“The Chamber” by Will Dean started as an adventure read. It reminded me of Andy Weir’s “The Martian”. Ellen Brooke is the 4.5 stars:
TW: Claustrophobia
“The Chamber” by Will Dean started as an adventure read. It reminded me of Andy Weir’s “The Martian”. Ellen Brooke is the narrator of “The Chamber” and she starts the novel by explaining everything involved in a saturation dive. Perhaps it’s because Ellen explains that divers who dive this deep wear contraptions like astronauts with the big helmet and awkward gloves, etc. Furthermore, she describes how each part of the dive can go wrong, and what happens when it does go wrong. It’s a dangerous job, which as a career, attracts very brave people, some could say thrill seekers and adrenalin junkies. The crew is in a hyperbaric chamber (diving bell) that is around 100 meters below the ocean’s surface to the seabed. I was familiar with the bends and regulating pressure and that rapid decompression could be fatal. But there is far more involved. The air that they breath is a helium-heavy gas (heliox) which makes their voices sound like Minnie and Micky Mouse. It takes a while to adjust to understanding their new voices. There is a massive support team on the mother ship, more than 90 individuals, that the divers depend upon. One error and the divers could implode, have their blood boil, or they could freeze to death in seconds. They gruesome ways to die are abundant, and Ellen details them all.
As I said, the beginning is science rich, similar to Weir’s space novels. The divers are there to repair parts of an oil rig. The divers work in shifts; Ellen and another diver are the first to go down the diving bell, working in 5-hour shifts.
When one of the divers is found dead in his bunk, it is assumed there was an underlying health condition because there is no overt reason for the death. There are 6 divers involved, 5 alive. Now the other five need to be involved in an immediate autopsy before they can move the body. They need four days of decompression before the locked hatch to the chamber can be safely opened…or they will “get bent”.
When a second diver dies, the situation becomes a pressure-cooker and a locked-room mystery. Ellen informs us how food is passed through decompressed airlocks and water is pumped into the chamber. The chamber is impenetrable. Is the killer one of the divers? Or is there a culpable nefarious support team member?
The remaining divers attempt to find out how the divers are dying. How can this be happening in such a controlled environment? As the body count rises, which eliminates suspects, paranoia is rampant. Extensive dives can cause brain injuries. Is someone unhinged? Or is this retribution? We learn some of the background of each diver, including Ellen.
I am not a fan of tight spaces, a bit claustrophobic. Dean’s prose left me with a heavy chest. I was gulping air! The chamber that they are in is about the size of a small bathroom with 3 sets of bunks. That is the comfortable part! As the story progresses, it gets hotter, and more frightening.
Dean sneaks in some other themes such as grief, work pressure, anxiety, coping mechanisms (unhealthy and otherwise). It’s an interesting read!
I chose to listen to the audio, narrated by Helen Keeley. She was excellent with different accents. Highly recommend. ...more
I’m a huge thriller fan, although I don’t follow the Military or Conspiracy Thriller genre. Given the incredibly high rating for the novel, I had to sI’m a huge thriller fan, although I don’t follow the Military or Conspiracy Thriller genre. Given the incredibly high rating for the novel, I had to see what the fuss was all about.
This started a bit slow for me, but once it picked up speed, I couldn’t read fast enough. It begins with Matt Redd (the protagonist of the thriller series), who has a special assignment prior to a huge mission. He’s a Marine Raider, the elite force of the Marines. Being a Marine is his identity. The special assignment goes awry, and he misses his huge mission. Matt ends up being dishonorably discharged. The only place for him to go is back to Montana to his father’s ranch. He is devastated.
The majority of the story is told in two locations: Washington DC which involves the FBI, and Montana. Keeping chapters short makes this a suspenseful page-turner. Clues are dropped in these short chapters, and as a reader, one is trying to tie it all together.
What I enjoyed was the military lingo that author Ryan Steck used, lending the story authenticity. His command of battle scenes is amazing. Also, Steck peppered clues which I initially missed, and appreciated upon my skimming re-read (which most of us thriller-lovers do). Ukrainians are introduced early in the novel (page 26) and the reader learns of a secret project that they are involved in. Want to add intrigue to a suspense? Add a Russian or Ukrainian who is working on a secret project in the boonies of Montana!
When Matt Redd returns to his desolate town in Montana, he finds things have changed. He’s beginning to suspect that something untoward is happening in his hometown. Even the police seem to be shady. He discovers that his father died under suspicious circumstances. From the moment he steps foot at his home, Matt encounters trouble.
