YOU DID NOTHING WRONG.....HAUNTINGS, HORROR AND NEWLYWEDS WHO AREN'T WHAT THEY SEEM.....(*****)

You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews (2026) 

     The title of this book could just as easily be applied to author C.G. Drews. When it comes to fashioning a horrific, creepy storyline, dripping with hauntings, psychosis, twisted long held secrets and ever mounting dread.......mission accomplished. This author does all of it right and then some.

     Elodie, a young Australian woman and single mom, has gone through a whirlwind romance with fair-haired, even-tempered and head-over-heels in love American, Bren. He's even all in with co-parenting Elodie's 6 year old autistic son Jude, whom Elodie has struggled to prevent giving Bren a full view of his raging tantrums, mood swings and learning disabilities. .

     Bren's whisked his newly pregnant bride, and his stepson back to the States, where he's been busy renovating a falling-apart mansion that's a textbook illustration of "Nasty Crumbling House That Anyone In Their Right Mind Would Run Screaming Away From In Stark Terror"

     And it doesn't take long at all for the house to start living up to its disturbing, ominous appearance. Jude hears the house talking to him. Doors slam mysteriously. The walls ooze some sort of fluid. And to Elodie's growing terror, Jude's increasing hysterical behavior, begins to crack the veneer of both her and Bren's personalities that they present to each other........as if maybe there's something even more corrupted and broken going on here than the house itself.

     Readers who cherish and treasure a plunge into pure grisly horror will get a full helping here. For me the bonus was author Drews bringing the flawed lead characters to life, especially Elodi ,as she's being held over a slow fire from every possible source around her.

     A genuine thrills 'n chills express train.. 5 star recommendation. (*****).

STAKEOUTS AND STROLLERS.....A REPORTER TURNED ODDBALL PRIVATE EYE....UP TO HIS EARS IN DANGER AND DIAPERS....(*****).

 Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips (publishes 3/17/26)

      Be on the lookout for this mystery gem, for which SQ received an advance copy, courtesy of NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Publishing.

     If this is the start of a series, I'm all in for more danger, cozy childcare and dry wit with Charlie Shaw - former San Francisco wild card news reporter turned relentless, fearless but fairly reckless Private Eye.

     The brazen Charlie, with his distaste for authority and ability to stumble into peril at any given moment gets a lot more than he bargained for while surveilling a cheating wife. This seemingly simple adultery case puts him in the path of a feisty but heartbroken 16 year old girl searching for her drunken petty criminal father........and also in the path of hoodlum brothers and their hulking scary hit-goon. And all this doesn't sit well with his  loving wife, who's not crazy about Charlie sometimes taking their adorable baby daughter with him on stakeouts.

     I loved how this story is told almost entirely in rapid fire, pithy, right-to-the-point dialogue exchanges and also with plenty of humanity, heart and a whole lot of sly humor. (In many ways, it sounded inspired by the priceless back-and-forth repartee of the Robert B. Parker 'Spenser' mysteries.) And by the way, the mysteries Charlie has to unravel are top-notch as well, filled with twists among a variety of characters, some vulnerable, some nasty and some of them downright hazardous to Charlie and his family's health.

     A terrific run read from start to finish and I can't wait for Charlie's further adventures.

      5 stars (*****).

200 MONAS.....A MED TO MAKE THE EARTH MOVE FOR YOU......ALL BY YOURSELF....(*****)

 200 Monas by Jan Saenz (2026)

     What a wild, laugh-out-loud blast to read. Explosively funny, well armed with wit sharp enough to draw blood and two memorable lead characters thrown into enough raunchy adventures to fill a dozen extra-spicy romcoms.

     Bio Chemistry major Arvy Keening's only a few finals away from graduation and on to a Big Pharma internship and a future to bright, she's gotta wear shades...........except her grieving process for her recently passed unconventional mom has left her attached to the urn with mom's ashes like a security blanket.

     Major troubles befall Arvy upon her discovery of a stash of pills left over from mom's part time   dabbling as a drug dealer. Worse than that......the arrival of two seriously creepy professional drug dealers right out of 'The Addams Family'" and 'Pulp Fiction' and from whom her mom got the 200 pills. Not Molly, as Arvy first thought, but 'Mona' with each pill promising a mind blowing, earth-moving orgasm. And Arvy's been given 2 days to sell 10,000 dollars worth of them or the dealers will return to kill her in all manner of slow, unspeakable ways.

