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Her Pretty Face
9.0
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The author of the bestselling novel The Party—lauded as “tense and riveting” by New York Times...
mystery thriller
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated The Invisible Man (2020) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Mar 3, 2020)
See no evil
The Invisible Man is not a movie about an Invisible Man and certainly not the horror movie its being promoted as, instead its a tight little scifi esq thriller about domestic violence and the lingering effects domestic abuse can bring. Directed by the same director of the absolutley fantastic film Upgrade The invisible man could almost be a companion piece in a sense or even take place in the same world as Upgrade. From the titles its clear tension and impending dread is absolutely nailed here and as we look in on our lead character we can see just how extreme and unsafe her situation/relationship has become. Shes a victim trapped by an abusive and obsessive partner and before her life becomes any more at risk she escapes, but what she then leaves herself open to is a life of paraninoia, mental scaring, trauma, torture and living life in constant fear that her partner will come for her again. Shes never free from him and the way the film uses the invisible man as a metaphor is extremely clever as it shows her trying to live a normal life while clearly completely damaged by the hold one man had on her and by the echoes of the abuse she recived from him (in a sense its like hes still there constantly breathing over her shoulder). Everything is done well and the film really benefits from its slow pace as it helps us as a viewer really get invested into this character and shows just how damaged she has become from past events. Its score is phenomenal too helping ramp up the fear and tension with its intense futuristic droning and screeching. When violence hits its impactful, brutal and shocking as the long build up for it makes it seem like it comes out of nowhere preserving shock value perfectly. Fight scenes are filmed just like the ones from Upgrade full of energy/style and are just as unique/cool while making subtle nods to that film too. Acting is really good especially Elisabeth Moss watching her evolve as a character and in sense use the traits of the person she hates to become stronger is riviting and Eldis Hodge gives a great support role too. Its to bad at times the acting its hurt unnecessarily however by very exposition heavy dialog. If youve seen the trailer for this movie the invisible man reveal will have been spoilt for you as will too a crucial story point however overall as a film what Leigh Whannell has achieved here with this film is certainly very very brave and vastly diffrent from the way these films usually play out. Hes given a very clever and unique take on a character that has already been done to death in films and while it was predictable to a certain extent I applaud him for not going for the lazy done to death almost supernatural approach to this character. The Invisible man is a breath of fresh air amongst crap like fantasy island/the boy 2 and while by no means perfect its brave and realistic portrayals of the after effects of domestic abuse are shocking, well represented and tuff to watch at times. Invisible man is a pleasant surprise but will no doubt be far to slow and intelligent for those just looking for mere jump scares. That being said if this director keeps up this great track record I wouldnt be surprised if bigger film companies start seeking him out very soon.
In Pine Bluff Arkansas, Jeffrey comes home from travel to find his wife, Sabine, missing. Her car has been left behind, and she's seemingly vanished into thin air. As Detective Marcus Durand begins his investigation, things quickly become complicated. Sabine and Jeffrey's marriage wasn't what it seemed, and all signs appear to Jeffrey wanting her gone. What was he doing between his flight and arriving home, for instance? Meanwhile, several hundred miles away, Beth Murphy is on the run, carefully executing a meticulous plan to escape her violent husband. One slip, one mistake, and Beth knows he will find her--and kill her.
"Four hours on the road, two hundred and eight-three miles of space between us, and it's nowhere near enough. I still hear the clink of your keys when you toss them on the table, still tense at the thud of your shoes when you come closer to the kitchen. Still feel the fear slithering, snake-like, just under the surface of my skin. You have three moods lately: offensive, enraged, or violent."
This was a really enjoyable, compulsively readable thriller. It pulls you in nearly immediately and never lets you go--I was completely sucked up in the various stories. The book alternates between the points of view of Beth, Jeffrey, and Marcus. Beth is focused on escaping her husband, Jeffrey on figuring out what happened to his wife, and Marcus on solving the case. Each has their own unique voice, but you're never quite sure of who is telling you the truth or what is happening.
"People don't just fall off the face of the planet. They run, they hide, or they are taken. I should know, because I am one of them."
The result of hearing each person's individual take is a really exciting, twisty story. Where is Sabine? Who exactly is Beth? There are a bunch of fun "aha" moments throughout. I figured out some ahead of time; others were great surprises. No matter what, I enjoyed every moment and was kept interested and guessing. I especially liked and was intrigued by the character of Beth. (Please note that there is a domestic violence trigger in this book.)
Overall, this is a quick, suspenseful read that will keep you flipping the pages. I recommend this well-executed and entertaining thriller! 4+ stars.
