suspense books – Beach House Books

Beach House Book #4 All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Wow! And I’ll say it again! Wow! If you own a beach house, this is definitely one to stack on your shelves and share with your guests! I grew up in a small town in the South where one of the highlights of summer was the county fair and let me tell ya going home was never this exciting (nor would I ever desire it to be). This book is amazing and its no wonder that Southern Living had it ranked as #1 in its list of Best New Books of Summer for 2017. I finished this book in very little time…the story is gripping to say the least. If you are like me, you’ll take a copy everywhere just to find out “who done it” and “what the heck happened.” Be careful though, I am afraid I am going to be fined by my local library because my copy is waterlogged from reading in the pool.

This book is set in rural North Carolina and the main character, Nicolette, comes home to face a mystery that haunts her from her past…and a new mystery that will define her future. It’s a suspenseful story based on repercussions of decisions we make, loyalty that we choose, and the desperate measures we take to protect the ones we love. One of the most intriguing parts of this story is that Miranda wrote backwards in time…so you read the ending of the story and work your way back to the beginning, which basically spans a 15-day period. If you are one of those people that like to read the end of a book, before the beginning, to find out how it turns out…well you just have to start at the beginning like everyone else. This presentation was very clever. All of the assumptions I made about the characters and what I thought happened, changed as I continued to read so you have to pay attention to the content in the earlier chapters (the end of the story) because they may be conclusions to things that happen in the later chapters (the beginning of the story). For me, the only remaining mystery of this story is… how Miranda wrote it…from beginning to end (back to front) or end to beginning (front to back). I think I’ll have to read it twice…starting from the back this next time around just to see if I pick up on anything new.

Don’t hesitate on this one! Summer will be over before you know it! All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda is a must for a summer Beach House Book!

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I Will Judge a Book by its Cover

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Beach House Book #2 – Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

Beach House Book #3 – Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Beach House Book #5 – In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

Beach House Book #3 – Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Have you ever contemplated the two simple words, “what if?” Have you ever felt grateful or regretful because something so seemingly innocuous changed the course of your life and “if only” or “what if” rang in your conscience because those moments altered everything? Well unlike my favorite “choose your own adventure” books from childhood, you can’t always see how things turn out if you made a different choice. Reality is the hand you are dealt…

Fortunately, my reality had my toes in the water basking in the Florida sunshine while I read, Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty on the water, on the beach, on vacation. This beach house book read was listed as #3 on Southern Living’s list of Best New Summer Books of 2017. This page turner evolves out of the complexities of a relationship between childhood friends, their spouses and an innocent invitation to a barbecue. Moriarty contemplates the “what ifs”and “if onlys” in our lives and the emotions that we often endure silently and, perhaps often, incorrectly…our reactions of shame, guilt and misunderstanding as we deal with our own interpretation of reality.

Moriarty keeps you on your toes (even if they are buried in the sand) and your eyes on your children, as the events of the mysterious barbecue only reveal themselves halfway through Truly Madly Guilty. Only after the introduction of each character and their unique perspectives does she reveal the binds that tie them and you turn the pages even more quickly.

This book was the perfect beach house read. I loved the suspense, the relationships and the characters, especially Vid, and his Tony Soprano-esque personality and love of food. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Add Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty to your own personal beach house library now!

I will Judge a Book by its Cover

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Beach House Book #2 – Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

Beach House Book #4 – All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Beach House Book #5 – In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

Beach House Book #2 – Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

For Beach House Book #2, I reached deep into the back of my closet where my book shelf is and pulled out this little forgotten gem…an old, classic, paperback, printed well before they changed what paperbacks looked and felt like. This paperback, indeed, was reminiscent of one I would find in a beach house. Albeit, this version was in better shape…not battered by ocean water, wind, salt and sand. Any Luanne Rice book that is held in my hands comes from my mother, loved by her before it is passed along to me. I’ve known this book has been with me for awhile; however, I didn’t recall that it has been sitting on my shelf for 14 years…in multiple homes, in multiple states and even different countries. This book has mileage. It was time I read it. After I all it did meet my beach house book blog criteria. I dusted it off and looked at the cover…”Perfect Summer” with its idyllic, peaceful setting of a house sitting on the coast. Just by looking at the cover, I can feel the breeze that would blow through the windows of this house on a summer evening. I can hear the laughter of children run outside to play after dinner before bath time as people sip ice tea or lemonade from a porch. I can feel simple times.

Situations like this prove that I am guilty of judging a book by its cover and being wrong! Perhaps you can imagine my shock and delight as I curled up on my couch, delved into this book, expecting to begin a story just about old friends or an old flame and, instead, I became immersed in a mystery…some unexpected suspense, which ensured I did not put this book down. I devoured the first half of this book one morning over a few cups of coffee. The title of this book is definitely misleading to one that judges a book by its cover, but I promise that you will enjoy losing yourself in this story. The Perfect Summer is set on the coast off Connecticut, and it is about what I originally suspected…old friends and an old flame, but it is also about deception, betrayal, lies, forgiveness, hope, and love. It is a story of a family torn apart by greed, competitiveness and the desire to win at all costs. It is the story of “what if” and the one that got away. It is a story of hope, renewal and happy endings.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. You won’t put it down.

And yes, thank you Amazon...it is still available for purchase as a perfect beach house paperback.

I will Judge a Book by its Cover

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Beach House Book #3 – Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Beach House Book #4 – All the Missing Girls by Megan Mirana

Beach House Book #5 – In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch