Book Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

December 28, 2024 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 33 Comments

An Unwanted Guest
by
Shari Lapena

The best kind of book between Christmas and the New Year is the kind you can mindlessly escape into, but one that also has a good suspenseful plot, with interesting characters and clever twists. After a busy Christmas and lead-up, An Unwanted Guest was a perfect choice for me.

Lapena loosely models the plot after the Agatha Christie murder mystery, And Then There Were None. In Lapena’s story, a winter storm at a weekend retreat in the Catskills cuts its guests off from the world. At first, it seems like a cozy getaway, but fear seeps in when the power goes out and one guest turns up dead at the bottom of the staircase. Was it an accident, or was it murder?

Before the guests can get their bearings, they discover another dead body. This time they are sure it was no accident. But who is responsible? Surely no one else besides the guests and the owner and his son are at the inn. As the storm rages outside, the guests begin to suspect each other but they agree to stick together until the power returns and they can contact the police. It seems simple to stay together, but personalities clash and readers learn about all kinds of secrets. Throw in a good amount of rogue behavior and you know you’re in for a good story!

The author does a great job describing her characters’ anxieties. And the setting is perfect for a scary read: icy cold outside, no power or cell service, dying flashlights, a winding back staircase, and a creepy basement all play into the suspense. In addition, we learn more about the characters and their back stories. Some harbor secrets and others carry regrets and past traumas. I especially enjoyed the connections to past and present and potential explanations of the murders. I suspected several of the guests, but the ending surprised me.

I’ve left out the names and character descriptions because it’s way more fun to learn about them first-hand. An Unwanted Guest is a quick and satisfying read that examines what people will do to survive in an extreme situation.

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Book Review: The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor

October 30, 2024 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 23 Comments

The Fiction Writer
by
Jillian Cantor

I picked this thriller on a whim because I liked the cover, the classic mansion on top of a cliff. How could I resist? I love stories with settings like this. In this case, the mansion is a modern one in Malibu and the story is a multi-layered retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. I loved Rebecca and was eager to get started. Here, fiction writer Olivia Fitzgerald accepts a write-for-hire job to write about mega-billionaire “Ash” Asherwood’s grandmother’s claim that du Maurier stole her idea for Rebecca.

Olivia is in a slump and has just broken up with her long-term college boyfriend. Despite a successful first novel, her sophomore effort, Becky (another Rebecca retelling), was a dismal failure. This project, despite the ghost-writing aspect, may be what she needs to get her writing back on track. Working with a gorgeous, super-rich guy, who btw is grieving his wife’s recent death, makes this gig impossible to resist.

What was meant to be a short trip to Malibu to interview Ash, People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, and obtain his grandmother’s journal, extends amid Ash’s strange delays and Olivia’s confusing attraction to him. Because she’s signed an NDA, Olivia has no one to hash out the problems with, even though she’s reconnected with Noah, her best friend from college, now living in Los Angeles. As Ash’s behavior becomes more and more alarming, she can’t keep herself away, even as she learns the circumstances of his wife’s death. Bad decision after bad decision and glass after glass of wine put Olivia in a precarious situation.

Noah senses trouble and warns her to drop the project. Is there time to save her?

This was an okay book. I liked the premise, but it became very meta with three Rebecca storylines. Despite that, I liked the thrill of wondering how Olivia was going to get out of Ash’s grips. In addition, the author raises an interesting point about stories and plagiarism. Aren’t all stories retellings in some way? And isn’t Rebecca similar to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë? Regarding Rebecca and Jane Eyre, I have never thought that, but I agree that some new fiction carries storylines and characters that remind me of older books.

What do you think?

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Book Review: The Last Word by Taylor Adams

March 10, 2024March 10, 2024 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 11 Comments

The Last Word
by
Taylor Adams

There’s something irresistible about the anticipation of diving into an atmospheric suspense novel. I like the thrilling escape it provides so I downloaded The Last Word. I recognized the author because I have No Exit calling to me from my bookshelf. I knew that was a popular one, so I thought I’d dive into this one first and, if I liked it, read No Exit. There’s no logic to my thinking, that’s just what I did!

The premise of the story interested me very much. Emma Carpenter, housesitting in an isolated beach property, posts a 1-star review on Amazon of Murder Mountain, a horror novel. The author, H.G. Kane takes offense and asks her to remove the review. She says no and that’s the beginning of a revenge rage. Soon she feels like someone is watching her while she sleeps. That’s not all. Emma suffers from other demons. She’s depressed, possibly suicidal after a tragic accident with her husband. After the funeral, she quit her job and left home. Now her only contact is a loner neighbor a quarter mile away, a former writer who drinks through his afternoons and nights. Although they have never met in person they strike up a friendship via telescopes and white board messages.

