Category: Thriller

‘Hope to Die’ – Cara Hunter

A new Adam Fawley book is a cause for celebration, so I was rather surprised that he took something of a back seat in this very odd case.

We open with an anonymous 999 call. When the police investigate, they find an elderly couple and the body of a young man blasted in the face with a shotgun. The investigating officers are suspicious. Something isn’t ringing true in the elderly couple’s story about shooting a burglar in self-defence. But nothing prepares them for what their investigations reveal.

The victim is found to have a DNA match with a young woman currently in prison for the murder of her child.

From start to finish there was a sense of the truth eluding our detectives. The characters involved were slippery to say the least, and I was gripped from start to finish as we watched them trying to navigate their stories.

There were attempts to develop some of the other characters on the force, and I’m wondering where this will go next. Huge thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this prior to publication.

 

‘Insomnia’ – Sarah Pinborough

Insomnia is, usually, linked to periods of high stress but its effects can be awful. For our main character Emma, a successful lawyer approaching her fortieth birthday, her inability to sleep after she wakes regularly at 1:18am hints at a potential problem. Though she doesn’t remember precise details, her family have been plagued by issues around sleep and she fears history repeating itself as she approaches the age her mother was incarcerated after trying to suffocate one of her children.

The family history is revealed bit by bit as we follow Emma through the days leading up to her fortieth birthday. The tension created by Pinborough is well-depicted and as we learn about the stresses in her life we start to question to what extent Emma might be responsible.

From start to finish I found myself caught up in this. In turns frustrated by Emma but also empathising with her, I couldn’t help but get bogged down in the extraneous details about her present life that seemed to muddy the waters as we try to work out just what is going on.

As with some of Pinborough’s more recent books there is a dependence on something unnatural, which might not adequately explain events for some readers. While I’m not wholly convinced by it, the actual revelation as to what was happening and the motive for it made sense. Extreme, and it definitely made me reassess some of the earlier interactions between the characters concerned, but this book was a tense depiction of someone being pushed to their limits.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this before publication.

 

‘The Book of Cold Cases’ – Simone St James

The Book of Cold Cases blends thriller and paranormal elements to draw us in as we follow Shea Collins in her investigation.

Shea is a doctor’s receptionist, recently divorced, and blogger. Her obsession is with examining cold cases, unsolved crimes, and nothing taunts her more than the case involving the infamous female serial killer of Claire Lake. When Shea recognises Beth Greer in her doctor’s surgery, she is shocked when Beth agrees to an interview.

Initially, we focus on learning about Shea and picking over the known details of the case. Beth Greer was a wealthy socialite in the 1970s, attractive and yet distant. When arrested for the brutal killings of two men, everyone thinks they know Beth. She was, eventually, acquitted and has lived in the town since with many convinced she got away with murder.

Splitting our focus between Shea’s focus in the present and Beth’s past, there’s lots of hints about the case. We slowly pick out what’s relevant and, from the outset, it was apparent that each character involved had their secrets.

The truth about the crime was identifiable from quite early on, which made me think I would be rather underwhelmed by my suspicions being confirmed. That was far from the case though.

As the story develops we learn a lot more about Shea – a character with more in common with Beth than she might like to admit – and the exploration of society’s attitudes to women/crime was interesting. The paranormal elements created an unsettling atmosphere, but the rational part of me found it hard to reconcile these with details of the crimes.

 

‘Such a Quiet Place’ – Megan Miranda

Such a Quiet Place begins a little too slowly for my liking, developing our understanding of events before picking up the pace and finally forcing our narrator to play their hand.

When Ruby returns to the quiet neighbourhood of Hollow’s Edge people are surprised. People suspect her motives. People wonder what she has to gain. This is because Ruby has just been released from prison after being wrongfully charged with the murder of two of her neighbours. She turns up at her old house, where her roommate Harper wonders just what she is going to do next.

From the opening we get a sense of Hollow’s Edge as the kind of community where, superficially, things are perfect but it only takes a little digging to realise that’s not the case at all.

A substantial part of the book establishes some of the key events of the past but also sets up our cast. When Ruby is found dead after a pool party, it doesn’t take long for the police to label it a homicide. So then we watch as characters’ behaviour changes. Who has most to lose? Who’s hiding what?

The truth is not quite the dramatic reveal that was implied. However, we see that people can do anything when they feel it will serve them well. I was rather surprised by Harper’s role in the key events, and did wonder why such a large cast had been brought in and not all developed fully.

