The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica Ward

Available now

CW: mental illness, suicidal ideation, gaslighting, murder, child abuse, sexual abuse, self harm, homophobia, bullying. Read with care.

Reader Friends, my favorite author has released a new book that doesn’t include my all-time, hands down, favorite group of fictional people in Caldwell! It left me a little wary but a whole lot of intrigued.

And she left me emotionally wrecked. This book is going to twist you up in so many ways and take you right on back to the emotional roller coaster that is high school. This book tackles some extremely heavy topics like suicide and mental illness and Ward lays out her writing process in her Author’s Note and I felt the care and love she has for her characters. Definitely check the content warnings on this one and I realize how wild it is to love a book that is this dark and heavy.

Oh, and Jessica Ward is J.R. Ward, aka The Warden, author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

From the Publisher:

When Sarah Taylor arrives at the exclusive St. Ambrose School, she’s carrying more baggage than just what fits in her suitcase. She knows she’s not like the other girls—if the shabby, all-black, non-designer clothes don’t give that away, the bottle of lithium hidden in her desk drawer sure does.

St. Ambrose’s queen bee, Greta Stanhope, picks Sarah as a target from day one and the most popular, powerful, horrible girl at school is relentless in making sure Sarah knows what the pecking order is. Thankfully, Sarah makes an ally out of her roommate Ellen “Strots” Strotsberry, a cigarette-huffing, devil-may-care athlete who takes no bullshit. Also down the hall is Nick Hollis, the devastatingly handsome RA, and the object of more than one St. Ambrose student’s fantasies. Between Strots and Nick, Sarah hopes she can make it through the semester, dealing with not only her schoolwork and a recent bipolar diagnosis, but Greta’s increasingly malicious pranks.

Sarah is determined not to give Greta the satisfaction of breaking her. But when scandal unfolds, and someone ends up dead, her world threatens to unravel in ways she could never have imagined. The St. Ambrose School for Girls is a dangerous, delicious, twisty coming-of-age tale that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

This book contains so many of my favorite tropes: boarding school, scandal, mean girls getting what they deserve (not that anyone really deserves murder,) dark secrets, and strong female friendships. All of the characters felt real and fully developed, especially Sarah. You could feel how desperately she wanted away from her home, but also how much she knew she didn’t fit in with the rich girls at the elite St. Ambrose. She was so aware of her mental illness and how tightly she had to keep it in control to guard her secret from everyone. When all of that stress, exacerbated by the horrible bullying from Greta and her girlfriends, leads to Sarah making some very dark and misguided decisions, my heart broke. You could feel how lonely and isolated she felt, even when she was constantly surrounded by her teachers, roommate, and advisors.

This is one of those novels where every character has a dark secret to hide. It seemed like every secret was darker and more disturbing than the last. (Like I said, it’s real doozy of a book!) All of those layers of secrets really added to the impact of the plot twist and made the ending one of the most explosive I’ve read. I absolutely loved it and flew through it in just one sitting.

If you want to add this dark and explosive thriller to your shelf, you can click on the cover above, or here, for ordering information.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own. Like those commas. I never get those right.

The Conductors by Nicole Glover

This is a phenomenal debut novel full of mystery, magic, and history. Hetty Rhodes, along with her husband Benjy, are conductors on the Underground Railroad. Using their magical gifts to aid in the rescue of many enslaved people, Hetty and Benjy find themselves also serving as the unofficial detectives and investigators for their community. When an old friend of the couple is murdered, the investigation into his death will uncover a tangled web of magic, lies, and devastating secrets. As the couple dive deeper into the mystery of the murder, Hetty continues her years-long search for her missing sister, and discovers that there may be more to her and Benjy’s relationship than she previously believed.

