Tag Archives: ghosts

Affinities by Chris Hollis

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Andrew Goodwin hears voices. They wake him in the dead of night, lingering behind the walls, growing in strength until they take over.

Making him captive in his own home.

These voices are real. Andrew doesn’t know who they are or what they want. Every time he approaches the door, they force him back. Whenever he wakes up, they put him to sleep, making him live on stolen moments in the darkness.

Desperate, he records his own movements, and discovers his entire life is a lie – Andrew is somehow leaving the flat each day as if things were perfectly normal.

So why doesn’t he remember? Who is in control?
And why are there bruises and bloodstains all over his body?

Affinities is a fast-paced psychological thriller about a man whose very life is stolen from him. Sometimes, you can’t even trust yourself.–Description from Goodreads

Kindle Edition, 282 pages
Published March 12th 2013
ISBN13
9780957241435
edition language
English
My Thoughts:
It isn’t very often that I begin a review this way, but I have to do it this time: You gotta read this book! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this up. There have been a lot of books classified as psychological thrillers that have really been a let down. This one is anything but.

From the beginning of this novel you get the idea that something above average is going on with the main character, but you aren’t quite sure what. By the middle, there is a rather shocking reveal of information that ties the first and second halves of the book together (which I will not hint at for fear of a spoiler.) This is one Hell of a ride!

The character development in this novel is amazing. You not only get a sense of who the characters are physically speaking, but they each have unique traits that allow them to play their part in the story with perfect accuracy. I felt, after reading to the halfway point of the book, like these were people that I knew and it made me care what happened to them and pulled me in to the story more fully. In some places, you almost feel like you are experiencing the same things they are.

I was impressed by the way Chris Hollis uses his character’s reactions to build suspense. Rather than just telling the reader what happens, he shows you through the confusion and terror of his creations. i enjoyed this aspect, as I don’t see it very often in thrillers.

When you read this book, you forget about anything and everything else that is going on in the world around you and become totally absorbed in the struggles of the characters. The writing is edgy and exciting and shows that this author has real talent for his chosen genre. To put it simply, this is a book that you don’t want to miss.

I love books that keep you guessing and make you wait to find out the answers until the very end, and this book pulled that off in a fantastic way. If you have read a lot of books that you could figure out within the first twenty minutes of reading and it annoys you, pick up this one. You might just doubt your own sanity by the time you have finished.

I received a free copy of this book in order to give a review. My opinions are my own.

Bristol House by Beverly Swerling

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In the tradition of Kate Mosse, a swiftly-paced mystery that stretches from modern London to Tudor England

In modern-day London, architectural historian and recovering alcoholic Annie Kendall hopes to turn her life around and restart her career by locating several long-missing pieces of ancient Judaica. Geoff Harris, an investigative reporter, is soon drawn into her quest, both by romantic interest and suspicions about the head of the Shalom Foundation, the organization sponsoring her work. He’s also a dead ringer for the ghost of a monk Annie believes she has seen at the flat she is subletting in Bristol House.

In 1535, Tudor London is a very different city, one in which monks are being executed by Henry VIII and Jews are banished. In this treacherous environment of religious persecution, Dom Justin, a Carthusian monk, and a goldsmith known as the Jew of Holborn must navigate a shadowy world of intrigue involving Thomas Cromwell, Jewish treasure, and sexual secrets. Their struggles shed light on the mysteries Annie and Geoff aim to puzzle out—at their own peril.

This riveting dual-period narrative seamlessly blends a haunting supernatural thriller with vivid historical fiction. Beverly Swerling, widely acclaimed for her City of Dreams series, delivers a bewitching and epic story of a historian and a monk, half a millennium apart, whose destinies are on a collision course.–Description from Goodreads

Hardcover, 416 pages
Expected publication: April 4th 2013
by Viking Adult
ISBN
0670025933
(ISBN13: 9780670025930)
edition language
English
You can find this book HERE
My thoughts on this novel
Bristol House is the first of Beverly Swerling’s novels that I have read. I think I might be hooked. This book deals with both the past and the present and then ties them together in a seemingly effortless way.

Anyone who has studied religious history will clearly see how much reality is presented in this fictional tale. The author has done her research for this book and that made it a very enjoyable and ultimately unforgettable read.

I really liked the main character Annie. She was on point throughout the book and even though she found herself in a difficult to believe situation, she didn’t waste chapters self-doubting and trying to ignore what was plainly in front of her. Okay, so she is aware that there is the apparition of a dead monk in her flat, but she keeps moving. That’s my kind of heroine.

The romance in this work is evenly paced and believable and something that felt natural as the pages turned. I liked the male lead and thought the author did a good job of giving him traits and qualities that made him a good hero.

The dual time periods the author deals with make this a more interesting read than if all of the story had been told in only the present. I like the way she chose to shift between present and past and never felt lost or confused by the transitions.

In the end, this is a book that I would read a second time. I liked the overall story and didn’t have any trouble staying up late to finish this. I would recommend it to other readers who enjoy their fiction to be of mixed genres.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher.