The Liar Next Door by Nicola Marsh is a page-turner. Told in two timelines and from three different points of view, it gives us a glimpse into the lives of three women living in one seemingly perfect neighbourhood.
It's a domestic suspense thriller, but so much more than that. Love and betrayal, friendships, relationships, parenthood - it's all there for the reader to soak in.
This book is about second chances and making the most out of the cards you're dealt. It's about decisions and consequences. Most of all, it's about the importance of knowing what your dream is before you can follow it.
Blurb
Between life and death there is a library. When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is one of the few books ever that managed to fill my mind even when I wasn't reading. It started innocently enough, and - while intrigued from the very beginning - I could very much take it or leave it after chapter one. I mean, the writing was beautiful in its stark austerity, the concepts original, the protagonist likeable... but it was just a book. Somehow, though, somewhere towards the middle, the book's setting became a reality I very much wanted to visit. Its magical pull on me was not unlike the one that the House in the novel could exert. And when I finished the book - that's when my obsession started. I wanted to discuss the relevance of the title, the symbolism of the statues and the albatrosses, the relevance of the text to other texts, and the relevance of the text to real life. Literature teachers worldwide would be proud.
Most reviews will tell you that it's impossible to review what the book is about without spoiling it, so I'll stop right here.
This is not your usual Mark Billingham. Yes, there are a few murders. Yes, there is a mystery to solve. And yet the setting (a mental health institution) gives this book a totally different flavour and feel. Very realistic, very well done.
Oh, and PS: I really like Tom Thorne makes an appearance in person, even if his name isn't mentioned.
PS2: Alice down the rabbit hole, Mad Hatter's tea party yep, got it.
Blurb:
Alice Armitage is a police officer.
Or she was.
Following a debilitating bout of PTSD, self-medication with drink and drugs, and a psychotic breakdown, Alice is now a long-term patient in an acute psychiatric ward. Though convinced that she doesn’t really belong there, she finds companionship with the other patients in the ward despite their challenging and often intimidating issues.
So when one of her fellow patients is murdered, Alice feels personally compelled to launch an investigation from within the ward. Soon, she becomes convinced that she has identified the killer and that she can catch them. Ignored by the police, she must gather proof on her own, relying on the few contacts she has on the outside that still take her calls. But Alice’s life begins to unravel as she realizes that she cannot trust anyone in the ward, least of all herself. Having lost her conviction and with her investigative confidence shattered, she comes dangerously close to a psychological point of no return.
Clare Mackintosh just keeps getting better and better. I read "Hostage" in one go, simultaneously eager to find out what happens at the end and reluctant for the book to finish. "Hostage" has everything, from characters you care about to deep issues. 5/5 stars for sure.
Blurb:
Mina is trying to focus on her job as a flight attendant, not the problems of her five-year-old daughter back home, or the fissures in her marriage. But the plane has barely taken off when Mina receives a chilling note from an anonymous passenger, someone intent on ensuring the plane never reaches its destination. Someone who needs Mina's assistance and who knows exactly how to make her comply.
It's twenty hours to landing. A lot can happen in twenty hours.
You know what? Instead of my usual review, here are a few random thoughts and feelings about Anxious People by Fredrik Backman:
Fifty-fifty by Steve Cavanagh features the much-anticipated return of Eddie Flynn (Book 5 in the series). Eddie is an ex con artist who is now a lawyer, so not much change of a profession there (with apologies to my aunt, uncle, brother in law, sister in law, and potentially my children). Paired up with judge Harry Ford, they constitute one of my favorite crime fiction duos.
The Eddie Flynn books just get better and better. This one is a perfect combination of plot, character development, topical issues and plain good old storytelling.
Read it. Even if this is to be your first Steve Cavanagh, read it now. You can catch up in reverse order.
Blurb:
Two sisters on trial for murder. Both accuse each other.
Whom do YOU believe?
Alexandra Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife.
Sofia Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom.
Both women are to go on trial at the same time. A joint trial in front of one jury.
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
But one of these women is lying. One of them is a murderer. Sitting in a jail cell, about to go on trial with her sister for murder, you might think that this is the last place she expected to be.
You'd be wrong.
