The Death of Jane Alexander

 Double wow, I suspected a little mystery, maybe a little goth, based on the cover. That did not prepare me for the slice of Victorian Life, where crypts, marble slabs, myths and magic converge at Lindridge Hall. Our protagonist, Jane is perfectly cast as the logical young woman seeking a marriage of convenience. She thinks the Dr is the best choice and outlines her plan. At first he informs her, marriage is out of the question. However, based on her skills with his ledgers and assistance in the surgery, he decides that it might work. With qualifications that Jane quickly disregards.

She can only blame herself when she doesn't follow those agreements and boundaries she accepted with her husband to be. The wedding night is a sham and Jane finds herself in a horrifying world of images, secrets, magic and madness. Bloody and disheveled, will she survive her evenings in this creepy, decaying residence?

Of course we all know to stay out of the cellar, do not agree to allow yourself to be pulled into magic that you don't know the extent of, but Jane's not thinking because now she is in love with the creepy doctor and can't bear that there are secrets she's not privy to. 

Augustine seems pretty pathetic to me, dishonesty seems to come naturally to him, or could his version of the truth be the real one? If he would just stop running away. 

Yes, this has all the ingredients of a proper horror tale - blood, guts, pain, decaying mansion and metaphysics.

Don't read it alone at night or plan to stay up all night. Not really my cup of tea but I'm grateful to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Shelter by Catherine Jinks

 I enjoyed reading Shelter, my first book by Catherine Jinks. It was scary, having been in an abusive relationship many years ago it did bring back memories that I had forgotten and were best left to rest in peace. However, I couldn't put the book down. I didn't see the extreme danger that was ahead for these two women who also had barely escaped more violence, perhaps ending in death. 

I didn't see the twist coming until near the end. At first the visiting sheltered wife was meek and scared and all our heroine wanted to do was help her. That wasn't the game plan, but I didn't guess how far she'd go. 

I would have hoped for a happier ending although i understand that small town gossip and law enforcement don't always know who to believe. Our Protagonist hadn't made nice nice with the neighbors so she didn't have a lot of back up when she needed it, sad but true, the honest one is not always the believed one. 

I recommend if you've moved past a violent abuser and don't get overwhelmed with the antics of the hostile ex-husband. I was glad to receive this copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

 Wow, this kept me up reading steadily until after midnight. I had to know if the bad guy was going to get caught and stopped. Surprise twist at the end. I rarely read a book in one day, but I did it yesterday. It had me from the first page. I planned to just read the first chapter for a preview and get back to my other responsibilities and read the whole book later. I couldn't do it. After several chapters I just gave up and got comfortable on the couch and dived it. As I said, it was 12:30 when I turned the last page. 

In addition to keeping me captivated I learned a lot. I knew nothing about dirt bikes or how much of an asshole at home a cop can be. I hope that not all police officers are as much of a jerk as this cop was AND there was a good-guy cop to balance it out. 

In the end I think justice was served, unfortunately some lives were lost. The book was modeled after some real life happenings on some similar locations although they were fictionalized locations in the book.

I recommend this book if you like thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat.

I received this book pre-publication for an honest review.