     In desperation, Arvy's compelled to join forces with Wolf, the campus's resident, smokin' hot drug dealer to peddle the Monas and from that point on, the book's a mad, mad mapcap series of riotous misadventures and crazy confrontations........not to mention dangerously stratospheric orgasms at the worst possible times and worst possible places.

     I had the best time reading this one and amid all the chaos, author Jan Saenz casts a knowing, satiric eye on romance, sex, grief, female empowerment, the obsession with virginity and the scourge of Big Pharma. I'd recommend it right away, because there's no telling if the inevitable movie made from this loony romp will be anywhere near as entertaining and outrageous.. Read the book first.

      5 aroused stars (*****).

'TURN OFF THE LIGHT'......A CURSED HAUNTED HOUSE....IN THE 17TH AND 21ST CENTURIES......(****).

Turn Off the Light by Jacquie Walters (2026)

     Quite a clever, intricately constructed haunted house novel........where things that go bump in the night cut right through the fabric of space and time itself......across the gulf of over 400 years to go "boo!" in the same cursed, bedeviled house.

     On the Eastern Shore of 17th century Virginia, Edith, a young wife of hardworking famer David Harris, generates, through no fault of her own, fears and suspicions of witchcraft. . She's a dedicated skilled herbalist, using plants and such to fashion healing, natural remedies for whatever might ail her neighbors. But her benevolent talents foster vicious gossip that her powers are supernatural and surely the work of the devil. Speaking of the devil, Edith's lately been tormented by all sorts of paranormal phenomena throughout her house......as if there's something in the house with her.....watching her.....maybe even manhandling her.

     Centuries later in the very same house, single mom Claire has returned to her childhood home with her four year old daughter Julia. She's come to help her sister Tilly and brother in law Peter with the care of her and Tilly's father. Their dad's in the final stages of dementia with only a matter of a few days left until he passes. And it seems that every spooky, scary, unexplainable incident that terrified Edith all those centuries ago has come back to haunt Claire.....but why?

     As these two parallel timelines exist in the book in alternating chapters, the growing suspense and horror start to multiply in both centuries leading up to a truly staggering twist.......and puts both Edith and Claire directly in the path of evil......and death.

     The 17th century sequences are so rich in atmosphere and steeped in heartbreak, I think readers will find themselves gravitating to them more than the modern day scenes. To be honest, Edith's a much more sympathetic and finely conceived character than Claire, with the odds way more stacked against her., given the general ignorance of the era.

     But once the twists, jump scares and some startling violent surprises slam into you, the book then keeps you equally riveted to what's going on in both the 17th and 21st centuries.

     Best read on a dark, stormy night, with all the lights turned off except the one trained on the book......that one light you WON'T want to turn off until you've finished the last page.

      4 stars (****).

THE FALL OF IRIS HENLEY....A CHEERLEADER BESIEGED, FALSELY ACCUSED AND IN DANGER.....(****)

 The Fall of Iris Henley by Jennifer Graham (2026)

     Everything you could possibly want in a speedy, twisty one-sitting YA thriller comes together here like a revved-up race car. Of course you'd expect it to move fast in our current social media world where rumors, lies and vicious slander fly like heat seeking missiles that hit their targets only seconds after they launched.

     The current target is high school cheerleader Iris Henley. This poor girl is about to endure an avalanche of false accusations designed to leave her despised, emotionally demolished and under fresh suspicion of murder.. Not just any random killing but the murders of her boyfriend Rocky and her best friend Lynette......found slain along side Rocky in what was at first thought of as a homicide/suicide pact between the two of them;

     In a matter of seconds, an anonymous post on her high school's subreddit thread sends Iris's life careening out of control. The post viciously implies she killed the victims in a jealous rage and Iris's troubles (and potential danger) only multiply from there. Because someone's clearly out to get her......maybe a person (or persons) who have a lot more than just character assassination on their mind.

