The Wife Between Us

Posted on January 8, 2018 by opesopinions

Author: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Thriller
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads: A novel of suspense that explores the complexities of marriage and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement.
You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves.
You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her.
You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.
Assume nothing.

Discover the next blockbuster novel of suspense, and get ready for the read of your life.

Ope’s Opinion: Loved the ending and the twist was amazing. It just took a long time to get there. A couple of times I almost quit reading, but my daughter kept saying – don’t give up on it. I am glad I didn’t give up on it.

I couldn’t figure out who was nuts and who was in their right mind. I was frustrated at times, intrigued at other times. I guess that is the sign of a good thriller.

The Good Widow

Posted on October 23, 2017 by opesopinions

Author: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Source: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Goodreads: Amazon Charts bestselling authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke make their suspense debut in this twisty, emotional thriller.

Elementary school teacher Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales’s marriage was far from perfect, but even in its ups and downs it was predictable, familiar. Or at least she thought it was…until two police officers showed up at her door with devastating news. Her husband of eight years, the one who should have been on a business trip to Kansas, had suffered a fatal car accident in Hawaii. And he wasn’t alone.

For Jacks, laying her husband to rest was hard. But it was even harder to think that his final moments belonged to another woman—one who had left behind her own grieving and bewildered fiancé. Nick, just as blindsided by the affair, wants answers. So he suggests that he and Jacks search for the truth together, retracing the doomed lovers’ last days in paradise.

Now, following the twisting path of that fateful road, Jacks is learning that nothing is ever as it seems. Not her marriage. Not her husband. And most certainly not his death…

Ope’s Opinion: This is the best book Liz and Lisa have written! It starts with interesting characters, a great story and a wonderful setting – that is just the beginning!! Keep reading… it only gets better.

There is so much I want to say, but I do not want to spoil the surprises and twists in this book. This story is told from multiple perspectives – all labeled at the beginning of the chapter, so you know exactly who is talking and the time period. It does go from past to present – back and forth. I think that adds to the suspense in the story.

It is so well written, I didn’t just know how Jacks was feeling, I was feeling it myself. The ending is amazing, surprising and satisfying. Read this one!

Pretty, Nasty, Lovely

Posted on October 9, 2017 by opesopinions

Author: Rosalind Noonan
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Genre: Thriller
Source: Purchased

Goodreads: Sisterhood has a price . . .

Pledging to Theta Pi at Merriwether University seemed to offer Emma Danelski a passport to friendship, fun, and popularity. But the excitement of pledge training quickly fades, as does the warmth of her so-called sisters. What’s left is a stifling society filled with petty rules, bullying, and manipulation. Most haunting are the choices Emma makes in the wake of another sorority sister’s suicide . . .

It doesn’t matter that no one else needs to know what Emma did, or how vastly different life at Theta House is from the glossy image it projects. Emma knows. And now, with her loyalties tested, she must decide which secrets are worth keeping and how far she’ll go to protect them–and herself . . .

Ope’s Opinion: Rosalind Noonan can weave the best stories. She wove a good story again this time, but it was not one of my favorite books from her. The subject was hard to read and I didn’t love the characters.

When the story moved from past to present it was confusing some times. I wasn’t sure what order events happened in. There were also so many other side stories going on that took away from Lydia’s story.

Throughout this whole book I felt like I was being told the story, but I never felt a part of it. I will read Rosalind Noonan again.

This Just In….

Posted on June 2, 2017 by opesopinions

From MIRA

Published: December 29, 2016
Publisher: MIRA

Goodreads: She’s watching you, but who’s watching her?

Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can’t help spying on her neighbours.

Until one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly neighbour Jean is found dead. Lily, intrigued by the social divide in her local area as it becomes increasingly gentrified, knows that she has to act. But her interference is not going unnoticed, and as she starts to get close to the truth, her own life comes under threat.

But can Lily really trust everything she sees?

Also In….

