Bookwild - First and Favorites of Some of Our Favorite Authors with Steph

Episode Date: May 24, 2024

This week, Steph and I talk about the first book we read from authors we've read multiple books from, and which of theirs is our favorite.Books Kate Talked AboutBodies to Die ForLying in WaitStrange Sally DiamondI Found YouThe Night She DisappearedBlood OrangesThis Family LiesEvery Last FearThe Night ShiftA Flicker in the Dark Books Steph Talked AboutThe Helper The Other MothersDarling GirlsThe Good SisterThe InvitedChildren on the HillThen She Was GoneWatching YouBook of Cold CasesThe Haunting of Maddy ClaireIt Could Be AnyoneA Lovely Lie Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

So this week, I am back with Steph to talk about autobiothers and the first ones we read and the favorites of them that we read. So welcome back. Thanks so much for having me. Yeah. So this was your idea, actually, to give credit where credit is due. But I thought it was such a fun one. I can't believe we have like no. Well, to give credit to all the people on Bookstagram that I've seen it, I thought it was.

one idea. Yeah, I've seen people do this maybe for a couple weeks. And I don't really have the energy to do it on my profile, but I thought it might be fun to talk about. Yeah. Yeah, that would be a big post. A lot of work. Yeah, and it was kind of fun because like at first when I was like going to look back at it, I was like, how many authors have I read multiple of? And I figured there were some for sure, but there were more than I thought. So then I got to discover that too. And I think it's good. There's a few authors lately that I've been trying to go through their backlist, and I've found some good ones. So it's a good reminder sometimes that, as we've talked about before we don't always have to be reading the newest stuff there's some good stuff already out there

yeah i know i have been stuck not in a bad way in that galley just like prepping for different podcasts that popped up and i was just saying to tyler last night i was like i think i'm going to be caught up enough that i can read something that's not like coming out or super recent and because there have been a few even just from the podcast i've had here recently The one with Amy, whose mom advice, all of her recommendations that were like non-thrillers, I was like, I want to try at least one of those. Like all of those sounded interesting in their own ways. So hopefully I'm about to dabble a little bit more with some backlist stuff.

Yeah. But the books I've been reading have been good too. So I'm not complaining. What are you reading right now? I am still reading bodies to die for. I'm hoping that I finished that tonight. I think I'm at like I was reading right before this. I think I'm at like 56%.

So if I can get some uninterrupted time this evening, then I will finish it. It just depends on how much, it just depends on what happens this evening. And if Tyler interrupts me is the truth of it. I don't know why I'm dancing around it. So yeah, I'm really, you already read it and loves it. I'm really enjoying it. I really like all of the way she incorporates so many perspectives. So what are you reading?

So I am reading. I've been kind of trying to go through what's on my shelf, but I had a net galley that comes out in June called The Helper by M.M. DeWill, DeWitt. I can't remember. But I'm only 33% in. It kind of seems like it might be like making a deal with the devil type. Like this woman is really struggling. And there's this like job that comes up.

she really doesn't want to do, but it might put her in a better situation. So I'm interested to see where that goes. And then I just, I'm starting on audio Greenwich Park by Catherine Faulkner, because I read The Other Mothers not too long ago. So, I mean, I've been good already. I liked both of those. I liked both of those. They're good.

Greenwich Park was wild. Well, that's not about the other mothers. like as it was ending i was like oh my god yes it's the same thing we're like the ending you're like oh yeah yeah she's really cool i really i really liked talking to her about stuff too oh no hopefully i don't yawn too often this episode i always feel bad when i'm like i swear you're not boring me i'm i'm just yawning i've learned that yawning kind of seems to happen in other places like people when I was training people um like exercise wise a lot of people yawn well they exercise like who knows yeah I do so much like Tyler walked in yesterday

when I was working out and he's like are you yawning and I was like yeah I am he's like you're working out I was like I don't know yeah so yeah it just it just happens sometimes I've heard before that it also happens when your brain feels like it needs more oxygen So sometimes I'm like, oh, my allergies are bad. I guess it checks out that I'm yawning more. So hopefully I can get through talking about books, though, and I'm not yawning on everyone and making everyone yawn. Do you want to go first?

