Tag: Mystery / Thriller Book Review

It’s 1965 in a tight-knit working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York, and Ruth Malone – a single mother who works long hours as a cocktail waitress – wakes to discover her two small children, Frankie Jr. and Cindy, have gone missing. Later that day, Cindy’s body is found in a derelict lot a half mile from her home, strangled. Ten days later, Frankie Jr.’s decomposing body is found. Immediately, all fingers point to Ruth. 

If you been around this website before you would have noticed that I’m a huge fan of Mystery and Thriller books which this book is. But this one didn’t go well with me for whatever reason.

One of my main problems with this book is that the action was too slow. And my second main problem with this book is that the book focuses too much on Ruth being a mistress than Ruth being a mother who’s kids vanished and was later found dead. I picked up this book to read about the mysterious vanishing of someone and not about the main character having drama with her ex husband, going out and party every night  and have sex with different man. Im not into that, let me say that.

I want to sinister vibe, I want the eerie vibe, I want the mystery, I want the investigation but I don’t want to read about the main character having sex with different man and partying while her kids have been murdered and the police doing very bad investigation in the case.

For me the side problems were taking too much space and they were taking our focus onto them and making us sort of look at the murder of two children as a side problem. 

The writing style however was the best part of this book because it really gave the vibe of New York in 1960s. I liked that.

Its important for me to mention this that I’ve DNF-ed this book like 120 pages in because of the points I’ve mentioned above.

I give this point 1 / 5

Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman, a recovering alcoholic with more regrets than belongings. But she spends her life doing what no one else will–searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking. A new case brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier. Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim’s wary family tells Frankie she’s on her own–and she soon learns she’s asking questions someone doesn’t want answered. But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing could be her. 

With this book being read I think that I found my favourite female author and my second favourite author right after Stephen King. And the reasons for this will come below. But before we get into the reasons just know that this book was my last read of 2021 and im just super slow with reviewing it because I wanted my hype to settle a little bit before I’ve got to writing this review because I didn’t want this review to be me yapping for 3 hours about how great this book was. And with that being side lets get into the review.

First of let me start with talking about the main character here which of course is the amazing Frankie Elkin. I love her so much because she felt like a such real and likeable human being. She didn’t feel like a fictional character, she all the time felt like a real human being like you and me. You could feel her struggle, you could feel her obsession with searching for missing people, you could feel what she was going through and you could feel her passion for bringing missing people back home. She was also super relatable which made her even more real to me, if she was a real human being I felt like I would have become good friends with her. The decisions which she made in this book also felt so real, they were or at least felt like very logical choices which not enough authors now on days gives us. 

The side characters in this book are as amazing as Frankie. They also feel like real human beings because they aren’t just bad or good just as in real life people aren’t just good or just bad. There were character who were bad but did good things at times and there were characters who were good who did bad things at times. All side characters were very good but my favourite side character was Frankie’s roommate and Detective Lotham. And I gotta say that Frankie and Detective Lotham were a very good due of deceives even thou Frankie is just a civilian with the passion. 

This book is the definition on how the characters in mystery book should be written as. Because Lisa Gardner made the characters super real and super relatable which makes you care for them and really wish them all the best. Every single character in this book was interesting. Of course some characters were more interesting than others but still everyone in this book were at somer level interesting. 

When it comes to the plot here, I gotta say that its fucking brilliant. Ive read 269 books in 2021 and this one is in the top 3 books of the year. Which really speaks for itself. And in December 2021 I’ve began to be very picky and very harsh for the books I’ve was reading and this one got through it and I’ve gave it 5 stars which really means something here doesn’t it? 

The plot was super interesting and it sucked me into it from the first page. And I just couldn’t stop myself from reading it and if I wasn’t reading it I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about it. And while reading this book I’ve could see everything I was reading I about. The plot was super enjoyable and it was for sure the best mystery book I’ve read for at least 2-3 years. 

The writing style here was fucking good, there is no other words to better describe it. It was so good that it felt like the author was in my head and just knew what word to put next so that I would complete love this book. And which I did. 

By the writing style Lisa Gardner became my second favourite author right after Stephen King. And if the rest of her books are so good as this one then I think that she might beat Stephen King and get first place as you favourite author. 

There were so many layers to this book, there were so many things which you didn’t notice until the very ending were everything got unfolded and revealed. 

The ending itself here was fucking good, and the twist at the end was even better. The ending was truly the ending which we deserved even thou it wasn’t the ending we have hoped for. There are couple of deaths at the end but come on it would be very boring if everyone survived.

I give this book 5 / 5

On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a street vendor is killed in a scuffle in Campo Santo Stefano. The closest witnesses to the event are the American tourists who had been browsing the man’s wares—fake designer handbags—before his death. The dead man had been working as a vu cumpra, one of the many African immigrants peddling goods outside normal shop hours and trading without work permits.

A mystery book which takes place in Italy. Italy of all place, gotta say that Italy is one of my favorite places so far in life. And to read a book which takes place in Italy really made my time even though this book wasn’t the best mystery book I’ve read. 

I didn’t read any other book in this series but I will definitely pick up more books in this series sometime but at the moment my TBR list is too long to add more books. 

