Abbie’s Recent Reads (January 2026)

Posted on January 30, 2026January 7, 2026 by abbiebourelle

Happy New Year! Dear readers, welcome to another year with many great reads ahead of us! Before I launch into my new adventures in reading for the coming year I would like to share my December favorites with you. I was surprised that I managed to read so many in December despite being busy with the holidays. Below you will find tantalizing choices from the genres of thriller, non fiction, and historical fiction. I hope that one of my recommendations sparks someone’s fancy.

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

I am currently a bit obsessed with Riley Sager’s books. His thrillers just hit all the right “I can’t put this book down!” vibes. This is Riley Sager’s second thriller novel. Each is a stand alone, but since I found I liked this author I have decided to read them in publication order. If you like creepy summer camp stories that involve suspicious rich people, a possibly haunted lake, a deep dark woods, and vanished young campers then this is one for you! This one in particular was very atmospheric with perfectly eerie visuals.

Emma Davis spent a few days at Camp Nightingale when she was thirteen. That stay was enough to traumatize her for life. During her stay the other three girls in her cabin disappeared without a trace. No one knows what happened to them. The mystery remains unsolved. Emma has been haunted by not knowing what happened to her friends into her adult years. She copes by painting them over and over and covering their images with paintings of the forest. No one knows the girls are hidden in the paintings but her. It is an odd coping mechanism, but it helps her. As an artist, Emma is so successful that the rich owner of Camp Nightingale, Franny, takes an interest in her paintings. After purchasing a painting, Franny informs Emma that she intends to reopen Camp Nightingale for the first time after the disappearances. She invites Emma to come work for her as the art teacher. Seeing this as an opportunity to tie up loose ends and solve the mystery once and for all, Emma accepts. Once there odd things start happening and Emma can’t help but feel that she is being watched. Is someone trying to keep the truth from coming to light? Will more girls disappear? Read The Last Time I Lied to find out!

Click HERE to request a copy of The Last Time I Lied

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Abbie’s Recent Reads (November 2025)

Posted on November 28, 2025November 6, 2025 by abbiebourelle

Last month I found myself in a bit of a reading slump. Life was busy and many of my library holds were taking their time coming in (yes, they came in all at once so I had some catching up to do!). I had a great time reading through a wide variety of genres in the past month, and I am super excited to share my favorites with you! Below you will find suggestions for genres in fantasy, non fiction, historical fiction, and thriller/horror. I am an eclectic reader! Dear reader, I hope you find something on this list that brings you as much delight as these reads brought to me.

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Adult, Horror, Mystery, Staff Picks, Thrillers

Thrills and Chills: My July Thriller and Horror Reads

Posted on August 22, 2025August 6, 2025 by abbiebourelle

I have found that while I read a bit from just about every genre under the sun, I tend to go through what I like to call “genre phases”. Last year I was in quite the science fiction phase and the bulk of my reading was focused in that genre. This summer has seen me in quite the horror and thriller phase. Like a ravenous undead beast I have found myself devouring whatever dark tome I can get my hands on. The following recommendations are books that I have digested over the month of July. Please, enjoy the menu!

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

S.A. Barnes is a wonderful author that skillfully blends the genres of science fiction and horror. In this particular novel we find ourselves with a scrappy crew of astronauts who work at the outer edges of explored space repairing communication relays. They are due to return to the company soon and be shipped off to different assignments. Before that can happen, they follow a strange distress beacon to a discovery that embroils our crew in a decades long unsolved mystery.

The Aurora was one of a kind. No ship was built like it before or since. It was supposed to be the Titanic – but in space: a state of the art cruise vessel for the rich and famous. It disappeared years ago and no one alive knows what happened to it. Hoping that the find will bring them fame and fortune, our crew boards the Aurora. The scene aboard is one of blood and violence. What happened on the Aurora that drove the passengers to their doom? Are there survivors lurking on this ghost ship? Read Dead Silence and prepare for a wild ride full of jump scares and horror worthy of a big screen movie. This is exactly what I want when I pick up a horror novel!

Click HERE to request Dead Silence!

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Author Highlight: Books by Jennifer McMahon!

Posted on December 27, 2024December 11, 2024 by abbiebourelle

During the Halloween season I was browsing Libby/Overdrive searching for the perfect spooky book. Earlier that day a patron had asked me for help finding The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. I admit at the time I did not know The Winter People was a scary book! It looked from the outside like your typical winter time read. I should know never to judge a book by it’s cover! Just a few hours later my Libby/Overdrive suggested that I would like The Winter People if I was looking for something scary. It could not be a coincidence that the same book would cross my path in one day! I decided I MUST read that book! Well ever since I have gobbled up everything by Jennifer McMahon I can get my hands on. She doesn’t just do horror, she is also a terrific thriller writer! Each book that she writes is a stand alone thrill filled with unpredictable twists and turns that leave you wanting more, more, and more! I may have a slight Jennifer McMahon addiction right now.

(As I covered The Winter People in my October Favored Frights post I will be only covering the other books I have read from her to date. I have loved each and every one!)

Promise Not To Tell by Jennifer McMahon

Promise Not To Tell is the first novel written by Jennifer McMahon. One thing I LOVE about Jennifer’s books is that they often take place between the past and the present. Flashbacks to the past often help to fill in clues as to what is happening in the main storyline.

When Kate Cypher was a teenager she made a promise to her friend. She promised not to tell a big secret. Kate was loyal and never told a soul. Now Kate is all grown up and has to return to that same small town to care for her aging mother who has Alzheimer’s. While staying with her mother a teenage girl is murdered in the woods close to their home. The girl is murdered in the same way that Kate’s friend was all those years ago. The single witness claims that it was The Potato Girl that killed her friend. “The Potato Girl” is what the town bullies called Kate’s friend. Could The Potato Girl’s ghost be seeking revenge? Could Kate hold the clues that will solve both murders? Find out in Promise Not To Tell.

Click the title to request Promise Not To Tell

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