Book Blog #403: The Tenant by Frieda McFadden

 

Title: The Tenant

Author: Freida McFadden

# of Pages: 344 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet. Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she? Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets... Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

Review: This was an EXTREMELY fast and easy read. 

This is my first McFadden book, and it's clear that she knows how to write for the masses. The writing style is quite simple and very plot-focused (definitely not some literary masterpiece). The story is told in from a couple point of views (for the most part in series) in first person present tense, so you are along for the ride with Blake in figuring out why his life is going so wrong so suddenly. Usually I strongly dislike first person POV switching, but since the different POVs weren't intertwined, this actually didn't bother me. 

I'm not a huge fan of thrillers (this was meant to be a daytime-only read for me), but I was glad to find this was scary in the sense that weird events happen in Blake's life that the reader doesn't find out how it happened until later. There's less explicit "thrilling" scenes compared to Verity (e.g. no freaky lady jump scaring the main character by staring at her), although the concept of strange events happening at home while a couple lives with a random new person is coincidentally very similar. It also reminded me a bit of the Black Mirror episode Bête Norie (but based in reality), so the story's premise is nothing super original. 

I was totally expecting to not be entertained by her books (since she's so popular with The Housemaid series, I was bracing myself for an overhyped read). However, I was pleasantly surprised that I incorrectly guessed the twist, and I couldn't put the book down (read in <1 day). 

Something I didn't like is how the characters wouldn't follow through with logical solutions (e.g. if you're bothered by loud noises and can't get them to stop, why not try wearing earplugs or doing something else within your control? If you're broke, why insist to talk to someone in person rather trying first to call them and save the drive out as a backup plan?). The story also relies on the miscommunication trope which is always frustrating. The very ending seemed rushed; didn't really need the epilogue. 

Overall a very light (but still somewhat thrilling) read; would recommend it to people who already like the mystery-thriller genre. 

Book Blog #397: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

 Title: Yesteryear

Author: Caro Claire Burke

# of Pages: 391

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★ ☆ ☆

Synopsis: Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the Republican equivalent of a Kennedy? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it. Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a brutal reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.

Review: Good but not great. Fresh but not extraordinary. 

This is the first book I’ve read about a tradwife influencer, so I liked how this story delved into how this type of person rises to fame. 

The narrative reminded me of Yellowface; Natalie, our tradwife narrator, is extremely unlikable and unreliable. I was quite disgusted with her narcissistic, judgmental attitude but thought the author did a great job at creating such a distinct, unhinged narrative. 

The story jumps between the Natalie’s rise to fame from her college days onward and her present day 1855 life. Most of the mystery is how she’s suddenly in this 1855 life, and the story of her past has to run in parallel to this to build up to the reveal. I wasn’t a huge fan of switching back in forth because some of the past segments were slower/boring, and I wanted to hear more about her trying to understand the 1855 lifestyle. 

The mystery reveal was a letdown for me; I wasn’t able to fully guess the ending, but it felt like a cop-out ending. The resolution felt rush and unrealistic logistically. 

I’d recommend this book if you’re interested in the topic (especially if you’re interested in the real life influencer account Ballerina Farms); it’s an easy and quick read. 

Book Blog #391: On a Quiet Street by Seraphina Nova Glass

 

Title: On a Quiet Street

Author: Seraphina Nova Glass

# of Pages: 302 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Who wouldn’t want to live in Brighton Hills? This exclusive community on the Oregon coast is the perfect mix of luxury and natural beauty. Stunning houses nestle beneath mighty Douglas firs, and lush backyards roll down to the lakefront. It’s the kind of place where neighbors look out for one another. Sometimes a little too closely… Cora thinks her husband, Finn, is cheating—she just needs to catch him in the act. That’s where Paige comes in. Paige lost her son to a hit-and-run last year, and she’s drowning in the kind of grief that makes people do reckless things like spying on the locals, searching for proof that her son’s death was no accident…and agreeing to Cora’s plan to reveal what kind of man Finn really is. All the while, their reclusive new neighbor, Georgia, is acting more strangely every day. But what could such a lovely young mother possibly be hiding?

Review: Entertaining enough, but there's nothing mind blowing that On a Quiet Street is doing that hasn't already been done.

There's POV switching between not just two first person perspectives (Cora and Georgia) but ALSO a third person perspective (Paige). Cora's and Georgia's perspectives are also in present tense, so it feels like you're actually in their head. Considering that Georgia is a bit dull/naive, this can get frustrating sometimes. 

