Just a girl and her books
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
I FEED HER TO THE BEAST AND THE BEAST IS ME | Jamison Shea 08.29.2023 | Henry Holt Rating: 4/5 stars Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl … Continue reading Book Review: I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me
GOOD GIRLS DON’T DIE | Christina Henry 11.14.2023 | Berkley Rating: 4/5 stars Celia wakes up in a house that’s supposed to be hers. There’s a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family—and this life—is not hers… Allie is supposed … Continue reading Book Review: Good Girls Don’t Die
And just like that it’s December! I mentioned that it had been a slow reading month for me when I posted my mid-month check-in stack and while it picked up close to the end of the month, there were books from my possibilities stack I was sad to see went unread. For December I’m scheming … Continue reading November Wrap Up
What Jess Reads 