Suspense – Page 12 – Cannonball Read 17

Secret secrets are no fun, secret secrets hurt someone.

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead

December 4, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

Okay, so just don’t go into this expecting a FUN thriller. It’s not fun; it deals with some serious and dark subjects in a rather dark way. But it IS a compelling read, and I read it so fast, and it’s also not a bleak read. You will have resolution and not in a way that makes you want to crawl under your covers. This is a book about a sex cult, grooming, sexual assault, misogyny, and murder. So, obviously go in knowing you should […]

“The thing is, and maybe I’m biased by all those years I’ve spent in fictional realms built on deceit, I don’t trust narrators any more than I trust the actual people in my life. We never get the whole truth, not from anybody.” #CBRBINGO – Elephant

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

November 14, 2022 by narfna 6 Comments

This was the first of two extremely entertaining thrillers that I read by Peter Swanson in 2022. I fear I may have read his best work now, so I’m not sure if I’ll be checking out any more of his stuff, but I can absolutely recommend Eight Perfect Murders as a stand-out thriller (along with The Kind Worth Killing). Holy shit, was this thing a page-turner. So the plot here is that bookshop owner Malcolm Kershaw, years ago, compiled a list of literature’s most perfect […]

A standard domestic thriller with a premise that doesn’t really deliver.

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

October 31, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

Don’t let the first part of this book fool you. It’s not as fun as those first chapters make you think. I got SUPER into the idea of the rogue therapist, but as the book went on it was less and less about her and her questionable—sometimes illegal—methods, and more just a standard domestic thriller, a genre I don’t read much of anymore, because they always seem to be three star reads for me. And this was a three star read, for sure. After how […]

A meta murder mystery about writing murder mysteries.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

October 29, 2022 by narfna 2 Comments

I had a really good time with this book. I am honestly pleased with most mysteries that I read because something about the genre makes me inherently happy, but I am always very excited when I find one that goes above and beyond the expectations of the genre, and plays around a little. This one definitely did that. It was like brain candy for me. A little treat. The book is split into two parts, the first being a rough draft of a murder mystery […]

I’m still not sure exactly what to make of this book and it’s been months.

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

October 17, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

I found this an enjoyable reading experience, but it definitely wasn’t a perfect read for me. I’m gonna need to talk spoilers to get my full thoughts out, but they’ll be marked. But first, non-spoilery thoughts. Obviously you know from the title that this is a book about maps, and people who make, study, and collect maps. It’s also about family, secrets, magic, and murder. Our main character is Nell, whose mother died in a fire when she was a small child, and whose father […]

The Night Stalker … In Print

The Kolchak Papers: The Original Novels by Jeff Rice

October 13, 2022 by xoxoxoe Leave a Comment

I like to find the original literary sources for movies that I like (see past reviews of Strangers on a Train, Rosemary’s Baby, Breakfast at Tiffany’s), so I was happy to find out that an old television show from my childhood, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, actually started life out as a book. The Kolchak Papers: The Original Novels includes the first two novels that introduced intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak, who has a flair for detecting the supernatural. They first debuted in 1970 and are now […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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