The writing style was pretty good but at times it had run a little bit down the hill but for the most part as a whole it was at a decent level. But the author could have done a much better work at the writing style. 

The plot itself was very enjoyable and interesting. I really couldn’t put the book down while reading this book and it doesn’t happen a lot however there were couple of things which didn’t go well with me. And the ending was sort of a stretch for me at least. And the ending is probably the mine reason for the low rating of this book. Because I feel like the ending was the author not knowing how to end this book which really made me sad because I’ve enjoyed this book up until the ending. And at the ending I just got pissed off because it ruined the whole book for me.

The characters here were pretty basic, they were standing out a little bit from each other. But after all they felt like they were the generic characters in every Mystery book. Which disappointed me even more.

I give this book 2 / 5

When Kevin Taylor joins the Manhattan criminal law firm of John Milton and Associates, he’s hit the big time. At last, he and his wife can enjoy the luxuries they’ve so desired. A chauffeur-driven limo, a stunning home in the very building that Mr. Milton himself lives in. Little does Kevin realize that he’s joined a strange brotherhood which goes deeper than he can even imagine at first.

30 years have passed since this book have been first published, but it this book didn’t lose the eerie impression of something being very wrong in a dream situation. 

It’s important to say that this book is very different from the movie with Keanu Reeves. But this doesn’t mean that this book is less interesting, fun and enjoyable to read. However the movie is much better than this book.

This book only covers the basics of what the movie actually covers. This book could have been longer if the author actually bothered to give us meat on the bone than just a raw bone which this book actually is. This book is written in a such way that the reader needs to imagine and explain almost 40 % of what’s happening in the book.

The plot is amazing, but this book leaks explanation, details and descriptions. For the most part this book have descriptions which goes something like “he was dressed in black suit and white shoes” or “the apartment was big with kitchen, bathroom, living room and two bedrooms”. Easily said this book have a lots of poor and sometimes even bad descriptions and details. What Im trying to say here is that this book is very much tell and not show type of book which not a lot of people like.

However this book still have something to it which keeps you reading until the last page especially if you haven’t watched the movie before reading this book. 

The characters itself in this book are pretty basic. And for the most part it is easy to see how is the good guy, how is the crazy guy, and how is the bad guy here. The characters are very flat in this book and they are very one dimensional. Which will soon or later make you tired or annoyed by some characters in this book. 

The dialogues in this one, was oh boy. They were so cringe, clichéd and lame. You can’t even imagine them if you haven’t read this book yet. At the beginning they were somehow good, but as the story continued they just went downhill with the rest of the story in this book.

The author could have go into more details, deep and for the most part put much more work into this story. Because this book doesn’t feel like it was written by someone who became writing back in 1987. 

The whole picture of this book feels very lazy. Because this book have a large potential which was far away from using.

For the most part people who haven’t watched the movie will like / love this book. But when it comes to people who have watched the movie will don’t like it or even hate it. Because the movie is so much better than this book.

This book is a rare case (which almost never) of a movie being 10 times better than the novel the movie being based off. 

I give this book 2 / 5

Jack Sparks died while writing this book. It was no secret that journalist Jack Sparks had been researching the occult for his new book. No stranger to controversy, he’d already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed. Then there was that video: forty seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet was posted from his own YouTube account. Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed, until now.

I personally had high expectations for this book which it didn’t live up to.

This book is sort of a horror and paranomal book, which had the potential to be good but wasn’t that. It would be much better if we first got to know Jack and his investigation and then throughout his brother which is also in this book we would learn what have happened to him.

I need to give this book points for being funny and the fact that I personally could relate to Jack at the beginning.

The story itself was amazing but wasn’t used in the right way as I metioned above. The story had the potential to create this book one of the best horror books but all we got is a skeleton of a story.

Story started off right up my alley and I thought that I will love it. But after around 80 pages all I wanted is the book to end as fast as possible. An Italian exorcism that Jack gets permission to watch for his next book, the whole principle of the story sounds very interesting, but we as readers need much more than just a good idea for a book.

The main character Jack, was at the begining an amzing character he was sort of a jerk and a huge skeptic in the paranormal which I also am so it made it very easy to releate to him. But after around 100 pages he became more and more annoying. And the rest of the characters in this book was sort of just there to fill the story.

This book was definitely an odd book which had a big potential but it wasn’t scary or even close to it. So this book won’t get points for that.

The writing style was okay, but it could be better than it was. There were points in this book where the writing style was insufferable.

The ending is sort of hard to describe or say anything about without spoling anything for you. All I can say is that it was weird.

Overall this book was entertaining at times but it lacks elements which would make this book good or anthing close to it.

I give this book 1 / 5

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him. In Tindsel town he had blended in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend—he wants to be with her forever.  But will everything go as planned ? 

Let’s start this off with saying that this book is the sequel to “You” written by the same author. If you have been on this blog in the past you might know that “You” the first book in the You series is one of these books which got 5 out of 5 starts on this blog. Which isn’t something which happens often here. 

