Review: The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter


My Rating:


I would like to thank HarperCollins UK for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

I have yet to pick up one of Karin Slaughter's books and be disappointed. The Good Daughter had me completely engrossed from start to end. There are so many fascinating layers to the plot, there's always something going on and the pages couldn't turn fast enough. Every time I thought I had all the information, another layer was revealed and it got better and better with every page turn.

The characters were complex and well developed, they were living, breathing, real people and I was right there with them throughout. I shared their pain, their fear, their anger, and their sadness. I can honestly say that I loved everything about this one.

Definitely one I would recommend.


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Review: Two Nights by Kathy Reichs

Two Nights by Kathy Reichs

My Rating:


I've been a fan of Kathy Reichs for years and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Temperance Brennan series so I was looking forward to Two Nights. Even more so when I learned that it was a stand alone, but I have to say, I was a bit disappointed.

I didn't particularly enjoy it, it held my attention enough that I finished it but I couldn't connect with the main character, or any of the other characters. They didn't feel real, they were just names on the page and not very likeable at all. The only thing that kept me reading was the plot. I wanted to know how it played out, but even then it was more out of curiosity than need.

Not one I would recommend.



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Review: A Life Removed by Jason Parent

A Life Removed by Jason Parent

My Rating:

Detectives Bruce Marklin and Jocelyn Beaudette have put plenty of criminals behind bars. But a new terror is stalking their city. The killer’s violent crimes are ritualistic but seemingly indiscriminate. As the death toll rises, the detectives must track a murderer without motive. The next kill could be anyone… maybe even one of their own.

Officer Aaron Pimental sees no hope for himself or humanity. His girlfriend is pulling away, and his best friend has found religion. When Aaron is thrust into the heart of the investigation, he must choose who he will become, the hero or the villain.

If Aaron doesn’t decide soon, the choice will be made for him.

Yet another excellent book from Jason Parent. This was a lot of fun to read and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was engrossed from start to finish and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. The characters are well written and fully fleshed out and there are plenty of twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. The descriptions were vivid and at times had me cringing but I couldn't look away from the page.

A Life Removed has a wee bit of everything that I enjoy: crime, thriller, police procedural, action, and horror, and there is plenty of each to please every reader. It never ceases to amaze me how well Jason Parent can meld different genres together and produce something that is a lot of fun to read rather than a hot mess.

The only mistake was mine... I picked it up late at night and ended up awake into the wee small hours because I kept having to read just one more page...

Definitely one I would recommend.




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Review: The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer

The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer


My Rating:


I would like to thank Faber & Faber for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

The Doll Funeral is a DNF for me. I tried to stick with it, but even at 45% I'm still not getting into it. I'm reading for reading sake and I find myself hesitant to pick it up. When I do pick it up I realise that I have forgotten much of what I've previously read.

I had a feeling right from the start that this wasn't going to be the book for me. The opening scene, where the parents reveal to the MC that she's adopted, immediately put me off. It was absurd. It was insensitive and rushed, there was no feeling, no loving conversation, no understanding. They just throw it at her over the kitchen table, before she's even completely in the room, before she's even sat down, totally out of the blue and using the most ridiculous and unnatural dialogue. I was tempted to put the book down right there and then.

The writing style felt choppy and confusing at times, and too flowery at others. The dialogue wasn't natural, there was no flow to the conversation and it was unbelievable. The characters didn't come across as realistic. The younger characters within the storyline read much younger than they were. The main character is 13 but her voice was that of a much younger child.

I hate to leave a review for a book without finding something positive within its pages, but I'm really struggling to think of any as I have forgotten most of what I have read. Thank goodness I kept notes but I only kept notes of the problems I had with the book. It's a shame, the premise really intrigued me but the way it was executed just wasn't for me.

Not one I would recommend.


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Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

My Rating:

Having previously read Clare Macintosh's debut novel and been completely blown away by it, I was itching to get my hands on this book. Every bookshop I tried was completely sold out, but fortunately the last shop I tried managed to find a copy hidden in the back of the store. If some poor soul had stashed it for themselves then they're out of luck, it's mine now!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I did enjoy it and I flew through it in no time at all, but it didn't have the same impact as I Let You Go. I think perhaps I was all hyped up and preparing myself for a massive twist that would leave me reeling like I experienced with I Let You Go, and as a result maybe my expectations were too high.

