My Summer Darlings

My Summer Darlings
Author: May Cobb
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2023-04-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593101170

Three lifelong friends plus a dangerous, sexy new stranger in their wealthy, Texas town adds up to a scorching summer of manipulation, obsession, and murder, from the acclaimed author of The Hunting Wives. Jen Hansen, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols have been friends since childhood. They are now approaching forty and their lives have changed, but their insular East Texas town has not. They stay sane by drinking wine in the afternoons, dishing about other women in the neighborhood, and bonding over the heartache of their own encroaching middle age and raising ungrateful teens. Then Will Harding moves into one of the grandest homes in town. Mysterious and charming, he seems like the answer to each woman’s prayers. He’s a source of fascination for Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, but none of them are ready for the way Will disrupts their lives. As Will grows closer to all three women, their fascination twists into obsession, threatening their friendships and their families. When he abruptly pulls away, each woman scrambles to discover the source of his affection. But what they’ll uncover is far more sinister and deadly than any of them could have ever imagined.

Summer Darlings

Summer Darlings
Author: Brooke Lea Foster
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2021-04-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1982115033

"In 1962, coed Heddy Winsome leaves her hardscrabble neighborhood behind and ferries to Martha's Vineyard to nanny for one of the wealthiest families on the island. But as she grows enambored with the seemingly perfect young couple and chases after their two children, Heddy discovers that her academic scholarship at Wellesley has been revoked, putting her entire future at risk. Determined to find her palce in the couple's social circles, Heddy nurtures a romance with the hip surfer down the beach while wondering if the better man for her might be a quiet college boy instead. But no one she meets on the summer island--socialite, starlet, or housekeeper--is as picture perfect as they seem, and she quickly learns that the right last name and a house in a tony zip code may guarantee privilige, but that rarely equals happiness."--Page 4 of cover

The Hunting Wives

The Hunting Wives
Author: May Cobb
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2022-02-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593101146

SOON TO BE A STARZ SERIES A Most Anticipated Novel by The Skimm * Cosmopolitan * SheReads * Frolic * PopSugar * BuzzFeed * Goodreads * E! Online * Betches * Crime Reads * Pure Wow * Book Riot * Bustle * and more! A Book of the Month Club Selection “Gossipy, scandalous housewives behaving badly might make this the juiciest read of the season."--Library Journal (starred review) "Sultry, salacious and utterly unpredictable....You'll devour it."--Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark The Hunting Wives share more than target practice, martinis, and bad behavior in this novel of obsession, seduction, and murder. Sophie O'Neill left behind an envy-inspiring career and the stressful, competitive life of big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in a small Texas town. It seems like the perfect life with a beautiful home in an idyllic rural community. But Sophie soon realizes that life is now too quiet, and she's feeling bored and restless. Then she meets Margot Banks, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. Sophie finds herself completely drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying. As Sophie's curiosity gives way to full-blown obsession, she slips farther away from the safety of her family and deeper into this nest of vipers. When the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet, Sophie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and her life spiraling out of control.

Little Darlings

Little Darlings
Author: Melanie Golding
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2019-04-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1683319982

A Refinery29 Best Summer Thriller · An Amazon Best Book of the Month The anxieties of motherhood take center stage in this “atmospheric and very creepy” debut psychological thriller that reinvents the changeling myth with the flair of Angela Carter (Guardian). Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own...creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things. A month passes and one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. When they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley—to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies. Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw...she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life. Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some of our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking—and rechecking—your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe. “Chilling story, beautiful prose.” —Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author of I Let You Go

Big Woods

Big Woods
Author: May Cobb
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2018-07-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0738759236

