My old Blog

 

My old blog disappeared. However, you can still see old posts by clicking this link 

http://murdermysteryblogofjoie.blogspot.com/

To see more reviews check out the Blog Archives on your right.

Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena

 From Amazon:

Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there, and Fred and Sheila Merton certainly are rich. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered after a fraught Easter dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.
 
Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of the siblings is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you'd know.

My Take:

This is a wonderful novel hat keeps you guessing up to the end.Let us start wih the major characters:

The parents:

Fred and Sheila- The father is a very abusive man who takes pleasure is demeaning his children. Sheila is a neglectful mother who gave all parental duties and housekeeping chores to the loving and protective nanny/housekeeper

Irena- The nanny who nurtured all the Merton kids until they grew up. After that she was delegated  the duties of a cleaner and housekeeper for the Merton Mansion.

The kids:

Catherine, an accomplished doctor who is  married to a dentist named Fred. Unfortunately the couple had a hard time conceiving which the father relished in pointung it out frequenly.

Dan- the middle child who was always verbally abused by the father aand who is married to Lisa, a housewife,

Jenna- the wild child/sculptress who never worked a day in her life and was always financially suppored by her parents.

Audrey-Fred's sister.

Important details:

Fred was about to change his will before he and his wife were brutally murdered. He wanted his sister Audrey to receive 1/2 of his estate after taxes with the  children having the second half divided between them. Then he was killed before he had the chance to change the will.

The old will stipulated that Audrey and Irena would get each 1 million dollars and the remainder divided among the children with a surprise item: there is a fourth illegitimate child. Her name is Rose who happens to be Catherine's best friend and the shyster who defrauded Dan of $500,000.

To cut through the chase, The murderer is Jenna who tried to implicate Irena by using her car and used the work suit her brother kept in the garage. This is a suit which he used when he worked outdoors.

Unfortunately her DNA was found in Irena's car but there was not enough evidence to tie her to the murders.

Audrey who was bitter about the murder that cut her inheritance to only 1 million became obsessed on trying to find the murderer. Since she hated Jenna she stalked her niece and witnessed Jenna burying the evidence in a plot that was supposed to undergo construction. When Audrey alerted the cops about this, they informed her that she could not legally have another one's property dug up without due cause.

A year later, Catherine gives birth after getting pregnant the year her parents were killed. Irena left with her 1 million visibly upset that one of the kids tried to frame her. Audrey , on the other hand, receives her 1 million and decides to revisit the site where Jenna buried the evidence. To her luck, it was for sale so she quickly called the realtor  of the property with the purpose of buying the land and digging it up for the evidence.

The Ghost of Graylock (A Hauntings Novel) by Dan Poblocki

 

From Amazon:

Everyone's heard the stories about Graylock Hall.It was meant to be a place of healing - a hospital where children and teenagers with mental disorders would be cared for and perhaps even cured. But something went wrong. Several young patients died under mysterious circumstances. Eventually, the hospital was shut down, the building abandoned and left to rot deep in the woods.As the new kid in town, Neil Cady wants to see Graylock for himself. Especially since rumor has it that the building is haunted. He's got fresh batteries in his flashlight, a camera to document the adventure, and a new best friend watching his back.Neil might think he's prepared for what he'll find in the dark and decrepit asylum. But he's certainly not prepared for what follows him home.

My take:

I'm surprised that I liked this mystery made specifically for kids. Anyay, it turns out that the nurse never killed any of the kids .

Neil and his siter where sent to live with their aunts.Their mother was recuperating from a mental breakdown after being abandoned by her husband, their father.

Upom arrival at his aunts' place, Neil becomes obssessed by the Graylock Ghost legend of the neighboring abandoned asylum. Rumor has it that the abandoned asylum was haunted by the nurse who supposedly killed 3 patients.

After investigating the legend more thorougly, Neil realizes that the haunting was not made by the nurse but by one of the dead patients. 

The nurse was actually living in a senior home and was quite aware of the rumors surrounding her departure. After careful scrutiny they found out that the last patient who died demanded to be placed in the asylum after her mother died. He, along with his sister and 2 friends, realized she was escaping her step father who she suspected killed her mom. The murderer turned out to be one of their aunts' friends who always tried to help them anyway he can.

When they realized he was the killer who was about to murder them, the ghost of the girl helps them escape. The killer eventually dies.

After the end of the summer, Neil and his sister goes back to their mom who has fully recovered.

Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf

 

From Amazon:

Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect, and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.

When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show—someone is out for blood. And the game can’t end until the world knows who the contestants really are…

My Take:

This is the 2nd Heather Gudenkauf book I didn't like. There are 3 important characters in the book. The Owner, who was offering the 10 million dollar prize, her assistant and one of the contestants , a single mom with 2 kids, one with a medical condition and who is also dirt poor. 

The owner bullies and harasses the assistant while the poor assistant bears this persecution because she was saved in the past by the owner. She was sexually harassed by one of the bosses but was saved by the owner. During that time the owner was also an employee. They eventually left the company with the owner forming her own business and bringing the other girl as her assistant. Then the owner hatchd this new reality show wherein they invite contestants to participate. This shall be  live streamed and the one who finishes on top receives 10 million dollars.