There's a slow start, and it quickly becomes obvious that most of these people are insufferable. However, it's a pretty quick and easy read that gets in the latter half of the book as the answer to the whodunnit becomes clearer. I wish the reveal incorporated more hints dropped along the way rather than relying on withholding information from the reader to shock them with it at the end of the story. 

The main message I got from this book is that women are stronger together, and some men can be really horrible. If this doesn't resonate with you, I wouldn't recommend this book. I also would only recommend this book if you're interested in a classic whodunnit rather than something revolutionary. This was a low-mid three star read for me.

Book Blog #386: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

 

Title: The Couple Next Door

Author: Shari Lapen

# of Pages: 308 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn't stand her crying. Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour. Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She's gone. You've never had to call the police before. But now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there.

Review: This is a classic whodunnit mystery that's fast paced and easy to read. Perfect for some light reading that is actually best enjoyed if you turn your brain off.

The Couple Next Door is told in third person omniscient perspective, drifting primarily between the parents Anne and Marco and Detective Rasbach. This works well for the book aside from the weakness where the reader will obviously know more information than the other characters. Usually this is frustrating, but Detective Rasbach is great at his job, and I found that he (and thus the author) was always one step ahead of me. 

The ending was sloppier than I liked. Lapena tried to incorporate too much for the grand finale that made unrealistic, and a particular character's backstory felt too underdeveloped. 

Part of why this story is so easy to read is Lapena chooses to tell the reader all the possible theories rather than showing them implicitly through observations. This story could have been richer and grittier if Lapena showed rather than told, but it was still an entertaining read nonetheless. 

This book definitely leaned more toward the mystery aspect than thriller. There was only one aspect of the book that was ominous but isn't the focus of the plot. 

This was a solid read that I could not put down, but Lapen isn't doing anything groundbreaking here. It's in the low-mid 4 star range (low 4 for execution, mid 4 for enjoyment and readability). I would recommend it if you're a fan of mystery!

Book Blog #379: Verity by Colleen Hoover

 

Title: Verity

Author: Colleen Hoover

# of Pages: 333 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of the night her family was forever altered. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her.

Review: Brava, Colleen Hoover, for writing a book in completely different style and genre than I was expecting. I firmly bucketed her as a romance author, but I’m happily proven wrong.

Although there are romance elements, I actually don’t consider Verity to be a romance at all because it’s overpowered by the thriller (and mystery) qualities. It took me a while to sort out my actual thoughts on this book while recovering from the dread/fear I felt while reading.

Verity had plenty of flaws that almost made me rate this 3 stars instead of 4. 

- There’s POV switching in the form of switching between two mediums: Lowell’s (the main character) narration and Verity’s manuscript. Both are in first person, but I actually wasn’t as bothered by this as I usually am. However, it did weaken the story’s grip on my attention because there were times where Lowell’s chapters felt like filler. 

- This is yet another case where an author creates a main character who is ALSO an author or has writing related interest. In Verity, there's actually TWO author characters (Lowell and Verity). But I guess authors "write what they know".

- Hoover was VERY intentional with making this story a thriller. Verity is written to be ominously freaky, and Lowell is the classic jumpy main character whose paranoia is contagious. If this was Hoover’s goal, mission accomplished. That being said, it felt like some cheap ways to make a story creepy in ways that weren’t plot relevant. But I’m not a huge thriller fan, so I can imagine others might love this aspect.

- Without spoiling it, the ending felt rushed, and the extended epilogue was unnecessary or should have been incorporated in the rest of the story. The ending was also divisive (which I liked), but to make it truly defendable, I wish Hoover made sure there was continuity in her story when looking at it from the most common angles. 

But in the end I felt this book earned a low-4 stars:

- This book flowed really well; I read it in a day and couldn’t put it down (but maybe this is because I was too scared?)

- While the beginning felt like a cliche romance (meetcute in the very first chapter really fit with Hoover’s style), the rest of the story was actually not recognizable to me as Hoover’s style at all. I applaud the writing diversity and thought she pulled it off really well without being overly reliant on incorporating romance elements. 

- I like books that make the reader at the end want to go back and overanalyze the story, and this book fits the bill. I couldn’t get this book out of my head and found myself scrolling through fan theories to hear other people’s interpretation of the story. 

- There’s a lot of nuance in the characters; even one’s that are meant to be “villainous” are still realistic and have some admirable qualities (love to hate them). 

