Recursion by Blake Crouch #SciFi #Fiction #Thriller #TimeTravel #BookReview

Recursion
by Blake Crouch

Publication: June 11, 2019 
336 Pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Time Travel

4 🌠🌠🌠🌠

The story begins by introducing us to two different characters. Barry is a NYPD cop who is having a bad time coping with life since his daughter, Meghan, passed away. The memories of her haunt him. The other character is Helena, a neuroscientist from Stanford who specializes in studying memory. She has spent her entire professional career wanting to help people with memory problems. She wants to map the human brain but due to research funding her progress has been slow-going. Now her mother has Alzheimer's which gives her all the more reason to speed up the research. Her story starts in 2007 while Barry's is in 2018.

Very good start to the book which had me hooked right away. I loved both of the characters a lot. The technology became a little confusing for me at times but because of the characters I wanted to keep reading. I thought the ending was pretty good. As I got towards the end I was beginning to wonder how it was ever going to conclude and I was thinking "this better not be a stupid ending." I was not disappointed. I'm giving this one 4 🌠🌠🌠🌠 and I hope to read more books by Blake Crouch.

#Carrie by Stephen King #Horror #Thriller #Paranormal

Carrie
by Stephen King

Publication Date: April 5, 1974
Doubleday Books
199 Pages

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Paranormal

I first read Carrie as a kid many many years ago. It's funny how you read things as an adult and get such a different feeling from a book. Stephen King has always been one of my favorite authors of all time, but as I grew older my tastes in books had changed. I was on a strictly crime fiction reading regimen for the past several years and began to get bored as it seemed almost all the books were sounding the same. So I decided awhile back to go back to my roots so to speak and start reading/rereading genres I had enjoyed in the past. And boy, I am so glad I did! Now I'm reading a lot of fantasy and horror and almost makes me feel like a kid again. I'm getting excited now to begin reading a new book or series which is something I have been missing for some time. Soooooo.... I decided to start reading Stephen King books in chronological order which brings me to this review.

Reading Carries as an adult made me think a lot more about how we treat people. It also brought back some not so good memories of my childhood where certain kids were always the ones being picked on and bullied. I'm ashamed to say that as a kid I rarely had the courage to take up for these poor kids. I did however raise my own kids to do what their mom didn't. I would like to believe I did a good job doing that as my kids do speak up and step in when they see someone being mistreated.

I loved rereading Carrie because there were so many things that I had forgotten. I can barely remember things that happened yesterday let alone things that I read over 30 years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am excited to keep going with more King books and have even begun starting a Stephen King hardcover collection. I know some complain about King books with bad endings but in my opinion Carries wasn't one of them. The ending to me in this one was great. I would recommend reading Carrie. 4 stars!!

#BookReview The Better Sister by Alafair Burke #TheBetterSister #AlafairBurke #Mystery #Thriller #Suspense @harperbooks

Book Details
Title: The Better Sister
Author: Alafair Burke
Publisher: Harper Books
Publication Date: April 16, 2019
Pages:311



#TheBetterSister #AlafiarBurke #Suspense #Mystery #Thriller #Fiction #BookReview 

My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠

Excerpt from GoodReads: 
From Alafair Burke—New York Times bestselling author of the runaway hit, The Wife—comes another twisty tale of domestic noir. When a prominent Manhattan lawyer is murdered, two estranged sisters—one the dead man’s widow, the other his ex—must set aside mistrust and old resentments . . . but can they escape their past?

Though Chloe was the younger of the two Taylor sisters, she always seemed to be in charge. She was the honor roll student with big dreams and an even bigger work ethic. Nicky was always restless . . . and more than a little reckless—the opposite of her ambitious little sister. She floated from job to job and man to man, and stayed close to home in Cleveland.

For a while, it seemed like both sisters had found happiness. Chloe earned a scholarship to an Ivy League school and moved to New York City, where she landed a coveted publishing job. Nicky married promising young attorney Adam Macintosh, and gave birth to a baby boy they named Ethan. The Taylor sisters became virtual strangers.

Now, more than fifteen years later, their lives are drastically different—and Chloe is married to Adam. When he’s murdered by an intruder at the couple’s East Hampton beach house, Chloe reluctantly allows her teenaged stepson’s biological mother—her estranged sister, Nicky—back into her life. But when the police begin to treat Ethan as a suspect in his father’s death, the two sisters are forced to unite . . . and to confront the truth behind family secrets they have tried to bury in the past.

My Review:

This is my first read of this author and early on in the book I was intrigued. Readers are introduced to the relationship between Adam and Chloe, former in-laws now married. Adam was previously married to Chloe’s sister Nicky and they had a son, Ethan who Adam ended up getting full custody of. Chloe is very successful in her job and makes more money than Adam which she feels he resents. Chloe helps Adam get a prominent job with a fancy law firm and he quits his job as prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s office. But Adam hates his job, for him money doesn’t matter. He feels Chloe pressured him into taking a job he never wanted. So their marriage is not perfect and then Adam ends up dead.

The investigation into Adam’s murder begins and the police quickly zone in on Adam’s teenage son as a suspect. Nicky, Ethan’s real mother now shows up in New York to help out but Chloe who is just his guardian worries her sister will try to take Ethan away from her. Will Nicky want custody of Ethan after all these years? Chloe is sure her sister Nicky has never forgiven her from marrying Adam and raising her son. There is not a lot of trust between the sisters.

Chloe has always been the perfect one. She has the perfect job, the perfect husband, the perfect kid, the perfect life. Nicky on the other hand is the screw-up. Nicky can’t find the right man, she had problems with drugs and alcohol, and she lost custody of her only son. But now with problems like murder, her son dealing with drugs and guns, is Chloe’s life really as perfect as it seems?

