Book Review: TRACED by Catherine Jinks

 

 

Title: TRACED

Author:  Catherine Jinks

Read: January 2025

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 

Book Description (Goodreads):

 

Jane is a contact tracer. She has to call a lot of people and some of them don’t want to talk. Various reasons—tax or immigration issues, infidelity. Domestic abuse.

Jane knows all about that. She and her daughter Tara have spent years in hiding from Tara’s manipulative and terrifying ex. Now, as Jane talks to a close contact, she realises the woman on the phone is scared of the same man—and he’s close. Too close.

Suddenly the past comes slamming back into the present as Jane realises she and Tara can’t keep running forever.

One day, they’re going to be found.

My musings:

 

This book was utterly terrifying! TRACED starts with our main protagonist, Jane, a covid-19 contact tracer, calling people who have unwittingly been exposed to the virus and reminding them to isolate for 14 days until they have been declared virus-free. Nicole, her latest client, sounds absolutely terrified when she hears that her cousin has just tested covid-positive. She confides in Jane that she is scared that her fiancé, who controls her every move, will be furious that she allowed her cousin to visit, and that she is afraid for her life. At first, Jane thinks that Nicole is overreacting – but once she hears who her fiancé is, she knows that Nicole’s life truly is in danger.

 

We soon learn that Jane speaks from experience: her own daughter Tara only narrowly escaped from the clutches of her abusive, controlling ex, which involved changing her name and moving to a place he would never think to look for her. After being so very careful, Jane has once more crossed his path, and she is terrified that he will come after her and Tara.

 

TRACED was a taut domestic thriller with a constant undercurrent of danger that built tension as it raced towards its utterly terrifying finale. It was frightening and confronting to witness Jane and Tara’s well-grounded fears and their feeling of helplessness as once again the noose threatens to tighten around their necks, despite all their efforts to stay under the radar. I found Jane’s voice extremely compelling, to a point where I fervently wished death upon one particular character in the book. I was biting my nails as the inevitable showdown neared!

 

TRACED surpassed all my expectations and is my first 5-star read for the year. If you love an original, enigmatic protagonist, then Jane is the perfect character. A race against time in an atmospheric Australian setting, fighting a very real battle many women in our society face every day – which is perhaps one reason this book was so terrifying. Jinks is a talented writer, and I look forward to reading more of her books in future. Highly recommended!

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: THE UNHEARD by Nicci French

 

Title: THE UNHEARD

Author:  Nicci French

Read: October 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Maybe Tess is overprotective, but passing her daughter off to her ex and his new young wife fills her with a sense of dread. It's not that Jason is a bad father--it just hurts to see him enjoying married life with someone else. Still, she owes it to her daughter Poppy to make this arrangement work.

But Poppy returns from the weekend tired and withdrawn. And when she shows Tess a crayon drawing--an image so simple and violent that Tess can hardly make sense of it----Poppy can only explain with the words, "He did kill her."

Something is horribly wrong. Tess is certain Poppy saw something--or something happened to her--that she's too young to understand. Jason insists the weekend went off without a hitch. Doctors advise that Poppy may be reacting to her parents' separation. And as the days go on, even Poppy's disturbing memory seems to fade. But a mother knows her daughter, and Tess is determined to discover the truth. Her search will set off an explosive tempest of dark secrets and buried crimes--and more than one life may be at stake.

 

My musings:

 

“What makes a good psychological thriller?” a friend asked me recently. “Mmh, let me see ..... It has to mess with my mind. An unreliable narrator where you’re never sure if they’re just imagining the threat or whether it’s real. People connected to the main protagonist who may or may not be a threat, but each one of them is suspicious, and the ones that aren’t suspicious are even more likely to be dangerous. A situation that’s so mundane and everyday that it could happen to you and me, but which escalates quickly into a simmering sense of dread. And no one around you believes that the threat is real.” I could have cut a long story short and summed it up in two words: Nicci French.

 

There is a reason why this author duo is high up on my list of favourites, and THE UNHEARD was a perfect example. If you think that a child’s drawing is no trigger to become paranoid, then I urge you to reconsider. When little Poppy, usually a happy, outgoing three year old, suddenly starts exhibiting some disturbing behaviours and draws the picture of a woman plunging to her death from a tower, her mother is rightly concerned.

