Peke and his wife are in their 70s, preparing to move from their home of 40 years, drive cross country, and set up a quieter, simple life in California. Suddenly, all their plans are shattered when they are swindled out of all their worldly possessions by thieves posing as moving men. Most men would submit an insurance claim and buy new things, but not Peke. Peke fights back, with a fire in his belly. You see, Peke is a survivor, in more ways than one.
This book was unlike any thriller I have ever read. When I realized what had happened to Peke and his wife, my heart sunk like a stone, as if they were real people. I was that captured by the writing, from the very beginning. The author took this very mundane thing, moving, and turned it on its end. I simply could not read fast enough to suit me. The characters of Peke and Nick, one of the thieves, are well written, and play well off of each other. It almost feels like each is what the other might have been, had life taken different turns.
I love the strong emphasis on survival in this book, and coming to terms with what one is willing to do to secure that survival. There were quite a few twists I never anticipated, and I was riveted the entire time I was reading. If you are looking for a book full of action, and a plot unlike any thriller you have ever read before, then this is the perfect summer read for you.
I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. See the rest of the tour here.
Two women are found dead on the same night, one a clear homicide, the other what seems to be a suicide. DNA evidence also seems to suggest the cases are linked, beyond the fact that they occurred in close proximity to each other. As the investigative team gathers evidence, it would seem that the cases are not as open and shut as they initially appeared. And as the investigation continues, it becomes clear that most everyone has some dirty little secrets that will come to light.
A group of students at Oxford create a complicated game that forces them into uncomfortable situations. 6 students begin the game, only 5 survive it, and only 1 can win it. As the game's intensity progresses, it takes a toll on the players' education, friendships, and in at least one instance, sanity. Is there really any way to actually win this game?
Eve's son Tyler has a deadly condition. Any contact with sunlight could literally kill Tyler. As a result, Eve's family has learned to survive in a somewhat locked down existence. Air tight and light tight rooms, Tyler only leaving the house at night. But the strain has gotten worse as Tyler has gotten older. Now his sister is acting out, his dad works out of town, and Eve has just about reached her limit. When a tragedy occurs, the very existence of this family's situation is held in delicate balance.
George Cooper has not been home from the war long, and he has spent most of his time stateside trying to establish himself as a reporter. When a beautiful young girl named Ruth is accused of murdering a war hero, George finds himself smack in the middle of the biggest story in Pittsburgh. He also finds himself falling for the suspect. But did she really do it?
Up and down the Appalachian Mountains, women have been disappearing. Maybe some of them ran away, maybe some were wilderness enthusiasts who had accidents, but it quickly becomes apparent that some of them have been the victims of a serial killer. Add in the drama of small town life, combined with federal agents, and you have the makings of a great story.
A pair of ghostly stories. In the first, a rare book dealer stumbled upon a deserted house in the country. He feels a small hand grab his, despite the fact that he is alone. From that point on, he continues to be visited by the small hand, and a compulsion to hurl himself into water. In the second story, a spoiled young girl is sent to spend time with her aunt. When her aunt buys her a doll, the girl shows contempt for it, because it does not meet her exact specifications. Her bad behavior has lifelong consequences.
The mortuary is just about the creepiest place in town, and rumor has it a crazy old witch lives there. When Emily first encounters the so called witch, she realizes that the woman is really just a lonely old women. Years later, when Emily is an adult, her path once again crosses with that of the old woman. She learns the tragic tales of the woman's life as the mortician's wife.
A young girl is visited by a mysterious creature, and develops the ability to physically see inside people. A man expels a small gray being that had been living inside his brain. A brother and sister suffer an affliction in their youth that changes the course of their existence. These are just half of the strange tales that you will encounter in this truly haunting collection.
Sometimes, what looks like a picture perfect family is really a portrait of dysfunction. Violet is your typical rebellious teenager. As the middle child, she is stuck between an older sister who fled to freedom, and a younger brother who is diagnosed with autism. And controlling the whole family situation is Mother. What lengths will Mother go to, in order to keep the family in order?
