Caroline Kepnes - You (You #1)

Caroline Kepnes - You (You #1) 

5⭐

Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Contemporary 

Pages: 464

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK

Date Published: 25th September 2014 

 

Book Blurb: 

When a beautiful aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age.

My Review: 

Joe Goldberg is so toxic...We all agree on that..but this book is so good and creepy and just draws you in and doesn’t let go until the very last page. It is also not for everyone. Some hate it and some love it, and I weirdly loved it (as much as the TV show). Honestly, this book messes with your mind so much, from the very beginning. Also, the writing is so good, so suspenseful and so much tension. Love it!

The book follows Joe Goldberg who is a lonely bookshop owner in the Lower East Side in New York. One day he sees a beautiful female walking into his shop and he is fixated on her. He becomes obsessed with her and well.. slowly makes himself present in her life. Joe knows that Beck will be his, one way or another, even if it means killing her friends and boyfriend…

Honestly, I don’t think Kepnes intended for any of the characters to be likeable in this book. None of the characters were likeable, but I wanted to know more about them, and they were so fascinating to me.  Joe is complex and creepy and although I was supposed to hate him, there were moments when I forgot that and actually felt sympathy for him. Beck and her friends are also super unlikable, but once you get to know them, they have their own reasons why they are the way they are, and I had to also sympathise with them. I loved character development and progression throughout the book too, even though we see them from Joe’s POV only.

I loved the writing even though it is written from Joe’s POV in the present tense. It make me feel that I was seeing everything that Joe is and that I was a part of the story there with him. Also, the scene setting and plot were quite suspenseful and full of tension as you never know what will happen next or what Joe will do next. I read this book after seeing the first season of You, but it felt like I was experiencing everything from the first time.

Overall: Love this book so much! The writing, the scene setting, the plot and the complex and complicated bunch of unlikable characters just grew into me. Truly recommend this book to everyone who wants to experience something in between contemporary literature and thriller. 

About the Author:

Caroline Kepnes is the New York Times bestselling author of You, Hidden Bodies, Providence and You Love Me. 

Her work has been translated into a multitude of languages and inspired a television series adaptation of You, currently on Netflix. Kepnes graduated from Brown University and then worked as a pop culture journalist for Entertainment Weekly and a TV writer for 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She grew up on Cape Cod, and now lives in Los Angeles.

http://www.carolinekepnes.com/

Michael J. Malone- The Murmurs

 

Michael J. Malone- The Murmurs

5⭐

Genre:  Crime, Paranormal, Thriller, Gothic, Fiction, Mystery 

Pages: 277

Format: Paperback Proof 

Publisher:  Orenda Books 

Date Published: 14th September 2023

Huge thank you to Orenda Books for sending me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. 

 

Book Blurb: 

A young woman starts experiencing terrifying premonitions of people dying, as it becomes clear that a family curse known only as The Murmurs has begun, and a long-forgotten crime is about to be unearthed...

On the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going to die.

How she knows this is a terrifying mystery, but it is the start of horrifying premonitions ... a rekindling of the curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a wicked gift known only as 'the murmurs'...

With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson.

And this time, it will never let go...

A compulsive gothic thriller and a spellbinding supernatural mystery about secrets and small communities, about faith, courage and self-preservation, The Murmurs is a startling and compulsive read from one of Scotland's finest authors.

My Review: 

I read the blurb of this book and I knew that I needed to read it. It just sounded so good…and I wasn’t wrong. This book is brilliant! I loved this with all my heart and didn’t want to finish it so quickly, but at the same time, I also wanted to know the ending.

Annie starts a job at a care home, yet her first day doesn’t go well. One of the elderly patients that she is supposed to care for suddenly dies. Annie however sees a premonition about his death and knows how the patient is going to die precisely, via the murmurs, a curse that is passed through the generation of the females in the family. She doesn’t know about The Murmurs, and she doesn’t know why she is the only one hearing them. These chilling murmurs make Annie and her twin brother look for answers, which leads them to numerous secrets about their family, the mysterious Scottish Highlands, unsolved murder cases, and witchcraft.

