Tag Archives: psychological thriller

Storm Warning by David Bell – a Review

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Storm Warning by David Bell – a Review

 

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Description:
A man living on a Florida barrier island must protect his family from both an approaching hurricane and a relentless killer.

Jake Powell is racing to get off the island as a powerful hurricane approaches. When he finds his best friend Dallas, the building manager, dead from a blow to the skull, Jake realizes there’s more than the storm to fear. There’s a murderer on the island, maybe even still inside the nearly abandoned building.

Dallas had repeatedly run afoul of the wealthy owners of the building by complaining about code violations and the precarious state of the condos. But he’d also once told Jake that every resident had a secret they’d come to Florida to escape. Had one of them killed to conceal their sins? As a dozen people shelter together in hopes of surviving the deadly hurricane, a second murder makes it all too clear: one of them is a dangerous killer.

 

Review:

Storm Warning by David Bell is an exciting thriller, which kept my attention from start to finish.  Jake Powell, our hero, is living on an island in Florida, and with an approaching powerful hurricane, he makes plans to leave. The few residents in their decrepit building don’t want to leave, and the manager, Dallas watches over them.  When Jake hurries to leave, he finds Dallas dead from a blow to the head.  Jake is concerned, as he knows that there is a murderer within the building.  With the roads closed off, Jake decides he has to stay to protect those residents still there. 

Jake left his wife and daughter in Ohio, to escape temporarily in Florida, but to his surprise, his wife and daughter decided to visit Jake, just about getting into the building as the Category 3 hurricane begins to escalate on the small island. 

With the building slowly falling apart, Jake will convince other apartment dwellers to move into one of the bigger units, with them all staying close together; especially with a dangerous murderer still at large. When there is another murder, the residents are not sure who to trust, but Jake is determined to protect them all, as they are fighting for their lives. They are all completely cutoff from the mainland, while those in shelter together, keep their hopes in surviving the deadly hurricane, as well as a murderer. Some of the residents claim they saw a man inside the building, but is this their imagination, as they are on high alert.

Just when the eye of the hurricane gives the vibe of relative calm, Jake will let his wife, she is an expert on handling boats, and daughter take the boat to the mainland for help, praying they will survive.  During the time they were all together, we got to meet other residents, and their stories; even though there was some suspicion among them. I did like Jake, as the was a terrific leader, always trying to keep them all safe. 

Storm Warning was an exciting story that kept me glued to my kindle.  This was an interesting cast of characters, which were very good.  Storm Warning was very well written by David Bell.  I did think that the murderer was different than anyone would have guessed.   I enjoyed the book, and suggest if you like thrillers, you should read Storm Warning.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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The Daughter Between Them by Alretha Thomas – a Review

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The Daughter Between Them by Alretha Thomas – a Review

 

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Description:
Two mothers. One missing daughter. One life-changing secret.

In 2019, Leslie Graham is within arm’s reach of her goal to become the news editor at the Dancing Hills Times. At thirty-five, she has it all—a promising career and a close relationship with her two teenage girls, Rhonda and Jillian. But when an old enemy from her past resurfaces, threatening to reveal life-changing information about one of her daughters, Leslie does everything in her power to keep her world from crashing down.

A decade earlier, in 2009, Barbara Morris’s seven-year-old daughter, Nancy, goes missing in Queens, New York. Barbara and her husband frantically search for her. But all is not as it seems in the disappearance of Nancy Morris, and Barbara may not be the innocent victim she’s painted herself to be. After ten years of her life spiraling out of control and Nancy still missing, Barbara decides to head to Dancing Hills, believing she’ll find the answers she’s looking for. Barbara and Leslie’s worlds will collide there, and the secrets of the past will finally be revealed.

 

Review:

The Daughter Between Them begins in 2019 with Leslie Graham deep in thought while she is going through things in her office at the Dancing Hills Times. She is on the verge of becoming the first African American news editor at the paper, something which she has worked towards for quite a while. She then receives a phone call from the Dancing Hills police department concerning her two daughters, Jillian and Rhonda.

