Tag: thriller

Book Review | Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Posted September 6, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she has been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben’s innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother’s? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day… especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

Who did massacre the Day family?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Reading Challenge

The Reason

It’s a buddy read and I enjoyed Gillian Flynn’s other books!

The Quotes

“I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs.”

“You think you know the answer, you’re going to find peace? Like knowing is somehow going to fix you? You think after what happened there’s any peace for you, sweetheart? How about this. Instead of asking yourself what happened, just accept that it happened.”

“Don’t be discouraged – every relationship you have is a failure, until you find the right one.”

“I appreciate a straightforward apology the way a tone-deaf person enjoys a fine piece of music. I can’t do it, but I can applaud it in others.”

The Narrator(s)

Rebecca Lowman, Cassandra Campbell, Mark Deakins, Robertson Dean. They were all great, I loved listening to the audiobook!

My Thoughts

Funny story; apparently I read this book before in 2016 and forgot that I read it. I forgot pretty much everything about it, to the point that the final reveal at the end didn’t even occur to me and surprised me all over again! Which is pretty great, tbh, because I got to experience it all over again for a second time.

This was another buddy read and as always, I loved the experience of reading it with other readers and reading their comments about the book. One of the things I love most about Gillian Flynn is her ability to write flawed and unlikeable characters and yet make you root for them, understand them, put yourself in their shoes.

Libby is very flawed, but I love that she’s also very self-aware about her flaws. She’s not as self-aware about her strengths but that’s a lot of us. She’s relatable that way. Once things started getting into motion, I felt her compulsion to find out more about what happened to her family. I would feel the same way too. I would need answers. It’s such a painful thing to have happened at all, and I get that having answers don’t erase that bad things happened, but it does help to have questions answered.

Completely worth reading/rereading!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Posted June 27, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Nine months. Two weeks. Six days.

That’s how long recovering addict Sophie’s been drug-free. Four months ago her best friend, Mina, died in what everyone believes was a drug deal gone wrong – a deal they think Sophie set up. Only Sophie knows the truth. She and Mina shared a secret, but there was no drug deal. Mina was deliberately murdered.

Forced into rehab for an addiction she’d already beaten, Sophie’s finally out and on the trail of the killer—but can she track them down before they come for her?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

Because I love Tess Sharpe’s other books!

The Quotes

“But my heart isn’t simple or straightforward. It’s a complicated mess of wants and needs, boys and girls: soft, rough, and everything in between, an ever-shifting precipice from which to fall.”

“I’ll choose you. No matter how hard it is. No matter what people say. Every time, I’ll choose you. It’s up to you to choose me back.”

“Bad ideas are sometimes necessary.” It sounds so much like an excuse, it’s such an addict thing to say, that it makes my skin crawl.”

“When you’re kept by a secret, the first time you hear it spoken out loud is mesmerizing.”

The Narrator(s)

The author herself. It was so good, I always love it when an author narrates their own book because you can hear their emphases and expressions.

My Thoughts

Tess Sharpe is one of my favorite YA Thriller authors and I don’t think that anyone even comes close to her when writing these plots and these badass female MCs. I didn’t like this one as much as the others I’ve read by her – The Girls I’ve Been and Barbed Wire Heart – but that’s relative and only because the other two were so good.

My Feels

I love that the MC was so flawed and had her faults; we see her struggling really badly but still tapping into her inner reserves of strength and resolve. I love that she’s so worth rooting for, and I’m really awed by Tess Sharpe’s ability to write such interesting characters.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | What Happened To Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

Posted May 24, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

What Happened To Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

An emotional novel of suspense about two families at war.

Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.

WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA?

Nobody knows. Simon’s explanation about what happened in their last hours together doesn’t add up. Nina’s parents push the police for answers, and Simon’s parents rush to protect him. They hire expensive lawyers and a PR firm that quickly ramps up a vicious, nothing-is-off-limits media campaign.

HOW FAR WILL HIS FAMILY GO TO KEEP HIM SAFE?

Soon, facts are lost in a swirl of accusation and counter-accusation. Everyone chooses a side, and the story goes viral, fueled by armchair investigators and wild conspiracy theories and illustrated with pretty pictures taken from Nina’s social media accounts. Journalists descend on their small Vermont town, followed by a few obsessive “fans.”

HOW FAR WILL HER FAMILY GO TO GET TO THE TRUTH?

Nina’s family is under siege, but they never lose sight of the only thing that really matters—finding their daughter. Out-gunned by Simon’s wealthy, powerful family, Nina’s parents recognize that if playing by the rules won’t get them anywhere, it’s time to break them.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

I was craving a good mystery thriller and was intrigued by the premise. I’ve read one of Dervla McTiernan’s books before and liked it so I thought I’d try this one too.

The Quotes

“I just want to say, a thing can be crystal clear with hindsight, but just about as clear as mud when you’re actually living it. Also, sometimes it’s the walking away that gets you in trouble.”

“I tried to tell myself that I was letting my imagination run away with me. That there was no need and no reason to think the worst, but fear welled up inside me, and it refused to be pushed back down.”

“I knew my son. I knew him. He was not a murderer.”

“I started to get angry. The anger made the fear a lot smaller.”

