Tag: thriller

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

The Witness – Simon Kernick

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26631703.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: ‘I had a simple choice. Stay here, and almost certainly be discovered. Or get up and run.’

THE WITNESS
When Jane Kinnear sees her lover being murdered, she suddenly finds herself in danger. Taken to an anonymous police safe-house, it soon becomes clear that her lover was an MI5 informant with important information about an imminent terrorist attack.

THE DETECTIVE
DI Ray Mason of Counter Terrorism Command is a man with a controversial past, but his effectiveness at getting results means that he’s now been given the task of preventing the attack from taking place. But can he be trusted, and does he know more about the attack than he’s letting on?

THE KILLER
In the safe-house, Jane is trying to piece together a description of her lover’s killer. But what she doesn’t know is that the killer has already found out who she is, and where she is hiding.

And now he’s coming for her.

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My thoughts: This was not what I had expected. I thought the book was more about the witness. But in reality you follow Mason most of the book. It started off fast and good with some intense chapter and great build up. Unfortunate that didn’t hold and I lost interest some 100 pages in.

Mason sure is an interesting character with an interesting past. You do get to know a lot about him but you do feel that there is so much more and stuff like that will probably be relived later on in the series. According to GoodReads there is one more book about Ray Mason so far. I will probably not read it though. The witness character was also interesting. With a background where she grew up in South Africa and escaped to the other side of the world and then a lot happened. You don’t get to know everything in one go either and it makes you curious of her past. She is an enigma and great to get to know more about. Certainly fit well with the main character and his own dark secrets.

I am however not fond of terrorists plots. I often find them childish. But I guess it is childish in reality to. To take out your own thoughts and views on other innocent people, just because others are not thinking the same way, is just making you a coward. It is like the bully in school who need to hurt others to feel better him self. Unfortunately terrorist are so much bigger and causes so much more destruction. So since the books plot is more about terrorist than anything else, this was not a book for me.

However, there is a MAJOR plot twist in the end that totally threw me. It was so far from what I expected and it was a great way to heat up the plot again and make it interesting. It was so good that it earned its own star and went from one to two stars in rating. The ending was not 100% completely satisfying but I do understand the reasons for it.

Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

The murder bag – Tony Parsons

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18332155| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Twenty years ago seven rich, privileged students became friends at their exclusive private school, Potter’s Field. Now they have started dying in the most violent way imaginable.

Detective Max Wolfe has recently arrived in the Homicide division of London’s West End Central, 27 Savile Row.

Soon he is following the bloody trail from the backstreets and bright lights of the city, to the darkest corners of the internet and all the way to the corridors of power.

As the bodies pile up, Max finds the killer’s reach getting closer to everything – and everyone – he loves.

Soon he is fighting not only for justice, but for his own life …

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My thoughts: Never read anything by Parsons before and I’m pleasantly surprised. I like the book, unfortunately I didn’t love it. Probably because of the slightly diluted plot and the typical English settings. And I don’t mean typical in a good way. This book has a somewhat tame and watered topic, which I have read over and over again before. Why do you have to have that slanted balance of power in crime thrillers, specially English crime? I’m getting tired of it and quite frankly, is the genre done? Is there nothing more to write about? I feel English crime books are a complete genre by itself since they often are the same specially with the work relationships in the police house. Still I do love English Crime.

This gritty thriller is about a rebel cop (Max Wolfe) who’s only goal in his job, is to do the right thing and find out the truth. Perhaps even save a couple of lives along the way. He is following the questions and evidence no matter where it will lead and even if his bosses are against it or try to stop him. Wolfe is a great character to follow. He is a rebel yes, but he is not that typical kick ass cop you often read about. He feels more human, can get hurt as easily as anyone else, struggles with stuff and I love how real he feels. He is a single dad with a daughter and a dog. This little family is the center of the book and makes it warm and real in the chill of the crimes.

The plot was interesting and the mystery wasn’t that predictable. I do want to try the next book in the series. Book two actually have a higher rating on GoodReads and the first book so I’m kind of curios.

