Leave the Girls Behind is a strange read. An intriguing idea, and a fascinating character, but things felt so disjointed that it felt harder work to rLeave the Girls Behind is a strange read. An intriguing idea, and a fascinating character, but things felt so disjointed that it felt harder work to read than it really should have. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication. Our main character Ruth works in a downtown New York bar. She is obsessed with a small Connecticut town that seems to have its share of horror, with a number of young girls from the area having gone missing. Ruth appears to talk with the ghosts of the dead, and she has alerts sent to her phone if a child is missing in the area. Before we know it, Ruth is fabricating reasons to speak with a trio of women who appear to have links to the man who abducted and killed one of the girls. She won’t reveal what she knows, and can’t help but think they are each hiding something. There is a reason Ruth is so determined to get answers. We start to realise what it is before Ruth chooses to reveal the truth to us, but it felt like a rather unrealistic situation....more
The Nightingale’s Castle is an absorbing tale, its fascination only heightened when you look further into the real-life character on which this is basThe Nightingale’s Castle is an absorbing tale, its fascination only heightened when you look further into the real-life character on which this is based. The story begins with our key character, a young girl called Boroka, having to leave the care of the doctor who rescued her as a baby as villagers are talking. Rumours about the doctor and his charge are circulating, and though it pains him to do so the doctor arranges for Boroka to go into service. Boroka is terrified at the prospect of leaving the only home she has known. Particularly when she realises she is to go into service to the Countess Bathory. Rumours abound about the Countess and the high number of servants she appears to get through, with many young girls dying in her service. But Boroka has no choice if she is to survive. Life under the Countess is hard. Vindictive head-servants punish the girls for their supposed misdemeanours yet the girls are fed and cared for, and some are even taken under the wing of the Countess. Boroka herself comes to the attention of the Countess for her ability to read and write, and she is asked to stand-in for the Countess during a portrait sitting. As the book progresses little details are noted that suggest Boroka may have ties to the Countess that she is unaware of. There are physical similarities between them, and Boroka is captivated by a mysterious rosewood box that seems to contain a book holding details of her past. I found the story riveting, particularly when we see the moves taken to bring down the Countess. I knew nothing of the character on which this story is based, but the historical details appear to be painted in a more nuanced light creating some sympathy for the Countess and those loyal to her. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this....more
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication. Better Left Buried takes two sparky characters and plunges thThanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication. Better Left Buried takes two sparky characters and plunges them headlong into a murder mystery that has its roots in the past. Starting off on her way to stay with her dad for spring break, our main character is fed up when her mum announces a detour to a town she’s never heard of to help an old friend that’s never been mentioned. Unfortunately, when they arrive at the scheduled meeting place they discover the body of the man they’ve come to meet. Lucy sees someone in the woods and is convinced they know more than they’re letting on. It takes a bit of time to establish who’s who - mainly because Lucy has to be introduced to them all and told about them - but it’s clear that her mum has been hiding things about their past. Audrey, the young girl seen in the woods, has her own reasons for being there. As Lucy and Audrey team up we follow the ongoing murder investigation, but they also unearth family secrets and root out those guilty of crimes long passed. Perhaps an unlikely ending, but guilt does strange things to people!...more
A perfect autumnal read, packed to the gills with slasher-movie references. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this A perfect autumnal read, packed to the gills with slasher-movie references. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this before publication. Charley has been offered a fresh start. She doesn’t like being the new girl in the remote school for girls that she has been sent to. While her roommate, Olive, shares her fondness for horror movies there’s not much else about the school that she likes. However, it’s an opportunity for her to be remembered for something other than the events that led to her being asked to attend the school. It doesn’t take long before we start to learn something is very wrong. A student is found dead, and it’s labelled a suicide, but when Charley starts seeing her body it’s evident that something is not quite right. Then more students turn up dead and Charley is haunted by their spirits. It’s down to Charley and Olive to use their shared love of horror movies to help them work out what’s going on. Our big question is, will they survive? Hard to put down. With plenty of wry humour this is a book I’d recommend, though the ending felt a little less plausible than it might have....more
