Psychological Thriller

Review: The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton

~ megs14malloy

The Perfect GirlfriendThe Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

DISCLAIMER:

The following thoughts are based solely upon my personal reading experience of this book. If you like, really like, or even love this, I am truly happy for you. This review is in no way a reflection of my opinion of you or your experience.

Okay. With that out of the way, let’s proceed, shall we?

I will try to keep this short. I did not enjoy this at all. By the end I was legit pushing myself to complete it. I did not care to sit in the front row to this woman’s mental delirium any longer.

OVER IT.

The writing didn’t work for me. The format didn’t work for me. I found it to be repetitive and banal. The protagonist is obviously mentally disturbed, I get it.

Is there anything else going on here or are we just beating the dead horse of the fact that Lilly, Elizabeth, Juliet, whatever the f* her name is, is insane?

There was no point. She was obsessed (view spoiler). I am not sure if that was the reveal people are talking about? It seemed so obvious, I cannot imagine that was the reveal but I am unclear as to what else would be?

The most interesting part of this was her work as part of a flight crew for an airline and even that was fairly boring.

I am all for devious plotting, scheming, long-game revenge planning but this…I didn’t get the ultimate goal. It wasn’t even revenge, she wanted to be a part of these people’s lives; she wanted their lives. It was bizarre and yeah, just ultimately, not to my taste at all.

As I always say, there is a reader for every book and this book already has a ton of praise and fans. Sadly, it just was not my cuppa tea!

Thank you, Graydon House Books, for the ARC. I appreciate the opportunity and wish this would have worked for me. It hurts my heart to write negative reviews but I must always call it as I feel it.

On to the next!

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Review: The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

~ megs14malloy

The Escape RoomThe Escape Room by Megan Goldin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Being summoned last minute to participate in a ‘team building exercise’ is not how Vincent, Jules, Sylvie or Sam saw their Friday night going. Unfortunately, participation is mandatory so they all dutifully arrive on time at a remote office building in a shady part of town. Greeting in the lobby, they enter the elevator together for the ride up to one of the top floors.

The express elevator ascends quickly and then abruptly stops. The lights go out and the heat cranks up. Suddenly, the team comes to the realization that this is their exercise. An Escape Room challenge where the competitive coworkers will have to put petty rivalries aside and work together in order to solve the clues needed for them to be released.

As dark secrets of the team are revealed, viciously pitting them against one another, they find themselves removed from their normal boardroom backstabbing and thrust into a definitive game of survival.

Megan Goldin’s thrilling debut, set in the world of high stakes Wall Street finance is incredibly ruthless, and that’s sort of my brand. I absolutely flew through this story. I could not put it down!

Following dual perspectives between our cast of characters in the elevator and flashbacks to a mysterious former team member, Sara Hall, the plotting of this is absolutely brilliant. It kept me engaged and guessing the entire way.

At its heart, a complex revenge thriller, this stoked my Slytherin heart, as I stan a character with the dedication to strategize a long game. If you don’t know what I mean by this, pick up this book. This is the epitome of a painstakingly planned ‘long game’.

I had so much fun reading this and it is now definitely one of my favorite books of the year. I recommend it to anyone who likes a solid, unique thriller. If this is what Goldin puts out for her debut, I cannot wait to what she comes up with next. You know I will be buying it and devouring it as soon as its released!

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and of course, love discovering ambitious new authors to obsess over.

This one is out now, my friends, be sure to pick up your copy and see if you can solve The Escape Room!!!

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Review: A Stranger On The Beach by Michele Campbell

~ megs14malloy

A Stranger on the BeachA Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Caroline and Jason Stark have been married for 20-years. Like most couples, their relationship has had its ups-and-downs. Lately, more down than up.

With their only child, Hannah, recently off to college, and Jason traveling a lot more for work, Caroline focuses most of her energy on building her dream house in the Hamptons.

After the lavish beach house is completed, Caroline decides to throw a house warming party, inviting all of their rich and influential friends. Unfortunately, Jason tells Caroline he is stuck at a ‘work thing’ and will be unable to attend.

She’s saddened by this news, as she was really hoping to reconnect with him and show off the beautiful home, no small accomplishment. Then in a jaw-dropping turn of events, Jason does arrive at the house…(view spoiler)!!!

As you can imagine, the proverbial shit hits the fan.

