Every Move You Make by C.L. Taylor #BookReview

Alex, Lucy, River and Bridget.

Four people with one thing in common: they are all being stalked. Their lives are filled with daily terror. Always watching. Always waiting. And never knowing what – or who – is hiding in the shadows.

But this group of four used to be five, until the terrible day their friend Nat was followed home by her stalker…

Coming together for Nat’s funeral, they are handed a wreath saying RIP. However, this isn’t a wreath in memory of Nat – it’s for them, with a card dated in ten days’ time.

It’s a clear message: in ten days, one Jo them will die. And the only way to stop the killer is to get closer than they ever dared to their stalkers. The very people who want them dead…

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This novel is so tense, I absolutely loved it. Being single isn’t so bad at all if you see what could happen to you.

Alex, Lucy, River and Bridget are the members of a WhatsApp group for people being stalked. Their life was already agony but now it seems that one of them receives the message they will be murdered, only it’s unclear who is targeted. And so the countdown from 10 days to 0 and the nail-biting starts (and the regular stalking continues).

Every Move You Make is a real page-turner. Some of them know their stalker really well, other stalkers remain invisible and I don’t know what’s worse. The only thing they can do to keep safe is balancing on a fine rope of both keeping track of their stalkers whereabouts and staying far away from them.

My  thoughts also wondered for a while why they simply didn’t go to the police but some of them have good reasons not to go to the police and one of them did actually report their stalker. It’s a fact that the police can’t do much, as usual, so it’s really up to them to find out who they should most be afraid of. The stalkers can’t know but they’re the ones who’ll be watched next. Now there’s a taste of your own medicine ha!

Every Move You Make kept me guessing throughout the novel. The scene at the bar made me even doubt characters I was rooting for until then. Who to trust, it’s certainly a difficult one this time, but I loved the twists and the fight or flight mode was brilliantly done.

I really liked the personal note the author included at the end of the novel, sharing her own story and what inspired her to write this novel. It’s horrible of course but at least one good thing came out of it because she delivered a very gripping novel. The only down part is that I‘m stuck with singing the title of this novel, every single time I see it. And then it feels like it just stops mid-sentence so I need to finish the sentence. Isn’t it a little twisted that it’s a song from The Police or am I completely paranoid after reading this? OK we’ll have that discussion another time.

I received a free ecopy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley to read and review. This is still my honest opinion.

The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh #BookReview

THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA

The Sandman killings have been solved. Daniel Miller murdered fourteen people before he vanished. His wife, Carrie, now faces trial as his accomplice. The FBI, the District Attorney, the media and everyone in America believe she knew and helped cover up her husband’s crimes.

THE LAWYER

Eddie Flynn won’t take a case unless his client is innocent. Now, he has to prove to a jury, and the entire world, that Carrie Miller was just another victim of the Sandman. She didn’t know her husband’s dark side and she had no part in the murders. But so far, Eddie and his team are the only ones who believe her.

THE FORMER FBI AGENT

Gabriel Lake used to be a federal agent, before someone tried to kill him. Now, he’s an investigator with a vendetta against the Sandman. He’s the only one who can catch him, because he believes that everything the FBI knows about serial killers is wrong.

THE KILLER

With his wife on trial, the Sandman is forced to come out of hiding to save her from a life sentence. He will kill to protect her and everyone involved in the case is a target.

Eddie Flynn is the best of the best and so is Steve Cavanagh, or the other way around 🙂. I already knew that but he proves it again in The Accomplice. It’s simple, if you want someone defending you, he’s the one you want, the one you need. That is if you’re innocent and you can convince Eddie that you are because he’ll only defend the innocent. I know for a lawyer he’s quite strange but we all want a good guy right and you can’t get one more pure than Eddie.

The situation for Carrie Miller looks hopeless but she has Eddie on her side. She was seen with her husband (the suspected Sandman) in front of a house, watching it, where two people were murdered later that night. So she’s suspected of aiding her husband, at least she must have known about his activities. It’s up to Eddie to prove she’s not a killer and that she didn’t know for sure Daniel was.

The courtroom is his playground again where he tries to find explanations for all the accusations she is facing and tear down the witness accounts and evidence. There is the fact that there was a little blood found on her sleeve for example. I loved Eddie’s creative mind (I don’t even care if it’s actually allowed in court) and how he can twist everything so that it all makes perfect sense and that he gets what he wants. There’s a restaurant scene which was magnificent, it killed two birds with one stone and plastered a huge smile on my face. Eddie is a creative guy, I can’t underline that enough :-). :-).

