Tag: Thriller

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

When I spotted that ‘A Game of Lies’ was a bargain price on the Kindle, I knew that I had to read it. I discovered the books of Clare Mackintosh last year when I read ‘The Last Party‘ And as ‘A Game of Lies’ is the second book featuring Ffion Morgan, I thought it would be an excellent read to satisfy my thriller/crime fiction genre need.

‘A Game of Lies’ did not disappoint. I absolutley loved the concept of the Exposure reality TV show which eventually revealed the contestants’ deepest secrets and how horrendous this would be if it was a real show. But it fed beautifully into the backdrop of the murder mystery that was about to unfold on the pages. The contestants create quite a rogues’ gallery of potential perpetrators of the crime, and potential victims. But are they victims of a crime, or their own vanity and desire to have their fifteen minutes of fame?

I absolutely cannot reveal any spoilers as it is a thriler, but I can assure you that Ffion Morgan is still a fantastic lead female figure for this book. And her relationship with Leo is still something as a reader you are fully invested in until the very last page. This is as much part of the twists and turns as the mystery unfolding at the foot of the Welsh mountains.

This is a well-constructed, thrilling read; I did not solve it until Ffion Morgan and her team did, and I am okay with that, because I do not read these books to solve the crime – I read these books for the escapism from the real world. And if you want the chance to do the same, then pick this book up. I hope that we are going to meet her and Leo again, because they are a rather fantastic crime-fighting duo.

Conviction by Jack Jordan

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I have again had it proved to me that it is worth giving an author another go. ‘Conviction’ by Jack Jordan was a thrilling page-turner and I am so glad that I did not let it pass me by after ‘Do No Harm‘.

I have wondered why I found ‘Conviction’ a better read for me, and I think it is because I felt that we were thrown into a thrilling situation that could well be happening as we speak. Do not get me wrong, there is of course the extraordinary drama added to make the read as thrilling as possible, but there is a level of possibility throughout the pages that keeps you hooked.

The moral dilemma in this book is all around the justice system: can a lawyer misrepresent their client in order to keep their own dark secret? Moral dilemmas make for such a fantastic read, because, I like to think, we assume that everyone woud make the right choice – but do we really ever know if they will? This book hooked me in from the moment I started reading, and I really could not put it down. I found myself picking it up at every spare moment, because I had to see how the story was going to turn out.

And a book that makes you gasp at a couple of twists is a well-constructed thriller. The last sentence of the last page was not something that I was expecting, and I am still thinking about it now.

So, this again proves that you should not read an author once and form all your judgements, because sometimes they have another story to tell that might be the story that you need to read. Or sometimes, their story might be needed a different time. This is a lesson I have certainly learnt recently; I am going to make sure that I keep my mind open, especially when it is authors from my favourite genres. And this does mean I am definitely going to be keeping an eye out for Jack Jordan’s next book, which seems to be already making a splash on social media.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

This is a rollercoaster of a book – oh my word! This was recommended to me by a bookseller and, as I am apparently in my thriller era, this sounded like a great read (again, no blurb read, etc).

I am not sure how to put into words my thoughts about this book; I thought it was an outstanding thriller: so well written and so well constructed that you were swept away with the story from the moment you started reading. I really enjoyed the way the story was interspersed with moments from the true crime documentary that had been inspired by the story we were seeing unfold in this book.

Alix and Josie are birthday twins, Alix is a successful podcaster and thinks that ‘Birthday Twins’ could be an interesting new idea for the podcast. However, as Josie shares her story, it seems that maybe she has not been living her best life – but can Alix trust anything that Josie says?

This is a dark and moody thriller that has you second-guessing almost everything that you are reading. It really tackles the idea of trust – who and what can you really trust in the world? And what really makes people create a different narrative of their life? Does Josie really mean to create harm, or does she believe she is actually doing things for the right reasons?

I was absolutely sucked into this book and ended up reading way past my bedtime because I simply had to know what was going to happen next. Especially as Lisa Jewell manages to create a tale that you think you could really be seeing on a true crime documentary. I think this may have secured Lisa Jewell as an author that I would consider an automatic buy (or borrow from the local library). I have a couple of others sitting on the tbr pile, so I may reaching for them sooner rather than later.

So, the big question is – are you a Lisa Jewell fan?

One of Us is Back by Karen M McManus

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I feel like I have been waiting f-o-r e-v-e-r for this book. I could not give in to the hardback as it would have not matched with my other books, and as every dedicated bookworm knows, books need to match. (Although, I did give in to the black cover special edition, rather than the traditional white cover, but I just loved it).

