Tag: crime

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The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Rating: 4 Stars

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a curveball that comes and hits out of nowhere! I was not ready for the impact of this story at all. This book is considered a classic, and it is rare to find a bad review for this book. All the reviews that I have ever read of Donna Tartt’s books have cemented her as a critic’s darling in my eyes. This to me, means that her books are difficult to read and full of verbose philosophy. The Secret History is exactly that, and so much more.

The book starts off with a vibe similar to that of Dead Poet’s Society. You are tricked into thinking that this is a story about a teacher’s influence on his students. It’s not. Maybe there’s some shade of Lord of The Flies here. No, not really. As I read on (with much difficulty in the beginning), I thought maybe later books like We Were Liars were based on this book. Again, there’s no similarity except in the most superficial sense. It is useless to compare it to any book. It is original and shocking in its coldness and lack of feeling. This is Dark Academia at its best.

From the beginning, the characters cause conflict within the reader. They are odd, unemotional, and leave you feeling cold. None of these people elicit any sympathy in the the heart of the reader; not even the murder victim whose murder is the central theme of the book.

Richard Papen is nineteen years old when he comes to Hampden College in Vermont. He is from a small town in California, and all he wants in life is to get away from his roots. He becomes obsessed with a teacher and his exclusive group of students studying ancient Greek, and wants to join the class by any means.

However, once inside the clique, he realizes that these four boys and one girl are not as golden as he thought. Instead of becoming disillusioned, Richard becomes even more enamored of his new friends. Finally, he starts to feel like he belongs. Still, he cannot shake the feeling that his new friends are hiding something from him.

The truth, when it hits him, is wild and gruesome. Yet, Richard is by no means repelled or disgusted by it all. He is ready to do whatever is needed to get rid of all irritants and threats to his friends. What follows is something bound to end in disaster.

For a debut novel, this has to be one of the greatest that I have read. No wonder this book inspired a whole new genre of Dark Academia. Donna Tartt draws such a vivid picture of Vermont in fall and winter, that you cannot help but give a real shudder. The cold feels real, the darkness feels menacing, and at times, you can even smell the cigarette smoke! The mood is oppressive and heavy on the heart. There are no comic reprieves, just more coldness and cruelty.

It is no mean feat to write a book where you feel no sympathy for any of the characters, yet are unable to stop reading. You feel the need to read what happens next because something like this can never end well. And it doesn’t, but not in the way you expect it to. The climax is sudden and unexpected; it comes out of nowhere. But once you read it, you realize that it makes a twisted sort of sense. However, there were a couple of things that I was uncomfortable with. The hint of racism and Islamophobia was one. The other was the fact that Henry emerges as a hero when he was anything but!

It is definitely not easy to read The Secret History. It requires concentration and attention; and a little bit of heartlessness. But if you’re capable of all this, the book will not disappoint. I love the way Donna Tartt writes, and have become a fan. Still, I don’t think I will recommend this book to everyone. Certainly not for the sensitive and easily offended audience.

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Review: The Whisper Man

Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Whisper Man by Alex North is a good thriller, but not as terrifying as everyone claims on the back cover. The story and the setting are chilling enough, and anything that involves children is always uncomfortable to read, but calling it thriller of the year is going a bit far.

After the death of his wife, Tom Kennedy is looking for a fresh start with his son, Jake. They move to Featherbank on Jake’s insistence, into a house considered scary by the local kids. Jake is a sensitive child who has difficulty making friends and his imaginary friends don’t help the situation either. In addition to this, Tom finds it hard to communicate with Jake.

The village looks sleepy and safe, but twenty years ago it was the scene of horrific serial killings. The killer dubbed as The Whisper Man abducted and killed five little boys before he was caught and sentenced to life imprisonment. This isn’t a cause of concern for Jake and Tom since it was all a long time back. But just before they move, another boy goes missing, and the police find startling similarities with the old case.

Then Jake starts acting weirdly, and claims that he hears whispers at his window. Tom is concerned about the mental health of his son. There are also other suspicious things happening around him making him rethink about moving to this sleepy little village.

The Whisper Man is a good thriller that also has a heart. The struggles of a father to understand his son, and of a man to overcome the loss of his wife are beautifully penned, and create real sympathy for both Tom and Jake. There is also the character of Pete who is a very lonely man, living in his past. It is easy to feel bad for this police detective too.