"Four hours on the road, two hundred and eight-three miles of space between us, and it's nowhere near enough. I still hear the clink of your keys when you toss them on the table, still tense at the thud of your shoes when you come closer to the kitchen. Still feel the fear slithering, snake-like, just under the surface of my skin. You have three moods lately: offensive, enraged, or violent."
This was a really enjoyable, compulsively readable thriller. It pulls you in nearly immediately and never lets you go--I was completely sucked up in the various stories. The book alternates between the points of view of Beth, Jeffrey, and Marcus. Beth is focused on escaping her husband, Jeffrey on figuring out what happened to his wife, and Marcus on solving the case. Each has their own unique voice, but you're never quite sure of who is telling you the truth or what is happening.
"People don't just fall off the face of the planet. They run, they hide, or they are taken. I should know, because I am one of them."
The result of hearing each person's individual take is a really exciting, twisty story. Where is Sabine? Who exactly is Beth? There are a bunch of fun "aha" moments throughout. I figured out some ahead of time; others were great surprises. No matter what, I enjoyed every moment and was kept interested and guessing. I especially liked and was intrigued by the character of Beth. (Please note that there is a domestic violence trigger in this book.)
Overall, this is a quick, suspenseful read that will keep you flipping the pages. I recommend this well-executed and entertaining thriller! 4+ stars.
Jennifer Roup (9 KP) rated The Wife Between Us in Books
Dec 27, 2017
#GritLit Domestic Thriller Must Read
The premise of this book is captivating.
At first I think it's clear: A man left his wife for his assistant and the ex-wife is left devastated. The new bride is carried away in the new lavish lifestyle her husband-to-be is creating for her and she barely notices the subtle clues that someone is stalking her, watching her every move.
Nellie is cute, bubbly and everything that Vanessa used to be. The ex wife, Vanessa, is a recovering alcoholic living with her aunt, wondering how Richard could leave her. So she sets up on a mission to find out what Nellie has that she doesn't and to find a way to seek revenge.
If the book would have wrapped up after the first major twist in the middle of the book, I would have been impressed but the hits and twists just kept coming so it was impossible to put down.
I think the twists and turns, plus the creepy narration from an unreliable character who is clearly losing her mind were all great. I was really hooked at first. But by the end, there was just too much going on.
It's fast-paced, creepy and so vivid that you may start to think you're even being stalked too...
It's very much like The Couple Next Door, My Husband's Wife and Lie to Me and and similar thrillers. Twisted, interesting and really great characters but just a little too drag towards the end. Still recommend it though!
At first I think it's clear: A man left his wife for his assistant and the ex-wife is left devastated. The new bride is carried away in the new lavish lifestyle her husband-to-be is creating for her and she barely notices the subtle clues that someone is stalking her, watching her every move.
Nellie is cute, bubbly and everything that Vanessa used to be. The ex wife, Vanessa, is a recovering alcoholic living with her aunt, wondering how Richard could leave her. So she sets up on a mission to find out what Nellie has that she doesn't and to find a way to seek revenge.
If the book would have wrapped up after the first major twist in the middle of the book, I would have been impressed but the hits and twists just kept coming so it was impossible to put down.
I think the twists and turns, plus the creepy narration from an unreliable character who is clearly losing her mind were all great. I was really hooked at first. But by the end, there was just too much going on.
It's fast-paced, creepy and so vivid that you may start to think you're even being stalked too...
It's very much like The Couple Next Door, My Husband's Wife and Lie to Me and and similar thrillers. Twisted, interesting and really great characters but just a little too drag towards the end. Still recommend it though!
Katie Guinn (34 KP) rated My Husband's Wife in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Lily Macdonald is a young, newly married lawyer, determined to make a fresh start and leave her secrets in the past. But her first murder case, representing a convicted killer named Joe, will threaten her happy future.
*sigh* I’m getting really burned out on “domestic thrillers,” guys. The kind that center around husbands and wives with secrets and strained relationships, that focus on the minutiae of everyday life than on any real action. The kind that likes to tout themselves as “the next Gone Girl.” Give me a good suspenseful serial killer novel, with a twisty plot and an actual likable main character!