Yeah, I could. I'm going to start with my newest, found, favorite author. I do not know what you've been so long, but I am obsessed with Sally Hepworth right now. Ooh. Yeah. So I got on Neck Allie the Audio for Darling Girls, the one that just came out. And I think I listened to it in one day. I was so into it.

And people said it was like one of our darker ones. But then I was like, well, maybe for her, but in the thriller world, I was like, I mean, it was still really good. And so I've been going through, that was my first one by her, really good. if people are into her or have not read her yet, it's a great place to start. And then my favorite one by her is the Good Sister. And obviously it's about two sisters. And one of them very much reminds me the main character of Sally, from Sally Strange Diamond by Liz Nugent.

She has for sure, like some sensory issues. I'm not exactly sure if she's like neurodivergent in some way, but she's like very literal. And I just like loved her so much and was smiling so much when I was reading it. But there's definitely like some darkness in the relationship with her sister. So it kind of had a really nice balance of being a more suspenseful, darker theme, but also still like feeling good while you're reading it. Yeah. I have read, I can't remember how many of hers I've read. I read the mother-old. Is that what that one's called? I think that one was really good. I've read a couple of them, but I haven't read darling girls and I haven't read The Good Sister. But if you're saying Strange Sally Diamond, I definitely need to. And what's crazy is that's one of my picks for today. Yeah. So when you mentioned it, I was like, oh my gosh, that was actually one of mine. So, So I guess I could just transition into that.

But, so Liz Nugent is the author of Strange Sally Diamond. But the first one of hers that I read is called Lying in Weight. And I read it, I read it so long ago and it still is stuck in my mind how much I enjoyed reading it. Like it was one of those that like I was like, stop everything I'm doing, reading while I'm cooking. And so it's about. basically I may just make more sense to read it but on the surface

Lydia Fitzsimmons has the perfect life wife of a respected successful judge mother to a beloved son mistress of a beautiful house in Dublin that beautiful house however holds a secret and when Lydia's son Lawrence discovers its secret wheels are set in motion that lead to an increasingly claustrophobic

and devastatingly dark climax And it really like chronicles a really messed up relationship between a mother and her son for over generations. So it's kind of one of those where you see like the reverberations of stuff over time instead of it all kind of happening at once. And it was so good and creepy. Yeah. So I loved that one. And I read that one a while ago. And then she came out with strange Sally Diamond, which, as a lot of people probably know at this point, is about a woman named Sally who's a little bit strange.

And so like when her dad dies, she just puts him out with the trash because that was what he always said to do. And it was a joke, but she takes it literally. And so this gets like a bunch of attention from the police. And so now all of a sudden she's like looking at her past kind of because the police are interviewing her about why she made the decision she made. And it unlocks a whole bunch of memories and like bad, dark stuff that happened to her before her parents adopted her. I think she kind of forgot or something that her parents adopted her up until this point. So and then she starts getting messed. from some stranger who knows stuff about her.

And she has to piece it all together. But she's such a memorable character. Same thing you were talking about. Like I just, I really loved her as a character. And there are some really cool themes about, like, found family in this book that I really,

I really like those themes, especially in thrillers sometimes, because sometimes it's like the part of the, like, redemption arc for the character too. Yeah, I agree. And sometimes it's nice to have, I always like to have something good going for the main character, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Yes. I think that's awesome. Yeah, I really love it. Yeah, Sally is so memorable. Those are the only two I've read by her. Have you read any other ones? No, I actually haven't. She has another one.

Yeah. Something about Oliver. I think it's like on my radar list, but I haven't picked it up. Yeah. Unraveling all of it. of her. I know. She has lots more.

Little cruelties and skin deep. I thought there was only one more. Interesting. Well, I think I'm going to do a little bit better job of just grabbing my books in the next one. So my next one is Jennifer McMahon, who I know you've got a podcast before. My first book by her was the invited. I don't even know.

I think I just randomly found it on Amazon or something. But a lot of her books have dual timelines. It's got multiple perspectives. And all of them have a supernatural element to them. And in The Invited, a couple goes to build a house on this property. But a long time ago, this woman was killed on the property. People thought she was like a witch. And so that was my first one.