The only things I found lacking in this book were unpredictability and a feeling of fear and dread which generally comes with the way an author writes about the uncomfortable things. It sounds quite macabre, but it is hard for readers to feel actual fear unless they see the extent of a killer’s depravity. After reading Nordic crime fiction, it feels like British authors are a bit squeamish going into gory details. But reading a book is like watching a movie in your mind; you want a clear picture that you can understand. Some books need to be more graphic because of their plotlines.

Still, The Whisper Man manages to keep the reader interested. A good one-time read.

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Review: The End Of Her

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Another great thriller by Shari Lapena. Though she hasn’t been able to recreate the chilling atmosphere of The Couple Next Door in her later books, she still manages to pack enough in The End of Her to satisfy her readers.

Stephanie and Patrick are parents to newborn twins, exhausted and sleep-deprived like all other new parents. They are finding it hard to juggle everything and staying on top of work. Yet, they are happy and satisfied with their lives.

This bubble of happiness bursts when one day Patrick’s past arrives to haunt them. A woman turns up, seemingly from out of nowhere, and starts blackmailing Patrick. She accuses him of killing his first wife and threatens to tell Stephanie all about it.

Not ready to give in to the blackmail, Patrick confides in Stephanie about everything and assures her that he is innocent of murder. Now it is up to Stephanie to believe her husband or to start doubting him. Trust is not as easy to come by as Stephanie had thought. Suddenly secrets start tumbling out, and Stephanie is not sure who and what to believe.

Shari Lapena is truly a master of Domestic Thriller. There are no bodies, hardly any murders in her books, just some truly creepy psychopaths living a normal life and fooling everyone around them. She makes you look twice at the people you meet daily, and wonder if such people exist in real life!

The End Of Her is a fairly easy read; I finished it in one day. You want to get to the bottom of everything as soon as possible. It is a classic “one more chapter” book that lives up to its promise.

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Review: The Other People

Rating: 3 Stars

The Other People is a decent book, but it doesn’t match up to the earlier brilliance of The Chalk Man. It is unfortunate that C.J. Tudor set the bar so high for herself with The Chalk Man.

Gabe has spent the last 3 years looking for his daughter. Everyone says his wife and daughter are dead. But Gabe knows that he saw his daughter in a strange car the same day she was supposed to have been murdered. He is not willing to give up on his quest.

Katie is a waitress in a service station off the M1 highway. She is the quintessential dutiful daughter, the responsible mother, and the caring sister. Her life is a series of monotonous days. That is all about to change.

Fran has been on the run with her daughter Alice for the last 3 years. She is running away from The Other People who want to hurt her and her daughter. Because she knows the truth about Gabe’s wife and daughter.

Then there’s a girl in a white room, with machines all around her. She has been asleep for more than 20 years.

All these stories would have made for an interesting read, if it hadn’t been so predictable. There are no real twists and turns in this story. The biggest disappointment is the paranormal angle which Tudor hasn’t used to its potential. If elaborated, it could have been the saving grace for this book.

What The Other People lacks is the coldbloodedness of Tudor’s earlier works. There is just too much empathy with every character. So I fail to understand how other reputable authors have declared this book “chilling” and “spooky”?

For me, The Other People is a miss. It is nothing like C.J. Tudor’s earlier works, and the chill factor leaves a lot to be desired too.

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Review: The Perfect Wife

Rating: 4 Stars

JP Delaney has done it again! The Perfect Wife is the perfect thriller. It keeps you on the edge and waiting to see how it all concludes. Technically, this book can be classified as a sci-fi thriller, but only because it revolves around Artificial Intelligence.

The blurb of the book is so misleading that you think that you’re in for a murder mystery. Actually, The Perfect Wife is about Artificial Intelligence and human failings. Whoever wrote the blurb probably didn’t read the book. Abbie finds out in the first chapter that she was declared dead five years ago.

Abbie Cullen-Scott wakes up after a vivid dream to find herself in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. She assumes she was in an accident, and wants to know what happened. When she sees her husband, Tim, she wants to know what happened, and whether their autistic son is all right.

Tim is a genius. He is the founder of Scott Robotics, a tech company that has made revolutionary strides in AI technology. What Tim tells Abbie is so unbelievable that she is unable to grasp the implications of it all. Abbie’s memories are of 5 years ago, when she disappeared. What follows is the chilling and thrilling story of Abbie trying to figure out the truth while looking out for her son and her own welfare.

