Tag: NetGalley

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Tattletale by Sarah J Naughton – Review.

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About the Book

One day changes Jody’s life forever.
She has shut herself down, haunted by her memories and unable to trust anyone. But then she meets Abe, the perfect stranger next door and suddenly life seems full of possibility and hope.
One day changes Mags’s life forever.
After years of estrangement from her family, Mags receives a shocking phone call. Her brother Abe is in hospital and no-one knows what happened to him. She meets his fiancé Jody, and gradually pieces together the ruins of the life she left behind. But the pieces don’t quite seem to fit…

My Review

It seems common now, to have a novel that features an unreliable narrator. Tattletale is unusual in that it has three of them. After Abe is seriously injured in a fall, his sister Mags tries to get answers. She doesn’t believe what she is being told by his fiancé Jody and his neighbour Mira also seems to be keeping something back. There are flashbacks, and it isn’t clear who they concern. It also isn’t clear who to believe.
It’s a slow burning novel. At first I wasn’t sure which way it was going to go and my attention slipped a few times. But then, suddenly I was gripped and read the remainder of the book in one sitting. All three women had their problems and all had their own interpretation of the accident. Some of the flashbacks were quite upsetting, even more so because it was unclear whose they were and if they could be believed. At times it was intimidating. The threat from the thugs on the estate and some of the residents in the flats and the childhood  memories of both Mags and Jody.

The ending was superb. So often now I read a novel where there is a loose thread or the ending doesn’t make sense. But everything was wrapped up nicely and all to my satisfaction.

To preorder the book click here

With thanks to the publisher for the copy via NetGalley.

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Her Husband’s Lover by Julia Crouch – Review.

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About the Book

She stole her husband. Now she wants to take her life.
After the horrors of the past, Louisa Williams is desperate to make a clean start.
Her husband Sam is dead. Her children, too, are gone, victims of the car accident in which he died.
Sam said that she would never get away from him. That he would hound her to death if she tried to leave. Louisa never thought that he would want to harm their children though.
But then she never thought that he would betray her with a woman like Sophie.
And now Sophie is determined to take all that Louisa has left. She wants to destroy her reputation and to take what she thinks is owed her – the life she would have had if Sam had lived.
Her husband’s lover wants to take her life. The only question is will Louisa let her?

My Review

Her Husband’s Lover messed with my head. Two women, Louisa and Soph are linked by tragedy when Sam, Louisa’s husband and Soph’s lover dies after a high-speed car crash. Everything points to the accident being caused by Sam trying to kill Louisa so he can start a new life with Soph. Louisa attempts to rebuild her life under an assumed identity but Soph is after revenge and financial security for her daughter.
But this is not a book where you can even begin to assume anything. The only character who I could take as face value was Adam. When there had been a few chapters concerning the past I thought I knew the real story but I was increasingly horrified as I got nearer the end. One of the more eerie things about the book were the parts that were merely hinted at. The parts where I was left thinking about what might have happened.
I found it fascinating, very unsettling and impossible to put down. I don’t think that I have read anything like it before.
Julia Crouch is one of the authors who will be participating in tonight’s First Monday Crime. For anybody who can attend I’m sure it will be a great night. The details can be found here

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received via NetGalley.

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He Said, She Said by Erin Kelly – Review

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About the Book

In the hushed aftermath of a total eclipse, Laura witnesses a brutal attack.
She and her boyfriend Kit call the police, and in that moment, four lives change forever.
Fifteen years on, Laura and Kit live in fear.
And while Laura knows she was right to speak out, she also knows that you can never see the whole picture: something is always hidden… something she never could have guessed.

My Review

He Said, She Said is one of the best books that I have read this year.
Told by two different people over a period of fifteen years it focuses on Laura and Kit who are witnesses to an attack at a festival to celebrate the eclipse. When Laura makes an error of judgement at the trial she is afraid of the consequences. But she doesn’t expect to be still living in fear years later. Beth, the young woman who was attacked is very much a part of their lives but they are not comfortable with her being so close to them. Laura’s story covers the way she has suffered since the trial and how she has kept it secret but Kit’s shows a more selfish side and how he has done things that places them in more danger.
I love a book with more than one narrator that also covers more than one period in time and I should imagine that it is difficult to do. Erin Kelly though has done it very well. There is a lot of drama and tension all the way through the book and both Laura and Kit have really suffered since the eclipse. At times, I felt very tense while reading and when it switched narrator I couldn’t wait to return to see what happened next.
The court scenes were the most convincing that I have read. A very convincing villain who maintained his innocence, a ruthless lawyer who had no sympathy at all for a victim. It was also, just as terrifying as I imagine it to be on a witness stand.
This is only the second book I have read by this author and I’m looking forward to reading more by her.
Erin Kelly will be appearing at First Monday Crime on the 6th March. This looks like a very interesting evening and details can be found here

With thanks to the publisher for the copy via NetGalley.

