Review: Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf

Everyone is Watching

by Heather GudenKauf

Release Date: March 26, 2024

2024 Park Row

Ebook ARC; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-0778310792

ASIN: B0C1T118ZZ

Audiobook: B0CGCCCY5M

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect, and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.

When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show—someone is out for blood. And the game can’t end until the world knows who the contestants really are…

 

My Thoughts

Everyone Is Watching is another of those books that is jumping on the reality-show concept, one that live-streams the action to TT or Instagram and relies on twists and turns and unexpected timings to draw followers. I admit to being a wee bit interested in this phenomenon and would probably watch one of these shows if it did occur, although I would draw the line at violence, like one of the horror novels I read about this. It does make me fascinated about our culture, and this is really nothing new when you consider the gladiators and so much more in history, and why we are so drawn to this type of thing.

There are five main characters in this story and I really wish they had been better developed. I liked the background stories about the characters and thought they way the author introduced them slowly was quite well done, and you could eventually see how they were relevant to the story and why they were brought to the villa. Each character was given a nickname and it wasn't hard to figure out why this was done, but how this related to each other took a while to figure out. Unfortunately, I didn't really empathize with any of the characters and couldn't find it in myself to root for any of them. Personally, I didn't really care who won or lost.  I think this would have been far more interesting if I was invested in one or two of them, and then something happened to them or was worried about something happening to them which would have elevated the tension for me. For me, I couldn't care less who won or lost. 

I did really enjoy the plot however, but in the same way I enjoy a good bucket of buttered popcorn. It was good fun to read (eat), but there was nothing really fulfilling (filling) about it.  I'm all up for a more horror-type game, but if you are going to go there, you need to commit.  All the tools were there, but it was written in such a way that made it confusing for the character as well as the reader. When things started to go downhill and the characters realized they could possibly die in this game, I'm not sure there was enough fear or questioning involved, too much emphasis was just on the money rather than the reasons they were there.  I do love a locked-room mystery thriller though, so I am always down for discovering the reasons why people would stay over choosing to leave the minute something serious happens.  

Verdict

Everyone is Watching had a very interesting concept, was fun to read, but with such a dark concept, didn't take it where it needed to go. There are some things that happen in here that make you go 'hum', and I don't know why authors always have this need to have 'happy' endings for their books. It makes for a very predictable ending, something you've read before. Sometimes it would be nice to read something different where you go 'I didn't see that coming!', and maybe the villain actually wins? Or maybe the villain is not always the bad person?

 

Review: Ghost Island by Max Seeck

Ghost Island (Jessica Niemi, Book #4)

by Max Seeck

Release Date: February 27, 2024 (First published September 1st, 2022)

2024 Berkley

Ebook ARC: 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-059343882

ASIN: B0C6HKF24F

Audiobook: B0C6YKFP92

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

Jessica Niemi is put on leave after a violent altercation between her and a belligerent man makes headlines. Three elderly visitors have arrived at the inn for their yearly sojourn. Jessica learns that they are the remaining ‘birds of spring’, former refugees who fled Finland as children during World War II and lived together for a few months in an orphanage on the island.

When one of the ‘birds of spring’ is found dead, and Jessica learns about two other deaths from the past, also connected to the orphanage, she has no choice but to try and put the pieces of this terrifying mystery together.

My Thoughts

Ghost Island has a lot of elements that I love in a thriller; an eerie atmosphere, an unreliable narrator, a locked-room type mystery, secrets, and cold cases that have a profound effect on people in the present. And for whatever reason, there is something about nordic noir mysteries that just seem to have this extra feeling of menace and tension to them that I can't explain. 

Jessica is not an easy character to like, but I love the way the author writes her personality. Suffering from schizophrenia, the reader constantly has to decide whether what Jessica sees is actually there or created from her mind, something that adds an extra element to the story, and you have to really pay attention to what you are reading. Because this book is so atmospheric, it just adds layers to what is already a pretty layered book.  Unfortunately, Jessica felt like the only character that was developed in this book and I would have liked to have seen some development from the other characters as well, considering this is the fourth book in the series.  One of the 'birds of spring' was angry at Jessica all the time, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why as it was never explained.  Just being a nasty person isn't enough for a book like this.

The chapters were short and written in a choppy way, but I interpreted it as a stylistic choice to showcase Jessica's instability and mental illness. I will acknowledge that it could simply be translation issues.  Because the chapters did jump around quite a bit, I did think it took away from the tension of the story as well as the character development.  I did enjoy the story however, and I like it when it focuses on emotions rather than difficult political situations as so many murders are emotion/self-preservation based. I wasn't crazy about the ending though, as it did rely on a certain suspension of belief for some things to actually happen the way they did, and I couldn't do it.  I did like how the author turned Jessica's personal life upside in a way she never expected, and I am curious as to how this will propel her life forward in future books. 

Verdict

Ghost Island definitely had atmospheric feeling to it that I enjoyed, and I really liked the inclusion of Meija's story into the narrative. I don't think this book was as good as previous entries in this series and while it did have a tendency to drag on more than usual, there was still enough in it that I enjoyed.  I do recommend reading the previous entries though, to get a feeling for Jessica's life prior to what happened and her leave of absence.  The story had good momentum in the beginning, but seemed to lose steam towards the end, to the point where I don't think I could coherently give an account of that ending a week after finishing. But it did leave off with enough to make me curious about Jessica and where she is headed. 

 

Review: Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

Hemlock Island

by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: September 12, 2023

2023 St. Martin's Press

Ebook Edition; 295 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250284198

ASIN: B0BQGFT1M1

Audiobook: B0BVKT6YSJ

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

2.75 / 5 Stars

Summary

Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it’s the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who’ve fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out…and failed.

There are tensions and secrets, whispers in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it… But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they’re trapped with someone—or something—that doesn’t want them leaving the island alive.

 

My Thoughts

Hemlock Island had such an interesting premise, and I love the locked-room type mystery that presents itself in this book, but although there were some intriguing twists and turns and I loved the setting and atmosphere of the story, it just didn't live up to the tension that was set up at the beginning and I was a bit let down by the ending.

 

Laney is the main character in this book, but none of the characters are that well-developed simply because the tension and the secrecy between them all is what drives the story. Because this story is much more character-driven than plot-driven, I would have liked the tension to be much higher than it was. Laney and her ex, Kit, drive the narrative as we discover what drove them apart (something rather silly, actually), Laney's niece, Kit's sister Jayla, and another friend, Sadie, and her brother. When you strip away whatever plot twists there were, there is actually very little behind the characters and their stories, nothing that gives them any depth. In fact, the characters were very stereotypical as you have the mystery writer who apparently knows everything because she writes mysteries, but then does everything she says not to do. Then you have the typical bad guy who does something terrible when he was younger, but his behaviour is justified because he was young at the time (no, it's NEVER justified). 

 

The plot itself wasn't bad, but I wish the author had focused more on a plot-driven narrative rather than a character-driven one. There is an atmospheric blend of horror and mystery, relying largely on the fact the setting takes place on an island and using whatever effects (fog, rain, etc...) to create difficulties for the characters. When you strip all of that away, the plot is rather simple, focusing more on the tension between the characters and their relationships. I did wish the author used the island and its effects a bit more to create even more tension as I didn't find what was happening with the characters to be that emotional.  I simply think there was nothing new that hadn't been done before, so in order to shock people, there needed to be something more, and honestly, better character development would have elevated the story and created more tension.

 

Verdict

Hemlock Island had a lot going for it and for the most part, is successful at what it aims to do. For me, I found it familiar and predictable, and needed a bit more to be completely invested. Considering this is the author's first attempt at horror, I hope she will write more as there was a lot of potential here and I usually enjoy her writing style.  The atmospheric setting was written very well, and I, for one, would not want to step foot on this island. 

