Books

Winter Weather & An Unwanted Guest

As the winter temperatures finally descend on us this weekend, if you are looking for something to do…and you are tired of watching television, check out An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena.

This novel is the perfect balance between suspense and fun. Set in a picturesque mountain boutique hotel…all seems well until a winter storm traps all of the guests inside and cuts them off from the outside world. Under normal circumstances, this might not be such a bad thing. Surrounded by cozy fireplaces with good food, a stocked wine cellar, no telephone or internet connection, and seemingly good company, the guests decide to make the best of it. All is perfectly fine, until the next morning when one of the guests is found dead at the bottom of the stairs…and then another…and another.

As you fly through the pages, you will feel like you are playing a game of Clue…guessing who the murderer is…only to be surprised when said “murderer” ends up dead. This novel is fast-paced, exciting, and the characters are complex. Each individual is not what they seem, although it does seem as if everyone has a secret to protect.

And I won’t spoil the ending, but as she always does, Shari Lapena achieves perfectly what I call the “double twist” finale!

So who did it…the housewife, the heir to a fortune, the lawyer, the war correspondent, the inn keeper, the adulterer husband, the troubled son, the girl next door, or the writer? Guess you will have to crack open the spine (and maybe a good bottle of wine)…settle in, and find out for yourself!

Happy Friday and Happy Reading!

My Best, and As Always…

B.A. Paris’s Novel Trifecta

If you are looking for a fast-paced set of books to read (I read each in about two nights), by an incredibly talented author, B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, and Bring Me Back are the books you have been looking for!

A good friend told me about B.A. Paris’s first novel Behind Closed Doors, and after reading the first few chapters, I was hooked not only by the story, but by B.A. Paris’s writing style. Each novel is unique in story line, but all are equally thrilling and surprising. B.A. Paris flawlessly combines character development while maintaining a mysteriously thrilling ride along the way.

Number One: Behind Closed Doors is about a couple who seem to be perfect in every way. Grace is the beautifully flawless house wife. Jack is the successful intelligent attorney. They live in their perfect house, on the perfect street, with their perfect friends…but life is anything but perfect. The reality is dark and sinister. This one keeps you guessing at every turn, and when you finally figure out what the main character is forced to do…you find yourself rallying behind her, and asking yourself…”Will she be able to pull it off?

Number Two: The Breakdown is about a woman, Cass, who drives past a stranger sitting in their car on a dark and stormy night. Although she contemplates stopping to see if the driver is okay, she decides against it, only to find out the next day that the woman parked on the deserted road was brutally murdered that night.

As she holds the secret of that night close to her heart, not even telling her husband, she begins to mentally unravel. She starts to forget conversations, where she left her car, her daily routine, and other day to day actions and events. She concludes that the trauma and feeling of responsibility for the murdered woman has triggered something inside her mind, and her greatest fear has become a reality. She is falling prisoner to the illness that killed her mother…Dementia. OR IS SHE?

The twist and turns of this plot and the second guessing B.A. Paris demands of the reader make this novel unlike any other I have ever read. The truth and betrayal is unfathomable…and once again, you find yourself standing behind the main character as they rally to get their life back and achieve sweet revenge.

Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown are the perfect depiction of good versus evil. But in the end…will “the good” triumph?

Number 3: Bring Me Back is a psychological roller coaster. This one is about a man, Finn, whose girlfriend, Layla, disappears at a rest stop never to be heard from again. Ten years later, Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister Ellen…and just when they are about to put Layla’s disappearance behind them, the past comes back to haunt them in a life altering way.

The characters are complex and multi-faceted. While reading this novel you are not only trying to figure out where the plot will take you…you also find yourself wondering what in the world is going on inside the minds of these characters! They say one thing, but do another…nothing is as it seems, but everything seems obvious.

Unlike B.A. Paris’s first two novels, Bring Me Back, was confusing in the sweetest way…I had no idea who was “the good!” Every time I thought I knew whose side I was on, the plot would change, and become more complicated…and it would leave me second guessing who the characters were, what were their intentions, and who was truly the victim.

If you are looking for some great fall books to “fall” into, these novels will not disappoint. So get your hot apple cider, put on your comfiest sweatshirt, and wrap up in your coziest blanket. Then buckle up as B.A. Paris takes you on a literary thrill ride!