The Vanishing at Castle Moreau

Author: Jaime Jo Wright

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: April 4, 2023

Another fantastic suspense book from one of the best in Christian fiction. Jaime Jo Wright has out done herself with The Vanishing at Castle Moreau!

Set in two timelines, The Vanishing at Castle Moreau starts in 1870 with Daisy Francois, an orphan who goes to Castle Moreau as a housemaid running from her past. The castle is owned by a very peculiar woman who writes gothic novels and keeps many secrets in her estate, and local legend has girls form the area disappearing in the vicinity of Castle Moreau. In present day timeline, Cleo Clemmons is also running from her past and answers an ad for help at Castle Moreau. She is hired by the grandson of an illustrious billionaire to help his grandmother deal with her hoarding and bring the Castle back to what it once was. Within hours of arriving, she is sucked into the mysteries surrounding Castle Moreau that is not only in the past but still shrouding them today.

Nothing and no one are what they seem when it comes to The Vanishing at Castle Moreau. Jaime Jo Wright has crafted a story with characters so far beyond and better than I could have hoped for. I have loved all I have read by her, and this tops the list. The mystery and story in each timeline will suck readers in and keep them glued to the pages until the very end. Both Cleo and Daisy have great character development and the interactions they have with those at the Castle are mysterious, intriguing, and luring. This book has everything I wanted in a mystery book all while being clean and delivering a good message throughout. Jaime Jo Wright gets better and better with each novel she writes giving readers a story we can’t help but fall in love with and characters we want to see succeed. I’ve found a lot of the books I’ve read lately to just have the same feel and end up being bored with them; luckily, I can say that was not the case here. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a great story with mystery and a great lesson of redemption and not judging someone by what others say.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The Naturals

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: The Naturals #1

Publisher: Little Brown

Release Date: October 7, 2014

The first book in The Naturals series is an absolute thrill ride of a mystery that is perfect for young adult readers looking for a fabulous mystery.

Cassie has always known she was good at being able to tell what people were thinking or going to say before they said anything, but never thought much of it until she is approached by someone in the FBI with an offer for a classified program perfect for her and her abilities. They have created a program for teenagers with abilities to crack cold cases and Cassie is their newest recruit. When Cassie arrives at the house with the other teens in the program, she quickly realizes there is more to the program than originally told to her. Bodies start to add up around them and Cassie is no longer feeling safe as the killers sets their sights on her.

The Naturals is the first book in the series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I picked it up after reading The Inheritance Games series by her and falling in love with her writing style. The mystery and the way it unfolded and all came together by the end was so satisfying and enjoyable to read. Cassie was a great protagonist and the love triangle between her and the others at the house was fun and kept the story flowing. This story reminded me a lot of Criminal Minds set more for the Young Adult readers without the horror and gore. Cassie had a lot to overcome throughout the novel but didn’t let anything keep her down or let those coming after her win. I would recommend this book to readers who love a great mystery with great characters and a plot that is fantastic. This book is left open perfect for the next in the series and I can’t wait to keep reading Barnes work.

The House on Foster Hill

Author: Jaime Jo Wright

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: November 21, 2017

A creepy fantastic mystery that is classic Jaime Jo Wright!

Kaine Prescott has been working to get over her husband’s death; she has almost given up on getting the police to believe it wasn’t just an accident while moving across the country. She buys an old, abandoned house without visiting it in her grandparent’s hometown. Wanting a fresh start, she sets about trying to make the house into a home when eerie things start happening and the house’s past comes back to haunt her. With help from a few new friends, Kaine quickly finds there isn’t much she can do to avoid the past and is forced to face it head on. Almost a century earlier, Ivy Thorpe helped to find the identity a woman found dead on the property and try to solve a crime before anyone else gets hurt.

This is the debut novel by Jaime Jo Wright, and I didn’t realize I hadn’t read it until recently. I picked it up and loved every minute of the story. Jaime Jo Wright is a master of time-slip, mystery novels, she has a way of sucking readers in and not letting them catch a breath until the very end. I love picking up her books and knowing I am going to be fully immersed into a world of fiction that is entertaining, mysterious, and totally enjoyable. The way the two timelines tie together by the end is so well done, especially for a debut novel. The characters are engaging and relatable, even the romance aspect was played out perfectly scene-by-scene. This is the type of book that I recommend to readers that enjoy suspense, mystery, and a little bit of romance.