Once Leslie arrives at the police station, she finds out that her girls were involved in an accident and thankfully are okay. However, it was no accident. The girls say that the car came out of nowhere and plowed into their car then took off without stopping. Leslie cannot help but wonder as things continue to happen if her past may be catching up with her.

Barbara Morris has a daughter who goes missing in 2009. She and her husband try to present a united front when looking for their daughter, but things are not at all what they seem. Barbara’s past has caught up with her present and will have a profound affect on not only her future, but Leslie’s.

The Daughter Between Them is another wonderfully written book by Alretha Thomas. The characters are beautifully written and multidimensional, and the world building is second to none. The twists and turns keep you turning the pages because just when you think you know what has happened, or about to happen, you find out you are close………but no cigar. If you are a fan of suspense, you will not go wrong with this one. I have been lucky enough to have the privilege of reviewing Mrs. Thomas’s books for several years now and have never been disappointed once. I do believe, though, that this one may be my favorite. Well done, Alretha Thomas! Very, very well done!

Reviewed by Vickie

Copy supplied for Review

 

 

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A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

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A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

 

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Description:
They say the camera never lies.
But on this show, you can’t trust anything you see.

Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they’ve signed up for.

Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won’t just be eliminated – they’ll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they’d ever imagined, and they’re trapped.

The disappearance of a contestant wasn’t supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen, and find out who these people really are – knowing she can’t trust any of them.

And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for.

 

 

Review:

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh is the 2nd book in her DC Morgan series.  The story revolves around a reality tv show, Exposure, with 7 contestants who have to spend two weeks in the Welsh mountains in Wales. The contestants each have a secret (A Game of Lies), that they hide, as they soon realize that they need to win, in order for their secrets not to be exposed; with possible danger of their futures.  The tv show has garnered a lot of attention, especially on social media.  The following morning, the police are notified that one of the contestants is missing.  This brings DC Ffion Morgan and DC Georgina(George) Kent to the set to investigate.

The contestants are each different, as we meet them. Ceri Jones, Pam Butler, Aliyah Brown, Jason Shenton, Henry Moore, Lucas Taylor, and Ryan Francis (now missing). Ffion and George interview the contestants, as well as the production staff, in trying to find the missing person. 

Ffion is stuck taking care of her rescue dog, Dave (just adopted him), who despite his weird behavior (needy, stays close to Ffion, farts), but he is dedicated to Ffion and always finds a way to find her; which will come in handy later in the book. George has just been transferred to the team, and she is somewhat introverted, as well as a work-acholic. She was very good, and impressive in helping to handle the case. I really liked her, and happy that she will team with Ffion.  Leo, who was in the first book, returns and joins the team as the lead investigator, which doesn’t really sit well with Ffion; the chemistry from the previous book is still apparent.

As Ffion, George and Leo are still trying to find Ryan, the missing contestant from the first night, things change drastically when someone is murdered.  The investigation now turns into a murder case, with the death of the producer.  Because Ffion keeps things to herself at times, without telling her cohorts, she finds herself taken off the case.  But Ffion remembers something about the murdered victim which will lead her to finding the real killer, and putting herself in danger.  Dave to the rescue. lol

A Game of Lies was a complex, entertaining and suspenseful story, that was a slow process early on, but as we get to the last half of the book, it does pick up. I really did not enjoy how the contestants were forced to sit in a small room, as secrets are revealed, such as creepy phobias, spiders, snakes, as well as bigamy, affairs, illegal activity.            

A Game of Lies was very well written by Clare Mackintosh. I have enjoyed her previous standalone thrillers, but this series was good, but not as good as the other thrillers. I do suggest you read this series, as I would like to see what Mackintosh has in store for DC Morgan.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jessie Q. Sutanto – a Review

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I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jessie Q. Sutanto – a Review

 

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Description:
Jane is unhappy.

A struggling midlist writer whose novels barely command four figures, she feels trapped in an underwhelming marriage, just scraping by to pay a crippling Bay Area mortgage for a house–a life–she’s never really wanted.

There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their Creative Writing days at Oxford. It was the only good year of Jane’s life–cobblestones and books and damp English air, heady wine and sweet cider and Thalia, endless Thalia. But then one night ruined everything. The blood-soaked night that should have bound Thalia to Jane forever but instead made her lose her completely. Thalia disappeared without a trace, and Jane has been unable to find her since.

