It is strange knowing that I have read all these books by Agatha Christie and loved them, yet I cannot remember even a little percentage of the stories! So, now reading them again feels like I’m reading a new book.
As the name suggests, in this book Lord Edgeware dies, leaving behind a confused police force, and a mystified Poirot. The case appears to be open and shut, as all suspicion falls on Lady Edgeware who was the last person to see him. The butler saw her, as did the secretary. They are positive about her identity. Her motive couldn’t be more evident, and she herself told Hercule Poirot that she wanted to kill him.
Yet, Lady Edgeware was present at a dinner party where at least 12 other people dined with her at the time when she was supposed to be visiting Lord Edgeware. She was within sight of someone or the other at all times until the party ended.
Lord Edgeware himself was no innocent. He had led such a life that had made many people his enemies, not least his nephew and heir, and his daughter herself. In addition to these people, there is the shady butler who is a bit too good-looking, and the prim secretary who is an unreliable witness.
As the murderer strikes again, it becomes a race against time for Poirot, who is convinced that a person who has killed once, will not stop at just one murder. The whole case is in danger of remaining unsolved, or a wrong person being punished for the crime, unless Poirot can get to the bottom of the whole affair. It almost becomes the case Hercule Poirot couldn’t solve.
I would have given the book 3 stars if I had even guessed half of the story right, As it turned out, while my mind was presenting many solutions, the actual solution never occurred to me. It is the genius of Agatha Christie that she came up with such brilliant plots for her novels. Read this book for the answers even if you get bored by the whole case after a while.
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James is a chilling thriller with a paranormal twist. The central character is a boarding school for girls that used to take in troubled girls who no one wanted, but that has now become an abandoned, decrepit building after being shut down in 1979
In 1950, four roommates became each other’s friends and secret keepers at Idlewild Hall, a depressing boarding school, rumoured to be haunted. All four of them came from different backgrounds, but they formed strong bonds, helping each other survive in a hopeless place. Then one night, it all changes as one of them vanishes and is presumed to have run away.
In 1994, a girl was murdered, her dead body left on the hockey field of the deteriorating ruins of Idlewild Hall. The murder sent a shock through the small Vermont town, resulting in the conviction of the girl’s boyfriend.
Twenty years later, the dead girl’s sister, Fiona, now a journalist, still feels the echoes of the crime that destroyed her family. Try as she might, she is unable to let go of a feeling that something was not right with the investigation at the time of her sister’s murder. This obsession with the past has made it impossible for her to hold on to relationships or lead a normal life.
When Fiona finds out that someone is planning to restore Idlewild Hall and reopen it as a boarding school for girls, she thinks it is the perfect opportunity to write a story about the place, and maybe it will help exorcise her ghosts. But an unexpected discovery leads her to a strange case from the past, and things become more and more entangled as she tries to find out about the history of Idlewild Hall.
The tone of this novel is dark from the beginning. There is nothing light-hearted about this story. From the first page, you know that something dark and sinister is afoot. The scenes from the narrative of the past are deliciously eery, and you can feel a chill while reading about the school in 1950. The four girls are as different from each other as can be, and you can feel their frustration at what is predominantly a patriarchal society where they have to work towards the ultimate goal of acquiring a husband.
The parts about the present are not so impressive. Though Fiona’s character is interesting, and you feel her pain and unease, her interactions with others are rushed, the various other characters seeming one-dimensional and bland. The information that Fiona acquires seems to easy to get, and one thinks that why did it take her 20 years to get to this place.
The climax too was a bit disappointing, and over too quickly. With 300 plus pages, this is by no means a small book, but it is St. James’s gripping writing that made me want more details. The scenes where there is an element of the paranormal are quite spooky and scary, and I just wanted more of the same. The main female characters are all strong and real. I just wish the male characters were the same.
This book is more for fans of spooky books than those of mysteries and crime solving. Still, I had a good time reading it and would rate it higher than average.
This review has been a long time coming, considering I finished this book more than a week back, and have already written a review for a book that I read after this. The thing is, that I haven’t been able to gather my thoughts into something coherent. There are a lot of things that make me like American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I want to be able to put them all into words.
Gaiman has a knack of creating memorable characters. From Richard Mayhew, Door and Marquis De Carabas from Neverwhere, to Shadow, Wednesday and Mr. Nancy from American Gods, Gaiman’s characters have a magnetic pull to them that makes you want to go on an adventure with them. They are endearing, exasperating, irritating and funny all at the same time. And they are working on two levels.
American Gods is a very interesting book even if you read it on a superficial level, without assigning any hidden meanings to it. It is the story of Shadow, who is released from prison after three years, only to find that his wife has died one day before his release. He is recruited by a shady man called Wednesday, who has some equally dodgy friends. What ensues is a roller coaster ride which is reminiscent of Percy Jackson, but for adults. In the middle of all this, is the abundance of mythology from all over the world. Reading it made me wish I knew more mythologies than just the basic knowledge about some gods.
As the events move towards an epic war between the gods, we are introduced to the two sides, the Modern and the Ancient, both fighting for survival and relevancy. And the battleground is the United States of America. It is this country that all powers want to dominate, and are willing to do everything to achieve this end.
If you read this book with an open mind, you soon realize that everything is not as it seems. When you first realize who Wednesday really is, you are compelled to go back and look at the story from the beginning, with new understanding and clarity. As the story progresses, it is evident that this book is also a commentary on present day United States, and how materialism and technology are rapidly taking over the society. Materialism had become the new religion, and as a result, faith in things like gods and divine beings has taken a back seat.
In American Gods, you see these forgotten deities and gods trying to fight to stay alive in the hearts of people. That they do it while being crazy and funny, is what the beauty of this book is. I have to admit, I am a sucker for madcap characters and this book has them by the dozen!
For me, American Gods is a winner, but it is not for everyone. It has mythological creatures and different gods, and for anyone not comfortable with reading about these, this book is not the way to go. If you’re offended by the thought of these mythological beings, then please stay away from this book!
After I finished reading this book, I couldn’t sleep that night! When all the reviews say that the ending is unexpected and shocking, they’re not kidding. I have read so many thrillers, that there aren’t many things that are truly surprising any more. Behind Her Eyes gave me such a jolt that I still feel weird when I think about it. There is a paranormal element in this book that makes it creepy and terrifying.
It is difficult to write a review for this book that stays away from spoilers, so I will try my best not to reveal too much here. The book starts off with divorcee and mother-of-one, Louise meeting and kissing David, a successful and attractive doctor, who turns out to be married. As if that wasn’t enough, he is also Louise’s new boss. Things become a bit awkward but both Louise and David decide to forget the past and behave like professionals.
Then Louise meets Adele, David’s wife. Adele is beautiful, easygoing, and very sweet. She loves her husband to distraction, and doesn’t have any friends. Louise is fascinated by this woman and perplexed as to why David would want someone else when he has his gorgeous wife. As we read Adele’s perspective, it becomes clear that things are not what they seem in this marriage.
As we go into Adele’s mind, it becomes harder and harder to decide who is the crazy one in their marriage. Louise, on the other hand, is a confused, frustrated woman who wants to be more than just a mother. There are times when you just want to shake Louise and tell her to get a spine. She comes off as another kind of crazy to me.
The book drags in middle and I lost interest because of so much repetition and a feeling as if things are not moving forward at all. This is the main reason why I didn’t rate it a full 5 stars.
The climax is so good that I can see it in a movie! It is creepy, shocking, and everything promised by the writer. But wait, what you thought was the climax wasn’t really the end. There is one more chapter that will truly make your hair stand up, and you will wish you had not read it. Because it turns the whole book on its head, and because you never see it coming. Read this one if you’re a fan of books with crazy twists and crazier characters.
Sometimes, I’m too arrogant for my own good. Everyone told me not to start reading the Harry Hole books from the first book, because it will be boring for me. I refused to listen to them, because I’m arrogant like I mentioned above, and also because I’m a bit crazy, and not reading something from the beginning is anathema to me. Well, it took me 18 days, and I read three other books while reading it, but I finally managed to finish The Bat by Jo Nesbo. I’m so glad I decided to stick to it and not give up.
I wanted to say that the book starts off slow, but it doesn’t. I have read books with a much slower pace. It’s the story that seems so boring and fails to capture your interest in the first 100 pages of the book. I was ready to give up. There were days when I just looked at the book and didn’t want to read anything at all! I was just too stubborn to give up and have people tell me they told me so.
The book picked up speed, and my interest, after about 130 pages. Before that, the only reason I insisted on reading on, was that I had started liking the Norwegian detective, who seemed a bit unhinged. I have found a new favourite contemporary detective after Cormoran Strike! Harry Hole (pronounced Hoo-Leh) is a bit mental, thinks too much and is an alcoholic. He has a very complicated backstory, but that was perhaps the least confusing of all the stories in the book.
I can see why people think that The Bat is not the best book to introduce Harry Hole. The story itself is very cliched. A Norwegian girl is raped and murdered, and the police is trying to find the murderer. Harry’s government has sent him to help in the investigation and tie up any lose ends. If it had been a normal whodunnit, it would have been easier to read, but it is not your average crime thriller with a swashbuckling hero.
Every character in this book has a story to tell, and these stories range from stories of their life, to stories of their parents’ lives, to stories of Aboriginal legends. It becomes too much to sort through the relevance of each story to what is happening in the book. However, this was the reason I decided to stick with the book. It was interesting to relate all the stories to what was going on in the book, and it gave my mind some much needed exercise! I had my suspicions but, like Harry, I couldn’t be sure.
There was also this feeling of affront because all the female characters were only good for one thing, and that was not bartending. Then I remembered that this was written in the late 90s when macho detectives did everything themselves, and poor females were either the victims, or extremely grateful to said detectives. Still, it was good to read about a hero who has little to recommend him, is an alcoholic, and is guilty of a lot more than what his superiors are willing to admit. I just hope there are better female characters in the other books in this series.
In the end, I was glad that I had stuck by this book. It gave me an introdution to a well-loved character, who I am beginning to like. Next time however, I will take others’ advice and read the third book instead of the second one, if only to keep my sanity and to keep my reading progress on track.
I bought The French Girl by Lexie Elliott while I was just browsing around the bookstore, waiting for my kids to make up their minds about what to get. I had never seen this book around and had no idea about ratings and reviews. Fortunately, when I scanned it on my Goodreads shelves, my phone started acting up, and I couldn’t see the rating for this books, nor even one review! So, this was one book I really went into blind.
The story revolves around a crime committed a decade ago, which has just come to light. The body of Severine, a 19-year-old French girl, is discovered in a well on a farmhouse in France. The girl was last seen with six Oxford students who were on the farm for a week during the summer, 10 years ago. With one of them dead, suspicion falls on the remaining five, who have all gone on to have successful careers.
Kate Channing had never liked Severine, and that last night of the holiday remains one of the worst memories of her life. But now, Severine has come to haunt her, and her own memories of that last night seem to be changing. As the investigation proceeds, Kate realizes that for one thing, Severine’s ghost will not leave her alone, and for another, somehow she has become the prime suspect for the murder of the girl. As it dawns on her that she has been wrong about everyone who was with her that week, she must figure out what really happened that night, or risk losing everything she has worked so hard to achieve.
The book started off with Kate getting the news of Severine’s body being discovered, and immediately things start happening. So, the book grips you from the beginning as you follow Kate, who is the narrator of the story. As you get used to the speed of things, the pacing slows down about a quarter into the story. For a while it seems like nothing is happening, and you’re just wasting time. This, however, does not take away the reader’s interest because by now, you really want to know what really happened.
