The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden

When an infertile couple hire a surrogate, they get more than they bargained for.

I didn't like any of the characters.

2 stars. 

The Housekeeper by Joy Fielding

 When Jodi hires a housekeeper to help her aging parents, they get more than they bargained for.

4 stars.

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica

 Audio.  12 hours.

Read by Carly Robins and Graham Hamilton.

Clara's husband dies in a car crash, but was it an accident or was it murder?  Told from the POV of Clara and her dead husband (in the past).  Clara finds out that her husband has been keeping secrets and the reader finds out there were more than Clara even finds out about.

4 stars.

Cul-de-sac by Joy Fielding

 Five families living on a small cul-de-sac in Florida.  One of the residents winds up dead.

4 stars.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

 Depressed Phoebe checks in to a fancy hotel where she plans to kill herself, only to find that the rest of the hotel has been rented out to a family gathering for a wedding.  A chance meeting with the bride changes things for Phoebe.

I can see myself rereading this in the future, maybe more than once.

5 stars.

Exposed by Lisa Scottoline

 Mary DiNunzio defends an old friend which causes a conflict with her partner Bennie Rosato.  Will the partnership survive?

3 stars.

The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

When a high school girl vanishes, Erika believes her worst fears about her son have come true.

4 stars.

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

 This book went from dumb to dumber.  Started out with an explosion at a school and Rose, a volunteer, was blamed for not saving a girl who is coincidentally bulling her daughter.  Then she starts to believe the explosion was intentional and traces it all the way back to a conspiracy of murders and coverups that leads to a US senator.  The whole thing was unbelievable.  I can't believe I even finished it.

1 stars.

Jenny Cooper Has a Secret by Joy Fielding

 While visiting a friend in a memory care home, Linda is approached by Jenny Cooper who claims to have a secret, that she's killed people.  Linda is drawn to Jenny and her stories while dealing with her own issues of aging and watching her best friend's decline.

I really liked the writing style and the aging theme really resonated.

5 stars.

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh

 Former con man turned lawyer Eddie Flynn defends a man falsely accused of murder.  Along the way, he must try to avoid being killed when a hit is put out on him.

3.5 stars.

The Inmate by Freida McFadden

 Brooke Sullivan starts a job at the prison which just happens to house her high school boyfriend who tried to kill her.  

This was very good until the ending which seemed more like a comic book villain plot.

3 stars.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

 Audio.  10.5 hours.

Read by Nicola Walker.

Retired police officer Steve Wheeler must come out of retirement when someone starts framing his daughter-in-law for murders.

4 stars.

Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

 Frankie Elkin is back, this time searching for a missing Afghan refugee who goes missing in Tucson.

The backdrop of the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and the plight of the refugees was interesting, but the story was kind of convoluted.

3.5 stars.

Corrupted by Lisa Scottoline

 Bennie Rosato takes on a man accused of murder who she once represented as a juvenile.  The trial part was good, but I was meh on the "love" story.

4 stars.

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

 Facing financial troubles after losing his job, Blake Porter and his finance take a tenant into their home.  Trouble begins, but who's causing it?

3 stars.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

 Audio.  9.25 hours.

Read by Saskia Maarleveld.

Evie Porter is a con woman working for the mysterious Mr. Smith.

4.5 stars.

The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden

 Millie has a new job and her employer's wife is being abused.  Or is she?

3.5 stars.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

 Audio.  9.25 hours.

Read by January LaVoy.

Lucy is found wandering the streets covered in blood and her best friend, Savvy, is dead.  Lucy has no memory of what happened, but the whole town thinks she's a murder despite no charges being brought.  Years later, she returns home when a podcaster decides to investigate Savvy's murder.

4 stars.

Long Island by Colm Toibin

Eilis Lacey is visited at home by a man who claims his wife is pregnant with her husband Tony's child.  The man also claims that he plans to deposit the child on her doorstep when it is born.  As the due date approaches and her mother-in-law makes plan to raise the child, Eilis returns to her native Ireland and begins a romance with her former boyfriend.

