book of the month Archives

Play Nice

“But so often, being right means nothing but winning a round of a losing game.” Author: Rachel Harrison A selfish young stylist/influencer who loves her content and feels nothing for people, including family, friends, and lovers. A demon-possessed house in need of some TLC. A traumatic childhood. And A LOT of drinking, drugs, and things that go bump in the night and leave smiley faces etched on the walls. And that, dear potential readers, is Play Nice. A less sarcastic, more complete synopsis looks like this: A divorced mother accused of child abuse and alcoholism finally loses custody and visitation rights [...]

Frances Carden2025-12-22T20:21:44-07:00December 22nd, 2025|Tags: book of the month, book review, botm, haunted house, horror, Play Nice, Rachel Harrison, read, reading|

Turn of the Key, The

“People do go mad, you know, if you stop them from sleeping for long enough...” Author: Ruth Ware It looks like she murdered the child. She had the opportunity and motive, but she swore in her novel length letter to her lawyer that she didn’t do it. Yes, she treated the children badly. Yes, she lied. Yes, she was there under false pretenses. But no, no, she never hurt them. That’s how The Turn of the Key begins, and, as Rowan Caine writes from prison, begging this famous lawyer to take her case, she slowly unravels the strange tale of Heatherbrae [...]

Frances Carden2025-12-15T12:27:38-07:00December 15th, 2025|Tags: book of the month, book review, botm, mystery, read, reading, thriller|

Haunting of Paynes Hollow, The

Ancient Dutch Folklore and Serial Killers Author: Kelley Armstrong Samantha Payne hasn’t been the same since the day she discovered her father burying a boy’s body on their summer property at Paynes Hollow. She hasn’t been back there since the discovery and its tragic aftermath either. Now, her father is long dead, branded a serial killer, and she and her entire family are infamous. But Samantha’s cruel grandfather insists on bringing the past back to life, arguing that her father was never a killer and that she doesn’t know what she saw – she was just a child, after all. But [...]

Frances Carden2025-12-06T16:51:46-07:00December 6th, 2025|Tags: book of the month, book review, botm, headless horseman, horror, read, reading|