The author surprised me multiple times, even shocked me once in the beginning with one killing, and when Eddie’s team was targeted by The Sandman I really held my breath. There were some tense scenes and I knew by then what he was capable of so I wasn’t too sure someone would make it till the end. Even Eddie became emotional and his emotions rubbed off on me. I could only hope he was as good as I thought he was.

The Accomplice is book 7 of the series and is still going as strong as ever. If you’re into courtroom novels this is a must read. I loved everything about it. It has some unbelievable cliffhangers and I was very surprised with the twists at the end. I’d like to say it’s his best one yet but I want to say that every time so so it’s probably wisest to hold it in and simply state that I look forward to reading his next one!

I bought an ecopy of this novel (and it’s still 0.99p at the moment on Amazon). This is my honest opinion.

Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams #BookReview

Three months ago, Cambry drove out to Hairpin Bridge in Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. She left behind a vague suicide note and no answers.

Lena, her estranged twin sister, is convinced Cambry was murdered. Lena heads to Montana to get answers from the highway patrolman who was the last person to see her sister alive — but she already knows he’s a liar.

Now Lena is trapped in the middle of nowhere with no one around and no phone signal . . . And an angry armed highway patrolman.

Lena will do anything to find out who killed her twin sister — even if it kills her.

This is my second novel by author Taylor Adams and what a read it is! No Exit was my favorite read of last year so there was definitely some fear that Hairpin Bridge would not meet my expectations but I’m a very happy reader.

Hairpin Bridge left my nails bitten to the quick. The author has a clear style of writing and well we definitely click. The novel is full of tension and you’re fearful for the main character from beginning to end. In his novel No Exit I wondered if the main character would survive and this is a totally different type of story but also shows similarities. The big difference here is that Lena comes equipped with a gun so the playing field is at least levelled out.

There are two voices in the story with Cambry witnessing something and being chased, then there’s Lena who has her own moment some three months after Cambry’s where she’s trying to get the truth about what happened to her sister out of the last person who’s seen her alive, and then there’s also Lena’s voice telling how she thinks Cambry died, which she writes down in a blog.

I loved the twistiness and every time a situation looked particularly hopeless there’s something to tip the scales again. More than once I wondered how she was going to survive, and where it would all end. I’m not spoiling the plot but there’s shooting, there are lots of lies and hard truths (even one at the very end that surprised me) and I had no problems seeing everything play out before my eyes. The author had no problem creating nail-biting tension that never really let up once it had started. It wasn’t instant from the very first pages but that unsettled feeling was present right away, with Cambry trying to get away undetected. The story might have been a teensy bit over the top at times which is why I’ve given 4.5 stars (I’m referring especially to a snake that makes an appearance for no specific reason. It has a name too but I forgot) but all in all it is extremely addictive and such a wild ride.

No Exit is still my favourite title if I’m pressed to really choose one but I have already bought an ecopy of his next novel (it was 99p so a no-brainer) after finishing Hairpin Bridge so I think you could say I’d highly recommend giving this author a try. It’s hard to say who he’s similar to because I don’t think I’ve found someone like him but the books are somewhat of a mix of Chris Carter and Riley Sager. Two of my favourite authors and now definitely a third one to add.

I bought an ecopy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

Zero Days by Ruth Ware #BookReview

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 only suspect – her.

On the run and out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the truth in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery from ‘one of the best thriller writers around today’ Ruth Ware.

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I’m a big fan of this author’s books and I loved reading this latest one too. Zero Days is one of those hold your breath in and feel your heart in your throat kind of books.

Once Jack goes on the run the action is non-stop and relentless and it’s what makes this novel the most fun to read. The whodunnit is pretty easy to figure out but can Jack stay out of the hands of the police and prove that she’s innocent?

I was immediately invested in the story and the first time I held my breath was already at the start of the novel but that was only a warmer upper it appeared because the best was then yet to come. Jack and her husband Gabe are pen testers. They test companies’ security, with Jack testing the physical side and Gabe the digital security. They’re a great team but one night when Jack gets home after one of these penetration tests she finds her husband dead and soon enough she’s the prime suspect.

Jack, of course, sets off to prove her innocence, and though we (well I in any case) pretty much know the whodunit and can easily guess the whydunit early on, the story is most addictive in following Jack’s attempts to stay free. Jack is an awesome heroine and I’m happy the story involved such a strong and smart woman.

The novel was gripping and addictive and I didn’t want to stop reading. Jack’s injury made it even more tense and on edge. Even though action-type novels are not my typical genre I enjoyed this one from start to finish.

I received a free ecopy from the publisher via Netgalley. This is still my honest opinion.

