The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs
Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan who, following a series of bizarre disappearances on the islands of Turks and Caicos, enters a sinister labyrinth in which a new technology may wreak worldwide havoc.
Called in to examine what is left of a body struck by lightning, Tempe traces an unusual tattoo to its source and is soon embroiled in a much larger case. Young men—tourists—have been disappearing on the islands of Turks and Caicos for years. Seven years ago, the first victim was found in a strange location with both hands cut off; the other visitors vanished without a trace. But, recently, tantalizing leads have emerged and only Tempe can unravel them.
Maddeningly, the victims seem to have nothing in common—other than the strange locations where their bodies are eventually found, and the fact that the young men all seem to be the least likely to be involved in foul play. Do these attacks have something to do with the islands’ seething culture of gang violence? Tempe isn’t so sure. And then she turns up disturbing clues that what’s at stake may actually have global significance.
It isn’t long before the sound of a ticking clock grows menacingly loud, and then Tempe herself becomes a target.
There were lots of red herrings and twists and turns in this book. There had been some 'not the greatest' books in this series lately but this one seems to have upped the standered again.Called in to examine what is left of a body struck by lightning, Tempe traces an unusual tattoo to its source and is soon embroiled in a much larger case. Young men—tourists—have been disappearing on the islands of Turks and Caicos for years. Seven years ago, the first victim was found in a strange location with both hands cut off; the other visitors vanished without a trace. But, recently, tantalizing leads have emerged and only Tempe can unravel them.
Maddeningly, the victims seem to have nothing in common—other than the strange locations where their bodies are eventually found, and the fact that the young men all seem to be the least likely to be involved in foul play. Do these attacks have something to do with the islands’ seething culture of gang violence? Tempe isn’t so sure. And then she turns up disturbing clues that what’s at stake may actually have global significance.
It isn’t long before the sound of a ticking clock grows menacingly loud, and then Tempe herself becomes a target.
The Wife's Promise by Kate Hewitt
Jane Hatton and her British husband Andrew relocate from New York City to a small village on the Cumbrian coast. Jane has been city-based and career-driven but when her fourteen year old daughter Natalie falls in with the wrong crowd at school in Manhattan, she and Andrew decide to try country living. However Jane has trouble getting used to the silence and solitude of a remote village. Natalie hates her new school, and eleven-year-old Ben struggles academically. Only seven-year-old Merrie enjoys country life. Has Jane made a horrible mistake? The Hattons have bought the old vicarage in the village. When Jane finds a scrap of shopping list, she grows curious about Alice, the vicar’s wife who lived there years before. As we follow the twin narratives of Jane, in the present, and Alice in the 1930s we discover that both are on a journey to discover their true selves, and to address their deepest fears.
This book does a lot of time of time shifting. Jane, in present day, seems to be a very selfish, self centered and self absorbed woman. All she can focus on is the loss of her career and has no plans to try and fit in in the new country and home that the family has moved to. Her 3 children virtually look after themselves as she has no interest in anything or anyone. Alice from the 1930s could be forgiven for her attitude as she was very young and had no experience in running a home or interacting with people she didn't now. Over time we see great growth in both women and the outcomes are very interesting.
Five Island Cove-The Lighthouse by Jessie Newton
After the death of a childhood loved one, 5 best friends reunite in the small coastal town of Five Island Cove. One doesn't expect to find love with a high school crush. Another isn't prepared to find the strength she needs to take control of her life. And none of them are ready for the secrets they'll uncover at the lighthouse...As the truth comes to light, these five best friends will learn what real friendship, family, and faith mean.
When Joel Shields dies, Robin Grover's only goal is to get her four best friends back to Five Island Cove to celebrate the life of Kristen's husband. She alone has stayed in the cove while everyone else couldn't wait to get away.
Alice Keller comes instantly, because her mansion in the Hamptons and her husband's infidelity is smothering her. Not only that, but Kristen has always been like a mother to her, and she wants to support her.
Eloise Hall comes quickly too, because she's not teaching at the university this summer, and she might as well visit her mother—and the house she secretly bought years ago. Her first night on the island, she runs into an old high school crush, and a flame ignites that hasn't been there before.
But Kelli Thompson and AJ Proctor are more resistant, and as Robin, Alice, and Eloise uncover secret after secret in the books, journals, and files in Joel's office, Robin becomes more determined to reunite them all.
When Kelli and AJ finally arrive in the cove, the women are embroiled in secrets the lighthouse has hidden for decades. Robin tries to hold them all together, but she too breaks down and admits that her perfect-on-the-outside life isn't so perfect.
As these 5 best friends work together to find the truth, they must learn to let go of what doesn't matter and cling to what does-faith, family, and most of all, friendship.
As the above states this book is about friendships that go back many years and what happened in the intervening years. So many secrets are revealed and what the consequences are. I did find this book interesting.When Joel Shields dies, Robin Grover's only goal is to get her four best friends back to Five Island Cove to celebrate the life of Kristen's husband. She alone has stayed in the cove while everyone else couldn't wait to get away.
Alice Keller comes instantly, because her mansion in the Hamptons and her husband's infidelity is smothering her. Not only that, but Kristen has always been like a mother to her, and she wants to support her.
Eloise Hall comes quickly too, because she's not teaching at the university this summer, and she might as well visit her mother—and the house she secretly bought years ago. Her first night on the island, she runs into an old high school crush, and a flame ignites that hasn't been there before.
But Kelli Thompson and AJ Proctor are more resistant, and as Robin, Alice, and Eloise uncover secret after secret in the books, journals, and files in Joel's office, Robin becomes more determined to reunite them all.
When Kelli and AJ finally arrive in the cove, the women are embroiled in secrets the lighthouse has hidden for decades. Robin tries to hold them all together, but she too breaks down and admits that her perfect-on-the-outside life isn't so perfect.
As these 5 best friends work together to find the truth, they must learn to let go of what doesn't matter and cling to what does-faith, family, and most of all, friendship.
Snow Creek by Greg Olsen
Footprints were scattered about like fallen leaves. She looked down into the ravine, and once more her lungs filled with fear. A body lay silent and unmoving in the bushes.
When Ruth Turner walks into the Sheriff’s office in Jefferson County’s Port Townsend claiming her sister Ida Wheaton has been missing for over a month, Detective Megan Carpenter’s instincts tell her that she needs to do more than just file a report.
Racing over to Ida’s secluded farmhouse in the hills above Snow Creek, Megan finds Ida’s teenage children alone and frightened. She can’t help but notice there’s no TV. No video games. Nothing of the outside world. Something about the Wheaton family doesn’t add up and triggers a painful childhood memory for Megan – when one day, in a flash, both her parents were gone.
Then the body of a woman is discovered in an abandoned pickup truck close to the Wheatons’ home and Megan’s convinced the cases are connected.
If she has any chance of catching the killer, Megan must first unravel the secrets of the isolated Snow Creek community. But Megan has dark secrets of her own…
Hidden in the back of her closet is a box of tapes containing every single recording of her therapy sessions over thirteen years ago. Can she finally confront the past she’s spent years trying to block out? And will reliving her own painful story help her solve the complex case unravelling in the hills above Snow Creek before another innocent life is lost?
When Ruth Turner walks into the Sheriff’s office in Jefferson County’s Port Townsend claiming her sister Ida Wheaton has been missing for over a month, Detective Megan Carpenter’s instincts tell her that she needs to do more than just file a report.
Racing over to Ida’s secluded farmhouse in the hills above Snow Creek, Megan finds Ida’s teenage children alone and frightened. She can’t help but notice there’s no TV. No video games. Nothing of the outside world. Something about the Wheaton family doesn’t add up and triggers a painful childhood memory for Megan – when one day, in a flash, both her parents were gone.
Then the body of a woman is discovered in an abandoned pickup truck close to the Wheatons’ home and Megan’s convinced the cases are connected.
If she has any chance of catching the killer, Megan must first unravel the secrets of the isolated Snow Creek community. But Megan has dark secrets of her own…
Hidden in the back of her closet is a box of tapes containing every single recording of her therapy sessions over thirteen years ago. Can she finally confront the past she’s spent years trying to block out? And will reliving her own painful story help her solve the complex case unravelling in the hills above Snow Creek before another innocent life is lost?
This was a good story but I'm not sure the ending really worked. There will be more books in this series so I would imagine things would become clearer if you read more of the books.
The Lies that Bind Us by Molly Black
Taking on a summer job as a nanny on an isolated island estate should seem like paradise—but Lily Harris is about to discover that nearly every person on this island harbors deadly secrets.
Strapped for cash, Lily agrees to nanny three children of the wealthy Caldwell family. She finds the kids odd but charming, and sparks fly instantly between her and their summer tutor Julian.
But unnerving experiences lead Lily to believe there is more to the Caldwell’s island than meets the eye. Is her traumatic past and unresolved guilt making her overly protective of those she cares for?
Or is it something more sinister?
Lily will have to find out quickly, as hurricane season approaches and her last chance to escape becomes impossible….
Strapped for cash, Lily agrees to nanny three children of the wealthy Caldwell family. She finds the kids odd but charming, and sparks fly instantly between her and their summer tutor Julian.
But unnerving experiences lead Lily to believe there is more to the Caldwell’s island than meets the eye. Is her traumatic past and unresolved guilt making her overly protective of those she cares for?
Or is it something more sinister?
Lily will have to find out quickly, as hurricane season approaches and her last chance to escape becomes impossible….
This book was very distracting to read as there were so many grammatical and spelling errors. It would have greatly benefited from a good proofreader. I found the main character very annoying. She's there only a few days and already she is delving into things that are none of her business. I just found it quite far fetched and ridiculous and wouldn't really recommend it.
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this powerful debut novel reveals an incredible story of love, redemption, and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades.
On the eve of a fateful war, New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she sinks deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspect neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. But, once hired, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious female-only Nazi concentration camp. The tragedy and triumph of their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, and Germany to Poland—capturing the indomitable pull of compassion to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
This book was very emotional, heartwrenching and brutal, made even worse by the fact that it is all based in fact. A must read!
On the eve of a fateful war, New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she sinks deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspect neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. But, once hired, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious female-only Nazi concentration camp. The tragedy and triumph of their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, and Germany to Poland—capturing the indomitable pull of compassion to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
