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Thursday, December 22, 2022

Lost Girls of Willowbrook, City of the Lost, House on Warwick Pond, House on Whitmore Road

 Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays!!

Taking a few minutes to catch you up on what I have read this month. You know, it is busy in December whether it is work things "due" by the end of the year, family get togethers, club get togethers. Fun but busy.

The Zoom event with Louise Penny was fun. Hillary Clinton actually interviewed Louise Penny. They talked about the latest book: A World of Curiosities. There was also two special guests. One was a lady whom a character in the book is based on. As a college student, she was a victim of a school shooting. A gunman came into the Engineering classroom and made the male students leave the room and proceeded to shoot the female students. This person survived. Her name in the book is her real name. There was also an appearance by Alfred Molina and how he came to play Armand Gamache in the Amazon Prime series Three Pines. I really enjoyed the presentation.

Here are the books I have read or listened to in December: a historical mystery/thriller, mystery/thriller and two short cozy paranormal mysteries.

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by  (historical mystery/thriller)


About: "Fact, fiction, and urban legend blend in this haunting story about a young woman mistakenly imprisoned at Willowbrook State School, the real-life institution later shuttered for its horrendous abuses.

Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined."

It was a good thriller but some parts were pretty hard to read. Definitely a page turner. Willowbrook was a state school for children with mental disabilities in New York from 1947-1987. It was under investigation for conditions and questionable medical practices. Geraldo Rivera did an expose on it in 1972 which eventually led to its closure. Many parts of this story are in the book but the story about Sage and Rosemary is fictitious...I hope.

I see six books by this author. They all sound very good and are standalones. They are historical fiction with some mystery.



City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong (mystery thriller, crime) Rockton/Casey Duncan #1
There are seven books in this series. I listened to the audio book.




About: "Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a secret: when she was in college, she killed a man. She was never caught, but he was the grandson of a mobster and she knows that someday this crime will catch up to her. Casey's best friend, Diana, is on the run from a violent, abusive ex-husband. When Diana's husband finds her, and Casey herself is attacked shortly after, Casey knows it's time for the two of them to disappear again.

Diana has heard of a town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you're accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, and living off the grid in the wilds of Canada: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, no computers, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council's approval. As a murderer, Casey isn't a good candidate, but she has something they want: She's a homicide detective, and Rockton has just had its first real murder. She and Diana are in. However, soon after arriving, Casey realizes that the identity of a murderer isn't the only secret Rockton is hiding—in fact, she starts to wonder if she and Diana might be in even more danger in Rockton than they were in their old lives."

I liked the story. All of the characters in Rockton are there to not be found, mostly because of something they did that wasn't good. And some are still behaving badly. This book was also a "page turner". There are some murders taking place that are pretty gruesome. There is also some language. Just in case that isn't your kind of book. Good cliff hanger which makes me want to read more in the series.

Here is the link to Kelley Armstrong's page: Rockton – Kelley Armstrong


The House on Whitmore Road (Witch's Creek Book 1} by Sharon Michaels (cozy paranormal story)









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2 comments:

  1. KayDecember 27, 2022 at 9:32 AM

    I'm sure you remember that I love the Casey Duncan series, set in Rockton. Hope you continue with it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gayle December 27, 2022 at 5:52 PM

    Yes, I got it from your recommendation. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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