The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 5: New Books to Make Your Heart Race
Synopsis.
Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The fifth edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of eight can’t-miss novels–either standalone or first in series–publishing Spring/Summer 2022 for free for easy sampling.
Standalone: A gripping debut domestic suspense novel, Nora Murphy’s The Favor explores with compassion and depth what can happen when women pushed to the limit take matters into their own hands.
Standalone: Four friends head into the Icelandic highlands in the middle of winter. The first day they get caught in an unexpected snowstorm, and end up in an abandoned hunting lodge. Outside is a chilling new standalone thriller from Ragnar Jonasson.
First in Series: Katharine Schellman’s captivating Jazz age mystery series debut, Last Call at the Nightingale, beckons readers into a darkly glamorous speakeasy where music, liquor, and secrets flow.
First in Series: James Byrne’s The Gatekeeper introduces Dez Limerick – “a welcome blast of freshness”* and “the most exciting new character I’ve read in years”** — in the most anticipated new thriller in years.
First in Series: A Rip Through Time mixes romance, mystery, and fantasy with thrilling results. In this series debut from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, a modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose.
Standalone: The Things We Do in the Dark is the brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts – The secrets of the past come back around when a woman, long believed dead, turns up alive.
First in Series: Mark Pryor’s Die Around Sundown is the first entry in an exciting new mystery series set in World War II era Paris, where a detective is forced to solve a murder while protecting his own secrets.
Standalone: From Sandie Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick The Other Woman, comes a gripping new domestic suspense novel. In The Blame Game, a psychologist working with victims of domestic abuse suddenly finds she may be being targeted herself: She knows she’s telling the truth. But the evidence says she’s lying.
The Review
THE FAVOR:
Reminiscent of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN it begins with mirroring povs which may be confusing at first. But once you get down who is who and who’s drinking what you’ll be ok. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
OUTSIDE:
This scary af and atmospheric as standalone thriller is going to appeal to readers who love chilling settings and visceral details. Much like Jonassons other work, a bit too heavy for me. Nordic Noir lovers, FEAST! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
LAST CALL AT THE NIGHTINGALE:
A speakeasy murder mystery with THE DIVINERS vibes. Stronger on vibes than anything else. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
THE GATEKEEPER:
Military special ops, hostility, and snipers oh my. A lot here that is not for me. Would appeal to JACK REACHER fans and those who find conversations meaningless. ⭐️⭐️
A RIP THROUGH TIME:
This was fun and adventurous with an interesting setup and even more interesting characters. Historical mystery fans are going to enjoy this one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK:
Hot like fire, this one was dark and unapologetic. Searingly written. I can’t wait to read the entire thing! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
DIE AROUND SUNDOWN:
If you enjoy your mystery with a side of jest I recommend this one for you. A murder mystery with a character lineup that will make you smile and writing that will sweeten your tea. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
THE BLAME GAME:
The sampler for this one is teasing at something that if explored to the fullest would be like a plot line dream come true. Only Sandie Jones and time will tell. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This sampler is free currently on Amazon and it’s such a great way to get a taste of something and really know what you’re interested in ordering full versions of.
All of these books will be available this spring and summer 2022!
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press Minotaur Books for this advanced copy!
Helen’s idyllic life—handsome architect husband, gorgeous Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way (after years of trying)—begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class and meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be. Rachel doesn’t seem very maternal: she smokes, drinks, and professes little interest in parenthood. Still, Helen is drawn to her. Maybe Rachel just needs a friend. And to be honest, Helen’s a bit lonely herself. At least Rachel is fun to be with. She makes Helen laugh, invites her confidences, and distracts her from her fears.
But her increasingly erratic behavior is unsettling. And Helen’s not the only one who’s noticed. Her friends and family begin to suspect that her strange new friend may be linked to their shared history in unexpected ways. When Rachel threatens to expose a past crime that could destroy all of their lives, it becomes clear that there are more than a few secrets laying beneath the broad-leaved trees and warm lamplight of Greenwich Park.
The Review
I have always been captivated by what goes on in small, posh, confined neighborhoods. Greenwich Park is a suspense novel set behind closed doors. And the allure is getting a peek inside.
In this book, there are two women we are focusing on. Helen and Rachel. Helen is kind of overcome by Rachel and her life, possibly enamored by her choices and her -who gives a fuck- attitude. She wants to be like her a little but enjoys being above her all the same.
As the book unfolds so does Rachel as a character. And so does Helen, as she becomes more and more infatuated by Rachel. I enjoyed that aspect of the book. Where the book falls short is in displaying characters that feel different from one another.
Rachel and Helen were too similar. The obsession that I wanted to feel between them did not exist. And it didn’t have the depth I was looking for.
However, if you’re looking for a book to add to your spring break vacation TBR pile, this one would be a great beach or airport read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this advanced copy!
From the author of The River at Night and Into the Jungle comes a harrowing new thriller set in the unforgiving landscape of the Arctic Circle, as a brilliant linguist struggling to understand the apparent suicide of her twin brother ventures hundreds of miles north to try to communicate with a young girl who has thawed from the ice alive.
Valerie “Val” Chesterfield is a linguist trained in the most esoteric of disciplines: dead Nordic languages. Despite her successful career, she leads a sheltered life and languishes in the shadow of her twin brother Andy, an accomplished climate scientist stationed on a remote island off Greenland’s barren coast. But Andy is gone: a victim of suicide, having willfully ventured unprotected into 50 degree below zero weather. Val is inconsolable—and disbelieving. She suspects foul play.
When Wyatt, Andy’s fellow researcher in the Arctic, discovers a scientific impossibility—a young girl frozen in the ice who thaws out alive, speaking a language no one understands—Val is his first call. Will she travel to the frozen North and meet this girl, try to comprehend what she is so passionately trying to communicate? Under the auspices of helping Wyatt interpret the girl’s speech, Val musters every ounce of her courage and journeys to the Artic to solve the mystery of her brother’s death.
The moment she steps off the plane, her fear threatens to overwhelm her. The landscape is fierce, and Wyatt, brilliant but difficult, is an enigma. But the girl is special, and Val’s connection with her is profound. Only something is terribly wrong; the child is sick, maybe dying, and the key to saving her lies in discovering the truth about Wyatt’s research. Can his data be trusted? And does it have anything to do with how and why Val’s brother died? With time running out, Val embarks on an incredible frozen odyssey—led by the unlikeliest of guides—to rescue the new family she has found in the most unexpected of places.
The Review
GIRL IN ICE
By Erica Ferencik
I imagine the day the author found out she was going to write about this was as much of a surprise to her as anything.
Tricked up at times with the small details. And there’s a lot. I believe the author was simply laden with the details and it bogged the writing down.
While reading a thriller or mystery your mind spends most of its time trying to sift through the information and come to a conclusion as to what details are important to the case and which words and details are just there to heighten the experience.
This book had too many things going on at once and the execution was lacking.
The world is rich, it’s extremely immersive and atmospheric. The plot is structured around a very unbelievable event and I’m still not convinced it fully answered every question it proposed.
Written at a distance with rigid characters, combined with the unforgiving setting left little to warm up to. And I settled at ⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you’ve read this one, let’s chat!
What did you think about it?
Thanks to Scout Press for sending me an advanced copy!
