Book ~ "The Paris Widow" (2024) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ When Stella met Adam, she thought she had finally found a nice normal guy - a welcome change from her previous boyfriend and her precarious jetsetter lifestyle with him. But her secure world comes crashing down when Adam goes missing after an explosion in the city square. Unable to reach him, she panics. 

As the French police investigate, it’s revealed that Adam was on their radar as a dealer of rare and stolen antiquities with a long roster of criminal clients. Reeling from this news, Stella is determined not to leave Paris until she has the full story. Was Adam a random victim or the target of the explosion? And why is someone following her through the streets of Paris?

Stella and Adam have been married for four years and she tags along with him on a business trip around Europe. A couple hours before they are due to fly home to the States, they check out a cute spot for a snack. As they are heading back to the hotel in Paris to pick up their luggage before they leave for the airport, Adam forgets his sunglasses on their table and goes back for them as Stella carries on to the hotel. Moments later there is an explosion at the restaurant where they just were and Adam is missing. Not giving up hope, Stella stays on in Paris until she can find out if Adam is alive or not. 

During the investigation of the explosion, the police inform Stella that Adam wasn't just a regular dealer in antiques ... he had a secret life and was actually selling stolen antiquities to the rich around the world who could afford them. Was Adam in the wrong place at the wrong time or was her a target of the explosion and why.

I've read many books by this author but I thought this one was okay. It's written from two perspectives which bounce back and forth (the chapters are labeled) in Stella and Adam's voices during their travels. After the explosion, I thought it was farfetched with Stella investigating what happened to him (she works for a caterer back home) and I found the details a bit draggy and confusing at times. It was lucky that Stella had someone from her past who was coincidentally connected to the stolen antiquities market she was able to tap into for info (!!). I wasn't buying the ending. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "The Personal Assistant" (2022) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ When Alex first began posting unscripted family moments and motivational messages online, she had no intention of becoming an influencer. Overnight it seemed she’d amassed a huge following, and her hobby became a full-time job - one that was impossible to manage without her sharp-as-a-tack personal assistant, AC.

But all the good-will of her followers turns toxic when one controversial post goes viral in the worst possible way. Alex reaches out to AC for damage control but her assistant has gone silent. This young woman Alex trusted with all her secrets, who had access to her personal information and front row seats to the pressure points in her marriage and family life, is now missing and the police are looking to Alex and her husband for answers. As Alex digs into AC’s identity - and a woman is found murdered – she’ll find the greatest threat isn’t online but in her own living room.

Alex is a successful social media influencer, married to Patrick and has 12-year-old twins. She wakes up after a night of too much tequila to discover she had thrown shade on a 16-year-old actress in a post the night before. After years of her posting about encouraging positivity, Alex's fan base turns against her and her social media blows up with comments about her being a hypocrite. She turns to her assistant, AC, for help but AC had disappeared. When the comments get more dangerous with threats of violence and AC is reported missing by her roommate, the police look at Alex and Patrick with suspicion.

I've read many books by this author but I thought this one was okay. It's written from two perspectives which bounce back and forth (the chapters are labeled) in Alex and Patrick's voices. In the end, we find out what happened to AC and it was an interesting twist but not a big surprise. I found it odd that with all the threats (online and physical) they received, though Alex and Patrick eventually had changed the locks and upgraded their security cameras, they didn't seem overly concerned about any danger. to themselves or Alex's children. I thought it was irresponsible of Alex as a mother to expose so much of her life (she posted pictures of her daughters, Patrick, their house, etc.) in her quest to become a successful influencer.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "My Darling Husband" (2021) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ Jade and Cam Lasky are by all accounts a happily married couple with two adorable kids, a spacious home and a rapidly growing restaurant business. But their world is tipped upside down when Jade is confronted by a masked home invader. As Cam scrambles to gather the ransom money, Jade starts to wonder if they’re as financially secure as their lifestyle suggests and what other secrets her husband is keeping from her.

Cam may be a good father, a celebrity chef and a darling husband but there’s another side he’s kept hidden from Jade that has put their family in danger. Unbeknownst to Cam and Jade, the home invader has been watching them and is about to turn their family secrets into a public scandal.

