Review: Survive the Night by Riley Sager

One of the best thing about Riley Sager is that each of his novels is a slightly different spin on crime fiction. Whereas Home Before Dark was a spooky suspense, Survive the Night is a cat-and-mouse thriller.

Movie-addict Charlie's way of coping with her parents' deaths is to turn stressful situations into a classic film inside her head. She has pills to prevent these hallucinations but the latest traumatic event in her life has her throwing them down the drain. Big mistake. Because when she decides to abandon her studies and return home, she accepts a lift from a fellow student who isn't quite who he seems to be. It doesn't help that as her suspicions grow, and her stress levels rise, her mind begins its favourite trick of putting a sinister twist on the most innocent of actions. Or maybe her mind isn't playing tricks at all. Maybe she really should be worried...

Survive the Night is an extremely clever thriller that mixes Charlie's fantasies with reality. If the main character isn't sure what is going on, the poor reader doesn't stand a chance! Although I was led up the garden path on a few occasions, I did guess the ending fairly quickly. There are lots of fabulous twists on the way, including the jaw-dropping epilogue. There is also a nail-biting finale and lots of classic film references for movie buffs, and pop culture references for those of us old enough to remember the 90s (er, hem...).

A fabulous read, great fun and thoroughly recommended! I can't wait for the film!

Thanks to Riley Sager and Hodder & Stoughton for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

I'm a huge fan of Megan Miranda's twisty mysteries and was thrilled to receive an early copy of her latest, Such a Quiet Place, about the small tight-knit community of Hollow's Edge. The kind of place that when something bad happens, it's easier for the residents to believe a newcomer is guilty rather than suspect one of their own.

Two years ago, Ruby Fletcher was convicted of the murders of Brandon and Fiona Truett on the testimonies of her friends and neighbours. Freed by a mistrial, Ruby is back and expecting to slot right back into her old life - much to the horror of her old 'friends', including housemate Harper. Why on earth has Ruby come back? Is she out for revenge? Or is it possible that she was innocent all along?

I enjoyed this slow-burn, claustrophobic murder mystery where the tension tightened as each clever twist was revealed. It perfectly captured the spirit of a small community working together to create a safe and pleasant neighbourhood for everyone. There's a Neighbourhood Watch, an online community board, and parties where everyone brings something for the BBQ. Hollow's Edge is a terrific place to live. Except everyone has security lights and cameras, and they obsess about each other's movements and actions. They think they know each other. They think they know each other's secrets...

This is one of those stories where everyone is a potential suspect so no one can be particularly likeable. Even Harper donates Ruby's belongings to a charity shop the moment she is convicted! I didn't guess the final twist, but I did miss the dash of romance I'd come to expect from Megan Miranda's previous novels. Such a Quiet Place should appeal to fans of domestic suspense and small town mysteries, and authors such as Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell.

Thank you to Megan Miranda and Corvus (Atlantic Books) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: The Man Who Died Twice (The Thursday Murder Club #2) by Richard Osman

I loved the first book in this series (The Thursday Murder Club). When I was offered an early read of this book by the publisher, I think I may have screamed with excitement!

In a peaceful retirement village, four friends meet up once a week to solve cold crimes. In this story, their leader, Elizabeth, has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He's made a big mistake and he needs her help, but as the bodies begin to pile up, Elizabeth enlists her friends (Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim) to help find the killer - before the killer finds them!

Like the first book in the series, The Man Who Died Twice is a jaw-droppingly surreal, achingly funny, jolly good murder mystery. Imagine a mash-up of Miss Marple and James Bond, with a gleeful dash of Tarrantino. There are priceless diamonds, house-proud mobsters, sarky drug dealers and two not-remotely hapless police officers - who have long ago learnt to just go with the flow whenever the Thursday Murder Club are involved. 

Strangely, it is the surreal parts that seem the most realistic. My favourite character (apart from Elizabeth; I can SO imagine Helen Mirren playing her) is Bogdan. I love the way he just goes along with whatever the Thursday Murder Club suggest, as though it is all perfectly normal. And his crush on (uh uh, no spoilers!) is adorable.

One of my favourite reads this year. Would suit fans of character-driven cosy crime and authors such as Elly Griffiths (The Postscript Murders).

The Man Who Died Twice will be published on 16th September 2021.

Thank you to Richard Osman and Viking (Penguin Books) for my copy of this book, which I received via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

I love Lisa Jewell. She's one of my favourite authors. When I read The Family Upstairs, I had thought nothing could top it - but I love this book even more. It has everything: strong characters, a claustrophobic mystery, a gothic house, creepy teenagers - and a cute dog! It's the kind of book you have to read faster and faster because you're really worried about how it's all going to end!

