THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING by Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline has done it again with This Changes Everything—the sequel to last year’s psychological thriller The Unraveling of Julia. Five years after the murder of her first husband, Mike, the discovery of her biological parents, and the inheritance of a crumbling villa in Tuscany, Julia is living a new life: married to Gianluca and mother to three-year-old Leni. That hard-won peace shatters when her psychic abilities flare during a phone call with her lifelong friend Courtney back in the States. In that moment, Courtney discovers her grandmother has been murdered.

Julia flies home to support Courtney, testing the new life she has built in Italy. Torn between loyalty to her best friend and devotion to her family, she faces difficult choices. Skeptical of the local police’s ability—or willingness—to solve the crime, she and Courtney launch their own investigation, aided by several of the victim’s friends.

I’m not usually a fan of supernatural thrillers, so I was glad Scottoline kept Julia’s psychic powers to a minimum. They serve the story without taking it over. The friendship between Julia and Courtney feels genuine and lived-in, and the tension between Julia’s Italian life and her loyalty to Courtney gives the book real emotional weight.

The pacing is tight, the small-town secrets are well-handled, and the ending was a complete surprise—I didn’t see it coming.

Rating:  4.5/5 stars ⭐

Highly recommended if you enjoyed The Unraveling of Julia or just want a smart, twisty thriller with heart.

HAWAII SCANDAL by Cobey Black

Hawaii Scandal by Cobey Black was published in 2002 by Island Heritage Publishing. This is a non-fiction true-crime story set in Hawaii in 1931. 

Thalia Fortescue Massie was a Washington D.C. socialite who, in September 1931, was living in Hawaii with her husband, Navy Lieutenant Thomas Hedges Massie, who was stationed at Pearl Harbor. When the Massies attended a Saturday night party with two other couples at the Ala Wai Inn in Honolulu, Thalia decided to leave the party alone and was later found wandering along a road not far from the Inn at 1:00 the following morning by a passing car. Beaten and suffering from a broken jaw, Thalia told the driver and his passenger that she had been abducted and assaulted by a group of young men but couldn't identify them and didn't know what kind of car they had. Later, when questioned by the police, she claimed she had been raped and assaulted by 5 local Hawaiian boys and was able to provide a partial license plate number for their vehicle. As time went on, Thalia would repeatedly change her story. 

Earlier that same night, five young men, two of Hawaiian ancestry, two of Japanese ancestry, and one of half Chinese/Hawaiian ancestry... were arrested for assaulting a Hawaiian woman. Later, they were also charged with the rape of Massie, which they all denied. So, was Thalia's description of her assailants coaxed from her by the police? Was it based on bigotry or merely a convenience due to the arrest of the five young men earlier in the evening? Or... was Thalia herself covering up for a dalliance gone wrong? 

If you're not already a true-crime buff, Black's Hawaii Scandal may turn you into one. For those readers who lean toward this subgenre of non-fiction... this book may just become your version of nirvana. Murder, mayhem, and lies. Add a wealthy and beautiful socialite from a famous family, her handsome young husband, a vindictive and overbearing (some might call evil) mother, as well as a well-known attorney, and you have all the stuff that makes for a good old-fashioned murder mystery. Except...it's all true, and this book is for you.  

My Personal Rating is ⭐⭐⭐⭐