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

Hush – Karen Robards

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21412207.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: When Riley Cowan finds her estranged husband Jeff dead in his palatial home, she’s sure it’s no coincidence. The police rule it a suicide, but Riley thinks someone’s out for blood—specifically someone Jeff’s father ripped off in one of the biggest financial fraud cases of all time. She suspects that someone is trying to send a message to Jeff’s father: Tell me where the money is, or everyone you care about will die.

Riley’s in-laws might be billionaires, but she’s afraid that not even their dirty money can protect her from an irate investor who will stop at nothing to get his hands on his misappropriated cash. Enter Finn Bradley, Philly-based FBI agent and Riley’s love interest from way back when. Finn agrees to help Riley, and the two reignite sparks they both thought were extinguished long ago. But can they discover the killer’s identity in time, before he resurfaces—and strikes again?

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My thoughts:All sexual tension aside, there is not much left to brag about. Nothing that made a big impression on me. And I’m a little sad about that since I see Robards as one of my favourite mystery, romantic suspense authors. I have “only” read six of her books and they have been a really hit or miss so I suspect she is a volatile author. You hope for the best but apparently you could get the worst.

The story is long winded, slow paced and repetitive. Some chapters had the feeling that they went on and on and on. A never ending story. And when you have read the same thought, the same phrase in 300 pages, you are bound to get bored. Well I did.

My biggest problem with the book is that everything take such time. The two main characters butt heads like two five year old and then suddenly it is all fine and dandy. The ending comes in a rushing pace and after it I was like “what did just happen?”. Well I do not recommend this book. Don’t take my word for it though. The book has a 3.75% in average rating on GoodReads and more often than not that should fit me pretty perfect in this genre. Well not this time. Not for me. But maybe for you? Judged by many of the reviews on GoodReads, there is a lot of happy, satisfied people out there who have read the book and liked it.

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

Finders keepers – Stephen King

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23492589.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Wake up, genius.

The genius is John Rothstein, an iconic author who created a famous character, Jimmy Gold, but who hasn’t published a book for decades. Morris Bellamy is livid, not just because Rothstein has stopped providing books, but because the nonconformist Jimmy Gold has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein and empties his safe of cash, yes, but the real treasure is a trove of notebooks containing at least one more Gold novel.

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years.

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My thoughts: “Shit don’t mean shit” – Jimmy Gold. The main character in the trilogy series written by John Rothstein (who after some Googling I believe is a alter ego to King himself). It is inception. This book is a book about a book. King certainly understands how us readers work and all the feelings we can experience while reading. He understands that in some degree we actually can get a little obsessed and there is probably a few people out there who have or could kill for their obsession. Who knows. We are 7 billion people on this planet so it is not that unlikely.

Anyway, I did not find this one as good and well done as the first in the series. The story was intriguing but the main character (Bill) didn’t have a big part at all. He was the side character who is coming in to “solve” everything in the last 50 pages. And I’m a little sad about that. I was looking forward to follow Bill and Holly for another book but instead I’m quite disappointed. My main thought about the book is that it probably would stand strongest on its own, like an stand alone. It does connect with the first book but everything is so well explained that you hardly notice.

I have read some reviews where it talks about how Finders Keepers is a recycled Misery (also written by Stephen King) and that they are disappointed on King who wrote about the reader/fan idea once again. I however have not read Misery but judged by the synopsis, I do not feel that way at all. I find this plot to be completely different. Specially since Rothstein don’t have a living part in the book.

The ending is a lot more in King’s style and it does end one a little cliffhanger. I will read the third book someday. I have to. Because I believe that it is in that book the real stuff is gonna happen. And it is gonna be great.

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

You – Caroline Kepnes

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20821614| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

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My thoughts: This is a highly uncomfortable book about a seemingly normal guy who works in a bookstore. There is however nothing normal about Joe, who is both manically obsessive and manipulative. He is stalking this girl and as a girl myself and also a girl who is somewhat active in social media, this is terrifying. Totally utterly terrifying. Not that I think that I ever will be stalked or ever going to stalk someone, but how easy Kepnes made it seem. It is kind of sick of how I was shifting my focus and who I was rooting for throughout the book. Kudos to you Kepnes who with this book have made me uncertain and question myself.

