Book Review: The Next to Die by Sophie Hannah
I got to know about Sophie Hannah after someone mentioned that the new books that are coming in the name of Agatha Christie are written by her. And since I am a big time fan of Agatha (you can guess through the highest number of reviews of her books done in this blog and that too, highest by a huge huge margin – click here to see those book names).
Let me just tell you, Sophie has not written a who-dunnit but a why-dunnit in her book The Next to Die (or The Narrow Bed, same book but two names). And the side stories are ummm not good enough (euphemism for bad). The stories seemed to drag, the main plot line too and the conclusion was so far-fetched. Only the (smart and funny) way of writing book by Kim was the silver lining for me. Also, reading the book, I felt like people are really really crazy and can do anything for stupid reasons. Oh, am I being judgmental? Who knows, perhaps I am one of these people too!! *grin
This is not recommended for reading unless you are a huge Sophie Hannah fan. You ask me why I picked this book in particular, because this was the only book of Sophie available in my e-book library. So, what do you think? Should I pick up another book of hers or give her a skip altogether for some time?
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Book blurb: What if having a best friend could put you in the crosshairs of a killer? A psychopath the police have dubbed “Billy Dead Mates” is targeting pairs of best friends, and killing them one by one. Before they die, each victim is given a small white book. For months, detectives have failed to catch Billy, or figure out what the white books symbolize and why the killer leaves them behind. The police are on edge; the public in a panic. Then a woman, scared by what she’s seen on the news, comes forward. What she reveals shocks the investigators and adds another troubling layer to an already complex case. Stand-up comedian Kim Tribbeck has one of Billy’s peculiar little books. A stranger gave it to her at a gig she did last year. Was the stranger Billy, and is he targeting her—or is it something more nefarious? Kim has no friends and trusts no one, so how—and why—could Billy Dead Mates want to target her? If it’s not her, then who will be the next to die? Sophie Hannah raises the stakes with each successive page in this haunting and twisting thriller that reaffirms her place as one of today’s most talented suspense writers. |
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About the author: In 2013, Sophie’s novel The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards. She has also published two short story collections and five collections of poetry – the fifth of which, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A Level and degree level across the UK. Most recently, she has published a self-help book called How to Hold a Grudge: From Resentment to Contentment – The Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life. Sophie has recently helped to create a Master’s Degree in Crime and Thriller Writing at the University of Cambridge, for which she is the main teacher and Course Director. She is also the founder of the Dream Author coaching programme for writers. She lives with her husband, children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College. Website: sophiehannah.com |
| Rating: 6/10 |
| Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
| Book Name: | The Next to Die |
| Author: | Sophie Hannah |
| Pages: | 416 |
| Publication Year: | 2016 |
Book Review: Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine
And that was when she had one single, awful realization. It’s not a doll. And against all her best intentions, she began to scream and couldn’t stop.
You start reading the book and come across the above line and immediately realize how chilly the story is going to be, if it is written well. Stillhouse Lake was recommended by my reading group when I told them I was only looking forward to reading psycho-thrillers. Yes, I am too much crazy, if you have not yet figured out that yourself by my choice of books I have read (oh, did you not know, I write reviews of all books I read).
And I am glad I picked it up – in addition to murders, the book just traced the right extent a mother is afraid for the safety of her kids and how far she will go and change herself, and is that not how motherly instinct is referred.
Scary, creepy
As the scenes unfold
Who is friend
Who is foe
No one knows
When someone close betrays
Who will you believe
Life is a struggle
And that’s why you should fight
Fight, fight and keep on fighting
Oops, I mentioned it like this is a motivational book. But nope, it is a murder mystery, a psycho-thriller, and a hard one at that. I am going to read the next part in this series now; what about you?
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Book blurb: With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace. But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop. |
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About the author: Website: rachelcaine.com |
| Rating: 8/10 |
| Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
| Book Name: | Stillhouse Lake |
| Author: | Rachel Caine |
| Pages: | 302 |
| Publication Year: | 2017 |
Book Review: Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
When one has read a debut book by an author and has set such high expectations from all her future books, one is very very much disappointed. I started my journey with Clare Mackintosh through her first book I Let You Go and what a book it was!! In the sense, it was so very awesome. Thrilling, in the exact right doses. Though I See You was also good, but it slightly paled coming from the same author. And with this book Let Me Lie, I think I will give Clare a break and explore new authors.
