If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, references to illegal drugs, and mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished e-copy of How Secrets Die from the generous folks at Harlequin via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

"But here, of course, it's a different story.  It's always a different story at Black Rabbit Hall.  It unspools everything" (104).

Time moves differently at Black Rabbit Hall, the Alton family's country estate in Cornwall.  None of the clocks in the home tell the same time and no one cares.  It's what makes the summers there so timeless, so ideal.  Amber, a 14-year-old bookworm, adores the place.  She loves roaming its grounds with her twin brother, Toby, and their two younger siblings.  Languishing in the salty air makes London feel a million miles away, which is just how Amber likes it.

Then, on a stormy night in 1968, the idyllic peace of Black Rabbit Hall is shattered forever. The events of that night change everything, ripping apart the seams that bind the Alton family together.  Never will they return to their country home.  Never will things be the same for Amber and her kin.

Thirty-odd years later, Lorna Dunaway and her fiancé are scouring the Cornwall countryside for a half-remembered estate Lorna visited as a child.  The house has always spoken to her soul; she can't imagine a better setting for her upcoming wedding.  Even when Lorna sees what a crumbling ruin the place has become, she won't back down.  Black Rabbit Hall is the only place she wants to be married.  When the home's caretaker invites Lorna for an extended stay, she can't resist.  As she breathes in the estate's musty, enchanted air, she becomes more and more obsessed with the history of Black Rabbit Hall and the happy family that once made it their summer home.  What happened to the Altons?  Why did they abandon their beloved estate?  And why does Lorna feel so connected to a home she never lived in and family she never knew?  Black Rabbit Hall hides secrets—secrets Lorna is determined to discover ...

You probably know by now that I'm a sucker for novels which feature mysterious old houses, tantalizing secrets, and family drama.  Black Rabbit Hall, a debut novel by Eve Chase, fits the bill on all three accounts.  It's a compelling saga that oscillates between the past and the present, offering a suspenseful tale that has enough twists to keep readers guessing.  At least a little.  While I saw some of the "surprises" coming, that didn't damper my enjoyment of the story.  I found myself absorbed in the mystery, intrigued by the characters, and entranced by Black Rabbit Hall's peculiar magic.  If you enjoy a good, atmospheric family saga, definitely give this one a go.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Kate Morton's books, especially The Lake House)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (1 F-bomb plus milder expletives), violence, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

It's easy to feel isolated in a place as rugged and remote as the Falkland Islands.  An archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, the area is home to more birds than people.  And yet, when a Falklander goes missing, the loss is felt keenly by the residents of the islands' close-knit communities.  When the individual is a child—the third to disappear in as many years—it's more than a tragedy.  It's an indication that a serial killer may be lurking nearby, hunting for young boys.  

Still reeling after the accidental death of her own sons three years ago, Catrin Quinn has cut herself off from the people in her town.  A recluse, she ventures out only to care for the wildlife protected by the Falkland Conservation, the organization for which she works.  Bitter and angry, the 34-year-old lets only one person come anywhere near her heart—her ex-lover, Callum Murray.  She refuses to engage or trust anyone else.  People will only let you down; Catrin's learned that lesson in the most traumatic way possible.

When a 3-year-old boy disappears while picnicking with his family in Stanley, Catrin is as heartsick as anyone else.  In such a dangerous landscape, the child could easily have drowned.  Only, it looks as if something much more sinister has happened.  Suspicion falls on Catrin, whose grief—most would agree—has certainly driven her crazy enough to kidnap a toddler.  The recluse harbors secrets, it's true, but she knows she had nothing to do with the boys' disappearances.  Doesn't she? 

As Catrin struggles to come to grips with her own impending madness, she becomes obsessed with finding the missing children.  Callum and Catrin's former best friend, Rachel Grimwood, are hiding as many secrets as Catrin.  As the search continues for a missing boy, both will have to confront their own pain and unseen suffering.  Hidden deep in their broken souls, one of the three—perhaps all of the three—holds the key to finding young Archie West.  Can they pull the truth out of their damaged psyches in time to save an innocent child?  Or will he become the third victim of a ruthless, unknown killer stalking children in the beautiful but deadly Falklands?

I'd never heard of English crime writer Sharon Bolton (formerly S.J. Bolton) before picking up her 8th novel, Little Black Lies, back in March.  Except for her newest book, which hasn't come out in the U.S. yet, I've now read everything she's ever published.  That should tell you something about how mesmerizing I found Little Black Lies.  From the beginning, the story grabbed me, pulling me into the bleak but utterly compelling world of Catrin Quinn.  The Falklands make a stunning and intriguing backdrop to the tale, adding a gothic element to an already otherworldly setting.  Its treacherous isolation makes the novel even more eerie and suspenseful.  Add in complex characters; solid writing; and a twisty, brilliantly-plotted mystery; voilá, I was hooked from the first page to the last.  This book kept me guessing—not just until the last chapter but until the very last sentence.  If you like a good mystery/suspense, you can't go wrong with Sharon Bolton.  Although Little Black Lies is my favorite of hers, all of her novels have sucked me in and kept me up reading way, way, way past my bedtime.  She's that good.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of the Shetland mystery series by Ann Cleeves)

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 mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

After her husband dies in a New York City car accident, Anna Pigeon flees urban life for its complete opposite.  As an enforcement ranger at Guadalupe Mountains National Park in the west Texas wilderness, the 39-year-old widow now spends more time communing with nature than anything—or anyone—else.  And it suits her just fine.

While hiking in the park one day, Anna comes across the dead body of a park ranger who appears to have been mauled to death by a mountain lion.  Shocked by the brutality of the apparent attack, Anna can't quite believe what she's seeing.  She didn't know Sheila Drury well, but she does know animals and this "attack" looks staged.  Try as she might to convince her superiors to look into the suspicious death, however, Anna gets exactly nowhere.  Refusing to back off, she launches her own investigation.  Between Drury's push to open the park to the public and her clandestine relationship with another employee, it isn't tough to find people who may have had motive to kill the ranger.  Who actually did the deed?  Anna knows Drury's killer isn't a wild cat but a human who is more vicious and dangerous than any mountain lion.  The question is, can Anna find the murderer before he or she finds Anna?  

     

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

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

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find