The Elizas, by Sara Shepard ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness. 

Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Like why are her editor, agent, and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? Her novel is completely fiction isn’t it? 

The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur, and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins.

I have to admit that The Elizas started off a bit slow for me. Somewhere around the halfway point though, the pace picked up considerably and I wound up enjoying it for the most part. 

Eliza is not a particularly likable character, but then she’s not meant to be. I like unreliable characters as long as they’re interesting and Eliza was. The secondary characters are equally unreliable so I really didn’t trust anyone! Although the story didn’t have the excitement I was hoping for, I kept flipping the pages because I needed to find out what was really happening. The author is known for wrapping up all loose ends and inserting an unexpected twist at the end of her books and I’m happy to say this was the case here. 

The plot is a bit like a movie you’d see on Lifetime, and has all the melodrama of Shepard’s YA bestselling Pretty Little Liars series. If you’re looking for a book with lots of thrills and chills, you could probably skip this. However, if you like slow building psychological suspense that doesn’t require a lot of deep thinking, The Elizas might be a fun summer read for you.

 

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Watch Me, by Jody Gehrman ~ 2.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

320 Pages

Synopsis: Kate Youngblood is disappearing. Muddling through her late 30s as a creative writing professor at Blackwood College, she’s dangerously close to never being noticed again. The follow-up novel to her successful debut tanked. Her husband left her for a woman ten years younger. She’s always been bright, beautiful, independent and a little wild, but now her glow is starting to vanish. She’s heading into an age where her eyes are less blue, her charm worn out, and soon no one will ever truly look at her, want to know her, again.

Except one.

Sam Grist is Kate’s most promising student. An unflinching writer with razor-sharp clarity who gravitates towards dark themes and twisted plots, his raw talent is something Kate wants to nurture into literary success. But he’s not there solely to be the best writer. He’s been watching her. Wanting her. Working his way to her for years.

As Sam slowly makes his way into Kate’s life, they enter a deadly web of dangerous lies and forbidden desire. But how far will his fixation go? And how far will she allow it?

Watch Me is billed as a creepy psychological suspense story, but for me it came up short mainly because I found the two main characters for the most part empty and shallow. The chapters alternate between Kate and Sam so you get an excellent perspective of what’s going on in both of their heads. Unfortunately Kate had such a flat personality and made so many decisions that just didn’t make sense to me, that I just never connected to her. And Sam was an even bigger disappointment. I usually love it when I see a psychologically disturbed character’s first person perspective, but while Sam was definitely creepy, I wanted more darkness, more mayhem, more fireworks. I also think the plot definitely would have benefited from more revelations about his backstory, particularly in regards to his relationship to his mother.

In the end, I felt that although Watch Me had lots of potential, it didn’t quite live up to the exciting premise. The characters and plot were rather ho-hum and the ending left several plot holes unfilled. I have to be honest though and say that if you look on Goodreads it’s receiving mainly 4-5 star reviews. Perhaps this is a case of “It’s me, not you.”

The Beloveds, by Maureen Lindley ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

336 Pages

Synopsis: Oh to be a Beloved—-one of those lucky people for whom nothing ever goes wrong. Everything falls into their laps without effort: happiness, beauty, good fortune, allure. 

Betty Stash is not a Beloved—-but her little sister, the delightful Gloria, is. She’s the one with the golden curls, and sunny disposition and captivating smile, the one whose best friend used to be Betty’s, the one whose husband should have been Betty’s. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Gloria inherits the family manse—-a vast, gorgeous pile of ancient stone, imposing timbers, and lush gardens—-that was never meant to be hers.

Losing what Betty considers her rightful inheritance is the final indignity. As she single-mindedly pursues her plan to see the estate returned to her in all its glory, her determined and increasingly unhinged behavior—-aided by poisonous mushrooms, talking walls, and a phantom dog—-escalates to the point of no return. ‘The Beloveds’ will have you wondering if there’s a length to which an envious sister won’t go.

The Beloveds left me with some mixed feelings. I love stories where the main character is twisted, and Betty is definitely someone with major issues. From her creepy obsession with her childhood home, Pitpits, to her pathological resentment of her sister Gloria which goes back to their childhood, she’s an unlikable narrator who only cares about one person: herself. She’s quite the complex personality who resents beautiful people, but loves beautiful things. The problem I ran into with her, was for the first half of the book, her complaints just seemed to drone on and on which I found tedious after awhile. 

