Rock Paper Scissors, By Alice Feeney ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 7th, 2021

304 Pages

Synopsis: Think you know the person you married? Think again…

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.

Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

Rock Paper Scissors is the latest exciting domestic thriller from the queen of the killer twist, New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney. (Goodreads)

If you’re a fan of Alice Feeney, you already know that she excels at misdirection and Rock Paper Scissors is a perfect example of how splendidly she does this without annoying the reader.

The story is told from the POVs of Adam and Amelia, as well as a mysterious person named Robin who lives near the vacation getaway that Amelia won. Once I got past my disbelief over why anyone would take off to the remote Scottish Highlands in the winter on a vacation they supposedly “won” with such little information, I was thoroughly sucked into this mesmerizing page-turner. Unsurprisingly, none of these characters are reliable, and I’ll be honest and admit I absolutely loathed Adam despite my initial sympathy for him because of his Prosopagnosia (face blindness). However, they absolutely fascinated me and the more I read, the more I was dying to find out more about them.

This is a creepy, atmospheric, multi-layered story that’s fleshed out even more by the letters from Adam’s wife, one written on each wedding anniversary for the ten years they’ve been married. It was an ingenious way to add to their backstory and give you a tantalizing peek at what led up to where they are now.

Having read Feeney’s previous books, I was prepared for surprises, but this really kept me on my toes. Except for a couple of minor ones I was truly shocked at the direction the story took, and didn’t see even the final big reveals coming. These were jaw dropping in every way!

Rock Paper Scissors in my humble opinion is one of Feeney’s best books yet, and I highly recommend it to both fans of the bestselling author as well as readers who haven’t tried her books yet. It’s an exciting psychological/domestic thriller tinged with horror and I guarantee that it will grab you and not let go until you’ve reached the last page. Suzanne Mackie’s Orchid Pictures has already optioned this for a six-part Netflix series. Mackie is Executive Producer of The Crown, so I’m really excited about seeing this brought to life on the screen. That said, don’t wait. Read this fabulous book first!

The Girl From Widow Hills, by Megan Miranda ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Sleepwalking, Substance Abuse

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 23rd, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest—a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick—comes a riveting new novel of psychological suspense about a young woman plagued by night terrors after a childhood trauma who wakes one evening to find a corpse at her feet.

Everyone knows the story of “the girl from Widow Hills.”

Arden Maynor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Strangers and friends, neighbors and rescuers, set up search parties and held vigils, praying for her safe return. Against all odds, she was found alive, clinging to a storm drain. The girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden’s mother wrote a book. Fame followed. Fans and fan letters, creeps and stalkers. And every year, the anniversary. It all became too much. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from the public eye.

Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. She’s managed to stay off the radar for the last few years. But with the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Where is she now? Olivia soon feels like she’s being watched and begins sleepwalking again, like she did long ago, even waking outside her home. Until late one night, she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet lies the corpse of a man she knows—from her previous life as Arden Maynor.

And now, the girl from Widow Hills is about to become the center of the story, once again, in this propulsive page-turner from suspense master Megan Miranda.

I’ve enjoyed Megan Miranda’s previous books, so I’ve been excited about The Girl From Widow Hills, since I first heard about it last year. After reading it in one sitting yesterday, I can honestly say that I believe this may be Miranda’s best work yet!

I loved the complexity of the characters because it adds to the pervasive air of untrustworthiness. No one is above suspicion here, not even Olivia/Arden. There are two mysteries: who murdered the man in her yard, and what really happened to her twenty years ago? I’m not sharing any spoilers, but let me just say that nothing and no one is what they seem, and both mysteries are very much connected. Arrogant me thought I had everything all figured out by the halfway point. Well, was I completely off base! At the end of the book there’s one of the most surprising plot twists I’ve come across, and it knocked me off my feet! The only reason why I’m not giving this 5 stars is because I wish Olivia’s relationship with her mother was a little more detailed. There are some questions I still have regarding it, even at the end.

I predict that The Girl From Widow Hills is going to be one of this year’s biggest summer blockbusters, so mark your calendars. Just don’t start this close to bedtime because otherwise you’ll be up very late reading this unputdownable thriller!

 

Unfollow Me, by Charlotte Duckworth ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Social Media, Suspense

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

Release Date: March 10th, 2020

352 Pages

Synopsis: 

You Can’t Stop Watching Her.

Violet Young is a hugely popular journalist turned-mummy-vlogger, with three young children, a successful husband, and a million subscribers on YouTube who tune in daily to watch her everyday life unfold.

Until the day she’s no longer there.

But one day she disappears from the online world—her total social media presence deleted overnight, with no explanation. Has she simply decided that baring her life to all online is no longer a good idea, or has something more sinister happened to her?

But do you really know who Violet is?

Told from the perspectives of her most avid fans, obsessed with finding out the truth, their search quickly reveals a web of lies, betrayal, and shocking consequences…

With the exception of WordPress I’ve made a point to stay off social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. While I acknowledge that they can bring people together who are separated by long distances, I also believe that social media often brings out the worst in people in terms of mean spiritedness and obsessive over sharing. Unfollow Me addresses both of these and underneath the entertaining plot is a very real cautionary tale.

The story unfolds through the perspectives of three characters who are all pretty murky and unreliable. At the beginning they seem separate except for their shared connections through Violet, but then things turn into a truly wild and crazy roller coaster ride filled with so many twists I found myself gasping out loud more than once.

While the main mystery concerns what happened to Violet, there are smaller ones pertaining to the other characters, and they all kept me guessing right up until the end. Because of this and the book’s fast pace, I literally was unable to put this down and finished it in one sitting.

Unfollow Me is a fantastic thrill ride filled with damaged characters who you can’t help but feel sympathy for. I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone looking for an engrossing psychological thriller that addresses real life issues.

