Wendy Corsi StaubReviews

First, thank you to William Morrow and the author for an advanced reader copy of this book (publishes on January 18, 2022).

I really liked this book. Told via 3 alternating characters, it kept you (or, at least me) guessing until the very end. I had suspicions throughout but ended up not being correct. Also, love the short chapters.

Nora and her family (husband, Keith, 2 daughters, Stacey and Piper, and dog Kato) move from California to New York City for her husband's job. They quickly make friends with a couple down the street, Jules and Heather. Their son, Lennon, and Stacey start hanging out.

Stacey feels as though she's being watched and has seen a suspicious man watching her but she doesn't tell anyone. One night, Nora's family finds out about a horrific murder that had taken place in their home and remains unsolved.

Someone in Nora's family knows the person watching their house...and why.

Suspense

Crime

Murder

Thriller

Suspense

Suspense thriller mixed with bad romance novel. Terrible writing, repetitive dialogues, annoying woman-has-to-have-man, ridiculous themes of falling in love with people from high school, and every one is beautiful, handsome, and rich. Ridiculous read. Only gets two stars cuz I finished it, wanting to see how they finally get the killer. Not worth it.

It's a story about three friends winning a billion-dollar lottery. Maybe I can convince these ladies that I'm a long -lost friend:) Leila, Molly, and JJ, were once the best of friends. They were all the same age, and all born in the month of September. They haven’t seen much of each other since college, but they decide it’s been long enough and make plans to celebrate their 40th Birthdays together in Las Vegas. The three friends buy a lottery ticket carefully picking numbers that mean things to each of them. Lightning strikes and their winning numbers are pulled and WOW...they have won a BILLION dollars. They then make a decision to contact a wealth management agency. The Los Angeles agency has the cute name... "Windfall". "Windfall" is run by Shea Daniels who promises to make the transition easier for all of them. They meet Shea at her property in Los Angeles. "Windfall" is a beautiful place with a huge waterfront mansion and terrific views. However, the ladies hear that many people say the property is haunted by a famous actress who mysteriously disappeared, and no one knows what happened to her...and now it seems like it may just happen again. I have read this author's many other books and always found them more than engaging. This story about three old friends, an unexpected windfall, a haunted mansion was right up there with the rest of her books. I was impressed with how Ms. Staub juggled two very key questions at the heart of this story. How would a sudden windfall change your life, and how well do you really know your friends? These women are hiding huge secrets that have a significant impact once they are unveiled. I hope the trend of this book and her. many others continue for many more years.

3 college friends, now 40, all get together on milestone birthdays, but have been drifting apart over the years. However, they did go to Las Vegas together. Now, a week later, Leila calls Molly and JJ, the ticket they purchased is the winning lottery ticket and the jackpot is $1 Billion. She suggests that they go to CA to meet with Shea, a specialist who handles high income windfalls.
The estate, Windfall, is an estate whose owner disappeared years earlier. The estate is cut off due to a storm. The friends, the "September Girls" feel apprehensive. A podcaster is investigating the disappearance. Now, one of the friends is missing, and she has the ticket! Do they really know each other after seeing each other sporadically over 20 years? A bit of a spooky vibe.½

Three college best friends decided to go to Las Vegas together for their 40th birthday. Since they didn't do any good at the slot machines, they decided to buy a lottery ticket together as they were leaving to go home. They are thrilled when they find out that their ticket won a billion dollars in the lottery. One of the women decided that they should turn to Shea Daniels, a “sudden wealth manager,” who promises to guide them through the pitfalls of having more money than they’d ever imagined. Shea invites them to her huge home in California to talk about their new wealth. When they get there, they find that the California mansion is surrounded by smoke due to wildfires, there is no cell coverage and they are basically shut off from the outside world. And then one of the women disappears -- the woman who was holding the lottery ticket -- did she run off with the ticket so she wouldn't have to share the money or did something happen to her in the haunted mansion? Years before, a famous movie star had disappeared from the mansion - was the house haunted or was there a predator lurking in the smoke?

Winning the lottery was the basic premise of the story but really wasn't the main plot line. More important was the friendship between the three very different women. They had been best friends in college and even referred to themselves as the September Girls with matching necklaces. Even though they were friends, they all had lots of disappointments in their lives and didn't share many parts of their lives with each other always wanting to appear that their lives were happy.

The last half of the book was very exciting as everyone was looking for the missing woman as the wildfires got closer to the mansion. My real problem with the book is that I didn't like or connect with any of the three women. I sure wouldn't want to be friends with any of the three. What definitely made the book worth reading was the setting at the mansion in California covered with smoke from nearby wildfires and having no way to communicate with the outside world due to lack of cell coverage. For me, that's what made this a real page turner that had a surprising ending!