 

French write in such a way that it felt as if I was sitting opposite Tess in a cafe, sipping a latte and listening wide eyed to her account of things. “What No way!” At times, I even talked to her in my head: “Yes, just do it!” Or: “No, don’t Tess!” To say I was way too emotionally involved in this story is an understatement. Perhaps because I could not help but put myself in Tess’ shoes: what if this had happened with my own three year old? What if I suddenly couldn’t trust anyone around me any more? What if I had no control over who my child is exposed to whilst in the care of her father? And worst of all, what if everyone thought that I was just crazy to be concerned ....

 

Even though Tess did take things to a whole new level, I was always firmly in her court (cringing at times, but still). My heart ached for her as she had to drop Poppy off at her ex-partner’s house, knowing that she may not be safe there. Questioning all her relationships, even with her new partner and her best friend. I felt how Tess had her back against the wall with nowhere to go. It is this sense of claustrophobia and tension that makes all French novels a perfect read for me, and I loved this book just as much as their previous ones. My only quibble was that I had a few questions at the end that were never fully answered, and I needed a bit more closure – which is the only reason I am giving this 4.5 stars and not 5.

 

Summary:

 

In summary, THE UNHEARD is the type of claustrophobic psychological thriller that places this writer duo firmly on my favourite authors list. I always do a little happy dance when I hear that they have a new book out, knowing that it will mess with my mind and utterly consume me. Even after having finished the book I am still thinking about it. If you love a psychological thriller where you question everything, even your own perception of events, then this book should definitely be on your list – as should the author duo’s previous books.

Book Review: WHEN I WAS YOU by Amber Garza

 

Title: WHEN I WAS YOU

Author:  Amber Garza

Read: October 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

You meets Fatal Attraction in this up-all-night psychological thriller about a lonely empty-nester's growing obsession with a young mother who shares her name.

It all begins on an ordinary fall morning, when Kelly Medina gets a call from her son's pediatrician to confirm her upcoming "well-baby" appointment. It's a cruel mistake; her son left for college a year ago, and Kelly has never felt so alone. The receptionist quickly apologizes: there's another mother in town named Kelly Medina, and she must have gotten their numbers switched.

But Kelly can't stop thinking about the woman who shares her name. Lives in her same town. Has a son she can still hold, and her whole life ahead of her. She can't help looking for her: at the grocery store, at the gym, on social media. When Kelly just happens to bump into the single mother outside that pediatrician's office, it's simple curiosity getting the better of her.

Their unlikely friendship brings Kelly a renewed sense of purpose, taking care of this young woman and her adorable baby boy. But that friendship quickly turns to obsession...

 

My musings:

 

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else who bears your name? Were you just the tiniest bit intrigued by imagining what your namesake would be like?

 

Empty nester and unhappy housewife Kelly Medina finds herself in that very situation when she gets a phone call from her son’s paediatrician’s office reminding her of her “well-baby” appointment. The only problem is that Kelly’s son isn’t a baby any more and no longer lives at home. As Kelly tries to imagine the other, younger Kelly, she grieves for the happy days when she was a new mother, in love with her husband and besotted with her baby son. But there is a fine line between curiosity and obsession ...

 

How utterly fascinating is this premise? Kelly #1, bored, unhappy and longing for the days when her life was happy and full. Kelly #2, newly arrived in town with her baby son and only too happy to accept Kelly #1’s offers of friendship and help with her baby. Until Kelly #1 goes that little bit too far ... Seeing how Amber Garza’s mind works, this could never end well, could it?

 

If I had expected a crazy stalker story, I was not disappointed, but this book was so much more. Without giving anything away, there were moments when I thought my heart would break. At times, I could relate to either Kelly – the young mum new in town with a small child and no family; and the older, lonely housewife who is mourning the days when her house was filled with the laughter of children. What I hadn’t expected was that each Kelly came with a backstory that would turn everything I had believed upside down – and a twist that made me gape open-mouthed for a few minutes, not sure what I had just read. Could it be? Would it be? Some moments bordered on truly crazy, but Garza always reeled it in at the last minute, making the story stay within the realm of possibility, making it all the scarier!

