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Compared to March, April was a much better reading month, but still generally slow. I will say though, even if I didn’t read a lot, I read things I liked!
Everything I read in April was a 4 or 5 star read which never happens. There is usually at least one below that. Three of these were ARCs/early copies, one was an audiobook, and two were books II already had.
I’ve always been on the fence with audiobooks. I want to like them but they always take me so long to finish and I get bored. I’m becoming an audiobook fiend though, but more on that next month.
While they all got 4 or 5 stars, I only added one to my list of all-time favorite thrillers. Now onto everything I read in April 2023!
- If you want to listen to some of these, consider trying Audible! You can get your first month free (one free book) plus tons of others they have for free. Get that Audible deal here.
- If you’re on more of a budget, try Scribd! You can get your first month free there. You can read books and listen to audiobooks. It is unlimited (especially the reading) but if you listen to tons of new audiobooks you may be restricted after a few. I don’t listen to enough to confirm this, but I do use Scribd myself and like it a lot. Sign up for Scribd here!
- Shop my collection of bookish goodies on Etsy! These aren’t my shop items, but other shops I’ve curated into a book-themed collection. Shop my Etsy bookish goodies here!
- If you want to read more on your Kindle but don’t want to buy books, Kindle Unlimited is a wonderful option. It’s $9.99 a month but if you read a lot and like to read more than just new releases, it could be worth it. Get Kindle Unlimited here!
- Get $5 off of $25 from BookOutlet! This is a great place to find new books for pretty cheap. They also have sales quite a bit, so keep an eye out for those. I tend to check here for books I want if they’re more expensive other places. They don’t have everything but they do have a lot. Shop BookOutlet here!
- Thrift Books has become my go-to when I’m looking for a book and want it cheap. It’s great if you like buying used books. With this you can get a free book after spending $30!
- Shop my book lists here! You can find every book list I have on Bookshop.org (except my monthly round-ups) and I add everything I can but they occasionally won’t have some. I do occasionally add extras though. If any lists are empty, they’ll be filled in shortly! Shop my bookshop.org book lists here.
The Removalist: On the Front Line of Death
Author: Matthew Franklin Silas
Genre: Nonfiction
Rating: 4/5
About the book: Matthew is a mortuary removal technician and here he takes us into the hidden world of death care. We hear about the difficult, awkward, and even bizarre circumstances in which people die.
Final thoughts: I liked this one. It was really interesting but if anything around death and dying makes you uncomfortable, I’d skip this one. There are some descriptions in it (ok, quite a few) that are fairly gruesome but that’s the business he’s in so it’s expected.
I listened to this one and enjoyed his narration. I’ll listen to his first book if it’s available, too. It’s an interesting topic you don’t get to hear much about.
The Quiet Tenant
Author: Clemence Michallon
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 5/5
About the book: Aidan is a hard–working family man who is beloved in his small New York Town. He’s also murdered eight women and currently has Rachel imprisoned in a shed in his backyard.
When his wife dies, he and his daughter Cecilia are forced to move and has no choice but to bring Rachel with as a “family friend” who needs a place to stay. She begins to form a relationship with Cecelia
Final thoughts: I received an ARC of this from Net Galley. I loved this! This felt a little slow moving at times but it was worth it. I enjoyed the writing style and characters, especially getting to see the bad guy from multiple perspectives.
Hello, Transcriber
Author: Hannah Morrissey
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4/5
About the book: Every night Hazel Greenlee, a police transcriber, listens to the detectives divulge the darkest secrets of Black Harbor, Wisconsin’s most crime-ridden city. She believes writing a novel is her ticket out of this frozen hellscape. Then, one day her neighbor confesses to hiding a body in a dumpster.
The death is linked to the Candy Man, a notorious area drug dealer and she has a front row seat for the investigation. She also becomes infatuated with Nikolai Kole, the case investigator and joins him in exploring the darker side of town to gather eyewitness intel for her book.
As things unfold, she learns how far she’ll go for a good story, even if it means ruining her own marriage and plunging deeper into the town she’s trying too get away from.
Final thoughts: I enjoyed this overall. The mystery wasn’t the most mysterious and I wouldn’t really say it’s a thriller either, but I enjoyed the story anyway. I feel like the focus is more on the romance but it didn’t bother me in this. It’s better (I think) to have the romance in it like than instead of just thrown in randomly.
Hairpin Bridge
Author: Taylor Adams
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4/5
About the book: Three months ago Lena’s estranged twin sister Cambry jumped 200 feet to her death from a remote bridge new Missoula, Montana. According to the police. But Lena isn’t buying it.
Now she’s here with a cassette recorder to find the truth with the help of Corporal Raymond Raycevic, the state trooper who pulled her over six hours before her death, found her body, and was referenced in Cambry’s final text to Lena.
Final thoughts: This is my least favorite Taylor Adams book so far but I still liked it. I did think there was just a little too much shootout happening on the bridge, that got pretty boring but aside from that it was still enjoyable.
The Last Word
Author: Taylor Adams
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 5/5
About the book: Emma and her dog Laika are house-sitting on a remote beach with just her neighbor Deek for company. One day he jokingly suggests she read a poorly written but gruesome horror novel by H.G. Kane. She leaves him a one star review which he responds to and brings her into a strange ongoing argument.
Strange things start happening and she worries he may be stalking her now. As she digs into his work she discovers a trove of novels that she begins to worry may be based on reality.
Final thoughts: No Exit is still my favorite but I also really liked this one, especially the whole premise of it. Being stalked and killed by an author after a bad review? Sign me up! This is a wild plot but thoroughly entertaining. I wasn’t surprised at all by the ending but I still liked it.
I did receive a copy of this from the publisher, many thanks!
Have You Seen Her?
Author: Catherine McKenzie
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 5/5
About the book: Cassie left her hectic life in New York with a burner phone and a new job in Yosemite National Park working on a Search and Rescue Team. While she works, she is continuously haunted by a case she worked a decade ago.
She meets Petal who journals about the goings on in the park and is staying nearby with her much older wife. Jada is a recent college graduate spending the summer in the park with her boyfriend, documenting their road trip on Instagram.
As their paths converge, Cassie’s past catches up with her and the consequences spread beyond her imagination.
Final thoughts: From GoodReads: Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!
I loved this! As soon as I saw that it was set in Yosemite I knew I had to read it. The whole time I was very curious about where this was going and I really didn’t know even as I read it. I didn’t see the end coming but I really enjoyed it.
My biggest complaint is that Jada and Jim were camping in Yosemite the entire summer. Even if that was allowed (most have a 28 night per year maximum), the chances of being able to do that are like, negative 100.
If you like thrillers and national parks, this is definitely a good one to read.
What did you read in April? Have you read any of these? Which ones?
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