Welcome to Pandemic World! The shelter-in-place order has changed the face of the Holy City. Empty streets and bare beaches have become the new norm. In what predictably would be the busiest season, shops, restaurants, and popular tourist spots all stand abandoned.
What do we do now? Turn to one of our favorite past times – reading. We’ve always been avid readers, using writers’ imaginations to escape reality (can we please escape this reality). There’s no such thing as shelter-in-place when you can pick up a good book.
While trying to make the best of a bad situation, we’ve discovered a new favorite author. Shari Lapena has written five books. We’re gonna share three with you today.
Lapena’s writing style makes her works easy to read. The action-packed stories flow, so the volumes are hard to put down. Multiple plot twists make it impossible to predict what you’ll read on the last page.
The Couple Next Door
People Magazine says, “The twists come as fast as you can turn the pages.” We concur. What begins as a simple dinner party among neighbors quickly turns into trauma for new parents. A baby is missing and the more investigators dig, the deeper the plot.
Police, parents, extended family, and neighbors all play important roles in the tragedy. Don’t waste your detective skills on this one. You won’t know until you’re told!
A Stranger in the House
From page one Lapena lets the reader know that things are not always what they seem. I can only imagine what type neighborhood the writer lives in judging by the role neighbors play in this story (and the other books as well).
The title of this novel sums up the plot. Details leading up to this revelation are fascinating and make for an excellent read.
Newlyweds getting to know each other discover you can’t truly know another person. Events from the past get in the way of their future.
A man is murdered in the first chapter and it takes three hundred-five pages to meet the murderer. That sounds like a lot of pages, but it’s a quick read and you won’t get bored!
An Unwanted Guest
This was a personal favorite. It’s a whodunit that would make any mystery writer proud.
The story takes place in a secluded inn during the coldest part of winter. There’s been a terrible storm that closes all roads just as ten guests arrive for the weekend. The owner and his son are left to run things on their own when other staff cannot get to work in the ice and snow.
You guessed it — people start to die one at a time. Police can’t arrive until the storm passes, so the guests are stranded with bodies and a killer among them. With no obvious connections to one another, no one knows what’s happening.
This is a true page-turner with an ending that will surprise you.
We don’t typically feature book reviews, but there’s nothing typical about the days we’re living in. If we can help you pass the time and keep what sanity you have managed to cling to – we’ll call that a win!
Stay Home and Stay Well