So, ‘One of Us is Back’ did not disappoint (thank goodness, imagine if it had – haha). I absolutely loved being back with the Bayview gang as they faced yet another challenge as it appears that someone thinks it is ‘Time for a new game, Bayview’. I am not providing any spoilers other than that you are back with the gang as they tackle another deadly game. And they do not seem as free of Simon just yet, as much as they hope they are.

I just love these books (and pretty much anything I have read by this author); McManus writes brilliant YA thrillers which I wish had been available to me when I was the target audience. Although, as we all know, it does not matter who books are aimed at; as long as you enjoy reading them, you can read what you want.

I think one of the best things about the books of Karen M McManus is that she creates fantastic characters who are relatable; we meet so many brilliantly strong female lead characters who know their minds, and have no fear but love dearly. Which means they face so much head on, that maybe some of us would avoid. I think one of my favourite characters will always be Bronwyn, she is just simply a legend.

So, if you are fan of the Bayview books so far, I recommend this one because it does not disappoint at all – it is a fantastic thriller which is a real page-turner. The question is, do I now need to go back to the beginning of the trilogy to enjoy it all over again?

No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

As I am a real fan of thrillers I had to pick the April book club pick from ‘The Book Taster’ a little early. I was just too excited not to read it.

This is a fantastic thriller, especially as it is something that does not read as complete fiction but has an element of possibility to it that it makes it all the more brilliant to read. As someone who used to travel a lot on the underground as a child with my mum, and always used to worry about boarding that train without her, I could feel all the emotions in this book.

This book is a fast-paced read, as you live through the moments and hours that follow Sive’s daughter not getting off the underground train, but you also find out about the past of the group of friends that led up to the moment in London. There are so many secrets and lies that have taken place between these friends, nobody is quite sure who is telling the truth and, as the story progresses, it appears that nobody is above suspicion.

I could not put this book down because it appeared that every chapter revealed something else about one of the friends and nobody seemed to be quite who they had been saying they were. Even Sive, who is a bit of an outsider amongst the group, has a secret that you would not quite expect. The twists in the tale are excellent.

My only slight niggle as I read this book was that some of the ‘clues’ were really pointed out to the reader. Although this did not happen all the way through the book, so it did not take away from the enjoyment of reading it – it is still a well-constructed thriller which will satisfy fans of the genre.

Girl on Fire by Tony Parsons

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

A friend of mine passed ‘Girl on Fire’ on to me recently so, as I was in a bit of a crime and thriller mood, I decided I would sneak it in before the end of February. I mean, as we are in a leap year and there is an extra day, I may as well use some of it reading.

‘Girl on Fire’ introduced me to DC Max Wolfe (although not his first case), and I was quite taken with this character. A single parent who loves his dog, his job and follows his moral compass, even when the odds may be stacked against him or his case.

Max Wolfe is caught up in the events of a terrorist attack on a local shopping centre, and becomes involved in trying to draw out those who were responsible but also those who believe that they have a right to carry out vigilante justice. There appears to be danger around every corner, from many different sources but Max Wolfe always keeps his sense of fair justice, which makes him a fascinating character to read about as he faces so many troubles and dangers in his work.

I actually found this quite a thought-provoking read, as there was a study of character along the way as it considered what influences people to carry out some of the actions that they do. And how different people view right and wrong, justice and injustice – how do we form our morals and values?

My only tiny frustration with this book with the punctuation of the flow occasionally to explain a piece of police jargon or abbreviation. Although I appreciate as readers we may not have fully understood these things without that little explanation, I just occasionally felt that it interrupted my flow when I was fully immersed in a moment in the story. But I think that was probably just my personal preference when I read rather than a criticism.

I think I would like to read more about Max Wolfe and will be keeping an eye out for more books which feature him in the lead, because I am keen to see where his character came from and where his character is going. Only six more books to read – so many books, so little time.

The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

After the Book Taster introduced us to the books of Claire Douglas, I had made a decision that I need to read her backlist. So, one of my reads in February was ‘The Girls who Disappeared’ (as I found it at a little bit of a bargain price).

This was another great twisty thriller, with atmosphere built from the first page, and a fantastic strong female lead in the form of the journalist Jenna Halliday.

This is a small-town mystery. Twenty years earlier, Olivia Rutherford was in a car accident with her friends, but when she wakes up, the other girls have gone. For twenty years, there has been no explanation for what happened that night, but as the anniversary approaches, Jenna Halliday wants to do a true crime podcast in an attempt to see if it exposes any new information. However, it seems that some people in this small town will go to extreme measures to ensure that nothing new is exposed – or to ensure that any other secrets are exposed.

