Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

Library Journal
— Read on www.libraryjournal.com/section/prepub

Five stars *****

I always enjoy the FREE Minotaur samplers. They are a great way to make a decision about forthcoming books to read or to add to a wish list. This time there are titles by Anna Downes; Alex Finlay; Kimi Cunningham Grant; Catherine Mack; Delia Pitts; Sarah Stewart Taylor. See the covers, find out what a book is about, read a generous sample and learn about the author. What could be better?

I am especially excited about Sarah Stewart Taylor’s new novel. I enjoyed her recent books set in Ireland and hope that this new series will be just as good. That said, many of these new titles look intriguing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.

#ACyclistsGuidetoCrimeCroissants #NetGalley

I was initially drawn to this one by the book’s title and the cover which I found very appealing. Happily, the story inside these pages also offered an enjoyable read with gorgeous locations, some good characters and an interesting plot.

Sadie was the kind of person who lived a predictable life as exemplified by her position as an actuary. Her life changes following the unexpected death of her best friend, Gemma (not too much of a spoiler as this happens very early in the book).

Sadie needs a change and purchases a bike tour company in France (now that sound pretty nice). However, of course, there are problems. These include vandalism and murder. No spoilers so hard to say much more except that this was a fun, cozy read. I hope that it is the start of a series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 21 May 2024

This title is part of a series that features Mordecai Tremaine and his police counterpart and friend, Chief Inspector Jonathan Boyce. The two are off to Brighton to investigate a case in which a doctor may not be an upstanding citizen. After all, why would he take a gun to a home visit? And, what will happen to him? After all, there will be a murder.

Overall, this is a more quiet and puzzle based story that is representative of the mysteries that were written at the time of its initial publication in 1952. Those who enjoy classic style novels in the genre may well enjoy this title and the others in the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date (for this edition): 02 October 2018

#PolesApart #NetGalley

Fans of women’s lit (and good reads) know that often a number of disparate characters are put together in a story. Readers then learn each of their histories and watch as they interact with one another and cope with what life puts their way.

In this enjoyable read there are four women. They span ages, marital status, whether they are parents, health issues, etc. All are looking for a bit more in their lives. Individually each decides to sign up for, of all things, a pole dancing class for some exercise. As a result, they dance, have friendships, learn about themselves and each other, all the while generously taking the reader along.

Where I live it is a rainy day…just the right sort of weather for sitting down with a good story. Many thanks to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 21 March 2024

The 10 best crime and mystery books of 2024 so far

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1cfd0177-6c0e-4157-8704-ae13004e92ea?shareToken=8a67aef30c415efe34228d6cc8bdd39a

Four stars ****

I like the double meaning of this title. Here is a book about money matters (topics) and how money matters (makes a difference in a person’s life). It is an excellent resource and one that it is easy to recommend.

There was a time when girls/women were not supposed to concern themselves with issues related to money. However, financial literacy is so important and making it interesting to a young person is a true service.

This book, written by a financial planner, is packed with information and topics. Just a few of the chapters are those on making money, spending money and investing. The author’s perspective is that money is not something to “worship” but nor is it something to “ignore.” She looks at money as a tool that lets people live their lives.

This book will enable its readers to understand an important topic. It is a good title for both school and home libraries.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebel Girls for this title. All opinions are my own.

#RafaNadal #NetGalley

Here is another entry in the delightful biography series for children. It is sure to be enjoyed by young tennis fans (and their adults).

Rafa Nadal is one of the best known and most successful tennis players ever but how did he get there? Well, for one thing, he was a hard worker. Find out more about Nadal in this engagingly illustrated story that has additional resources at the end of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 04 June 2024

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Maya Mirza’s unlucky-in-love past seems to be turning around when she ends up in an arranged marriage to the on-paper perfect man. But as she heads to her wedding in Pakistan, she finally meets the man of her dreams—and what could be more unlucky than that?

Murphy’s Law is simple: anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and no one knows that better than Maya Mirza.

