What She Did

What She Did by Carla Kovach

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The beginning of this book is very graphic. However – the more I read it became duller.

Our main character Marrisa lives in constant fear. The feeling is brought by a very hard childhood, when at a very young age, she has witnessed the murder of her mother, and later experience years of abuse by her uncle and aunt. Finally, when the time came to leave the foster home – by pure accident she ran into a woman, who became like a mother to her, and most importantly – gave Marissa her future. Fast forward to the present. After years of peace, Marrisa’s life is turned upside down. Out of nowhere peculiar incidents began to happen, each bringing a dead body with it.

The plot was predictable. Marrisa’s character was not likable. I was surprised how quickly I’ve finished the book, I just wanted to get over the story and move on. But I must say – it was a good idea for the novel, I wish there were more captivating twists and the plot was stronger. I see the potential and will give this author another try with a new novel. Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for a free and advanced copy of the novel.



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The Clockmaker’s Daughter

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Birchwood Manor is a place of hope and safety. People that come here – leave it with a feeling of serenity. As the legend states, the chateau was built on land that was protected by good magic. And over the years, the house has acquired… a permanent tenant.

Over the years, people and families came and stayed, and the house with its permanent resident kept them safe, gave them the guidance they didn’t know they need. With the good intention and care that the manor has provided – came a few tragedies. Nevertheless, the chateau that is a blessing and a curse continue to thrive to this day while collecting stories and protecting its visitors.

I loved the stories and it’s connections, although a large number of timelines and characters took me forever to end the book. Actually, I stopped at some point and read another book that had one story plot.



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The New Home

The New Home by Chris Merritt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sometimes I wonder, are some mysteries so easy to predict or has my mind been trained to figure out the twists way before the end of the novel?

An author introduces us to a documentary maker Freya, who has recently moved to a new neighborhood with her fiance. She loves the community and the neighbors on each side of her property. And while Freya and her fiance are in a midst of renovating their new home and starting the family their next-door neighbor and her daughter vanish. Based on her previous work-related research, Freya is obsessed with the idea that Emily’s husband has a hand in her disappearance. Frustrated with the fact that the police are doing little to nothing to locate the mother and daughter – she takes the search for the duo into her hands. The task is emotionally overwhelming for Freya, and worse – puts a huge strain on an already shaky relationship with her fiance. But she has a goal – and not even frightening warnings can stop her from achieving it.

Great idea of the plot. hence the reason I was drawn to the book. The story seemed predictable, I found there was nothing gripping or impressive. And the ending… although I predicted the twist at the end, was overdone. Many actions seemed to be implausible and over the top, which dulled the suspense. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture publisher for a free and advanced copy of the novel.



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Where the Light Enters

Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I requested to read the book, I didn’t realize it was a part of the series. Due to this fact, the novel has covered a lot of information from the previous novel. And for everyone who has read my previous reviews know – I do not like a large list of characters… and this book has presented a handful of them, it was hard to keep up with each character and their storylines. Hence making the book very very long.

Now, I do not often come across the historical novel that covers all the following topics such as females in medicine, working-class females, colored females in medicine, interracial marriage, religion. This novel has covered A LOT. Nonetheless, the main subject of the novel was the mysterious affairs/cases that felt on the detectives’ desks.

Detective-Sergeant Jack Mezzanotte case piles have been growing larger with each week, multiple victims of illegal abortion turning up left and right, missing banker’s wife, and gruesome murder of a young mother. In despair, Jack involves his wife Dr. Anna Savard, and her cousin Dr. Sophie Savard to consult on the cases. Through a rollercoaster of events, present and past, the detectives with the help of Savard’s family and friends, resolve not one – but all three cases.

As mentioned previously, the novel covers multiple subjects at once, which made it super long to read, because I was losing interest. Everything was tied up at the end, and it made a great novel, hence the four stars, but it was very hard to read.



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