 

I love the premise of a main protagonist whose mental state is in question, which makes them an unreliable narrator of the best kind. As Kelly #1 blends memories and fantasies into her story, it’s never totally obvious whether she is telling the truth – or, perhaps I should say that her truth may not always reflect that of others. Garza portrays this tormented souls so well that I felt her pain and turmoil every step along the way through Part 1 of the story. Then came Part 2 and – hang on – what???!!!!! *applause*

 

Anyway, I don’t want to give any more away. Enter this one blindly if you can and let it take you on a crazy journey. 

 

Summary:

 

WHEN I WAS YOU is one of the best thrillers I have read this year and definitely one of the cleverest twists. The only warning I should give is that if you identify with the empty nester premise, there will be sadness there, too. All in all a clever, twisty thriller that will leave you wanting more from this author in future!

 

Book Review: INVITE ME IN by Emma Curtis

 

Title: INVITE ME IN

Author:  Emma Curtis

Publisher:  Random House UK

Read: May 2021

Expected publication: 2 September 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 

Book Description:

 

To those who think they know her, Eliza Curran has it all: two healthy children, a stunning home and a wealthy, adoring husband. No one would guess the reality of her life: trapped in an unhappy marriage to a controlling man, she longs for a way out. When she takes on a new tenant, her life changes unexpectedly. Dan Jones is charming and perceptive, and quickly becomes a close friend to the whole family. But Dan's arrival threatens to tip Eliza's fragile world out of balance. And when someone has as many secrets as Eliza does, the smallest slip could destroy everything.

 

My musings:

 

If I tell you that I felt furious almost the entire time whilst reading this book, then you may think that contradicts my next statement: I loved this book! It's only a very skilled author who can elicit such a strong emotional response, and I would have walked through fire for our main protagonist Eliza to free her from her overbearing, bullying, controlling bastard of a husband!

From the very first moment Dan and Eliza meet and he cheekily introduces himself as her future tenant in the newly renovated flat she is renting out, we hear that Eliza is deeply unhappy. After ten years of living with a man who watches her every move and is emotionally abusive, she is desperate to leave her marriage. But her husband Martin holds some type of power over her, and she is trapped. Is it any wonder then that she would easily be charmed by her handsome, easygoing new tenant?

It's at this point that any similarities between INVITE ME IN and other likeminded domestic suspense stories end. As Eliza's trap tightens and she is becoming ever more desperate, lonely and isolated, I would have willingly finished off her nasty husband myself. Again, it's only a very skilled author who knows how to release her readers' inner psychopaths ;) And of course it's not as straightforward as that ...

When the twist came, I was and I wasn't surprised. I knew that the author would wait for an opportune moment to pounce and send her readers into a tailspin. But I had no idea how evil and twisted this plot development would turn out to be!

I'm not going to give anything else away. It's best to enter this story blind and let yourself get swept away in its emotional maelstrom. INVITE ME IN is that rarest kind of thriller- one that both chills with a constant sense of menace and danger and also blindsides you completely. I enjoyed every minute of it and read it in almost one sitting because I couldn't tear myself away. It will easily make it onto my favourites list this year and I highly recommend it to readers who may have become a bit jaded by the predictability of the domestic noir genre. As each dysfunctional character stumbled towards the inevitable finale, there was nothing predictable or formulaic in this story. Well done Emma Curtis!

 

 

 

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

Book Review: THE HEIGHTS by Louise Candlish

 

Title: THE HEIGHTS

Author:  Louise Candlish

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster UK

Read: May 2021

Expected publication: 2 June 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 

Book Description:

 

The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Shad Thames, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him.

Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years.

(I’m leaving it here because it’s better to go into this blindly and the blurb gives too much away!)

 

 

My musings:

 

I love books that present me a real ethical dilemma and make me examine my own moral compass. Justice vs revenge. Justice vs obsession. It can be a fine line. If the justice system fails you, and the threat is still out there, is it ok to take matters into your own hand? These are just some of the themes Candlish explores in her latest novel THE HEIGHTS, and the dilemma kept me awake at night!

 

Candlish knows how to create a nightmare scenario. Whether it’s the loss of your home in OUR HOUSE, or nightmarish neighbours in THOSE PEOPLE, or a parent’s worst nightmare in her latest novel, these are scenarios we can relate to and dread. This could happen to you or me, out of the blue, shattering our world.

