J.D. Robb discussion

We're accepting nominations for our May 2023 Book of the Month.

Please review the Guidelines below prior to making your nomination.

Nominations open Apr. 15-23
Poll open Apr. 24-28

Please note: You may nominate any book from the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller genre or from any one of the many sub genres, with the exception of books by J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts. We explore Robb's In Death series in Buddy Reads & other discussions in this group. And we read & discuss Nora Roberts books with our sister group, Nora Roberts Groupies. We encourage you to join the discussions any time.

Monthly Book Nomination Guidelines:
1-Each member may nominate 2 books per month. Please include a link to the book that you nominate.
2-All books must have been released at least 2 months prior to any nomination.
3-We respectfully ask that you only nominate books that you are planning to read and discuss with this group.
4-Nominated books must be from the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller genres or one of the many sub genres.
5-Nominated books must be the first book in a series unless the Robb group has previously read the preceding books.
6-J.D. Robb and Nora Robert books are not eligible for nomination. We invite you to join us as we explore the In Death series books in our In Death Buddy Reads and enjoy discussing the Nora Roberts titles in our sister group, Nora Roberts Groupies.
7-If an issue arises in which the winning book is disqualified, the book having received the 2nd most votes in our poll will become our Book of the Month.

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman


Description
Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband-to-be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged, their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbecks, Edward's eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they've dominated headlines and pulled society's strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in . . .

After all, even though he's long severed ties with his family, Edward is set to inherit it all. Harriet is drawn to the glamour and sophistication of the Holbecks, who seem to welcome her with open arms, but everything changes when she meets Robert, the inescapably magnetic head of the family. At their first meeting, Robert slips Harry a cassette tape, revealing a shocking confession which sets the inevitable game in motion.

What is it about Harry that made him give her that tape? A thing that has the power to destroy everything? As she ramps up her quest for the truth, she must endure the Holbecks' savage Christmas traditions all the while knowing that losing this game could be deadly.

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon


Description
On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.

With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum on every page, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose―a dynamic read that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting.

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall


Description:
They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison . . .
They were heroes . . . but they were liars.

Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes.

And they were liars.

For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods—no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.

A Day Like This by Kelley McNeil

What if everything you’ve ever loved, ever known, ever believed to be true…just disappeared?

Annie Beyers has everything—a beautiful house, a loving husband, and an adorable daughter. It’s a day like any other when she takes Hannah to the pediatrician…until she wakes hours later from a car accident. When she asks for her daughter, confused doctors tell Annie that Hannah never existed. In fact, nothing after waking from the crash is the same as Annie remembers. Five happy years of her life apparently never happened.

Annie’s marriage is coming to an end. Now a successful artist living in Manhattan, she’s no longer home in their beloved upstate farmhouse. Her long-estranged sister is more like a best friend, and her recently deceased dog is alive and well. With each passing day, Annie’s remembered past and unfamiliar present begin to blur. Haunted by visions of Hannah, and with knowledge of things she can’t explain, Annie wonders…is everyone lying to her?

The search for answers leads Annie down an illuminating path far from home, to reconcile the memories with reality and to discover the truth about the life she’s living.

Our May 2023 poll is up!