An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

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An Anonymous Girl

 

Just when it felt like I had no books in my favorite genre I ended up with a plethora. An Anonymous Girl is by the same authors of The Wife Between Us. That book totally threw me off and rekindled my love for suspense and somewhat psychological thriller. Knowing this book was by the same authors raised my expectations and thank goodness it didn’t disappoint! It may not be the most exciting or thrilling book out there, but it will definitely pique your interest and then you’ll settle in for a nice “what in the world happens next” read.

An Anonymous Girl hooked me from the prologue. It begins with a mysterious test that the main character stumbles into by less-than-honest means. We find out a little bit about her and then the “man behind the curtain” of the test is revealed. We learn a lot about that character slowly throughout the book and all is tied up neatly in the end. I hate to risk spoilers of books, and this is one where the less you know, the better. These authors proved themselves with their last book, which was enough for me to trust this book. I really can’t wait for more books from them! All I can really say about this book is that if you loved The Wife Between Us and books similar that have plenty of twists and well-developed characters, then you will enjoy this one.

Here is a link if you would like to purchase your own copy!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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The Silent Patient

How many times has a book been hyped and declared the “most anticipated book of the year” only to finish the book and think, “Really? I’ve read so many better books!” Well, let me assure you that this is NOT one of those books. I gave into the hype and could not wait to read this book after reading a glimpse of it way back in December. I was literally so obsessed I thought I would die waiting a whole two months for this to be released. Then when that day finally came, I actually was nervous to read it so I put it off for about a week. I didn’t want to be disappointed. I love reading, but I don’t want to waste my time so if a book doesn’t meet my standards, I tend to be discouraged and cynical about my next picks. I am so glad I read this book and that it met my expectations. I was prepared for it to be my new favorite book of this genre just from the first look of it and it definitely has made my list.

This is also one of those books that has a very particular style and way the plot unfolds; where it all makes sense in the end and totally throws you off. One thing I can say without ruining anything is that I loved the technical and professional side of the psychiatric hospital. I haven’t read many books that take place in one, but I loved that it had a professional’s point of view. It didn’t have boring parts that seemed useless but end up being important. It was truly interesting through and through.

This Silent Patient is about a psychotherapist who wants to work with a particular patient in a hospital. Alicia Berenson was a famous painter who went silent after she was found standing near her husband’s dead body in their house. Theo Farber is determined to help her and to find out the true story about what happened.

As always, here is an affiliate link to purchase your own copy!

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

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Something in the Water satisfied the mystery/suspense lover in me! Truthfully, the first half was a little slow and seemed like it took forever for something to really happen. It’s all about a wedding, honeymoon, and the things going on in Erin and Mark’s lives. I’m not saying that I didn’t like the first half, but knowing that something was going to happen was making me antsy when it seemed as if nothing ever would. I thought it was beautifully written which fully captured Erin and Mark’s relationship. Also, when things did start to pick up, it sort of came out of nowhere for me and made it enjoyable. It seems that there were enough characters and sub-plots going on that the story could have gone many different ways, so it made it fun to try to figure out what was going to happen.

Erin and Mark are engaged. They are planning the wedding and working their comfortable jobs. Erin is working on a documentary about current prisoners who will be released soon. She is conducting interviews over the phone and in person. Mark works in finance and has survived the ups and downs that come with that. They seem completely normal and happy. As with most things, that is when things start to go downhill. Mark loses his job, one of Erin’s subjects becomes creepy, and Mark and Erin have a pretty good fight. They make it through the wedding and then the honeymoon begins. It is a fantastic honeymoon in Bora Bora that seems absolutely lovely. Things are looking up, so, again, here is where the suspense begins.

I really did enjoy this book even after hearing a lot of hype and people talking about it. It usually, not always, turns out that a book has been overhyped and doesn’t meet my expectations. However, this one did. I really enjoyed the author’s style and the way everything flowed. An interesting fact about the author is that she was in Downton Abbey, which I also enjoyed very much.

If you would like to purchase a copy for yourself, here is an affiliate link.

 

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

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This was my first Lisa Jewell book but it will not be my last. I received a copy from Bookish First to review. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. The positives outweigh the minor things I wasn’t fond of. There are many characters and the story is told from each of their perspectives, picking up either where one left off or giving another perspective of an event. It starts off detailing a detective going through a murder scene. So we know a murder happens and certain details about it, but not who it is. The story has a fair amount going on. It gives a lot of backstory about the characters in a good and necessary way. So many times I found myself truly interested in these characters. There are transcriptions of police interviews between some chapters that help the reader weed out who was murdered. I figured it out sooner than I expected, but it didn’t take away from the story. The main theme is obsession and the reader watches how an obsession with someone develops from each perspective of the characters. I didn’t put it down, other than as I mention below, because I was also obsessed with this story.

Potential spoilers ahead!

The only part that I wasn’t a huge fan of and made me put the book down for a day or so involved a teenage son being really creepy. As the title implies, the characters are basically all watching each other. The son has a bedroom on the top floor of his house and he watches his neighbors and students in the area. There is a scene that made me cringe a little because it seriously sounded like it was describing how a teenage boy’s thoughts were changing from starting to notice girls to thoughts of rape. I have read many books with way worse than that, but this was written so well and it made me wonder what the rest of the book was like and what in the world was going on. Spoilers, no rape occurs and the boy ends up okay.

I really hope this book does well this year and I can’t wait to pick up another Lisa Jewell book. I’m torn between Then She Was Gone and I Found You.

In case you would like to purchase a copy, here is an affiliate link!

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

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Where do I even begin with this book? I absolutely loved it! I read this book earlier this year and it is still on my mind and easily one of my all-time favorites. I received a copy before the publish date from NetGalley in exchange for a review. I must say that part of why I loved this book so much is because I didn’t read much about it before I finished it. It was unlike anything I’ve ever read and surprised me. It is a mystery that has all of the best elements. It has twists, suspense, humor, and will keep you up all night reading to see what could happen next.

Aiden Bishop is trying to solve a murder. There is a grand party at the Hardcastle estate with many guests coming to stay. Bishop only has so much time to figure out who kills Evelyn Hardcastle, the daughter who has just returned home. Her parents and brother are there along with several other friends of the family. Perhaps the hardest part is not figuring out which guest might have the motive to do it, but figuring out who Bishop really is?

Here is an affiliate link in case you want to purchase a copy for yourself!

The Journey Begins

/ Jennifer Maben / Leave a comment

Hello! I’m Jenny and I love books. I am based in the lovely Pacific Northwest, not far from the City of Books, aka, Powell’s Books. This site is born out of the realization that I read a fair amount of books while being invested in a few other hobbies and life. I’m a full-time mom to one kid who is slowly becoming a book lover whether she wants to or not. I crochet (a lot…) and dabble in about a million other types of crafts. I’m also a low-key nerd,  soccer fan, (go Timbers!) and Netflix binger. Lately, I have found myself trying to split my time between reading and crocheting, and my husband said, “You should start a book review blog.” I tried to come up with reasons not to, but they turned into reasons to do it, so here I am.

My primary genres are mystery, thriller, horror, and historical fiction. I will typically love a book in those categories. I also enjoy fantasy, history, true crime, general nonfiction, and general fiction, but I can’t say I love most books of each genre. I am objective, meaning I can appreciate a good book even if I don’t particularly enjoy it myself. People obviously enjoy books that I don’t, and I’m not here to act like my opinion is the most important. What I hope to do is help readers find books to read and to spread the word about new books. There was a time in my life when I stopped reading, (the horror!) but all it took was one good book to spark the interest again.

So many books, so little time. — Frank Zappa

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