Review: After All I've Done by Mina Hardy
Thanks to Thriller Book Lover for this thrilling copy.
Thanks to Thriller Book Lover for this thrilling copy.
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: March 17, 2009 (first published November 6, 1939)
Kindle Edition
250 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Mystery
Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Soldier Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…
My Review:
Publisher: Tiller Press
Publish Date: October 13, 2020
Hardcover
384 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthology
My Review:
My Review:
These characters have got some baggage, y'all. I must admit that I did fall in love with Castro and would LOVE to see a series continuing her life. She just felt VERY real in her trying to transverse working as the new deputy police chief in a new small town, the aftermath of her husband's death and all that entailed and being a mother of two. PHEW - I'm tired just writing that. Hillier had me giving the side eye to EVERY single character and I still didn't figure it out. Though the reveal wasn't *too* shocking, I certainly didn't see it coming either.
Hillier has very quickly become one of my favorite thriller authors. JAR OF HEARTS and LITTLE SECRETS are must reads. She brings us some of the creepiest villains with all too relatable characters. I was so excited to finally read WONDERLAND and it was worth every single word. Now I must go back further in her backlist and read CREEP and FREAK. I can't recommend Hillier enough to thriller lovers out there. If you're ever looking for a good thriller to read, you really can't go wrong with her work.
★★★★
Thank you Graydon House for this gifted review copy!
Publisher: Graydon House
Publish Date: December 29, 2020
Paperback
336 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Suspense, Domestic Thriller
My Review:
I don't want to go into too much detail and ruin the twists and surprises, but this is more of a domestic suspense than a thriller. We meet the Crouch family - Winnie, her husband Nigel, and their son Samuel. The picture perfect family living in a gorgeous home. This is a thriller/suspense, so we all know that everything is never as it seems. One night, Juno overhears an explosive fight between Winnie and Nigel where she learns something shocking about the family. So begins her spiral into finding out the truth.
We get this story from the POV's of Winnie and Juno, and these women couldn't be anymore opposite. Fisher throws us a couple curveballs and I just couldn't put the book down. I have so many questions and while I was highly entertained with this one, it felt like something was missing but I'm not sure what. I know a lot of reviewers that are raving about this and I can't wait to see where others fall on THE WRONG FAMILY.
Thanks so much to the author for this delightful copy!
Thank you Penguin Teen for this copy! Happy publishing day!
Thank you to the author and Night Worms for this copy.
Publisher: Ritual Limited
Publish Date: October 26, 2020
Paperback
106 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Horror, Short Stories
My Review:
I had sworn off short story collections and anthologies a while ago... but when this showed up at my door step, it's like the creature from the cover suctioned itself to me, the suctioning sounding like "READ.. ME"... and so I did. In full transparency, I probably would have set this down after the first couple of pages. It's not an easy read in the fact that it's very lyrical and I almost felt like I was just reading clumps of adjectives over and over again.. but I told myself I could get through at least ONE short story. I was uncertain how I felt after that first one so I continued to the next and the next and the next. And quite frankly, I STILL don't know how I feel about any of it.
Let me try to break it down. What I didn't care for: no dialogue or plot and the very lyrical prose. What I liked very much: the very lyrical prose once I got used to it and the absolute staticky, eerie feeling that will take a moment or three to brush off my reading soul. This isn't going to be a read for everyone, that much is certain. I'm not even quite sure it's the read for me. However, I can't oversee the fact that these stories will stick with me for a very long time and I will question every single little thing that I can't see.. like something is constantly scurrying away from my line of sight. Basically, I'm having a very love/hate relationship with this.
★★★
Thanks so much to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this advanced copy.
Please go check out all her work HERE.
The Cult of Eden
by Bill Halpin
Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours and Bill Halpin for this copy and stop on the Blog Tour.