ARC Review: The Postscript Murders

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

What I think I loved most about this book is that Griffiths has managed to create a mystery that feels cozy but also has a lot of thriller elements. There are small country inns, and cups of tea, and lots of books, but there are also masked gunmen and threatening postcards. It's the kind of book that has been perfect for the current weather here, rainy and overcast and gloomy, just the kind of story you want to curl up with under a blanket and have a cup of tea yourself.

The main premise is the death of an elderly woman who, it turns out, has been thanked by numerous mystery and thriller novelists in their dedications or postscripts. When a masked gunman then appears in her apartment to steal a book, and authors start turning up dead themselves, a small group of unlikely friends deem themselves amateur sleuths and begin working closely with a local police woman.

The cast of characters is such a great group. The main three "amateur detectives" are a wonderfully eclectic found family: a former monk who now runs a cafe, a young woman from Ukraine who now works as a carer for the elderly, and an elderly man who dresses impecably and used to work for the BBC. The police woman is complex and funny, and makes a great addition to the group with the three others.

I love Griffiths playing with the idea of people who read and write murder mysteries suddenly being pulled into one of their own that has a very direct impact on their lives (and in some cases, deaths). This is a really clever fun book with great locations, great characters, and lots of surprises.

ARC Review: Every Last Fear

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

It is hard for a book to live up to the hype surrounding it, especially so in today's world where the many forms of media make it so the hype can be literally everywhere.

This is a book that absolutely lives up to the hype.

As perfectly described by other authors and publicists: 

"One of the most anticipated thrillers of 2021, Every Last Fear is about a family, made infamous by a true crime documentary, found dead. A mourning son risks his life to uncover the truth about their final days. A must-read!"

Finlay has created a gripping psychological thriller that itself employs multiple types of media woven throughout the text. We never see the videos, but they are described so that we feel like we do. The same is true for social media posts, a Netflix documentary, and various websites and internet searches. A poster (see above) was even created for the documentary (which does not actually exist outside the world of the book).

This is what I want every book centered around a fictional true crime documentary or podcast to be like (and there are many out there). There was so much suspense, so many shocking moments, and everything was weaved together expertly. The ending completely shocked me, and worked so well. I'm really excited to see what Alex Finlay does next.

ARC Review: Too Good to Be True

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The premise of a love triangle-married man, wife, and girlfriend-is one that has been explored a lot in many psychological thrillers in the last few years. But Lovering expertly manages to create and explore a brand new take on this concept.

What works most effectively here are the twists and turns. I was completely shocked by every single expertly laid surprise. There was one in particular at the beginning of the second part that made me actually gasp out loud and just stare at the book for a minute. And when I looked back, every bit of the twist made sense.

I love that not only the big storylines, but the small details, all end up mattering. The beginning of the book moved a little slowly for me, but I was still intrigued. Once the story really got going, I couldn't put the book down.

ARC Review: A Pho Love Story

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Bao and Linh are teenagers whose families have been feuding for as long as they can remember, even owning competing Vietnamese restaurants across the street from each other. Bao feels like he is nothing special, Linh feels like her dream of being an artist is impossible. But a chance encounter sets events in motion that could bring the past to the light and bring hope to the future.

This was a really good read. At first glance, it seems like it would be a lovely light romance book, about two teenagers who find each other and fall in love despite the obstacles. And that is definitely part of the story, and a very enjoyable part-Bao and Linh are well-written, complex characters whose motivations and feelings ring real, and I was definitely rooting for them.

But there is also such a depth that Le has created, weaving in culture, tradition, familial ties, and the deep lasting impact a painful history can continue to have on those who lived it and those who now feel the reverberations of it. Le has written a really layered book here that I would definitely recommend.

ARC Review: Whisper Island

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Book:

A group of college friends, four female artists, take a trip to an isolated island to spend months creating together. But it isn't long before they start realizing that their retreat has led them right into a trap, and into the path of a murderer.

What I Liked:

This is definitely a suspenseful book. I am always excited about a plot involving an isolated location where a group is trapped with an unknown murderer, and that horror aspect is definitely amped up here with lots of quick short chapters, a small group of characters, run down buildings and mysteriously locked spaces. Once the book got going, it really got going, and I couldn't stop reading.

Anything I Didn't Like?

Chapters switch back and forth between different characters' points of view, and this could get a little confusing. The story also took a while to get started for me, with a lot of exposition. Things felt a little repetitive sometimes in the beginning, when each character would reference their own sort of mysterious secret or mysterious difficult situation multiple times in a similar way.

So...?

This was a quick, suspenseful read that kept me turning pages, but it definitely wasn't the best version I've read of this type of plot. 

ARC Review: The Project

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

In The Project, Lo wants to be a writer and she wants to talk to her sister, Bea. But her boss has essentially declared there's no option for her to advance, and her sister is a member of The Unity Project, which Lo (and many others) believe to be a cult.

Determined to kill two birds with one stone, Lo begins visiting the sites of The Project, hoping to see her sister and get information that can be used to bring The Project and its leader, Lev Warren, down. But as Lo tries to get closer, she finds herself drawn in deeper, and she may not be able (or want) to find her way back out.

As in her amazing book, Sadie, Summers deftly tackles heady topics, such as the role of women in different facets of society, what it means to be part of a family (and what exactly defines a family), and what true darkness may lurk under a seemingly bright surface. Summers has a beautiful writing style that lends itself well to the eeriness hovering over every word of her newest story, drawing readers in just like the characters within the book are pulled in deep.

ARC Review: Possession

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

It's been a decade since Hannah's husband was murdered. Hannah has resettled into a new life, always swearing she remembers nothing of what happened that night. But when a true crime podcast dedicates its new season to that murder from ten years ago, everyone, including Hannah, must decide on what truly happened.

This is a very suspenseful and spooky read. Hannah is absolutely an unreliable narrator, but so is the podcast host, who has her own motivations of high ratings and public acclaim. Readers don't know who to trust, something Hannah struggles with as well, and it is painful to watch Hannah and the people who love her have to reckon with their decisions, delusions, and beliefs.

The book could get a little confusing at parts with how many sleights of hand and reveals Lowe is juggling, but the ending packs a real punch, and the journey along the way is one that will keep readers guessing.