Heads Will Roll offers us a summer camp slasher horror read, drawing on familiar events/situations to draw us in. Nothing new, but entertaining none tHeads Will Roll offers us a summer camp slasher horror read, drawing on familiar events/situations to draw us in. Nothing new, but entertaining none the less. Our main character is an actress, well-known for her role in a teen sitcom, but when we first meet her she is a wreck. Having been found passed out in a pool by her publicist, we learn that after an unfortunate tweet our character has been cancelled. Vitriol and hate have been poured on her since that tweet. Her fiancé dumped her. She’s lost her job. She’s receiving death threats. So, she blows an extortionate amount of money on a camp experience that offers her the chance to get away from it all. The camp takes place in remote woodland. Nobody is allowed access to phones or electrical items while they’re at camp…and it doesn’t take long for them to wind each other up about potential threats. Unfortunately, someone seems determined to make this camp memorable for very different reasons. One by one members of the camp disappear. Strange things take place and there’s more than a passing link to the horror story they shared of Knock Knock Nancy. As with a lot of horror stories that have come out recently, much of the enjoyment stems from the characters’ awareness of the genre and its expectations. We don’t see anything particularly original here, but I liked the fact that it’s adult characters who form our focus. One best read in the light, and definitely there are moments that are not for the squeamish! Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this....more
Ten celebrities put together on a remote Scottish island. Their only chance of winning is to survive two weeks completely alone, their every move filmTen celebrities put together on a remote Scottish island. Their only chance of winning is to survive two weeks completely alone, their every move filmed for the entertainment of those at home. From the outset we can see a mixed cast, deliberately assembled to cause tension. Upon their arrival the production team throw surprises at them, waiting to see how they will cope. Our main viewpoint is that of Lauren, an investigative journalist whose obsession with exposing the truth about an A-list celebrity has almost cost her everything. Things tick along relatively calmly, with one or two characters removed from events early doors to allow us to focus on a core group of contestants. Then one of the stars is found dead. Tension immediately ramps up as people scramble to hide their secrets - and there’s plenty of them. With suspicion high, it only gets worse when another star is discovered dead. You’d expect this to be easily solved…but the production team have been knocked out of action (conveniently) by a major storm. As with all natural events, they die down sooner or later. By the end of the book we have a pretty good understanding of what happened, and Lauren is left with a choice that suggests there could be more to come from this story. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this in advance of publication in exchange for my honest feedback....more
A haunting story, where the horror is tangible, and Blood Like Mine will, I’m sure, be a hit. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read andA haunting story, where the horror is tangible, and Blood Like Mine will, I’m sure, be a hit. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review it before publication. The book opens with Rebecca Carter having a near miss with an elk. For reasons we’re not told, she needs to get away from the scene and hope that nobody remembers her, her daughter or their van. My brain was picturing a number of scenarios here, but it came nowhere near what was actually happening. We then quickly switch our attention to FBI agent Marc Donner, an agent on the trail of what he believes to be a prolific serial killer. He is going on little other than gut instinct, but there have been a number of male bodies found with their throats slit and their spinal cords removed. Donner is convinced that this woman and her daughter may be the key to solving this crime. Quite early on we’re given the insight into what’s happening. In some ways this made what followed even more chilling. Nobody wins in this, and that final scene suggests an unstoppable horror has been unleashed....more
A summer festival that is notoriously difficult to get tickets to forms the backdrop to the events in Luise Mumford’s latest. A thriller that, at timeA summer festival that is notoriously difficult to get tickets to forms the backdrop to the events in Luise Mumford’s latest. A thriller that, at times, strays into melodrama territory but it is an entertaining read. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review it before publication. Libby has always lived a safe life. Forgoing university to care for her mother, it is Libby’s friend Dawn who urges her to take risks and try new things. This determination to take a risk proves costly for Libby, though it does ultimately offer some respite. When she wins tickets to the exclusive Solstice festival, Libby takes it as a sign to try something new. Things start well but odd events create a growing sense of unease. When Dawn goes missing and Libby is ejected from the festival things become increasingly fraught. I won’t give details but there’s a story behind this. A story that is beyond what you’d imagine. ...more
Last Seen Online is the kind of book that you’ll want to make time for. Hard to put down, and a fascinating premise. It felt like something of a deparLast Seen Online is the kind of book that you’ll want to make time for. Hard to put down, and a fascinating premise. It felt like something of a departure for Lauren James, but thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this. Our main character Delilah wants to be an actress but she is mortified when a school audition ends badly and the pictures taken and posted online go viral. The embarrassment is bad enough, but the person auditioning opposite her was Sawyer, the son of a celebrated actress. The two become friendly, and in conversation happen to become entangled in an old murder case involving someone close to Sawyer’s family. Showing skills way beyond those I’d expect from a teen, Delilah uncovers some damning evidence and quickly finds out someone has a vested interest in stopping her from finding out more. From start to finish this was exaggerated but such great fun to read. The use of mixed media offered a different experience, and the closing stages threw up more than one or two unexpected twists. This definitely has me curious to read more....more
The Summer Love Strategy is one of those books where we as readers seem to get what’s going on before the characters do. Hayley and Talia have been besThe Summer Love Strategy is one of those books where we as readers seem to get what’s going on before the characters do. Hayley and Talia have been best friends since they were born. They know everything about each other, and have a seemingly rock-solid friendship. When they make plans for the summer they decide they are going to make a concerted effort to get dates and fall in love. What follows is rather inevitable. The Summer Love Strategy seems to be working, but neither Hayley nor Talia seem to be that excited by its results. In fact, they both seem to be struggling with things…and, of course, it’s because they each have a crush on the other and aren’t sure how to deal with it. From start to finish this was a book that made me feel so old. Their attitudes to dating and life in general are unfailingly positive and accepting. Their angst stems from insecurity - which I’m sure many will identify with - but their everyday experiences of dealing with their identity were a long way removed from what I think the reality is for many. It shouldn’t be that way, so perhaps books like this are part of moving towards a less intolerant society....more
The Silence Factory is a troubling read, slowly drawing us in. There’s a lyrical quality to the writing which made reading feel a little slow on occasThe Silence Factory is a troubling read, slowly drawing us in. There’s a lyrical quality to the writing which made reading feel a little slow on occasion, but as the story progresses it becomes quite mesmerising. The main part of the story focuses on audiologist Henry Latimer who is tasked with visiting the home of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy in order to try and help his daughter to hear. Sir Edward is heir to a fortune, but his business is focused very much on his family history. Alongside Henry’s increasingly disturbed experience in Telverton we also, through a diary found in the property, learn more about how the Ashmore-Percy fortune was made. We see the obsessive hunt for this fabled spider, whose silk has properties that are much in demand (though it comes with great risk). The story behind the silk was intriguing, but I also found myself caught up in the intricacies of the story in the present. The silk factory, with its rather grotesque experiments, owed much to the Gothic genre and it was fascinating to see how the focus on madness linked to notions of submissiveness. None of the characters were particularly likeable, but it was hard not to feel sympathy for those caught in the spell of the very thing they were trying to control. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this in advance of publication....more
Set just weeks after the events of book one, but this book didn’t quite grab my attention in the way I hoped. Io is in a difficult situation, searchinSet just weeks after the events of book one, but this book didn’t quite grab my attention in the way I hoped. Io is in a difficult situation, searching for those who are interfering with the threads while trying to reconcile her feelings for Edei. The first part of the book was slow, with not a lot happening. It’s hard to get much interest in a search with little being given away. I’m glad I stuck with it as things picked up once Io started to trust herself and the decisions she made. The resolution of the book felt like something of an anti-climax given what we had been led to expect. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this....more
Psychiatrist Meredith McCall is in a fragile state, struggling to deal with the guilt she feels over an accident in which her husband killed two pedesPsychiatrist Meredith McCall is in a fragile state, struggling to deal with the guilt she feels over an accident in which her husband killed two pedestrians. She didn’t write him the prescriptions after his doctor refused to, but she suspected his growing drug dependency and said nothing. When she sees Gabriel Wright, the partner of the murdered woman, he is happy. She follows him, desperate to see how he has achieved this. Her unease when he turns up as a new patient doesn’t stop her from continuing their sessions. So many boundaries are crossed here, and it’s hard to work out why she feels compelled to do this. As the story unfolds we start to sense things are not quite what we think. Meredith seems incapable of leaving things alone, and we venture into dangerous territory. We are led down the proverbial garden path and eventually come to see just how much so. Unsettling and deeply disturbing. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this before publication....more
Bodies is a dark twisted read, and it is not until we get close to the end that we fully realise what’s going on. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me thBodies is a dark twisted read, and it is not until we get close to the end that we fully realise what’s going on. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication, and I’m fairly certain this will be a big hit upon its release. Our main character is Charlotte, a young woman seemingly seeking validation through her sexual encounters. Johnny is her first. Then there’s his brother, Lars. We have her first serious boyfriend, Dave, and university roommate Kyle. And then there’s married man, Con. However, it’s not until the end of the book that we realise the significance of Charlotte’s recounts. I’m not sure what to make of Charlotte. This felt, at times, like an extended version of the video for Smack My Bitch Up by The Prodigy. Unsettling, but definitely memorable....more
A quirky romcom is not what I was expecting from Adriana Mather, and it isn’t exactly what we get. The Break-Up Artists tells the story of Valentine aA quirky romcom is not what I was expecting from Adriana Mather, and it isn’t exactly what we get. The Break-Up Artists tells the story of Valentine and August and their business - being hired to help people get out of a bad relationship. Their success rate is impressive, but the case they are working on for the duration of the book messes things up. Although their dating break-up business is a key focus, this book felt so much more. As we follow their story, we learn how they came to be doing this. We learn about the grief August is living with after his sister is killed. We follow Valentine as she comes to realise that her hot next-door neighbour may be sincere in his attempts to gain her interest. And we watch as they each come to terms with the things that they are scared to address. I don’t want to give too much away, but this book had me very envious of both characters and the relationship they share. It made me laugh and, yes, it made me get a little emotional. A read I’d highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this before publication....more
