The Phantom Paragrapher

Review: The Second Honeymoon - McGarvey Black - July 2025 McGarvey Black has crafted a psychological thriller that left me questioning every "romantic" gesture my own partner has ever made. The Second Honeymoon isn't just a book—it's a masterclass in how quickly love can turn sinister when inconvenience enters the equation. The story follows Becca, a woman whose fibromyalgia diagnosis has strained her ten-year marriage to Andre. When he surprises her with an all-expenses-paid cruise for their anniversary, complete with a new outfit, my initial reaction mirrored Becca's delight. The romantic in me swooned at what seemed like the perfect gesture from a devoted husband. How tragically wrong we both were. Andre's true intentions—orchestrating Becca's murder to escape with his girlfriend Lily—hit like a punch to the gut. McGarvey Black's portrayal of a man who views his wife's chronic illness as an unbearable burden rather than a shared challenge resona...

Review: I Will Find You - Jessica Huntley - July 2025 Jessica Huntley has done it again. After being thoroughly captivated by her previous work "Room 21," I couldn't resist diving into "I Will Find You" – and honestly, that cover alone would have sold me. There's something about a well-designed book cover that hints at the dark secrets waiting inside, and Huntley delivers on that promise. The premise immediately hooked me: Bonnie and her husband Stefan embarking on a treacherous hike through the Swiss Alps, retracing the steps of a journey that claimed her brother Chris's life exactly one year prior. The emotional weight of Bonnie's quest to find her brother's body, coupled with her dependence on Stefan – the only witness to Chris's death – creates an tension that had me turning pages well past my bedtime. What starts as a grief-fueled mission quickly transforms into something far more sinister when a snowstorm forces the couple to seek she...

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...

Review: He's Lying About Everything - Robin Mahle - June 2025 Robin Mahle's psychological thriller He's Lying about Everything delivers a compelling premise wrapped in marital deception and small-town secrets, though it occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own ambitions. The story follows Derek, a tenured professor with a notorious reputation for infidelity, whose life unravels when one of his affairs ends in murder. Though cleared as a suspect, the scandal forces Derek, his wife Evie, and their four-year-old son Ben to relocate and start fresh in a new town. Derek secures a position at a local university, and for a moment, it seems the family might finally escape their past. However, their newfound peace shatters when Evie begins receiving threatening notes about Derek's history. The messages suggest that someone knows exactly who they are and what they're running from. Suspicion falls on various newcomers in their lives—suspicious neighbors and even Be...

Review: All Her Little Lies - Becca Day - October 2022 After redundancy left me with unexpected free time and a desperate need for escapism, I found myself gravitating away from my usual romance reads toward something with more bite. Enter Becca Day's All Her Little Lies , a psychological thriller that delivers exactly the kind of dark family drama I was craving during this uncertain chapter of my life. The premise is deliciously twisted: when Alex discovers Hannah's body, her maternal instincts kick into overdrive—not to seek justice, but to protect her son Daniel at all costs. What follows is a masterclass in moral ambiguity as Alex makes the horrifying decision to clean up what she assumes is her son's crime scene and dispose of the body. It's the kind of split-second choice that makes you question what you'd do in her shoes, especially when unemployment has you contemplating your own capacity for desperate measures. Becca Day excels at crafting morally complex...

Review: The Dream Wedding - Renita D'Silva - May 2025 What should have been the happiest day of Sam’s life turns into a nightmare — and sets her on an unexpected, dangerous path. In The Dream Wedding, Sam is about to marry a wealthy Indian man at a luxurious seven-star resort in Cornwall, a far cry from the life she ever imagined for herself. But Sam is hiding a dark secret: her real name is Maisy, and she once served time in prison for the murder of her parents — or so she has been led to believe. Renita D’Silva delivers a slow-burning psychological thriller packed with gaslighting, deception, and class tension. Sam has been doing her best to live quietly, until her world is upended by falling in love with a wealthy playboy who seems to worship her. Yet as their wedding approaches, anonymous threats about her hidden past begin to surface. Should she tell her fiancé the truth? Would he still love her — or would he walk away, shattering her world once again? Meeting her soon-to-be m...

Review: The Last One at The Wedding - Jason Rekulak - October 2024 After reading Hidden Pictures, I was excited to read Jason Rekulak's newest book as I see him following in the same footsteps as authors like Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager. This book starts with Frank getting a phone call out of the blue from his daughter Maggie. He hadn't heard from her in three years when they last had a fight and Maggie gave him the silent treatment. Maggie has rung him to tell him she is getting married to a wealthy family and she wants him at the wedding. Frank arrives and meets the groom, but of course, he has reservations and his father's radar is going off as something doesn't feel right. He can't complain though as he doesn't want to lose this newfound relationship with his daughter as he only just got her back. When the wedding comes, Frank his sister, and a foster kid are invited along to the estate where the Gardner's are hosting an expensive wedding. Frank's ...

Review: Then Things Went Dark - Bea Fitzgerald - September 2024 A theme that I have always enjoyed reading for years is reality TV in books. I became a fan of this trope after reading years ago Dead Famous by Ben Elton which was a Big Brother-themed story with a murder. Ever since then, if I come across books with a similar theme I will give them a go. In Then Things Went Dark by Bea Fitzgerald which was a book exchange gift, we have six influencers or fifteen minutes of fame stars who need to either prove themselves or redeem themselves in society, and what better way to do that than on a reality TV set on a beautiful island and with an enticing prize pool of money. This show will push these contestants into revealing their deepest darkest secrets with the hope that the world will never hear them spying on their fellow contestants. On the island, there will be friendships formed, alliances made, sleeping with one another, and backstabbing of course. Nothing is sacred when the whole ...

Review: We Were Warned - Chelsea Ichaso - March 2025 The story follows Eden Stafford, a high school student who has spent her life hearing the eerie tales of Fairport Village, an abandoned beach resort shrouded in a deadly legend. According to local lore, anyone who dares to step foot on the cursed property is doomed to die.However, what begins as a night filled with unease quickly turns into a waking nightmare when another student is found dead on the property. Though the death is ruled an accident, Eden is convinced there’s more to the story—especially since she saw something that didn’t quite add up.As tensions rise, Eden and her tormentors become the targets of a menacing stalker who seems determined to ensure that Fairport’s grim history repeats itself. Forced to band together, Eden, Caleb, and the others must unravel the resort’s dark secrets before they become the next victims. But with years of animosity between them, Eden is left wondering—can she really trust the people who h...