Tag: twisty

THE DREAM HOUSE by Jess Ryder

# bookreview #psychologicalthriller #twisty

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: 21st June 2019

Reviewed: 10th July 2019

Blurb

When I first set eyes on Westhill House with its breath-taking views of the sea I knew it was the perfect place for a fresh start. The place may be falling apart, but it can be fixed with some tender loving care. And as Jack and I work to repair this beautiful building, maybe we can repair our relationship too. Maybe we can make Westhill House a refuge from all the tragedies that came before.

Lori has come to Westhill House for shelter too. She says it used to be a place where women went for safety. How can I turn her away, when violence waits for her outside these high walls?

But the longer Lori stays, the more time Jack spends away. And the more she helps me restore the house, the more secrets start to be revealed. Like the children’s drawings under the wallpaper in the back bedroom, and the hidden papers underneath the floorboards in the turret room. But why does Lori know so much about Westhill House, if she’s never been here before? What does she really need protection from?

And now I’ve invited her into my dream house, is there any escape for either of us?

My thoughts

Beginning with a prologue where a girl escapes to an isolated place to give birth, the story switches back and forth between the present-day/first-person perspective of Stella – and the past/third-person limited perspective of Kay.

A year ago Stella’s parents were killed in a hit and run, and still grieving, Stella has bought a huge neglected house with the inheritance her parents have left her. As foster carers, her parents worked tirelessly to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds, but it is clear Stella is hiding a secret from her past that has left her dredged in guilt. When a stranger (Lori) turns up on the doorstep covered in bruises and claiming to be a victim of domestic abuse, Stella sees this as an opportunity to redeem herself from whatever it is she has done, but with Stella’s boyfriend, Jack, believing Lori has a hidden agenda, Stella soon starts telling white lies to keep Lori hidden from him. True to the psychological thriller genre, these small lies soon escalate and before we know it there is a whole cast of unreliable characters. Jack might not trust Lori, but Lori doesn’t trust him either, and with Stella’s first-person narrative putting the reader right in her shoes, it is difficult to know exactly who she can trust. And then there’s the builder: a great bloke, salt of the earth, so why does he go missing as soon as the police start sniffing around?

The past timeline tells the story of Kay who got pregnant when she was fifteen. At first I thought this related to the prologue but we soon learn that fifteen-year-old Kay has supportive parents (well sort of) so it can’t be. Kay goes on to marry an abusive ‘man’ who everybody thinks is wonderful, unaware of what goes on behind closed doors. This part of the story deals with some dark and gritty issues and with such a slow build up, where Kay’s husband goes from being somebody who is over-attentive to somebody who is controlling and violent, this makes you consider relationships in the present timeline. Is Jack’s behaviour because he is genuinely concerned for Stella or because he is controlling? It also links to the present timeline theme of things not being as they appear to the outside world.

Ping-ponging between past and present, The Dream House made for one hell of a read. I’m usually pretty good at second guessing what happens but this was full of surprisingly clever plot twists. For most of the story, Lori’s identity is kept secret but once it is revealed, everything (including the prologue) all makes sense. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it for anybody who likes Lisa Jewell, Louise Jensen, or Jo Ullah.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an Advance Review Copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author

http://jessryder.co.uk/

How to buy this book

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dream-House-absolutely-gripping-psychological-ebook/dp/B07PY3XWW5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+dream+house&qid=1563194564&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-dream-house/jess-ryder/9781786819710

THE WIFE’S SHADOW by Cath Weeks

#gripping #twisty #psychologicalthriller

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Little Brown, Piatkus

Published: 28th March 2019

Reviewed: 12th June 2019

Blurb

Everyone admires Suzy and her doll’s house life. She has a gorgeous family, a beautiful home and a successful business. But Suzy hasn’t always been in control. In her past lies a shadowy tale of fear and instability – a life that she once ran away from, and has hidden from ever since.

When Suzy starts being followed, she fears that her past may finally be catching up with her. And when she finds herself unable to do what to her is the most important thing – keep her loved ones safe – she has to decide how far she’d be willing to go to win everything back.

Even if it means sacrificing everything she knows and loves…

My Review

Now and again I come across a book that totally takes me by surprise. I knew The Wife’s Shadow had already received some pretty good reviews but I wasn’t prepared for just how good this book was. The narrative starts off from the first-person perspective of Suzy, where we see her going to some kind of therapy. On the surface, Suzy has it all, cute kids, loving husband, good friends, nice home, growing business – but there’s something from her past that she’s kept secret from her husband, and now juxtaposed to her perfect life there is an ex-boyfriend and a stalker thrown into the mix.

The story starts off at a good pace, intriguing enough to hook you in but not overly so. The writing is good: characterisation and dialogue is real; sentence structure is varied with a good balance of showing and telling which gives just the right amount of pacing. But with such a twisty plot wow those pages soon start turning, and before you know it everything has gone on hold because you just can’t put this book down!

The Wife’s Shadow has twists galore and Suzy’s perfect life is not as it first seems. I did have my suspicion over one of the characters but was genuinely surprised at most of the twists. As a book-blogger I get to read some pretty amazing books but this one is right at the top of the pile. Another one that, as a new writer, I have really been able to learn from.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an Advance Review Copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author

Cath Weeks was born and raised in Somerset. Her debut novel, Blind, was published in 2017 and she was named as an Author to Watch by Elle magazine. Cath lives in Bath with her husband and two sons.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wifes-Shadow-gripping-heartbreaking-turner-ebook/dp/B07BQBDW2Z/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+wife%27s+shadow&qid=1560261936&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-wifes-shadow/cath-weeks/9780349418698

WHAT SHE SAW by Wendy Clarke

#psychologicalthriller #twisty #bookreview

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: 29th April 2019

Reviewed: 10th June 2019

Blurb

She lied to her daughter to save her family. Everyone knows Leona would do anything for her daughter Beth: she moved to Church Langdon to send Beth to the best school, worked hard to build a successful business to support them and found them the perfect little cottage to call home. Leona and Beth hike together, shop together, share their hopes and fears with one another. People say they’re more like best friends than mother and daughter. It’s the relationship every mother dreams of. But their closeness means that Beth struggles to make friends. Her mother has kept her sheltered from the world. She’s more reliant on her mother’s love. More vulnerable. When Beth finds an envelope hidden under the floorboards of their home, the contents make her heart stop. Everything she thought she knew about her mother is a lie. And she realises there is no one she can turn to for help. What if you’ve been protected from strangers your whole life, but the one person you can’t trust is the person closest to home?

My Review

A labyrinth of lies, secrets, and red herrings, this twisty debut psychological thriller had me gripped right up to the very end. It’s clear from the outset that Leona is a flaky character with anxiety issues, but are her fears real or imagined? This is a question that keeps the pages turning. Just what is Leona hiding from and why?

Set in the idyllic Lake District, at first you can’t help but want to pack your bags and join Leona; letting all your problems wash away as you breathe in the clean fresh air. However, this seemingly beautiful backdrop soon morphs into an ugly spine-chilling setting, which the author’s skillful writing brings to life on both accounts.

But if there’s one thing more heart-stopping than being in danger yourself, it’s your own child being in danger. This is something the author has done a particularly good job with. Juxtaposed to Leona’s first-person point-of-view, is the third-person limited perspective from her daughter, Beth. With her own set of teenage problems to deal with, Beth’s character plays a central role in the story, and switching narrative perspective works really well. Not only does the third-person perspective add a layer of dramatic irony, it also leaves the reader in no doubt that Leona is the protagonist, and as such she is the one who needs to overcome her past to save her daughter.

Wendy Clarke is definitely an author to look out for and I can’t wait for her second novel We Were Sisters, out 8th August 2019.

I would recommend this author for anybody who likes Jane Corry, Louise Jensen, or Lisa Jewell.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley

for an Advance Review Copy of this book

in return for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author

http://www.wendyclarke.uk/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-She-Saw-psychological-heart-pounding/dp/1786818183/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I Looked Away by Jane Corry

#psychologicalthriller #amreading #twisty

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 27th June 2019

Date of Review: 6th June 2019

Blurb

Every Monday, 49-year-old Ellie looks after her grandson Josh. She loves him more than anyone else in the world. The only thing that can mar her happiness is her husband’s affair. But he swears it’s over now, and Ellie has decided to be thankful for what she’s got.

Then one day, while she’s looking after Josh, her husband gets a call from that woman. And just for a moment, Ellie takes her eyes off her grandson. What happens next will change her life forever.

Because Ellie is hiding something in her past.

And what looks like an accident could start to look like murder…

My Review

I looked away is a compulsive and twisty domestic noir that has been impossible to put down. With a past and present timeline, the dual first-person narrative explores the lives of Ellie – a middle-class grandmother, and Jo – a homeless woman. We see the two characters meet at the beginning of the story but just how they are connected and to what degree this seemingly inconsequential liaison has on the storyline is not revealed until we reach the story’s climax. I did have an idea as to what this might be, and as somebody who devours psychological thrillers like no tomorrow, I was right. But this did not in any way spoil things; in fact it made it all the more satisfying!

Ellie’s timeline is mostly in the past, where we see a very different lifestyle to the middle-class woman she is today. Ellie starts off as a woman who you immediately root for. She has a lot going for her from a materialistic perspective but the one thing she can’t buy is her husband’s fidelity. We don’t see much of Roger in the present, but they have a long history together and there are a few shocks and twists as details of their relationship emerge. You just know he is a complete dick and you will be willing Ellie to pack her bags and find a better life without him. But this is a psychological thriller, so things don’t work out quite so simple as that!

But it was the characterisation of Jo that totally drew me in. Firstly, we see her arrive in Bristol. As a Bristolian, it was like I was wandering the streets with her, and it really makes you think ‘What would I do? Where would I go?’ if placed in Jo’s shoes. The character is so real, when I was in town a week after reading the book, I saw a woman who looked just like the character in my head and I thought ‘Oh look there’s Jo!’

As the two time-lines gradually converge, all the seemingly inconsequential events scattered throughout the narrative are brought to light. At the beginning of this year I decided to only review those books that excite and inspire me as a new writer. Jane Corry does this in abundance. Everything from the way the novel is structured, to the twisty and compelling plotline, to characterisation, to the writer’s colloquial and compelling voice. My list is endless. I absolutely loved this book and can’t recommend it enough.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley

for an Advance Review Copy of this book

in return for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author

https://www.janecorryauthor.com/

https://amzn.to/2KMEYWl Amazon UK

https://amzn.to/2IusjFx Amazon US