South Carolina Bookstores

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner

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Before She Disappeared
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When I want a good book, but don’t want to do a search for a book I might like, I grab the latest Lisa Gardner book. I know I will find a great plot, characters and superb writing. This book just confirms my premise. Frankie leads an all-new cast of characters, and the novel is fast-paced look at a darker side of life. Most of us are fortunate to never be the victim of a violent crime, and your loved one disappearing is a particularly brutal example. When the police have been unsuccessful and hope seems lost, Frankie arrives. She is not a retired cop, private detective, well-funded or connected. She is a broke currently sober addict on the run from the demons of her past. She is flawed, relentless and brilliant in her determination. Another fantastic production from Lisa. It is a standalone so don’t delay!

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner (List Price: $27, Dutton, 9781524745042, 1/19/2021)

Reviewed by Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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Waiting for the Night Song by Julie Carrick Dalton

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Waiting for the Night Song
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If you only read one book this year, this should be the one. It really puts many current issues such as climate change, immigration, and racism into a perspective you can feel personally by immersing you in the story and letting you identify with the characters in the book. Waiting for the Night Song is a lyrical and amazing story about nature and what will happen if we continue to ignore climate change. It is the story of wonderful, productive and caring people who live in fear because of immigration laws, a story about childhood trauma and the effect it has on the three children involved, a story about determination and doing what you believe is right regardless of the consequences, and above all else it is a heartfelt story about family and friendship and just how far and how many lies one will tell or how many secrets one will keep to protect them. If you loved Where the Crawdads Sing, put this at the top of your list. My favorite quote from the book: “When someone says you’re overreacting, but you know you’re right, keep reacting until it’s over.”

Waiting for the Night Song by Julie Carrick Dalton (List Price: $26.99, Forge Books, 9781250269188, 1/12/2021)

Reviewed by Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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Wrong Alibi by Christina Dodd

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Wrong Alibi
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Christina Dodd writes complex plots with characters who are complicated and pushed to limits that are hard to endure. Evelyn is no different; a job that should keep her going as a young teen on her own turns out to be the worst mistake of her life. In prison for a murder she did not commit and on her own she has no hope for the future. An escape leaves her living under an alias at a remote camp in Alaska. During the winter she has nothing but time, and she uses it to plot her vengeance and look into other crimes that involve people she meets. The complexity of human nature and capacity for evil is captured in this suspenseful and well written book. Perfect for her fans and any suspense fan who appreciates great characters.

Wrong Alibi by Christina Dodd (List Price: $17.99, HQN, 9781335080820, 12/29/2020)

Reviewed by Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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The War Widow by Tara Moss

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War Widow
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The War Widow was an intriguing mystery, an interesting and informative look at post war Australia in 1946 and an overall totally delightful read. Ms. Billie Walker has returned home after being a war correspondent in Europe to take over the Private Inquiry Agency of her late father. She is a fun, elegant, feisty and determined character who investigates the “old-fashioned” way: no internet, no cell phones, no data bases. The book is filled with intrigue, nasty criminals, beautiful fashions and lots of daring moves by Ms. Walker. I cannot wait to see what kind of trouble Ms. Walker finds herself in next.

The War Widow by Tara Moss (List Price: $26, Dutton, 9780593182659, 12/29/2020)

Reviewed by Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

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the children's blizzard
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Melanie Benjamin is at her best in this historical fiction account of the terrifying blizzard of 1888. It seemingly came out of nowhere and caught the residents of the Midwest by surprise, especially the children and teachers who were preparing to go home for the day. Benjamin looks at the lives of two sisters–both teachers at different schools–and how their decisions that day meant life or death for their students. I spent several late nights on this one!

