A Book A Week

We’re taught to fear what waits in the dark. We flip on porch lights, clutch our keys a little tighter in empty parking lots, and leave a lamp glowing when we go out, anything to suggest there’s life inside. Logically, we know the dark isn’t dangerous in itself. But try convincing your brain of that. It’s a fear born early. We plug in nightlights, teach kids to be wary of what hides in the shadows, and for every false alarm, there’s just enough truth to keep the fear alive.

It’s in that charged space between logic and imagination that Daphne Woolsoncroft sets the stage for Night Watcher. She conjures a killer who moves within those shadows, lurking just out of sight, ready to strike. The result is a chilling, pulse-pounding read that plays perfectly on our most primal fears.

Nola has never escaped the shadow of that night. As a child, she came face-to-face with one of the most infamous serial killers to ever haunt the Pacific Northwest. Her babysitter, Mia, was murdered downstairs, while Nola was inexplicably spared. The killer wore a white stitched mask, and that image burned into her memory. Dubbed The Hiding Man, he vanished into the darkness and was never caught. For years, Nola lived with the fear he might return.

Now an adult, Nola has made a name for herself as the host of Night Watch, a late-night call-in radio show that delves into unsolved mysteries and conspiracy theories. She tells herself she’s moved on, but the security cameras dotting her property suggest otherwise. The feeling of being watched has never quite left, and lately, it’s grown stronger. When a disturbing call comes in during a live show, from a woman whispering about an intruder in her home, Nola’s blood runs cold. The voice on the other end describes a man wearing a white stitched mask. After all these years, The Hiding Man is back. And this time, he's coming for her.

Night Watcher sees Daphne Woolsoncroft prey on our fear of darkness and the unknown in the best, most skin-crawling way possible. I was immediately creeped out by The Hiding Man, and Woolsoncroft expertly threads that fear through a tense, fast-paced narrative. Shifting perspectives offer a layered look at the hunt—or lack thereof, depending on the POV—for the killer. Inspired by the unsolved murder of her own aunt, Woolsoncroft channels real grief and paranoia into the novel, and it shows.

Even when the pacing slowed briefly, I was too hooked to care. Everything builds toward a pulse-pounding conclusion that left my heart racing more than any thriller I’ve read this year. Night Watcher is a winner. It's smart, scary, and downright impossible to put down.

For more information, visit Amazon and Goodreads. 

(2025, 60)

Fame can be a fickle thing. There are pros and cons to anything in life, but celebrities see these different poles at the most extreme. On one side, there is the enormous success that stems from their notoriety. They are able to live a life of luxury, filled with the wealth and status that that lifestyle affords. On the other hand, any true sense of privacy goes away. Everyone knows just about everything about their life. The good, bad, and ugly are all displayed for the world to see. It is this darker side of celebrity that Joshilyn Jackson chooses to focus on in her new thriller With My Little Eye. In the book, she imagines a celebrity who has lost any sense of anonymity. It is as terrifying as it is electrifying. 

Meribel Mills is starting over. At least that's what she keeps telling herself. She jumped at the opportunity to take on a regular role in the latest cop procedural to grace network television. Yes, roles like this are rarer and rarer for an aging actress in an industry that is cutthroat to women. It wasn't just the chance for steady work that appealed to Meribel, however. It was more about the opportunity to relocate from LA to Atlanta. This is a chance to leave behind the stress of Hollywood and bring her adopted daughter a life of routine and stability. Even as the family of two begins to settle into their new luxury apartment, Meribel can't help but fear that none of this will be enough. 

When the first letter arrived, Meribel barely took note of it. Years had passed since her breakout role, but she still received the occasional piece of fan mail. This one was strange, of course, but that's the price you pay for being a celebrity. But the letters didn't stop. With increasing regularity, she would open the mail to see another letter written in bold, fruit-scented marker. The notes became more disturbing with each new appearance, some even containing threatening drawn images depicting Meribel in various violent states. Meribel had crazed fans before, but this Marker Man was different. As paranoia and fear invaded her every thought, she couldn't help but feel as if this man had been in her LA home, her sheets smelling of unfamiliar cologne. Finally, determined to put a stop to this stalking, Meribel moved her entire life to Atlanta, praying that the Marker Man would leave her alone for good.  

As she sits in the cafe in the lobby of her new building in Atlanta, Meribel feels hopeful that this move was the right decision. Surely Marker Man can't find her here. But then she gets that uneasy feeling that has plagued her with each new letter. Someone is watching her. She can feel his eye taking her in, reveling in her every move. As the rain hammers the street outside, Meribel just catches a glimpse of the figure of a man standing beneath an umbrella. She can't make out any of his features, but his gaze is undeniable. The Marker Man is here. Despite her best efforts, Meribel hasn't evaded her worst fears. Her nightmare is just beginning. 

