Hey You! Read This! (The Twisted Love Story Edition) #ValentinesDay

Confession time: I am a bossy book reader.  I read books and then force people around me to read them make subtle and kind recommendations to others.

I cannot help it, I want to share the book love. I want to chat about what I’ve read.

Hence, why I started my “Hey, You!  Read This!” feature. This feature hones in on books I have read and would recommend in different genres and subgenres.  I have done this a few times before and focused on abduction thrillers and domestic thrillers.

Today, in honour of Valentine’s Day, I figured I would take a look at some of my favourite twisted love stories.  You know, boy likes girl, boy stalks the girl, boy shoves girl in a suitcase and carries her around with him.  Aw…young love!

Twisted love stories are some of my favourite types of novels to read.   From unrequited love to family members getting a little bit too close, I always get lost in the psychosis of the main characters and the strange rationales they find to justify their obsessions.   I also find them to be such a quick read!  Each of the novels that made my list were completely “unputdownable”!

Interested to see what I did decide to throw on my list?

Keep reading to see what made my top picks….

Book Review: Stillhouse Lake (Rachel Caine)

It’s that time of year when Goodreads releases their list for the Goodreads Choice Awards and I begin my frantic need to read all of the nominees!  Luckily for me, I chose to start with Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine.   How did I spend the entire year without this book in my life?? IT WAS FANTASTIC.

The novel surrounds Gwen Proctor, formally Gina Royal, who has worked hard to create a new identity for herself and her children after her husband is arrested and put on death row for the brutal murder and torture of several women.  After being on the run for several years, trying her best to keep her children safe and avoid vigilantes who would like to punish her for her husband’s wrongdoings, the family has settled in Stillhouse Lake, a small town in Tennessee.  However, when the bodies of young women are found in the lake outside Gwen’s home, looking eerily similar to her ex-husband’s handy work, Gwen finds herself in harm’s way. 

This book was truly on the edge of your seat thrilling from beginning to end.  Not your run of the mill serial killer thriller, this one was full of psychological suspense and paranoia.  I loved seeing this new perspective in a novel.  It is rare to read about the aftermath of a psychopath through the eyes of the people close to them.  In fact, the crimes themselves took a backseat.  I loved this spin

Told in entirely her perspective, Gwen was an amazing character as she moves from sweet, naïve, Mid-Western housewife into a kick-ass, gun wheeling super mom who would kill for her children’s safety.  I absolutely loved watching her transformation throughout the novel.   

From the suspenseful moments to the addictive writing style, I was completely compelled from the moments I turned the first pages.

5/5 stars from me.  I cannot wait to dive into Book Two!! 

Thanks to the author and the publisher for a copy of this novel; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

This book was also a #cjsreads pick.  Want to see what Jessica and Chandra thought of this one?  Keep reading to find out!

Buzzworthy Book of 2018: The Chalk Man (C.J Tudor) @cjtudor @CrownPublishing

Now that the end of the year is quickly approaching (like really quickly…what in the world is happening??!! How is time moving this fast??!) I have been gearing up to read all of my most anticipated 2018 titles. One of the titles I had been most eagerly awaiting was the highly talked about, psychological suspense novel, The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor.   Now that I have finished this novel, I can understand why there has been so much buzz surrounding it. Fast-paced, completely compelling and bingeable, I sat down and read this book in an entire sitting #sorrynotsorry. From the core mystery to the intricately woven characters, I am calling this one of my favourites of 2018, already!

The novel is told in two alternating time periods in the life of our protagonist, Ed. In the present, the loner high school English teacher lives with a lodger and keeps to himself, but, in the past, Ed, known as Eddie back then, was a part of a gang of kids whose lives changed forever after a summer of chalk men and a dismembered body in the woods. As past and present collide, Ed must confront his past and through several twists and turns, the truth of what happened in 1986 will be revealed.

So, first thing is first, I am shocked that this book is a debut. HOW?? HOW?? I can not get over the perfectly fleshed out characters, the timing of the plot and the sheer genius of the prose. The plot is perfectly rolled out, building suspense and leading the reader to its perfect resolution.   There were no muddled bits or confusing characters; everything felt like it fit and were equally important. This is so rare in any book, let alone a thriller! What. A. Debut.

