Recent Reads

 Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox (2025)

Sophie's dad is throwing her a massive Sweet 16 party at his recently renovated historic home, but with several troubling relationships coming to a head, the party ends in tragedy.  This one was kind of a mixed bag for me.  I think the author did a great job setting up these difficult interpersonal dynamics, with Sophie's divorced parents, a nanny that seems a little off, a stepmom dealing with fears about new motherhood, and Sophie's best friend, who feels like she doesn't quite fit in anymore.  We get different POVs of the party as we follow several characters during the evening, and it definitely piqued my curiosity as to who would be killed and why.  Where it went downhill for me was in two areas - first, the author incorporates almost a haunted house vibe, with a tragic backstory for the property and hints at a ghost, but it never quite fits.  Also, the reader comes to learn quite late in the story about a deeply disturbing relationship that's been hidden, and it kind of just made me feel icky about the whole story.  3.5 stars

Too Old For This by Samantha Downing (2025)

A serial killer is brought out of retirement when people start knocking on her door, asking too many questions and bringing up old cases.  Lottie is not your typical serial killer - she's a little old lady who plays bingo with her church friends.  But Lottie has a checkered past, and although she hid things really well, someone has potentially put the pieces together.  This was a fun read!  Lottie is smart, really smart, and always trying to think 5 steps ahead.  When a documentary maker appears on her doorstep, wanting to ask questions about some unsolved murders that Lottie was previously implicated in, her old reflexes kick in.  Although at times this got a little outlandish and unbelievable, I really liked Lottie.  She also has some stuff going on in her personal life involving her son, and I appreciated that more humanizing element to the story.  4 stars

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