Review: The Place Where they Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart

by Christina Henry

Release Date: November 4, 2025

2025 Berkley

Ebook ARC; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593953952

ASIN: B0DW3JKYXM

Audiobook: B0DZPGGLPX

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

On an otherwise ordinary street in Chicago, there is a house. An abandoned house where, once upon a time, terrible things happened. 

Jessie Campanelli did what many older sisters do and dared her little brother Paul. But unlike all the other kids who went inside that abandoned house, Paul didn't return. His two friends, Jake and Richie, said that the house ate Paul. Of course adults didn't believe that. They thought someone kidnapped Paul, or otherwise hurt him. 

The disappearance of her little brother broke Jessie's family apart in ways that would never be repaired. Jessie grew up, had a child of her own, kept living on the same street where the house that ate her brother sat, crouched and waiting. And darkness seemed to spread out from that house, a darkness that was alive—alive and hungry.

 

My Thoughts

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart is the latest horror entry by this author, and I will say right from the start that I tend to have a love/hate relationship with this author's books as there are some that I really enjoyed and some that I just couldn't finish so I do enter them with a bit of trepidation.  And while I did find this one more enjoyable than the last one I read, I wasn't a fan of the ending, nor did I find the relationships well developed, such as that between Jessie and her mother.  

 

Jessie was a lot more interesting as a teenager than she was as an adult. Whether this was done on purpose is hard to say as the 'haunted' house featured in this story fed on children, not adults, most of the time. But Jessie experienced a lot of trauma as a teenager, first losing her brother to the house (and dealing with the feelings of guilt because of how it came about), then watching her family fall apart in the aftermath.  I actually thought one of the most interesting things about the earlier years was Jessie's relationship with her mother and I really wished the author had developed it a bit more as Jessie grew up and had her own child. But we just got pieces of what was happening which I felt lowered the intensity of the feelings, both for Jessie and her mom.  I wanted to feel more empathy for both of them, but the way it was written made me feel like a spectator rather than being fully immersed in their emotions.  It made it hard to accept why Jessie stuck around as an adult to 'guard' the house as a lot of the emotional impact was on a superficial level rather than really hitting you in the gut.  

 

I did find aspects of the 'haunted house' quite interesting and I wish more time had been spent on developing the horror of the house.  Yes, it was 'eating' people and making people disappear, but honestly, the telling aspect of the story got old rather quick. I like to find out things as the main character does, but there was a lot of showing rather than experiencing and I feel like that takes away from the horror of things.  Now horror is different for a lot of people and I don't typically get scared from reading horror novels, but I do get horrified, disgusted, emotionally invested, etc... and this one didn't really do that for me.  Yes, there were horrific things that were done in the house, but again, I felt like they were done from a distance, and this lessened the impact for me.  Which is a shame as there were a lot of interesting elements in this book. And to be fair, I was a lot more interested in the psychological trauma of what happened on the people in the neighbourhood then the actual horror as that was so much more interesting, something I wish the author spent more time developing. I mean, there is nothing more horrific than knowing there is something horrible out there reaching out for your family in ways you don't know, and not knowing how to deal with it. The pace of the book was fine, even if the ending was quite rushed, and I did really enjoy the ambiance.  

 

Verdict

The House Where They Buried Your Heart had more of a psychological nuance to it, something that I did enjoy quite a bit. There were a lot of creative aspects to the story, and I liked how the house had a different effect on different people in the neighbourhood.  I did feel like a lot of the psychological trauma was not developed as well as it could have been however, and felt led by the nose a lot of the time rather than letting the reader discover things as they read. And while Jessie's character had some interesting developments, except for maybe Ted, I didn't feel the same way about the secondary characters, and I wish we had seen more psychological development for the relationship between Jessie and her mom. Haunted house books are a dime a dozen and it does take some creativity to make it fresh and interesting, and while there were some things that needed development, I did think the author was creative and do recommend this book for that reason.  

