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REVIEW: Outside by Ragnar Jónasson
Outside piqued my interest for its devastating atmosphere. Iceland has always intrigued me, with its brutal and raw landscape and its beautiful but deadly mountainscapes it’s the perfect backdrop for a survival thriller. It’s a place I have longed to visit to photograph the Northern Lights in all their glory, so I enjoy reading about the country and its heart-breaking imagery. Ragnar Jónasson is a new author to me, and I look forward to discovering more of his stories. Four friends head out to the Icelandic Highlands for a weekend’s hunting trip. It’s a reunion of sorts, with the friends not having been together as a foursome for quite some…
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REVIEW: The Long Weekend by Gilly MacMillan
The Long Weekend is a psychological thriller that likes to live in your head rent-free. The story follows three couples who look to escape the city constraints and rent a converted barn in Northumbria for a long weekend. It’s abundantly clear that the couples all have their problems. Ruth and Toby have recently welcomed their baby boy Toby, but it isn’t the picnic the couple imagined, Ruth is struggling with alcoholism and her marriage is plagued with suspicion and paranoia. Jayne and Mark are ex-forces, and they are hoping to bury trauma from their tours in the Middle East. Emily and Paul are newly married and basking in their newfound…
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REVIEW – The Need by Helen Phillips
The Need, I need a moment to review this book. It’s strange because although I devoured it, I am left feeling a bit like “what the fuck did I just read”? The Need follows the life of Molly, a Palaeobotanist that is struggling with the juggling act that is being a working mother. Working at the archaeological site they have discovered an alternate bible that has god as she. They give tours but with the alternate take on the bible, they are at risk from religious zealots who question its authenticity. Molly worries about potential attacks and is battling anxiety due to it. The Need delves into the pressures of…
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Blog Tour: Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis
Wicked Little Deeds was a story that I ended up gobbling up. I reviewed Harrow Lake, which I absolutely adored last year and I just hoped that this was going to hold up to the same promise. Kat Ellis knows how to write a thriller; this is very different to Harrow Lake but Wicked Little Deeds had the ability to smack you upside the head with its killer hook. Paranormal entity. An impending threat. Twists by the bucket load. If you think you have this one figured out be prepared for a grenade to blow up in your face. Wicked Little Deeds Has the building block of teenage relationships, trust…
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Keeper by Jessica Moor | Review
Keeper was one of those books that had the premise of being outstanding, but it didn’t work for me for several different reasons. Firstly, the characterisation didn’t work in any aspect. I didn’t feel connected or invested in their back stories or their end game. This was a real shame because good characterisation is pretty much a deal breaker for me. Like other readers, I went through bouts of anger and not the type that invoked such emotion that I was intertwined with the plot, the anger was for reasons that I will discuss below. The main protagonists were so devoid of human kindness and emotion that I seriously wondered…
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Review: Foul Is Fair by Hannah Capin
Where do I begin with Foul is Fair? The premise of the story was one that had intrigued me wholeheartedly. A revenge thriller with a feministic twist. A classic retelling based upon Macbeth that became darker and darker the further you travelled through its pages. I want to include a trigger warning about the book before I go any further – It is a revenge tale after a sexual assault. The premise is one that I would have expected to grab me and hold me hostage but the preceding emotion it left me with is an uncontrollable anger – the narrative within the story could be quite dangerous. It unfortunately,…
