Tag Archives: thriller
Book Review

Deep Water by Emma Bamford

Deep Water

I wanted to review Deep Water in part because I wanted to warn readers about some of the content. This book contains references to human trafficking, a sexual assault on the page, and a dog in jeopardy. So I know based on Hollywood movies (The Island), other novels (like The Reckless Girls) and at least two Datelines that if you say goodbye to your 9-5 and find yourself sailing to a remote tropical paradise inhabited … Continue reading Deep Water by Emma Bamford

Book Review

She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

She’s Too Pretty to Burn

She’s Too Pretty to Burn is an intriguing, but uneven read. It opens like a teen romance, and ends like a thriller, but the transition between the two is jarring and disruptive to the reading experience. It’s also supposed to be inspired by The Portrait of Dorian Grey which I didn’t get at all from the text. The novel centers around three people: Mick, a high school swim star with a troubled home life; Veronica, … Continue reading She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

Book Review

The Lady Has A Past by Amanda Quick

The Lady Has a Past

The Lady Has a Past is a really strong romantic thriller with mild paranormal elements that delivers on both the thriller and the romantic aspects of the story. Unfortunately, while I thoroughly enjoyed this story while I was reading it, I found myself increasingly troubled by certain aspects of the narrative once I began to reflect on the story in order to write this review. The story begins when apprentice PI and former socialite Lyra … Continue reading The Lady Has A Past by Amanda Quick

Book Review

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

The Wife Upstairs

Jane Eyre is in my top ten favorite books and I’m very protective of it. I wrote a short book called Pride Prejudice and Popcorn: TV and Film Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, in which I concluded that any adaption can work as long as it stays true to the themes and characters of the source material. The Wife Upstairs is hard to review because how it works on its … Continue reading The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Book Review

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

When No One Is Watching

I should couch this review with the admission that I am the biggest scaredy cat. I don’t usually read romance thrillers, let alone straight ahead thrillers with only a little bit of lovin. Not only do I need to be promised a happy ending, I also want the beginning and middle to be fairly cheerful and absent of conflict. I am, admittedly, a bit ridiculous, but yes, I would prefer to be wrapped up in … Continue reading When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Book Review

Leona: The Die is Cast by Jenny Rogneby

Leona: The Die is Cast

I am always looking for new female voices in crime fiction, and I picked up Leona: The Die is Cast with every expectation of being thrilled. It’s a Scandinavian mystery about a series of baffling bank robberies and it features a diverse heroine. It turns out that this book was not at all what I was expecting, and in order to articulate that, I’m going to need to spoil some things. If you want to … Continue reading Leona: The Die is Cast by Jenny Rogneby

Book Review

We Are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly

We Are Unprepared

We Are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly is a ecological thriller about a series of unprecedented storms that hammer the east coast of the United States. It’s chilling in the fact that it feels very real and very possible. I loved the suspense elements of this book, the fact that it’s “pulled from the headlines” so to speak, but I struggled to like any of the main characters. I think this is a perfect book … Continue reading We Are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly

Other Media Review

Movie Review: Pet

Normally I would never find myself watching a psychological thriller like Pet, although I would have avidly read the spoilers. If I had been able to find spoilers, I probably would have read them and then watched It’s a Wonderful Life instead. Alas, spoilers were not to be found. Last week I had some high quality female rage going; the movie was rentable on iTunes, and the next thing I knew I had hit “Rent: … Continue reading Movie Review: Pet

Book Review

Love is Red by Sophie Jaff

Love is Red

Do you ever have that moment where someone recommends something to you and it just changes everything? A new coffee place that has the best mochas. An old film you might have heard of in passing, but now can’t stop watching. Just some serendipitous circumstance that gives you such good feelings. Love is Red is my serendipity. I read it in one sitting. I cannot remember the last time I was so completely enthralled with … Continue reading Love is Red by Sophie Jaff