“The Family Inside” by Katie Garner

Title: The Family Inside
Author: Katie Garner
Publisher: Mira
Year: 2025
Genre(s): suspense
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Facing eviction, Iris accepts her boyfriend’s invitation to move in with him. He has moved back to his family’s home as he renovates it. Iris and her teenage daughter Ellory struggle to fit in with his family and Ellory ends up running away. Worried about her daughter, Iris realizes that she is not safe in the house as dark secrets start to come to light. Will she ever find out the truth…or will blood prove to be thicker? 

Rating: 

“The Turn of the Key” by Ruth Ware

Title: The Turn of the Key
Author: Ruth Ware
Publisher: Scout Press
Year: 2019    
Genre(s): suspense
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Rowan Caine, a young woman from London, is hired as a nanny for the wealth Elinscourt family. They live in a beautiful house in the Scottish highlands that is historic but also completely modernized on the inside. Technology is watching the entire time and mysterious noises in the attic prevent Rowan from finding any peace. Left alone with four girls who aren’t happy with her presence, she worries she is losing her sanity when tragedy changes everything.

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“The Book of Cold Cases” by Simone St. James

Title: The Book of Cold Cases
Author: Simone St. James
Publisher:  Berkley
Year: 2022
Genre(s):  mystery, suspense, paranormal
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: By day, Shea Collins is a receptionist at a doctor’s office. By night, she is a popular blogger who runs a site called The Book of Cold Cases. She writes about true crime, her way of coping with being a player in one as a child. Her two worlds collide when she meets Beth Greer, the last member of a prominent family in their Oregon town. Back in 1977, Beth was accused of being the Lady Killer – the murderer of two men who left behind taunting notes. Though she was ultimately acquitted at trial, suspicion has followed her since then. She decides to tell her story to Shea, who realizes that there is more to the story than anyone has known. Will she be able to tell the truth – or will some force make sure the truth remains a secret?

“The Woman in the Window” by A.J. Finn

Title: The Woman in the Window
Author: A.J. Finn
Publisher:  William Morrow
Year: 2018
Genre(s): suspense
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Unable to leave her house, Anna Fox spends her days watching old thrillers and her neighbors while mixing alcohol and strong medications. When a new family moves in across the street, Anna befriends the young teenage son. But when she believes she sees a murder in his house, she’s forced to accept some hard truths about her life while also questioning her own sanity.