 

Creature, by Hunter Shea ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Chronic Illness, Family Relationships, Horror, Psychological Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 6th, 2018

256 Pages

Synopsis: The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew’s surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It’s beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal. But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the darkness, banging on the house, leaving animals for dead. Just like her body, Kate’s cottage becomes her prison. She and Andrew must fight to survive the creature that lurks in the dead of night.

I’ve read quite a few books by Hunter Shea and I know I can always rely on his stories to be fun, totally insane horror mixed with subtly sly humor. Creature is completely different, in that it’s more character driven, and it’s one that will reach many readers at a deeply personal level.

For fans of his books, I have to caution the “monster” doesn’t really rear its head until the last third of the book. There’s obviously something going on as poor Kate and Andrew try to enjoy their getaway, but the usual blood and gore doesn’t come into play until the latter part of the book. Instead, the main focus is on Kate and her battles against several autoimmune disorders including Lupus and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome that have impacted her life in some truly horrible ways. The author writes Kate with such emotion I knew even before reading the afterward, that he must know someone who suffer from these debilitating illnesses. I have to be honest and say this isn’t the easiest read, especially if you struggle with chronic pain and illness. While Kate is far sicker than I am, I connected with her completely and there were several scenes where I was reduced to tears. Andrew is Kate’s soulmate in every sense of the word. He tries so hard to help his wife and his worry, frustration, and love are palpable. Their relationship in the face of such hardship is the backbone of this story.

The ending is not happily-ever-after, but then Hunter Shea’s books rarely are. This one was especially difficult for me though because I loved the characters so much and became personally invested in them. In my opinion, Creature is Hunter Shea’s best novel to date and that’s really saying something. If you choose to pick this up, make sure to read the afterward as it’ll make you understand how and why this story came about. 

A Noise Downstairs, by Linwood Barclay ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense

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

Release Date: Available Now

368 Pages

Synopsis: The New York Times bestselling author of No Time for Goodbye returns with a haunting psychological thriller that blends the twists and turns of Gillian Flynn with the driving suspense of Harlan Coben, in which a man is troubled by odd sounds for which there is no rational explanation.

College professor Paul Davis is a normal guy with a normal life. Until, driving along a deserted road late one night, he surprises a murderer disposing of a couple of bodies. That’s when Paul’s “normal” existence is turned upside down. After nearly losing his own life in that encounter, he finds himself battling PTSD, depression, and severe problems at work. His wife, Charlotte, desperate to cheer him up, brings home a vintage typewriter—complete with ink ribbons and heavy round keys—to encourage him to get started on that novel he’s always intended to write.

However, the typewriter itself is a problem. Paul swears it’s possessed and types by itself at night. But only Paul can hear the noise coming from downstairs. Charlotte doesn’t hear a thing. And she worries that he’s going off the rails.

Paul believe that the typewriter is somehow connected to the murderer he discovered nearly a year ago. The killer had made his victims type apologies to him before ending their lives. Has another sick twist of fate entwined his life with the killer—could this be the same machine? Increasingly tormented but determined to discover the truth and confront his nightmare, Paul begins investigating the deaths himself.

But that may not be the best thing to do. Maybe Paul should just take the typewriter back to where his wife found it. Maybe he should stop asking questions and simply walk away while he can…

I’m sorry my friends that this review is much shorter than usual, but I wanted to tell you how good A Noise Downstairs is. While the first half is slow burning suspense, the second half explodes into an action packed thriller. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, there would be a surprising twist that would prove me wrong. The biggest and most unusual  twist involves the main character and I thought it was a brilliant piece of writing by the author. This is a perfect popcorn book for the summer!

 

Baby Teeth, by Zoje Stage ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Dysfunctional Families, Horror, Mental Illness, Psychological Thriller

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

Release Date: July 17th, 2018

320 Pages

Synopsis: Sweetness can be deceptive.

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of, ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette’s husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

 Let me say from the onset that Baby Teeth will not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s dark and disturbing, and when I finished it last night I found myself unable to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

The 3rd person narrative alternates between Hanna and her mother. Hanna is a seven-year-old precocious child, who presents two completely different sides to her parents, Suzette and Alex. With her father, she’s a sweet little angel, but with her mother, she increasingly demonstrates how much she resents and hates her. While seeing Hanna’s perspective adds to the intensity of the story, there are some inconsistencies with her thinking and actions. As each of her chapters begins, she sounds and acts like the seven-year-old she is, albeit a disturbingly creepy one. But then her mental thoughts turn into sophisticated ones that come across as way too adult, even for an exceptionally bright child. This aside, the author crafts her into at times a sympathetic figure, but more often than not, a menacing one who scared the heck out of me.

While Suzette isn’t perfect by any means, I felt a lot of empathy for her. She suffers from a particularly nasty case of Crohn’s disease, and this coupled with her surviving a childhood filled with neglect, had me forming an instant connection with her, even when I didn’t agree with her responses to Hanna. She loves her daughter yet is increasingly afraid of her. When you add in anger and resentment, you have a mother who’s not only at war with her daughter, but also herself.

I didn’t care for Alex in the beginning as he’s written as your stereotypical father who’s clueless and in denial about his daughter, but about halfway in, he starts to realize that Suzanne may be right about Hanna. Watching him come to grips with the truth, trying to protect his wife while still loving his daughter, adds another layer to this twisted yet  captivating tale.

The ending wasn’t a huge surprise, but it was one of several that I had envisioned and I found it believable. Overall, I enjoyed(?) Baby Teeth and I’m impressed with Zoje Stage’s debut. It’s an unflinching look at at childhood mental illness and a couple’s difficulty of finding help and coping with it. It’s a riveting domestic thriller with horror added in which should appeal to fans of books such as Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin.