Book Review: SHIVER by Allie Reynolds

 

Title: SHIVER

Author:  Allie Reynolds

Publisher:  Hachette Australia

Read: October 2020

Expected publication: 27 January 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

When Milla is invited to a reunion in the French Alps resort that saw the peak of her snowboarding career, she drops everything to go. While she would rather forget the events of that winter, the invitation comes from Curtis, the one person she can't seem to let go.

The five friends haven't seen each other for ten years, since the disappearance of the beautiful and enigmatic Saskia. But when an icebreaker game turns menacing, they realise they don't know who has really gathered them there and how far they will go to find the truth.

In a deserted lodge high up a mountain, the secrets of the past are about to come to light.

What attracted me to this book:

 

Edgy closed-door mysteries are a joy to read, and SHIVER fell firmly into this category – it’s hard to believe that this is Allie Reynolds’ debut novel!

My musings:

 

Firstly, we have an atmospheric setting, a ski retreat high up in the French Alps. This seems to be a popular theme in mysteries right now, but so far no one has pulled it off as well for me as Reynolds, because she has kept it simple and believable without trying too hard to fit in 100 plot twists. A lonely glacier, five friends who share a terrible secret, and someone who is out to get revenge. An old but trusty theme that never fails if it’s executed well.

 

With her insider knowledge into competitive snowboarding, it was no surprise that Reynolds was able to evoke that scene very well. I loved the way the friends, who are all professional snowboarders, are close and supportive, and yet also very competitive, a mix that will ultimately get them into strive. And whilst each and every one of them is flawed in some way, I felt I could relate to all of them, even the “villain” of the story, Saskia, who is the most ruthless and driven of them all.

 

Reynolds knows how to build suspense, which had me glued to the pages for hours, reluctant to put the book down. It all played out movie-like in my head, and my travel deprived self was divided between wanting to be in the ski lodge and running for cover, screaming. In a movie, the scenes would be heavily foreshadowed by creepy music, but Reynolds achieves this just by cleverly constructing her story and knowing how much to reveal at just the right time. I have found that these types of mysteries seem to work best for me if told from only one POV, and I was happy to find an enigmatic protagonist in Milla, who was just enough of an unreliable narrator that I wanted to trust her but also never believed all she told me. A perfect mix! 

 

Summary:

 

SHIVER will come out early in 2021, just in time for the European winter. The perfect whodunit to curl up with in front of the fire, best with all the lights on and the doors locked. As far as armchair travel goes, it was the perfect setting! Seeing that this may be as close as I’ll get to travel for quite some time yet, I am very grateful to the author for taking me on this journey. A great debut and highly recommended!

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Book Review: THE VALLEY OF LOST STORIES by Vanessa McCausland

 

Title: THE VALLEY OF LOST STORIES

Author:  Vanessa McCausland

Publisher:  HarperCollins Australia

Read: November 2020

Expected publication: 2 December 2020

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Four women and their children are invited to the beautiful but remote Capertee Valley for a much-needed holiday.

Once home to a burgeoning mining industry, now all that remains are ruins slowly being swallowed by the bush and the jewel of the valley, a stunning, renovated Art Deco hotel. This is a place haunted by secrets. In 1948 Clara Black walked into the night, never to be seen again.

As the valley beguiles these four friends, and haunts them in equal measure, each has to confront secrets of her own: Nathalie with a damaged marriage; Emmie yearning for another child; Pen struggling as a single parent; and Alexandra hiding in the shadow of her famous husband.

But as the mystery of what happened seventy years earlier unravels, one of the women also vanishes into this bewitching but wild place, forcing devastating truths to the surface.

My musings:

Vanessa McCausland shows that stories about women’s friendships can really be spiced up with an element of mystery and a spooky atmospheric setting – I loved this even more because her descriptions of the Australian landscape were so vivid and relatable. I wasn’t surprised to read that the place she describes in her latest book was inspired by a real valley she visited with her daughter before writing the novel. I felt instantly transported there!

 

Lovers of Liane Moriarty’s books featuring female friendships will be pleased to hear that THE VALLEY OF LOST STORIES  offers an equally compelling tale. Four women who are each facing their own challenges in their marriages and motherhood role are thrown together in an impromptu holiday in a grand hotel in a secluded valley near the Blue Mountains. And even though the trip was meant to give them an escape from their present troubles, they soon find themselves embroiled in a century old secret that has left its mark on the abandoned mining town.

 

If you have read and loved McCausland’s previous book, THE LOST SUMMERS OF DRIFTWOOD, then you will be pleased to hear that the author uses her skills to create another beguiling atmospheric backdrop to her latest book. Among the four different protagonists, there will be one every reader will be able to relate to at some level, even if it’s just the theme of female friendship dynamics. Although my kids have long grown up, I could instantly recall those days of early motherhood, beautiful and yet sometimes utterly exhausting and so very lonely had it not been for some amazing friends who listened and understood. I appreciated the author’s honesty without ever straying across the lines of soppy, whiny or preachy, as each character stayed true to herself and utterly relatable. It’s not an easy balance to achieve by any means!

 

 

Summary:

 

THE VALLEY OF LOST STORIES encompasses a mix of genres that will appeal to a wide audience. Part mystery, part historical fiction, all wrapped into a compelling story about female friendship and motherhood against a spooky atmospheric backdrop. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great summer read.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Book Review: REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS by Emily Carpenter

 

Title: REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS

Author:  Emily Carpenter

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

Read: October 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Dove Jarrod was a renowned evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows that Dove was a con artist. In the eight years since Dove’s death, Eve has maintained Dove’s charitable foundation—and her lies. But just as a documentary team wraps up a shoot about the miracle worker, Eve is assaulted by a vengeful stranger intent on exposing what could be Dove’s darkest secret: murder…

Tuscaloosa, 1934: a wily young orphan escapes the psychiatric hospital where she was born. When she joins the itinerant inspirational duo the Hawthorn Sisters, the road ahead is one of stirring new possibilities. And with an obsessive predator on her trail, one of untold dangers. For a young girl to survive, desperate choices must be made.

Now, to protect her family, Eve will join forces with the investigative filmmaker and one of Dove’s friends, risking everything to unravel the truth behind the accusations against her grandmother. But will the truth set her free or set her world on fire?

 

What attracted me to this book:

 

Emily Carpenter’s book THE WEIGHT OF LIES made it onto my all-time-favourite list with its Gothic undertones and its book-within-a-book concept, so since then I have devoured everything she has written – and continue to really enjoy her writing.

My musings:

 

REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS was a very different style from Carpenter’s mysteries, but she still managed to infuse the story with the Southern elements that hallmark all her books. I always enjoy mysteries that centre around family secrets, so I was very excited to join Eve on her quest to find out about her grandmother Dove’s life before she became the famous evangelist she was later known for. America in the 1930’s holds a certain mystery that few eras can match, and I eagerly immersed myself in the atmosphere of life in the Great Depression.

 

I admit that I was much more invested in Dove’s life than in Eve’s, and would happily have had more chapters dedicated to her. Some elements of Eve were hard to comprehend and bond with, even though she grew on me a bit as the book progressed. I did enjoy the slight air of the supernatural, an element of the mystery that hung there, untouchable, always putting some doubt in my mind.

 

 

Summary:

 

If you enjoy mysteries with a Gothic element, or those involving family secrets (with a family heirloom tying it all together), then REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS should definitely be on your list. Told from two separate POVs and spanning two timelines, the 1930s and today, the book will also appeal to lovers of historical fiction who are intrigued by stories that our older generation takes to the grave with them. I love all of those elements, and really enjoyed my reading journey – I can’t wait to see what Emily Carpenter comes up with next!

 

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Book Review: DON'T LOOK FOR ME by Wendy Walker

 

Title: DON’T LOOK FOR ME

Author:  Wendy Walker

Read: October 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life. The car abandoned miles from home. The note found at a nearby hotel. The shattered family that couldn't be put back together. It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over. She doesn't want to be found. Or at least, that's the story. But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

The night Molly disappeared began with a storm, running out of gas, and a man in a truck offering her a ride to town. With him is a little girl who reminds her of the daughter she lost years ago. It feels like a sign. And Molly is overcome with the desire to be home, with her family—no matter how broken it is. She accepts the ride. But when the doors are locked shut, Molly begins to suspect she has made a terrible mistake.

When a new lead comes in after the search has ended, Molly's daughter, Nicole, begins to wonder. Nothing about her mother's disappearance makes sense.

Nicole returns to the small, desolate town where her mother was last seen to find the truth. The locals are kind and eager to help. The innkeeper. The bartender. Even the police. Until secrets begin to reveal themselves and she comes closer to the truth about that night—and the danger surrounding her.

 

My musings:

 

Ladies and gentlemen – we have a winner! *applause* Not only has Wendy Walker found a way to make her mystery suspenseful and original, but she also slips in that final twist that upended all my carefully constructed theories. But my absolute favourite thing about DON’T LOOK FOR ME was the way Walker delves into the psyche of her characters and lays their souls bare in front of us. Which made for a fantastic reading experience from start to finish.

 

Where is Molly Harper? Did she just walk out of her own life to start fresh? After a tragic accident that killed her youngest child, Molly’s life has been riddled with guilt, grief and recriminations. Worst of all, she feels that she has become a burden on her family. Her husband doesn’t love her any more. Her daughter just told her that she hates her. And her son, who she has always been close to, has just ghosted her when she attended one of his ball games. On the way home in the car, just before a storm, Molly thinks about just keeping going, driving right out of her family’s life ...

 

Three weeks later, Molly’s daughter Nic revisits the small town of Hastings, the last place her mother has been seen alive. Nic doesn’t believe the going theory that her mother has left them of her own volition. She is desperate to find some clues that could point towards what has happened to Molly on the night she never made it home.

 

Told both in the POVs of Molly and Nic, the story that follows is both moving as it is suspenseful. I particularly enjoyed Molly’s interactions with Alice – here is a true psychological thriller that will have you on edge the whole time! Featuring two strong and resourceful female leads, the book captivated me from page one and didn’t let up. And just when I thought I had worked it all out, there was that final twist ...

  

Summary:

 

DON’T LOOK FOR ME should be on your list if you love a real psychological thriller featuring complex characters and a multi-layered plot that is both original as well as utterly suspenseful. Topped off by a tense atmospheric setting, Wendy Walker has created a true gem that was one of my favourite reads this year. Highly recommended – as was the audio narration, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Book Review: LOSS LAKE by Amber Cowie

 

Title: LOSS LAKE

Author:  Amber Cowie

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

Read: October 2020

Expected publication: 10 November 2020

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Two months a widow, Mallory Dent has made the impulsive decision to pack up and move on. In remote McNamara, nestled in the northern mountains, she can escape her grief, guilt, and pain. But the day Mallory arrives, death follows her, lapping just outside her door. A woman’s body is found floating in Loss Lake—and it’s not the first death on these shores. Locals talk about a monster in the depths with an almost disturbing reverence.

Sergeant Joel Benson understands Mallory’s unease. Years ago, his own brother was killed in the home Mallory now owns. But that was just a tragic accident. Wasn’t it? The more Mallory investigates, the more fearful she becomes. Maybe there are monsters in McNamara. Maybe some have followed her there.

As a winter storm bears down, the refuge Mallory sought has become a trap. It’s time to face her past, the secrets behind the town’s friendly faces, and a reckoning that will shatter the eerie, icy calm of Loss Lake.

What attracted me to this book:

 

An atmospheric setting, an urban myth, new beginnings and unspoken dark secrets all form part of Amber Cowie’s latest mystery, LOSS LAKE. I knew I was in for a treat as soon as Mallory arrives in her recently purchased log cabin on the shores of the eerie lake that forms such an integral part of the story. There is usually an ember of truth in every urban myth, so what really lies behind the story of the monster of Loss Lake?

My musings:

 

Mallory, a widow at forty, has set out to make a new start in the small town of McNamara, in a cabin in the woods purchased with the money that came to her from the untimely death of her husband Graham. We soon find out that behind her grief lie other emotions, but Mallory – like the small town of McNamara – likes to hold her secrets close to her heart. She is shocked to find out that a man died in a terrible hunting accident right in the front room of her little house, a tragedy that seems to be linked to other untimely deaths the small town has witnessed since the dam rupture that originally formed the lake. Mallory is a nurse, and her scientific brain doesn’t believe in monsters. But will her curiosity and determination to find out the truth put her in danger? Or will it threaten to reveal some of her own tightly guarded secrets?

 

I loved both the atmospheric setting as well as Mallory’s unreliable narration, and both kept me frantically turning the pages. Most of all, Cowie’s writing beautifully evoked the landscape, the autumn woods, the eerie lake, the little cabin nestled amidst the wilderness. I wondered how long it would take for ill-prepared city girl Mallory to get into trouble here, and didn’t have to wait long. There wasn’t really anything supernatural going on here, but the remote setting and the lonely cabin’s dark history themselves created an aura of vulnerability around Mallory that made me shiver.

 

 Cowie knows just the right time to reveal her clues, and I really appreciated the constant ambivalent feelings of empathy and distrust it created towards the main character. With a finale that was utterly unpredictable and yet somehow fitting, the book managed to get in a final stab of surprise that will make it stick in my mind as much as the images of the eerie lake it had created.

  

Summary:

 

In summary, if you enjoy slow burning, character driven mysteries revolving around small town secrets and featuring a remote, atmospheric setting, then LOSS LAKE should definitely be on your list.  I really enjoyed Cowie’s writing style and look forward to reading her other novels.

 

  

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.