There is no real mystery about the culprit here. Even though a couple of characters are made out to be mysterious and cryptic, there is only one who is the villain of this story. The thing that keeps you reading is the great narrative, and that very, very thin thread of what seems like a creepy, supernatural phenomenon!
The plot itself is average, and there are many things that are too predictable. From the first time you read about Tom and Kate’s friendship, you know that there will be a romantic angle somewhere along the way. Similarly, as soon as you learn about the pregnancy of one of the characters, you know that the author is too kind-hearted to make anything bad happen to the woman! There are many such things that come in the realm of cliches, but it still doesn’t matter, because you like where the story is going.
The French Girl is the kind of novel you take on a holiday or to the pool. You don’t need to be glued to it all the time, or having palpitations just reading it. It is a good thriller, which, while not your average egde-of-the-seat affair, is still interesting and engaging. I really enjoyed reading this one.
Everyone knows by now how big a fan I am of thrillers of all types. Many people ask me to recommend some good thrillers, but there are so many that I can never make up my mind about which ones are the best. Sometimes it’s because I have forgotten a particular story, so I have to read it all over again, and in reading and rereading, never get the time to actually compile a list of my favourite thrillers. Even now, as I sit here trying to make a list, I find that I cannot make up my mind. I have tried to pick some of the books that I find exciting and would want others to read too. They are not in any particular order.
The Da Vinci Code
I became a Dan Brown fan after I read The Da Vinci Code when it was first published in 2003. Since then, I have read all his books, and even though I don’t like all of them, to me Dan Brown is one of the best writers of thrillers. I have never thought about leaving his books halfway even if they seem like a repetition of the old theme.
The Da Vinci Code was a book that turned everything I knew on its head. I had to keep reminding myself that this is fiction and has little to do with reality. It is set in Paris and London with a timeframe of just one day. Robert Langdon, an imminent Professor of Symbology at Harvard, is visiting Paris when he gets embroiled in the murder of a prominent member of a secret society.
As he is on the run, aided by the murdered man’s granddaughter, he realizes that things are not what they seem, and he has to use all his knowledge and learning to figure out a centuries old mystery and save the day.
The strength of Dan Brown’s writing is that majority of artworks and places mentioned in his books are real. It is my dream to one day visit Paris and see all the things Robert Langdon talked about in this book.
This is one book I would recommend to all fans of mystery and puzzle solving.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
When I first read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I was taken aback. I had never read anything like it before. Here was a heroine who was unlike any heroine that I had ever seen or heard of before. She was everything that a “good girl” shouldn’t be, yet she was the best kind of heroine. At the same time, the “hero”, Mikael Blomkvist was like any other hero, except that he was no saviour of the heroine. The heroine could not only save herself, she could also keep the hero safe from harm.
As Salander and Blomkvist are brought together in an unlikely pairing, to solve a forty-year old mystery, the challenges facing them are terrifying and seemingly insurmountable. No book review or discussion can do justice to the excitement or thrill of reading this book. It might not seem very shocking now, 10 years after it was first published in English, but at that time this book was the first of its kind. Even now, I find myself reading it again every time I hear about another sequel in this series.
There have been many similar books and characters in the decade since its publication, but nothing can surpass the brilliance and originality of this book. One of my most favourite books of this genre, recommended for all kickass females in the world!
Gone Girl
The one book that single-handedly changed the face of the genre of Thrillers and gave birth to the contemporary Psychological Thriller. This book is so terrifying that I have been unable to re-read it in one go after the first time. I can only read it in parts and that too takes its toll on me. Every. Single. Time.
Nick Dunne is shocked by the disappearance of his wife, Amy, on their fifth wedding anniversary. Police investigation shows Amy was scared of her husband, and there are some strange searches on his computer. Nick is bewildered because none of it is true. He cannot understand what is happening to him, and where his wife would disappear to. Then there is Amy’s diary that clearly shows how unhinged Nick is.
