Tag Archive: crime


Review: The Housemaid is Watching by Frieda McFadden

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June 16, 2026

The Housemaid Is Watching (The Housemaid, #3)The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lauryn Allman and Ina Marie Smith bring Freida McFadden’s third book in her Housemaid series to life. This book was even more interesting in that it involved the family. The housemaid is married and has two children. She learns that what was easy as a single person is now four times as much.

The layers of personalities are complicated and yet full of love and suspicions. My favorite part was when we could see the issues from the child’s perspective. We often forget that our attempts to protect them can cause more harm than talking it out, painful as that might be.

Now I feel I can go watch the show

I was lucky to find this audiobook on Libby. I highly recommend this fun read if you like a thriller.

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The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden

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June 2, 2026

The Housemaid's SecretThe Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love a series. Especially if I can get to a couple of the books at a time, this one was available when I found the first book. Yep, Libby.

Lauryn Allman did the narration as she did on the first book, so there was consistency in the story.

I found some parts of this one confusing. Maybe if you can read the book, it would be more apparent, but listening can lose threads. Or is it my ADHD? Still, by the end, I knew what was what. And the story continues.

Sadly, I can’t continue as the next two books weren’t available.

At least the book didn’t end on a cliffhanger.

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Review: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

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June 1, 2026

The HousemaidThe Housemaid by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was not what I expected. I thought for sure that I would find it boring or silly. But instead, I found a very interesting story, told in a way that kept I interested from the very beginning.

The narrator, Lauryn Allman, did a marvelous job of varying her voice for each character, making them believable.

The film has been out for a while. My favorite way to watch books made into movies is to read them first. So that was my goal. Little did I imagine I’d be hooked into reading the next few books. As soon as I’ve read them all, I will find the movie.

Don’t you love Libby? I wouldn’t be able to read/listen to so many books without it.

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Review: A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

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May 19, 2026

A Spark of LightA Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the way of Jodi Picoult, this book hits many buttons yet tries to show more complex characters on both sides of the issue. And in this, she finds more than just two sides; there are variations on all sides, showing how difficult a theme she is covering.

The characters come to life. As in real life, there is good and bad in everyone. Good people making bad decisions, bad people doing good deeds. Making this more realistic than any book I’ve read on the subject.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book is the reverse timeline. It is even more confusing when an audiobook. Especially if you have technical issues with streaming or Audible. I think I understand why. If you place this story in a real timeline, there is no good outcome.

I was lucky to find this on Libby. By the way, Bahni Turpin and Jodi Picoult narrated seamlessly.

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Review: Divine Justice (2) by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

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May 7, 2026

Divine Justice (Divine Trilogy, #2)Divine Justice by Cheryl Kaye Tardif
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book in this series. I started the first a few years ago. But this book had me remembering the first part of the story.

Though it was a thrilling adventure, I had a hard time with the back-and-forth between times. I think it was because I had to read using Kindle text-to-speech. Maybe if you have the visual cue of dates or years at the beginning of the chapter, you don’t get lost?

I wish there were a bit more of a paranormal feel rather than feeling like a regular whodunit police mystery. But I can imagine the mystery people not wanting any paranormal. I guess you can’t please everyone.

Since I already have book three in my Kindle, I will move on to see how this series ends.

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Two Reviews in One

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March 24, 2026

Version 1.0.0
Version 1.0.0

Katie Beudert narrated this Nancy Warren mystery duo.

I have to admit to not being nearly as charmed as I was with the Vampire Knitting Club and other lighter, more humorous series. But in my time of need for distraction, it filled the bill quite well. For me, it felt a combination of Maisie Dobbs and Emily in Paris.

I was happy to find both on Libby.

Somehow, I started book two first, but I always felt I was missing something. I found book one and started it over.

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Review: Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen

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October 27, 2025

Bad MonkeyBad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’m at 77% into this book. I have sped up the audio because I am bored with this book. I have read other Carl Hiaasen books, and I always feel like I want to quit. I wonder why I tried. This isn’t up my alley. The humor is not funny. Maybe my gender? My age? I just find it a bit vulgar and misogynistic. And I am sad to hear bad things about the Johnny Depp monkey from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. All of it may be true, but still… it is a monkey, ya know?

I’ll finish the book before I sleep tonight. If the last bit changes my opinion, I’ll come back and change the review. Obviously, others love this book —try it and see what you think. A plus was that Arte Johnson was the narrator.

Thankfully, I picked this up on Libby.

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Review: Chasing Evil: Shocking Crimes, Supernatural Forces, and an FBI Agent’s Search for Hope and Justice by Robert Hilland

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September 30, 2025

Chasing Evil: Shocking Crimes, Supernatural Forces, and an FBI Agent’s Search for Hope and JusticeChasing Evil: Shocking Crimes, Supernatural Forces, and an FBI Agent’s Search for Hope and Justice by Robert Hilland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robert Hilland (Author, Narrator) and John Edward (Author, Narrator) told a frightening story. And it is a nonfiction. It isn’t a ‘who done it’ as they knew who. They just needed to catch the guy in a legal way to stop his serial murders.

I made the mistake of trying to read this at bedtime and found I couldn’t sleep. The book opens the imagination and sets you in the detective seat, trying to figure out what is happening and how to catch the guy in the act before more deaths.

If you are a skeptic, this book challenges you. I must admit to my share of “Come on! No, WAY!” but then I still believe there is energy out there. Ghosts? Angels? Who knows until we get to the other side? I can see this book becoming a movie.

I was lucky to find this audiobook on Libby.

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Review: The President’s Daughter by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

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August 12, 2025

The President's DaughterThe President’s Daughter by Bill Clinton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Don’t read this if you expect to ease into sleep at night. At 4:30 in the morning, I had to force the audiobook off so I could sleep. And yet I couldn’t. This book was very suspenseful.

With a cast of narrators that includes Tony Goldwyn, Fajer Al-Kaisi, James Chen, Jeremy Davidson, Amanda Dolan, Peter Ganim, Dion Graham, January LaVoy, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Soneela Nankani, the story is lively. The characters are full, flawed, and human.

About halfway through, I thought it was just an epilogue from the end. Then I looked at the progress line and saw that there was still a lot more to read. I needed to sleep!

This book is the second installment in the series, and I find that the collaborative writing of James Patterson and Bill Clinton creates a believable story that is also somewhat scary. Let this serve as a warning to be read in the light of day. Maybe a car ride audio rather than bed.

I am grateful to have borrowed this Libby audiobook.

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Review: Every Moment Since by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

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July 8, 2025

Every Moment SinceEvery Moment Since by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I ran out of something to read too early in the night. Libby had this story available to borrow. I wasn’t sure about it. Murder mysteries are not my favorite. Especially in cases where a child is missing. But with the multiple narrators and character development, I was drawn in. Although it was a whodunit, it was more about family relationships, watching the characters grow up without their loved one.

It is undoubtedly sad at times, but one has to find equilibrium after loss. I think that was the main point of the story.

I loved Marybeth Mayhew Whalen’s writing and the acting chops of Cassandra Campbell, George Newbern, Kirby Heyborne, Jane Oppenheimer, Macleod Andrews, and Renata Friedman.

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