Book Review Tuesday: The Body in the Apartment, The Trophy Wife, Subject A36 #CozyMystery #PsychologicalThriller #YADystopian

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Warm and cozy window seat with cushions and a opened book, light through vintage shutters, rustic style home decor. Small cat on window seat, along with coffee cup by pillow, Words Book Review Tuesday superimposed over imageIt’s been ages since I did a book review Tuesday, and I have a LOT of reviews I haven’t shared. I’m going to work in my five star reads as I continue to add new ones. I did read one or two not-the-best of books during my absence, and I’ll skip those. For now, take a gander at these!

Cute pug dog looking into the open door of an apartmentThe Body in the Apartment
by Judi Lynn

House flippers, Jazzi, Ansel, their families and friends are back in the fourth Jazzi Zanders mystery novel. This time around the stakes are higher as Jazzi finds herself immersed in two separate murders.

The book starts with a bang—literally. Ansel’s brother Radley is in River Bluff when their older brother Bain arrives to try to get Radley to return to the family farm. After an argument between Radley and Bain, Radley’s boss is shot and killed. Bain becomes the prime suspect when it’s discovered his gun is missing from his truck. Murder #1, but things are far from over. It isn’t long before another killing occurs.

As Jazzi and her detective friend Gaff begin to fit the pieces together, it becomes apparent the two murders are related. Getting there—unraveling multiple threads, false leads, numerous suspects and motives makes this the most intricate Jazzi mystery to date. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, each with plenty of motive. If you like your cozies complex, while maintaining a wonderfully breezy feel, you’ll love this series and this book.

As with most mystery readers, I always like trying to “finger” the murderer before the reveal, but I love the family and friends element in this series every bit as much. This time around there is a wedding to prepare for, the arrival of a new baby, Easter celebrations, and the flush of new romance for new friends. Twine all of that up with a great mystery, adorable pets, two fabulous lead characters, plus lots of home cooking, and you’ve got the winning combination that makes this series a sheer delight!

5 STARS

AMAZON LINK
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery > Amateur Sleuth Mysteries

Book cover for the trophy wife shows blue background with wisps of long blonde hair fanning from left spineThe Trophy Wife
by Sunday Tomassetti

Wow! This book amazed me with its many twists and turns. Cate Cabot works at an exclusive boutique in Palm Shores, Florida. She doesn’t do friends, preferring to keep people at a distance—even the boyfriend who loves her. Then Odessa DuVernay walks into the boutique. From the start, Odessa is different than most of the trophy-wife clientele Cate is accustomed to dealing with. She’s pleasant and friendly and takes a sincere interest in Cate—inviting her to lunch, engaging her in girl talk, going to a movie matinee.

It’s an adjustment for Cate. Then just when she finds herself opening up, Odessa mysteriously disappears. Not long afterward, Cate gets a panicked voicemail from Odessa asking to meet. When Cate arrives at the designated place, Odessa ghosts her. Concerned, Cate begins a search of her new friend, only to hit obstacle after obstacle. It’s like Odessa DuVernay never existed.

This is where things get VERY weird. Not just one unexpected turn, but several surprises that are cleverly unraveled a bit at a time by the author. When the final revelation arrives, it’s a jaw-dropper, and SOOOOO GOOOD! A thread I never expected, but one I love when it is handled deftly and Tomassetti definitely did that. If you enjoy psychological fiction, this is an inventive and highly riveting take on the genre. Superb!

5 STARS

AMAZON LINK
Genre: Women’s Psychological Fiction > Women’s Crime Fiction

NOTE: The ebook seems to have disappeared from Amazon so the link above is for the audio book. I couldn’t even find the ebook on B&N. Very strange.

Book cover for Subject A36 by Teri Polen shows title text over watermark of old building, plus small figure a man in silhouetteSubject A36
by Teri Polen

Set in a dystopian future, Asher and his team live in a world where children with desirable traits (specific hair or eye color, physical strength, agility, etc), are captured and harvested for “gene stripping” so the wealthy can purchase coveted qualities like selecting from an a la carte menu. After seeing the destruction of his family, seventeen-year-old Asher has found a new family with his team, including, Brynn, who he has come to love and Noah, who is like a brother. But doing what they do comes with excessive risk and plenty of danger.