Even though I found I See You to be a page turner and it drew me in right from the beginning, I feel there was something missing. I couldn't connect with the main character, I didn't find her engaging and there was nothing appealing or likeable about her. At times she felt rather dull and old for her age, yet at other times she came across as overly needy and somewhat childish.

On the other hand, there was something unputdownable about the book. The sections told from the perspective of the stalker were great and the scenes on the underground were done well. It's scary how easy it is for someone to watch you in this way and I found myself being drawn into the whole experience. It could happen to anyone and it's frightening to realise how unaware we could potentially be of someone watching, waiting, learning our daily routines and habits etc. It really brings to the forefront how vulnerable we are as individuals and why we should pay more attention to, and be more aware of, our surroundings and those around us.

All in all, I liked the concept and I found it to be enjoyable at the time of reading. However, the ending felt rushed and I had already worked out who the guilty party was before the reveal. The very last twist did come as a surprise, but I don't know if I liked it, it felt like it was thrown in purely for the shock factor.



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Review: The Murder Game by Julie Apple

The Murder Game by Julie Apple

My Rating:

I would like to thank Lawsome Books for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

The Murder Game is a book written by Catherine McKenzie released under the pseudonym of Julie Apple. Julie - for anyone unfamiliar with McKenzie's other works - is the protagonist in McKenzie's previous book, Fractured, who after writing her first book (The Murder Game) is forced to move across the country in order to escape a stalker that has been terrorizing her family since its publication.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fractured and couldn't put it down, so I was keen to move onto the book behind the story. I think I was expecting The Murder Game to be as gripping as Fractured, but it just didn't grab me in the same way. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable and it held my interest, but I didn't get the same sense of urgency that I did with Fractured.

I enjoyed getting to know the story behind the story, but I can't say too much as I want to avoid spoilers for both this book and for Fractured. I will say though that it gave me a better understanding of certain things that happened in Fractured, but it is also a decent book in its own right. I do feel the plot seemed too simplistic in parts. I also struggled with the believability at times, especially with regards to the conflict of interest in trying the case, and I didn't warm to the characters as much as I did in her other book. I don't feel they were as appealing or fleshed out in the same way.

All in all, it was a quick and entertaining read, but I much preferred Fractured.



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Review: Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

My Rating:


I would like to thank Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

You know almost immediately on starting Fractured that something has happened which has impacted the lives and the relationships of all the residents in the neighbourhood. However, you don't know what that event is. The storyline works backwards and reveals the incident bit by bit, not truly revealing it until the end. It's a bit like watching a car crash in reverse, time moving backwards from the devastation to the initial impact.

I felt very much like a voyeur while reading this book. I had a window into the lives of the characters, it was like looking out my own window at people I knew well. I was hiding behind the curtains, waiting, watching, and trying not to get caught. It felt wrong but I was so drawn into the story that it felt right. The more I read, the more urgency I felt to read on. I was so curious and eager to find out what had happened, but at the same time, I was enjoying the fact that I didn't know. There was so much going on between all the different characters, and it was buzzing with so many different possibilities that it was impossible to even try and guess at what triggered it all. I was trying to slow down so I could enjoy the sense of urgency and the hold that the story had on me, but at the same time, I was also desperate to read faster.

I can't really say much more as this is one of those books where it's difficult to review and avoid spoilers. What I can say is that I enjoyed this book so much that I read it in one sitting. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, I was riveted.  The pacing was consistent, the character development was excellent, and my anticipation and curiosity levels were through the roof.

Definitely one I would recommend.


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Review: All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

My Rating:


I received a free hardback copy of All Things Cease to Appear from the publisher in return for an honest review. Thank you, Quercus!

I don't know where to start with my review for this one. I found the book to be a slow burner and very frustrating to read at times, but I also found that I was drawn into the story enough that I wanted to finish it.

What I liked about the book: At its heart it's a mystery book. The story revolves around several characters and slowly reveals each character's history and relationship with the victim, and with each other. There is also a very subtle underlying ghost story within the pages, It's not a ghost story in the traditional sense, it's not scary and there are no bumps in the night, it's more akin to fading memories encroaching upon the living. It's very atmospheric in places and the ghost story is very subtle, melancholy, and haunting. At times the writing was beautiful and I found myself really being drawn in and could easily visualise and feel for the characters.

That being said, there was a lot that I didn't like. The storyline jumped around a lot and it's not always clear where in the timeline events are occurring.