The other problem I had was, that I found it unfathomable that no one, especially Betty’s sister Gloria and her husband Henry, never seemed to catch on to how dangerous she really was. Betty is highly intelligent, but she’s not very good at hiding her contempt and indifference toward others. And once she starts acting on her obsessions, I just expected them to catch on. I mean Gloria has a background in psychology but is absolutely clueless in regards to her sister’s mental health issues. 

In the second half of the book, the pace picks up considerably, as Betty goes further down the rabbit hole and begins to put her scheming into action, but I was disappointed in the anticlimactic ending.

The Beloveds had moments of intrigue and tension-filled suspense, but in the end, I was left wanting more from both the characters and the story. I am very much in the minority with my opinion though, as the book has received a majority of 4-5 star reviews on Goodreads. So, if you like contemporary fiction with a Gothic feel and stories narrated by twisted, unreliable characters, I still recommend this. 

 

People Like Us, by Dana Mele ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

LGBT, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to Edelweiss and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: Available Now 

384 Pages

Synopsis: Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is the past, and she’s reinvented herself entirely. Now she’s a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl’s body is found in the lake, Kay’s carefully constructed life begins to topple.

The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. But if Kay’s finally backed into a corner, she’ll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make…not something that happened.

As soon as I laid eyes on People Like Us, the cover and the premise of a killer loose at a boarding school, immediately grabbed my attention. Add in a twisted scavenger hunt left by the deceased girl, and I knew I had to read it. While the theme isn’t unique, the author added in enough of her own original flourishes to make it stand out from the somewhat crowded field.   The main character, Kay, was deeply flawed, yet still garnered my sympathy. I also liked that she was bisexual which gave some welcome diversity to the story. The secondary characters weren’t quite as well developed though and there were a couple in particular that I wished I had gotten to know more. While I guessed the identity of the killer early on, I wasn’t completely sure what their motivations were. There were also some additional twists that kept me guessing. And finally, the big reveal concerning the killer at the end was a bit of a letdown, but there was one related to Kay that did take me by surprise.

Overall, despite having a few issues, I still enjoyed People Like Us, and I will definitely try Dana Mele’s next book. 

*For another perspective, please take a look at my lovely friend Dani’s 5 star review over at https://touchmyspinebookreviews.com

Her Last Secret, by Barbara Copperthwaite ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

382 Pages

Synopsis: There are some secrets you can never tell.

The last thing to go through Dominique Thomas’s head was the image of her teenage daughter’s face and her heart lifted. Then the shot rang out.

They were the perfect family. Successful businessman Ben Thomas and his wife Dominique live an enviable life, along with their beautiful children; teenager Ruby and quirky younger daughter, Mouse.

But when Ruby’s diary is discovered, revealing her rage at the world around her, police are forced to look closer at home for the key to this tragedy.

Each family member harboured their own dark truths—but has keeping their secrets pushed Ruby to the edge of sanity? Or are there darker forces at work?

I’m sorry guys, but this is going to be another short review. The good news though, is that I loved Her Last Secret. While there have been plenty of books about seemingly picture perfect families who are hiding deep dark secrets behind their closed doors, Barbara Copperthwaite gives this theme her own exciting spin. From the shocking opening scene, the tension keeps building right up to the surprising conclusion. It’s a character-driven story that kept me completely captivated, questioning not only who did it, but why. This is the third book I’ve read by Barbara Copperthwaite and she hasn’t disappointed me yet.  I highly recommend Her Last Secret to fans of slow burning psychological suspense with untrustworthy characters and plenty of drama. 

The Woman in the Window, by A. J. Finn ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Agoraphobia, Depression, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Substance Abuse

Thanks to Edelweiss and William Morrow for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 2nd, 2018

448 Pages

Synopsis: What did she see? 

It’s been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, too terrified to step outside.

Anna’s lifeline to the real world is her window, where she sits day after day, watching her neighbors. When the Russells move in, Anna is drawn to them. A picture-perfect family of three, they are an echo of the life that was once hers.

But one evening, a frenzied scream rips across the silence, and Anna witnesses something no one was supposed to see. Now she must do everything she can to uncover the truth about what really happened. But even if she does, will anyone believe her? And can she even trust herself?