The book was good, but I'm subtracting half a star for the incomplete ending.  Perhaps there is a follow-up novel planned.  This was also the second book featuring these characters.  I did not read the first, but saw the movie years ago so I had the general gist of the story.

3.5 stars.

Penitence by Kristen Koval

 Audio. 12 hours.

Read by Therese Plummer.

When he daughter shoots and kills her son, Angie must deal with her old boyfriend who is defending her.

I was really disappointed that there was no explanation for the shooting.  

2.5 stars.

Paris for One & Other Stories by Jojo AMoyes

 Turns out I read this in 2017.  Oh, well.

Caution Nell finds herself alone in Paris when her boyfriend bails out at the last minute.  A handsome French waiter helps her pass the time.

4 stars.

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

 Women band together to catch a con artist.

3.5 stars.

The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

 A  true-crime writer's husband is murdered, but she has an air-tight alibi.  Was it the dirty cop?  

2.5 stars.

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen

 In a small Maine town, summer visitor Zoe disappears.  The police chief gets some help from the Martini Club, a bunch of retired CIA spies.

4.5 stars.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner

 Zoe, beautiful,  and Cassie, talented, form a band.  They find fame until the tragic death of the band's songwriter/guitarist.  

I know JW's thing is fat women, but I wish she'd use a scalpel instead of a sledge hammer.

4 stars.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

 Lila is picking up the pieces of her life after her husband leaves her and her mother dies unexpectedly.  Along the way, both her absentee father and her step-father end up living with her and her two daughters.

4 stars.

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

Audio.  7 hours.

Read by Jane Oppenheimer. 

Edie is in hospice and her best friend Ash is tending to her during her final days.  

Besides the heartbreaking story of Edie's death, there is also a clinical look at how the body breaks down.  

4.5 stars.

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

Newly engaged Theo and Connor travel to spend the holidays with his (rich) family at their mountaintop retreat.  Trouble ensues.

The coincidence at the heart of this story was so far fetched it made the story completely unbelievable.

3 stars.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

 Audio.  5.5 hours.

Read by the author.

Better yourself with better daily habits.

3 stars.

More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova

 Maddy is diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her sophomore year of college.  Story of how it affects her and her family.

3.5 stars.

25 Alive by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

 Women's Murder Club.  Once again, it felt like the word count was met and the stories were just cut off with stupid resolutions.

2.5 stars.  (Only because I actually finished it.)

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Audio.  14.5 hours.

Read by Emily Rankin.

Rill and her four siblings are kidnapped from their river boat in the 1930s and brought to an children's home where they're put up for adoption.   Fictionalized account of the sadly real history of the Tennessee Children's Home Society and the woman who made a fortune dealing in these stolen children.

5 stars. 

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

 Camilla is navigating her first day back at work after maternity leave when police show up and tell her her husband has taken three hostages at a nearby warehouse.  After he shoots the hostages and escapes she spends the next seven years trying to understand while also pining for the husband she thought she knew.

3.5 stars.

The World's Fair Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

 Elm Creek Quilt's founder Sylvia flashes back on the quilt she and her sister Claudia entered in the World's Fair contest.

3 stars.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

 Audio.  7.5 hours.

Read by the author.

Michelle loses her mother to cancer and explores the way it affected her.  There is a lot of discussion of Korean food and how to prepare it.

3.5 stars.

Family Family by Laurie Frankel

 India Allwood becomes pregnant at 16 and decides to place her baby for adoption, then she goes on to be a successful actress.

4 stars.

Wool by Hugh Howey

 Audio.  15 hours.

Read by Edoardo Ballerini.

In a future wasteland, people are living in underground silos.  Anybody who even mentions The Outside is punished.  Corruption exists even in a silo.

4 stars.

Tagging sci-fi even though I don't know if it strictly qualifies.

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

 Audio.  14.25 hours.

