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The Breakdown
The Breakdown
B.A. Paris | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cass is on her way home from an after work party in a storm. Her husband warned her about taking the shortcut as it could be very dangerous especially during a storm. When she sees a woman parked on the side of the road, she has to stop. But when the woman doesn't signal for her to help, Cass continues on the way home. The next day, she discovers that the woman has actually been murdered and this causes her to go into panic mode. When she finds out that she actually knows the woman, Cass is riddled with guilt. We follow Cass's story from July and the time of the murder to October when the murderer is caught. Cass's life takes a traumatic turn during these months and the story is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book and all the cool bookmail that came with it.

After reading <u>Behind Closed Doors</u>, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Cass is a character who you want to smack upside the head. I can understand being upset about the death of someone you know, but the extreme she takes it to, can be a bit ridiculous. Cass is also having a lot of trouble remembering things. She thinks she may have early onset dementia like her mother, but then there is a change that makes her question everything that has happened the past few months.

There are times when I feel sorry for Cass and all the torment she went through. Even though most of it she brought upon herself. I would like to see what happens next for her in life. You never know who you can trust. They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but maybe it's the ones closest to us that we have to watch the most.

I recommend this book to anyone who is up for twists and turns.
  
Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret
Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret
Teresa Trent | 2024 | Mystery
3
3.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Listen, This Secret is Disappointing
Dot Morgan has been the secretary at a local radio station for several months. She enjoys the job, although she’d be happier if they played top ten hits like the Beatles instead of the old crooners. Then one day, a strange woman comes in and accuses Dot’s boss of killing his first wife. When that woman is murdered a couple of days later, Dot can’t help but wonder if it was true. Can she find the truth?

This sounded like an intriguing mystery, and I enjoyed the first two, so I was looking forward to reading this one. Sadly, it disappointed. The mystery was very underdeveloped, and the climax just left me with a new question. Instead, the book felt more like a soap opera, focusing on the love lives of the characters, both series regulars and new. While I did like the sub-plots involving returning characters, the other storylines didn’t really interest me. Meanwhile, we also got some lectures on how things were at the time. A little bit would have been appropriate, but it got to be too much. In the end, unless you are a diehard fan of the series, I recommend you skip this one.
  
The Beauty of Your Face
The Beauty of Your Face
Sahar Mustafah | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Mind, Body & Spiritual, Religion
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
You can also read my review at my blog - roamingthroughbooks@wordpress.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://roamingthroughbooks@wordpress.com

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah is a poignantly written story of a Muslim Palestinian family living in America which challenges stereotypes and prejudice through rich characterisation and a moving plotline.

The novel follows the life of Afaf Rahman, beginning at the nail-biting attack of a white extremist at the Muslim high-school of which Afaf is principal. The story then begins to intersperse these dramatic present day events with flashbacks of Afaf’s past, telling us of how an equally devastating event has destructive repercussions upon her family affecting profoundly the woman Afaf has become.

When Afaf was a girl her sister disappears. Each member of the family is impacted by this differently and we see how the different emotions they experience sadly divides the home, leading each of the characters to become more and more isolated in their private, emotional turmoil, unable to share this pain with anyone else.

The emotional level of this book is deep and Mustafah skillfully draws the reader to understand the emotions of each member of the Rahman family, and we become empathetic observers of their descent to a fragmented family torn apart by their grief.

Yet the present day Afaf we meet at the beginning of the book is a strong woman of faith, who appears to be far removed from the young girl of her past. As we journey alongside her we see how her tragic life experiences are not merely deeply painful, but formative and how her Muslim faith becomes the pillar to which she is able to cling and withstand the most horrific of circumstances.

The Beauty of Your Face explores what it means to be a Muslim living in a Western country developing a narrative pursuing themes of assimilation, xenophobia, racism, identity and forgiveness. It is harrowing and shocking at times and does not balk from describing the ugliness of prejudice and racial hatred. Yet, Mustafah ultimately tells a tale of redemption and hope, showing that we can transcend these attitudes and grow instead peace, forgiveness and love.
  
Tick Tock (DS Grace Allendale #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
TICK…
In the city of Stoke, a teenage girl is murdered in the middle of the day, her lifeless body abandoned in a field behind her school.
TOCK…
Two days later, a young mother is abducted. She’s discovered strangled and dumped in a local park.
TIME’S UP…
DS Grace Allendale and her team are brought in to investigate, but with a bold killer, no leads and nothing to connect the victims, the case seems hopeless. It’s only when a third woman is targeted that a sinister pattern emerges. A dangerous mind is behind these attacks, and Grace realises that the clock is ticking…
Can they catch the killer before another young woman dies?

A solid second book in the DS Grace Allendale series.
This was a tense story with the clock ticking for DS Allendale to solve who is killing apparently random victims.
Absolutely gripping from the start.
I love the plot so very well written and paced.
Lots of action with twists and turns.
I like the development of the characters.
Highly Recommend Reading... I love all Mel Sherratt novels!

Thank you to Net Galley, The Publishers and of course Mel Sherratt for my ARC. This is my own honest voluntary review.