Just a girl and her books
THE SEARCH PARTY | Hannah Richell 01.16.2024 | Atria Books Rating: 3.5/5 stars Max and Annie Kingsley have left the London rat race with their twelve-year-old son to set up a glamping site in the wilds of Cornwall. Eager for a dry run ahead of their opening, they invite three old university friends and their … Continue reading Book Review: The Search Party
THE SILENCE IN HER EYES | by Armando Lucas Correa 01.16.2024 | Atria Rating: 3.5/5 stars Leah has been living with akinetopsia, or motion blindness, since she was a child. For the last twenty years, she hasn’t been able to see movement. As she walks around her upper Manhattan neighborhood with her white stick tapping … Continue reading Book Review: The Silence In Her Eyes
ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY | Stacy Willingham 01.16.2024 | Minotaur Books Rating: 5/5 stars Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always … Continue reading Book Review: Only If You’re Lucky
THE FURY | Alex Michaelides 01.16.2024 | Celadon Books Rating: 4/5 stars This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it? Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her … Continue reading Book Review: The Fury
THIN AIR | Kellie M. Parker 10.17.2023 | Razorbill Rating: 4/5 stars Eight hours. Twelve contestants. A flight none of them might survive. Seventeen-year-old boarding school student Emily Walters is selected for an opportunity of a lifetime—she’ll compete abroad for a cash prize that will cover not only tuition to the college of her choice, … Continue reading Book Review: Thin Air
THE OTHER HALF | Charlotte Vassell 11.21.2023 | Anchor Rating: 4.5/5 stars You know how they live. This is how they die... Rupert's 30th birthday party is a black-tie dinner at the Kentish Town McDonald's—catered with cocaine and expensive champagne. The morning after, his girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered on Hampstead Heath, a single stiletto … Continue reading Book Review: The Other Half
CANDY CAIN KILLS | Brian McAuley 11.14.2023 | Shortwave Publishing Rating: 4.5/5 stars Oh what fun it is to DIE! When Austin's parents drag him and his little sister Fiona to a remote cottage for Christmas, he's less than thrilled about the forced bonding exercise. But after learning that their holiday getaway was the site … Continue reading Book Review: Candy Cain Kills
THE APPEAL | Janice Hallett 01.25.2022 | Atria Books Rating: 4.5/5 stars The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with … Continue reading Book Review: The Appeal
MURDER ON THE CHRISTMAS EXPRESS | Alexandra Benedict 10.05.2023 | Poisoned Pen Press Rating: 3.5/5 stars Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer. In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of … Continue reading Book Review: Murder on the Christmas Express
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS | Lisa Unger 10.24.2023 | Mysterious Press Rating: 4/5 stars Madeline Martin has built a life for herself as the young owner of a thriving business, The Next Chapter Bookshop, despite her tragic childhood and now needing to care for her infirm father. When Harley Granger, a failed novelist turned true crime podcaster, … Continue reading Book Review: Christmas Presents
What Jess Reads 