 

Review: March Hair by Stephanie Erickson

March Hair

by Stephanie Erickson

Release Date: March 1st, 2024

2024 Pickles Press

Ebook ARC; 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-1944793326

ASIN: B0CRPVTQ42

Genre: Fiction / Romance / Magical Realism

Source: Review copy from author

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

March Wilson doesn’t take no for an answer. So, when a man she assumed was homeless wandered into her salon, she didn’t even listen to what he had to say. She just plopped him down in her chair and transformed him. 

Robin Heart knew the transformation was only on the surface, and he couldn’t let himself get close to March. But she’s so maddeningly easy to be around. And his daughter loved her. It’s a problem he doesn’t know how to fix.

All March knew is Robin was mysterious, maybe a little too grouchy, and his daughter, Alice, was an absolute joy. Can March allow her life to be transformed by him? Or was she destined to sit on the sidelines while someone else walked a path she cleared for them?

 

My Thoughts

March Hair is a fun romantic comedy with a touch of magical realism floating throughout its pages. I enjoyed the story, thought the characters and the plot were fun and interesting, but to be honest, found it simplistic and fairly predictable.  

 

While March was an interesting character, there was nothing that really stood out about her, even her hair. Although I loved the concept that everyone has a little magic in them, the fact that her hair would change constantly must have raised some questions from the people in her life and those around her. If the hue changes from one hour to the next because of your emotions, how do you explain that? Her hair would be falling out from the number of dye jobs she supposedly would have had.  I felt like I needed more insight into her character, who she was, and why she would be attracted to someone like Robin.

Alice was my favourite character in the book, but she was ten going on twenty. I loved her insights into other people, but for someone who was in hiding, she was certainly very trusting. I also didn't mind Robin too much, but the grumpy male lead is something that is overdone in romance novels and can get quite tiresome. You can be worried about what is happening to you and your child without being slotted into the 'grumpy' box. I just find it somewhat immature sometimes and as a trope, it's not one of my favourites.  There is surely a better way to get across to people that you are a private person without being grumpy. 

The plot itself was fine. Personally, I didn't really feel the connection between March and Robin, or why she was so drawn to him in the beginning. So, while I empathized with both of these characters, I didn't really empathize with their relationship even if it was fun to see it develop. I can't even pinpoint the reason why. I'm not opposed to slow-burn romances because life is difficult and challenging, but I do have a problem when someone keeps probing into someone's life as if they are entitled to know everything about them. People reveal information about themselves when they trust someone, it's not an instantaneous thing, especially if you've been burned once or twice before. I did like the inner monologues from both of them questioning whether it was a good idea to push for a relationship. 

Verdict

March Hair was an enjoyable romantic novel about two people who needed to figure out what they really wanted in their lives. I thought the plot was fun, if predictable, and I liked the characters, even if I would have liked to have seen more development. Overall, if you like slow-burn small-town romance, this one is definitely for you.

 

 

 

Review: The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

The Other Valley

by Scott Alexander Howard

Release Date: February 27, 2024

2024 Atria Books

Kindle ARC; 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-1668015476

ASIN: B0C7RLWF44

Audiobook: B0C&YM2Z5P

Genre: Fiction / Sci-fi / Magical Realism

Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Odile is an awkward, quiet girl vying for a coveted seat on the Conseil. If she earns the position, she’ll decide who may cross her town’s heavily guarded borders. On the other side, it’s the same valley, the same town--except to the east, the town is twenty years ahead in time. To the west, it’s twenty years behind. The towns repeat in an endless sequence across the wilderness.

When Odile recognizes two visitors she wasn’t supposed to see, she realizes that the parents of her friend Edme have been escorted across the border from the future, on a mourning tour, to view their son while he’s still alive in Odile’s present. Edme––who is brilliant, funny, and the only person to truly see Odile––is about to die. 

