Pleasant Nights

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Told from various perspectives and settings, the story follows Ryan, whose girlfriend, Ali, was abducted when they were teens. Five years later, Ali’s car has been found, but still no sign of her. The local deputy sheriff is tracking down every lead.

While in Europe, Ryan is tracked down by the man who took Ali, which leads him down some dark paths across the continent. He wants to know what happened to Ali, but is also terrified of what he will uncover and how the truth could impact him.

This book was excellent, with a great plot twist that made total sense. I loved all the characters, and the way the plot brought them together was masterful. Another excellent one from Alex Finlay.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

In the first chapter, a college student writes a book that she feels very connected to. After publisher after publisher rejects the book, one finally picks it up. Each subsequent chapter is a person who interacts with that book in some way.

As you move through each chapter, you learn more about the original book and its eponymous main character, Theo. The basic plot is one of love and loss. But each person who reads the book (or doesn’t read but interacts with it, depending on the chapter) is impacted in a different way.

It’s a beautiful story of the power of books, reading, and connections. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

When a friend’s wife goes missing, Andrew has to return home to help with the situation. He fled the town decades ago after a terrible tragedy that befell the friend group. Once he returns, Andrew realizes that his friends have been struggling lately.

The group has a variety of issues. Not only is one’s wife missing, another’s daughter is sleepwalking, one is an addict, and one has buried everything so deeply that he’s in denial. When Andrew returns, everything gets worse.

This book was excellent. I loved Malfi’s Come With Me and was pleased to see another fantastic book from him. The book was so well-written and had some great twists that I didn’t see coming, but made total sense. Highly recommend this one!

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I thought the first 2/3 of this book was excellent, but the ending just didn’t really work, and I ended up skimming most of it. Calla is the guardian for her teenage brother, Jamie. And middle child, Dre, is supposed to help. But Jamie is constantly in trouble. Calla keeps having nightmares about her brothers’ deaths, and when Jamie gets into a mess at a protest, the siblings have to flee the city.

At a remote cabin, the siblings have to confront not only their fears but also the reality of Calla’s nightmare, which seems to be coming true. At this point, the book lost me. The last third is the siblings fighting the nightmare, but it was too repetitive. But that’s just me, I think. The writing was beautiful, and I loved the characters, so I definitely still recommend this one.