The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin (List Price: $28, Delacorte Press, 9780399182280, 1/12/2021)

Reviewed by Linda Hodges, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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Deep into the Dark by P. J. Tracy

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Deep Into the Dark
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A solid story with great characters and a really good story line…and a new series for P. J. Tracy. It’s set in the seedier area of Los Angeles and is the story of Policewoman Margaret Nolan working on a serial killer case. It’s also the story of Sam Easton, back from Afghanistan, just trying to make it through the day. Toss in a friendship with Melody Traeger who has her own set of demons, and you’ve got a complex plot with just the right amount of sub-plots to make it hard to put down. It’s a story of love and a story of betrayal. It’s a story of making a new life and attempting to keep those demons away as you do. And when it all comes together…ah, I’m not going to spoil it! A must read!

Deep into the Dark by P. J. Tracy (List Price: $26.99, Minotaur Books, 9781250754943, 1/12/2021)

Reviewed by Nancy Humphreys, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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The Merciful by Jon Sealy

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The Merciful
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A Winter 2021 Read This Next! Title

The Merciful by Jon Sealy
Haywire Books, January

First: Every book club needs to put The Merciful at the top of their “next to read” list. For me, reading is for the most part a private personal experience. I love to read and immerse myself in the story. This book doesn’t let me do that. I can’t wait for my friends to read this one so we can intellectually deconstruct it. Bottom line; this book forces you to think and to see a story from disparate and various perspectives.

The book tells the story of a tragic incident where a young woman riding her bike down a country road late at night is struck and killed in a hit-and-run “accident.” Days later, after procuring an attorney, a local man comes forward thinking he “might” have been responsible. Like a rock thrown into a still pond, the incident ripples and radiates in all directions and this book conveys a thoughtful and compelling story of just how the accident affects not only the victim and the perpetrator, but also those close to them and those in the legal system who are responsible for trying the case.

Jon Sealy does a masterful job of painting the lives of these characters and exposing the flaws and foibles that make us all human. I highly recommend this thought-provoking and compelling novel.

— Brent Bunnell, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC

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Do Not Disturb by Claire Douglas

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Do Not Disturb
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It’s a new start for this family, after experiencing a near tragedy. They’ve now moved from London to Wales and have remodeled an old rectory, making it into a guesthouse. But the old rectory has secrets, and the village has secrets, and this little family has secrets. And where there are secrets, there are lies. And when a death occurs in the B&B, the police are not satisfied that it’s an accident. Too many suspects crowd this B&B and no one knows who to trust. A captivating, but complex plot, this thriller will grab you on the first page and keep you reading until its last, shocking page. It’s fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns, a bit dark at times, and full of suspense. And you’ll never expect this surprise ending!!

Do Not Disturb by Claire Douglas (List price: $26.99, Harper, 9780063037410, November 2020), recommended by Nancy Humphreys, Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC.

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Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

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Goodnight Beautiful
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He mounts the porch steps and hands me the mail addressed to me as I give him his glass. ‘What shall we toast to tonight?’ He looks up at the house. ‘How about to a new life for the Lawrence House?’

‘Yes, that’s perfect.’ I clink my glass against his. But I avert my gaze, tipping back my head to take a long sip, wondering if he can sense it, too. The wrongness of this place.

Goodnight Beautiful opens with the disappearance of Sam Statler, a therapist who has just moved back to his small New York town with his wife Annie to be near his ailing mother. The narrative then flashes back to earlier that summer, soon after the couple has moved to town and Sam has begun work. What follows feels like a rather straight forward domestic thriller, but nothing and no one is what they seem. Molloy has crafted a novel takes the unreliable narrator and turns the volume up to eleven. Her writing will appeal to both those familiar to the genre as well as novices. Readers may want to avoid learning too much in advance, but even when one knows the twist is coming, watching Molloy execute it is just as compelling.

Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy (List Price: $27.99, Harper, 9780062881922, 10/13/2020)

Reviewed by Faith Parke-Dodge, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James

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The Woman in the Mirror
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A haunted manor, star crossed lovers, a good guy to save the day – what more could you ask for in a wonderfully creepy gothic thriller set in the 1940s and in modern day? How about a really great surprise ending?

The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James (List price: $26.99, Minotaur Books), recommended by Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC.

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