Tag: mystery

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 3

Posted on by writingkat95

Continuing on with my reviews of all the mystery novels I read in March, the next group of reviews feature three books I felt like captured the perils of teen life.

One of Us is Lying, by Karen M. McManus, The Cheerleaders, by Kara Thomas and Follow Me Back, by A.V. Geiger are all thoroughly enjoyable mysteries. Although nearly all the books I feature here are YA, these in particular felt as if they captured the distinct feeling of being in high school.

One of Us is Lying features a murderous version of The Breakfast Club, with new archetypes of modern teens. The characters, all of whom have secrets and fears of their own, are thrown together as suspects in the murder of their classmate, Simon. Each of them stood to gain from silencing Simon and his gossip blog, and yet each of them shines through the text as deeply believable characters one cannot help but root for. So who killed Simon? You’ll have to get to know each of the other students before you find out the answer.

The Cheerleaders is also filled with secrets, some of which may just keep you awake at night until you’ve unearthed all the answers. Tightly plotted, this mystery was so full of twists, I’m unsure how to describe it without spoilers, but I’ll try. Five years after a town tragedy, the protagonist sets out to discover what happened to the cheerleaders who died. Convinced that the series of accidents were actually a series of murders, she digs into the dark secrets in her hometown and finds out things she never expected. The high emotions and realistic portrayal of trauma really stuck with me, and I think this book is worth a read for mystery fans everywhere.

Follow Me Back may not be set in the halls of a high school, but the love story unfurling beneath the dark mystery is distinctly teen. The rush of first true love spooled together with a twisty mystery make for a cocktail of excitement. This book kept me guessing until the very end, and I’m told that I made a “tiny howling” sound when I read the last twist.

I highly recommend all these delightful, twisty mysteries.

Happy reading!

-Kat

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

Posted in Book Review

Review of: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Posted on by writingkat95

If you’d like to stay up all night contemplating the nature of evil, I have the perfect book for you.

Full disclosure, I don’t usually read things that are dark and scary. I have anxiety, and I don’t like throwing up over fictional characters. However, I recently decided that Sharp Objects sounded so fascinating, it was worth risking a panic attack.

I was right.

I started reading at 8 a.m., thinking I would read for an hour before jumping into my daily tasks. I work from home, and I start many days this way, reading until my brain is awake enough to get to work.

Nine hours later, I finished the book. My back ached, and I was wobbly from skipping lunch to keep reading. Seriously, I almost passed out because I didn’t want to put the book down.

Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, Flynn’s writing made me second guess myself, poring over the words in search of clues. This book is perfect for people who tend to pick apart whatever they read, dissecting it and figuring it all out too soon.

You just won’t be able to do that with Flynn’s work. Seriously, you’ll think you figured things out, you’ll be expecting it to be twisty because it’s Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl) and you’ll still be shocked.

Obviously, only read this book if you are prepared for the intense darkness Flynn is known for. This is a far cry from the YA I normally review (even the dark stuff is not in the same category as this). It will mess with your head, you will lose sleep.

If you can handle the fear, you’ll probably agree that it was worth it. So if you dare, grab a blanket and some snacks, and read Sharp Objects.

Happy reading!