Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back...

One night five years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn't add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister's return might just be the beginning of the crime.  



Emma and Cass never knew from one day to the next whether their mother would be in one of her phony affectionate moods or in a rage at some imagined injustice. She always ran hot and cold depending on who her audience was, who was watching, and the purpose for which she wanted to manipulate them.. When the sisters suddenly go missing one night their mother plays the part of devastated parent but as the years go by the investigation grows cold. Few people know the truth of what happened the night Cass and Emma disappeared but when Cass returns years later without her sister, and with a strange story to tell, investigators will have to take a fresh look. I was deeply engaged in most of the story as told by Cass though I found it to drag a bit during the parts told from the psychiatrist Abby's point of view.
This was a suspenseful, twisty, dramatic look into the lives of a dysfunctional family.

I received an advance copy for review

Cruelty by Edward Lorn

Description
On a lonely stretch of deserted Texas highway, Will Longmire breaks down. But he's not alone.

In the dead of night, Innis Blake hits someone - or something - with her car. The figure should not be getting up. But it is.

An unstoppable force is after Will and Innis. And before the night is over, both strangers will know the face of Cruelty.

Forgiveness is only a few miles down the road, but safety is nowhere in sight.

Every monster has its origins.  

I have made a promise to myself that I will find the time to read some of my book purchases. So in addition to reviewing books that are soon to be published I am finally getting down to those that have waited unread on my kindle.
I have wanted to read this for quite some time, and before starting it I did not even know from the description or other reviews that it had anything at all to do with the "Dastardly Bastard" (another of my favorite Edward Lorn books) so that was a most welcome surprise.
It begins with a meth head hooker and a blind man which the author points out sounds a bit like a dirty joke, and then all hell breaks loose.
 Cruelty, Regret, Forgiveness, Penance, none were what I expected, and I can't begin to describe them to you. There weren't many characters I could sympathize with but Merlo the dog stole my heart.

Two Shades of Vice by Dewey B. Reynolds

Description

The action is hot in Kansas City during the 1960s. Gordon Reynolds happens to be a vicious criminal who has served prison time in five different states over a period of twenty-five years. Gordon is determined to muscle his way into major rackets such as prostitution, bootlegging whiskey, robbery, hijacking and contraband cigarettes. He eventually meets up with Alla Mae Briggs. She knows the prostitution racket very well, since she worked the Kansas City streets for several years. She too has a lengthy rap sheet of twenty-five criminal convictions for the solicitation of prostitution. Gordon needs someone to help him operate his main bawdy house.

Alla Mae is the perfect recruit to help him forge stronger relations between his hookers and their customers. The collaboration of their experiences on the streets proves highly profitable. But unforeseen danger causes things to come crashing down all around them. Racist cops, ruthless gangsters, a white supremacist group, jealous pimps and rival hookers are the opposing forces that this interracial couple are destined to face. Crossing the racial line puts them at incredible odds with the law and fellow criminals alike.  Based on the true story of how a white man and a black woman fell in love and broke all the rules in order to make their living together illegally.

This book is not exactly what I was expecting when I picked it up in the "true crime" section. I should have paid more attention to the smaller print "Based on the true story" which is not at all the same as a factual account.
Personally I like my facts separate from my fiction. Are these names real? Did all of these people even exist? I don't know. I do know that this reads like a novel, not a true crime, and any facts seem to be heavily embellished.
As far as the story itself, the 60s were already a tumultuous time to be a part of an interracial couple. Even more so when you are a mom and want to muscle in on other criminals territory. It was fast paced, with lots of sex and violence. The ending was strangely abrupt. which left me wondering if there will be more to follow, and what the future held for Alla Mae's children.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

If The Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss

Description

A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction.
In a North Carolina mountain town filled with moonshine and rotten husbands, Sadie Blue is only the latest girl to face a dead-end future at the mercy of a dangerous drunk. She’s been married to Roy Tupkin for fifteen days, and she knows now that she should have listened to the folks who said he was trouble. But when a stranger sweeps in and knocks the world off-kilter for everyone in town, Sadie begins to think there might be more to life than being Roy’s wife.

As stark and magnificent as Appalachia itself, If the Creek Don’t Rise is a bold and beautifully layered debut about a dusty, desperate town finding the inner strength it needs to outrun its demons. The folks of Baines Creek will take you deep into the mountains with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.

 

Set in the 1970s in a small settlement called Baines Creek, this is mainly the story of Sadie Blue, a 17 year old Appalachian girl in an abusive marriage. Told from multiple points of view including Sadie herself, the preacher and his spinster sister, her grandma who survived her own abusive marriage and the new school teacher Kate who befriends her. The town may be tiny but the kindness of some of it's inhabitants is huge as they try to bring a bit of comfort to those in need. Not to say that all is sweetness and light here because there are certainly some characters I loved to hate! Many characters also have their own back stories going on which add a lot of heart and drama to this mesmerizing story.

5 out of 5 stars from me

 

I received an advance copy for review