Sarah
When something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Jules is having a really shit time of things, she lost her job, her boyfriend cheated on her and she has no money, so when she sees an advert to be an apartment sitter she decides to give it a shot.
Said apartment is in the Bartholomew, a gorgeous gothic building near Central Park with gargoyles loitering menacingly near the top, as she's shown around, Leslie (the manager/apartment pimp) asks her questions and tells her the rules: No staying out of the apartment in the night time, you have to be there, No visitors coming in and making the place look untidy, No talking to the other tenants as they're all rich and won't like you, No sunlight as it will kill you, No getting wet and never, ever eat after midnight (some of them MAY be from Gremlins).
She meets the requirements and soon has a spanking new apartment and, if all goes well, lots of money after her time is up. Spoiler Alert! It does not go well.
In the next day or so she meets some of the other tenants, Ingrid and Dylan, fellow sitters and some of the swanky tenants, who she starts talking to because why follow the rules when you can piss people off instead. Ingrid asks her to go to Central Park with her and they have a chat, telling a little bit about each other and deciding to meet there every day for lunch and a chin wag.
Stuff happens and Ingrid goes missing, Jules tries to find her and hijinks and shenanigans ensue.
Jules makes some stupid decisions in this but she's young and has issues with people just buggering off without telling her and doing stupid shit.
Like the authors other books the characters are well written, you get the unnerving feeling of the Bartholomew, the creepy vibes and the gargoyles which I really wanted to come to life and run around like mad chewing up the furniture, trying to get in bed for snuggles and barking at the vacuum cleaner but then remembered this is NOT Ghostbusters and I'm not sure if Jules even WANTS to be the Gatekeeper.
As we get closer to the end the threads start coming together faster and you see the bigger picture, each interaction had between characters starts to make more sense in the grand scheme of things and culminates in a satisfying conclusion.
I love Riley Sager and am very much looking forward to his new book Home Before Dark, I'm sure I'm gonna love that one as much as I have the other books he's written.
Huge thanks to Riley Sager, Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
3.5 Stars
Positives:
I like how the chapters are set out
The switching of perspectives and time and how the story is told
I enjoy Jojo's character, her relationship with Alice and how they interact
Jim is my spirit animal and I love him.
Negatives:
Red flags all over the damn place
Alice ignoring her own unsettling feelings about him all. the. time.
I understand that she's in a relationship with a very charismatic man who is extremely good at lying and distorting the truth and that both women and men are in these sorts of relationships with no way of getting out or controlled to the point of despair, going along with their partners behaviours because they're afraid.
We see the red flags because we aren't in that relationship. I just can't see why, before they got married, she didn't trust her instincts and nope the fuck out of it. She found him unsettling and creepy before all the rest of the stuff happened.
I'm just unsure about this and I'm sorry if anyone finds this review troublesome, not the word I want to use but can't think of the exact one at the moment. If anyone want to discuss this with me, please do, I want to understand more about this type of situation and relationship.
Huge thanks to Alison James, Bookouture and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
I love Catana Chetwynd!
All her illustrations remind me of my relationship and I couldn't love them all more than I already do!
Looking forward to more by this author/illustrator and highly recommend this to everyone!
Huge thanks to Catana Chetwynd, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
Mike, Helen, Alex and Kay are traveling to Alex's family cottage in the Scottish highlands, they're having a post graduation celebration and look forward to relaxing with some beverages.
While driving up they hit and kill a stag on the road, there's nothing they can so to save it and Mike decides to take a 6 inch piece of the antler with him (probably a very stupid bloody thing to do and not exactly the best idea but no matter how much I shouted he did not listen).
When they get to the cottage we are introduced to Alex's sister Meggie, and her dog Oscar, who are there because why the hell not and they all start to settle in.
Shit soon starts to get creepy and Mike starts losing his mind and going bat crap crazy.
Loved the setting of this and the slow breakdown of the relationship between Mike and all the sane people, him not realizing what he's doing, the lines between reality and insanity blurring more and more as it ramps up to it's conclusion.
