Review of Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks

 I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Leigh Fletcher: happily married stepmom to two gorgeous boys goes missing on Monday. Her husband, Mark, says he knows nothing of her whereabouts. She went to work and just never came home. Their family is shattered.

Kai Janssen: married to wealthy Dutch businessman Daan and vanishes the same week. Kai left their luxurious penthouse and glamorous world without a backward glance. She seemingly evaporated into thin air. Daan is distraught.

Detective Clements knows that people disappear all the time—far too frequently. Most run away from things, some run toward, others are taken but find their way back. A sad few never return. These two women are from very different worlds. Their disappearances are unlikely to be connected. And yet, at a gut level, the detective believes they might be.

How could these women walk away from their families, husbands and homes willingly? Clements is determined to unearth the truth, no matter how shocking and devastating it may be.

My Review:

5 Stars

This was a really great story and idea. I was honestly in the dark for a good portion of the book. Only late in the game did I start putting together the obvious clues and little nuggets of information the author leaves for you. These are the types of stories that I greatly enjoy. Something that keeps your mind engaged and not just reading to see what you know is going to happen play out. 

Two woman that both lead completely different lives go missing. Two woman that never would have crossed paths with each other, let alone be considered the same "type" to an obvious string of abductions. Yet something isn't sitting right with the two detectives assigned to the case. 

A book that will have you guessing until the end. I can't recommend this enough. A definite must read. 

Review of One Last Secret by Adele Parks

 I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

Everyone has secrets, don’t they?

One last client
A week at a beautiful chateau in the south of France—it should be a straightforward final job for Dora. She’s a smart, stunning and discreet escort, and Daniel has paid for her services before. This time, all she has to do is to convince the assembled guests that she is his girlfriend. Dora is used to playing roles and being whatever men want her to be. It’s all about putting on a front.

One last chance
It will be a last, luxurious look at how the other half lives before Dora turns her back on the escort world and all its dangers. She has found someone she loves and trusts. With him, she can escape the life she’s trapped in. But when Dora arrives at the chateau, it quickly becomes obvious that nothing is what it seems…

One last secret
Dora finds herself face-to-face with a man she has never forgotten, the one man who really knows her. And as old secrets surface, it becomes terrifyingly apparent that one last secret could cost Dora her life…

My Review:

4 Stars

This was an enjoyable book. There were moments that I didn't even see coming. 

Dora has found a way to make a comfortable living. She gets to travel, enjoy the finer things in life and not worry about where her next meal is coming from. While the life of an escort may not sound appealing, it has it's definite perks with the right client base. 

When one last job seemingly falls into her lap right before her exit from the life, Dora has a hard tie resisting it. The allure of the money and how she can put it towards her future is too much for her to pass up. Despite her promise she takes one last job, thinking that she'll never have to tell this little secret to anyone. 

A story about deception, lies and striving for what you want in life. 

Review of The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

I received a copy of this via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend's sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed....

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they'd been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can't account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer--the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother's house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father's book that didn't stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank's cabin....

Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.

My Review:

4 Stars

This book was trippy. It took me quite awhile to figure out exactly what was going on in the story. I like these kinds of books. Makes you think outside the box and is definitely not like others. 

Maya is a complex woman. She's in a loving relationship, but is hiding a secret addition. An addiction that she's used since the day that changed her life, but is fervently trying to kick in order to join the world fully. All of that is made a lot harder when her past is suddenly back in her present. 

She makes the journey home to try and piece together her fragmented past. Memories that seem lost, time that seems to have vanished and a man that Maya is determined to make accountable for his actions, whatever they may be. 

A truly unique story.