Cam is a famous chef and restauranteur known as Atlanta's Steak King.  Unfortunately he's not well-liked in the industry.  Jade is his wife and a former designer.  Because of Cam's success, Jade is able to be a stay-at-home mother to their two young children.  When Jade arrives home one afternoon, she discovers a masked man in her garage who holds Jade and her children hostage for a ransom.  It couldn't have happened on a worse day because Cam's most money making restaurant just had a devastating fire.  Now Cam has to scamper around town desperately trying to get the almost $800,000 in ransom money when unbeknownst to most, he is up to his ears in debt.  Cam has until 7pm to get the money or his family will be killed.

I've read other books by this author but I thought this one was okay.  It's written in three perspectives which bounce around (the chapters are labeled) in Cam's, Jade's and the kidnapper's voices.  In addition, it goes back and forth to an interview Cam is giving to a reporter after everything is all over.  In the end, we find out why the kidnapper did it and it was an interesting twist.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Stranger in the Lake" (2020) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ When Charlotte married the wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her humble past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned. 

At first, it seems like a horrific coincidence but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two. 

As Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries about the man she married, she doesn’t know what to trust - her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s hiding in the water.

Charlotte and Paul married about year ago.  Charlotte grew up in a crappy trailer park with a drug addicted mother and and Paul is rich and ten years older than her.  When Charlotte married Paul, the small town gossips assumed she was marrying Paul for his money and comfort.  Paul had been married before and his wife had passed away four years earlier, found drowned next to their dock, and there is still speculation that he'd murdered his wife for her money.

One morning Charlotte finds a woman drowned next to the dock ... a woman Paul had been speaking with just the day before, though he denies to the police that he knows her.  He assumes his former best friend from high school, now known at "Batty Jax" who lives in woods, was involved so takes off immediately to find him.  Micah, Paul's other best friend from high school, lives next door and is a great source of support for Charlotte.

I've read other books by this author but I wasn't crazy about this one ... I didn't like the story and didn't think it could really happen the way it did.  It is written in first person perspective in Charlotte's voice.  It jumps back to 1999 to when Paul, Jax and Micah were in high school (those chapters are labeled) and then it is in third person perspective in Jax's voice.  I didn't really like the characters and I found the "whodunnits" and why convoluted and unbelievable.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "The Ones We Trust" (2015) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ When former DC journalist Abigail Wolff attempts to rehabilitate her career, she finds herself at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan - with unspeakable emotional consequences for one family. As the story of what happened comes to light, Abigail will do anything to write it.

The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier's brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves.

Beyond the buried truths and betrayals, questions of family loyalty and redemption, Abigail's search is, most of all, a desperate grasp at carrying on and coping - and seeking hope in the impossible.

Abigail is a former journalist who walked away from a successful career to write for a safer venue.  She had exposed a story about an affair between Maria and her female boss (with Maria's help), which led the boss to commit suicide.  Abigail felt guilty about the woman's death and never wanted to cause this to happen again.

One day a package of confidential classified information is left on Abigail's doorstep about the death of Zack, a soldier who had been recently killed in Afghanistan.  Though hailed as a hero, there seems to be more to the story and his family is taking on the American government to find out what really happened.  Driven to find out the truth, Abigail, whose father is a retired general in the army and may have been involved in a cover-up, starts investigating to find out the truth.  She gets to know Zack's mother and works closely with Gabe, Zack's brother, evenly getting into a relationship with him.

In the meantime, the young son of the woman who had committed suicide comes to Abigail.  It seems this wasn't the first time Maria had had affairs with people who would rather not have this information exposed and Abigail starts digging to find out what's going on with Maria.

I've read other books by this author and I thought this one was okay.  It is written in first person perspective in Abigail's voice.  I thought the storylines were interesting but I found the Zack storyline a bit confusing and convoluted at times.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Three Days Missing" (2018) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: the call that comes in the middle of the night.

When Kat Jenkins awakens to the police on her doorstep, her greatest fear is realized. Her eight-year-old son, Ethan, is missing - vanished from the cabin where he’d been on an overnight field trip with his class. Shocked and distraught, Kat rushes to the campground where he was last seen. But she’s too late; the authorities have returned from their search empty-handed after losing Ethan’s trail in the mountain forest.