Read by Jean Brassard.  New narrator.  Ugh.  He's supposed to be an expert on Montreal accents, but it felt like listening to Pepe LePew.  I'll probably have to switch to reading instead of listening if he continues.

Gamache and company must prevent terrorists from poisoning the Montreal water supply.  Story brings them back to the monastery from a previous book, among other places.

3 stars.  

Probably would have another star if there was a different narrator.  Every French word was so over-pronounced that I couldn't understand them, so had trouble following parts of the story.

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

 Audio.  6 hours.

Read by Nan McNamara.

A family takes their annual beach vacation.  The mom is sandwiched between her adult children and aging parents.

4 stars as a summer beach read. Won't ever be mistaken for fine literature.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

 Audio.  14.5 hours.

Read by Saskia Maarleveld.

A 13 year old girl vanishes from summer camp in 1975.  Fourteen years earlier, her brother disappeared, never to be found.

Story was really good until the end.  Two smart women both think it's okay to leave said girl on a remote island to fend for herself because her family doesn't get her.  <eyeroll>

3.5 stars.

All Fours by Miranda July

 Audio.   10.25 hours.

Read by the author.

Semi-famous author abandons her cross-country drive 30 minutes from home.  Instead of returning home, she checks into a motel and spends the next two and a half weeks lying to her husband and friends.

While the writing was good, the topics weren't for me.  Also, another example of writers should write and leave narration to professionals.

2 stars.

A Better Man by Louise Penny

 Audio.  13 hours.

Read by Robert Bathurst.

Gamache and company try to solve the murder of a local woman who lived quite close to Three Pines.  Meanwhile, record rain threatens to flood Quebec, including Three Pines.

4 stars.

The Year of Less by Cait Flanders

Audio.  5.5 hours.

Read by the author. 

Author begins a year-long commitment to buy only essentials.  Peppered throughout are references to other challenges she undertook including losing weight and paying off debt.

Okay for what it was.  I rarely enjoy an author doing the reading on an audio book, but this one was fine.

3 stars.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

 Audio.  11 hours.

Read by Karissa Vacker.

Dr. Chloe Davis is the daughter of a serial killer.  With the 20th anniversary of her dad's crime spree looming, girls start disappearing again.  But with her dad in prison, this must be a copycat, right?

This started really good, but around the middle it became a smart-woman-makes-dumb-decisions novel.  Sigh.

3 stars.

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

Audio.  14 hours.

Read by Robert Bathurst. 

Gamache and his family are all in Paris, living or visiting when his godfather, Steven Horowitz is run down while crossing the street.  Local police believe it was an accident, but Gamache is sure it was an attempt on Steven's life.

Not enough Three Pines, but I suppose not every murder can occur there.

4 stars.

The Likeness by Tana French

 Audio.  22.25 hours.

Read by Heather O'Neill.

A young woman is found dead, but as detectives investigate it turns out the victim is living under an assumed name once used by an undercover detective.  Weirder, the victim and the detective look so much alike that detective Cassie Maddox is convinced to go undercover again and pick up where the victim left off.

It was an implausible premise, but still a good story.  Twenty plus hours was a lot though.

4 stars.

Holmes is Missing by James Patterson and Brian Sitts

 Except he never really is missing.  

Someone kidnaps 6 infants from a NYC hospital and Holmes, Poe, and Marple join in the investigation.

I could never get into the story and was literally counting the pages until it was over.  This series is done for me.

2 stars.

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Audio.  15 hours.

Read by Julia Whelan.

The nurses of Vietnam.  Part 1 was amazing.  Part 2 was so whiny I almost had to stop listening.  I get the author was showing the effects of PTSD, but it went on too long, especially the "woman makes bad decisions" part regarding the married boyfriend.  I was happy when the story moved on to redemption. 

3 stars.  It would have been higher without the above parts.

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny

 Audio.  12 hours.

Read by Robert Bathurst.

Gamache and company investigate a murder and simultaneously work to retrieve the carfentenil that was lost in the last book before it hits the street.

