Tag Archives: thrillers

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.

Crime of Privilege by Walter Walker

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In the tradition of Scott Turow, William Landay, and Nelson DeMille, Crime of Privilege is a stunning thriller about power, corruption, and the law in America—and the dangerous ways they come together.

A murder on Cape Cod. A rape in Palm Beach.

All they have in common is the presence of one of America’s most beloved and influential families. But nobody is asking questions. Not the police. Not the prosecutors. And certainly not George Becket, a young lawyer toiling away in the basement of the Cape & Islands district attorney’s office. George has always lived at the edge of power. He wasn’t born to privilege, but he understands how it works and has benefitted from it in ways he doesn’t like to admit. Now, an investigation brings him deep inside the world of the truly wealthy—and shows him what a perilous place it is.

Years have passed since a young woman was found brutally slain at an exclusive Cape Cod golf club, and no one has ever been charged. Cornered by the victim’s father, George can’t explain why certain leads were never explored—leads that point in the direction of a single family—and he agrees to look into it.

What begins as a search through the highly stratified layers of Cape Cod society, soon has George racing from Idaho to Hawaii, Costa Rica to France to New York City. But everywhere he goes he discovers people like himself: people with more secrets than answers, people haunted by a decision years past to trade silence for protection from life’s sharp edges. George finds his friends are not necessarily still friends and a spouse can be unfaithful in more ways than one. And despite threats at every turn, he is driven to reconstruct the victim’s last hours while searching not only for a killer but for his own redemption.–Description from Goodreads

 

Hardcover, 432 pages
Expected publication: May 28th 2013 by Ballantine Books
ISBN
0345541537 (ISBN13: 9780345541536)
edition language
English
Pre-order this book HERE
My thoughts:
It isn’t often that I just can’t figure out what to say, but this book does that to a person. The reality is so great in places that you almost forget you are reading a fictional book at all, and then in other places your imagination has to work overtime to believe what you have just read. Everything about this book caused conflict within me.

I started out strongly disliking the main character and protagonist, George. Where you want to love the hero of the story and support him, I actually spent the majority of this book wanting to kick him. By the middle of the book I would still say a fair assessment of my emotions were that I still hated him and by the very end I hated him slightly less. I still think even with everything he went through he has some apologizing to do.

This book centers mostly one one very wealthy and influential family. The setting is all over the place, but mostly Massachusetts. I thought the setting was a good choice and the characters were certainly interesting (yes even George.) Years after George has witnessed a crime and done nothing about it, he finds himself in another situation, an even worse one, where he must help to solve the cold case murder of a young woman connected to the same family that committed the first crime he witnessed.

Guilt or not, for me it was a stretch to believe that this guy did as much traveling (all over the world) as he did to solve a murder that was so old. I could see local travel, but he really went to extremes. Even with a past history that would warrant him wanting to serve in the name of justice, he was such a jerk I just couldn’t see it. For me this idea was like Andrew Dice Clay volunteering for preschool story time. Ugh.

There is a hearty dose of humor in this legal thriller and if you are fond of books that make you angry at the same time that they make you laugh, this would be a good choice. For me, the attractive and wealthy college kids came off as a bit of a cliche, but what the author chose to do with the story brought such originality that it made up for it.

The chapters are rather short and most end with the kind of firecracker sentence that makes you feel compelled to read the next one. This would be a good book for a long weekend away where you can relax and read it in one sitting.

This story of intense loyalty, wealth, power and corruption may not be typical. The hero might not be what we generally think of as a good protagonist, but overall it was different and different is good.

Some parts seemed mildly reminiscent of a certain happening years ago involving Ted Kennedy…

Above all, this book was an excellently written legal thriller with a few new angles that I hadn’t seen used before and I was happy to have the chance to read it. I would recommend this for those who like suspenseful reads with unusual twists.

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

 

The Last Girl by Jane Casey

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The teenage girl was the first victim.

Her throat cut to the bone, she didn’t stand a chance.

Her mother was the second.

She, at least, had time to fight back. Briefly.

Called to the South London crime scene, Maeve Kerrigan’s first thought is that this is a domestic dispute gone bad. But the husband – found bloody and unconscious in an upstairs room – insists he’s the third victim not the killer. However, the only witness is his young daughter. And she’s not talking…

 

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Minotaur Books (May 21, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312622015
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312622015

You can find this book HERE

Visit the Series Website: http://www.maevekerrigan.co.uk/#

My thoughts on this book:

To be honest, even as of writing this review I am still a bit divided on how I feel about this book. If you have read the other books in this series, then reading this will feel like a natural progression. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend reading this book as the starting point for you if you haven’t read the others. There is a lot of history that might be confusing if you have missed the previous books.

Some portions of this book were really thrilling. The opening chapter is a dynamo and I was hoping it was the setup for the pace of the rest of the book. I didn’t feel that way by half way through. While this is very well written and intelligent, there was a lot of lag in some spots, in my opinion. The characters didn’t develop the way I had hoped they would.

I am a big fan of series books and have grown to like this series throughout the other books. Still, I like it when I know that the past experiences of my favorite characters have made them grow and shape into the kind of character that is ever smarter and more experienced and I felt Maeve was stubborn and reticent through most of this book. I didn’t feel that she was getting anywhere, it was like she returned exactly the same from the last book.

The parts of this book that I thought were outstanding, were the portions that dealt with the subject pool. How could it be any better than a target who everyone who has ever come into contact with him professionally had a reason to dislike him? I also particularly enjoyed the stories of the suspects and why they might have had a motive.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book. I found by the end that I was at a loss for what to think. I loved about half of it, and thought the other half was merely okay. I wish it would have kept the pace of the beginning, but it was still worth reading. If you like highly psychological thrillers, this will fit the bill.

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

 

A couple of books to talk about

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The first book I want to mention is called Asylum Lake and is going to be free tomorrow 3/1/13 on Amazon.com

If you like creepy thrillers with a stay with you and haunt you later this might just be the book for you. Here is the info :

 

Memories are like water. Some float on the surface bright and clear. Some lie deeper – blurred by time and distance. Others rest far from the light in the depths of the darkness. These memories are best forgotten. At the bottom of Asylum Lake the unremembered are growing restless.

After the sudden death of his wife, Brady Tanner moves to the small Michigan town where he spent summers as a youth. But he soon learns that small towns can be stained by memories…and secrets too. As Brady is drawn into unearthing the secrets of the town and of the abandoned psychiatric hospital on the shores of Asylum Lake, he discovers a new love in an old friend. But there is an evil presence lurking beneath the waters of the lake. What is the source of this evil–and what does it want with Brady Tanner?

You can find this book HERE

 

The second book is Shadows of the Past by the very talented Romanian author Carmen Stefanescu. She is currently promoting her book through a blog tour, and you can find out more about it below.

 

Anne’s relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they packs for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.

The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world–one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil’s vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve’s soul from its torment.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest? Or will evil win again?

You can find this book Here

http://shadowpastmystery.blogspot.com/

Where Carmen is located she does not have ready access to Twitter and Facebook, so if you could help her spread the word about her book it would be much appreciated!

Let the Dead Sleep by Heather Graham

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It was stolen from a New Orleans grave – the centuries-old bust of an evil man, a demonic man. It’s an object desired by collectors – and by those with wickedness in their hearts.

One day, its current owner shows up at Danni Cafferty’s antiques shop on Royal Street, the shop she inherited from her father. But before Danni can buy the statue, it disappears, the owner is found dead…and Danni discovers that she’s inherited much more than she realized. In the store is a book filled with secret writing: instructions for defeating evil entities. She’d dismissed it as a curiosity…until the arrival of this statue, with its long history of evil and even longer trail of death.

Michael Quinn, former cop and now private investigator, is a man with an unusual past. He believes that doing the right thing isn’t a job – it’s a way of life. And the right thing to do is find and destroy this object weighted with malevolent powers. He and Danni are drawn together in their search for the missing statue, following it through sultry New Orleans nights to hidden places in the French Quarter and secret ceremonies on abandoned plantations.

