Goodnight Beautiful - Aimee Molloy

Oh, if you love a good twisty read, you're going to want to pick up Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy!

Sam and his wife Annie move back to the small town Sam is from. He sets up his counselling practice on the main floor of a beautiful old home. The landlord lives above. And there's a vent that allows sound to travel......

There's more, but I am in no way going to spoil this read for you! Molloy is a master of misdirection. I was caught up in the book immediately and rapidly flipped pages until I reached the end of part one. And I then stopped - had I read that right? Everything I thought about one aspect was wrong. So, I flipped back to the beginning, looked again and mentally applauded Molloy. Psychological suspense is one of my favorite genres and I truly appreciate being caught off guard. So, back to the next part - and it happened again! Yes! I had assumed the twist had already happened and was unprepared for another one. 

Goodnight Beautiful is such a great page turner. Well written. I loved the dark humor and nod to a famous author. But most of all, being fooled. Bravo! Here's an excerpt of Goodnight Beautiful. 

Confessions on the 7:45 - Lisa Unger

Have you ever looked at a book and thought, 'Oh, I'll just take a quick peek at the first chapter'? And then that quick peek turns into the second and third chapter ..... and all of a sudden you're halfway through the book and can't put it down? Uh huh. You have been warned - if you start reading Lisa Unger's latest book, Confessions on the 7:45, you're not going to be able to stop.

I have always thought this premise was such a great starting point (including the classic film, Strangers on a Train) - there are so many places a story can go from there. Two women, Selena and Martha, are on a stalled train, a conversation starts - and 'confessions' are shared. "Don't you ever wish your problems would take care of themselves?" The trains moves on and so do the women, not expecting to ever see each other again. Until..."Maybe we should meet for a drink. I'm eager to continue our conversation. It's Martha, by the way. From the train."

Are you hooked yet? Confessions on the 7:45 is told from many points of view. Each of those characters is hiding something - secrets abound! Unger has outdone herself with the twists and turns in this book. There's more than one gotcha in this tale. I was caught off guard as the seemingly disparate threads start to weave together. You won't be able to predict what's next.

I really can't say more without creating spoilers. And I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed Confessions on the 7:45. While that initial premise is not new, Unger's take on the tale is unique and makes for addictive reading. Absolutely recommended. Read an excerpt of Confessions on the 7:45.

The Escape Room - Megan Goldin

A Bookworm's World is today's blog tour stop for Megan Goldin's brand new book, The Escape Room.

I love twisty suspense novels and Goldin's premise was a great one. Four co-workers believe they're doing a team building exercise by participating in an Escape Room. Believable right? Uh huh, until they realize that the elevator itself is the room - and getting out alive is the goal. Love it!

Each of the four in the elevator are selfish, self-serving and just downright unlikable. (And that's just right for this book.) As the heat turns up in their box, we learn more about each one, their secrets and their true natures. They are all financiers determined to make deals and more and more money - at the cost of just about anything. I wondered if the depictions of their cut throat practices were true. Alternating with the action in the elevator are chapters from a former employee named Sara. Details from the past are slowly played out until they collide with the present.

The Escape Room is a heckuva page turner - I couldn't wait to see what would happen next! The ending is a bit implausible, but perfect for this story and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Oh, this one has movie written all over it!  What a great debut. Here's an excerpt of The Escape Room.

"Megan Goldin worked as a correspondent for Reuters and other media outlets where she covered war, peace, international terrorism and financial meltdowns in the Middle East and Asia. She is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she raises three sons and is a foster mum to Labrador puppies learning to be guide dogs. The Escape Room is her debut novel." You can connect with Megan Goldin on her website, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

The Woman Inside - E.G. Scott

The Woman Inside is a debut collaboration from E.G. Scott - a pseudonym for two NYC-based writers, one a publishing professional and one a screenwriter.

The Woman Inside is told from two viewpoints - Rebecca the wife and Paul the husband. They've been married for twenty years and each of them came to the marriage with secrets. And after twenty years, there are new secrets. Paul is having an affair and it looks like he's planning a new future for himself. Rebecca has a serious drug problem, but is not going to let Paul throw away their marriage. They're each capable of so much....

"I didn't realize what I'd done until many minutes later. Sometimes my anger is like that. The rage has been within me for so long....I've worked hard to keep it under wraps, especially from my husband."

Ahh, what follows is a lovely game of cat and mouse between the two. The reader is aware of what each player is thinking and scheming. There's also a back and forth narrative - giving us insight into the early days of the marriage.

But things takes a turn with an unexpected twist and the two are now forced to work together against a common threat. But the reader is still privy to that insider knowledge - and I could see what was coming. But I wasn't completely right - there was still another few surprises. You'll have to suspend belief on a few plot devices, but go with it.

Neither character is likeable and both are distinctly unreliable. The characters I did like were the police detectives - I found their back and forth banter quite entertaining. (Perhaps we'll see them in another book from this duo?)

If you're looking for domestic noir with some really nice twists, this is a really good bet. (But I'm not sure about that cover....) Read an excerpt of The Woman Inside.

The Woman Inside reads like a film - and TV rights to The Woman Inside have already been bought!