Tag: mystery/thriller

Reviews

The Last Housewife Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Last Housewife Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay’s built a new life in a tiny Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel’s death—delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader—she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever.

I liked Shay as our main character. I thought she was multifaceted and not the most likeable character which makes her more interesting to me. She absolutely has her demons and even though she tries her best not to succumb it still almost takes over her. I feel as though Jamie didn’t really serve any function other than a way for Shay to tell her story. He didn’t contribute much else to the story and I didn’t really connect with his character at all.

I liked the dual timelines, it gave us a lot of insight into the girls state of mind at the time and the bond that they have that is the main motivator for Shay to come back and fling herself back into the life she has been running from all these years.

All the different names and aliases was kind of hard to keep track of and it was very fast paced so I was never really given time to let everything that’s happening and the various twists that occur throughout the plot sink in. This is a very dark book and I would for sure look up any trigger warnings before you pick it up. I like how macabre it ends up being as the shock and gore kind of elevates the story from being another run of the mill mystery/thriller.

⭐️3/5 stars Shocking, dark and twisted!

Reviews

Zero Days Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Zero Days Review

*SOME SPOILERS AHEAD*

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her. Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery.

I liked the fact that we start off the book in the middle of a break in. I went into this book completely blind so I wasn’t aware of the fact that they were actually hired by the company and I was kind of on the edge of my seat. This was a great way to establish how the relationship between Jack and Gabe worked and how she suffers without him in her ear for the rest of the plot.

I was a tad annoyed that she injures herself so early on the book and that completely hinders her stamina and strength. I would of liked her to be at her best and not be as debilitated by not being able to think more critically due to pain. Because of this most of the answers to the whole mystery behind Gabe’s death is pretty much told to her by those around her and she doesn’t completely come up with the answers by herself like I thought she would.

Again because of this injury she isn’t in motion all that much and we’re pretty much just sitting with her while she stews upon what her next move is and how much she is bleeding at the moment and should she just give up or keep going. It got just a little bit repetitive I think when I was wanting more action and adventure. She was basically just trying to run from the cops rather than on the hunt for the actual people who killed Gabe which is kind of what I wanted to see.

I was engaged and highly invested in figuring out what happened and her genuine sadness over the death of her husband felt very realistic and authentic to me, didn’t shed any tears but that melancholy feeling overcame me for sure! I was very content with the ending and even though there are still a few answers I wish we would of gotten I was overall entertained.

⭐️3/5 stars Not my favourite Ruth Ware but still pretty good!

TBR, Top Ten Tuesdays

❄️Winter TBR❄️

by amyleighreads1 Comment on ❄️Winter TBR❄️

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is the books I plan to read this Winter! I’m in the mood for a lot more mystery/thrillers, cozy mysteries, fantasies, and romances as well so that is what I am going to try and pick up over the next couple of months. These are the ten that are at the top of those genre’s:

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The Only One Left by Riley Sager

A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette

Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda

Reviews

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Review

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS*

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet). But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

I absolutely LOVED Vera! Just the way she cuts through all of the mess and is just straightforward with everyone is so entertaining and engaging. Her helpfulness definitely has no boundaries and she will not take no for an answer. I really enjoyed how she just comes to accept that this man has died in her tea house so now it’s her responsibility to figure out who killed him.

The way the rest of the characters are introduced to us by turning up to the teahouse just as Vera suspected was a great way to form a connection with everyone. Throughout the course of the plot I was definitely trying to pin point which of the 4 actually did it and how they were connected to the murder.

The plot at times did get a little unrealistic for me which did in turn kind of take me out of the story a little bit, but once I was able to overlook that I very much enjoyed the book as a whole. It kept me guessing right up to the very end of the plot and I couldn’t predict absolutely anything that was going to happen. This was low stakes but still had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

⭐️4/5 stars Kind of silly but entertaining!

Reviews

Daisy Darker Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Daisy Darker Review

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…

I had no idea what to expect throughout the course of this book and I was honestly surprised at every turn. Daisy seemed like a bit of a ambivalent character, she didn’t really stand out in any way throughout the book and no one ever suspected her of being the one to commit the murders. I was definitely intrigued by her past and finding out about the dynamics within the Darker family.

I didn’t really find any of the other characters within the book particularly likeable which I think was the intention. The way that they all treated each other throughout the course of the night in retrospect makes sense when the big final twist happens. Nana definitely is my favourite out of all of them, though her favoritism towards Daisy when they were children is a little questionable.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the setting of the cottage. The isolation and the storm really ramps up the creepy tone of the plot and makes for a great backdrop as we try and figure out who is picking everyone off one by one. Even though the start was a little slower paced for me the build up of anticipation and intrigue kept me engaged.

When we eventually are told who the murderer is and why the Darker family was killed I struggled to accept that Daisy was already dead. I just thought there were so many scenes where she interacted with her family members but upon reflection and don’t think they ever responded back to her. I almost immediately wanted to restart the book and delve into every scene and see whether or not it made sense. I think that supernatural twist was unexpected and shocking and I think was ultimately necessary otherwise there wasn’t many options that would of been as shocking.

⭐️4/5 stars oh poor Daisy!