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Title:   Gone Missing: A Thriller (Kate Burkholder Novels) by Linda Castillo Publisher: Minotaur Books 277 pages Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Amish Synopsis:  Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experience life without the rules. It’s an exciting time of personal discovery and growth before committing to the church. But when a young teen disappears without a trace, the carefree fun comes to an abrupt and sinister end, and fear spreads through the community like a contagion. A missing child is a nightmare to all parents, and never more so than in the Amish community, where family ties run deep. When the search for the presumed runaway turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. And chief of Police Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case she will have to call upon everything she has to give not only as a cop, but as a woman whose own Amish roots run deep. Kate and state agent, John Tomasetti, delve into the lives...

Title:   The Troop by Nick Cutter Publisher: Gallery Books 368 pages Genre: Horror I received an advanced e-copy of this book through netgalley.com .  This title is due to be released January 7 2014.  Synopsis:  It begins like a campfire story: Five boys and a grownup went into the woods... It ends in madness and murder. And worse... Once a year, scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a three-day camping trip—a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story and a roaring bonfire. But when an unexpected intruder stumbles upon their campsite—shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry—Tim and the boys are exposed to something far more frightening than any tale of terror. The human carrier of a bio-engineered nightmare. An inexplicable horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival that will pit the troop against the elements, the infected…and one another. Review:...

Title:   The Road by Cormac McCarthy Publisher: Vintage Books 287 pages Genre: Synopsis:  The searing, post-apocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece. A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other. Review: This is one of those books that I feel like everyone has read and they either loved it or hated it.  Most of the people I had talked to hated it so I never picked it up until my sister told me she loved it and passed it on to my partner who thought it was "ok" and passed it on to me. Now I felt obligated to re...

Title:   Breeding in Captivity: One Woman's Unusual Path to Motherhood by Stacy Bolt Publisher: Skirt 180 pages Genre: Autobiography/memoir Synopsis:  Breeding in Captivity takes us on Stacy Bolt’s journey to have a child at "advanced maternal age," first with the help of a Really Expensive fertility specialist, and then ultimately through a local adoption agency. Review: I feel I should start off by saying I am one of those annoying women who you just look at and I seem to get pregnant.  Although my GYN told me I may have trouble conceiving due to some complications I had as a teenager, they were wrong, very very wrong.  So although I can not first hand understand all the feelings, emotions and gut wrenching moments that Stacy went through during her journey to parenthood I can empathize with her since I spend my days helping women like her to adopt. This book has to be one of the most funny yet honest looks at a woman's journey to parenthood.  I ha...

Title:  Joyland (Hard Case Crime) by Stephen King Publisher: Hardcase Crime 288 pages Genre: Horror, Thriller, Synopsis:  Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. Review:  I am not a die hard Stephen King fan in fact I think this is only the second of his books that I have read (I read Cell and hated it) because it was handed to me and I was told I "have to read this!" So I did, because you don't question it when your partner tells you to read something and you want a happy home life. I was really pleasantly surprised.  This is not a horror book, more of a coming of age story with a little mystery and romance thrown in. You get to relive the thrill of being at a carnival for the first time, being a kid and seeing your fa...

Title:  What We Saw At Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard Publisher: Soho Teen 243 Genre: YA I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com - This title was released January 2013 Synopsis:  The story of three outsiders, teens with a deadly allergy to sunlight that forces them to live a life opposite of everyone else in their small town. When they discover the extreme sport Parkour, it seems that they've finally found something uniquely theirs—even if leaping from buildings in the dark feels somewhat suicidal. Everything changes when they witness a horrible crime while practicing on an allegedly empty building. Worse: what they see, sees them, too. Review:  I've had this book on my list for a while I'm not sure why I just got around to it, but I'm actually quite glad since the 2nd book in this new series,  What We Lost in the Dark  , is due to be released December 17, 2013 so I have less time to wait! What at first feels like a boo...

Title:   Rituals: A Faye Longchamp Mystery (Faye Longchamp Series) by Mary Anna Evans Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press 250 pages Genre: Mystery I received this book as an e-galley from netgalley.com it is to be released November 2013 Synopsis:  Faye Longchamp doesn’t believe in ghosts. But she’s an archaeologist—dead people are her life. While working in Rosebower, a rural New York town founded by Spiritualists, Faye is surrounded by people who talk to the dead on a regular basis. When the most influential Spiritualist in town, Tilda Armistead, invites Faye and her project assistant to commune with the dead, she can’t say no. Curiosity is also a cherished part of an archaeologist’s life.  An hour after her crystal ball shows Faye things no rational mind can explain, Tilda is dead. The evidence says that someone trapped Tilda in a small room, nailing its one door shut before setting Tilda’s Victorian home afire. There is no possible way for Tilda to have escaped...