That’s one of my biggest problems with these sorts of books, every character is just so hard to like that it’s difficult to connect with anyone or really feel invested in the story. Lily and Ed Macdonald are two people who honestly shouldn’t have married in the first place; they barely knew each other and neither of them knows how to communicate unless it’s in the form of an argument. Their nine-year-old neighbor, Carla, gains some sympathy at first as she copes with bullies and the feeling of being “different,” Unfortunately, when the story picks up more than a dozen years later, Carla hasn’t changed very much. She still thinks and acts like a child, turning out to be, in my opinion, the least likable character in the book. A note to all the thriller authors out there: it’s not a crime to write characters that people like.
I gave this one three stars because while the writing and plotting was decent, it’s ultimately a forgettable novel. Also, it’s no Gone Girl.
*sigh* I’m getting really burned out on “domestic thrillers,” guys. The kind that center around husbands and wives with secrets and strained relationships, that focus on the minutiae of everyday life than on any real action. The kind that likes to tout themselves as “the next Gone Girl.” Give me a good suspenseful serial killer novel, with a twisty plot and an actual likable main character!
That’s one of my biggest problems with these sorts of books, every character is just so hard to like that it’s difficult to connect with anyone or really feel invested in the story. Lily and Ed Macdonald are two people who honestly shouldn’t have married in the first place; they barely knew each other and neither of them knows how to communicate unless it’s in the form of an argument. Their nine-year-old neighbor, Carla, gains some sympathy at first as she copes with bullies and the feeling of being “different,” Unfortunately, when the story picks up more than a dozen years later, Carla hasn’t changed very much. She still thinks and acts like a child, turning out to be, in my opinion, the least likable character in the book. A note to all the thriller authors out there: it’s not a crime to write characters that people like.
I gave this one three stars because while the writing and plotting was decent, it’s ultimately a forgettable novel. Also, it’s no Gone Girl.
The Man on the Roof
6.0
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Someone has been creeping in the dark while the others sleep, and they've done terrible, terrible...
A Stranger in the House
7.1
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In this neighborhood, danger lies close to home. A domestic thriller packed full of secrets, and a...
A Dangerous Breed
6.0
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Van Shaw’s past and present collide when an ingenious blackmailer pushes him to the brink in this...
Catriona Ward has got to be one of the best thriller writers around at the moment. I loved The Last House on Needless Street (although it was strange) and this book was just as good, and even more odd. I can’t say that I enjoyed the book as it touched upon some horrifying themes, but I couldn’t put it down as I needed to know what happened. When it came to the twists, I didn’t see most of them coming and Sundial had me guessing the whole way through. The cliffhanger that Catriona Ward ended this book on left some hope that the ending wasn’t as bad as it could be, but also left me with so many questions that are going to remain unsolved.
We meet Rob, a mother who seems to be in a bad marriage with Irving, who seems to cheat on her constantly. There is a lot of manipulation and abuse that is obvious throughout the book, and you consistently wonder why they are still together and don’t just leave each other. Things get worse when Rob starts to suspect something is wrong with her eldest daughter, Callie, and ends up taking Callie back to her childhood home in the desert: Sundial. Here, Rob tells Callie her story and hopes that it explains why Rob and ultimately Callie are the way they are.
I didn’t see the twists coming, and I was shocked by each one right up to the very end of the book. I would say that there should be some trigger warnings for domestic violence and animal abuse though, although the animal abuse isn’t in detail and is glossed over enough to not upset the reader but that they still know what is going on. I look forward to reading more of Catriona Ward’s books in the future.
We meet Rob, a mother who seems to be in a bad marriage with Irving, who seems to cheat on her constantly. There is a lot of manipulation and abuse that is obvious throughout the book, and you consistently wonder why they are still together and don’t just leave each other. Things get worse when Rob starts to suspect something is wrong with her eldest daughter, Callie, and ends up taking Callie back to her childhood home in the desert: Sundial. Here, Rob tells Callie her story and hopes that it explains why Rob and ultimately Callie are the way they are.
I didn’t see the twists coming, and I was shocked by each one right up to the very end of the book. I would say that there should be some trigger warnings for domestic violence and animal abuse though, although the animal abuse isn’t in detail and is glossed over enough to not upset the reader but that they still know what is going on. I look forward to reading more of Catriona Ward’s books in the future.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated I Let You Go in Books
Feb 1, 2018
One rainy evening, an accident occurs on a quiet neighborhood street. Walking home from school with his mother, young Jacob is hit by a car, and killed. Even worse, the car quickly backs up and drives away, leaving Jacob's mother shattered and Detective Inspector Ray Stevens and his team, particularly eager young DC Kate, to seek out answers.