Double the Lies

Author: Patricia Raybon

Series: Annalee Spain Mystery #2

Publisher: Tyndale House

Release Date: February 7, 2023

Annalee Spain is back in her most intense mystery yet!

Annalee Spain is back for another mystery, but this time she is at the center. When a handkerchief of hers is found next to the body of a dead pilot, she becomes the prime suspect. It doesn’t help that the Denver police department is run by Klan supporters, which makes her an even bigger target. Her leads lead her from Denver up into the mountains as she tries to clear her name and find her boyfriend, Jack.

I have to admit that Raybon really upped the suspense and mystery in the second book of the Annalee Spain series. The first book was good, but book two is great! She had me second guessing myself the whole way through and I still didn’t have it solved before the big reveal at the end. Raybon does a great job of introducing racial issues in her writing without throwing them in her readers faces. It makes you really consider what she is talking about through everything all the while you are enjoying a great mystery. It does tie in with the first book, but you can still enjoy it as a standalone.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Left Handed Lady

Author: Nancy Springer

Series: Enola Holmes Mystery #2

Publisher: Philonnel Books

Release Date: May 15, 2008

The second book in the Enola Holmes series picks up where the last left off and is another smart and funny read!

Enola Holmes may have helped solve one case, but now if she can’t keep herself from being found by the famous Sherlock Holmes, her brother, all might be lost. As she tries to stay safe and away from her brothers, she comes across another mystery that she feels the need to solve. Lady Cecily has disappeared from home and her mother reaches out to Enola, without knowing who she is, to try and find her daughter. In order to find Lady Cecily and keep her identity a secret, she is going to have to do all she can to solve her biggest mystery yet.

The second book in the Enola Holmes series is another fun and smart read that is good but not great. I read through this very quickly but there wasn’t much memorable about it. Once again it is a case of the movie being better than the book. The second movie came out and is not much like the book. I enjoyed the movies but found the books lacking and not living up to my expectations. They are a good read that young readers will enjoy and be able to work through the mystery without much of a problem. I recommend to readers that want a mystery that is clean and fun and can be a quick read.

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess

Author: Nancy Springer

Series: Enola Holmes Mystery #1

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Edition Release: August 4, 2020

After watching the movie on Netflix, I decided to check out this series and had fun at the beginning!

Enola Holmes is the younger sister of the great detective, Sherlock Holmes. When her mother disappears, she decides to take matters into her own hands and solve the mystery before her brother. Her search takes her into London and becomes involved in the search for a kidnapped marquess. Enola is not only trying to find the young boy but also her mother and avoid her older brothers who are trying to find her. Along the way, she finds clues left by her mother and does her best to fit in with the society she has been thrust into.

After I watched the first Enola Holmes movie on Netflix, I was intrigued and investigated the book series. While the movie was fast paced, funny and had all the right feels at all the right times, the book here fell flat at times. It was a quick read, but I think I had my hopes set too high after watching the movie. It’s not often a movie is better than the book, but I think having the actors that they did made the movie that much better. This is a book that kids can read and enjoy as a fast fun read. I love that I’ve been able to recommend it as a good clean to friends. I do recommend this book to those that love a fun clean mystery.

What Happens Next

Author: Christina Suzann Nelson

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: January 17, 2023

A little different that what I’ve come to expect from Nelson, but I like it!

Recently divorced Faith Byrne has taken her past career as an investigative reporter and shifted to performing a podcast that focus on redemptive stories of people who have experience traumatic events. When her ex-husband gets permission to take their two daughters to Hawaii for the entire summer, Faith isn’t sure what to do with herself until she receives an unexpected letter from one of her childhood friend’s sister. Faith had always wondered what she had done for her summer of 1987 friend to never respond to her letters, but she finds out that she went missing after school started that year, but her family never told her. Heather’s sister, Brooke, solicits Faith’s help on her podcast to bring her missing sister’s story to light so that her family might finally find closure. But as Faith digs into the story, what she finds is anything that she expected.

I love Christina Suzann Nelson’s contemporary stories and look forward to her newest book every year. This one was a little different than anything she has written in the past, but I loved it! It was interesting to see how everything played out and if the reader could follow the clues to discover the truth before Faith did. Nelson did a great job of balancing mystery and intrigue with hope and healing for Heather’s family. Showing how grief support groups can help families heal and not store grief for years is something that needs to be shown more throughout our society. If you love a good mystery, this will be a good story for you to pick up on!

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The Final Gambit

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: Inheritance Games #3

Publisher: Little Brown

Release Date: August 30, 2022

The final book in The Inheritance Games series is good but not quite as good as the first two. A fantastic addition to one of my new favorite series.

Avery Kylie Grambs only has to survive a few more weeks living at the Hawthorne mansion in order to inherit billions. She has survived several attempts on her life and those she loves being targets as well. After a rough start, Avery has finally connected with the Hawthorne brothers and feels at home at Hawthorne House. As the day of her inheriting more money than any teenager has ever had approaches, more trouble pops up as a stranger arrives at the house in need of help. With each passing day, the danger increases, and Avery comes closer to losing all she is about to gain.

This book was really good; the problem was it followed the second in the series which was fantastic. The Hawthorne Legacy was so amazing that anything that followed it had zero to little chance of being anywhere close to as good. There isn’t much I can pinpoint that I didn’t care for in this book but nothing stood out as making it extraordinary. I thought the relationships were just a little dulled and the tension didn’t pull me in as much as the last. It is a great addition to the series and the ending is left open for more to come which is great fun for me as I loved the intricate nature of this series. The way that little moments from the beginning were brought full circle by the end of this book brought a smile to my face and showed me that Jennifer Lynn Barnes is an author that knows what she is doing. I would recommend this book to anyone that has read the first two in the series and wants to see what comes next.

The Hawthorne Legacy

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: Inheritance Games #2

Publisher: Little Brown

Release Date: August 2, 2022

It’s not often a second book in a series is better than the first, especially when the first was amazing! The Hawthorne Legacy is a fantastic addition to The Inheritance Games.

After the bombshell ending of The Inheritance Games, Avery Grambs is ready to pick up the pieces and find the man everyone thinks is dead, Tobias Hawthorne the second. DNA tests have been run that show she is not related to the Hawthorne family but now she and two of the Hawthorne grandsons are on the hunt to figure out the clues left by their grandfather. Avery continues to be threatened and those that want what has been left to Avery are ready to do whatever it takes to get her out of the picture.

I can’t remember the last time I read a book that the second in the series was better than the first, and I loved the first in the series. The tension in this book was more intense and pulled me in tighter making me unable to put the book down and I read this in a single day. The story was intriguing and made me want to keep turning the pages. Avery is a special kind of protagonist: relatable, witty, and not afraid to play the games with the boys. There wasn’t much at all that I didn’t like about this book including the dangerous situations she found herself in, the mystery, and settings all had me pulled deep into the story. I love a book like this that is hard to put down and keeps me from wanting to do anything else. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy mystery and action, but make sure to read the first in the series before starting this one.

The Inheritance Games

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: Inheritance Games #1

Publisher: Little Brown

Release Date: July 27, 2021

I am kicking myself for not reading this sooner! Such a fun and engaging book; I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Avery Grambs wants nothing more than to survive high school, get a scholarship to collage and leave. She lives with her sister after her mother died and her father wants nothing to do with them. All that changes when Avery finds out she is suddenly a billionaire when Tobias Hawthorne died and left his entire fortune to her. The problem is Avery has no idea who Tobias Hawthorne is. To claim the money, she must move into the Hawthorne mansion and live for a year with the rest of the Hawthorne family. Tobias had four grandsons who are as equally smart and have a love for puzzles just like their grandfather did. All the Hawthorne men believe Avery is up to something to get their money and Avery is going to have to play along with the game that Tobias set up to survive the craziness that is her life now.

I had heard about The Inheritance Games a good bit over the last year and knew it was one I wanted to read. This book was so much fun to read; I read it in less than two days. The way the writing was done with short chapters and lots of cliff hangers made it hard to put down. I loved all the action, mystery drama and fantastic storyline. Avery is a wonderful protagonist with a storyline that makes her relatable and fun to read about; all her actions seemed exactly like the character would act and never once made me question her actions, or any of the other characters for that matter. This series makes me think of The Hunger Games and Divergent, those types of books are some of my favorites and make me enjoy reading. I ended last year in a bit of a slump not enjoying any of the books I had been reading. Being able to start the year of with a series like this is reminding me of the joy I get from reading and escaping into a great story. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy a fun mystery that is action packed and full of great characters and a fun start to what is shaping up to be a great series.