Maya Mirza has always been unlucky in love. When she was in grade one, one of the mean girls told her crush that she liked him and he loudly proclaimed he hated her because she had cooties. When she was in grade six, she wrote her new crush an anonymous love letter, only to realize later she signed her name without realizing it. In grade twelve, she gathered the courage to ask out her crush, only to hurl all over him. Bottom line—romance sucks.

However, it seems like Maya’s luck may finally be turning up when she secures a marriage proposal from Imtiaz Porter. Imtiaz has everything—good family, great job, charming personality; everything, except Maya’s heart. But that’s okay. Love can grow after marriage, right?

Just when Maya thinks she’s finally broken her curse, it all comes crashing down when she gets on a plane to go to Pakistan for her wedding and ends up sitting next to Sarfaraz, a cynical divorce lawyer who clashes with her at every possible turn. When an unexpected storm interrupts her travel plans, Maya finds herself briefly stranded in Switzerland, and despite their initial misstep, she and Sarfaraz agree to stick together until they reach Pakistan.

Over the several days they travel together, disaster after disaster happens, from their bus crashing to having to travel on foot to getting mugged. However, the more time they spend together, the more Maya realizes she and Sarfaraz may have more in common than she thought. But of course, this is when she realizes her unlucky in love curse will always be with her—because how unlucky is it that she may have finally met the man of her dreams while on her way to her own wedding?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alina Khawaja is an author from Ontario, Canada, with a never-ending love-hate relationship with the snow. She is a graduate from the University of Toronto, where she majored in English and double minored in History and Creative Writing, and is now pursuing a Master’s degree in the Literacy of Modernity at Ryerson University. Alina can be found studying, writing, or bingeing k-dramas when she is not sleeping.

Start reading:

1

Maya’s Law #1:

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

“Dr. Khan, you know how desi families are when it comes to weddings.” I lift my head from the back of the loveseat I’m lounging on. “Everything is an emergency. I feel like I spent all my breaks during the school year planning for this wedding. Once this whole fanfare is over, I’ll be able to focus on me for a change.”

My therapist’s office is very Zen, which I suppose all therapist’s offices should be. Three pale blue walls, with the last wall behind her desk being white. The desk, which she rarely sits behind during sessions, is long and gray. There’s some clutter: stray pens, a file stuffed with papers, a coffee cup that’s half-empty and looks like it’s been sitting there for a while. Hanging on the white wall are three white canvases with gorgeous Arabic calligraphy in shades of cerulean and gold. The only thing that seems out of place is the bright orange loveseat; it’s such a strange color for an office scheme, but according to my therapist, Dr. Zaara Khan, it was a gift from her uncle who leases the place, so she couldn’t refuse it. I hated the color when I first started coming here, but it’s grown on me so much I would defend it to anyone.

“Well, you know how much I love it when you take ‘me time,’” Dr. Khan says. She pushes her dark brown hair over her shoulder, and the fading sunlight streaming in through the window gives it a golden glow. “You need to be more aggressive about it.”

“Dr. Khan, I’m the daughter of a Pakistani,” I say, disbelief underlining my words. “I was raised to be a people pleaser.”

Dr. Khan winces, but she can’t contradict me. Her understanding of how Pakistani Muslim families work is exactly why I picked her over the other therapists my family doctor recommended. Dr. Khan knows what our culture is like, so she knows not to recommend certain things, and she also knows how to navigate situations when I barge into her office frantic about whatever my mom did this week to push my buttons. She straightens up. “And how are you feeling about the wedding?”

I bite my lip. “I’m excited.”

She flashes me a look of disapproval. “Maya, every time I ask you how you feel about your wedding—or about the details of your relationship—you brush it off.” She taps her pen against her notebook. “Now, as your therapist, I can’t push you to talk about it before you’re ready to, but we’ve been seeing each other for three months now, and nothing.”