Emma tries to ignore the sensation that someone is watching her and to prove herself wrong she conducts searches and sets sand at all entrances to detect footprints. Fear or paranoia? Only the pages will tell.

About half-way through the book, after many developments, the book became grisly. I debated whether to finish. It just wasn’t my thing. But I liked the premise and was curious about the finish. I even posted a poll on X, asking what other readers might do.

I’m reading a suspense/horror ebook that is just a little too gory, but despite that I feel I need to finish it just to find out how it ends. With about 2 hours estimated reading time left, what would you do?
— 🧢 Barbara Vitelli (@BookClubMom) March 9, 2024

More than other thrillers, I felt that this one required a lot of suspension of disbelief. I questioned the Amazon review comments because people can’t add comments to reviews, but it seems as if this story takes place earlier, before Amazon disabled that feature. So that one doesn’t count. Next, I wondered about the telescope whiteboard relationship and how Emma, without the telescope, could see her neighbor through the windows. Does anyone know if that’s possible a quarter mile away? And even when the lights are out, they’re able to send messages. Hmmmm.

I didn’t mind that Emma exhibited super-human strength and presence of mind throughout many gory confrontations. She’s the heroine and we want her to make it. And it’s easy to hate the author, whose horror books may represent real murders. I just didn’t care for all the blood and evil.

I liked that the author gave us Emma’s back story. It explains why she is in such a bad mental spot and thought it was realistic. I also liked the question of whether readers have the right to leave nasty reviews that threaten the livelihood of small authors. And whether authors have the right to ask readers to take down their reviews. A good discussion point!

I finished it. The twists and turns kept me going, although they got a little ridiculous in the final pages. Some were to be expected, like the false calm when you think it’s all resolved, but there’s one nagging loose end out there.

All in all, just not my thing, but I’m glad I tried it out. Have you read The Last Word or No Exit? Leave a comment.

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Book Review: Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

February 24, 2024 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 43 Comments

Rock Paper Scissors
by
Alice Feeney

Wow, I haven’t read a book with this many satisfying twists in a long time! Rock Paper Scissors is a clever mystery about a couple whose marriage is in big trouble. We first meet Adam and Amelia and their dog, Bob in 2020 as they travel by car from London to Blackwater Loch in the Scottish Highlands for a weekend meant to repair some serious tears in their relationship. Unfortunately, the weather is horrible and Amelia’s ancient car can barely manage the snow and ice. And it’s no better when they arrive at an isolated and equally ancient stone chapel that has been converted to we’re not sure what…a bed and breakfast for just one party? The place is covered in dust, clearly neglected. A cryptic message tells them they can find food in the freezer and to enjoy their stay! Think noises outside, a jumpy dog, roaming sheep, thick stone walls, cold floors, and darkness when the lights go out.

Interestingly, Adam suffers from a unique condition: prosopagnosia, or “face blindness.” He can’t see distinguishing features on faces, even his wife’s and including his own! That doesn’t just mean he can’t recognize other people. It also means he can’t read their emotions. You can bet this has made his life complicated.

The tension between Adam and Amelia indicates a history of deceit and bad feelings. To fill in the details, the author includes letters to Adam, written on each wedding anniversary, beginning in 2007. Here we learn about Adam’s career as a screenplay writer, which takes off when famous mystery/thriller author Henry Winter signs Adam on to convert his novels to movies. The money is good, but Adam yearns to see his own screenplay, Rock Paper Scissors made into a movie. Meanwhile, there’s tension over his wife’s career at a dog shelter. Shouldn’t she just help Adam? Is her job less important? That’s how she feels. The author also fills us in on her characters’ tragic and lonely childhoods, helping to explain why they act the way they do.

As expected, strange things happen at the Blackwater Chapel. Someone else is in the village and she’s messing with them. What can she want?

No spoilers here, but expect a lot of suspense and crazy plot twists, right until the end. I read this book for my mystery book club and we all agreed it was a great read, worthy of a re-read, just to be able to pick up on the clues the second time around. Believe me, you won’t be able to do that with a first read.

I recommend Rock Paper Scissors to readers who like a good suspenseful mystery and who are willing to suspend disbelief for a bit. I recently read one of Feeney’s more recent books, Daisy Darker (read my review here) and was pleased that I enjoyed this one just as much.

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Book Review: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

February 7, 2024 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 22 Comments

First Lie Wins
by
Ashley Elston

I did not know about First Lie Wins, but I was instantly attracted to the cover. This style, with a house at night and someone looking out gets me every time! In addition, I’ve read a few books from Reese’s Book Club selections and I felt like this would be an entertaining read. Other than that, I went in blind.