 

Ellen Saint has lived a parent’s worst nightmare and she is reflecting on it through an essay in a writers’ workshop after having come face to face with the person who destroyed her world. Her family life was happy until her teenage son Lucas fell under the spell of Kieran, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, a boy who dealt drugs, who led him astray and transformed her happy, bright Lucas into a sullen, rebellious young man she scarcely recognised. Afraid of Kieran herself, Ellen could only stand by helplessly and watch her child self-destruct. Until one night, her very worst fears were confirmed and her life was shattered.

 

It takes a while for the story to get there, and every step of the way was fraught with the kind of tension Candlish creates so effortlessly.  I knew that something terrible was about to happen, and yet had to stand by helplessly, like watching a train plunge off the bridge into the abyss. If I had a chance to derail the train before the disaster, would I do it, even if there was collateral damage? Ellen has failed in averting disaster, and now all she can do is seek justice ... or revenge.

 

As Ellen’s story is nearing its nail-biting conclusion, we start hearing another voice, that of her ex-partner Vic’s, Lucas’ father. But hang on, his story is different from Ellen’s! Who is lying and who is telling the truth? My heart had wept for Ellen and I had trusted her completely, but I was now questioning everything I had read. I love psychological thrillers that confuse and thrill me in equal measure, and Candlish is a master at doing just that. Taking the unreliable narrator theme just one step further than the rest, the final twist came out of nowhere and punched me in the gut so hard it knocked the wind right out of me. WHAAATTTTTT????? I spluttered, having to reread the final pages to see whether I just dreamed up that particular morsel of truth that threw everything else into total chaos.

 

Summary:

 

Domestic thrillers are a dime a dozen these days, and it takes a lot to surprise and wow me, but Candlish has done it again. Readers who are looking for a thriller which a) tells its story in a clever, unique format; b) wrings you out emotionally; c) makes you question your own moral compass and capacity for murder; and d) offers a final reveal so unexpected and shocking that it will sucker-punch you, should definitely pick up THE HEIGHTS and settle in for a night of intense reading. Just make sure you allow plenty of time, because you will not be able to sleep until this mystery is solved. Now, after the final reveal, I am still not sure about some of the grey areas. Did he? Did she? Who was telling the truth?

  

 

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

Book Review: THE PERFECT LIE by Jo Spain

 

Title: THE PERFECT LIE

Author:  Jo Spain

Publisher:  Quercus Books

Read: April 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny's police colleagues one morning, it's the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death.

Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband's murder. Over that year and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect.

But it was all built on the perfect lie.

 

My musings:

 

Jo Spain knows how to write a twisty mystery, so I was very excited to read her latest novel THE PERFECT LIE. Inspired by the challenges of facing adversity and tragedy whilst living abroad, Spain casts her main character Erin as an Irish woman who has escaped a painful past by moving to the US and marrying an American detective. They are now happily living in New York, far from Erin’s parents and the family dynamics that have split them apart. But one morning, her husband Danny commits suicide by jumping from the balcony of their fourth floor apartment, leaving behind a legacy of questions no one wants to answer. What prompted her easygoing husband to take his own life in front of her?

 

The story unfolds in an unusual format: after the shocking opening scenes, here we have the POV of Erin in the present as she is awaiting trial for the murder of her husband. Murder???? But didn’t she say that he jumped and took his own life?

 

The second POV is also Erin’s as she is recounting the time leading up to Danny’s death. And the third POV introduces two other characters who are seemingly unconnected to the main story. Where is this all going to lead?

 

I spent a large percentage of the book in wonderment, puzzling how all these timelines could possibly connect in the end and why Erin was in court accused of murder. It wasn’t until very close to the end that the AHA! Moment finally came as more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Spain knows how to construct a multi-layered mystery, and I thought she did a great job in keeping me in the dark. I love it when a story takes me totally by surprise!

 

Whilst I was mostly gripped by Erin’s predicament, I did feel that the book could have benefitted from a bit more editing of the other timeline, which contained a lot of information that slowed the main part of the story down but wasn’t all relevant to the central mystery. Instead, I would have liked to see a bit more background about Erin and Danny’s relationship, as I wasn’t totally convinced by their great love story. But these are minor quibbles because the story gripped me pretty much right from its explosive and shocking opening chapter and kept me guessing to the very end.