The small-town setting adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere, as does the forest and the road where the accident happened. Claire Douglas is excellent at using the setting to add to the tension of the story that is being told.

As it is a thriller, it is quite hard to say too much about the plot of the book, other than you are left feeling that everyone has a secret that they are trying to keep hidden, and you never really know who is genuine as a character. It is a quite a ride from start to finish – with a fantastic reveal when we reach the conclusion.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

Last year, one of my favourite thrillers was the dark academia novel ‘The Maidens’ from Alex Michaelides. So, when I saw that ‘The Fury’ was out, I knew I had to grab a copy, because I could not wait to see what Alex Michaelides was treating us to next.

This book did what Alex Michaelides does well, it had a fantastic narrator who you suspect is unreliable from the first page but draws you straight into the story. You just have to know what is going to happen next and what exactly the narrator’s motive is. This is a story of obsession, power and secrets, interwoven with the myths of the Greek islands. All of which results in a number of twists and turns that take the reader on quite an adventure.

Although I did work out one of the twists (I am not sure it is particuarly hidden), the joy of the story is finding out what led to that twist or that decision. The book is fascinating as the motive behind every characters actions is what keeps you reading. How much does each character know about the other, who is really working together, and what is the fact and what is the fiction?

The setting of a Greek island becomes as much part of the story too. It is a great setting as the heat of the island adds to the tense atmosphere of our collection of shady characters. An isolated, private island always seems to be a great setting for a thriller after all (‘And Then There Were None’ by Agatha Christie has to be one of the best examples of that, if you have not read it – you should, when you have read ‘The Fury’, of course).

All of this has not stopped ‘The Maidens’ from being my favourite by Alex Michaelides, but this was another great read that had me hooked. And I enjoyed the references made to some of the other novels.

This is going to be a great read for those who enjoy a thriller as we enter the warmer months, if you can wait that long to pick it up.

One Last Secret by Adele Parks

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

Book and Pudding Club’s pick for January was ‘One Last Secret’ by Adele Parks. This was the first book that I had read by this author.

This was quite an intense thriller, and was certainly not quite what I expected (as someone who does not read blurbs) – Dora has been working as a high-class escort in London; a career path she chose after the birth of her child, Dottie. But now Dora has met Evan and it is time for her to make a change: she is engaged and there is no need for her to work any more. However, she is asked to do one last job: fly to a Chateau in France and pretend, just one more time, to be the girlfriend of one of her clients. What sounds like an idyllic weekend away soon becomes a nightmare for Dora – and, slowly, secrets are revealed and everything starts to unravel.

This is quite a claustrophobic read (and does need to carry a few trigger warnings), and it all adds to the intense atmosphere of the story. I am not sure that it is a book I would have picked up without book club, but I did find it a compulsive read – and it would certainly make a fantastic TV series.

As a book club discussion, we realised how invested we actually all became in the story, as we wanted a prequel and a sequel to the story, and we think there is so much more we could find out about Dora and some of the truths that came out in this book. So, this is certainly a book that makes a great discussion point – even if you are not a huge fan of the story, it creates so many points that are worth discussing.

I am not sure that I would necessarily read more books by Adele Parks, as, although I did enjoy this one, I would not have picked it up without book club – and, with so many books to read, I am not sure they will ever necessarily be at the top of the wishlist. Sometimes it is good to end on a high.

The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

The Book Taster got us off to a thrilling start for 2024 with the January pick of ‘The Woman Who Lied’ by Claire Douglas. This is my first book by Claire Douglas and I am pretty sure that it will not be my last.

This was a fantastic page-turning thriller (yes, I have used that cliche phrase) and a great concept for a thriller too. Emilia Ward is an author of detective fiction and she is about to publish her final book with her famous chracter, Detective Miranda Moody. However, this does not quite become the celebration it should, as she suddenly seems to be living the story she created in her book. Was this story really from her imagination? Where did the inspiration for her final Detective Moody story really come from? And is Emilia’s perfect life about to come crashing down around her?

I found this a very well-plotted thriller. There are some fantastic red herrings woven into the plot. You are led down all sorts of paths, just like Emilia, only to find that you are completely off course. And, for me, that is the sign of a fantastic thriller. I did not reach the correct conclusion, and actually really enjoyed how this book ended, as I had not seen it coming. Although I admit that I do not read these to attempt to solve them, I read them to be able to have some complete escapism from the real world, and that is exactly what this book was for me.

I am looking forward to hearing Claire Douglas talk about her writing and her books at our book club meeting. And I will definitely be reading some of the backlist, because I always enjoy a good thriller.