Beth's Bookshelf

It has been far too long since my last post! Life really does get to you, and now I’m about to go out of the country for a few days. SO to make up for all the lost time, here are my Top 5 Recent Reads from my bookshelf!

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

If Riley Sager has many fans, I am one of them. If he has one fan, I am that fan. If he has no fans, I am dead. Home Before Dark tells the story of Maggie Holt, a restorer of old homes. She grew up haunted by the book her father wrote about the haunted house she lived in for less than a month in her youth. She inherits the house from her father upon his death and sets out to flip it for a profit and sort out the truth in the process. If you’re looking for a book that has hauntings, horrors, and heartbreak, you HAVE to pick up Home Before Dark. You will not regret it. Riley Sager has a knack for giving you twists of a lifetime within the pages of his books, and this is no exception.

The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley

Before I get into the synopsis, I must say that I only read the first of the two stories included in this book because it really was not the book for me. However, if you like all things creepy, crawly, and unsettling, you’ll want to read The Beauty. Set in a society of boys and men, Nate is our narrator, the storyteller of his group. All the women have died. They are the last generation in the Valley of the Rocks. One day, Nate finds something odd in the woods, near the burial site of the women: mushrooms that are rapidly growing and completely unknown before. No one is ready for the horrors that await. I definitely was not.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Frida Liu is a first time mother and having a tough time about it. She struggles to feel worthy of much, but her daughter, Harriet, is her saving grace. Now, she’s had a very bad day: she left Harriet home alone for a few hours and the government has noticed. Frida is sent to a center for mothers like her, ones who have been accused of neglect, abandonment, and worse. She, like these other women, is a bad mother and must be reformed if she ever hopes to see her daughter again. I was enthralled by the premise and left unsettled and angry with every page. You watch the events unfold, knowing none of this is right or fair, and you are powerless to help. If I had been any less stressed out while reading this book, Jessamine Chan likely would not have achieved what she set out to do. I highly recommend this read.

The Angel Maker by Alex North

I have never been disappointed by an Alex North novel, and The Angel Maker continues this streak of good luck. Tragedy struck at a young age for Chris Shaw, leaving his future bleak. His sister, Katie, is filled with guilt; she should have been walking home with him that day. Now, they are grown and Chris is missing. At the same time, Detective Laurence Page is trying to handle the horrific murder of a philosophy professor, who seemed to know that his life was coming to an end. See how the stories intertwine and unfold! There’s always enough suspense and mystery to spare in North’s novels, and you will not regret picking up a copy of this one.

“Just Like Mother” by Anne Heltzel

CONTENT WARNING: There is sexual assault in this book.

I literally finished this book last night and when I tell you horror abounds in these pages, that is an understatement. The book follows Maeve, a woman in her thirties trying to find her place in the world. At age eight, she escaped the cult she was born into and has been attempting to live a normal life ever since. When her cousin, Andrea, suddenly reappears in her life, it seems to be a blessing more than anything else. Andrea was her best friend in the cult, and Maeve is overjoyed to be reunited. Maeve finds herself spending more and more time in Andrea’s remote estate, in Andrea’s world, within the fertility industry where Andrea has made her living. But there’s something not quite right here and Maeve is searching for answers, even if the price to pay is higher than she knows. There were times in this book where I was sitting mouth-open in shock and horror. I left a four minute voicemail for a friend halfway through the book because something so awful had happened, I needed to shout about it (as loudly as you can when you live in an apartment complex and it is after midnight). Check out this book, if you can stomach it!