The Night She Disappeared is told over two timelines by multiple viewpoints. In 2017, Tallulah goes on a date with her boyfriend Zach, leaving her baby with her mother Kim. The next morning Tallulah still hasn't come home. Kim discovers that Tallulah and Zach were invited to the local big house, Dark Place (which already has a sinister reputation), but when Kim calls around the owner says that all the teenagers left after the party. Kim knows Tallulah would never willingly abandon her baby. So where is she? 

Then two years later, when everyone but Kim has moved on with their lives, a crime writer called Sophie spots a sign in the local woods that says 'Dig Here'...

The Night She Disappeared is a clever, twisty mystery that doesn't let up on the suspense or tension for a second. I particularly loved the character of Kim, who refuses to give up hope that her daughter will be found, even though all the evidence is to the contrary. Tallulah's friend, Scarlett, is an intriguing character, and I loved the spookiness and legends of Dark Place. Fans of Lisa Jewell will love it. One of my favourite reads this year.

Thanks to Lisa Jewell and Cornerstone/Century/Random House UK for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: The Secret Path by Karen Swan

Karen Swan is one of my favourite authors, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of this book. 

The Secret Path has two flawed but fascinating main characters. Alex, who admits he is prepared to do anything (no matter how morally reprehensible) if he believes it is the right thing to do, and Tara, who has always found it hard to trust anyone. The start of the story shows how Alex cruelly betrays Tara's trust, leaving her miserable and embittered. Skip forward ten years and Tara has worked hard to create a career for herself as a doctor, away from the influence of her loving family's toxic wealth. When her father invites her to his home in Costa Rica for a special event, her first instinct is to decline. Unwilling to hurt him, she decides to take her friends because she knows they will enjoy the holiday. Once there, the young son of an old friend becomes ill and Tara volunteers to trek through the jungle to find the cure. Unfortunately, the only person available to act as Tara's guide is her old enemy Alex...

I found myself still thinking about this book several days after finishing. I've always enjoyed stories with complicated, flawed characters - you know, the ones who make you yell 'No, I can't believe you did that!' at the book. Alex exists in his own world with his own moral code and hurt Tara so badly that ten years later she still hasn't recovered. When they meet again, to say they have a lot of unresolved issues and tension is an understatement. The descriptions of the jungle (and the wildlife and the insects) are so fabulous you can almost hear the rain dripping from the lush vegetation; you'll certainly be reaching for the mosquito spray.

No one does destination fiction as well as Karen Swan. The jungle setting and lovers-to-enemies trope reminded me of that old film, Romancing the Stone - there is also an action-packed finale. Refreshingly, Tara is not a trust-fund princess and is quite capable of surviving in the jungle on her own. Finding her way through it, however, is a different matter!

The Secret Path is one my of favourite reads this year. Karen Swan's fans will love it, along with anyone who loves destination fiction and a cracking good story.

Thank you to Karen Swan and Pan for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: Down by the Water by Elle Connel

I downloaded this book because I'd read the blurb and somehow assumed it was a ghost story (boy appearing from nowhere in a photo, etc) but it's a psychological suspense!

A group of friends arrive at an isolated Scottish castle for a weekend hen party. They haven't seen each other since university and there are still secrets, tensions and old grudges simmering away beneath the surface. Their holiday starts off well but begins to go wrong when they are trapped for an extra few days and the food mysteriously runs out. Strange things happen, they squabble amongst themselves, but then one finds a diary that could explain everything...

I have mixed feelings about this story. The writing is good, the author is great at creating a creepy atmosphere and there is that constant feeling of menace. You just know Bad Things are going to happen. The characters are mostly horrible, particularly Georgie. I was hoping that if this was one of those books where they all got killed off one-by-one (it isn't), then she would be the first to go! While the second part of the story is a cracking read, the first part was a little too slow and I did have trouble working out who-was-who because of all the characters.

I would recommend this story to anyone who loves slow-burn suspense and books like The Hunting Party (Lucy Foley) and In a Dark, Dark Wood (Ruth Ware).

Thank you to Elle Connel and Wildfire (Headline) for my copy of this book which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily. 

Review: The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

I downloaded this book after reading the blurb as the cover was not available at the time. I love stories based on folk tales and fairy tales (particularly ones I am not familiar with) and this sounded right up my street.

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a re-imagining of an event in medieval Hungarian history, woven with strands of Hungarian and Jewish folk stories.  Evike lives in a pagan village, hidden in a forest, the only one of its inhabitants without some kind of magical power. This is blamed on her father being an outsider: a 'Yehuli'. When soldiers from the Holy Order of Woodsmen arrive to claim a seer for the King, the villagers are only too happy to offer Evike up rather than lose one of their own girls.  But on the march back to the capital, the woodsmen are attacked by various supernatural forces and soon the Evike and the Captain are the only ones left. To survive, they will have to learn to not only trust each other, but work together.