As a reader you realize that you cannot trust Nick’s narration of the events because of the diary entries, but as you start reading Amy’s side of the story, you realize there is something wrong with her narration too! As you read further, you start questioning the sanity of all characters, and eventually your own for continuing to read this book! Yet, you need to find out the truth. You need to know how it all ends, how something this crazy can ever make sense.
This book made me so crazy the first time I read it, that I was suspicious of my own husband for a week after reading it!
Big Little Lies
This book is what a good domestic thriller is all about. There are no over-the-top crazy characters, no out-of-this-world scary settings, yet it is gripping, mysterious, and full of secrets. It tells the story of a group of school moms and how something that happens in school has the potential to unravel into something much bigger, and lead to unthinkable circumstances, even a death.
When single mom, Jane, moves to the town of Pirriwee, she meets Madeline and Celeste who take her under their wings. All three of them have children in the same class, and the three of them seem to get on well together, so it makes sense for them to hang out. Then, on the first day of school, an incident causes friction between Jane and another school mum, Renata.
Things start spiralling out of control as adults start taking sides in what was essentially an altercation between two kids. As secrets start coming out, all the women involved can sense the impending catastrophe. It turns out that all three women have secrets of their own that they have worked hard to hide from everyone. The rumors start, and it becomes harder and harder to tell fact from fiction. It is only a matter of time before all this results in disaster.
The best thing about this book is the characters, who are so real and believable. As a mom with school going kids, I can vouch that I have met all the types of parents mentioned in the book. The incidents are all quite credible and you can see them happening to people in the real world. Though, I have to admit, there is a chance that women will like and understand this domestic thriller better than men.
The Good Daughter
The Good Daughter is one of the best thrillers from 2017. The narrative is quite graphic, and not for the faint of heart. It grips you from the first chapter and you find yourself wanting to know what happens next.
The story revolves around a family torn apart by a tragic attack twenty-eight years ago, which leaves all of them with scars, both physical and psychological. Charlotte thinks that she has come a long way from her nightmarish ordeal almost thirty years ago. She is a good lawyer, not like her notorious father who is willing to represent anyone regardless of their guilt.
One morning, she gets caught in a school shooting that threatens to expose everything she has worked so hard to keep inside her. As things get worse, Charlie’s life starts to unravel around her and there is only one person who can help her become whole again. But they haven’t seen or spoken to each other in a long, long time, and there are some wounds that just refuse to heal.
There are some sequences that are truly horrifying and leave the reader close to tears. However, the solid narrative and story make it very hard to put the book down. This book contains assault and abuse, and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, for true lovers of psychological thrillers, nothing can be a deterrent to them reading a good thriller.
Underlying the narrative is the theme of a father’s love for his daughters and how he believes, I think quite rightly, that everyone needs a different kind of love. Having lost my father soon after finishing this book, it hit me even harder how far a father can go to protect his children from pain and heartbreak.
One of the best thrillers that I have ever read. Definitely a must read for all lovers of this genre.
We Were Liars
I never thought I would include a Young Adult novel in any list of mine, unless it is a list of Young Adult novels! We Were Liars is the book that proved all my generalisations wrong. Young Adult suspense thrillers can be as addictive as any adult book in this genre.
Cadence comes from a rich and privileged family, who owns a private island in Massachusetts, USA, where they go to spend summers every year. Cadence, her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and their friend, Gat, are known as the Liars. They hang out together at the island every year and get into scrapes like normal teenagers.
Then, an accident changes everything. Cadence cannot remember what happened that night, and her family is not willing to remind her. She enlists the help of the other Liars who gradually help her piece together the events of that terrible night. We are taken on a journey through a summer where everything seems normal, but nothing is as it seems.
I even let my teenage son borrow this book to read, and he really enjoyed reading it too. A great book for ages thirteen and above.
The Silkworm
After Harry Potter, J. K Rowling found it hard to get out of her own shadow, and be taken seriously as a writer of adult books too. As a result, she decided to write another series under the pen name, Robert Galbraith. As it happened, her identity couldn’t remain hidden and by the time the first book came out, everyone knew who had written it. Still, it makes a difference seeing a new name on a new adult detective series, instead of a name known for writing Harry Potter.