Let me tell you, this book is not bad in individuality. It is just that Clare only set such high expectations. Haha! It has many plot twists and turns, the way you would expect in Clare’s book. What, you say you have not read her? Have you read any one of Gillian Flynn’s books or Gone Girl by her, then you can imagine the kind of suspense the story is going to unfold. The story is narrated well for I was able to complete the book (do not ask me, how many books I have left uncomplete this year). So anyway read the book and tell me did you like the ending or was it too psycho for you the way Anna acted in the end? Shhh…no spoilers!!
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Book blurb: One year ago, Caroline Johnson chose to end her life brutally: a shocking suicide planned to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with their loss ever since. Now with a young baby of her own, Anna misses her mother more than ever and starts to question her parents’ deaths. But by digging up their past, she’ll put her future in danger. Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie… The stunning, twisty new psychological thriller from number one bestseller Clare Mackintosh, author of I Let You Go and I See You. |
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About the author: Clare spent twelve years in the police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time. Clare’s debut novel, I Let You Go, was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller for 12 weeks, and was the fastest selling title by a new crime writer in 2015. It has sold more than a million copies worldwide. In July 2016, Clare received the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award, and won the Cognac Prix du Polar for International Novel of the Year that autumn. Clare’s second book, I See You, was published in the UK in July 2016, charting at number 1 in the Sunday Times hardback bestseller list. Clare’s books have been translated into more than 35 languages. Clare is patron of the Silver Star Society, a charity based at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford which supports parents experiencing high-risk or difficult pregnancies. She lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children. Website: claremackintosh.com |
| Rating: 7/10 |
| Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
| Book Name: | Let Me Lie |
| Author: | Clare Mackintosh |
| Pages: | 400 |
| Publication Year: | 2018 |
Book Review: April Lady by Georgette Heyer
While reading psycho-thrillers back to back, I thought to give it a break (recommended by one of my reading group members before I turn to the dark side. Buhahahahaha) and so I chose Regency Romance queen Georgette Heyer whose The Grand Sophy and Devil’s Cub I had completed few months back.
April Lady is a typical romantic book but which will make you smile. It is also an easy read, specially for the mind to relax, even after there is so much melodrama. In fact, it acted as the sort of relaxing/ meditating music one usually listens to for sleeping. And when I talk of sleep, yes, this time, I completed it slowly slowly in a fortnight.
However, if I have to recommend between this book and The Grand Sophy, I will pick the latter one only (for it had that X entertaining factor).
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Book blurb: Impetuous Lady Helen Cardross had collected quite a basket of little white lies in her efforts to help those less fortunate than herself. There were, for example; her own dashing, debt-ridden brother, and her husband’s love-sick, youthful sister. But to her adored (and adoring) lord and master, there could be no dissembling of integrity, honor, or truth. One faced up to grim reality — unless one were Lady Helen. When his family’s priceless jewels disappear, Lord Cardross is aghast at the idea that his lovely new wife might be the culprit, but he soon discovers the truth about Lady Nell’s situation. And between his concern over his wife’s spending sprees, rescuing her impulsive brother from one scrape after another, and attempting to prevent his own half–it’s no wonder the much-tried earl can’t see where he’s gone wrong. And now owing a shocking amount of money, Nell doesn’t dare tell him the truth–that she’s loved him from the first, and thought he’d married her for convenience. |
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About the author: Heyer was an intensely private person who remained a best selling author all her life without the aid of publicity. She made no appearances, never gave an interview and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. She sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Stella Martin. Her Regencies were inspired by Jane Austen, but unlike Austen, who wrote about and for the times in which she lived, Heyer was forced to include copious information about the period so that her readers would understand the setting. While some critics thought her novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer’s greatest asset. Heyer remains a popular and much-loved author, known for essentially establishing the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency romance. |
| Rating: 7/10 |
| Genre: | Historical Romance |
| Book Name: | April Lady |
| Author: | Georgette Heyer |
| Pages: | 246 |
| Publication Year: | 1957 |
Book Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh
I will start the review with just one word – scary. Or will creepy be better?
