I have still been reading A LOT of books this summer. One thing that has helped stave off a slump has been turning to some lighter, quick reads in between my five star books.
I either pick up a rom-com or a mystery/psychological thriller and so far that has worked well.
This past week, I picked up SA Cosby's latest, King of Ashes and thoroughly enjoyed it. Cosby's novels take me a little longer than some other mysteries; they are tough and gritty and not for the faint of heart.
Roman has come back home - returning to help his siblings who are left running a crematorium while their father is in a coma after a suspicious car accident. His younger brother, Dante, has managed to get himself in trouble - owing a huge sum of money to a group of scary young men. Roman thinks he can help Dante outsmart these guys, and while he does have a few tricks up his sleeves, the trouble Dante has found is bigger than anyone could have imagined. There were parts of this that made me cringe- plenty of violence that is described in detail. But Cosby's stories are so well done; I'm already looking forward to his next book.
Party of Liars is another fast paced psychological thriller. Told by multiple narrators, the chapters are short, and the story moves right along. Sophie is turning sixteen and her dad and stepmom are throwing her a big birthday party. Early on (it's even on the inside flap), we know that someone falls from the balcony and dies at the party, and as the story unfolds there are plenty of options for who this could possibly happen to. Sophie's best friend, Mikayla, isn't as innocent as she appears. Her stepmom Dani has been dealing with mental health issues since the birth of Sophie's new half-sister. Sophie's mom has a drinking problem and is still angry about the divorce. The baby's nanny has a few odd secrets she is keeping as well. I didn't have everything figured out until closer to the end, and I appreciated the twist that Cox ended the story with.
I have a lot of Miranda's books on my TBR, but I was surprised to realize that this is my first of hers I've read. I love a good campus novel, and this story is easy to get into. Beckett grew up as the daughter of professors in a small college town. After a fire and the death of two young men during Beckett's time there as a student, she leaves the college abruptly - her roommate and best friend was thought to have been involved in the event. Now her own daughter is starting college there, and when Beckett receives a strange phone call late one night from her daughter and is then unable to locate her, she returns to the college intent on finding her daughter. Secrets are revealed about events that happened two decades before and I found myself turning pages quickly. I enjoyed this one and will be picking up more of Miranda's books soon.
Summer school ends on Thursday, so I'm hoping my summer can soon involve some time spent sitting outside in the sun, reading a book.