It was kind of wild, looking back on it. I liked it, but since I've read other ones by her, I've found some other favorites. But I think my favorite of it, my favorite of hers is children on the hill. And so I never read Frankenstein in high school or ever had to read it. And I think that probably benefited me in some ways. but I think that's kind of a theme like they bring up. It's more about like monsters than it is about ghosts. But I wouldn't necessarily call it like literal monsters.

You know what I mean? Like people can be them too. So this one is my favorite. It has a child's perspective in it, but it's not young. Like I love when I love when adult books have kids' perspective sometimes, even though they're not written like from, kid, you know what I mean. It's not really like day seeming. But I just thought that was a really good one.

They're all in Vermont. And these, another thing that I like in books is so these two kids live with their grandma. Their grandma runs kind of like an institution, like up in the woods kind of solitary. And I think that setting is always super interesting. In the current timeline, one of the kids has grown up and has a podcast and is kind of like a monster chaser. And it sounds a little more like wild than it really is. But the two timelines connect in a really cool way, in my opinion. I was surprised. Nice.

Yeah. That sounds cool. I need to read more of yours. You know there's interesting ones? Oh, go ahead. Yeah, it's kind of fun. I was just going to say it's kind of fun what you can do with like pseudo. supernatural stuff, like the things you can talk about.

Yeah, and sometimes how certain authors, there may or may not actually be the supernatural element, it's almost more of like a, the creep factor. That's where it's coming from. I don't know if you feel this way and not to try and like get off topic or anything, but when I'm reading these books, like multiple books by the same author, I almost have a lot easier time with my rating scale. Because I know where, like, my four and a half fives are. And then it's easier for me to be like, oh, no, that's probably more of like a three, three and a half four.

I've found that so much with multiple books by the same author, whereas other books I really struggle to rate. Yeah. No, I think that makes sense because sometimes I do. Sometimes I am like comparing it to like what I read from them previously. And then it is easier. Yeah. Yeah. well my next one is one that a lot of us have read a lot of from her

Lisa Jewell was the other one that I chose and actually the first one I read of hers like it is a thriller but it was like it's 2016 so it's like earlier in her thriller phase and still had some like romantic elements actually and it's called I Found You so it is about like there's a single mom who basically lives near or right on a beach. And she finds a man on the beach outside her house. And he doesn't know who he is and doesn't have like any ID on him either. And but she decides to like let him stay in her home while he tries to get his memory back.

So then in a whole other location like in another city, there's this 22 year old named Lily who was married for three weeks. And then her husband didn't come home one night. And so she's trying to figure out where he is. And when she like reports him to the police, the police are like, this person doesn't exist. So you're kind of going back and forth between those perspectives trying to figure out what happened. I remember just like loving it. Like I was very, the characters felt really real. And I was like pulling for them.

And it was cool how it all came together. So that was the first one of hers that I read. but my absolute favorite of hers is the night she disappeared. And so that one is about basically a woman who has a 19-year-old daughter. Her daughter, Tallulah, goes out on a date, and the daughter leaves her new baby with the mom, Kim, and then she doesn't come back from the date. And so basically the mom calls her friends and the friends are like she was at a party in the nearby woods called Dark Place. So she's basically never returned.

So that was all in 2017. And then in 2019, this woman who just like married a teacher is walking in the woods near the boarding school. and she sees a note on a tree that says dig here. And so she dig something up and now she is embroiled in the midst of what happened in the dark place. So all of those different perspectives come together to figure out where Tallulah went. And I was hooked the whole time I was reading that book, like obsessed with figuring out what happened. and it just, it's still my favorite of hers. Like, I love a lot of her books, but this is definitely my favorite.