 

Review: Manhattan Triptych by Catherine Butterfield

Manhattan Triptych

by Catherine Butterfield

Release Date: October 10, 2025

2025 Westerfield Press

Softcover ARC; 363 Pages

ISBN: 979-8999291110

ASIN: B0FJSHJ1Y7

Genre: Fiction / Women's Contemporary 

Source: Review copy from Jennifer @ Book & Author Publicity

 

2.25 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Three women meet as young actresses in a summer stock production of "Fiddler on the Roof," and go on to be the best of friends for the next four decades. Their lives diverge as they experience love, marriage, illness, adultery, loss, and even a devastating betrayal, yet somehow the friendship persists -- until one of them unexpectedly drops out of sight. Alarmed for her well-being, the other two return to Manhattan, the site of memories both euphoric and painful, to search for her. In the process of looking for her, they come to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and their actions in the past.

The story travels back and forth in time much the way memory does, piecing together the women's friendship against the background of the AIDS crisis, the savings and loan debacle, the World Trade Center tragedy, the California wildfires, and the ever-changing face of Manhattan.

 

My Thoughts

Manhattan Triptych is the story of three women who develop a life-long friendship when they first meet on the summer-stock production of "Fiddler on the Roof". It is meant to have this sardonic look at the lives of these women as they navigate the ups and downs of their separate lives, yet manage to reconnect quite regularly to support one another when things become difficult. And while it does have this grimly mocking tone to it, I do feel it is mostly superficial as the character development doesn't go deep enough to really bring out that truly sardonic feel that I think was intended in such a novel.

 

First of all, I really did enjoy how the author interwove some interesting historical events into the story and into the personal lives of the women. Yes, there was mention of the AIDS epidemic and how it took some of their acting friends over the years, there was the World Trade Center tragedy, the fight to keep historical buildings from being destroyed in Manhattan to make way for new hotels and apartment buildings, and the wildfires in California as well as the COVID epidemic.  Yet, no matter how interesting all of these events were to the lives of the women, all of it was discussed on a superficial level and I never really felt the impact these events would have had on these women personally, even when they were involved in some of the events.  

 

The story revolved around three women, Diane, Nikki, and Orla, and while the story jumped back and forth from the present to the past so we could understand how the women formed their friendship and how it developed over the years, I personally never really understood how they were still friends after forty years.  Again, this has nothing to do with leading different lives or living in different parts of the country as I have friends like this, but we are still connected through similar activities and loyalty above all. Loyalty and honesty did not exist within this friendship, that's for sure.  And yes, I can be as judgmental as I want because if one of my closest friends did what Diane did to Nikki, I would never want to see her again in my life.  And I was supposed to feel sorry for Diane? Hell no. And Orla was just as bad, being the secret keeper of both Nikki and Diane's secrets.  And this is where I differed in my opinion of the character development as I thought it was one-dimensional, without a lot of depth to any of these women. None of them changed an iota throughout the book, but just became older images of the younger selves. I would have liked to have seen some personal growth, some development, some compassion for what others were going through, but these women were very much about themselves.

 

Verdict

Manhattan Triptych was interesting in the sense the story was woven around some very unique times in Manhattan, and as a history buff, I always love reading about those changing times.  But the plot was slow and the character development was non-existent. And I love to read sardonic stories; I devoured Terry Pratchett, Dorothy Parker, Evelyn Waugh, and Tom Holt so reading something with sardonic humour was definitely not the issue. Personally, I felt the commentary just wasn't wry enough, nor sardonic enough and the lack of character development to make the characters more sympathetic affected the overall tone of the book.  

 

  

 

 

Review: Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong

Cold as Hell (Haven's Rock, #3)

by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: February 18, 2025

2025 Minotaur Books

Ebook ARC & Audiobook; 341 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250351791

ASIN: B0D1PQ139V

Audiobook: B0D9R884VJ

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Haven’s Rock is a sanctuary town hidden deep in the Yukon for those who need to disappear from the regular world. As Casey nears the end of her pregnancy, she lets nothing, including her worried husband, stop her from investigating what happens in the forbidden forest outside the town of Haven’s Rock.

When one of the town's residents is drugged and wanders too close to the edge of town, she’s dragged into the woods kicking and screaming. She’s saved in the nick of time, but the women of the town are alarmed. Casey and Eric investigate the assault just as a snowstorm hits Haven’s Rock, covering the forest. It’s there they find a frozen body, naked in the snow. With mixed accounts of the woman's last movements, the two begin to question who they can trust—and who they can't—in their seemingly safe haven.