A fast-paced story, rather predictable in some ways, but the pages keep turning as you try to work out exactly what’s going on. Camp Lost Lake is infamA fast-paced story, rather predictable in some ways, but the pages keep turning as you try to work out exactly what’s going on. Camp Lost Lake is infamous for the three murders that took place and the mysterious witch figure who is thought to be responsible. Olivia has always known she was born on the night of the tragedy, but she is determined to find out what her mother isn’t telling her when a paternity test indicates her father may well have been one of the victims. As part of her quest she ropes her good friend into visiting the site in order to try and find clues as to what really happened. Unfortunately, Olivia is not aware that someone is using the site. Andie and her sister, Regan, have their own ties to the area and are hoping that they can turn the area into something positive. It’s just a shame that as both parties converge on Camp Lost Lake someone who knows what happened that night is also present. After some confusion as to who was who, we realise that this hunt is not going to plan. Someone is hunting them, though we’re not entirely sure why. We do eventually get answers as to what happened that night, and an explanation for how they each come to be involved. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this prior to publication....more
Sharp Glass is a strange read. We open with a woman realising she’s being held hostage in a cellar. We don’t know who’s holding her, or why. Over the Sharp Glass is a strange read. We open with a woman realising she’s being held hostage in a cellar. We don’t know who’s holding her, or why. Over the course of the novel we come to realise exactly who she is and who has taken her, and how it links to the disappearance of a young girl in the area. Initially told through the eyes of our female character, it’s evident she’s hiding something but we’re never quite sure what. Then the book switches to the view of Dan, the man who was holding her. Once we know how he links to the story we are then given the story as they both experience it. And we realise nothing is quite what we thought. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this before publication. It was not what I expected, and I’m not sure whether the structuring made it harder to engage with....more
My first book by the author under this name…and it probably won’t be the last. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review thMy first book by the author under this name…and it probably won’t be the last. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this prior to publication. Amy Gibson runs a true crime podcast. She began it as a way of coming to terms with the murder of her lawyer mother at the hands of a partner. However, it soon becomes suggested that someone close to Amy might be hiding their own secrets. Amy has always looked up to her half-brother, Owen, once they’d reconnected following her mother’s murder. When he is questioned by the police about the suspicious death of his ex wife, and then implicated in an attack on his current girlfriend it’s hard to know who to believe. Amy continues to investigate, even at risk to her own safety. As things continue Amy herself is placed in an incredibly difficult situation, and I could not wait to get to the end and work out exactly what was going on....more
When Daphne gets fed up of rejection for her writing she drunkenly makes the decision to submit her manuscript to a publisher under a pseudonym. With When Daphne gets fed up of rejection for her writing she drunkenly makes the decision to submit her manuscript to a publisher under a pseudonym. With a male author's name to it, she's suddenly on the receiving end of a book deal, major money and potential for more to come. The only problem she has is what to do about the fact that it is not under her name. Her friend Vi - who happens to know of someone in need of extra cash as they are dealing with the fallout from a bad business partner - suggests she pays someone to become the face for her book. Step forward Vi's accountant Chris, who is more than happy to take on the role of Zane Remington in order to make sure he doesn't have to live in his car! From their first interactions these two have chemistry. The premise - while dealt with in a fairly happy-go-lucky way here - actually makes some very interesting points about the publishing world and the way writers are perceived by those who claim to be supporting them. As their attempts to get through their initial commitments become more bizarre, it is clear that these two have become more than business partners...but will Daphne's readers forgive her the deception? Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this. A feelgood romance with some interesting thoughts on writing and its world....more
Threads That Bind was a fantasy rich in world building, with a cast of characters that are complex yet appealing, and a plot that draws you in. The enThreads That Bind was a fantasy rich in world building, with a cast of characters that are complex yet appealing, and a plot that draws you in. The end hints at a very interesting second part…and I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review both books. The descendants of the gods are, in the right circumstances, given some of their powers. Born in threes, each has their own talent and the relationship between the Ora sisters was fundamental to the success of the book. Io, the youngest of the sisters, is a cutter. This means she can see the threads that bind people, but is able to sever a thread if necessary. She teams up with the young man who she is tied to, but is adamant that she will not exploit her knowledge and impact their friendship. Their strengthening bond is a key part in their investigation. When Io is hired she does not know what to expect. Someone is abducting women, damaging their life-threads and setting them loose to kill. Certain figures seem to be a target, and it is up to Io to establish who is behind this. As we follow her through the investigation we learn of the history of Alante and the story of the characters living there. This was a book that got better as it went on, and I’m excited to see what comes next for Io....more