4 stars.

Glass Houses by Louise Penny

 Audio.  14 hours.

Read by Robert Bathurst.

A masked figure stands on the village green in Three Pines making everyone uncomfortable.  Is it related to the dead body found in the basement of the church?  Armand Gamache intends to find out and enlists the help of Isabel Lacoste and the homicide division.

And when not dealing with the dead person in Three Pines, Gamache works on breaking up the drug cartels operating in Quebec.

4 stars.

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

 Retired police detective Jackson Brodie is drawn into an investigation when he witnesses an assault after a finder bender.  Told from multiple view points.

I wanted to like this because I enjoyed Death at the Sign of the Rook so much, but the story dragged and there were so many mentions of animal cruelty that I almost didn't finish it.

1 star.

Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

Audio.  10.25 hours.

Read by Jason Isaacs.

Stolen artwork and dying people keep PI Jackson Brodie busy.  Love the dry humor and British accents.  I think this was sixth in the series, but I've never read any of them, and couldn't even tell.  Planning on going back and reading them in order now.

4 stars.

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

 Audio.  12 hours.

Read by Robert Bathurst.

Gamache leaves retirement behind when someone is needed to head up the Surete academy.  When one of the instructors is murdered, Gamache finds himself on the suspect list.

4 stars.

Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh

 After Amanda's daughter is murdered, a stranger in a grief support group suggests they swap murders, a la Strangers on a Train.  Lots of surprises.

5 stars.

Wild Houses by Colin Barrett

 Low-level drug dealers in Ireland kidnap the younger brother of a man who owes them money.  

3.5 stars.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

 Audio.  10 hours.

Read by Lesley Sharp.

Can a mother prevent her son's crime before it happens?   Time travel stuff.  It felt just a little too long, but otherwise very good.

4 stars.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

 Gail's daughter is getting married and her ex-husband shows up hoping to stay with her.  And he brings a stray cat he is fostering.  I only wish this book had been longer.

4.5 stars.

The House of Cross by James Patterson

 Latest Alex Cross installment.  Still chasing M.  Lots of repetition in the text. I think the descriptor "billionaire" was used 4 or more times in just a few paragraphs.  Not sure why I stick with these books.

2.5 stars.

No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally

Audio.  7.75 hours.

Read by Justis Bolding

A teenage girl's drowning is ruled an accident, but not everyone believes it's the truth.

I almost gave up on this because the main character's whining was getting to me.  It took a turn or two that made me keep listening.

2.5 stars.

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny

 Audio.  13 hours.

Read by Robert Bathurst.

RIP Ralph Cosham.  I miss you as the voice of Three Pines.

A nine year old boy dies in Three Pines and everyone agrees it was an accident.  Everyone except Armand Gamache who believes there is more to the boy's death.  

4 stars.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

 Melina writes a play claiming Shakespeare's work were actually written by a woman.  Most of the book is then written from that woman's (Emilia's) point of view.

This felt really long.  I'm not a fan of historical fiction.

2.5 stars.

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny.

 Audio.   15 hours.

Read by Ralph Cosham.

Inspector Gamache, working with a decimated staff, investigates the death of the final quintuplet born to great fanfare 70+ years ago.  Meanwhile Jean-Guy is wasting away under his new superior who is supplying him with the drugs that are slowly killing him.  Add in a plot to destroy a major bridge or tunnel in Montreal by many higher ups in the government which Gamache is quietly working to stop.

4 stars.

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson

 Audio.  8.5 hours.

Multiple narrators.

Martha Ratliff finds clues that make her question if her traveling salesman husband could be a murderer.  She calls on an old friend to help her investigate.  

4 stars.

The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

 Audio.   12 hours.

Read by Ralph Cosham.

Inspector Gamache has retired to Three Pines, until Clara Morrow asks him to find her missing husband.

I was sad that Peter was killed off.

4 stars.

The Clinic by Cate Quinn

Audio.  13.25 hours.

Read by Laurel Lefkow.

When a famous singer over doses in rehab, her sister checks in to find out what really happen.  I didn't like any of the characters, and the "twist" at the end was dumb.

2.5 stars.

What You Leave Behind by Wanda M. Morris

 Corruption in the south - poor, black families are cheated out of their homes.  Not a huge fan of the whole spirits thing, but story was okay.

3 stars.

The Crash by Freida McFadden

 Pregnant 23 year old, Tegan, crashes her car in a snowstorm.  A good samaritan stops to help, but may not be the savior she wished for.  I disliked the "conversations" with Little Tuna.  <gag>

I expected much better from the author.

2 stars.

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

Audio.  13.5 hours

Read by Ralph Cosham.

At  remote monastery in Quebec, a monk is found murdered in the garden.  Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir investigate.  I found the religious stuff dull and I missed Three Pines.

3 stars.

Paranoia by James Patterson and James O. Born

 Latest in the Michael Bennett series.

A hitman is killing retired NYPD officers and drug dealers are dying more than usual.  Are the cases related?  Also, Mary Catherine is pregnant via IVF.  I must have missed a few books in the series.  Honestly, this feels like an exhausting story arc,

3.5 stars.

Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman

When a plane crashes into a nuclear power plant campus, chaos and heartbreak ensues.  I took off half a star because I couldn't visualize some of the technical aspects.

4.5 stars. 

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

 Thirty four and single, looking for love in NYC, Sydney finally meets a man she really likes, but his suspicious behavior leaves her wondering if he was previously dating her friend who was murdered.

Glad I stuck with it.  It really picked up after the first few chapters.

4.5 stars.

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

Audio.  12 hours.

Read by Kimberly Farr.

Lucy Barton, et al, living their lives in Maine.  

4 stars.

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

 Audio.  13 hours.

Read by Ralph Cosham.

Inspector Gamache, et al, investigate the murder of a hermit living in the woods of Three Pines.  Everyone is shocked when Olivier is charged and convicted.

4 stars.

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

 Audio.  12 hours.

Read by Ralph Cosham.

A former friend of Clara's winds up dead in her garden during a celebration of Clara's art show.

Finished in early January, but forgot to log it.

4 stars.

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny.

Audio.  13 hours.

Read by Ralph Cosham.

Inspector Gamache is on leave following a gun battle which left him wounded.  Murder, however, seems to find him.  Meanwhile, his assistant, Jean-Guy Beauvoir quietly begins re-investigating the case against Olivier.

4 stars. 

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

 Passengers on an airplane flight are unnerved with a woman stands up and walks down the aisle telling each person when and how they will die.  Worse still is when the predictions start coming true.

I really loved the first 3/4 of the book, but the ending was anticlimactic.  The epilogue however did have a nice twist.

4 stars.

This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter

 Audio.  18hours.

Read by Kathleen Early.

Will and Sarah are on their honeymoon, but a murder occurs.

4 stars.

What Have You Done by Shari Lapena

 A high school girl is murdered and there are plenty of suspects. I had an idea of the killer's identity around the half way mark, but it was still a good read.  Told from multiple points of view.

4.5 stars.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Audio.   11.25 hours.

Read by Kirby Heyborne.

 Jake wrote a bestseller and now struggles with writing another when inspiration is lacking.  When a student winds up dead, can Jake keep himself from stealing the student's idea?

4 stars.

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

 Audio.    11 hours.   

Read by Carolyn McCormick.

Detective Archie Sheridan has been on leave since he was kidnapped and tortured by serial killer Gretchen Lowell.  When another killer starts attacking high school girls, he is called on lead the taskforce.

4 stars.

Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

 A volcano threatens to erupt and bury the big island.

This was okay. It might have been better if I was able to read it in a few long  stretches.  I was only reading a few chapters each night, so I was pulled out of the story over and over.  I also found myself flipping to the map each night.  I'm sure the map could be helpful, but for me it was another thing to interrupt the story.

3 stars.