Show Me Your Books - October

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

This month I read three books. I had the chance to read more, but I felt a bit burnt out on reading. All of my holds were coming up at the same time and I put extenders on my holds. I did get three good books. And one of the authors, Janelle Brown was new to me. Her books are really good. They are mystery style. And these two have roots/connections to Lake Tahoe, so it was fun reading about where I live and seeing if things match up. Most of it did, but some of the names and lingo is a bit off. But nonetheless, you wouldn't know unless you lived here.

The Other Mrs. - Mary Kubica

The Other Mrs. - Mary Kubica

Sadie and Will have moved to a small town after Will's sister has passed away. She leaves behind a daughter, and they try to make the new family dynamic work out. Not long after arriving to their new home and life, their neighbor Morgan dies and the police suspect murder. Sadie becomes paranoid and thinks the murderer is lurking around the neighborhood ready to kill at any moment.

The book goes into Sadie and Will's life along with Morgan's life (the one who was murdered). Who killed Morgan? Was it the husband? Was it a stranger? Was she having an affair? The book has some big twists that I only partially figured out. 

I liked this book a lot. It had me guessing until the end. Read it. I would give it 4 stars.

Here is Amazon's sysnpsis:

Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor Morgan Baines is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie.

But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. And as the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of what really happened that dark and deadly night. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.

Sadie - Courtney Summers

Sadie - Courtney Summers

I read about 15% of this book. I had ever intention of reading the whole thing, but as I was reading, I just couldn't get past the stutter. A podcaster named West gets a phone call to look into a missing girl, Sadie. Her sister was brutally murdered and Sadie hasn't been seen since. It sounds like a book right up my alley. BUT when Sadie talks (what you read) is constant stutter. I just had a hard time reading it and gave up.

Has anyone else read this? Does it get better?

Watch Me Disappear - Janelle Brown

Watch Me Disappear - Janelle Brown

The Flanagan family seems perfect. Billie is the traditional SAHM, Jonathan is the dad who works too much and their daughter Olive is finding herself through high school. Billie loves going on adventures. She used to be an activist in her early days. Billie goes on a hike in the Lake Tahoe area and goes missing. After a year, her family seeks to declare her dead, so they can move on and get back on their feet.

But Billie's life starts to come out and her family wonders if they even knew her. Did she really die? Her daughter Olive seems to think not as she sees visions of her. Jonathan finds her computer and a secret file on it. Could this let him know of a life she had that he never knew about? Is she really alive? 

I enjoyed this book. I would give it 4 stars. It is a long book, but so worth the read.

Here is Amazon's synopsis:

Who you want people to be makes you blind to who they really are.

It’s been a year since Billie Flanagan—a Berkeley mom with an enviable life—went on a solo hike in Desolation Wilderness and vanished from the trail. Her body was never found, just a shattered cellphone and a solitary hiking boot. Her husband and teenage daughter have been coping with Billie’s death the best they can: Jonathan drinks as he works on a loving memoir about his marriage; Olive grows remote, from both her father and her friends at the all-girls school she attends.

But then Olive starts having strange visions of her mother, still alive. Jonathan worries about Olive’s emotional stability, until he starts unearthing secrets from Billie’s past that bring into question everything he thought he understood about his wife. Who was the woman he knew as Billie Flanagan?

Together, Olive and Jonathan embark on a quest for the truth—about Billie, but also about themselves, learning, in the process, about all the ways that love can distort what we choose to see. Janelle Brown’s insights into the dynamics of intimate relationships will make you question the stories you tell yourself about the people you love, while her nervy storytelling will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Pretty Things - Janelle Brown

Pretty Things - Janelle Brown

When I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I had to read it. It takes place mostly in Lake Tahoe which is basically my backyard. It was so much fun to read about the places I visit, see how things match up and say, "hey I hiked that hike too". 

Nina grew up with just her mother. They always moved around from place to place. Fast forward twelve years and Nina's mother is sick and they need a lot of money to pay for her treatments. She turns to her friend, Lachlan, to run the ultimate con on Vanessa. 

Vanessa's family wronged Nina when she was in high school. Nina and Vanessa's brother were very close. They both had families who made them live in Lake Tahoe and were the weird new kids. For revenge, Nina and Lachlan plan to steal from Vanessa and make her pay for her families wrong doing so many years ago. 

Of course things don't go as planned.

This book is a long one, but a good one. I enjoyed everything Lake Tahoe, the character build and wanted to see how it played out. I give this book 4 1/2 stars.

Here is Amazon's synopsis:

Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
 
Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer—traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.
 
Nina’s, Vanessa’s, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.

Currently, I am reading The Girl from Widow Hills.