Mini Reviews: Now You See Me, The Passengers, and Good Girls Lie

Once again, a Chris McGeorge book sets me up for an exciting read, then lets me down.

McGeorge's first book, Guess Who, began as a fascinating and creative locked room mystery, and carried that through almost to the bitter end. The very very end left me disappointed and managed to take away some of the enjoyment I had had of the rest of the book.

This time, Now You See Me, managed to disappoint me for the entire second half of the book. The premise is so intriguing, a cold case where six people went on a boat ride through a tunnel, but only one person came out the other side. The other five were never found, vanishing without a trace, even though there's no way that should have been able to happen.

But then the second half just becomes convoluted, with everything being thrown at readers, but nothing really sticking. One of the major plot point solutions is so ridiculous, and feels unfair because there's no way for a reader to be able to guess it.

I think sadly I just need to give up believing McGeorge will ever produce a book I find completely enjoyable.

At the risk of sounding like I planned this pun ;D this book was a wild ride! The book is set in a future world where cars are driver less, but not everyone supports this-and now eight people are trapped in these driver less cars, assured by a mysterious voice that they are being taken to their deaths. As the world watches, and social media runs wild, people are forced to choose which of the passengers live and which die.

I was listening to this as an audiobook and could not stop listening. At one point, I just let my dinner sit on the counter as I stood there completely distracted by learning the next plot point. While walking, I would frequently realize I was reacting with facial expressions or even saying things out loud in response to the next part of the story or the next incredible twist.

This book completely kept me on my toes the entire time. Nothing was as it seemed, the stakes were so high, and I loved every minute.

I always enjoy a book that I absolutely cannot put down. Despite being over four hundred pages (granted, the chapters were typically short), this read flew by. There are so many twists and turns, and the Gothic nature of the supposedly perfect boarding school made everything feel claustrophobic and horribly inevitably doomed.

While I didn't necessarily completely love the "biggest lie" reveal, it definitely worked within the context of the story, and the last chapter was amazing.