The Woman in the Window is a debut novel that’s been buzzed about for months. There’s even a movie in the works already. In cases like this I’ve found more often than not that the book just can’t live up to all the hype. However, in this instance, it actually does.

For Hitchcock fans you might have thought reading the synopsis that it sounds like the classic Rear Window. And you’d be absolutely right. Only in this case instead of the lead character being laid up with a broken leg like Jimmy Stewart, Dr. Anna Fox has severe agoraphobia which keeps her trapped in her three story New York brownstone. She’s completely alone except for her tenant Daniel, who lives in the basement, her psychiatrist, and her physical therapist. She has a husband and daughter but they’re separated, although they talk everyday. Her days for the last ten months, for the most part consist of taking pills to control her anxiety and depression, and drinking too much wine. She also loves watching old black and white movies (mainly Hitchcock), and watching her neighbors through her Nikon camera. When she witnesses an attack in her neighbors house across the street, no one believes her. The neighbors deny anything happened and the police find her not to be credible. Soon even Anna begins to question herself.

Anna is one of the most complex characters I’ve come across this year. She was a successful psychologist herself until an unknown trauma destroyed her life ten months previously. I had already begun to guess what happened long before the trauma that put her in this state was revealed, but the heartbreaking details still managed to shock me. I found myself frustrated by her drinking and pill popping while at the same time sympathizing with the pain she was in. And once Anna witnesses this crime across the street, well that just adds a whole new level to her suffering. But what I loved the most about her was by the end of the book she was a much stronger woman than she gave herself credit for. To be honest, if I had gone through what she does, I’m not sure I would be able to persevere. 

The beginning of the story is a little slow, but as it progresses and you get to know Anna and the other characters that are introduced, the pace picks up. I don’t think I’d call this a thriller but more a simmering suspense. The twist at the end did catch me completely unaware. 

In my humble opinion, The Woman in the Window stands out from the other books that have come out in the wake of novels like Gone Girl and Girl on the Train. There’s a claustrophobic, noirish atmosphere introduced from the first chapter, and that, coupled with the two puzzles: what happened to Anna ten months ago, and has she now indeed witnessed an unspeakable crime, kept me feverishly turning the pages in search of the answers. 

I highly recommend this for fans of slow burning suspense, sketchy characters, and twisty plots. I guarantee that by the time you’re at the halfway point you’re going to have a difficult time putting this down. I also promise that Dr. Anna Fox will stay in your mind weeks after you’ve finished the book. I can’t wait to see who they cast in the movie!

 

Poison, by Galt Niederhoffer ~ 2.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Domestic, Dysfunctional Relationships, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

320 Pages

Synopsis: Cass and Ryan Connor have achieved family nirvana. With three kids between them, a cat and a yard, a home they built and feathered, they seem to have the Modern Family dream. Their family, including Cass’ two children from previous relationships, has recently moved to Portland—-a new start for their new lives. Cass and Ryan have stable, successful careers, and they are happy. But trouble begins almost imperceptibly. First with small omissions and white lies that happen daily in any marital bedroom. They seem insignificant, but they are quickly followed by a series of denials and feints that mushroom and then cyclone in menace.

With life-or-death stakes and irreversible consequences, Poison is a chilling and irresistible reminder that the closest bond designed to protect and provide for each other and for children can change in a minute.

I really, REALLY hate it when everyone seems to love a book that I don’t. It makes me question myself and wonder “What am I missing?” Unfortunately, due to my intense frustration with the main character, Poison is one of those books.

The biggest problem I had was with Cass. I don’t mind unreliable characters. I actually like them because they can add some interesting twists as you don’t know what’s going on with them. Cass however, really got on my nerves. In my humble opinion, most of her actions were incredibly stupid and put not only herself, but her children at risk. I kept trying to put myself in her shoes. She thought she had the perfect marriage, only to find out that her husband Ryan, is hiding something behind his charming veneer. I can’t go into specifics without plunging into spoiler territory, but I spent a good part of the book mentally yelling “No! Stop! What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?!” Argh! It was so infuriating! 

Ryan is a little more interesting and while he did seem like the perfect husband and dad at the beginning, the author does a good job slowly turning him into a monster. I found myself getting anxious because you didn’t know what he was going to do next. And the children are absolutely adorable and what I liked the most about the book. 

