Ten years ago, two vans full of high school students ran off the road in the middle of a raging storm, plunging down a ravine into a swiftly-moving river. In the chaos, eight students managed to scrabble to safety. Ten of their classmates and two of their teachers did not. Wracked with guilt not just for surviving when so many others didn't, but also for some of the questionable actions they took that fateful night, The Eight reunite every year to mourn, to commiserate, and to ensure that their vow to never speak of what really happened that night remains unbroken.

A decade later, Cassidy Bent has had enough of wallowing in the past. The 28-year-old has a job she loves, a great new boyfriend, and a future that looks brighter than it ever has. After deleting the numbers of the other survivors, she has no intention of traveling to the Outer Banks for their annual reunion. Then, she receives devastating news: one of The Eight is dead. Not only that, but someone is talking to the press about the accident, hinting about dark deeds. With no other choice, Cassidy rushes to the North Carolina coast to meet up with the other survivors.

The Eight's reunions have always been melancholy; this one's turning downright sinister. Not only does Cassidy find a dead man's phone on the beach, but she also receives notes warning her to leave while she still can. And then there's the distinct feeling that someone is watching all of them...Who is targeting The Eight? Which of them is talking to reporters? What will happen when the truth about the accident gets out? With another vicious storm bearing down on the survivors, who will make it out alive this time?

I've read and enjoyed all of Megan Miranda's adult thrillers, so I always get excited when I hear she has a new book coming out. The premise of The Only Survivors sounded right up my alley, too. (In fact, it fits perfectly with the theme of my last Top Ten Tuesday list.) Unfortunately, Miranda's newest is just not up to her usual standards. To begin with, it's boring. Although the story toggles between past and present, hinting at sketchy decisions made ten years ago to ramp up the suspense, not a lot happens in the present, making the tale feel quite dull. In addition, Cassidy and her friends aren't the most charming bunch. They're not exactly unlikable, but they're not all that appealing either. I didn't feel connected to any of them. Also, the identity of the "bad guy" tormenting the survivors isn't much of a surprise. Although The Only Survivors kept me engaged enough that I finished it, I considered DNF'ing it a few times. I'm not sure why I bothered finishing it, honestly, because the ending wasn't any more satisfying for me than the rest of the book. Bummer.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of other books by Miranda as well as those by Carol Goodman, Riley Sager and Gilly Macmillan)

To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find

Caroline Payne is surprised—and thrilled—when a handsome friend from college whom she hasn't seen in years shows up unexpectedly at her workplace. She is shocked—and dismayed—when she discovers why. Mat Hammond, an adjunct history professor who researches genealogical mysteries on the side, has honed in on Caroline's family. He's investigating Caroline's great-aunt, a British woman who he says ran off with a Nazi officer during the war, disgracing her family and betraying her country. A well-known magazine is already showing interest in what could be a shocking, sensational story. Caroline's convinced he has the wrong person. Her great-aunt, her namesake, died of polio as a child. When Mat shows her compelling proof, Caroline doesn't know what to think. If there's any truth to the matter, she knows such a public airing of dirty family laundry would finish off her already cancer-ridden father. She can't let that happen.

After her fiancé is killed in the war, 18-year-old June Walker is at loose ends. Wanting to do her bit to help her country, she joins her older sister in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where a crowd of young women are descending to work at mysterious jobs they're not allowed to talk about. The bustling town—which has suddenly sprung up out of nowhere—is dominated by secrecy and security. Inside its borders, though, Oak Ridge is lively with people bustling in and out of factories, canteens, bowling alleys, movie theaters, and dance halls. June's job as an operator of a big, boring machine is mind-numbingly dull, but her life is more meaningful now than it's ever been. Even though she's not allowed to ask questions about what she's actually doing, she's convinced her role in Oak Ridge—not just as a worker but also as a morale booster for all the young men stationed there—is important.  

Dr. Sam Cantor, a 30-year-old engineer from New York, is charmed by June's country girl naiveté. Sam is one of the few people in Oak Ridge who knows what The Manhattan Project is. As his frowned-upon relationship with the younger woman blooms, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the secrets he's promised to protect from leakng out. 

Cici Roberts, June's bombshell roommate, is disgusted by the growing closeness between June and Sam, even though she spends her every waking hour trying to snag a rich husband for herself. Desperate to pass as a sophisticated socialite instead of what she truly is, Cici will do anything to keep her own secrets hidden.

