Books for May 7th, 2025 were: BEAUTIFUL UGLY (Susp-Grady Green-Scotland-Contemp) Standalone - Alice Feeney Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life. Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared. A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Gabriel – Okay - I found it compelling, and quite good at detail and sinister atmosphere. But unpleasant and disturbing enough that I wasn't planning to read anything else by Feeney. Grady and Abby had a terrible relationship and they both were no prizes. The novel gets more and more claustrophobic the more it goes along. The novel got much worse when we discover a bad thing Grady did--for all his faults that we know about, what he did was inconsistent with the feelings he'd expressed to the reader. And the bad things the group did, while nightmarish, were far-fetched. Nancy – Good - “Beautiful Ugly” was an enjoyable, if not completely logical combination of fantasy and mystery. Halfway through I had figured out who the woman in black was, but the unexpected ending with its crazy twist was still a decent vehicle to tell the whole story of Amberly and to tie everything together. Throughout the book you did need to have a willing suspension of disbelief, but I guess that’s what fantasy is all about - a completely isolated island of women brought together by anger and murder but still completely dependent on the men they killed in order to financially survive. But to bury someone alive, no matter how evil, then to simply go on with your life-now that’s a real stretch. Pete - POOR/ reluctantly finished. This book had one of the worst plot twists of all time! But since I was 90 percent of the way through the book, I followed through to the end. The initial few chapters were exceedingly well written. Similarly, the middle chapters also held my attention, as the location (Amberly Isle) helped build a sense of intrigue and mystery. But the plot twist and ending? I felt ripped off! There seems to be a trend in fiction of late to create a narrator of a book, then halfway through the book reveal that the narrator is in fact not a reliable narrator. So if there are only two narrators, as in this book, who are we to believe? The core of this book is a missing woman, and her partner's attempt to wrestle with that reality. But was she killed, or did she simply disappear? That is what the reader will have to navigate during the course of this book. I found the first half of this book to be a true 5 star page turner; the second part of this book? Not so much. I would not read another book by this author.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
EVERYBODY KNOWS (Susp-Mae Pruett-Los Angeles, CA-Contemp) – Standalone - Jordan Harper Welcome to Mae Pruett’s Los Angeles, As a “black-bag” publicist tasked not with letting the good news out but keeping the bad news in, Mae works for one of LA’s most powerful and sought-after crisis PR firms, at the center of a sprawling web of lawyers, PR flaks, and private security firms she calls “The Beast.” After her boss is gunned down in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel in a random attack, Mae takes it upon herself to investigate and runs headfirst into The Beast’s lawless machinations and the twisted systems it exists to perpetuate. It takes her on a roving neon joyride through a Los Angeles full of influencers pumped full of pills and fillers; sprawling mansions footsteps away from sprawling homeless encampments; crooked cops and mysterious wrecking crews in the middle of the night.
Gabriel – Okay - I read it the last time we did. I remember that I gave it an OK, and I didn't like all the times the book uses the word "UNSAID" in all-caps. Another member didn't like it either. Nancy – Good - The most interesting and well developed parts of this book were the main characters, primarily Mae but secondarily, Chris. Each of their continual inner dialogues kept me interested, particularly how they’d each repeatedly come around to choking on the reality that they themselves bore responsibility for the death and mayhem around them. And while both characters were certainly over the top, for me that largely kept things moving. (except for Chris’s obsession with his muscles (Popeye?) and the silly romance between he and Mae). The characterization of ‘The Beast’ was also a good descriptive tool. But the book’s ending was underwhelming and confusing. I guess though it was all about Mae burning up her world in order to finally get out.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Good
A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES (So.Gothic/Sam Montgomery-North Carolina-Contemp) Standalone – T. Kingfisher "Mom seems off." Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone. But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried. Gabriel – Good - It was compelling and effectively creepy. The horrible dead grandmother was compellingly hateful, even before I knew she was going to play a large role in the story. I really, really wanted to know why the mother had changed her lifestyle so much. I didn't like it so much near the end when a villain shows up--it was shallower. Ginny – NR – She will never look at a ladybug the same again. The book lost her at the very beginning. She wanted to know what happened to change the mother so much. The book was overlong. Helen – VG+ - Not really a mystery, more of a paranormal. She appreciated that the author with upfront about it. The characters, and dialogue were good. She appreciated that the main character owned who she was as it made her choices work. The book ended really well. Nancy – Okay - While this wasn’t the best written book I’ve ever read, it was enjoyable and often witty. It was an unusual combination of a fantasy and a cozy mystery story. What I liked most was Samantha’s character, her intelligence, her sense of humor and her assortment of quips. I also liked that she was written as a normal looking woman-not slender or gorgeous in the Hollywood sense of the word, but never self hating about it either. Many of her family and friends were interesting characters too. The book itself was a fun read, even with its too drawn out and over the top ending.
BEAUTIFUL UGLY (Susp-Grady Green-Scotland-Contemp) Standalone - Alice Feeney
Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life. Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared. A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Gabriel – Okay - I found it compelling, and quite good at detail and sinister atmosphere. But unpleasant and disturbing enough that I wasn't planning to read anything else by Feeney. Grady and Abby had a terrible relationship and they both were no prizes. The novel gets more and more claustrophobic the more it goes along. The novel got much worse when we discover a bad thing Grady did--for all his faults that we know about, what he did was inconsistent with the
feelings he'd expressed to the reader. And the bad things the group did, while nightmarish, were far-fetched.
Nancy – Good - “Beautiful Ugly” was an enjoyable, if not completely logical combination of fantasy and mystery. Halfway through I had figured out who the woman in black was, but the unexpected ending with its crazy twist was still a decent vehicle to tell the whole story of Amberly and to tie everything together. Throughout the book you did need to have a willing suspension of disbelief, but I guess that’s what fantasy is all about - a completely isolated island of women brought together by anger and murder but still completely dependent on the men they killed in order to financially survive. But to bury someone alive, no matter how evil, then to simply go on with your life-now that’s a real stretch.
Pete - POOR/ reluctantly finished. This book had one of the worst plot twists of all time! But since I was 90 percent of the way through the book, I followed through to the end. The initial few chapters were exceedingly well written. Similarly, the middle chapters also held my attention, as the location (Amberly Isle) helped build a sense of intrigue and mystery. But the plot twist and ending? I felt ripped off! There seems to be a trend in fiction of late to create a narrator of a book, then halfway through the book reveal that the narrator is in fact not a reliable narrator. So if there are only two narrators, as in this book, who are we to believe? The core of this book is a missing woman, and her partner's attempt to wrestle with that reality. But was she killed, or did she simply disappear? That is what the reader will have to navigate during the course of this book. I found the first half of this book to be a true 5 star page turner; the second part of this book? Not so much. I would not read another book by this author.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
EVERYBODY KNOWS (Susp-Mae Pruett-Los Angeles, CA-Contemp) – Standalone - Jordan Harper
Welcome to Mae Pruett’s Los Angeles, As a “black-bag” publicist tasked not with letting the good news out but keeping the bad news in, Mae works for one of LA’s most powerful and sought-after crisis PR firms, at the center of a sprawling web of lawyers, PR flaks, and private security firms she calls “The Beast.” After her boss is gunned down in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel in a random attack, Mae takes it upon herself to investigate and runs headfirst into The Beast’s lawless machinations and the twisted systems it exists to perpetuate. It takes her on a roving neon joyride through a Los Angeles full of influencers pumped full of pills and fillers; sprawling mansions footsteps away from sprawling homeless encampments; crooked cops and mysterious wrecking crews in the middle of the night.
Gabriel – Okay - I read it the last time we did. I remember that I gave it an OK, and I didn't like all the times the book uses the word "UNSAID" in all-caps. Another member didn't like it either.
Nancy – Good - The most interesting and well developed parts of this book were the main characters, primarily Mae but secondarily, Chris. Each of their continual inner dialogues kept me interested, particularly how they’d each repeatedly come around to choking on the reality that they themselves bore responsibility for the death and mayhem around them. And while both characters were certainly over the top, for me that largely kept things moving. (except for Chris’s obsession with his muscles (Popeye?) and the silly romance between he and Mae). The characterization of ‘The Beast’ was also a good descriptive tool. But the book’s ending was underwhelming and confusing. I guess though it was all about Mae burning up her world in order to finally get out.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Good
A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES (So.Gothic/Sam Montgomery-North Carolina-Contemp) Standalone – T. Kingfisher
"Mom seems off." Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone. But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.
Gabriel – Good - It was compelling and effectively creepy. The horrible dead grandmother was compellingly hateful, even before I knew she was going to play a large role in the story. I really, really wanted to know why the mother
had changed her lifestyle so much. I didn't like it so much near the end when a villain shows up--it was shallower.
Ginny – NR – She will never look at a ladybug the same again. The book lost her at the very beginning. She wanted to know what happened to change the mother so much. The book was overlong.
Helen – VG+ - Not really a mystery, more of a paranormal. She appreciated that the author with upfront about it. The characters, and dialogue were good. She appreciated that the main character owned who she was as it made her choices work. The book ended really well.
Nancy – Okay - While this wasn’t the best written book I’ve ever read, it was enjoyable and often witty. It was an unusual combination of a fantasy and a cozy mystery story. What I liked most was Samantha’s character, her intelligence, her sense of humor and her assortment of quips. I also liked that she was written as a normal looking woman-not slender or gorgeous in the Hollywood sense of the word, but never self hating about it either. Many of her family and friends were interesting characters too. The book itself was a fun read, even with its too drawn out and over the top ending.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Good