(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Ever since they were randomly assigned to be roommates at a summer camp for teens interested in medicine, Zadie Anson and Emma Colley have been best friends.  Although their backgrounds and personalities differ, they've always gotten each other.  Their bond has only strengthened over the years as they pushed through med school together, got married, had children, and now juggle the demands of medical careers and motherhood.  No matter how busy their lives get, Zadie and Emma always make time for each other.

The women's contented lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, are upended when a former colleague moves to town.  Chief resident while Zadie and Emma were in med school, Dr. Nick Xenokostas was the handsome hotshot who turned everyone's heads.  Zadie fell under his spell, a mistake that led to a heart-rending tragedy that broke more than just her heart.  The last person she ever wants to see again is the infamous Dr. X.  Emma's still furious with him as well.  She couldn't protect Zadie from him 12 years ago—this time she'll stop at nothing to shield her best friend from his egotistical manipulation.  And from the secret she's been hiding since med school.  

When the truth about what really happened during Zadie and Emma's third year of med school comes out, what will happen to a friendship that's been rock-solid from its beginning?  Will the women's lives ever be the same again?

As a former ER fan girl, I still find myself drawn to hospital dramas from time to time.  The Queen of Hearts, a debut novel by Kimmery Martin—an emergency medicine doctor herself—seemed intriguing enough to keep my attention.  Seemed being the operative word here.  Although there's plenty of potential action in the novel, Martin spends so much time describing everything and everyone that the first 3/4 of the story just drags along, veering here, there, and everywhere.  It doesn't help that none of the central characters are very likable.  Zadie, Emma, and Dr. X are all immature, self-centered, and annoying, which makes it difficult to care what happens to any of them.  The novel's Big Reveal is pretty obvious from the get-go, so even the tale's finale seems anticlimactic and silly.  I did read to the end (just to confirm what I already knew, I guess), but honestly, The Queen of Hearts felt like a long, dull slog to me.  The book gets rave reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads, so I'm in the minority once again.  That's okay—different strokes for different folks and all that.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of He Said She Said by Jane Casey)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, blood/gore, and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Queen of Hearts from the generous folks at Berkley (an imprint of Penguin Random House).  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

After a horrific accident, Anna Fox becomes a prisoner in her own home, separated from the two people she loves most.  Crippled by agoraphobia, the 38-year-old can't even step outside her Harlem brownstone without being crushed under the weight of her own panic, fear, and anxiety.  To protect herself, she stays inside 24/7, relying on a delivery service for groceries and old mystery movies for company.  A child psychologist, Anna finds some purpose on the Internet, where she counsels other agoraphobics in an online forum between games of chess.  Although she chats with her husband and daughter daily, she's still heartbroken and lonely.  

When Hitchcock films fail to keep her entertained, Anna indulges in her favorite hobby—watching her neighbors through her camera's telephoto lens.  Although she's ashamed of her tawdry voyeurism, that doesn't stop her from looking in on private arguments, affairs, and other activities.  It's harmless; after all, "Watching is like nature photography: you don't interfere with the wildlife" (4).  And Anna doesn't.  Until she witnesses what looks like a brutal murder-in-the-making.  The victim has become an unlikely friend.  In spite of what it will cost her, Anna must intervene.  When the police come calling, however, they see no evidence of a crime.  With her obsessive viewing of old mystery movies, her habit of mixing prescription pills with alcohol, and the obvious damage to her own sanity, Anna makes for a very unreliable witness.  Try as she might, she can't make the cops understand that she's not crazy, that she's sure of what she saw.  

As Anna tries to make sense of everything, she has to ask herself some terrifying questions—Has she finally lost her mind?  Is she seeing things, assuming things, that aren't real?  Will she ever live a normal life again?  Or has she forfeited forever the right to live the life she wants with the people she loves?  If she really saw a murder taking place, what can she—a woman so broken she can't even leave her home—do about it?  Convinced she must do something, Anna starts digging.  With the safe world she's made for herself crumbling around her, she will risk everything—her home-sanctuary, her last bits of sanity, her very life—to solve a mystery that may only exist inside her own warped and tortured mind.

The book world has been all abuzz about The Woman in the Window, a Hitchcockian debut novel by A.J. Finn.  Rightly so.  With its Rear Window-ish setup, its complex characters, and its tense, suspenseful plot line, the book offers plenty to tickle a thriller lover's fancy.  While the story is less of a white-knuckled, adrenaline-fueled roller coaster ride and more of a slow-burning, carefully-crafted psychological mind twister, it's still a page turner of the highest order.  Even though I saw some of the plot surprises coming, the Big Reveal walloped me good.  All in all, then, I loved this skillful, satisfying debut and will absolutely be looking forward to more from Mr. Finn.  

(Readalikes:  The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, disturbing subject matter, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Woman in the Window from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

With the world in shambles after a crippling apocalypse, Lynn McBride and her family have found safety in the wilds of the Yukon Territory.  It's not an easy life they live, nor a simple one.  Every day, they must battle the harsh weather, find enough food to sustain them, and deal with the loneliness and boredom that come from seeing the same four faces day in and day out, year after year after year.  Although Lynn is grateful for her safety, she longs for something more.

"More" comes in the form of Jackson Day, a 27-year-old stranger she finds wandering the barren landscape with his dog.  Jax is the first new person Lynn has seen in seven years; bringing him home seems like a natural, normal gesture.  Not everyone in Lynn's family is glad to see him, though, especially when he triggers a chain of events that will have deadly consequences for the McBrides.  Before long, Lynn will find herself traversing a frigid, hostile world toward an unknown future in a ruined world.  It's up to her to save the world.  Can she do it?

I had very high hopes for The Wolves of Winter, a debut novel by Tyrell Johnson that has been described as "written in a post-apocalyptic tradition that spans The Hunger Games and Station Eleven but blazes its own distinctive path."  With that kind of acclamation, I expected to be knocked off my feet by excessive wow.  Did that happen?  Not exactly.  While The Wolves of Winter offers an absorbing survival tale set against an intriguing, atmospheric backdrop, the story adds little originality to the genre.  The plot remains very basic, nothing you won't find in dozens of other post-apocalyptic stories.  While this is a comparatively quiet tale with lyrical prose reminiscent of Station Eleven, it's nowhere near as unique or compelling as The Hunger Games and there's little about it that's truly distinct.  That being said, I enjoyed the novel overall.  I didn't love it, but I liked it enough to be interested in reading more from its author, a talented newcomer.

(Readalikes:  similar in tone to Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel; story reminds me of the Partials trilogy [Partials; Fragments; and Ruins] by Dan Wells) 

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language and violence

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find