The Happy Family by Jackie Kabler.

About this book:

“My family has just been reunited. So who is trying to tear it apart?
A mother who disappeared… 
When Beth was 10 years old, her beautiful, wild mother Alice disappeared. Beth’s life since hasn’t always been easy, but now she’s settled, with a successful career, a loving family and a beautiful home. 
 
An unexpected visitor…
Then one day there’s a knock at the door. Alice has returned. Desperate to rebuild their relationship, Beth invites her mother to move in.
 
A life that comes crashing down…
At first, everything is wonderful. But then Beth’s friends start to drift away, strange things happen at home, and rumours about Beth begin to circle. Someone is out to destroy Beth’s newfound happiness. But who? And how far will they go?“

This has been such a fantastic read! Jackie ALWAYS delivers when it comes to a good twist. I’ve enjoyed a few of her books now and when I got the chance to read another one, she really didn’t disappoint.

The story flows so well, it’s unbelievably easy to read, and the best part about this book, you get everything wrapped up at the end knowing EVERYTHING! It’s annoying when you have so many unanswered questions in a story, but this one gives you everything!

At one point in this book, I literally had my hand on my mouth in shock! The main character, Beth, you really felt for, you could see how easily she was manipulated, had got herself into such a tangle and spiral of all this bullshit from around her, that she genuinely didn’t know who to turn too, she didn’t know who she could trust and being made out to be such a mad woman! But what a woman to stick to her guns and take the shit that came at her!

Thanks Jackie for always giving us such fab books to read!

‘What Happened To Us?” by Faith Hogan.

About this book…

“Sometimes the end is only the beginning…
After ten years together, Dubliner Carrie Nolan is devastated when she’s dumped by Kevin Mulvey without even a backwards glance. But on reflection, she had been sacrificing her own long-term happiness by pandering to his excessive ego – well, not anymore!

While Kevin is ‘living the dream’ with his beautiful new Brazilian girlfriend, Carrie seeks solace from a circle of mismatched strangers who need her as much as she needs them.

Then suddenly a catastrophic sequence of events leaves Carrie unsure if there’s anyone she can trust.”

This book, oh this book. How I loved it. There was so much to this story that just tied all together, it jumps from one character to another, but it all makes sense, it brings everything together so well. The writing of this book, just brilliant.

I started this book and it took me forever to read, I just wanted to soak it all up and make sure I read every word!

The way that Carrie dealt with what Kevin did. (Trying not to give too much away here)… And the end!!!

This book will be one that I remember so well. As someone who is dyslexic, I often forget words and stories that I have read, but this book made me remember everything that went on. I wish I had a book group to be apart of to talk about this book with others!

I would tell everyone to read this, what a book!

Tweets by HoganFaith

‘Looking Out For Love’ by Sophia Money-Coutts

About this book…

“Stella Shakespeare isn’t having a good day, or month come to think of it. She’s been unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend, cut off from the bank of dad and at thirty-two years old, she doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life.

What Stella really wants is to find love. She wants all-consuming, can’t-think-about-anything-else, can’t-even-manage-to-eat kind of love. What she found beside her in bed that morning wasn’t love. But when a tall, handsome man in a well-fitting suit walks into a Notting Hill pub, she thinks she’s finally found The One.

Everything seems to be falling into place now Stella has met the man of her dreams and has an actual job working with a private investigator nicknamed ‘The Affair Hunter’. Although sadly, life is never that straightforward and Stella starts to question whether she’s been looking for love in the wrong places all along…“

This book had me hooked from the start, it was an easy read, that gives you a lot of ‘where is this book going’, but once it does, it’s a great read about friendship and a woman trying to find love.

The character’s in this book are fab, I think that you would really enjoy reading this on a beach, with a lovely cocktail in hand!

Sophia’s book is out: 2nd February 2023.

‘The Nothing Man’ by Catherine Ryan Howard.

About this book…

‘I was the girl who survived the Nothing Man.
Now I am the woman who is going to catch him…

You’ve just read the opening pages of The Nothing Man, the true crime memoir Eve Black has written about her obsessive search for the man who killed her family nearly two decades ago.

Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle is reading it too, and with each turn of the page his rage grows. Because Jim was – is – the Nothing Man.

The more Jim reads, the more he realises how dangerously close Eve is getting to the truth. He knows she won’t give up until she finds him. He has no choice but to stop her first…’

Well this story had me actually thinking this was a real story… The dates, the details within this book made me genuinely think this was all based upon a real story, it was only until I got to the end and realised it said it was all made up…

When you read this story you go between the story of Eve Black and Jim Doyle. You go back and forth with these chapters, as if you are reading Eve’s story of survival, as Jim Doyle is also reading it along with you. It’s kind of hard to explain, but for me, the way this is written is just genius!

Having never read anything of Catherine’s writing, I will be enjoying more!!

I wasn’t disappointed with any of this book, it genuinely was such a good read!

‘Behind Closed Doors’ by B. A. Paris

About this book.

‘Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do.
You’d like to get to know Grace better.
But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.
Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.
Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie.‘

This was a great read, it had many many twists to make you really think, this really is a great couple! So how on earth do we get to the ‘Behind Closed Doors’ part. and when you do… Wow. Jack and Grace’s lives really are just insane. Jack is, I’d like to describe this man, but I don’t know how to put it even slightly politely, so I’ll let you use your imagination for the word I’d like to describe him as…

Great read, great writing from B. A. Paris, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a full on ‘WHAT THE F##K’ read!!

