Stable by Kate Gemma

3.5 stars rounded up
TW: kidnap/abduction, minor incidences of torture

Stable is the story of four childhood best friends who as tweens were kidnapped and held captive for three days before being rescued. But it's also the story of the ties that bind us together and what lengths we'll go to to keep our friends safe.

Both Maura and Charlie were raised by a kindly neighborhood grandma, who eventually takes in each of the children, thus tightening their bonds. At the age of 12 or so the four kids were kidnapped when they ran into an abandoned barn for cover from a storm. There they were kept for three days with minimal water and food and when two of the four tried to escape, at different times, they were tortured. Eventually, they are rescued by the town cop and the property owner is sent to prison for the crimes.

Years later, when the children have grown and gone their separate ways, they are called back to town when one of them dies. Mystery surrounds the death and before long there is a disappearance. Maura, our protagonist, is hell-bent on finding her friend and joins the new sheriff in that task.

I enjoyed the story very much and the characters were well fleshed out. Maura is most memorable because she's written as a tough as nails, not gonna take any shit from anyone kind of gal. She sticks up for her guy friends when the sheriff's son, Boyd, bullies them. I loved that about her then, and I loved that she didn't change as an adult.

I subtracted a star because I had the whodunit figured out very quickly and I wasn't terribly fond of the epilogue. Not every story needs to be tidied up so nicely at the end, in my opinion.

Many thanks to the author and Reedsy/Discovery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Buy this book here. Read this review on Goodreads.

What it Seems by Emily Bleeker

3.5 stars rounded up.
TW: child abuse/torture, one brief scene of animal abuse, one brief scene of attempted sexual harassment

This is the story of Tara, a 12-year-old in a 20-year-old's body. For eight years she has been the victim of an abusive, sadistic, controlling adopted mother who has forced her to shoplift to help put food on the table. Tara hasn't attended school since she was hit by a car at the age of 8 and then adopted by "Mother." She doesn't watch television, play games or leave her room except to eat meals.

While in her room, Tara's door is deadbolted from the outside and it's her "job" to list all of her stolen items on eBay. But while she has a computer, she's not allowed to use it except for her job. Mother ensures her keystrokes are monitored.

When Tara misbehaves, Mother's wrath is swift and nearly deadly. She is beaten, locked in her closet for days and food and water are withheld. Tara lives a most horrific life, except when she removes the keystroke machine and watches Youtube videos. Her favorite is AllTheFeels with the Feely family.

The Feelys are like a real family to Tara, who longs to be loved like the three kids in the family's daily vlogs. When an opportunity arises to intern with the family, Tara finds the strength to disobey Mother to interview for the job.

Here's where the story begins to fall apart some and you'll need some suspension of disbelief when Tara finds herself with the Feelys. It's hard to imagine this super-popular vlogging family wanting to employ a self-described "stinky" young pregnant woman--Mother forces Tara to wear a pregnancy prosthetic to hide her stolen goods in, which Tara wears to the interview with the Feelys--and invite her into their home, despite her grand plans for the family's Youtube content.

I nearly put the book down at the 40 percent point because the story changed so dramatically, but I trudged along and I'm glad I did. What it Seems wound up being a pretty good read (although the ending was a little too feel-good...forgive the pun). I subtracted a star because of the suspension of disbelief factor and the too tidy ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. See this review on Goodreads. Buy this book on Amazon.

Boy Interrupted by Patrick King

TW: rape, torture, molestation, animal cruelty, gruesome depictions of murder

4.5 stars, rounded up. The more I think about this book, the more intriguing and heartwrenching it becomes to me.

Boy Interrupted is the story of little Kenny Hanson, who at the age of 4 has his innocence shattered in an attack by his own father. He endures this savagery for eight more years until his "sweetness" is gone and daddy doesn't want him anymore.

As happens in some cases of molestation, young Kenny finds an outlet for his pain and rage, and he does so at a young age. Eventually, Kenny is placed in an institution, where it's expected he will live out his life, unable to hurt anyone.

More than 20 years pass and the elder Dr. Hanson continues to practice medicine with his buddies who also took part in his early charades with young Kenny. But bodies start piling up, all doctors, all tortured and killed in horrific ways.

It's up to Susan, Brian, Raif and the rest of the team to find the connection between these men and stop the killer. Coincidentally (or not?!), Susan at one time was a patient of Dr. Hanson. What role this might play, it's up to the reader to discover.

Boy Interrupted had me at the edge of my seat throughout. Although many parts of this book were gruesome, I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. Indeed, I found myself seeing life through Kenny's eyes, even if only temporarily, to try to understand some of the things he did.

Each of the characters had great depth and were well written and explored, including Dr. Hanson, who's insanity was hard to fathom, yet written to perfection.

I'm looking forward to more by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

See this review on Goodreads, Amazon, Netgalley or Barnes & Noble.