Audiobook Review: ONE PERFECT COUPLE by Ruth Ware

Title: ONE PERFECT COUPLE

Author: Ruth Ware

Narrator:  Imogen Church

Read: July 2024

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, The Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize.

But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real—and the stakes are life or death.

A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.

 

My musings:

 

It’s no secret that Ruth Ware is one of my favourite mystery writers and that I love the slow-burning, simmering tension that drives her stories. Initially, I was worried that ONE PERFECT COUPLE seemed to be following a well-trodden path of other novels, but I should have had more faith in Ware’s skill of brewing a cup of her own special magic. As the story unfolded, it soon became clear that this was a very cleverly planned tale of murder and survival that would break the mould and offer the kind of surprising ending Ware is known for. However, the thing I appreciated most of all was how each character came into their own in the course of the story: if I had disliked just about every one of them when I started reading (hence my initial doubts), by the end of the story I felt quite proud of the survivors.

Described by various reviewers as a mixture between AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, SURVIVOR, and LORD OF THE FLIES, this closed-door mystery did pack a lot of plots into its pages. I’m not one to watch much reality TV, but ONE PERFECT COUPLE gave me more pleasure than any of those type of shows ever have. I must also say that it was the perfect story for an audio-book: read by the very skilled Imogen Church (who I think has narrated all of Ware’s previous books), the visual scenes had me totally hooked and really drove up the tension! My only little quibble was with the WHY reveal of the story, which seemed a little far fetched even for an intended-to-be unexpected plot twist – it just didn’t gel with what had otherwise been a very cleverly constructed story (taking this opportunity to mention the diary entries, which had me fooled the entire time).

 

 Summary:

 

All in all, ONE PERFECT COUPLE was tense, claustrophobic and atmospheric and made for captivating listening from beginning to end, even if it lacked the Gothic vibes I usually look for in Ware’s mysteries. I especially loved the character development and Ware’s keen observations of people acting and reacting under pressure. Despite my initial doubts I very much enjoyed ONE PERFECT COUPLE and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a clever closed-door mystery.

Book Review: THE LAST THING TO BURN by Will Dean

 

Title: THE LAST THING TO BURN

Author:  Will Dean

Read: August 2023

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 

Book Description:

 

On an isolated farm in the United Kingdom, a woman is trapped by the monster who kidnapped her seven years ago. When she discovers she is pregnant, she resolves to protect her child no matter the cost, and starts to meticulously plan her escape. But when another woman is brought into the fold on the farm, her plans go awry. Can she save herself, her child, and this innocent woman at the same time? Or is she doomed to spend the remainder of her life captive on this farm?

My musings:

 

If you have been told by your doctor to reduce your stress levels, then stay clear of this book! THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the most suspenseful, harrowing and disturbing psychological thrillers I have read in a long time, and yet I loved every nail-biting minute of it. No, it hasn’t done my stress levels any favours, but boy this was good!

 

I’m not usually a fan of captivity thrillers but had devoured and loved every book written by Will Dean so far and knew that it wouldn’t disappoint. Someone who can toss a handful of characters into a single bland setting and yet create tension that makes your hair stand on end like you’ve just stuck a pin into a powerpoint – that person is a true artist in my mind.

 

Jane (not her real name) and Len live in a little old farmhouse on a windswept plain somewhere in the less picturesque parts of England. Or perhaps this is doing the countryside an injustice, because Jane hasn’t had the chance to go anywhere else to explore the scenery. She makes no secret of the fact that she is a captive and would do anything to escape the hell Len is subjecting her to on a daily basis. That is probably all you need to know before delving into the story. Buckle up for the ride though, because just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, there’s another surprise in store for you.

 

Dean uses the little, bland things that make up everyday life to create an atmosphere so tense you could cut it with a knife. The secret is in the detail, and he is a master observer. I never realised how much murderous rage can be released inside me when the right triggers are being sprung. Dean doesn’t use preposterous plot twists or over-the-top conspiracies to spin his tale and capture the imagination, but each scene is so visceral, so powerful that it almost inflicts physical pain. Now this, readers, is a REAL psychological thriller. I carried Jane inside me even during the times when I wasn’t reading, like one of those heavy nightmares that still casts a shadow over the whole day even though you know it’s not real. To imagine that Dean’s book is based on real stories of people trafficking is almost too much to bear.