- I would actually recommend this book to people, especially since it’s such a quick and gripping read. 

Book Blog #372: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

 

Title: Strange Sally Diamond

Author: Liz Nugent

# of Pages: 320 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died. Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say. But when messages start arriving from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself, Sally's life will be thrown into chaos once again . . .

Review: Is the thriller/mystery in the room with us?

This book aims to demonstrate how abuse can affect generations and trauma can be cyclical. It also gives the reader some insight on how dark minds justify their twisted agendas. But this book wasn't particular sinister; everything is recounted pretty clinically. It’s more of a crime book than a rollercoaster thriller/whodunnit page-turning mystery. 

I kept waiting for something to hook me in or some big mystery, but everything was hinted at very obviously. I reached the end of the book and still couldn’t figure out if any of what I read was supposed to surprise me. 

A comparison to a similar story: Although I haven’t read the books, the Netflix TV show You did a better job at showcasing the mental gymnastics a person goes through to justify actions that are otherwise blatantly messed up. People were even sympathizing with the main character, which made the horrors of what he was able to accomplish even freakier and more believable. Strange Sally Diamond tries to do something similar but less effectively and leaves the reader frustrated and disconnected from the characters. 

This book only further affirms that I don’t like POV switching. The first person narrative switches between Sally and Peter, each starting in two different places on the timeline. I could respect Sally for her logical thinking and honesty but never felt truly invested in her character growth. 

But is this book really about Sally (as the title suggests)? Peter’s story was actually more interesting; which made the POV switches back to Sally even more frustrating. Instead of switching throughout the story, there should have been a Sally prologue, and then the rest of the story could have been about Peter (might be a hot take, but it's my honest opinion). 

Maybe I’m just jaded from reading similar content, it really felt like this story could have been told more effectively in general. I wasn’t a fan of the mixed use of media (first person narrative, letters, transcripts of recordings, etc); felt like an amateur way to get out details of the story. 

The middle section of Peter’s narrative was almost a 4 star read for me; I really wanted to know what happened to this guy. But then everything fell into place rather quickly, and the conclusion of his story felt sloppy and rushed which would his overall narrative around a 3 star read. 

I wouldn't recommend this book unless it already sounds interesting to you. Go into this book expecting to read about crime rather than thriller/mystery, and you might enjoy it more than I did. 

Book Blog #352: The Push by Ashley Audrain

 

Title: The Push

Author: Ashley Audrain

# of Pages: 307 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had. But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do. Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well. Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

Review: I knew very little going into this book other than vaguely knowing it was somehow related to motherhood. 

The narration is in first person and starts from the end before bouncing between multiple generations of history to peel the onion on Blythe's family's story. It took me a while to figure out what was going on (I didn't even know whether the protagonist was a woman or not, whether the main source of conflict would be with her past or her present or something else entirely).

After the first ~80 pages though, I became hooked and started to the feel the mystery/thriller aspects more strongly. It's more of a thriller in a realistic sense rather than in a way that is amped up to try to scare the reader. The protagonist will notice something is not quite what she expected with her daughter, and the reader feels the same worry, fear, and repulsion that Blythe feels. 

The Push was not without its failings though - the narration is very disjoint jumping between the grandmother's generation, Blythe's childhood, and even between parts of the present. The sloppy narration may have been on purpose to make the reader question Blythe's narration, but it broke my flow while reading and "spoiled" outcomes later in the book as a cheap and frustrating way to make the reader want to know how something happened.

Also, although it's a smaller part of the book, this is another example where the protagonist wants to do something related to writing as her profession. This always screams unoriginality and hints at the author's inability to create characters that are different from the industry they are familiar with. 

Audrain did a great job making motherhood seem really horrible. It draws on a real nightmare scenario that all parents fear that they'll create a monster via their children. I could see this being a great required reading for aspiring mothers to test how strongly the actually want to have kids. 

Otherwise, I sped through this book (a few days where most of the book was read in 1), and my mind kept wanting to know more details about Blythe and her family. I was wavering between 3 and 4 stars, but leaned toward 4 stars just because of how easy it was to read. However, I'm not in a hurry to recommend it - the story is interesting but the execution could have been cleaner. I'd be excited to see Audrain's future works since she came up with a great concept for a debut novel. 

