And she don't care when you're down: THE WIDOW.

The Widow by Kaira Rouda
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Jody Asher defines her life by her husband, Martin, a well-known congressman. She loves the status that comes with his position. Jody is throwing a wedding for their daughter and it's about to be the event of the year. But everything changes when scandal hits Martin--there's a rumor he's sleeping with a young intern and has dirty political ties to other countries. Then Martin dies and Jody truly stands to lose everything.

Ugh, I hate when I do not care for a book, but I just did not like this one! I almost DNF'd this one, but I kept hoping it would improve. And it did pick up a bit near the end, but things never truly gelled for me. THE WIDOW featured stilted writing, despicable characters, and--worst of all--nothing happened for the first half of the book! It's called THE WIDOW, but nothing happens to Martin until the halfway point (despite it appearing in the book summary and title). I just kept waiting and waiting for something exciting to happen!

Jody is billed as a psychopath character, but THE WIDOW did not take it far enough for me. If you are going to go that path, own it! The plot jumps around, trying to play spy thriller, lobbyist saga, and then tossing in their daughter and her wedding occasionally. Even better, somehow everyone went to school together! Martin, Jody, the Vice President, his wife went to college together, and then magically, Martin and their daughter's father went to high school together. Oh, the coincidences abound! It was way too much to believe.

There was a decent enough wild twist here at the end, but it couldn't redeem this story. There are boring "tips for congressional spouses" thrown in between every chapter that I eventually started to skim. Overall, I wish I had skimmed the whole thing. 2 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas&Mercer and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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I've been lost in yesterday: SOMEBODY'S HOME.

Somebody's Home by Kaira Rouda
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Julie Jones finally musters the courage to leave her wealthy but inattentive husband, Roger. She and her daughter Jess move across town to a new house in a different part of Oceanside. The old owners, Doug and Sandi, have moved out. However, they have left someone behind, their eldest son, Tom. Tom lives in the guesthouse and he hates his father and stepmother with a passion. For Doug, the feeling is mutual. Tom is supposed to vacate the guesthouse by the end of the weekend, but he has other plans. Ones that will change the lives of all involved by the time the weekend is over.

"Somebody's home, and he isn't supposed to be there."

This book starts off creepy, letting us know that someone has invaded a home and shouldn't be there. But then it flashes back several days later, leading up to the days before the event and truly goes sort of off course. The premise is interesting--a man refuses to leave his childhood home--but the story heads off in so many directions: Julie's marriage; a scandal with Jess and her friends; a scandal with Roger; a scandal with Doug, a pastor (sense a thread here)...

Each character tells their story from their point of view and it's a bit boring and repetitive at times. There is certainly an impending sense of doom at times and some good twists, but more needed to happen. Every person repeats their feelings over and over, instead of progressing the story forward. Worse, many are hateful, and it's hard to care about them or their motivations.

Overall, this one has its creepy at moments and some story threads are interesting, but it didn't work very well for me as a thriller. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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I'm crazy but I get the job done: THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER.

The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A year ago, Jane Harris' daughter, Mary, died tragically. Ever since, Jane has been lost in a cloud of grief and anti-depressants. But with a ceremony celebrating Mary's life coming up, Jane feels it's time for her to reemerge and reengage with her family: husband David and daughter, Betsy, who is about to graduate from high school. The family lives in a gorgeous house in Orange County, California. But Jane quickly realizes that David is always busy--with work or the gym he claims--and Betsy is distant and angry. Jane adored Mary, her eldest, who had finished her first year of college before she died. But at the ceremony for Mary, she receives a note, claiming Mary's death wasn't an accident. Does someone know what happened to her daughter--and are they right? Was Mary's death not an accident?


"After a year of grieving, it's time to step back into my family, or what remains of it and that's precisely my plan."


So this review is going to be a little unpopular, perhaps, based on others I've seen. I'd like to point out that it's not a negative review, per se, just not a gushing review as so many others seem to be. I just felt a little let down by this one; it left me a little flat. I found a lot of the twists predictable and while I found the book a very compelling read, there was just something "off" that didn't make it a "wow" read.

Still, as mentioned, this is a very readable book, and it will keep you engaged. Jane is an interesting character, to say the least, even if I sometimes found her more clueless than diabolical. She is, of course, an unreliable narrator, and we are only allowed to learn things as Jane reveals them to us. As a result, we're left a little confused, never quite sure where we stand. One of the things I liked most about this book was how easy it is to get sucked into Jane's delusional world as the novel is told in a very conversational style, with her sometimes speaking directly to the reader. She's also a pretty terrible person and yet oddly fascinating.


"Without Mary to place my biggest hopes and dreams on, I'm left with Betsy."


Her relationship with her daughters is pretty messed up, to say the least, and as a result, the book can be pretty creepy and bizarre. It's definitely quite a wild ride. Still, I was a little disappointed at how much I figured out ahead of time; I would have liked to have been more surprised.

Overall, this is a quick read and it's pretty intriguing. You'll get caught up in Jane's delusions pretty easily, even if some of them are fairly easily telegraphed. Others really rave about this one, so hopefully you'll enjoy it even more than me. I still recommend it; it's an interesting read. 3 stars.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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Where craziness gets handed down: THE BEST DAY EVER.

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Paul Strom has the perfect life. He's a successful, wealthy advertising executive with a gorgeous wife, Mia, and two young sons. They live happily in a beautiful house and all is well. Paul is even taking Mia away for a romantic weekend to the couple's lake home--just to celebrate how good they have it. But the day starts off poorly--they are delayed when Paul takes a phone call, seemingly annoying Mia, and it's clear there is tension between the perfect couple. As they drive toward the lake, it appears as if nothing as is good and wonderful as it seems.

I'd heard a lot of good things about this book and was excited to receive it for Christmas. I have to say that Rouda definitely nails the unreliable narrator. The book is told entirely from Paul's perspective, and the result is an eerie, creepy tale. At first he seems like a slightly overbearing husband whose focus is on providing for his family. But as the story progresses, Paul drops a lot of clues that something (perhaps a lot of somethings) is off and more and more comes to light as the story unfolds that all is not as it seems with Paul and Mia.

As for Mia, we basically see her only from Paul's point of view, which is interesting. Is she truly this obedient wife, submitting to her husband's every whim? And is Paul truly fooling Mia as much as he thinks he is? We're along for the ride, subject to Paul's arrogance and forced to read between the lines as he tells us his tale.

In a way, not much happens in this novel, which basically covers one day--Paul and Mia's "best day ever" away at their lake house--and it can get slow at times. I kept waiting for some explosive surprise or reveal, but that never really materialized. Instead, the strength here is in the tense and terrifying writing and the characterization of Paul, which was beyond superb. As the hours tick by, you'll be on the edge of your seat and sucked into Paul's delusions. I sort of loved his machinations and was totally drawn into his sick little world. He reminded me a bit of Joe from You - just a great, albeit delusional, character. 4 stars.

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