Nerd Girl Loves Books

3.5 stars rounded up

Claire’s older sister Natalie was killed just after her 18th birthday and a man was arrested and sentenced to prison. Claire tries to deal with it by moving to another city and becoming an investigative journalist. She’s not close with her mom, but when her dad tells Claire that her mother injured herself and needs her help, she reluctantly returns home. But, Claire’s mom doesn’t want her there and Claire finds herself drawn to the old vineyard where Natalie worked the summer she died. She stumbles upon a job at the vineyard working with a handsome foreman. She finds an old diary written by one of the vineyard owners hidden in the cabin she’s staying in. Initially it seems like a young rebellion and love, but the more Claire reads, the more sinister the writing becomes. Claire starts to wonder if her sister’s murder is tied somehow to the old events at the vineyard, and whether the right killer is in prison.

This was a slow-burn mystery that occurs over the course of a day-long sweet sixteen birthday party for Sophie, with flashbacks involving almost the entire cast of characters. The mansion high on the hill towering over the town has always been the source of curiosity. The main characters are:

DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .

I didn’t read the first book in this series, but I didn’t feel lost while reading this one. Eleanor is a best-selling author and has just finished wrapping up a movie of her latest novel. It stars her best friend Emma, who is engaged to her leading man and getting married after the film wraps. The entire cast and crew are invited to the wedding on Catalina Island, just as a storm develops that will hit the island. As the wedding weekend gets underway, Eleanor discovers a dead body. This sets the guests in a panic and overstretches the one police officer still on the island.

I didn’t know going into this book that it was inspired by The Godfather, but now that I know it, I can totally see it. Roman is a successful financial consultant in Atlanta and is summoned to his small hometown of Jefferson Run after his father’s car accident. It’s a run-down, crime riddled town in central Virginia that’s run by gangs. He finds out that his younger brother Dante is in debt to dangerous criminals that he needs to clean up. His his sister, Neveah, is exhausted from holding the family—and the family crematorium business—together.

I can’t believe this is the author’s debut. The story immediately caught my attention and hours flew by as I kept turning the pages. The book is fast paced and is keeping me guessing about who to trust. The book is told from two POVs and I can’t tell if the narrators are unreliable or not. It’s hard to tell who the good and bad guys are. I mean, almost everyone is a pretty awful person in one way or another. Just when I thought the book was about one thing, it took a dark turn into something completely different. I felt like I was being strung along and just when I think I have it figured out, had the rug pulled out from under me. This is what made it a fun book to read and one you should check out.

This was a fun, entertaining mystery/thriller. The book is told from two POVs, Shelby the main female character and Florence, the elderly lady residing in the assisted living facility that Shelby runs. The book starts out with Shelby interrupting a burglary at her best friend Mack’s business. The burglar locks Shelby in the freezer and she almost dies. On the same night, Mack’s husband Leo disappears. The book then moves forward a year. Leo’s disappearance is still a mystery and Mack discovered that Leo was cooking the books and the family is in serious debt. Things kick off when Shelby finds a threatening note on her car after leaving work at the assisted living facility for the day.