Huge thanks to Frazer Lee, Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
We join Sam as her tenant and all around lovely guy Dawson Alexander is now the prime suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend Melody Hardwick. She calls her Criminal Defense lawyer sister, Jenna, to help him out as she, Nana Jo, Ruby-Mae, Irma and Dorothy join forces again to find out what the heck is happening and to solve this case to clear Dawsons name.
Told in present day and Sams book chapters like the previous story with her book mirroring what's happening present day. The characters are just as good as before, their little quirks and humor bringing life to the story and making them more believable as people.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking forward to diving in to the next book in the series very soon!
Huge thanks to V.M. Burns, Kensington Book and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
When the horrible Clayton Parker is murdered on her doorstep, widowed Samantha Washington is cajoled in to investigate his death by her Nana Jo and her friends from the nearby retirement village.
Hi-jinks and shenanigans follow as they gather information and hunt down clues to find out who, of the many people who hated him, wanted Clay dead.
There are 2 stories told in this cozy - the main thread set in the present and portions of the book that Sam is writing which is set in 1930's England, we switch between the two throughout.
I love how fleshed out the main story is, how well the interactions between the characters is written, the humour and you gotta love Nana Jo and her friends Irma, Dorothy and Ruby Mae, they are so sassy and funny.
This is a good start to a series and I'm grateful that I have books 2-5 to continue to follow these characters and see the trouble they get themselves into!
Huge thanks to V.M. Burns, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
If you want to pull me into a book then mention penguins on the first page, I'm automatically in.
Loved this story, the characters are wonderfully interesting and quirky, the nuns are bloody brilliant, it has a nice easy humour and a beautiful setting.
The mystery is well done and keeps you engaged throughout, can't wait to read more by this author.
Huge thanks to Anna Gerard, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
William MacNary is a private banker for the wealthy, he is married to Jill and together they have two young children, Garth 7 and Frieda 5. They are your typical family.
But William has a secret. When he was 8 years old, his father went to prison for the murder of 13 women, his name is Harvey Dean Kogan and he was called ‘The Preying Hands' killer.
He's tried to distance himself from that and focus on his family and his career until a colleague of Jill's is found murdered, the same way his father murdered and displayed his victims.
And so the race to find out who the killer is begins.
Well written and plotted story with rounded characters and details that pull you into the story more and more, the relationships between the main players is good and the pacing moves you along well.
Will look for more by this author, I really enjoy his writing.
Huge thanks to Carl Vonderau, Midnight Ink and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
October 25th 1992 (my 12th birthday so that doesn't make me feel old AT ALL!) Cynthia Albrecht, executive head chef for the Penske-Marlboro racing team, went missing.
All of her friends knew something wasn't right, she wouldn't just leave and not tell them where she was and they all pointed the finger at her, soon to be, ex-husband Michael Albrecht, a mechanic in the Indy 500, a man who has a history of being a bully and abusive who also tried to control her and keep her in his shadow.
He had an airtight alibi and therefore couldn't be arrested for her murder not even when her body was found, minus her head, and despite troubling and strange behaviour.
The case went cold for 6 years until a new prosecutor took on the case and arrested him. Could they find the evidence and break down his alibi or would he be released and the murder of Cynthia be shelved again and remain unsolved?
True crime is my jam and when I saw this I knew I had to read it, for some reason, I hadn't heard of this story before so I ended up flying through it and absolutely loved it!
The strength and resilience of the prosecutor, the journalist, her best friends and her colleagues to continue fighting to bring justice is amazing and heart breaking. So well written and a book I will keep in my true crime collection to re-read again and again.
Huge thanks to Larry Sells, Margie Porter, WildBlue Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
When Chris Farmer and his girlfriend Peta Frampton went missing in the late 70's, their families were desperate to know where they were. Chris and Peta kept in them informed as to their activities and experiences through letters and cassette tapes but when they suddenly stopped, unease grew.
