Tag: thriller

Book Review: It’s Always the Husband – C L Taylor

Book Review: It’s Always the Husband – C L Taylor

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release date: June 5 2025
Publisher: Avon
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: I received an E-ARC via Netgalley
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

The school gates have never been so dangerous…

When newly divorced Jude arrives in the small town of Lowbridge, she is soon drawn to the enigmatic Will, father to her young daughter’s best friend.

But Will’s devastating past holds questions that nobody knows the answer to – and after two tragedies tore his life apart in just a few short years, gossip and rumours abound about what really happened to the women he loved.

Because whilst one dead wife is tragic, two starts to look like murder…

Review

C L Taylor is back with a new twisty thriller, this time following Mum Jude, who finds herself strangely drawn to the Dad of her daughter’s new best friend. Through gossip with the other Mums, Jude learns about Will’s past – two tragedies and two dead wives in a short space of time. Jude soon finds that rumours are flying everywhere, what really happened to his wives, could it have been murder?

I always really enjoy C L Taylor’s books, and this was no exception. It was fast paced, gripping, and had a really interesting plot. I raced through this book in a few sittings. I don’t think I’ve ever guessed the ending to a C L Taylor book, and yet again, the surprise twist was absolutely not what I expected. This is definitely an entertaining read, and there were definitely a few spine-tingling moments that had me glued to the page.

Taylor’s characters are really interesting, and I enjoyed the way Taylor depicted the school gossip mill and the way this can affect people, especially if they are on the outside of the clique. The characters were compelling, and I enjoyed exploring their backstories. I did find Victoria to be a bit on the annoying side and was less invested in her story. Overall, I thought this was a really entertaining and engaging read, so if you’re looking for a fun thriller, definitely check out It’s Always the Husband!

 

Book Review: The Pact – Sharon Bolton

Book Review: The Pact – Sharon Bolton

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release date: May 1st 2021
Publisher: Trapeze
Pages: 384
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: I bought a copy of this book from my local supermarket
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

A golden summer, and six talented teenagers are looking forward to the brightest of futures – until a daredevil game goes horribly wrong, leaving three strangers dead.

18-year-old Megan takes the blame for the crime, leaving her friends to get on with their lives. In return, they each agree to a ‘favour’, payable on her release from prison.

Twenty years later Megan is free.
It is payback time.
And her friends start disappearing, one by one . . .

Review

The Pact is a taut, gripping thriller that follows six teenagers who make a horrible mistake one night and leave three strangers dead. One of the group (Megan) decides to take the blame for what they did, allowing her friends to go on to their bright futures, but it will cost them one favour each when she is released from prison. Twenty years have gone by, and now Megan has been released. One by one, the group begins to disappear, but can they appease Megan before it’s too late?

The Pact is one of those books that you sit down to read a chapter of and before you know it, you’ve been completely sucked in and you’re still reading hours later. This book completely captivated me from start to finish. It was intensely compelling, and I just had to know what was going to happen next. I thought this was such an intriguing concept – if your friend had sacrificed everything for you, what would you do when they came back into your life to collect on a promise you made twenty years ago? Bolton executed the plot really well and there were lots of twists and surprises I didn’t expect.

Bolton has created a fascinating cast of characters, and I loved that they were all so well developed. Each of the group are living pretty differently lives, and I enjoyed seeing how the pressure of Megan returning affected them. Towards the end of the book Bolton really ramps up the suspense and I read the last few chapters on the edge of my seat. This was a really tense, twisty, thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you’re looking for a story that will keep you hooked till the very end, you don’t want to miss The Pact and I am thoroughly looking forward to reading more from Sharon Bolton.

Blog Tour: Murder Road – Simone St. James

Blog Tour: Murder Road – Simone St. James

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release date: March 28 2024
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Pages: 368
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn.

They’re on a long dark road, late at night, and they see a woman up ahead, clearly in trouble.

They stop and pick her up. It’s only once she’s in the car that they see the blood.

And then they see the headlights, and at last, the woman speaks, her voice faint. “I’m sorry, he’s coming.”

Ingeniously plotted and heartstoppingly terrifying, are you ready to uncover the secret of Murder Road?