Published: April 11, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin Press

Goodreads: On paper, Chris Brennan looks perfect. He’s applying for a job as a high school government teacher, he’s ready to step in as an assistant baseball coach, and his references are impeccable.

But everything about Chris Brennan is a lie.

Susan Sematov is proud of her son Raz, a high school pitcher so athletically talented that he’s being recruited for a full-ride scholarship to a Division I college, with a future in major-league baseball. But Raz’s father died only a few months ago, leaving her son in a vulnerable place where any new father figure might influence him for good, or evil.

Heather Larkin is a struggling single mother who lives for her son Justin’s baseball games. But Justin is shy, and Heather fears he is being lured down a dark path by one of his teammates, a young man from an affluent family whose fun-loving manner might possibly conceal his violent plans.

Mindy Kostis succumbs to the pressure of being a surgeon’s wife by filling her days with social events and too many gin and tonics. But she doesn’t know that her husband and her son, Evan, are keeping secrets from her – secrets that might destroy all of them.

At the center of all of them is Chris Brennan. Why is he there? What does he want? And what is he willing to do to get it?

Enthralling and suspenseful, One Perfect Lie is an emotional thriller and a suburban crime story that will have readers riveted up to the shocking end, with killer twists and characters you won’t soon forget.

A Simple Favor

Posted on March 20, 2017 by opesopinions

a-simple-favor Author: Darcey Bell
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Thriller
Source: HarperCollins

Goodreads: She’s your best friend.
She knows all your secrets.
That’s why she’s so dangerous.
A single mother’s life is turned upside down when her best friend vanishes in this chilling debut thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

It starts with a simple favor—an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son Nicky after school, she happily says yes. Nicky and her son, Miles, are classmates and best friends, and the five-year-olds love being together—just like she and Emily. A widow and stay-at-home mommy blogger living in woodsy suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a sophisticated PR executive whose job in Manhattan demands so much of her time.

But Emily doesn’t come back. She doesn’t answer calls or return texts. Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong—Emily would never leave Nicky, no matter what the police say. Terrified, she reaches out to her blog readers for help. She also reaches out to Emily’s husband, the handsome, reticent Sean, offering emotional support. It’s the least she can do for her best friend. Then, she and Sean receive shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over.

Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing—not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor—is as simple as it seems.

A Simple Favor is a remarkable tale of psychological suspense—a clever and twisting free-fall of a ride filled with betrayals and reversals, twists and turns, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge. Darcey Bell masterfully ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing story that holds you in its grip until the final page.

Ope’s Opinion: Instead of being drawn into this story, I felt like I was standing outside of it watching it all happen, which made it much less intense then I expected this book to be.

I am not sure I liked the characters in this story – of course I am not sure I was suppose to! So in that way maybe the author achieved her goal.

The ending left me…. yea, that is kind of how I feel…

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Never Let You Go

Posted on March 14, 2017 by opesopinions

Author: Chevy Stevens
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Thriller
Source: Won from Shelf Awareness

Goodreads: Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash escaped into the night with her young daughter and left an abusive relationship.Her ex-husband was sent to jail and she started over with a new life. Now, Lindsey is older and wiser, with a teenage daughter who needs her more than ever. When her ex-husband is finally released, Lindsey believes she’s cut all ties. But she gets the sense that someone is watching her. Her new boyfriend is threatened. Her home is invaded, and her daughter is shadowed. Lindsey is convinced it’s her ex-husband, even though he claims he’s a different person. But can he really change? Is the one who wants her dead closer to home than she thought?

Chevy Stevens targets her readership with a novel that hits all the notes they come to expect from her—and ratchets up the stakes even more in a novel that explores the darkest heart of love and obsession.

Ope’s Opinion: WARNING: Do not start this book unless you have ample time to continue reading one more chapter, one more, one more….. It is amazingly intense!!! On page one you be absorbed in the story. During certain portions ( no spoilers ) you may need to remind yourself to breathe. When you think the story is done, hold on… it isn’t – no details – just read to the end! My only negative thought of this book is that it wrapped up a little too fast, a little too neatly, a little too easily. I would still recommend this book.

