Mona Awad - Rouge

Mona Awad - Rouge

3⭐

Genre: Horror, Gothic, Fiction, Thriller, Contemporary, Literary Fiction 

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback Proof 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Date Published: 12th September 2023

Huge thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy.

Book Blurb: 

From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate—and find a connection that is more than skin deep?

For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass.

Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut in this surreal descent into the dark side of beauty, envy, grief, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. With black humor and seductive horror, Rouge explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry—as well as the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze. Brimming with California sunshine and blood-red rose petals, Rouge holds up a warped mirror to our relationship with mortality, our collective fixation with the surface, and the wondrous, deep longing that might lie beneath.

My Review: 

This book was quite disturbing but at the same time quite interesting. It is one of those books where I don’t know whether I liked it or disliked it.

The book follows Belle, who since very young again, influenced by her mother's beauty, is obsessed with her appearance, especially her skincare. One day, her mother Noelle mysteriously dies and Belle has to face her past, first by coming home to Southern California. At home, she realises that her mother is in debt, which prompts her to start asking questions about how her mother died. Her suspicions grow even more when she meets a strange woman in red who invites her to a secret spa and club, which her mother was a member of. There Belle slowly discovers herself, and truths about her mother's past but also faces her demons from the past.

I liked the beginning of this book. It gripped me and captivated me, however, the more I read the more cryptic and confusing the story became. In the end, I was confused as to what was going on and what this story was supposed to be about. At first, I thought it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but looking from 21^st-century eyes, and our obsession with skincare, always looking young and putting on a ‘fake façade’, as well as, how social media and companies make us part of the ‘cult’ when it comes to beauty, skincare products and focusing on the impossible beauty standards. At least that’s what I took from the book. However, I also felt that there was more, which I might not understood or didn’t get whilst reading this book.

Not going to lie, the writing was beautiful, but I felt that some parts of the story were not necessary and rather repetitive. I thought this book would have read much better if it was a shorter novella. There were also times when I didn’t care about Belle as she was quite insufferable and naïve. I also didn’t care about the in-depth exploration of Noelle’s and Belle’s relationship as for me that wasn’t the main point of the book, and it also took away from exploring the beauty and unattainable beauty standards. I didn’t connect to their relationship at all…

Overall: Very mixed opinions about this book. Part of me liked it a lot but there was part of me where I didn’t like it. This book gives a lot of food for thought, especially about the beauty industry in the 21^st century but at the same time delivers those thoughts in a very cryptic and crazy way. 

About the Author: 

Mona Awad is the author of BUNNY, ALL'S WELL and 13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT A FAT GIRL. 13 WAYS won the Amazon Best First Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. Her second novel, BUNNY, was a finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror, the New England Book Award, and won the Ladies of Horror Fiction Best Novel Award. It is currently being optioned for film with Bad Robot Productions. ALL'S WELL was a finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror. Her new novel, ROUGE, is forthcoming in September 2023 with Simon & Schuster.

She earned an MFA from Brown University and an MScR in English from the University of Edinburgh where her dissertation was on fear in the fairy tale. In 2018, she completed a Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literary Studies at the University of Denver. She currently teaches creative writing at Syracuse University and lives in Boston.

http://mona-awad-grou.squarespace.com/

David Jarvis - The Tip of The Iceberg

David Jarvis - The Tip of The Iceberg 

4⭐

Genre: Thriller, Espionage, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction 

Pages: 313

Format: Paperback 

Publisher:  Troubador/Matador

Date Published: 28th October 2022

Huge thank you to the Author, David Jarvis, for sending me a copy of The Tip of the Iceberg in exchange for an honest review.  

Book Blurb: 

Charles Yelland was leading the perfect life until a faked photograph appeared in a newspaper on the morning of his oil company’s AGM showing an exploration rig in Antarctica. After this he didn’t think that his world could get any worse … he was seriously wrong.

Within hours Presidents and Prime Ministers were telephoning each other to find out whether oil had actually been discovered and whether the 60 year old Antarctic Treaty with its suspension of territorial claims was now dead.