Review

Murder Road is the newest dark and twisty release from Simone St. James. The story follows newlyweds April and Eddie as they’re driving to their honeymoon resort. They take a wrong turn late at night and find themselves on a dark and deserted road. As they drive they come across a young woman alone and in trouble. Offering to give her a ride they pick her up only to find she’s covered in blood. They see some mysterious headlights and the woman tells them nothing except “he’s coming.” Eddie and April soon find themselves entangled in a murder investigation, but will they be able to unravel the secrets of Atticus Line?

This is my first time reading a book from Simone St. James and it was such an addictive read! It hooks you in right from the very first page and the short engaging chapters had me turning pages long into the night. James does a terrific job building a tense, uneasy atmosphere that continues to build as we delve deeper and deeper into the mysteries of Coldlake Falls. The story is pretty fast paced and there are plenty of twists and surprise moments that will keep the reader on their toes. The ending was something I didn’t expect and I really enjoyed the way the story wrapped up. Having absolutely devoured Murder Road I am so keen to read more from Simone St. James.

I really liked the characters St. James created in this story. April and Eddie are determined to find out the truth, but they’re also harbouring secrets of their own and it was so compelling to read about their lives before they got married. I also really liked Rose and the Snell sisters who were terrific secondary characters. Murder Road is a brilliant, addictive read with more than a few moments that will send a shiver down your spine. If you’re looking for a book that will keep you hooked right till the very last page, this one should definitely be your next read.

Book Review: Lie or Die – A J Clack

Book Review: Lie or Die – A J Clack

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release Date: 7th March 2024
Publisher: Firefly Press
Pages: 367
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

Ten strangers trapped in a television studio
Forty-two remote cameras
Trust no one

When a casting call is announced for new reality TV show Lie or Die, Kass is tricked into auditioning by her best friend. Big Brother meets Mafia, Lie or Die pits contestants against each other as they try to discover who is a murderous agent and who is an innocent player. But when contestants start to turn up dead (the real kind, not the fake kind), Kass realises that not being eliminated and winning the game is the least of her worries. No longer a game of truth and lies, Kass and her friends are in a fight for survival. ‘Reality’ just got very real.

Review

Lie or Die is a fast-paced and twisty young adult thriller that follows a young girl named Kass who ends up auditioning for a new reality TV show that pits players against each other as they attempt to discover who is the murderous agent among them. Who is telling the truth and who isn’t? Kass knows she can’t trust anyone. As tensions climb in the game and players start actually dying, Kass has to use all her wits to discover what’s really going on and save those around her.

I absolutely love the TV show Traitors and this is exactly the book to read if you’re looking for something to fill that Traitors hole in your life. This is such a fun and addictive read, I raced through it and it was full to the brim with edge of your seat moments. There were plenty of surprises and twists and I was surprised by the ending because it wasn’t what I expected it to be. I don’t read an awful lot of YA thrillers but this was a compelling story with an engaging writing style. The story felt well executed and I would definitely be keen to read more from A J Clack in the future.

The friendship dynamics in the story were well portrayed and I loved seeing the way the friendships and alliances changed as things became more and more tense. The story had a good sense of atmosphere and I really liked our main protagonist Kass. She felt well crafted and I was rooting for her the entire time. If you’re looking for an engaging YA thriller that will keep you hooked till the very last page, definitely check out Lie or Die – you won’t be disappointed.

Book Review: The Only One Left – Riley Sager

Book Review: The Only One Left – Riley Sager

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 5 Comments


Release Date: July 4th 2023
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Pages: 368
Find it on: Goodreads. Waterstones.
Source: I received an E-ARC via Netgalley
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

Bestselling author Riley Sager returns with a Gothic chiller about a young caregiver assigned to work for a woman accused of a Lizzie Borden-like massacre decades earlier.

At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.

Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life

It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.

“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead

As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.

Review

Riley Sager’s books have been an interesting mix for me. I absolutely loved Lock Every Door and Home Before Dark, enjoyed Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied and did not get on with Survive the Night at all. This newest release follows Kit McDeere, a caregiver who after being suspended for the death of a patient, is tasked with looking after the infamous Lenora Hope, a woman many believe to have massacred her entire family. Kit soon finds everything is not as it seems at Hope’s End and Lenora decides now is the time to tell her story. Will Kit be able to unravel the truth behind the Hope family massacre and is Lenora really telling the truth?