It was just a chance (good?) that Zoe found her face staring from a newspaper. But tell me how would you have reacted if you saw your own face staring from newspaper in the column for sex workers and a contact number with the ever increasing paranoia that someone is following you all the time. As for the other females whose faces appear the other days, one is mugged, few others murdered and rest unknown. An urban female worst nightmare! If I had not been hard wired by now after reading so many psycho-thrillers back to back, I know for sure that I would have been having nightmares for days at a stretch and that too scared even after that whenever I would be traveling on my own. What a brilliant brilliant setup and story-line, though the ending could have been slight better!! The tempo the book builds is like, if you are a GoT (Game of Thrones) fan, exactly the same as the last episode S8E3 (season 8, episode 3). No no, do no leave my blog post right now, I am not giving away any spoilers, please do not worry on that front, but I cannot stop talking about it since I saw it last midnight (because my son slept pretty late yesterday and I am sleep deprived; hence, please ignore sentence formations and grammatical errors, if any, on this blog post or whatever I am writing now).
I am ending the review with the disclaimer that only the strong heart females should read it. Shh, someone is watching you even now, while you are reading this.
Keep watching my blog for more book reviews!
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Book blurb: In the following days, she sees other women in the same ad, a different one every day, and nearly all of them show up in the newspapers as victims of increasingly violent crimes–including murder. With the help of a determined cop, Zoe uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose…And suddenly, the man on the train sitting across the car–the one smiling at Zoe–could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move… |
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About the author: Clare spent twelve years in the police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time. Clare’s debut novel, I Let You Go, was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller for 12 weeks, and was the fastest selling title by a new crime writer in 2015. It has sold more than a million copies worldwide. In July 2016, Clare received the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award, and won the Cognac Prix du Polar for International Novel of the Year that autumn. Clare’s second book, I See You, was published in the UK in July 2016, charting at number 1 in the Sunday Times hardback bestseller list. Clare’s books have been translated into more than 35 languages. Clare is patron of the Silver Star Society, a charity based at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford which supports parents experiencing high-risk or difficult pregnancies. She lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children. Website: claremackintosh.com |
| Rating: 9/10 |
| Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
| Book Name: | I See You |
| Author: | Clare Mackintosh |
| Pages: | 386 |
| Publication Year: | 2017 |
Book Review: Maidless in Mumbai by Payal Kapadia
Maidless in Mumbai is the perfect read for one struggling to take care of baby or is without a maid or may be more than one (even if minus baby). Payal Kapadia has taken a hilarious take on sleepless nights, howling baby, maids menace, advices overdose from both mom-in-law and mom, unhelpful husband, desperate need to excel in job (workaholic mom) and trying to put everything synchronized. While reading the book, I felt as if this author is the only one who perfectly empathizes with me, no one else understands me better and my struggles. So what if I was at my parents place, the baby sitter was not there and the two days I went to office then, I had to come back home within two hours because the baby missed me and cried, cried and continued crying without any control. But then some days are like that! And most days, ah, when things are fine, I wonder at the bliss and happiness of motherhood. Okay okay, let’s cut my crap short since this is a book review and not my own story post. But let me ask you (female readers) the one question, will you choose husband or maid!?! 😉
So back to the book, all that is managed even in okayish form is still good enough and that is how the story ends. Oh, did I reveal the ending? But what else were you expecting when reading a light book and strictly not a murder mysery/ thriller? So just take hold of this book, sit back (okay no sitting back, if you have a baby or you do not have a maid), just find time in between feeds (because that is what I do) or before you doze off in any random posture (I do this as well during my night time reads, where some nights it is just two lines before I sleep with a kindle in hand and lights switched on).
Keep watching my blog for more and more book reviews. Cheers!