“That’s because there’s nothing really to tell,” I insist. I sit up straighter in my seat. “Imtiaz and I met at university. We were in the same sociology class because we both needed a social science credit, and we were friendly to each other for the whole semester. But we weren’t great friends or anything; we sat next to each other and occasionally texted to ask for notes. He went on to med school, I went to teacher’s college, and then two years later when I wanted to teach abroad in South Korea, Ammi wouldn’t let me unless I got engaged first. And by a wild coincidence, Imtiaz was the first suitor my mom found. We remembered each other from school, and we remembered getting along well enough, so we went for it. It’s not exactly a fairy-tale romance, but it’s good enough for me.”

“And why isn’t it a fairy-tale romance?” Dr. Khan wonders, setting her chin on top of her fist. “By your own admission, you and Imtiaz met at a time in your lives when you were trying to figure out who you were as people and then went in two different directions, and then he ends up being the first rishta your mom finds for you.” She tilts her head. “Doesn’t that sound like fate to you?”

I squirm in place. “I guess,” I allow. “That doesn’t matter now anyway. Imtiaz is great. He’s kind, funny, and he’s going to be a surgeon, so job security.”

“I’m sure the security must make you feel really good,” Dr. Khan says. “I know how committed you are to having a plan for everything.”

“Of course.” I square my chin. “When you’re cursed like me, you have to think of every disaster scenario first.”

Dr. Khan’s sigh fills the office. “Maya, what did we talk about?”

I bite the inside of my cheek, but at her incessant stare, I give in. “It’s not the power of the curse, it’s the power you give the curse,” I recite.

Dr. Khan grins. “Exactly. You can think your bad-luck curse is real, but it all depends on how much you allow it to control you.”

I barely refrain from an eye roll. At least Dr. Khan didn’t try to dissuade me from my personal affirmation that I was cursed. My older sister, Hibba, thinks it’s all in my head, but I’ve grown up with the worst luck anyone could ever have.

Especially when it comes to romance. I’m twenty-eight, and I’ve never been in a real relationship. Okay, that’s also because dating is technically haram in Islam, so any time I even tried thinking about a boyfriend when I was a teen, Ammi would shut me down. Then, somehow, she was confused when I entered my twenties and couldn’t make conversation with boys.

“That’s what I have my laws for,” I remind Dr. Khan.

My laws—which all started with Murphy’s Law, the idea that anything that can go wrong will go wrong—are the only things that kept me sane while growing up. When I was a kid, it was mostly a joke; it was the only way I could make sense of all the bad stuff that happened to me. But eventually as I got older and bad things kept happening—especially in my love life—they were all I had.

“Why don’t we change the subject?” she suggests in a polite tone. “Tell me about Imtiaz. He must be excited to see you.”

“He only left a few days ago,” I start. “I’ll see him in a couple of days. My flight leaves on Sunday, so I’ll be in Pakistan by Monday.”

My therapist quirks a brow. “And are you ready to get married?”

I wrinkle my nose. “Of course I am. I wouldn’t be getting married if I weren’t. I thought that was obvious.”

“I’m being serious, Maya,” Dr. Khan says with a deep frown. “In the few months we’ve been together, you’ve rarely mentioned Imtiaz. You only talk about him when I bring him up. Don’t you wonder why that is?”

“It’s because I’m happy and comfortable about that area of my life,” I respond. “Why shouldn’t I be? If I had a problem with it, I’d talk about it.”

“And you don’t have a problem with it?”

“No!” I swallow back my frustration. “After spending my whole life wanting love but thinking I’m cursed to be alone forever, I found this great guy who, for some reason, wants to be with me.”

“Why is it for some reason?” Dr. Khan questions. “Usually, that reason is because he loves you. Does Imtiaz not love you?”

“He…does,” I say, though I don’t know how true that statement is. He’s said it to me, but sometimes it feels like it’s more out of obligation than anything, or else it feels platonic. “Plus, love isn’t always necessary in brown marriages. My mom always told me she fell in love after she got married.” I set my jaw. “Not that it did her any favors when Dad left.”