Until now.

Because there she is, her name at the top of the New York Times bestseller list: A Most Pleasant Death by Thalia Ashcroft. When she discovers a post from Thalia on her website about attending a book convention in New York City in a week–“Can’t wait to see you there!”–Jane can’t wait either.

She’ll go to New York City, too, credit card bill be damned. And this time, she will do things right. Jane won’t lose Thalia again.

 

 

Review:

I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a stand-alone suspense thriller.  I have read and enjoyed all of Jessie Q. Sutanto’s books. I did read this new book, with some mixed feelings, which I will detail later in this review. The story revolves around Jane Morgan, who has always considered herself as a sociopath, even in her early years as a child, with a mother who treated her badly.  The story switches back and forth in the current time, where she is a struggling novelist and married; and in the past (9 years earlier) when she attended Creative Writing classes at Oxford. 

It is at Oxford, where Jane meets Thalia, who in a very short time, finds herself totally obsessed with her. Thalia befriends the quiet dark Jane, as well as everyone at the school who adored Thalia. Thalia was everything Jane admired, beautiful, charismatic and self-confident; something Jane lacked, always always angry at others. We also meet Ani, who also becomes close friends with Thalia, most to Jane’s annoyance. Jane loved her time at Oxford, with Thalia; until one night when Jane helped Thalia out of a terrible incident, and she has never seen Thalia again until the present time, nine years later.

Jane’s marriage to her husband, Ted, she is not happy, as he is irritating, and she feels trapped;  as well as struggling. with the budget. Jane has written two novels, which were not very successful. She sees an advertisement of a New York convention, showcasing the author, Thalia Ashcroft, with a new bestseller.   Jane is determined to reconnect at convention in NYC, and will stop at nothing to attend, the SusPensCon event. When Jane was at the University at Oxford, she had the magic touch to write stories, and she wanted to get those vibes back when she met Thalia again.

When Jane manages to push her way into seeing Thalia again, everything changes; as Thalia welcomes her; including Thalia’s sister-in-law, Ani.  But things are not what it seems. I’m Not Done with You Yet turns into a twisty cat/mouse plot, with dark twists, shenanigans, that keep you guessing until the end. My mixed feelings revolve around the lead characters, especially Jane, who for most of the book, I frankly did not like; and I also felt the first half did drag a bit.

I’m Not Done with You Yet was an interesting story line, that picked up in the last third of the book, being fast paced and exciting, with some major twists. I am a fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto, but where her other books were fun & entertaining, this one was more of a thriller. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

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Try Not to Breathe by David Bell – a Review

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Try Not to Breathe by David Bell – a Review

 

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Description:
An ex-cop sets out to find her missing sister and discovers the horrifying truth about her family…

A traumatic experience in the line of duty forces thirty-year-old Avery Rogers to abandon both her relationship and her position as a Kentucky State Police officer. She retreats to a college town where she works an unfulfilling job as a security guard, breaking up fights between drunken frat boys.

But a frantic phone call turns Avery’s life upside down. Her father—a retired cop who never fails to convey his disappointment in Avery—says her half sister is missing and in danger. Avery is sure Anna’s just crashing with friends, but her father strong-arms her into searching for the sister she barely knows.

Anna Rogers is fed up with her family—a half sister who resents her existence and a domineering father who thinks it’s okay for cops to shoot unarmed civilians. She hits the road to attend a protest against police brutality, unaware of the danger that awaits her there.

Just after catching a glimpse of Avery at the protest, Anna receives a shocking text. Now she’s no longer road-tripping; she’s running, pursued by an older sister she doesn’t trust and a violent stranger who has been stalking her for weeks.

When Avery discovers Anna’s hiding place near a remote cave system, she risks everything to save her. Little do the sisters know that the past is catching up with them—including the explosive secret at the very heart of the Rogers family.