The Conductors is a compelling and engrossing story that effortlessly blends magic and history with the suspense of a mystery. The magic system draws on the powers of the stars and the sigils depicting the constellations. As with our history, white people hold the majority of the magical power and consider their use of it as “good” while they consider the magic held and practiced by Black people to be wrong and dangerous. It’s a gross and unjust system and there’s a very disturbing use of magical collars to control the magic of Black people, but it’s also in line with all the grossness and injustice that white people have inflicted over the centuries. Please don’t think I’m justifying it, I’m not, I just don’t want it to seem that I’m calling the author’s intentions gross. The magical sigils could be embroidered into clothing and handkerchiefs to provide protection, as well as be painted and etched into walls and floors and I love how the beauty of the stars could be translated into magic.

Hetty and Benjy were both great characters and I loved Hetty and Benjy’s unconventional relationship provided a layer of conflict and complexity to the story and to their interactions with friends and the community. They are both driven and steadfast in their mission to protect others, and led to their unconventional marriage. Just like in our own history, Hetty and Benjy couldn’t be seen together, unchaperoned, over and over again without raising eyebrows and creating gossip. To stem some of this, they got married but never had real feelings for each other. As the latest mission brings them closer and closer, forcing out long-held secrets, the two grow into a new relationship that was really lovely to watch develop.

While I would have like a faster pace to the storytelling, I found The Conductors to be an engaging read and look forward to more from this author. 

If you would like to add this book to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Shadows by Alex North

Available Now

Content warning for child death and child abuse.

This is another brilliant dark and disturbing thriller from Whisper Man author, Alex North. After learning his mother has been placed in hospice, Paul Adams is forced to return to the town he left twenty-five years ago. His mother seems deeply disturbed and is convinced that something is in her house. What Alex finds convinces him that she knew more about the horrific murder of a child decades ago, a murder Alex has tried to forget. When a copycat killer strikes in a nearby town, Alex is forced to face his past in order to prevent the needless murders of more children. 

I made the mistake of taking this book with me while on vacation with my boys. We rented a cabin on a lake, surrounded by a beautiful forest. Nothing like reading a book where children are murdered in a forest commonly known as The Shadows, while in a literal forest.  In The Shadows, a group of teenage boys become obsessed with the idea of lucid dreaming. They are convinced that they can enter each other’s dreams and that a being known as Red Hands can help them get revenge against their enemies. This lucid dreaming creates this almost supernatural feeling to the book where it’s easy to question every fact about the suspects and the killings. There are discussions on the dark web questioning whether the original killer, Charlie Crabtree is still alive, or he is a dark spirit lurking around The Shadows waiting to be called upon. North is very skilled at keeping the tension between those two theories and you are always left questioning what is really going on. The lore surrounding The Shadows adds to the constant menacing feel of the book. They’re always described as dark and dangerous and Paul has a visceral reaction every time he looks out at them. Very spooky.

The characters are really well done and I loved how complex they were. Paul leaves town for college and never looks back. He even goes so far as to not see his mother for twenty-five years, that is how traumatizing his friend’s murder is. He never makes it as a writer and is living an ok life, but nothing he was really hoping for. His guilt over not taking better care of his mother is pretty intense but it leaves you wondering if he had come home earlier, could he handle taking care of his mother?  Would he have the emotional and mental strength to do so? 

I really like the character of Detective Amanda Beck. She is living in the shadow of her recently deceased father, a lifelong police officer. Struggling to find peace with the horrors she faces everyday, she is convinced that she is nothing more than a disappointment. But she is incredibly intuitive and driven. She knows how to best use her connections and is really good at reading people. North is really good at giving us characters who feel incredibly real and relatable. 

If you liked Whisper Man, I highly recommend picking this one up. It has the same tense, dark feel and the way that lucid dreaming was woven in was really interesting. 

This was my July Book of the Month pick and once again, BOTM did not disappoint. 

You can get a copy of this for yourself here:

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Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay

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This is a gripping and chilling novel that was so engrossing I finished it one sitting. Elizabeth Kay weaves a story so tense you can’t put the down for fear of restarting the book in a dark place. Told through the eyes of Jane, we learn how she and her best friend Marnie become the very best of friends and grow to have a friendship found only in story books. From a childhood spent so close their own teachers mixed up their names to sharing their first apartment together, Jane and Marnie were inseparable. But all of that changed when Marnie married Charlie, a man that Jane instantly despised. You can’t tell your best friend that her husband is a boring, demeaning, jerk of a man. Instead, you lie and tell you her he’s fantastic. When those lies begin to add up, Jane finds herself in a position found only in her worst nightmares.

