Book Review: Perfect Remains by Helen Fields

I’m very hit and miss when it comes to crime novels, but this had some good Goodreads reviews so I thought I’d give it a go. It follows the typical pattern of killer on the loose being tracked by troubled detectives as they rush to uncover the clever mastermind before he can kill again. I suppose the main ‘twist’, or difference, is that the killer hasn’t actually killed the woman he’s supposedly taken (not a spoiler - you find this out in the first chapter). He’s just set it up in the belief he’s one step ahead of the police.

The plot is pretty good. It’s reasonably fast paced and doesn’t diverge too much from the main storyline. We learn enough about the killings and crime scenes, from both the police and killer’s perspectives, to keep me interested right until the end and the interweaving between the killer initially setting up these crime scenes and the police falling into his traps was well done. I found I got a great deal of satisfaction from seeing the police finally discovering the truth, and the race against time to pin him down.

This definitely felt more like a psychological, character driven story rather than the traditional ‘whodunnit’. A lot of the story centres around the various character interactions and their relationships rather than the crimes themselves, which at times made for an interesting insight. D.I. Callanach, our French-Scottish protagonist, is hard to like at first. He’s standoffish and curt, snapping at his officers and making no friends in his new job. It made it hard for me to warm to him, and at first I really struggled to connect with the story. However as his backstory is addressed, we get a better understanding of why he is the way he is, and this made it easier to build a connection with the character. In comparison, I found Ava immediately likeable. She’s intelligent, but not in an obvious over the top way, and is passionate about her work. I enjoyed her sub story (although I admit I didn’t really see what the point of it was in terms of adding anything to the overall plot other than expanding her role in the novel). I also participate enjoyed their dynamics and interactions together, which I feel has been set up subtly to suggest more than merely a working relationship in future novels. The secondary characters are also reasonably well developed, and again I enjoyed their various interactions with both Luc and Ava.

The antagonist killer is suitably arrogant and creepy. There’s a sense of foreboding that seems to follow him around, even when he’s not actively killing or stalking, that permeates all of his interactions with people. I don’t think I’ll be able to smell moth balls again. I did feel we didn’t get as good a backstory as our protagonists to really fully explore his reasons behind all of his actions, and felt the plot could have gone further with the aftermath of his deeds. However, overall I thought he was a good foil for Ava and Luc.

The ending is good, and wraps everything up well with no loose endings while building relationships enough to keep me intrigued for future novels. I just wish the start had not been so slow in its character development, or this could easily have been a 4 star read from me. That said, this is a hard genre to get right for me, and this definitely had me more interested than most.

 - 3 stars

Book Review: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

3.5 stars. I haven’t seen any of the ‘I Am Legend’ films out there, so had nothing to compare this to.

It’s a classic of the science fiction genre, and at just shy of 200 pages I knew it would be a quick read. It was. And it was enjoyable for the most part. We have the lonely ‘last man on earth’, desperate for companionship, a purpose to continue and justify his existence. We have the now typical apocalyptic landscape and vampire enemy. Enigmatic and ruthless, just as easily turning on each other as they are on our narrator. It had scenes of tension, heartache and bitter uneasiness. You feel at any moment that Neville could either end it all, or finally be taken by his neighbour or another vampire.

Neville is a strong protagonist. You feel his emotions in waves of despair. His background is touched upon sparingly, hinting at awful post apocalyptic traumas, but enough is left to the readers imagination to see how he’s got to where he is at the start of of novel. His life is filled with endless monotony, leading to madness and melancholy. It’s rather artfully done for such s shout novel, and I can understand how this is such a pioneer for the genre.

But. Something just wasn’t there for me. I don’t know if it was the rather enigmatic approach to the vampires and their disease (we never really know for sure what is at the root of the problem other than it being a germ), or if it’s because this is such a singular journey. We follow Neville and that’s it. There’s no expansion of the plot away from Neville, and for most of the novel there’s no interaction with anything or anyone. It’s all Neville’s thoughts.

I just felt that something was lacking. Some deeper look st this world perhaps. But I did enjoy it.

 - 3 stars

Book Review: Our Kind Of Cruelty by Araminta Hall

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mike loves Verity, and will stop at nothing to prove it. It’s all a game in the end - one that Mike and Verity have been playing for years. And Mike knows that Verity will always love him, won’t she?