 

Summary:

 

How well do you know your spouse? This really forms the central question to Spain’s new mystery, and it’s something you will ask many times as the story unfolds from it’s jaw-dropping opening chapter to the final tying up of threads. If you are looking for a domestic thriller that stands apart from others in the genre by clever layering of multiple elements and by withholding just the right details to keep you guessing, then give this book a go!

 

 

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

Characters stumbling headfirst into disaster: FOLLOW YOU HOME by Mark Edwards and THE POISON TREE by Erin Kelly

 

Sometimes the most sinister stories are the ones that could happen to everyone. Ordinary people caught up in situations that arise from one wrong decision, trusting the wrong person, choosing the wrong path. A split second decision that can change your entire life. Stories that read like watching a train rumble towards the abyss and being unable to stop it. These two books are perfect examples of the genre and held me spellbound in their grip as I watched the characters self destruct ....

FOLLOW YOU HOME by Mark Edwards

“Unfortunately, real life has no erase button.”

 

I never enter a Mark Edwards novel without bracing myself, because I just know that he will bestow my worst nightmares on his hapless characters! Whether it’s evil houseguests taking over your home and refusing to leave (HERE TO STAY), or horrible neighbours (THE MAGPIES), or a missing child in a dark forest (THE RETREAT), Edwards has become a go-to author for me when I want a truly terrifying domestic noir thriller that messes with my mind. And I am happy to say that he has done it again with FOLLOW YOU HOME.

 

“This fucked-up situation, this mess, this horror story, had started with me, with a single unwitting mistake I’d made back then...” This seems to be Edwards’ theme in most of his novels, and can’t we all relate to that at some point in our lives!

 

If you are a traveller, you will undoubtedly have had a few interesting experiences that were horrible at the time but made for good stories later. Like the time I left our tickets in the hotel room and the whole airport shuttle had to turn around for us and go back, making everyone on the bus hate us. Or the time we didn’t know we needed a visa and got thrown from a night train at a lonely border crossing somewhere in Eastern Europe. So when I read about poor Laura and Daniel’s experience on the train through Romania, I shuddered and trembled and my heart rate sped up. This could never end well!

 

I love the way Edwards slowly builds tension, initially almost innocuously, luring you in until BAM! Here then is your worst nightmares come true. The young couple’s trip of a lifetime soon turns into a disaster of epic proportion when they not only get thrown off the train, but end up without their passports or phone contact in the middle of the night in a dark Romanian forest. What happens after this won’t be revealed much later in the story, except that we know it is so horrible that it has left lasting scars and has broken up Laura and Daniel’s relationship. This not knowing, this uncertainty, this speculation about what exactly happened to the couple was my favourite part of the story, because it created an almost unbearable tension. I was almost disappointed when the mystery was unravelled, because it took away some of the pulse-pounding suspense, even though of course I wanted to know the answers just as much as every other reader.

 

If you have read any of Edwards’ books, you will have noticed that they are never predictable and they don’t always end the way your justice craving self would like. Sometimes they even stray into the border territory of the great conspiracy theory or the type of events that are passed along the grapevine usually starting like this: “A friend of my second cousin’s godfather ....” Yes, there was A LOT happening here, and I had to suspend disbelief a bit to swallow it all, but it made for a heck of an entertaining read. I could see this book turned into the type of movie where you have to turn the volume low and peek through your fingers as the young couple stumble along the railway tracks in search of help.

 

With its creepy and ominous opening chapters, FOLLOW YOU HOME drew me in immediately and captivated me so fully that I read it all in the course of one day. If you haven’t read any of Mark Edwards’ books yet, then I warn you that his power lies in telling tales that could happen to anyone – you, your family, your neighbours, your friends – which makes them all the more terrifying. Edwards states that this story, too, had been inspired by true events, which is perhaps why the real-life tension is evident in every page. I really enjoyed it and look forward to being scared out of my wits by this author in future.

____________________________________________________

THE POISON TREE by Erin Kelly

Sometimes I really crave a slow-burning, character study of family secrets and relationships, and Erin Kelly does this so well! Whilst HE SAID / SHE SAID remains my all-time favourite by this author, I really enjoyed her portrayal of the friendships in THE POISON TREE.