As Jane tells her story, whose identity we only learn at the very end, we learn how their friendship became so close. We learn how Jane’s childhood was far from idyllic, and how Marnie’s childhood was equally troubled. It’s through Jane’s memories that we see the incredibly slow build-up to obsession, one lie at a time. Throughout all of this, Jane remains a sympathetic character, and that is almost the more terrifying than the reasons behind her lies.

If you’re into dark, twisty thrillers, this is perfect for you. Jane tells her entire story to an unknown listener and I couldn’t wait to find out their identity. I nearly through it out the window at about 97% so be prepared-the ending is rough, but readable. I really enjoyed the London setting and the descriptions of the dinners that Marnie and Jane share. In many of these psychological thrillers, it’s pretty obvious from the beginning that our narrator is going to be unreliable and troubled. Jane truly gives off the vibe of devoted friend who only becomes more unstable after a series of extremely tragic events.

If you’d like a copy for yourself, you can grab one here:

This another amazing debut so unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for the next book from Elizabeth Kay.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

Post includes affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

Blog Tour! Third to Die by Allison Brennan

New York Times bestselling author and gifted storyteller Allison Brennan's new standalone thriller features a troubled female police detective and an ambitious FBI special agent who wind up at the center of a ticking-clock investigation into a diabolical serial killer.

Brennan's novel will launch a book-a-year series featuring a fabulous cast of recurring characters. It’s the story of a troubled female police detective and an ambitious FBI special agent who wind up at the center of a ticking-clock investigation into a diabolical serial killer; and the bond they forge in this crucible sets the stage for the future books in the series.

Detective Kara Quinn is visiting her hometown of Liberty Lake, Washington, after being placed on administrative leave by the LAPD, when she comes upon the mutilated body of a young nurse during an early morning jog. The manner of death is clearly ritualistic; she calls it in. Meanwhile back in DC, special agent in charge Mattias Costa is meticulously staffing his newly-minted Mobile Response Team. One of his first recruits is the brilliant FBI forensic psychologist Catherine Jones. When word reaches Matt that the Washington state murder appears to be the work of the Triple Killer--it will be the first case for the MRT. Jones has done the only profile on this serial killer, but she is reluctant to join the unit, still shaken by the death of her sister a year ago under circumstances for which she holds herself responsible. But only she holds the key to understanding the killer's obsessive pattern--three murder victims, three deep slashes a piece, each three days apart, each series beginning on a March 3rd--3/3, then a three-year hiatus before he strikes again.

This time they have a chance to stop him before he claims another victim strikes, but only if they can figure out who he is and where is is hiding.

Click on your favorite retailer for a copy of your own:

Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound Books-A-Million AppleBooks Google Play

Ready to hear more about this thrilling and nail-biting book? Read on for an excerpt.

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Wednesday, March 3

Liberty Lake, Washington

12:09 a.m.

Warm blood covered him.

His arms, up to his elbows, were slick with it. His clothing splattered with it. The knife—the blade that had taken his retribution—hung in his gloved hand by his side.

It was good. Very good.

He was almost done.

The killer stared at the blackness in front of him, his mind as silent and dark as the night. The water lapped gently at the banks of the lake. A faint swish swish swish as it rolled up and back, up and back, in the lightest of breezes.

He breathed in cold air; he exhaled steam.

Calm. Focused.

As the sounds and chill penetrated his subconscious, he moved into action. Staying here with the body would be foolish, even in the middle of the night.

He placed the knife carefully on a waist-high boulder, then removed his clothes. Jacket. Sweater. Undershirt. He stuffed them into a plastic bag. Took off his shoes. Socks. Pants. Boxers. Added them to the bag. He stood naked except for his gloves.