I loved how this book follows then and now timelines and chapters that are told from various characters' POVs. Also, I loved that in each chapter there is a crumb of information and a reader has to collect them all to puzzle a story. I think this just added more to the suspense and thrill of this book. The setting of this book in the remote Scottish Highlands was just brilliant, as it captures that truly gothic and mysterious atmosphere of lochs, mountains and small villages hidden in them. I also adored how the author managed to link the mystery and gothic atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands so naturally with curses, and witchcraft, as well as the present-day environment/society.

I just knew from a few chapters that this book is going to be amazing. The atmosphere, scene setting, suspense and writing were all so good. It was also an emotional story because both Annie and her brother are searching for the truth about The Murmurs, but alongside that learn quite a lot about their own family. I must mention how all the characters in this book are very well-developed and each of them makes the story whole and are important in one way or another to the story.

Overall: This was my first book from Michael J. Malone but definitely won’t be the last. Beautifully written, with short yet captivating chapters full of suspense and tension. Mysterious and gothic atmosphere, family secrets, and paranormal murmurs all mixed in a perfect book. One of my favourite gothic thrillers that I have ever read.

About the Author:

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr.

https://orendabooks.co.uk/product/the-murmurs

Julie Mae Cohen - Bad Men

Julie Mae Cohen - Bad Men 

4⭐

Genre: Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Contemporary Fiction 

Pages: 314

Format: Paperback Proof 

Publisher: Zaffre Books 

Date Published: 20th July 2023

Huge thank you to Zaffre Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

Book Blurb: 

Saffy has a secret. A secret that she is deeply ashamed of. It's not the fact that she's a serial killer in her free time. In fact, she's quite proud of that. After all she's only killing the bad men. She is making the world a better place.

No, her secret is far worse than that. Saffy has a messy, inexplicable, uncontrollable crush. So while she's busy plotting her next murder, she also has the much harder task of figuring out how to get a boyfriend.

But if there's one thing Saffy knows, it's how to get her man . . .

My Review: 

This book was so addictive! I didn’t want to stop reading as it was so suspenseful with twists and turns, yet with a good dose of comedy and rom-com vibes mixed in too. I loved how fast-paced this book was and how easy it was to read.

The story follows Saffy who is rich and famous, but her secret hobby is to kill ‘bad men’, only ‘bad men’. In the book we see her develop an obsession with a journalist and crime writer, then slowly position herself in his life just at the right moment to catch his attention. However, to catch his attention she also by accident (or is it?) puts him in the middle of a series of murders and secrets.

Firstly, I wouldn’t class this book as a thriller, as although the main heroine is a serial killer, there are more romantic comedy, and dark humour book vibes,  than thriller and mystery vibes. Secondly, I really wanted more of Saffy’s darker side, since the first chapter set the premise so nicely for that. I felt that her character wasn’t fully flushed without that dark side appearing on pages.

Despite that, I really enjoyed other characters in this book, especially the journalist that Saffy is obsessing over. I think his character was very interesting and very well-developed. He was also a complete contrast to Saffy, so it was very interesting to read whether Saffy’s plan to make him love her will work. Saffy on the other hand, was strong, brave, sexy, rich and not afraid to work for what she wants and believes in, despite being a fully functioning and self-described sociopath.

Overall: I really enjoyed how suspenseful, funny, dark-humoured and easy to read this book was. Although I wanted more thriller vibes and the dark side of Saffy, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. I mean who doesn’t like a strong female boss character who comes up with a genius plan to make a man she wants to fall in love with her, whilst she also murders bad men? Very interesting and refreshing read.