I’m really conflicted with regards to this review, because my opinions are a bit all over the place. On the one hand, this is a well written novel. It’s contemplative and thoughtful, scenes set up with obvious care and attention to detail, and the pacing in the first part of the book is good. The way the story is told is multilayered and deeply clever too, as we see the characters buried in a web of lies, exposing multiple betrayals, building in tension to a rapid and disturbing series of events.

Mike, the protagonist is also a really interesting character. He's got so much emotional depth, and an attitude and behaviour that are anything but black and white. He’s clearly disillusioned with the world, and his very unhealthy relationship with Verity, which is all consuming, obsessive and stalker-like.

I think my main issue here is the writing style. It’s very internal in nature, relying on character development and train of though rather than actions and descriptions. We are inside Mike’s head most the time, following his thought process and reasonings, meaning we know his character very well, but less so the other people around him. It almost makes the reader feel very detached from the situations as they develop, which removed a lot of my ability to care about what was happening.

I also found the conclusion to be completely out of tone with the rest of the book. It goes from psychological thriller to courtroom drama about two thirds in, which I wasn’t expecting, and didn’t really like. I’m not a fan of these kind of novel at all, and thought it changed the feel of the overall story.

If courtroom dramas are your thing, or very introspective character driven thrillers, you might enjoy this more than me. I just found it ok.

Book Review: The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

Naomi is a private investigator who finds children thought lost forever. Propelled by her own lost past, she succeeds where others fail. But taking on a three year old cold case, searching for missing Madison Culver, may bring back memories best left forgotton. 

The descriptions of the wintery forests of Oregon are great, and propelled me into a lost world of bleak white snow, frostbite and survival. The author did a wonderful job of setting the scenes ahead, and I could really feel myself becoming immersed within the cold mountains with trappers and strange locals. 

The writing style is very different to other crime thrillers, with an almost lyrical and whimsical feel to it as we flit between Naomi and the ‘Snow Girl’s’ stories. The story itself is also compelling, and intriguing enough that I wanted to read on without it being overly dramatic or drawn out like a lot of crime thrillers I’ve read in the past. Because of the short length it was fast paced, and flowed well, with enough character development (from both the main and secondary characters) throughout to satisfy my growing questions. 

Naomi is a wonderful main character. Given her past, she’s remarkably resilient, level headed and without any real shadowy demons lurking beneath the surface that’s become the cliche for protagonists of this genre. Yes, she has a past. But it’s displayed in such a way as to support and strengthen the character instead of just as a plot device. It was cleverly done, and well thought out. If anything, I found her backstory a little lacking and wasn’t fully satisfied with how it was concluded. I also wasn’t overly keen on the romantic aspect to her story, which I found lacklustre. I would have preferred more interaction with Mrs Cottle, her foster mother, who seemed like a wonderful charismatic woman. 

Snow Girl I found a little harder to get to grips with because of the altered writing style that’s used for her chapters. It was more childlike and simplistic, and I found myself struggling to get any real emotional connection with her as I was confused with regards to what was going on at first. Clearly, this is just me. I did like seeing how Mr. B’s character progressed through the eyes of a child, and his growth from simple abductor to something far more complex.

I actually preferred the side story involving Danita and her lost baby. I thought it portrayed more emotions, and had more interesting characters (such as Violet, the matriarchal grandmother) than the main plot. The conclusion was utterly heartbreaking and honest, not shying away the harsh realities of real life. That said, the main conclusion itself was also incredibly tense and satisfying, hitting the right note between grief, joy and everything in between. 

Easily one of the best crime thrillers I’ve read (given my limited background in the genre), told in a unique format that raises this above novels of a similar nature. I’d be interested to read more by Denfeld.

 - 4 stars

Book Review: Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake Book 2) by Rachel Caine

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had some trepidations before going into this book. I'd liked but not loved the previous novel 'Stillhouse Lake', but was intrigued enough to know more. I'm glad I did. This was a great dramatic thriller with some excellent characters and plot.

This follows almost directly from where Stillhouse Lake finished. Gwen Proctor, ex-wife of serial killer Melvin Royal, is trying desperately to keep her children safe while playing the hunter and the hunted to Mel and his followers games. With the help of Sam, neighbour, sometimes lover and brother of one of Mel's last victim, she's determined to get one step ahead of the race and kill or be killed in the attempt to track Mel down.