“Your dad may have left, but from what you’ve told me, it seems like she managed just fine raising two daughters,” Dr. Khan points out.

A smile graces my face. “Oh, yeah, she did a great job. My mom worked two jobs to keep the lights on and keep us fed. And even despite working all the time, she still found time to come to school events and spend time with Hibba Baji and me. She had to put providing for us first, yes, but she also prioritized being present in our lives. It must’ve really worried her to think that I was going to end up alone as I got older and had no success in finding a husband.”

Dr. Khan tilts her head. “And what’s so wrong with being alone?”

I snort. “You’re kidding me, right?”

When she stares at me in an I’m-not-kidding way, I gnash my teeth. “Dr. Khan, in the desi community, if you don’t get married, there’s something wrong with you.”

“What could possibly be wrong with someone not wanting to be married?” she asks.

“It reflects badly on you and your parents. My mom already doesn’t have the greatest track record in our community thanks to the whole spousal-abandonment thing. Do you know the kind of rumors people spread about her?” Heat rushes to my face. “That my mom was a cheater, that she was so annoying she drove him away, that there was something wrong with her for a man to have left her alone with two young daughters.”

I clench my hands into fists, my nails biting into the soft skin of my palm. “All of that aside, I just don’t want to be alone.” I sink back into the cushiony couch. “As much as I hate when she’s right, Hibba Baji mentioned once that Ammi isn’t going to be around forever, and I can’t stick to my sister’s side. She has her own family, and I want one, too, someday. And I don’t want to do it alone.”

Dr. Khan clicks her pen. “I think before you start worrying about other people loving you, you should consider loving yourself.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. “I love myself.”

She gives me a dubious look. “When’s the last time you did something for yourself?”

“I gave my mom a head massage yesterday.”

“And how was that something for you?”

“It meant I had a couple hours of quiet while she napped on the couch.”

I expect Dr. Khan to be upset with me because I am very obviously dodging her question, so I’m surprised to see her curl her lips inward while her breath hitches, like she’s trying hard to keep a laugh in. After a beat, she’s back to being professional. “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing. Be serious, please.”

I set my jaw. “I’m doing absolutely fine. I’m going to Pakistan in a couple of days. I’m having a destination wedding. I’m getting married. I’m the happiest I could ever be.”

Dr. Khan leans back in her seat. “Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?”

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. Just as a stutter bursts from my throat, the timer on Dr. Khan’s phone goes off, signaling the end of our session. Dr. Khan sighs, but she presses Stop on the alarm.

I get to my feet before she can speak. “I’ll book another appointment when I get back from Pakistan.” I don’t make eye contact as I gather my things. “But I’ll be so wrapped up in postmarital joy that I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again.” 

“That’s fine,” she assures me. “I hope all goes well with the wedding.”

“Thanks,” I mumble in her direction. I grab my purse and head for the exit.

Dr. Khan’s voice stops me at the door. “But remember this, Maya,” she says. I steel myself, then look over at her.

She offers me a kind look, her fingers laced together. “No one is incapable of love, but we all have the ability to sabotage our own happiness, even if we don’t realize it.”

Excerpted from Maya’s Laws of Love by Alina Khawaja, Copyright © 2024 by Alina Khawaja. Published by MIRA Books.

The author:

Alina Khawaja is an author from Ontario, Canada, with a never-ending love-hate relationship with the snow.

She is a graduate from the University of Toronto, where she majored in English and double minored in History and Creative Writing, and is now pursuing a Master’s degree in the Literacy of Modernity at Ryerson University.

Alina can be found studying, writing, or bingeing k-dramas when she is not sleeping.