Although I loved all the folk story and historical stuff, The Wolf and the Woodsman was a bit too gory for me! In order for a character's magic to work they had to use blood sacrifices, which usually involves blood-letting or the loss of a body part. I was uncomfortable with the parallels with self-harm and couldn't help wondering that if you had to sacrifice a finger every time you wanted to do a spell, what happened when you ran out of fingers? While the gore meant this read like an novel aimed at adults, by contrast the romance was a bit teenage-y and I'd have preferred more ambiguity about Gasper's character, rather than the too-early flagging that he's A Nice Guy Really.

Recommended to fans of grittier YA fantasy and books such as The Bear and the Nightingale (Katherine Arden).

Thank you to Ava Reid and Del Rey/Cornerstone for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I loved Taylor's previous book, Daisy Jones & The Six, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, a fab 1980s-set, literal 'beach read' that reminded me of those glitzy books written by authors such as Jackie Collins, Shirley Conran and Judith Krantz - only with much nicer characters!

A lifetime holding it together, one party will bring it crashing down...

The story is set in Malibu and split between the 1950s (leading up to the 80s) and 1983. In the 50s we see singer Mick Riva  marry sweet loyal teenager June Costas, and witness the effect his fame (and philandering) has on their marriage and four children. In the present, his daughter Nina is preparing for her famous annual party - except her tennis-star husband has just left her and she'd rather be surfing anyway. And her sister has invited an unexpected guest...

Malibu Rising is fabulous escapism, an affectionate take on those 80s beach reads, with flawed but lovable characters - some more lovable than others! As well as Nina, who becomes a swimwear model to support her family, there is Jay, a sexy surfer who can have any woman except the one he really wants; his stoic 'twin' Hud, who will do anything to avoid hurting his brother - except that one thing; and baby sister Kat, possibly an even greater surfer than Jay, if only she can find the confidence to be who she really is.

My favourite character was Nina. I was really rooting for her as it gradually dawned on her that she was repeating the same mistakes as her mother. The party is fun too, with a huge cast of characters that are all given backstories and forgotten when the next one is introduced - just like real life!

Malibu Rising is a big, fat, luscious read, and one of my favourite books this year. I am sure fans of Daisy Jones will love it too. The novel would also suit those who love those glitzy, glamorous beach reads that sadly no one seems to publish any more.  

Thank you to Taylor Jenkins Reid and Cornerstone Digital for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

Emily Henry is one of my favourite romantic comedy authors. She never fails to deliver. So if you're looking for the perfect Staycation read, this is it!

Poppy and Alex meet on their first day at university and Do Not Get On, but that doesn't matter because they'll never see each other again, right? Wrong! When Poppy's friend manages to blag her a lift back home at the end of the year with someone who lives in the same town, guess who it is? Alex. By the time they reach their home town they've developed a friendship of sorts and agree to go on a summer vacation with each other.

A few years later Alex is a teacher, happy to stay in the dead-end town where they grew up. Poppy, however, cannot wait to travel the world. The blog she writes, detailing her experiences, becomes such a success she's offered a job at a famous travel magazine. Soon she and Alex are taking holidays all around the world at the magazine's expense. Until one summer, she and Alex fall out. For two years they don't even speak until she accidentally texts him, one text leads to another, and they've agreed to go on one last holiday together...

You and Me on Vacation takes familiar romantic tropes like enemies-to-friends and opposites-attract and puts a wholly original and modern spin on them. The laughs come thick and fast, the banter between the characters is whip-smart, and the sexual tension fairly crackles off the page. Poppy is adorable, I loved her eccentric family, and Alex is a complete sweetheart.

Verdict? You and Me on Vacation is completely brilliant, I absolutely loved it and I am sure you will too! One of my favourite reads this year.

You and Me on Vacation will be published in ebook on 11th May 2021 and in paperback on 8th July 2021

Thank you to Emily Henry and Penguin for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: The House of the Hanged Woman (Albert Lincoln #3) by Kate Ellis

Kate Ellis is one of my favourite authors. I love her twisty murder mysteries that always keep me guessing.

The House of the Hanged Woman is the last in her Albert Lincoln trilogy set immediately after WW1. In this story Albert is sent back to the village he visited in A High Mortality of Doves, which has unhappy memories for him. An MP has gone missing and a body has been found in a cave, mutilated beyond recognition. Are the two cases connected? The other point of view in the story is that of Rose, unhappily married, who lives for the romances she borrows from the library - while dreaming of murdering her husband... 

While The House of the Hanged Woman can be read as a standalone, there are spoilers for the first two books, so you would have a better reading experience starting with book 1 (A High Mortality of Doves). It is also the last in the series, so it wraps up the loose strands of the earlier books. It is a shame this series is ending, because I've really enjoyed it. The House of the Hanged Woman is a fascinating mystery, completely engrossing and hard to put down. There are lots of twists, including a very clever one at the end, which I loved. A perfect read for anyone who loves historical mysteries and for fans of authors such as Elly Griffiths.

Thank you to Kate Ellis and Piatkus for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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