Book Review: RUN TIME by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

Title: RUN TIME

Author:  Catherine Ryan Howard

Publisher:  Blackstone Publishing

Read: April 2022

Expected publication: 16 August 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Movie-making can be murder...

The project:
Final Draft, a psychological horror. Promising Young Thing Steve Dade will direct.

The tagline:
'Based on a terrifying true story. That hasn't happened - yet.'

The location:
A cottage deep in a forest, miles from anywhere in the wintry wilds of West Cork.

The lead:
Former soap-star Adele Rafferty has stepped in to replace the original actress at the very last minute. She can't help but hope that this will be her big break.

The problem:
Something isn't quite right on the set of Final Draft.
Adele is about to discover that the real horror lies off the page..

 

My musings:

 

I love the way CRH’s mind works. Nothing is ever straightforward. I may trust that the characters are telling me the truth, but in the end they always manage to surprise me. In RUN TIME, CRH takes the theme of your typical horror movie and runs with it, drawing on her brother’s experiences with the world of film. I really enjoyed how the book managed to be both a “book within a book” as well as a movie within a book, with all three mediums intersecting to create a deliciously descriptive backdrop. The concept of life mirroring a horror movie script was an intriguing and refreshingly original concept. I also felt that the chapters of screenplay provided an interesting contrast from the main story and were very “visual” – it gave me the feeling of bingeing on a favourite Netflix series. 

As with her previous book, 56 DAYS, RUN TIME relies heavily on an atmospheric, claustrophobic setting – in this case the film set of a horror novel deep in some dark Irish woods (at night time in the rain). As it plays out over a short period of time, the story is both character driven as well as paying attention to the little details that will ultimately give you the clues to what is really happening here. Our main character Adele’s fragile state of mind and overactive imagination adds another element to the unreliable narrator theme that worked well here. Some old worn horror movie tropes were skilfully woven into the story in a way that both played them down as movie props and simultaneously added tension to the story as things started to happen to Adele that she couldn't explain.

Perhaps my only quibble is that the story got bogged down a bit towards the middle just as things started to go bump in the night - I would have loved to see those scenes exploited a bit more to ratchet up tension. That said, the final reveal took me by surprise and showed me just how cleverly plotted CRH's latest book really was. 

 

Summary:

 

Whilst RUN TIME wasn’t my all time favourite CRH book, it was an enjoyable and captivating novel I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I look forward to what the author will come up with next.

 

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

Book Review: THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill

 

Title: THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY

Author:  Sulari Gentill

Publisher:  Poisoned Pen Press

Read: May 2022

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers sitting at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

 

My musings:

 

I’m trying to decide where to start with my review of THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, because this book is unlike anything I have ever read. If you think that Sulari Gentill broke the mould with her previous book, AFTER SHE WROTE HIM, then you will be thrilled to hear that she has done it again! The book within a book theme may not be new, but Gentill has added elements to it that were unique and clever and had me eagerly anticipating the course of action the story would take.

 

I am torn – on one hand I want to tell you all about the brilliant course this book took (call it a “twist” for lack of a better word), on the other hand I absolutely don’t want to give you any spoilers. When the moment came, I was so taken aback that I gasped loudly, waking my dog out of a deep sleep. So I am going to take the latter option and keep my mouth tightly zipped, even though I am dying to discuss it!

 

I can safely give away that the story features a book-within-a-book and correspondence from one of the author’s devout fans who is giving feedback on her novel as she is writing it. The story also contains a solid mystery that was fun to solve, so really it ticked all the boxes for me. But most of all, it was original and intriguing and made me grin a few times with that subtle Aussie humour that maybe only Aussies get, but which was refreshing and quirky.

 

Sorry folks, I am going to leave it at that! Let’s just says that THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY will appeal to readers who are looking for a mystery that transcends all the boundaries and breaks the mould of the sea of same-old books out there. When you get to the spot in the novel that I am (not) talking about, you will know, trust me! I enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to what crazy idea the author will cook up next.

