Stacy Juba

Oh my goodness! Talk about not being able to put a book down! I opened the book at 3 p.m. and was hooked by the end of the first chapter. I tried to put it down after the 4th chapter, but was back in less than an hour since my mind wouldn't let it go, "Who did it? What would she find? Would she fix her family? What was going to happen!?" I finished it by 10:30 that evening, extremely satisfied, not only by the surprise ending (I haven't been surprised by anyone but Agatha Christie, ever!), show more but also by the changes in relationships between the characters. The characters were alive and real, not seeming to be written at all, but lived. If I talk anymore I'll ruin the ending for you. READ IT!! It's excellent!!! show less

Kris Langley has returned to her home town of Fremont, Massachusetts, and taken a job as editorial assistant and obit writer for the local paper. Part of that job is writing the "Twenty-five Years Ago Today" column, and while compiling items for the column from the paper's microfilm archive, she stumbles on the story of an unsolved murder. Diana Ferguson, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress, never arrived home one night after work at Rossi's Bar, and was found dead in the woods near the local show more college a few days later.

Kris doesn't use the story, out of sympathy for the family, but she can't let go of it. She blames herself for the kidnapping and murder of her cousin when they were twelve, and solving Diana's murder feels like a chance to make amends. But as she digs into the mystery, she finds herself in conflict with her family, her boss, and the murdered woman's handsome nephew, Eric Soares.

Kris's difficult relationship with her family feels painfully real to me. There are times I want to smack her sister, or tell her it's time to stop worrying about whether her mother thinks she's worthy. The sparks that fly with Eric, both of conflict and of attraction, grabbed me right away. The mystery itself is nicely complex, with multiple plausible suspects, evidence the police overlooked for entirely believable human reasons, and a killer who is not at all obvious, but who is in plain sight, with evidence and motive the reader could pick up on, if thinking it all through carefully, significantly before all the pieces fall into place.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author. show less

What happens when that realty series you love ends? Former ‘nobodies’ have to cope with fans, a new-found popularity, and sometimes an unwanted marriage proposal or two. Cassidy is an average woman, a personal trainer who hopes to win the realty show Sink or Swim so that she can open a chain of gyms around the country. She reluctantly settles for second place and heads back to the Boston area to try and live under the radar. This is impossible, as Cassidy is thrust into stardom and show more cannot get a break even at her job. Soon, though, the popularity becomes something darker, and before she knows it, Cassidy fears for her life as letters and gifts from a stalker hit closer to home and become more obsessive. Plus, two of Cassidy’s co-stars on Sink or Swim have been murdered. Are their murders linked to Cassidy’s stalker?
This is a great psychological mystery with plot twists and action on every page. The author throws in a romantic element that is believable, and while not necessary, it does not take away from the book. The characters are solid, realistic, and fighters. I would love to see Sink or Swim turned into a series that follows different reality stars after they’ve been ‘booted off the island’ so to speak. show less

Stacy Juba's story, Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, was a fast, but well-paced thriller. The main character, Kris, was easy to relate to having been greatly affected by losing a close family member, much like the family (the Fergusons) whom she hopes to help by solving the murder of their beloved Diana killed 25 years prior. I found that I couldn't stop turning the pages and finished this book in less than two days. While most may think to describe something as limiting as negative, I think show more that Juba's limiting the reader's focus on the small town of Freemont and Kris' world was a smart move. There were so few people to encounter and suspect that with all alibis seemingly intact, it made it even more of a mystery. Juba's writing style was also appealing and always both direct and descriptive, while always thorough with painting the characters. Even by the time I was midway through the book, I felt such sympathy for Irene (the victim's mother) and hoped that Kris would soon find out who killed Diana. show less