All The Words We Know

I selected this book for the Key Word Reading Challenge. August has the word "word" as one of the six options in a book title. It is a suspense novel by Bruce Nash who has written three books. Words is the first book of his to be published in the United States.

The publisher's summary:

Rose may be in her eighties and suffering from dementia, but she’s not done with life just yet. Alternately sharp as a tack and spectacularly forgetful, she spends her days roaming the corridors of her assisted living facility, musing on the staff and residents, and enduring visits form her emotionally distant children and granddaughters. But when her friend is found dead after an apparent fall from a window, Rose embarks on an eccentric and determined investigation to discover the truth and uncover all manner of secrets…even some from her own past.

The story is not what I expected.  The publisher's summary indicates that Rose investigates the death of a friend who lives in a nearby room in their assisted living facility. It's not like investigations we see in murder mysteries. Rose has severe dementia. She mispronounces almost every word and understands nothing. However, when her friend who uses a wheelchair dies after jumping out of her window onto the parking lot, she knows that's impossible. Her friend could not walk on her own. A few days later Rose sees a nurse enter another person's room with a pillow. The next morning this person is found to have died in their sleep. She now knows how her friend died. Rose uses the diary given to her to keep track of events to secretly write down the clues she discovers.  It seems that when patients run out of money that the "angry nurse" comes by with a pillow and that patient dies "in their sleep."  That this happens is not surprising to me.

The author did a good job of describing how people with dementia behave and speak. However, he went too far. The book wasn't readable with all of the babbling. It became annoying after a few chapters. The more I have thought about it, the more it seems condescending and not funny as the author intended. On top of that Rose's investigation began more than halfway after the first chapter. That is way too late for a mystery.

Words was a disappointment. The premise of an assisted living resident solving a murder was interesting which is why I picked the book to read. No rating. 

The Story She Left Behind

I chose this novel for the Key Word Reading Challenge. The book was published on March 18, 2025. Inspired by a true literary mystery, its a story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.

The publisher's summary:

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.

By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.

This was an intriguing story. The mystery to be solved concerns Clara's mother. Clara knows she is dead but hopes that she isn't. Clara also hopes to find the language that Bronwyn created so that she can translate Bronwyn's sequel. The details are revealed slowly. The author builds up the mystery with plenty of suspense that kept me reading until I finished the book in one sitting.

The setting description of London on the 1950s was awful to imagine. The air was polluted from the use of coal that people couldn't see more than 3 feet in front of them. Londoners always had handkerchiefs to cover their mouths so that they would not choke yo death. For our characters, Wynnie almost died twice. Clara had to give her injections of medicine to keep Wynnie's asthma under control. England's bad air is a historical fact and resulted in the Parliament enacting a clean air act in the late 1950s.

The story had a feel-good ending. I am happy that it ended this way because the author could have chosen a number of different endings that would be plausible. I loved the book and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Save Her Life

Save Her Life is my choice for the Key Word Reading Challenge for June. Hostage negotiator Sandra Vos is the protagonist of a new police procedural series with Save Her Life being the first installment of the series. Sandra chose law enforcement as a career because her brother was murdered when they were young. When her teenage daughter disappears, Sandra feels like life is repeating itself. The book was published on May 27, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

The tears fall down the girl’s pale face as she desperately tries to struggle free from the ties around her wrists. The only sound in the room other than her muffled cries is the ticking of a clock. Her mother has less than one hour to find her alive.

It’s been more than thirty years since Special Agent Sandra Vos’s twin brother was shot dead, an innocent victim caught in a kidnap gone wrong. It devastated Sandra’s family, but it made her who she is today, one of the FBI’s most successful negotiators.

After dropping her teenage daughter, Olivia, at school, Sandra is alerted to a potential hostage situation at her local grocery store and races to the scene. A man has pulled out a gun and is refusing to talk or let anyone out of the building until his demands are met. The fate of dozens of lives rests in Sandra’s hands.

But as Sandra starts to make a breakthrough with the hostage taker, she receives a call that makes her blood run cold. Someone has taken Olivia, and their demand will push Sandra to her absolute limit. If it’s not met within twenty-four hours, she will never see her daughter again.