Maya’s Laws of Love : A Novel 

Alina Khawaja

On Sale Date: March 26, 2024

9780778305248

Trade Paperback

$17.99 USD

320 pages

BUY LINKS:
-HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/mayas-laws-of-love-alina-khawaja?variant=41076285997090

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/maya-s-laws-of-love-original-alina-khawaja/20238471?ean=9780778305248

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mayas-laws-of-love-alina-khawaja/1143404064;jsessionid=918D7F44DA303C3133F4358643DAFBA5.prodny_store02-atgap15?ean=9780778305248&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7310909_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778305244?tag=harpercollinsus-20

SOCIAL LINKS:
Author website: https://www.thealinakhawaja.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealinakhawaja/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thealinakhawaja

My thoughts:

Anyone who has ever found that the “course of true love never did run smooth” is certain to want to read this book. It is a story that will make readers hope for Maya’s happiness. She has certainly had a difficult time finding her one and then facing dilemmas. For example, should she go through with her arranged marriage? Is a divorce lawyer a good marriage prospect? How many things can go wrong on the way to Pakistan? The pages just turn quickly in this book making it a perfect pick for when a pick me up kind of book is what is needed.

Again, many thanks to HTP for this book and opportunity. All opinions are my own.

“Rooted in Pakistani and Muslim culture and faith, this romance is a fun romp that features plenty of adventure and plot twists. Recommend to fans of Uzma Jalaluddin.”
—Library Journal, starred review

You will be too!

#EveryoneIsWatching #NetGalley

EVERYONE IS WATCHING

Author: Heather Gudenkauf

ISBN: 9780778310792

Publication Date: March 26, 2024

Publisher: Park Row

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Best Friend. The Confidante. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Exec.

Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them know what (or who) to expect, and it will be livestreamed. Completely secluded in an estate in northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.

When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality TV show—someone is out for blood. And the game can’t end until the world knows who the contestants really are…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather Gudenkauf is the critically acclaimed author of several novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Weight of Silence and The Overnight Guest. She lives in Iowa with her husband and children.

Try it:

One

The Best Friend

Maire Hennessy squinted against the bright October sun as she drove down the quiet Iowa county road. The fields were filled with the stubbled remains of the fall harvest and stripped bare by heavy-billed grackles and beady-eyed blackbirds eating their fill before the cold weather set in. It made her a little sad. Winter would be coming soon, unrelenting and unforgiving.

That morning, she had packed up her girls and Kryngle, their four-year-old Shetland sheepdog, to drop them off at her former mother-in-law’s home. Maire, who hadn’t traveled more than a hundred miles away from Calico since she abruptly dropped out of college over twenty years earlier, was embarking on an adventure that could change the course of their lives forever. Ten-year-old Dani kicked the back of Maire’s seat in time to the throbbing beat coming from her older sister Keely’s ear­buds. Keely, a twelve-year-old carbon copy of Maire, had the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up over her head, her red curls springing out around her sullen face, as she silently pretended to read her book.

Maire tapped her fingers nervously against the steering wheel. “You’re going to be just fine,” she said, turning onto the highway that would take her children to her ex-mother-in-law’s home. Shar was a decent enough person. Except for the fact that she smoked like a chimney and gave birth to a shit of a son, Maire knew she would take good care of the girls while she was away.

“I don’t want to go,” Dani murmured. “I like my own bed. Grandma’s house feels weird.”

Both Dani and Keely dreaded the two weeks that they were going to stay with their grandmother, a bland, unexcitable woman with steel gray hair and stooped shoulders. There would be no movie nights, no special outings, no grand adventures, but they would be well-cared for, safe. And that’s all that Maire wanted.

“I thought you liked Grandma Hennessy,” Maire said. “You’ll make cookies and she’s going to teach you both how to crochet. You’ll have a great time.”

“Why are you going to be gone for so long?” Dani asked, staring at Maire through the rearview mirror, her eyes filled with hurt. A wet cough rumbled through her chest and she buried her mouth in her elbow.

That familiar cloud of worry that materialized every time Dani had a coughing fit settled over Maire.

“It’s only for two weeks and it’s not that I don’t want to see you,” she said. “You know that. I would be with you every single day if I could. It’s kind of a work thing and I can’t pass up the opportunity.”

“You work from home,” Keely said, briefly pulling out an earbud.

