Behind the Scenes : "Silver Nitrate" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 Monserrat and Tristan had been best friends since childhood and their love of horror movies bonded them even further. Now adults, Monserrat was a sound editor at a small Mexican film studio and Tristan, who was tall and handsome, had once been the heartthrob on soap operas. His fortunes changed a little after a car accident that left him a bit scarred, and his girlfriend at the time, dead. While Monserrat had once hoped there might be something more between them, they maintained their supportive friendship while each dated others of both sexes. 

One day, while retrieving his mail, Tristan notices the name of a famous horror director on one of the mailboxes. Excited by this discovery, he knocks at his neighbor's door and introduces himself. This is the start of a journey that takes the two friends on an adventure that could not have been dreamed up even in one of their beloved films.

Ms. Moreno-Garcia brings Monserrat and Tristan to life as heroes you can cheer on as they deal with a cast of supporting players who will surprise you. There are supernatural elements, dead Nazis, 1920s film stars and a lot more to keep you reading until that final page. If that's not enough, it has a great cover, too! Thank you to NetGalley for the DRC!

Trouble in Paradise: "Hokuloa Road" by Elizabeth Hand

 Grady is a 28 year old out of work carpenter living back home with his Mom. The pandemic has made
it hard to get jobs.  Then he gets a text from his brother. It's an ad from someone in Hawaii looking for a caretaker. Figuring "what the hell", he answers the ad.
Next thing he knows, he's on his way to meet this mystery man who has paid his flight. Seated across from him on the plane is a young woman. They chat and it turns out she's been to Hawaii before and is staying with a friend. Maybe they could meet up once they are both out of the required quarantine.

Grady is met at the airport by Dalita, a former caretaker for Wes Minton, the man he'll be working for. A man so wealthy he owns an estate and lands that Grady will take care of and who also owns property that is impossible for anyone else to access.

From the moment Grady lands at the estate, we will follow him on a journey into a territory seemingly breathtakingly beautiful, yet with an undercurrent of dread. The landscape is filled with exotic plants, trees and flowers and wildlife that seems to lurk around the periphery. But there's something else, something he feels is watching him. Is it his imagination? Or are the Island legends haunting more than his dreams?

If you've ever dreamed of going to an island paradise and enjoy a story filled with intrigue and secrecy then this is the book for you! Thank you to NetGalley for the DRC!

You Were On My Mind: "Night Will Find You" by Julia Heaberlin

 Vivvy Bouchet is one of those memorable characters whose story will grab you right from the beginning! She is both an astrophysicist, searching the stars for signs of life on other planets... and a psychic. A gift she inherited from her mother who gave readings to clients in their home and kept secrets that will impact Vivvy later on.
When she was 10, she saved a neighborhood boy from certain death by throwing herself in the way of an oncoming car . He had ignored her countless warnings, and now was a friend for life. And married to her smart, beautiful sister, Brigid. He is also a policeman who brings her in on occasion to help with missing person cases. Her record is pretty good, but there are doubters on the force. The main one, Jesse Sharp, an outsize cowboy Detective, a man who sets up a meeting with her to prove Mike's claims. 

From the introduction of Jesse Sharp and the cases he's investigating, he and Vivvy form an uneasy alliance. Vivvy will search for a famous missing girl, a girl who disappeared from her home when her mother turns away for a moment, and a shock talk radio host seems bent on finding as he turns on the UFOlogist Medium as a subject for his highly rated show.

This was a book I could not put down and I am now a fan of author Julia Heaberlin who creates such vivid characters you feel as if they are alive.  Get a copy for yourself and follow Vivvy  and Jesse Sharp as they search for clues and hide secrets from one another.
Thank you to Edelweiss for the DRC!

Encore! "The Second Ending" by Michelle Hoffman

Prudence Childs was a child pianist so gifted that her talent was noticed by her first piano teacher at the age of 3. After being abandoned by her hippie parents, she was raised by her ruthless and manipulative grandmother who pushed her to become a world renowned prodigy.

But that was years ago and Prudence has become an empty nester, with both her daughters now off to college. She loved being a mom, and now is suffering from an ennui that her devoted husband is at a loss to cure. She mopes around the house accompanied by her tiny dog, turning down even his offer for her to join him on his business trip to London. Then he has an idea for something to shake her up. He tracks down her one of a kind childhood piano.

Meanwhile, Alexei Petrov, an equally talented pianist, has gone from Russian obscurity to star of a highly rated TV reality series called Dueling Piano Wars. Living in LA, he has his own emotional issues, having been guided throughout his career by his mother, who controls most aspects of his life, even from thousands of miles away in Paris.

What happens to both these amazing musicians makes this one of the most enchanting and heartfelt stories the Recommender has read in ages. Prudence and Alexei are both such delightful characters you wish they were real so could hear them play! 

