I don't know about you, but I love curling up with a thriller or mystery in the fall. Sometimes, I even step outside my comfort zone and read a horror novel. I'm starting off light this fall with two books to get me ready for spooky season.
Goodreads says, "Clarke Cartwright probably needed to get out more. She just had a lot to do. Running Toade’s Antiques was no small feat, especially considering that the roof was in shambles and half her merchandise was unsellable. But dealing with that felt easier than her other two options: third-wheeling with her best friend…again, or chatting it up with the ghost of her childhood crush’s father, who just can’t seem to leave her alone.
Leith Wilkes has spent his life preparing to take over his family's farm. Well, he’s actually spent most of his life flirting, but now he’s ready to buckle down, which has nothing to do with an oddly specific clause that his dad left in his inheritance. Leith is pretty sure he’s the only one who knows about it…until Clarke drunkenly spills that she knows, too, along with a bunch of other Wilkes family secrets.
Leith starts to wonder if there’s more to Clarke than she lets on…and if his dad has something to do with it. And if she is keeping secrets of her own, maybe she won’t mind helping him with his."
I love a good paranormal romance, and while they often seem far-fetched, Free Falling is one truly worked for me. I appreciated that Clarke could communicate with ghosts, and this ability significantly impacted her daily life, making it feel believable. The paranormal elements were cozy rather than eerie, which suited me perfectly. The entire novel was a delightful cozy fall romance. If you’re looking for a slightly paranormal read with romance, Free Falling is a great choice. I also enjoyed the romance between Clarke and Leith, their childhood connection, and how their relationship developed. Although I haven't read the first book in the Sweetwater Peak series, I don't think it's necessary to enjoy Free Falling.
Goodreads says, "Seaside is a small coastal town, known originally for the local amusement park. But twenty-five years ago, a serial killer dubbed The Carnival Killer confessed to the murder of a local high school girl. Now, he's recanted that confession.
Barb, Nicolette, and Lorelei were best friends - then they met "Sam" at Wonderland, the local amusement park. After hanging out with him there, and accompanying him to the drive-in movie, where the twenty-something handsome drifter made out with Lorelei in the backseat. That night was the last time Lorelei was seen alive, her murdered body surfacing a couple of days later in a local cranberry bog.
Barb's dreams of leaving Seaside and becoming a successful writer never materialized and she is a freelancer for the local newspaper and, secretly, writes anonymously about reality tv stars for a hugely successful gossip web-site called Reality Bitch. Specifically, she writes savagely about a long-running show set in Canada called Trophy Wives.
Nicolette left town shortly after Lorelei's body surfaced, never to return. Ultimately, she married a very rich man, moved to Toronto and rebranded herself as Cole Lennox, one of the stars of Trophy Wives.
With the amusement park about to reopen, revitalizing the dying town of Seaside, the Carnival Killer recants his confession about killing Lorelei, the dead body of young woman washes ashore, and the truth about what happened that night twenty-five years ago - and what is happening now - threatens not only the carefully constructed lives of Barb and Nicolette, but the very fabric of Seaside itself."
Many years ago in Seaside, Washington, three teenage girls spent the evening at Wonderland, a seaside amusement park. While there, an older man, Sam, starts hanging out with them, and one of the girls, Lorelei, shows an interest in him despite the age difference. Days later, Lorelei ends up dead, much to the girls' shock. The other girls, Barb and Nicolette, try to move on with their lives after this awful event, which they come to find Lorelei was killed by a serial killer named the Carnival Killer, who is also responsible for other women's deaths. As the years go by, Barb stays in Seaside working as a local reporter, and Nicolette moves away to the big city, finding herself on reality TV. On the night that Wonderland is set to reopen, another body is washed ashore. To top it off, there is a documentary being done on the Carnival Killer, and he recants his story; he says that he didn't kill Lorelei! Barb and Nicolette have some secrets about that night, and everything is threatening to unravel before their very eyes. Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier is an edge-of-your-seat audiobook that kept me turning the pages.
I love a good thriller in the fall, and Heart of Glass is one was particularly chilling, especially as an audiobook. The different narrators did a great job bringing the story to life, and the special touches enhanced the overall listening experience. I had a feeling about where the plot was heading, but Hillier effectively incorporated many twists. My only issue with the book was that it felt overly long; it went off on several tangents that I felt didn’t really contribute to the plot. Other than that, I found it to be a solid thriller to start off the spooky season.
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