The story begins in Lake Forbing, Louisiana as the narrator, who goes by Evie Porter, fills us in on her situation. It turns out that Evie is her alias and her new boyfriend, Ryan, is her mark. Her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, runs the show and although he intimidates her, Evie is chippy enough to push back, and sometimes go rogue. Readers also learn about Lucca Marino, Evie’s actual identity. At a party, Evie must hide her shock when a woman who looks a lot like Evie introduces herself as Lucca. Mr. Smith is messing with her, but what’s his angle?

We flash back ten years when the real Lucca’s life of crime begins, first as a self-employed thief and then as one of Mr. Smith’s team of high-stakes criminals. He speaks only by phone via a voice distorter and Lucca does not know the other people working for him.

From here, the author anchors the story in the present and uses a series of additional flashbacks to fill us in on Lucca’s past. Here we see how Lucca operates, how quickly she thinks on her feet, and how she keeps her emotions and reactions under wraps. And while we learn about her motivation, we also learn about her questionable morals and her dangerous tendency to go off script.

Evie/Lucca’s present-day job poses additional problems. She likes Ryan. They have chemistry. She also likes the beautiful home he inherited from his grandparents. But Ryan’s darker side raises questions and she reminds herself that Ryan is her target, emotions be gone.

Unexpected events may expose her to Ryan, but she still has a few tricks up her sleeve, if the favors she’s acquired over the years come through.

I’m deliberately vague here because this story is complicated and you don’t want a second-hand telling. You can go two ways with a book like this: keep close attention to the details and take notes (me, I can’t help it) or just go along for the ride. I think you can enjoy the book either way, however, it helps to keep track because the tie-up is complex and readers who have paid attention will appreciate the detail. That said, I think the multiple aliases and scenarios make the story more difficult to follow. If you’re a techie, you may also question the feasibility of some of her jobs, but there’s always a required suspension of disbelief with books like this.

I enjoyed First Lie Wins because I love stories about deception. I would describe this as a clever mystery, but not a chew-your-nails thriller.

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I’m working my way through a recent Kindle-haul. See what other books are in the queue here.

Great reads of 2023 – Book Club Mom’s 4-star and 4.5-star reads

January 3, 2024 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 56 Comments

These 4-star and 4.5-star reads were some of my favorite books of 2023 and I totally recommend them to readers looking for a great book!

What’s up with my rating system? Why 4 stars and not 5? I do what Goodreads does. So if I give a book 3 stars, that means I liked the book. And 4 stars means I really liked the book! Not everyone is comfortable with that, but I feel strongly that there has to be a way to distinguish between good books, very good books and great books.

You can read my full explanation here. So here are my 4s and 4.5s. Curious about the rest? Check out the full list of what I read in 2023 here.

The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks:

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Sleeping Giants by Rene Denfeld

I’ve read three books since my last review and I’m looking forward to telling you about them. Meantime, what great books did you read in 2023? Leave a comment!

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Book Review: The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

November 18, 2023 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 45 Comments

The Lost Village
by
Camilla Sten

Have you ever read a book and thought it was just okay, then had a book club discussion that made you appreciate the book more? That happened to me this week after I read The Lost Village by Camilla Sten. It’s a combination mystery/thriller with a bit of horror.

The reason I thought it was just okay right after I finished it was because it had a really wild ending that seemed unlikely. We all agreed that the ending was pretty crazy, but once we got into a discussion about setting, plot, and themes, I realized that this was a better book than I thought!

Set in a remote silver mining village in Sweden called Silvertjärn, the story takes place in both the present and sixty years prior, when the entire village (900 people) mysteriously disappeared, leaving only a woman’s body, murdered on a stake, and a crying baby in the village school. Alice, the present-day story’s main character, is trying to sort out what happened and has arrived in Silvertjärn with her documentary crew. Her grandmother, Margareta who moved to Stokholm before the shutdown, grew up in Silvertjärn and letters between her and her younger sister, Aina offer clues to what happened. Alice’s crew includes Tone, a woman with undisclosed problems, her ex-best friend, Emmy, a technician named Robert and Max, the project’s financial backer.

What led to the mysterious disappearance? In 1958, the government shut down the mine in Silvertjärn, leaving the villagers without a way to support themselves. This place is extremely remote, with rough roads and only a train connecting it to the outside world. In comes Mattias, a handsome pastor who builds a new hope in their desperate minds. All except Elsa, Margareta and Aina’s mother and the unofficial leader of the village. Elsa becomes increasingly alarmed by events, but she has few allies.

When the villagers disappeared, police rescued the baby, but found no trace of the rest of the people. Their investigation came up empty and that’s where Alice steps in. As soon as Alice and her crew arrive at Silvertjärn, something seems off. And then bad things happen, forcing confrontations and leading to bad decisions and tragic results. I don’t want to give anything away here though!

One of the main themes of this book is mental illness and how it’s viewed by others, in both stories. We had a great discussion about whether the author’s portrayal does it justice. Another interesting part are the dynamics of the documentary crew, especially between Alice and Emmy, who are forced to confront their broken friendship. I thought this was one of the best parts of the book.

