Review: What's Mine Is Yours by Leah Mercer

Synopsis: She invited her into her home. She shouldn’t have…

Emily: It’s been a long time since my best friend Ava stopped speaking to me. But I knew I’d find a way back in. When I hear that her daughter won’t sleep at home because of a burglary on the street, I offer to swap houses for a while. Ava is so grateful. And now I’m staying in her family home, I finally understand why she’s been avoiding me… Ava isn’t as perfect as she makes out. She’s been hiding a big secret that could ruin her idyllic life. Only now, I know all about it…

Ava: I didn’t want to let Emily back into my life, but my daughter begged me to agree to the swap. I’ll do anything for my precious girl. As I lie in Emily’s bed in her cramped apartment, I fear what she’s up to inside my home. Has she looked through my belongings? Has she found the key to the locked room in my basement? And does she know the truth about what I did?

Two friends. Two secrets. Which one is telling a deadly lie, and which is in danger?

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Two women - initially friends but drifted apart, are brought back together by tragedy and decide to house swap. One is keen - one is reluctant - but both women have secrets they have no wish for the other to discover, especially now that they have swapped residences!

Quick easy chapters with flowing first person narratives that quickly build the intensity of the drama until dark secrets linking them all are finally laid bare, out in the open. The reader is left wondering just how will these revelations impact the women and their families, and will it propel one or the other into actions with unforgiving consequences.

Loved every page as I sat highly engrossed trying to discover the secrets of Ava and Emily before they were ultimately revealed to the reader.

Review: The Revenge Plot by Jackie Kabler

Synopsis: When Ella Leonard arrives at work one Monday morning, she’s stunned.  The place isn’t just shut – it’s gone. Boarded up, closed down.

Days later, she gets home to find she’s been evicted from her flat, her belongings piled on the doorstep. It’s as if, bit by bit, someone is taking her entire life away from her.

Who, and why? And how much worse can it get? The answer? A lot worse.   This is just the beginning…

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We all know that revenge is a dish best served cold, on fine bone china - but this tale takes the cake!

We are introduced to Ella Leonard front and centre - she is our first ... victim. Why is someone targeting Ella in such a despicable way, what has she done to merit such unwelcome attention. As Ella's life unravels, no clue is yet to be given.

Enter Harriet, an old friend of Ella's, who steps in to assist Ella in getting back on her feet. But as the narrative draws onward, we are left wondering if Harriet herself is all she seems. Harriet has a secret .. or two ... which are revealed to the reader, and here we learn of Nisha - nemesis and tormentor of Harriet.

The lives of these three women have intertwined over many years, and it is not until they begin to converge in the present, that the secrets and reasons behind their acts of revenge become clear.  The pace certainly picks up from this point.

The short sharp chapters of first person narrative keep the reader immersed - but we are left asking ourselves, who do we cheer for when all three consider themselves victims and all are just as unlikable as their past and present lives are linked. Everything comes full circle, but we are left wondering at what cost - who ultimately gains from their revenge - and who is left with nothing. The conclusion is a little convoluted but in the overall scheme of things, why not!

Review: The Bluff by Bonnie Traymore

Synopsis: “What do you have to lose, Kate?” Ryan asked me, as we stood on the bluff looking out on Lake Michigan.   Turns out, almost everything.

When I first moved from Manhattan to this small town six years ago, I worried about many things. I worried about finding a job. I worried that I’d be bored. I worried that my relationship with charming photographer Ryan Breslow was moving too fast. But I never worried about whether the ground beneath my feet would crumble—both literally and figuratively.

My marriage didn’t go as I’d imagined. A year ago, Ryan met his untimely death in a car accident that’s still under investigation. Isolated and alone, all I wanted was to sell my home and leave Crest Lake and its painful memories behind.

But with my home inching ever closer to the edge of the crumbling bluff, the property has become unmarketable. All of us on the lakefront have lost chunks of property, and tempers are at a boiling point about what to do next.

And now, on the evening of a contentious vote about how to fix this pressing issue, my nemesis on the shoreline committee has been murdered. I know how it looks, but it’s not what it seems. But I have to get my plan passed and cash out.

Because I do have secrets.   And they won’t stay buried forever.

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OMG! I loved this so much that I read it in one sitting!

The scene for this mystery is a small coastal community, with the houses of some of the residents at risk of vanishing under the powerful force of mother nature.  Three plans have been submitted for consideration to stop or temporarily halt the impeding ecological disaster - all have their supporters and detractors - but who is willing to commit murder to ensure their plan is the one the proceeds. 

Central to all is our narrator, Kate Breslow, a relative newcomer to the community, and one of those putting forward a plan for community consideration - which has firmly put a target on her back.  When murder is committed, Kate comes under the scrutiny of local law enforcement - and one detective in particular. Will Kate's secrets be finally revealed?

So much to commend this - classic first (Kate Breslow) and third (Det. Travis Whittaker) person narration; red herrings; misdirection; secrets, lies and betrayals; flashback to provide context or detail; the final scene to wrap things up to a conclusion .. and then ... the kicker! 

Definitely reminds me of Lucy Foley, so those who enjoy Foley will love this one too! An easy read, with short chapters alternating between the narration, that gradually build the tension.

Must check out more by this author.