Cafferty and Quinn already know that trust in others can be misplaced, that love can be temporary. And yet their connection is primal. Mesmerizing. They also know that their story won’t end when this case is closed and the dead rest in peace once again.–Description from Goodreads.

Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: March 26th 2013 by Harlequin MIRA (first published March 19th 2013)
ISBN
0778315053 (ISBN13: 9780778315056)
edition language
English
You can find this book here: http://www.eheathergraham.com/
This title is set to be released on March 26th.

 

My Review of “Let the Dead Sleep”

Nobody writes New Orleans like Heather Graham. Let the Dead Sleep is further proof of this. Her descriptions of the city are so vivid and realistic that you can hear the jazz music, smell the Gumbo cooking and get a fantastic feel for the famous city without ever leaving your couch.

That being said, this boo0k had a very interesting plot, some well thought out protagonists and a lot of mystery, but I felt there was still some lag in this story. I’m not sure what it was exactly. While I enjoyed reading this and for the most part it held my interest, it just seemed that it wasn’t reaching the potential I had expected for it. At about half way through the novel the characters were so numerous that I felt it took away from the romance blossoming between the two main characters.

I did like the story about the bust and the way the author approached the subject of voodoo in New Orleans. I thought the initial moments between father and daughter at the beginning of the story set a nice tone for the plot to develop around and showed that the main character was compassionate and came from a solid background.

I loved Wolf and thought he was a great addition to the overall story. The main thing I really enjoyed about this book was how the author developed Danni. She was tough when she needed to be, capable enough to stand on her own two feet and yet still sensitive to the needs and wants of others. I appreciated that although she came into the story rather closed-minded, she ended up much more accepting of things she hadn’t previously understood.

As far as the mystery itself went, I thought the introduction of supernatural elements early in the story kept things shrouded and made for a more interesting ending. This is one of the things that keeps me coming back for more Heather Graham works. She knows how to pace her novels for maximum suspense and this book was no exception to that rule.

If you are a fan of this author, or even if you haven’t read her books yet, you will want to read this book. The imagery is really very good.

This review is based on an ARC from the publisher.

Frozen Shroud by Martin Edwards

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Frozen Shroud

 

Death has come twice to Ravenbank, a remote community in England’s Lake District, each time on Hallowe’en. Just before the First World War, a young woman’s corpse was found, with a makeshift shroud frozen to her battered face. Her ghost – the Faceless Woman – is said to walk through Ravenbank on Hallowe-en. Five years ago, another woman, Katya Moss, was murdered, and again her face was covered to hide her injuries. Daniel Kind, a specialist in the history of murder, becomes fascinated by the old cases, and wonders whether the obvious suspects really did commit the crimes. He spends Hallowe’en at a party in Ravenbank – only to find death returning to this beautiful but isolated spot. Once more, the victim is a woman, once more her damaged face is shrouded from view.–Description from Amazon.com

  • Paperback: 250 pages
  • Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (April 2, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1464201072
  • ISBN-13: 978-1464201073

You can pre-order this book here: http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Shroud-District-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1464201072/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359664188&sr=1-1&keywords=The+frozen+shroud

 

My Review of Frozen Shroud:

Frozen Shroud is one of those novels that plays with your mind. Just when you think you have everything figured out and you begin to expect something, it doesn’t go at all the way you thought it would. As an avid mystery reader, I appreciated this greatly.

There were some places in this book where I felt there was a bit too much dialogue and not enough action, but they were thankfully brief. Also, the dialogue was very well written and was exactly like overhearing a real conversation, so that helped. I enjoyed the story and the way the author created the townspeople was a fine example of plot and character development. The actions of the minor characters helped me feel closer to the setting and the main characters.

This is a book that features real literature. The wording is always eloquent, intelligent and fitting for the style of writing. The plot does not feel contrived and the development of the story has a natural seamless feel.

If you love a good mystery and beautifully crafted writing, this would be just the thing!

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

 

**NOTE: I do not yet see and ebook version for this title.