This felt a lot more polished than its predecessor. The characters are more refined and intelligent. Gwen, far from playing the victim or merely trying to hide her children from harm, takes front seat and centre stage here. She's proactive, self assured and just so much better than before. The character development is excellent. Sam is also a strong lead. He's pragmatic, yet suffers internally with what happened to his sister and his guilt I've whether he can trust Gwen or not. It was also a masterstroke to have chapters from his POV. One of my faults with Stillhouse Lake were that is was all from Gwen's perspective, and often her internal monologue got a little grating. To have another view point kept the story fresher.

That said, I was less enamoured with Lanny and Connor's storyline. I often found myself skipping chunks of their story arc so I can return to the faster paced action involving Sam and Gwen. Unfortunately I just found them both slightly irritating and gullible. I got annoyed at their lack of trust in their mother, and the easy way Connor is manipulated- although I can understand why he is. Melvin's looming presence over all the Proctor family is still abundantly clear, and keeping him largely out of the storyline other than through phone calls and texts keeps him as an enigma.

The plot itself, as mentioned, is well paced and entertaining throughout. There are plenty of twists, some which took me by surprise, and I really enjoyed the ending. Again, as with Stillhouse Lake, the use of technology in crime and blackmail was unique and very well done, taking things even further than they were previously.  The whole novel had a sort of 'Black Mirror' feel to it, especially the episode 'Shut Up and Dance' where people are blackmailed via anonymous hackers into doing various misdemeanours.

One of the best thrillers I've read in a while.

Killman Creek is available to purchase now from: Amazon

Book Review: The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

The Vanishing Season follows Ellery Hathaway, small town cop and one time serial killer victim, as she's faced with the awful truth that her past may be coming back to haunt her. Ellery was abducted on her birthday 14 years ago by a notorious serial killer. Now in a new town, where no one knows her past, for the last three years she's been receiving mysterious cards, followed by a missing person report almost like a birthday gift. Can she stop whoever it is before the next person is taken?

Ellery is a deeply flawed and interesting character. We get to see how the traumas of her past are manifesting in her present life. She's vulnerable - nailing her closest shut so she'll never be forced into one again, and she never invites a man into her home. I loved her relationship with 'Speed Bump' in particular, and it showed that although she's been through an experience few have ever come back from, she's still able to love on an emotional level. Bump in return is a wonderful little character. Although his interactions were relatively few and far between, each one was delightful - especially his liking for Reed. 

The novel itself is short at just over 200 pages, meaning the action is succinct, to the point and fast paced. However some of the character development suffers because of this. Reed, we don't know much about other than he's a workaholic with family issues. I wanted to know more about his personal relationship with Ellery, but other than a small flashback we don't see this. We also don't know much about the other towns people, meaning it wasn't too difficult to work out the ending. I also wanted to see more of Rosalie and her abusive husband. I felt that Ellery's involvement in their situation was very brief, and didn't add all that much to the plot. 

The ending felt a little rushed. There was a lot of build up, with a variety of plot developments and twist, then the conclusion took two pages. I felt a little bit let down by that, and felt the execution could have been better. Overall however, I thought this was a relatively well written novel that kept me interested all the way through.

The Vanishing Season is available to purchase now from: Amazon

 - 3 stars

Book Review: Close To Home by Cara Hunter

Close To Home follows Detective Inspector Adam Fawley and his search for missing 8 year old Daisy. As is often the case, the kidnapper may be closer to home than everyone thinks, and Adam is tasked with finding out who lying.

Adam Fawley is a dynamic leading man. He's charismatic, likable and obviously good at his job. I liked that. Too many times in novels like this we see police officers who are so incompetent its a miracle they even catch the suspects. I was happy to see this was not the case in this book.

The other characters in this were all a little annoying and unlikable. Daisy's mother doesn't seem to care that her daughter's gone missing, and her father is more concerned with 'keeping up appearances' than actually trying to find his child. As the story continues, we see why the parents are acting like this, and the reasoning behind their behaviors is explained well - but I just still didn't like them. As we see Daisy's backstory unfold and we see a precocious intelligent little girl, I couldn't even bring up any feelings for her. I had no sympathy for any of them, and that made it difficult for me to care.

The story itself is also a little all over the place with flashbacks to back fill and flesh out the main characters and develop their history and significance to the case. This meant the plot jumped around at times, and disrupted the flow of the story. I'm not a fan of this type of story telling personally. I like a more linear approach. I also would have appreciated less of the police reports which seemed to reiterate or repeat information the reader already knew, making the plot a little too long winded.