Steck picked a great location for his story. Montana has an open-carry firearm law added to the thriller aspect. Think someone packing a chromed M1911 semiauto in a thigh holster walking around Home Depot. The speed limit is 80 mph. Montana is one of the last wild western frontiers. Plus, it’s desolate. Backup takes hours, not minutes to occur.
The FBI is trying to locate a notorious bioweapons expert who has ties to at least six different terrorist organizations on five continents. How does this tie together?
Of course, there are OTT moments which I expect from my thrillers. When done well, I don’t care, and I go along for the ride. The reason for the title is made obvious at the end of the story. I highly recommend this. I was astounded at how involved I became in the story!
4.5 Stars: Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association’s John Creasy New Blood Dagger Award and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
I found4.5 Stars: Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association’s John Creasy New Blood Dagger Award and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
I found author Jo Callaghan’s debut “In a Blink of an Eye” riveting. I am enjoying authors who are including Artificial Intelligence in their genre, in this case, the thriller/police procedural genre.
Lock, an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) is a hologram created by a university professor as an aid to the police force. The idea is that AI can compute statistic, scan evidence, compute complex calculations in seconds while it could take a human 50 hours of work. Furthermore, the professor who created it wanted to take out human bias judgements. The professor wanted all logic in police work, not the hidden biases to be involved. Lock is part of a pilot program which Kat Frank, a successful policewoman, is designated to lead. She’s not thrilled, as she believes her success has been because of her “gut”, her intuition. Additionally, Kat just lost her husband to cancer, an AI misdiagnosis. (I didn’t know that the medical community is using AI!) She is leery that Lock will be a thorn in her side. Reluctantly, she agrees to be part of the program.
Her mandate is to find two missing young men, both in their later teens. When the team meets, including Lock, (who is made in the image of the actor Chadwick Boseman) Kat is annoyed and impressed in equal measure. Lock knocked out the stats involving missing boys in seconds. He can do more than that as well. He can upload pictures and produce them on a wall. He’s an efficient tool. He also challenges her embedded biases which she finds frustrating. She refers to Lock as “it”, as she refuses to acknowledge his “male” hologram.
Callaghan adds humor to her story. For example, Lock ponders why humans want to make AI more “humanlike” when really humans should be wanting to be more AI-like. He can watch a movie in 5 seconds, which includes a review and analysis. Why waste time being human? These are smile worthy moments, not chuckle, but necessary nonetheless because the plot is stressful: find the two missing boys before they find them dead.
Suspense is added when Callaghan includes short chapters involving someone in a hospital bed. Those are chilling chapters. The chapters are narrated by a male voice.
I listened to the audio narrated by Paul Mendez and Rose Akroyd. I couldn’t wait to get back to my audio. Highly recommend. ...more
I’m new to the Marlow Murder Club Series, joining the series at book 3, “The Queen of Poisons”. What I enjoy most about cozy mysteries is that the autI’m new to the Marlow Murder Club Series, joining the series at book 3, “The Queen of Poisons”. What I enjoy most about cozy mysteries is that the author must rely upon clever characters, banter, and plot. When an author has gore eliminated from his/her mystery repertoire, the author must rely on character development, misdirection, and excellent sleuthing skills.
When Marlow’s Mayor, Geoffrey Lushington dies at a Town Council meeting, a meeting that Suzie Harris was one of the attendees, DI Tanika Malik realizes that the Marlow Murder Club ladies will be working the case whether she wants them or not, so Malik allows them access as “civilian advisors”. Right away, a poison, aconite, was found in his system. Suzie is very familiar with the plant as she grows it in her garden. Given its bitter taste, it is assumed someone put it in his coffee or in his sugar cube. But, who and why?
Why I believe elderly sleuths are such a hit with readers is that we all hope to enter our 70’s and 80’s with our wits about us. We want to believe we will have relevance and energy as we enjoy our senior years; we want to be elderly sleuths. We want to believe it is possible.
So when Judith, Suzie, and Becks align their focus into solving the mystery of who killed the Mayor, it’s delightful. There’s a few squabbles and a very annoying mother-in-law (what a delightfully evil character) that add to the plot. Author Robert Thorogood adds humor to the antics of our senior ladies. Judith is the alpha, Becks, as a Vicar’s wife, seems to have difficulty standing her ground, and Suzie is the dog walking, nature loving senior easily recognized in our daily life; all three characters are entertaining in their own way.
I am happy to be acquainted with these delightful septenaries!
I listened to the audio, narrated very well by Nicolette McKenzie.
“Kill Night” is a part of Amazon’s short story collection of “We Could Be Heroes” which is “a darkly inquisitive collections of short stories that exa“Kill Night” is a part of Amazon’s short story collection of “We Could Be Heroes” which is “a darkly inquisitive collections of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences”. My husband and I listened to the audio, 1 hour in length, narrated by Ryan Burke.