 

I’ll be totally honest when I say that THE LAST THING TO BURN is not an easy or comfortable read, and there are some very dark themes at play here. But to call it anything less than brilliant would be doing it an injustice. Crafted by a master storyteller, this psychological thriller will stay with you long after the last page has been turned. Enter at your own risk!

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: OUTSIDE by Ragnar Jonasson

 

Title: OUTSIDE

Author:  Ragnar Jonasson

Publisher:  Penguin Michael Joseph UK

Read: December 2021

Expected publication: 28 April 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟

 

 

Book Description:

 

 

In the swirling snow of a deadly Icelandic storm, four friends seek shelter in a small abandoned hunting lodge. Miles from help, and knowing they will die outside in the cold, they break open the lock and make their way inside, hoping to wait out the storm until morning.

But nothing can prepare them for what they find behind the door . . .

Inside the cabin lurks a dangerous presence that chills them to their core.
Outside, certain death from exposure awaits.
So with no other option, they find themselves forced to spend a long, terrifying night in the cabin, watching as intently and silently as they are being watched themselves.

But as the evening darkens, old secrets are beginning to find their way to the light.
And as the tension escalates between the four friends, it soon becomes clear that the danger they discovered lurking in the cabin is far from the only mystery that will be uncovered tonight.

Nor the only thing to be afraid of . . .

My musings:

 

Ragnar Jonasson is the master of chilly, atmospheric settings, which is why I will always rush out to get my hands on every one of his books! In OUTSIDE, he has turned this skill to good use again as he describes the stark, lonely cabin in the Highlands of Iceland, where four friends find themselves stranded in a blizzard. Having been to Iceland in winter, I could well imagine the cold, the howling winds, the long dark night and the isolation, and I loved the chills this sent down my spine!

 

However, I am wondering if something got lost in translation for me, because even though the setting was wonderfully atmospheric, the human part of the story didn’t work so well. As we get the POV of each of the friends, I was hoping for some connection and an insight into their motivations, but this never came. It was difficult to distinguish between the characters’ voices, as they all appeared rather flat and unemotional, making me feel firmly on the outside and puzzled at their intentions. In fact, some parts of the story were just plain strange and made little sense, in particular the involvement of the fifth character, which was too far of a stretch to be credible. I would have loved more dialogue and emotional interaction between the friends to build tension and introduce some rationale for their motivations instead of just having this spelled out in the final chapters without the emotional background to make it more understandable.

 

Having read many previous novels by the author I have always enjoyed his sparse, to-the-point prose that usually manages to set the scene well and moves the story along at a good pace. Here, however, I needed a bit more background and emotion to bond with the characters. It may have worked better to just give us one or two POVs to be able to bond with those characters, than four perspectives that just skimmed the surface.

 

 

Summary:

 

Even though I remain a firm fan of Jonasson’s books, I feel that this one fell a bit short for me, which is probably related to my specific reading preferences. I am a reader who very much needs the emotional ties to at least one character to make me feel invested in the story, and I did not get that here. Which is a shame, because the setting delivered exactly the right stage on which these characters could have starred and carried me off into their world.

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Book Review: THE LIGHTHOUSE by Fran Dorricott

 

Title: THE LIGHTHOUSE

Author:  Fran Dorricott

Publisher:  Avon Books UK

Read: December 2021

Expected publication: 3 February 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Six friends travel to a remote island north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They’ve rented The Lighthouse – a stunning, now abandoned building that was once notorious for deaths at sea.

On the first evening, someone goes missing. The group search all through the night to no avail. But when the five remaining friends return to the lighthouse early the next morning, they are shocked to find James inside. He’s looks terrified – but won’t say a word about where he’s been.

The party vow to put the strange night behind them and enjoy the rest of their stay, but when more unexplained things begin to occur, tensions escalate. It’s clear James knows something, but nothing will persuade him to give up the secrets of the island. Is he protecting his friends from a terrible truth, or leading them into more danger?

A chilling, gripping and powerfully atmospheric suspense novel with a gothic edge.

 

My musings:

 

Fancy a spooky story set in an old lighthouse? Oh yes, please! I love spooky, and I love lighthouses, so as soon as I read the description of this book I had to have it. Don't be fooled by the innocuous title because this story will soon raise goosebumps. I made the mistake of reading it at night whilst on a camping trip near an actual lighthouse and was terrified to venture out after dark.