 

 

Review:

Try Not to Breathe by David Bell is a standalone exciting thriller.  Avery Rogers, our heroine, is a former cop, who came close to getting herself killed, and decides to walk away from her job. She gets a job to work at a college, as a security guard, which she felt was safer; her father, a former cop, constantly taunts her for leaving her job as a police officer.  Avery remains distant from her parents, as well as her two sisters.  She then gets a call from her father, that her sister, Anna, disappears from campus, and is missing.  

We meet Anna Rogers, who is also distant from her family, as she is fed up with her father, as well as her sister, Avery. Anna lives with a roommate at school, and she leaves school to attend a protest against police brutality, unaware that someone is following her.

Avery agrees to find Anna, especially now that her roommate was murdered, something Anna is not aware of. At the protest, Avery spots Anna, and tries to get her out of harm’s way; but with help from a former cop, everything falls apart, as the danger escalates, and people are injured.

Anna receives a message that changes everything, and she goes to meet someone to learn the truth about her life, with secrets and lies endangering both Anna and Avery.   Avery managed to find Anna, but when some secrets are exposed, can she save her, and will she survive?

What follows is a wild last half of the book, that will keep you unable to put the book down, with so much going on throughout. Desperately trying to convince Anna to leave with her, Avery puts her own life in danger. Avery manages to step up, using her strength to fight, and at the same time overcome her fears.  There are a lot of things going on in this story, such as family drama, parents, sisters, as well as family secrets that need to be revealed.

Try Not to Breath was very well written by David Bell, as it was intense and exciting. As we reach close to the end, the sisters will bond, and discover the explosive family secrets that are catching up with them. I suggest you read this book, as it will keep you engrossed throughout. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong-a review

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Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong-a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2023

Blythe and her friends—Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya—have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.

The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.

Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?

•••

REVIEW:SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING by Kelley Armstrong is a contemporary, young adult, psychological, suspense thriller focusing on the small town of Darlington Hills and a research facility owned by CMT.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Blythe Warren) and several third person omniscient perspectives SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING follows in the aftermath of the so-called suicide of the local high school principal but from the outset everything is spiralling out of control, memories are erased, and the truth is definitely stranger than fiction.

Our heroine, sixteen year old Blythe Warren, is worried that something has happened to her best friend Gabrielle, who prior to the apparent suicide of the high school principal was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Blythe had followed Gabrielle to the principal’s office but her memory of what happened or why is non-existent except for small flash-backs that do not make sense. As Blythe’s memory begins to reveal something more sinister at work, her group of well-connected and close knit friends begins to unravel a secret closely connected to the CMT Research Facility, where all of their parents work.

Blythe, along with her sisters, and friends all attend a private and prestigious STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) school, sponsored by the local CMT Research Facility but all is not well within the student body when Blythe begins to receive messages from an unknown sender, and encoded emails reveal an long term experiment that went horribly wrong.

SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING is a story of power and control, secrets and lies, murder and mystery, memories and madness, twists and turns where nothing is as it seems, and people are not whom they claim to be. Kelley Armstrong invites the reader into a psychological thriller, an intense story of mystery and suspense wherein it takes a group of sixteen year old high school students to break through the veil of power and control. The thought-provoking premise is dark, gritty tragic and dramatic; the characters are flawed, broken and easily manipulated.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton-a review

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Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 7, 2023

Birnam Wood is on the move . . .

Five years ago, Mira Bunting founded a guerrilla gardening group: Birnam Wood. An undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic gathering of friends, this activist collective plants crops wherever no one will notice: on the sides of roads, in forgotten parks, and neglected backyards. For years, the group has struggled to break even. Then Mira stumbles on an answer, a way to finally set the group up for the long term: a landslide has closed the Korowai Pass, cutting off the town of Thorndike. Natural disaster has created an opportunity, a sizable farm seemingly abandoned.

But Mira is not the only one interested in Thorndike. Robert Lemoine, the enigmatic American billionaire, has snatched it up to build his end-times bunker–or so he tells Mira when he catches her on the property. Intrigued by Mira, Birnam Wood, and their entrepreneurial spirit, he suggests they work this land. But can they trust him? And, as their ideals and ideologies are tested, can they trust each other?

