's used someone else's identity and references. And Lexi knows well that getting caught in her lie would be the worst thing that can happen.

Or is it?

The reader has the benefit of alternating chapters giving a bit of the "then" storyline leading to the death of Aurelia, the mother of the girls Lexi is caring for. And Aurelia's story is veiled by mystery from the very start.

The Nesting blends folklore with suspense to create a read that's atmospheric and mysterious. It has hints of gothic lit, a remote setting, a house that may or may not be plagued by something dangerous, and a young woman at the center of it all. And throughout the story it never does become quite clear whether the mysterious happenings are supernatural in origin or otherwise. But their roots in folk tales are fantastic fun!

The Nesting is out today, order it from your favorite indie via Bookshop!

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

It begins with a shocking discovery on a country farm. 

Decades later, the body of a woman has been found near a playground. A doll made of chestnuts is found hanging from a branch nearby. Upon examination, an impossible fingerprint is found on the charm: that of a politician's daughter, believed to be murdered one year prior. 

Naia Thulin is ready to move on from Major Crimes Division. In fact, she's already alerted her boss that she's been actively recruited to another department, so not it's just a matter of getting the right approvals in place. Until then, she's stuck babysitting an officer being reprimanded by Interpol, sent to work in their department while under review. And it's just her luck that they're hit with an odd case right off the bat. 

Thulin would love for it to be an open and shut case. She has her eye on the most likely suspect, but the evidence doesn't line up. And when the fingerprint of a girl who's supposed to have been dead shows up at the scene, she knows this is going to be anything but an easy case. 

I have to say that I've been a fan of Nordic Noir for quite some time but this year has reintroduced me to that genre with an absolute fury!

Sveistrup is the writer and creator of the original Swedish version of The Killing (and producer on the US remake). But it's hard to make the jump from screenwriting to novels. In part because the two jobs are very different. 

Screenwriting is direction. The story relies on not just the screenplay but the people in front of and behind the camera to convey everything from the emotions and inner thoughts of the characters to the details that make a scene. 

Novels, on the other hand, rely solely on the narrative to convey everything. And I find some people versed in screenwriting have trouble shifting into that space. 

That's not at all the case with Sveistrup's debut! 

Sveistrup's attention to detail, I feel, was always going to be good. It's part of what made The Killing so interesting. But he clearly knows how to write a fully-fleshed and complicated character. And this book is filled with them!

Thulin is a single mother with big career aspirations. But her current position isn't going to get her where she wants to be. The Major Crimes Division is plagued by a lack of funds and a need for new technology that the fancy N3 department has in spades. And Thulin is particularly talented when it comes to computers, so the move is inevitable. 

Of course it would be her luck that she's saddled with a troublemaker from the Hague (who seems uninterested in being there at all) and a case that grows increasingly more complicated with each new clue. 

Mark Hess, said troublemaker, really isn't interested in being there. He's marking time until he can return to his real job with Interpol. And he never does come clean to the reader about exactly what's gotten him temporarily banished, but it very quickly becomes clear that he's every reader's favorite kind of detective: one who doesn't play well with others! 

It's Hess that won't let the stray fingerprint go. He's insistent that it be investigated, which doesn't win him any points with anyone. Thulin believes it's a waste of time and everyone else in the department sees it as as Hess taking a dig at their abilities to investigate and close cases. 

And of course he's right. There is more to the fingerprint after all! (It'd be a short book if he was wrong!)

Sveistrup doesn't stop at giving readers insight into just Hess and Thulin. There are a bevy of characters whose perspectives are explored, even if it's just for the length of a chapter or two. Which makes the book that much more interesting! 

The plot does have the kind of twists you'd expect of a story made for the small screen—the kinds of new revelations that would be a cliffhanger leading into the next episode. And rights to the book have already been sold to Netflix. The show is currently listed as "in development" so I don't know much about it as of yet except that it's a Danish production and it's set to be 6 episodes. But Sveistrup is on board as a producer, so hopefully that means it'll be done well! I'm definitely looking forward to it!

The Chestnut Man is out in paperback as of earlier this month. I have to give a nod, too, to the audiobook production. This is the kind of book that you really don't want to put down once you begin reading, and with a toddler that's not so much of an option! Which is why I leaned hard on the audiobook for a couple of afternoons of reading. Peter Noble does a fabulous job narrating (and even helped me figure out some of the pronunciations!), providing excellent voice to Sveistrup's story. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of audiobooks. You can check out a sample at Libro.fm. 

Order it from your favorite indie via Bookshop!

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

It's been a year since Lauren's father was found dead in the woods near Smith's Hollow and things have not been easy. Lauren and her mother don't get along and her younger brother, always reserved, seems to know things that he can't possibly know. 

But when two girls are found dead just a few houses from Lauren's, things go from bad to worse. Lauren sees something in the woods, a monster she thinks is all her own imagination. But she soon finds that she's able to follow the monster's trail. More surprising, though, is the town's history of dead girls. A history only a select few seem to be able to recall at all. Lauren doesn't want to believe it, but she can't deny the things she and her brother have seen of late. But can she solve the mystery before Smith's Hollow loses more young women?

Fall is certainly in the air and while I crave horror year round, this time of year makes the craving all but impossible to deny! Plus, I can always make room in my reading for an 80's-based horror :) 

And that's exactly what Christina Henry's latest is!

Smith's Hollow is a small town with a main street, an annual fall fair, and a chili factory that provides most of the jobs. But people are happy there. In fact, even those who do move away always return. They have everything they need. And, if they can't find something in Smith's Hollow, they can always head over to the new mall in the next town over. 

Things pretty much kick off with two horribly mutilated bodies. David, Lauren's brother, tells his mom that their neighbor is screaming. But they're all the way in town doing their shopping when he says this. Sure enough, they return home to find that the bodies of two unknown teenage girls have been found in that very neighbor's yard. 

But strangely, the fervor you'd expect as a result of such a case is missing. The newest cop on the force notices it. Even an out of town reporter notices. And it certain gets Lauren's attention. 

Lauren misses her father. She has a strained relationship with her mother. And even her best friend is drifting away from her. All she really wants to do is spend time in the woods the way she and her friend used to. This in spite of the fact that her own father was found dead in those very woods. And yet, Lauren has always felt comfortable there. And yet, those woods are also where she finds her first clue about the town's dark history. 

This book is so 80s! And I love it! 

Lauren disappears regularly into the woods, rides her bike down to the arcade, basically roams the way kids did when I was young. Which works great because it's only in this roaming that she's able to dig into the mystery none of the adults seem all that concerned about. 

As mentioned above, she and her mother have a pretty bad relationship. This was hard to read at times, considering the grief they're both feeling. Henry does a wonderful job with these characters and really getting the reader inside their heads (and hearts!). 

The Ghost Tree is certainly a break from Henry's most recent works, plays on Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, etc. It's gory and fun, everything I want in horror!

Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!