Night Swim by Megan Goldin was some kind of thrill read y'all. The story first focuses on a podcast. Rachel has achieved fame for her true crime podcast where she revisits cases and has exonerated an innocent man. For the first time, she has decided to take on a trial as it happens. She heads to a small town where a sexual assault case has rocked the community. A high school boy known for his swimming prowess is the alleged perpetrator. Rachel takes on the story of this case seeking to help listeners understand how hard it is for survivors to come forward and all the complexities of a case of this nature. While in town, Rachel is contacted via letter about another case in the town that was never solved. 25 years earlier, Jenny Stills drowned. She knew how to swim, and her younger sister Hannah believes there is much more to her story. In addition to covering the case in the courtroom, Rachel takes on this cold case to finally discover what really happened to Jenny. Rachel does deep dives into both stories as she is committed to finding the truth. This was a thriller that kept me reading. As the secrets come to light, and y'all, there are some huge secret reveals, some common threads in the past and present also come to life. This is a heavy and emotional read given the focus, but it's also a pageturner that I quickly devoured because I needed both cases to be resolved. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this August 2020 release.
You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen was another captivating thriller by this duo. I mean, at this point, I know that's exactly what I get when I see these authors on the cover, and I loved that What I loved most about this one was the slow burn. There were secrets revealed throughout and until the very last pages, and I was so here for that masterful storytelling. This book revolves around Shay. While waiting for a subway, Shay sees a woman jump onto the tracks. Seeing this woman's tragic death, she feels connected and wants to know more. What she doesn't know is that this quest is going to draw her into the world of the Moore sisters, Cassandra and Jane. The sisters have a tight circle of friends and a world that Shay starts to engage in, and from there, y'all, THIS IS SOME KIND OF RIDE. I honestly can't and won't reveal much more about this one because I want you to feel every bump and twist you can in this one. This story is told from multiple narrators in short chapters, so you are constantly being hit with different truths and lies, and that is what makes this one just so, so great. Y'all, I cannot get enough of the thrillers these women put into the universe, and this is another must-read. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the early look at this March release that is going to for sure have people talking.
As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark was a book I'd bought this summer because it'd been ages since I last read one of hers. I read a lot of MHC when I was in middle school, and she's one of the authors who made me fall in love with thrillers. With her death, I decided I had to move this one to the top of my list. Y'all, her writing was just as captivating as I remembered, and now I want to go back and read even more. This story focuses on Delaney, a TV journalist. In her professional life, she's covering the murder of a wealthy doctor. Accused of his murder is his wife who maintains her innocence. Delaney is determined to find the truth of this story. In her personal life, Delaney wants to find out the truth about her past. She was adopted, and she wants to find out the truth about her birth parents. As you might infer, there are some intersections in Delaney's personal and professional life as she searches for answers. This was a great way for me to remember a legend, and I hope to (re)read more of her "classics" down the road.
Fatal Option by Chris Beakey was a book I'd received access to an advanced copy for ages ago, but way back when I didn't know how to access them. Anyway, enough of my problems, that's not why we're here. So, this book. . . I don't remember the last time I read something where my thoughts on each and every character morphed as I read. The event that begins the story is a phone call. Stephen's teenage daughter Sara calls crying. She needs to be picked up right away. Problem is Stephen has been drinking and isn't in any condition to drive, but he hears his daughter's urgent need for help. On the road, he encounters high school teacher Kieran who is looking for his brother Aidan. Something happens on that road that sets in motion a chain of events. So, what exactly happened? But also what happened before? Oh, and there are additional unsolved crimes in the area that may or may not connect to that one night. Y'all, this is just one secret after another after another. Just when you think you know someone something else is revealed. Oh, and then something else. This was one that kept me reading because I just wanted to know who these people really were, and the reality of this one was that everyone had their "stuff" they were carrying, It was quite the chain reaction of choices and consequences!
Onto the next ones!