Maire didn’t mind lying to Shar but lying to her children was different. She had the chance of a lifetime and in a way, it was work related. Money was involved. Lots of it.

“It’s like a contest,” Maire explained. “And if I win, well, that would be nice. And even if I don’t, a lot of people will learn about my Calico Rose jewelry and might want to sell it.”

“Like Claire’s in the mall?” Dani asked.

“Yes, Claire’s, Target, who knows?” The lies slid so easily off her tongue now. Dani’s kicks to the back of Maire’s seat slowed as she mulled this over.

“I’m sorry,” Maire said. “I know it’s hard.” Her voice broke on the last word. Hard wasn’t anywhere close to how things had been for the last year. Terrifying, humiliating, devastating, soul-crushing were more like it.

Bobby had never been much of a husband or father, but his health insurance had been a lifeline for Dani. When he lost his job at a local grain elevator and then took off with the nine­teen-year-old waitress from the Sunshine Café, gone was the health insurance and any hope of child support. When the first $3,000 notice for Dani’s nebulizer treatments came in, Maire ran to the bathroom and vomited. It was impossible. Too much.

Between the implosion of her marriage, the impact it had on the kids, her bank account that was dangerously low, the unpaid medical bills, the jewelry she made for her Etsy shop, and the search for a job that provided decent health insurance, Maire was exhausted.

Things couldn’t go on this way. “It will get better,” she promised.

Maire glanced over at Keely and caught her accusatory glare. Out of all of them, the divorce hit Keely the hardest. Despite his drawbacks, Keely was a daddy’s girl, and she was suffering in his absence.

The worry never ended. At the top of the list was Dani’s health. Her cystic fibrosis was stable for the moment, but she was fragile. Her last infection required a two-week hospital stay, a PICC line with multiple antibiotic infusions, therapies, and nebulizer treatments. It was so much that Maire had to put together a binder for Shar filled with in-depth directions for Dani’s care, and she hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake by leaving. A lung infection that may be mild for most children could be deadly for Dani. And poor Keely. Quiet, shy Keely was getting lost in the shuffle, becoming more removed, iso­lated from them. Another thing to worry about.

A month ago, when she got the email about the show, she al­most deleted it. Maire had been online, scanning articles about the newest cystic fibrosis research, when she heard the ping. Grateful for an excuse to tear her eyes away from the words like Fibrinogen-like 2 proteins and cryogenic electron microscopy, she tapped the email icon on her phone.

CONGRATULATIONS—YOU’VE BEEN NOMINATED, the subject line called out to her. She scanned the rest of the email. Trip of a lifetime, groundbreaking new reality show, $10 million. Scam, Maire thought and went back to reading about clinical trials and RNA therapy. But an hour later, she was still thinking about the $10 million. She opened the email again to read it more closely.

Congratulations, you’ve been nominated to take part in the groundbreaking new reality competition show One Lucky Win­ner! Set in the heart of wine country, you, along with the other contestants, will battle for $10 million through a series of chal­lenges that will test you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Competitors will spend fourteen days at the exclusive Diletta Resort and Spa in beautiful Napa Valley. When not competing, spend your time in your lavishly appointed private cottage, swim­ming laps in the 130-foot pool, or head to the spa for our one-of-a-kind vinotherapy-based treatments—massages, wraps, and scrubs made from grapes grown in the La Bella Luce vineyard. As a special treat, each contestant will receive a case of Bella Luce’s world-famous cabernet sauvignon with an exclusively de­signed label just for you!

Maire snorted. It had to be a joke. A rip-off. She closed the email, even sent it to her trash folder, but an hour later, she pulled it up again. Ten million dollars. Maire was one month away from not being able to pay the mortgage on the house, from not being able to make the car payment, from not being able to put money in the kids’ school lunch accounts, from not being able to pay for one dose of Dani’s medication.