That's awesome. So I have her, too. I have two different books of hers. Nice. Yeah. I wonder. Yeah. So I love that you brought up both of those because, I mean, she's my, like, get out of a slump

author, and I really enjoy all of her books, too. But, like, even as we're describing it, I'm like, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember that now. Yeah. The one I read by her first that got me back, like on the reading train was then she was gone. And that's about a daughter. It's about the mom, but her daughter disappeared. And all of a sudden, this mom is seeing a new guy, but his daughter looks a lot like her daughter. And so from there, you kind of found out what happened. You find out what happened. You find out what

happened it all gets unravelled it is quite dark i think yeah like as i was reading it i'm like wow this is crazy but then afterwards i was like wow that's really dark um just like creepy it is yes um yeah the ending yeah yeah totally totally um my favorite by her i was really struggling to choose between i really liked none of this is true her newest one it's also just like of mind, I think. But the one that I could not put down was watching you. And that one, I just couldn't stop reading it. I think in like two days. It has a really short synopsis. It says, Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England. It's not usually the sort of place where people are murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place

where everyone has a secret and prying eyes lurk behind every curtain. So who has been murdered and who would have wanted one of their neighbors dead. It will keep you guessing until the very last page. It all comes together really interestingly, and I think people lived in a neighborhood and see, like, there's always someone looking out their window, especially. I don't know. I think it makes sense.

Yes. Yeah, I think they're, like, in, like, a New York neighborhood, I feel like. But in our neighborhood, we're in, like, a vinyl village. You can, like, look straight out our kitchen, window like into the window of our like neighbor's living room like we're just like so surrounded by we're on a corner lot so we even have we have someone like behind us and to the side of us

and it is it's creepy how much you could pay attention to your neighbors and like I don't and like I'm notoriously known for like not being super aware of my surroundings which is like not good in sense of like danger but thankfully I'm not in dangerous situations um but like I just like happened to not pay attention but like Tyler knows like so much about people around the neighborhood he's like you've never seen them out there I'm like no he's like yeah she just like moved in like she just moved in with him I'm like oh okay yeah I have I know what you mean it's interesting that he's younger too because like the neighborhood I grew up in was similar and there were

these people across the street. They were an older couple and their like comfortable recliners were facing the front window. Like they just like watched the neighborhood for like instead of the TV. Oh my gosh. I mean, you know, I guess whatever makes you happy. But like sometimes it's like, what was it that happened here recently? There was something. Oh, I was outside with our dogs and they're on lead lines. And basically they got really excited about something and it wrapped around my ankle. And I just like fell like just like splatted on the ground. And I just like, but I was like sitting there, I was just like looking up.

And I was like, I wonder how many people. Because like there's two, a two story house like next to us. And like there's a little boy who's like always looking out his window now that he's home from school. And I'm like, I wonder how many people from like the second story. Like I was just like sitting. sitting on the ground realizing how many houses had like two stories around me i was like who just got to like enjoy watching me just like get clothes lined by my knowledge you'd help so i'm like hey are you okay i know i'm like i might have broken my sit bones but we'll see yeah it's it's different when

everyone can see you that's why i have i don't know if anyone can even see it though that's why i have blackout curtains in multiple places of the house. Oh, yeah. Window treatments can be a big investment, but they're so worth it. Yes. I mean, honestly, even from a logical standpoint, like, we have blackout curtains downstairs, too, because we have a projector for our TV down there. So it's like, if you want to watch anything during the day, like, you need it to be dark. But, like, it's getting hot here already. And when I just let the dogs out and, like, pull the blackout curtain back, on our sliding door, there's so much heat that it also keeps from like going into your house.

So it also helps keep your house cooler, which is my goal all the time. Yeah. And it's such a good environment or like neighborhoods are such a good environment to set a thriller. I think that is why I love Lisa Jewel so much because I call her like the queen of suburban suspense because it's just like he creates this environment out of the, these like completely normal neighborhoods, but all the like chaos that could ensue. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. That was making me think of what was that one? The Whispers by Ashley Audrain was another one where like, yeah, the neighborhood is like such a plot point in that one. And it's like, it's like everyone in each other's business. It's a really good example. Isn't this like the cover of your dream? Just like hot pink. Whoa, I haven't seen that cover.

I have a different one. I'm a little bummed because I waited for the paperback because I have the push in the paperback, but it's like a taller one. And this one does not match the size. Yeah. So my little like type A brain is like, come on. But it looks cool as out. You're like, this is match.