Look, I'm very picky with my contemporary thrillers. I like something a little out of the ordinary, and something that's going to really shock and surprise me. Unfortunately, I think this subject matter is very common at the moment, with a flood of novels relating to missing children etc. and I think in some parts the novel suffers because of this. I didn't find it particularly original or griping enough at all - and the ending requires a large amount of suspension in belief, and made no real sense to me.

Unfortunately not for me.

Close To Home is available to purchase now from: Amazon

2 STARS

Book Review - Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Good Me, Bad Me had me interested from the first line, and delivered a suitably thrilling look into the mind, and motives, of a child left behind after the killings have stopped.

Milly is the daughter of a serial killer. A serial killer that she's helped to put away. Given a fresh start away from the past, and thrown into a normal family life, Milly hopes to move forward and leave her demons behind her. However, when her new family life begins to fall apart behind closed doors, will Milly be able to keep her bad side in check? Or is she more like her mother than she'd like to admit?

I enjoyed the plot for this. We see Milly go from the early days away from her mother with a middle class foster family, up to and beyond her mother's trial for the murder of several children. As the story develops we see more of Milly's background and childhood, and begin to understand who she is, and why she behaves the way she does. The murders are, thankfully, left largely to the imagination, but I really felt the claustrophobia Milly must have experienced while living with her mother, and the desperation that resulted in her going to the police. At times these flashbacks were quite intense, and I admit I had to put the book down several times to catch my breath. It wasn't an easy read.

The story is told from Milly's point of view, as if we the reader are inside her head. Because of this, the writing can be difficult to get into with short staccato sentences. This sometimes made the story jumpy and confusing - much like Milly's frame of mind, and at times I found this hard to wade through - although I felt it added to the overall feel of the story. We also only see the other characters from Milly's perspective, who at best could be described as an unreliable narrator. Milly's mother is never properly introduced, and we only see flashes of her in Milly's nightmares and flashbacks. This made the mother appear as very enigmatic, and perhaps even more intimidating.Her total control of Milly goes above and beyond. We also never get any insight into what the other characters are really feeling, which I might have appreciated - although I admit this is definitely Milly's tale to tell. 

Milly really carried the story well for me. As a character she's vulnerable and yearning for love, yet her manipulation of her foster family, especially her foster mother, is delicious. It's the off-hand comments and subtle remarks that lead her family to doubt themselves that show she's really coming into her own. The student becoming the master. The slow unravelling of her foster family's life, and Milly at the heart of it, begs the question - is Milly the puppet or the puppet master? I thought this was wonderfully done.

Phoebe, her foster sister, is another great character. In some ways she's Milly's twin - yearning for the love of her mother, yet not receiving it in the way she craves. Acting out, bullying Milly at school, reflects her insecurities with her home life - and you can see the jealousy she has with regards to Milly muscling in on her taken-for-granted family time.

The ending I found strong. The build up to it paid off in such a way that I knew something was going to happen, but not quite what and when. The consequences of actions pans out perfectly.

A great thriller, that I feel has rightly been called one of the best this year.

 - 4 stars

Book Review - The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook

A book with a lot of potential, with plenty of plot twist and turns, that unfortunately left me a little bit lacking.

The Hanging Girl opens on Skye, a girl who uses her acute observation skills to 'read' her fellow students and give tarot card predictions. Because of this 'gift', she's drawn into an uneasy game with the mysterious Pluto that involves kidnapping one of her school colleagues, the daughter of a Judge running for office. However, the kidnapping doesn't quite go to plan, and we see Skye trying to deal with the aftermath as things start to spin widely out of control as the police start to question her 'gift'.

Unfortunately, I'm somewhat restricted in what I can write in this review without giving too much of the twists away. The plot itself I found rather slow. For a good 60% of the novel, all we see is Skye trying to deal with the kidnapping and the immediately aftermath with 'Pluto', and her inner turmoil regarding the police scrutiny she's placed under. I found the first plot twist clever. I hadn't anticipated it, and found it was a different route for the typical 'mystery' story to go down. However, the further plot twists come a little too late, as so much of the story needs to be wrapped up and concluded in a short space of time. Although the story kept me interested enough for me to continue reading, the ending felt rushed, and a little underwhelming. I felt it would have been better to spread these plot twists throughout the book, to give us time to process them instead of jumping onto the next plot twist so quickly. I also think more of the novel should have been spent on the aftermath of the kidnapping going wrong as apposed to the build up the kidnapping.