In 1978, 2 tortured corpses were discovered in the sea off Guatemala, hooded, bound with ropes and weighed down with engine parts, were these the bodies of the missing couple?
What follows is the, almost, 4 DECADE search for the truth. Penny Farmer continued the dogged investigation, started by her parents and from where her father left off when he passed away, to uncover the truth of what happened to them.
Chris and Peta's last known location was on a boat, owned and captained by Silas Duane Boston, an American who, along with his 2 young sons, sailed around Central America, picking up passengers and following the whim of Silas, a horrible, violent and odious man who believed he was above others and his actions had no consequence.
This is a fascinating and immersive story, the passion and resilience of Penny, her family and the family of Peta, not to mention the detectives involved is breathtaking. The hurdles they had to jump and the wait for answers is heatbreaking at times but they stayed their course and hoped for justice.
I love true crime books, we hear a lot about the perpetrators of these crimes but hear less from survivors and families of the victims so when I see a book like this I have to pick it up to see the love, passion and, hopefully, justice being served. This harrowing story is a must read for true crime fans as it shows the obstacles they had to overcome when trying to find answers and, ultimately, the truth.
Huge thanks to Penny Farmer, Diversion Books and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
I read this ages ago now and thought I'd reviewed it (anyone noticing a theme here?).
Darren and Vanis are a married couple who are having a few problems, to solve that, they decide to fuck everything and go somewhere for a break to reconnect and be at one with each other.
They travel to a cabin in the woods and settle in for some good old fashioned relaxation.
Now, obviously, because it's a cabin in the woods, it's creepy as hell outside but given that they're grown ups and there's sexy times to be had they don't nope the fuck out of there, they stay as weird stuff starts to happen more and more.
Hunter, the Sheriff of Paradise, is not pleasant, he gives not a jot about Darren and Vanis or their issues and turns a blind eye to everything that's going on.
Something lives in the woods, he knows it, the town knows it and we know it, D and V, however, don't know until suddenly they know.
It all goes to hell in a hand basket and there's blood and violence and all that good stuff.
There is a very good base here, a nice layer of story but I can't put my finger on why I don't like it as much as I thought I would, I'm a huge fan of Hunter Shea and I get vibes of his energy in this so I know I want to read more by this author.
One of my favourite parts, in the copy I had anyway, was ‘Zebulun Ayers set down his Buck Johnson rifle, wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, and swatted at the fog of MINGES around his head'. I assume the word was supposed to be Midges as we can all imagine a fog of those, a fog of minges, however, is a WHOLE different thing where I'm from and I dont' know if we can get a fog of them.
Huge thanks to Jackson R. Thomas, Alien Agenda Publishing and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
When their absentee father dies, Aaron, Bridge and Franny Quinlan travel to his secluded property to hear the reading of his will, as they arrive they see their mother already there.
The terms of his will state they all have to stay at the property together for 30 days or they will forfeit their claim to the inheritance. After their initial disbelief and indignation they all decide to stay because ‘how bad can it actually be?' and it will give them all a chance to reconnect and begin to understand each other.
The lawyer/executor of the will is a complete arsehole, arrogant and standoffish but, fortunately, not staying with them, when he leaves their 30 days begin.
There's the main lodge with a couple of bedrooms and 4 cabins scattered around, as they start to explore and decide where they want to stay for their time there, they each find ‘personalised' boxes with an item for each of them. As they settle into their rooms and explore further they are chased by silent and menacing beings, giving them pause and many questions. Thinking it's all just a ‘trick if their minds' they continue on with their stay.
Things only get more complicated and creepy when a new family join them. What is going on? Who are these people and why are they here?
With plenty of secrets revealed yet still many, many more questions yet to answer, we follow this twisty and turny story to uncover as much as possible and answer the overlying questions: What is going on in this secluded property? What are the beings in the woods? What does this mean for everyone?