The Murder Box by Olivia Kiernan #BookReview

At first, Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan believes the murder mystery game sent to her office is a birthday gift from one of her colleagues. But when Frankie studies the game’s contents, she notices a striking resemblance between the ‘murder victim’ and missing twenty-two-year-old Lydia Callin.

As Frankie and her team investigate, a series of grisly crimes connected to the game are discovered across Dublin city and Lydia’s involvement with a shadowy network of murder mystery players becomes clear.

On the hunt for Lydia’s murderer, Frankie is drawn more deeply into the game. Every successful move brings her closer to the killer. But the real question is not what happens should she lose — but what happens if she wins.

This is the first novel by Olivia Kiernan and I do like to read a good detective novel. When I read some reviews about her latest novel I went looking and when I stumbled upon a copy of The Murder Box I didn’t think twice about it. I quite enjoyed reading the story and the Murder Box – a game offering a true crime experience – is actually something I’d be interested in playing myself. Well those were my initial thoughts but can you imagine finding out that the victim is actually a real person, no thanks I think I’ll pass after all!

I liked Frankie and was left wondering why her partner Baz kept on disappearing. It was not only driving Frankie crazy but me as well and I felt sorry for Frankie that she was being kept in the dark about his whereabouts for so long, even if it added a nice little touch of intrigue to the story. Another character I’d like to see more of in future novels was Detective Mullins who transferred from traffic and was one of the brightest ones in the team. All in all Frankie is well surrounded and even her boss Jack is not a bad egg.

There was only a limited cast of suspects who could have been responsible for the murder game but my mind was probably thinking why not complicate a situation if you can so I went looking for other possibilities and no surprise there, I found someone who fit ‘my bill’. Someone who wasn’t listed as a suspect and even though interviewed wasn’t a red flag for the Gardaí. I was completely off the mark with my suspect but I was right that the author did make it extra interesting and the added twist came as real surprise. I do love surprises if they present themselves like this.

Overall I enjoyed this book, I was invested in finding out who was behind it (even though the suspects weren’t particularly interesting or weren’t given enough time to be very fleshed out) and it had a grand finale that had me at the edge of my seat. I look forward to reading the next one of the four novels about Frankie Sheehan titled The Killer In Me (she’s certainly killing it with her book titles!).

I bought a second-hand paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard #BookReview

Stranded on a dark road in the middle of the night, a young woman accepts a lift from a passing stranger. It’s the nightmare scenario that every girl is warned about, and she knows the dangers all too well – but what other choice does she have?

As they drive, she alternates between fear and relief – one moment thinking he is just a good man doing a good thing, the next convinced he’s a monster. But when he delivers her safely to her destination, she realizes her fears were unfounded.

And her heart sinks. Because a monster is what she’s looking for.

She’ll try again tomorrow night. But will the man who took her sister take the bait?

Yes, yes, all the yesses! Thank you for such a great read! If you read and loved The Nothing Man it’s safe to say you’ll love this one too!

The story is about the desperate attempt of one sister in finding her missing sibling. The novel didn’t miss an amazing start because I was sitting on the edge of my seat right away, as Lucy’s trying to lure the person who abducted her sister into taking her on a dark miserable night. The start is totally gripping, but the rest of the novel as well.

The tension did somewhat subside after those first tense moments which was a good thing for my own health, but it never completely left so I raced through this, almost as desperate as Lucy was to find her sister Nicki. Nicki is one of three women who was presumably taken by the same man, but it was only when the third girl was taken that they made a connection between the cases where the only thing retrieved every time was their cell phone. A task force was set up under the name of Operation Tide but they are not getting anywhere until Angela who’s not a garda (yet) but someone working at the Missing Persons Unit, stumbles upon something interesting left at a thrift store that could potentially help break the case open.

Apart from hearing from Lucy and Angela, the abductor has a chance to share his thoughts as well. He is married and his wife is totally and horribly oblivious of course, and the more I heard his voice the stronger and more desperate I wanted him caught and the women found. I wouldn’t have wanted to skip those chapters for anything, he’s a fascinating character and the way he talks in such a matter of fact way only made me realize even more that he could very well be your next door neighbour and you wouldn’t have a clue at all.

It felt like the danger in this novel was lurking around every corner and it really ramps up when Lucy uses the media to demand attention for the missing women, especially her sister. The twists in this novel were really great, I expressed a few expletives while reading this story and I was knocked for six in the last part of the novel. That twist! And what an ending! All I have to say is that it was all quite… unpredictable. I still don’t really know how I feel about the final pages, a part of me feels there’s still unfinished business, as if the whole story isn’t told or over yet, but on the other hand I do respect the author’s wish to deliver maybe a little bit of an unconventional ending. It’s the main reason for giving 4.5 stars, it is not exactly the ending that I had in mind and I do feel a little guilty that I have to admit a miniscule part of me still felt somewhat let down.