"Stephen King's Stand by Me collides with Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects in this exceptional thriller. Gutsy, gripping—and pitch-perfect in its resurrection of an era long gone."—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window When her sister disappears, the only clue Leah has is a cryptic message: Underground. By the Woods. It's 1989 in the sleepy town of Longview, Texas, when ten-year-old Lucy disappears. Her parents, the police, and the community all brace for the worst, assuming her body will soon be found in Big Woods. Just like the other unsolved kidnappings. But then Lucy's fourteen-year-old sister, Leah, starts having dreams about Lucy—dreams that reveal startling clues as to what happened. Leah begins her own investigation, and soon she meets a reclusive widow who may hold the key to finding Lucy...if only she can find the courage to come forward. Delving into the paranoia surrounding satanic cults in the 1980s, Big Woods is an emotionally wrought, propulsive thriller about the enormity of grief, the magical bond between sisters, and a small town's dark secrets. Praise: "Big Woods is perfectly timed to take advantage of the 1980s horror revival. Its historic details are excellent, down to the songs on Leah's car stereo. Cobb paints in Day-Glo and brings terrors of the night to life."—Foreword Magazine "Readers will be grabbed by Big Woods and sucked into the mysterious story. Hold on tight—it's worth it."—Criminal Element "Cobb's intense, heart-wrenching debut introduces a courageous, determined teen who must find her lost sister amid a disturbing atmosphere of paranoia and fear, crafting a compelling, suspenseful story reminiscent of William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace."—Library Journal (starred review) "Big Woods is a nuanced family story and also a heart-stopping thriller with surprising twists. Cobb taps into the fabulous '80s sensibility of Stranger Things and also into our deepest fears about safety, evil, trust, and the power of faith in what we don't understand. I couldn't put it down."—Amanda Eyre Ward, author of The Nearness of You and The Same Sky "Compulsively readable."—Rosamund Lupton, New York Times bestselling author of Sister "Big Woods is brilliant! Cobb has crafted a haunting thriller that dives deep into grief, family connections, and the dreadful power of fear. The novel succeeds as a rich exploration of emotion and a not-so-distant time while also shining as a riveting page-turner."—Owen Egerton, author of Hollow and writer/director of horror-comedy Bloodfest "Big Woods is such a blast—a page-turning thriller with '80s hair, like a Texan Stranger Things."—Amy Gentry, author of Good as Gone "Literally the best thriller I've read in years. Intensely gripping, so evocative of the late '80s, and a brilliant, original storyline. It's blinding."—Clare Empson, author of Him

Kill All Your Darlings

Kill All Your Darlings
Author: David Bell
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2021-07-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593198662

A Most Anticipated Summer Read by SheReads * Motherly * Palm Beach Daily News * Frolic * Crime Reads and more! "Fans of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot may want to check this one out."--Publishers Weekly "With hints of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, this is a riveting thriller."--Palm Beach Daily News "Grabs you by the throat and never lets go...with a twist you’ll never see coming.” --Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish "Sounds like Wonder Boys times Patricia Highsmith. Yes please!"--Crime Reads When a student disappears and is presumed dead, her professor passes off her manuscript as his own—only to find out it implicates him in an unsolved murder in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of The Request. After years of struggling to write following the deaths of his wife and son, English professor Connor Nye publishes his first novel, a thriller about the murder of a young woman. There’s just one problem: Connor didn’t write the book. His missing student did. And then she appears on his doorstep, alive and well, threatening to expose him. Connor’s problems escalate when the police insist details in the novel implicate him in an unsolved murder from two years ago. Soon Connor discovers the crime is part of a disturbing scandal on campus and faces an impossible dilemma—admit he didn’t write the book and lose his job or keep up the lie and risk everything. When another murder occurs, Connor must clear his name by unraveling the horrifying secrets buried in his student’s manuscript. This is a suspenseful, provocative novel about the sexual harassment that still runs rampant in academia—and the lengths those in power will go to cover it up.

Vicious Little Darlings

Vicious Little Darlings
Author: Katherine Easer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2011-06-21
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1599907119

Sarah Weaver, a jaded seventeen-year-old from a broken family, leaves California to attend an all-women's college in Massachusetts. At Wetherly, Sarah meets Maddy Snow and Agnes Pierce, a mysterious pair of legacy students who have been best friends since birth. When the girls accept her into their duo, loner Sarah finally has the family she's always wanted. But then she starts to notice some strange and disturbing things: Maddy's compulsive lying, Agnes's obsession with Maddy, and the deterioration of the girls' friendship. And just when Sarah begins to question her own sanity, shocking secrets come to light that will bring their friendship to a new level of destruction.

The Darlings in Love

The Darlings in Love
Author: Melissa Kantor
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2012-01-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1423164423

The Darlings have just begun their second semester of ninth grade, and love is in the air. Victoria: The sweetheart Jack: The irresistible songwriter but is he writing off Victoria? Natalya: The overachiever Colin: The perfect match, if only the game were less complicated Jane: The drama queen Simon: The Greek god of mixed signals In the face of both joy and heartbreak, the Darlings know that they'll always have each other. Boys come and go, but the Darlings are still forever.

The Darlings Are Forever

The Darlings Are Forever
Author: Melissa Kantor
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2011-12-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1423146484

Jane, Victoria, and Natalya. Together, they are the Darlings. Best friends forever. They have matching necklaces, their own table at Ga Ga Noodle, and even a shared motto: May you always do what you're afraid of doing. When the friends begin freshman year at three different high schools in distant corners of New York City, they promise to live by their motto and stay as close as ever. The Darlings know they can get through anything as long as they have each other. But doing scary new things is a lot easier with your friends beside you. And now that the girls aren't spending all their time together, everything they took for granted about their friendship starts to feel less certain. They can't help but wonder, will they really be the Darlings forever? The first book in an exciting new series by bestselling author Melissa Kantor, The DarlingsAre Forever will speak to any girl who has ever had a best friend.