‘One Small Mistake’ by Dandy Smith

About This book…

One small mistake. One deadly consequence.

Elodie Fray wants to be more like her perfect sister, Ada, the one her parents are actually proud of. When she decided to quit her job and pursue her dream of becoming an author, she thought it would be her time to shine, but a year on nothing has happened. And she’s getting desperate.

When Elodie makes one small mistake on a drunken night with a friend, things quickly spiral and suddenly everyone believes she has a book deal. Unable to find a way back from her little lie, her perfect dream becomes a perfect nightmare – and desperate times call for desperate measures.

Meanwhile, everything is not as it seems in Ada Archer’s perfect life. When her sister suddenly disappears, she questions everything – from her marriage, to the man who’s been charged with Elodie’s abduction. The papers say it’s him, but the more she digs into her sister’s life the less convinced she is. Ada will do anything to discover the truth, even if it kills her.

This book. THIS BOOK. What a book. It literally had me on the edge. I mean it took a while to get into the story itself, but to see how this story unfolds… You would have to read all of it to just know how good this book is!!

I don’t want to say too much about this book to give much away, apart from GO AND READ IT!!

‘The Perfect Couple’ by Jackie Kabler

‘A devoted wife…
A year ago, Gemma met the love of her life, Danny. Since then, their relationship has been perfect. But one evening, Danny doesn’t return home.

A missing husband…
Gemma turns to the police. She is horrified by what she discovers – a serial killer is on the loose in Bristol. When she sees photos of the victims she is even more stunned…they all look just like Danny.’

After loving ‘Am I guilty’, I went straight into another book by Jackie Kabler.

I had lots of hope with this story, it was a read that did keep you going, and once you’d read one chapter, it kept you hooked! I only found that some of the chapters were a little samey, if that is a word… I don’t want to give too much away if you haven’t read it, but once you start to delve into what may have or may not have happened to the husband. It will leave you with ‘what? really? what a dick!’

This book had so much to offer but I just found it didn’t work. But I’d highly recommend Jackie Kabler’s other book ‘Am I guilty?’.

‘Am I Guilty?’ By Jackie Kabler

.A mother’s job is to protect her child…

But everyone makes mistakes…

I never thought it would happen to me…‘

Oh My. This book. Oh it broke my heart. What a story this is. It is incredibly easy to read, the story of a woman who’s baby passes away and she is to blame. Or is she? A woman who has gone through heartbreak, battling with her drinking, and much depression. It’s a story of Thea, a woman who lost everything, her baby, her family blaming her for the death, her neighbours giving her looks of disgust every time she steps out of the house. That Thea does her best to breaking the cycle of alcohol and its delusions that it brings, to finding out the truth.

I enjoyed this book so much, it will be one that I will highly recommend anyone to read.

‘The Bridesmaid’ by Nina

‘A dark and unsettling psychological thriller about toxic friendship, misplaced loyalty and secrets from the past finally being revealed. A gripping new story from international bestseller Nina Manning.

Your best friend or your worst nightmare…?‘

Ok so, I was a little confused by this book, the characters within this book, focus on the relationship of Sasha and Caitlin. But the relationship had me a little like, why is Caitlyn friends with Sasha? Sasha is a narcissistic character that really I’m not quite sure why Caitlin every gave her the time of day, even if she was lonely. But then again, haven’t we all done that at one point in our lives…

I liked the book didn’t give too much away about what was going to happen in the next chapter. It had many many ‘what next’ within in it. There’s something Caitlin and Sasha’s new husband are up too, but all along I don’t think anyone would have guess it! I didn’t give anything away about the ending which, was clever but I’m sure it could have been given a bit more ooftt and could have really thrown a spanner in the works!

abbieholden

You Don’t Know Me – Brooke Magnanti

This book. Oh my god this book. Summed up in two words…. Bloody fantastic!

Here’s about the story… (thanks amazon). body is found and questions must be answered – the conspiracy runs right to the top . . .

Miri Goldstein was a call girl with connections to powerful men. Now that she’s dead, some can breathe more easily. But the grave is not always good at keeping secrets. As the media dig into Miri’s past, her old friend Denise worries that her own will rise to the surface.

Meanwhile in Scotland, controversial forensic pathologist Harriet Hitchin is put in a bind when the body turns up on her patch. Police think they have their killer but Harriet is certain they made a mistake. If she’s wrong, it will end her career. If she’s right it could cost her life.

The case will play games with all who come near and force them to ask – how many of us are living a lie?

Brooke introduced you to so many different characters in this book, they were all based in different places, I sometimes get easily confused when writers introduce too many characters with too many stories in one book, but this book Brooke honestly managed to make me able visualise every single part, every single place and I saw my own version of what the characters even looked like. You kinda of got a sense you weren’t just reading the story unfold, it was like you were there in the background watching it all unfold.

I haven’t read a book in such a long time (more than likely from when I read Brooke’s previous book – The Turning Tide) that I was laid in bed at 1am, knowing I had work the next day but wanted to carry on and then have to live with the fact I was tired the next day.

I honestly just had no idea from the start where this story was going and I wasn’t disappointed one bit! Really really loved where this book took me to and that twist… holy shit how did you even write that?!

Love love Love this book Brooke, thanks for writing it! And I can not wait to read what you have in store for us next!! It will be taking pride next to your other book on my shelf ❤️

Thank you for letting me have this book in my life, and let’s have another gin in the sun again soon.

Love Abbie xx ❤️❤️

You can buy You Don’t Know Me here on: Amazon