The Running Bibliophile

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston follows Evie Porter, a woman with seemingly everything she could want, but there’s a shocking twist ... Evie Porter doesn’t exist. Her life is a carefully constructed identity. First comes the persona ... Evie Porter. Then comes the mark ... Ryan Sumner. Finally ... the job. Evie only knows her boss as Mr. Smith, and after a disastrous previous assignment, she can’t afford to fail with Ryan Sumner if she wants to leave this life behind and reclaim her real identity. Ashley Elston delivers a fast-paced, suspenseful story that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. First Lie Wins is full of twists, turns, and unpredictable moments that had me guessing throughout the book. While the story wraps up satisfyingly, the ending leaves room for a possible sequel, which I hope happens because I’m eager for more of Evie’s thrilling adventures. One of the most enjoyable aspects of First Lie Wins is how it reminded me of the TV show Alias . Elston ...

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman is a novel about a rich, eccentric family and traditions that may be deadly.  Harriet "Harry" Reed, a novelist, and her fiance Edward Holbeck are in love.  Edward's estranged family wants Harry's help in bringing back into the folds of their family, but when their strange family traditions make Harry uneasy, she starts to rethink her decision. A big shout out and thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballatine Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Family Game by Catherine Steadman.  I requested to review this book because of the cover art and the synopsis.  To say I was excited to be approved to receive this book for free in exchange for my honest review would be an understatement. This was the perfect book to put me in the mood for Halloween even though the majority of the book takes place in November and December.  An intense, dark book, the first quarter of the novel was a bit slow but qu...

The End of Her by Shari Lapena is a gripping psychological thriller that follows Stephanie and Patrick, a married couple struggling to survive the exhausting reality of life with their colicky newborn twin daughters. Already overwhelmed by sleepless nights, stress, and the emotional strain of new parenthood, their fragile sense of stability is shattered when a woman from Patrick’s past unexpectedly reappears. Erica arrives with a devastating accusation: she claims Patrick murdered his first wife and their unborn child. Patrick insists he is innocent and believes Erica is attempting to blackmail them, but her presence triggers a chain of events that threatens to unravel their marriage, their family, and everything they thought they knew about each other. If there is ever a novel that truly feels comparable to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl , then The End of Her is one of the closest matches. Both books explore the dark complexities of marriage, deception, and hidden truths, and both lea...

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris opens with teacher Cass deciding to drive home after celebrating the end of the school year with her colleagues, rather than spending the night at a friend’s house. Before leaving, she calls her husband, Matthew, to let him know she’ll be home after all. Concerned for her safety, Matthew asks her not to take the shortcut home through the woods. In a moment of impulsive decision-making, Cass ignores his request and takes the shortcut anyway. Along the isolated road, she encounters a car pulled over on the shoulder with a woman sitting inside. Cass drives past without stopping, a choice that will soon haunt her. The following morning, Matthew informs Cass that a woman was found murdered in her car on Blackwater Lane, the very road she had driven through. While relieved she didn’t stop and potentially put herself in danger, Cass is immediately consumed by guilt. She feels responsible for ignoring her husband’s warning, and things only get worse; she beg...

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena is a gripping psychological thriller that explores how quickly a seemingly perfect life can unravel. Tom and Karen Krupp appear to have it all: a beautiful home in upstate New York, stable careers, and a loving marriage. But everything changes one evening when Tom returns home to find the front door unlocked, dinner started, and Karen missing.  Alarmed, he calls friends and family before finally dialing 911. Moments later, the police arrive with shocking news: Karen has been found in a serious car accident in a dangerous part of town and rushed to the hospital.  Even more unsettling, she has no memory of what happened during the hours leading up to the crash.  When Karen returns home, strange things begin to happen. Objects are moved, details don’t quite add up, and an uneasy feeling begins to grow. Soon, Karen finds herself at the center of a murder investigation, and suspicion starts to fall on both her and Tom.  Is Kar...

Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay centers on a chilling mystery involving a 14-year-old boy named Tommy Sanderson and his two friends, Josh and Luis. During a late-night sleepover, the boys sneak into Borderland State Park in Ames, Massachusetts, a setting that immediately feels ominous and full of potential danger. After exploring the woods, Tommy tells his friends he’ll meet them back at Josh’s house, but he never returns. His sudden disappearance sends shockwaves through his family and community, leaving his mother, Elizabeth Sanderson, devastated as police searches turn up no clues and unsettling, unexplained events begin to unfold around town. This book was chosen for a book club I belong to, and after reading the synopsis, I was super excited to read Disappearance at Devil's Rock , and I immediately went to the library to check out the book. Although it started with great promise, the book turned out to be a great disappointment. It is touted as being ...

Book Review: In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware A couple of weeks ago, I put a hold on I n A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware at my local library. Totally forgetting that I had done this, I went into the library this past Saturday to pay a late fine from a few months ago, checked out a Chevy Stevens novel, and asked if they still had any sun glasses left for the total solar eclipse ... They didn't have any left. While doing all this, they told me that they had a book on hold for me, which was the aforementioned book by Ruth Ware. Like Ware's second novel, this novel read much like an Agatha Christie novel, and at one point, it reminded me of Ten Little Indians (also known as And Then There Were None ). Much to my surprise, one of the characters mentioned that Agatha Christie book and how they felt like the location of the hen party reminded them of it.  So, of course, I'm figuring there will be a murder, and I'm scraping my mind to remember who the killer was in Te...

There are very few books that make me want to stay up all night to finish it, but Harlan Coben's Tell No One was one of the few that made me want to stay up all night. However, I wasn't actually able to do that as I had lunch plans the following day. All I can say is that I am thrilled that this book was chosen for one of the book clubs I belong to. This was my first time ever reading one of Harlan Coben's novels, and I absolutely loved his writing. I was sucked in from page one, and it had twists and turns galore. Like most thrillers, it does follow the typical formula most thriller writers use, so you knew the ending would be somewhat predictable. There really isn't much I can complain about ... except for the last page when you're thrown for yet another twist. I really didn't care for that last minute twist. Other than that I was quite pleased. While reading some of the reviews on Goodreads.com, one of the reviewers said they felt like it hinted at s...