“You couldn’t turn on the TV without hearing about the missing teenage girl. Sixteen years old. White. Middle class. Very pretty. No one ever seemed quite as outraged when an ugly woman went missing.” I will admit I was not immediately into this book. It opens from the point of view of a father writing to his dead daughter which was a bit overly emotional to me. Then cut to one insufferable woman who hates on the other mother’s at her daughter’s basketball game all […]
“You left me alone but you’re still my own”
The key to a good suspense/mystery novel is similar to that of a good horror film. The characters reactions to things have to be realistic and make sense. That doesn’t mean they have to necessarily be smart or follow basic common sense. It means they have to make sense given what we know about the character’s past experiences and personality. That way, when everything goes pear shaped, it feels like these things are being experienced by a real human and not merely a vessel to […]
An ugly, ugly book
I’ll open this review by saying I have a very low tolerance for books or movies that feature torture. I just don’t want those images in my head. I don’t want to think about the fact that human beings do such depraved and terrible things to other human beings. I don’t want to think about the fact that people’s last hours have been filled with pain and horror initiated by the whims of another person. I don’t even want to think about how an author […]
Would You Know if You Lived in Captivity?
Trigger warning: Rape/captivity Helena Pelletier is just about as happy and at peace in her life as she can be. She has a loving husband, two daughters whom she loves, a jam making business and strong connection to nature and the world around her. In the first chapter or two, I was seriously envious, then the other shoe drops and we learn that Helena has been keeping secrets about her past. Now, due to her father escaping from prison (after fashioning a shiv out of […]
Trauma, Trauma EVERYWHERE!
After reading Swanson’s novel A Kind Worth Killing which was like a cross between Strangers on a Train and Don’t Make Agreements with Psychopaths for Dummies (a book not yet written but should be), I was excited to see that Swanson had another book, which is why I picked up Her Every Fear. A Kind Worth Killing had a hook immediately, Her Every Fear took me a little to get drawn in but after a few chapters, it was the thriller on steroids that I […]
Big Suspense, Big Time Fun, Little Criticism
It has been a bit since I was absolutely OBSESSED with a story, and finding out whodunnit, but Big Little Lies captured me from head to toe. I went into the novel knowing of the successful HBO miniseries and seeing trailers with competitive women jogging on the beach, and I wasn’t sure it was my cup of tea but I listened to the bajillion ladies I know who said, “OMG READ THIS BOOK” and they were all correct. Firstly, and importantly, I did this on […]
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