Book blurb: I am on top of things. I have a seriously stuck baby inside me, and a queue of people between my legs. But I am on top of things.Career-driven reporter Anu Narain has a plan for everything till motherhood comes along. The baby poops/ cries/ pisses/ feeds round the clock. Anu loses her mind/ the plot/ the maid. And cabin fever strikes when her mother-in-law and her mother come over to help. How does Anu become a working mom when her husband is happy playing the shirking dad? And when her house is a railway station where every maid is a passing train? Will Anu use wile and guile to make the maids stay and The Moms leave? Or will she succumb to that strange Indian malaise called maidomania? Hysterically funny, unapologetically honest, and charming all the way, this is the diary of a maidless Mumbai mom who dreams of only one thing-the perfect maid to live happily forever with. |
About the author: Payal Kapadia’s Wisha Wozzariter won the Crossword Book Award 2013 for Best Children’s Book and is also on the “101 Indian Children’s Books We Love!” list. She is also the author of Colonel Hathi Loses His Brigade and Puffin Lives: B.R. Ambedkar.Payal started her career as a journalist with Outlook Magazine in Mumbai and The Japan Times in Tokyo, after receiving a Master’s degree from Northwestern University, Chicago. But writing books was a childhood dream, and one day, it was not enough to dream of writing any more. With Wisha Wozzariter, the story of a 10-year old girl who wishes she was a writer, Payal stopped wishing and started writing. Payal’s newest book Horrid High is a perfectly horrid adventure in the world’s most horrid school. In the pipeline is the second part of Horrid High and a book about two unlikely princesses, a must-have for every girl everywhere. Twitter: @payalrkapadia Website: payalkapadia.com/ |
| Rating: 8/10 |
| Genre: | Chick Lit |
| Book Name: | Maidless in Mumbai |
| Author: | Payal Kapadia |
| Pages: | 224 |
| Publication Year: | 2017 |
Book Review: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Are females more psycho? At least the books that I am reading these days are making me think so. Sharp Objects was scary in more aspects as compared to the other books by Gillian Flynn, i.e. Gone Girl and Dark Places. This one deals with depression like neither did and so about the craziness to hurt – yourself, others, anyone.
Sharp Objects as the name of the book suggests the cuts and the words that the main protagonist of the story, Camille Preaker carves on herself when she feels different. So, tell me are you a female? Did you feel crazy at some point in your life? Did you feel the need to do such cut/carve on yourself? Not even once? Sach mei (truly)? Okay, confession time: I am a typical female and have felt multiple times such a need, and even in the past one month too. But let us not make this review of a psycho book – about “me”, just read it, because you must, if you like this genre even a tiny-weeny bit. I am not saying anything more about this book since I feel I will divulge the climax of the story, oops, perhaps just by mistake.
Two of my favorite quotes from the book:
Sometimes I think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom. I have known so many sick women all my life. Women with chronic pain, with ever-gestating diseases. Women with conditions. Men, sure, they have bone snaps, they have backaches, they have a surgery or two, yank out a tonsil, insert a shiny plastic hip. Women get consumed.
They always call depression the blues, but I would have been happy to waken to a periwinkle outlook. Depression to me is urine yellow, washed out, exhausted miles of weak piss.