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The Book of Mirrors by E. O. Chirovici – Review.

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About the Book

A gripping psychological thriller full of hidden fragments and dark reflections.

How would you piece together a murder?

Do you trust other people’s memories?
Do you trust your own?
Should you?

Princeton, 1987: renowned psychologist Professor Joseph Weider is brutally murdered.

New York, twenty-five years later: literary agent Peter Katz receives a manuscript. Or is it a confession?

Today: unearth the secrets of The Book of Mirrors and discover why your memory is the most dangerous weapon of all.

Already translated into 37 languages, The Book of Mirrors is the perfect novel for fans of psychological suspense and reading group fiction.

My Review

When Peter Katz receives a manuscript, he initally put it to one side. He eventually gets a chance to read it and is fascinated by the writing and discovering who murdered Joseph Weider twenty-five years earlier. All evidence points to it being the author but only part of the manuscript is available. Unfortunately, the author has died, the manuscript is missing and he hires a journalist to investigate and talk to people who might have answers. The journalist manages to make contact but in trying to find answers he becomes obsessed and this has consequences on his own life. The remainder of the story deals with the police officer who dealt with the murder at the time. By his own admission, he has made many mistakes. Both in the investigation and his marriage. He isn’t a likeable person, like many in the novel and has spent most of his life alone and full of regret.

The strongest character by a long way was Laura Baines. Cold and manipulative but unlike the detective she had no remorse or regret. It is a strange novel and the ending was a little unexpected. I thought I knew what had happened but I was completely wrong. There was also something hinted at but never revealed, this was left for the reader to consider and was a little chilling. I think the main theme of the novel was obsession. All the characters were obsessed with either an individual, success and fame within a career or the past. But it also showed that there could be a chance for redemption.
I was surprised that the author was based in the U.K. The American setting was very convincing.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy via NetGalley.

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Watch Me by Angela Clarke.

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About the Book

YOU HAVE SIX SECONDS TO READ THIS MESSAGE…
The body of a 15-year-old is found hours after she sends a desperate message to her friends. It looks like suicide, until a second girl disappears.
This time, the message is sent directly to the Metropolitan Police – and an officer’s younger sister is missing.
DS Nasreen Cudmore and journalist Freddie Venton will stop at nothing to find her. But whoever’s behind the notes is playing a deadly game of hide and seek – and the clock is ticking.
YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO SAVE THE GIRL’S LIFE.
MAKE THEM COUNT.

My Review

Watch Me is the second book in the series that features Nas and Freddie. It could be read as a standalone but I would advise that you read the first book Follow Me before reading. They are strongly linked.
Both Nas and Freddie are emotionally damaged from the events that happened in Follow Me. Nas has moved to a different department within the police where she feels that she hasn’t been welcomed by all that are in it. Freddie is unemployed and back home with her parents trying to forget and recover from an injury she received. When the sister of Nas’s superior officer is abducted she asks Freddie for help.
I did enjoy Follow Me last year but liked this one a lot more. Both characters are more developed and more likeable. I know nothing at all about the social media site Snapchat which features in the book, but I have heard about the damage that such sites can cause when a user is so inclined. Some of the scenes described regarding the abuse that Chloe received were quite upsetting and totally believable.
Nas doesn’t make life easy for herself. Remorse over events eight years earlier and struggling to get past the young, pretty, female and ethnic police officer image and prove that she was good at her job. You could understand to some degree the frustration that her fellow officers felt. Freddie, despite her injury, emotional problems and civilian status is much more level headed and practical. I thought the ending was very clever and different to what I expected it to be.
A good second book in the social media series and I hope it continues. I can certainly see potential for more books and I’m sure it is one I will enjoy keeping up with.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received via NetGalley.