 

About the Author:

Julie Cohen grew up in Maine and studied English at Brown University, Cambridge University and the University of Reading. Her award-winning novels have sold over a million copies worldwide, and she has twice been selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club in the UK. Julie is an Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Reading, and runs an online school, Novel Gazing. She is a Vice President of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, a founder of the RNA Rainbow Chapter for LGBTQ writers, and a Patron of literacy charity ABC To Read. She won the 2020 Romantic Novelists’ Association Inclusion Award. Her bestselling novel TOGETHER has been translated into eleven languages and optioned for television; THE TWO LIVES OF LOUIS & LOUISE was long-listed for the Polari Prize and has been optioned by Enderby Entertainment as a feature film. Her first historical novel, SPIRITED, was published in July 2020 and her latest novel is SUMMER PEOPLE (Orion, 2022). Under the name Julie Mae Cohen, her first thriller, BAD MEN, will be published by Bonnier in July 2023. She lives in Berkshire, UK with her teenager and a terrier of dubious origin.

https://juliemaecohen.com/about/

Alice James - Grave Danger (The Lavington Windsor Mysteries #2)

 

Alice James - Grave Danger (Lavington Windsor Mysteries #2)

5⭐

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance, Humour, Crime, Horror

Pages: 298

Format: Paperback

Publisher:  Solaris, Rebellion Publishing

Date Published: 23rd May 2023 

 

Big thanks to Alice James for sending me an e-copy of this book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

Agatha Raisin meets Sookie Stackhouse, with love, heartbreak and zombies.

More murder. More mayhem. More champagne.

Toni Windsor is failing at ‘happily ever after,’ but it really isn't her fault.

All she wants is true love and the perfect wardrobe, but it doesn't look like they are coming her way any time soon. Instead, there are murders to solve and zombies to raise, and she’s broken her phone again.

Worst of all, her shiny new boyfriend turns out to be a jerk; maybe dating a vampire wasn’t her best decision ever?

My Review: 

This book is even funnier and quirkier than the first one. It is also even more sarcastic and witty than the first one. Oh, and it has even more sexy vampires. What’s not to like? James’s writing is brilliant! A perfect blend of witty, crazy and humorous tones mixed with seriousness and complexity. All this makes each of the characters, especially Toni, not only fun but also portrays how complex each of them are. Basically, I am trying to say that life is complex and James writes her characters with a perfect balance of seriousness, crazy and funny. 

In the book, we follow Toni, who is asked to assist her brother in yet another murder case. There are several suspects, but no one knows who did it, not even zombie Bella after Toni raises her from the dead. On top of that, Toni has to deal with her boyfriend Oscar, who, let’s say, is getting on her nerves and pressuring her to do things she doesn’t want. She also is pushed around by Benedict, who she has to run errands for. Oh, and Toni also has to deal with the forever-growing line of people that wants to kill her…The girl can’t seem to catch a break…

This book felt both, a murder mystery and Toni trying to find her way, as well as make sense of her newfound life with vampires at such proximity. She is not only asked to find out who Bella’s murderer is but also needs to sort out her own (messy) love life and keep herself safe from vampires and other creatures that are trying to kill her, whilst also juggling whatever the Assemblage tells her to take care of. 

I loved how Toni grew as a character throughout the first two books, especially in this book. I just love her attitude and her outlook on life. I feel I could learn a thing or two from her, yet at the same time, she feels like a familiar character to whom I can relate. 

I love how the story is progressing too. There are still so many questions unanswered, but this book built such a great foundation for all of those to be answered in the next instalments. 

I am just going to go and cry about how frustrating Peter’s situation is… and laugh about Oscar…if you know, you know…#TeamPeter

Overall: Brilliantly written story, with so many great characters that I fell in love in the first instalment and don’t want to let go. Like I need the third book now! The suspense! Why did the book have to finish on such a cliffhanger!!! Honestly, can’t wait to see what crazy situations Toni will get herself into in book three. 