The Only One Left is a tense, gripping, gothic thriller that really had me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoy Sager’s writing style, they have a brilliant way of really ramping up the tension as the story progresses. The story is well paced with things getting more action driven as the story concludes. There are quite a few twists and surprise reveals that I definitely didn’t see coming and I did think you had to suspend disbelief a little bit for some of the twists.

Sager really has a knack for bringing to life these fascinating settings and the dramatic imposing mansion that is Hope’s End is really brought to life in the story. The characters in the story are complex and compelling and I really enjoyed the way I was never quite sure who was trustworthy or who was telling the truth. Kit is an interesting main character, dealing with the loss of her mother, the deterioration in her relationship with her father, and her lack of options in her career.  Lenora is similarly fascinating – she is so much more than she seems.

The Only One Left is a well plotted, engaging story that keep me glued to the book till the very last page. If you’re a fan of Riley Sager’s other books, or you’re looking for a thriller that will keep you guessing, this one is an absolute must read.

Book Review: The Loch – Fran Dorricott

Book Review: The Loch – Fran Dorricott

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release Date: March 16th 2023
Publisher: Avon Books
Pages: 400
Find it on: Goodreads. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 3.25/5 stars

Synopsis

Everyone in this town has a secret. But who holds the key to the loch…?

Twenty years ago, three young women disappeared, never to be found. The rumour to this day is that their bodies are still hidden deep within the murky Loch Aven.

When Eleanor, Clio and Michaela find themselves rained out of a camping trip in the Scottish countryside, they have no option but to book the mysterious house nestled on the banks of the lake. But little do they know that history has a way of repeating itself.

As secrets in the tightknit community begin to surface, and Michaela suddenly disappears, it becomes clear that something sinister is at play. And now it’s a race against time to unravel the mystery before the dark waters claim their next victim…

A claustrophobic, eerie and atmospheric thriller perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Sarah Pearse.

Review

The Loch is a dark and eerie thriller that follows three friends who go on holiday to a remote Scottish village. Whilst visiting they learn of the mysterious disappearance of three young women and the effect this had on the community. When one of the friends suddenly disappear, Eleanor and Clio race to uncover what has happened to their friend – but is history repeating itself and who could possibly be behind the disappearances?

This is my first read from Fran Dorricott and it was an enjoyable read. The story is well plotted and is told predominantly from Eleanor’s point of view, with a couple of chapters also from Rebecca and Matthew’s point of view. This is quite a quick paced thriller but Dorricott does a terrific job of creating a really atmospheric setting and I loved the descriptions of the isolated village and silent loch.

While there was one reveal I didn’t see coming, the story did feel a bit predictable. I guessed a lot of what was to come in the latter half of the book. I also wasn’t a huge fan of how the story ended. I did really like the characters Dorricott had created in this story – I really liked Eleanor and her friends, Eleanor in particular is well developed – she is still dealing with being in a bad relationship as well as trying to learn the truth of her birth. While I did still enjoy the chapters from Rebecca’s point of view, I much preferred Eleanor.

Overall The Loch is an entertaining read and if you’re looking for a quick paced thriller with plenty of atmosphere, this one could be right up your street.

Book Review: Murder in the Family – Cara Hunter

Book Review: Murder in the Family – Cara Hunter

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release Date: May 25th 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 400
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I received an E-ARC of this book through Netgalley
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Synopsis

Mega-bestselling British crime novelist Cara Hunter makes her big American debut with a shocking thriller about a cold case, a fictional Netflix true crime series, and the family caught in the middle.

SIX EPISODES. ONE KILLER.

It was a case that gripped the nation. In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home.

Luke Ryder’s murder has never been solved. Guy Howard’s mother and two half-sisters were in the house at the time of the murder–but all swear they saw nothing. Despite a high-profile police investigation and endless media attention, no suspect was ever charged.

But some murder cases are simply too big to forget…

Now comes the sensational new Netflix series Infamous, dedicated to investigating–and perhaps cracking–this famous cold case. The production team will re-examine testimony, re-interview witnesses, and once again scour the evidence. The family will speak. The key players will be reunited–on camera. The truth will come out.

Are you ready to see it?