I first became aware of Joshilyn Jackson when I read her book Mother May I a couple of years ago. That thriller wowed me by combining a riveting plot with deeply drawn characters. With My Little Eye brings many of the elements that I enjoyed in that previous book while blazing a terrifying new path for the author. Jackson just knows how to get under your skin, and she's not afraid to fill each page with paranoia and dread. There's a well-rounded cast of characters that make up this story, and Jackson smartly shifts perspective from character to character to give the reader a deep insight into each of their threads. The main plot about a stalker drives much of the action in the book, but I found the protagonist's twelve-year-old autistic daughter to be the most compelling. Jackson writes her through an empathetic lens that I found to be refreshingly impactful. Some of the plot points veer into the implausible, but the characters helped me mostly overlook that. I was blindsided by the revelation of who the stalker was and found the conclusion to be completely satisfying. With My Little Eye is another fantastic thriller from an author who is fast becoming one of my favorites. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 23)

James Patterson is known as much for his fast paced, escapist thrillers as he is for his prolific output and controversial use of co-authors. The Alex Cross series, perhaps Patterson's most popular creation, is notable in that it is the only series that Patterson continues to author on his own. With Alex Cross, Run, the twentieth entry in the series, Patterson continues to give readers everything they have come to expect from this fantastic character.

Plastic surgeon Elijah Creem's life is in a downward spiral. It began when detective Alex Cross busted him in an underage sex scheme. In an instant, he lost his career, wife, and children. Now he is determined to escape. He turns to an old college friend for help. Together they begin to revive a game that they played years ago. Using his expertise of the human body and ability to disguise his looks, Creem's game soon takes a deadly turn, leaving bodies across D.C for Cross to discover.

But Alex has more pressing matters to deal with. Readers of the series will recall the way Patterson uses Cross's family as a means to manipulate his emotions and distract him from his job. He does this again, this time using the Cross Family's newest edition, Ava. Ava is a foster child who lost her mother the previous year. Despite her cautious personality, she seems to be adapting to her new family well. All of this changes when she does not make it into the prestigious private school that Jannie, Alex's daughter, is accepted to. Soon she becomes withdrawn and the Cross family fears she is using drugs. Unfortunate circumstances surrounding Alex's job soon force the state to remove Ava from the Cross home. Now Alex must try to solve the gruesome murders while dealing with an increasingly stressful personal life.

Recently I've noticed a shift in focus within this series. Before, it seemed that Patterson's main intent was providing the most thrilling and original mysteries that he could. Recently, probably beginning with, Cross, he has shifted his focus to his main character, Alex Cross. Originally I praised this decision, as it brought a fresh perspective and much needed depth to the series. This is the first time, however, that I feel this focus on character development has actually made the mystery suffer. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy the book, but I feel that the crimes, and there were a lot of them, took a backseat to Alex's personal problems. Hopefully the next installment with get back to the kind of unique mystery that made me fall in love with this series from the first book. Still, this is a fine continuation of Alex Cross's story.

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.

(2013: week 18, book 16)

Last year, I encountered and was delighted by the novel, The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams. Williams introduced the crime fighting detective, Keye Street, an Asian American, recovering alcoholic, female private investigator, raised by her adopted family in Atlanta, Georgia. Street was a refreshing addition to the female protagonist sub-genre of mysteries. Combining her quirky sense of humor with a startling mystery, Williams struck gold with her first novel.

In this second installment in the Keye Street series, we find Street getting on with her life, after the events of the previous novel. The high profile of her last case has lead to increased business for her private investigation firm, so much so that she and her stoner tech guy Niel are working harder than ever before. Her relationship with A.P.D. Lieutenant Aaron Rauser is slowly becoming more serious, and life seems to be in a good place.

When Keye receives a terrified call from her cousin, Miki, about an intruder in her home, she is skeptical of her accusations. The police on the scene find no evidence of an intrusion, and, given Miki's history of drug abuse and mental illness, Keye humors her cousins claims, but has no real intention to find anything. On top of this, she is investigating a strange case for a family who received an urn of chicken feed and concrete mix instead of their dead mother's ashes. Keye and Niel travel to the small town, ironically named Big Knob, to investigate this strange event. As they did deeper they uncover a shocking conspiracy that is sure to shock the small town.

Miki's claims become validated when a corpse, fitting the patterns of a sting of murders being investigated by Aaron Rauser, is discovered in her apartment. Even worse, the killer has set his sights on Miki and Keye as his next victims. The novel takes a "cat and mouse" turn as Keye races to discover the identity of the murder before he catches up to her.

Author Amanda Kyle Williams continues to expertly mix her quirky sensibilities with hear racing suspense in this followup novel. Keye Street is the kind of character that you instantly fall for and root for the entire novel. The story moves quick and consistently provides shocking twits and turns, keeping the reader thoroughly entertained. I felt that the resolution to this one was a bit too neat, but this novel is definitely worth the read.

For more information, visit the author's website http://amandakylewilliams.com/,
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/review/RIM4D5J4ADPJD/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm,
and http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13269085-stranger-in-the-room.

(week 37, book 41)