Lynne Reeves

The Dangers of an Ordinary Night by Lynne Reeves is a very highly recommended character driven domestic thriller.

Best friends Natalie (Tali) Carrington and June Danforth, both seventeen, are kidnapped after auditioning for a play at the Performing Arts High School of Boston. Two days later they are found south of Boston on Watties Beach. Tali is covered with cuts, bruises, and disoriented while June is dead from exposure. Tali's mother Nell blames her father, Zeke, who didn't notice that show more Tali never came home, but Zeke who has repeatedly let his family down with his gambling addiction has other issues that Nell should have noticed in this dysfunctional family. Therapist Cynthia (Cyn) Rawlins is there to help Tali and her family deal with the kidnapping and aftermath. Detective Fitz Jameson has personal insight into the case and suspects more is going on in the Carrington home and at the school.

The novel opens with June trying to escape someone and what leads to her death, so you know the person responsible seems to know June. When the two young women are found, the real mystery begins to be uncovered. There is a complexity and emotional depth underlying every character and all these people are experiencing and/or trying to recover from some trauma. The characters are all flawed. They may not all be especially likeable, but they all resemble real people and therefore are relatable in many ways. Cyn and Fitz are especially sympathetic characters. Nell also elicits an empathetic response, even if the choices she makes will not be understandable to all readers.

The writing is excellent, confident and layered. The plot is even paced while the clues and additional information work together to create a complex picture of a mystery and the complex individuals who are a part of the incident and the resolution. Each of the 27 chapters are given the titles from 27 plays, tying the plot into the theater, the Performing Arts High School, and the students. I found this to be a compelling domestic thriller which I enjoyed immensely from start to finish. 4.5

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.
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How it will end, you can tell from the very first lines, so technically speaking, I would not call this book a thriller, although I understand that this definition may make the novel appealing to a wider audience.
Nevertheless, the book is not to be dismissed, quite the contrary.
The psychological insight into the characters, in fact, the tangle of contradictions that each of them carries within themselves, the attempt to survive an extremely competitive society without losing their sanity, show more make the reading of this book, decidedly well written, very interesting. show less

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

June and Tali go missing after an evening audition at their stage school. Two days later they are found on a beach - June is dead and Tali is injured and traumatized. This is told from the perspectives of Nell, Tali's mother; Cyn, the therapist assigned to Tali; and Fitz, one of the detectives. Cyn and Fitz have such substantial backstories that I assume the author is planning to make this the first in a series. I liked them, show more and I liked them together, although I couldn't help thinking that if the police and Cyn had been better at their jobs, they would have got to the bottom of things more quickly.

The plot moved along fairly quickly, and the ending was reasonably satisfactory. It certainly kept me guessing, and I would gladly read more by this author. show less

☆☆☆☆
“For women torn between impossible choices”— Dark Rivers to Cross by Lynne Reeves

“Dark Rivers To Cross” is a story that explores the emotional bond between a mother and her children, the lengths she will take to protect her children, and the boundaries children will push to uncover the secrets meant to shield them.

Lena Blackwell has been running a fishing lodge in Maine since her two adopted sons were in diapers. Now they are grown and her older son—Jonah—wants to show more find his biological parents. Lena needs to find a way to stop him before it ends badly for all of them.

The story covers different timelines, with the main story taking place in the present. The flashbacks fill us in on Lena’s history and some shocking surprises from her past that explain her secrecy.

Sincere thanks to Lynne Reeves and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this gifted ARC through NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

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