Victor Methos is the author. I have not read any of his other works. Both my husband and I were impressed. His writing made it easy to picture the story in our minds.
This is a legal thriller where a lawyer who was an ambulance chaser takes on a case where a man is accused of murder, and the lawyer, Nick Collins, doesn’t believe he did it. It’s a gruesome murder, and to Nick, it makes no sense.
He has the help of another female attorney, and together they sleuth their way into discovering a creepy secret that this rural area has kept.
The hour past easily, and we were engaged. Methos created a thriller with a full story arc and conclusion in a short amount of time. ...more
My husband and I listened to Benjamin Stevenson’s Audible Original story “Don’t Hang Up”. We were both captivated for the 3-hour listen.
The premise isMy husband and I listened to Benjamin Stevenson’s Audible Original story “Don’t Hang Up”. We were both captivated for the 3-hour listen.
The premise is interesting. A radio DJ who works the midnight to 6 AM shift, you know the shift: a soothing voice, gentle music, and yes, they take callers. The DJ, Adam Turner, has a grudge in that he’s relegated to the midnight shift. But a man needs a job. He did have the prime time “Morning Show” slot, you know the shift: loud voices to wake you up, lively loud music. Far higher rating potential on the morning shift. Something happened which landed him in midnight-hell shift.
Shortly after the story opens, Adam receives a call: I have a girl, and I’ll kill her if you hang up. You must answer my questions within the time of your evening program, or the girl dies. Her death will be your responsibility.
Does Adam actually believe this crazy caller?
This becomes a suspenseful thriller as the time ticks down. The questions the man asks are crazy. The guy definitely wants to bring Adam down. Of course, the police become involved, and it gets crazy.
Luke Arnold Sibylla impeccably narrates this story. Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this crazy story. It kept us riveted, which is what we want on road trips. Both give it 5 glowing stars for keeping us entertained, and the interesting plot twist in the end. ...more
2.5 stars Ok, don’t hate me, but I am not as enthused about Canadian author Robyn Harding’s “The Haters” as most. It most likely is because I used the 2.5 stars Ok, don’t hate me, but I am not as enthused about Canadian author Robyn Harding’s “The Haters” as most. It most likely is because I used the audio, with narrators Megan Tusing and Jess Nahikian. Megan Tusing portrayed protagonist Camryn (Cam) Lane as whiny, annoyingly whiny. While I appreciated the jest of the story, and the frightening problem that is real, internet trolls, and the lack of capacity to do anything to stop internet trolls, the message was loss in the delivery.
Cam is a high school guidance counselor by day, aspiring author by free time. She just published a novel and has attained a publisher and publishing team. She’s a divorced mother, sharing custody of her high school daughter with her ex. She’s got a boyfriend, 9 years her junior. Her ex and his wife live close by to make it easy for her daughter. Her new book has a teen protagonist who is living on the streets, getting by with her gumption.
Cam’s book has been available for sale for a few days, and she initially got great reviews. But one reviewer accused her of using her job as a Guidance Counsellor as fodder for her book, exploiting the students in her care. Long story short, there is a snowball effect, and her ratings drop significantly. There seems to be one internet troll who is making it her life’s mission to destroy Cam.
Kuddos to Harding for exposing how much power book influencers have. Goodreads had a problem with that a while back. Harding shows what little influence authors have over bogus reviews, or reviews that are out of line. Furthermore, even if the internet troll is identified, little can be done.
One huge niggle I had, while listening, is the repeated use of the phrase “why does she hate me?” To me, Cam sounded like my daughter when she was in middle school and high school…the excessive use of the word “hate”; Cam sounded like a high schooler, rather than a high school guidance counsellor(the whiny tone added to the immaturity).
Another slight niggle was that Harding also included excerpts from Cam’s “Burnt Orchid”, the book in question. I’m not sure what the point of including the excerpts was, other than to prove to the reader that Cam was not pilfering from her student’s lives, as she was accused of. What also seemed off about Cam was her strange behaviors. She did some juvenile things while attempting to discover who the troll was. She became a hysterical trainwreck. I wouldn’t want my kid to be counselled by such a person; she was unhinged.
The ending was impressive. I suspected a few different people as the troll. I was wrong. I do enjoy being duped. The mastermind behind the intent to hurt Cam was a surprise, although some of the extenuating factors (some who were part of the scheme) was not a surprise.
My rating is for the audio. I believe that if Cam was portrayed more emotionally strong, which one would expect from a school guidance counsellor, this could have been a stellar audio....more
I was exceedingly happy to find the ARC of Shari Lapena’s “What Have You Done” in my public library. The expected publication date is July 30th. My coI was exceedingly happy to find the ARC of Shari Lapena’s “What Have You Done” in my public library. The expected publication date is July 30th. My copy was an Advance Uncorrected Proofs, and I saw no error that could possibly be corrected!
Lapena is one of my go-to thriller authors who never disappoints. This one has “Lovely Bones” vibes, in that this is a story of a teenaged girl who was murdered, and her spirit watches the aftermath and provides commentary.
Diana Brewer, the murdered girl, is a senior in high school, and by accounts a respected student, friend, and athlete. Her murder appears to have a sexual element because she was found naked in a farmer’s field, with none of her clothing or personal belongings around.
The story is told in third person, with first person narratives from Diana and one of her friends whose observations are made via journal entries. Her boyfriend, who has a possessive issue, is of high interest. We also learn that Diana had issues with a teacher, and he becomes a person of interest. Diana worked at Home Depot, and she reported to her boss that there was a customer who bothered her. Now there is another suspect. Red herrings abound.
What Lapena does, is show how girls and women are dismissed when they express fear or file complaints. Teenaged girls are often dismissed as hysterical or dramatic. Another sub-theme is working moms, and their guilt. Disappointing husbands and how women deal with them is an additional sub-theme. We worry about our beautiful teen girls, but they seem hesitant to come forward with complaints because no one takes them seriously. Lapena shows the danger in that.
Why I’m a Lapena fan is that she consistently dupes me, and I love to be duped in my thrillers.
3.75 stars: I am drawn to stories about the Native American culture in the US. Nick Medina writes a fascinating debut novel, “Sisters of the Lost Natio3.75 stars: I am drawn to stories about the Native American culture in the US. Nick Medina writes a fascinating debut novel, “Sisters of the Lost Nation”, which focuses on the true crisis involving disappearing Native American girls in multiple tribes. In his Author’s Note, he said that a Chicago Tribune article written by Sharon Cohen from the Associated Press drew his attention to the fact that “no one knows how many girls, women missing or murdered” are known, although records from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) indicated that more than 5,200 Indigenous women/girls were missing as of 2021. These are only the reported ones. Unfortunately, many go unreported because authorities don’t take these reports seriously. Additionally, Indigenous women face a murder rate that’s more than 10 times the national average. Medina adds that the physical and sexual assault rate is also disproportionate to the national average.
Medina’s protagonist, Anna Horn, is a teen girl who notices that girls in her community seem to go missing. When her high-spirited younger sister goes missing, she takes the detective work into her own hands. Although the tribal council is concerned, the complicated jurisdictional issues around Reservation land compounds the investigations. The local sheriff has little interest in using resources to find missing indigenous girls.
My only issue in this story is that Anna, a teen, is the one who sleuths her way into connecting the Reservation’s casino and its employees to the missing girls. She sees what’s happening, and no one listens to her. On her own, at her young age, she takes the issue into her own hands, this while going to high school, being bullied in high school, and navigating the troublesome life of a misfit/Indian girl. It’s a bit far-fetched, but it makes an amazing story. Medina adds Native American Folklore, which I enjoyed. Plus, he writes the story realistically, with exception of Anna’s ability to accomplish what she did. I wished he would have used a woman in her late 20’s, early 30’s.
Nonetheless, this is a crisis that is currently happening across the USA and Canada. He used a fictional tribe, the Takoda Nation, to tell his story. Anna tells us many stories she’s been told by her grandmother. Medina, a member of the Tunica-Biloxi Natation, took stories from different cultures and included them. I find those stories (folklore) fascinating. In his Author’s Notes, he explains which tribal legends he used. Medina shows the interconnectedness of “spiritual beliefs, reverence for nature, and the will to reman respected and seen.”
This should be a high school “must read”, especially in those areas that include a Native American Reservation presence. It should be available in gift stores in all Reservation Casinos. These are American women and girls, and as a society, we should stop turning a blind eye. May 5th is now Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. I’ve never heard of it. I’ll pay attention now.
3.5 stars: I had a chance to get an ARC of “Bright Objects” by Ruby Todd. This is a quiet tale about a woman who wants justice for her husband’s vehicu3.5 stars: I had a chance to get an ARC of “Bright Objects” by Ruby Todd. This is a quiet tale about a woman who wants justice for her husband’s vehicular death. Oh, and a comet is coming towards her small town in Australia. Author Ruby Todd includes tidbits of the history of comets and prophets, and the connections of comets coinciding with the death of great men (e.g. Nero and Caesar).