My favourite thing about this book, by a landslide, was the characterization.  This book, from the opening of the first flashback chapters, had a dark “Goonies’ vibe to it.   I have seen the 80s revival thing done well with popular Netflix shows like Stranger Things but had never seen in accomplished in a novel. Tudor manages to do it expertly. The flashback chapters felt nostalgic and realistic; almost like it could have happened to any kid, in any place, over the course of any summer. This familiarity brought something chilling to the text and I was hooked.   Each character is so perfectly developed, from the protagonist down to the bullies; even the secondary characters had a clear image within the text. I was completely invested in them. Truthfully, the plot became secondary to me because I was so wrapped up in the characters.

This will be a book that I will be thinking about for a long time. If you want a book for the top of your TBR in 2018, make it this one. You won’t regret it.

Can I give a book 6 stars?

Thanks to the author, Netgalley and the publisher for the digital copy of this novel; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

We made this a #cjsreads pick; keep reading to see what Jessica and Chandra thought of this one (SPOILER ALERT: they loved it too)

Hey You! Read This! (The Domestic Thriller Edition)

Confession time: I am a bossy book reader.  I read books and then force people around me to read them make subtle and kind recommendations to others.

I cannot help it, I want to share the book love. I want to chat about what I’ve read.

Hence, why I started my “Hey, You!  Read This!” feature. This feature hones in on books I have read and would recommend in different genres and subgenres. Last time I did this feature, I focused on abduction thrillers.

Today, I figured I would take a look at another one of my favourite thriller subgenres: DOMESTIC THRILLERS. One of my favourite things about domestic thrillers (or marriage thrillers, as I have heard them called) is how close to home they can feel (see what I did there?). There is nothing like reading a story about the possibility of our nearest and dearest having some brutal secrets or behaviour.

Now, the classic domestic thrillers that come to mind are Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.   These are sort of the “OG” domestic thrillers that rebooted the genre and got everyone in a tizzy, so, for the sake of redundancy, I am leaving them off my list.

Interested to see what I did decide to throw on my list?

Keep reading to see what made my top picks….

Throwback Thursday: Blindsighted (Karin Slaughter)

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme created by book blogger extraordinaire, Renee at It’s Book Talk. She started this weekly feature as a way to highlight old favourites and read books that have already been published.

I have been making my way through Karin Slaughter’s Grant County series ever since I read Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter earlier this month.  Needless to say, I have become pretty much Slaughter obsessed.  Chelsea, my good pal over at The Suspense Is Thrilling Me, suggested I go way back and start with the first book in the Grant County series, Blindsighted and, man oh man, am I happy I decided to do that.

The first novel introduces us to the characters in the small Georgia town of Grant County where a professor is found brutally murdered and defiled in a publish washroom. Found by town pediatrician and medical examiner, Sara Linton, upon further investigation into the corpse it is discovered how sick and twisted this case truly is. Sara’s ex-husband, police chief Jeffery Tolliver is leading the case and, when another local woman is found crucified days later, the entire town is on edge.

Slaughter brilliantly is able to weave a tale that is gruesome, macabre and completely entertaining. Once I started reading this book, I found that I could not put it down. I was entranced with her writing and completely caught up with the happenings in Grant County.

I loved the characters in this one; the tangled romantic relationship between Jeffery and Sara added another level of interest to the plot and the added character of Lena, the town’s first female detective and also the first victim’s sister, on her own vigilante mission added yet another layer. Slaughter’s characterization is clearly her strong suit and I cannot wait to see how these characters will develop in the upcoming novels to this series.

I have already picked up the second book in the series, Kisscut, which from my understanding, is even better!

5/5 stars. I absolutely believe any thriller fan would love this book.

Book Review: I Know A Secret (Tess Gerritsen) @tessgerritsen @randomhouse #rizzoliandisles

When #cjsreads is choosing titles for our upcoming months, we usually decide together on titles. It is easier that way.   The only general rule we try to stick by is to avoid any novels that are deep into a series; it makes sense for our sanity. However, when I discovered that I Know A Secret, the twelfth novel in the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen, was coming out this summer, I begged and forcefully pushed my friends to read this book asked kindly and, since they are nice, Chandra and Jessica obliged. Am I glad they did!

I’ve mentioned about a bajillion times on my blog how much of a Gerritsen fan I am, especially in regards to her Rizzoli and Isles series. I picked up the fifth book in the series randomly last summer, binge read it and ended up going back and devouring the first nine in the series before deciding to pace myself.   Kick ass female leads are pretty much my favourite and Gerritsen has created two brilliant characters in these novels; downright addicting, they are!!

The newest installment is no exception. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed. Gerritsen is a master storyteller and this is consistently made clear in her novels. From the rich character backgrounds to the fast-paced, dark, suspenseful plots, she leaves no stone unturned and weaves the story brilliantly. In fact, I find the series gets better with age! This novel is a highlight in the series!!