My Thoughts

This book is scary because it happens in real life, and in fact, the scariest part of the book is the shitshow that is social media. It’s so easy to influence other people with misinformation, lies, wild speculations, and it’s so easy to turn people into angry mobs and witchhunters. It’s scary how some people refuse to see the truth even when given absolute proof, just because they are so invested in the narratives they’ve constructed in their own minds. It’s crazy to see when it happens in real life, and I thought it was very well portrayed in the book.

One of the things I like about Dervla’s books is also that the main characters aren’t always likeable. No one is perfect, and even the “good guys” can be flawed and make mistakes. In fact, it’s easy to get caught up in strong emotions, and there are times I wonder what I would do in that position, and I’m pretty sure I’d come out a lot worse than most.

My Feels

I was on the edge of my seat and so anxious to find out what happens next. There were several heartbreaking scenes, frustrating scenes, scenes that made me feel scared for the characters. I was afraid that we wouldn’t get a satisfactory ending, but I feel like I got what I needed in the end.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

Posted May 22, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

A thrilling, addictive novel about marriage, betrayal, and the secrets that push us to the edge…

Picture a lovely cottage on a cliff, with sloping lawns, walking paths, and beautiful flowers. It’s Gabe and Pippa Gerard’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Over the past several months, Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge.

Until one day, he doesn’t. When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral. . . .Did the victim jump? Was she pushed? And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate . . . lie? As the perfect façade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel. Because sometimes, the most convincing lies are the ones we tell ourselves.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

Several people in my online book club was reading it and I got enticed by their comments about it.

The Quotes

“Sometimes,” I said thoughtfully, “the road to our destination leads us in a direction we don’t want to take. But does it matter, in the end, if it gets us where we want to go?”

“We trust people based on the strangest, most arbitrary things, none of which have any bearing on whether or not you are inherently good.”

“The thing about marriage a lot of people don’t understand is that you don’t get everything. Some people get passion, others get security. Some get companionship. Children. Money. Wisdom. Status. Then there is trust and fidelity.”

My Thoughts

I loved the whole ride! There were so many twists and turns and you don’t know who to trust and what is actually going on. I really enjoyed speculating and coming up with the most outlandish theories, and yet there was a lot to the story that was meaningful and important. I loved that it spoke to relationship dynamics, blind love, communication, trust and fidelity. The characters were flawed and stupid and I loved that for the story. It’s very human, and we all do stupid things.

My Feels

This book made me frustrated and angry at times. I feel like there’s so much unnecessary tragedy and unresolved issues but I also recognize that sometimes you don’t get everything all wrapped up nicely. It worked out in the book and it was a great story and very well told. I had a lot of fun reading it!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Time Travel Thursday | March 28

Posted March 28, 2024 by Haze in Time Travel Thursday, Weekly Book Memes / 0 Comments

It’s Time Travel Thursday! Hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog, this is where you get to take a look back at what you were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and get to relive those bookish memories!

This time last year I was reading:

The Last Mile by David Baldacci (Amos Decker #2)

Convicted murderer Melvin Mars is counting down the last hours before his execution–for the violent killing of his parents twenty years earlier–when he’s granted an unexpected reprieve. Another man has confessed to the crime.

Amos Decker, newly hired on an FBI special task force, takes an interest in Mars’s case after discovering the striking similarities to his own life: Both men were talented football players with promising careers cut short by tragedy. Both men’s families were brutally murdered. And in both cases, another suspect came forward, years after the killing, to confess to the crime. A suspect who may or may not have been telling the truth.

The confession has the potential to make Melvin Mars–guilty or not–a free man. Who wants Mars out of prison? And why now?

But when a member of Decker’s team disappears, it becomes clear that something much larger–and more sinister–than just one convicted criminal’s life hangs in the balance. Decker will need all of his extraordinary brainpower to stop an innocent man from being executed.

My thoughts:
There are a lot of problems with the story, but they don’t matter too much because of its incredible readability. The feeling I get when I read this book is almost like I’m on a white water rapids ride and honestly the ride just takes you and it’s thrilling and exciting and there’s no time to stop and wonder if it makes sense. You have no time to take in the scenery, or enjoy the company, or really do anything except hang on for the ride. At the end of the book, I’m left wondering what happened because the only thing I remember is the thrill of the ride.

Which isn’t to say the story isn’t good, it’s actually a pretty good story, just with a lot of implausibility and loose ends, but that’s another part of my awe – the storytelling skill it takes to make an okay story sound amazing. It’s also just what I need at this time; books that are easy to read and easy to get lost in.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? What were you reading this time last year?

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Books from the Backlog | The Therapist by B. A. Paris

Posted December 21, 2023 by Haze in Books from the Backlog, Weekly Book Memes / 6 Comments

Books from the Backlog is hosted by Carole @ Carole’s Random Life and features neglected books that’s been sitting on your TBR for a while.

This one was sitting patiently waiting for me on my Kobo but I forgot I had it. Now that I’m looking at it again, it actually sounds intriguing and I might want to read it soon.

This week’s neglected book

The Therapist by B. A. Paris

A gripping psychological suspense and a powerful tale of a house that holds a shocking secret.

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…

Why did I add this book to my bookshelf?

I was on a mystery/thriller binge and a friend recommended it to me. Then I got tired of the binge and moved on before getting to this one. Yes, we’re seeing a pattern, aren’t we? It does sound interesting and I might actually pick it up sometime soon. We’ll see.

What are your thoughts? Have you read this book?  Would you recommend it?

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