Delaney goes back to the theme that he first used in The Girl Before, and tweaks it into something that is so much better. It is guaranteed to create conflict within the reader about right and wrong. After all, how far is far enough when it comes to technology?

There is an ambiguity about who the narrator of the story is. Seemingly two different people are telling the same story, but from different perspectives, which makes it more engaging.

A word of warning though: This book talks a lot about Autism and its challenges, and the different approaches to understanding it. The author has an autistic son himself and he has tried to be as real about it as possible. For many people, it might be painful to read about the treatments and attitudes regarding Autism that are very common in real life.

A superb thriller that makes me look forward to Delaney’s next.

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Review: One By One

Rating: 2.75 Stars

So, so disappointed with this book by Ruth Ware. One by One goes into the forgettable category of The Lying Game by the same author. It reminded me of so many books that I have read previously, I thought I had read it before!

The theme of stranded-in-a-house-with-a-murderer-on-loose has been done to death in books and movies. It has become a fixed formula for suceess. One can still do it if one knows how to keep readers interested. However here, this is not the case.

The book starts off with a corporate retreat in an exclusive ski resort located in the Swiss Alps. The agenda on the table is a billion dollar buyout offer. An offer that can change the lives of some of the people. It promises to be week full of high tensions, since the group seems to be split in their views. As a result, sparks start flying from the first moment.

The resort, owned by a chain, has two employees who manage the resort between themselves. They have become good friends during their time together.

Things become dangerous as an avalanche cuts off the chalet from the rest of the world. And then, one person goes missing. With everyone worried about the missing person, no one thinks of foul play until another body turns up. Now, everyone is sure that they have a murderer in their midst, and that anyone could be their next victim.

What follows is too long winded, and not very thrilling. It is not that hard to figure most of it out. Needless suspense like Erin’s background is not really necessary. The narrative alternates between Erin and Liz, who are both colourless characters.

There are too many coincidences, as there are in this type of books, and not one of the characters is memorable enough to redeem this very lacklustre book. I had such high hopes from Ruth Ware.

Not recommended for fans of murder mysteries and thrillers.

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Review: Home Before Dark

Rating: 4 Stars

Finally, Riley Sager gets it right! After complaining many times about the ending of his books, I feel like this time he has finally managed to get the right mix. Home Before Dark combines horror, thriller and twists, while keeping it this side of believable. I want to give an extra star for that climax. I had been waiting for something like this from Sager for the longest time.

Home Before Dark sees Maggie Holt return to the house of her childhood. She had spent only 20 days with her parents in this house before they all ran away leaving everything behind. It is famously known as the House of Horrors. There are ghosts in this house. Or so the book says, and Maggie’s parents insist. Maggie herself has very different views about the book that ruined her life.

When her father dies, leaving Maggie the sole owner of a haunted house that she didn’t even know he still owned, Maggie decides to go back to the house. She needs to find out herself what actually happened there. The notoriety of the book has made the whole town suffer. There are people who are not happy that a Holt is back in residence in the cursed house.

As soon as Maggie steps foot on the grounds of the property, strange things start happening. It looks like history is repeating itself. Soon, Maggie starts doubting her own convictions as the house seems to come alive just like it says in the book. It is as if her father wrote the truth, and not a fabrication that Maggie has always believed it to be. And suddenly Maggie is afraid that the truth might be worse than fiction, just like her father warned her.

I like the whole premise and the setting of this book, with the big spooky house surrounded by rambling woods, waiting to devour people. What I can never get behind, is a stupid protagonist taking unnecessary risks. It was hard for me to like Maggie, even if I loved the book overall. She comes across as quite stupid and willing to walk into danger knowingly.

Still, dumb protagonist notwithstanding, Home Before Dark is interesting, if a bit boring and slow in the middle. The climax packs a real punch and rounds off the book nicely, though I did guess the culprit as soon as they came to the house!

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Review: Someone We Know

Rating: 4 Stars

Shari Lapena is an author I can always rely on to deliver the goods. Her book, The Couple Next Door, is one that I recommend to anyone who wants to read thrillers. While her other books are not as highly recommended, Someone We Know comes quite close. The twists and turns leave the reader breathless, and the ending makes them gasp. Just the way it always does with good thrillers.