     All manner of outrageous twists and turns pile up in Iris's path and readers will find themselves racing through the pages to reach the final surprises.. Is any of it remotely believable? I'm tempted to say probably not, but who cares when the book's as much fun and quick to inhale as this one? Like a Friday night treat, this one goes down like your favorite pizza and an ice cold drink......and a great palate cleanser if you've just finished reading something heavy, dense and dark.

      4 stars (****).

IN HER DEFENSE.....A YOUNG ARTIST ENSNARED INTO A CALAMITOUS COURTOOM TRIAL.

 In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka (2026)

     I'll say this much for 'In Her Defense' the storyline and characterizations were compelling enough to thoroughly hook me and keep me reading to the end. But by the time I'd finished, I couldn't help wondering if it was worth the effort.

     There's not a likable, relatable, sympathetic character anywhere in sight here, although I get the sense we're encouraged to feel for the the principal lead, Augusta 'Gus' Bird, a struggling young artist trying to eke out a living and a hopefully fulfilling career as a creative ceramicist. She's attached herself, as a dog walker/assistant, to beloved, famous and wealthy TV personality Anna Finbow. Anna's currently engaged in an explosive and bitter legal battle with controversial therapist Jean Guest. The enraged, heartbroken superstar has accused Jean of a cult-like brainwashing of her art student daughter Mary, alienating Mary from her own family.

     As the book lumbers along into past events, we see that Gus, while studying her craft in Rome, shared separate emotionally turbulent, relationships with Jean and Mary (whom Gus became infatuated with). Jean offers the needy Gus counseling at little or no cost while using her to ensnare Mary as yet another Nepo Baby client to enhance Jean's fame, patient list and bank account. 

.
     The tedious Rome sequences seem to drag on forever but the book comes alive whenever it returns to unfold the riveting civil libel case between Jean and Anna, with the distraught Gus caught between the opposing forces and trying to  rekindle her estranged friendship with a now incommunicado Mary. And smack in the middle of all this mess sits Jean Guest whose seemingly caring, heartfelt nature masks a predatory spider who caught everyone in her web, one way or the other.

     The book frustrated me as a reader, offering the promise of a satisfying conclusion without actually delivering one. All the issues raised here are indeed attention grabbling.......the tortured frayed bonds between children and their dysfunctional families, and the gaping chasm between those with little money and those with too much of it....(Gus's pursuit of the carefree Mary and her entry into the jet-setting world of Mary and Anna Finbow gave off faint echoes of 'The Talented Mr Ripley').

     Much more of a straight drama than anything else, so I wouldn't recommend this as any kind of a psychological thriller. but simply one very serious story. that came out as merely okay for me.

      3 stars (***). 

WHEN I KILL YOU.....HER PAST AND PRESENT......EQUALLY FILLED WITH DREAD, DANGER AND DEATHS....(****)

 When I Kill You by B.A. Paris (2026)

     The dual timeline plot construction comes close to borderline annoying, the lead heroine is pretty much a whiny mess and the killer's repetitive musing about their stalking and stabbing might prompt a reader to yell out, "Oh, shut up already will ya?"

     But I must say, leave it to B.A. Paris to overcome all those clumsy stumbles and still deliver a twisty, fun read, packed with mysterious deaths and no shortage of suspects and startling moments.

     Elle Nugent had to fashion a whole new life and identity for herself after her amateur pursuit of a man she believed to be a murderer ended with incredible tragedy - with herself facing jail time and branded as a public pariah. Now living as Nell Masters, she has a new French-American boyfriend, Alex, a host of close new friends and a wonderful inherited house in London.

     But Elle's two lives, unfolding in alternating past and present chapters, are both filled with anxiety, danger and a constant sense of oncoming dread. In the past, her relentless stalking and harassment of the man she's sure she saw abducting a murdered girl goes horribly off the rails. In the present, she's convinced she's now the one being followed and worried that her tortured past and terrible mistakes have come back to do more than just haunt her and aggravate her guilt.

     As expected in a B. A. Paris thriller, I couldn't stop turning the pages and of course stayed up a little later than I wanted, just to find out what happens next. And that just sounded like a 4 star recommendation, so I don't think I need blather on any further. Fine read from an author who never disappoints.

     4 stars (****) and a thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the advance read in exchange for an honest review.