Days after wallowing in it, Caroline gets herself up, out of the house and straight to a popular local watering hole. Once there, she recognizes the guy behind the bar. He was actually the bartender provided by the catering company on the night of her ill-fated house warming.

Instead of cowering in embarrassment, she decides to embrace it and proceeds to flirt with him all night whilst getting elbows deep in some vodka sodas.

Enter Aidan Callahan. Young and handsome with a troubled past. What could go wrong?

For his part, Aidan seems to like Caroline a little too much. Before she knows it, he is everywhere. She can’t get rid of him but is this your typical stalker behavior or is it more?

Alternating between Caroline and Aidan’s perspectives, this book is so full of twists and turns, you won’t know who to believe. The truth is hidden in here somewhere but you’d be hard-pressed to discover it! This story is so gripping, so chilling; a true tale of suspense.

I loved the format of this. I think Campbell’s choices in the development of this story were close to perfection. For the first 3/4 of the book, you are getting that twisted back-and-forth perspective and then suddenly…the main event.

The the final 1/4 follows new perspectives of the investigators called in to discover the truth. I thought this was unique and really well played.

In the end, I was satisfied with the conclusion. The one small criticism I had was that once you got to the investigation portion of the story, with the evidence put forth early on, it’s pretty clear what actually happened. I am not sure too many people will be fooled at that point but regardless, really well written, great characters, fast-paced, gripping; I really, really liked it!

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. Michele Campbell is definitely one of my go-to authors. I love her storytelling. If you haven’t read any of her books yet, this is definitely a great one to start with and perfect for summer fun!!

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Review: Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

~ megs14malloy

Little DarlingsLittle Darlings by Melanie Golding
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A delightfully creepy story!

Lauren Tranter has just become a first-time mother of twin boys, Riley and Morgan. While still in hospital she begins to struggle with new motherhood. A terrible hemorrhage post-birth provides an additional trauma. She now finds herself in pain, alone and questioning her ability to be able to handle all of this.

Making matters worse, one night an intruder in her room, a very scary, ragged woman, tries to take her babies; trys to take them and exchange them with her own evil little monsters. Luckily, Lauren is able to fight her off. Hiding in the bathroom of her hospital room, she calls for help.

Unfortunately, no one believes her. No hospital staff report seeing anyone. How could an intruder have gotten past the surveillance cameras without being seen? Lauren must be hallucinating, suffering from some sort of postpartum psychosis.

Detective Jo Harper isn’t convinced that Lauren was imagining the incident however and she begins to investigate further, contrary to her superiors wishes.

Once back home with the boys, Lauren’s struggles continue. Her asshole husband, Patrick…

…is about as supportive as a dead jellyfish, so without any relief, she really begins to sink toward rock bottom. She never leaves the house, doesn’t socialize and lives in constant fear that the would-be kidnapper from the hospital will return.

In fact, one evening, she sees the woman outside the house, staring in at her. As Patrick begrudgingly goes to investigate, Lauren decides to call the sympathetic officer who spoke to her while she was in the hospital, Detective Harper.

This book has an absolutely wicked, ominous feel throughout. I don’t think I have ever read a thriller that bordered on the supernaturally horrific as much as this one did.

The idea of changelings is closely examined in this work and I loved how many chapters began with little excerpts from various fairy tales focused on that topic. Lauren is truly terrified for the majority of this book and that really got under my skin. The writing was so strong, I was definitely swept up in her thoughts and equally as much into Detective Harper’s investigation.

I loved so much about this book. There is a lot of the plot I am not even going to mention here as it is best to be taken off guard by it.

Immediately after finishing I was thinking I would give it a 4.5-star rating. There were a couple of plot points that I wished had been expanded on or moved around in the context of the story, but upon further reflection, to hell with that. This is a great freaking book. I loved it and would definitely recommend it to any reader who likes dark, slightly scary, content!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with an ARC copy to read and review. I will most likely read it again someday as I enjoyed it that much. Until then I will be loaning out my copy to all friends and family who will take it. I genuinely cannot wait to see what is next for this author!

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Review: The Lies We Told by Camilla Way

~ megs14malloy

The Lies We ToldThe Lies We Told by Camilla Way
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Clara’s boyfriend, Luke, doesn’t return home one night, she prays there is some sort of logical explanation. He had too much to drink and slept it off at a mate’s flat, or he worked too hard prepping for an interview and fell asleep at the office. But as the hours tick by, she begins to suspect something much darker may have happened to him.