 

My Thoughts

Cold as Hell is the third book in the sequel series that features Casey and Eric as they navigate a new environment and a different location in the Yukon.  This book started off somewhat more slowly than the previous ones in the series, but when it took, it certainly didn't let up at all until the end and I continued to work on my puzzle while listening to the story as I just couldn't put it down.  I haven't been as much of a fan of this author's horror novels, but I really do enjoy these mystery novels and look forward to when each book is released.

 

I didn't think there was a lot of character development in this book, but the author definitely allowed each character to shine on their own and let their distinct and unique personalities come alive. A lot of time and effort is spent fleshing them out which makes what happens in the book seem so much more realistic as you can relate to their actions even if you don't agree with them.  I do think the characters are truly the backbone of this series and I always look forward to learning more about their backgrounds and what brought them to Haven's Rock in the first place.  

 

The plot, once it picked up, moved along rather quickly, and once the tension built up, it didn't let up one bit.  I really enjoyed the mystery in this one and as always, the author delivered some nice twists and turns that I wasn't expecting.  Because Casey was pregnant, and a high-risk pregnancy at that, there was this underlying tension throughout the book that something might go wrong with the pregnancy and this feeling of dread permeated the story. 

 

Now, I do have to say, the last quarter of the book, I did roll my eyes a few times and I did have to suspend all disbelief. Having had two children, I was a bit skeptical of the events that occurred, but chose to go with the flow and just ignore some of the impossibilities of the situation.  The author is just so good at creating tension and developing realistic world-building, that I listened to what happened with baited breath even though I was questioning the events.  In the end, I just chose to go with it and enjoy what happened.  But, it was a bit...absurd? inane? Whatever you want to call it. 

 

Verdict

Cold as Hell had a really good mystery and I did enjoy it quite a bit.  I really enjoyed the world-building and the tension that was created throughout the story as well as the way the author allowed the personalities of the characters to shine.  Even though I think the final scenes went a bit too far on the dramatic side, the plot did move swiftly, was full of twists and turns, and the actual conclusion was really good.  I highly recommend this series to those who are looking for a good mystery novel. And even though it's a sequel series to the Rockton/Casey Daniels series, I don't think you necessarily need to read that series in order to enjoy this one. Looking forward to book 4 when it is released in February 2026.

 

 

 

Review: Murder on the River by Janice Frost

Murder on the River (Warwick & Bell, #5)

by Janice Frost

Release Date: October 2, 2025

2025 Joffe Books

Ebook ARC; 290 Pages

ISBN: 978-1805732815

ASIN: B0FSKR688R

Genre: Fiction / Murder

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars 

 

Summary 

Detective Steph Warwick is halfway through her Christmas shopping when she gets the call. The body of a young man has been pulled from the icy River Witham.

The victim is Max Barsby, a quiet, hardworking archaeology student with no enemies — or so it seems. But Max didn’t drown. He was murdered. Bludgeoned over the head and left for dead.

Meanwhile Special Constable Jane Bell is investigating a routine break-in when she stumbles across an unexpected link to Max. Their enquiries unearth a mysterious girlfriend, a controversial dig site, and a discovery someone will kill to protect.

 

My Thoughts

Murder on the River is the fifth installment in this series and personally, I thought it was the weakest of the series. The mystery itself was actually interesting, but while I love investigations, this one felt rather repetitive, and I was getting rather annoyed with Jane Bell and her interfering family.  

 

Throughout the series, I have actually enjoyed Steph's character development as she was dealing with a lot of personal issues and was trying to work through them. No, she's not the most outgoing person and she struggles to develop personal relationships, but not everyone is warm and fuzzy, and that doesn't necessarily make her character uninteresting. There weren't really any new developments or breakthroughs for Steph, but I do like it when I see her trying, something that isn't easy for her.  As someone who is very much an introvert, I get where Steph is coming from and I enjoy seeing the baby steps she is taking. She doesn't need to be friends with people to do her job well.

