Always a wonderful tool to use for book acquisitions. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers. I enjoyed reading and ordering these books for our library

This is the first sampler I've requested and I love the concept. I am always looking for new-to-me authors and I am especially picky about my mysteries/thrillers. For me, there has to be the right balance of investigation and drama. Reading samples really helps me find the right authors for my tastes and then I will start working my way through their backlist too! I would read more of these samplers in future.

I enjoyed reading this sampler from Minotaur and it did kick out a couple that I'd like to continue reading!

The New Mother - Nora Murphy
I was really beginning to get into this one about a woman being a first time mom and going thru all those anxieties add in being in a new house a new neighborhood and a creepy neighbor to boot! (Yes please! Got to continue with this one!)

What the Neighbors Saw - Melissa Adelman
(Yes! Another I am wanting to Continue!) A couple pregnant with their second child moves into a new neighborhood and it sounds like there may be some creepy neighbors here. Most all of them welcome the new couple to the neighborhood but treat the wife kind of strangely standoffish and then she goes snooping around the neighborhood after dark peeping in places she shouldn't have and it seems it's about to hit the fan!

Speak of the Devil - Rose Wilding
This opens with a head. Yes a severed head of what appears to have been a despicable man who most wanted dead. We have seven women who had reason for him to be dead but all of them say they didn't do it. (This one sounds like it should be good but for some reason the writing style just isn't sitting well with me. This is a "maybe" on my list)

The Bitter Past - Bruce Borgos
This is told in multiple timelines and opens with a guy who gets a job in security in the Nevada desert back in the nuclear time. We know something is about to happen because of all the secretive talk. I mean you can just tell. (I enjoyed the feel of the authors writing because usually I wouldn't have even picked up a book like this so this is another "maybe".)

The Trade Off - Sandie Jones
(Sorry but this didn't interest me in the least. I wont be carrying on with this one.) We open with a lady getting a job at a newspaper and trying to fit in. I just am not interested in all the newspaper world chatter and what goes on behind the scenes, how they develop their stories and so forth. Nothing really juicy was offered up in the small teaser here but I got enough to know I dont want to continue sadly.

North of Nowhere - Allison Brennan
Wow the action is there from the start for this story and I can't wait to grab it to find out what happens next. It opens with a man on the run with his two kids only they aren't really his but two that he has promised to protect and treated as his own for 5 or 6 years and now their crime family biological father has found them.

#TheMinotaurSamplerVolume8 #NetGalley

Thanks to Minotaur and Netgalley for these samplers in exchange for my honest opinion.

What an awesome sampler! I'm excited to read them all! I was approved for The New Mother so it will be first on my TBR!

I liked reading the sampler to see if I want to read the books. It’s a great way to find new authors. I plan to read a few of them when they come out.

The New Mother by Nora Murphy. I couldn’t feel sympathy for Nat, she was such a whiner. She has a loving husband, family and friends but doesn’t talk to any of them. She was so overwhelmed but ashamed to admit it. Sounds like post-partum depression but not quite. I would like to know what happens.

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman. Alexis and Sam buy an expensive fixer-upper in an upscale DC neighborhood. Alexis is pregnant with their second child and both are stretched pretty thin. All the neighbors come by to welcome the newcomers which makes Alexis feel inferior. Blair lives next door to Alexis and is the first to welcome the new family. Both families are having marital stress.

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding. Six women are in a rundown hotel attic with the head of a man who they all have ties to. Which one killed him and brought his head?

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos. Right away I like the main character, Sheriff Porter Beck. He is investigating the torture and death of a retired FBI agent in Nevada. An FBI agent shows up the next day to look into the case. I like the way this book starts - it jumps right into the story and grabs your attention.

The Trade Off by Sandie Jones starts with the funeral of a celebrity who committed suicide after a tabloid bombshell. From there it goes back to the 1950s where we meet Freddie and Kitty in Las Vegas working at a casino. Freddie is considered very handsome and Kitty is rather bookish. Kitty introduces him to her father, a scientist at a top secret base. Soon he is hired as a security guard and is acing all the training. Freddie is really a Russian spy. Then the book switches to present day London and the tabloids. A journalist, Jess, gets hired and another group led by Stella are preparing to ambush a politician with sneak photographs. Jess doesn’t know what she is getting into working for a tabloid.

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan. Two children are on the run from their mob father. His ex best friend and right hand man has been in hiding with them for 5 years but somehow they have been found. They ride out on horses to steal a plane. Unfortunately, they are tracked and Tony gets shot while taking off. The bullets also hit an engine and the fuel tank so they have to crash land. The kids are running into a storm in Montana with their father and his thugs chasing them.

These samplers are always my favorite thing to request. They give you such a nice variety of authors and stories. I'm always able to find one or two new-to-me authors this way and then I can go buy all their previously published books. I love finding new authors this way. I wish more of these were offered.