The Second Ending by Ms. Hoffman (a real pianist!) is a book I'll be talking about and recommending to all my favorite Library patrons! Thank you to NetGalley for the DRC!
 

Puppet Master: "How to Sell a Haunted House": Grady Hendrix

 

Grady Hendrix is an author who will surprise you with normal, every day scenes and jump into the most insane thing you've ever read! His new book, How to Sell a Haunted House has to be one of the insaniest!

San Francisco based single mom, Louise, is happily raising her adorable daughter, Poppy, when she gets a call from her long estranged brother, Mark. Their parents have both been killed in a car accident! Oh no! He has plans for their funeral that she doesn't agree with! She will have to bring herself to return to her home, which she has avoided doing for years! So, after explaining what death is to Poppy, something her mother never did, and thinking a good mom should be open about these things, she now has to leave her traumatized daughter with her ex.

Landing in Charleston, she arrives at her parents place in her rented Kia.  Investigating the outside, she hears voices from within. Entering, she realizes the TV was on. Her parents must have left the house in a hurry. There was her Dad's cane, he wouldn't just leave that. Looking around she takes in all the dolls. Her mother's vast collection. The dolls fill every space, cabinet and shelf. And two of the biggest, named after her and her brother, occupy her Dad's chair. With the remote lodged between them. What could be creepier?

Maybe the fact that their mother was a Christian puppeteer, and that she had a work space filled floor to ceiling with her beloved characters, the ones she traveled with and did shows with. Louise hated the dolls. She hated the puppets. She maybe resented her brother, who her Mom always seemed to favor and make excuses for. But she was a grown-up now. She could work with him to settle everything and move on, and never look back.

Could things be that easy? People did these kinds of things every day. Except for... remember this name, PUPKIN! The beloved hand puppet their Mom had since she, herself, was a little girl. 

You will have to read How to Sell a Haunted House yourself and you should, because you will never forget Pupkin, one of the most memorable and creepy (and almost sympathetic) creations in fiction. If you think Grady Hendrix had done it all in The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, he has even outdone that moment everyone remembers (one word: raccoon)! 

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this unforgettable craziness of a DRC!

The Next Chapter: "The Roughest Draft" by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

 

Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were once two friends who met at a Writer's Retreat and then became best selling co-authors. A lot happened in the 3 years since the end of their partnership. Things ended badly. Why, was a mystery neither would talk about. Nor have they spoken with each other since then.

Nathan's first novel  on his own didn't take off as he'd hoped. Meanwhile, Katrina, married to their former agent, hasn't written a word since.

Then their publisher tells them they owe one more book as co-writers to fulfill their contract. Katrina's husband wants her to be the literary superstar he was originally attracted to. He's pushing her to write with Nathan again. It doesn't seem like anyone cares about her feelings.

Nathan, too, has fears. His own book didn't sell the way their co-written titles did. Is he doomed to a life of co-authorship? And yet, their work together had a great chemistry that brought their characters alive for each other and for a vast readership.

So, they both agree, half-heartedly, to once again meet up in the Florida retreat where they wrote their mega-seller. 

What happens next makes for an absolutely engaging read! Nathan and Katrina come to life in these pages. We follow their ups and downs and tentative re-connection as writers.
It's a book that will pull you in and keep you reading till the very end! 

Also written by coauthors, who happen to be a husband and wife team, you wonder how much of Katrina and Nathan's life was based on their own! This one is highly recommended for anyone who wonders about the writing process when two authors write together, or just enjoy great characters who just happen to be writers!
Thank you to NetGalley for the DRC!

Teen Angels: "Forgotten" by Laura DeLuca ( Dark Musicals: New Cast )

 

Lord Justyn Patko and his beautiful wife, Lady Rebecca, have been together since High School. They went from being the stars of  their drama club to becoming the darlings of Broadway. They have also faced their fair share of drama off the stage, with various real life villains.  
They are also parents. Their son, a superstar in his own right, Erik is now 16 and with a driver's license. He is given the best present ever! Justyn's vintage black mustang! Erik can hardly wait to take it out for a spin, and even though it's a winter night, he convinces his cautious family that he can handle it. Instead, after a spin through Central Park, he is t-boned by a drunk driver.

Now, months later, he is scarred for life with a damaged leg, leaving him limping. He is angry at himself and angry at his Dad, for gifting him with an unsafe vehicle. No matter what Justyn does, Erik blames him. Not only that, they have moved to their New Jersey beach home and Erik and his sister, Harmony, will be going to a local Catholic school. Can things get any worse for Erik?

The only bright spot, is realizing the first love of his life, Evie, goes there. They last saw each other as kids. Now, here they were. Evie had grown into a beautiful young woman. Will these two teens pick up where they left off, long ago? What's in store for the Patko family? The Dark Musical series by Laura DeLuca has been one of my favorites and Forgotten, with the "new cast" series is no exception! Start with Phanntom, and follow the saga of Justyn and Rebecca from the very beginning!