What would countries and companies do to gain access to an area one and a half times the size of the USA with 11% of the Earth’s land mass and minerals?
The Tip of the Iceberg is a thought-provoking and gripping story of kidnap and intrigue.

My Review: 

Yet another amazing thriller/mystery from David Jarvis. The tip of the Iceberg has it all, suspense, mystery, humour, witty conversations and it also discusses important societal issues and geopolitics (and as a geographer I love geopolitics). What’s not to like? Oh, and don’t forget the writing that just captures you from the beginning. Such an interesting, captivating, funny and compelling book.

One picture in a newspaper and everyone is panicking…Has oil been discovered in Antarctica, and if it was, who does that oil belong to? Politicians from the UK, the USA, Norway and other Antarctic Treaty countries are all lining up to be the first ones to get the oil. That said, there is an issue of how to address it during the Climate Conference where conditions of the Antarctic Treaty will also be discussed. At the same time, the biggest oil company in the UK owner’s daughter is kidnapped, and a spy turned detective Mike Kingdom is called in to help find the missing girl.

Although this book has a lot, the way the author portrays everything and develops the plot, all of those scattered pieces just come together perfectly. Also, I loved Mike’s character as she is one strong female protagonist. I adored the ins and outs of geopolitics and, the Antarctic Treaty, especially the way the author presents quite complicated issues and politics in a simple, entertaining, interesting and funny way. Place descriptions were brilliant too, especially when I knew most of them quite well and whilst reading, I imagined myself there with the characters.

What I love the most about this book is that is it a ‘What If?’ story, and although it is fiction, part of me did start to wonder What If the Antarctic Treaty didn’t exist or what if we changed it? So definitely this book gave me a lot of food for thought, whilst being entertaining and captivating too.

Overall: Love the writing, love the characters, love the topic…Can’t recommend it enough and can’t wait to see what Mike Kingdom is up to in the next book, This Is Not A Pipe. 

About the Author:

After going to Art College in the 1970s David Jarvis set up an international planning practice which he ran for 40 years. His canvases just got bigger and bigger. He has now retired to Wiltshire. The Collation Unit is his debut novel. 

https://www.whisperingstories.com/the-writing-life-of-david-jarvis/

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

Emma Rosenblum - Bad Summer People

Emma Rosenblum - Bad Summer People 

3.5⭐

Genre:  Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Fiction

Pages: 346

Format: Paperback Proof 

Publisher:  Penguin Michael Joseph 

Date Published: 8th June 2023

Huge thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph for sending me this book to read and review.

 

Book Blurb: 

You are cordially invited to summer on New York State's idyllic Fire Island.
Thirty miles of golden sand:
No traffic. No tourists. No trash.

The city elite gathers here every year, trailing kids, their nannies (vital!), wine and seafood imported from Manhattan: hard workers need their playtime.

Take the Parkers and the Weinsteins. Lauren and Jen hold sway on the beach and the tennis court. Their husbands are childhood friends bearing grudges as deep as they are secret.

Their lone single friend, Rachel Woolf, is looking to meet her match, whether he's the new tennis pro - or someone else's husband. She's not picky.

And while this season starts out quietly as any other, it soon changes when beneath the boardwalk, a body is found.

No one is claiming to be a good person. But is someone actually capable of murder?

My Review: 

I expected this book to be like White Lotus, but sadly it was more like a Gossip Girl on vacation. I enjoyed the pacing, the setting and the writing of this book, yet for me the suspense and thrill were missing from it. I expected more of a murder mystery, suspenseful reveals and a plot that kept me on my toes, but I didn’t get any of that. It was just a bunch of rich, obnoxious people cheating on one another and stabbing each other’s backs during the whole summer on a very beautiful island.

The story follows four rich couples who as every year, are enjoying their summer holidays on New York’s Fire Island. All couples have their secrets and lies that lie deep within the island. We also meet a series of side characters who all play some sort of role in these couples' lives. Oh, and then there is a body found on the island and suddenly all the couples are somehow suspected to be linked with the murder. That’s when readers slowly get to know the lies and the secrets that each of the couple is keeping.