With her world ruined by the accident, Jenna Gray seeks refuge by the coast. She finds a small cottage, gets a dog, and tries to escape the nightmares of the accident that haunt both her dreams and waking hours. Meanwhile, Ray and Kate are forced to close Jacob's case, no closer to the suspect than when they started. But the two remain undaunted, working on the case in their off hours, and an anniversary plea one year after the accident turns up some potential leads. What exactly happened that rainy night? Will justice ever come for Jacob--and peace for Jenna?
This was an excellent thriller-- a real surprise, honestly. The beginning of the novel started out slow, and was so horrendously sad, what with Jacob's accident and his mother's terrible grief. It was one of several book's I'd read lately involving the death of a child, and I was so saddened that I almost set it aside. I'm glad I didn't though, because while the book is gut-wrenchingly sad, it's excellent, tense, and suspenseful. Divided into several parts, things pick up immensely at the end of the first part, when Mackintosh throws in an excellent plot twist (I shan't say anymore so as not to ruin it).
Mackintosh is excellent at conveying Jenna's anguish and the sadness that the accident causes. We also have a side-plot of Ray and his feelings toward his subordinate, Kate. Ray's home life is unbalanced: he's dealing with issues with his son, Tom, and his wife. These are a bit distracting at times, but serve to humanize him as well. The police subplot (watching them try to piece things together) is interesting, also. In fact, the book alternates in perspectives: we hear from Ray, Jenna, and one more character. In part 2, we go back in time for some of the characters, but remain in the present with Ray and Kate as they (much like us, the readers) try to solve this crime. It's an interesting technique and works surprisingly well. Jenna is a complicated character, but a well-drawn one.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that there is definitely a trigger for domestic abuse/violence, so please be forewarned for that. There's a character in the novel who reminds me of the husband in that creepy Julia Roberts' film "Sleeping with the Enemy" (I'm totally dating myself here). As such I was up late reading one night, completely creeped out. However, that's the sign of an excellent thriller in my opinion. I raced through the last 2/3 of the book and really wasn't disappointed. There are several more twists, but they actually are pretty believable, not outlandish like in many thrillers. Definitely recommend this one (with the abuse caveat thrown in). A unique psychological thriller that's worth your time, for sure.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley - thank you! The U.S. edition is available everywhere on 5/3/16. You can find a review of this book and many more at my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.
With her world ruined by the accident, Jenna Gray seeks refuge by the coast. She finds a small cottage, gets a dog, and tries to escape the nightmares of the accident that haunt both her dreams and waking hours. Meanwhile, Ray and Kate are forced to close Jacob's case, no closer to the suspect than when they started. But the two remain undaunted, working on the case in their off hours, and an anniversary plea one year after the accident turns up some potential leads. What exactly happened that rainy night? Will justice ever come for Jacob--and peace for Jenna?
This was an excellent thriller-- a real surprise, honestly. The beginning of the novel started out slow, and was so horrendously sad, what with Jacob's accident and his mother's terrible grief. It was one of several book's I'd read lately involving the death of a child, and I was so saddened that I almost set it aside. I'm glad I didn't though, because while the book is gut-wrenchingly sad, it's excellent, tense, and suspenseful. Divided into several parts, things pick up immensely at the end of the first part, when Mackintosh throws in an excellent plot twist (I shan't say anymore so as not to ruin it).
Mackintosh is excellent at conveying Jenna's anguish and the sadness that the accident causes. We also have a side-plot of Ray and his feelings toward his subordinate, Kate. Ray's home life is unbalanced: he's dealing with issues with his son, Tom, and his wife. These are a bit distracting at times, but serve to humanize him as well. The police subplot (watching them try to piece things together) is interesting, also. In fact, the book alternates in perspectives: we hear from Ray, Jenna, and one more character. In part 2, we go back in time for some of the characters, but remain in the present with Ray and Kate as they (much like us, the readers) try to solve this crime. It's an interesting technique and works surprisingly well. Jenna is a complicated character, but a well-drawn one.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that there is definitely a trigger for domestic abuse/violence, so please be forewarned for that. There's a character in the novel who reminds me of the husband in that creepy Julia Roberts' film "Sleeping with the Enemy" (I'm totally dating myself here). As such I was up late reading one night, completely creeped out. However, that's the sign of an excellent thriller in my opinion. I raced through the last 2/3 of the book and really wasn't disappointed. There are several more twists, but they actually are pretty believable, not outlandish like in many thrillers. Definitely recommend this one (with the abuse caveat thrown in). A unique psychological thriller that's worth your time, for sure.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley - thank you! The U.S. edition is available everywhere on 5/3/16. You can find a review of this book and many more at my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.