Another mother from the school, Stef Huntington, seems like she has it all: money, prominence in the community, a popular son and a loving husband. She hardly knows Kat, except for the vicious gossip that swirls around Kat’s traumatic past. But as the police investigation unfolds, Ethan’s disappearance will have earth-shattering consequences in Stef’s own life - and the paths of these two mothers are about to cross in ways no one could have anticipated.

Racing against the clock, their desperate search for answers begins - one where the greatest danger could lie behind the everyday smiles of those they trust the most.

Kat has recently separated from her abusive husband, Andrew, and he is fighting her over everything.  She is very protective of their eight-year-old son, Ethan, who has an above average IQ and is bullied at school.  Kat is hesitant to let him go on an overnight chaperoned camping trip with his class but he really want to go.  Then she discovers he has disappeared during the night and rushes to the campsite, wanting to help the police find him.  She suspects Andrew has taken him as revenge against her.

Stef is the wife of Sam, Atlanta's mayor, and mother to their son, Sammy.  Sammy is in Ethan's class and on the same overnight camping trip as Ethan.  She gets a call the next morning who claims they have kidnapped her son and she rushes to the campsite to validate whether it's true or not.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay.  It is written in first person perspective in Kat and Stef's voices ... the chapters alternate and are marked so you know whose voice it is.  This worked for me because I liked getting to know what was going on in their heads.  I thought the whodunnit was obvious and figured it out pretty quickly.  I found Ethan and Sammy rather unlikable and seemed to act older than their age.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Dear Wife" (2019) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ Beth Murphy is on the run ...

For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday but Beth prefers to see it as her new beginning - one with a new look, new name and new city. Beth has given her plan significant thought because one small slip and her violent husband will find her.

Sabine Hardison is missing ...

A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she's taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have and all signs point to foul play.

As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine's carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home and a husband who would be better off with her gone. The detective on the case will stop at nothing to find out what happened and bring this missing woman home. Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that's certain is that someone is lying and the truth won't stay buried for long.

"Beth" is an abused wife.  She's had enough and starts planning on leaving her husband.  She spends a year stashing money away for when she takes off.  She heads to Atlanta and gets some fake ID and is able to get a job cleaning in a church.  Despite the distance, she is always looking over her shoulder, afraid her husband has tracked her down.

Sabine is a successful real estate agent with a bitter angry husband, Jeffrey, and lives in the same town as Beth.  She disappears around the same time as Beth runs away.  Eventually everyone starts looking at Jeffrey, figuring he had something to do with her disappearance.  He looks especially guilty once details of Sabine's secret life start coming out.

Marcus is the police officer in charge of Sabine's disappearance.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I liked it.  It is written in first person perspective in Beth, Jeffrey and Marcus' voices ... the chapters alternate and are marked so you know whose voice it is.  This worked for me because I liked getting to know what was going on in their heads.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I look forward to checking out other books by this author.

Book ~ "The Marriage Lie" (2016) Kimberly Belle

From Goodreads ~ Iris and Will's marriage is as close to perfect as it can be: a large house in a nice Atlanta neighborhood, rewarding careers and the excitement of trying for their first baby. But on the morning Will leaves for a business trip to Orlando, Iris's happy world comes to an abrupt halt. Another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board, and according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers on this plane. 

Grief-stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. But as time passes and there is still no sign of Will, she reluctantly accepts that he is gone. Still, Iris needs answers. Why did Will lie about where he was going? What is in Seattle? And what else has he lied about? 

As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to find out what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she receives will shock her to her very core. 

Iris and Will have been happily married for seven years, have a beautiful home and are ready to have a baby.  Will is a tech guy and is flying off to a conference in Orlando.  When a plane that was heading to Seattle crashes, Iris isn't concerned until the airline contacts her later that day and tells her that Will was actually on the plane to Seattle and is dead.

What?!

When Iris confirms there was no conference in Orlando and Will wasn't on a flight to Orlando but was, in fact, on the flight to Seattle, she wonders why he was heading there.  She and her brother, Dave, head to Seattle to see why.  While deal with her grief, Iris discovers that she didn't really know her husband at all.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it.  I thought it was an interesting story and it kept me wondering which way the author would take it.  Was Will really dead or alive?  Why was he heading to Seattle, not Orlando?  I liked the twist right at the end.

It is written in first person perspective in Iris' voice.  I liked Iris and she had a good support system in her family during this difficult time.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I look forward to checking out other books by this author.