#psychologicalthrillers – Page 3 – Rosepoint Publishing

Blood Mountain by Alisa Lynn Valdés – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Jodi Luna Book 2

Book Blurb:

New Mexico game warden Jodi Luna disrupts a murderous wilderness adventure in this thrilling second installment from Alisa Lynn Valdés, New York Times bestselling author of The Dirty Girls Social Club.

Former poetry professor Jodi Luna hasn’t quite adjusted to life as a game warden. Her boss thinks she’s better with animals than humans, and the man she’s seeing wants a real relationship. Still reeling from her husband’s death, Jodi has to admit that she keeps people at a distance.

After her new friend, wealthy actress Claudia Evans, gathers with family members in the New Mexico wilderness, Jodi gets some unsettling news—that Claudia’s brother-in-law is missing. Eager to help, Jodi ventures into the wild to investigate, only to be thwarted by a blizzard that leaves the entire group stranded at a fishing lodge.

Jodi is no stranger to extreme weather, but when these reluctant adventurers start turning up mauled around the snowed-in lodge, Jodi suspects the worst: This was no bear. This was murder.

And inside the snowy confines of this rustic hideaway, everyone is fair game…

…for a killer.

My Review:

Lest you assume this might be the ole people stuck in a blizzard and start disappearing you could be right.

With a couple caveats: Jodi Luna was raised in New Mexico and has returned to try and chill both she and her daughter following the death of her husband on the East Coast where she was a professor. Her fifteen year old daughter Mila, whether or not having witnessed the death of her dad, certainly sounds like a typical teenager to me and a pretty smart one at that. So it is her daughter who saves the day.

Hoping to turn their lives around, Jodi has gotten a job as the local game warden. She loves animals and knows how to handle most people and the situations involving them.

Her new supervisor assigns her a job requested by the governor as a favor and is clearly no request. She is to proceed to a ranch compound owned by a billionaire who is hosting his annual elk hunt on his palatial estate. Teddy Evans and his wife invited his brothers and a sister, and their spouses then splits leaving the guiding up to Jodi.

Of course, the siblings feel ridiculously entitled, are obnoxious, and the men less than thrilled over having a female guide. The wife just wants Jodi to help organize and keep them from killing each other.

Oops.

The property is massive, beautiful, and there’s a treacherous storm brewing that threatens to cancel the hunt (for animals anyway). They are high up in the mountains and isolated. Jodi brought her daughter along who transitions from Godzilla to brilliant loving daughter (I had a little disbelief there).

There is a little property that straddles the ingress/egress road to the ranch compound owned by a woman been there longer than dirt and has a pet bear. She can effectively stop traffic going through but there are far more reaching reasons why the billionaire wants her property.

Jodi seems pretty intelligent but makes a few decisions that I wondered whether might have been irrational. They discovered a body that appears to have been mauled and she is taking no chances and isolates everyone. Jodi is dealing with other issues as well and her job is in jeopardy.

So many conflicts, themes of family dysfunction, entitlement, greed, and trust are interwoven into a plausible plot. The storyline keeps a good pace, pushes some disbelief, throws in twists and adds complexity. It’s entertaining. The female protagonist reminded me a little of Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series, although I think Pigeon is softer around the edges than Jodi who could become grating.

I enjoyed the book, it kept my interest. Thinking I’ll go back to Book #1 and catch up, although this could very well be read as a standalone.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Political Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: 1662507151
ASIN: B0BTJC7JFR
Print Length: 331 pages
Publication Date: April 16, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many novels. Published in 11 languages and with more than 1 million books in print, Alisa was named one of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States by Time magazine; Latina magazine named her a Woman of the Year; Entertainment Weekly hailed her as a Breakout Literary Star; and Hispanic Business magazine has twice named her among the 100 Most Influential people in the nation. Alisa is a former staff writer for the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times, and holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia University. Alisa is also a screenwriter and TV and film producer, and a playwright and composer with a bachelor’s from Berklee College of Music.

#TuesdayBookBlog

The Fury by Alex Michaelides – #BookReview – #suspensethrillers

in Murder Thrillers (Hardcover)

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense (Kindle)

Book Blurb:

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

His Review:

A mentally disturbed playwright is marooned on an island with the cast of his play. He is egocentric and his world revolves around his plays and the actors that bring them to life. He has fallen in love with the leading lady but unfortunately, she has another love interest. Why does this feel like a Greek tragedy?