Here we have a fantastic atmospheric setting on a small Scottish island dominated by an old majestic lighthouse and keeper's cottage  that have been turned into an exclusive holiday resort. Without phone or internet reception, it makes for a perfect escape from the modern world. Kira, a travel writer, has been offered a free stay and thinks it would make a great location for an annual reunion with four of her closest friends from university. Packed with lots of food and alcohol, the group set out on the boat trip to this spectacular location.

The author knows how to set the scene and the island initially sounds like heaven. Remote, windswept and buffeted by the waves, the landscape appears serene and beautiful to the friends as they settle in for a weekend of fun and relaxation. Soon, however, the atmosphere changes. Things disappear and everyone denies having taken them. Shadows appear in corners when there is noone there. And what lies behind the only locked door in the lighthouse? Suddenly the isolation becomes claustrophobic as the friends realise they are stranded here without a way off the island, with something that doesn't want them here.

How perfect is this premise? Despite my growing unease, I read it in almost one sitting because I had to get answers. As the weather closed in and darkness fell, I knew I was in for a spooky treat. I loved the hinting at a supernatural element that made me wonder if there was something ghostly going on or if there would be a rational explanation, which made the story even creepier for me without ever feeling unbelievable.

My only quibble was that the ending appeared a bit rushed and could have exploited the eerie background a bit longer. I was at the 95% mark when I thought that there wasn’t enough time to wrap up all the threads and ultimately felt that a few very good elements were left hanging. Seeing how the beginning of the book was slow, character driven and atmospheric, I felt that the rush to the conclusion let the book down a bit.

 

Summary:

 

All in all, THE LIGHTHOUSE is the type of atmospheric, claustrophobic story that makes for a perfect escape. With a hint of a supernatural element, it managed to spook me enough to keep the lights on and read late into the night to get all the answers. Despite the rushed ending, I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to read more from this author in future.

 

 

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

Book Review: I AM THE SEA by Matt Stanley

 

Title: I AM THE SEA

Author:  Matt Stanley

Publisher:  Legend Press

Read: December 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 

Book Description:

 

1870. Apprentice lighthouseman James Meakes joins two others at the remote offshore rock of Ripshaw Reef - replacement for a keeper whose death there remains unexplained.Meakes' suspicions grow as he accustoms himself to his new vertical world. He finds clues, obscure messages and signs that a fourth occupant may be sharing the space, slipping unseen between staircases.

With winter approaching, the keepers become isolated utterly from shore. Sea and wind rage against the tower. Danger is part of the life. Death is not uncommon. And yet as the storm builds, the elements pale against a threat more wild and terrifying than any of them could have imagined. 

My musings:

 

Phew, what a crazy ride this book was! If you have had any ill-conceived romantic notions about the life of a lighthouse keeper, then this book will soon set you straight. It started innocently enough: young James Meakes arrives at the remote Ripsaw Reef Lighthouse to commence his six months term as trainee lighthouse keeper under the supervision of Principle Bartholomew and Assistant Keeper Adamson. On the same day, the body of another lighthouse keeper, Spencer, is taken away from the island for autopsy, as he has passed away in suspicious circumstances, a fact that will come to haunt James during his traineeship. Straight away, we learn of James’ fascination with the lighthouse and life within it, which he shares freely with the reader. I can never resist books about lighthouses, so was most intrigued to hear details of its construction and workings, as well as the regimented lives and power structure of the men living in its confines.

 

It soon becomes obvious that all is not well in the lighthouse. Assistant keeper Adamson never exchanges a civil word with the head keeper, and also gives James a hard time, playing multiple pranks on him as he is starting out in his apprenticeship. James becomes convinced that Adamson has a dark past and that he may pose a danger to him, especially once he discovers eerie writings on walls and in hidden cupboards, as well as a message in a bottle warning him of danger. Did the unlucky assistant keeper Spencer write these as a warning prior to his death? And whilst James is able to district himself with the strict routine of his work, things start going wrong when an inspector arrives from the mainland and upsets the delicate balance ...

 

Stanley sure knows how to set a scene. Whilst the lighthouse initially presented a fascinating and interesting backdrop of fine engineering and workmanship, it soon took on a sinister countenance as the weather closed in and young James began to suspect that all was not well in its confines. The claustrophobia slowly increased until it had dispelled the last vestiges of any romantic or cosy notions I may ever have entertained about life in a lighthouse. But like the birds attracted to its beacon and crashing against its solid walls to their certain death, I was equally compelled to read on, even as the atmosphere became decidedly sinister and eerie. Stanley’s writing, which initially progressed in an orderly, almost scientific fashion reflecting young James’ fascination with his new home and detailed descriptions of the lighthouse, became more frantic and disjointed as James becomes fearful for his own life.