A slow burn of a story with plenty of characters and and branches to get our teeth into. Who do we trust? Who do we connect with? How will this story end? Will I stop asking questions now?
Yes, yes I will.
Huge thanks to Andrew Pyper, Simon and Schuster UK Fiction and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
I'm about to ramble but this has a point, please bear with.
At the beginning of the year I noticed I had a few Flame Tree Press books to read and decided that it was unacceptable behaviour to have not read them yet so, as is my wont, I decided to do an Instgram post in which I tagged the publisher and authors of the books I had and said I would be getting to them forthwith. I then received a reply from Jonathan Janz thanking me for having some of his books to read, I asked which order he would suggest I read them in and his reply was ‘The Dark Game, The Siren and the Specter and then The Sorrows', as he believed the first 2 were stronger than this one. I took his advice (Obvs) and have to say, yes, the other 2 are stronger , but I still rate this as a 5 star read. Here's why:
Ben and Eddie are composers, asked to score a film by a renowned horror director and with the deadline looming and Ben having yet to find inspiration, Eddie suggests they try and rent The Sorrows, an island off the coast of Northern California with it's own castle, uninhabited since a series of gruesome murders supposedly happened there in 1925.
The owners son, desperately in need of money, agrees to let them use the island and Castle Blackwood for a month while they write the score, along with Ben and Eddie there are 2 women, Eva, the girlfriend of the director and Claire, who really wants to work with Ben as she loves his work.
Things are creepy and slightly off from the start, mysterious noises, shadows, things you catch out of the corner of your eye and weird dreams. told in present day and through journal enteries going back many, many years, we see the backstory of the Blackwoods and the history of the castle, horiffic, inhumane and despicable things that should never happen.
The characters are interesting, each having their own reasons to be there and having their own doubts about the castle and how it makes them feel. It's creepy and foreboding, dark places, shadows, a scary basement/dungeon, voices calling to them, sending each of them a little bit mad.
There's more sexy times in this book than the previous 2 I've read by this author and some of it feels like it's there without purpose, I know what he's trying to achieve and I believe it could've been done with less sexy times and a bit more alluding to said sexy times.
It's gruesome, horrific, chilling and surprisingly heartbreaking, some of the things that happen throughout the backstory had me furious, disturbed and having violent thoughts against people (in the story, not in real life).
Overall, despite my thoughts about the sexy times, I really enjoyed this, you can see the building blocks he's used in this as he moves through the story, his descriptions of the island and the castle are wonderful, the tortured characters, some redeemable, some not, how the story builds and takes the turns it does. Yeah, the other 2 I read first ARE stronger but the base is there, the way he weaves the narrative, his descriptions and the wonderful humour breaking up the tension just when it needs it, nearly all superfluous pieces taken out, I loved it.
I'm impatiently waiting for the 11th July now when Castle of Sorrows is re-released and I can get my hands on that! I can't wait to see what happens next.
Do you see my point? If not I can't help you, there's a point in here somewhere, you just have to read between the lines to see it (and maybe have some coffee, that helps :D)
Huge thanks to Jonathan Janz, Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
David Caine, a celebrated sceptic of the supernatural, is asked by his old friend Chris and his wife Katherine, to stay in a property they own, the Alexander House, to see if it really is as haunted as everyone says it is and then to write a book about it. Built in the 1700s by a land baron for his mad and depraved eldest son, it remains under a cloud of pain, sorrow and blood.
When David agrees and moves in for a month strange things happen almost at once, singing from outside his window, a pale ghostly figure of a woman beckoning him to follow, cold spots in the house, weird and sometimes violent dreams, he thinks, maybe, it's just because of the stories about the house and not actually because it's haunted, then things get weirder.
He meets Mike Jr when he's on a walk one day, a smart arse little kid who lives not too far away with his parents and little sister Ivy, his parents are the worst kind of scum, drinking, taking drugs, violent altercations and sex all in front of their kids, David is horrified when the mum hits on him and sexually assaults him, he gets as far away from them as possible but grows fond of Mike Jr even though he's a little shit.
