Don't Look In and The Forgotten Garden

 Happy Thanksgiving all! 

I finished an ebook and an audiobook last week that I wanted to share.

Don't Look In is the first book in a new series, Gus Young Thrillers, by Tom Saric.

About: 

"Psychiatrist Gus Young didn’t always see patients in the back of a hardware store. Before he came to rural Maine, he was a man with a past—past successes, past scandals... and past enemies. 

Now he lives in the woods, struggling with his memory, trying to reconcile with what little family he has left, and learning the secrets of his neighbors. One of those secrets is getting people killed.

When Wanda Flynn turns up dead, the police are interested in a number of Gus’s patients. Gus himself has suspicions, but when the evidence starts pointing in his direction he must discover who would have killed the troubled young woman, and do it without breaking the confidentiality of his practice.

His investigations will take him into the dark underbelly of the otherwise sleepy town, into his own past failings, and into the brutal path of revenge."

This was one of the best books I have read in awhile. The story grabbed me right away. It is very suspenseful and edgy. Gus is damaged. He is trying to lead a quiet life in this small town yet help people who need help. Gus seems to be having some memory problems though but he tries to cover this. When a patient, Wanda is found murdered, some things point to him, but he is sure he was not at her house, or was he? He doubts his memory. As the police seem more and more interested in him, he decides he needs to find out who killed Wanda himself. The key may be in his files and another patient. Fast paced, quick read. The ending was fantastic! Book two is coming out in 2021. 

Tom Saric has written two standalone thrillers also: Indicted and Compromised - international thrillers. 

"Tom Saric is an author from the Canadian prairies. He spent the summers of his youth on the Adriatic coast. During half of the week, he provides treatment to people affected by war. During the other half, he writes thrillers. He also watches hockey, drinks beer, and barbecues a mean beef brisket."

I received an ARC and voluntarily provided this review.

I listened to: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. 

About: 

"A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton.

Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra’s life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.

Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace—the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century—Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself." 

I have read a couple other books by Kate Morton and really liked them. I am a fan of historical fiction. I also like books that have multiple time lines. I think it gives the book a "Somewhere in Time" feel. This story has quite a mystery; what happened to Nell - why was she left on the docks, did no one look for her, how did she grow up; who was Eliza Makepeace and what is her connection to Nell or the family at Blackhearst. (Not sure of the spelling since I listened to the book.)

I liked the book well enough. It is very long and therefore my listening time was broken up quite a bit. I had a little trouble keeping track of all of the characters because that I think. Warning; most of the characters are pretty undesirable. The ending was really good.

I have been watching Road Kill with Hugh Laurie on Masterpiece. It is more of a drama than a mystery, I would say but I am enjoying it. I am a big fan of Masterpiece.

Our Mystery Book Club will meet after Thanksgiving and we will be sharing holiday themed mysteries. I will in turn share those here.

Again, have a great Thanksgiving if you are in the US. Try to not think about you know what but stay safe!