Joe Brewer knows that he and his fellow Negro workers are not treated the same as their white counterparts in Oak Ridge. Still, he needs his wages to send back to his wife and children in Alabama. That requires working hard and keeping his head down, keeping far away from the trouble that's brewing in the colored quarters.  

When Hiroshima is bombed and the shocking truth about the true purpose of Oak Ridge is revealed, everyone in the secret city will be left to grapple with their own morality in the wake of the horrifying destruction they've helped to bring about. The lives of June, Sam, Cici, and Joe will be forever changed because of it. 

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Cheddar Off Dead from the generous folks at St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

After a face-off with an angry gunman at a Boston ceremony celebrating a controversial wetlands preservation project, wildlife biologist Alex Carter is only too happy to get away. The chance to track wolverines in the Montana wilderness is a dream come true. She's eager to study the elusive animals, working to save the dying species. Not all of the locals are thrilled with her presence, however, and they're letting her know it. Determined not to bow to their scare tactics, she stays on at the abandoned ski lodge where she lives by herself. 

When Alex's wolverine-watching cameras catch movements of a different kind of animal on film, she's puzzled. Why is a man who's clearly suffering from a severe injury roaming around in the woods looking dazed and confused? When Alex reports her findings, she's even more stunned at the authorities' dismissive response. Refusing to let it go, she soon finds herself caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous predator. Just what has Alex stumbled upon? And how far will someone go to keep the curious scientist from sticking her nose where it doesn't belong?

It's no secret that I dig immersive, atmospheric mysteries set in isolated places. From the looks of A Solitude of Wolverines, the first book in a new series by Alice Henderson, it appears to be just this sort of read. Is it? Well...I did like the setting, not just mountainous Montana but also the creepy lodge, which adds an eerie vibe to the story (always a plus in my book). I also appreciate that Henderson's passion for nature, animals, and the conservation of both really comes through in this novel. In fact, her prose (which is pretty humdrum otherwise) shines brightest when she's writing about these subjects. Unfortunately, the author has a tendency to drone on and on, adding so many unnecessary details that the plot drags under them. Add in a storyline that's contrived and convoluted, characters that are bland and unlikable, and narration that's melodramatic and wordy, and you've got yourself one sluggish novel. I persevered with A Solitude of Wolverines (which is saying something, I guess), but it ended up being, for me, an average read at best. Needless to say, I won't be continuing with the series. Bummer.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets and The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo)

When Iris Buckley's beloved grandfather dies, she takes it as a sign that her life is in need of a change. She moves back to Blueberry Cove, Maine, the little town where she was raised by her grandparents after her parents' deaths when she was a child. Not only can Iris keep an eye on her widowed grandmother, but the two women are planning to turn Anne's growing online apron-making business into a brick-and-mortar success. Just as everything is really starting to come together, they make a shocking discovery—a skeleton hidden in the basement of their store. The remains are soon identified as those of a woman who disappeared during a visit to Blueberry Cove in the 1970's. 

As the police deal with the bones, Iris and Anne try to put their grisly find behind them. They don't need any more problems as they try to get their business off and running. To their dismay, another dead body turns up in the shop. This time, it's Elliott Parker, the greedy landlord with whom Anne has been fighting for years. Iris isn't about the let her grandmother get arrested for murder. With the help of her BFF and a handsome unrequited crush from high school, she vows to find the real killer. Dead bodies are piling up in tiny Blueberry Cove—will Iris' nosing around ensure hers is next?

Propriety is important in Victorian England.  Just not to eccentric surgeon Dr. Horace Croft.  Ever since he took in Nora Beady—an 8-year-old orphan—he's been teaching and training her.  Now 21, she's an invaluable medical assistant as well as a gifted surgeon in her own right.  Capable as she is, even Dr. Croft realizes that Nora's interest in medicine would be seen by outsiders as shocking, manly, and unnatural.  It must be kept secret at all costs.  When Croft brings a young doctor into his practice, Nora fears she will be found out.  Forced to act like a proper lady, hiding her ability in the surgery, she feels like she's going mad.  When she makes an important discovery, one that could change medicine forever, Nora is torn between offending society by revealing her true self and boldly claiming her own discovery instead of letting the men around her take credit.  Is she brave enough to risk everything by finally stepping out of the shadows into the spotlight?

