Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (372)

Content

Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Don't Go in Books

May 10, 2018

Dr. Matt Scanlon is on tour in Afghanistan when he receives the call that his wife, Chloe, has died in an unfortunate household accident. He rushes home to take care of her funeral arrangements and get care for their 7 month old daughter, Emily. When he returns home, nothing seems the same. And it's not only because Chloe is no longer there. Going through her things, he makes a startling discovery that will cloud his mind for a long time. Leaving the care of his daughter to his in-laws, Bob and Danielle, he returns to finish his tour of duty and try to make sense of all that he has learned about his wife.

This book really had me intrigued from the very beginning. I gasped out loud several times while listening to this book. Just when you think you know what is going to happen next, you are pulled in the completely opposite direction. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout this book. A man on mission trying to find out what was really going on with his wife while he was away. He is trying to build a bond with his daughter who doesn't know him at all, and with him being away, it doesn't help. Trying to find out who his wife had become after she had become a mother and a military wife.

This book will keep you on your toes and you will never know what is going to happen next. You think you do, as I thought I did, but you will soon find out that you are wrong. The surprises keep coming straight on until the end. I think this is a book everyone should grab. This is the first I have read by Lisa Scottoline, and she has been on my radar for a while. I will continue to read and enjoy her books.

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated Insylum in Books

Feb 4, 2018

Insylum

Z. Rider | 2015 | Horror

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Not to be taken at face value

This is one of those books that if you read it and then let it digest for a while, it becomes much more than it originally appears. Unfortunately, as this is quite a short story, I can’t go into much detail without giving the game away but I would suggest that if you want to get the most out of it, you don’t take it at face value.

The premise of the story is simple, two friends (Nate and AJ) spend their last night together in a “funhouse” before AJ gets shipped off to Afghanistan. The “funhouse” is not what you would find at Blackpool Pleasure Beach; there is no fun involved. From the entrance, Nate and AJ need to discard all their possessions in exchange for a pair of pyjamas and paper shoes and once inside, they are not allowed to go back - they become inmates/patients.

It doesn’t take long for the shenanigans to begin and we are “treated” to some pretty graphic descriptions of what befalls the participants. I’m quite a hardened horror reader but even some of the “treatments” made me squirm. There were a couple of “tutting” moments though as is usual with horror books (and films) whereby the characters do things that you really wouldn't do in real life but, on the whole, it’s pretty good.

I’m not sure that I can say that the main characters of Nate and AJ are particularly likeable as I didn’t feel myself warming to them at all or particularly caring about what happened to them but they are believable and well developed for such a short story.

I have read another book by Z Rider - Suckers: A Horror Novel - which was thoroughly engrossing and, like this book, has more to it than first meets the eye and I would recommend them both to anyone who enjoys this genre.

Thank you to the publisher, Dark Ride Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an honest review.