MYSTERY. SUSPENSE. INTRIGUE.
In the spirit of Halloween, I want to know what you find scarier:
Thanks for your participation, and if you have an idea for a poll that you’d like to see posted, please let me know in the comments section below!
The results of last week’s poll are:
Who is the best female villain?
This book was suspenseful. It kept my attention, my eyes racing over the pages so quickly that at times I thought I smelled smoke. I enjoyed the story very much, but there was something off, something lacking.
I can’t quite pinpoint what kept this book from being 5 stars for me. There was a lot of telling versus showing, which most writers will agree is one of those criticisms that make your eyes roll completely out of your head and onto the floor, but there’s merit in the comment. If left unbalanced, the rhythm of the text morphs into something that reads like a grocery list. It lacks sophistication, creating an, “and then, and then, and then,” feeling.
The plot was good, and I’m not one of those readers that has problems suspending belief, but there were some things that rubbed me the wrong way, like a tag abrading the back of my neck. It felt uncomfortable and wrong and I just couldn’t buy the characters’ actions. All that said, I really did enjoy the book. Parts of it were chillingly fresh and horrific! Had I read it another week, a different day, perhaps I would have rated it 5 stars instead of 4.45. A quick read and worth the time you’ll spend with it.
This book had been on my wishlist for a while, so when it was featured as a Kindle deal at an awesomely discounted price, I couldn’t resist. It’s another book where I went in cold – I knew only that many of my Goodreads friends really enjoyed it. (If you haven’t already, add me on Goodreads, I want to see what you’re reading!)
Let me begin by saying that this book is an emotional roller coaster. And just because you think you know what’s going on, doesn’t mean you do. The plot twist at the end of part one caught me completely by surprise, as in totally blindsided – not only did I not see it coming, the option never even crossed my mind. I love love LOVE when that happens, but it doesn’t happen nearly often enough.
From that point, in part 2, the book takes a much more sinister turn. A dark, uncomfortable, I don’t want to be on this road alone at night bend that makes you consider certain characters and their actions in an entirely different light. I really had a hard time not giving spoilers away in this review, but I’d hate to rob other readers of that breathless, hit hard feeling. This is a debut novel by what promises to be a formidable author! Five stars!
Wow. I’ve got to say it again. Wow. This was the most suspenseful book that I’ve read in a long time, and the suspense lasted right through to the last page. It was dark, creepy, scary – it was everything you know you shouldn’t be reading but can’t resist. I could not put this book down. I must now read all the books that Elizabeth Hayes has written as soon as I can get my hands on them. Have I mentioned before how much I love British authors?
The story maintains the same narrator, Catherine, as it switches between years (2003/4 and 2007/8). This put me off a bit in the beginning, because you never know how important it is to keep track of the time until you get a bit into a story. My advice – don’t worry about it with this one, think of it as simply Then and Now. In the Then, Catherine is an outgoing party girl who gets the boyfriend who makes all of her friends jealous. In the Now, Cathy is an introverted homebody almost crippled by her OCD and fear. The story of how she got that way is intense. They story of her trying to move on and take her life back is intense. The culmination of the book is, for lack of a better word, intense.
This book disturbed me in a way that few books do because the story didn’t just seem possible – it seems real. Haynes is one of my new favorite authors and I’m definitely going to read her other books. 5 stars and a night light!
This book was hyped as the next Gone Girl. Let me begin by saying that it’s not, and if read with those expectations, it’s going to be a disappointment. I had to readjust my approach and read this book with no assumptions in mind. After that, I enjoyed it. (I suspect that most authors cringe when their book is compared to another. Every reader wants to recreate the feeling of reading a book they love. But unless it’s the same book, it’s going to disappoint. Read each book as the unique creation that it is 🙂 )
This is a good book. It’s suspenseful and well-written, with well developed characters, a strong plot and some twists and turns along the way. But does it have that big jaw-dropping moment where you look at the book in your hand with amazement and say, “Wow. Didn’t see that coming?” Not really. I think the comparisons to Gone Girl stem from Hawkins’ superb grip on the psychology of her characters.
Don’t get me wrong, the book isn’t predictable, it’s just plausible. There are certain directions that the plot can go, and it goes one of them. There may be a little blindsiding, but I did suspect what ended up happening rather early in the book – although I usually do. That said, the book is enjoyable. It’s a quick, fun read. I liked it. And, considering that it’s a debut novel, bravo! 4.5 stars.
Shannon Hollinger 