There are no quotation marks used in the book. It got so confusing. Not only is it hard to understand what is dialogue and what is story text, but the character dialogue also often ran into internal thoughts. As if that's not confusing enough, a lot of the time it's not always clear who the dialogue actually belongs to. I spent a lot of time rereading parts to try to understand who was speaking and what they were actually saying. Following conversations became such a chore and it drew me completely out of the story. I really don't get the whole stylistic appeal of omitting quotation marks, it's messy and confusing and really ruined the whole reading experience.

The story has a lot of characters, and to be honest many of them were really unnecessary and didn't add anything to the story. I did enjoy the three main female characters, Ella, Catherine and Franny, and Cole of course, poor sweet Cole but I detested George. I get that he was supposed to be disliked and I do enjoy a well written mean character, a love to hate kind of character, but his was a different kind of unlikeable. He was just utterly detestable and was so boring, judgemental, and self-centred. There was no love to hate thing going on here, I wanted nothing to do with him. And don't even get me started on all his *yawn* art talk and inner dialogue.

There were many inconsistencies and general nonsensical things. Here's just a few of many that I marked in the book:

- June, minutes after her neighbour arriving at her door, with a sobbing toddler in his arms, having just found his wife is dead, goes off into an inner dialogue about how the sheriff fancies her. Who does that? Why is it even a thing? It adds nothing.

- June, during more inner dialogue, acknowledges the sheriff's kindness towards her neighbour (the one who just found his wife dead). The sheriff entered the house, said "George" (insert some inner dialogue here) "Let's go take a look." That's kindness?

- The Hale farmhouse was rented out many times during the 25 years after the murder. In all that time are you telling me that not one renter cleared out a drawer or shelf? Or ditched an old box that had been in clear view and collecting dust for a quarter of a century? I find it very hard to believe that everything just lay there all that time, or that the police missed them during the initial investigation.

There were a few things that really ticked me off:

- How George was scared of the "deep-black skin of the employees.."

What was the point? Why even put that in there? There was no reason or context given, it was totally random and unneeded.

- Something about her strikes me as rather dykish.
  Why? Because she doesn't shave her legs?
  For starters, yeah.

Because you know, not shaving your legs means you're a lesbian.

- There were two librarians. Dagmar, a tall blonde of German descent, built like a transvestite...

Really?

- Morning, he says to the driver, getting into the back. The cab smells of pineapple and some sort of hair oil. All the cabbies are Jamaican these days.

There's more.

This one's a corker...

- They were talking about how in high school he'd idolised his cousin Henri, who turned out to be a first-class homo, and they didn't know what had been worse for his parents, the fact that he'd drowned or that he was gay.



     That's just a few examples, you don't want to know how many
     sticky tabs I used while reading this book!






Moving on... Whodunnit? It's pretty obvious throughout the book who the guilty party is, but there is no clear picture given of the actual crime itself. The reader is left to read between the lines, to pick up on subtle hints and clues to fill in the gaps. Some of the hints were just ridiculous and very easy to miss. Especially considering how much concentration had to go into interpreting the dialogue.

I have let this book stew in my head for a good few days before writing this review. I wanted to let it all settle and really think about it before reviewing it, because despite all of the above, I still wanted to finish it and I did enjoy much of the book. I can overlook the nonsensical bits and the small inconsistencies, but I don't know that I can overlook the utter confusion caused by the lack of quotation marks or the racism and homophobia that occurs.

I enjoyed it enough that I would give the author another chance, but if I found the same problems in her next book then that would be it for me. I wouldn't read any more.



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Review: A Living Grave by Robert E. Dunn

A Living Grave by Robert E. Dunn

My Rating:



I received a free copy of A Living Grave from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. I'm also participating in the publicity tour run by the lovely Erin over at Oh, for the Hook of a Book.  If you are interested in following the tour you can do so with the following hashtag: #ALivingGrave

I picked A Living Grave up in the wee small hours of the morning, it's now the wee small hours of the following morning and I haven't been able to put it down for any length of time. I kept being pulled back to it and picking it up every chance I had.

What really stood out in this book for me was the MC Katrina. I totally love her character, she's a smart, strong and feisty female that's not to be messed with but at the same time she's insecure, damaged and hurting on the inside. She's been to hell and back and is fighting to keep hell in her rear-view mirror and forget the demons of her past. She's not just words on a page, she's solid and fleshed out, she feels like a real person and is a character that I will remember many books down the line. All too often in books being a strong female means being portrayed as: a bitch, a man hater, jealous of the power/position a man holds, a damsel in distress with men falling at her feet, gets tons attention because she's pretty and they all secretly want to bed her, or makes a complete turn around and goes against everything she stands for just because she falls in love with a buff supporting male character who knows best... I could go on all day giving examples of overused female stereotypes in fiction. Thankfully, you won't find those cliche stereotypes here! It's very rare to find a good, well written strong female protagonist like Katrina. Bravo Mr Dunn.

