VBT# Don't Look Back - J.J Burgess - March 2026 There’s something about a psychological thriller that creeps under your skin and lingers long after you’ve turned the final page and Don’t Look Back by J.J. Burgess does exactly that. From the very first chapter, I felt my heart racing alongside Lucy. As a new mother, already running on empty and pure instinct, her panic is palpable. When she accidentally hits her elderly neighbour while rushing her sick baby to hospital, that split-second decision to flee feels terrifyingly real. It’s one of those moments where you think, what would I do? And that’s what makes this story so gripping is that it feels so achingly possible. Lucy’s situation quickly spirals, and what begins as a desperate attempt to protect her child turns into something far darker. Her boyfriend Ian initially steps in as her saviour, helping her cover up the accident. But oh, how quickly that dynamic shifts. JJ Burgess does an incredible job of showing how control can c...

Review: Nine Missing Girls - Steena Holmes - March 2026 As a long-time fan of Steena Holmes, I was absolutely thrilled to dive into Nine Missing Girls. Holmes has a wonderful way of blending emotional depth with gripping suspense, and this book delivered exactly what I was hoping for. It’s the kind of thriller that keeps you turning the pages late into the night ,definitely one of those “just one more chapter” reads. At the heart of the novel is Detective Meri Amber, the FBI’s leading child abduction specialist. Meri has dedicated her entire career to finding missing girls, but her mission is deeply personal. Twenty years ago, her own sister vanished, and that loss fuels every case she takes on. For Meri, each missing girl is a reminder of the sister she never stopped searching for. It adds a powerful emotional layer to the story, making every investigation feel incredibly real and urgent. What makes Nine Missing Girls stand out is its structure. The book follows nine separate cases , ...

Review: Tamar : Rediscovering the God who Redeems Me - Shadia Hrichi - October 2021 There’s something incredibly special about returning to the familiar and discovering something entirely new and that’s exactly what I experienced with Tamar by Shadia Hrichi. One of my reading goals for 2026 was to intentionally weave more non-fiction into my bookish life, aiming for at least one each month. I’m happy to say I’m right on track, and March’s selection turned out to be more than just a tick on a checklist , it became a deeply personal and thought-provoking journey. Like many who grew up in the church, my understanding of Genesis has always revolved around the “well-known” stories -the ones that are retold time and time again. Tamar’s story , however, often sits quietly in the background, easily overlooked. Yet through this six-week Bible study, her story came alive in such a powerful and moving way that I found myself seeing Scripture through fresh eyes. Tamar’s life was anything but ...

Review: The Nowhere Child - Christian White - June 2018 There’s something extra special about receiving a book as a gift , especially a birthday Bookstagram surprise and The Nowhere Child by Christian White felt like exactly that kind of treat: one that invites you to curl up, get cosy, and disappear into its pages for a few blissful hours. A couple of years ago, I read The Ledge by Christian White and was instantly hooked by his knack for tension and twists. Since then, I’ve slowly been working my way through his backlist, and this one had been sitting on my radar for a while particularly because it features one of my absolute favourite tropes: missing children who are later found as teenagers or adults. Think Finding Carter vibes or Angie Stanton’s Don’t Call Me Greta , stories where identity, truth, and memory all collide in the most compelling ways. In The Nowhere Child, we begin in a small, cult-like town in the US, where a baby named Sammy Went disappears without a trace. It’...

Review: Books and Bad Dates - Book #1 The Weaversbrook Series - Carmen Whitmore - March 2025 If you’re anything like me, sometimes you just need a cutesy, feel-good romance to scratch that reading itch and that’s exactly how I stumbled across Books and Bad Dates by Carmen Whitmore. Sitting on my shelf as a lovely birthday gift from Bookstagram , it practically called my name with that hot pink cover and honestly, I’m so glad I listened. Books and Bad Dates introduces us to Daisy, a small-town librarian who is as lovable as she is relatable. Like many of us, Daisy has endured her fair share of awkward, cringe-worthy, and downright terrible dates. But instead of letting those experiences fade into embarrassment, she’s done something rather magical with them ,she’s rewritten them. Under the secret pen name Rose Winters , Daisy transforms her dating disasters into swoon-worthy romance stories, giving herself the happy endings she never quite got in real life. Isn’t that just the dream?...

Review: Don't Answer the Phone - Miranda Rijks - March 2026 I'll be honest with you  the moment I spotted a new Miranda Rijks on my radar, I did a little happy dance right there in my kitchen. She is one of those authors who just gets the psychological thriller; the slow-burn dread, the creeping wrongness, the feeling that something terrible is coiling itself quietly around a perfectly ordinary life. So I settled into my favourite armchair with a cup of tea and absolutely no intention of moving until I'd turned the last page. Don't Answer the Phone begins with such a lovely, ordinary act of kindness. Daniella steps in to help elderly Peggy on a Boston street, the sort of small good deed we'd all like to think we'd do. But as any seasoned thriller reader knows, no good deed goes unpunished  and into Daniella's life steps Lucas, Peggy's son, all charm and smouldering attention. After years of feeling invisible beside her distant husband Grant, the pull is...

Review: Skinny - Book #1 False Reflections Series - Laura L. Smith - October 2008 Cast your mind back with me for a moment. Years ago, one of my absolute favourite genres to curl up with was what I fondly called Edgy YA Christian Fiction - stories that tackled the real, messy, complicated parts of teenage life without shying away from faith. Skinny by Laura L. Smith is exactly that kind of book, and it has stayed with me ever since I first read it. Melissa grows up surrounded by all the good things  a warm, loving Christian family and a tight circle of friends. She's also a dancer, and it's through that world that she begins to see herself as something she isn't: fat. What makes this story particularly compelling is that Melissa doesn't stop eating altogether. Instead, she starts counting calories and restricting, quietly convincing herself that because it isn't that bad, it isn't really a problem. It's that kind of slow, insidious thinking that makes her j...

Review: Half His Age - Jeanette McCurdy - January 2026 Hello everyone, and welcome back to our little corner of the internet! It's your favourite book blogger, The Phantom Paragrapher, curling up on the sofa with a warm cuppa to chat about our latest read. I finally dove into Half His Age by Jeanette McCurdy. After seeing the initial buzz, I was practically vibrating with excitement. Given the provocative title, I went in expecting something gritty and transgressive perhaps something in the vein of Alissa Nutting's Tampa, which famously and chillingly echoed the Mary Kay Letourneau case. I was braced for a dark, psychological deep-dive into the power dynamics of a taboo relationship. Instead, I found something much closer to our teenage TV screens. The story felt less like a heavy literary scandal and far more like a Pretty Little Liars subplot specifically, major Ezra and Aria vibes. The novel follows Waldo as she pursues her Creative Writing teacher, Mr. Korgy, and that ...

Review: Taken from Her Family - Book #3 Detective April Fisher - CJ Grayson - March 2026 There’s something about a story that begins with a parent simply trying to get through the end of a long day that immediately hooks me in. As parents (or anyone who’s ever been responsible for kids), we all know that feeling of exhaustion, the bickering from the backseat, and the temptation to just take the easiest option to keep everyone happy. In Taken from Her Family, C.J. Grayson takes that everyday moment and twists it into every parent’s worst nightmare. Tracy Marley is just popping by the gym to pick up her husband after hours. The kids are restless in the car, the evening feels routine, and when a text arrives inviting her inside, it seems harmless enough. The children are excited, and Tracy gives in. But stepping into that dark building turns out to be a decision that will change everything. Instead of her husband waiting, Tracy walks straight into a robbery in progress , three masked men,...