Short Book Reviews: Thrillers and a Romance

Goodbye Paris by Mike Bond

Goodbye Paris

Goodbye Paris by Mike Bond, June 11, 2019, Big City Press
Genre: thriller, political suspense
The author has written thrillers set in political hotspots around the world. This one is set in Paris.
I was captured by all the what-ifs taken to be true facts in this fictional novel. Five stars. I hope to read his other thrillers set in other parts of the world. 

The Family Upstairs

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell, October 29, 2019, Atria BooksGenre: suspense, family drama

I enjoyed this thriller, suspense novel, with its unusual setting, plot, and characers. The story is primarily told from the point of view of young people and teens living in an old mansion but manipulated and at the mercy of deluded parents being controlled by their new adult friends. How the different characters manage to weather the storms that ensue when  the intruding strangers take over their lives is quite intriguing and hair-raising. I gave this five stars.

If She Wakes

If She Wakes by Michael Koryta, May 14, 2019, Little, Brown and Company

Genre: suspense
I've always enjoyed suspense novels involving patients who wake up from a coma, but this one takes place while one of the main characters, Tara, is still semi-comatose, unable to speak or move her extremities, but able to hear and understand everyone and everything around her.  

Tara understands what is going on with the investigation into the car accident when her passenger was killed and she was injured. She, however, can only move her eyes up and down in response to yes and no questions. Abby, an insurance investigator, tries to help find the truth about whether the fatal crash was truly an accident or if the death of Tara's car passenger was murder. 

Another five star suspenseful read.

Ellie and the Harpmaker

Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior, May 2, 2019, Transworld Digital

Genre: romance, contemporary drama
I found this a good change from the thrillers I've been reading. It involves the gradual flowering of a timid unhappily married woman when she begins to take harp lessons from an equally timid but eccentric harpmaker, Dan. 

Ellie is surprised when Dan offers her one of his handmade harps free, and she reciprocates by helping Dan in his private life, apart from falling in love with him. 

Unusual characters and a romantic plot with a few twists and turns makes this very enjoyable reading. 

What have you been reading lately?
Memes: The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Stacking the Shelves.