Review

Cara Hunter’s DI Fawley series is one of my all time favourite thriller series so when I heard she was releasing an all new standalone novel, I was dying to read it. This compulsive and unputdownable thriller tells the story of the mysterious murder of Luke Ryder who was killed in his own back garden in 2003. The case was all over the news, but it was never solved. Now his stepson is working alongside the team of the hit Netflix series Infamous, in an attempt to discover what really happened to Luke. Bringing in a crack team of experts, they will interview old suspects, talk to the family and perhaps finally uncover the truth.

I made the mistake of starting this book late at night, thinking I would read a few pages and then go to bed. From the outset, I was completely and utterly hooked and I ended up staying up till the wee hours of the morning because this story was just so captivating. The story is told in a mixed media format so there are interviews, transcripts, newspaper clippings, and documents. I really enjoyed this style of storytelling and I think it had me turning the pages faster and faster. The story is quite quick paced and the tense atmosphere had me completely glued to the page.

I loved the way Hunter executed this story. As we got to know the different experts and members of the family I had absolutely no idea who to trust and it stayed that way right until the very end. One of the things I love about the DI Fawley series is the shocking twists that I never see coming and it was exactly the same in Murder in the Family. I also found the dynamics between the experts really interesting, especially as information about the murder was revealed and it began to look like not everyone was who they seemed to be on the surface. The ending was of course a shock, but very cleverly executed.

Murder in the Family is a compelling, page-turner of a read and if you’re a fan of Cara Hunter you’re going to absolutely love this one.

Blog Tour: The Retreat – Sarah Pearse

Blog Tour: The Retreat – Sarah Pearse

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 1 Comment


Series: Detective Elin Warner #2
Release Date: July 21st 2022
Publisher: Bantam Press
Pages: 368
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

Most are here to recharge and refresh.
But someone’s here for revenge . . .

An eco-wellness retreat has opened on an island off the coast of Devon, promising rest and relaxation – but the island itself, known locally as Reaper’s Rock, has a dark past. Once the playground of a serial killer, it’s rumoured to be cursed.

DS Elin Warner is called to the retreat when a young woman’s body is found on the rocks below the yoga pavilion, in what seems to be a tragic fall. But the victim wasn’t a guest – she wasn’t meant to be on the island at all.

When a man drowns in a diving incident the following day, Elin starts to suspect that there’s nothing accidental about these deaths. But why would someone target the retreat – and who else is in danger?

Elin must find the killer – before the island’s history starts to repeat itself…

Review

The Retreat is the newest twisty thriller from Sarah Pearse, author of The Sanatorium. Featuring the same protagonist, the story follows DS Elin Warner as she is called to a remote wellness retreat on an island. A body has been found and the death looks like a horrible accident, however, the woman wasn’t a guest and wasn’t supposed to be there. As Elin dives deeper into the retreat, she discovers the island has a dark past and the deaths might not be so accidental.

I really enjoyed Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium and was really intrigued to pick up The Retreat. The story is just as addictive and I found myself turning pages long into the night. Pearse has a brilliant way of keeping the reader hooked and the short chapters definitely had me reading longer and longer. The story is full to the brim with twists and turns – there were more than a few moments I didn’t see coming. The story is really well plotted and are plenty of heart-pounding, edge of your seat moments too.

I absolutely loved the setting for the story and it really provided that tense, remote atmosphere. The vivid descriptions really brought the island to life and there were some moments that sent a shiver up my spine. The characters were also well developed and I enjoyed seeing Elin’s character growth as she grows in confidence. The story is multi-perspective, giving the reader an insight into those on the island too. The Retreat is a compelling tale, one that will absolutely keep you on your toes. If you’re looking for a clever, compelling thriller that you won’t be able to put down, definitely add this to your reading list.

Book Review: Sundial – Catriona Ward

Book Review: Sundial – Catriona Ward

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release Date: March 10th 2022
Publisher: Viper Books
Pages: 352
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

You can’t escape the desert. You can’t escape Sundial.

Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.

Callie is afraid of her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely. To tell her secrets about her past that both disturb and excite her. And Callie is beginning to wonder if only one of them will leave Sundial alive…

From the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street comes a stunning thriller exploring the toxicity of the mother-daughter bond, and the power of the past to twist the present.

