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It's been 30 years since Florence Lovelady joined the Sabden police force, becoming the first female officer to serve in the small town near the Pendle Forest in Lancashire, England.  She may have been a 22-year-old greenie back then, but she solved the biggest case the area had ever seen, making a name for herself.  Putting Larry Glassbrook—a coffin maker who got his kicks burying teen girls alive—in prison remains the highlight of Florence's long and distinguished career.  Now, at 52, she's the most senior serving policewoman in Britain and only months away from retirement.  

When chilling events from the past start repeating themselves, Florence is stunned.  Glassbrook is dead; he can't be pulling strings from beyond the grave.  Either they're dealing with a very skilled copycat or Florence got it wrong all those years ago.  But if the coffin maker is innocent, then who buried those girls alive?  And how can she stop the horror from happening all over again?  

It's no secret that I'm a big Sharon Bolton fan.  I've read all of her books and while Little Black Lies will probably always be my favorite, The Craftsman isn't far behind.  Why?  It's a bit different from Bolton's others—still gritty, but less gruesome and more Gothic.  The characters are intriguing, the plot's compelling, and, as always, Bolton surprised me with a twisty, unexpected finale.  I didn't suspect the real killer until the very end, which is exactly how I like it!  So, while The Craftsman may not be my absolute favorite Bolton book, it's a close second.

(Readalikes:  Other crime novels by Sharon Bolton; also reminds me of books by Jane Casey)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of The Craftsman from the generous folks at St. Martin's Press.  Thank you!

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"The girl sitting on the red couch next to her newly proclaimed fiancé is wholly two-dimensional; she is a projection only, like light cast on the surface of a still pond or the first hint of dawn in winter as it breaks behind the barn.  She smiles when it is expected.  She says all the right things.  She is the exact combination of humble and sarcastic that gives the impression that she might actually be real.  But she isn't.  She's a fabrication.  A meticulously constructed and lifelike illusion, but an illusion all the same" (114-115).

As the daughter of a charismatic evangelical preacher, 17-year-old Esther "Essie" Hicks has been watched her whole life.  Literally.  Her family has been the subject of the hit reality show "Six for Hicks" for longer than she can remember.  Fans laud the Hicks' rock-solid faith and in-the-world-but-not-of-the-world attitude, while critics denounce their made-for-tv flakiness and the hypocrisy in their look-at-me lifestyle.  With her insider's view, Essie knows—or thinks she knows—what really goes on behind the scenes.  Sick of being in the spotlight, she longs to break free of it all.

When Essie announces she's pregnant, but refuses to name the father, the shocking news threatens to topple the entire Hicks enterprise.  The show's producers scramble to find a way to spin the unwelcome revelation, finally deciding on the most ratings-friendly option—a wedding.  Fake nuptials aren't enough for Essie's calculating mother; the marriage must not only come off as authentic, it has to be real.  Since wedding her baby's father is not an option, Essie sets her sights on 18-year-old Roarke Richards, an ambitious but penniless acquaintance.  Desperate to help his bankrupt parents and keep his own secret under wraps, Roarke reluctantly goes along with the Hicks' plan.  What he doesn't realize is that his new fiancee has her own agenda.  On a hunt for answers that could destroy her family forever, Essie won't stop digging until all their secrets are exposed.  How far will she go to win back the right to live her life on her own terms?  

The premise behind The Book of Essie, a debut novel by Meghan MacLean Weir, has fascinated me since I first heard about it.  With so much potential for juicy book drama, how could I not give this one a go?  While the story's big reveals aren't very surprising, the novel does offer some surprisingly sharp observations about authenticity, hypocrisy, media distortion, blind belief, and standing up for what's right.  Essie and Roarke are sympathetic characters, both of whom are easy to root for.  Their situation seems incredibly far-fetched, but it does lead to some interesting plot developments.  Although The Book of Essie kept my attention, I did find it disjointed and heavy-handed.  Overall, then, I didn't love it.  Despite the hype that surrounded this book, it was just an okay read for me.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Something Real by Heather Demetrios)

Grade:

for language (a handful of F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, depictions of underage drinking, and disturbing subject matter

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

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No one stays in the tiny dead-end town of Reeve's End, Kentucky.  Winter Crane doesn't plan to be the exception.  The minute she finishes high school, the 17-year-old will run far away to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.  Her drunken father might miss his human punching bag, but Winter can't wait to be rid of him. 

In the meantime, Winter finds refuge in the lush forest surrounding her home.  Her temporary peace is interrupted when she finds Lennon Bishop, a teenage boy who's been badly beaten, in her woods.  He's evasive about what happened to him and before long, he's disappeared from Reeve's End.  When Lennon's older brother, Jude, comes to town looking for answers, he heads straight for Winter.  She has no idea why kids keep vanishing from town, but when she reluctantly joins Jude's quest for the truth, she's shocked to find that things in her hometown are not what they seem.  Not at all ...

Kelley Armstrong's thrillers never fail to engross me, be they geared toward adults or teens.  Missing is another YA offering from the prolific author.  Like her other novels, this one features a propulsive plot, tough but sympathetic characters, and strong, immersive prose.  I loved tough, capable Winter and definitely cared what was going to happen to her.  Because of all these elements, I couldn't stop reading Missing.  It's a riveting thriller that kept me zooming through pages until I got to the book's satisfying conclusion.  I've yet to meet an Armstrong thriller that didn't completely suck me in and this one is definitely no exception.    

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

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

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Three years ago, Skye Gilchrist fled her hometown in the wake of a tragic school shooting that left four of her classmates dead.  One of the students was her brother, Luka.  If he had been a victim that would have been one thing, but he wasn't.  Luka was one of the shooters.  Ever since the shooting, Skye has been wracked with grief and confusion.  How could her only sibling have committed such a hateful act?  She simply can't believe Luka would have done such a thing.

Now 16, Skye has returned to live in a town still haunted by what her brother did.  She's barely stepped off the plane when she realizes Luka's sins have not been forgotten.  Not by a long shot.  Since he's not around to take the blame, Skye becomes the recipient of the town's anger.  Even though he lost his brother in the shooting, Jesse Mandal—Skye's former best friend—is the only one who shows any empathy.  Together, the two of them uncover inconsistencies about the school shooting, evidence that may clear Luka's name.  The more they dig into the past, however, the more dangerous their present becomes ...

Since I've been enjoying Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series for adults, I thought I'd give one of her YA novels a go.  Aftermath sounded intriguing and it is, although I didn't end up loving the book overall.  While I did find it a compelling, couldn't-put-it-down thriller, it also seemed far-fetched and melodramatic to me.  The fact that everyone in the mid-size town knew Skye on sight (even though she was the sister of a shooter and it had been three years since she lived there) and felt so vehemently vicious toward her just didn't ring true for me.  Also, the kids in the book didn't act like 16 year olds—they seemed much older and their parents/guardians didn't seem to care a lick what they did.  Totally unrealistic.  So, yeah, there were definitely things about Aftermath that bugged.  Still, it's a fast, engrossing read that had me burning through the pages to find out what was going to happen.  Based on this, I'll for sure read Armstrong's other teen thrillers.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult)  

Grade: 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, depictions of/references to illegal drug use, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find