The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher is one of those books where the less you know going into it, the better.  So, I'm going to give you the publisher's plot summary instead of my own because not only is it spoiler-free, but it's also brilliantly written.  Here you go:

At ten years old, Enzo knows his life is coming to an end.  He doesn't mind.  As a dog whose soul is "very human," he's pretty sure he's going to be reincarnated as a man, a prospect he's very much looking forward to.  After all, Enzo has been studying humans his whole life.  Not only has he watched a considerable amount of educational television, but he's also been observing his owner, Denny Swift, ever since the race car driver brought him home as a puppy.  With all the wisdom he's gathered, Enzo knows he'll make a stellar human.

As Enzo ruminates over what he's learned from a canine life well lived, he tells the story of Denny's life—from his career as a pro race car driver, to his marriage to Eve, to the birth of their daughter, Zoë, to how everything changed when Denny began to lose all of them.  Like all faithful companions, Enzo is there through it all to mourn with his best friend, cheer him on, and lick his wounds (sometimes literally).  Along the way, he learns some great lessons about what it means to be human.  

I'm not a big fan of stories narrated by animals, so I have given The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein a wide berth for a long time, in spite of the many rave reviews it's gotten.  I only decided to take it on because I needed a new audiobook to listen to and my library seemed to have nothing else that was immediately available.  Although it started as a reluctant listen, I ended up finding the novel compelling enough to finish.  Did I love it?  Can't say that I did.  Do I understand why it's so overhyped?  I do not.  The story moves at a glacial pace for much of the book, although it does pick up after the Big Event happens.  Problem is, I hated the direction the tale took at that point.  It wasn't what I expected or wanted.  Thus, the read just felt sad, depressing, and...ugh.  I did finish the book, like I said, but I found The Art of Racing in the Rain to be an average read at best.  Part of the problem, I'm sure, is that I don't love animal books and I have no interest in car racing; a lot of my issues, though, stemmed from a story that just didn't resonate with me.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

When a bullied 16-year-old girl goes missing, no one seems too concerned.  Except her classmate, Matthew Crimstein, whose grandmother is a criminal attorney with her own t.v. show.  When Hester Crimstein learns about Naomi Pine's disappearance from Matthew, she enlists the help of Wilde, a man who was once a feral child found in the woods by hikers.  Now Wilde lives off the grid, interacting with others only rarely.  His almost preternatural instincts, however, make him an excellent private investigator.  He takes the case mostly as a favor to Matthew, who is his godson.  

Wilde's snooping around leads him to Naomi's bully, which in turn leads him to the dark secrets of several wealthy, influential men.  If they get what they want, will it lead to Naomi's rescue?  Or is it too late for the missing teenager?  It's up to Wilde to solve the puzzling mystery.

I find stories about feral children fascinating, so when I read the plot summary of The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben, that aspect of the novel drew me right in.  Unfortunately, what proves to be the most interesting part of the story is only a teensy-tiny bit of the tale, which I found disappointing.  as Wilde's past is infinitely more intriguing than his present.  While he's a sympathetic character, he's not entirely likable.  Likable characters are, in fact, in very short supply in this novel.  The only one I would care to read more about is Rola.  Plot-wise, The Boy From the Woods is all kinds of melodramatic and far-fetched.  The story was gripping enough to propel me to finish the book, but it was nowhere near as suspenseful and thrilling as I thought it would be.  Thanks to loosey-goosey crafting, an implausible plot, characters I didn't care about, and lackluster prose, I didn't exactly love this book.  I'll be generous and say it was just an average read for me, nothing more.  I've heard lots of good things about Coben, but if this book is typical of his work, I won't be reading more by him.

(Readalikes:  Um, nothing is coming to mind.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

When I was a new mom, I had a recurring nightmare about losing my baby.  In the dream, I ran from infant to infant, frantically scrutinizing each of their faces only to realize, to my utter horror, that I had no idea what my own child looked like!  How could I rescue my baby if I couldn't even recognize them?  It was a terrifying thought.  