About the Author:

Alice lives in a converted chapel in Oxfordshire, England, with three cats and many house plants. She works as a writer, specialising in finance and travel. She was previously a journalist and TV presenter for Bloomberg before becoming press and PR director of a $1 billion US hedge fund for 18 months. That turned out to be the worst period in history for hedge funds, so she retired wounded. Alice has a degree in Maths from Bristol University – and half of a diploma in silversmithing from UCE University because it turns out that making the ladies’ version of the One Ring is a lot harder than she thought.

Alice’s first novel, Grave Secrets, is a whodunit with zombies, vampires, romance and croquet and you should definitely read it. Today.

https://www.alicejames.co.uk

James Buckler - The Simple Truth

 

James Buckler - The Simple Truth 

5⭐

Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction 

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Bantam Press, Doubleday Books

Date Published: 5th January 2023

Huge thank you to Bantam Press for sending me a proof copy of this book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

A young woman is dead.

A very wealthy client needs a favour. You're newly qualified as a lawyer and this could be your big break, so you jump at the chance.

The case is about to be closed.

All you have to do is talk to a family, ask them to sign some papers. How difficult could it be? Their daughter was found dead at a beauty spot on the outskirts of London in what you're told was a tragic suicide.

Only you can uncover what really happened.

But the truth is never that simple. And this case could cost you your life...

My Review: 

Definitely the best thriller I have read in 2022. Gripped me from the very beginning and kept the tension right until the end. I couldn’t put it down, and the fact that chapters were kept short, yet suspenseful, meant that I read this book in a few hours. The ending was also so unexpected and completely mind-blowing! I loved this book! 

This thriller starts with a dog walker finding the body of Maria Brenan in an abandoned car in the middle of the nature reserve. At a first glance, it looks like the young, yet ambitious climate scientist committed suicide, however, that’s not what her mother thinks actually happened to Maria. She insists that someone in Ever Sine, a company that Maria worked for, is responsible for her death.  Then we meet ambitious lawyer Lewis Miller, who wants to climb the career ladder and become a partner. He gets a chance in that if he successfully gets an NDA agreement from Marias' mother, as asked by Ever Sine’s director Robert Carlson. After meeting Maria’s mother, Lewis is challenged to dig deeper, as even for him it doesn’t look like it is a coincidence that Maria ended up dead in an abandoned car. Will Lewis decide to go for what is right and dig even deeper but risking uncovering too much of the truth and ending up like Maria?

Loved that most of the chapters are told from different characters' viewpoints, which creates tension and the reader is left questioning ‘but who did it?’. Also, these chapters make the story flow so well that at least for me it made me engrossed in the book so easily.  

I also really enjoyed Lewis’s character, especially how much his character developed during this book. How from a very career-oriented person, who didn’t care about what is right or wrong he turned into someone who wants to uncover the truth and help Maria’s family. Additionally, I enjoyed how different characters are directly and indirectly linked to one another, making this story even more interesting and entertaining.

Overall: Action-packed, suspenseful, full of tension and really fast-paced, that grips you from the very beginning and doesn’t let you go until the very end. Amazing twists and turns, as well as a brilliant and unexpected ending! Recommend if you want an entertaining thriller to start your 2023. I now can’t wait to read Last Stop Tokyo. 

About the Author:

James Buckler currently lives in London. He grew up in the south-west of England and has lived in the USA and Japan. He has always been fascinated by books, stories and films, especially the gripping, twisty narratives of classic Hollywood cinema and British crime novels. He studied Film, Video and the Photographic Arts at the University of Westminster and has worked in the film & TV industry for many years, most notably as a post-production specialist for MTV and BBC Films. His debut novel, Last Stop Tokyo, was published to critical acclaim in 2017.

https://www.jamesbuckler.com/about

Alice James - Grave Secrets (Lavington Windsor Mysteries #1)

Alice James - Grave Secrets (Lavington Windsor Mysteries #1)

4⭐

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance, Humour, Crime, Horror

Pages: 300

Format: Paperback

Publisher:  Solaris, Rebellion Publishing

Date Published: 1st September 2020

 

Big thanks to Rebellion Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

Agatha Raisin meets Sookie Stackhouse, with croquet and zombies. Toni Windsor is trying to live a quiet life in the green and pleasant county of Staffordshire. She'd love to finally master the rules of croquet, acquire a decent boyfriend and make some commission as an estate agent.