 

My Thoughts

The Other Valley is a speculative fiction novel where you can travel either forwards or backwards in time if you decide to leave your home in the valley, to see loved ones if the current ones have passed away.  This has a really interesting premise, and if you love philosophy, this opens up a lot of 'what if' questions. Naturally there is a governing body who decides who gets to visit the other towns and there is a gendarmerie that protects the boundaries of the towns which are outlined by tall fences to discourage the townspeople from questioning things and leaving. 

 

The main character, Odile, is a shy, introverted girl who is being pushed to join the governing body as an apprentice by her mother. For the first half of the book we learn about her school experiences as well as her relationships with her peers. I almost had Divergent vibes during this part of the book as the teenagers were trying to figure out the rest of their lives, discovering their career paths, and who would take them on as apprentices.  Odile is a very passive character and seems to be one of those people who gets things simply because she is at the right place at the right time. We see Odile twenty years later in the second half of the book, and I really liked seeing what happened to her and the consequences of one's choices had on one's life. It shows you how you really need to fight for what you want in life because if you just settle, you can be content, but not necessarily happy.  

 

The secondary characters were very under-utilized however, and it's a shame as there were a couple that were quite intriguing. The author used them to forward Odile's story line rather than use them to forward the plot, and there is a huge difference.  

 

The plot itself was more philosophical in nature, and once you stop trying to understand how the timeline works, especially with the villages to the east and west, it works so much better. My scientific brain was going crazy at the beginning trying to work it all out, knowing how the butterfly effect works, knowing that you just can't wipe out whole timelines of people, so there had to be so much more to the stories the students were given. Once I relaxed and just went with it, the experience worked so much better. Now, in hindsight, the gaps are still there and I just can't let them go.  In the book Odile finally understands the consequences to knowing more than she should, but I don't feel the author went far enough with those consequences.  It asks the question: Is it worth the risk to change something from the past? And what are the consequences to the future if one does? These questions are not really explored. While I understand the author wanted to put the emphasis on Odile and her life and her choices, pushing the importance of world-building to the background as something that doesn't need to be explored hurts the overall story as the actions of the characters within that world don't always make sense because we don't fully understand it. 

 

Verdict

The Other Valley was quite original and I really enjoyed the speculation behind it, but that's my thing. However, Odile is the only one who really got any character development, and the pacing was uneven throughout the book, as if the author wanted to explore other avenues but wasn't sure if that was a wise route to take.  Personally, I felt the ending was too predictable in such a world, too perfect, and would have like something more...philosophical.

 

Review: Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols

Granite Harbor

by Peter Nichols

Release Date: April 30, 2024

2024 Celadon Books

ARC Paperback; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250894816

ASIN: B0C4JL9GPG

Audiobook: B0C3PBR8H7

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

2.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

In scenic Granite Harbor, life has continued on―quiet and serene―for decades. That is until a local teenager is found brutally murdered in the Settlement, the town’s historic archaeological site. Alex Brangwen, adjusting to life as a single father with a failed career as a novelist, is the town’s sole detective. This is his first murder case and, as both a parent and detective, Alex knows the people of Granite Harbor are looking to him to catch the killer and temper the fear that has descended over the town.

Isabel, a single mother attempting to support her family while healing from her own demons, finds herself in the middle of the case when she begins working at the Settlement. Her son, Ethan, and Alex’s daughter, Sophie, were best friends with the victim. When a second body is found, both parents are terrified that their child may be next.

 

My Thoughts

Granite Harbor had an interesting premise, and I thought the murder concept was intriguing, but neither the plot nor the character development lived up to the potential inherent in those ideas.  Definitely being atmospheric in nature, I found the pacing to be quite slow and I grew quite frustrated with the police procedural stuff.

First of all, I didn't mind Alex as a main character, but honestly, he doesn't really stand out from any other police procedural that I have read except for the fact that he was more inept than most. I get the author was trying to show that not all detectives are tough, seasoned, knowledgeable, have superman instincts, etc..., but it didn't quite work as it made Alex seem silly and passive more than likeable and inexperienced. And frankly, I was skeptical that such a small town would even have a detective. And it was the little things that bugged me the most. Being shocked at people using tracking devices in phones to locate someone? Even I used that with my daughter when she was a teenager. Who doesn't?  I think there is a fine line when you develop a character, to make them seem likeable, not necessarily inept, but inexperienced, and I don't think it quite worked in this book.

