The Phantom Paragrapher

Review: Long Time Gone - Charlie Donlea - May 2024 Sometimes the best hooks come from the most unexpected places. I'll admit, I wasn't planning to dive straight into another Charlie Donlea novel, but after finishing Those Empty Eyes, I found myself face-to-face with the opening chapters of Long Time Gone tucked right there at the end. Two chapters in, and I was completely hooked—there's something about Charlie Donlea's ability to weave DNA mysteries with missing persons cases that just hits all my reading sweet spots. Long Time Gone follows Dr. Sloane Hastings, a forensic pathology student working under one of the world's best. As part of her thesis on DNA and crime solving, Sloane decides to submit her own genetic material—partly for research, partly out of curiosity about her adoption. What she discovers turns her world completely upside down. Sloane wasn't just adopted; she was stolen. And the day before her "adoption," her entire biological famil...

Title: Someone Knows Author: Vi Keeland Publisher: S&S/Emily Bestler Books Genre: Standalone Thriller Release Date: June 17, 2025 Take a sneak peek at SOMEONE KNOWS. You know you want to... A voice behind me catches me off guard. “Put hers on my tab, please, Willow.” I expect to find the mullet man when I turn, but I’m pleasantly surprised. Instead, there’s a tall, handsome—albeit too young for me—man with a deliciously crooked smile. That smile widens, unveiling a set of cavernous dimples. Oh my. “You are definitely not from around here,” he drawls. I swivel and face him for a better look. “Oh yeah? Why is that?” “Because the girls from these parts drink one of three things: White Claws, High Noons, or Jack and Coke. And the third I keep away from because that means they’re going to wind up sloppy drunk.” “I suppose the reason I don’t drink any of those is because I’m a woman , not a girl.” Dimples looks me up and down. There’s a sparkle in his eyes when they meet mine...

Review: Those Empty Eyes - Charlie Donlea - March 2023 Sometimes you stumble across an author who just gets how to craft a proper thriller, and Charlie Donlea has definitely earned his spot on my auto-buy list. After being completely hooked by Twenty Years Later and its masterful twists, I found myself scrolling through my Kindle library like a kid in a candy store, looking for my next Charlie Donlea fix. That's when Those Empty Eyes practically jumped off my digital shelf. The story kicks off with Alex Quinlan, a teenager whose life gets absolutely destroyed when she's branded as the monster who slaughtered her own family. The media circus around her case is brutal – they even give her the chilling nickname "Empty Eyes" because of her distinctive gaze. But here's the thing that immediately drew me in: Alex is innocent, and she knows it. What follows is a gripping journey as she spends years fighting to clear her name, eventually winning her freedom and a hefty d...

Review: While You Were Gone - Mark Gillespie - June 2025 Holy moly, fellow book lovers! I just finished Mark Gillespie's "While You Were Gone" and let me tell you – I'm now side-eyeing every delivery person who comes to my door. This psychological thriller has officially made me paranoid about letting strangers into my personal space, and honestly? I'm kind of here for it. The premise is deliciously simple yet terrifying: Angie and Dan hire what seems like the perfect house-sitter, Martha Hunt, to watch their home and pets while they vacation in the Scottish Highlands. Martha's got stellar reviews, sounds absolutely lovely, and seems like a dream come true. But when the couple returns early due to Dan's illness, they walk into their worst nightmare – house trashed, Martha sprawled naked on their couch, and their beloved pets missing. Can we talk about how this hits different when you have friends turning their homes into Airbnbs? I literally texted my be...

  Review: All the Shiny Things - Book #1 Kate Reid Series - March 2013 You know that feeling when you think you have your life figured out? That's exactly where Kate starts—charity work that fulfills her soul, wedding bells on the horizon with her lawyer fiancé, the whole Pinterest-perfect life package. Then BAM! Dreams start haunting her nights, and suddenly she's tumbling down the darkest rabbit hole imaginable. Robin Mahle doesn't ease you into this psychological thriller—she throws you headfirst into Kate's world when she discovers the unthinkable truth about her past. At six years old, Kate was abducted alongside two other children. She was the sole survivor, her traumatic memories buried so deep that it took another child's kidnapping to unlock them. Talk about a plot twist that'll give you actual chills. What hooked me immediately was how Robin Mahle handles the partnership between Kate and Detective Avery. Their dynamic feels authentic—no forced roman...

Review: Steal My Breath Away - Book #2 Havencrest University Series - Sarah Castille - June 2025 Steal My Breath Away by Sarah Castille just served up everything I didn't know I needed on a silver platter, and honestly? I'm still recovering. Picture this: You're living your best indie singer life, busking on street corners and hosting university radio shows, when BAM—someone tries to kidnap you. Plot twist? Your mom's a senator with a target on her back, and suddenly your childhood crush (who also happens to be your dead brother's best friend) shows up as your personal bodyguard. If that doesn't scream "emotional chaos incoming," I don't know what does. Haley Chapman had me from page one. This girl's got pipes, dreams, and enough stubborn streak to make you want to shake her AND root for her simultaneously. She's not your typical damsel in distress—she's got agency, talent, and a whole lot of unresolved feelings about Ace Murphy. Spea...

Review: Keep Me In Your Heart - Book #2 Next Generation Lancaster Prep Series - Monica Murphy - December 2024 Y'all, I have a confession: I'm absolutely obsessed with reading entire author backlists, and this year Monica Murphy became my victim of choice. What started as an innocent "let me just catch up on Lancaster Prep" turned into a full-blown binge that had me ordering the latest release faster than you can say "book hangover." Keep Me In Your Heart is giving me all the feels, and honestly? I wasn't prepared for the emotional whiplash of watching Crew and Wren's son navigate love the same chaotic way his parents did. Rowan Lancaster is the perfect blend of his father's "too cool for school" facade and his mother's secretly soft heart – and watching him fumble around his feelings for Arabella had me simultaneously wanting to shake him and hug him. Let's talk about Arabella for a hot second. Girl just wants someone to comp...

Review: Always Remember - Cathryn Grant - October 2021 Listen, fellow book addicts – I need to talk to you about Cathryn Grant's Always Remember because this psychological thriller just put me through an emotional blender, and I'm still processing the aftermath. Picture this: Frank drops dead in his own sauna (casual Tuesday, right?), and suddenly his widow Louise decides she's moving in with her son Wyatt and daughter-in-law Kelly. Permanently. No expiration date, no exit strategy – just pure, unadulterated family dysfunction served with a side of murder mystery. Here's where Cathyrn Grant absolutely wrecked me as a reader. Kelly should be our girl – she's the one dealing with an invasive mother-in-law from hell, she's grieving, she's trying to hold her marriage together. But HOLY PLOT TWIST, Batman – Kelly is so insufferably controlling and paranoid that I found myself actually sympathizing with Louise. Yes, you read that right. The manipulative mother-in...