I LOVED THIS BOOK as I love to solve mysteries as Nora and her family move from California to the east coast where a previous family had been murdered and the crime had never been solved!! I COULD HARDLY PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!

Nora and her family move to NYC after her husband, Keith, is transferred. She speaks secretly to Teddy, and tells Teddy of her love. Keith suspects Nora of having an affair, but Nora can't tell Keith the truth. On top of this secret, Nora is keeping another secret, that she knows about the family that was murdered 25 years earlier in the house they are renting. When a family down the street befriends Nora and her family, Teddy warns Nora to be careful, and not to trust anyone. Then, when Jacob starts following Nora's daughter Stacey, and calling her Anna, Nora knows that her carefully crafted secret life may be exposed, and she must protect herself and her family at any cost.
This is a tense thriller, with a few twists. You know that something is going on just beneath the surface, but you can't put your finger on exactly what is happening. However, as pieces start to be revealed, the sinister secret is exposed. I enjoyed peeking into the lives of Nora and her family. I had some inkling, but there was at least one twist that was a big surprise to me.
I will look for more of Wendy Corsi Staub's books as I enjoyed this one.

Again negative stars for writing in 3rd person present tense. It’s never fucking necessary. It’s distracting and pretentious. 3 stars for making me love the hero from 1940 and shed a tear or two. Taking off a star for the ending which is exactly the same as Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor. I don’t want her to hook up with his reincarnation but the actual guy. Oh well.

Best-selling author Wendy Corsi Staub has written nearly 90 novels, most of which are suspense novels. Nora, Keith and their two girls have moved from trendy Los Angeles to New York City for a year. They’ve moved into a Brooklyn row house and all are making friends. From Nora, we learn that all is not well, that she is hiding something from her past. When a weird man, Jacob, starts following their daughter and calling her Anne, the name of a young woman who was murdered in 1994, Nora realizes its time to come to terms with her past and save her daughter. The storyline is complex, but the story moves smoothly with readers easily transitioning all the different threads that are thrown out in the story.

You are moving us into a house where three brutal murders took place? How could you do that?

Moving from California to Brooklyn was a decision that not everyone in the family agreed with, but they did find a nicer and larger home than they had anticipated.

But...is it a nicer home? In terms of size, they were happy, but when they find out a family had been murdered in their rental they became worried.

One of the daughters is a true crime fan and loved the idea, but she kept seeing someone watching them. Was it her imagination or was someone watching the house?

It actually wasn't her imagination. The boyfriend of the young woman murdered in the house thinks Anna has come back to life and is the one watching.

Other things happen too - strange neighbors that barge right in the house, and the mother, Nora, finds a box buried in the back yard as she was doing some landscaping.

The contents of the box is a bit shocking and reveals a lot about the murdered family. Nora wonders, though, what all of this means especially the thousands of dollars inside.

We follow along as the weeks go by and each character is doing his or her own thing with some having secrets.

THE OTHER FAMILY is a bit slow at first, but it does pick up. There is a bit of paranormal in it, but not much.

The characters are not on the likable side, but they don’t take away from the story line. They actually make the story line a bit more chilling.

The surprises as the book was ending were definitely surprises.

If you enjoy creepy, but good, THE OTHER FAMILY will be a book you will want to read. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review.

The Howells – Keith, Nora, Stacey and Piper – has just made a big move from California to Brooklyn because of Keith’s job requirement.
The brownstone isn’t a newly-built but is perfect for a fresh start for Howells. However, shortly after, some unsettling things begin to happen, especially to Nora and Stacey.
Soon, the family discovers that the house was the scene of a triple homicide a quarter century ago, and the gruesome shocking past eventually comes back to haunt them..
Wendy Corsi Staub has cleverly crafted THE OTHER FAMILY, a gripping thriller loaded with surprising twists and turns that keep you guessing till the end!
I would like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins for this thrilling ride!
#TheOtherFamily
#NetGalley