I particularly enjoyed the way the story went back and forth, revealing Katrina's history bit by bit. I found myself so wrapped up in her backstory eager to know what was coming next and I'd flip the page to a new chapter only to find myself taken back to the present storyline and cursing in frustration. I wanted to go back, to stay on that one story and learn more. Then before I knew it I found myself totally engrossed in the present, and so forth. This style really drew me in and kept me engaged and eager to read on. I was totally at the mercy of the author's storytelling.

I wasn't a fan of the whole love at first sight thing going on, especially given Katrina's history. I feel that it happened a bit too quickly and easily, it felt out of character but I can see the reasoning behind it, it was needed for the story and drawing it out more would have ruined the pacing and made the book far too long. The dynamics and progression of the relationship was very well written and the feels were all too real at times but I still found myself struggling with how fast things developed between them.

I do feel that I need to point out that the storyline contains the topic of rape, a sensitive subject for some, so please be aware of that beforehand. I really hope there will be more from Katrina in the future, She really appealed to me and is a character that will not be forgotten easily. I feel like I got to know her as I would a real life person and I don't want to lose touch with her.

Definitely one I would recommend.




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A Living Grave, Synopsis

• Print Length: 266 pages
• Publisher: Lyrical Underground
• Publication Date: September 13, 2016

BODY OF PROOF

Katrina Williams left the Army ten years ago disillusioned and damaged. Now a sheriff’s detective at home in the Missouri Ozarks, Katrina is living her life one case at a time—between mandated therapy sessions—until she learns that she’s a suspect in a military investigation with ties to her painful past.

The disappearance of a local girl is far from the routine distraction, however. Brutally murdered, the girl’s corpse is found by a bootlegger whose information leads Katrina into a tangled web of teenagers, moonshiners, motorcycle clubs, and a fellow veteran battling illness and his own personal demons. Unravelling each thread will take time Katrina might not have, as the Army investigator turns his searchlight on the devastating incident that ended her military career. Now Katrina will need to dig deep for the truth—before she’s found buried…

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Biography

Robert Dunn was an Army brat born in Alabama and
 finally settled in Nixa, Missouri. A graduate of Drury
College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications/Film he also earned a second major in Philosophy with a minor in Religion and carried an emphasis in Theatre. This course of study left him qualified only to be a televangelist.

An award-winning film/video producer and writer, he has written scripts for or directed every kind of production from local 30-second television commercial spots to documentary productions and travelogues.

A writer of blogs, novels and contributor to various fiction websites his work has also included the book-length prose poem, Uncle Sam, the collection of short stories, Motorman and Other Stories and novels Behind the Darkness and The Red Highway.

Mr Dunn now resides in Kansas City where he continues to write genre fiction and experiment with mixed media art projects using hand drawn and painted elements combined through digital paint and compositing.

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Praise for Robert Dunn and A Living Grave

“The Red Highway is not one of the best books that I’ve read so far this year, or that I’ve read in a long time…it’s one of the best books that I’ve ever read! It was an incredible read, one that has so many layers that I was completely enthralled with the story. 5+++ stars!” - 2 Book Lovers Reviews

“This is hardboiled fiction at its best. We're talking Elmore Leonard territory. A fantastic read and I hope there's more to come.”– Hunter Shea, Author of Tortures of the Damned and The Dover Demon on A Living Grave

“Dunn's lyrical descriptions of Katrina's inner struggles and demons read almost like poetry as he weaves an intricate and deadly plot of motorcycle gangs, the MOB, cancer survival, and child abuse into a novel so rife with complex feelings and life situations, you are compelled to read it slowly, so you don't miss a nuance of the gut-wrenching emotions he elicits from his characters.” - Peggy Jaeger, Author of The Voices of Angels

“Parts of this book moved me to tears while others made me want to cheer out loud at Katrina's kick-ass-attitude. The twists and turns in the story kept me on the edge of my seat until the entirely satisfying ending. I'm so happy that this is just the start of what promises to be a totally addictive series! I highly recommend this phenomenal 5-star read.” - Horror Maiden’s Book Reviews

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Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.  

Media, information and graphics provided by Erin Al-Mehairi from Hook of a Book Media & Publicity. 

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