The main character is an artist and a great writer in his mind. His narrative develops as the play progresses. All of the characters are involved in his play and as the work develops he becomes detached from reality. He writes the dialogue as the changes to the play develop.

Although the leading lady loves another, he is sure she will learn to love him if she just gives him the chance. The other man, however, seems to hang on and always spoils his plans. What can he do to become the leading man in her life?

I found this book to be slow at times and a little Edgar Allen Poe-ish in some of the scenes. He talks to himself and the reader as the plot develops and it does, indeed, defy the reader to keep up with the twists. 4 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Celadon Books
ISBN-10: ‎ 125075898X
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1250758989
ASIN: B0BXTB6HSN
Print Length: 295 pages
Publication Date: January 16, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an M.A. in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide. The rights have been sold in a record-breaking 51 countries, and the book has been optioned for film by Plan B. His second novel, The Maidens, was an instant New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for television by Miramax Television and Stone Village.

Enjoy Your Sunday!

Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena – #AudiobookReview – #psychologicalthriller

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Welcome to Stanhope. A safe neighborhood. A place for families.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbors become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.

My Review:

Not my first rodeo with this author and at this point I can say you never know what kind of twists her mind will contrive for a plot that can get you spinning.

Here, there are two families living in the same neighborhood that confront a traumatic event. The hubby of one family is having an affair and it’s the woman he is seeing that sets him off when she decides to end it. He does, indeed, have a short fuse.

As always, you never know what goes on behind closed doors and while they look ideal, happy families are not always true. The author has a way of building the characters so it’s easy to see them as suspicious before flipping to the next scenario.

Both families have children. The young daughter of the guy who has just been rejected goes missing. Of course it’s easy to suspect him. The main characters have their problems, issues, and the child it turns out is not one who endears herself to many. She is unlikable and has had run-ins both at home and at school, is under watch for behavioral problems. I felt the most sympathy for the older brother of the nine-year-old.

As the tension builds and the couples each bear the brunt of the investigation, relationships begin to falter. The child’s father steadfastly denies any wrongdoing and appears as baffled as the next as to what could have happened to his daughter. The mother is ready to believe the worst.

As the storyline hurtles to the conclusion, there is yet another twist only considered briefly. Yes, while I’m right in a small way, the writer manages to take it several creepy levels further into psychotic and the ending turns shocking.

Having admitted to reading one of her other books, The Couple Next Door, you’d have thought I might have been prepared.

I wasn’t. Like her mother kept wailing, “She’s just a nine-year-old child.”

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Women’s Fiction, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B0BL9TM983
Listening Length: 9 hrs 28 mins
Narrator: January LaVoy
Publication Date: July 25, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Everyone Here is Lying [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four stars

Shari Lapena - author — Courtesy Goodreads Author Profile

The Author: Shari Lapena worked as a lawyer and as an English teacher before writing fiction. Her debut thriller, The Couple Next Door was a global bestseller.

Happy Thursday

Blue Ridge by Peter Malone Elliott – #BookReview – #politicalthrillers

Book Blurb:

What would you do if you were planning to kill your brother—but someone beat you to it?

After former Olympic contender turned burn-out horse trainer Cillian Clarke is framed for the murder of his identical twin Christopher, a rising-star Virginia politician, Cillian is forced to go on the lam. But when someone from Christopher’s past emerges and offers Cillian the chance to clear his name, Cillian is plunged headfirst into a sinister conspiracy that not only threatens the sanctity of democracy, but also promises to expose the devastating secret intertwining the brothers forever—the truth behind the death of a woman they both loved.

My Review:

For some reason, I seem attracted to the mystique that is the Blue Ridge Mountains—maybe from my riding days when the Blue Ridge Parkway was on my bucket list. So it was easy to grab this title, helped in no small part by the blurb.

“…the majestic, rolling landscape of the Blue Ridge is nature’s equivalent to the music of Patsy Cline…”

Oh, the prose.

Nailed it.

First, it was obvious from the author’s writing style that it was going to be unique. A good ole boy, Cillian, his musings—dark and honest as they were—confiding his sinister thoughts was a hook. He knew horses (his equine experience didn’t end well), but it was his estranged brother that fueled the fury within him. The resolve to kill his brother. The bane of his existence.

Interesting to get his side—then flip—and get his brother Christopher’s POV. And the immediate impression is one of a narcissist. Gees, no wonder Cillian had such a problem—but who was it said identical twins were opposite on the human spectrum. Everyone?