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Book blurb: Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming. |
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About the author: Flynn’s 2006 debut novel, the literary mystery Sharp Objects, was an Edgar Award finalist and the winner of two of Britain’s Dagger Awards—the first book ever to win multiple Daggers in one year. The book is now an HBO® limited series starring Amy Adams. Flynn’s second novel, the 2009 New York Times bestseller Dark Places, was a New Yorker Reviewers’ Favorite, Weekend TODAY Top Summer Read, Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009, and Chicago Tribune Favorite Fiction choice. In 2015, the movie adaptation starring Charlize Theron was released. Flynn’s third novel, Gone Girl, was an international sensation and a runaway hit that has spent more than one hundred weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists. Gone Girl was named one of the best books of the year by People Magazine and Janet Maslin at the New York Times. Nominated for both the Edgar Award and the Anthony Award for Best Novel, Flynn wrote the screenplay for David Fincher’s 2014 adaptation of Gone Girl for the big screen, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Her newest release, The Grownup, is an Edgar Award-winning short story and an homage to the classic ghost story. Universal has optioned the rights to The Grownup. Flynn, who lives in Chicago, grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated at the University of Kansas, and qualified for a Master’s degree from Northwestern University. Website: gillian-flynn.com |
| Rating: 10/10 |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Book Name: | Sharp Objects |
| Author: | Gillian Flynn |
| Pages: | 394 |
| Publication Year: | 2006 |
Book Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
I was looking for an interesting read, starting off and discarding books in between left, right and left. And then I wondered if my interest was in one of the authors that I have already read and yayy, the answer was Gillian Flynn. Though the time I had read Gone Girl, I had flashbacks of the coming scenes of the book seeming like I had already read/ seen it. I had neither. And thus, I decided my mind is more attuned to psycho-thrillers and to Gillian Flynn specifically.
Dark Places, yet another psycho-thriller masterpiece by Gillian, is a notch above Gone Girl, by all standards, especially with respect to the ending. My thoughts exactly. A family murdered gruesomely overnight, and culprit one of the family itself, jailed for years and years and the other surviving sibling crazy in her own way. The reading was scary, tempo change at just the right places and a book, I completed in two days flat. Perfect no? Now you know my recipe of completing so many books, which is, read a book in the genre that you like and just keep on reading the same till you are bored or cannot hold of another good book in the same genre.
Two of my favorite quotes from the book:
I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it.
Don’t be discouraged – every relationship you have is a failure, until you find the right one.
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Book blurb: Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice” of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer. |
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About the author: Flynn’s 2006 debut novel, the literary mystery Sharp Objects, was an Edgar Award finalist and the winner of two of Britain’s Dagger Awards—the first book ever to win multiple Daggers in one year. The book is now an HBO® limited series starring Amy Adams. Flynn’s second novel, the 2009 New York Times bestseller Dark Places, was a New Yorker Reviewers’ Favorite, Weekend TODAY Top Summer Read, Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009, and Chicago Tribune Favorite Fiction choice. In 2015, the movie adaptation starring Charlize Theron was released. Flynn’s third novel, Gone Girl, was an international sensation and a runaway hit that has spent more than one hundred weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists. Gone Girl was named one of the best books of the year by People Magazine and Janet Maslin at the New York Times. Nominated for both the Edgar Award and the Anthony Award for Best Novel, Flynn wrote the screenplay for David Fincher’s 2014 adaptation of Gone Girl for the big screen, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Her newest release, The Grownup, is an Edgar Award-winning short story and an homage to the classic ghost story. Universal has optioned the rights to The Grownup. Flynn, who lives in Chicago, grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated at the University of Kansas, and qualified for a Master’s degree from Northwestern University. Website: gillian-flynn.com |
| Rating: 10/10 |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Book Name: | Dark Places |
| Author: | Gillian Flynn |
| Pages: | 370 |
| Publication Year: | 2009 |
Book Review: The Black Echo (Harry Bosch #1) by Michael Connelly
It has been months since I have written a book review because I did not feel like opening a laptop and writing book reviews in the format I do with image, book blurb, and brief about author is easier for me on laptop, perhaps that is to do with generation gap 😛 Seems like being a mom, has already aged me and I want to do nothing in my spare time other than to read books (ah yes, sleep too, most important).
So, to come back , to the book in question, this was the only book I completed in the month of Feb ’19. How many I read in this duration? Oh, do not ask me. There are so many unread 5%, 10%, 15%….books in line, since now very very few books hold my interest. And so, if I have completed this book (for I only write reviews of completed books), this must be one of the few good ones (mind it, not the best though). I want to read at least one book in the popular series, and if it is a thriller murder mystery, good good!