 

I am impressed by the way the author pledges the lighthouse itself as a character in the story, from solid foundation to dangerous foe, as if it had turned against the men manning it. Such a deliciously claustrophobic atmosphere is something I always seek out but not often find in novels, and it was masterfully crafted here. From early on, in the back of my mind, a suspicion was growing, ultimately consuming me throughout the reading experience. And despite several misdirections and my hope to be proven wrong, I found that in the end my worst fears were confirmed in an action packed finale so dramatic and horrific that it will probably stay in my mind forever, whenever I lay eyes on a lighthouse. Some imagery would befit a Hitchcock movie, such as the scores of birds committing suicide by throwing themselves against the lighthouse windows attracted by the light. Others are a stark contrast in their beauty, such as the aurora borealis as glimpsed from the top of the tower. And some are made from your worst nightmares, not to be described here because I am not about to spoil the experience for you by giving too much away.

 

Summary:

 

All in all, I AM THE SEA is one of those dark, claustrophobic and highly atmospheric books that comes around only rarely. Written in the first person, it will make you question everything, from the reliability of the narrator to the unravelling of the mind as the isolation takes its toll. And whilst the fascinating facts about the engineering of the lighthouse and the regimen controlling the lives of its keepers was most interesting, the lighthouse and the surrounding hostile sea soon became an evil force that made me shiver. Or was the evil within its walls? Culminating in an action packed, violent and vicious finale, this is a book that should be on your must-read list if you love an eerie, claustrophobic setting and characters who all have something to hide. Cleverly crafted, this book really got under my skin and its images will haunt me for some time to come. Highly recommended.

 

 

 

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

Book Review: ROCK PAPER SCISSORS by Alice Feeney

 

Title: ROCK PAPER SCISSORS

Author:  Alice Feeney

Read: November 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.

Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin – and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.

My musings:

 

If you have read any books by Alice Feeney before, you will know that she usually slots in a major twist or two, and this book was no exception. The only problem with this concept is that when you expect a twist, it is nowhere nearly as satisfying as being totally taken by surprise. I’m no super sleuth, but being forewarned, and having read a lot of thrillers, I was suspicious of EVERYTHING and ended up seeing through a lot of the author’s carefully laid traps very early on. That said, it was still fun to see all the threads slot into place, and thankfully there was one twist that I hadn’t seen coming!

 

It’s difficult to review a mystery that relies so heavily on the breadcrumb trail of clues left for us by the author, so I am not going to say much about the story here. Basically, it’s the sad tale of an unravelling marriage and a trip to a remote location in Scotland as a last ditch effort to connect. Soon things are starting to go wrong ...

 

There are some aspects of the books I really enjoyed, like the remote location and its spooky vibes – an old derelict chapel during a blizzard in Scotland, it doesn’t get much better than that! Whilst most of the book was pure entertainment, if you can suspend disbelief long enough, I did find it a bit slow going in places, as the couple lament their unhappy relationship, over and over and over again! The writing style, which was initially quite endearing with its odd little one-liner words of wisdom (one reviewer called them “fortune cookie wisdom”, which was an apt term) but grated on me after a while. Nearly every paragraph had one of these, and they made the writing feel choppy and cocky, as if it was trying too hard to be clever. I also thought that the voice of one particular character could have been eliminated to increase the tension, which was frankly lacking a bit, despite the deliciously isolated setting.

 

All in all, this was a mixed bag for me, saved by the excellent audio narration, which kept cajoling me along to the end and provided some good entertainment on my daily commute to work. But seeing that I had picked up the book knowing I was a bit tired of stories relying on that “killer twist” to shock its audience, I hadn’t set my expectations too high. This story will appeal to readers who love a few unexpected twists and blind corners and don’t mind sacrificing a bit of credibility for the sake of entertainment value. If you are a bit jaded with this genre, then it may not be the right book for you.

Book Review: 56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

Title: 56 DAYS

Author:  Catherine Ryan Howard

Read: August 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

No one knew they'd moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?

56 DAYS AGO

Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO

When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who - and what - he really is.

