"Red Leaves"

 

“Red Leaves” by Thomas H Cook

Published by Harcourt

Finished 5/17/21 – 4/5 stars

One of my daughters gave me this book for Mother’s Day and I’m so very glad she did.  I love a good page turner mystery, and this definitely fits that category.  I’ll be checking to see what other novels by Cook pique my interest. 

In this book, an 8 year old girl is abducted from her bedroom in the middle of the night.  The prime suspect is their neighbor, a teenage boy who babysat her the night she disappeared.  His father is the narrator of the story, struggling to completely believe in his son’s innocence as small things come to light.  During this time, he also begins to question some of his memories of his own childhood regarding the loss of his mother and sister.  Essentially, there is bonus mini-mystery within the book as well.   

I definitely recommend this book.  It’s a quick read that will keep your interest from beginning to end.

 

“The Lost Girls of Ireland” by Susanne O’Leary

Published by Bookouture

Finished 5/7/21 – 3/5 stars

 

Whereas I fell in love with the small oceanside town, I found much of the storyline to be predictable and felt the characters and their relationships could have been developed more.  With that said, it is an enjoyable story of picking yourself up after a devastating loss with a wholesome (G rated) love story thrown in as well.

Note – this is the 7^th book in a series but felt like a stand alone story.  I don’t feel like I was missing out on a backstory by not reading the other books in the series first but since that is a possibility I wanted to mention it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book to read and enjoy.