I didn’t like any of the characters. I mean there are unlikable characters that I could root for, but none of these couples had any redeeming characteristics apart from moaning, gossiping, sleeping with one another, and hating each other. All of the characters, especially the couples were very two-dimensional. Additionally, there were so many side characters to keep track of and at times I was so confused as to why some of the characters and chapters about them even existed. I wish there were fewer side characters, and the main characters were more developed, which would have added more substance to the story.

I did like, however, how easy was to read this book, and how short chapters somehow made me slightly interested in the plotline. I mean I was also interested as I thought it was going to have more murder mystery in it.

Overall: Easy summer read if you want something forgettable or a palette cleanser in between the books, whilst sitting in the sun by the poolside. This book does lack a deeper message and although the book's premise had so much potential for a proper murder mystery, it just didn’t deliver. Don’t expect to like the characters though and some of them will be pretty forgettable or will make you rage inside. The writing, however, is pretty good, so as are the scene setting and pacing, so at least that is something. 

About the Author:

Emma Rosenblum is chief content officer at Bustle Digital Group, overseeing content and strategy for BDG’s lifestyle, parenting, and culture & innovation portfolios, including Bustle, Elite Daily, Romper, NYLON, The Zoe Report, Romper, Scary Mommy, Fatherly, The Dad, Gawker, Inverse, and Mic. Prior to BDG, Emma served as the executive editor of ELLE. Previously Rosenblum was a senior editor at Bloomberg Businessweek, and before that a senior editor at Glamour. She began her career at New York magazine. She lives in New York City, with her husband and two sons. Bad Summer People is her first novel.

https://www.emma-rosenblum.com/

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/

Heather Darwent - The Things We Do To Our Friends

Heather Darwent - The Things We Do To Our Friends  

5⭐

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Dark Academia, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 378

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Viking Books UK 

Date Published: 12th January 2023 

Huge thank you to the Viking Books UK for sending me a proof copy of this book to read and review! 

Book Blurb: 

A dark, intoxicating, compulsive tale of feminist revenge, toxic friendships, and deadly secrets

Clare arrives at the University of Edinburgh with a secret. This is her chance for a blank slate – to finally become who she was meant to be.

And then she meets Tabitha.

Tabitha is charismatic, beautiful and intimidatingly rich. Soon Clare is sucked into her enigmatic circle of friends and their dizzying world of champagne on rooftops and summers in France.

Her new life has begun.

Then Tabitha reveals the little project they're working on, a project they need Clare's help with. And Clare can't say no.

Because they know what she did . . .

My Review: 

This book was so dark, suspenseful, and intense and omg it had some twists! I loved this story of a very disturbing protagonist and her even more disturbing friends, yet for me, the atmosphere Darwent created by setting this book in Edinburgh was just something else, absolutely amazing. This book just draws you in and will not let go until the very end. Amazing story and a brilliant debut!

This story follows Clare, who arrives in Edinburgh to start fresh. She starts her studies at University but she also wants a clean slate from all the secrets that she keeps. However, soon in her lectures, she is drawn towards a mysterious group of friends run by a girl called Tabitha. Clare is straight away fascinated by Tabitha and her graciousness and by the fact that someone like these people wants Clare in their circle. Clare is engulfed in the friendship with Tabitha and Co until she realises that she is too deep into said friendship. That’s when Tabitha asks Clare to be a part of a little project that the whole group is working on, yet as much as she wants, Clare can’t say no, since Tabitha knows more about Clare than Clare would like her to know…

I loved that this story was set at a university and that it had a lot of suspense and drama. All the characters are so damaged but in their own little ways, and it was so interesting to read how each of them rather complemented each other, but at the same time brought out the worst in each other. I also loved how throughout the story you can see how the toxic friendship that Clare has with Tabitha and Co grew and progressed until it all exploded and was tainted by lies, misunderstandings, mind games, etc. Yes, all the characters are unlikable and really disturbing in this book, but at the same time the story allows you to appreciate how complicated each of them is and how much they all change as the story progresses, so we see their true faces at the end.

