The Contenders

Zero Days by Ruth Ware

• 3.67 stars on Goodreads
• Genre – Mystery Thriller
• Published June 20, 2023

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.

Verity by Colleen Hoover

• 4.3 stars on Goodreads
• Genre – Psychological Thriller
• Published October 26, 2021

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of the night her family was forever altered.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

• 3.7 stars on Goodreads
• Genre – Contemporary Romance
• Published May 25, 2021

Piper Parrish’s life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom’s crab boat capsized and his body wasn’t recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper? 

Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper—but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most.

What reading mood am I in?

I’m a mood reader, 100%. Sometimes I know exactly what I’m in the mood for. Sometimes I just don’t know and that time is right now. So here is what I am going to do… I am going to read at least the first chapter of each book and see if any of them catch me enough to want to keep reading this week.

Cue the Jeopardy music. I’ll be right back with my pick.

The Winner of this edition of Book Roulette

First let’s talk about the 3rd place finisher, Verity. From the very first sentence this book is HEAVY. It was an interesting start for sure, but I’m not sure I’m in the mood for heavy. I’ll hold off on that one for now.

And the runner up is Zero Days. It was an interesting start albeit a bit slow. The first chapter ended with a mini cliffhanger. I could be in the mood to read it so it’ll be next when I’m really ready for mystery and thrill.

So the winner has to be The Invisible Husband of Frick Island! The book is set in a small cozy town and we are headed to some small cozy towns and I just want that kind of feeling this time of year.