In Until I Find You, Rea Frey takes these common parental fears to a whole new level, creating a story that is decidedly unnerving.  It centers around Rebecca Gray, mom to 3-month-old Jackson.  As a recent widow and a new mother, Bec is battling grief, exhaustion, stress, and loneliness.  To add insult to injury, she has a degenerative eye disease, which led to the dissolution of her career as a professional cellist and has now robbed her almost wholly of her vision.  Desperate to prove her independence, Bec soldiers on, but her life is not an easy one.  

Bec thinks she's just being paranoid when she gets the odd sensation that something is not quite right.  She feels as if someone is watching her.  At home, things seem to have been disturbed the slightest amount.  A friend dismisses Bec's fears, urging her to get some rest.  She does, but when she awakes and goes to retrieve her son from his crib, she finds another baby in his place.  Sure she's going crazy, Bec checks again.  Even though she's never seen Jackson's delicate features clearly, she's positive this is not him.  A mother—even a blind one—knows her own child.  Doesn't she?  Bec has no family and her friends can't be certain whether the baby is Jackson or not.  So many infants look so alike, after all.  There has been so much upheaval in Bec's life that, really, who can blame her for becoming a little...overwrought?  Not caring what anyone else thinks, Bec plunges ahead, getting the police involved in the baffling situation.  Everyone might believe she's insane, but she's determined to find her son.  No matter what.  Is the baby in Bec's house Jackson?  If he's not, who is he?  And where has Jackson gone?

Like I said, it's a chilling premise.  It leads to an intriguing mystery, which kept me turning pages, wanting to know what was going to happen next.  True, I didn't find Bec, who's whiny and victim-y, super likable.  Still, I sympathized with her.  I did see the story's big plot twist coming, which was a little disappointing.  More so is the fact that it's totally far-fetched, which made it feel less than satisfying.  All things considered, then, Until I Find You was just an okay read for me.  It's engrossing, but I didn't love the characters and the ending irritated me.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt and The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

At first glance, the death of a teenage surfer in a small Maui town looks like a routine drowning.  A closer inspection by police captain Walter Alaka'i, however, reveals hints of a far more sinister cause of death.  Wanting an expert opinion, Walter calls in his niece, Kali Māhoe, who is both a detective and an anthropologist specializing in Hawaiian culture and tradition.  Kali is also alarmed by what she finds on the corpse, especially considering the spate of noperra-bō sightings that have been reported.  She doesn't really believe that a mythological malevolent spirit is wreaking havoc on her community, but there's no doubt that someone is up to no good.  Who killed the young wave rider?  Kali is determined to find out.

As strange things continue to occur in Hana, followed by another body washed ashore, the pressure mounts.  Can Kali figure out what is going on in her town before she becomes the next victim?

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier installments in the Noodle Shop Mystery series.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)  

As manager of Ho Lee Noodle House, her family's popular Chinese restaurant, Lana Lee is always at the center of the action in Cleveland's Asia Village shopping center.  Dealing with her overbearing mother and annoyingly perfect sister causes enough drama for the 28-year-old, but there's always tension and intrigue boiling among Asia Village's many strong personalities.  Add in the center's weirdly high murder rate and she's got a lot on her plate...

When Lana witnesses an altercation in the parking lot between two aging village divas—competitive mahjong player Millie Mao and heartless tea shop owner June Yi—she has no idea that one of them will soon end up dead  When Millie is electrocuted during a pedicure, it becomes apparent that it was no accident.  Did the argument in the parking lot lead June to kill Millie?  Is there someone else who had it in for the mahjong matron?  Although her detective boyfriend warns Lana to stay out of it, she's once again on the case.  Can she solve Asia Village's latest murder?  

I'm a big fan of Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop mysteries.  The series is fun, light-hearted, and entertaining.  Like most cozies, the books are a little silly and a lot far-fetched, but who cares?  They're easy, enjoyable, clean reads.  That being said, Killer Kung Pao—the sixth installment—might be my least favorite of them.  Why?  Although Chien's characters are always fun, the mystery in this one is a bit...lackluster.  The book is still a fast, engaging read; it's just not as compelling as some of its predecessors.  A bummer, yes, but not one that will keep me from continuing with this series.  Even the less satisfying books are more enjoyable for me than other cozies.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Noodle Shop Mystery series, as well as culinary cozies by Ellie Alexander, Amanda Flower, Eve Calder, etc.)