Review: THE HOUSEMAID, Freida McFadden

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• paperback edition published 2023 by Bookouture  
• ISBN 987-1-4087-2851-2
• 328 pages 

Synopsis (publisher) 

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

My Take

Another excellent twisty tale. You just get used to the direction this book is taking, and think you have it all figured out, and it goes around another corner. And I don't think anything prepares you for the way it ends. 

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

4.5, DO NOT DISTURB 

4.5, WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

4.7, DEAR DEBBIE 

Review: REYKJAVIK, Ragnar Jonasson & Katrin Jakobsdottir

• 
  this edition a paperback published by Penguin Random House UK 2023
  
• first published in Icelandic 2022
• translated into English by Victoria Cribb
• made available by my local library 
• ISBN 978-0-241-62600-9
• 371 pages 

Synopsis (publisher)

An ice-cold mystery haunts Reykjavík in 1986, in this heart-stopping new crime novel co-written by the Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdottir

What happened to Lara?

Iceland, 1956. Fourteen-year-old Lara spends the summer on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavík.

In early August, the girl disappears without a trace.

The mystery becomes Iceland's greatest unsolved case. What happened to the young girl? Is she still alive? Did she leave the island, or did something happen to her there?

Thirty years later, journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation into Lara's case. But as he draws closer to discovering the secret, it's soon clear that this is a mystery someone will stop at nothing to keep unsolved...

My Take

The book is dedicated to Agatha Christie, and certainly there are some Christie-like effects to the plot. The story takes place over 30 years, from the mysterious disappearance of 14 year old Lara to the climax of the story in 1986, the year of the celebration of Iceland's 200th Anniversary.

I thought the Icelandic climate played a less-than-usual role in the story. There were plenty of red herrings and the eventual revelation of the murderer came as a real surprise in true Christie fashion.  

My rating: 4.7

I've also read (by Ragnar Jonasson)

4.4, THE MIST

4.5, WHITE OUT 

4.5, WINTERKILL 

4.6, THE MIST

4.6, RUPTURE 

4.7, THE DARKNESS 

Review: THE WOMAN IN SUITE 11, Ruth Ware

• 
  This edition an e-book read on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DJMGTT6R
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster UK, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 17 July 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1398526754
• Book 2 of 2 ‏ : ‎ Lo Blacklock  

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Paradise comes at a price . . .

The stunning mountain views. The beautiful shore of Lake Geneva. The terrified woman held in the suite belonging to the hotel’s millionaire owner.

Lo Blacklock’s all-expenses paid trip to a luxury Swiss chateau should have been the ideal return to work. But as her past catches up with her, the millionaire’s mistress demanding that Lo help her escape, and a body turning up in the room next door, forces Lo to ask how far would she go to help someone she’s not even sure she can trust… 

My Take

This story is the sequel to 4.4, THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 which was published nearly 10 years ago. In fact 10 years has elapsed in "real time" since the events that took place in that story. 

The offer of an all-expenses-paid jaunt to Switzerland has come at just the right time for Laura Blacklock who is more than ready to re-start her career as a travel journalist. In the last ten years she has married, written a book about what happened on the Aurora ten years ago, had two children, and become an American citizen living in New York.

Laura is astounded to find that 3 other people from the Aurora incident have also been invited to the conference in Geneva, which is the launch of a new style of tourism by a very wealthy family firm. And then she discovers that the person behind the invitation is none other than Carrie from the Aurora ten years before. Laura discovers that Carrie has plans of her own.

There is an interesting section in the author's notes at the end of the book about writing a sequel to the earlier book.

It is nearly 10 years since I have read THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10, and my memories of what happened were a bit fragmentary, always a bit of a problem in reading a sequel. 

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.8, IN A DARK, DARK WOOD

4.4, THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10

4.8, THE DEATH OF MRS WESTAWAY

5.0, THE TURN OF THE KEY

4.6, THE IT GIRL

4.8, ZERO DAYS

4.8, ONE BY ONE 

4.7, ONE PERFECT COUPLE 

 

Review: DEAR DEBBIE, Freida McFadden

• 
  This edition a paperback supplied by my local library
  
• Published 2026 by Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press
• isbn-13: 978-1-4642-6649-2
• 327 pages   

 Synopsis (publisher)

Sometimes, enough is enough…

Debbie Mullen is losing it. For years, she has compiled all of her best advice into her column, Dear Debbie, where the wives of New England come for sympathy and neighborly advice. Through her work, Debbie has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled, or even abused by their husbands. And Debbie does her best to guide them in the right direction. 

Or at least, she did. 

These days, Debbie’s life seems to be spiraling out of control. She just lost her job. Something strange is happening with her teenage daughters. And her husband is keeping secrets, according to the tracking app she installed on his phone. Now, Debbie’s done being the bigger person. She’s done being reasonable and practical. It’s time to take her own advice. 

And now it’s time for payback against all the people in her life who deserve it the most.

My Take

I am really hooked on this author. All the stories by her that I have read have been instantly engaging, and all have had a twist in the tail, usually in a direction you are not expecting. In this one, the principal character, Debbie, gets away with murder, but you do have to ask yourself if her victims didn't deserve what happened.  

