October 2022 Book Review Wrap-Up

October ended up being a pretty average month in the book department. I had a busy month full of work + friend and family obligations…plus a quick weekend getaway with my husband…so I was only able to squeeze in four books. I was excited about my spooky season TBR, but ended up feeling a little disappointed by the month’s end. Not quite as stellar as I was hoping it would be, but every month can’t be a home run! Click on the links below for the standalone reviews of each title.

My most favorite book of the month was The Housemaid, by Freida McFadden. I didn’t really know what to expect going into this one and it definitely didn’t disappoint! An ex-con lands a job as a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family and trouble ensues. Incredibly fast paced and unputdownable. You could definitely devour this in one sitting. Sucked me in at the very beginning and violently spit me out at the end. I absolutely LOVED everything about it! If you loved Verity, I think you’ll love The Housemaid even more. 5 out of 5 stars.

My least favorite book this month was And There He Kept Her, by Joshua Moehling. Let me just preface this by saying that it wasn’t a bad book…I actually enjoyed it. But out of the four, this was my least fave. This one was just an average kind of read for me. No mystery or big surprises…no crazy twists. We learn almost everything we need to know at the beginning of the story. A couple of teens break-in to a demented elderly man’s home in search of prescription drugs and are met with the sociopath himself and there they stay. The lead investigator on the missing teen’s case is in a race against time to find them before it’s too late. This one is character driven instead of plot and while it was a good slow burn kind of read, there was nothing overly memorable or compelling about it. A solid, average read, but enjoyable nonetheless. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The book with the biggest WTF ending goes to All Good People Here, by Ashley Flowers. I’m a huge Crime Junkie fan and was so excited to pick up Ashley’s debut novel. I personally thought it was a really great book, albeit a slow burn. This one had SO many similarities to the JonBenet Ramsey mystery…cold case, possible guilty sibling, sketch parents, small town gossip, etc. I found myself reading this and thinking about JonBenet, wondering if possibly this story was written as a way for the author to subtly express her theory about that cold case. This was, in my opinion, a well written, easy-to-read debut novel, but the ending. Ms. Flowers…THE ENDING. WTF. Wanna know how it ends?! You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out. 3.9 out of 5 stars.

The trippiest book I read this month, hands down, was Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch. I love a good sci-fi that explores the multiverse, so it’s no surprise that this one has been on my TBR for a while. Jason Dessen is a happily married husband with a child. He meets up with a friend one night, gets abducted, and wakes up in an alternate life. OR, is he really waking up from a dream?! Talk about a wild ride. Dark Matter is a slow burn thriller that’s well balanced with romance and self-reflection, too. This one started off strong and dragged in the middle for me, but the last quarter totally redeemed the parts that fell flat. An overall solid read giving The Matrix & Interstellar vibes. If you’re a fan of sci-fi thrillers with lots of science ideas and talk as well as a healthy dose of romance, grab a copy of this one. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Can’t wait to see what November has in store for me. Bring on the books!