Alright, I have a couple more posts to post this month to wrap up 2017 (and welcome 2018). Today’s post is all about the books I read in December. I read 3 thrillers and a historical fiction, and enjoyed 2 out of the 4 of them. Let me know if you’ve read them in the comments 🙂

*Depth of Lies by EC Diskin

Synopsis: When Shea Walker, a sunny, easygoing mom, is found dead in a bathtub with a stomach full of booze and pills, the shocking discovery shatters the complacency of her comfortable suburban community. Kat Burrows, Shea’s longtime friend and former neighbor, is hit hardest. How could a woman she thought she knew so well come to such a sordid end? What could lead happy, well-adjusted, responsible Shea to accidentally overdose on alcohol and narcotics? Or, worse, drive her to suicide? Compelled to uncover the truth of Shea’s final months, Kat delves beneath the orderly surface of her familiar world to discover a web of thwarted desire, shameful secrets, and shocking betrayal that suggests a scarier explanation for what happened to Shea. As her carefully constructed reality begins to crumble, Kat must question every reassuring assumption her life is built upon to solve the mystery…and summon the courage and resourcefulness to survive it.

This one took me forever to get through. I was intrigued enough to finish it, but it felt very slow-moving to me, and I didn’t really care about any of the characters at all. When the truth came out, it was disappointing and flat. Not a winner in my book.

2 stars.

*Lie To Me by JT Ellison

Synopsis: Sutton and Ethan Montclair’s idyllic life is not as it appears. They seem made for each other, but the truth is ugly. Consumed by professional and personal betrayals and financial woes, the two both love and hate each other. As tensions mount, Sutton disappears, leaving behind a note saying not to look for her. Ethan finds himself the target of vicious gossip as friends, family and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton Montclair. As the police investigate, the lies the couple have been spinning for years quickly unravel. Is Ethan a killer? Is he being set up? Did Sutton hate him enough to kill the child she never wanted and then herself? The path to the answers is full of twists that will leave the reader breathless.

This was Gone Girl-esque, and while it was an ok read, it didn’t deliver a punch quite like Gone Girl or other similar thrillers. The facts/lies weren’t confirmed or denied so even at the end of the book I was left confused at the “truth”. There is some stellar descriptive writing, but that couldn’t make up for the flat and kind of confusing ending, and a “villain” who ended up being pretty lame. It just wasn’t fully developed enough for me.

3 stars.

*The Wife Between Us by Green Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanan

Synopsis: When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are listening to a story about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement. You will assume you are listening to a story about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves. You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her. You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships. Assume nothing.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, part of which could have been reading 2 duds in the thriller category prior to reading it. It has a few mysteries and a few twists, and I love how the author wrapped them all up together, and kept you guessing right up until the very last page. I would have liked a tiny bit more about one of the characters, other than a short paragraph at the end, but that’s really the only hang up I have. I definitely recommend it to all those who enjoy a good marriage/mystery/semi-thriller book.

4 stars.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Synopsis: In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another. Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real–and deadly–consequences.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Before I get into that I want you to know that I LOVE reading about WWII, especially as it took place in Europe. I did a report on Auschwitz in 3rd or 4th grade, and have been a tad obsessed ever since. So my thoughts about this book isn’t in regards to the content. But this book was….. Long. Boring. Interesting. Sad. I feel like it took forever for anything to actually happen, and then it all kind of happened in a short span of pages. And I cried during the last like 50 pages, which means I was left in a terrible funk after finishing it. While there were a few “happy endings” the overall feeling of the end of the book didn’t leave me feeling happy or inspired or even in a good mental place, so I didn’t love that either. (Pregnancy hormones? Perhaps.) I did give it 4 stars because I see how others like it, and I liked it more than I disliked it —- in reality it would probably 3.5 stars for me if I didn’t round up.

4 stars.

Currently Reading: An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L’Engle

On My Bookshelf: Fierce Faith by Alli Worthington

*I received free product from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.