There is nothing like a good thriller to get your heart racing as the world slips away, and you become completely absorbed in the characters and their fates. Phantom Instinct by Meg Gardiner was one heck of a heart-stopping thriller with fleshed out characters and a climatic ending that had me holding my breath.
I was excited to read Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige and chose to listen to the audio version. The tale introduces us to Amy Gumm from Kansas who finds herself in Oz. Only it is not the place she remembers from the movie she and her mother use to watch. In fact, something is terribly wrong. Paige twists Oz into a dark place filled with nightmares, and I found myself quickly immersed in this world.
In the Janus Affair, we once again join the duo of Eliza Braun and Wellington Books, officers at the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences in Britain. It was a fantastic ride filled with murder, missing persons and revelations. They are traveling home aboard Britain’s latest hypersteam train when the hair rises on the back of Eliza’s neck. A woman of Eliza’s acquaintance vanishes before their eyes in a bright bolt of lightning. Eliza and Wellington are stunned, but back in the archives they find this strange occurrence is happening all over.
I have always wanted to try one of Molly Harper’s books and when the chance to review Better Homes and Hauntings audio arose, I jumped. I love paranormal woo-woo with haunted houses, family lore and island settings. Harper offered up a simple, entertaining tale that will have you rooting for the characters and wanting to defuse a ghost.
The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness has been an absolute favorite. Matthew and Diana’s love affair and quest to find Ashmole 782 has taken us all over the globe from present day and to the past. It shares a passionate romance to rock the ages and a quest filled with danger, magic and lose. I have laughed, swooned, pounded my fists and wept. As I embarked on my journey with The Book of Life, I did so hesitantly and hoped Harkness would protect my heart. I needed have worried my final visit with the Clairmont’s, and Diana Bishop was everything I hoped for and more.