 

One thing I love about Erin Kelly’s writing is the languid way in which she builds her spider’s web of growing tension that gradually entangles the reader and holds them in its spell. Just as Karen, the straight-A student and only child of conservative parents gradually falls under the spell of the bohemian Capel siblings and their rambling, tumble down English mansion. I could easily picture straight and slightly awkward Karen being bewitched by the outgoing siblings whose free and easy lifestyle must feel totally alien and enchanting to her. Biba Capel is the sort of character who blazes into people’s lives like a bright comet of destruction, dazzling them with her light but in the end only leaving smoking ruins behind. Rex, who is more subdued and stable than his sister, holds his own allure as the brooding, overprotective male counterpart to his vivacious sibling.

 

Despite the slow build-up, Kelly makes it very clear that nothing good can come from these dynamics. And whilst I did predict a major part of the “twist” (I read A LOT of these mysteries), I was still invested to watch the slow descend into disaster as both Karen and Rex act as if remote-controlled by Biba’s destructive hand. I love a good character study, and the way poor Karen gets drawn into the Capel siblings’ world was well executed. I related to some of Karen’s fascination with the Capel’s lives – “straight A student falls for more exciting personalities” is a theme that really does play out in real life. A wonderful premise for a novel that is part character study and part domestic thriller and will undoubtedly stun some readers with its twist.

 

All in all, THE POISON TREE should probably be avoided by readers who don’t enjoy a slow-burning mystery, because their attention may wane in the first half, when the interpersonal dynamics are being set up. However, lovers of a good character study will appreciate the way Kelly builds her characters’ relationships that ultimately lead to disaster. I felt like I was watching a train chugga-chugg towards the abyss, unable to stop it as it built momentum with its unsuspecting passengers still dazzled by Biba’s light. A well-written story simmering with an undercurrent of tension and menace. I look forward to reading more from this author in future!

Book Review: THE WIFE UPSTAIRS by Rachel Hawkins

Title: THE WIFE UPSTAIRS

Author:  RachelHawkins

Read: January 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending? 

My musings:

 

I like reading retellings because it’s usually fun to see how an old classic would translate into our modern times. Having read and loved Jane Eyre as a youngster (I really must re-read it one of these days!) I was excited to read THE WIFE UPSTAIRS as part of a book buddy group read. And I guess if you’re drawn to easy, popcorn thrillers with a bunch of unlikeable characters who are as nasty as a pit full of scorpions, then this book will be entertaining enough.

 

Sadly, the story was more miss than hit for me. I thought that all the things that made the original classic so enjoyable didn’t translate well into the modern setting. With Jane Eyre’s atmospheric old English mansion, the constraints of society and gender roles at the time, and even just the gloomy English weather, Charlotte Bronte created a novel that has entertained millions of readers over the last 150 or so years – with good reason. I could easily buy a crazy wife hidden in the attic of an old English manor house, with its multiple wings, dark corners and crevices and servants bustling about, but not in Eddie’s ultra-modern Thornfield Estate home. Even if our modern day Jane was a bit thick, the dog surely would have alarmed at the thumps and bumps coming from upstairs? But most of all, the sheer nastiness of each and every character in Hawkins’ version slowly eroded my enjoyment of the story. All those bitchy, backstabbing, snarky women read like utter stereotypes to me, ones I was only too eager to put out of my mind when the last page had been turned. And when it all came down to it, even those parts of the story that weren’t totally implausible were fairly predictable to me, robbing me of any surprise element that would have redeemed the book for me.

 

Even though the book totally missed the mark for me, I can see that other readers may enjoy the bunch of dysfunctional characters racing like a doomed train towards its dramatic finale. Personally, I thought that it was all wrong, from the modern American setting to the stereotypical, snarky characters and oh-so-much suspension of disbelief to give the characters the benefit of the doubt for being – frankly – a bit stupid. Never mind, we can’t all love the same things and I do think I need a break from domestic thrillers for a while!

 

Book Review: THE GILDED CAGE by Camilla Lackberg

 

Title:  THE GILDED CAGE

Author:  Camilla Läckberg

Publisher:  HarperCollins Australia

Read: October 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

People would kill to have Faye von Essen’s life. She lives in an ultra-swanky apartment in the most exclusive area of Stockholm, she has a gorgeous husband who gives her everything she’s ever wanted, and she has an adorable daughter who lights up her world. Faye’s life is perfect.

