Category: Thriller

Recent Reads: The Girl In The Red Coat by Kate Hamer

Posted on by Pam

My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Girl In The Red Coat by Kate Hamer is a thriller dealing with the disappearance of an 8 year old girl.

There is a light fantasy aspect to this as she might have healing powers. 

I enjoyed the story, and the two points of view, the girl and her mother.  The mother’s point of view always starts with the days since her daughter disappeared, and I thought that was a good way of immediately setting the scene.

I read this quite quickly as I was drawn into the story, and kept turning pages to see what was going to happen next.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Faber and Faber.

Recent Reads: The Trial by S. R. Masters

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

An offer of money and a stay on one of the Canary Islands seems like a good deal to those who join the trial, and although there’s all the usual medical waivers you’d expect, what’s the worst that can go wrong? 

This is a tense thriller where you think you know what is going on, but your expectations are often messed with.

I liked the idea of some of the characters going but having faked the results in order to be chosen.

I enjoyed seeing where the story took me, and the twists and turns of the book!

The Trial was published on 8th July 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow S. R Masters on Twitter and on his website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to One More Chapter.

Recent Reads: The Locked Attic by B. P. Walter

Posted on by Pam

My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Locked Attic by B. P. Walter is a thriller, focusing on one character and her struggle to put events into context and deal with her grief.

I found this to be a gripping page turner as I tried to put all of the information into context to understand what happened!

I found the characters to be rounded, and was interested in what would happen next!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to One More Chapter.

Recent Reads: Full Throttle by Joe Hill

Posted on by Pam

My review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Full Throttle by Joe Hill is a book of short stories by the son of Stephen King! And Stephen King collaborates on one of the stories!

These are gripping stories, with a mix of thriller and horror. I really enjoyed reading them, and learning more about Joe Hill as he writes about his career and how he became a writer.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Gollancz.

Recent Reads: The Other Guest by Helen Cooper

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Other Guest by Helen Cooper is a thriller told from 3 different perspectives: flashbacks from Amy on the day she died, her aunt Leah and Joanna in Derby.

This is set in Derby and also on a lake in Italy, and I enjoyed the holiday feel of the book.  There’s a mystery about how Amy died, and so as her aunt Leah starts to investigate, she finds more lies, and people avoiding answering questions.

This is an entertaining gripping book, which I can very much see being read by the pool, or on a beach!

The Other Guest was published on 16th June 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Helen Cooper on Facebook, Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to Hodder & Stoughton.

Recent Reads: The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell is a historical spooky thriller.  Elsie is newly married and newly widowed, pregnant, and in her late husband’s country estate with a relative of his family.  No one seems to be especially pleased to see her, and then there are some odd things happening.  

They discover some strange wooden figures, and a diary from two hundred years before, all of which suggests something bad happened.

A gothic tale, with settings including a mental asylum, this was an unsettling and thrilling read.

The Silent Companions was published on 5th October 2017 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Laura Purcell on Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Books.

Recent Reads: The Murder List by Jackie Kabler

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Murder List by Jackie Kabler is a rollercoaster of a read!  Mary is sent a blank diary as a gift.  She doesn’t think anything of it until she opens it and finds:

1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD
1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM
1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF
1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM

It could all just be someone’s idea of a joke, except someone called Lisa was killed in Oxford on 1st January!  And Mary thinks she is the Mary on the list for 1st April!

This kept me guessing! I kept thinking I knew who was doing it, and every time I was wrong!  There are different threads weaving through this book, and I enjoyed the ramping up of the tension!

The Murder List was published on 31st May 2022 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Jackie Kabler on Twitter, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to One More Chapter.

Recent Reads: Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin is a modern re-telling of MacBeth, told from the point of view of Jade, in the role of Lady MacBeth.  

16 year old Jade is date raped at a party by four teenagers, and the next day she is out for revenge, along with her three friends, whom she calls her coven.

This is a bloody tale, set in present day LA, with rich families involved, not all of whom are involved in legal activities.  I enjoyed the version, with overtones of magic, but this isn’t a fantasy novel.

It’s a YA book, but there is drugs, sex, drinking and murder, so just be warned!

Foul is Fair was published on 16th January 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Hannah Capin on her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Random House Children.

Recent Reads: Dear Child by Romy Hausmann

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann is a thriller, translated from German, and so set in modern day Germany.

Lena is trapped in a shack in the forest, with two children whom she is told she has to look after.  Their days are strictly regulated, until one day Lena manages to escape, and this is where our story starts!  We meet Lena in the hospital, where she slowly tells her story to the police.

This is a tense thriller, where the truth changes often.  It’s a haunting tale, well told, and makes you want to keep turning the page!

Dear Child was published on 14th May 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Romy Hausmann on Facebook and Instagram.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quercus Books.

Recent Reads: True Story by Kate Reed Petty

Posted on by Pam

   My review:?????

True Story by Kate Reed Petty is a powerful story that revolves around something that happened when our characters were teenagers, and how this echoes through their lives.

The story is written from different points of view and in different styles, which gives the story movement and makes it more powerful.

I thought this was a really good book, and it had me glued to the page.  I wanted to know more, to see where we were going to be taken.

Trigger warning: this book deals with rape, abusive relationships and alcoholism.

True Story was published on 4th August 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Kate Reed Petty on Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quercus Books.