had to read a Lisa Jewell book for my bday

The Night She Disappeared – Lisa Jewell 

Mystery, thriller, fiction. 

Rating 9/10

Tallulah is a single mother going through college and trying to take care of her child, Noah, with her mother. Her child’s father Zach wants to be more involved with both her and Tallulah but Tallulah wants something else. She wants to be a social worker and live with her mother without anyone judging her. After a night of Zach and Tallulah spend together, both have gone completely missing with the only person connecting them is Scarlett who provides nothing other than that they were simply friends. One year later, Sophie, an aspiring mystery novelist moves into this town alongside her boyfriend who works at the school. She finds a DIG HERE sign and decides to dig up. She digs up a ring and looks into the missing teens’ case. She turns the evidence over to the police unveiling a break in the case. 

I was so thrilled that Lisa Jewell came out with another novel. I love her thriller mysteries because each one is so unique. I enjoyed the diverse characters and their interactions that felt natural. As all her novels are. Furthermore, the writing of this novel was so well done and well spun. Watching it all unfold with the past and present timeline narratives made this novel work in a very thrilling dynamic novel.

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a very haunting house

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mystery, thriller, fiction

Rating 9/10

Neomi heads to the High Place to where her cousin resides with her husband due to a recent letter that her cousin sent. Out of concern, she must investigate the odd behavior that was occurring with her cousin. As she resides she is told of the strict house rules as well as the story of the household. However, the townsfolk have a different story about the High Place. A tale of the ancestor going on a murderous rage that led to a suicide afterward with only one lone survivor. Her cousin talks in hallucinogen imagery that only she sees but no one else sees. After seeking a second opinion she was given the warning to leave before things got worse. As she continues to stay she comes across some more secrets about the violence that occurs. 

This was chilling in the sense that it slowly builds up. This was rather a short read but it was fantastic. I didn’t put it down and whenever I did I felt so bad. I needed to figure out what was going to happen. Then when it happened I was surprised. I was honestly hesitant about picking up this book until my boyfriend told me to just read it. He said it would be something I would like for sure and he wasn’t wrong. I did. The writing is well done and very descriptive. I felt like I stepped into the place and felt everything that the main character had felt. The characters were an interesting cast of characters for sure and the interactions felt so natural. Some mystery novels don’t have that feeling but this one did. The main character Neomi uncovering the secret and the truth was really interesting. It did take a long time because of the suspense build-up but it was rather interesting. Overall, I do love this novel. I did see this on TikTok and couldn’t pass up anymore on reading it.

a good Halloween mystery book to read…

We Are All The Same in the Dark – Julia Heaberlin 

Mystery, thriller, fiction. 

Rating 9/10

Odette is called to Wyatt’s house because of some suspicious activity. Wyatt shows her the young teenage girl he picked up who was surrounded by dandelions. The young girl has no eye and is mute. Odette thinks that this young girl is connected to the Trumanell Branson disappearance that happened a decade ago. Both cases are going to be tough as Odette’s past comes creeping up and she tries to solve the mysterious disappearance of Tru as well as the appearance of this young woman. 

This novel was thrilling and kept me on my toes throughout the novel. I couldn’t stop reading and wanting to know what happened to Trumanell Branson. I was trying to predict what had happened to the young woman too. The novel was very mysterious until the very end. There was a lot of emotion built up and I loved every moment of the novel. I was disappointed by the ending. Overall the writing causes the reader to be invested by the plot and narrative from the first to the last page. I prefer this as a moderate thrill novel because there are some intense scenes but it’s nothing too drastic. A perfect novel for halloween for sure.

this was eerily chilling read…

Mother May I – Joshilyn Jackson

Mystery, thriller, fiction. 

Rating 7/10

An old battered woman was standing outside of Bree’s window looking in. Bree thought she was seeing stuff but her husband also saw. Next thing she knows is that her son was taken and gets a mysterious phone call. She is given instructions to roofie Spencer at a party or else she won’t see her son. She’s also warned to never involve her husband nor the police. Bree does that precisely and after doing the deed, the Mother gives her another instruction. In order to get her son back she must trade her husband. Bree asks the help of her best friend and former cop to assist her with getting her son back. While throughout this cat and mouse chase, Bree realized that the man whom she married and had three kids with was not who she thought this man was. 

This was a little haunting and chilling. I was expecting more but it was not a lot of thrill. Just a mild thrill and mystery. However, it was nothing that I’ve read before. I hadn’t expected the book to go in a certain route. This novel goes over the crucial topic of college parties and how some women get raped due to them being all drugged up. When a woman is not sober she can’t give consent and that is what happened here in the novel. Consent should be between two sober adults. Bree’s reaction to her husband’s past was perfectly normal that she wanted him to make things right with the woman whom he had taken advantage of and ruined her for life. What was uncalled for was the kidnapping of a newborn child. This novel was a little hard to read towards the end and overall the writing was great.

I think I found a new author :D this was good

The Wife Upstairs – Frieda McFadden 

Thriller, mystery, psychological thriller, fiction

Sylvie is struggling to find a new job and in comes an opportunity. A nicely dressed man by the name of Adam offers her a job. To be a live in friend to his incapactiated wife, Victoria, and to help his wife not feel so lonely. Her ex wants her back and she doesn’t want anything to do with him but she needs to get away. Sylvie decides to take the job and moves in for the time being. She finds herself wondering what truly happened to Victoria. Adam tells her all the information she needs. However, Victoria wants Sylvie to read her diary. As Sylvie reads the diary she learns more about Adam and Victoria’s relationship and how utterly toxic it became. Victoria says a few names and Sylvie investigates the mysterious disappearances of two people that were visiting the house. Suddenly as she’s reading more of the diary she realizes the danger she is truly in and she needs to escape. 2

I had gotten this book on Kindle Unlimited (not sponsored) and I deeply was questioning whether or not this was going to be a good psychological thriller. Usually I DNF a lot of Kindle Unlimited books because they are either copy and paste of the same tropes but different characters. This was something I hadn’t come across and absolutely loved this novel. There were a lot of elements to this that were really thrilling. I loved how the main character was reading the diary and the diary was explaining more about the couple and how they met but through the wife’s eyes. After the fourth or fifth diary entry I was convinced that Adam was gas lighting Victoria and was playing the victim card. Something was suspicious with Adam from the start. Just watching the plot unfold was thrilling. I don’t blame what Victoria tried to escape. I just didn’t expect the ending of the novel at all. Sometimes endings really surprise readers like me.  Definitely recommend giving Kindle Unlimited a try and get this book to read. I simply loved this and want to own a physical copy of this novel.

didn’t expect this novel to be utterly good

The Girl Who Could Move Shit With Her Mind – Jackson Ford

Science fiction, mystery, thriller, fiction. 

Rating 11/10

Teagan has telekinetic powers and she is the only one to have them. Due to this, she is working for the government as a trade off from having doctors and scientists cut her open to do testing to see about her powers. Until someone was found dead in a particular way that makes her look like the murderer. She has only twenty four hours before clearing her own name. If she doesn’t find the murderer she will be trialed and sent to a lab facility. She would be erased from any records. Someone else in town has the same powers as she does. She hunts them down to confront them and bring them to light of justice. 

I got this mostly because of the title and the synopsis. This was utterly weird and I couldn’t believe that this book is hardly popular yet there are sequels so someone had to be reading it. I found myself laughing throughout this and intrigued with her perspective. I found myself reading this to the point where I lost track of time. I had such a fun time reading this novel and I might end up getting the sequels as well. This novel will take readers on a mystery thriller with a lot of science fiction involved. I also love where the novel takes place, which is Los Angeles. The descriptions of certain places, especially Skid Row, are vivid and really authentic. Other places described are rather realistic. The author must have been from Los Angeles to know the ultra specific areas and how they look. I enjoyed that in this book. I can’t wait to read more. I highly recommend this novel.

meh

Eight Perfect Murders – Peter Swanson 

Mystery, thriller, fiction. 

Rating 6/10

Malcolm is approached by the FBI about these mysterious copycat murders. He helps the FBI with the copycat murders that have a relation to his Eight Perfect Murders list. As more victims appear this becomes a race against time to find out who is killing these people. 

I genuinely wanted to like this book but I couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s the plot or the purpose of the story but this didn’t really appeal to me. I’m sure the next person would enjoy this novel. This is short and very quickly paced. I sort of enjoy that in a mystery thriller but the whole copycat killer I felt was underdone. I’m sure someone who is into novels that are about copycat killers would enjoy this novel.

nope didn’t like this new book. Not sorry~

Girl A – Abigail Dean

Thriller, psychological, cults, fiction.

Rating 5/10

Girl A, otherwise known as Lexie, finds out that her mother died in prison. She and her other siblings who suffered the carnage of the abuse find themselves wrapped into the past once again. Their story of how they escaped the cult and abuse tells more secrets of their family. Each of their traumas and the media glare, each struggle with facing what comes to them. All have to agree on the final act and Lexie approaches them all. 

I saw this and was wondering about the hype. I always am wondering about the hype with a lot of these books. I didn’t like this novel as much as others. I don’t know. I think the whole cult thing was overdone. It was also very sad with glimmers of hope. I did like the storytelling and writing. I honestly don’t think this book was for a reader like me. I’m sure another reader would have loved this book but this wasn’t for me personally.

woah…

Bring Me Back – B.A. Paris

Thriller, suspense, fiction.

Rating 10/10

Finn’s girlfriend, Layla went missing at a rest stop and twelve years later he told everyone she disappeared. He did not tell the entire truth. She is still out there lurking somewhere but has not been found. Finn moved on with his life and getting married to Layla’s sister, Ellen. One day they receive Russian dolls and they don’t think much of it. Later on this escalates to more Russian dolls and menacingly threatening letters. Finn reaches out to the person sending the dolls and threats only to find that sometimes the truth is unbelievable.

This novel was found in the 6$ section of a Barnes and Nobles. I was curious as to why such a good book is there. I honestly think this book should have been sold at full price and more popular because this was a good thriller suspense novel. I hadn’t expected the plot twist at all. To safely say, I wasn’t expecting this plot at all. The reader should find out the plot twist. The characters and their interactions greatly aided the plot. The creepy Russian dolls scared me though. I mean them being left with a note was really intense… Overall, great novel, highly recommend this.

this was scary good

The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides

Psychological thriller, violence, passion, obsession, mystery, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Alicia killed her husband and entered into a vow of silence. Theo has heard of Alicia’s story and is curious about seeing or understanding why she will not talk. He has a goal to get her to talk but there are some roadblocks such as her medication and making her feel comfortable to speak to him. The head of the psych ward warden gives Theo six weeks only to get Alicia to talk. Theo does some investigating to see into Alicia’s past to understand her further and somehow put the pieces together. He unravels her mystery of silence and proceeds forward to gaining the truth from her. Even if it takes so many risks, Theo is ready and prepared for the outcome. Her diary journal entries leading up to the murder of her husband reveals all.

I was anticipating reading this novel for the longest of time and had a hard time obtaining a copy. I am glad to have purchased this novel because it was worth reading. There was a lot of thrill and mystery with the whole concept of silenced wife who killed her husband then finding out the incident that truly happened was a shock twist ending. I had not expected the ending and I really enjoyed this novel. I wished it were longer, but this was just as perfect amount. Beautifully written and excellently paced.