I actually liked Sophie and Ethan, the teenagers, the best and would have preferred their perspectives over anyone else's. And in the case of Isabel, the author went where I was hoping he wouldn't, the paranormal element, a trope I despise in these types of books to propel a story forward when doing investigative work would have done the job.  

So, that brings me to the plot. I actually thought the mystery was interesting and I liked the reasons for which the killer did what they did. It doesn't have to be political or huge, just personal, and it was.  I don't have to understand it, but it does have to be plausible. What I had reservations about was the way we got to the solution. The investigation was almost non-existent, using so many red herrings that anyone could see through them with a brain, and the writing style gave away too many clues to who it actually was.  No tension, no shock, no surprise.  

Verdict

Granite Harbor was a fast read, the plot had an interesting premise, but the overall execution did not quite work and fell a bit flat. There just seemed to be a lack of everything, character development, plot development, twists and turns, tension, mystery, use of paranormal element to drive forward the story, that made the overall experience not quite work. The author tried very hard to take an overused formula and make something new, but I don't think it worked.

Review: The Puzzled Heiress by Lyndsay Consable

The Puzzled Heiress: A Pomona Moriarty Mystery

by Lyndsay Constable

Release Date: December 13, 2023

2023 Lyndsay Constable

Ebook; 263 Pages

ISBN: 979-8988182023

ASIN: B0CNV5MY57

Genre: Fiction / Historical Mystery

Source: Review copy from author

 

5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

 Pomona Moriarty, the artistic, quirky, half-American daughter of the notorious Professor James Moriarty, finds herself on the trail of clues, puzzle pieces, and artwork that taxes her mind and creativity to the limit. Her journey exposes her to danger at every turn throughout Victorian England as old confederates of her father attempt to steal her inheritance. Can Pomona utilize her knowledge of art to unravel the mystery and prevent her father’s last, most dastardly crime being committed from beyond his watery grave? With her faithful lady's maid and the distractingly fascinating Inspector Liam Lestrade to aid her through her worst scrapes, Pomona doggedly pursues each clue to complete the puzzle and prevent her father from executing his final, most vicious deed.

 

My Thoughts

The Puzzled Heiress intrigued me simply because of its ties with Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes, one of my great passions as a kid.  Because I tend to read anything relating to Holmes, I was happy to have this one fall into my lap, and even better, it was a fantastic read.  Pomona was an intriguing character, I loved the puzzles woven into the story, and I enjoyed the intrigue as Pomona raced around Great Britain searching for clues, trying to evade her father's confederates.

 

Pomona was a quirky character, one who actually has a lot of independence for a woman during this time period.  After her father's death, she receives a package of puzzles, and this is where she shines as she tries to figure out the clues to the puzzles and gets into all sorts of scrapes doing so. While one could argue that she enjoys breaking the rules of the time period, I also think there is a limit as to how far she will go as she also puts in an effort to dress and behave appropriately when she has to go out into society.  It's only when she is with those with whom she feels comfortable that she abandons those restrictions and does what she pleases.  Her faithful lady's maid, Agnes, is there to hold her back from doing anything too silly in public and I liked the relationship between the two, one who wants to flaunt the rules, one who tries to hold the other back, and I think there was a nice balance woven between the two, with a healthy dose of respect from both sides.  Again however, a subtle snub at the conventions of the time as one did not really become friends with one's lady maid. 

 

Honestly, I didn't know to think of Pomona at the beginning as we have a woman trying to cry over the death of a father she barely knew, in such a comical way, that I knew I would like her immediately. The plot pretty much picked up from there and had me in its grip right until the end.  Twists and turns galore, some I figured out easily, some completely caught me off guard although the clues were there. I am not a fan of conveniences, and they were used in this story, especially in the case of Inspector Lestrade and his saving the day (and Pomona), but the writing was so engaging, I was actually able to forgive those transgressions, just this once though.  And while the ending was satisfying for this book, not all the threads were complete, so it looks like Pomona will be off on another adventure.  