This is my third novel by this author, the first one was a miss for me but I’m so happy I picked up The Nothing Man afterwards and now I’m totally won over. Bring on the next one!

I received a free ecopy from the publisher via Netgalley to read and review. This is as always still my honest opinion.

Conviction by Jack Jordan #BookReview

TO STEAL A MANS FREEDOM ALL IT TAKES IS . . . CONVICTION

Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept before burning the family home to the ground.

When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could be the career making case she’s been waiting for. But only if she can prove Wade’s innocence.

A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must lose this case or the secret about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed.

Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about until she follows orders.

Neve must make a choice – betray every principle she has ever had by putting a potentially innocent man in prison, or risk putting those she loves in mortal danger.

Jack Jordan successfully delivered another amazing moral dilemma in Conviction, a cat and mouse type of novel that extends to the courtroom.

Neve Harper is Wade Darling’s barrister. The man stands trial in a case of familicide, where he is believed to have killed his wife and two children. Neve is determined to defend her client tooth and nail but that’s before she is being blackmailed to have him convicted. Someone not only knows one of her secrets, they also threaten the family she has left, namely her missing husband’s daughter Olivia.

What is she to do? Is Wade guilty or not guilty and would that make a difference? As the trial continues I saw Neve navigating a very fine line where she gives and takes a few punches figuratively speaking and I was continuously wondering which way it would go. I wanted Neve to do the right thing but what was that exactly? 

There are courtroom novels that are rather slow and boring but this was certainly not one of them! I loved not knowing Neve’s next move and it was difficult to make up my mind about her as well so the jury (that would be me) was not only out on Wade but also on Neve. I wanted her to put up more of a fight early on, to find a way out and still save everyone involved and I saw her doubling under the pressure which was NOT what I wanted, I’m averse to weak protagonists, but I had my hopes up that she’d have some kind of ace up her sleeve after all. Some books have an anti-climatic ending but that certainly wasn’t the case here either. It still didn’t go as I expected but I wasn’t disappointed at all and that’s all I have to say about the ending.

I did foresee how Neve’s husband went missing and the reason for his disappearance especially from quite early on. I can’t say exactly what made me make this leap but there must have been a clue that I picked up on to come to that conclusion. I wasn’t a big fan of the reason why he disappeared, hence the four stars, although I did enjoy everything that followed afterwards in that plotline.

Conviction is a great legal thriller, a gripping read filled with well placed twists and turns. I can never get enough of these kind of plots and I love it when I can be really participate in such a way by making up my own mind. Guilty or not guilty, convicted or not convicted, I’m sure this page turner will hook many readers.

I received a free copy from the publisher Simon & Schuster via Netgalley. This is my honest opinion.

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing #BookReview

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the elite Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.

He says his wife couldn’t be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while.

Teddy really can’t be bothered with a few mysterious deaths on campus that are looking more and more like murder, or with the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is pushing these kids to their full academic potential.

All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way. If not, well, they’ll get what they deserve.

It’s really too bad that sometimes excellence comes at such a high cost.

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This novel is about Teddy Crutcher. He’s Teacher of the Year at Belmont and his award hangs proudly on the otherwise pristine white walls of his classroom. Teddy is… quite the character. He loves teaching, even teaching some to be better people. If they don’t want to listen they just need to feel it, it’s all for their own good. Unfortunately Teddy makes a mistake and then things only go from bad to worse.

For Your Own Good was fun to read, even with all the murders that happened. A serial killer as a teacher, I didn’t need to hear more. You don’t have to take it too seriously but just go along with the wild ride. It was mostly fun because there was a lot of diversion and pingpong in this novel where the blame is put on people you don’t want to see blamed and you didn’t expect them to get sucked into this. As a reader you know better of course and I kept wanting Teddy to be found out.

I was also very afraid for Zach, one of his students who he targets because he always ‘has a smirk on his face’ and looks arrogant. I was expecting him to either get blamed for murder thanks to Teddy or to be murdered by him so I rooted so much for him. There were several times during my reading that I wanted to shout at Zach to be careful, as well as to Teddy’s co-workers that Teddy Crutcher was dangerous. I hoped someone would stop him.

All I wanted was for Teddy to get his comeuppance for what he did, I looked forward to that moment. I’m feeling a bit ambiguous at the end of the novel by the way it was wrapped up. It’s a good ending, surprising as well, but not exactly how I wanted it to end. It fell a bit flat for me because I wanted the big guns to come out so the whole school would be shook with the revelation. Obviously, it was a different ending than what I had in mind.