Review

Sundial is the newest twisty thriller from Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street. I read Needless Street last year and found it incredibly gripping so I was really intrigued to see what Ward would do next. The story follows Rob, a teacher trapped in a bitter marriage. She worries about her daughters, namely Callie who collects bones and talks to herself. When Rob feels she has no choice left she embarks on a mission to Sundial, the place where she grew up. Callie knows her mother is acting strangely and is worried about what might happen when they reach Sundial. As Rob starts to reveal the truths about her upbringing, Callie beings to suspect they might not leave Sundial alive.

Sundial hooked me right from the very beginning. It’s a rollercoaster of a book, with plenty of surprise twists and turns that I could not begin to guess. The story was engaging and well-paced – I read the last third of the book in one sitting because I just had to know how it was going to end. Ward is excellent at creating atmosphere and that really shines through in Sundial. The dark, uneasy feeling continued to build as the story raced to its conclusion.

Sundial is an incredibly addictive read and thriller fans will absolutely adore this one. I really liked the way the story was written – we get both Rob and Callie’s point of view as well as Rob in the past and chapters set in Rob’s fictional world of Arrowood. Ward has crafted some really complex and fascinating characters and I was so fascinated by the exploration of childhood and that mother-daughter relationship. I actually think I might have enjoyed Sundial even more than The Last House on Needless Street so if you’re looking for a compulsively readable thriller to sink your teeth into, Sundial is absolutely it.

Book Review: Reckless Girls – Rachel Hawkins

Book Review: Reckless Girls – Rachel Hawkins

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release Date: February 3rd 2022
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 312
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

When Lux McAllister and her boyfriend, Nico, are hired to sail two women to a remote island in the South Pacific, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. Stuck in a dead-end job in Hawaii, and longing to travel the world after a family tragedy, Lux is eager to climb on board The Susannah and set out on an adventure. She’s also quick to bond with their passengers, college best friends Brittany and Amma. The two women say they want to travel off the beaten path. But like Lux, they may have other reasons to be seeking an escape.

Shimmering on the horizon after days at sea, Meroe Island is every bit the paradise the foursome expects, despite a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. But what they don’t expect is to discover another boat already anchored off Meroe’s sandy beaches. The owners of the Azure Sky, Jake and Eliza, are a true golden couple: gorgeous, laidback, and if their sleek catamaran and well-stocked bar are any indication, rich. Now a party of six, the new friends settle in to experience life on an exotic island, and the serenity of being completely off the grid. Lux hasn’t felt like she truly belonged anywhere in years, yet here on Meroe, with these fellow free spirits, she finally has a sense of peace.

But with the arrival of a skeevy stranger sailing alone in pursuit of a darker kind of good time, the balance of the group is disrupted. Soon, cracks begin to emerge: it seems that Brittany and Amma haven’t been completely honest with Lux about their pasts––and perhaps not even with each other. And though Jake and Eliza seem like the perfect pair, the rocky history of their relationship begins to resurface, and their reasons for sailing to Meroe might not be as innocent as they first appeared.

When it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in on them. And when one person goes missing, and another turns up dead, Lux begins to wonder if any of them are going to make it off the island alive.

Review

Reckless Girls is the dark and addictive story of Lux McAllister, a young woman who followed her boyfriend Nico to Hawaii. Planning to fix up his boat and sail the world, Nico is hired by two women to take them to Meroe Island, a mysterious place with a tragic history. Lux agrees to go along and soon hits it off with the two women. When they arrive they join another couple and spend time exploring the island. As the group spends more time together they begin to realize that not everyone is what they seem and the arrival of a third boat brings tension to the remote island. As things take a dark turn Lux begins to wonder if they are ever going to make it off the island alive.

This was such a fun and fast-paced story. I sat down to read a few chapters and it was so readable and engaging that I didn’t put it down for the next few hours. The story is really easy to get into and I was completely fascinated by this mysterious island and its dark past. I really liked the inclusion of short chapters from the perspective of others that have been there, it really added another layer to the story. We mainly get things from Lux’s point of view but there are some chapters set in the past with Eliza and Amma. The story had plenty of twists and turns and the ending was definitely not something I could have predicted.

Reckless Girls has a slow, creeping atmosphere that builds as the story goes along. This is my first book from Rachel Hawkins but I am absolutely going to pick up more from this author. If you love addictive mystery stories with compelling characters, you’re sure to love Reckless Girls.