My Top 5 Books of 2017

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  This year was a fun year for reading. I may not have read as many books as I did in 2016, but when I read a book it was usually one that I enjoyed.

  Here are my Top 5 reads for 2017 (My full reviews can be found by clicking on each title):
  

1. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher- the death of Carrie Fisher was very hard for me. She had begun as my childhood hero as Princess Leia Organa. As I grew older and dealt with some hard times, her words of encouragement and stories of her own struggles helped me through my difficulties. As she began to write more memoirs and do her one woman show, Wishful Drinking, I saw another side to Carrie that was funny, loving, and caring. I waited to read the Princess Diarist and when I did it was with her narration. It was an often hysterical journey through the mind of Fisher that left me laughing out loud. She may be gone, but I will always have her book to remind me of how much she not only meant to me, but also the world.
   
2. 9th Girl by Tami Hoag- this novel wins the award for biggest "book hang-over" of the year. An engrossing mystery/ crime novel, 9th Girl was a tension-inducing read that had me guessing and guessing again. Set in January in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this novel revolves around a girl that is found dead, resembling a zombie. Detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are brought in to find her killer. What they discover is that she may be the latest victim of a serial killer known as Doc Holiday. The plot danced around like a prize fighter, occasionally taking jabs until it finally delivered a K-O that I did not see coming.
   
3. Final Girls by Riley Sager- the trope of the last survivor has been a major part of horror films for decades. When I settled down to read this thriller I was not prepared for the mind-bending plot. Written as a love letter to slasher films, Final Girls introduces us to Quincy Carpenter. After surviving the Pine Cottage Massacre at eighteen years old, Quincy has gone on to be a successful food blogger living in New York City. But when another famous "final girl" is found dead of an apparent suicide, Quincy is suspicious of the circumstances that led to the woman's death. To complicate things even more, another famous survivor shows up on her doorstep with similar suspicions. Loaded with grisly kills, exciting plot twists, and very likeable characters (be careful not to get too attached, your favorite may not make it to the end) Final Girls was one breathless read.
   
4. Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker- three years ago sisters, Cassie and Emma, disappeared from their Connecticut home. An apparent kidnapping, this mystery remained unsolved until Cassie one day knocks on her family's door. Telling the police and her parents about her ordeal Cassie's story does not seem to add up with Special Agent Leo Strauss and Dr. Abby Winter. Strauss and Winter have worked this case for the three years that Cass has been missing. When the girl tells them the story of the girls' kidnapping and that her sister is still being held captive, the police begin a frantic search for Emma. What unfolds is a diabolical novel that loves to play with its reader. By the ending I sat in shock and immediately wanted to read this book again.
   
5. Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag- this sequel to 9th Girl tells the post traumatic story of survivor, Dana Nolan. Once a perky news reporter, Dana was kidnapped and almost murdered by serial killer, Doc Holiday. But with amazing perseverance and her own personal mantra, she survived. Now with the help of Detectives Kovac and Liska (in cameos), Dana is set to return with her mother to her home town of Shelby Mills. But through her recovery Dana cannot shake her investigative reporting skills. She soon become embroiled in the mystery of the disappearance of her childhood friend, Casey Grant. But what she discovers is that the killer may be still living in Shelby Mills. And that he or she may be watching her to make sure that she never discovers what happened to Casey Grant. This novel is a well-written exploration of the human spirit and PTSD. I loved the mystery. I loved the characters. And I loved the shocking twists. This was a re-read for me, having first read and reviewed this novel in 2015.

  There you have it, my favorite reads of 2017. Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.

 

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  Because there is always time to read,
   Xepherus3 

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