RaveBookPageSager balances the novel’s short timeline and limited setting with rich characterization for all, especially Katherine, whom the reader meets as she nearly drowns in the dark, freezing lake, and Casey, whose never-ending supply of snarky one-liners and wisecracks never quite camouflages the deep emotional turmoil that ended her once-successful acting career...The House Across the Lake is a psychological thriller that’s thoroughly personality-driven, following women whose motives, means and opportunities are as murkily fascinating as the titular loch...An addictive beach read that fans will devour in one sitting—and leave feeling thoroughly sated.
Fiona Barton
PositiveBookPageThough Local Gone Missing‘s plot is wonderfully twisty with a surprising and satisfying conclusion, it\'s the characters who stand out. Ebbing\'s weekenders have their own complex motivations—especially a mild-mannered gay caterer and a middle-age father who are mysteriously connected to each other, and maybe to Charlie as well—but it\'s the locals who will really draw readers in. Foremost among them is the compelling and well-drawn Elise, who\'s struggling to adjust to life back on the force after returning from medical leave. Her retired librarian neighbor Ronnie, who\'s eager to play amateur sleuth and surprisingly adept at sussing out clues, provides much-needed comic relief in this intense story of greed gone terribly wrong. Thanks to Barton\'s airtight plotting and impeccable characterization, a minibreak by the sea will never seem relaxing again.
Caroline Woods
PositiveBookPageAn addictive binge of a read that’s equal parts intelligent introspection and nail-biting suspense ... The Lunar Housewife will have readers thinking long and hard about how good the \'good old days\' really were.
Sascha Rothchild
RaveBookPageA Promising Young Woman meets Dexter thriller that’s both highly suspenseful and strangely empowering ... [Rothchild\'s] debut thriller successfully executes all the elements of a crackling mystery: page-turning plot beats, snappy dialogue...and vividly drawn characters. Readers will root for Ruby’s acts of vigilante justice toward toxic male figures while also questioning her reliability as a narrator. For those who love a fascinating, complicated female lead with more than one ax to grind, Blood Sugar is an absolute must.
María Gainza, tr. Thomas Bunstead
RaveBookPage... a spare but vivid peek inside a female-dominated environment that’s both fascinatingly specific and deeply universal ... Through catalog descriptions, court transcripts and the narrator’s own introspective voice, acclaimed Argentine author Gainza, an art critic herself, deftly explores the quest for truth, both in brushstrokes and within oneself. Portrait of an Unknown Lady offers no easy answers but provides immense pleasure in the journey to find them.