 

 

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

Book Review: WHO IS MAUD DIXON? by Alexandra Andrews

 

Title: WHO IS MAUD DIXON?

Author:  Alexandra Andrews

Read: October 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Florence Darrow wants to be a writer. Correction: Florence Darrow IS going to be a writer. Fired from her first job in publishing, she jumps at the chance to be assistant to the celebrated Maud Dixon, the anonymous bestselling novelist. The arrangement comes with conditions - high secrecy, living in an isolated house in the countryside­. Before long, the two of them are on a research trip to Morocco, to inspire the much-promised second novel. Beach walks, red sunsets and long, whisky-filled evening discussions...win-win, surely? Until Florence wakes up in a hospital, having narrowly survived a car crash.

How did it happen - and where is Maud Dixon, who was in the car with her? Florence feels she may have been played, but wait, if Maud is no longer around, maybe Florence can make her mark as a writer after all...

My musings:

 

Sometimes you accidentally stumble across a book that turns out to be wickedly good fun to read – if two ruthless women pitted against one another can be described as such. I knew very little about WHO IS MAUD DIXON, except that it involved a reclusive writer and a trip to Morocco, which promised some delicious armchair travel to a place that has always intrigued me. So I picked it up on a whim and just ran with it!

 

If you have read the blurb then you already know too much about this book. As is the case with a lot of mysteries, going in blindly was a good thing here as the story took me along dark alleyways I had not expected. But don’t despair, because even if the story seems straight forward, it takes a turn I had not anticipated, and so the fun begins ...

 

Some great themes here: a book within a book, a mysterious recluse, some murderous intent and identity theft, seasoned with a good dose of dark humour and satire. I loved following these two competitive and devious women down the garden path to murder and mayhem – it was all wildly entertaining. Whilst some readers have pointed out the slow start to the story, I thought it set the scene well and gave me a good grasp of Florence’s character, which came in handy later. My only gripe was a coincidental encounter later in the book, which was odd and out of place, but hey, it certainly didn’t take the enjoyment away from the twisty finale. That’s really all I can say without giving away spoilers, and I would hate to do that!

 

All in all, WHO IS MAUD DIXON was a dark, twisted and yet wildly entertaining character study of two women who craved success and would stop at nothing to get there. With a theme of books, writing and a book-within-a-book, it was a no brainer that I would pick it up, and the armchair travel to Morocco was an added bonus. Recommended to readers who love a slow burning, dark character study and a clever twist at the end.

Book Review: A SLOW FIRE BURNING by Paula Hawkins

 

Title: A SLOW FIRE BURNING

Author:  Paula Hawkins

Read: October 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

When a young man is found gruesomely murdered in a London houseboat, it triggers questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt, already mourning the recent death of yet another family member. And Miriam is the nosy neighbor clearly keeping secrets from the police.

 

Three women with separate connections to the victim. Three women who are – for different reasons – simmering with resentment. Who are, whether they know it or not, burning to right the wrongs done to them. When it comes to revenge, even good people might be capable of terrible deeds. How far might any one of them go to find peace? How long can secrets smoulder before they explode into flame?

My musings:

 

I love a good character study and with A SLOW FIRE BURNING that is exactly what I got! If you are looking for a fast paced mystery, take a hint from the “slow fire” in the title and keep walking. Firstly, the kindling takes a little while to take, and secondly, it never fully takes off into a raging inferno but slowly smoulders away in an undercurrent of hurt, anger and resentment. Even the murder is not a focal point of the novel, but merely another log added to the flames to be gradually consumed, leaving just the dark ash of despair.

 

Hawkins is a master at portraying damaged characters, and she has set the stage with this cast. Each and every character is scarred by some form of trauma: a terrible car accident, the death of a loved one, an encounter with a serial killer, neglect, abuse, ridicule, addiction, hopelessness. I would not recommend reading this book if you are feeling depressed, because the deep sadness hidden in its pages will most likely throw you into a pit of despair. Hawkins writes her characters well, which made this an even more painful experience as each and every one of them stumbles into disaster.