She should probably should just sell the house, take the loss, start over, but this was her home, the kids’ home. There was no way she was giving it up without a fight. She didn’t need anywhere near $10 million to save the house, but that is what it was worth to her, and that kind of money would change her life, all their lives.

Who would have nominated her? And how did that actu­ally work? Hey, I know of someone who could use $10 million. The entire thing had to be fake. The email was signed by someone named Fern Espa, whose title read Production Assistant, One Lucky Winner.

Anyone could send an email. Maire trashed the message again.

Then, over the next three days, the car started leaking oil, Kryngle ate a sock and had to have emergency surgery, and Da­ni’s hospital bill came in. Her credit cards were maxed out and she’d given up on any help from her ex. Maire needed money, fast. Burying her humiliation, she called her parents and asked for a loan. It wasn’t nearly enough.

Maire hung up and went to the garage, sitting in her leaky car so that the kids wouldn’t hear her crying.

Maybe this was the email she was waiting for. The sign she needed to finally take control of her life. Maire wasn’t a fool though. She did her due diligence. While sitting in the wait­ing room at the vet’s office, she looked up One Lucky Winner and found a website and an IMDB entry—both short on de­tails—but it clearly was a real show. She searched for the name Fern Espa and found a LinkedIn entry that looked legit. And the Diletta Resort looked amazing.

And now, under the guise of a work trip, here she was, drop­ping her kids off at her mother-in-law’s house for two weeks, hopping on a plane to Napa to take part in some Survivor-type reality show for the off chance she might win $10 million. It was ridiculous, over the top, maybe even irresponsible, but it ignited a spark of hope that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“You’ll be okay,” Maire said to the kids as she turned onto the cracked concrete of Shar’s street. Shar was waiting for them, standing on her rickety front porch, a cigarette dangling from her knobby fingers. With hail-pocked, dirty white aluminum siding and a crabgrass-choked yard in need of mowing, the home her ex-husband grew up in was grim and depressing. But her mother-in-law was a sweet woman who loved her grand­children. Maire scanned the street. Every house was in the same state of disarray and neglect. A jolt of fear shot through her. If she didn’t turn things around, they would end up living in a place like this, or worse.

Jesus, Maire thought. I’m making a huge mistake. She fought the urge to drive right on by. Instead, she gave the girls her bravest smile. “It’s okay. We’re all going to be okay.”

Ten million dollars would make everything okay.

Excerpted from Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf. Copyright © 2024 by Heather Gudenkauf. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

Praise for EVERYONE IS WATCHING

“No wonder Heather Gudenkauf is one of my favorite authors. Everyone Is Watching is a unique, original, compelling, and absolutely binge-worthy read. I couldn’t inhale the pages fast enough to find out what was going on in this mysterious high-stakes televised game. It’s Big Brother meets Survivor meets a bucketload of Machiavellian twists, and this knock-out book is sure to be a hit!” —Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of The Revenge List.

“Heather Gudenkauf manages to smash it out of the park every time. Everyone Is Watching has the delicious ingredients of a stay-up-all-night-and-finish thriller: a do-or-die reality show, a cast of disturbing characters, and a drumbeat that starts pounding on page one. If you need an escape from reality, this is the book to grab.” —Julia Heaberlin, internationally bestselling author of Night Will Find You

“Everyone is Watching is such a unique and intriguing book! I enjoyed every page, and the twists left me with my jaw hanging open!” —Freida McFadden, New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid

“An absolute blast of a read, Heather Gudenkauf’s astounding latest, Everyone Is Watching, is as addictive as the reality TV shows it’s inspired by. Big Brother meets Clue in this utterly original and incredibly tense locked-room mystery. I couldn’t tear myself away from it!” —May Cobb, author of A Likeable Woman

MY THOUGHTS:

This author knows how to write an exciting story and she does exactly that in her newest novel. Everyone is Watching has a good premise, characters and storyline. The pages really turn. Reading this novel may be enough to make folks reconsider all those reality shows despite the prizes.

I am delighted to be on the blog tour for this new release. Many thanks to the team at HTP for this opportunity.