Contemporary Reads

Reviews & recommendations of contemporary books.
Literary Fiction, Thrillers, Feel Good Books, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction & more…

11 March 2023 | Saturday · 1:08 PM

The Housemaid’s Secret

The Housemaid's Secret | Book Review | Freida McFadden
Title:
The Housemaid’s Secret
Series:
The Housemaid
Genre:
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
Publisher:
Bookouture 
Release Date:
Format:
Kindle
Pages:
316
Source:
BookForums 2023

Millie – is back! And how! The second book in The Housemaid Series is all set to emulate the success of it’s prequel and better it. The latest book from Freida McFadden sees the return of the two main characters, Millie – the housemaid and her beau Enzo, finding themselves caught in another mystery, another adventure.

What is immediately noticeable about The Housemaid’s Secret is the stark similarity with the first edition in the style of narration & settings that it follows. One of the main characters sitting in a room with the author dropping just enough hints to pique the curiosity of the reader and create an eerie air of suspense and fear. And thereon, it eases into the flashback to …

Leave a Comment

Filed under Contemporary Reads, The Housemaid

Tagged as

3 March 2023 | Friday · 11:43 PM

Someone Else’s Shoes

Someone Else's Shoes | Jojo Moyes | Book Review
Title:
Someone Else’s Shoes
Series:
NA
Genre:
Literary Fiction
Publisher:
Penguin
Release Date:
Format:
Kindle
Pages:
426
Source:
BookForums 2023

Someone Else’s Shoes is a lovable story with a unique & original plot that makes for a light, enjoyable read. It has two stories running in parallel – revolving around the lives of the two protagonists, Sam & Nisha – which converge together resulting in some utmost funny & boisterous situations.

Sam Kemp is a middle aged woman, leading a mundane middle-class life – never quite free from worrying about bills, job, boss and so on. Her husband Phil has lost his job and going through a rough patch of depression. As a result, she is compelled to run the household single handedly.

Nisha Cantor on the other hand is quite the opposite. Married to a rich man Carl, she was leading a luxurious …

Leave a Comment

Filed under Contemporary Reads

Tagged as , ,

14 February 2023 | Tuesday · 5:22 PM

Vinyl Resting Place

Vinyl Resting Place | Book Review | Olivia Blacke
Title:
Vinyl Resting Place
Series:
Record Shop Mysteries
Genre:
Mystery
Publisher:
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Release Date:
Format:
Kindle
Pages:
302
Source:
BookForums 2023

I picked up this book at a time when some major personal aspects of my life were keeping me busy. No wonder, this is probably the longest I have taken to complete a book, all of 300 pages! Getting to the book, Vinyl Resting Place is best described as a cozy mystery and is the first in the Record Shop Mysteries series by Olivia Blacke. To be honest, I find such a sub-genre weird, but it just implies – the crime in such books is treated lightly. And so is the case here. I am not sure I would have picked this up had I known this beforehand.

The setting of the book is in a small town Cedar River…

Leave a Comment

Filed under Contemporary Reads

Tagged as

9 January 2023 | Monday · 5:31 PM

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It | Book Review | Elle Cosimano
Title:
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
Series:
Finlay Donovan
Genre:
Thriller; Mystery
Publisher:
Headline Publishing Group
Release Date:
Format:
Kindle
Pages:
369
Source:
BookForums 2023

Book #1 of the Finlay Donovan series introduces Finlay Donovan alongside other recurring characters who are sure to endear themselves to the reader. A single mom of two adorable kids Delia & Zach, Finlay Donovan is struggling to write her novel with the deadline looming, 2 young kids needing her, unpaid bills and a babysitter fired by her ex husband.

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It hits the perfect note right from the word go with some utterly funny situational comic scenes and a wacky protagonist fighting her way through her daily grind. A discussion of her plot for the new novel with her agent is overheard by a by-sitter who mistakes Finlay for a contract killer & hands …

Leave a Comment

Filed under Contemporary Reads, Finlay Donovan

Tagged as ,

18 December 2022 | Sunday · 9:44 AM

One Good Deed

One Good Deed | Aloysius Archer Series | David Baldacci
Title:
One Good Deed
Series:
Aloysius Archer
Genre:
Thriller
Publisher:
Grand Central Publishing
Release Date:
Format:
Kindle
Pages:
416
Source:
BookForums 2023

The first book of a new series, a new character – Aloysius Archer. Having already read the two sequels, I can assure you, this is a character that shall stay with you for long. I truly have enjoyed the Aloysius Archer Series to the core.

Back from war & a subsequent imprisonment for a crime he hadn’t committed, Aloysius Archer finds himself in Poca City serving a 3 year parole. On a casual visit to the bar, he crosses paths with Hank Pittleman – a wealthy individual who virtually owns majority of Poca. The casual small talk lands Archer an assignment to retrieve for Pittleman the loan collateral from his rival Lucas Tuttle. And thereon, the story effortlessly draws you …

Leave a Comment

Filed under Aloysius Archer, Contemporary Reads

Tagged as

8 December 2022 | Thursday · 4:09 PM

Our Missing Hearts

Our Missing Hearts | Book Review | Celeste Ng
Title:
Our Missing Hearts
Series:
NA
Genre:
Literary Fiction
Publisher:
Abacus
Release Date:
Format:
Kindle
Pages:
353
Source:
Book Forums 2023

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng is a dystopia highlighting the discrimination & injustice against the Asian community in America. Set in the years of Crisis (recession), it quiet effectively points out how the Asians (in particular China) were blamed for the situation and how cruelly the political system wrongs them in it’s name. It’s main focus is PACT, a law enforced to protect American culture & tradition from these outsiders. In the name of PACT, children were taken from their families on slightest pretext – so as to guard them against such maligned, Anti-American views. And thereof, what the child & the families go through.

The first bit of the book gets your attention with the poignant descriptions …

Leave a Comment

Filed under Contemporary Reads

Tagged as