I came out of the discussion with an adjusted opinion about the book and a nice feeling about how good it is to talk to friends about the things we read. Some people like to experience things singly. I’m like that sometimes, but being in book clubs really adds something good!

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Book Review: The It Girl by Ruth Ware

November 3, 2023 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 53 Comments

The It Girl
by
Ruth Ware

I really liked this suspenseful mystery about a group of Oxford students whose tight friendship centers around April Clark-Cliveden, Hannah Jones’ rich and stunning first-year roommate. The group falls apart when April is murdered. Evidence points directly at John Neville, a creepy college porter who is ultimately convicted and sent to prison. Neville emphatically insisted on his innocence, but Hannah’s testimony removed all doubt.

Ten years later, Hannah is pregnant, married to April’s ex-boyfriend, Will. After years of media hounding and posts about the sensational murder, interest has finally waned and they are happy to move on. Everything changes when Neville dies in prison and a young podcaster looks into the case.

When the journalist contacts Hannah, she must decide whether to open up what Will calls a “can of worms.” The story jumps between these two timelines, filling the reader in on the dynamics of the group’s friendships, with the expected secrets. Turns out April has a bit of a nasty side. Is it possible Hannah got it wrong?

Ruth Ware does a great job helping the reader put all the pieces together, slowly, so you suspect several people for different reasons and think maybe Neville was indeed the murderer. I’ve said this many times, but I don’t like to guess what’s going to happen. I just like to go along for the ride and this is an excellent book for that experience.

I also liked how Ware uses the Oxford setting as part of the mystery. I enjoyed imagining the long history of scholars studying there, a place that sounds beautiful.

The surprise ending explains a lot of side comments and mysterious movements, dropped throughout the book, but disguised as unimportant. I love that!

Ruth Ware is a skilled writer of mystery/thrillers and I recommend The It Girl to readers who enjoy this genre.

I also liked these books by Ruth Ware:

One by One

The Woman in Cabin 10

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Book Review: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

October 18, 2023February 24, 2024 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 18 Comments

Daisy Darker
by
Alice Feeney

I’m always happily surprised when, by chance, I pick up a book that ties in with a place or time of year. I had no idea that Daisy Darker was a story that takes place on Halloween!

Set on a private island on the Cornish Coast of England, this is the story of Daisy Darker, a young woman born with a heart defect, who returns to Seaglass, the Darker matriarch’s isolated home, for a family celebration. Talk about atmospheric! The house can only be reached for a short period of time when the tide goes out. After that, there’s no way in or out.

Daisy’s “broken heart” has caused several emergencies. At twenty-nine, she has outlived her doctors’ predictions and now questions her protected childhood and sibling relationships. This family is highly dysfunctional! Daisy’s sister, Rose is “beautiful, but thorny.” Her other sister Lily, their mother’s favorite, is a spoiled complainer. Their mother, Nancy has led a detached life. Their father, Frank, pops in whenever he’s not traveling with the orchestra he conducts. Divorced for over twenty years, they hate each other. The only outsider to attend is Conor, a childhood playmate from the small island, practically a family member. How will they be in the same house this night?

Beatrice Darker, the grandmother and a famous children’s author, is full of quirks, adding strange things to her cooking and filling her house with clocks. More importantly, she has opinions about the group, but we don’t know what they are…yet.

The purpose of this Halloween Eve visit is to celebrate Beatrice’s eightieth birthday, what she thinks will be her last due to a fortune teller’s prediction that she will not live past eighty. Just after midnight, the family discovers Beatrice’s body in the kitchen and, like clockwork, one by one, family members die. Modeled after Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Feeney’s gothic tale is full of puzzling clues, secrets and vindictive characters, with a supernatural surprise. Trapped and with nothing to do, they look back at their lives, rehashing rifts and bad feelings. Something happened when the girls were teenagers and it will take the full book to discover what it was.

I enjoyed this suspenseful read. In addition to the dysfunctional family dynamic, Feeney includes themes of love, hate, money, greed and how memories change over time. I recommend Daisy Darker to readers who like thrillers and mysteries. One comment: the ending is totally crazy!

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Books with writers as characters -updated!

September 3, 2023 ~ Book Club Mom ~ 39 Comments

Hi all,

Time to update my list! Coincidentally, the last two books I read (Yellowface and Mrs. March) were about writers. And I read The Plot a couple years ago, so that goes on the list too.

Have you ever noticed how often the books we read include characters who are writers? Some are novelists, poets, journalists or podcasters. Some are based on real-life writers. Many are struggling with their careers. They’ve either made it big and are losing their touch, or they’ve written one successful book, but haven’t written a second. Still others have made it big but struggle with the fame. These characters aren’t always the main part of the story, but many are.