Annabel lives a quiet life, but not one she would particularly call lonely. Lonely would be more like her neighbor, whose decaying body Annabel discovers. This prompts Annabel to lead an investigation into similar cases of deceased people who have gone undiscovered for some time, a phenomena which had taken a disturbing uptick in her part of town. When she suffers a tremendous personal loss, her life feels empty, and she becomes a perfect target for monster prowling on these lonely people.
Belle has never been able to turn down a good ghost story or haunted location, so when a haunted home in San Francisco is put up for sale, she and her family move in. Almost immediately strange things begin happening, not all of which can be attributed to ghosts. Belle is being tortured by her husband's ex-wife, Raffaella. Sometimes the scariest hauntings are done by the living.
Estella has fame that she never asked for, all because she is the older sister of quintuplets who have their own reality show. Estella has a different father, however, a father who tragically died many years ago. So, when Estella receives a Christmas gift from her real father, her parents accuse her of planting it herself as a way to act out. They send her to a support group, and Estella realizes that nothing about her life is reality.
Genevieve is fulfilling her dream of restoring a barge into a fabulous houseboat, but getting there was difficult. Along the way, she got mixed up in a seedy world of dancing, drugs, and dangerous men. Now, just when her life should be perfect, Genevieve finds herself in the midst of darkness. After a dead body is found near her houseboat, she realizes the danger she is in.
Kate is at work when she receives a call from her daughter's school. Apparently, her daughter, Amelia, has gotten suspended. But before Kate can get to the school, something shocking happens; Amelia is found dead, apparently having leapt off the school roof. After some initial time has passed, Kate receives an anonymous text message suggesting Amelia did not actually jump. Kate begins digging into her daughter's life through her text messages, emails, and social media accounts, and discovers a web of lies and deceit.
Perhaps Mother Goose was not telling us the full story in those catchy nursery rhymes. Perhaps, like the original fairy tales, the origins of those nursery rhymes were much darker. In this collection, you read about a dystopian Jack and Jill; an shipwrecked Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod; and the creepiest Wee Willie Winkie you ever did meet. It may be a good idea to read these in the daylight, because these are certainly no bedtime stories.
Heloise finds herself fascinated with the legal case of a suburban madame who got caught, and eventually committed suicide. Part of the reasoning behind Heloise's interest is that she, too, is a suburban madame. After an odd childhood, with a tense family life, Heloise, then known as Helen, found herself wrapped up with a drug addict, stripping to make money. It was not a huge leap to go from stripping to turning tricks. And once in the business, Helen was caught, unable to do anything else with her life. So how did she go from Helen, young prostitute, to Heloise, suburban mom and madame? And will she end up getting caught like that other madame?
Jason has a secret, in the form of a body buried in his yard. He knows this secret because he put the body there. What he does not know is that this is one of three bodies buried on his property. When the other two bodies are unearthed and identified, Jason panics. This panic, coupled with the twisted story behind the other two bodies, and the curiosity of a detective, lead to a night full of bad timing, mishaps, and surprising interactions.
Victoria is about as straight an arrow as ever there was, striving for perfection, and disliking anything even resembling silliness. Her best, well only actually, friend is Lawrence, a boy with skunk striped hair, rumpled and untucked shirts, and phenomenal musical ability. When Lawrence goes missing, and Victoria notices the townspeople behaving strangely, she is determined to get to the bottom of it all. She suddenly learns that the town harbors a great secret.
Nothing says "Peace on Earth, goodwill to man" like a small town Christmas. Unless, of course, you find a dead body instead of brightly wrapped packages. That is exactly what happens the Christmas of 1954 in the small town of Kittanning. George Cooper, a journalist at the local paper, stumbles upon the body of Dr. McDivvett, the adviser to the local historical museum. It becomes apparent that Dr. McDivvett was not a popular man around town, and many people could have had motive for the murder. With a close friend listed as the prime suspect, George and his wife Ruth begin their own investigation, with the some key information that the police lack. The wind up getting far more than they bargained for.