Margot Hunt

For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt published by HARLEQUIN - MIRA (U.S. and Canada). I want to start this off by saying thank you to Margot Hunt Harlequin and Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this book. This is my first read by this author and I am intrigued enough to want to read and see more. Two lawyers the perfect couple or perfect partner in crime? Natalie and Will a very interesting couple. The opening of the book is a first date where they talk about getting away with murder. After so many years of marriage they get to put that conversation to the test. Til Jail do us part or Happily ever after? "Some people just need killing" A completely true statement where it comes to this book. Natalie and Will the perfect couple doing everything to protect their son. The Clarkes have the worst situation on their hands that any parents would never want to have. Their son's principal and friend of the Clarke's has been accused of molesting a young boy at the elementary school. One day Natalie is talking with her son Jacob and he drops an awful bomb of being molested by the principal Robert as well. Talk about ATROCIOUS! The book takes you on a ride of the planning and execution of the perfect murder and you the reader are on the edge of your seat hoping they get away with it or hoping only one goes to jail. I enjoyed this read. I was just hoping for it to pack a bigger punch. Overall a strong three star read.… (altro)

The Guests by Margot Hunt is a highly recommended locked-room thriller set during a Category 5 hurricane. Admittedly, you have to set disbelief and some logical reasoning aside, but once you decide to go for it, you will be entertained either by the action or betting who will survive.

Hurricane Celeste is due to arrive very soon and attorney Lee Davies and his heiress wife, Marlowe, along with their teens, Tim and June, are planning to ride out the Category 5 storm in their palatial home. Joining the family is Tim's friend Zack and Marlowe's assistant, Isabel. Staying secretly in June's room is her best friend, Felix. Just as handyman Mick Byrne finishes putting up their hurricane shutters with help from Tim and Zach, a stranger docks their boat at the house.

As they head down to the dock to see who they are, an accident incapacitates Mick and the strangers help carry him into the house. The strangers are brothers, Jason and Bo Connor, and Bo’s girlfriend, Darcy. Once they are in the house, Bo seems charming at first, but as the storm begins to intensify, tensions begin to rise with these uninvited guests. It is soon clear that they are not safe.

Each chapter is told through a specific character's point-of-view, with Marlowe being the prime voice. There are a few flashback chapters to provide background details. Yes, there are several times eye-rolling may happen and you have to suspend all disbelief, but if you are able to just roll with the action as written, it is very entertaining. There are some twists, surprises, and soap-opera material in the plot along with the more predictable parts.

The Guests is a fast-paced thriller that will hold your attention to the end if you commit to getting through the hurricane with these people. Me thinks it wasn't really written with character development in mind and wants all focus on the action, secrets, twists, and locked-room aspect of the plot, which I happily obliged to agree to do.
Disclosure: My complimentary review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/12/the-guests.html… (altro)

I was enthralled by Margot Hunt’s latest release, Lovely Girls, and this was one of the books I’d picked off her backlist. Domestic suspense revolving deadly affairs will always pique my interest.

Sadly, this wasn’t my favorite. It just wasn’t coming together for me the way I hoped…the basic story is that two people, Josh and Nora, start an affair while both married to other people. Then Gwen, Josh’s wife, is found dead…and then the hunt is on to find the killer. Of course, twisted family secrets are revealed in the process.

This is in third person told primarily from Nora, Josh, Gwen, and Abby (Gwen and Josh’s oldest daughter)‘s POVs, with others sprinkled in at the end. I didn’t feel a particular pull toward any of the characters, and they’re honestly all really unlikeable. I don’t mind unlikeable characters unless they’re really flat and one-dimensional. The ending and big reveal were underwhelming, and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I did read to the end because I was curious who the killer was, and the author definitely knows how to keep the tension up and pages turning. Even though this was quite forgettable, I will still happily read her other books.… (altro)