 

Personally, I admired the author’s skill in making me suffer along with her characters, but it was also a bit of a hindrance. None of the characters are particularly likeable (apart from Irene, but she only plays a peripheral role), and yet I also couldn’t hate any of them, on account of their tragic pasts. This probably mired me even more in depression, as I was longing for the intense fire of fierce love or hate for any of the characters. A slow fire burning, indeed!

 

Whilst the mystery surrounding the murder of a young man on a houseboat forms a central theme, it was not the most interesting aspect of the story for me. Here we also have a “book within a book” theme as some chapters are featuring Theo Myerson’s bestselling novel The One Who Got Away, which rolls out in a reverse time-frame, offering an interesting side story (which was just as tragic as the rest of the tale). With all these elements going off in different directions, it took me a little while to get fully immersed in the story, but once I had a grasp of where it was headed, I was fully hooked!

 

So, now to the rating. This was really a masterful dark character study that kept me turning the pages despite almost having to make a doctor’s appointment to get a script for anti-depressants as this sad tale unravelled. There were a variety of themes and a lot of threads which all came together in a surprising finale that was cleverly done. After turning the last page, I sat for a while in a state of silent grieving for the poor souls in the story. So I am settling for 3.5 stars simply for enjoyment value even though the writing was top notch. I think I will need to read something light and funny next!

Book Review: THE NOTHING MAN by Catherine Ryan Howard

Title: THE NOTHING MAN

Author:  CatherineRyan Howard
Publisher:  Blackstone Publishing
Read: June 2020

Expected publication: 28 August 2020

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

“If you were already falling, you were technically okay until you hit the ground.”

Book Description:

I was the girl who survived the Nothing Man.
Now I am the woman who is going to catch him...

You've just read the opening pages of The Nothing Man, the true crime memoir Eve Black has written about her obsessive search for the man who killed her family nearly two decades ago.

Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle is reading it too, and with each turn of the page his rage grows. Because Jim was - is - the Nothing Man.

The more Jim reads, the more he realizes how dangerously close Eve is getting to the truth. He knows she won't give up until she finds him. He has no choice but to stop her first... 

What attracted me to this book:

I absolutely love a book-within-a-book concept, and Catherine Ryan Howard has taken this concept to new heights with her latest book THE NOTHING MAN. If you have ever read a book by the author, you will appreciate her talent for serving up a story that is unique and captivating, and it doesn’t get much better than her latest offering!

My musings:

Eve Black is a young woman who has painfully rebuilt her life after losing her entire family to the gruesome murder by a serial killer when she was a child. Now, twenty years later, she is determined to bring the “Nothing Man” to justice by writing a book outlining her experience of how she survived his gruesome attack, and what she has learned about his other victims during many years of research. She is hopeful that even though he has never left any trace of forensic evidence or any clues as to his identity behind on any of his murder scenes, someone reading her book may have noticed something that could possibly lead to his capture.

In the meantime, Jim Doyle, who has long since given up murdering innocent people and is now living a boring life working as a security guard in a shopping centre, is shocked to see a book with his alter ego’s name hitting the shelves at the local bookstore. He is convinced that he was too clever for anyone ever to discover his identity. The game is on!

Ryan Howard is one of the few authors who – in my opinion – perfectly manages the portrayal of her cold hearted killer without ever crossing the line into making him a stereotype. On one hand, Jim is a boring, ageing man, on the other a ruthless serial killer. How does she fit these two opposites into one single character? You have to read it to find out, but let me just say that this was brilliantly executed. Being so ordinary made Jim Doyle more menacing than the over-the-top serial killer characters I have encountered in other thrillers. An excellent character study!

Another extremely clever tactic in Ryan Howard’s storytelling is that we only ever get to meet Eve through the pages of her book on the Nothing Man, or as seen through Jim’s eyes. The reason why this makes a world of difference here lies in the final answers to the mystery, which I am certainly not going to reveal here. It also allows us, the reader, a certain detachment from the horrific emotional drag of imagining a child witnessing the murder of her entire family during a home invasion one night. This does not mean that emotional involvement is not possible – far from it – but it lends a birdseye view on the scene that will ultimately allow the story’s extremely clever conclusion to fall into place. Sheer perfection. By including different formats of storytelling, the book took on an almost otherworldly quality, like watching a true crime show whilst the killer is also watching. The tension became almost unbearable!

