Beach Wedding by Michael Ledwidge

Hamptons sand… Hamptons money… Hamptons murder…

When Terry Rourke is invited to the spare-no-expense beach wedding of his hedge fund manager brother, he thinks that his biggest worry will be flubbing the champagne toast. But this isn’t the first time Terry has been to the Hamptons.

As the designer tuxedos are laid out and the flowers arranged along the glittering surf, Terry can’t help but take another look at a decades-old murder trial that rocked the very foundations of the town—and his family. He soon learns that digging up billion-dollar sand can be a very dangerous activity. The kind of danger that can very quickly turn even the most beautiful beach wedding into a wake.

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Available Today – February 15, 2022!

I had previously read Michael Ledwidge’s collaboration series (Michael Bennett) with James Patterson and I was curious to see how how a stand alone novel by just himself would be. Based on the description of Beach Wedding, I was hoping for a novel that would be filled with beautiful beach imagery (especially the wedding!) and a drama filled mystery. Unfortunately that wasn’t what I got.

The lead character, Terry, is exactly the type of main character that you would expect from a James Patterson or Harlan Coben novel. He’s a family man with a beautiful wife that he adores and all around good guy. I do get tired reading about these types of characters since they bore me and I tend to roll my eyes reading about their wonderful lives. I like reading about characters that have a bit of flaws and aren’t seen as perfect people.

The mystery was lacking to me. I was intrigued on what had happened in Terry’s youth that caused his family to be isolated by the town. The novel had Terry running around all over, talking to different people and by the end of the novel I was confused by all of the characters.

2 calculators out of a potential 5. Sadly a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks

HAPPY. MARRIED. MISSING.

Leigh Fletcher: happily married stepmum to two gorgeous boys goes missing on Monday. Her husband Mark says he knows nothing of her whereabouts. She simply went to work and just never came home. Their family is shattered.

Kai Janssen: married to wealthy Dutch businessman, Daan, vanishes the same week. Kai left their luxurious penthouse and glamourous world without a backward glance. She seemingly evaporated into thin air. Daan is distraught.

DC Clements knows that people disappear all the time – far too frequently. Most run away from things, some run towards, others are taken but find their way back. A sad few never return. These two women are from very different worlds, their disappearances are unlikely to be connected. And yet, at a gut level, the DC believes they might be.

How could these women walk away from their families, husbands and homes willingly? Clements is determined to unearth the truth, no matter how shocking and devastating it may be.

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Available Today – February 1, 2022!

It’s so hard to review Woman Last Seen without giving anything away! I was curious on how the 2 missing women were connected and what had happened to them.

Unfortunately most of the novel is an inner monologue, which to be honest, I skimmed over. I was so bored reading the same thing over and over again about marriage, love, kids. I just wanted the story to move on, and just when it did, it would go back to the internal monologue. Ah!

I HATED the ending of Parks’ previous novel, Just My Luck, and sadly the ending to Woman Last Seen wasn’t too much better. I was hoping that there would of been a year later epilogue to see what had happened with all of the characters and the aftermath of the events in the last chapters.

2 calculators out of a potential 5. I’m sadly thinking that Adele Parks may not be for me. However, I would read another book centered around DC Clements, I really enjoyed that character.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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