The story starts with a teenager who has been breaking and entering into several homes in his suburban neighborhood in upstate New York. His intention is not of stealing or causing harm. All he wants is to hack a few computers and boast about it to one of his friends. However, things start to go downhill once his parents find out what he has been up to.

At the same time, a woman down his street is murdered quite gruesomely. The ensuing investigation is causing all sorts of problems in the neighborhood. When a couple of homeowners receive anonymous letters telling them that their houses have been broken into, the whole neighborhood becomes a hotbed of intrigue and secrets. Now the police is having trouble trying to separate facts from lies and omissions.

Lapena weaves a complicated web of truths, half-truths and outright lies, that make it difficult to guess who is guilty of what. It seems that in this neighborhood, no one is innocent.

I will also admit that having a teenager and a tween myself, I couldn’t help but empathize with Olivia Sharpe. There really is no manual on how to raise kids. Once they enter their teens, you can only hope that what you have given them is enough for them to come out unscathed on the other side.

I can also sympathize with Raleigh. It’s not easy to walk the boring path when everyone around you is having fun falling off it. Peer pressure has made kids do worse in real life. Also, you have to give the poor kid some leeway. After all, he has to live with that name all his life!

Overall, Someone We Know is a good thriller that made me glad I took out the time to read it.

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Review: Th1rt3en

Rating: 3.75 Stars

I love police procedurals and courtroom dramas if they’re crisp and don’t go into boring details. Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh is one such book. The pace is fast, and it shows both perspectives. This means no over-explaining and unnecessary detail. After I finished reading, I found out that this is the fourth book in a series, but it worked as a stand alone for me.

A high profile murder case is about to go on trial. The defense thinks the accused is innocent of the crime; the evidence against the accused is overwhelming. The real killer will go to any length to make sure the accused is found guilty.

The defense believes that the police is trying to frame their famous client, so they hire Eddie Flynn, a con-man turned lawyer, to go after the police department, thus taking the fall in case things didn’t work out.

The real killer has his own plans of infiltrating the jury and making sure that nothing stands in his way. He will make sure that the jury hands out a “guilty” verdict.

What everyone underestimates, is Eddie Flynn himself. When things start getting out of hand, Eddie decides that it’s up to him to prove that that his client had nothing to do with the crime, rather he was the actual victim of a very dangerous serial killer.

The action and suspense are quite adrenalin pumping, and once you really get into the book, Thirteen is hard to put it down. Steve Cavanagh spins a fast paced tale of murder, intrigue, subterfuge and deception. A true thriller in every sense. I think it might be a good idea to check out the rest of this series.

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Review: The Family Next Door

Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Family Next Door by Fiona Cummins is an above average thriller which takes some time to establish itself, but redeems itself as it proceeds. It tells the story of a dilapidated, quiet neighborhood shaken by a string of killings that have been baffling the police. The serial killer behind these murders has been named The Doll Maker by the press. No one has any clue about the killer or his motives.

The first 20% of the book was almost painful to read, and it looked like the book will be impossible to finish. Things get interesting, however, when the identity of the latest victim is revealed. At this point, the story starts to move forward at a better pace.

A new family moves to 25 The Avenue on the day that another body is discovered in the nearby woods. The Lockwoods are caught up in their own family drama and don’t have the luxury of passing up the opportunity to move to The Avenue. They have no choice but to ignore it’s poor upkeep and the horror surrounding it. They are ready to start afresh, willing to overlook the matter of the serial killings going on in the neighbourhood. However, they will soon realize that not all is as it seems on this street. Everyone has a secret that they are willing to protect at all cost.

Wildeve Stanton is a Detective Sergeant with the Essex Police, a part of the team trying to solve the murders. Then, one morning the whole case takes a turn that makes it very personal for Wildeve. Now, she will stop at nothing to find out who The Doll Maker is, and what is the motivation behind all these senseless and gory murders.

Suddenly, everyone is in everyone else’s way, and things start getting out of hand. It is just a matter of time before the killer strikes again. The police look like they will be too late to do anything about it, as usual.

I managed to figure it all out at the 77% mark, and had to see how it all pans out, but I think avid thriller fans will be able to figure this one out earlier than I did. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read the book. The Family Next Door is enjoyable, if a bit explicit and gory, and quite interesting once you get past the 20% mark.

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