Release Date: August 3rd 2022
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 432
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis
Everyone wanted her life
Someone wanted her dead
It was Hannah who found April’s body ten years ago.
It was Hannah who didn’t question what she saw that day.
Did her testimony put an innocent man in prison?
She needs to know the truth.
Even if it means questioning her own friends.
Even if it means putting her own life at risk.
Because if the killer wasn’t a stranger, it’s someone she knows…
Review
Ruth Ware is back with a new twisty and compelling thriller. The book tells the story of April and Hannah, best friends at Oxford. When April dies, porter John Neville is convicted of killing her, in part thanks to Hannah’s testimony. As the ten-year anniversary of April’s death approaches, Hannah makes contact with her old friendship group from Oxford. She soon begins to wonder if John Neville was an innocent man and if he was, does that mean one of her friends is the killer?
One of the things I love about Ruth Ware’s books is that she always comes up with the most intriguing concepts. The It Girl was no exception and I was hooked pretty much from the very beginning. Ruth Ware has a brilliant way of slowly pulling you into the mystery. Ware has a really engrossing writing style and there were more than a few times when I resented having to put the book down.
The It Girl is the sort of book that continually keeps you guessing. I was never quite sure who was responsible and there were definitely a few surprise moments I did not expect. I always love when I don’t guess the ending and this was one I absolutely did not predict. I really enjoyed the way the story was told over two different timelines and the characters felt well developed. This is a tense, gripping novel from Ruth Ware and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. If you’re looking for something that will keep you turning pages long into the night, this one is not to be missed.
It’s Behind You is the chilling new YA thriller from Good Girl’s Die First author Kathryn Foxfield. The story follows a reality TV show where five contestants much spend the night in a haunted location. This time around they’re at the Umber Gorge caves, a place rumoured to be haunted by the Puckered Maiden. All the contestants have to do is last the night and the money is theirs. Everyone has their own motivations for being on the show and Lex is determined to win that money. When things start to go wrong the contestants wonder – will they make it out alive?
Girl, 11 is a dark and twisty thriller that follows Elle Castillo – a true-crime podcaster from the hit show Justice Delayed. After several successful seasons of the show, Elle focuses on The Countdown Killer, a case that she has been obsessed with for decades. With no leads, the case has gone cold and the killer’s pattern of murdering three girls over seven days has stumped investigators. Everyone believes The Countdown Killer must be dead, but Elle is determined to uncover the truth and get justice for the families of the victims. When the kidnappings start again, Elle knows she’s in a race against time to uncover the truth before he strikes again.
Good Neighbours is the dark and sinister story of the residents of Maple Street, a suburban street that appears on the surface to be pretty perfect. When the Wildes move in the other residents quickly feel that the family don’t fit in and tensions begin to mount. When a sinkhole erupts in Sterling Park and one of the residents falls inside, it quickly brings accusations and secrets to the surface. As tensions climb higher it becomes one family against another – but will everyone survive unscathed?
Firekeeper’s Daughter is a book that caught my eye because of that absolutely beautiful cover. The story follows Daunis a young biracial woman who struggles to fit in with her community. She hopes to go off to college and study medicine, but with recent family tragedies, she decides to stick around for another year to help her family grieve. When she meets Jamie, the new star of her brother’s hockey team, Daunis feels there might be a light at the end of the tunnel but when she witnesses a murder and becomes tangled up in a criminal investigation, Daunis finds herself becoming a confidential informant for the FBI. As she attempts to uncover who is bringing drugs into her community, what she finds could tear her world apart.
C. L. Taylor is one of my favourite thriller writers so I always go into her books with the highest of expectations. Once again I was completely sucked into this fast-paced tale full to the brim with suspense. The story is set around a Soul Shrink retreat in Gozo that went horribly wrong: two people died and another committed suicide. We follow Tom Wade, the man behind Soul Shrink, who has just been released from prison, his wife Kate as they attempt to put the past behind them and Fran the sister of the girl who committed suicide. Fran is trying to uncover the truth behind her sister’s death, so when Tom and Kate announce a new Soul Shrink retreat, Fran signs up. But what she uncovers might be far more than she bargained for.
The Bibliophile Chronicles 