The pacing of the book is perfect. I love how the author leads the reader along…slowly revealing tiny pieces of the puzzle. Definitely makes you want to keep reading. I can’t wait to read more books by this author. I loved the legal/courtroom proceeding portion of the book. The build-up of waiting on the jury to come back with their verdict…super exciting! I loved reading how the relationship between sisters, Nicky and Chloe, change throughout the book. Usually I can find at least one negative about a novel but not this one. 5 Stars for sure! Thanks to Alafair Burke and Harper for providing me with a copy of advanced reader edition to review.

#BookReview The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton @AuthorSJBolton @MinotaurBooks @Joni2345zb #mystery #GNWR #Thriller

Book Details
Title: The Craftsman
Author: Sharon Bolton
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 16, 2018
Pages: 418
ISBN: 978-1-250-30003-4 Hardcover

 My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠 

My Review

The Craftsman is Sharon Bolton’s latest terrifying standalone suspense novel. The protagonist, Florence Lovelady starts out in 1969 in Lancashire, UK working in police department where the force is dominated by men. Some teenagers disappear and they end up being found buried alive in coffins. Florence Lovelady begins to help with the investigation but being a woman she is not always treated the same. But she couldn’t be ignored because she was able to look at things differently proving she was a very good investigator.

Florence Lovelady is such a strong female character. She is tough and persistent in order to make it but she couldn’t come off too strong. I admired her for hanging in there with a tough profession especially during that time period when she the only woman around. The story shifts ahead 30 years to 1999 and someone else disappears under similar circumstances. Had Florence Lovelady caught the right man all those years ago or is it a copycat?

I love the short chapters and the pacing of the novel was perfect. The build-up to the ending was amazing and the truth is carefully masked right up to the conclusion. My interest was held throughout and I couldn’t wait to see where the story led next. With hints in the story of witches and Freemasons, the supernatural aspect brings in another level of interest for readers.

I loved this book so much. Definitely 5 stars for me…can’t wait for the next Sharon Bolton novel. Thanks to the author and Minotaur Books for providing me a copy to review. Highly recommended for those who love dark terrifying thrillers. 

About the Author:

Sharon Bolton (having previously written as S.J. Bolton) is a two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award winner and an ITW Thriller Award, CWA Gold Dagger, and Barry Award nominee. She grew up in Lancashire, England, and now lives near Oxford with her family. Her highly acclaimed thrillers include Sacrifice, Awakening, Blood Harvest, Little Black Lies, Daisy in Chains, and Dead Woman Walking in addition to her Lacey Flint books Now You See Me, Dead Scared, Lost, and A Dark and Twisted Tide.

 

#BookReview for And No Birds Shall Sing by E.A. Clark #BlogTour @EAClarkAuthor @Joni2345zb @rararesources #ParanormalThriller #Thriller #SupernaturalSuspense

Thanks to author E.A. Clark and Rachel's Random Resources for hosting the blog tour for And No Birds Shall Sing. 

And No Birds Shall Sing by E. A. Clark
 
Genre: Supernatural Suspense / Thriller

Publication Date: October 24, 2018

Publisher: Crooked Cat Books
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
 
Potential Trigger Warnings:The book contains topics such as miscarriage, attempted suicide, infant death and murder.

Purchase Links

UK https://amzn.to/2Mvmbey

US https://amzn.to/2noxGJO  

https://www.crookedcatbooks.com/product/and-no-birds-shall-sing/

 

Not all spirits rest in peace…

Following a personal tragedy, a recovering Grace Clements relocates with her husband and daughter to an old cottage in idyllic rural Oxfordshire. As the family integrate into the seemingly benign local community, they learn unsettling facts about the cottage’s dark past. Grace quickly becomes uncomfortably aware of a menacing presence within their new home.

Stumbling upon a neglected cemetery, Grace and her daughter discover the graves of the house’s previous inhabitants, including those of nine babies. Dismayed to find herself pregnant, Grace suspects she has awoken something truly evil in her new residence. She develops a creeping sense of unease as she unravels the disturbing truth about the history of the cottage and the fate of its occupants.

Who is the sinister boy watching Grace and her family? Are there malevolent forces at work? Or is the mentally fragile Grace heading for another breakdown?

A spellbinding paranormal thriller from the best-selling author of Lay Me To Rest. You may want to keep the lights on…

My Review: 
5 out of 5 stars

This is my first read by E.A. Clark and what a creepy one it was. I totally loved it and so glad I was able to take part in the blog tour during the Halloween season.

I really enjoyed the story. I really felt bad for Grace at the beginning of the book and as things begin to happen at the cottage they just bought the creepiness factor goes way up!! I loved the realistic dialog between characters. The book wasn't gory but did had lots of  creepiness and suspense. The author was able to hold my attention throughout the book. Thanks so much to author E.A. Clark and Rachel's Random Resources for providing me with an ebook. I highly recommend this one. 

Author Bio

Elizabeth Clark was born and raised in the Midlands, where she continues to live with her husband and son, plus an assortment of pets. Much of her formative existence was spent with her head in a book, and from an early age, she grew to relish the sheer escapism afforded by both reading and writing fiction. Putting things on hold for a time to raise her three children, she has resumed her fervent scribbling.

She has a love of antiquity and a penchant for visiting old graveyards, often speculating on the demise of those entombed beneath. Whilst she has written short stories and poetry for many years, a lifelong fascination with all things paranormal culminated in her first novel for adults, ‘Lay Me to Rest’, published in September 2017 by HQ Digital.

‘And No Birds Shall Sing’, to be published by Crooked Cat in October 2018, is her second foray into the realms of the supernatural.

Social Media Links

Twitter handle -  @EAClarkAuthor ;

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.clark.779857

Goodreads – E.A. Clark - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17100457.E_A_Clark

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/e-a-clark