My Rating: 4.7

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

4.5, DO NOT DISTURB 

4.5, WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

Review: HOME BEFORE DARK, Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir

• 
  This edition a hardback from my local library
  
• First published in Iceland by Verold Publishing 2023
• First published in UK by Orenda Books in 2025
• English translation by Victoria Cribb
• ISBN 978-1-916788-60-2
• 305 pages 

Synopsis (publisher)

Struggling to separate her dreams from reality, a young woman investigates the disappearance of her sister ten years earlier … worried that she might be next. A breathtaking, twisty standalone thriller from the international bestselling author of the Forbidden Iceland series…

November, 1967, Iceland. Fourteen-year-old Marsí has a secret penpal – a boy who lives on the other side of the country – but she has been writing to him in her older sister’s name. Now she is excited to meet him for the first time.

But when the date arrives, Marsí is prevented from going, and during the night her sister Stína goes missing – her bloodstained anorak later found at the place where Marsí and her penpal had agreed to meet.

November, 1977. Stína’s disappearance remains unsolved. Then an unexpected letter arrives for Marsí. It’s from her penpal, and he’s still out there…

Desperate for news of her missing sister, but terrified that he might coming after her next, Marsí returns to her hometown and embarks on an investigation of her own.

But Marsí has always had trouble distinguishing her vivid dreams from reality, and as insomnia threatens her sanity, it seems she can’t even trust her own memories.

And her sister’s killer is still on the loose…

My Take

Other reviewers have called this book a "twisty thriller" which it certainly is. It has a characteristically complex Icelandic plot. Two time frames set against family trauma and the unsolved disappearance ten years before of Marsi's older sister.  Marsi's mother struggles to cope with mental problems resulting from what happened to her during World War II.  Unsettled family life has led to Stina, the older sister, a talented artist, resolving to leave home as soon as she can and when she disappears, no-one is sure that she hasn't gone voluntarily. 

The plot is complex with a cast of players. And in the end, a surprising resolution.

My rating: 4.8

About the author: Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study my MSc in Globalisation when she was 25. After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland. Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel, The Creak on the Stairs. The book went on to win the CWA Debut Dagger, the Blackbird Award, was shortlisted (twice) for the Capital Crime Readers’ Awards, and became a number one bestseller in Iceland. The critically acclaimed Girls Who Lie (book two in the Forbidden Icelandseries) soon followed, with Night Shadows (book three) following suit. You Can’t See Me (book four) is out in 2023. Eva lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík. 

Review: A THREE DOG PROBLEM, S.J. Bennett

• 
  This title read as an e-book on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08L3P7CZP
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zaffre, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 11 November 2021
  
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 356 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1838774851
• Book 2 of 5 ‏ : ‎ Her Majesty the Queen Investigates  

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Queen Elizabeth II is having a royal nightmare.

A referendum divides the nation, a tumultuous election grips the United States - and the body of a staff member is found dead beside Buckingham Palace swimming pool.

Is it a tragic accident, as the police think? Or is something more sinister going on?

As Her Majesty looks for answers, her trusted assistant, Rozie, is on the trail of a treasured painting that once hung outside the Queen's bedroom.

But when Rozie receives a threatening anonymous letter, Elizabeth knows dark forces are at work - and far too close to home. After all, though the staff and public may not realise it, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen's eye to see connections where no one else can . . .

My Take

I enjoyed this book far more than I had expected to. So much so that I will very likely read another in the future. The author tells us at the end that the character that she has drawn for Queen Elizabeth II is largely fictitious but I think she has done well, making her very likeable, energetic, clever, and hardworking even at 90. Ditto for Prince Phillip.

Rating: 4.4 

About the Author

SJ Bennett is the author of the bestselling mystery series featuring Queen Elizabeth II.

The books in the series so far are: 1 The Windsor Knot, 2 A Three Dog Problem (published as All The Queen's Men in North America), 3 Murder Most Royal, 4 A Death in Diamonds, 5 The Queen Who Came in From the Cold, 6 Death on the Royal Yacht (published 2026)

She has written over a dozen novels for both adults and children, and her award-winning books have been translated into over 20 languages. She lives in London.

Sophia's podcast for aspiring writers - Prepublished - is available via her website. It features interviews with Sophie Hannah, Justine Picardie, Jenny Colgan, Sara Collins and many more.

You can find her at her website: sjbennettbooks 

Review: WIN, Harlan Coben

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby from my local library
  
• Published: 3 August 2021
• ISBN: 9781787462991
• Imprint: Arrow
• Pages: 448

Synopsis (publisher)

Over twenty years ago, heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors, and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.

Until now.

On New York's Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead not only on Patricia's kidnapping but also on another FBI cold case - with the suitcase and painting both pointing them towards one man.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III - or Win as his few friends call him - doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up in this dead man's apartment. But he's interested - especially when the FBI tell him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism, and that he may still be at large.

The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades. But Win has three things the FBI does not:: a personal connection to the case, a large fortune, and his own unique brand of justice ...

My Take

Win is a man who has grown up in a world of privelege, and spends his time solving mysteries, usually for others bu this time mysteries are connected to him. How is it that a case and a painting he owns have turned up in the apartment of a murdered man?

The connections are not ones he expected to discover.  

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.4, CAUGHT

4.3, DON'T LET GO

4.3, NO SECOND CHANCE

4.5, RUN AWAY

4.5, THE WOODS 

4.4, I WILL FIND YOU

3.0, THE MATCH 

4.5, FOOL ME ONCE