The Possessions by Sara Flannery Murphy
Author: Sara Flannery Murphy
Published: February 7, 2017
368 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
In an unnamed city, the Elysian Society allows paying clients to reconnect with their lost loved ones. The workers, known as bodies, spend their days in a numb routine, wearing the discarded belongings of the dead and swallowing pills to summon spirits.
Edie has been a body for five years, an unusual record. Her success depends on her carefulness. When she channels the wife of Patrick Braddock, an enigmatic widower, she becomes obsessed with the glamorous couple. Despite the strange circumstances surrounding Sylvia Braddock’s death, Edie pursues Patrick outside the Elysian Society walls, moving deeper into his life.
After years of hiding, Edie can’t tell whether she’s falling in love or whether she’s being possessed by Sylvia. She takes increasing risks to keep Patrick within her grasp. But as a disturbing murder case brings attention to the Elysian Society, Edie feels her quiet life unraveling. She grapples with both Sylvia’s growing influence and with her own long-buried secrets.
Kim’s Review:
This is an interesting mystery. The premise of a company that allows people to legitimately communicate with their dead loved ones is fascinating and I wish there were more details about the lotus and the actual process. Edie is a different kind of character that I enjoyed learning more about throughout the story. I will say that I don’t really like the description where it says that once she channels the wife of Patrick Braddock, that she becomes obsessed with the couple. That sounds so malevolent, when in reality, it wasn’t. Seeing how Edie cares not just for Patrick but for all her clients gives good grounding to the story.
The mystery felt very simple, like I should have figured it out long before I did. But it was still satisfying and everything clicked into place. The cover is perfect in every way! Overall, this was an interesting read that I enjoyed and got thru very quickly. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries.
Purchase Links:
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The Broken Girls
Author: Simone St. James
Published: March 20, 2018
336 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Vermont, 1950. There’s a place for the girls whom no one wants–the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It’s called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it’s located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming–until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .
Vermont, 2014. As much as she’s tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister’s death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can’t shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.
When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past–and a voice that won’t be silenced. . . .
Kim’s Review
The Broken Girls has been on my list for quite some time. My birthday was the perfect excuse to get it, so I did. St. James has this wonderful knack for subtlety that just slides under the radar and then once all the anticipation and creepiness builds up, it hits you and then you have to sleep with the lights on. But first, what drew me in was Idlewild Hall. I wish I had an abandoned, haunted girls school in my town. I’d be there all the time! I liked the students and the bonds they formed with each other, despite their skepticism about life.
St. James weaved so many emotions and situations into the story, that at first, the plot seemed to be all over the place. Then, by the end, everything had unraveled and everything was put in its place and made sense. The present tense story line was interesting and had plenty of twists and turns. My one issue and the reason I gave 4 stars, was Fiona’s obsession over her sister’s death. The problem was that they had already convicted someone for her death and he was in prison, so it wasn’t like there was no closure. It just got tiresome after a while. But other than that, this book was a chilling, emotional read that had me in goosebumps. Every thread was tied and the ending was satisfying and complete. I definitely recommend it!
Purchase Links:
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Someone Knows
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Published: April 9, 2019
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: April 30- May 7, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
Twenty years ago, in an upscale suburb of Philadelphia, four teenagers spent a summer as closest friends: drinking, sharing secrets, testing boundaries. When a new boy looked to join them, they decided to pull a prank on him, convincing him to play Russian roulette as an initiation into their group. They secretly planned to leave the gun unloaded—but what happened next would change each of them forever.
Now three of the four reunite for the first time since that horrible summer. The guilt—and the lingering question about who loaded the gun—drove them apart. But after one of the group apparently commits suicide with a gun, their old secrets come roaring back. One of them is going to figure out if the new suicide is what it seems, and if it connects to the events of that long-ago summer. Someone knows exactly what happened—but who? And how far will they go to keep their secrets buried?
Jessica’s Review:
I adore Lisa Scottoline and she is one of my ‘go to’ authors. I will want to read her upcoming book without even knowing what it is about. That being said, Someone Knows had an intriguing description that failed miserably for me. It was like she went solely for the ‘shock factor’ with this one, with a lot being unnecessary. For me all of the characters except for Allie are 100% unlikeable. They all are dysfunctional in some way, some worse than others. With their issues combined you also see their immaturity.
Scottoline doesn’t usually write teen characters, and this novel shows she may need to stay away from teens and stick with adults. The backstory to all the characters was not needed for me as I was not invested in these characters. I wanted to get to the night in question and back to present day.
The last quarter of the book involved the climax, but I just wanted to get to the end. When I got to the final twist it was so unbelievable I just rolled my eyes. Everything was ‘to the extreme’ on this one, especially with one particular character, and I am still not sure why this character did what they did. The story also comes around full circle and tied in a bow for the ending, but that bow was not pretty.
I hate to say this, but stay away from Someone Knows and read Scottoline’s other novels.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
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