Sandra knows she should step aside, letting her team take over, but she doesn’t trust anyone else to bring Olivia home alive. Breaking every rule in the book, Sandra is ready to go into her most personal negotiation yet. But how much will she have to sacrifice to save her daughter?

The story opened with Sandra attending a parole hearing for the man who killed her brother over thirty years ago. The man was denied parole. The story then moved to a hostage negotiation that Sandra lead. I don’t think I needed to read 80 pages of Sandra negotiating with a hostage taker to understand her job. It was overkill. Also, her daughter wasn't kidnapped until 40% of the way into the story. Since saving daughter Olivia's life is what the book is supposed to be about, I think the kidnapping should have occurred early on in the story.  

The book concentrates more on procedure than relationships and I was somewhat bored. I did not connect with Sandra as a character. I felt more for the criminals instead. After reading other reviews of the book I am aware that my opinion is a minority opinion. Given that these criminals are not going to be involved in future stories, I don’t see much to entice me to continue to read the series. There aren't any secondary characters that were drawn upon either. We basically only read what their names are.

The plot was interesting but I had a few issues with the writing. I am rating the book 3 out of 5 stars.

The Lost Girls

The Lost Girls was published in February 2025. It was previously published in 2023 with the title The Flash Girls. I don't know the reason for changing the title, especially since several flash girls were killed in the story. Perhaps the story was revised. I don't know. As usual, though, J. M. Cannon has written another outstanding novel. He is the king of psychological thrillers.

The publisher's summary:

Charleston, South Carolina. Four years ago. Three girls disappear into the night. One by one they go missing, never to be seen again. No witnesses, no leads, nothing. The only thing they had in common? An uneasy sense of being watched in the days before they vanished. Noises in the night, and boot prints in the flower beds outside their bedroom windows . . .

Today. One of the lost girls was Anna Klein's best friend. With no body, the case went cold. But Anna never stopped looking for Sylvie - or whoever took her. Now, four years later, Anna finally has a lead when a body turns up in an abandoned mansion. She has to know: is it Sylvie? But time is running out. As the storm of the century threatens the whole East Coast, the clock is ticking to find the answers before this trail goes cold.

Can Anna find Sylvie and the other girls before they're lost forever?

I was mesmerized by this story from the first page:  

"Marble eyes. That's the rumor. A woman's corpse has been found with eyes like a doll. Anna thinks it sounds just strange enough to be what's she's after. The location is right. So is the body's estimated age."  

I had alot of questions already about the plot from this first paragraph. It was so intriguing that I couldn't stop reading until I finished the book in one sitting. The pace was fast but the last quarter of the story was super fast.  

Anna's job as a newspaper journalist was perfect for an amateur sleuth. She was assigned to covering a fast approaching hurricane but she felt that was beneath her. The murder story should have been assigned to her, not the newby reporter on staff. She was always ahead of the police but they didn't always know it. There are subtle hints throughout the book of Anna having intimate knowledge of the missing girls. While I was reading I was not sure whether this was a clue or red herring.

The secondary characters were all important to the plot. Anna worked with Justin at the newspaper and her favorite teacher Geller helped her with unscrambling the meaning behind the killer's poem. Her mother was awful. She was an unrepentant alcoholic but her importance is revealed toward the end. Anna's school friends Hannah, Tess and Sylvie have been missing for four years. They are the flash girls. The meaning behind "flash" was part of the killer's modus operandi and it was an intriguing part of the story.

The Charleston setting wasn't prominent until the latter half of the book as the hurricane approached. Here we read about famous buildings being ripped apart from the waves. The ending was a surprise I did not expect  ur it was a satisfying feeling to finish the book.

I loved this book and mystery fans will want to read it, especially if they like psychological thrillers. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Wife Upstairs

I selected this book for the Key Word Reading Challenge. Upstairs is one of the words allowed this month. When I selected it I knew it was going to be great because Freida McFadden is the author. She is a stellar writer.

The publisher's summary:

Victoria Barnett has it all.

A great career as a nurse practitioner. A handsome and loving husband. A beautiful home in the suburbs and a plan to fill it with children. Life is perfect—or so it seems.