Darwent’s writing is something else…Writing in this book just captures the reader and seduces them to read more. Each chapter is so perfectly crafted with just enough tension, suspense and drama for the reader to keep going and wanting more. Loved it! It definitely didn’t feel like a debut book at all! Also, this is the first character-driven / character exploration story that I actually enjoyed reading in a while.

Overall: Loved it loved it loved it! Such a great, dark, intense book with very damaged and unlikeable characters that are so interesting to analyse. For me, I spent a day just thinking about each of the characters and pondering why they are like that and why they did things they did. Oh, and the ending, that lived in my head rent-free for weeks, hence I couldn’t gather my thoughts to write this review for a while. Beautiful and compelling writing that makes you want to read more and more. Amazing debut! I can't wait to see what Heather Darwent writes next as I will be reading it!

About the Author:

Heather Darwent is an author based just outside of Edinburgh near the sea.

She is currently working on her debut novel, The Things We Do to Our Friends which will be published by Penguin in January 2023.

https://www.heatherdarwent.com/

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

Colleen Hoover - Verity

Colleen Hoover - Verity 

5⭐

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

Pages: 368

Format: Hardback 

Publisher: Sphere  

Date Published: 27th September 2022 

 

Book Blurb: 

Whose truth is the lie?  Stay up all night reading the sensational psychological thriller that has readers obsessed, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends With Us.

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.

My Review: 

Hoover’s writing never ceases to amaze me. I thought Layla blew my mind…Oh, how wrong I was! Verity was just brilliant! It is definitely there at the top of my favourite CoHo books together with Layla! Verity is a dark, disturbing, creepy story full of tension and suspense. It kept me gripped from page one and didn’t let me go until the end…and even after that. The twist at the end was so clever and shocking…leaving the reader wanting more answers…I was also lucky to read the extra chapter straight away, but after it, I was left with more questions than answers (in a good way). For those who read the book without any spoilers, I would say I am definitely Team Manuscript...

The story follows Lowen, who is a struggling author and is living alone after her mother passed away recently. Lowen is struggling financially too, so when she is asked by Jeremy Crawford, the husband of famous author Verity Crawford, to write the rest of the series that Verity started, she jumps on the opportunity to earn extra money. Lowen has to write the last three books in the series and thus has to come and live in Crawford’s house to collect all the relevant manuscripts and paperwork from Verity’s office. Verity herself cannot help her as she is recovering from an accident, thus is in a vegetative state and does not communicate. During her stay in Crawford’s house, Lowen notices that weird things are happening, and she starts seeing Verity everywhere during the night or when she is alone in the house.  On top of that, she finds a shocking manuscript of Verity’s autobiography, where Verity writes all truth about herself, her husband and her twin daughters….The more Lowen uncovers about Verity’s past the more she wants to expose the truth but also the longer she stays with Crawford’s the more she starts falling for Verity’s husband Jeremy…

It is so hard to review this book without spoiling anything, and I think the best is to go into this book knowing as little as possible (but do check your trigger warnings beforehand, as there are many in this book) but honestly, it is so good. It had everything, the tension, the lies, the suspense and the shock factor all weaved into one story. All the characters in this book are also very flawed and morally questionable, especially of course Verity but the more I read the more I realised that other characters in this book might be just as bad as Verity, even if it's in different ways. There were times when I had a love-hate relationship with all of the characters in this book.

Overall: Again, CoHo’s writing was superb.  The plot, suspense, tension and character development are done brilliantly, too. Also, the shock factor and the twist at the end just was a cherry on top. I devoured this book in a day and honestly was left gobsmacked after I finished. It took me a few hours to stop questioning the entire universe after and a few days before I could pick up another book. Really really recommend this book if you want a very suspenseful yet great thriller to read that will give you a book hangover for a few days. Definitely, one of my favourite CoHo books and I cannot recommend it enough to people. 