He tied the top of the plastic, then picked up the knife again and stabbed the bag multiple times. With strength that belied his lean frame, he threw the knife into the water. He couldn’t see where it fell; he barely heard the plunk.

Then he placed the bag in the lake and pushed it under, holding it beneath the surface to let the frigid water seep in. When the bag was saturated, he pulled it out and spun himself around as if he were throwing a shot put. He let go and the bag flew, hitting the water with a loud splash.

Even if the police found it—which he doubted they would— the water would destroy any evidence. He’d bought the clothes and shoes, even his underwear, at a discount store in another city, at another time. He’d never worn them before tonight.

Though he didn’t want DNA evidence in the system, it didn’t scare him if the police found something. He didn’t have a record. He’d killed before, many times, and not one person had spoken to him. He was smart—smarter than the cops, and certainly smarter than the victims he’d carefully selected.

Still, he must be cautious. Meticulous. Being smart meant that he couldn’t assume anything. What did his old man use to say?

Assume makes an ass out of you and me…

The killer scowled. He wasn’t doing any of this for his old man, though his father would get the retribution he deserved. He was doing this for himself. His own retribution. He was this close to finishing the elaborate plan he’d conceived years ago.

He could scarcely wait until six days from now, March 9, when his revenge would be complete.

He was saving the guiltiest of them for last.

Still, he hoped his old man would be pleased. Hadn’t he done what his father was too weak to do? Righted the many wrongs that had been done to them. How many times had the old man said these people should suffer? How many times had his father told him these people were fools?

Still, he hoped his old man would be pleased. Hadn’t he done what his father was too weak to do? Righted the many wrongs that had been done to them. How many times had the old man said these people should suffer? How many times had his father told him these people were fools?

Yet his father just let it happen and did nothing about it! Nothing! Because he was weak. He was weak and pathetic and cruel.

Breathe. Focus. All in good time.

All in good time.

The killer took another, smaller plastic bag from his backpack. He removed his wet gloves, put them inside, added a good-sized rock, tied the bag, then threw it into the lake.

Still naked, he shivered in the cold, still air. He wasn’t done.

Do it quick.

He walked into the lake, the water colder than ice. Still, he took several steps forward, his feet sinking into the rough muck at the bottom. When his knees were submersed, he did a shallow dive. His chest scraped a rock, but he was too numb to feel pain. He broke through the surface with a loud scream. He couldn’t breathe; he couldn’t think. His heart pounded in his chest, aching from the icy water.

But he was alive. He was fucking alive!

He went under once more, rubbed his hands briskly over his arms and face in case any blood remained. He would take a hot shower when he returned home, use soap and a towel to remove anything the lake left behind. But for now, this would do.

Twenty seconds in the water was almost too long. He bolted out, coughed, his body shaking so hard he could scarcely think. But he had planned everything well and operated on autopilot.

He pulled a towel from his backpack and dried off as best he could. Stepped into new sweatpants, sweatshirt, and shoes. Pulled on a new pair of gloves. There might be blood on the ATV, but it wasn’t his blood, so he wasn’t concerned.

He took a moment to stare back at the dark, still lake. Then he took one final look at the body splayed faceup. He felt nothing, because she was nothing. Unimportant. Simply a small pawn in a much bigger game. A pawn easily sacrificed.

He hoped his old man would be proud of his work, but he would probably just criticize his son’s process. He’d complain about how he did the job, then open another bottle of booze.

He hoped his father was burning in hell.

He jumped on the ATV and rode into the night.

Excerpted from The Third to Die by Allison Brennan, Copyright © 2020 by Allison Brennan. Published by MIRA Books.

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The Third to Die : A Novel Allison Brennan

On Sale Date: February 4, 2020

9780778309444, 0778309444

Hardcover $26.99 USD, $33.50 CAD

Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense 464 pages

About the Author: Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, has had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids. Allison and her family live in Arizona. Visit her at allisonbrennan.com

Social Links:

Author website: https://www.allisonbrennan.com/

Facebook: @AllisonBrennan

Twitter: @Allison_Brennan

Instagram: @abwrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52527.Allison_Brennan

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.