Tag: horror

Fiction/Science Fiction · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Assassin’s code – Jonathan Maberry

Book Chick2 Comments

12024990| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: In ASSASSIN’S CODE, the fourth book in New York Timesbestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, Joe Ledger and the DMS go on a relentless chase to stop an ancient order of killers from plunging the entire world into Holy War.

When Joe Ledger and Echo Team rescue a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran,the Iranian government then asks them to help find six nuclear bombs planted in the Mideast oil fields. These stolen WMDs will lead Joe and Echo Team into hidden vaults of forbidden knowledge, mass-murder, betrayal, and a brotherhood of genetically-engineered killers with a thirst for blood.

Accompanied by the beautiful assassin called Violin, Joe follows a series of clues to find the Book of Shadows, which contains a horrifying truth that threatens to shatter his entire worldview.

They say the truth will set you free…
Not this time.

The secrets of the Assassin’s Code will set the world ablaze.

Untitled

My thoughts: Dear Mr Maberry.

You broke me! You broke me to the moon and back and then you put me together with scotch tape and hot glue. Blood seeping trough the wounds, glistening in the night as I lay and think about Joe Ledger and his life. And then I read the last sentence in this book and it is all better again. Almost! So please, do not fuck it up. (Yeah I know you already have written like 6 more books after this one but I can still Wish because that guy need some happiness.)

If I ever was one of those people who wrote letters to musicians, actors, authors, serial killers or what not, this is probably how I would start a letter to Jonathan Maberry. After every book about Joe Ledger, I have felt a little broken, a little hurt but at the same time had this good, warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest. Maberry takes his readers on an exquisite ride through out the horrors of real life mix with the horror of the historical, fantasy, conspiracy tales and mad science. As a child I loved books like Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker and every other “supernatural” book my little hands could get. This is just an modern view of old tales in a more exciting form. There to entertain, not to teach and with twist you would not be able to foresee.

I have not written an official review on any of Maberrys books before but they pretty much go the same. The story is phenomenal. The imagination and execution of the story is one of the greatest. This is not generally a genre I read much in and even less if there is not more of an Romantic suspense/horror type of book. Mostly because I often feel a get bored. Long descriptions, not enough dialog and so on is not always the best. But I do not get bored by this books. It is terrifying, exciting and lovable. And you as an reader are there with the characters. There have not yet been a full 5 star rated book (but The King of Plagues was pretty close) and that is because every time I feel i’m missing something. But I cant figure out what.

chapter.PNGJonathan Maberry is also a king on writhing short chapters with a punch and a total effect to wake your curiosity. This picture is the first chapter from the book “The King of Plagues” and I wrote this on my Instagram (this was before I created The Book Chick).

insta

And it is perfect for those of you who read by chapters and goes like “Just one more chapter” late in the night. 😉

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

Postmortem – Patricia Cornwell

Book Chick2 Comments

9780751544398.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Under cover of night in Richmond, Virginia, a human monster strikes, leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer whose signature offers precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest advances in forensic research to unmask the madman. But this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it’s being sabotaged from within—and someone wants her dead.

Untitled

My thoughts: This is one of those slow cooking, crime novels that are famous for a great story, strong characters and an explosive ending. And it is pretty much what I expected but was not entirely what i got.

The characters are great. You notice that this is an older book where the world was more of a mans world and as an woman you had to fight with teethes and nails. At first I did not like Kay that much. Didn’t like Marino either but Lucy, my god I hated her. Until I started to get to know all the characters and see more besides the shell them put out. In the end I still didn’t like Lucy but that is for other reasons. Really started to like Marino and Kay seams more human to me now. So in the next book I probably will not dislike them as much. And I feel it is a good thing. The author has succeeded to write characters that makes my nerves frassel and this time I liked it.

The story is slow cooking but it is exciting. You as an reader do not get much clues to who the killer might be so when that is revealed, there is no gasps or wonders about how me as an reader could miss it. The clues are just not there. The ending is pretty much predictable and as I had expected and that is quite sad. And it went by way to fast. 98% of the book was slow and interesting but the last 2% was like a blur of moments and story. To bad really. I think the book could be a 5 star if the ending had been a little more. Not faster but at least feel like it belonged to the rest of the book. Hard to explain with out giving out spoilers.

Really liked it though so will definitely look in to the other books in the series.

Monthly summary

October Summary

Book ChickLeave a comment

October is over. November is here and my two most busiest months of the year is starting. Not only will I have a lot going on at work but private there is already a full list to be completed. And off course there is some books on that list. But first, lets talk about October.