Christopher is popular; climbed the political ladder now viewing a possible run for governor. Is that even possible knowing what Cillian knows about his brother?

Cillian and Christopher share a secret, however, one so terrible, so horrendous there will be no reconciliation. Ever.

The author carefully develops his characters; molded, shaped by time, experience, love. Hate.

And then there is Audrey, Christopher’s carefully crafted love for Cillian’s beloved. His plot to secure her for his own gone terribly wrong. Irrevocably tragic. Each plotting the end of the other’s bid for her.

Then, the death of Christopher before Cillian can do it himself. Who? Why? Cillian so easily framed for his murder—a plot piece that fell neatly into the puzzle. How will Cillian find the answer without revealing the dark guilty secret each held?

A well-plotted and fast-paced narrative, this storyline just keeps adding intrigue, suspicions, twists and turns. The author adds just the right amount of hope and then yanks the rug out from under the feet. Can there be any escape here? Redemption? Solution?

I held out hope to the end.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. I’m looking forward to what this author comes up with in a sophomore novel.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Political Thrillers & Suspense, Noir Crime, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0CJKXKVJN
Print Length: 247 pages
Publication Date: January 9, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link: Blue Ridge [Amazon]

The Author: Peter Malone Elliott is an author, screenwriter, and developmental editor. Born and raised in Virginia, he now lives in Brooklyn, but still holds the magic of the mountains and Southern living near and dear to his heart. BLUE RIDGE is his debut novel. Other notable writing achievements include a Leo Award nomination for “Best Screenwriting, Motion Picture” and winning the Grand Prize of the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition. Peter is also the founder and owner of Fortiter et Recte Literary, where he offers bespoke editorial consulting for manuscripts and screenplays.

#TuesdayBookBlog

The Cove by Gregg Dunnett – #BookReview – #psychologicalthrillers

DCI Stone Crime Thrillers #1/Detective Erica Sands Book 1

Book Blurb:

Date: November 5th, 10:32pm (everyone thinks I’m asleep!)
Age: Nearly exactly eight and a half!
Dear Diary, I saw something last night. I shouldn’t even write it down, but I need to tell someone. I’m so, so scared…

Six months later. After the sudden death of her husband, Christine Harvey would do anything to give her precious children Molly and Ryan a fresh start. The huge clifftop house she’s hastily purchased has the most breath-taking ocean view she’s ever seen. Surely here they can someday be happy again?

But Christine had no idea that her family’s new dream house is right next door to where a child was abducted and murdered. And nobody told her that the father – who was the main suspect in the police investigation before it collapsed – still lives there.

Everyone urges her to move on, but Christine can’t stop thinking about that child. Fearing for the safety of Molly and Ryan, she frantically delves deeper into the old case, looking for anything that will give them some answers.

But some secrets are best left buried, and as the behaviour of their new neighbour grows increasingly unsettling, Christine wonders if digging up this one was the worst thing she could have done for her family…

From the number-one bestselling author, this is an unputdownable read with a twist that will make you gasp. Perfect for fans of JP Delaney, The Housemaid and Shari Lapena, you won’t be able to put this book down.

His Review:

This is the tragic story of an 8-year-old girl found murdered and mutilated on a beach. They recently moved to a new home overlooking a beautiful bay. The mother is very excited about the times she will have sharing the bay and the beach with her daughter. But it will never happen.

The murder is the first investigation in this locale in seven years. The mother and father are devastated. The prime suspect is an escapee from a mental institution, but the prime question is: How was he able to get into a newly built and secured house on the beach, abduct the child, and take her to the water.

The writer keeps the tension high as the investigation continues. Following the near-manic thought processes of the mother are exhausting.

A masterful switch at the end startled me and made me question what I thought I knew about the entire story. The writer has a macabre imagination regarding a very dysfunctional family. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good crime thriller saga. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These are my own opinions.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Serial Killer Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Cozy Animal Mysteries
Publisher: Storm Publishing
ISBN: ‎1805083740
ASIN: B0C5TKWLYD
Print Length: 408 pages
Publication Date: July 25, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Gregg Dunnett is a #1 bestselling author of thrillers and mysteries, usually set around the coasts, oceans and beaches. His book ‘The Things you find in Rockpools’ has sold over 100,00 copies, and the series has over 20 million Kindle Unlimited page reads. In 2022 he and his family moved from the UK to live in Cantabria, northern Spain. For more information visit his website at http://www.greggdunnett.co.uk or sign up to his newsletter to try one of his books for free.

http://www.greggdunnett.co.uk/more

Enjoy Your Sunday

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix – #AudiobookReview – #horrorfiction

Book Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else.