Book Blog #315: The Client by John Grisham

 

Title: The Client

Author: John Grisham

# of Pages: 401 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: This is the story of eleven-year-old Mark Sway, who as the novel opens, witnesses the bizarre suicide of a New Orleans attorney. Just before he dies, the lawyer tells Mark a deadly secret concerning the recent murder of a Louisiana Senator, whose accused killer, Mafia thug Barry Muldanno, is about to go to trial. The police, the federal prosecutor and the FBI pressure Mark to tell them the attorney's last words, but he knows that with the mob watching his every move, revealing his secret will almost surely get him killed.

Review: Jeez, this was a hard one to keep picking up. And even when I did muster the energy to pick it up, it was just so easy to put it down again, thus why it took over 4 months for me to get through this book. 

I've tried (and failed) to read John Grisham's books before, for the same reasons and should have learned my lesson and stayed far away. I can see how there is a market for this sort of thing - especially suckers for crime mystery/thrillers. I wouldn't say I'm not in the category, but it requires a little more craftsmanship in the writing to get me hooked. 

Mystery is an easy way to keep a reader interested - in this book, the mystery is how the young protagonist Mark handle a critical secret that the Mafia would be willing to kill him over. Unfortunately for The Client, even the allure of this mystery is not enough to keep the reader interested in the first half of the story. The story is told over the course of a week, but with all the unnecessary details Grisham decides to add in - such as repeatedly emphasizing how overweight a judge is - it felt more like months. 

The story does pick up at the end (as most mysteries do), but Grisham could have actually milked the ending longer. The ending was abrupt - it would have been more satisfying to flesh this part out about and cut a good portion of the beginning where there is too much character development and not enough plot progression. Sometimes abrupt ending leaving the reader thinking - this ending made me feel robbed of the time I invested reading the beginning only to get a rushed ending.

And of course, likely the biggest contributor to why it took so long for me to finish this book - the third person POV switching. Grisham decided to switch between the POV of pretty much ANYONE in the book. This is frustrating because I found myself being very interested in Mark's POV but much less in the accussed killer Barry, the FBI agents, etc. Not only that, but Grisham pretty clearly spells everything out - with multiple POVs, there's hardly a mystery to the reader even if there's a huge mystery for the rest of the characters. 

I would not recommend this book unless you're interested in anything (even the mediocre) crime and mystery genre or if you've already read some of Grisham's books and liked his work. 

Book Blog #297: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 

Title: The Guest List

Author: Lucy Foley

# of Pages: 9 hours, 53 minutes (audiobook)

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding fit for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Review: I would recommend reading this book rather than listening to it. 

There is first person POV switching, which I already don't like when I'm reading a book. It's even more confusing when listening to the audiobook, especially if you are listening to it sped up because it's harder to distinguish the voice actors. 

The big reveals of some of the mysteries in the plot were revealed very undramatically, which was a bit of a let down for a mystery book. One of the biggest appeals of mystery for me is the shock of the big reveals, and this one fell short.

I also was expecting this book to be faster paced and gripping, but the whole mystery only takes place over the course of one wedding, which made progress feel really slow.

Overall, an okay book, but I don't think I will be recommending it to anyone anytime soon. I would have preferred to spend my time reading something else.

Book Blog #296: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

 

Title: My Sister, The Serial Killer

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

# of Pages: 226 (paperback)

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit. Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she's exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she's willing to go to protect her.

Review: This was almost a four star book. It was a pretty quick read for me, and the story was interesting enough to have a good flow. However, it wasn't emotionally moving; I at first felt a little stressed, but as I read on, I soon felt pretty indifferent toward the characters. Because of that, I think it doesn't quite hit the four star mark. 

Categorizing this book as contemporary and mystery is definitely accurate, but it was almost too contemporary and casual to instill any thrill into the reader. There were also some claims that this book is humorous; I didn't laugh at all, but I was reasonably entertained. 

Most of the characters other than Korede are not particularly likable, and the author purposefully weaves together different timelines (as in Korede's experiences in the past with her experiences in the present) to draw parallels, but this can sometimes get confusing.

Overall, this was an okay read. It's quick, so it wouldn't hurt to give the book a shot. However, I definitely wouldn't make it a priority. 

Book Blog #288: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 

Title: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

# of Pages: 19 hours 11 minutes (audiobook)

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: It is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media - as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents - the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter - but is he really a killer?

Review: Gone Girl is somewhere in between 3 and 4 stars. 