Better reading month then what I had foreseen. Got 10 books in and one DNF book. Quite happy to finally be done with the third book of voyager and even if it was great, the favorite book of the month is The Redbreat by Jo Nesbø. Did not like the two first books but the third one, OH MY!
The least favorite book this month is, believe it or not, from Jessica Gadziala. The eight book in the Henchman Series, Pagan, is at the bottom this month.

Looking forward to November and the books I will be reading. Got some great books on the way that I have ordered and my Kindle is full of books just waiting to be read. It will be great.

Favorite book this month: The Redbreast – Jo Nesbø
Least favorite book this month: Pagan – Jessica Gadziala
Total read pages: About 4400 pages.

107769Murder List – Julie Garwood
Settings: Chicago, Illinois (USA). Pages: 425. Published: 2004.
Genres: Thriller, romance, suspense.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
Five words: Warm, great written, little slow.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 4 in Buchanan-Renard series.

14 Weeks – Jessica Gadziala33950707
Settings: Navesink Bank (fictional), New Jersey, (USA) Pages: 213.
Published: 2017.
Genres: Romance, contemporary, suspense.
My rating: 2/5.
Five words: Unexciting, ranting, no connection, okay.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 2 in Investigators.
24763130.jpgWolf Trouble – Page Tyler
Settings: Dallas, Texas, (USA). Pages: 352. Published: 2015.
Genres: Fantasy, paranormal, romance, shapeshifters.
My rating: 4/5.
Five words: Sexy, exciting, werewolf, “realistic”, more.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 2 in S.W.A.T. Special wolf alpha team.

The Good Daughter – Karin Slaughter33230889
Settings: Georgia, (USA) Pages: 528. Published: 2017.
Genre: Mystery, thriller, fiction, suspense.
My rating: 4/5
Five words: Dark, terrible, great written, wordy.
Links: Review | Goodreads
32331591.jpgRun to ground – Katie Ruggle
Settings: Colorado (USA). Pages: 416. Published: 2017.
Genres: Romance, contemporary, suspense.
My rating: 3/5
Five words: Sweet, somewhat repeatable, dogs, secrets.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in Rocky Mountain K9 unit.

Pagan – Jessica Gadziala34537960
 Settings: Navesink Bank (fictional), New Jersey, (USA). Pages: 344.
Published: 2017.
Genres: Contemporary, Romance.
My rating: 2/5.
Five words: No connection, superficial, slow, over.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 8 in The Henchmen series.
682156Sacred Sins – Nora Roberts
Settings: Washington D C, USA. Pages: 344. Published: 1987. Genres: Contemporary, romance, suspense.
My rating: 4/5
Five words: Great characters, warm, feel good.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 1 in DC detective series.

The Redbreast – Jo Nesbø465226
Settings: Oslo, Norway. Pages: 519. Published: 2000. Genres: Mystery, crime, fiction, thriller
My rating: 5/5.
Five words: So good, exciting, great suspense.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 3 in Harry Hole series.
25711641Tyrant – T. M Frazier
Pages: 277. Published: 2015.
Genres: Romance, Adult erotica, fiction, suspense
My rating: 3/5
Five words: Mostly boring, Twists, Good end
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 2 in King series.

Voyager – Diana Gabaldon10987
Settings: England, Scotland, France, and more. Pages: 870.
Published: 1993. Genres: Historical, Romance, Fiction, Fantasy.
My rating: 4/5
Five words: Little to long, but great.
Links: Review | Goodreads
Book 3 in Outlander series.

DNF

6049585Abandon – Blake Crouch
Pages: 292. Published: 2010.
Genres: Horror, thriller, mystery, fiction, suspense.
Links: Review | Goodreads

I could not even get myself longer than 20% in the book. This because the writing is so, so bad. It is seriously terrible.

Everyday things · Thriller/Horror

Horror Books I’ve read and recommend

Book Chick1 Comment

Be afraid. Be very afraid! Mohaha ha oh, *chough* just kidding.

Halloween is here and by that, everything we think, do and see is influenced by this horror culture we live in. I first thought that i would make a horror book list with like five books I wanted to read this month. However my job has been crazy and I have hardly had time to sit down and write the reviews on the books I do have read.

So instead of a list of books I have not read, I thought I would make a list about the top 5 horror books I do have read and also recommend to you.

Enjoy!