All that might have to wait, though, because there are zombies rising from their graves, vampires sneaking out of their coffins, and a murder to solve.

And it's all made rather more complicated by the fact that she's the one raising all the zombies. Oh, and she's dating one of the vampires too. Really, what's a girl meant to do?

My Review: 

This book was funny and quirky, with so many brilliantly entertaining characters. It was super hard to stop reading... A perfect book for the spooky season, as it has romance, vampires, zombies, and loads of spice….I mean who doesn’t love all that in one book? It transported me back to True Blood days…Also, I was so sad when I finished reading it because I was not emotionally prepared to say goodbye to the amazing array of characters and their sometimes rather daft adventures (in a funny and good way).

The story follows Lavington (Toni) Windsor who is a necromancer by night and a real estate agent by day. Yes, she raises the dead at night, whilst selling houses by the day. Exciting, right? That’s until she meets a very extravagant vampire Oscar who not only catches her interest but her heart too. However, knowing and loving a vampire brings Toni quite a lot of trouble and many situations that end up with loads of dead vampires…Also, it puts Toni’s life in danger more often than she would like, as well as, so many people are suddenly after her that she is kind of wishing her old quiet life back…

This book made me laugh out loud so much, but also, I was disgusted by vampire heads that were ripped off by zombies, cringed at some of the spicy scenes, and cheered Toni on when she was witty and mean to some of the big vampire ‘bosses’. Haven’t read such an entertaining and funny book in a while!

I loved Toni. She is interesting, sometimes odd, but has such a good wit and English humour that I just adored. She is also brave, stands up for herself, and doesn’t take a no for an answer. I think the humour, the wit, and the ability to make even the horrible situations that she gets herself into quite hilarious, make this book so good.

Oh, and let’s just appreciate how amazing and sweet Peter is in this book. He needs all the love from everyone…True star and hero of this story. #TeamPeter

I only wished there was more of Oscar. I felt Toni’s connection with Peter but I felt that her connection with Oscar was lacking quite a bit. It looked like Toni and Peter were a couple in this book rather than Toni and Oscar. Also, because there was so little of Oscar in this book, I felt that it was quite hard to judge his character, so hopefully, the next installment of the series will have more on him.

Overall: It is such an entertaining, fresh, funny, and witty read, featuring a cast of amazing vampires, a necromancer, zombies, some humans, and loads of silly situations, spicy times, and humour. Really recommend this book, especially if you want something entertaining but perfect for this upcoming spooky season…Or if like me you once loved True Blood…or Vampires…A perfect book to sink your teeth into if you love vampires and everything supernatural - funny, entertaining, spooky and so (very) steamy. A brilliant debut by Alice James!Honestly, I can’t wait now for the next installment in this series as I am definitely sinking my teeth into that…

About the Author:

Alice lives in a converted chapel in Oxfordshire, England, with three cats and many house plants. She works as a writer, specialising in finance and travel. She was previously a journalist and TV presenter for Bloomberg before becoming press and PR director of a $1 billion US hedge fund for 18 months. That turned out to be the worst period in history for hedge funds, so she retired wounded. Alice has a degree in Maths from Bristol University – and half of a diploma in silversmithing from UCE University because it turns out that making the ladies’ version of the One Ring is a lot harder than she thought.