Yeah, that is a cool cover. I just have like the hard one, the hardback. Yeah, that one's another good one if you really like neighborhood, suburban drama. it like all mashes together really crazy at the end. Well, my next one, speaking of the heat, the first book I read by J.M. Cannon was called Blood Oranges. And it is like you can feel the sultry, I think Florida. Yeah, Orlando.

Heat in this book. But this first book that I read from her is basically about the daughter of a really successful female televangelist. And I just have to include that her mom's name is Catherine Cross. And I kind of love when people do like on the nose names. So like a televangelist's name being Catherine Cross. But she basically, I can't remember exactly why she has to like move home. Oh, I think she comes back. I think the daughter comes back because her younger sister goes missing. and so then she comes home to kind of try and figure it out and then bodies start showing up on orange farms outside of town and so they're all trying to figure out if it's related to their

missing sister and why it's happening um i think i've said it before i don't know but i definitely did in my review of her other book her tone just like always reminds me of like Gillian Flynn very much like dark places is like the gritty vibe that like all of her books remind me of. So vibe wise, if that's something that you're into, I think all of her books feel that way. But my new favorite, that would have been my favorite until I read her most recent one. And her most recent one is called This Family Lies. I started this on a Saturday before Mother's Day. And when we were at Tyler's family's Mother Day thing, I was sitting there eating brunch and like trying to figure out the book while the rest of them were talking. So that's how

obsessed I got with this one. But this is about the main character's name is Iris Adler. And so she believes she was supposed to be killed because basically someone came in and shot her. husband and her, but basically the shot grazed her forehead. The killer thought that she was dead. And so left, basically. But basically, Iris wakes up and she has no memory of like the last, I think, 10 years of her life. She has some childhood memories, but she doesn't remember much of her adult life. So now she's kind of like in the care of her like Uber, Uber wealthy in laws in the South. And she's basically living on the family's historic plantation. So their money is not from great things historically. And so as she's trying to figure out

like who trying to get her memory back and trying to figure out who tried to kill her and her husband. She's also feeling weird because she doesn't feel like she likes her in-laws. Like, it doesn't seem like people that she would like. And so now she's kind of scared that she was a bad person before she got shot. And that device just, like, worked really well for me. The missing memory trope can be hit or miss. I think a lot of thriller readers feel that way. And I loved it in this one because it just made it extra creepy to be like, was I a bad person before this? And like, what does that mean for me if like this bullet that hit my brain changed my personality and made me a better person like what does it mean if I find out I did some really bad things

and there's a reveal at like 50% that just like is so creepy which is probably why I was still thinking about it over Mother's Day brunch but then girls start showing up dead around their sugar cane fields because the family still owns tons of land. And so she's trying to figure out why that's even happening while trying to get her memory back. And I was just obsessed with this book. I was so invested in figuring out like who she was before the accident. And there's one thing I want to say about it, but I think it might detract, even though it's not like a legit spoiler, so I won't say it. But I loved it. I was really, really, really into the missing memory trope this. Yeah, I mean, I think it's you, it's, I mean,

not that I read a ton. I mean, it's funny, we have, I found you on here and now this one. So we have to, and I just finished one, a YA one called That's Not My Name, which I actually enjoyed more than I typically do for that. But I think that this is interesting. It's not so much like what happened or what happened to who did something to me. It's like, who am I? I think that's just like a different take on it, like you're saying. Yeah. Yeah, that's what made it super creepy. I'm like, that would be really weird waking up feeling that way.

Yeah. Especially like, I'm a fan. I'm a bad person. Yeah. Yeah. When you're like, I don't think I like these people, but like there are pictures of me doing stuff with them, so did I? Interesting.

Yeah. I love J.M. Cannon, though. Like, big fan of her writing. I wish more people. Did that book come out yet? It did, right? Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, May 3rd. Mm-hmm. And it's on Kindle unlimited, unlimited for everyone who does Kindle. Good, good, good. Oh, sorry, I was just thinking who I was going to talk about next and I forgot about a file. Oh, you're good. I think that's really, I'm really interested in picking that one up. Yeah.

