The Phantom Paragrapher

Review: The Reunion - Sonya Bateman - July 2025 Y'all, let me tell you about a book that had me clutching my coffee mug and triple-checking my door locks! This psychological thriller serves up everything I crave in a good revenge story – think "I Know What You Did Last Summer" meets your worst high school reunion nightmare. Our protagonist Desi was once part of the untouchable crew known as The Westgate Eight – you know the type, those impossibly cool kids who ruled the hallways like teenage royalty. But fifteen years ago, their perfect little world shattered on prom night when Flynn Bartell turned up dead and their queen bee Modesty vanished into thin air. Talk about a graduation gift nobody wanted! Here's where it gets juicy: every year since, the surviving members have been meeting up at this swanky resort (run by a former classmate, because apparently nobody can escape high school), basically having the world's most morbid book club meeting. But this year ma...

Review: 17 Years Later - JP Pomare - May 2024 One of my 2025 reading goals is to clear my physical bookshelf and as I also have my e-reader, what I have decided to do is to alternate between physical books and ebooks. So as my first read of the year was an ebook, that means my second read is a physical book. Being on a thriller buzz for the first day of January, I grabbed this New Zealand fiction - 17 Years Later by JP Pomare. One of the things I love about reading New Zealand fiction is being able to imagine the places that the book is set as I know the areas and that helped with 17 Years Later being set in Cambridge, just over the hill from where I live in Tauranga. The book starts with a crime podcaster Sloane Abbot winning an award and then googling herself, she reads a few comments that talk about how she is a one-trick pony and only covers white cases. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, there are talks about a case Bill Karamea who was convicted of murder 17 years ago of an English famil...

Review: Whispers of Deception - Liliana Rose Hastings - November 2024 One of my favorite things to read are YA thrillers and Whispers of Deception by Liliana Rose Hastings ticked that box. The book begins with Willow running for her life as someone or something is chasing her and then the book jumps to a podcast episode and news reports about Willow's body being found six months after she went missing and how she was the second one from their town to go missing - the first was a boy named Jacob whose body is still missing. Willow's friends are the main suspects in her murder as they were the ones who were the last to see her and have stuck to the same story each time asked, so much so that the police believe it is rehearsed. The friends though are about to get targeted as someone knows their deepest and darkest secrets including what happened to Jacob that fateful night and will begin to taunt the friend’s group with text messages, photos, and audio clippings. When Willow's...

If You Lie: A Thriller Caleb Stephens Publication date: November 1st 2024 Genres: Adult, Thriller A buried past. A new-age cult. A floating prison with no way off. Seven years ago, Olivia woke up in the trunk of a stranger’s car—and barely escaped with her life. She’s been looking over her shoulder ever since. Now, Olivia is a true-crime podcaster on a mission to help other women avoid her fate. But years spent covering violence and crime have left her burned out. So when Olivia’s estranged sister Quinn invites her to reconnect on an exclusive cruise, she jumps at the chance for a break…only this trip won’t be the relaxing vacation she’s hoping for. The ship is elegant, the meals are divine, and the people are friendly—maybe too friendly. But Quinn isn’t the sister Olivia remembers. And strange things are starting to happen that echo Olivia’s past in unsettling ways. When someone on the ship goes missing, Olivia realizes she’s playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse. On...

Review: A Haunted Road Atlas - And That's Why We Drink Podcasters Em and Christine - May 2022 For fans of the paranormal, true crime, and quirky travel adventures, *A Haunted Road Atlas* by Em and Christine from the hit podcast *And That’s Why We Drink* is an absolute gem. Volume 1 of this atlas is a must-have for anyone who loves a little mystery mixed into their vacations—or just enjoys traveling from the comfort of their armchair. Whether you’re looking for notorious crime scenes, haunted locales, or offbeat oddity museums, this guide is your ultimate travel companion. Pack your bags with essentials like a Ouija board, wine bra, and a holy water squirt gun, because this road trip takes you through the creepiest, most intriguing parts of the country. The book stays true to the podcast’s signature humor and charm, providing plenty of laughs while delving into some of the spookiest and most sinister stories around. Whether you're a die-hard listener of *And That’s Why We Drink*...

Review: Listen for The Lie - Amy Tintera - March 2024 This particular title had been talked about on Bookstagram and shared and it had captured my attention as I do love my crime thrillers and talking about cold cases and unsolved murders. Five years ago Lucy had it all, a handsome husband, a nice house, and her best friend Savvy. That was until the night after a wedding that Savvy was murdered and Lucy was found wandering down the road with amnesia. People assumed that Lucy had killed her best friend and then got away with the murder. The truth was that Lucy doesn't remember anything about that night, but knows for sure she would never have hurt her best friend. Now five years later, a podcaster Ben has swept into town and is aiming to discover the truth about what happened and gain some closure not only for Savannah's family but also to get justice, even if that means taking Lucy down and opening old wounds in town. As the podcast goes along, we see different sides of the t...

Review: Prom Queen - Laura Wolfe - October 2023 Since COVID-19, the world of Podcasts has become more popular especially when it comes to true crime and serial killers, even cold cases have been solved. Now that world is being developed into books with stories being set around true crime podcasts and a small-town unsolved cold case. Prom Queen was one of those books and unlike Carrie where the Prom Queen was covered in pig blood and set fire to the gym, this Prom Queen died on Prom night wearing the crown. For twenty years it was written down as a suicide, but for a few of those who knew Bailey - they always thought someone had murdered her. Now Twenty years later, Hannah is in town and part of her crime podcast - she is doing an expose on the cold case that is Bailey as it is coming up to the twentieth anniversary and she also received an anonymous tip that one of her friends killed her. Hannah though is about to stir up old memories, old and new vendettas as the remaining classmates ...

Review: Dark Corners - Book #2 Rachel Krall Series - Megan Goldin - August 2023 We all have those favorite authors who every time they release a book, we know we will read it and enjoy it which is a bonus. For me, one of those authors is Australian author Megan Goldin. After finishing Dark Corners, I now have read all of her books to date - so hurry up Megan, you need to write a new one LOL :). Dark Corners is taken from a quote in the book that you have to watch those dark corners as that's where monsters lie and even more so they can be anywhere. The person who sits next to you on the bus, the person who lives next door to you, or even a family friend. Dark Corners takes Rachel across to the local prison in Florida as her name has come up in an investigation with prisoner Terrence Bailey. He has only had one visitor and now she is missing before she left she was told to find Rachel Krall. Rachel has never heard of either but discovers a voicemail from the missing social media i...