march roundup
When I tell you I was so excited about the books on my reading list this month….
I have been a huge Anthony Horowitz fan since I read The Magpie Murders, so I was looking forward to his latest. While it took his Horowitz and Hawthorne series in a different direction, I was not disappointed. Additionally, the husband and wife team making up Ellory Lloyd’s latest became my favorite of their books. Read on for my full reviews!
As always, thank you to NetGalley for providing me with these ARCs.
March Roundup
Close to Death
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Publication Date: 4/16/2024
Horowitz and Hawthorne are back for book five in this popular mystery series.
This time around, the story focuses on the idyllic neighborhood of Riverside Close. A close-knit community, it is the kind of place where everyone gets along, or at least they do until the Kentworthy family arrives. Soon the residents of Riverside Close find themselves at odds with their new neighbors, with animosity building until the father, Giles, winds up murdered. Known for being anything but neighborly, there are enough motives to make Riverside Close feel like the Orient Express, and it falls to Hawthorne to make sense of it all.
This installment of the series has a very different feel from the rest of the books featuring Horowitz and Hawthorne. It reads a bit more like another series from the author (the Susan Ryeland series including Magpie Murders), in that it follows the story within a story format.
Additionally, there is much less focus on the dynamic between Horowitz and Hawthorne. While it is missing a hit of the energy of the earlier books, the reader can gain more insight into the relationship between Hawthorne and his former assistant Dudley. This background regarding Hawthorne's mysterious personal life feels like it will be essential in any book to follow.
While Horowitz and Hawthorne feel a little removed overall in this one due to the plot being far more driven by other characters, this is ultimately an engrossing addition to the popular series.
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby
Author: Ellery Lloyd
Publication Date: 6/11/2024
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a richly written and enthralling mystery with intelligent twists and turns to keep the reader engaged throughout.
Told during different timelines and points of view, it is clear nothing is as it seems in this story. When Caroline and Patrick, two Cambridge art history students, start researching Juliette Willoughby's masterpiece Self-Portrait as Sphinx, they begin to unravel the complicated mystery that surrounds the artist-turned-heiress, her lover, and her art - all of which were presumed lost in a tragic fire in 1938. Caroline finding the masterpiece fully intact after 50 years (and where that ends up leading) is just the start of many twists to follow. The more Caroline and Patrick learn about Juliette and her art, the more it overtakes their lives.
The husband and wife writing team known as Ellery Lloyd delivers a strong story to follow their bestseller The Club. While The Club was a fun read, there is something more compelling about the mystery in The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby. Part old-school mystery, part art heist, and part romance, it delivers on several fronts, with the one downside being the story runs out of steam a bit at the end. In fairness, there was a lot to wrap up, and the reader isn't left with any lingering questions.
This would be a great option for a book club or even consideration for a movie adaptation.
Tiny Threads
Author: Lilliam Rivera
Publication Date: 9/24/2024
When Samara Martin is offered the opportunity to work for iconic fashion designer Antonio Moto, she sees it as her way out of New Jersey. More importantly, it’s her way to escape her past. She’s ready to throw herself into her work, but something about the new place she calls home doesn’t feel right.
Moto’s fashion house is located in Vernon, California, which is said to be up and coming. While Samara is expecting to find herself thriving, instead she becomes haunted by the ghosts of whatever past horrors happened in this town. As Samara spirals into darkness - as well as drinking too much - she loses her grip on reality. Soon she is overtaken by her fixation on the mysteries of Vernon and finds herself close to losing everything.
The premise of this story is great and the author does a great job setting the stage. Author Lilliam Rivera creates an eerie atmosphere in Vernon, and the reader quickly understands why Samara is so wary of everyone. There are many intriguing elements to the plot. While the book shows promise, the last third lets it down. Samara is never a likable character, but she is so self-destructive she becomes insufferable, pushing when the reader wants to tell her to just stop already. The ending of the book also feels a little anticlimactic and leaves several questions unanswered.
Though Samara isn’t a great protagonist and it’s a bit overlong, this is a great premise and would be good for fans of darker ghost stories.
Girls Who Burn
Author: MK Pagano
Publication Date: 7/16/2024
It has been a year since Addie’s older sister Fiona’s lifeless body was found in a ravine, and Addie is still trying to prove it was not an accident. Fiona was a talented ballerina on her way to the American Ballet Academy – there is no way she fell or jumped. When Addie’s prime suspect Thatcher is found dead in the same ravine, she and Thatcher’s cousin Seth begin searching for clues together. As Addie and Seth investigate, they start to unravel secrets about both of their families and realize everyone is a suspect.
This is an entertaining YA mystery in a similar vein as Jessica Goodman. There are a lot of the expected tropes (wealthy, brooding, misunderstood crush; secret relationships; corrupt cops; absentee parents) but it is a fun and fast read. Addie’s ability to be easily swayed is irritating at times and Seth is fairly one-dimensional, but overall, it would make for a good vacation read.
That’s all for now, here’s my March Roundup: Part Two! Until next time - cheers and happy reading! Follow me on Instagram for more updates.