Then she’s in a terrible accident… and her life is forever changed.

Sylvia Robinson is hired as a caregiver for Victoria. Sylvia moves into a spare room, feeds Victoria, and takes her on long walks. The two women become friends.

But as it turns out, this simple nursing job is more than what it seems. As Sylvia and Victoria's friendship grows, Sylvia realizes that Victoria is desperately trying to tell her something.

If only she could speak.

My first reaction to this book is WOW!  Talk about being on a wild ride. This story started off fast and the pace kept increasing. When negative things happened, the rural setting made them seem worse. There were no neighbors for a mile, no nearby stores or police protection. The city was 2 or 3 hours away.

The characters are what made the book successful. Victoria's husband Adam is the main villain but there are other characters that acted just as bad. Victoria's friend Maggie had ulterior motives, all while giving the appearance of protecting her. Her betrayal of Victoria isn't shown until the end. She was jealous of Victoria because Adam seemed like a great guy. He was rich, brought her flowers and took her to dinner at high priced restaurants. Adam also bought her a house, without telling her, but it was obvious to me that he was a possessive man and the relationship would deteriorate. On the surface Adam was an attentive husband, catering to his wife's every whim. Privately, he was a tyrant who frequently cheated on Victoria.

When Sylvia is hired she is overwhelmed at the opportunity to live in their mansion. Sylvia couldn't believe how lucky she was to sleep in a huge bed made up with luxury linens. Adam gave her Victoria's Honda Civic to use when she wanted to go out. All she saw was the riches she was given by Adam and Sylvia ignored all the signs of his misconduct. She didn't ask questions because she wanted to continue living the high life. Her downfall, though,  was her loyalty to her patient.

How Victoria sustained her injuries is unknown. Everyone believes whatever Adam tells them. I think they only believed him because he was rich and they wanted him for themselves. Why the wealthy get away with so much has always felt wrong but it happens in real life all the time. I still don't understand why.

The Wife Upstairs shows us the age old story of domestic violence committed by men. Freida McFadden writes it exquisitely and it's an engrossing read. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Guests

I selected this book for the Key Word Reading Challenge this month. The plot is interesting. Six guests are invited to the private Stonecliffe Island in Lake Michigan for the reading of a will and some of them are going to die.

The story opens with Ryleigh, a struggling artist whose been invited by her best friend, Kerrigan, to spend a week on Kerrigan's family’s private island on Lake Michigan. Kerrigan is a housewife with a perfect life. She has a seemingly loving husband, Kip, and a glamorous downtown Chicago apartment. However, her husband hates her. Their marriage is a sham. Cole is the caretaker of the estate and his job is to make sure the guests of the estate have everything they want but he has private aspirations that he needs to accomplish before the summer is over. Also in attendance are newlyweds Stavros and Mika.

On the estate each guest has their own villa. There are staff on-call twenty-four hours a day, including a masseuse, chefs to make dinner every night, and waiters pouring endless champagne. Their stay is expected to be perfect. However, a violent storm arrives and there is no way off of the island. Then one of the guests disappears.

The story started off well but for half of the book there was mainly bickering among the characters. The first disappearance didn't happen until halfway through the story so I tired of this dialogue. The story took off though and the pace kept ratcheting up until the final pages. The guests pointed fingers at each other, accusing everyone of commandeering the disappearance of Mika and later the disappearance of Kerrigan. This back and forth continued to the end of the story which had me reeling from the frequent twists and turns.

Despite the slow start this was an exciting novel and I am glad that I stuck with it. 4 out of 5 stars.

First Lie Wins

First Lie Wins is my selection this month for the Key Word Challenge. It is an exciting, page-turning read that keeps you hooked until the end.

The publisher's summary:

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job isn't like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes—especially after what happened last time.

Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there's still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher—but then, Evie has always liked a challenge. . . .

It took a few chapters for me to engage in this book. I needed to understand what Evie was about before getting hooked. The story took off around the third chapter. Evie steals high end items such as jewelry and paintings for her boss Mr. Smith. Another character, Devon, assists Evie in planning and executing her jobs. The story has the feel of a spy thriller. No one knows the identity of Mr. Smith or why he is interested in obtaining these goods. Sometimes he just wants information to be stolen. 

