Tag: murder mystery

Posted in Book Review

Review: The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Posted on by writingkat95

The hook:

A struggling dog walker named Jane is swept up into a whirlwind romance with the enigmatic and wealthy widower Eddie Rochester. Both of them have secrets, both of them have hidden agendas, but are either of them dangerous? You’ll have to read to find out.

My impressions:

I may be biased because I have a major sweet tooth for retellings of Jane Eyre, but oh my goodness, this book is going straight in my list of favorites. The characters were complex and interesting, shying away from straightforward likeability and falling solidly in the zone of characters you root for out of fascination. No one is completely morally upright, and that’s the book’s main strength: because no one is overly trustworthy or sympathetic, it’s easier to find yourself unsure what you hope happens next, much less predict how this thriller will end.

Whether you’ve read Jane Eyre or not, this book is worth the read. It will keep you on the edge of your seat even after you believe you’ve figured out the ending- and your first or even second guess may not be correct!

Before I say too much and accidentally spoil something, I’ll leave it at this: if you want a thoroughly fun read with plenty of suspense, I highly recommend this book.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book Review

Review: You Don’t Own Me (Under Suspicion #6)

Posted on by writingkat95

The hook:

A woman accused of killing her husband pleads with Laurie Moran to clear her name. Newly engaged true crime aficionado Laurie takes on the case, perhaps placing herself in danger as she tries to find the truth.

My impressions:

This was perhaps my favorite Under Suspicion novel. It had all the elements that I’d come to love about the series by this point: memorable suspects, compelling interpersonal drama, and a twisty mystery case full of bombshell revelations about the victim and suspects.

Without spoiling anything I can absolutely say that the resolution of this book kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put it down, and I mean that. I don’t think I got anything done all day the day I read this book. There are multiple threads of intrigue that come together in surprising and interesting ways, and the whole thing was executed with the crisp, tightly plotted accuracy I’ve come to expect from the co-authors Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke.

It’s hard to gush more without risking spoiling important plot points so I’ll just say this: whether or not you plan to read the whole Under Suspicion series, this book alone is a knockout. I highly recommend it as a beach read or just a little something to keep you from sleeping tonight.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book Review

Review: Every Breath You Take (Under Suspicion #5)

Posted on by writingkat95

The hook:

A murder at the Met Gala turns into a cold case. The glamorous suspects become the next subjects of Laurie Moran’s (fictional) true crime series Under Suspicion.

My impressions:

This was a really fun entry in the Under Suspicion series. It’s full of twists and revelations to keep readers on edge, and the crisp storytelling style flows with fantastic pacing. I was relieved to see that the characters were basically back to acting like themselves again, especially Laurie, who was back to her usual fiery self.

The interpersonal stakes felt more important than the mystery in this one, which makes sense, as (minor spoiler alert) Laurie and Alex are at a turning point in their relationship this time around. The characterization was a lot neater this time around, and I suspect that the messiness of the previous book may have been the result of trying to shoehorn in some conflict in the B-plot of the characters personal lives. Regardless, this time around we get a healthy dose of character drama paired with the glitzy glamour of the murder plot.

I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say I listened to the end of the audiobook with wide eyes, on the edge of my seat. I absolutely recommend this entry in the popular “Under Suspicion” series. Alafair Burke and Mary Higgins Clark make an excellent co-writing duo that is a can’t-miss.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book Review

Review: The Sleeping Beauty Killer (Under Suspicion #4)

Posted on by writingkat95

The hook:

A woman is convicted of killing her golden boy fiancée, though she claims to have slept through his murder. After serving her time, she contacts true crime aficionado Laurie Moran, requesting to be the next case on Laurie’s show “Under Suspicion.”

My impressions:

Ok so normally if I’m not a huge fan of something, I don’t write a review, because I prefer to spend my energy lifting up things I’ve genuinely loved. I’m making an exception here because I loved the rest of the book series, and I’m hoping if anyone started with this book and is unsure whether to read the series, perhaps they’ll come across this review to assure them, the rest of the series is so much better than this particular book.

So why didn’t I like this one? First off, it was unmemorable. It’s been a couple of weeks now since I binge read the whole series, and this book is the only one where I genuinely do not remember the ending. It bored me so profoundly I had to Google who the killer was to refresh my memory. On top of that, Laurie felt off kilter and out of character, and her father and Alex both felt dramatically less sympathetic than they had in other entries in the series. Had I not accidentally read later books out of order before this one, I would’ve been expecting Alex to turn out to be a killer or at least an abuser based on the weird characterization he gets in this book alone.

Fear not though! These strange character development issues clear up after this book, and the rest of the series is definitely worth a read. Honestly you can probably skip this one and read the rest of the series without missing much. Don’t let this one dud keep you from enjoying what is otherwise a thoroughly satisfying series that will scratch all your grown-up former Nancy Drew fan itches.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book Review

Review: All Dressed in White (Under Suspicion #3)

Posted on by writingkat95

The hook:

Laurie Moran, true crime aficionado, is given another cold case to solve for her show, Under Suspicion. This time around it’s the case of a vanished bride, initially assumed to have merely gotten cold feet, who was never found.