Going into this book I personally had high expectations for this book since the first book in this series got 5 out of 5, the first book got the ultimate score on this blog. This book lived up to the expectations I made for it but this book got 4 out of 5. 

This book is the second book in the “you” series, and it is just as mind-blowing as the first book in the series. But the thing in this book is that we have much more characters which are annoying at times but they definitely bring much to the plot itself. So it is up to you if you want to take that ride with annoying characters which should probably have been written better or presented to us in a different perspective. 

What some readers might not like about this book is that this book changes the goal of it. Because it starts with Joe being in love with a character named Amy, then he what’s to kill her and at the stuff happens between him, Amy and a woman in his life. But of course there are much stuff happening in this book between the first page and last page. Another point in the topic why sine people might not like this book is because of Joe’s character. The whole deal here is that, Joe in the first book had a very unique path of development. And it was very clear that he was a twisted, unique and very possible ill man who did a lot of irredeemable and horrible things but yet he was very likable character which you had something similar with. But in this book Joe feels like someone similar to the person he was in the first book but not the exactly the same person as in the first book. Its hard to explain this, but in this book something feels very different with Joe.

This book also leaked the second person narrative which the first book had. The first book was written from Joe’s perspective and as he was telling the story to Beck. But this book leaked that. This book was written from Joe’s perspective as the first book, but this one leaked the story telling to another character in the book as the first book. Some things needed to change, it is obvious but an author cant just erase one of the main things why the first book in this series was so hyped and so well liked.

The writing itself was better in the first book than it was in this book. But in the end I personally feel like writing style was fair for the book but it could have been just as good as in the first book. In the end the writing style was good.

Every character expect of Joe in this book seems like they could have been replaced with any stereotypical Los Angeles. Or in in other words  all character expect of Joe in this book is more or less these wannabe with interpersonal issues characters. But in the end it is up to you and what you like. If you ask me, then for 80 % of the book I didn’t have any problems with most of them. But yes they are  the stereotypical Los Angeles wannabes types. 

Joe is still a creepy, unsettling, and extremely unique character. But he was better described and presented to readers in the first book. But still he is the same character which you are not sure you should admit to liking. And there are a lot of parts in this book where you think to yourself “Joe, you smarter, sick, twisted bastard that’s a good trick”.

The plot itself might be annoying or boring for some people. Because the whole plot is more or less like “I’m doing this, I’m going after that person. Oh wait. I’m gonna go for this instead”. But I think that most of people who loved the first book in this series will find the plot of this book also interesting. 

Ending itself was too early. It almost seems like the author wanted to just be done with this book together with leaving us on a huge cliffhanger. 

The first book was very hard to put down but this one was hard to put down at most parts. I personally feel like the author should have put more work into this book and make it at least as good as the first book. 

A treat to us was to see how much Joe have changed from the first book. We can se a huge and clear character development in Joe, he was super interesting, charming and likeable. But there were much more to him in the first book. 

This book gets 4 / 5

When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family. Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant. 

The whole plot that the big and isolated mansion which might be haunted together with the concept of a new nanny coming to this house to work there is brilliant. The thing that the nanny is left alone with kids without any adults around expect of the handyman for weeks at a time makes this plot and story more interesting.

There is one plot hole which I at least have noticed while reading this book. But I won’t say what the plot whole is because I don’t want to spoil the book for you. However this plot hole isn’t that big that it will destroy your experience with the book. 

The whole story is dark, it involves a lot of deaths and if you get triggered by child death or death in general then maybe you shouldn’t read this book. But if you have no problem in deaths in fictional books then I guess that you won’t be disappointed in this book. 

For the most part this book is creepy, atmospheric and it has a creepy mood to it. This book reminded me at the beginning of the “The Haunting of Bly Manor”. This book makes you question if there is actually something paranormal involved in it or if it is just the kids doing pranks on the new nanny. This book also makes you think if the new nanny is overreacting some stuff or if her behavior is on point. 

The whole book have sort of an old timely hasted mansion to it with the modern technology which is smart house and a Tesla model X in the background. 

The characters are pretty good. There feel some how realistic, there are only few of them and two of them are in this book briefly. For the most part in this book we have only 2 adult characters and 4 child characters. Characters in this book are well written and also very well described. Every character here feels like she / he have it own soul and they are for the most part different from each other. 

It is important to say that the format of this book is through letters of the nanny’s writing to a lawyer from prison. In these letters she is describing what had happened since day 1 and why she is innocent. So there is no chapters in this book, the chapters in this book are in the form of a new letter being written to the lawyer. And we get to know this story through what the main character written in the letters. 

The ending comes with a twist in it, which maybe will surprise you because we get to know what really happened and why the nanny decided to take the job opportunity at Heatherbrae House. I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of the twist but I had appreciated it because it was for the most part okay. 

However this book doesn’t have any scary parts, but it doesn’t fail to keep you on the edge of your seat. If you are looking for a scary book then pick something different. 

If you are looking for a decent and quick read, then this book is for you. I think that if you enjoyed “The Haunting of Bly Manor” series you will also enjoy this book. And of course if you are a big fan of Ruth Ware then I will also recommend this book to you.

I give this book 3 / 5