I have had these two books on my TBR since 2019. I am trying to catch up on reviews, so will be posting some mini-reviews. Both of these books were originally provided to me by the publishers upon request. The rating and opinions shared are my own.

Waisted: A Novel

Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers, Narrated by Robin Eller and Amanda Ronconi

Published May 21st 2019 by Simon Schuster Audio, Atria Books

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Our society is obsessed with weight. There are shows about obese people losing weight, there are so many diet products on the market and gyms in almost every plaza. I used to watch The Biggest Loser and do challenges with a team on My Fitness Pal, with the goal of losing weight. Now, my goal is to be healthy, whatever that entails and no matter how I look. In Waisted, there are seven women that sign up for a documentary about weight loss. This is not a reputable group, they use humiliation, speed, rewards and lies to produce a documentary that belittles and degrades the women involved. The good thing that comes out of it, are the friendships and sisterhood. The women find out what is going on and strike back. In their fight to get back at the group, they develop backbones to stand up for themselves and realize that if they want to lose weight, it has to be on their own terms. An empowering story for overweight women. The audiobook was narrated by Robin Eller and Amanda Ronconi. This was a great audiobook to listen to. I could feel the sense of despair, anxiety, fear and humiliation in the voices of the narrators. I felt a bit like a voyeur, listening to these women, like I was there watching them. Very well done!

The Stranger Diaries (Harbinder Kaur #1)

The Stranger Diaries (Harbinder Kaur #1)

Published March 5th 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the first book in a new series from Elly Griffiths. This is a bit of a gothic mystery dealing with a long dead author. R.M. Holland once lived in the building that is now Talgarth School. Claire Cassidy is an English teacher at the school, and teaches a course each year on the author. When her friend and fellow teacher, Ella is killed, there is a note left by her body. It is a line from R.M. Holland’s novel, The Stranger which says, “Hell is Empty. The thing is, The Stranger is unpublished and most people don’t know about it. When someone starts leaving notes and comments in Claire’s journal she takes it to the police. When another victim turns up, Claire is worried for herself and her daughter Georgia. Is Claire guilty? Who could have access to her journal?

I have not read the Ruth Galloway series, so thought this new series might be a good way to start with Elly Griffiths writing. I really enjoyed this mystery/police procedural with its gothic, creepy feeling. This was a multi-layered and complex mystery, with snippets of “The Stranger” woven throughout the story. I liked Claire and her daughter, Georgia. Georgia is a teenager, so was not perfect, but overall was a pretty good kid. She is worried about school and does not want to be sent away. DS Harbinder Kaur is lead investigator. Kaur is bright, witty, and highly analytical by nature, a bit off-putting, but a great investigator. I was not sure who the culprit was, although I had many guesses along the way. When the identity was revealed, it was one of my guesses, but the motive was not on my radar at all. At the end of the story, we get to hear “The Stranger” in its entirety. This was an interesting addition to the book. If you enjoy a mystery, ghosts, spooky vibe, a story within a story and an old haunted school, then you will love this story. I am ready to start the next book in this series.

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