Alice’s first novel, Grave Secrets, is a whodunit with zombies, vampires, romance and croquet and you should definitely read it. Today.

https://www.alicejames.co.uk/

Katie Gutierrez - More Than You'll Ever Know

Katie Gutierrez - More Than You'll Ever Know  

5 ⭐

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Contemporary Fiction 

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback Proof 

Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph 

Date Published: 7th July 2022 

Huge Thank You to Penguin Michael Joseph Publishing for a proof copy and for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour. 

Book Blurb: 

Lore Rivera was married to two men at once, until on a baking hot day in 1986, one of them found out and shot the other. A secret double life, a tragic murder. That's the story the world knows.

It's not the story that fascinates Cassie Bowman.

Carrying the weight of her own family tragedy, true-crime writer Cassie wants to know more about the mysterious woman at the heart of it all, Lore. How did one woman fall in love with two different men? How did she balance the love and the lies?

To her surprise, Cassie finds that Lore is willing to talk. To finally tell her heartbreaking story - about how dance became an affair; how marriage became a murder.

As the two women grow closer, Cassie finds she can't help but confess her own darkest secrets. But when she slowly starts to realise that there might be more to the night of the murder than anyone has realised, can either woman face up to the thing they've been hiding from the truth?

My Review: 

This book! I loved it. It gripped me from the very beginning and kept me wondering what is going on and what was going to happen until the very end. The writing was also brilliant! It was so authentic, easy to read and gave each character their personality and voice. I loved the inclusion of Spanish words and phrases as that displays the reality of Mexican-American families living close to the US border with Mexico back in the 1980s and even now.

The story is divided into two timelines. Timeline one is set in the 1980s and follows Lore Rivera. She is married to Fabian and has two twin sons, Mateo and Gabriel. She married Fabian when she was very young and family is now everything to her. However, she feels lost and doesn’t remember a time when she did something for herself. Her current life is routine… Work, twins and Fabian. So, one day on her work trip to Mexico City she meets a charming Andres Ruso. Straight away she connects with him. He seems to like Lore, too. However, Lore didn’t mention to Andres that she has a husband and a family. As their relationship blossom, lies start becoming more complicated and Lore ends up having two completely separate lives in different countries. That’s until Andres suddenly ends up in Loredo, where Lore, Fabian and the kids live. The same night he ends up killed by Fabian. At least that is the story that everyone knew for the past 30 years…

The second timeline follows a crime blogger and writer Cassie, who accidentally stumbles across an article about Fabian killing Andres and a woman who managed to have two husbands and lives in two different countries. She is immediately attracted to the story and does everything to find Lore and make her talk about what happened to Andres. Cassie wants to write a book that would feature Lore’s true story…but the truth is harder to uncover than Cassie previously thought….Both Cassie and Lore have secrets that they don’t want anyone to know but for both of them in order to move forward, they need to face each other and their pasts.

I liked the backstories of both Cassie and Lore, especially Lore’s backstory as it would explain why she acted the way she did and had an affair with Fabian with Andres. It also helps to understand some of Lore’s actions. I did think that some of Cassie’s backstory could’ve been explained in more detail but other than that it gives enough information to understand Cassie as a character. Both, Cassie and Lore, and even other characters in the book are human, they make mistakes, they lose the ones their love, their struggle and love…and how characters were developed and presented throughout the book just adds to that. It did make me go through a lot of emotions because I felt for the characters, I agreed and disagreed with them, I laughed and loved with them…and that’s thanks to the brilliant writing!

The twists! It is a quite slow-burn family drama but there were quite a few brilliant twists throughout the story and I enjoyed that! It made me want to read the book in one sitting. Also, these twists mixed with American and Mexican history in the 1980s, such as recession, economic crisis, people’s struggles and extreme events made the story more real. It felt like I am reading a real story rather than a piece of fiction.

Overall: I loved this book! It is one of the books I will be recommending to people! I was so surprised by the ending of the book and I thoroughly enjoyed the character exploration in this book, as well as the love story/ affair of Lore and Andres. I did think that the ending was a bit abrupt as it would have been interesting to learn more about what happened to both Cassie and Lore following the book release and how their lives changed. However, brilliant debut, with amazing writing, great characters and just a very gripping read. 

