Seraphina Nova Glass

Well this was a literal banger of a thriller that kept me engaged and rapidly turning the pages to finish it in a single sitting.

The story opens when Regan Hoffman's car explodes at a Labor Day party in the gated community of Cloverhill Lakes. The blast shatters the peace of the neighborhood and creates a sense of fear because it was not Regan who died. Secrets start to leak out from behind the doors of the homes as three women find that something very sinister connects them. Regan spots her show more supposedly dead husband. Andi accidentally ends up with an unthinkable dilemma, and Sasha knows her teenage son is getting deep into trouble.

This was a high tension domestic thriller with multiple points of view narration. The plot is layered and the chapters end at tantalizing cliffhangers forcing you to read on. The pace is fast and the action non stop as the characters make some really bad choices and do crazy and reckless things, but it's so addictive that one ignores some of the outrageous coincidences and just suspends disbelief to go along for the ride. It's a fun and suspenseful story with a satisfying conclusion.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, Brittany Pressley, Rebecca Lowman, and Karissa Vacker, did an excellent job of bringing the three main female characters to life. Their voices created unique footprints through distinct, consistent cadence and patterns so they are easily identified. The production created a great immersive reading experience and I highly recommend listening. show less

I picked up ‘The Swamps’ after reading Leah’s review, which described it succintly as:

"• fast-paced novella • mystery thriller • ghosthunter supernatural suspense • spooky vibes • trust and jealousy issues • Louisiana Bayou setting • dual POVs"

‘The Swamps’ was even more fun than I’d expected. The narration by Brittany Pressley and Karissa Vacker brought the book alive. The novella length meant it was a fast read. The plot twisted in ways that I didn’t expect.

I show more thought I knew more or less where this would go: True Crime podcasters playing Scooby-Doo in the Louisiana swamps, bumping up against all the stereotypical spookiness of the people who live in poverty in the swamps before saving the day and unmasking the bad guy.. I was up for that as entertainment that would pass the time, but I woke up and paid attention as soon as I saw that while I’d gotten the scenery right,, I’d underestimated the complexity of the plot.

I liked that there was tension within the podcasting team. The story was told from the points of view of the two women in the five-person podcast team, and they saw things very differently. I also liked that the True Crime podcasting business got critiqued along the way as a vampiric, exploitative construct, with all the authenticity of a WWA wrestling match that traded on sensationalism to generate clicks and revenue. The swamp dwellers were colourful but were not demeaned. They were smart and, on the whole, nicer than the podcasters.

The atmosphere was laced with distrust, jealousy and duplicity (and that was just the podcasters) all of which was amplified by the spooky swamp setting and the scent of something supernatural in the air.

I loved the ending. It was clever and came as a complete surprise to me.

Seraphina Nova Glass was a new author for me, but I liked this story well enough that I bought two of her novels: 'The Vacancy in Room 10’I (2024) and ‘Nothing Ever Happens Here’ (2025). show less

Big drama, little substance, no tension.

Seraphina Nova Glass's “On a Quiet Street” was, frankly, not for me. I gave it a genuine attempt, making it to 33%, but ultimately, I had to DNF. The novel starts with a mix of intrigue and melodrama, but it quickly veers into territory that felt clichéd and overly contrived – more akin to a soap opera than a compelling thriller.

The premise had potential: a gated community told about through multiple points of view, revolving around Paige and show more her devastation over the hit-and-run death of her son, Caleb. Yet, rather than diving deep into authentic, layered characters or gripping tension, the book becomes bogged down by outlandish twists and unconvincing developments. For instance, Paige’s emotional descent pivots to her seduction of Finn – her best friend Cora’s husband – in a toilet at a ball no less. That moment was more cringe-worthy than dramatic. Meanwhile, Cora eyes Paige’s estranged husband, Grant, and Georgia, supposedly agoraphobic, turns out to be a prisoner of her controlling judge husband. It’s all a bit much.

The writing was mostly mediocre at best, and the pacing felt like a dying snail on a steeply ascending slope. With four perspectives that sound strikingly alike, none of the characters felt distinctive or gripping either.

At 33%, still mired in shallow drama and soap operatic antics, I decided to cut my losses.

One star out of five.

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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam show less

Solid Use Of Multi-POV To Create Compelling Thriller. Ok, this is one the "intelligentsia" claim "you can see coming from a mile away with a blindfold on". Eh, maybe. I didn't, not until the actual reveal. But I don't read mysteries or thrillers *trying* to do that. If anything, I'm looking for deeper connections to the current zeitgeist or to some legend or lore. (None of which is really present here, to be clear, other than this being yet another missing person based book.) What I found show more here was a solid use of multiple POVs and perspectives to create a thriller where everyone has secrets, everyone is lying... and yet one person's lies are hiding an awful truth that will unravel the entire thing. And then there is the back quarter or so, where all the lies are revealed, and the tale instead turns into a race to save a life... or end another. This part was where Glass apparently lost some readers, who felt that the tale fell off the rails here. Again, I disagree. While a different approach through this section (yet still maintaining the multiple POVs), I felt it was at least as compelling as anything that had come before it, and indeed even the ending itself felt justified and at least understandable, if not completely realistic. Overall, this book admittedly isn't likely to win any awards, yet as compelling or at minimum serviceable escapism for a few hours (clocking in at just under 300 pages), this is absolutely a book that will transport you away from the "real" world and into one with a bit of everything for everyone, including even doses of humor and romance. Very much recommended. show less