Why am I passionate about this?

I am a long-time ER nurse, aid worker, and writer, and I have long been fascinated by true crime/mysteries; much of that interest honed in the ER, where I was often stumped when patient injuries or recollections of witnesses didn’t quite add up. As amateur detectives, we ER nurses often hounded detectives with our own theories, and in one especially big murder case, we had figured out exactly what had happened and who the real killer was before the detectives did. I am also a voracious reader and love a good mystery/thriller to take me away from real life, except when I am solving real life crimes on Dateline.


I wrote...

The Ambassador's Wife

By Roberta Gately ,

Book cover of The Ambassador's Wife

What is my book about?

At thirty-five, Nora Buckbee fears she’s destined for a lonely, single life. Until she meets handsome State Department employee John…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of All the Colors of the Dark

Roberta Gately Why I love this book

I loved this book! It combined a lonely young boy with demons to spare and a little girl determined to stand on her own and quickly flowed into a missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, and a story of friendship and love. I loved the characters and the setting—it begins in 1975 and weaves through the following decades.

Though I wanted to rush through the pages to see what happened next, I tried to linger over the descriptions, the words, and the writing style. As an author, I was enthralled, as a reader I was immersed in the characters and their experiences and their reactions to those experiences. 

By Chris Whitaker ,

Why should I read it?

28 authors picked All the Colors of the Dark as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A missing persons mystery, a serial killer thriller, and an epic love story - with a unique twist on each...

* * * * *

Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of local teenager Joseph 'Patch' Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who is broken by her best friend's disappearance. Soon, she will eat, sleep, breathe, only to find him.

But when she it will break her heart.

Patch lies in a pitch-black room - all alone - for days or maybe weeks. Until he feels a hand in his. Her name…


Book cover of The Housemaid

Roberta Gately Why I love this book

This was my first Freida McFadden book, and I was drawn in from the start and though I wasn’t sure how I felt about the narrator (the maid) or the husband and wife who hired her; I love a main character who makes me cringe and that she was the housekeeper privy to the owners’ secrets kept me guessing.

The prologue set me up for an ending that I never saw coming. Is she a housemaid or something else? I read this in one sitting!

By Freida McFadden ,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked The Housemaid as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don't miss the New York Times and USA Today bestseller and addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that’s burning up Instagram and TikTok--Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid is perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Verity.

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies…


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Book cover of Her Little Secret

Her Little Secret by Julia Stone,

If you’re intrigued by the psychology of relationships this is the novel for you.

Described as a modern-day Rebecca, this is a story of a bereaved man’s obsession with his deceased married lover, Michelle. Determined to find out all he can about Michelle’s life when she wasn’t with him,…

Book cover of The Girl on the Train

Roberta Gately Why I love this book

I read this book when it first came out, and I loved it. The main character is an alcoholic and this is not even the first of her issues.

I love a flawed character and a story that has me glued to the pages. I loved the unexpected twists and an ending that felt, to me, like justice served.

By Paula Hawkins ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Girl on the Train as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times bestseller, USA Today Book of the Year and now a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt.
 
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple having breakfast on their deck. She's even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It's…


Book cover of Defending Jacob

Roberta Gately Why I love this book

I love a legal mystery/thriller and this one had me engrossed. While the courtroom drama was gripping, it was the backstory and the Assistant DA’s personal involvement in the trial that implicated his own son in a horrific murder that riveted me.

The final twist made my jaw drop.

By William Landay ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Defending Jacob as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If your son was on trial for murder, what would you do?

Andy Barber's job is to put killers behind bars. And when a boy from his son Jacob's school is found stabbed to death, Andy is doubly determined to find and prosecute the perpetrator.

Until a crucial piece of evidence turns up linking Jacob to the murder. And suddenly Andy and his wife find their son accused of being a cold-blooded killer.

In the face of every parent's worst nightmare, they will do anything to defend their child. Because, deep down, they know him better than anyone.

Don't they?


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Book cover of The Marble Hill Crime Blotter

The Marble Hill Crime Blotter by B.D. Lawrence,

Welcome to Marble Hill, Iowa, a small town where every quiet street and familiar face conceals hidden depths of mystery and intrigue. These thrilling stories follow Police Chief Tom Petrosky and State Police Forensics Specialist Patricia Johnson as they interweave crime investigation and a personal relationship.

Tom and Patricia navigate…

Book cover of Then She Was Gone

Roberta Gately Why I love this book

I love anything that Lisa Jewell writes, and this is the perfect mystery, albeit a little predictable.

A 15-year-old girl has gone missing and her family is frantic. The characters were so well drawn, I felt as though I knew them. And for me, that is often what keeps me reading.   

By Lisa Jewell ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Then She Was Gone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Girl and The Truth About Melody Browne comes a “riveting” (PopSugar) and “acutely observed family drama” (People) that delves into the lingering aftermath of a young girl’s disappearance.

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. Beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers, and half of a teenaged golden couple. Ellie was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put…


Explore my book 😀

The Ambassador's Wife

By Roberta Gately ,

Book cover of The Ambassador's Wife

What is my book about?

At thirty-five, Nora Buckbee fears she’s destined for a lonely, single life. Until she meets handsome State Department employee John Fielding. They marry quickly—and next thing she knows, she’s moving to Thailand with him, where he’ll be serving as ambassador.

It’s an exciting adventure—for a while. Then she learns that the last ambassador’s wife simply disappeared, and there seems to be no interest in learning what happened. It isn’t long before Nora realizes that nothing here is as it appears to be...including her new husband. Determined to peel away the layers of lies and secrets that surround her, Nora finds herself in a race to discover the truth. But can she figure it out before she meets the same fate as the previous wife?

Book cover of All the Colors of the Dark
Book cover of The Housemaid
Book cover of The Girl on the Train

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Emergency physician AJ Docker is no stranger to violence, but the brutal torture and murder of an innocent, young patient demands a response.

Together with his policeman friend, and a police dog, he sets out on a quest for justice for his lost patient. Doc’s investigation leads him into the…

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