It is a wild run. And sometimes, you know, when you're in the mood of like maybe I read something that was like a little slower, but now I need something wild. Like that sounds like it would really check that box. Yes, it will. So my next one is, I really don't read a lot of supernatural books, but I have two authors on here. My next one is Simone St. James. And my first book by her was the book of Cold Cases. I think it was like a book of the month thriller.

And that's how I ended up picking it. And I really don't read synopsies that much. I just kind of go for it. I have no idea. All of a sudden I'm like, is there a ghost? I'm just happening. And I'm like, okay, because at that point in my reading career, I'm like, I like mysteries, but I am a huge baby about being, like, scared.

Like, I remember I saw the sixth sense growing up, and I slept with my lights on for, like, a week. Oh my that one is creepy though and especially for the time the visual effects are pretty good the girl under the table that I will never have it. Yes that's exactly it just came to my mind because when I saw it that stuff in my head. Yes so I was like I don't know how this is going to go but she has a really great way I guess similar to Jennifer McMahon of having it like supernatural light I guess I would call it. It does have some few factors but it's still like.

feels a little more thriller-ish. So the book of cold cases, I think was good. I'm kind of glad I started with that one because the ones I've read since then, I've liked even more. I'm struggling to pick my favorite by her because they're so

different. One is The Haunting of Maddie Claire, which is an old book of hers, and she released it. She's so genius. She's re-releasing her old books with like really cool covers and like redoing them. And that one is just like historical fiction, older, but it is creepy.

It has a little bit of romance. So it has a lot of things going on. And then the broken girls is more of her like newer style. It's got dual timelines of these girls in kind of like a girl's school slash home where they're probably like behavioral issues of some kind or they're just kind of abandoned. And one of those girls goes missing. And then there's present day where the school has been shut down, but it's kind of like a construction site right now.

And this woman who's a reporter is digging into it because she has a person in her life that went missing or died or something. And so they connect in an interesting way. And I don't know. They're both super good. And I like four and a half of stuff. everyone who reads her stuff loves it and I just haven't I got I mean it's not an excuse but I've I've gotten turned down for her like two years in a row on net galley so it's just like sometimes that plays into it

like what I'm going to end up reading but I need to just read some because everyone loves her stuff yeah I don't know what it is about her and like her newer one was good too it didn't have the same dual timelines it was set in I think the 90s which is fun um but it had like it had like it had like a character that like totally tugged at my heartstrings so like there's always something about her books like a character or something that like pulls me in heart yeah yeah that's cool that's yeah i need to prioritize sure as i'm learning oh yeah um well my next one is Alex Finley who actually just yeah did his just come out today or is it next week he has one coming out called if something happens to me.

And it was really good. It ended up being my favorite of his. But it was good. The first one I read of his was Every Last Fear, which is about a college student named Matt Pine, who he just like goes to his dorm room after a night of partying.

And the FBI shows up to tell him that his mom, dad, brother, and sister were found dead. where they were vacationing in Mexico. And apparently there was a gas leak where they were staying. And so it makes a bunch of headlines because obviously it's a pretty terrible situation. But the other reason it's in the headlines is his older brother, Danny,

has been serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend, Charlotte. And his brother was like a big, but basically they, made a documentary about his brother. So their family's kind of always been in the headlines. And so now this happening is like bringing it all back up. And but Matt knows a secret about his brother that he's never told anyone.

Okay, but his secret still makes him think that he's guilty. There's a lot going on in this book. So I don't remember everything about it. So he basically returns to his hometown to bury his parents and his siblings. And being around all of the people basically stirs up all of the stuff about his older brother, Danny, and why his family died, basically. So it's, Alex Finley structures a lot of his books with like multiple POVs. And sometimes you have, most of the time you have no clue how they're all going to converge together. And that's like very much what this one is.

like each point of view has like a lot going on and then by the end you're like oh okay like i see how that all was meant to come together even though you like can't tell initially when you start reading it but my favorite of his is the night shift and it is it is so creepy um but basically on new year's eve in 1999 um a blockbuster in new jersey four teenage girls working there are attacked and only one of them survives. And they identify a suspect, but he flees and they never see him again. The, wait, why does this say? Oh, yeah, so then 15 years later in the same town, same thing.