I also found myself having to suspend my disbelief with regards to the plot line rather frequently. The police just seem to accept that Skye and her mother have these 'visions' without question, and repeatedly go along with it. I found it hard to believe that a competent police department would involve, or be allowed to involve, an 18 year old girl in a high profile investigation (at one point they mention bringing in the FBI).

I found Skye highly irritating as a main character. She repeatedly lies and lies to the police, digging herself into a deeper hole, yet I felt the author was trying to illicit some sympathy for her when the kidnapping goes wrong. At no point is she really sorry about what happens (she even states that she's not sad about what happens), but rather she's only concerned about herself and what could happen to her. For this reason, I just couldn't find any emotional attachment to Skye. In fact, I wanted her to get her comeuppance.

Skye's mother is probably the worst character however. At first she's merely deeply annoying - calling the media when Skye has her 'visions' which could potentially interfere with the investigation, and milking the media attention for money. However., by the end I thought she may redeem herself by coming across as a loving mother. She didn't.

Skye's relationship with her best friend Drew felt forced. At one point they have an argument about moving to New York, but I felt there wasn't much emotional involvement between the two. At most I felt sorry for Drew having such an awful best friend. She repeatedly tries to open Skye up and make her discuss her problems, but Skye just shoots her down.

Overall, I could see the potential here. The author tries to move away from the typical 'mystery' novel, with a missing girl. The last third of the book was definitely an improvement on the beginning, however I felt it was a bit little too late for it to truly redeem itself.

 - 3 Stars

Book Review - The Lost Village by Neil Spring

The perfect accompaniment to a chilly October evening, The Lost Village blends together fact and fiction to form a creepy tale filled with ghosts and long-forgotten memories.

Most of the action is centered on the 'lost village' of Imber. Found on the Salisbury Plains, many years ago soldiers forced the inhabitants out to use it as a military base in the first World War. Once a year the inhabitants are allowed back to visit former loved ones buried in the churchyard. However, mysterious ghostly sightings that have driven the soldiers mad, and rumors of the church bells ringing on their own have started to occur in Imber, with many inhabitants claiming it's the former inhabitants rearing up to reclaim their forgotten village. Only Harry Price and his former assistant Sarah Grey can unravel the truth. Is this an elaborate hoax? Or the work of the undead?

After a brief prologue involving an elderly Sarah and a ghostly visitation, we jump straight into the action with a younger Sarah investigating the Brixton picture house, which has a notorious reputation for ghost sightings. I found myself feeling as though I was there with Sarah as she explores the dark rows of seats, and there's an almost palpable tension created as she realises that the 'ghost light', usually left on by the last employee to leave on an evening, is switched off. This opening scene was a great  introduction to the overall feel for the rest of the novel, which was deeply atmospheric, creepy and filled with paranormal activity.

The plot itself, where we find Harry and Sarah in Imber, is fast paced, with plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing until the end. Just when I thought I'd figured something out or solved a mystery, the author threw something unexpected in, which kept me on my toes and allowed me to really enjoy this. It's not often I'm taken by surprise by a story-line, and I was pleasantly surprised. I also liked how the plot all linked together - from the picture house to Imber and the elderly Sarah we see at the beginning. It was cleverly done, and showed that all aspects of the story had a purpose and were thoughtfully considered.

I loved the relationship between Harry and Sarah, which was complex and almost love/hate. It's acutely apparent that Sarah is in love with Harry, but regrets from her past prevent her from acting on this. She also knows just how deeply under Harry's spell she is, and hates herself for it. I loved that aspect of her character. I also liked the fact that the author does not try to present Sarah as anything other than what she is - she feels like a 'proper' person from her time period. There's no 'modern' ideologies, which is great, and nothing about her feels forced.  

Harry is more complicated a character. As we only see things from Sarah's perspective, it's hard to get a grasp on who he really is and how he feels about Sarah. He often comes across as quite abrasive, and short with people who do not share is opinion. At one point in the story he's also appears to complete drop his own perspectives about the paranormal after one particular incident, which felt a bit out of place for him - especially as Sarah is convinced that it's a hoax. 

My main issue with Sarah and Harry was that I felt there wasn't any proper closure between the two characters at the end. I wanted the two of them to talk about their past together, which never happened - and so much was left unspoken that I was a little bit disappointed at the potential that was missed there.