I think I am sometimes too lenient with audiobooks. Gone Girl "read" well as an audiobook; the two perspectives were not too confusing, and the mystery aspect of the plot is gripping. But after finishing this book and considered giving it four stars, I began reflecting on why I felt a tinge of annoyance toward this book. 

I attributed it mainly to, of course, the POV switching. This is something that I think I notice less when listening, but it has the same issues. Since Nick and Amy each have some non-overlapping information, it drove me insane knowing more than one of the main characters. I enjoy the mystery, but I don't enjoy one of the main characters being mystified by something that is not a mystery to me.

Overall, still a good story. Really invokes the feeling of helplessness. The ending was unsatisfying me, but I would still recommend this book. 

Book Blog #285: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

 

Title: The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

# of Pages: 8 hours and 43 minutes

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Synopsis: Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

Review: Wow, this book EXCEEDED my expectations. 

I didn't hear about this book until I saw the audiobook version was available in my local library's e-collection. A "who done it?" mystery story with so many unexpected twists and turns, if I read this book rather than listened to it, I have no doubt that it would have been a page turner. I was hoping this book would last me for at least; I couldn't help but finish it in under a day. 

This story is told in a first person POV (sometimes breaking the fourth wall by addressing the reader), switching between Theo's perspective and Alicia's diary entries. This is one of the few instances where I wasn't that bothered by POV switching; it was exciting to hear from both perspectives, and the mystery element where each perspective helped peel the onion of truth kept the plot driving forward. 

In my reviews, I usually criticize books for being too predictable. This was not the case this time; every twist caught me by surprise. 

Usually I am scared to read books categorized as "thrillers," but I would say this book isn't so much of a thriller as it is an incredibly compelling mystery story. I wasn't scared as some thriller aim to make their reader feel, rather I was intrigued. I would highly recommend this book.

Book Blog #235: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Title: Into the Water
Author: Paula Hawkins
# of Pages: 386 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool...
Review:

 “She just wanted the truth. The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth” (314).

 I'll start out with what I enjoyed about the book. I loved trying to puzzle out the truth behind the deaths that occurred at in the river. However, this may be attributed to my interest in the mystery/thriller genre. Regardless, I was gripped by the suspense of the story.

That being said, there were a lot of issues with the story. There's my biggest pet peeve: first person POV switching. I understand why it was done this way; each character had to tell their version of the truth. Every character believes their side of the story is the real side of the story, and through these different perspectives, the reader is suppose to piece together what really happened to the girls who died in the river. However, this means there's A LOT of overlap between perspectives on the same parts of the story, which is the biggest pitfall of POV switching.

But if first person POV switching isn't confusing enough, there are way too many characters. Although some characters played crucial roles in piecing together this puzzle, others were morel like extras in the story (where their perspective isn't necessary). This book could have benefited from less POVs.

While I was reading, I thought a lot about a book I read a long time ago called Nothing But the Truth which was named after the sworn oath a person would take before testifying (see the second sentence in the quote at the top of this review). Both books observe a situation from different perspectives (and as a result leave major plot holes in their wake), but one is meant for adults and one is meant for younger readers. Nothing But the Truth received a lot of criticism, but part of me wonders whether Into the Water would have received similar treatment if it had to be dumbed down to a children's book.

Suspense novels kind of scare me, and this book was no exception which is why I won't be rereading this book anytime soon. I do admit it was an enthralling read, but it definitely had major issues. I wouldn't put it at the top of your to-read list, but if you are interested in the genre and aren't bothered by POV switching and some mysteries being left unsolved, be my guest.

Book Blog #223: Phantom by Dean Koontz

Title: Phantoms
Author: Dean Koontz
# of Pages: 425 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
Rating:★★★☆☆
Synopsis: They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California.
Review: I hate anything related to horror.

Stephen King's newest thriller? No thank you. Newly released horror movies just in time for Halloween? Forget about it.

I may be living under a rock in regards to the horror/thriller/suspense realm of media, but I only vaguely knew who Dean Koontz was (as in, his name sounded familiar, but I had no idea what kind of books he wrote). When I saw his book at the library, I thought I might as well give it a shot.

If I truly thought Phantoms was scary, I would have stopped reading it a long time ago. But Dean Koontz's writing, or at least in this book, is not that scary. Yes, he brings up some scary situations (he tries to get pretty crafty in the ways all of the people in Snowfield end up dead), but the way he describes these situations is pretty lackluster (and for that I am grateful, or I wouldn't be able to finish the book).