18890038.jpgIntensity by Dean Koontz
The first book I ever read by Koontz and I probably was way to young when I read it to. But I loved it. It was probably more terrifying for me as a young child reading the book than now as an adult. But just have to recommend it. You get to met Vess who is not right in the head. In his cellar there is 16 year old Ariel and Chyna who Vess has taken everything from, takes it up on her self to save Ariel. It is just an great and terrifying book. In Swedish (the language I read the book in) the title is “Psykopaten” which translate to “The Psychopath” is just a more fitting name for the book really. Just read it. Click here to read more about the book.

67035.jpgRelic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. (Book 1)
I dont think this book was supposed to evolve to an series but I´m really happy for it because I LOVE freaking Pendergast. He does not have the big main part in the first and second book but from the third one it is all about him. I still choose to recommend the first book because it is such an great story. The monster is loose at the museum. Yeah I know, how cliche isn’t that but the story is about just that. An monster, museum and the people who tries to fight it. The story is just great and one of those cozy horror story’s. Click here to read more about the Pendergast Series.

6962671The King of Plagues – Jonathan Maberry (Book 3)
There is like nine books so far in the series about Joe Ledger and I have read three and the last one was so far the best one. In this series we get to follow Joe who is a Teamleader over an highly secretive group of black ops people. They more or less is trying to save the world. The books are great written but are a little to long or slow sometimes. But they are still great and Joe Ledger is one of my favorite characters. The story line is reality horror. He writes about stuff that could really happen and it makes it real and horrific for me as an reader. Click here to read more about Joe Ledgers series.

23150980.jpgEllie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L Bryan (Book 1)
This is more of an young adult kind of horror story even though it is not labeled as an young adult. The story is about Ellie who is working as an Ghost Trapper and each book is about a new case. I really like these storys. They are not to long and wordy as often fantasy books can be and they are really good written. There are today 8 books in the series and I have read two so far. Click here to read more about the series.

36013075It – Stephen King
Well I just had to have this one on here. Not because it is such an great horror story but because it is such an great story. Just as an story should be. I often find King to be over the top with his books which takes the horror right out of it. It gets just to unreal. And it happens in this book to. But not until the end. So I as an reader still gets like 1000 pages of that clean, heart beating horror that I love. Here we meet the Clown Pennywise who is killing people around the town Derry. 7 Kids takes it up on them self to kill Pennywise to save them self and revenge those who have been kill. Well, it is not that easy. Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read my review of the book.

Have you read any horrors lately? What books would you recommend?

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Thriller/Horror

IT – Stephen King

Book Chick3 Comments

36013075| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis:‘They float…and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too.’

To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.

It was the children who saw – and felt – what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one’s deepest dread. Sometimes IT reached up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .

The adults, knowing better, knew nothing.

Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of IT was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until they were called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.

Untitled

My thoughts:
It is a lot of talk about “IT” right now and it´s all because of the movie who had premier earlier this month. Me my self have not seen the new movie yet but I saw the old one when I was a kid. I thought that I should read the book this time since I don´t remember that much from the movie. So I did. I did not only read it. I also listened on the book so I could follow the story even when at work or doing boring house chores. Perfect solution. 🙂

It is a really good book. It is a good story, great characters and a exciting plot. Can not say that it is scary in any way though. But i´m not that kind of person who gets scared by books. I like that you feel like you are really there in the story. You can feel the heat of the summer sun in 1958. You can feel the panic and your own feet against the ground as they are being chased. You are just there. But you can also really clearly see that this is a Stephen King book. Because everything takes just to long. It is a little to much in the end and one thing just don’t make sense to me. And that’s to bad really.

I felt a few times through out the book that it was going to slow and I wanted them to “just get on with it”. Around page 500-600 it was dead calm. The calm before the storm, you could say, but it was a boring calm. If I didn’t have the pressure to get done with the book so I could see the movie, it would have been easy for me to lay down the book at that point. That’s the problem with me and Kings book. They are great, then they are like on hold, in a grey area that´s just pissing me off and makes the story stop. If I don’t get myself over those 100+ pages, I will probably never pick up the book again.

But I ended it and i´m happy for it. I would totally recommend this book to who ever likes to read big books. I don’t think you have to bee an horror fanatic och fantasy reader or anything like that to read this book. It is really for everyone, I believe. Just have an open mind.

Capture

Everyday things

My next two weeks – IT here I come!

Book Chick3 Comments

img_0875Now for a time forward, there will only be reviews on old books published here on the blog. That is because I will be reading IT by Stephen King and I´m estimating that it will take me about two weeks (if i get the time i hope i will get) to get trough it. It is a freakishly fat book with just under 1400 pages. I´m not 100% sure but I think this will be the thickest book I ever read. I think about a 1000 – 1100 is my record so far.

