Category: Thriller

‘Yesterday’ – Felicia Yap

Described as the thriller of the year, I was intrigued when I saw this on NetGalley and, while I enjoyed it, I think there are some aspects that stopped it from being quite as good as I hoped.

In this world we have two types of people, Duos and Monos. Their whole existence is dominated by the need to record everything on Idiaries as their memory is limited.

So, what do you do when a murder is committed and you can only remember events of the day before? It makes it extremely difficult for those investigating the crime also.

As we flit between perspectives and time I have to confess it felt like we were being fed false details throughout. It was hard to work out who was reliable, and to what extent we should trust what we were seeing.

I enjoyed seeing Claire try to work out just how her husband knew the woman pulled from the river. It was interesting to try and put together just what secrets she was hiding. I really liked the character of the Detective-his obsession was understandable, and it certainly gave us an insight into the effect our identity has on our actions.

Where I lost interest somewhat was in the closing stages, once we thought we’d sorted out what had happened…only to have a whole new layer added in. This felt a step too far for me.

‘Cruel Summer’ – James Dawson

This is a difficult review to write, as I enjoyed this book but it was all just too knowing for me (without some of the elements you get when it’s done really well).

The book opens with a chapter called ‘Fade In’…telling us about the moment Janey died. It’s strongly hinted that she was murdered. The book ends with a chapter called ‘Fade Out’ where we leave our characters with all manner of secrets revealed, and most of our questions answered. In-between this frame we are given a series of scenes telling us the story.

Katie and her group have friends have never really got over the apparent suicide of their friend Janey a year ago. They decide to go away on holiday to Katie’s villa…and, of course, they have questions about that night. Nobody wants to talk about it, but someone is about to force their hand.

So much for a relaxing break and a chance to catch up…another murder is on the cards!

We see events through the eyes of Ryan, our TV star in the making. He views everything as if it was his own personal TV show, which is a form of coping mechanism, but it means everything is elevated to a more significant status in an attempt to show its worthiness. It also means that there’s a rather irritating tendency to self-consciously deconstruct everything to tell us why it’s significant, or to force us into a certain train of thought. However, it does allow us to switch between the various characters in a way that works well.

There’s the standard cliches: jock, good girl, nerd…we think we know what to expect and Dawson plays up to this. We watch these supposedly ‘perfect teens’ implode as secrets are outed. Some of the secrets are given up more easily than others, and some offer more of a motive for murder than others.

Throughout, I felt like I was reading a paint-by-numbers screenplay for a teen scary movie. It was good fun, but didn’t move beyond what we’d expect. If you want to know who did it, you’ll have to read the book. You might well have sussed it very early on, but it’s good fun watching our various characters work things out.

‘Bloods Sisters’ – Jane Corry

I was intrigued by the idea of this one: Three girls set off for school. Within an hour one of them is dead. People are hiding secrets, and someone is determined to ensure these secrets are revealed.

Initially, I was rather taken aback by the decision to tell the story in split narrative. We follow sisters, Alison and Kitty, now they are older and see how they are affected by the impact of that day. Kitty is in a care home, brain damage affecting her ability to communicate with the world – but she’s a shrewd cookie inside. Alison, her older sister, seems fine on the surface but there are signs that not all is as it seems.

Throughout the novel there’s a lot of hints about what might have happened, and a few red herrings are thrown our way to put us off the scent. We’re given plenty of clues, but never quite enough to help us completely crack it.

A review such as this could, all too easily, give details away. For this reason, I’ll keep it brief.

I did enjoy this, but I felt the first part of the story was a little slow. I never really engaged with either character, which meant I was quite dispassionate about the revelation. There were quite a lot of details that were thrown our way to muddy the water which, actually were more interesting than the main story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

‘The Chemist’ – Stephanie Meyer

This is one of those books that is not badly written, and there are some cracking scenes, but it seems to have attracted its fair share of hate from online reviewers.

We begin in very different territory to Twilight (thank goodness) with an adult main character who is very good at what she does, even if she is socially inept. She has come under threat on a number of occasions and her paranoia is justified when we learn more of her life.

The story focuses on the attempts by her ex bosses to get Julia (known for most of the novel as Alex) to find a suspect and torture him for information. The target, Daniel, is a teacher who seems to know nothing about the situations Alex wants information about. Okay, so no prizes for originality in how this scenario came about, but Meyer does deliver a pretty well-paced story. At least, initially.

There’s a patch during the novel where not much happens. While Alex and Daniel are left in the dark, we sit and wait…and wait some more…and then get another attempt at something action-packed.

You’ll spot the clunky moments, and the romance is just verging on cheesy, but I still found myself carried along by this. I also admit to being quite satisfied by the peek into their lives after these events (though it was not remotely necessary).

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

‘Into the Water’ – Paula Hawkins

This is one of those books that will, I’m sure, divide opinion. I liked elements of it but, ultimately, it fell somewhat short for me.

We start our story with the discovery of Nel Abbott’s body in the local beauty spot, known as the Drowning Pool, where a young teenage girl was recently discovered – and where a number of women have been found over time. A local suicide spot, or is something more sinister going on?

From the outset we know we’re dealing with a whodunnit, but you also want some ideas about why. In this, Hawkins sets up so many possibilities that we have an untold number of suspects, a range of suspicious stories and so many things going on that it all becomes a bit of a mess.

We get answers that aren’t really answers, and we are offered a number of things to focus on. For me, this meant we were always second-guessing people’s actions.
It was always quite high up on my ‘red-herring’ list that the person who did it wasn’t the one we were led to believe had done it. What I don’t think we got a credible explanation for was why they did it, or why the fall-guy allowed it to happen.

‘Good Me Bad Me’ – Ali Land

A tense, deeply troubling but utterly fascinating read.

Our narrator is fifteen year old Annie, the daughter of a serial killer. Details of Annie’s life are drip-fed to us, and they make for a tough read. We learn, bit by bit, of the awful abuse meted out to Annie by the very person who is meant to care for her. Alongside this we are given some details of the murders her mother carried out.

When Annie makes the decision to go to the police it sets in motion a court case, and Annie being taken into foster care. Her shiny new identity is as Milly. This is a chance for a new start, but throughout the book we are urged to consider the extent to which you can move on from your past, particularly when faced with new challenges such as the  ‘Mean Girls’-style group in her new school led by her foster sister, Phoebe.

Watching Milly’s attempts to settle into her new home always felt rather strained. We put it down to the strain of preparing to testify against your own mother, but there’s a point where Milly questions whether good me or bad me will win out – and we’re launched into a murky psychological area. Watching events unfold there was a grim inevitability to them, where I hoped the author wouldn’t go down this route but couldn’t resist seeing just where we’d be taken.

This book references Lord of the Flies throughout, and there’s a lurking menace behind most interactions.

While I can’t say I enjoyed this book – some taboos feel like they don’t need to be broken – it was one I found myself mesmerised by, and I am pretty certain this will be all over the bestseller lists in months to come.

Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

‘The Missing Hours’ – Emma Kavanagh

Make no mistake – in this story we are exposed to a murky world.

Serena Cole is in the playground with her two young daughters. She goes missing, leaving her children in the park. Twenty hours later, she is found.

Alongside this, the body of a defence lawyer is found. Could there be links between the cases?

In this case, we know that’s inevitable. This is rather more focused on us working out just how the two cases are connected, and who does what.

Told from multiple viewpoints this is a story packed full of intrigue. Alongside the investigation into a murder in Herefordshire we are exposed to the workings of a kidnap and ransom group.

I was hooked on this from the moment I picked it up. The shifting perspectives meant it was quite a slippery read, and I wasn’t ever fully certain what revelation we’d get next. Sadly I felt some of the links were just too neat (ultimately) but the senseless nature of some of the events was quite upsetting.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

‘Before the Fall’ – Noah Hawley

A huge thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

‘Before the Fall’ was one of those books where I went into it expecting a thrill-a-minute style, with a big twist…what I got was so much more subtle, character-led and a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting.

The story opens with a private plane taking off. The people on board are a real mix of characters: entertainment mogul, David Bateman, his wife, Maggie, and their young children, alongside a failed painter, a Wall Street financier about to be investigated for money-laundering, his wife, the hired security and the crew responsible for the plane. Only eighteen minutes into the flight there is a crash and only two of this cast of characters survive.

I fully expected the story to focus on Maggie, but within a short space of time we are following Scott as he surfaces in the water and makes his desperate attempt to swim ashore, carrying the Bateman’s four year old son.

It’s hard to give my thoughts on this novel without giving spoilers. As we are teased with information we realise that many of these characters could have been the target of some form of attack. Alongside the attempts to investigate the crash we are subject to the media intervention, as they are so desperate to create their own heroes and villains. I really liked the fact that we are slowly given extra details and information that allow us to piece together what actually happened.

This was an intriguing thriller, but the focus on character was what really made it for me.

‘Gardenia’ – Kelsey Sutton

Seventeen-year-old Ivy Erickson has one month, twenty-seven days, four hours, fifty-nine minutes, and two seconds to live.

There’s no getting away from the fact that knowing the exact amount of time you have to live would be draining. How do you live your life knowing exactly how long you have left with the people you interact with?

Ivy has become accustomed to seeing the numbers above people’s heads. Their individual countdowns vary, but Ivy is never wrong. This is bad enough, but to know your death date is highly likely to mess with your head.

In some ways this reminded me of Numbers by Rachel Ward, but in Gardenia we have a little more going on. Ivy’s best friend, Vanessa, was murdered and people in her town are convinced Ivy knows something. When more girls disappear, Ivy realises she has to do something. Only, time is running out and every moment counts.

The character of Ivy was quite sane for someone living with such a terrible burden. I liked how part of this focused on her coming to terms with things and how she interacts with people.

I was gripped by this, but I confess to finding the ending rather rushed. I also don’t feel we got any attempt to satisfy our curiosity about exactly what was going on with the numbers.

Anyway, thanks to publishers Diversion and NetGalley for the advance copy.

‘The Perfect Stranger’ – Megan Miranda

This must have been a difficult book to write, and early reviews strongly suggest just how hard it is to live up to a great debut. While it was not as instantly appealing as All the Missing Girls, I enjoyed this thoroughly.

In this story we focus on Leah, a journalist, who has taken up a new career as a teacher. After fabricating a source on a big news story (or so people think) Leah is forced out of her job and is definitely struggling to reconcile her need to get to the truth of the story and see justice done with her ability to live her life. Alongside Leah’s story we watch an unfolding murder investigation that may or may not be linked to Leah’s roommate, who may or may not exist.

The opening of the story was odd in mood, and it did take a while to really start piecing ideas together. However, as we learn more about the characters and their roles I was furiously trying to work out which twists were important.

For me this only really came together once I’d finished it, but it’s an intriguing idea and one that is rather unsettling.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.