Married to a Trial Liar by Sophia Moreau and Barbara Sheldon

Mia Picarde decided early in life that she would not go hungry and always have a roof over her head. When hearing her parents arguing about money Mia went to her brother Danny and asked him to see if she could work at the sandwich shop that he worked at. Her boss Doug Goldman took a shine to her and they started an affair. When Mia became pregnant, they married. Doug blamed Mia for everything that was wrong in his life and when he abused her she left with the children. The divorce attorney that she saw was Dave Grossman. He cajoled Mia into a sense of tranquility and asked her to marry him. The marriage was worse than her first. Dave was continually abusive but with six children she was afraid to leave. She worked hard all her life and finally one day had enough and filed for divorce. The divorce was continually put on hold after Dave lied to the court about this or that. Then every year on Mia's birthday another girl was murdered with a red tie. Mia and Dave's mistress put two and two together and feared that Dave was the killer. Now Mia just has to find a way to prove it and be rid of him forever.

This book was a very quick read. There is some romance, some coming of age and some murder thrown in along with abusive behavior by two of Mia's husbands. While descriptive in what was done to Mia and others it was not overly graphic which was nice. I would have liked a little more background into Luca's meeting and subsequent relationship with Mia. From beginning to end it was a page turner for me and a very enjoyable read.

On The Fringe by Courtney King Walker

Teenaged Claire was just starting to realize her feelings for her best friend's brother when he was killed. Daniel was not only Addie's brother but he was Claire's brother Matthew's best friend too. Claire just can't seem to get back to life after Daniel's death and then on her 16th birthday, she drowned. After a few minutes Daniel's spirit was able to revive her. From then on for a few minutes each day Claire was able to see and talk to Daniel. But, there was another spirit at work and this one meant Claire harm. Aden blamed Daniel for his death and wanted revenge by haunting and hurting Claire. Together Claire and Daniel have to unwind the truth about what happened when he was five and deal with Aden once and for all.

Very interesting concept for the book. It's told from both Claire's and Daniel's points of view. Each chapter deals with how Claire and Daniel each see what is happening between them and around them. Even though there are sinister undertones with the character Aden, it mainly deals with how both Claire and Daniel cope with his passing. Enjoyed all the characters in the book from Claire and Daniel to their siblings, her parents and her dead aunt. The story grabbed me from the beginning and I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen. I really love a book that does that. The title is an excellent choice because who knows what waits on the fringe. Really good young adult book.