Overall, this novel was not at all what I had expected on any front but I found it quite entertaining. Maybe one to give to your children to read, you never know it’ll help keep hem in check at school 🙂

I bought an ecopy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.

The Cliff House by Chris Brookmyre #BookReview

One hen weekend, seven secrets… but only one worth killing for

Jen’s hen party is going to be out of control…

She’s rented a luxury getaway on its own private island. The helicopter won’t be back for seventy-two hours. They are alone. They think.

As well as Jen, there’s the pop diva and the estranged ex-bandmate, the tennis pro and the fashion guru, the embittered ex-sister-in-law and the mouthy future sister-in-law.

It’s a combustible cocktail, one that takes little time to ignite, and in the midst of the drunken chaos, one of them disappears. Then a message tells them that unless someone confesses her terrible secret to the others, their missing friend will be killed.

Problem is, everybody has a secret. And nobody wants to tell.

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An isolated Scottish island and secrets, secrets and more secrets! How could I not get excited about that? I have read quite a few of books with a remote setting but The Cliff House definitely sticks out among the others. I knew I simply couldn’t pass up the chance to see how Chris Brookmyre (author of previously reviewed novels Black Widow and The Cut) would handle one of my favourite settings and if I would be able to suss the biggest secret of all.

Jen is soon to be married to Zaki and she has booked a very luxurious retreat for her hen weekend. She is joined at this remote Scottish island by a few friends from the tennis club (Nicolette and Kennedy), two of her oldest friends (Helena and Michelle), her soon to be sister-in-law Samira and Beattie, the sister-in-law of her first marriage to Jason.

There is instant tension from the get go between some of the characters and a whole lot more tension is added when they start to wonder who has the biggest secret. The plot switches smoothly between all the characters and the twists and turns follow each other up rapidly. In order to find their missing party member they have to work together in pairs and while they are trying to survive until they can alert someone or escape the island old grudges are brought into the open and there are quite a few. The truth flips opinions and there were some great secrets that I had not expected.

This story made me quite paranoid and I was suspicious of everyone, like a good old merry-go-round it made my head spin. I thought I knew where the story was going to take us in the end from the very beginning but I was completely off the mark, the page-turning plot is completely unpredictable!

The Cliff House (apparently also published as She Knows) was deliciously addictive and I can recommend this novel and this author in general to everyone who thinks they’re smart enough to figure things out with ease. Consider yourselves challenged!

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher Little Brown, Book Group via Netgalley. This is my honest opinion.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware #BookReview

When she stumbles across the advert, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss: a live-in nanny position, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten by the luxurious ‘smart’ home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare – one that will end with a child dead and her in a cell awaiting trial for murder.

She knows she’s made mistakes. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty – at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

The Turn Of The Key is the creepy novel you didn’t know you needed (or wanted) to read. I’m not especially very much into scary novels myself and I stay far away from everything that might seem ghostly but this novel is an exception and I could hardly put it down.

The way the novel started alone was already a great beginning. Rowan writes to a solicitor to take her on as a client and explains that she’s accused of murdering someone but that she didn’t do it. What she doesn’t do is disclose the name of that person in her letter. It’s a high profile case so the solicitor will know very well who it is but the reader is kept in the dark. There are not so many characters in the novel but it remained an absolute mystery until the very end why or how she might have done it.  

Rowan hadn’t even set foot into Heatherbrae, the house of the Elincourt’s and already I was having unsettling vibes from the house itself so the impact of the intrusive high tech, combined with not so cooperative or friendly children to nanny and things that go bump in the evening or night.. well you know this one will play on your mind!

The whole novel is suspenseful from beginning to end and her writing was very convincing in making me believe what was happening. Things go missing which was bad enough but the strange sounds really made the goosebumps raise on my arms because I couldn’t find any reasonable explanation for it.

Rowan has her arms full with Petra, Ellie, Maddie and Rhianon and I wondered for which of the four children she was arrested and if she really was innocent. The story ends with another letter which gave some much needed answers and I love how the author brought the truth to light in this way. Even so, it still ends with some mystery about Rowan’s fate. I have my own thoughts about what happened to her in the end (convincted or not convicted) but I’ll never know for sure.     

This is the third novel I read by Ruth Ware (after The Lying Game and One by One) and I definitely haven’t had enough. I’ve already added her next novel IT Girl (expected July 2022) to my readlist!

I bought a copy of this novel in a secondhand bookshop. This is my honest opinion.