 

Verdict

The Puzzled Heiress was an enjoyable first book and I had a hard time putting it down. If book 2 was out right now, I would have grabbed it immediately, but alas, I need to wait a few months until its release.  If you love stories about Holmes and Moriarty, especially ones that feature hypothetical progeny, then you will love this entry into their world. 

 

Review: The Misery House by David Kummer

The Misery House (The House on the Hill, Book #1)

by David Kummer

Release Date: July 7, 2023

2023 David Kummer

Ebook Edition; 232 Pages

ISBN: 978-1088059364

ASIN: B0B5YQC1CC

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from author

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

This rural town has never seen a string of tragedies like this. A local store burns to the ground with two bodies inside. A newlywed couple goes missing, and all signs point to the abandoned house. With no answers, the townsfolk grow more and more worried.

The Woods family has lived here forever. But when their friends and their own children are put in danger, the threat hits home. This close-knit family must risk everything to find answers, but time is running out.

 

My Thoughts

The Misery House is the first book in a planned trilogy, and I thought this one set up the story quite well, even if it was a quite slow at times. And by slow, I mean it took a very long time to get to the house and even now, I won't even pretend I understand anything about it.  The author did have a very descriptive writing style that drew you into the lives of the characters, but upon looking back, that's exactly what the story was about, the lives of the characters. And while I don't mind descriptive writing, I would have liked to have seen more build up of the atmosphere, some more horror, some tension, but it was a bit lacking overall.

 

At this point, I'm still on the fence about the use of multiple POV in this book, at least from the whole family. I enjoyed learning about the Woods family and their different perspectives on things, and I definitely enjoyed the author's writing style when it came to the characters, but the way it was written left some gaps in the story line. Because of this writing style, it was left to the reader to assume the sheriff believed certain things because the characters said so, not because you actually got to witness his behaviour through the story. Or Malaki, we just assume he is this horrible person because of someone else's POV, but never really see anyone else's POV or hear his side of things.  I am not a fan of assumptive story telling as I would prefer to draw my own conclusions about characters, not be led around by the nose.  Now Malaki has this association with the house, we hear all these rumours about it through other characters, but where is the investigation or where are the dialogues about this behaviour? Nowhere.

 

I did enjoy this book quite a bit, but that doesn't mean I was oblivious to the plot holes.  The author has a great writing style that I enjoyed, he has a way of drawing you in, but he does make use of assumptions way too much. When Kaia's best friend Allison goes missing, a witness saw her in that creepy abandoned house, but the sheriff doesn't go looking for her asap? Why not? Why does he arrest someone else in the community instead? We don't even get to see that part of the story, it's all told through other characters and how angry they are.  And personally, it doesn't really make sense. As a reader, we are just told this is what happened, but the why is glossed over and we are expected to just accept it without motivation or cause.  Uh uh, not me.  And Kaia? The minute she got that text from Allison, why would she not report it or at least text her back?  And then get all upset because nothing is being done.  What?! The author was trying to build up suspense, but honestly, the scene with Nate and Naomi when they were cycling past the house is the way to go as that scene had me rushing through the pages.  Withholding info, never a good way to create tension or to create a way for someone to go investigating on their own.  

 

Verdict

The Misery House had a lot going for it, definitely enough that I will be grabbing the second book when it is released in June (The Silent Forest).  It does have a lot that I love in a haunted house book, and the author's writing style does draw you into the story and the characters' lives. There were a lot of gaps however, that were not explained or covered up through assumptions, and the ending definitely lowered my rating as the book simply...ended. And honestly, there is just so many times you can read about a character having an 'ick' feeling about something, but do nothing about it, before you start rolling your eyes. That being said, I am curious about that dang house, so I have to read book 2.