Sylvia Knight, the 32-year-old protagonist, is working as a funeral home attendant 2 years after a life-altering vehicular accident which left her husband dead and her critically injured. Sylvia is going through the motions of life. Her best friend is her mother-in-law Sandy who is equally suffering in grief. Sylvia believes she knows who hit her car and left the scene. She is seeking revenge and justice.
A comet is expected to make a spectacular show in her small town around the same time that Sylvia has made a pact with herself. While Sylvia grieves her husband, Todd adds information on the comet and the type of people it attracts. Of course, there’s a doomsday vibe through the whole story.
Sylvia is a relatable character making this an easy read. I recommend this for those who are fascinated by what sort of people comets attract. Todd’s prose is beautiful....more
Brittany Pressley can elevate any story as a narrator and Audible along with author J.T Ellison knows this. Ellison is a skilled literary author of thBrittany Pressley can elevate any story as a narrator and Audible along with author J.T Ellison knows this. Ellison is a skilled literary author of the thriller, mystery, and suspense genre. She is adept at building tension in her narrative. With a great narrator who adds to the tension, Audible has a winner.
“These Cold Strangers” is a short story in the Audible’s “We Could Be Heroes” which is a collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences. Ms. Pressley narrates the voice of Addison Blake.
Addison is a reporter in the Washington DC area. She left her hometown after her family was butchered by her old boyfriend. Addison wasn’t home; she snuck out to score some drugs. Her guilt from that night scared her straights and caused her to avoid her hometown at all costs.
This changes when she sees a grainy footage of a man resuscitating another man who was left for dead. A multitude of people just walked by this dying man, without pause. Only 1 man stopped and tried to resuscitate him. That man vaporized after the event. No one knows the man’s identity, and the press wants to honor him. When Addison sees the footage, she recognizes the man; he’s from her high school. She wants to build her career and believes if she can get this guy to talk to her on the record, her career will take off.
Ellis writes a tight suspense story, only 90 minutes long. Addison ruefully returns to her hometown and must confront her past. The trip though, causes her to confront more than her history.
Excellent story. Excellent narrator. I am a huge fan of the audible collections of short stories.
Outlier review. I did NOT enjoy Taffy Brodesser-Anker’s “Long Island Compromise”. Perhaps it’s my age. I found tooTW: S&M; self-abasement, kidnapping
Outlier review. I did NOT enjoy Taffy Brodesser-Anker’s “Long Island Compromise”. Perhaps it’s my age. I found too much graphic S&M and gratuitous self-abasement for which I really didn’t see the necessity. She could have told her story without that.
Next, the characters are whiny self-entitled wealthy people. They were grating. It was difficult to continue reading, because when I encounter people like that, I remove myself from any situation around them. Additionally, it’s difficult to read about characters complaining about their abundant trust funds. I didn’t see humor in the characters’ neurosis nor predicaments.
This is a story about intergenerational trauma regarding wealth. Yes, wealthy people are traumatized by wealth. Add to that, the family is Jewish American, which carries all the intergenerational trauma involving the history of Jews, most recently the Holocaust. Now we have a toxic stew of “Your Grandfather survived the Holocaust for this?” to “wah-wah my life was too easy for me and now I have no direction and its money’s fault”.
All the Jewish female characters were despicable. I cringed reading how the mother and grandmother talked to their offspring. I didn’t find humor in the way they talked to their children/grandchildren/daughter-in-law’s.
Plot summary: a patriarch is kidnapped for a week. This trauma is never addressed. The matriarch (his mother) wants everyone to ignore that it happened. “It happened to his body, not his mind”. This PTSD claims each family member’s soul in a different way. The story is told by character, with the first character’s, Beamer (the middle child), story. Unfortunately, Brodesser-Akner gives Beamer far too much storyline involving TMI.
The reader learns of all the characters personal struggles, their POV’s. She is a clever writer which is why I continued reading this 446-page novel. These people made their fortune off Styrofoam. That alone is hysterical.
Her prose deserves 5 stars. Her plot deserves 5 stars because it’s so layered in its telling. The characters get 1 star for complexity. I believe she could have accomplished what she was trying to tell without the shock-value of Beamer and the cringe-worthy value of Ruth and the whininess of Jenny. Again, I’m an outlier, and I don’t think I am the target audience.
My review is based upon an ARC that I received from my public library....more
3.25 stars: What a crazy story! “Bye, Baby” by Carola Lovering revolves around two 30-something women with a certifiable toxic relationship. To appreci3.25 stars: What a crazy story! “Bye, Baby” by Carola Lovering revolves around two 30-something women with a certifiable toxic relationship. To appreciate the novel, one must abandon critical thought and just go for the ride. But isn’t that what all thrillers require?
Lovering creates tension in the prologue. It’s October 13, 2023, and Cassie is screaming because her baby is missing. Billie, Cassie’s childhood friend, is holding said baby in an apartment below the screaming Cassie. Someone shouts that they have notified the authorities, and Cassie shouts that she wants Billie. Billie sees on her caller ID that Cassie is calling her….
This is a character driven story, with chapters narrated by Billie and Cassie. Billie opens Chapter 1, 50 days before the child abduction, August 24, 2023. Billie is on the third date with Alex, a policeman, and they are getting to know each other. The reader learns that Billie is not a baby person; she works as a luxury travel consultant. She flies to exotic places and stays in expensive hotels. Her life seems great, so it is a mystery as to why she is so attached to Cassie, who is dismissive and cruel to her.
Cassie’s first chapter is 49 days before the abduction, August 25, 2023. We learn about her marriage to Grant and her life as a new mother. Cassie is building a career as a lifestyle influencer. Grant, who is a trust fund baby, is financing her career as an influencer and entrepreneur. Cassie is a “wannabe”, trying to secure herself into the monied crowd. There’s not much to like about her.
Lovering includes the girls’ history. Both girls come from middle-class families. They hale from a small Hudson Valley town, which Cassie is embarrassed to acknowledge. Billie’s childhood was more troubled than Cassie’s, and Cassie was a huge support friend during Billie’s troublesome years. Meanwhile, Cassie wants nothing to do with her family or her history. She wants to leave it all behind and be how she sees herself: wealthy, relevant, important, and enviable. Billie doesn’t fit into her new narrative. Cassie wants to forget her past. The problem is that Billie knows the worst thing she’s done, and that is what Cassie is trying to outrun.
How did it come to Billie taking Cassie’s baby? Slowly, Lovering reveals her plot. Because it’s told in alternating POV’s with the countdown clock to the abduction, the story becomes a compulsive page-turner.
As with many thrillers, I kept reading and thinking “this is insane”! Yet, I couldn’t stop reading. ...more
I listened to the Audible Original “Mad Love” by Wendy Walker. This is one of those audiobooks that involve surround sound: dogs barking, feet hittingI listened to the Audible Original “Mad Love” by Wendy Walker. This is one of those audiobooks that involve surround sound: dogs barking, feet hitting pavement, doorbell rings etc. Walker wrote a short thriller that includes a lot of twists and turns.
This is a family drama, marked by a double murder. Or is it a murder/ suiciode? Who would do this? Who would benefit? Put on your CSI hat and piece together the evidence along with the detectives.
Did I love it? Not really. Was it entertaining? I think the sound effects saved it. Would I recommend it? Yes, for brainless entertainment. And if it’s free. ...more
Thank you, GR friend Linda who reviewed Mick Herron’s, “Slow Horses: Slough House Book 1”. This has been made into an Apple TV series, staring Gary OlThank you, GR friend Linda who reviewed Mick Herron’s, “Slow Horses: Slough House Book 1”. This has been made into an Apple TV series, staring Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the main protagonist. Kristin Scott Thomas is Diana Taverner (aka Lady Di). Those two actors are perfectly cast, in my humble opinion.
Slough House is an administrative purgatory for M15 intelligence officers who basically messed up. The motley bunch are referred to as “slow horses”. The hope is that the tediousness will motivate them to quit. Jackson Lamb runs the group of misfits. Jackson is disheveled, rude (passes flatulence loudly and constantly). He’s the definition of sloven. Gary Oldman is perfect.
The story opens with River Cartwright being the fall guy for a training exercise blunder. Lamb assigns him to carry out surveillance on a journalist who allegedly is associated with far-right politicians. River’s grandfather, a M15 legend, issues him a warning that this assignment could blow up in his face, and because it’s a Slough House assignment, most likely the M15 are using him. Herron sets up this thriller with a hint of betrayal.
Meanwhile, a British-Pakistani student is kidnapped by the far-right group, Sons of Albion who announce that they will behead him on livestream at sunrise. No ransom has been issued. Just a promise. Now where is this student being held? Who’s behind this and why?
The rag-tag team at Slough House determine there could be connections between what they are doing, observing the maybe-crooked journalist. If they crack this case, maybe they’ll get out of the pits of the Slough House and redeem themselves.
This is a highly entertaining thriller. Herron’s prose is witty and at time snarky. My husband and I listened to the audio while driving cross country. We were constantly snickering. Many snarky comments are said as an aside, almost under breath. We rewound a lot just to make sure we enjoyed it completely. The banter alone is reason to read/listen to the book.
Gerald Doyle narrates this 11-hour audio. This is book 1 in a 8 book series. Apple TV is about to release Season 4. When we finish this trip, we shall watch Season 1.
It’s road trip time, and that mean’s road trip book club. One of the genres my husband and I agree upon is the thriller genre. We have not read any of
It’s road trip time, and that mean’s road trip book club. One of the genres my husband and I agree upon is the thriller genre. We have not read any of Edgar Award-Winning Author Meg Gardiner’s work, and her “Unsub” series is highly rated. It clocks in at 12 hours, so sounds good!
Gardiner grabs you from the start with a dark foreshadowing prologue. Twenty years later, Caitlin Hendrix is a narcotics detective in the San Francisco Bay area. A serial killer re-emerges. The reader will learn much about Mercury, from the planet, the element, the astrological meanings attributed to Mercury. The ancient sign for Mercury, the killer’s signature, is etched into the victim’s flesh. Caitlin is familiar with the unsub because her father was the one who identified the kills as the same suspect. All murders seemed random except for the Mercury sign.
Listening to this book reminded me of the TV show, “Criminal Minds”. The same sort of OTT scenes occurs in this book, but you don’t care! You are there for the ride. There are cryptic clues which leads the investigators to classic literature references. As the clues accumulate, Caitlin must find where the clues are leading.
I asked my husband for feedback, and he said: “A great read for long trips in the car. Captivated my attention from the start. I enjoyed it.”
Hillary Huber narrates the story. At first, I didn’t think she was the right fit. After listening for a time, I got into her voice, and I enjoyed her performance.
Both my husband and I give it a solid 4.5 stars for sheer entertainment. ...more
Argentinian and Latin American author Selva Almada penned “Not a River”, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024. Annie McDermotArgentinian and Latin American author Selva Almada penned “Not a River”, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024. Annie McDermott is the translator. Almada chose her because “I see her efforts to capture the music of the writing, the lyricism, the colloquial aspects, which are very important to me in the construction of my narrative.”
I chose to read this one because I am not familiar with Argentina, culturally or otherwise. Almada is known as an influential feminist intellectual. Those two elements alone intrigued me.
Almada stated, “’Not a River’” is inspired by the territory where I was born and raised by the people who inhabit that land and who, in many cases, were marginalized by neoliberal policies.” Further she states, “The characters in my novel, men and women who live on what the river can provide are a reflection of what the neoliberals of the 1990s has done to Argentina: Impoverishing it, condemning a significant part of its citizens to poverty and marginalization.”
This is a dark story of two friends who go on a fishing trip with the son of their cherished deceased friend. The story opens with the 3 men wrestling with and catching a manta ray. It’s a brutal scene. From the start, Almada tells her story with sparse, lean language which allows a hazy, or dreamlike setting. The reader feels the poverty she is conveying in her scenes of bare huts/shacks and provisions.
The three men gain the fury of the locals when the men brazenly display the ray on a tree. Adding to the infraction, the three allow it to rot. This becomes a revenge story because the men are outsiders, not part of the island. While the locals plot revenge, the three men laze around, drinking and remembering an earlier fishing trip that ended badly. Almada writes a deep sense of foreboding.
The female characters are the most interesting to me. One local mother of two teenaged daughters sets fires when she’s frustrated and angered. The teen daughters are interesting in their own teenaged way, flowing through the story.
This very interesting work is only 87 pages long. I dare you to read it and NOT go back and re-read passages. The ending is intriguing.
This was one crazy story! Author Alyssa Cole writes an interesting story with a protagonist who is plagued with dissociative identity disorde2.5 stars
This was one crazy story! Author Alyssa Cole writes an interesting story with a protagonist who is plagued with dissociative identity disorder (DID). Ken, short for Kenetria, is the main “identity”, but when she goes dormant, she doesn’t’ know what the other identities have been up to. As the story opens, she awakens after being dormant for 6 years, and she discovers one of the other identities (alters) must have accepted a job at a creepy castle on an island in the Hudson River. She is perplexed as to how she got here. There’s a gothic feel to this thriller. An isolated island…a storm is approaching…a creepy castle….an unsettling feeling…
Given all the alters (different personalities), just keeping track of all the different characters was a chore. What I did enjoy is that Cole shows that it’s generally trauma that creates DID, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that all those with DID are serial killers. All the alters serve a purpose. Ken is under psychiatric care, so through her, the reader/listener learns about the disorder.