I wanted to be able to finish this book, so I was grateful for this mediocre thriller. However, the target audience would be searching for the thrill, the creepy elements that usually make me want to curl in ball and die. Readers won't get this from the book at all. I'm confident the movie is 10x more scary than the book because the book can only be as scary as the writer can get the reader's imagination to make it. In this case, I was very underwhelmed.

The problem was not only the writing style; the plot was mostly predictable. Sure, the cause of the death of the Snowfield residents may have not been so easy to guess, but the "jump scare" moments throughout the story was not that hard to predict. "That's part of what makes a jump scare a jump scare!" you might be thinking. While anticipation can make a scary scene even scary, when something is EXTREMELY predictable, it's not as freaky as the author would want it to be. And unfortunately for Koontz, it's a lot harder to write in a jump scare than it is to have one in a movie.

That being said, I wasn't haven't a good time reading this book since most of the events were unpleasant. I was intrigued enough to finish this book in two days, but this may have been partially from my fear of the book becoming scarier than it ever did (and not wanting to have to read the book late at night). Usually when I finish a book relatively quickly, it's a good read, but I wouldn't highly recommend this book most people. If a thrill/horror enthusiast is looking for a light, tame read, they should go for it. Otherwise, look elsewhere. 

Book Blog #182: H2O by Virginia Bergin

Title: H2O
Author: Virginia Bergin
# of Pages: 327 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Thriller
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Synopsis: .27 IS A NUMBER RUBY HATES. It's a number that marks the percentage of the population that survived. It's a number that means she's one of the "lucky" few still standing . And it's a number that says her father is probably dead. Against all odds, Ruby has survived the catastrophic onset of the killer rain. Two weeks after the radio started broadcasting the warning "It's in the rain. It's fatal, it's contagious, and there's no cure," the drinkable water is running out. Ruby's left with two options: persevere on her own, or embark on a treacherous journey across the country to find her father--If he's even still alive.
Review: "Everyone was staring out the windows at the rain. It just looked like rain normally looks. You know, drippy."

Wow. How profound.

This book is the embodiment of "don't judge a book by it's cover". Other than reading the back cover, I basically picked it up because the cover design is fantastic. There are actually holes in the cover to illustrate the deadliness of the rain the book's plot revolves around. I didn't have my expectations very high; I was just looking for a nice, cliché, dystopian-romance, and, considering the recent trend in the YA section, I thought this book would fit the bill.

But that's not what I got.

This book is told from the POV of our protagonist Ruby, a girl who is SUPPOSEDLY 15 years old. However, her overall despicable personality exhibits traits of characteristic of a sassy 9 year old than someone who could be a freshman in high school (in the U.S., Ruby is British). Darius, one of the other characters, calls her a "clueless" bully and a "snob" (210). I couldn't agree more.  Sure, maybe the author made her this way to show growth. To show how the most terrible situations can bring people together and make people better themselves.

Well, spoiler alert, it didn't happen. She's just as annoying at the end of the book as she is in the beginning. Ruby/the author seems proud of teen stereotypes (i.e. being obsessed with her cell phone amid everyone she knows and loves dying, looting stores for makeup and giving herself a spray tan in a house that is filled with the smell of rotting corpses). It's ridiculous; I can't imagine anyone, no matter how self-absorbed they are, acting like that in an "end-of-the-world" situation.

Her obsession with her cellphone is brought up repeatedly throughout the book. But why would she need her cell phone in the first place? It was already established that cell phones don't work anymore. The author is trying way too hard to make Ruby seem like a teenager by overusing the "addicted-her-cellphone" generalization many people make about teens.

Bergin needed to talk to more fifteen year olds before she wrote this book. She can call her "utterly unique" all she wants (and as she does on her webpage) but a certain level of realism is expected. I'm disgusted by Ruby and her lack of maturity.

Cursing. Bergin must hate it because instead of including it in her book or taking it out all together, she puts in a little butterfly symbol and tells us to "add our own swear words" (16). But don't worry! Ruby curses "all the time" (16) because she's so MATURE.  No. Just no. If you want to put cursing in your book, then do it. Or if you don't, then don't (I've read plenty of books that had little to no cursing, and the lack of strong language did not affect my enjoyment of the story). But DO NOT use "something beautiful" (as Ruby calls it) to cover it up. It's as if the children's section married the young adult section, and this was their child.

A huge waste of my time. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. But if you insist on judging it yourself, do yourself a favor and check it out at the library instead of buying it like I did. It's not worth a single penny.