Books By Theme: You Think YOUR Family Has Problems??

Touch & Go: A Novel by Lisa Gardner Suspense Fiction. No matter how much they love their teenage daughter, it won't help Libby and Justin save their once happy, now crumbling marriage. When all three are kidnapped, held in an abandoned prison, and tormented into revealing long-held secrets, everything changes. Meanwhile, corporate investigator Tessa Leone (last seen in Love You More) thinks it's fishy that all three were taken -- and no ransom demanded -- and races to discover what it is about the seemingly picture-perfect family that would expose them to kidnapping. Narrated by both Libby and Tessa, the "irresistible momentum" (Kirkus Reviews) of this pulse-pounding novel will keep you turning the pages.

Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf Suspense Fiction. Sarah Quinlan's husband Jack was orphaned as a teenager by a car accident that took the lives of his parents -- or at least that's what he told Sarah more than 20 years ago. When the aunt that cared for him has a serious fall, they immediately go for a visit, where Sarah learns that it wasn't a car accident that killed Jack's parents: his mother was murdered and his father disappeared. And those aren't the only facts he's been hiding from her. If you've ever wondered how well you really know your spouse, this novel might have you up at night.

Defending Jacob: A Novel by William Landay Legal Thriller. For 20 years, prosecutor Andy Berber has been happy with his law career and his home life in suburban Massachusetts. All that changes, however, when his son is accused of murdering a fellow middle-schooler. Putting everything he's got into the investigation and -- for the first time -- into a criminal defense, Andy must make wrenching decisions as he considers the possibility that his son may in fact be guilty. Compared to the best work of Scott Turow and John Grisham, Defending Jacob is a suspenseful, character-driven thriller from an award-winning author.

The Stranger  by Harlan Coben The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world. Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life. Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne's deception, and realizes that if he doesn't make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he's stumbled into will not only ruin lives--it will end them..

Mini Review: Freedom's Child by Jax Miller

Freedom's Child
by Jax Miller
Crown (June 2015)
Fiction thriller

What's It All About?

Living in witness protection to hide from her late husband's violent family, Freedom Oliver risks her life in order to save the kidnapped daughter she gave up for adoption.

Who Should Read It?

Read it if you're okay with a pretty far-fetched and melodramatic plot. If Sons of Anarchy and Jodi Picoult had a baby, this book would be the result.

2 stars.

What Else Should I Read?

• Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little
• Cutting Season by Attica Locke
• Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

What If I Don't Believe You?
Don't take my word for it! Check out these other reviews.

The Dysfunctional Mother Blog | What Danielle Did Next | Mission: Incomplete

Mini Review: Lost Girls by Heather Young

The Lost Girls
by Heather Young
William Morrow, 2016
Literary Fiction

What's It All About?

In the summer of 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanished from her family's vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. The loss devastated the family. Sixty-four years later, Emily's sister Lucy writes the story of that harrowing summer in a notebook that she bequeaths, along with the lake house and a hefty investment portfolio, to her grandniece, Justine.

“How terrible to die without finishing a book, she thought. Never to know the end of the story.”

Who Should Read It?

Read this book if you don't mind waiting a REALLY long time for any action to happen in the plot. The book builds and builds to a rather anti-climactic climax that is ultimately not very surprising. 

I'd give it a pass.

What Should I Read Instead?

• Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon
• The Bright Forever by Lee Martin

What If I Don't Believe You?

Don't take my word for it! Check out these other reviews: 

Smart B***hes, Trashy Books | The Misstery