About the Author: 

Katie Gutierrez has an MFA from Texas State University and has written

for Harper's Bazaar, the Washington Post, Longreads, and more. She was

born and raised in Laredo, Texas, a city on the U.S.-Mexico border, and now lives in San Antonio with her husband and two young children. She finished writing More Than You'll Ever Know days before delivering her second child, who turned out to be quite the good luck charm.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/284255/katie-gutierrez?tab=penguin-books

Parker Bilal - The Trenches (A Crane & Drake Thriller #3)

Parker Bilal - The Trenches     

3.5 ⭐

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction 

Pages: 420

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Canongate Books 

Date Published: 7th July 2022

Massive thanks to Canongate for a copy of the book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

When a woman rescued by a fishing boat off the coast of Grimsby disappears without a trace, it turns out to be only the beginning of a dark investigation. Crane is soon contacted by another woman when she receives a letter out of the blue from her estranged son, not seen since he left to become a fighter for Islamic State. Drake is called in and forced to go back to his old stomping ground to infiltrate the underground network that took Jason abroad.

Meanwhile, Drake's old partner investigates the brutal murder of a journalist that appears to have worrying ties to a previous case. While Crane is in pursuit of the mystery woman, Drake finds himself drawn further into the company of a dangerous group as terror and organised crime intersect.

My Review: 

I read the blurb of this book and from it, this looked like an amazing crime/thriller book with plenty of twists and drama. However, I was left disappointed after about 200 pages. The book started so well, gripped me at the very beginning and then went nowhere. The end of the book was very anticlimactic, too. This book had so much potential, including such an interesting storyline where terrorism meets organised gang crime but it just didn’t take that potential to its fullest. It just fell flat at the end.

The story starts with Crane talking to a couple who get a strange and unexpected letter from their son, Jason, who left to become a fighter for the Islamic State years ago. Drake and Crane then both go undercover to find out whether Jason is back in the UK. Whilst working on this case Drake is also trying to unravel what happened in the past, in the case that caused him a lot of pain, including losing his job. He still wants to find out who is responsible and wants to write wrongs to rights. Drakes's ex-police partner also currently investigating a very suspicious murder that might be linked to the case Drake is trying to unravel.

At times, especially by the end of the book it seemed that there are so many different leads, plots and characters dropped in this book but none of them followed up properly. Additionally, there wasn’t much of a link between most of the characters and the crimes that were thrown into this story. Some of the characters are also introduced but then never mentioned again, or their relevance to the main investigation and storyline is not explained. Furthermore, it seemed that the main storyline of Jason is put into the back of Drake’s mind whilst he is worrying about the past investigation.

I liked Cranes chapters as they are the ones that worked on their case with Jason and were not side-tracked. I felt that Crane’s chapters were the ones that kept the story moving and together. Drakes’ chapters just dragged and I wish it added something more to the story. I especially hoped that somehow the case that he was working on in the past was connected to his case now and I was waiting for that plot twist that never actually came.

Overall: It is a good book that had so much potential plot and story-wise. Something that started as a really good book just fell flat at the end. It seemed that the potential wasn’t used at all. I would like to read the author's other series and see if I like them, as his writing is something that I did enjoy. The book itself read very well and the main characters were perfectly developed. For me, it was just a plot that wasn’t developed to its true potential this time in this book. I still recommend this book to readers who like crime and thrillers, as it is a great read with very interesting main characters Drake and Crane. 

About the Author: 

Parker Bilal is the pseudonym of Jamal Mahjoub. Mahjoub has published seven critically acclaimed literary novels, which have been widely translated. Born in London, he has lived at various times in the UK, Sudan, Cairo and Denmark. He currently lives in Barcelona. The Trenches is his third instalment of the Crane and Drake Thriller Series. 

http://jamalmahjoub.com/