Four teenage employees are working at an ice cream store and are attacked and only one person makes that out of life. So very similar crimes. And both of the victims who survived both of the attacks, recall the killer like whispering in their ear, Goodnight Pretty Girl, before he left. So it's so creepy. And so then it's basically about you're following like the detectives and the survivors and trying to figure out how these two incidents are related to one another.

And you will not guess it. Like, you won't guess it. If you do, tell me and like, you're the smartest person in the world. But I don't know how you could guess how it all comes together. And it's, it's just really cool how it does. But it's also so creepy. Like someone saying, good night, pretty girl after they like thought they killed you. Yeah. creepy. I just wanted to like bring something up about that. And I'm like, wait, no, that's a spoiler. So I can't say anything. Oh my gosh, that's so funny. So my husband, AJ, he does not read a ton. But I read the night shift and I told him he should read it because I thought he would like it.

He's like a slower reader. But when he got to the back half of that book, he was like into it. And I could tell and it was so fun to watch. And then he read every last year. And I was like, I have so many things in my TV are. Can you just tell me about it? So you can spoil it for me. That's fine.

And I was like, I think it was a really good. a good bit. So, I don't know. If anyone is like wondering, looking to get their partner into reading in any way, I think Alex Finley is appealing to a lot of readers. Yeah, I think he is too. Yeah, the one that he just came out with is really good too.

If something happens to me. But the night shift is still my favorite. Yeah, it's so good. Well, is there, wasn't there one of the detective in the night shift is also in every last year or all every last year yes i think two of them yeah i think both of them so there's like a little they're not in the third one or his newest book no no just curious um i think i don't think so i think my i have like a couple but i know that i have talked about those authors a lot so i'm just going to do my last one i have um jamie lynn hendricks and

And the first one I read by her was it could be anyone. And I actually heard of this book because you had Olivia from Thrillers by the book, correct? I remember her talking about it. And then you and Gere were talking about it. I'm like, okay, well, obviously I need to pick up something by this author. And this one was one of my first books that had like a bunch of points of view. so I remember writing him down.

But then you were kind of like, okay, I think I can do this. This one is fun because in the first, what's the first line of the book? Oh, on the first page of the book, the groom of a wedding and a wedding dies. And then you find out that this huge friend group of the bride, like no one liked him.

So you're getting tons of points of views from this whole friend group. You're like starting at the, current time, then you go back and you wrap around to find out who did it. And I loved it and thought it was so clever. I loved who it ended up being. I think this one ties with her newest A Lovely Lie for my favorite. I just, I loved who did it in this one. But I think that A Lovely Lie was just like so juicy. And so I know it's coming out on May 28th. And if If anyone has the opportunity to read it ahead of time, I know that the audio is on

NetGalley right now, and I love the narrator. So if anyone wants to check it out, otherwise, definitely pick up a copy. Because her books are good. Yeah. Yeah. Because as this is airing, it is like four days away from being published. So you definitely maybe snag it on NetGalley still, or you could pre-order it and get it right when it comes out. Yeah, I think, I was trying to think of what my favorite of hers was, too.

I think it might be. Yeah, they're both so good. Yeah. It just starts off with a bang, and then you're just suspicious of everyone for the rest of. Yeah, I thought the structures were interesting because if you read Finding Tessa, I didn't do it, or it could be anyone, like from the get-go, there's all these characters that you're rotating through. And in a lovely line, there's, um, multiple timelines, but then you kind of shift through some characters as the book goes on. It's not like constant. And I thought that that was a really interesting switch up. So I think I'm excited to see what she has up her sleeve coming up because sort of spicing it up in some way.

