Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

2021 Book Reviews

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda (Audiobook)

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Such a Quiet Place is a psychological thriller that unfolds slowly and builds to an unexpected ending.

Hollow’s Edge is a quiet and idyllic neighbourhood. Everyone knows each other, spends time together, and trusts one another. That is until the fateful night that their neighbours Brandon and Fiona are murdered. One of their own, Ruby Fletcher, takes the fall for this murder and spends time in prison for it until her conviction is overturned. So where does Ruby head after her release. You guessed it. Right on back to Hollow’s Edge. She’s determined to out the actual killer of the Truetts. However it isn’t long before another tragedy hits the neighbourhood and nobody knows who to trust anymore.

The audio was nine and a half hours and narrated by Rebekkah Ross. I’ve listened to several books narrated by her and I always enjoy listening to her. She does a great job with this story. All in all I enjoyed Such a Quiet Place but I did find the beginning slow. It picked up for me in the later half and the ending was a twist I hadn’t expected and I always like that!


Library copy

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Past Reads Saturday: The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry

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I have so many books I’ve put on my currently reading shelf on Goodreads that I’ve just never gotten around to reviewing. I don’t know why I stuck them there and I should really make a new shelf for them. However I did read them and I feel they still deserve recognition and I can still remember liking them or not. So every Saturday until I’m caught up I’m going to post a book summary and then a brief thought from me on the novel. My first selection is The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry.

Goodreads Description

Could a witch hunt happen again in Salem? 

For readers of Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace ReaderBrunonia Barry returns to Salem with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder.

When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem’s most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.

But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?

My Thoughts

I have read all of Brunonia Barry’s books. I first fell in love with The Lace Reader and it just continued from there. She hasn’t published in many years but her novels continue to hold a special place for me. This was another of hers that I enjoyed and besides I love to read anything to do with The Salem Witch trials!

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That Weekend by Kara Thomas (Audiobook)

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That Weekend by Kara Thomas is YA fiction which I really enjoy sometimes especially if it’s a good one. This was one of suspense and was thriller’ish and just really good.

Claire, Kat, and Jesse are best friends. Instead of going to their prom the three decide to go out to the lake house belonging to Kat’s family and spend the time together. What could possibly go wrong? It seems a lot. Claire wakes up on a hiking trail with a head injury and no memory whatsoever of the last forty-eight hours of her life. Worse, where are Kat and Jesse? Yet another thing she doesn’t know, nor does anyone else. What exactly happened up on that mountain? Claire is determined to find out and as she digs deeper she learns that her friends may not have been who she always thought they were.

The audio was great! It is narrated by Phoebe Strole and Kristen Sieh, both of whom I’ve listened to before but not to a great extent. They were both fantastic in the telling of this story and very easy to listen to. The audio is about ten and half hours and well worth a listen or a read if you prefer!


Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens (Audiobook)

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Chevy Stevens is another favorite author that I follow and wait for any new books she writes and usually devour them immediately. She is a bestselling author and a fellow Canadian! I know when I start a new book of hers that I shouldn’t plan to do anything else other than listen!

Her newest novel takes its theme from the real Highway of Tears in British Columbia, Canada. Many, many women have gone missing or have been killed on this highway. In her novel she uses a fictional town and highway out of respect for those whose lives have been lost and their loved ones.

The novel follows Hailey, a young woman, who has just lost her father and is now living with her aunt and her husband. He is a cop in town and a piece of scum. It isn’t long before he’s making Hailey really scared and uncomfortable and she runs away into the woods. From there the story has twists and turns right up until its final pages.

The audiobook was great. It’s around 11 hours and wonderfully narrated by Angela Dawe, Brittany Pressley, and Isabella Star LaBlanc. They do an outstanding job of telling this story.

Another amazing thriller from Chevy Stevens!

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The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding (Audiobook)

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I’m a huge fan of Robyn Harding, having read all of her books. She has a way of drawing me fully into the story she’s telling and The Perfect Family was no different. Once I started it I could not stop listening to see just what might happen next.

The Adler’s look like the perfect family from the outside. Yet we all know that is rarely true in most families. Still they have the kind of life most of us strive for – the beautiful home, kids, and success. One morning though the Adler’s world turns upside down when they find the front of their home has been pelted with eggs. At first they figure it’s just a prank but it only escalates. Needless to say they become very frightened. Why is this happening to them? Is it because of some dark secret that one or more of them is keeping?

I listened to the audio and it is fantastic! It comes in at close to eight and a half hours and they fly by. The best part is the narration though! The story is brought to us by Cassandra Campbell (my all-time favorite), Ali Andre Ali, Michael Crouch, Amanda Dolan, and Pete Simonelli. They are all amazing and bring this book alive in the best possible way! So enjoyable to listen to!

If you love psychological thrillers as much as I do then The Perfect Family is one for your list. Really anything by Robyn Harding should be on your list!


Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Billy Summers by Stephen King (Audiobook)

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I always love when a new novel comes out by the great Stephen King! His newest Billy Summers is no exception. This novel though is a little different for King. It’s not a scary story and at first I thought this may not be for me. However there is no doubt in any King fan’s mind that he can tell a good story and before I knew it I was once again swept into a fantastic story by this man.

I’m not going to go in depth in reviews anymore. Just a brief overview of what I thought of the story and characters. For this novel the main attraction is of course Billy Summers himself. He is a hired killer. However he has a set of rules he goes by and that is that he only kills bad men. Now he is tackling what he decides will be his last job. We all know though that when we think things will go along smoothly they never do. King takes on a wild ride with Billy and despite the fact that he’s a hired killer and one would think really a bad man himself, he isn’t. I loved Billy and really didn’t want the story to end.

I listened to the audiobook and needless to say it was fantastic. It comes in at 17 hours but they just fly by. It is narrated by Paul Sparks and he does an amazing job. I thought his voice suited Billy Summers and he was really easy to listen to.

Another winner for this Stephen King fan!


Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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