Increasingly concerned about his whereabouts, she ends up contacting their old friend, Mac, as well as Luke’s parents. No one has seen or heard from him. After some prodding, she notifies the authorities and he is formally listed as a missing person.

After the police find CCTV footage of Luke getting into a mysterious van, Clara knows for sure, something sinister has happened to him but what?

Along with her good friend, Mac, Clara begins an investigation of her own and discovers Luke may not be the person she thought he was.

I had so much fun with this book. I flew through it, I couldn’t put it down!

There’s no boring domestic drama prattle here. This is a right and proper Adult Thriller.

The dual narrative kept the story flowing at such a sensational pace with reveals coming just when you needed them. I trusted no one. Everyone was a suspect in my eyes and that made it so exciting. The ending — chills. LOVED IT.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am only sorry I didn’t pick it up sooner.

If you are an Adult Thriller fan, and you have been sleeping on this one like I had been, just stop. Pick this up. I would be shocked if you were disappointed!

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Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

~ megs14malloy

The Silent PatientThe Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

She tied her husband to a chair.
She shot him multiple times in the head.
She slit her own wrists.
She stood there and waited for the police to arrive.

…at least, that’s what THEY say she did.
Alicia Berenson isn’t SAYING anything.

When Theo Faber, criminal psychotherapist, takes a new job at The Grove, he is well aware of their most famous patient, Alicia Berenson. In fact, Theo’s goal is to work with her, to see if he can get her to reveal what really happened on the night her husband was killed.

Through Theo’s perspective, his investigation, and Alicia’s own diary entries, the reader is brought along on a hair-raising mystery that is not for the faint of heart.

Guys, I absolutely loved this book. This is the type of thriller that I really enjoy sinking my teeth into. The use of the diary entries, paired with Theo’s investigations, made for a perfectly paced reveal!

Michaelides is definitely an author to watch. I, for one, cannot wait to see what he comes up with next. Highly recommend!

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Review: Between The Lies by Michelle Adams

~ megs14malloy

Between the LiesBetween the Lies by Michelle Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Chloe Daniels wakes up in the hospital, she has no recollection of how she ended up there, or even who she is.

Surrounded by people claiming to be her family, Chloe remains unsure. She has no remembrance of any of them. Soon they are whisking her home and setting her up in a room they say is hers but still, nothing seems familiar.

The man who says that he is her Father also happens to be a psychiatrist and he begins holding sessions with her to help regain her memories. As the story unfolds, Chloe does begin to get flashbacks, both of the night of her accident and her before. Through recollections, and speaking with those around her, the story of her life ‘before’ begins to be pieced together.

I found Between the Lies to be a fast-paced and compelling read. It is intense right from the very beginning. You know there has to be a ‘baddie’ in this story and I suspected everyone, including Chloe herself!

When I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about it and to me, that is a sign of a good one. I did eventually guess the baddie prior to the reveal but it was still a hecka’ ton of fun. Additionally, there was a twist I wasn’t expecting that left me on the final page with a sinister smile on my face.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and felt it to be a solid, absorbing psychological thriller. Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. As always, I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to reading more by Michelle Adams in the future.

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Review: An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

~ megs14malloy

An Anonymous GirlAn Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“How do you know if you can really trust someone?” I finally ask.
“If you need to ask that question, then you probably already know the answer,” he says.

Wow! First book of 2019 on record and WOW, I loved it!

An Anonymous Girl follows two main perspectives:


Jessica:
 A single-gal, late 20s, living in NYC and working as a make-up artist. Jessica lives a fairly solitary life. She has a sweet little dog and a couple of close friends but most of the time, she’s alone. She is a bit haunted by her past. Back when Jessica was a teenager, an incident occurred with her little sister and she has a lot of residual guilt stemming from that. Also, due to this incident, she can find it painful at times to be with her family and they are under extreme financial distress.


Dr. Lydia Shields:
 Dr. Shields is a wealthy and successful psychiatrist and author who works at a local college teaching seminars and performing research studies, mainly on morality. Her perspective is written in second person which I did find jarring at first but eventually became used to and even enjoyed.