I´m not afraid of thick books, but i´m a little afraid of this one. Not because it is a horror book about clowns. No, because i´m a little afraid that i wont like it. I saw the movie when i was a kid (like five years old). img_0879Yeah i know. Don´t know what my mother thought, letting me do that. However it did not effect me on any serious levels (probably because I had seen worse in real life). Now that the new movie have had premier I thought, maybe I should read the book before I see this one. Don´t remember much from the first movie and the book has been quite hard to get a hold of, until the movie hysteria that is going on right now.

So yeah. Just a little warning that I will have my nose stuck in this book the first weeks to come. Wish me luck. 🙂

Have you read IT? Would you recommend it to others? Have you seen any of the two movies?

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

Still Life With Crows – D. Preston & L. Child

Book ChickLeave a comment

39033| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground. Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?
Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?
Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America’s heartland.
No one is safe.

My thoughts: This is the fourth book about Aloysius X.L. Pendergast. Yeah I know, what a name! And this is so far the least good book out of them I have read. Loved the first and second one. The third was great because it gave you the ability to learn more about Pendergast. This one however was not that exciting. It is good, absolutely. Its just kind of slow and predictable and not the greatest work.

But i´m still a little bit in love with Pendergast that i´m definitely gonna read more books in the series. And I hope i´m not gonna have more of these bad experiences. 😉

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Thriller/Horror

A Merciful Death – Kendra Elliot

Book ChickLeave a comment

29986740| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land—and off the grid—in rural Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Until a shocking tragedy tore her family apart and forced her to leave home. Now a predator known as the cave man is targeting the survivalists in her hometown, murdering them in their homes, stealing huge numbers of weapons, and creating federal suspicion of a possible domestic terrorism event. But the crime scene details are eerily familiar to an unsolved mystery from Mercy’s past.

Sent by the FBI to assist local law enforcement, Mercy returns to Eagle’s Nest to face the family who shunned her while maintaining the facade of a law-abiding citizen. There, she meets police chief Truman Daly, whose uncle was the cave man’s latest victim. He sees the survivalist side of her that she desperately tries to hide, but if she lets him get close enough to learn her secret, she might not survive the fallout…

My thoughts: I really liked the story. I liked that preppers had a big part of the story. I know what a prepper is but the complete meaning of it was new to me until I read Fan the flames by Katie Ruggle where the female lead character had grown up as an extreme prepper. The culture intrigued me and that is mostly why I wanted to read this book.

However I wasn’t that happy about the characters. They felt kind of detached at times and some of the history never was told to you as an reader, which would have made somethings a little clearer. And I totally dont agree with the ending of the book. Tho no cliffhanger.

Overall it is an great book with some mistakes. After my experience, the first book in a series are often not that good as it could be and i´m still interested to read more about Mercy, and perhaps get some answers on stuff that you didn’t get in the first book. I do not like to end a book with questions but here it do not do anything since they are minor and just my own curiosity. Another reader would probably not even have those questions when the book ends.

Contemporary · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Shadow Of Perception – Kristine Mason

Book Chick1 Comment

25361217| GOODREADS | AMAZON | My rating: ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: What happens when negligent plastic surgeons get a taste of their own medicine…?

Chicago investigative reporter, Eden Risk, receives an unmarked envelope containing a postcard ordering her to watch the enclosed DVD…or someone else dies. No police. After Eden watches the DVD, a gruesome, horrifying surgery, she turns to the private criminal investigation agency, CORE, for help. Only she hadn’t expected that help to come with a catch. Her former lover, Hudson Patterson, has been assigned to the case.

Hudson would rather have another CORE agent handle the investigation. Two years ago, he’d screwed things up with Eden…bad. And as more DVDs arrive, Eden and Hudson find themselves not only knee-deep in a twisted investigation, but forced to deal with their past, and the love they’d tried to deny.

My thoughts: This is the second book in Masons CORE Shadow Trilogy. I did like the first book and gave it three stars, but I really liked the first book from her other CORE series (above the law). But this one I did not like at all. I didn’t like that the suspense disappeared to fast since Mason gave to much explanations to early. So the murder and his mystery was not that exciting. And I did not like Eden at all and some of the drama was totally her fault and then try to make it Hudsons fault. That kind of relation and drama is really nothing for me.

And its to bad. Because i´m starting to see and a pattern and Mason has an sick imagination. An imagination totally in my taste. Something new and a little on the border of insanity that is really refreshing for someone like me who read a lot of thriller, suspense, mystery and books with romance.

So in total, this was not the book for me, but I still want to read more and the third book is about an character named Rachel and that is really exciting. 😀