The Running Bibliophile

The Big Empty by Robert Crais falls into the Mystery & Thriller genre and has an expected publication date of January 14, 2025. The story opens with Anya calling to remind her mother Sadie to pick her up from the skate park. When Sadie arrives, Anya is missing. Fast forward to Traci Beller hiring private investigator Elvis Cole to find her father Tommy Beller, who abandoned her and her mother almost ten years previously. What will Elvis Cole discover? I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Big Empty by Robert Crais from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I was excited to be approved and receive this novel. The main character, Elvis Cole, was an instant hit with me. He's just an extremely likable character. A somewhat insignificant character that I absolutely love is Cole's semi feral cat since I am a huge cat lover. Cole taking care of the cat is probably a huge factor in me liking him so much. I also really like his partner Joe Pike because he...

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens. Sara Gallagher's life is going the way she wants. She is engaged to a wonderful man named Evan and has a six year old daughter name Ally. To top things off, Sara's antique furniture restoration business is finally taking off. But, the only thing missing from her life is knowing who her birth parents are. When she sets out to find them, Sara is taken on the ride of her life when she finds out she's the product of her mother being raped by a serial killer. This is the second book written by Chevy Stevens and surpassed her debut novel of Still Missing in wow factor. How does this author keep churning out these fabulous stories? From page one, I was automatically drawn into the story of Never Knowing , and the story never let up. I found the main character, Sara Gallagher, to be very relatable, and with all that she's going through in the story, who could blame her for being a hot mess, especially when she doesn't fully feel like she i...

A serial killer is preying on young women in Norfolk. Moments before dying, a woman  appears on the roadway with a small dog. When all is said and done, the victims are found with their own hair stuffed in their mouths. The killings have becoming more frequent since the first death fifteen months ago. The serial killer has been dubbed The Whistler . Police Commander Adam Dalgliesh arrives in Norfolk on holiday to stay in a converted windmill that was left to him by his late aunt. Dalgliesh only becomes involved in the case when he discovers a strangled body that turns out to be the acting administrator of an atomic power station. Devices and Desires by P.D. James is not a book I would've probably picked up to read on my own. However, I enrolled in a 20th Century World Literature class at my university, and we had 8 books that were required reading for the eight week course. Devices and Desires was one of those on the list, and I was excited to read it because I heard goo...

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake, #2) by Rachel Caine raises the stakes even higher after the chilling events of the first book. After escaping from prison in Missouri, serial killer Melvin Royal is once again at large and playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with his ex-wife, Gwen Proctor, and their children. With Lanny and Connor safely hidden under the protection of trusted friends, Gwen teams up with Sam Cade to hunt Melvin down and end his twisted game once and for all. The tension is relentless, and the sense of danger never lets up. Rachel Caine proves once again that sequels don’t have to suffer in quality, because Killman Creek is just as gripping as Stillhouse Lake , if not more so. The story picks up almost immediately where the first book left off, which makes reading the series in order highly recommended if you want the full emotional impact and context. The momentum carries straight through, pulling readers back into Gwen’s nightmare without missing a beat. One...

After Gina Royal picks her children, Brady and Lily, from their Wichita, Kansas school, they come home to an unknown SUV that has crashed into their garage and police swarming their yard. Fast forward to four years later, and Gina, Brady, & Lily are on the run with new identities. Stillhouse Lake written by Rachel Caine kept me interested from the get go. There were very few slow moments on top of it. It was a quick, easy read that felt like the author wrote it with the possibility of it being turned into a movie, and it definitely was written with the typical thriller formula. This is why I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The ending in wrapped up for the most part with the exception of one cliff hanger, which in my opinion isn't really much of a cliff hanger. From what I've read on Goodreads.com, many people are complaining about the "cliff hanger" and refusing to read the next book in the series because everything wasn't wrapped up in a nice little bow....