If you are a crime lover that has yet to dive into this series, you are seriously missing out! I urge you to go and check out The Surgeon (the first in the series), I promise, it does not disappoint!!!  You can absolutely read this as a standalone, but trust me, you will want to go back and read the rest of the series anyways!!

5/5 stars.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for a copy of this novel; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

Keep reading to see what Chandra and Jessica thought of this one…or if they regretted listening to my intense book recommendation.  Yikes.

Book Review: Best Intentions (Erika Raskin) @erikaraskin @StMartinsPress

When I started reading Best Intentions, by Erika Raskin, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I hadn’t heard very much about this book. Now that I have finished, I must say, this one became the surprise hit of my summer. I cannot believe more people are not talking about this book!

The way Raskin chose to narrate the novel and roll out the plot was absolute literary brilliance.

The novel opens with Marti, our narrator, looking back on the events of the story. Something bad has happened. She is facing charges. Her world has been torn apart. And, at this point, the reader has no idea why. Needless to say, I was hooked.    Told through a back and forth type of narration, the reader is able to see how the events played out and the repercussions. At about the 60% point is where the reader is finally privy to the events that led Marti to her situation and I was actually shocked with how things played out; I had my suspicions and I had my theories but Raskin does a phenomenal job at leaving small breadcrumbs so the reader stays in the dark.

Book Review: The Good Daughter (Karin Slaughter) @SlaughterKarin @WmMorrowBooks

Everyone needs to stay calm regarding the piece of information I am about to reveal.

I have never read a Karin Slaughter book before.

I KNOW! I know.

Usually when I reveal such news, the first thing people say to me is “WHAT!!?? Karin Slaughter is EVERYTHING!”

Now that I have read my first Karin Slaughter book, her newest standalone called The Good Daughter, I would say I undeniably agree.

The novel opens with the introduction of two sisters, Charlotte (Charlie) and Samantha (Sam- solid name) whose family is torn apart by a horrific act of violence. One girl was left behind, one girl ran away to safety and nothing was the same. Twenty-eight years later, Charlie is a lawyer and witnesses another act of violence that opens old floodgates and makes her past traumas emerge. Now that she is a witness, she must confront everything she has worked hard to forget and watch as the truth about the crime that changed the course of her family bubbles to the surface.

This will be a completely spoiler free review, which is very hard for me, especially since I want to scream about this one from the rooftops. But, I will keep my scream to a whisper and try my best to remain vague. My apologies in advance if I sound jumbled or unclear, once you have read this on, you will understand!

One of the first things I need to note is the quality of Slaughter’s writing. Her prose is clean and finely detailed. I have never read a work by an author that can be both raw in language and impeccable in execution and both graphically gory and tastefully written. Her characters were multi-layered, diverse, complex and completely realistic. Truly, I have never read a piece of crime fiction that felt so real. Going back and forth through time, the reader watches the story unfold in the present and then gets to piece together the events that transpired twenty-eight years prior.

The pacing of this one was fantastic; after a slew of busy weekends, I sat down to finally give this one my full attention and finished all 500 pages easily within the course of two sittings.   I was completely entertained.

The plot itself felt like it was divided into sections, which I loved. Not only sections within the time periods, but also sections within the character events and, it seemed, specific turning points in character dynamics. As the plot progressed, I felt more and more connected to these characters and as their stories thickened, I felt completely entranced, experiencing the story with them.   Now, for a story to make you feel THAT? That is some seriously amazing writing.

This is absolutely a 5 star read for me and I will be running to pick up Slaughter’s other works. From what I hear, I should be starting with Pretty Girls and then working my way to the Grant County series.

Thanks to the publisher and the author for a copy of this novel; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

This book was also an August #cjsreads pick, keep reading to see what Chandra and Jessica thought of this one!

Hey You! Read This! (The Abduction Thriller Edition)

Confession time: I am a bossy book reader.  I read books and  then force people around me to read them make subtle and kind recommendations to others.

I cannot help it, I want to share the book love. I want to chat about what I’ve read.

My “Hey, You!  Read This!” feature will hone in books I have read and would recommend in different genres and subgenres.

This week, I have decided to kick off my newest feature with one of my favourite sub genres in the thriller category: abduction thrillers. Call me crazy, but I am a sucker for an abduction thriller.  Anything that involves a kidnapping, a psycho holding several people in their basement or people rising like a phoenix from the ashes to wreak havoc on their captors have me pretty much glued to the pages.

Interested?

Keep reading to see what made my top picks….