The plot itself was a little slow to start, with lots and LOTS of detail about how perfect this family seemed to be, but once things got going, I couldn’t wait to see how everything would be resolved. Another thing that I liked was how Galt Niederhoffer makes some fantastic points on how women who report being victims of domestic abuse are treated by the police, hospitals, and the criminal justice system. Granted, Cass’ situation is a little unique, but there are some realistic flaws that are explored and I appreciated that. 

I found the ending to be rather abrupt and unsatisfying and it left me with more questions than not. When I got to the last page I thought “Wait. That can’t be it!”

Overall, Poison just wasn’t for me. But, the majority of reviewers are giving this 4 and 5 star reviews, so if you like psychological suspense, please give this a try for yourself. It’s not so much a whodunnit than a howdunnit, which has its own interesting aspects.

Best Day Ever, by Kaira Rouda ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Dysfunctional Relationships, Psychological Suspense, Psychopaths

Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: “I glance at my wife as she climbs in the passenger seat, and I am bursting with confidence. Today will be everything I promised her…and more…”

Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys, and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he’s promised today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them and doubts start to rise. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really?

Forcing us to ask ourselves just how well we know those who are closest to us, Best Day Ever crackles with dark energy, spinning ever tighter toward its shocking conclusion. In the bestselling page-turning vein of The Couple Next Door and The Dinner, Kaira Rouda weaves a gripping, tautly suspenseful tale of deception and betrayal dark enough to destroy a marriage…or a life.

Best Day Ever is a dark, creepy and twisted psychological suspense novel that literally made my skin crawl. I just finished it after being glued to its pages for the last three hours, and now I can’t go to sleep!

What makes this story work is that except for the epilogue, it’s told from the first person POV of the antagonist, Paul Strom. From the first page, you can tell there’s something seriously off about this guy. A couple of chapters in, and it’s obvious he’s a narcissistic psychopath. Even more disturbing is that Paul is basically telling the story to the reader. I felt like he was sitting across from me in real life having a conversation with me. I swear, by the end of the book I wanted to scrub out my brain! 

I have to be honest and say there were a few moments where the pace slowed down a bit, mainly because Paul has a tendency to divert from the main storyline into these inner monologues with himself. But when this happens, they don’t last long thankfully. In the beginning, Paul is just thoroughly dislikable, but bit by bit he reveals more about himself and the preceding events that have led up to this momentous day,  until you find out what a monster he truly is.

The plot itself is more a slow-burning suspense until about the last 50 pages, which is where most of the action takes place. I don’t say this as a criticism though. All I can think of as an analogy is of a spider/the author, weaving a web and trapping a fly/the reader. I can’t convey how seriously disturbing this is! And it’s made more so by the banal normality that outwardly surrounds Paul and his wife, Mia. She’s also an interesting case study as at first she seems like a Stepford wife, but before long shows there’s something lurking behind her polished veneer.

Despite Paul’s insistence to himself and Mia that, this is going to be the “best day ever”, things methodically begin to unravel until you start wondering for which one this will be true. While there were some things that were predictable, I found myself caught off guard by others, which kept me at the edge of my seat. The ending ties everything up, and while I’ve read other reviews that complained about the epilogue, which switches to someone else’s POV, I actually thought it was the perfect way to end things.

In the end, Best Day Ever, despite not being action packed, has plenty of thrills and chills which will keep readers mesmerized until the very last page. While this works as a standalone, I’ve heard rumors there may be a sequel, which if that’s the case, I’ll definitely be picking it up. I highly recommend this to fans of slow burning suspense with sketchy narrators. It’s definitely going on my top ten list of most memorable reads of 2017!

 

Wicked Fallout (Pretty Wicked #2), by Kelly Charron ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Serial Killers

Thanks to NetGalley and Dark Arts Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

358 Pages

Synopsis: Convicted of six murders when she was just fifteen, the notorious Ryann Wilkanson hasn’t been able to act on her darkest, deadliest urges for twelve years. She’s exhausted her appeals and has little hope of ever getting out of prison and back to hunting.

Until a media-hungry legal team mounts a campaign to do the impossible–get her immediately released with a commuted sentence.