 

‘The Devil’s Playground’ – Charly Cox

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to this before publication. While The Devil’s Playground takes on an unpleasant subject, we are spared the worst of the details and this makes it slightly easier to read.

Our story begins with London reading a story to her friend’s two young children when she hears noises she wasn’t expecting to. Concerned by this unexpected occurrence, she hides with the children in the closet and we are in for a tense wait as we try to work out what this might mean.

The evening results in the ritual killing of two young women, the abduction of London and the children safe but traumatised by their experience. Detective Alyssa Wyatt is called in and, as with the previous books in the series, she approaches her task with grim determination to ensure she gets the result she wants.

The remainder of the book then splits our focus. We are given details from the perspective of Detective Wyatt as she investigates. We see the torment London is subjected to as she is tortured. We also see inside the minds of the two responsible for these brutal killings. What we don’t see until late on is how the little details combine, and exactly how the various details piece together.

Without giving too much away, this is a solid instalment in the series. We continue to see the main characters develop, and we also get an insight into their work.

 

‘How to Kill Your Family’ – Bella Mackie

When we first meet Grace she tells us she is incarcerated for murder, but claims her innocence. However, she then expresses frustration about the fact she has been imprisoned for a crime she did not commit when she has actually been responsible for the murders of six of her family. From that statement, I was drawn in. What was this character, and what on earth were we going to learn?

What we quickly discover is that Grace is the product of an affair between a very wealthy English businessman and a young Frenchwoman. She has never met her father and when her mother dies, Grace is determined that the man who denied her existence will be made to pay for his rejection. So, she comes up with a plan to kill off each member of his immediate family and then reveal her identity before killing him.

While her logic might be more than a little skewed (ie. totally deranged), the black humour with which she sets about her task is mesmerising. I found myself repulsed by her behaviour while highly amused by her wry comments on society and the people she is targeting. I’m not sure what that says about me!

The book itself is structured rather repetitively as we learn about each of the murders. Grace, though in prison (which means this does not seem like the most sensible of moves), is writing her memoirs, determined that one day people will give her credit for her actions. This need for affirmation places her, for me, very firmly in the sociopath category…but she is thwarted by a mix of bad luck and other characters.

Her plan for the destruction of the family of Simon Artemis comes under threat when her best friend’s fiancé falls off a balcony and dies. Grace is charged with the murder, though she was in no way responsible. Eventually, Grace is released and is free to continue her plans. Unfortunately, while she is deciding on her next course of action her father dies. Grace has no part in this…or does she?

As we neared the end of the book I found myself wondering quite how events would be wrapped up. Would Grace finally admit her identity and get her inheritance? That was the plan. Her plans are thwarted, however, by a character that we learn about very late on – yet who is integral to events. While this made me a little more sympathetic to Grace, it also frustrated me.

How to Kill Your Family is definitely a book I’d recommend to others, and I loved the narrator for Grace in the audiobook version I was lucky enough to be granted access to via NetGalley.

‘I Know You’ – Claire McGowan

I Know You was one of those thrillers that had me second-guessing what, exactly, had happened and wondering what trick up the proverbial sleeve would be pulled out before the end. It is gripping, and while you know you’re not being told everything it’s not clear why this is until the very end.

Our main character is Rachel, a woman who stumbles across a dead body while walking her dog. Rather than call the police, she runs home and tries to ignore it. Suspicious? Certainly it seems so when we learn the body is that of her partner’s ex-wife. Less so when we learn that Rachel was, for five years, kept on Death Row for the murder of three of the family she acted as nanny to. She was cleared, but the fear of being accused of a crime you didn’t commit causes scars.

Of course, the details of each case are important. I found myself more intrigued by her past, and what led her to be in this situation. From start to finish, the pace is quite relentless. I was never sure of the extent to which we could trust Rachel, and the way the book was resolved felt quite unlikely. However, it was a great escape read.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to publication.

 

‘The LightHouse’ – Fran Dorricott

The Lighthouse had the potential to be a humdinger of a book. A group of friends are travelling to a remote Scottish island to stay on an island for their reunion holiday. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that things are not quite as they seem. From early on we’re waiting to see the creepy things we assume will happen, and yet I couldn’t help feeling things fell a little flat.

Our initial introduction to the characters hints at discord between them. The presence of a new partner will, we assume, be problematic and at least one of them shows signs of growing mental instability. Throw alcohol into the mix and we soon see that things between this group are far from rosy. As we get to see their interactions it’s hard to work out whether the problems are down to them, or if there is something supernatural happening.

After an intriguing start, I felt everything slowed down just a little too much. Seeds of upset are sown, but things took a long time to really develop and the reactions of some of the characters felt rather exaggerated. As we only see their reaction to events, and sometimes some time after the event, it became increasingly hard to feel concerned.

Once we start to get answers as to what’s going on, I found myself frustrated. I can’t imagine this scenario would have taken place, and gone uncovered, so it was difficult to understand how the group got to where they did. The resolution to their problem felt unnaturally quick, and I can’t honestly imagine anyone would experience such an event and be so willing to effectively ignore it.

While I didn’t find this quite as engaging as I’d hoped, I’d like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this before publication in exchange for my honest review.

 

‘Fear No Evil’ – James Patterson

To get to 29 books in a series suggests you’re doing something right…and things appear to be far from over.

This time around Alex Cross is called in to investigate the death of a CIA agent, forced into making a confession of corruption prior to her death. A Mexican cartel – whose leader has been in prison in enforced silence for nearly a year – appears to be behind it. Before we know it, tit-for-tat deaths are a thing and the body count is racking up

While Cross and his best friend Sampson are doing their best to piece things together, we get an update on the family. Some play a peripheral role, but they’ve earned such a place in these books I guess they have to be mentioned. Bree is more involved in these events than she realises as she is involved in an investigation into a wealthy French financier.

Initially, the strands seemed very disparate but the pacing of chapters rattles along, and it doesn’t take much time before we start to see the connections.

By the close of the book, Cross and Sampson are out in the Montana wilderness and being hunted by two interested parties. Tension aplenty…but things work out as we’d hope.

Throughout, there’s the cat and mouse interactions with M. A person or a group? Nobody’s sure…but we get some answers.

 

‘The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill’ – C.S. Robertson

 

Grace McGill…a character who makes her living out of death, and the undiscovered deaths referred to in the title are not quite what we might believe. Our journey with Grace might seem quite predictable in ways, but it throws up some interesting diversions along the way.

I’ve noticed there’s been an increasing number of characters in books released over the last year or so that are likely to be on the autistic spectrum and Grace is no exception. Socially awkward, lonely, liable to become fixated on certain topics and with a keen sense of right and wrong…Grace ticks a lot of the conventional boxes that alienate her in a neurotypical world. Her choice of job exacerbates the sense of oddness that hangs over Grace, but it’s crucial to what unfolds.

Grace is a death cleaner. She is called to clean up after a body has been discovered – often having lain undisturbed for months, sometimes years. Grace cleans and decontaminates these rooms, preparing them once again to join the normal world. The details given are stomach-churning, but to shy away from them would make us part of the problem. Grace believes that these people she works with, though no longer with us, are victims. Victims of society. The ones that slip through the cracks, with nobody deeming them important enough to check in with. So Grace vows to do her duty and help them leave this world with dignity.

I’ll admit to finding the details about Grace’s work unpleasant but darkly fascinating. I was intrigued by her attitude to her work, and the revelation that she creates these beautiful dioramas of the rooms she encounters struck me as unusual. Grace’s determination to honour each of her clients in representing their final rooms showed her obsessive nature to perfection. So it came as little surprise when she started to notice patterns in the scenes…

When she goes to the police with her observations about a dried daisy being found in two of the rooms she has recently cleaned they virtually laugh her out of the station. Yet Grace is convinced there’s more to this than meets the eye. In her mind, these deaths are related and she is determined to find out how.

It was at this point – a little over halfway through – that the book takes a turn in a rather unexpected direction and shifts into more familiar territory. Grace gets caught up in investigating a decades-old mystery, determined to restore dignity to this young girl who went missing after a holiday with friends. This shift in focus jars initially, and felt a little disappointing after such an intriguing opening, but as things continue it becomes apparent why it’s been done this way.

Grace McGill is not a character that readers will necessarily find endearing. She’s not without her faults, and yet there’s something about her and her story that gets under your skin. As we got given more details about Grace and the mystery of Valerie Moodie it was apparent that there was more to the character of Grace than meets the eye. There were signs throughout the book of what was happening, but it was easy to overlook them or – as I did – think I was reading too much into a throwaway comment. However you come to view Grace it’s hard not to be affected by her final work and what it tells us about her.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this before publication. I can’t wait to see how Grace is received when she makes her way into the world in January 2022.