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Novel Findings, June 18


Last Christmas, I revived my interest in reading novels, in particular, psychological thrillers in the form of printed paperback books.  

Since then, I've joined a Psychological Thrillers Facebook group which provides me with endless recommendations for books to read and suggestions for authors who I'd never heard of before, including some self-published authors whose books you can only purchase on Amazon.  

I've always been especially interested in the medical thriller genre, so I've been delighted to find books from authors Frieda McFadden and Lucinda Berry, both of whom work in the medical space, which adds authenticity to the stories they tell. 

I am currently reading about 8 books a month, which means that I am amassing a large stack of novels.  We are considering putting in a Little Free Library in the near future, so I'm holding onto them for that project.  

I forgot to order my weekend reading from Amazon this week, so we made a trip to our local B&N, where I picked up The Passengers by John Marrs and Snow Creek by Greg Olson.  William was surprised that I picked two books so quickly, but that's where the power of my TBR (to be read) list comes into play.  William is installing a new sunshade over the patio, and then I'm all set to enjoy my venti iced green tea and start The Passengers.  Marrs is getting excellent reviews in my Facebook group, so I'm looking forward to trying my first title from him.   

Review: Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry 

 Today, I finished Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry.  It's a story about a teenage boy (Mason) with autism who is being investigated for murder.  

  • The best part of the book is when they bring in a pediatric psychologist to review his records and what she stumbles across in his testing. 
  • The story was great until the ending, when it felt like there were several important details that were not explained, including what happened to the two main characters who we invested in learning more about chapter after chapter.  
  • There were also several items in the story that just didn't make sense involving Mason and also a character named Simon.  I'm not sure if he was real or made up. 
  • I thought it was interesting that the teenage boy's name is Mason; his mom teaches him to call her MA, and he's his son, so MA-SON.  
  • I really preferred Berry's novel, The Perfect Child and think that's her best one.  I recommend reading Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage first and then reading the Perfect Child.  
  • I give this book 💙💙💙 out of 💙💙💙💙💙 for an original idea but a rushed ending.  


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