TODAY

Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

What attracted me to this book:

 

Ever since reading and loving Catherine Ryan Howard’s earlier novel DISTRESS SIGNALS, I have been looking forward to being entertained by her clever, original thrillers that always manage to blindside me. I look for her books when I feel like something that stands out from the fray of mysteries on the market because there is nothing ordinary or formulaic about any of her novels. After covid changed our lives, I have often wondered how writers would deal with this part in our history. Would all books be forever be set in 2019 until the pandemic is over? Would writers dare to look into the future and try to predict what life will be in a year or two? Trust Howard to use the lockdown as a claustrophobic setting for her intriguing story. For a closed-door mystery the setting doesn’t get any better than this!

My musings:

 

Ciara and Oliver meet at the supermarket check-out just as the first cases of covid are making an appearance in other parts of the world. A coffee turns into a dinner and a string of dates. What do you do when a global pandemic threatens a budding romance? When Oliver suggests to Ciara that she move in with him to sit out the imposed two-week lockdown, she agrees, even though the couple don’t know much about one another. But being confined to a small space with a virtual stranger makes it very tricky to keep your deep, dark secrets hidden ...

 

Now one of them is dead and the police have been called by a neighbour who noticed an unpleasant smell coming from the apartment. DI Leah Riordan and DS Karl Connoly are the lucky detectives tasked with working out what has happened here, and who the victim is. Accident or murder? Truth or lies? Read on to find out!

 

In typical Catherine Ryan Howard style, the timeline in this book is not linear, so we gradually find out the full truth through three separate POVs and multiple jumps through time, from 56 days ago (when Ciara and Oliver first met) to the present, with a few other twists thrown in along the way. If you think that this may be confusing, don’t  worry, because the author has planned this so cleverly that there is never any doubt as to what is happening when and to whom. There is that wonderful “aha!” moment some time before the final reveal when things take an unexpected turn, but I dare you to predict the full truth!

 

I loved reading about lockdown in other parts of the world. This was such a frightening time for most of us, when no one really knew how this would all play out, and cities turned into ghost towns overnight. Many of Ciara’s and Oliver’s first responses to the pandemic mirrored my own confusion and fear, and it was fascinating to try and put myself in their shoes. Would my younger self have agreed to stay with a virtual stranger to keep the budding relationship going? Would I have kept this fact a secret from my family for fear of their disapproval? Yes, probably. This is what I love about this author, her characters are so relatable!

  

Summary:

 

All in all, 56 DAYS was another brilliant mystery from an author who has swiftly risen to my favourites list. Whilst set in the early days of the pandemic, the story is not a novel about the pandemic, but the lockdown provided a perfect claustrophobic backdrop to the mystery. Personally, I loved the way certain scenes are explored through the different POVs of each character, allowing us to spot the differences and wondering who is telling the truth, and who is hiding something. This was a tense, claustrophobic read for me and one I could not put down. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to reading more from this author in future.

Book Review: STRANDED by Sarah Goodwin

 

Title: STRANDED

Author:  Sarah Goodwin

Publisher:  Avon Books UK

Read: August 2021

Expected publication: 14 September 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Eight strangers.
One island.
A secret you'd kill to keep.

When eight people arrive on the beautiful but remote Buidseach Island, they are ready for the challenge of a lifetime: to live alone for one year.

Eighteen months later, a woman is found in an isolated fishing village. She’s desperate to explain what happened to her: how the group fractured and friends became enemies; how they did what they must to survive until the boat came to collect them; how things turned deadly when the boat didn’t come…

But first Maddy must come to terms with the devastating secret that left them stranded, and her own role in the events that saw eight arrive and only three leave.

My musings:

 

For a long time, I was fascinated with the premise of reality TV shows like Survivor, until I found that they were more about bitching, backstabbing and forming alliances than actual survival skills and team work. Apparently this is what viewers like to see – go figure! If you are like me, and those things bring back all the bad memories about high school and some workplaces, then you may find this book super stressful to read. If you were one of the popular group who ruled the courtyard and inspired fear in the lesser mortals, you may also find it stressful – eventually.

 

I love how Sarah Goodwin has run with the theme and explored it all in depth. And be assured, bitching, backstabbing and forming alliances aside, there is plenty of survival to be had in STRANDED. It’s all that reality TV promised but never delivered (perhaps because no ethics committee would ever approve it), and despite biting my nails to the quick I appreciated the mounting tension and breath-holding levels of anxiety some of the scenes induced.