This is an okayish book and only recommended for mystery and thriller buffs or those looking for typical books in this genre for a change. An easy read, it has all the masala (not Bollywood ones) that should make a mystery book a success. Ah, but that is my view, of course. And perhaps that is why I could complete this book in between a hectic schedule. Try checking this out, or read more reviews to find if this is the book that caters to your taste. All the best and enjoy! 🙂
Keep watching my blog for more book reviews!
| Book blurb: For maverick LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch, the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal…because the murdered man was a fellow Vietnam “tunnel rat” who had fought side by side with him in a hellish underground war. Now Bosch is about to relive the horror of Nam. From a dangerous maze of blind alleys to a daring criminal heist beneath the city, his survival instincts will once again be tested to their limit. Pitted against enemies inside his own department and forced to make the agonizing choice between justice and vengeance, Bosch goes on the hunt for a killer whose true face will shock him. |
| About the author: Michael Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. After three years, he began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with 26 more novels. Michael is the bestselling author of thirty-two novels and one work of non-fiction with over seventy-four million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty foreign languages. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include Dark Sacred Night, Two Kinds Of Truth, The Late Show, The Wrong Side Of Goodbye, The Crossing, The Burning Room, The Gods of Guilt, and The Black Box. Michael’s crime fiction career was honored with the Diamond Dagger from the CWA in 2018. Michael is the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, Sound Of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story and Tales of the American. He spends his time in California and Florida. Website: michaelconnelly.com |
| Rating: 7/10 |
| Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
| Book Name: | The Black Echo (Harry Bosch #1) |
| Author: | Michael Connelly |
| Pages: | 482 |
| Publication Year: | 1992 |
Book Review: The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
After completing Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella, Cafe by the Sea was a better improvement, though I liked Jenny Colgan’s other book The Bookshop on the Corner much much better. Okay, so since this is another chick lit, so people who do not like this genre, can stop reading this review right away; do not tell me later that you wasted your time.
The book started with someone who has got attuned to a hectic sad urban life but does not want to visit her origins for it is too rustic. Now, does this not correlate with many of us, who are working out there in big cities so so far away from our hometown to make name and fame, or money for ourselves or loved ones? In that way, the book will make you reminisce and be nostalgic of those golden childhood days which we have forgotten. Check out this line: It was like walking into something he was already nostalgic for, without it ever being his, without it even having passed him by.
And since this is a romantic book with a girl infatuated tremendously with her boss, you can very much expect the story-line but with dollops of relationships dose (family ones too), scenic beauty (Northern lights and endless beaches), exotic animals (seals and whales) and the best part, i.e. mouthwatering food (ah the aroma of baked stuffs and pies – you know there are recipes at the end of the book as well, awesome right?). Even though the story is not as strong as I wanted it to be, it talks about finding passion in things you did not even know yourself. Which by the way makes me think, am I missing something from my life? Umm, no no, not at all; I am very happy with my son. But what about you?
However, am I reading another chick-lit or romantic book for a month? Meh! As years have flown by, I have realized that a romantic/ love story book has to be too excellent to pull me into a trance and for me to give it a favorable rating, else according to me, ye love-shab couple waala bakwaas hai (the heightened interest towards love between couples is too much over-rated).
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Book blurb: But when fate brings Flora back to the island, she’s suddenly swept once more into life with her brothers — all strapping, loud, and seemingly incapable of basic housework — and her father. Yet even amid the chaos of their reunion, Flora discovers a passion for cooking — and find herself restoring dusty little pink-fronted shop on the harbour: a café by the sea. But with the seasons changing, Flora must come to terms with past mistakes — and work out exactly where her future lies… Funny and heartfelt, The Café by the Sea is a delightful summertime novel that puts a modern twist on the classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers story. |
About the author: Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including The Little Shop of Happy Ever After and Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery, which are also published by Sphere. Meet Me at the Cupcake Café won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams, which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013.Twitter: @JennyColgan Website: www.jennycolgan.com |
| Rating: 7/10 |
| Genre: | Romance, Chick Lit |
| Book Name: | The Cafe by The Sea Summer Seaside Kitchen #1 |
| Author: | Jenny Colgan |
| Pages: | 416 |
| Publication Year: | 2017 |
