What Can't Be Seen by Brianna Labuskes

A brilliant psychologist faces the secrets and lies of her own dark past in a shocking novel of suspense by the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of A Familiar Sight.

“Gretchen… What have you done?”

Psychologist and criminologist Dr. Gretchen White, top consultant for the Boston PD, has solved countless cases—but never her own. Since the age of eight, she has lived her life thinking she killed her aunt. After all, she was found standing over the body, clutching a bloody knife. Most people, including Detective Patrick Shaughnessy, believe the little sociopath got away with murder. Thirty years later, Detective Lauren Marconi wants to prove them wrong.

When plucking at the threads of the past unravels a decades-old case tied to the White family, both Lauren and Gretchen grapple with the question, What if Gretchen really is guilty? As old secrets come to light and Gretchen’s lifelong grip on her darkest impulses threatens to erode, Shaughnessy is there watching, waiting for her to lose control one more time.

Everyone thinks they know what happened that night. But the truth is beyond what anyone imagines—even Gretchen herself.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Dr. Gretchen White series!
For book one, A Familiar Sight, click HERE.

 

Book 2
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Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)
~ Also Available with KindleUnlimited ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Mystery Thriller

This is the second book in the series and you have to read book one for book two to make sense.

This picks up pretty much where book one stops. Gretchen is spiraling and really, nothing can stop her except her. As Gretchen sees her behavior for what it is, the question really is, is there anything she would stop for?

In this book, you read present day and the past where Gretchen is accused of killing her aunt.

Marconi is back, and I really enjoyed her character and the way that she interacted with Gretchen. The two women were a force. Then you have Detective Shaughnessy. He is kind of an enigma in this story. You see two very different detectives between the two stories. In this book, he's a little more in the background and you are just given snippets from his point of view.

The twists and turns within this plot are as gnarled as Curly Willow bushes. And while it does seem slightly rushed for me at the end, overall, I was happy with how it ended. There's closure without it being predictable in the happily ever after manner.

You won't be disappointed to delve into this mind bender.

 

 

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, BRIANNA LABUSKES graduated from Penn State University with a degree in journalism. For the past eight years, she has worked as an editor at both small-town papers and national media organizations such as Politico and Kaiser Health News, covering politics and policy. Her historical romance novel, One Step Behind, was released by Entangled Publishing. She lives in Washington, DC, and enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, and exploring the city’s best brunch options.

Connect with Brianna Labuskes

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of What Can't Be Seen (Dr. Gretchen White #2) by Brianna Labuskes to read and review.

A Familiar Sight by Brianna Labuskes

A shocking murder carries echoes of the past for a psychologist in a startling novel of suspense by a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author.

Psychologist and criminologist Dr. Gretchen White is a specialist in antisocial personality disorders and violent crimes. She’s helped solve enough prominent cases for detective Patrick Shaughnessy that her own history is often overlooked: Gretchen is an admitted sociopath once suspected of killing her aunt. Shaughnessy still thinks Gretchen got away with murder. It’s not going to happen again.

When a high-profile new case lands on Shaughnessy’s desk, it seems open and shut. Remorseless teenager Viola Kent is accused of killing her mother. Amid stories of childhood horrors and Viola’s cruel manipulations, the bad seed has already been found guilty by a rapt public. But Gretchen might be seeing something in Viola no one else does: herself.

If Viola is a scapegoat, then who really did it? And what are they hiding? To find the truth, Gretchen must enter a void that is not only dark and cold-blooded, but also frighteningly familiar.

 

 

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)
~ Also Available with KindleUnlimited ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Psychological Thriller
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Gretchen is no stranger to the closed off and non-empathetic. She thrives on it. But when she is faced with her friend's death, a case that intrigues her and a few detectives who, begrudgingly know she's worth it, Gretchen dives into a teenage mind as twisted as her own.