Things get creepier and more violent as we continue through the story but it has a wonderful humour and brilliant interactions between the characters, it breaks up the tension in what can be, at times, disturbing and chilling narrative, I laughed out loud in a fair few places and never felt disconnected from the story, it pulled me deeper in and I ended up reading this in one sitting as I didn't want to leave the characters, I needed to see what happened.
I'm not going to say any more about the plot as I urge everyone to read this, it's the second book I've read by Jonathan Janz and I read three in the space of maybe 4 days, he is now one of my definite go to authours and I know that I will LOVE the rest of his books!!
Please, read his books, they are all so very good and if I could give them all more than 5 stars on here I would do in a heartbeat!!
Huge thanks to Jonathan Janz, Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
After Hannah gets divorced she decides to leave the bad memories behind and move to Edinburgh to become a tour guide at Henderson Close. Spooky and derelict it is underneath the streets of Edinburgh, built over years ago and becoming a time capsule.
As the tour guides take visitors around and regale them with stories of a bygone age, creepy and unexplained things start to happen, Hannah notices a woman seemingly following her and has weird experiences in the print shop.
Told in present day and following Miss Charmichael in 1881, we are given pieces of the puzzle to try and determine what in the hell is happening at Henderson Close.
With a supernatural/paranormal vein running through it, along with a gothic horror twist, it's story keeps you pulled in and engaged until the very last page.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more by Catherine Cavendish.
Huge thanks to Catherine Cavendish, Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
3.5 stars
Set in Nigeria we meet Korede and Ayoola, sisters who couldn't be more different, Korede is older, plainer, more serious and dedicated to her job as a nurse, Ayoola is beautiful, flighty, popular and things come easier to her, she is also a serial killer.
Told in short chapters from the POV of Korede as she cleans up the messes Ayoola makes and tries to balance that and her job.
Korede is in love with Dr Tade and she's making small steps towards getting their relationship to grow until he meets Ayoola and falls head over heels for her, that's when the story picks up and we get more back story.
I enjoyed this book, wish it would've been longer and the ending wasn't quite what I wanted but Korede was well drawn and I could understand some of her reasoning with helping Ayoola.
Will be on the lookout for more books by Oyinkan Braithwaite as I do enjoy her writing.
Huge thanks to Oyinkan Braithwaite, Atlantic Books and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own
The Austrian Alps are the setting for this wonderful little story. Charlie is a teenager and is on a ski trip with his school friends to Kaldgellan, he snowboards while they ski, he has an unhappy home life and is glad to be away doing what he loves. After he wipes out because of an avalanche he is rescued by Hanna a ski guide with a bad attitude and secrets.
While Charlie has been getting covered in snow his class mates have been in the town wondering why everyone is leaving, the towns folk know something bad's a comin' and want to be well away from there for a bit, with no way of leaving they all trek back to the hotel and settle in to wait out the coming storm.
Things go to shit pretty quickly when noises are heard and teachers are missing, blood is found and then they're all suddenly attacked, people ripped apart and thrown around, chaos ensues. When the blood settles they realize that from 30, they're down to 9, pretty good going for about 5 minutes!
The survivors have to band together to work out what the actual fuck just happened and how they're going to survive until the storm passes, Hanna and her mysterious past have some answers, can they make it through and come out the other side unscathed!?
I know that's a pretty vague review but I think it's best to go into this not knowing too much and letting the story take you away. I will say that it's violent, bloody and gore filled but it's not as graphic as the usual adult horror that I read, this isn't adult horror though, it's YA, which is probably why. This is a good start for easing YA readers into horror as a genre as there's just enough gruesomeness to not distract from the story but give you an insight into what sort of stuff happens.
The setting and characters are well written, the story paced nicely and the ending is spot on. Couldn't ask for more really, was a quick and enjoyable read.
Huge thanks to Gabriel Dylan, Little Tiger Group, Stripes Publishing and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own