Summary:

In summary, Ryan Howard’s unique writing style and her character study of both a serial killer and his victims made THE NOTHING MAN one of the best mysteries I have read all year, and one I could not put down. If you are looking for an unputdownable, binge-worthy thriller with characters who are so well described that they could be your neighbours, your friends, the person you stand next to on the train, then look no further. I am thoroughly impressed by Ryan Howard’s skill in creating a multi-layered, intelligent mystery without ever resorting to stereotypes. A glowing five stars from me, and I can’t wait to read more from this author in future!

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

Book Review: AFTER SHE WROTE HIM by Sulari Gentill

Title: AFTER SHE WROTE HIM

Author: Sulari Gentill
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Read: January 2020

Expected publication: 4 April 2020

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

“Perhaps telling lies is the only way to find the real truth.”

Book Description:

Madeleine d'Leon doesn't know where Edward came from. He is simply a character in her next book. But as she writes, he becomes all she can think about. His charm, his dark hair, his pen scratching out his latest literary novel . . .

Edward McGinnity can't get Madeleine out of his mind--softly smiling, infectiously enthusiastic, and perfectly damaged. She will be the ideal heroine for his next book.

But who is the author and who is the creation? And as the lines start to blur, who is affected when a killer finally takes flesh?

My musings:

I have always been irresistibly drawn to the “book within a book” concept. AFTER SHE WROTE HIM, however, takes the whole idea one step further, because here we potentially have two books within a book, and no idea which one is reality and which one is fiction. If this totally confuses you, then hey – give it a go! It certainly was one of the most original, intriguing ideas I have ever come across, and it really messed with my mind.

Madeleine D’Leon is a lawyer and a crime writer of a detective series that has been selling well and has many followers. One day, despite her agent’s misgivings, she has an idea for a different type of story. It all starts with Edward, her main protagonist, who appears to her out of the blue and quickly takes on shape in her imagination. As she writes her story and orchestrates his fate, the picture of him in her mind becomes more vivid, until he is almost as real to her as a flesh-and-blood person.

Edward McGinnity is a writer of contemporary fiction. One day he has an idea for a story involving a main character who is a crime writer. He calls her Madeleine. As he writes and orchestrates her fate, her picture becomes clearer in his mind, until she is almost as real to him as a flesh-and- blood person.

Do you see where this is headed? Exactly! Now, who is the writer and who is the fictional character?

Gentill introduces some very interesting topics here that really made me think. One particularly pressing question was Madeleine’s dilemma – with Edward becoming almost a friend to her (even though he is her fictional character), she feels guilty throwing him into some nasty situations in her crime story. As a writer, she becomes the orchestrator of his fate, dictating his life by the whims of her imagination. Fascinating!

As the story progressed, I felt more and more unsure of the line between reality and fantasy, a battle both Madeleine and Edward face. This blurring of the boundaries between what is real and what is imagined, sanity and madness, is something I really enjoy in a thriller, especially if it is as cleverly handled as in this book. As we get sucked deeper into Madeleine’s and Edward’s worlds, the story took on an almost dream-like quality where the borders were no longer clearly defined, a real challenge for my analytical mind!

Summary:

AFTER SHE WROTE HIM was originally published under the title CROSSING THE LINES, which I thought was a title that perfectly sums up the book! This clever, original and thought provoking mystery will appeal to people who enjoy thrillers that dare to blur boundaries, step into uncharted territory. Caution to readers who don’t enjoy alternating POVs that swap and change frequently, even within the same chapter. Personally, I thought that it added to the story, showcasing how the two characters become more and more enmeshed, but I think you should be aware. This was the first book I read in 2020, and as we say in Australia – what a ripper!

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