Tag Archives: Mystery/Thriller

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You Are My Only by Beth Kephart

I can’t get over the writing in this book. The plot itself is an interesting one, but the style of writing Kephart uses to tell the story makes this novel exceptional. The descriptions in this book are amazing and the imagery they create is incredibly unique. You can see the story unfolding as it happens; you are right there, feeling everything, seeing everything, experiencing it all.

I fell in love with Sophie and Emmy. Sophie is a girl who doesn’t know everything she is missing until she breaks the rules to find it and Emmy is the distraught young mother who wants to stop at nothing to find her missing baby. The aunts and Joey are Sophie’s neighbors and her introduction to the real world. Autumn was the girl who listened to Emmy and helped her keep from falling completely apart. These characters were so real, I couldn’t help but cry for them.

I loved this entire book, from start to end. The very last line of this book is one of the best I’ve read. It gets across the entire weight of Sophie and Emmy’s stories and was the perfect way to end this story.

Everyone needs to get this book and read it. It is one of the most extraordinary books I have read this year.

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Shine by Lauren Myracle

The cover of this book is what drew me in at first, but the amazing writing is what kept me reading from the first page to the very last.

This book deals with several hot-button issues, namely homophobia and what it can do at its worst. But even more than that, it deals with many other problems that exist in society. While the main focus is the horrible hate crime and its aftermath, you see abuse, alcoholism and how fear can turn into hatred and its ability to destroy.

I loved the slow build Myracle used to tell the story. You got enough information to make you turn the page, where you’d get just a tiny bit more before you hit the peak and it all came into focus. It made the ending much more powerful.

This is definitely a book people need to read. It’s powerful, and yet the message comes across in such a wonderful way, you can help but walk away feeling a little bit different.

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Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

I was up until 2 in the morning finishing this book. Stevens had me glancing at my windows to make sure there wasn’t anyone there, and I’m still a little wary of answering my phone. I was on the edge of my seat at times, and I found myself trying to figure everything out as I read.

Sara’s desire to know who her birth parents are starts a reaction that makes for a fast-paced and thrilling read. Stevens is able to make you feel something for every character, even the bad guy. She creates interesting character relationships where everything may not be as it seems. It’s hard to see the twists and turns coming and I was constantly surprised.

This was a great book and I was so happy I decided to read it. I’m looking forward to reading more of Stevens’ books in the near future.

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Light from a Distant Star by Mary McGarry Morris

This was a riveting book and a wonderfully written coming of age story that really highlights the moral struggles of Nellie Peck as she grows up.

Nellie starts the book as a young thirteen year old who’s biggest problem in life is having to be her brother’s caretaker and try to toughen him up. Slowly, as her family’s problem start to come into view (such as her sister’s hunt for her father, her family’s money problems and her parents’ marriage problems); she realizes that the world isn’t as clean as she has viewed it.

When Dolly, the young woman who rents her family’s apartment, is killed, Nellie is the only one who knows what really happens. She has to choose between doing the right thing, and doing what her family wants her to do. She is forced to decide if one life is equal or worth less than another. In the end, Nellie is forced to grow up way beyond her thirteen years of age, making for a wonderful and interesting story.

My only issue with the story was how long it took to get into it. I felt there was a lot of build-up, and while I understood why some of it was necessary, other parts of it just felt a little unnecessary.

Overall, this was a fantastic read, and I can’t wait to tell my friends to read it.

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Damage Control by Denise Hamilton

This was a very enjoyable book, and pretty impressive for a first book from Hamilton. I really found myself interested in the murders and the cases surrounding them, as well as within the PR firm. She was able to create a very interesting and deep story, that not only works around solving a murder, but looks at the loyalties people face between when is right and wrong, between friends and self, and between loyalty to family over what is right and wrong. The many dynamics in the story make for a very in depth read.

The one thing I didn’t really feel fit into the story was the romance side of the story. Parts of it felt forced, as though they were only in there so readers of romance would be drawn into the story. When I finished the book, I could understand why things happened as they did, however, I still feel like parts of the “romance” just don’t fit. It took me out of the story for a little while, and I had to push that aside in order to get back into the story.

Overall, this was a great first book, and an amazing suspense story.

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The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon

I was a little cautious when I started this book. Mystery/crime novels are always hard for me to get into, and I loose interesting in them quickly.

However, I was completely drawn into this book and the different stories Bacon was able to create and weave together. I found myself reading and rereading pages, just to make sure I was getting everything she wrote, all the hints she left for people to pick up on. I was pulling out my hair (figuratively) wanting to know what had truly happened.

It was an excellent mix of trying to find out who did it, and showing the secret lives of the students, and how their own world, as secret as they thought it was, did have some cracks in it, and yet seeing the teachers and professors be absolutely shocked at the extent of the secrets their students created. It showed the system of power some students are able to create in order to keep themselves safe.

My only qualm with this book was the jumping perspectives, and while I understand why it was done, it still was slightly distracting.