•••••••

REVIEW:BIRNAM WOOD by Eleanor Catton is a contemporary, adult, stand alone psychological thriller focusing on a New Zealand collective calling themselves Birnam Wood, a co-op, a commune of hippie-style thirty-somethings who illegally plant sustainable, organic gardens in neglected spaces, and off-road areas for personal use and to share/sell to the otherwise unaware.

Told from third person perspective BIRNAM WOOD follows Mira Bunting, the so-called leader of the Birnam Wood gardening collective, and a woman who is struggling to keep the collective afloat. In the wake of a landslide that all but wiped out a major thoroughfare and pass, Mira goes in search of some property to confiscate for Birnam Wood, property owned by the recently knighted Sir Owen Darvish but has apparently been sold to American billionaire/ widower Robert Lemoine. All does not appear as it should be when one of their own, amateur journalist Tony Gallo, begins to question the who, how and why but Mira’s only concern is the ‘free land’, and the ability to equally grow crops. As Robert Lemoine’s intentions become clear to Tony, Mira and her friend Shelley are at an impasse, finding themselves in an impossible situation, a situation of which they no longer have any control. People will die, secrets revealed show collusions and conspiracies meant to deceive.

BIRNAM WOOD begins extremely slow and exceptionally dry as the author begins to build a foundation for her story line premise. The first twenty to twenty-five percent reads like a study in sociology; a social psychology experiment ; a cautionary tale of capitalism and consumerism, rich and poor, ecology and greed, murder, power and control. The character driven premise is dramatic, twisted, haunting and tragic; the characters are desperate, idealistic and challenging.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes – a Review

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The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes – a Review

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Description:
A captivating psychological suspense debut about a young woman still haunted by her childhood best friend’s death who learns of an eerily similar incident and must find her way back to a cabin in the New England woods, armed with only hazy memories, to finally uncover the truth that has eluded her.

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been hanging around with all summer. Seven years later, Maya is just managing to move on; she lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret Klonopin habit that’s allowed her to cope with what happened all those years ago.

But her past comes to haunt her when she discovers a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged back into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her small Berkshires hometown to figure out the truth.

With guidance from a half-written book by the father in Guatemala she never knew, Maya’s quest for answers forces her to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her, and the jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey—finally leading her to Frank’s cabin in the woods.

The House in the Pines is an utterly unique and surprising thriller about the subtlety of memory and manipulation, confronting the past and returning home, and the powerful and lasting bonds of family and friendship.

 

 

 

Review:

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes is a stand-alone psychological thriller.  Maya, the main character of this story, is haunted by the mysterious death of her high school best friend 7 years ago.  Her memories are very hazy, with her unable to remember the past, as well as trying to get herself off of her addiction to Klonopin. 

While in high school, Maya started dating Frank, who seemed a bit of a loner, and her best friend, Aubrey worried about Maya and her relationship with Frank.  Maya began to act strange, not able to remember some things, and when Aubrey mysteriously drops dead, while sitting across from Frank; Maya suspects that somehow Frank had something to do with her death.  Unable to prove anything, Maya leaves town to go to college.

7 years later Maya sees a You Tube video, showing a woman who suddenly keels over dead in a diner, with the man sitting across from her, being Frank.  Plunged into her nightmare, Maya decides to return to her hometown to find out the truth from all those years ago.   She is determined to find a way to get past her trauma, and learn how Frank is manipulating people.  Maya’s Guatemalan father wrote an unfinished book, that when she reads, she begins to suspect the unique connections to whatever Frank is able to do. As the story races to its climax, we do discover what is happening, but with that said, I do not want to give spoilers. You will need to read this book to find out.

Overall, I did have mixed feelings about this book.  It was a unique story, suspenseful and interesting.  I just thought there was too much going on between the past and present, leaving me a bit confused at times.   Early on, I did like Aubrey and Maya’s friendship, and Maya’s mom was very good.  Frank was a bad character, especially the more we learn.  

The House in the Pines was well written by Ana Reyes, as for the most part, it kept your attention throughout; with suspense, memories of the past, addiction, and confronting the truths.  If you like psychological thrillers, I suggest you read The House in the Pines.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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