When they started fielding the participants, they realize that one of the contestants was the man who almost raped the assistant. To make the story short, the owner, at the end, pulls the man with her and they both dove to their deaths after falling from the balcony. After the cops were called, a letter is given to the assistant wherein  the owner mentions she was dying and after paying all her debts 10 million dollars is left. The assistant is the sole heir of the owner. So the lucky winner was actually the assistant .

After the contest everyone goes back to their merry ways, seemingly unaffected financially by their departure from their work except for the mother with 2 kids. While trying to figure out how to pay her bills an envelope arrives from the assistant. She gives the mother a check for 1 million dollars.

It just wasn't as good as the other books of Heather, though as a stand alone, it was't bad at all.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

From Amazon:

Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name―and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The new season of Rachel's podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. 

My Take:

There are 2 crimes , 25 years apart that involves almost all of the characters at the present time. 25 Years ago, a teenager of ill repute supposedly drowns. It was ruled an accidental death but her younger sister refuses to believe it was an accident. She starts hounding Rachel to help solve her sister's murder.

25 years later the granddaughter of the police chief is raped and both her mother and father demand justice. The Prosecuting lawyer of the rape victim finds an eye witness, a severely scarred homeless guy who just got out of jail. They found out that he was inprissoned for being the driver of the car that hit the tree causing the demise of 2 of his friends 25 years ago.

What really happened:

There were 4 of them. 2 raped the girl while the others watched. However, one of them, the badly scarred homeless guy 25 years earlier was enraged and put up a fight. The other 3 beat him up and decides to kill him. They put him in the truck and can't decide whether to bring him to the hospital or just dispose his body. In the meantime, the 3rd guy, who happens to be the police chief's son, decides to get rid of the evidence and throw the girl's body in the lake. He is the father of the victim raped 25 years later. 

When he catches up with the others, he sees that the truck hits the tree and kills both boys. The 3rd one , the boy they beat up is barely alive. So he calls his father, the police chief, and they place the unconscious boy in the driver's seat and burns the truck. 

Unbeknownst to them the unconscious boy wakes up and is badly burned. He is then blamed for the death of the other 2 and incarcerated after undergoing several operations. When released, he goes back to the town he came from but under a different name. He then became the witness for the prosecution. After solving the crimes, the father of the raped girl escapes and kills himself. The Raped girl and her mother leaves town to start all over again.

The swimmer is aquited for the crime of rape but is still found guilty on 2 other crimes related to the rape. The homeless guy is told he never caused the death of the other 2 boys and cries.

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

 

From Amazon:

Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases—she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward the clues that other investigators overlook. 

My Take:

I loved the idea of a forensic photographer seeing ghosts at the crime scene. What I didn't like was a particular ghost from the start of the story who ended up being annoying, irritating and very self-centered that she always puts Rita in very precarius situations. 

Instead of trying to ingratiate Rita to her side by being more amiable ,she constantly harasses the poor girl and brings her to unsafe situations. I just want to bring her back from the dead and throw her over the bridge again and again until she becomes more tranquil and appreciative of what Rita can do her her. She's just like a raging banshee that you would like to burn in a stake.

Anyway, everything turns out well with the bad guy getting what he deserved,

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

 

Amazon's Summary:

When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she’s warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel’s not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge…including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

My Review:

When Hazel's step father passes away, his brother, notifies her that she inherited his house. This made one of her step brothers upset because he felt the house should be split between the 3 of them.

Important details:

1. Her step brothers' real mother died in an accident which was witnessed by Caden, the younger brother. He has suppressed this memory thus making him have terrifying nightmares when he was young.

2. Her stepfather marries her criminal mother and life goes on smoothly until her mother disappears and supposedly drained her stepfather's bank account.This created a very hostile atmosphere between Caden and her. The older brother,Gage, did not change the way he treated his stepsister.

3. There were actually 3 crimes that made the whole scenario very confusing. The recent one was about a group of teenagers who broke into homes and stole an item as proof of their deed. The second one was the one that happened 10 years ago was when her mother disappeared and siphoned ll money from her stepdad's bank account. The other one was the accidental death of her step brothers's mom.

4. What really happened:

    * The boys' real mom was having an affair with the uncle and accidentally died while trying to meet him. This was witnessed by Caden,the younger brother. Caden confesses this incident to Hazel's mom who decides to escape, fearing for her life. She had intentions of coming back for Hazel and writes a note to Hazel. Why she didn't bring Hazel in the first place is beyond me. She had to make her new place safer for Hazel before getting her?

    * Gage sees the note and thinks his father killed Hazel's mom so he replaces the note. His father thought Gage killed the mom so he siphoned all his cash and placed it inside a secret wall. This is to make it appear her mom took the money and left. Minwhile, the uncle was blackmailing the father all these years. Caden thinks the mon left because he told him her secret.

    * The father made a will and stipulated Hazel gets the house but the boys should inherit everything in the house which included the stashed money on the wall.

5. It was the uncle who killed her mom and all other witnesses. He eventually died in the flood while he was trying to kill Hazel. In the end Hazel split the inheritance with her brothers, with Caden and his family occupying the residence. It is assumed Hazel goes back to her own place and resumes working with her friends.

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