I loved the first Cormoran Strike novel and was eager to read the second. In my opinion, the second, called The Silkworm, was even better than the first. We already knew the back story of Cormoran Strike, and had been introduced to his assistant, Robin Ellacott. This book not only cements their partnership, but also provides the requisite thrills in the form of their next case.
Owen Quine is a novelist who has gone off somewhere by himself, and his wife wants Cormoran Strike to find him and bring him back. However, as Strike probes into the disappearance, he realises that something is not right. The writer had recently finished a novel which revealed secrets about a lot of people. People who are influential, and who have a lot to lose if the book ever sees the light of the day.
And then Owen Quine turns up dead. The murder is brutal and just how Quine wrote it in his book. Strike is at a loss to understand the reasons or what the killer might do next, and it makes for a most exhilarating read. The whole book is like a roller coaster ride, and you never know what might happen next.
While it is better to have read the first book in order to understand the background of the two main characters, The Silkworm on its own is a stellar thriller. It shows the brilliance of J. K. Rowling, and her unique talent of creating unforgettable characters. A great book from one of the best authors of our time.
The Chalk Man
Another excellent book that is a recent addition to my favourites. The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor is different in that it has a male protagonist and narrator. Here we have a middle-aged man, battling with his own demons, trying to appear as normal as possible, and failing to do so.
Eddie Adams is a British twelve-year-old in 1986, hanging out in his small town with his four friends, when their lives are changed irrevocably. Thirty years later, Eddie Adams, a middle aged, single, English teacher with a drinking problem, still living in his hometown, gets a letter with a piece of chalk. The letter has a stick figure drawn on it. Memories of that long ago summer have left their scars on everyone, and it all starts coming back to Eddie now. When an old friend’s drowned body is found, Eddie realizes that things did not end thirty years ago, and he has to find the truth before another body turns up.
The character of Eddie Adams is interesting. The way he narrates the book, you know you shouldn’t trust him along with anyone else in this book. That he is a kleptomaniac, is established early on in the book. On top of that, he is a sleepwalker who has trouble differentiating between his dreams and reality.
The book is fast paced and gripping. It makes you hold your breath and wait for what comes next. There are so many twists and turns that take you by surprise. Even if you’re able to predict some things, there is still a lot that makes you feel dizzy. For a fan of thrillers, this book is the perfect read.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the first crime thriller that became my favourite. Believe it or not, it was included in our school curriculum in grade 9. I read as soon as I got my hands on the syllabus books! It was and still is one of the best books that Agatha Christie ever wrote. And she wrote quite a few, since she is still considered the Queen of Crime.
When Mrs. Ferrars commits suicide a few months after poisoning her abusive husband, Roger Ackroyd starts suspecting that she was being blackmailed. She was after all the woman he loved. And then he gets a letter that might confirm his suspicion, but before he could finish reading it, he has been murdered.
Hercule Poirot has retired from his work, and is busy growing marrows in the village, when Flora Ackroyd requests him to solve the mystery of her uncle’s murder. Tired of vegetables and the slow pace of village life, Poirot decides to investigate this strange murder which seems to have little or no motive.
With the help of Dr. Sheppard, Poirot goes about digging into facts and stories, and reaches the truth. The truth, however, is stranger than fiction in this case. With a finale that is equal parts shocking and unexpected, this is Agatha Christie at her finest. A great whodunnit for all ages.
I would also like to add some other books, which are also very high on my list of must-read thrillers:
A Time To Kill by John Grisham
If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
The Cuckoos Calling by Robert Galbraith
Deception Point by Dan Brown
SharpObjects by Gillian Flynn
The Breakdown by B. A. Paris
You Will Know Me by Meg Abbott
This list can go on and on, except that I cannot remember a lot of other books that I have read but don’t own. Maybe I can make a part two of this list when I remember more. Until then, add these books to your reading list and enjoy!