Most thrillers are predictable and follow a formula. Cole writes something incredibly original. Am I glad I stuck with it? Yes. Would I recommend this to the average thriller reader? No. This is one funky, yet satisfying in the end, read. ...more
What fun I had listening to Kaliane Bradley’s genre defying story, “The Ministry of Time”. It’s part science fiction, speculative fiction, rom/com, spWhat fun I had listening to Kaliane Bradley’s genre defying story, “The Ministry of Time”. It’s part science fiction, speculative fiction, rom/com, spy thriller, and drama. Time travel, when done right, is intriguing. Bradley’s idea: take unsuspecting historical figures, bring them to current day London to assimilate to modern day. What could go wrong?
The Ministry of Time is a government department, highly secret, that found a way to “gather” (read extract) different historical figures. One such figure is Commander Graham Gore who was an officer on the 1845 Artic expedition led by Sir John Franklin (a real expedition and real historical characters). Others extracted: an army captain from Somme; a plague victim from the 1600s; a soldier from the 1600’s; and a widow from revolutionary France. These historical figures are called “expats” and the Ministry has placed them with “bridges” or liaisons. The bridges are to help the expats adjust to modern times. Author Bradley has some fun with this.
Bradley focuses on Commander Gore and his bridge, our unnamed narrator. The bridge was told she’d be working with refugees of high-interest status. She didn’t realize she’d be working with refugees of time. She was also told that they, the expats, think of themselves as kidnap victims.
Gore died in 1845 during his expedition to the Arctic. He was a military man. Now he must adjust and live with an unmarried woman! Gasp! All the expats are encouraged to socialize with each other for support. Each expat has interesting journeys. Each came from a different time, living in a drastically different culture. Now, they must adapt to more than a change in culture, they need to be updated to the political changes in the world. So, the story begins with quirky “fish out of water” characters trying to make sense of this new reality.
Beyond learning about modern plumbing, Gore learns how to ride a bike. He is flabbergasted at women’s independence. It comes close to mad cap comedy when the different expats explore the new world.
But the reason to read this is Bradley’s keen wit. At one time, the narrator thinks “She looked unwell, but who knows what her plastic surgeon thought she should look like” when talking to her boss. In a different scene, Gore quips “I think this era ascribes too much importance to what people consider themselves in private…ridiculous to make an identity out of habits” when he learns of the sexual revolution (gay, straight, lesbian etc.). When introduced to her boss, the narrator thinks “she had an eye patch and blond hair the same color and texture as hay.” Furthermore, Bradley writes “the Vice Secretary of God knows what, tucked a blond strand behind her ear with an audible crunch. When thinking of her Buddhist mother’s influence on her career: “Regrettably she also drilled the karmic repercussions of gossip and lying into me — the fourth Buddhist precept is unambiguous on this—and thus at the age of eight my political career was over before it began. —and thus at the age of eight my political career was over before it began.” Bradley has beautiful prose as well as clever quips. A couple of examples: ** Language informed experience .. we did not simply describe but create our world ** Forgiveness and hope are the time travelers: they let you change your life
** Past and trauma determine your future
This becomes a spy thriller when it appears someone is messing with the expats. It’s very clever.
Now to the romance. It was a bit too steamy and spicey for me, but it wasn’t distracting. Was it necessary? It added to the differences in sexual norms and morality of the different time periods. But I believe it was Bradley having some fun.
The BBC has commissioned the book for a six-part drama series, which is produced by A24 for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The series will be distributed internationally by A24.
The audio is narrated by Katie Leung and George Weightman. Both did a fine job. It’s 10 hours and 22 minutes long.
I saw “Brain Damage” by Frieda McFadden and I had to get it. I recently read “The Teacher” and was blown away. Hence, I had high expectations. Those pI saw “Brain Damage” by Frieda McFadden and I had to get it. I recently read “The Teacher” and was blown away. Hence, I had high expectations. Those pesky expectations…
This is a solid thriller, don’t get me wrong. I expected to be “wowed” though, and I was not. This was released in 2016. McFadden is a physician specializing in brain injuries, and her knowledge of Left Neglect comes through strong in this one. Her protagonist, Dr. Charly McKenna, a dermatologist, is shot in the right-side of her head. Charly doesn’t remember exactly what happened. In fact, she doesn’t even remember that she has a husband.
I enjoyed the detail of Charly’s recovery. McFadden educates the reader of the issues that result from a major brain injury. We feel Charly’s frustration, confusion, and fear. Charly, who was once in control of a prosperous medical practice is reduced to a person who must rely on others to feed, bath, and care for her. Add to that, she doesn’t remember what happened on that fateful night, McFadden is able to build tension and suspense. Charly has no idea who would want to kill her. McFadden slowly adds characters from Charly’s past, which becomes a list of potential suspects.
I chose to listen to the audio while using the e-reader version. Megan Tusing does a fine job. It’s 9 1/2 hours of entertainment. ...more