 

In a nutshell, STRANDED explores what happens when you put eight strangers together on a secluded island and let them sort out their own pecking order. If it’s one thing that the TV version of Survivor has shown us, it may not necessarily be the cleverest who win points, but the ones who can get the majority votes, even if they rule with bullying and threats. Maddy, with her history of a sheltered childhood, overprotective parents and home schooling, was never going to be well equipped for this type of power game, so as soon as she calls out the head bully, her fate is sealed. And if you think that someone in the group would stick up for the underdog, then think again – because suddenly Maddy finds herself out in the cold, fighting for survival. And the wilderness is the least of her problems ...

 

STRANDED was one of those books that totally took me by surprise. I was lured by the wilderness setting and found myself with a gripping, adrenalin-fuelled and tense read that was hard to put down. At times, it was also immensely frustrating as the voice of reason was overruled, time and time again. Even though Maddy was perhaps ill equipped for negotiation and getting her point across, it was easy to see how anyone could easily end up in her position. And once the die was cast, there was no going back. “Wow, that escalated fast”, I kept thinking, not realising that much worse was yet to come.

 

 

Summary:

 

STRANDED is a book that speaks to both our inner survival instinct as well as addressing the question: “If the world as we knew it ended tomorrow, how well equipped would you be to survive?” It also confronts the theme of herd mentality and how easily we fall for power rather than reason. It’s a LORD OF THE FLIES, adult version, and just as brutal. For those easily triggered, some scenes may turn your stomach and give you nightmares, but then the end-of-the-world scenario isn’t ever going to be pretty either, is it? I loved the background information about all those skills necessary for survival our ancestors knew but most of us have long un-learned: foraging, how to grow a crop in the wilderness, how to build a basic shelter and most of all, how to be part of the natural environment and work with it. It’s a clever, original and heart-pounding story that will keep me mulling over some of its themes for a long time to come.

 

 

 

 

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

Book Review: ONE BY ONE by Ruth Ware

 

Title: ONE BY ONE

Author:  Ruth Ware

Read: May 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

My musings:

 

Ruth Ware is one of my favourite writers and I would read anything and everything she writes, even if it’s the back of a cereal box. In ONE BY ONE she continues with her trademark of using a closed-door setting, this time taking us to the idyllic location of a luxury Swiss ski chalet. Ware’s love of the Alps and skiing becomes obvious through her vivid descriptions of the winter landscape, the joy of skiing and the isolation experienced when bad weather sets in. I skied a lot in my childhood and teenage years, and it brought back memories of picturesque white mountain tops, but also the terror of getting caught in a blizzard and cut off from the rest of your ski group, with the thunder of an avalanche roaring down a distant mountain range. Five stars for setting!

 

Do you work for a company who pays for a team building exercise in a luxury ski resort for its employees? Alas, neither do I. We are lucky to get some stale mince pies on Christmas day if someone remembers. However, after reading this book, my envy is somewhat tempered, because at least in our workplace there isn’t a serial killer maniac on the loose (though sometimes we probably come close). Five stakeholders and five employees are embarking on a week’s team building and brain storming in the luxury ski chalet, but it is soon obvious that this is not a happy group. Their new app “Snoop” may have taken off on the IT scene, but the team is divided as to a way forward: sell the company for a few million and cash in now, or take the risk of developing it further and getting even richer, or losing it all. There is a 50/50 division in opinion, and with five stakeholders, the fifth person now holds all the power. You can imagine this causing a bit of tension in the group! This is not helped by the weather, which closes in around the mountains and traps the group inside, cuts off power and mobile phone reception and makes tempers flare even further. And then people start dying one by one ...

 

ONE BY ONE is the type of slow-burning, character driven mystery Ware is famous for, and I loved the ever mounting sense of claustrophobia and tension created by the inclement weather and by strong personalities with differing opinions trapped in a small space together. Locked room mysteries typically lack in fast paced action but make up for it with simmering tension and an underlying sense of menace and danger, which takes skill to build. And whilst this was not my favourite Ware book, her skills as a writer were evident in the way the atmosphere escalated and the claustrophobia got an ever tighter grip.

 

I did, however, struggle initially with the large cast of characters, who were difficult to tell apart at times (until a few of them died off and reduced their number). I also knew very early on who the murderer was, which stole a bit of the excitement. That said, the atmospheric setting alone was entertaining enough to keep reading, and I found the background info on the fictional app Snoop quite fascinating, even if it’s not something I would subscribe to. By far my favourite characters were hosts Erin and Danny, who stood apart from secondary characters who were interchangeable, entitled and fairly unlikeable. ONE BY ONE will appeal to readers who like a slow burner with a magnificent armchair travel setting and aren’t too disappointed if their detective skills exceed that of the characters’.