I did not read the first two books in the series. I actually did not realize it was a trilogy until I was finished.
I had a bit of difficulty in getting into this book. I started it a couple of times before I read enough that it was difficult to put down. Perhaps if I had known there were two previous books, beginning this one would have been smoother. Once I got into the story, though, I was hooked. There are a lot of characters in this book. The timeline jumps around a lot too. Those both contributed to my difficulty with the beginning. I would make the suggestion, to the author, perhaps a character list with time line and places might be of value to readers. It would have helped me early on.
Once I got into the story and figured out connections, times and places, it was a truly interesting story. It dealt with social issues from the 60’s and 70’s that we still, to an extent, are dealing with today. I was a child back then but I have a lot of memories of marches and violence. I enjoyed the various storylines and how they connected. Some of the people I connected with in various ways. I do think, if you haven’t read the previous books, you may want to read the first one. I think this might be the best introduction to the characters. In hindsight I wish I had read it. I think it might have helped with Gypsy and Oran’s storyline the most. This might have made the beginning of this book more understandable for me.
I would recommend this book to my friends but I would add that book 1 should also be read. I would suggest a notebook to keep track of characters and time zones.
Thank you to William Morrow, Scene of the Crime, the author and NetGalley for providing a review copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book.

The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub

Nora, her husband and two daughters move from California to New York City. Once there they find that the previous family was murdered in that house. The case was never solved. Oldest daughter (Stacey) is engrossed in the history of the house and feels someone is watching them.

A fast paced page-turning thriller. The characters are intriguing and mysterious. Filled with suspense, twists, turns, and secrets are revealed. I was engrossed from the first page until the end. I highly recommend The Other Familyto those who enjoy a good psychological thriller.

Pretty typical cozy mystery fare, but the characters were really well-drawn. Plus there is a cat!

Discovering was an excellent wrap up to the Lily Dale series. Weight has been lifted off Calla's shoulders since her mother's killer has been found, but now Calla must decide what to do with the rest of her life. Is she going to reconnect with Kevin, and what about Jacy and Blue? Will Calla's father begin a relationship with Ramona? What about Calla's friends, Evangeline and Lisa, and the biggest question of all, does she have a sister, and if so, who is she and where has she gone? All of these questions and more are answered in this book leaving a very satisfying ending to the Lily Dale series.

Another good story by Wendy Corsi Staub. Calla continues to see more and more dead people, but none of them are who she wants to see most, her mother. As Calla continues to be given clues into her mother's death by members of the spirit world, she realizes that her mother was murdered. She enlists the help of Jacy to help her investigate the clues which only alienates her new best friend, Evangeline. Against her better judgement, Calla continues to date Blue, and now Kevin seems to be reaching out to her again, making Calla's love life as confusing as the spirits that seem to permanently reside in the town of Lily Dale. The more Calla finds out about her mother, the more she knows she must go to home to Florida to find her mom's laptop and any other clues to her death that might have been left at their home where she died. Questions lead to more questions in this interesting mystery with heartache and angst in the background of every scene. I found this book difficult to put down and I'm looking forward to reading the final book, Lily Dale Discovering.

It has been several years since I found Lily Dale Awakening at a used bookstore and read it because it sounded interesting. I loved it and wanted to read the rest of the series, but it wasn't until this last winter that I finally acquired the next three books. Wendy Corsi Staub writes amazing suspense and romantic suspense novels. As far as I know, this is her only young adult series. I was as captivated by this book as I was the first one.
After her amazing summer in Lily Dale, Calla has decided she wants to stay in Lily Dale a while longer in hopes of finding out more about her mother's death through the psychic gift Calla has discovered runs through her family. In Awakening, Calla's visions led her to the body of a child who had been killed, but now that child's spirit has appeared to Calla asking her to help stop the man who killed her. When Calla's visions save the life of another of his victims, the killer focuses his rage on Calla, putting her life in danger. All the while, Calla is trying to deal with her messy love life, her absentee father, and being the new girl in school.
This book was as enjoyable as the first, but I wish a little more time had been spent on the mystery surrounding the serial killer, but overall, an engrossing read. I now look forward to reading the rest of the series starting with the next book, Lily Dale Connecting.

When Calla's mother dies, she goes to live with her grandmother in the town of Lily Dale. Calla doesn't understand the strange people who inhabit Lily Dale until her grandmother confesses that Lily Dale is the home of psychics and other mystics and that she is one of them. Calla thinks her grandmother has gone off the deep end until strange things begin to happen. Calla starts to wonder if she might be psychic just like her grandmother. She begins to question the life she lived with her mother and consider that her mother may have lied to her about much of her past. This is the first book of the Lily Dale series. I picked this book up in the clearance section of at Half Price Books and quickly realized what a bargain I had gotten. This is a wonderful book with a little bit of danger, romance, and adventure all rolled into one exciting book.

Stupid cliffhanger endings to get me to buy more books. CURSE YOU WENDY MARKHAM!

Embarrassing, yet fun at the same time.