An engrossing mystery that kept me turning pages until I finished. Mallory is a young woman who became addicted to painkillers. She has been sober for 18 months and is hired as a nanny for a 5 year old boy, Teddy. When Teddy begins producing some disturbing drawings, Mallory begins to investigate. There is a shocking twist near the end that I did not see coming.

The book is a true story of the notorious Nickel Academy inspired by the Dozier School for Boys in Florida, a reformatory with a history of abuse and unmarked graves. The novel takes place in the 1950’s, which shed light on racism, injustice of that time. There are two main characters and through their interactions, we see the psychological impact of the abuse through vivid descriptions and character interactions.

Wilkerson's follow-up to "Black Cake" centers on a wealthy Black family, the Freemans, who live on the Connecticut coast. The family's prized possession is a 20 gallon stoneware pot they call "Old Mo" made by an enslaved ancestor. This jar was broken by masked intruders during a horrible home invasion which resulted in 15- year old Baz being shot to death in the presence of his 10-year old sister Ebony (Ebby). As we meet Ebby she has suffered a second trauma : In 2018, her rich White husband- to -be,ditched her on their wedding day for reasons that take a while to emerge.

Imagine being a teenage girl in the late 1960’s, unwed and pregnant. Your family sends you to a home for wayward girls where you are given a different name for anonymity and lied to by the doctor, nurse and governess of the home. Fern, Rose, Zinnia and Holly meet at this home for wayward girls and become caught up with a charismatic librarian who gives Fern a book about witchcraft. The girls pledge their loyalty to the coven and become witches. As their babies are born and the realization of returning to their “normal” lives near, will the girls escape their pledge to the coven? Can the girls just leave the coven and live a normal life? Will they stay in touch? Read and find out.

The cast of a horror movie made twenty years ago gets together for a reunion, and a remake of the movie. Ella, the “final girl” in the original movie has disappeared from the acting scene and refused to make a movie or join in a reunion. Something awful happened during the first shooting only the cast members know about. Finally, she has agreed to shoot the film as a way to get back into movie making. What could go wrong? As the filming begins, old wounds surface, and then, people start getting murdered. A fun if not realistic read. I enjoyed trying to guess who the slasher was.

Art therapists focus on helping individuals build psychological skills and emotional intelligence . An art therapist's goal is to help individuals discover an outlet for often complex and confusing feelings and foster self-awareness and growth. Lenni is lonely and lively and is one of the novel's protagonists. The lively Lenni has a reputation for causing trouble and frequently wanders around the hospital without permission. Lenni has a deep innate desire to help people. Over the course of the novel, the dynamic protagonist goes from lonely to loved and overcomes her fear of death.

A woman embarks on a cross country drive from California to New York under the guise of a work trip. She ends up staying at a motel that is thirty minutes from her house and family. She redecorates the motel room to replicate a room where she once stayed in Paris. During this stay she becomes sexually awakened by a younger married man. She upends her marriage by making an arrangement with her husband to have an open marriage. She wants her sexual freedom however it is short lived and she is still not happy. I found this book slightly off putting. I found the main character selfish and not fully mature. I just felt sorry for the husband. I do not recommend this book.

A fun romance with an enemies to friends to

Paddy Swan is a well known and charismatic chef who’s life is tragically ended one night when he is pushed off a train platform. His grieving widow, Nina, receives a lighter in the mail with a note from a man named Nick Radcliffe claiming that he used to work with Paddy and he thought she would like to have this memento. They exchange a few emails and start dating. Asche, Nina and paddy’s daughter, suspects something is off with Nick’s back story and investigates his past. Is Nick who he says he is? Can Asche prevent Nina from making a huge mistake? Do the women in Nick’s past come back to haunt him? Read and find out. I enjoyed this book with all of its twists and turns.

Murder, prejudice, poverty - all intertwined to create a very enjoyable mystery. One of Krueger’s best.