Well the book is certainly making you think. At first you are on Becks side of the whole thing. But later on it is like this Joe character does not only manipulates Beck but also me as a reader. I’m rooting for him and even feel sorry for him. There was a couple of chapters where Joe was really sad and I just wanted to hug him, until I remembered who he is and what he does. I really did not like Beck for most of the book and could not for my life understand what Joe saw in her, which only made it even more insane and I do not know how I’m supposed to feel. I’m scared, disturbed and feeling all this icky feelings but in the same time I’m also outrageously impressed.

The book is weirdly captivating and addictive. Even though I did not find it that good of a read in total at the end, I still could not stop reading. I needed to know what would happen. It is messed up, highly crude,  gross and appalling, realistic. It is probably the best, worst captivating book, which I don’t even like that much, that I have ever read. How weird is that?

Fiction/Science Fiction · Thriller/Horror · Young, New adult/College

Flesh & Bone – Jonathan Maberry

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13147460| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. They are hunted by fierce animals escaped from zoos and circuses. They must raid zombie-infested towns for food and medical supplies. They discover the very real truth in the old saying: In the Rot & Ruin…everything wants to kill you.

And what is happening to the zombies? Swarms of them are coming from the east, devouring everything in their paths. These zoms are different. Faster, smarter, infinitely more dangerous. Has the zombie plague mutated, or is there something far more sinister behind this new invasion of the living dead?

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My thoughts: I very much enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed the first two books. But I do found this one to be a little of the same thing. It is still a great book and it is terrific written as usual. It fits well together with the other two books and there are some impressive characters to follow. However I feel that it has gotten a little bit stuck. There were several chapters where I legit was wondering “hasn’t I read this before? Haven’t we been here before already?”

The third book picks up around where the second book ended. And you as a reader are thrown into this action filled story right from the start. There is a lot of running, fights, zombies, crazy humans, animals, secrets, misunderstandings and so on. Just as there is in the first and second book. It starting to feel somewhat used. It is the same only under different circumstances. Do you understand what I mean here? It was like I read the first and second book all over again, just with some different characters and with a little different outcome.

At the end of the book we are at a crossroad and how the plot will continue and its outcome is anyone’s (who have not read it of course 😛) guess so far. I do like that. The not knowing, it’s exciting. We have been introduced too some new characters and a new “world” where the rules are not the same anymore. I do hope the fourth book brings me some different situations and more characters to fall in love with. It really is a great series.

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

HEX – Thomas Olde Heuvelt

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31560400| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay ’til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters your homes at will. She stands next to your bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened.

The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town’s teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting, but in so doing send the town spiraling into the dark, medieval practices of the past.

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My thoughts: Two nights in a row I have been dreaming about the wicked Witch of Black Spring. She have sneaked her way into the back of my mind and taken control in a way I have never experienced before. I’m not easily scared and specially not by books. And certainly not in a way where I actually wakes up, in the middle of the night with a racing hart and with a feeling that I don’t want to sleep anymore. I can feel discomfort and such but never really fear.  I wouldn’t call this one a scary horror either but it’s still an unpleasant book in the way that it was uncomfortable and mesmerizing at the same time.

Well written with an really interesting and suitable history and backstory. The details fit together nicely and in a way that it did not feel exaggerated or cheap. The original story takes place in a Dutch town but when the rights for the English version was sold it was decided to move the settings to a Hudson Valley and change the ending. That is two major difference between the original story compared to the translated one. According some forum threads I found, there is no big difference and has no great significance. Since I’m never gonna read the dutch version, it really doesn’t matter to me.

There is a lot of mixed feelings toward this book out there and my own are probably more on the good side than the average. I found the book complex and deeper than I first thought. A little obsessive with tits, breast and nipples but hey it is a guy who have written it after all. I liked the ending (even though I hate it) and I like how it makes you think. It compels you to seek deeper and read between the lines. A book which awakens feelings and questions and do need to be discussed because it is all in the way it is interpreted.

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

The Child – Fiona Barton

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35535454.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: When a paragraph in an evening newspaper reveals a decades-old tragedy, most readers barely give it a glance. But for three strangers it’s impossible to ignore.

For one woman, it’s a reminder of the worst thing that ever happened to her.

For another, it reveals the dangerous possibility that her darkest secret is about to be discovered.

And for the third, a journalist, it’s the first clue in a hunt to uncover the truth.