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.

Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.

But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…

My Review:

Two things that have always creeped me out: 1) Puppets, and 2) clowns. So how did I miss that this is a horror fiction that had a puppet antagonist?! Crazed, deadly puppet. It’s name? Pupkin.

Somehow I missed in the blurb that this might be a horror audiobook. The main character, Louise, lives across the country from her hometown in South Carolina. She is estranged from her brother, but the phone call she gets from him delivers the news that their parents were killed in an automobile accident.

Much as she would prefer to let Mark handle it all, there is the childhood home involved and a house filled with her mother’s lifelong accumulation of homemade puppets. She detests those puppets; one in particular. Mark has not fared well in the intervening years and he’s ready to wholesale clear it all out and sell. Unfortunately, there’s something weird about the house and the realtor declares she won’t list it until it’s clean of the vibes.

As Louise and Mark fight through their opposing issues, the horrors begin to escalate and become patently obvious. Eventually, there is a deadly and horrific showdown and while you might think that’s the climax, it isn’t. A new wrinkle. A major twist. Can this even get worse? Yes, it can.

The author knows how to build a scene into an insanely violent and bloody confrontation. Good grief, I had to turn down the speaker, as my hubby left the room mumbling something about my choice of audiobooks. I was questioning how I bumbled into it as well, and I thought it was finally mopping up and preparing for a conclusion.

NOPE! Right back at it! Does the damn thing ever die? Oh, right—it can’t! Now we have sister and brother trying to get at the real heart of the demonic possession. What or who is it really? As they work together, there is backstory with the separate perspective of their childhoods.

Well plotted and for the most part fast paced with few exceptions. It does turn out to be a lengthy audiobook and I’m not at all sure I could have hung in long enough to read it. I definitely got tired of hearing Pupkin squealing his favorite mantra, however, although I must say the narrators did an admirable job.

You like Stephen King or horror novels? This might be right down your alley, but I’m thinking I’ll be looking for another doggy book.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Horror Fiction, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B09LK9S2WL
Listening Length: 13 hrs
Narrator: Jay Aaseng, Mikhaila Aaseng
Publication Date: January 17, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: How to Sell a Haunted House [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble “Best of 2023–(so far)”
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

The Author: New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix makes up lies and sells them to people. His novels include HORRORSTÖR about a haunted IKEA, MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM, which is basically “Beaches” meets “The Exorcist”, WE SOLD OUR SOULS, a heavy metal horror epic, THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES, and THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP, coming on July 13, 2021. He’s also the author of PAPERBACKS FROM HELL, an award-winning history of the horror paperback boom of the Seventies and Eighties. He wrote the screenplay for, MOHAWK, a horror flick about the War of 1812, and SATANIC PANIC about a pizza delivery woman fighting rich Satanists. You can discover more ridiculous facts about him at http://www.gradyhendrix.com.

Blogger, Bookblog, Bookblogger

Closer by Sea by Perry Chafe – #BookReview – Thriller and Suspense

Deckle Edge

Book Blurb:

From the writer and producer of the hit TV shows Republic of Doyle and Son of a Critch, a poignant coming-of-age debut novel about the mysterious disappearance of a young girl and the fragility of childhood bonds, set against the backdrop of a small island community adapting to an ever-changing landscape.

In 1991, on a small, isolated island off the coast of Newfoundland, twelve-year-old Pierce Jacobs struggles to come to terms with the death of his father. It’s been three years since his dad, a fisherman, disappeared in the cold, unforgiving Atlantic, his body never recovered. Pierce is determined to save enough money to fix his father’s old boat and take it out to sea. But life on the island is quiet and hard. The local fishing industry is on the brink of collapse, threatening to take an ages-old way of life with it. The community is hit even harder when a young teen named Anna Tessier goes missing.

With the help of his three friends, Pierce sets out to find Anna, with whom he shared an unusual but special bond. They soon cross paths with Solomon Vickers, a mysterious, hermetic fisherman who may have something to do with the missing girl. Their search brings them into contact with unrelenting bullies, magnificent sea creatures, fierce storms, and glacial giants. But most of all, it brings them closer to the brutal reality of both the natural and the modern world.