 

I usually enjoy Jane and her family, but lately, the way she interferes in investigations actually got on my nerves. And in this one, it wasn't really Jane, but her know-it-all son.  Having him help out with the archaeological dig was one thing, but when you don't listen, get yourself in major trouble to the point where you can die, and there are really no consequences to your actions, that is where I have a problem. In all fairness, Steph typically has a reason to be angry with the Bell family and I was on her side the entire time.  

 

The plot itself was a bit repetitive this time round, but I did enjoy the reasons behind what happened. I did manage to figure out the culprit quite early on, so I just kind of sat back and read to see how the author would lay out the twists and turns for readers.  I did find the book to be one more of the telling variety this time round though. However, I did find the archaeology aspect to be quite interesting. 

 

Verdict

Murder on the River was not my favourite book in the series, but it did have an interesting mystery and I enjoyed learning more about the archaeological element.  I did find the pacing to be somewhat erratic, and I wasn't a fan of the interactions between the Bell family and Steph this time around.  However, I did really enjoy the earlier books in the series and would recommend them, so I will be continuing with the series when the next book is released.  

 

Review: Photograph by Brian Freeman

Photograph

by Brian Freeman

Release Date: October 7, 2025

2025 Blackstone Publishing Inc

Ebook ARC; 306 Pages

ISBN: 978-1665109765

ASIN: B0DZ7YJMNR

Audiobook: B0DXQH9M33

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Shannon Wells is a private investigator who helps women with nowhere else to go. Last year, a woman named Faith Selby came to Shannon with a strange Find out who I really am.

Shannon soon discovered that Faith was hiding a whole other life, but was unable to penetrate the web of mystery the woman had built around her past. Now Faith is dead. The only clue to who she was and why she was murdered is an old photograph of a little girl in the rain outside a Midwestern motel.

The hunt for answers takes Shannon from the hot beaches of Florida to a remote small town in Michigan as she peels away layer after layer of a shocking cold case that has rippled violently into the present. With each secret she uncovers, the danger around her grows—and forces Shannon to confront the demons hiding in her own past.

 

My Thoughts

Photograph is a standalone mystery novel by the author who has brought us some new thrilling novels in the Jason Bourne universe (ones I have thoroughly enjoyed), so I was intrigued to read something that was completely original by him.  And I was not disappointed. With characters that were intriguing and fully fleshed out to a plot that was fun, but also full of twists and turns, this was one enjoyable mystery.

 

The MC Shannon was a complex person who had experienced personal trauma in her life, an experience that made her decide to open a private investigation agency to help other women. There were a lot of depths to this character and I personally liked the exploration of how the trauma has impacted her life as I thought it was done with sensitivity and compassion.  Shannon is a determined person who cares deeply for others and it shows in her interactions throughout the story.  Now I wasn't a complete fan of Shannon at the beginning of the book as she came across as a bit spoiled, especially when dealing with her estranged father, but she did grow on as the book progressed, to the point where I really enjoyed her personality. She is not gullible, and I appreciated how she took the time to ensure she was safe when she did certain things. It always bugs me when a main characters does something stupid, with no regard to personal safety, puts others at risk as well, and there is not much said about such behaviour.  This book didn't take that approach which suited me. 

 

The plot moved along relatively quickly, even if the beginning was a bit slow.  However, the 'slowness' is a relative term as it was necessary to build up certain relationships and understanding of certain situations, but once that was done, it took off and the tension never let up, throwing the reader twist after twist. I changed my mind about who was responsible a few times, but did figure it out before the end. And it was just a random statement that caught my eye and made me think the way I did, otherwise I would not have clued in to who it was.  I totally loved how the mystery and the plot revolved around a single photo taken years ago and how the author managed to link everything in this book to that photo. 

 

Verdict

Photograph was a very intricately plotted mystery with plenty of twists and turns, and I really liked the fact that it was so different from the Bourne thrillers he writes.  But, while I did think Shannon had some good character development, I also thought the secondary characters could have been more developed as that would have added to the richness of the story.  However, I highly recommend this to any reader who likes a psychological thriller/mystery, and I also recommend his Jason Bourne novels to those who love thrillers. Personally, I would love to see another book featuring this character.  Hint, hint!!