This is a case of who did it, who deserves what. and will there be justice? You'll be pulled into the lives of each character and see how they ended up where they are within the current story. The format of this book isn't my favorite. It jumps back and forth between the then and now. And while it does give great context, I just have a more difficult time with this format.

You'll want to see justice, but also see that nobody else can get hurt. Gretchen will struggle with her own impulses and need to tease out the truth from everyone who has something to gain by lying.

In this game of cat and mouse, the mouse ends up with the power and the cat is just along for the ride. I'm intrigued to see what comes next.

 

 

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, BRIANNA LABUSKES graduated from Penn State University with a degree in journalism. For the past eight years, she has worked as an editor at both small-town papers and national media organizations such as Politico and Kaiser Health News, covering politics and policy. Her historical romance novel, One Step Behind, was released by Entangled Publishing. She lives in Washington, DC, and enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, and exploring the city’s best brunch options.

Connect with Brianna

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of A Familiar Sight (Dr. Gretchen White #1) by Brianna Labuskes to read and review.

Black Rock Bay by Brianna Labuskes

A detective returns to her haunted past, with deadly consequences, in an icy novel of psychological suspense by the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of Girls of Glass.

Detective Mia Hart never planned to return home. One terrifying summer night, Mia lost two of her closest friends to suicide. Scarred and broken, she fled St. Lucy’s, a small island off the coast of Maine.

Now fifteen years later, when the body of a journalist is fished out of the bay near St. Lucy’s cliffs, Mia is forced to help with the case—and face all she’s been running from. As she approaches the island, the wintery winds of Black Rock Bay usher Mia home again.

When Mia digs into the reporter’s death, she finds he left behind a written clue: It wasn't suicide. Mia soon discovers it’s her own tragic past he was referring to. Now, as she tries to untangle a web of lies, Mia realizes that solving this case means becoming the next pawn in someone’s blood-chilling game of truth or die.

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Psychological Thriller
Triggers: Murder and suicide

Mia is back to where it all began. She hates where she grew up, but with a murder on the island, her boss knows that she is probably the only person who will be told what truths might be out there.

Izzy is Mia's new partner and while they are still figuring out whether or not they can trust, they are thrust onto the island where Mia grew up. While Izzy tries to figure out who can be trusted, she also knows that they don't really have time for everyone to be lying.

This was an interesting psychological thriller with a lot of people involved. I really liked watching the clues come through. While I was able to figure out the bad character, it was a challenge up to the end. The twists and turns this story takes are exciting and unpredictable. I truly enjoyed watching this story unfold.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
St Lucy’s, a small island of the coast of Maine, is a cold place to live. The weather is cold and the people are cold if you are not one of them. When the body of a reporter is fished out of the water in St Lucy’s, Cold Case Detectives Mia Hart and her partner Izzy Santiago are sent to investigate.

There is a real bleakness to St Lucy’s. From the time of Mia and Izzy's arrival it is clear that there is far more going on than meets the eye and that the current case is somehow linked to the events that saw Mia leave the island at 16 years old without a backward glance.

The connection between then and now make for an intriguing mystery and kept me turning the pages in the beginning, which starts off slowly. It takes time to meet the locals and potential suspects and many are not willing to talk. But it was worth being patient. Halfway through I was fully immersed and hanging to find out who the killer was and what it all had to do with Mia. The action and tension really ramp up in the second half and moves at a much quicker pace. I felt like I was racing to get to the end, reading faster and faster, although I probably wasn't. When I got the end I was satisfied, surprised, and even a little unsettled. Black Rock Bay is an excellent mystery and if you like a good “who done it” this book is worth your time.

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Brianna Labuskes graduated from Penn State University with a degree in journalism. For the past eight years, she has worked as an editor at both small-town papers and national media organizations such as Politico and Kaiser Health News, covering politics and policy. Her historical romance novel, One Step Behind, was released by Entangled Publishing. She lives in Washington, DC, and enjoys traveling.

Connect with Brianna

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Black Rock Bay by Brianna Labuskes to read and review.