The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Pages: 299 pages
Published: May 2024

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean had been sitting on my physical TBR (to be read) pile for several months, and for no other pressing reason than I needed a new book to read, I decided to crack open one of my last purchased books from Book of the Month in late January. 

This suspense-filled novel is about a young teenaged girl - the titular character - who disappeared from a party, and she mysteriously returns, seemingly from the dead, two years later throwing everyone in her community into a tailspin. Detective Chelsey Calhoun was the lead detective when Ellie Black first went missing, and, naturally, she is put back on the case upon her return. Not only has this unsolved case haunted her but also the unsolved case of Calhoun's adoptive sister more than 20 years ago. Upon the return of the victim in the latter case, Chelsey is thrown right back into the midst of the Black family and trying to glean information from them to resolve the case. Like a dog with a bone, the detective is tenacious in trying to figure out where Ellie has been, what happened to her during those two years, and why she has shown up after such a long time. 

I enjoyed this debut thriller novel that was relatively short and moved quickly. The mysterious nature of the plot propels the reader to continue turning pages until a resolution is presented. Like most of the books I've read so far in 2025, this one featured strong female characters at the forefront and provided entertaining value. 

Recommendation: A dark and twisty thriller, fans of TV shows like Law & Order: SVU and Found are sure to enjoy this page-turner! 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

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The Devil You Knew by Mike Cobb

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 480 pages
Published: September 1, 2022

The Devil You Knew is a mystery thriller written by author Mike Cobb. The book is broken into two parts that chronologically correspond within the two years the bulk of the plot takes places — 1963 and 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1963, three young girls go missing, and the city of Atlanta goes on the hunt for a serial killer. A young, 11-year old William "Binky" (later referred to as Billy in 1980) Tarwater is infatuated with one of the kidnapped girls. As an adult, Billy gets caught up in the suspense of the crimes, and he finds himself in a pursuit of justice for Sam "Shorty" Jepperson, the Black man whom the crimes were pinned on. Sam was ultimately convicted and serving a life sentence for a crime he and his family claim he did not commit. Throughout this nearly 500-page novel and two-decade timespan, the reader is taken on a plot twist-filled journey with Billy, now a journalist, who seems to be one of the few people concerned with truth and justice for all. 

Because the central action of the book takes place in the South in the 60s, one can imagine there were several themes of racism, prejudice and sexism. Additionally, the author has included a large cast of characters that serve as red herrings. Many of those characters are conservative Christians and those typical stereotypes were played into creating intrigue and confusion in determining who the true person is that perpetrated these horrible crimes. While each chapter of the book vacillates from one character to the next in perspective, I did enjoy the main character's narration, especially in the first part of the book. Binky Tarwater reminded me of the main character in the popular TV series, The Wonder Years (either the original or reboot). 

Once the book transitions to 1980, there was more tension in the writing as Billy felt time-pressed to help free Sam Jepperson. Furthermore, the author juxtaposed the fictional crimes of 1963 with the very real crimes of the Atlanta Child Murders between 1979 and 1981. Honestly, I am not typically able to guess the conclusion of whodunit and nor do I want to. I enjoy the journey of reading. However, I was able to discern where the book was going rather early on, but that did not take away from the overall story. My only criticism of the book is it's a little long and verbose. I think the author could find a wider reader following by staying within 350 to 400 pages and curbing some of the vocabulary (e.g., deadheading, Klippel-Feil syndrome, etc.). Some readers just aren't going to take the time to stop and look up the words and others may stop reading all together. 

Recommendation: This was an excellent book with an engaging mystery and (somewhat) satisfying conclusion. The author says that research is paramount to his writing style, and any reader can clearly identify that in how he wove true crimes into this fictional one.  I look forward to reading more from this author. 

Trigger warnings: child violence, domestic violence, racial epithets 

Until next time ... Read on!

Thanks to Reedsy Discovery for an electronic copy of this book. If you'd like to review for Reesdy Discovery, please visit my affiliate link. Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

Mike Cobb's body of literary work includes both fiction and nonfiction, short-form and long-form, as well as articles and blogs. While he is comfortable playing across a broad range of topics, much of his focus is on true crime, crime fiction and historical fiction. Rigorous research is foundational to his writing. He gets that honestly, having spent much of his professional career as a scientist. He vehemently refuses to box his work into a specific genre. Mike splits his time between Atlanta and Blue Ridge, Gerorgia. 

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Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Pages: 338 pages
Published: April 2020

Spoiler alert (not really), but there were literally no little secrets in Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier. All the secrets were big … major! This action-packed thriller was filled with one jaw-dropping moment to the next. The novel opens with Marian, the mother of four-year old Sebastian, at Pike’s Place Market during the busy Christmas season when an unexpected phone call provides just enough of a distraction for Sebastian to disappear without much of a trace. All the police can find is camera footage of Sebastian being walked out of the market area with someone in a Santa suit and not much else. A little more than a year later and still no leads, Marian is a mess. Her husband, Derek has buried himself in work, and when Marian hires a private investigator to continue the work the police have listed as a cold case she learns that Derek has had a months-long affair with twenty-something grad student, Kenzie. Marian fixates on Kenzie, who has a sordid past of her own, as a coping mechanism of finding a solution to a problem she thinks she can actually fix. However, one bad decision turns into another, and Marian finds herself twisted in a web of deceit that leads to her undoing but also provides her to the first real lead to what happened to Sebastian. 

While the mystery of who took Sebastian is at the heart of this book, there are so many other topics the author tackles including the grief and loss of a loved one, suicide and unhealthy coping mechanisms. The bulk of the plot focuses on Marian and her obsession with Kenzie. That part of the plot got a little old for me. It was annoying, but realistic, with how Marian saw Kenzie as the enemy even though Derek is the one who made the martial vow with her. However, seeing it through the lens of the guilt she felt for losing Sebastian, I suppose I can understand why the character was written that way. It definitely made her a multidimensional and believable character. I didn’t see the plot twist about two-thirds into the story that led to the conclusion of the mystery, which made the story a satisfying one for me. 

I found Little Secrets to be a fast-paced, attention-grabbing psychological thriller especially written for mystery and suspense lovers. The child abduction aspect may make it a difficult read, but the emotional rollercoaster is worth reading the book to completion. 

Recommendation: I would highly recommend this book. I devoured it in a couple days because I just had to know who done it, what Marian was going to do to Kenzie and if Marian and Derek’s marriage would survive such stress. I was able to borrow a digital copy from the Fort Worth Public Library with no wait. So, check your local library for a copy today! 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

Read More