However, I found this an exceptionally well written tale with a great amount of atmospheric detail that kept me enthralled to the end.

The Lost Village will be available to purchase from 19th October.

 - 4 stars

Book Review - The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

Don’t bleed.

I really enjoyed this, and despite it only being a novella I found the story incredibly well written and unique in its concepts.
Ever since she can remember Molly has watched herself die, hundreds of times. Whenever she bleeds, a ‘molly’ is born. Her twin in every way. Except all the mollys want to do is kill Molly. And as she grows, the mollys do too - and they get better at fighting back.

I’m amazed at how much detail the author managed to pack into this novella. Molly is a deeply complex, intelligent character with a rich background. I warmed to her plight immediately, and enjoyed the relationship she shares with her parents, as they fight to preserve her secret, and later with the people she meets at college. I thought she was well developed, and in essence also deeply flawed. I’ve never really read a character quite like her, and I loved her for it. Her emotion, or lack thereof, at certain points throughout the story really appealed to me. Her parents come across as deeply loving and obviously protective of Molly, yet also allow her a certain degree of independence in a world which would never accept her if they knew what Molly was capable of.

The plot itself is also extremely interesting. Molly’s exploration into why she can produce the ‘mollys’ was great, and the fast pace kept me entertained right until the end. Although wrapped up well, there were also several points hinted at near the end of the story that were left unanswered, and if the author so desired, I would love to see Molly again and learn about the wider world in which she inhabits.

 - 5 stars

Book Review - The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan

The Doll House plays out as a psychological thriller, mixed within a contemporary family drama setting - but I was left feeling unsure as to whether it really 'thrilled' me.

The Doll House follows the lives of two sisters, Ashley and Corinne. Ashley is a married mother of three, with a husband who suddenly seems distant - working late at the office and easily distracted. Is he hiding something? When Ashley starts receiving mysterious phone calls, where the caller never speaks, she becomes deeply paranoid that her supposedly happy family might not be so perfect. Corinne is desperate for a baby after several failed IVF attempts. With one last shot on the horizon, can she finally become the mother she's always wanted to be? When she starts finding pieces from her old family doll house left around her flat and workplace, she starts to feel that something sinister is afoot. Will delving into her past help her uncover a secret best left forgotten?

The narrative for this is split mainly between the two sisters, with a few chapters also told from Dominic's (Corinne's partner) point of view. Interspersed throughout is also a narrative told from an unknown third person (at first a child), mainly as memories from the past. As the story progresses, these segments begin to intertwine with the sister's history, as well as the history of a house we are first introduced to in the first chapter. I thought this was an interesting premise, as it gave us an insight into the sister's minds, but also this unknown character with a very chequered past. I was desperate to know who this person was, and what their relationship was with the other characters in the novel.

The overall plot was ok. I felt that at times, although there was always a small amount of underlying tension, nothing really progressed as rapidly as I would have liked. The doll pieces are only deposited every now and again, and because of this they felt more like a far off threat. They definitely played more of a secondary role to the overall story arc involving Ashley and Corinne's paranoia and family dramas.

I also would have liked to have had more of a background story surrounding Ashley and Corinne. We never really get a feel for their history, or see their childhood from their perspective other than in brief glimpses. As the story progresses, and the past seems to play more of an integral part to the story, I felt this would have been helpful to further understand certain characters motives.

I was definitely more invested in Ashley's story line over Corinne's. I liked the relationship between Ashley and her children, and the normal struggles she faces as a mother of three. Her paranoia felt natural given her surrounding environment, and I was really invested in her. However, I did feel that most of the tension left Ashley's narrative half way through as her conflict with her husband reaches its natural conclusion. It was my interest in the mysteries surrounding baby Holly and Lucy that kept me reading to the end, and I will say that the climax to her story line was very well done. It was dramatic, suspenseful and shocking. I did not see it coming - which is always a big plus to my very cynical and calculating mind. I'm normally very good at guessing an ending. This time I didn't. Corinne's story, in comparison, felt very flat. I felt that as a character she was very over the top and dramatic, compared to Ashley's more composed nature. I also found the conclusion to her arc was over extremely quickly and felt a little rushed. I found that I wasn't really that bothered about what happened to her.

The premise for this was good, and at times I was really invested in certain characters and their story lines, however in the end it was the consistencies in the narrative that ended up being The Doll House's downfall.