Forensic psychiatrist Nancy Clafin in has mere weeks to evaluate Ryann’s current mental state against her grisly past to determine if she’s changed. But under the shadow of her own questionable history, it’s not easy to separate her personal life from her professional duty.

At least that’s what Ryann is counting on. 

Behind the cold steel doors of a Colorado maximum-security prison, will Nancy find a cold-blooded killer or a newly redeemed woman determined to right her past wrongs?

Wicked Fallout is the sequel to last years Pretty Wicked, and while it can be read as a standalone, I recommend you read the previous book before diving into this. Another word of warning: While Pretty Wicked was definitely in the older YA genre, this book is more for adults. 

So, twelve years after young Ryann went on killing spree through her town, she’s now twenty-seven and safely locked up in a maximum-security prison…for now. The question is, after more than a decade behind bars, has Ryann truly repented, and is she ready to become a productive member of society? You don’t think I’m going to tell you, do you? MOWAHAHA! Nope! You’re going to have to read the book to find out for yourself!

Most of the story revolves around Ryann’s life in prison, her interactions with the other inmates, and her visits with forensic psychiatrist Nancy Clafin. There’s also some alternate chapters that relate what’s happening with Nancy’s home life and her family. While the first book was pure horror, this one falls more into the psychological suspense category. There’s not as much action in this story, but that really doesn’t make it any less compelling. Pretty Wicked conjured images of a Buffy gone bad, while Wicked Fallout made me think of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs.

I did find the pacing of the first half of the story a little slow, because some of it was spent rehashing the events of the first book. However, it was interesting seeing Nancy’s interaction with Ryann during their sessions, and seeing how she agonized over whether she believed her or not.

The second half, though had me completely captivated as Ryann’s relationships with other prisoners grew more heated, and her sessions with Nancy got more and more suspenseful as the clocked ticked down to the deadline on whether Ryann’s sentence should be commuted. I was so absorbed and tense, that I actually caught myself nervously biting my fingernails!

Wicked Fallout is a fantastic sequel in Kelly Charron’s Pretty Wicked series, and after a jaw dropping ending, to say that I’m looking forward to the next book is putting it mildly! I cannot recommend this series enough to fans of horror and suspense, and psychological thrillers!

 

 

Unraveling Oliver, by Liz Nugent ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, France, Ireland, Mystery, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

272 Pages

Synopsis: “I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.

So begins Liz Nugent’s astonishing debut novel–a chilling, elegantly crafted, and psychologically astute exploration of the nature of evil.

Oliver Ryan, handsome, charismatic, and successful, has long been married to his devoted wife, Alice. Together, they write and illustrate award-winning winning children’s books; their life together one of enviable privilege and ease–until, one evening after a delightful dinner, Oliver delivers a blow to Alice that renders her unconscious, and subsequently beats her into a coma.

In the aftermath of such an unthinkable event, as Alice hovers between life and death, the couple’s friends, neighbors, and acquaintances try to understand what had driven Oliver to commit such a horrific act. As his story unfolds, layers are peeled away to reveal a life of shame, envy, deception, and masterful manipulation.

Oh my gosh. Although I requested this, I have to be honest and say as soon as I was approved, I started having second thoughts. I absolutely loved the premise, but wondered how on earth Liz Nugent could possibly tell such a complicated story in under 300 pages. Well, not only does she pull this off, she does it brilliantly!

As the premise states, every chapter is from the POV of a different person who has come into contact with Oliver and Alice in some way. All of these voices have something important to add, even if you don’t originally think so. I mean, do we really have to hear from neighbors, childhood schoolmates, ex-lovers, and so on?. Yes. Yes we do. You see, every character adds to the puzzle that is Oliver, and their voices are all completely distinct from one another. The most chilling chapters are from Oliver himself, and I actually got goosebumps while reading. I connected with every single one of them, which itself is pretty amazing.

The story is filled with moments that shocked me, and it’s so cleverly told that it’s only at the very end that you see the entire picture. Unraveling Oliver is a captivating journey into the psyche of a monster, as well as the people whose lives are forever changed by being in contact with him. It would be a perfect choice for a book discussion group as it invites debate over the nature vs nurture question. I highly recommend this to fans of dark psychological suspense. I cannot wait to see what Liz Nugent comes out with next!