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

Review: DEAD END, Leigh Russell

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00796E1W6
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Exit Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 26 May 2011
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 463 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781842433560
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1842434369
• Book 3 of 24 ‏ : ‎ DI Geraldine Steel   

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Headmistress Abigail Kirby is found dead with her tongue cut out.

A potential witness has been murdered.

And for DI Geraldine Steel, the stakes have been raised higher. Abigail's teenage daughter, Lucy, is missing, believed to have run away with a girl she met online.

With a serial killer on the loose and a shocking discovery, Geraldine's own life is in danger, could it be too late to save her?

My Take

Another good read. Headmistress Abigail Kirby was a good administrator, not particularly popular with students, and her daughter Lucy is bullied mercilessly, but who would hate Abigail enough to cut her tongue out.

I had "discovered" the killer by about half way through, but that didn't put me off finishing the book.  

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

• 4.4, CUT SHORT - #1
• 4.6, ROAD CLOSED - #2 
• 4.4, JOURNEY TO DEATH (Lucy Hall #1) 

Review: WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? Freida McFadden

• 
  This edition from my local library 
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Poisoned Pen Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 3 March 2026
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1464268525
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1464268526   

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Everyone has secrets. Some are worse than others.

Influencer and baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she'd rather you didn't know.

Like... Where did her son go when he snuck out late at night? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows?

And what's buried in her backyard?

April's secrets are enough to destroy her.

I'll make sure of that.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden peels back the layers of a seemingly flawless life to expose a picture of obsession, deception, and the quiet menace that waits just beyond the frame.

My Take

There are several twists in this plot as well as some narration that leaves you wondering who is reliable and who isn't. Quite a creepy story.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

4.5, DO NOT DISTURB   

Review: DEAD MAN DEEP, Lynne McEwan

• 
  this edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library 
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Canelo Crime, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 4 August 2022
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 299 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1800324336 
• Book 2 of 6: Detective Shona Oliver  

Synopsis (Publisher) 

Nothing stays buried forever

Lifeboat volunteer DI Shona Oliver receives a Mayday call coming from Kilcatrin Island. Upon the beach is the badly burned body of a man, and a boy lies gravely injured nearby. Strewn around them are scores of Second World War incendiary bombs, presumably washed up by the tide from Beaufort's Dyke, an offshore arms dump deep in the Irish Sea.

The dead man is a local fisherman his son the other victim and it rocks the tight-knit community on the shores of the Solway Firth. As lead detective, Shona has to maintain a professional distance. But she can't ignore the hardship that her neighbours who make a living at sea are experiencing. Anger is directed at the Ministry of Defence when the fallout threatens tourism, and livelihoods including Shona's own family B&B business are at risk.

Suspicious behaviour seems to be found at every turn. It's impossible for Shona to get to the truth unless she can gain the trust of those who know more than they've been willing to reveal. But blind loyalty may mean she's too late to save those still in danger including herself.

The second instalment in an exciting new Scottish crime series featuring a detective with nerves of steel.

My Take

Plenty of things to think about in this story and a very strong central character at the centre of the story in Detective Shona Oliver. I like the mixture of Shona's work, volunteer activities, and her personal life. 

I will be looking for the next. 

My rating: 4.6 

I've also read

4.7, IN DARK WATER