The Child’s story will be told.

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My thoughts: I have seen this book pop up a lot lately both on GoodReads and in the book clubs i’m following on Facebook. The synopsis did intrigue me so bought myself a copy. Didn’t know exactly what to expect and now i’m left with some mixed feelings.

In one way I did like the “mystery” and the history. Barton did however leave a lot of clues so I pretty much knew right from the start how everything was connected. She did throw me of there in the middle but in the end my suspicions was correct. That the book was predictable did not bother me in the end due to the really skilled way of writing it.

Other readers have reviewed it as a fast paced and an easy read. I however do not have the same feelings. There was nothing in this book that I would call fast paced and that made it pretty boring big parts of it. It is easy written yes, but it was not an easy read for me. I think due to the boring pace and the repetitive information from the different characters you get to follow made it that way for me. It doesn’t necessary have to mean that a book is boring if it is written that way, but in this one I found that it didn’t work.

In the end I do find the book likable. The story was intriguing even though predictable and it was somewhat of an easy read. It is a highly popular type of English crime right now and I do feel that it was no waste of time reading it.

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

Mr Mercedes – Stephen King

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18775247| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.

Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with two new, unusual allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.

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My thoughts: In this rich, high-suspense race against time, written by the King of horror himself, you will find the most unexpected heroes and the most expected and unpleasant evil. Is the book perfect? Oh no. Far from it. Did I go all fan-girl over it? Yepp, totally did!

As usual you find a book with deep characters, complex story and layer on layer of that deep chill, mind-blowing mystery not that many authors (I have read) manage to create. I’m somewhat hard to impress when it comes to the horror genre. And even tough I would categorize this one more of a crime mystery than horror, i’m totally impressed. I got what I came for.

As an avid reader in the crime mystery genre I do often feel i’m hard to surprise and story’s often are predictable to me. I don’t have a problem with predictability per say, if it is done well. And as usual I would not have to expect anything less than well from King. There is some real unexpected twists and a ending I really cant get mad over. I liked the cat and mouse play they had going on. The communication, the inspiration and the war. Who shall win in the end?

The only thing I did not like with the book however, is that some part of it, it was to slow. Specially in the ending where you pretty much goes around waiting for something to happen. I get that King probably wrote it that way to make it more realistic. But it kind of bored me a little. However, King saved it with the end.

There is two other books in the series about Bill Hodges and I certainly need to read those two. And there is a TV-series on this first book, en I certainly need to see that one to. Yeah, i’m totally star-struck by this book. That is how good it is.

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

The Silent Corner – Dean Koontz

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32148091| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis:  very much need to be dead. 

These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demands: find the truth, no matter what.
People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America. Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important so terrifying that they will exterminate anyone in their way.
But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are ruthless and who is driven by a righteous rage they can never comprehend. Because it is born of love.

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My thoughts: Koontz is and will for always be, a horror author for me. He is the first author I read in the genre horror. Not Stephen King as so many others. No I read Koontz and have for the most time loved his books. But sometime it is refreshing to read something new from your favorite author. Because Koontz is one of my few male favorites that I still read to this day. I love his way of writing and his immense imagination. I was intrigued to try this one, the first book in his new (well it isn’t that new anymore :P) series, where a female is the lead protagonist in the fight against a corrupt government and crazy scientist men.

I really liked the idea. The idea of a modern way of brainwashing. Totally frightening of course but still interesting. A lonely, strong female hero on the verge to declare war on the USA government. A female character who is smart, strong and immensely intuitive. I like the bad guys and I like the way of the plots development and the writing style. Even though Koontz could have avoided the huge amount of chapters. They were ridicules. I like to read by chapter (as so many other readers) but some were so short that they didn’t even take up half a page and then the next chapter just kept on going where the first one ended. Did not understand the reason for it, and I did not like the small brake in my reading speed it created.

Even though I liked the book, I have a huge problem with it. Not the chapter thing, no. What I did not like is how slow it got. It started so good and I couldn’t stop reading. Then something happened and I lost interest. It started to slow down and drag. Not even in the end did it pick up enough for me to feel that strong connection that I did in the beginning. I would however love to see this plot with characters as a movie or an series since it did intrigued me. It is just the execution of it that bothers me.