Part coming-of-age story, part literary mystery, and part suspense thriller, Closer by Sea is a page-turning, poignant, and powerful novel about family, friendship, and community set at a pivotal time in modern Newfoundland history. It is an homage to a people and a place, and above all it captures that delicate and tender moment when the wonder of childhood innocence gives way to the harsh awakening of adult experience.

His Review:

Growing up on an island has definite advantages and disadvantages. Knowing and relying upon all your neighbors is one advantage. Usually, the older boys and girls will make life difficult for the younger offspring. Pierce is one of those youngsters who is caught in the middle of the circle. The older kids beat up on him and his group mercilessly.

Islands near Newfoundland were great places to grow up in the latter half of the 20^th century, but cod have been harvested to near extinction and Pierce’s father fails to come home after a day fishing. He and his mother are marooned with few options. To earn spending money, the children are cutting the tongues out of Cod fish and selling them. The older kids want the money for themselves and steal or bully the kids and take the fish and tongues.

Anna is a budding young artist who is renowned for her excellent sketches and other artwork. She winds up missing and the entire island starts a search for her. She cannot be found. Pierce, his mother, and the middle-aged group set out to search for her. An elderly, reclusive man on the island is suspected of foul play. His habits spark suspicion among the young friends.

This tale is well-written and endearing. There are no dull moments and the reader is rewarded with an engaging and rewarding tome. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: ‎ 1982185252
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1982185251
ASIN: B0BHTPZNS6
Print Length: 272 pages
Publication Date: May 23, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Processed with Lensa with Auto Adjustments

The Author: Perry Chafe [born in St John’s, Canada] is a Canadian television writer, showrunner, producer and author. He is a co-founder and partner in Take the Shot Productions. Perry was the co-creator, showrunner, and head writer for the TV series Republic of Doyle, which ran for six seasons on the CBC, and an executive producer and writer for the Netflix/Discovery series Frontier, starring Jason Momoa. In addition, he was an executive producer and writer for Caught, a CBC limited series based on Lisa Moore’s award-winning novel of the same name. Perry is currently a writer and Co-Executive producer on the hugely successful CBC series Son of a Critch. On May 23rd, 2023, Perry will be releasing his much-anticipated debut novel, Closer By Sea, through Simon and Schuster Canada. [Goodreads]

Find the author at
https://www.perrychafe.com

Enjoy your day

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes- #Audiobook Review – #psychologicalthrillers

Book Blurb:

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed….

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin….

Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.

My Review:

It’s not like I haven’t sucked up to a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick before (witness my recent review of both the audiobook and the Daisy Jones and the Six Netflix series, but really—this one?

Yes, I noticed it was a book pick, but also read the blurb and thought it sounded interesting. After all, it was billed as a “can’t put it down” debut and I needed an audiobook. I thought I’d wised up to that kind of hype, but obviously needed to read a few of the posted GR reviews first.

Maya has issues, lots of baggage, and she’s steadfastly refused to let it go through seven years of meds, booze, and shrinks. Now that she’s seen a video that duplicates the death of her best high school friend, up to and including the very man that was in attendance of the former death, she’s at it again, while trying to dodge accusations of mental illness, issues with drying out and investigating two similar deaths.

Maya has returned to her Berkshires hometown to look into the matter further. She has a boyfriend, but he is unaware of her struggles with drugs, memory lapses, and booze. The support characters are not fully developed and except for Frank, couldn’t engage in either them or Maya. Frank is just…creepy.

I had a problem with the flip-in-time sequences, the entry into the mystery of the Guatemalan father’s book, and the law student (oblivious) boyfriend. The pace is slowww and there were periods when it just seemed to die. Then something would happen and I’d tune back in.

There are times when it just doesn’t mesh and there are holes that aren’t filled with logic. The big reveal isn’t a big surprise as it seemed to be hinting—heading that way. The conclusion, while disquieting, is unfulfilling.

Maybe I’m just getting tired of damaged MCs, and I won’t call this a snooze fest, but neither did it capture my interest from the beginning. I got tired of Maya’s problems (guess I just don’t have the patience anymore) and areas that ran in disbelief.

Do you read Witherspoon’s book picks? This one? If so, do you agree or disagree with this pick?

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Psychological Fiction, Women’s Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B09X51M1NK
Listening Length: 8 hrs 34 mins
Narrator: Marisol Ramirez
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The House in the Pines [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Three stars

The Author: Ana Reyes is a writer in Los Angeles with an MFA from Louisiana State University. Her work has appeared in Bodega, Pear Noir, The New Delta Review and elsewhere. The House in the Pines is her first novel.