About the Author:

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two novels and novellas. Hoover’s novels fall into the New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance categories, as well as psychological thrillers. 

Colleen Hoover is published by Montlake Romance, Grand Central Publishing and Atria Books. Colleen also has several indie titles, including Heart Bones.

In 2015, Colleen’s novel CONFESS won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance. That was followed up in 2016 with her latest title, It Ends With Us, also winning the Choice Award for Best Romance. In 2017, her title WITHOUT MERIT won best romance.

Colleen founded The Bookworm Box, a charity subscription service and bookstore, with her family in 2015. The Bookworm Box is a subscription service that provides readers with an exciting opportunity to receive signed novels in the mail each month from authors all over the world. All profits from the subscription service are donated to various charities each month. To date, The Bookworm Box has donated over $1,000,000 to help those in need.

https://www.colleenhoover.com/about-coho/

Jonathan Sims - Family Business

Jonathan Sims - Family Business 

4⭐

Genre: Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary Fiction, Paranormal, Thriller 

Pages: 320

Format: Hardback 

Publisher:  Gollancz, Orion Books 

Date Published: 13th October 2022

 

Big thanks to Orion Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

When Diya Burman’s best friend dies, her life falls apart. She loses everything.

But then she gets a new job: working at Slough & Sons, cleaning up after the recently deceased.

Clearing away the remains of lost lives, Diya begins to see things. Horrible things, that can’t be written off as imagination. Nothing is as it seems with the Sloughs.

It’s a dirty business, cleaning up after the dead, and if Diya’s not careful she might end up getting buried under the family tree.

My Review: 

This book is so well written and also captivating. I didn’t want to put it down until the very end when I finally found out what is going on. Even then I was so surprised and even had that I didn’t see that coming moment after finishing this book. Another perfect and at times quite spooky and creepy book for the Autumn TBR.

The story follows Diya, who recently lost her best friend and grief is taking over her life. She losses her job, her relationship with her family is suffering and she distanced herself from all of her friends. Mainly because it seems to her that no one understands what she is going through and also because everyone is saying to her just to move on with her life. If she moves on, however, she is afraid her friend’s memory is going to fade, and Diya can’t let that happen.

A family-run cleaning business, Slough & Sons offers Diya a very well-paid job. However, it isn’t your average cleaning job, it requires you to clean up after the deceased. Diya agrees to take a job in hope that it will give some sort of closure about her friend’s death and will make her grief easier, especially seeing that other people are going through a similar thing. As the days in the new job progress, Diya starts to feel strange things are happening in jobs that the Sloughs family are asked to do. She starts seeing visions of people’s last moments, which shows that they haven’t died on their own. They all have been somehow murdered and any traces of their identities are destroyed. Diya’s suspicions grow even higher when no one in the Slough family wants to talk about their recently deceased brother who Diya replaced in the business. Now Diya needs to find out what is happening with all the supposedly murdered people, whilst also not getting tangled in Slough’s family’s mess.

I really enjoyed this book, especially Diya’s character. Throughout the book, she goes through so much, firstly losing her best friend, then starting to have visions, and then finally having to uncover what Sloughs are up to with their cleaning business. She is such a likeable character that a reader can easily relate to her. She goes through so many emotions and I liked how this book explored grief and losing someone through her and through the Slough’s business. The Slough’s cleaning business portrayed how easily we can forget the deceased, whilst Diya showed that it is so important for their memory to live on in us. For me definitely, this book was more than just a horror story but also had that additional layer of important takeaway messages about loss, grief and death.

The only downside for me in this book is that it was a really slow burn and the ending just happened very suddenly. Although I enjoyed the ending, I wished that some parts of the book were paced a bit quicker.

Overall: It is a very well-written book that was so easy to read. It connects the reader to the characters and messages it conveys with such ease, too. I also liked the suspense in this book that keeps a reader engaged until the very end. It is a very interesting and rather unique storyline with so many important and relevant topics discussed in this book as well. I truly recommend it and I will be definitely reading more from Jonathan Sims. 