Coming Soon….

Posted on February 28, 2017 by opesopinions

…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In March hope to read….

a-simple-favor

Publication Date: March 21, 2107
Publisher: Harper

Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing—not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor—is as simple as it seems.

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

Only Daughter

Posted on October 31, 2016 by opesopinions

Author: Anna Snoekstra
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Thriller
Source: MIRA

Goodreads: In 2003, sixteen-year-old Rebecca Winter disappeared.

She’d been enjoying her teenage summer break: working at a fast-food restaurant, crushing on an older boy and shoplifting with her best friend. Mysteriously ominous things began to happen—blood in the bed, periods of blackouts, a feeling of being watched—though Bec remained oblivious of what was to come.

Eleven years later she is replaced.

A young woman, desperate after being arrested, claims to be the decade-missing Bec.

Soon the imposter is living Bec’s life. Sleeping in her bed. Hugging her mother and father. Learning her best friends’ names. Playing with her twin brothers.

But Bec’s welcoming family and enthusiastic friends are not quite as they seem. As the imposter dodges the detective investigating her case, she begins to delve into the life of the real Bec Winter—and soon realizes that whoever took Bec is still at large, and that she is in imminent danger.

Ope’s Opinion: This is definitely a thriller. It was a very intense read from the very beginning. If you like psychological thrillers this may be a 5 chair to you. It had a little bit too much gorey stuff in it for me. I am more of a “who done it” reader. The ending was very satisfying, my daughter Kristin at Kritters Ramblings, said that was how I would feel about the ending and she was absolutely right.

Pretty Baby

Posted on July 22, 2015 by opesopinions

Author: Mary Kubica
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Thriller
Source: Emer Flounders

Publication Date: July 28, 2015

Goodreads: A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can’t get the girl out of her head…

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family’s objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow’s past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she’s willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

Ope’s Opinion: This was a very slow moving story. The characters are well developed, but they all have very deep issues going on. I could see where the story was going – there were enough hints along the way. Some of those hints were repeated several times.

Willow, Heidi and Chris each give their perspective. It helps you see the whole story. It was a dark, depressing story.

The ending shows where everyone is now.

Rating: 3 – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

Take Another Look

Posted on April 24, 2015 by opesopinions

Author: Rosalind Noonan
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Thriller
Source: NetGalley

Publication date: April 28, 2015

Goodreads: When Jane Ryan discovers she’s pregnant with twin girls, she faces a heart wrenching decision. On her own and unable to afford to care for both babies, she sees no choice but to keep one and give up the other for adoption. But fourteen years later, Jane’s decision comes full circle.

“Family is everything.” It’s one of the first things Isabel, the twin Jane gave up, says when they unexpectedly meet. Without warning, she and her adoptive mother have moved to the town where Jane and her daughter, Harper, live. But are they really family? In the throes of a willful adolescence, Harper is as sullen as Isabel is eager to please. Still, the sisters appear to bond quickly–until unsettling things begin to happen. Disturbing pranks, questionable accidents, strange ailments. Are the girls allies, or enemies? Is Harper acting out, or is Isabel not all she seems? Soon, Jane is convinced there is something darker at work than sibling rivalry. But who is to blame, and is this only the beginning?

In a novel that is both suspenseful and deeply emotional, Rosalind Noonan explores the complex challenges of motherhood, and of truly knowing what lies in another’s heart–even those we love best.

Ope’s Opinion: This book is so suspenseful, you will hold your breath while you are reading it. I read this book in two days ( I am a slow reader – that is amazingly fast for me ). I just couldn’t wait to flip to the next page.

It is hard to say too much about this book without giving away the ending. This book looks at the nature vs nurture question. It is a unique way to look at it.

Let me just say this – READ IT!! Before you start page one – make sure you have time to keep reading – you will not want to put it down.

Rating: 5 – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on…..

Ope's Opinions

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