Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

This book was wonderful. It's nice to read a mystery that doesn't have to be gory. I only gave this 4 stars and not 5 for a couple of reasons. 1) The more I read, the more I was able to predict some things and 2) I thought Claire's research came all too easy which made it a bit unbelievable for me but really I'm just nit picking.

An out-of-the-blue snow storm hits in May and a reporter, Claire, finds out that the same thing happened in 1933. She's compelled to write a story about the 2 storms and finds an intriguing mystery to solve along the way. That with many side stories along the way made the book an enjoyable, easy read.

I will definitely recommend this one!

The one I left behind by Jennifer McMahon

The last couple of books I read by Jennifer McMahon were weird, I thought. This one actually read like a normal mystery so I was happy to leave the 'weirdness' behind.

This is a story about a serial killer, Neptune, who kidnaps women, cuts off their right hand and kills them 5 days later - all except for Vera, Reggie's mother who was kidnapped, hand cut off but no body was ever found until 25 years later when she was so sick she couldn't tell anyone who the killer was or where she's been. Now that she is back, Reggie is determined to find out who the killer is only to find herself in a life and death predicament.

The book isn't bad but I feel like the ending is so over-the-top dramatic - predictable even. I mean we've all seen it before, so much so that it was almost boring. I liked it but felt it just fell a little flat.