The Doll House is available to purchase from Amazon now.

 - 3 stars

Book Review - Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens

I felt like this book chewed me up and spat me back out. It played with my emotions and made me doubt myself. It's been a long time since a book has been able to do that.

Never Let Me Go opens on Lindsey, a single mother of 17 year old Sophie, who left her abusive husband 11 years ago. Learning that Andrew, her ex, has been recently released from prison following a terrible car accident on the night of her escape, Lindsey fears that Andrew will never let her go. As weird things start happening in her home, mysterious intrusions and mind games, Lindsey fears the worst - should she run?

The plot for this was intense from the get go. In the first part there is a mixture of flashbacks mingled in with the present day story, which helps fill in the gaps about Lindsey and her abusive relationship with Andrew. Some of these scenes were quite difficult to read, and I had to step away from the narrative on a number of occasions just to catch my breath. The author seemed to capture the absolute captivity and suffocation Lindsey experiences so well, and the mental abuse she suffers is despicable to read. There was one scene in particular, involving a dog, that I know will stay with me for a long time because of the absolute helplessness I felt in parallel with Lindsey. We also see .

I liked Lindsey as a main character. We see her change throughout the novel from a confident young woman, to a defenceless woman and mother trapped in a highly volatile environment. She's never presented as anything other than an average woman. A normal, vulnerable woman who can still be easily manipulated by a man she thought she'd never hear from again. Her paranoia is infectious, and I felt myself on edge whenever she experienced anything unsettling. I really felt for her character, and shared her hatred and mistrust about Andrew instantly.

The plot also uses narrative not only from Lindsey, but her 17 year old daughter Sophie. I thought this was a great addition to the novel, as it added another opinion to the mix. We see Sophie struggle with her guilt towards her mother as she gets to know her father, and the complex set of emotions she experiences as the story progresses which are easily mirrored in children from a similar domestic background. Love for her father cannot be completely undone by her mother's bias.

We also see Sophie's story start to mirror her mother's past - which I didn't expect. I became really invested in finding out how her relationship with Jared would develop, and how (or if) she would play it out any different to her mother had.

The only real let down, in my opinion, was the 'plot twist' which developed towards the conclusion of the novel. There are hints from about 70% of the way in that things were going to go down a certain path - which were confirmed to me at the conclusion. I liked the little hints, but I felt they were too much of a give away for me. I would have liked a bigger surprise. However, I will say Chevy Stevens did manage to change my opinion about characters that I thought would never have been possible to achieve. She brought a new perspective to my ideas, which I really appreciated, and I came away looking at things from a completely different angle.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes their thrillers with a touch of anxiety, and a large emotional build up. Great read.

Never Let You Go is available on Amazon now.

 - 4 stars

Book Review - Wicked Fallout by Kelly Charron

I was drawn to this book with the promise of a psychological thriller with a young female lead character. What I really got left me a little bit lacking.

This is the second book in the 'Wicked' books by Kelly Carron, which follows serial killer Ryann Wilkanson as this time she tries to convince psychologist Nancy that's she's become a reformed character and capable of living back on the outside. It is set 12 years after the conclusion of Pretty Wicked, and most of the book forms a sort of two way battle of wills between Ryann and Nancy. It should be noted that I haven't read the previous instalment of this series, however at no point did I see this as a disadvantage as the author did a great job of recapping everything. This may be an issue for people who have read the previous novel however, as previous events are discussed in great detail, and may feel like a rehashing of old events.

Ryann is an interesting character. She's clearly intelligent, and knows it. She doesn't back down from any challenge made to her, and comes across as cocky and abrasive and deeply unlikable. I think that was my main issue with the story unfortunately - I didn't like the main character, and because of this I didn't really care. She also made Nancy appear ridiculous at times, and as such I couldn't bring myself to like Nancy either. I also wasn't that interested in her backstory or her family issues, (which resolved themselves rather conveniently very quickly) as I wanted more time with Ryann.

The second half of the novel was definitely more exciting, as the run up to whether Ryann will be released or not is revealed. I liked the tension created in the prison with the other girls, and Ryann's inner monologue really propelled this to an interesting conclusion. Having said that, as previously stated by this point I wasn't as invested in the character as I would have liked, and as such I finished the novel with an anticlimactic feel.

Interesting main character, but unfortunately just not for me.

- 3 Stars