Sunday, April 28, 2024

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

 Thriller Genre, 384 pages, published in 2024; themes: haunted house, lies, memories.

Rating - 5/5; Enjoyment - 5/5; Writing - 5/5; Characters - 5/5; Plot - 5/5; Readability - 5/5; and Setting - 5/5.

What did you think of the book?  What will you take away from it?

The book was well written.  I liked how the two-story lines went together.  I really thought the house was haunted.

What was the aim of the book, and how well did the author fulfill it?

Probably to provide entertainment via a realistic fiction.  You are left to wonder whether the house truly is haunted until the very end.

Would you recommend this book to others?  Who is the target audience?

Yes, thrill seekers and ghost hunters which is currently relevant to me.

One-sentence book review

What haunts you may not be dead.

Thoughts and Notes

***Spoiler Alert***

Maggie grew up - not really - in a giant mansion known to be haunted but that's only because her father wrote a book saying it was.  Maggie doesn't believe it because she was 5 and doesn't remember any of it.

Her dad dies and she inherited this house - yes, the haunted house - she didn't even know her dad still owned it.  Well, she wants to flip it because that's what she does.  Since she knows it's not haunted then there's no issue. 

Well, she gets there, and strange stuff keeps happening.  She's losing her mind.  Until we find out the house does have secrets - secret passageways!


Sunday, April 21, 2024

No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall

 Thriller genre published in 2024, about 325 pages.  Themes:  Betrayal, murder, etc.

Ratings - 5 out of 5 overall

Enjoyment - 4/5

Writing - 4/5

Characters - 5/5

Plot - 3/5

Readability 5/5

Setting - 5/5

What did you think of the book?  What will you take away from it?

Well planned and developed.  Take away - things are never what they seem.  Your story may not be the most accurate.

What was the aim of the book, and how well did the author fulfill it?

Provide various angels to the same story.  Isn't that how life works?  Elements of suspense, questions, doubts, etc.  Well done.

Would you recommend this book to others?  Who is the target audience?

Absolutely, thriller lovers with find it a good read.

One sentence book review

You will never know the whole truth unless you talk about it.

Thoughts and Notes

***SPOILER ALERT***

Emma doesn't talk about her past, but her husband forces the issue when he loses his job, and they need a place to live.

They move into her childhood home - where her parents were murdered - in order to survive.  Then the past comes back full swing.

All 3 sisters (yeah, did I mention Emma has 2 sisters?) were somehow involved in their parent's murder but they swore not to tell anyone anything they knew.

A guy named Gabe was Emma's friend - much older - no funny business apparently - and they though he did it too.

The parents were abusive, so all the girls seemed to want them dead but did one of them actually do it.

Well, the story kind of leads us to believe that the youngest sister did it - well 1/2 did it.

But who killed Emma's husband?


Sunday, April 14, 2024

Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

 Published in 2008.  

Themes:  kidnapping, family problems, incest, sexual abuse

My Ratings - 5 ⭐

Enjoyment - 5/5

Writing - 5/5

Characters - 3/5

Plot - 2/5

Readability - 5/5

Setting - 5/5

What did you think of the book?  What will you take away from it?

It was easy to follow and an interesting premise.  I'm not sure I would have chosen the strange white rabbit theme though - I wonder what the symbolism is here.

What was the aim of the book, and how well did the author fulfill it?

Fantasy mixing with reality.  It was definitely well relayed, in my opinion, with certain aspects.  For example, how the young girl was "method acting" by embodying a dirty pirate because she was trying to become her character in the play, Captain Hook.  When in reality she was trying to stay dirty so her father wouldn't be interested in her (gross on several levels).

Would you recommend this book to others?  Who is the target audience?

Yes.  It's a good thriller and could appeal to many true/kinda true crime fanatics.  However, I hated the rape idea of it.  

One-sentence Book Review

The white rabbit was always meant to be seen but never followed.

Thoughts, Notes, Summary

**Spoiler Alert**

Rhonda watches a little girl get kidnapped by a white rabbit in broad daylight.

History of Rhonda:

  • In love with Peter
  • Peter is married to Tock
  • Peter's sister and father are missing
  • Peter's sister, Lizzy, was Rhonda's best friend
  • Peter's mother was married to Rhonda's father before her parents 
  • Peter is not Rhonda's father's son
So what happened?
  • Peter's dad was raping Lizzy
  • Lizzy killed her dad
  • Peter and Tock hid the body in the stage
  • Peter made Rhonda and the others destroy the stage
  • Lizzy ran away
  • No one looked for the Dad in the stage
  • The girl who was kidnapped in the beginning was kidnapped by a store owner's nephew in a white rabbit suit
  • Store owner's nephew has an accident - little girl is killed - he hides the body
  • Store owner befriended the girl and staged the kidnapping because she lost her sister
Rhonda knew nothing but was always there



Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

 Finally, a book with a male lead.  Many of our recent thrillers centered on a female protagonist that gets in to all sorts of mischief, tro...