Evie uses a different name for each job. These jobs are sometimes quick but can last for months and be in different locales. While she is with Ryan, Evie is introduced to a woman who is using her real name and life history which throws her off her game. Evie cannot imagine why this woman, claiming to be Lucca Marino, was in her path.

The novel is more of a whydunit than a whodunit. I was surprised by the big reveal (how all of the characters were related) and then by the ending. None of it was anticipated.

First Lie Wins is a  fun read. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Vanishing Hour

The Vanishing Hour is my selection for January's Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge. It's author Seraphina Nova Glass's fourth novel but the first of hers that I have read. She is known for writing tightly woven suspense stories. The book was published in May 2023. 

The publisher's summary:

Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets.

But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.

When a surge of disappearances brings the investigation to her door, Grace finds herself unwillingly at the center of it all and doing everything she can to keep her distance. Because Grace knows something…something that could change everything. And when the truth comes to light, getting justice for the vanished might be more than Grace can handle alone…

This book was soooo good! I was hooked from the first chapter. The suspense was built up nicely throughout the story all the way to the end. The story is told through a triple narrative. We read from the perspectives of Grace, Kira Everett (whose daughter is missing) and Aden Coleman (whose father is missing). The book opens with Kira looking for her daughter Brooke. Then we see Aden visiting his mother who is upset that she cannot get a hold of her husband. Aden rents a room at a local hotel that is run by Grace. The Coleman family learns a few days later that the father is actually missing. Each chapter alternates between the viewpoints of these three characters. 

The police aren't sure if the crimes are connected. Kira decides to investigate herself because she doesn't believe that the police are on the ball. Kira soon meets Aden and Grace and together they try to piece together what has happened to their loved ones. Their friends and family are secondary characters who provide twisty turns in the plot. Almost every character becomes a suspect.

What is the vanishing hour? It is 10 pm. Each family had their relative last seen at 10 pm in the same seedy part of town. The media, who has been reporting on these cases, made up the phrase "vanishing hour."

The Vanishing Hour is a thriller with a satisfying ending. Mystery lovers will want to read this one. 5  out of 5 stars.

2025 Key Word Reading Challenge

 

Kim and Tanya at the Chapter Adventure blog are once again hosting the Key Word Reading Challenge. It is one of my favorite challenges so I will be rejoining the challenge in 2025.

The challenge Rules are simple: 

1) Read a book each month with one (or more) of the key words in the title. Variations of key words are allow. For example: Drown, Drowning, Drowned are all okay for the key word ‘drown’.

2) Follow @chapter_adventure on Instagram and Threads if you’re on there. And/or join our Goodreads Group (GXO Reading Challenges). The challenge has also been added to Storygraph if you prefer to track your progress there! Post about your read for that month on our monthly check-in post here or at any of the platforms previously mentioned with the hashtag #keywordreadingchallenge⁠.

3) The challenge runs the calendar year.

4) Link your book reviews on the Chapter Adventure site.

The 2025 key words are below:

JAN– Storm, Time, Know, Return, Break, Hour, Twist, Silence

FEB– Art, Golden, Dream, First, Club, Went, Stay, Live

MAR– Deep, Clever, Sand, Little, Happy, Date, Guest, Over

APR– Rest, Days, Upstairs, Sing, Shell, Starlight, Life, Couple

MAY– Lost, City, Wind, Hide, Lie, Fan, Room, Clear

JUN– Great, Wander, Child, Mine, Book, Watch, Heart, Save 

JUL– Sunrise, Deepen, Story, Sweet, Resort, Good, Left, Ever

AUG– Side, World, Sound, Trial, Word, Hotel, Now, Say⁠

SEP– Borrow, Survive, Listen, Where, Sleeping, Crash, Please, Count

OCT– Bury, Ghost, Chain, Glass, Moon, Last, One, Street

NOV– Tale, Final, Feast, Bloom, Cliff, Wide, Memory, Always

DEC– Fable, Flirt, Truly, Shop, Winter, Yours, Warm, Love