From the start, there is barely time to catch your breath. The reader is given detailed insight into Asher’s character as well as multiple members of his team. Each are unique and fully fleshed out individuals, the good and the bad.

The Colony—which orchestrates gene stripping—is set on finding and capturing Subject A36, a genetically altered individual designed as the perfect killing machine.

This novel is packed with non-stop action, and shocking revelation piled upon revelation. The writing is smooth and snappy, scenes plunging like a roller coaster from one into the next. I devoured this book in two sittings and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction, great YA characters, and pulse-pounding action.

5 STARS

AMAZON LINK
Genre: Teen and Young Adult Dystopian 

More reviews to come next week. I don’t want to post too many at once, but hopefully I’ve piqued your interest with a few of these titles. Happy reading!

49 thoughts on “Book Review Tuesday: The Body in the Apartment, The Trophy Wife, Subject A36 #CozyMystery #PsychologicalThriller #YADystopian”

    • There is definitely a lot going on with The Body in the Apartment. Judi did a great job of pulling all her various plot threads together. Breezy and complex is a perfect description. Happy reading!

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. What a wonderful surprise to wake up to, Mae! Thanks so much for your review – on behalf of Asher and friends, we’re thrilled you enjoyed them. Judi’s book sounds wonderful – I love the covers in that series. That’s strange about The Trophy Wife – I’ve heard of the book before, so I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be on Amazon or B&N anymore.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • TTW is a mystery for sure. I’ve emailed the author to see if I can find out what happened to it.

      And I’m happy to share Judi’s book and yours on my blog today. Asher and friends were quite compelling. Talk about a fast-paced read with lots of surprises. You outdid yourself.

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  7. I’m so glad to have stumbled on your blog as I am always looking for a good read. I’m anxious to check out The Trophy Wife. Thank you for the review – I am so intrigued.

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    • Hi, Beck! Thanks for dropping by to visit me (and for the follow). It’s wonderful to “meet” you 🙂
      The Trophy Wife is a fabulous novel. I just wish I knew what happened to the ebook version!

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      • I kind of prefer physical books. I work on the computer all day and feel like I’m still working if I’m reading an ebook. I just love curling up and diving in. My kids don’t though, because often times I get so lost in the book I forget to feed them! Teasing… kind of… 😉

        Liked by 1 person

      • I can easily disappear between the pages, too. I read both print and ebook, and love them both. In the summer, I devour paperbacks around my pool. 🙂

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  9. Three great-sounding books, Mae! I’m intrigued by all three, and very curious as to why The Trophy Wife is only available in audio format. That’s a head-scratcher, unless there were some changes or edits that needed to be made. If so, that shouldn’t take long. Hopefully, it will soon be back. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on all of these. Taking notes, here! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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    • That’s a thought about edits and/or changes. I don’t recall any problems with TTW, but I was so wrapped up in the story, I doubt I would have noticed, LOL.

      I really enjoyed all three of these books, each one so different from the next. That variety made for entertaining reading!

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  11. Thanks so much for featuring my book, Mae! You write such great reviews. Every five star book you share sounds like it should be a TBR. Can an author pull a book to tinker with more if she decided there was something big that bothered her? That’s just so odd. And the big surprise sounded like a show-stopper. Glad to see your reviews back on your blog.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • It’s my pleasure to feature The Body in the Apartment, Judi. You wrote such a complex mystery and I love your characters, especially Jazzi and Ansel 🙂

      I’m starting to think maybe The Trophy Wife was pulled for the reason you mentioned. I just can’t figure out what would have bothered the author about the story. I thought it was riveting.

      Liked by 2 people

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    • Hi, Linda! Great to have you drop by. I hope you have been well. 🙂
      And I’m excited that you are an audio book listener. The Trophy Wife is awesome. I’m certain you will enjoy it and would love to hear your thoughts about it afterward. Happy listening!

      Liked by 1 person

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  15. Great reviews on all three books, Mae! The Trophy Wife has really captured my interest. I haven’t listened to an Audio book in quite a while. This sounds like the perfect way to do that again.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Im so glad you enjoyed The Body in the Apartment. Judi has such a great series going. And I’m also delighted to hear the rest of the books are headed for your TBR. Mine grows every day too, LOL!

      Liked by 1 person

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