deadly secrets

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Review: Mr Nobody – Catherine Steadman

Mr Nobody
Catherine Steadman
Simon & Schuster Australia
ISBN: 9781471192265
RRP $29.99

Description:
A psychiatrist treating a man with no memory discovers that her patient knows far more about her past than his own in a gripping psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water.

Who is Mr. Nobody?

When a man is found on a British beach, drifting in and out of consciousness, with no identification and unable to speak, interest in him is sparked immediately. From the hospital staff who find themselves inexplicably drawn to him, to international medical experts who are baffled by him, to the national press who call him Mr. Nobody, everyone wants answers. Who is this man? And what happened to him?

Some memories are best forgotten.

Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Emma Lewis is asked to assess the patient in a small town deep in the English countryside. This is her field of expertise, this is the chance she’s been waiting for, and this case could make her name known across the world. But therein lies the danger. Emma left this same town fourteen years ago and has taken great pains to cover all traces of her past since then.

Places aren’t haunted . . . people are.

But now something—or someone—is calling her back. And the more time she spends with her patient, the more alarmed she becomes that he knows the one thing about her that nobody is supposed to know.

 

My View:
A captivating read!

The tension was exquisite! I really enjoyed this read – the pace, the characters, the settings…and the twisty narrative.

Written in a style the gives voice to many of the main characters, you really get involved and try to unravel this twisty tale. There were times when I was urging the protagonist to re think her next move, to be more cautious, to look out…she didn’t listen 😊 She too had to realise – you can’t change people, people have to change themselves.

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Review: Asylum – Jack Adams

Asylum

Delaney & Murphy #1

Jack Adams

Atlas Productions

ISBN: 9780994182203

 

Description:

Something happened here. Behind these walls, in these rooms, on the grounds, at the river. The inmate sketched it all – fine lines. See there, in the negative space, the truth in the pencil strokes. Then he was gone.

Joe was their friend; the man they spoke to through the wire fence of the Lunatic Asylum, and 10-year-old best friends, Nathan Walker and Adam Murphy, knew he wasn’t insane. Then, one day, Joe was gone. Now hitting their thirties—jobs and divorces in their wake—ex-cop, current P.I. Nate and psychiatrist Adam decide to share office space and a receptionist. That’s when the letter arrives advising them that they have received ‘Expectations’. A quaint, old-fashioned bequest delivered by a solicitor which amounts to an inheritance for two boys – left by Joseph O’Connell, a missing-believed-deceased former patient at the River Park Lunatic Asylum.

 

My View:

This is a fantastic debut by Australian author Jack Adams, characters are well developed and empathetic, issued are presented in shades of grey, the locations are rich in detail and very visual. I particularly like how this narrative gives voice to the experience of the disenfranchised, those with illness/mental illness in the community and highlights the huge impact that non-judgemental friendship can have on an individual.  And then there is the mystery.

 

A mystery recounted by reflections of two time periods, the not so long ago past and the current times, this is an enlightening read.

 

I cannot wait to see what Jack Adams writes next – it’s hard to believe this book is his debut, it is written with such skill.

 

 

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Review: Give Me Your Hand – Megan Abbott

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

Give Me Your Hand

Megan Abbott

Pam Macmillan Australia

Picador

ISBN: 9781509855711

 

Description:

A mesmerizing psychological thriller about how a secret can bind two friends together forever…or tear them apart.

 

Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school chemistry class. But Diane’s academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship. Until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them.

 

More than a decade later, Kit thinks she’s put Diane behind her forever and she’s begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past comes roaring back when she discovers that Diane is her competition for a position both women covet, taking part in groundbreaking new research led by their idol. Soon enough, the two former friends find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to destroy them both.

 

 

My View:

What a surprising read!  This novel slowly builds tension and pace. The main characters are intricately and extensively drawn. None of the characters are particularly endearing, likable or appealing yet their stories are intriguing. The continual striving for excellence, the competition, the camaraderie…the secrets that ultimately destroy, the bizarre behaviours, the double standards and lack of integrity that is slowly revealed.

 

I was enjoying this read, but was thinking nothing too much above the average here – until the last few chapters!  Boy was I wrong! This book is worth reading just to experience the deliciousness of the ending. WOW! SWEET! INCREDIBLY GOOD.

 

Read and tell me what you think.

 

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Post Script: I Know A Secret. A Rizzoli and Isles Thriller – Tess Gerritsen

I Know A Secret

I Know A Secret

A Rizzoli and Isles Thriller

Rizzoli & Isles #12

Tess Gerritsen

ISBN: 9780593072462

 

Description:

In the twelfth gripping novel featuring Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles, the crime-solving duo—featured in the smash-hit TNT series Rizzoli & Isles—are faced with the gruesomely staged murder of a horror film producer.

 

The crime scene is unlike any that Detective Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles have ever before encountered. The woman lies in apparently peaceful repose on her bed, and Maura finds no apparent cause of death, but there is no doubt the woman is indeed dead. The victim’s eyes have been removed and placed in the palm of her hand, a gesture that echoes the terrifying films she produces. Is a crazed movie fan reenacting scenes from those disturbing films?

 

When another victim is found, again with no apparent cause of death, again with a grotesquely staged crime scene, Jane and Maura realize the killer has widened his circle of targets. He’s chosen one particular woman for his next victim, and she knows he’s coming for her next. She’s the only one who can help Jane and Maura catch the killer.

 

But she knows a secret. And it’s a secret she’ll never tell.

 

 

My View:

Let me tell you a secret; it was a few days after Christmas, the busyness was over, the fridge was full of leftovers and all the visitors had returned home, the house was quiet. Over the course of a few days I sat and read eight or nine Tess Gerrritsen novels – a standalone or two and most of the Rizzoli and Isles books that had been released at that point in time. This was the start of my love of reading a series one book after the other – what a fantastic way to get to know the characters, the setting, and the writing. I was hooked.

 

Now I must read every “next” book that Tess Gerritsen writes! I love the characters; Jane, Maura, Jane’s mum… feel like old friends.  This new “next book” had that same wonderful familiarity that I enjoy so much, that allows me to easily slip into this “other world” of crime and autopsies. The narrative is complex and interesting, the back stories are very satisfying and as always the writing is excellent.

 

I can’t wait for the new “next book.”

 

 

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Post Script: The Wicked Plants Colouring Book – Amy Stewart and Briony Morrow-Cribbs

The perfect gift for the crime fiction writer in your life!the-wicked-plants-colouring-book

 

The Wicked Plants Colouring Book

Amy Stewart and Briony Morrow-Cribbs

Scribe Publications

ISBN: 9781925321784

 

Description:

A colouring book with a dark side

 

In The Wicked Plants Colouring Book, Amy Stewart and artist Briony Morrow-Cribbs bring colouring enthusiasts the 40 most menacing botanical atrocities from their New York Times bestseller Wicked Plants. Morrow-Cribbs’s exquisite etchings are now finely rendered colouring-book art and are paired with details from the original book.

 

Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, and written with Stewart’s trademark wit, each wonderfully creepy spread offers a fascinating portrait of the evildoers of the plant world, from the vine that ate the South (kudzu) to the weed that killed Lincoln’s mother (white snakeroot) to the world’s deadliest seed (rosary pea).

 

 

My View:

The perfect gift for the crime fiction writer in your life!

 

The not so secret life of poisonous plants are revealed in this deadly but charming little colouring book (relax your mind as you colour and plot the demise of the next victim in your new book.) The information – science fact and science fiction, is fascinating and paired with the exquisitely detailed drawings make for a unique gift for the writer or that difficult to buy for person; fun and informative.