In order of appearance:

The New Mother by Nora Murphy, available 5/30
SO unsure how I feel about this based on the first few chapters. It is so clear the new mother is suffering from crippling anxiety. I can understand that. I can't relate, personally, to the state of new-motherhood and I think I'd struggle with my feelings for the character because of that. Not saying this book isn't for everyone, just mayyybe not me. I feel like, based on the author, it will probably turn out to be pretty good for most readers.

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman, available 6/20
This felt like the slowest start of the bunch for me. Hoping this will pick up and be a good mystery (we do get some mysterious feels from the first couple chapters though). The creeping around the neighborhood in the dark was sort of disturbing in a funny, this-is-fiction-but-we-all-know-it-actually-happens-out-there sort of way. The character straight up admits it is weird for her to be walking in the dark...then sneaks onto her neighbor's lawn.... Honestly, I want to put it in the TBR pile but with so many books & so little time who knows if it'll happen for me.

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding, available 6/13
This is a debut and I thought it started strong. I'm unsure about there being so many characters that seem they'll be critical to the storyline. Will it be hard to keep them all straight? It does seem like it'll be fun to unravel each character's life and connections to each other and the man we know they are all connected through.

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos, available 7/18
This will be the first in a new series featuring Sheriff Porter Beck.
I liked the banter between Sheriff Beck and Agent Locke when they met. Thi sis supposed to be told in two timelines which, if done well, I tend to enjoy. Also love me a good police procedural. This is definitely going into the "Want to read it" pile.

The Trade Off by Sandie Jones, available 8/15
Seems like this will be told in Past & Present timelines (I'm quite interested to see what this past timeline has to do with the current journalists). Based on the blurb I'm not sure how to go into this or what to expect from the main character. I thought I was interested to read this but now I'm unsure AND Minotaur already denied me for the galley.... In my best Stephanie Tanner voice: "HOW RUDE" of them LOL

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan, available 8/8
This started really strong. High stress, high tension moments as a man and two children escape someone coming after them. I'm super Interested in reading this one and excited to see if we will learn more about the characters introduced in these first few chapters. Especially the two kids, Kris and Ryan. This also started out in Montana so that's a plus for me :-)

Big thanks to Minotaur for always providing these chapter samplers. They are a fun way to start several novels and get a feel for what might be best to put at the top of the reading list!

I love reading samplers to get an idea of whether I'll enjoy a book and this one had six exciting thrillers to try out. There were three that really stood out for me -

The New Mother sound chilling, with a young baby myself I'm sure this will leave an impression on me!

What the Neighbors Saw is a really interesting idea. I love the sound of it and am interested to try this debut author.

Speak of the Devil is a book I've had my eye on for a while and is the reason I requested this sampler. The opening few chapters were amazing and I can't wait to read more.

This has to be my favorite sampler so far so many great reads! I literally want to read every book out of this one!!

The sampler has some really interesting books. I’m so excited for Speak of the Devil, I think it will make a really great audio book. I will definitely be picking up these books when they come out.

This was a particularly exceptional sampler! I truly love these minotaur samplers and am looking forward to these new releases that I sampled here.

This is a great sampler for 6 thrillers. It gave me a good idea of the style of the book. There were several books that I would like to look for the full book. A great little resource.

What a great way to get a sneak peek at some highly anticipated reads! Enjoyed immensely and looking forward to reading the books in their entirety.

I always love these samplers because they give me a feel for the author’s writing style and get me hyped up to read books I connect with!

The Minotaur samplers never fail to deliver a fantastic sample of books. All of which I end up adding to my TBR list! This sampler is no different. I’m eagerly awaiting all the releases now after reading the samples. Thanks NetGalley and Minotaur for the opportunity to read an early look at all these books!

So very grateful for the opportunity to preview new titles and discover new authors as well as catch up with familiar ones. I am always especially excited that these are mystery/suspense titles--my genre!

Great Sampler!

Very strong group of authors. I have had the opportunity to review most of the authors previous works so I look forward for a glimpse of the new stuff.

So in a nutshell this introduces you to the books first 4-5 chapters. Just enough to get good idea of the writing style, pace, and overall spirit of the book.

We need more of these!

Pros: I love when NetGalley has these samplers because it helps me narrow down what books to request. These are all new-to-me authors that I might not have known about without this sampler.

Cons: None!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read a bit from these books!

Excellent resource for finding which upcoming books from Minotaur I’m interested in and which may not be for me. This is a great resource.

This collection of excerpts from upcoming mystery and suspense titles is here again! As always, there are generous excerpts and descriptions of each of the featured titles. There is also information on each of the authors.

Readers will find their own favorites. I know that I want to read What the Neighbors Saw and The Trade Off. Think about the macabre head in Speak of the Dead; the story sounds intriguing.

This is a great way to learn about new books and it is free.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.