So how is it, then, that she now finds herself in a police station?

The truth is that Faye’s life is far from what it seems. The truth is that Faye isn’t even her real name. And now she’s been caught out. There’s no way she’s going to go down without a fight. The only question is – who will escape with their life?

 

My musings:

 

WTH??? What a thoroughly twisted, evil little tale this was! Some of the revelations made me rejoice in the sisterhood, others sent shivers down my spine, and some made me want to have a shower. This book is definitely not for the faint hearted.

 

THE GILDED CAGE was my first book by Camilla Lackberg, but it won’t be my last. With a penchant for dark, Nordic noir, I am wondering why it has taken me so long to pick up her books?

 

The reference to the gilded cage relates to Faye, our main protagonist, as she finds herself trapped living the life of a rich man’s wife – she may have all the money she can possibly want at her disposal, but her marriage is far from healthy. As Faye’s confidence is slowly being eroded by her husband’s emotional abuse, she is also harbouring suspicions that he is cheating on her.

 

If the theme of rich arrogant men trading in their wives for younger models (and making a point of mentioning to their wives that they have become too old, fat and boring to be worthy of their love) makes you wild, then you will have steam coming out of your ears like the Hogwarts Express reading the first half of the book. Do not despair, because vindication is nigh. Although I must say that it is more twisted than sweet, and I felt slightly sullied by each and every character in this book. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the ride though, and it was truly a crazy journey.

 

THE GILDED CAGE is as steamy as it is dark. I soon felt myself swept away by this tale of love, betrayal, revenge and the force of a woman scorned. Lackberg has a unique writing style that fits well with the Nordic noir theme I love, and I am very eager now to read some of her other novels.

 

 

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: INVISIBLE GIRL by Lisa Jewell

 

Title: INVISIBLE GIRL

Author:  Lisa Jewell

Read: September 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Owen Pick’s life is falling apart.

In his thirties, a virgin, and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a geography teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums, where he meets the charismatic, mysterious, and sinister Bryn.

Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.

Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre Maddox disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.

 

What attracted me to this book:

 

I have loved Lisa Jewell’s books ever since reading THE HOUSE WE GREW UP IN (which still remains my favourite book of hers) a decade or so ago, and she has been an auto buy author for me ever since. I particularly love the way she presents us with an insight into the psyche of her well-rounded characters, in a way that makes them come to life on the pages.

My musings:

 

I am happy to say that Jewell has come through for me again with her latest book – here we have her trademark troubled characters, all wrapped up in a multi-layered, suspenseful domestic mystery. The secret lies in the slow simmer of danger as things are trending South in our protagonists’ lives, like a train destined to plunge into the abyss as all brakes have failed. Such is the situation for Owen, a loner in his 30s who is so socially inept and afraid of women that he has never yet had a sexual partner and still lives with his forbidding aunt in a tiny portion of her house. When a spade of sexual attacks occurs in the area, and a young girl disappears, everyone is very eager to point their finger at the “weirdo” living in the neighbourhood.

 

The premise of this one seemed all too real, because we all tend to find scapegoats in the people that don’t quite fit into society. I found it both heartbreaking but also interesting as I challenged my own prejudices and misconceptions. If I was a parent, would I too be afraid of the strange man living next door? Just on account of him being different? As Owen is accused of the crimes and his life slowly unravels, my heart ached for him, even though I admit that I also found him slightly creepy.

 

I did feel at times that the underlying themes were chosen to reflect the current political climate and came a little bit close to preaching a message at times, especially towards the end. However, it did prompt me to reflect, and kept me turning the pages, so I cannot complain!

  

Summary:

 

INVISIBLE GIRL is a slow burning and yet complex mystery that will appeal to readers who appreciate a character driven story that delves into the psyche of different people and explores the way they think and act. Jewell has mastered the art of creating suspense without any of the hard hitting gore and horror of other mysteries, but rather uses our society’s prejudices and biases to raise our hackles. In the end, it’s those preconceived ideas that will prompt reflection as the answers are revealed in a satisfying finale. I really have come to love Jewell’s writing style and can’t wait to read her next novel.