My impressions:

Don’t read this one before bed! In usual “Under Suspicion” fashion, there were lots of twists and a full cast of suspects. I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish this book, and it seeped into my dreams. It was an unsettling read, mainly because I really believed any one of the suspects could’ve killed someone. Everyone has secrets, and the authors explored all the suspects, peeling back their layers of artifice to reveal the ugly secrets everyone is hiding.

This was definitely one of the more intense “Under Suspicion” books, largely because of the fact that we don’t start off with a body, just a missing person who’s trail has long gone cold. I found myself desperately hoping they’d find the bride alive, and I won’t spoil anything about the ending, but I can definitely say that I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

I can definitely recommend this book, especially to fans of quick paced suspense novels with tight plotting and memorable characters.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book Review

Review: The Cinderella Murder (Under Suspicion Book #2)

Posted on by writingkat95

The hook:

A beautiful aspiring actress is found dead, missing one shoe. When the case seems cold, true crime aficionado Laurie Moran teams up once more with charismatic lawyer Alex Buckley to look into the case for her show, Under Suspicion.

My impressions:

While less gripping than “Piece of My Heart,” “The Cinderella Murder” still held my attention for one continuous sitting as I listened to the whole audiobook in one day. I could definitely see the early stages of Clark and Burke’s styles coming together. The plot felt a little less tight than I was expecting, but the fast pace made up for it, and there were plenty of twists along the way to keep me on the edge of my seat.

What I like most about this book is the way it really lets its protagonist shine as a character. Mystery novels are an inherently plot driven genre, focusing the reader’s attention on alluring premises and thrilling twists. With this book, and the Under Suspicion series as a whole, we get a recurring protagonist, Laurie, whom we get to know well as we tag along on her adventures. Her character development feels authentic, and her relationships with the other recurring characters are compelling and draw the reader further into Laurie’s world. I felt like those aspects of the book made me care more whenever Laurie was ever in any peril while solving the case, because as a reader, I was perhaps even more invested in Laurie as a character than I was in the case she was solving, twisty and compelling as it was.

I can definitely say that I would recommend this book and the full series. Laurie and the rest of the Under Suspicion team are not to be missed!

Happy reading!

Posted in Book Review

Review: Piece of My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Posted on by writingkat95

The hook:

A child goes missing at a beach just prior to a wedding, throwing the wedding party into chaos as they scramble to find the missing boy.

My impressions:

This was my first time reading either of the authors, and it was a heck of a first impression. I think I finished this book in one single sitting, headphones glued to my head as I listened to the audiobook on 1.5x speed, needing to know what would happen next.

I took an immediate liking to the crisp writing style, which gives enough detail to paint a mental picture, but not so much detail as to feel like overly purple prose. The suspense was driven by the almost matter-of-fact storytelling, and the pacing was so masterful I never even considered putting the book down for a break.

By the time I got to the heart-pounding ending of the book, I knew without question that I would be reading more books by both of the co-authors, who I later realized had co written an entire series, which this novel appears to be the conclusion of. Within a week of finishing “Piece of My Heart” I had also read the rest of the “Under Suspicion” series (with the exception of one book the library didn’t have) and had become an immediate fan of both Clark and Burke.

All in all I have to say that Piece of My Heart is one of my favorite books that I’ve read thus far this year, and I’ll be following up this post with reviews of the other “Under Suspicion” books, as well as some of the other Alafair Burke books I’ve read since.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book Review

March Mystery Madness Part 2

Posted on by writingkat95

In keeping with my promise to review all the mystery novels I read over the month of March, today’s review is of The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude and Broken Things by Lauren Oliver.

Fans of Nova Ren Suma’s Imaginary Girls are bound to enjoy these well crafted mysteries and their questionably reliable narrators. Fraught with high emotional stakes, these were two of the most intense books on my March reading list. Without resorting to excessive gore or gross-out scares, these stories simply captivate you with strong characters and refuse to let go until you’ve confronted the darkness within.

The reason I chose to pair these up for my second review is that they share a common element which drives the narrative in both novels. That element is the inexplicable -sometimes consuming- power of stories. In The May Queen Murders, local legends and town lore feature heavily. The lines between legend and reality start to blur as girls go missing and frightening things begin happening in the community.

In Broken Things it’s not myths that become to real, but a beloved children’s book that may have led two girls to murder their best friend. As they try to parse through what really happened the night she died, questions arise about how much of what they remember is real.

If you like artful storytelling that leans more towards suspense than terror for it’s source of tension, these are definitely the murder mysteries for you. The added factor of surreal events and questioning what is real is the icing on the cupcakes of these delicious books.

Both novels also heavily feature the power of female friendship, a theme I’ll be delving into even more in my next set of reviews for March Mystery Madness. Until then, happy reading!

-Kat