I know. She always has such unique. I feel like all of them are still really unique storylines, even though she like, always has like a big cast like she has her signature things but like each story she makes me chuckle like I remember I think it was and I didn't do it there was something like fake eyelashes that I just like was laughing so hard about because it's so dry but it's perfect yes yeah there was a lot and I didn't do it that made me laugh like that one I feel like that one had the most dry humor like it had so much publishing humor too yeah which was funny a good including

Yeah. Well, my last one, I similarly, this was my first and I think my favorite. Well, it was my favorite. A Flickr in the Dark by Stacey Williamham. Definitely my favorite of hers. But it's about its main character, Chloe Davis. When she was 12, there were six teenage girls that went missing. And by the end of that summer, her, dad is arrested as a serial killer of all these girls. And so he's been in prison for 20 years and now Chloe's a psychologist. But even though she kind of feels like she has things under control, she's like aware that she's been like kind of like running from that part of her childhood. So then another local girl goes missing and then another one. And she starts to feel like she's seeing parallels to what happened 20 years ago. So she ends up going back home to try to see if there are actual parallels and it gets creepy

and twisty at the end of it. And it's still just one of my favorite books probably ever. I really, really enjoyed all of that book. Is that in Louisiana? Yes. Yeah. Yep. Says Baton Rouge is where she moved.

and then she goes back to her small Louisiana hometown. Isn't it funny how we always talk about how like we hate the heat, but like all of our favorite books. Like this in Florida, I know. It's like where the Codad sings still, I'm still shocked how much I enjoyed that one too, because it's like hot and humid and like she like enjoys being around bugs and

fish in the water. And I'm like, oh, I could never, but if I'm reading it, I'm fine with it. Yes. Totally. I know. I know. That one is so good. Yeah, it always surprises me. I remember staying up late to read that. And like, I, it's easy for me to fall asleep reading at night time. And so that one, I was like, no, I want to know what's going on. I know. Yeah. Yeah. I really liked her other one, all the dangerous, all the dangerous things.

But this one, I threw just a little bit. more of my favorite. Yeah, I agree. It's because this was her debut, correct? Yeah. Yeah. That's so good. I'm, like, so intrigued to see what she does next.

I do know we'll have a cool cover. I know she's writing. Yeah. It was so interesting reading her, which I appreciate reading and all the dangerous things her author's note because it is so much about, like, motherhood. And it was, I mean. was I love being able to like even though I don't have kids in my own like being able to get into those kinds of stories but how she addressed her author's note that she's like I'm not a mom

so I did like all this research of like trying to really create an accurate picture of what this could be like and I thought that was really cool. I did too. I remember reading that and thinking the same thing because it felt like she was the mother the way she wrote it and I remember being surprised that she wasn't. She was pregnant. That's so awesome. I saw that too. Yeah. I know. So she's about to be. Oh, that's awesome. Did you have any other ones or any highlights? I don't think so. I'm trying to think if there were, well, I thought of Audra McAulier. I've talked about her a lot here recently, but her first was my favorite of hers. Only one little word. Only a little word. One little word. One little word.

So that was definitely my favorite of hers, but I loved if you see me too. But one little word was so good. Very fun, psychological thriller. The twist is really cool. There's a couple where I thought, oh, my first was my favorite. I know that Tiffany D. Jackson, the weight of blood, was my favorite and my first. And I think Alice Feeney, I think a rock paper, scissors was my first and my favorite. I'm pretty sure.

his and hers is up there but there was like a few other ones that i i picked these because i had separate ones i guess but there's some good authors out here uh-huh i loved his and hers like that one i think that's probably my favorite of hers it's that or sometimes i lie it might be tied that's but i loved both of those his and hers felt like such a classic thriller like i don't know And I don't even know what that means to me, but I think I agree, though. I think it's like, it has like the small town vibes. It has like things from high school coming back to haunt the characters, missing people, missing persons. Yeah, it was so good though. I still think. Do you ever feel like sometimes like a grumpy old man detective just feels like a classic mystery? And I feel like that's kind of. of in there too like this kind of separated guy that's kind of grumpy and you don't know how you're like the whole thing so i'm like i don't know it feels like maybe even if someone hasn't read any of her books they'd probably like this but they'd also be like what is alice veney has such a distinct

style that i think no way what your first book is by her you really you're going to be like whoa what is okay yes this is twisted crazy yeah yeah i agree I love her. I haven't read her most recent one. The good, bad girl. Yeah. I think that's what it is. Yeah, I haven't read that one. Yeah, that was pretty good. And then I saw she just had a cover reveal for a new one. And it looks. Yes. Yeah, I'm excited for that. Well, I'm sure we added a bunch to people's TBRs again. So, mission accomplished.