A New Year and a New Book!

Hi readers, and happy 2020-is-almost-over!

 

Whether you have had the best year, the worst year, or somewhere in between, I am infinitely grateful for you and hope that this club has brought you some happiness. It certainly has for me.

 

I know several of us took the last one or two meetings off in favor of spending time with family or focusing on some lighter reads, but I would like to give a big shout-out to those who read and discussed Surface Detail. It was, by far, the longest and most in depth conversation a book has garnered so far. It was a pleasure to observe the passion and curiosity that went into the discussion. Thank you!

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to reiterate one of the most important parts of the club: nobody is ever under any obligation to read or discuss a book if they are not prepared to do so. You may take as much time off at any point that you need, and you will be welcomed back happily if and when you decide to return. Book clubs have always been a bit iffy for me and many others, because they don’t always read books in which we might have an interest. To put yourself through reading something you don’t want to be reading seems like a big shame to me, considering the goal of the club is to have fun, partake in good conversation, and enjoy learning. If you are not vibing with a book, don’t read it if you’d prefer not to. Reading should not be a chore.

 

Upcoming Information

 

Our first book of 2021 will be a psychological thriller. Please note that many books within this genre contain potentially uncomfortable or distressing content. I have only read one of our selection, so I cannot speak to what the others involve. Please take care of yourself first and foremost, and don’t read if a book seems to cause you unwanted feelings.

 

You will have until the end of January 2nd to vote, and we will have our first meeting on January 16th. You will, as always, find summaries and links below, with the poll at the end.

 

I Know Where She Is by S.B. Caves

 

She will do whatever it takes to bring her daughter home.

 

Ten years ago Francine’s world was destroyed when her daughter was taken. Now, on the anniversary of the abduction, Francine receives an anonymous note containing just five words: I KNOW WHERE SHE IS.

 

What Francine learns next will horrify her.

 

She will discover danger in the most unexpected places.

 

She will do things she never imagined.

 

And she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

 

An explosive thriller perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Linwood Barclay.

 

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

 

Anna Fox lives alone, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

 

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother and their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

 

What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

 

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager 

 

What was it like? Living in that house.

 

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

 

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

 

In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?

 

 

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

 

On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.

 

But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse. . . .

 

Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda’s demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.

 

Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive . . . with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.

 

January’s Poll

 

Please vote for the book which you would most like to read.