Jessica and Dr. Shields become acquainted when Jessica lies her way into participating in one of Dr. Shields studies. Motivated exclusively by money at first, Jessica eventually finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into Dr. Shields web.

The relationship lines are extremely blurry with Jessica and Dr. Shields. I was so confused as to who was the predator and who was the prey initially. They both seemed so enamored with one another.

To add to the complication we get Dr. Shields husband, Thomas, thrown into the mix. Again, is he good, is he bad?

Everyone in this book is just too damn smart for their own good! Manipulation FACTOR 10!!!

The story is extremely fast-paced, a lot of twists and turns, ups and downs….

Someone pass the dramamine! I loved every minute of it. There was mystery, there was investigation, there was an ultimate game of cat-and-mouse…I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! In my opinion, this could definitely be one of the top Adult Thrillers I read in 2019…if not, the top. I know it is early but I really, really enjoyed this.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for kindly providing me with a e-copy to read and review. I always appreciate the opportunity to provide my feedback. This book is definitely a winner. The Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen combo is something very special! I hope they continue to write books together in future, as I would certainly love to read them!

When money and morality intersect, the result can illuminate intriguing truths about human character.

Original:

Ummmm, this is going to be so good -ARC received and I am already rearranging my life to fit it in NOW!

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Review: Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard

~ megs14malloy

Hunting AnnabelleHunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Unfortunately, Hunting Annabelle wasn’t the story for me. I did not like this. It started out promising, as the author’s writing is actually quite strong, but the story, yeah, just did not do it for me.

Around the 50% mark was where it seemed to turn for me and I never got my interest back. Our protagonist, Sean Suh, is a Korean-American in his early 20s who you discover early on has some pretty strong urges to hurt and kill young women. In fact, you learn that he acted on these urges at least once in a severe enough manner to have him sentenced to a psychiatric prison. However, at the point where we meet him, he is living with his overbearing and severe mother in a different state from where he committed his crime(s).

As I mentioned, I enjoyed the beginning. It started off strong. It is revealed to you overtime the extent of Sean’s illness and resulting actions and I enjoyed the way that was slowly unfolded for us. He is very much an unreliable narrator and it is unclear early on how much of his thoughts you can actually believe as the truth.

After a certain point however it just got to be too much. Then plot twists occurred where my eyes legit almost rolled out of my head. I just didn’t buy what the author was trying to sell. It completely lost me on the story.

By the final 20% I just couldn’t. I had to push to make it through. However, just because this story wasn’t for me, in no way makes this a bad book. The author’s writing style is very fluid and easy to read. The suspense and uncertainty at the beginning definitely kept me turning the pages. If you are okay with the plot twists, this could probably be a really strong book for you. It is very violent, very messy, very over-the-top but also explores some interesting topics of identity and mental health.

There are readers for every story but unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me. I want to thank the publisher, Harlequin – MIRA, for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. I always appreciate the opportunity and I would read more books by Wendy Heard in the future.

**Please note, the protagonist in this has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but he doesn’t self-identify as such and I in no way can comment on how the rep was for that.

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Review: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: June 12, 2018   |   Rating: 3.5-stars rounded up to 4

Jar of Hearts is the first book I have ever read by Jennifer Hillier. I was immediately impressed with how the story was constructed. We follow the perspective of two main characters, Georgina ‘Geo’ and Kaiser. The narrative flows seamlessly between the two characters and also flows particularly well between past and present. For the majority of the book I was confident that I would end up giving it a solid-4 stars however, at the conclusion, I am somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4-☆ rating. I am going to round up to 4 because I think overall it lies closer to a 4-star read than a 3-star read.

Trigger Warnings for dating abuse/violence, date rape, rape and murder. Hillier definitely does not shy away from the gritty sides of this story and scenes of rape are described in vivid detail; if you are a reader who is particularly sensitive to these heavy subject matters please tread cautiously.

I feel a bit stuck with this review because it is hard to talk much about this book without giving anything away. For me, the build-up to the reveal was more exciting than the reveal itself. I think about 3/4 of the way through the end is pretty clear and plot points that make the ending possible are a bit far-fetched, to say the least, but overall, if you are just looking for a gritty psychological thriller with a bit of mystery and long buried secrets coming to light, you should definitely check this one out. It was fun and I would definitely read more from this author. She definitely knows how to spin a great web of intrigue.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with a copy to review. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to seeing other readers reviews now that I am done!