My eyes light up at psychological thrillers, True Crime & great literary fiction
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 When Beth was a child, her mother walked out and never came back. Now that Beth is approaching forty, settled in with a good career and loving family, her long lost mother shows up at her doorstep, and soon her life begins to unravel.
--- I loved THE PERFECT COUPLE, so I was thrilled to get a copy of Jackie Kabler’s latest thriller! When I read her writing, I feel like I can sit back and relax because I know I’m in good hands. I connected with Beth from page one and found myself immediately on the ride of a single mother juggling a full-time career while caring for an aging father. I felt her joy when her estranged mother showed up on her doorstep, and when things began going wrong for her, I found myself cringing, feeling her embarrassment, confusion and paranoia. Like a good main character in a psychological thriller, Beth starts drinking a fair amount in an attempt to deal, and I must say, under those circumstances, I can’t blame her. The supporting characters are all incredibly specific and believable, and while Beth tries to grapple with the notion of someone intentionally trying to ruin her life, there is certainly plenty of suspicious behavior happening around her. I’ve seen some reviews stating how easy it is to figure out the first big reveal, but I have to say, I think that’s all part of the plan. It makes the twists that follow all the more shocking! I think Kabler is so adept at what she does that she’s just having fun playing around with what the reader can figure out when. As thrillers go, this one-part psychological, one-part domestic. It’s a fun, perfect-for-summer page-turner that never gets too dark and ends in a fun flurry of surprises and twists. This comes out on June 4, 2021! Thank you One More Chapter and HarperCollins UK for the ARC!
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 This is the second book I’ve read by Reid (along with DAISY JONES & THE SIX), and to me, her writing seems a bit like pop music. There’s a catchy rhythm that hooks you in and makes you feel a certain mood, and the sound is so cool and slick that it almost doesn’t matter if you can fully understand the lyrics. You really don’t care -- it immerses you in a specific atmosphere and mood that you can see and feel and taste.
In particular, she can give you a feel for a particular time and place. In this book, the setting is 1980s Malibu -- putting your life at risk while crossing the PCH before shredding on your board, hanging out in Paradise Cove and living in the thick of the entertainment industry. (I’ve lived in L.A. over twenty years, so I can attest to the fact that everything about the area is perfectly conveyed). What resonated most with me was the history of June, the mother of the main characters. It’s narrated in a style that feels reminiscent of folklore -- an old tale passed down from the ages, told from a distance, moving quickly through time but carrying an emotional weight. I felt for some of the characters (especially June), but I didn’t quite connect with them as strongly as I was hoping -- not the way I did with the characters in DAISY JONES. This is partly due to the second half of the book containing vignettes that briefly introduce new characters who are guests of the huge, blow-out party. This is done in an attempt to give the reader a feel for what crazy Hollywood parties are like and a peek into the lives of people who move to L.A. to chase their dreams. It’s a bold attempt that some readers may appreciate, but I found it distracting enough that by the end, I was disconnected from the story. It felt too much, to me, like putting style over substance. Although I didn’t find this as unique or powerful as DAISY JONES, this author truly does bring atmosphere and ‘the style’ like almost no one else can, so my guess is that die hard fans will love every word. This comes out June 1! Thank you Ballantine Books for the ARC!  After taking photographs in the home of wealthy parents, Delta becomes so obsessed with them that she inserts herself into their lives and goes to shocking lengths to become a part of their family.
--- This is less of a typical domestic thriller and more of a psychological thriller mixed with a character study of a disturbed individual, and it has a similar feel to the work of Shirley Jackson or Patricia Highsmith. In fact, Delta is quite a bit like Tom Ripley of THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. Or Bruno and the way he became obsessed with Guy in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. There is an emptiness inside of her, so she fills that vacuum with the identities of those who happen to become the object of her obsession, desperately trying to adopt the lives of those she views as special and privileged. Perhaps those who, unlike her, she believes, are worthy of love. Delta is an unreliable narrator and a fascinating puzzle. As a reader, you’re not sure what to believe about her and just how much is distorted while looking through her ‘lens.’ And I found it impossible not to try and figure her out. Her work as a photographer, mainly for parents and families, adds another interesting layer. Delta will manipulate photos for her clients so that their lives will appear picture perfect. This dovetails nicely with Delta’s need to bend the reality of her own life for the benefit of others. I was riveted while reading this, apprehensively awaiting the actions Delta was going to take, cringing at the lies she told, yet somehow hoping she wouldn’t be found out. And with this family she became obsessed with, it became unclear just who was using and manipulating whom. This book isn’t aiming for pulse-pounding action. Instead, what it offers is simmering tension and a sort of Hitchcockian sense of unease that something, at some point, is going to go terribly wrong. This is a debut, and I will eagerly pick up whatever this author writes next! It comes out May 25! Thank you St. Martin’s and Minotaur for the ARC!  Sophie left behind a career in big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in small-town Texas. But soon she's feeling bored and restless, until she becomes obsessed with Margot, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives.
Sophie slips farther away from the safety of her family and deeper into Margot’s nest of vipers until the body of a teenager is found, and she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. --- This one is all of the S’s: salacious, soapy and steamy. It’s perfect for fans of Desperate Housewives or Big Little Lies or those who love The Real Housewives of any city, but especially Dallas (since it’s set in TX). At times I saw these ladies as self-absorbed characters making poor life choices. At others, I saw them as females exploring the sides of themselves that, as women, they’re supposed to suppress. But no matter how I felt about their behavior in any given moment, I could NOT look away. The main character, after settling into small town life, is suddenly terrified by what’s expected of her as a wife and mother -- the sheer monotony of it, so she becomes obsessed with Margot. Through Margot, she can explore the less responsible, and darker, parts of herself. This includes the sexual desires most women are expected to deny or sublimate. This results in her making one life-destroying decision after another. I felt myself wanting to backhand her at the very same time I was rooting for her. In her defense, the seeds of her destruction were planted in her childhood, which wasn’t storybook. This is a slow burn until about the midpoint, and then the pace picks up. But at no point, from start to finish, did I ever feel bored. The cover of this book is perfect. It works so well with the story. This is coming out May 18! Thank you Berkley for the ARC! |