About the Author:

Jonathan Sims is a writer, performer and games designer whose work primarily focuses on the macabre, the grotesque, and the gentle touch of creeping dread. He is the mind and the voice behind acclaimed horror podcast The Magnus Archives, as well as story-game design duo MacGuffin & Co., and some of your favourite nightmares. He lives in Walthamstow with the two best cats and an overwhelming backlog of books that he really should get around to.

https://jonathan-sims.com/

David Jarvis - The Collation Unit

David Jarvis - The Collation Unit 

4.5⭐

Genre: Thriller, Espionage, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction 

Pages:  336

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Troubador

Date Published: 28th March 2021 

Huge thank you to the Author, David Jarvis, for sending me a copy of The Collation Unit in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Blurb: 

In the 1970s computers were beginning to overwhelm the Secret Services. Quickly, too much information was coming into GCHQ and things were being missed. The Collation Unit was set up underground in six floors beneath some old aircraft hangars at Mannington airfield just outside Cheltenham to make connections and prioritise everything.

In April/May 1982 they spotted some very strange things happening in Georgia and Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, London decided to move the only satellite covering this area down to the South Atlantic where some Argentinians had begun to invade the Falklands. When tensions began to develop with London, Mannington had to resort to old-fashioned means of finding out what was going on in the Middle East. They found Mark Tanner, an irrigation engineer from High Wycombe, who was working on new Military Cities in Saudi Arabia. He was there to make enough money to pay off his mortgage after a small difficulty involving a fire. It is true to say that however technology moves on, it still all comes down to people on the ground …

A tense and exciting story with an unguessable ending, this is a must-read for spy thriller enthusiasts and anyone who has always wondered what goes on behind closed doors.

My Review: 

Such an enjoyable political spy thriller that I read in a day! I really liked how historical events were mixed with quite a complex set of characters, and their private lives, whilst they all are also working for the British Secret Services. Loved the refreshing wit and dry humour in this story too, as it made the characters and the story itself very real. Not a traditional spy novel but definitely a well-written and fascinating book that I very much enjoyed reading.

The main part of the story is set in 1982, when The Collation Unit, which was set up a decade ago by GCHQ, starts to spot very strange things happening just off the coast of Saudi Arabia and Georgia. Soon The Collation Unit links these two places together and believes that Georgia is supplying all things needed for new Military Cities in Saudi Arabia. However, at the same time tensions are rising in the Falklands and London decides to move all the satellite coverage to the South Atlantic, leaving the area between Saudi Arabia and Georgia not fully monitored by technology. Thus, The Collation Unit goes in an old fashion way, they decide to depend on a person on the ground to supply all the needed information… However, will their chosen person be up to the job and will the job bear any fruits…

In the beginning, I was a bit confused about all the characters (and their names), but soon everything clicked into place and I loved how each of the characters added so much to the plot, especially as the book progressed. Empty’s character is hands down my favourite. The way he is portrayed to be quite sarcastic and humorous around everyone, which from the outside makes him look quite odd. However, he is anything but odd. Inside he is so intelligent and has that strategic mindset that gets him in and out of different, but sometimes not-so-good situations. However, he is such a great and lovable character.

Although it was a slow burn at first, the tension in this book just kept me going and by the end, I didn’t want to put it down…Oh and the ending was definitely a crème de la crème. This book was definitely a new take on spy novels and I thoroughly enjoyed that, especially the fact of how well researched the book was and how much information, action and plot it packs inside one book.  

Overall: It is such an enjoyable book, with multi-dimensional and complex characters, great writing and humour, which balances perfectly with the tension and action. I enjoyed reading this story and can’t wait to see what David Jarvis is going to release next, as I am sure it’s going to be just as great. 

About the Author:

After going to Art College in the 1970s David Jarvis set up an international planning practice which he ran for 40 years. His canvases just got bigger and bigger. He has now retired to Wiltshire. The Collation Unit is his debut novel. 

https://www.whisperingstories.com/the-writing-life-of-david-jarvis/