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Burial Rites
Burial Rites
Hannah Kent | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
9
7.9 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Remarkable re-telling of an Icelandic murder case
Hannah Kent's detailed historical true crime story is fascinating, as she fills in the gaps about Iceland's last known case to end with the death penalty of a woman.

It isn't a murder mystery, more a fictional portrayal of Agnes Magnusdottir, who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer. It surrounds her last months kept in the home of a lawman and his family, as they grew closer to her and as she revealed more about the case to them. She confides in a young assistant priest, Toti, appointed as her spiritual guardian.

Here we find a rather ambiguous story about her so-called heroic employer, who seems to be more callous than what most thought about him. It is moving to read about the intense poverty she faced, and the loveless life she led, forcing people to behave in many different ways. There is a recurrent theme of jealousy throughout the book which shows what people are truly capable of. It is a battle for survival in a harsh, wintry landscape.
  
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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Spilled Blood in Books

Jan 15, 2018  
SB
Spilled Blood
10
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I won an ARC of this book from First Reads.
This is the first Brian Freeman book I've ever read. Now that I'm done with it I feel like I've been missing out on a fantastic author! This book was so well written! It had colorful but realistic & well developed characters. The suspense was top notch. The conclusion was fast paced & 1 that I did not see coming in the least. So many books like this turn out to be too predictable. Thankfully this one was not!
Spilled Blood tells the story of Olivia Hawk, a high schooler who is arrested for murdering another high school girl. The evidence points strongly to her, both in the physical evidence from the scene & from the gossip around town. In sweeps her dad, a lawyer, who beings to slowly unravel the mysteries of the crime while struggling with the ever present, "Did she do it?" question. I hate to say much more than that for fear of ruining a fantastic plot!
This book had action, mystery, big companies, cancer, cover-ups, and bombs all covered yet still managed to throw in a good romance without feeling forced. This was an AMAZING read!!
  
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BTPBookclub (18 KP) rated I Let You Go in Books

May 14, 2019  
I Let You Go
I Let You Go
Clare Mackintosh | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.3 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cleverly written plot
I had heard so much about this story that I had to see what all the hype was about for myself. Trust me, it did not let me down! This is the new Gone Girl and I would urge you all to read it if you haven’t already. I awarded this story five stars as it is outstanding, well written, easy to read and I was hooked throughout. Yes! I devoured and loved it. This story made me feel many different emotions throughout and is a story I will always remember with a cleverly written plot. Readers will need to prepare themselves for many twists, turns and shocking outcomes ahead! I did not expect the outcome at all until all was revealed and I really was shocked! I cannot wait to read more by Clare Mackintosh if it is going to be as good as this. You will forget the world while reading this, I did. This is the perfect story for you ALL but more specifically for readers who enjoy a brilliant thriller, mystery, crime, suspense, contemporary and bestsellers genre’s. Enjoy, this is a book you will not regret buying!
  
An Unwanted Guest
An Unwanted Guest
Shari Lapena | 2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
8
6.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
A complete and utter mystery to me!
A group of people who have no prior knowledge of one another, end up stranded in the middle of nowhere in a hotel when some extreme weather comes in (snow and ice) and cuts them off. It also cuts off the electricity and phone lines (most conveniently!). Then people start dying under suspicious circumstances.
I honestly had no idea whatsoever who the murderer was. The perpetrator covered their tracks really well (although not so well that the crime scene investigators couldn't work it out pretty quickly at the end). I really enjoyed the character descriptions: there were those that were easy to empathise with and those that I thoroughly disliked.
This was very 'Agatha Christie', even down to the part where everyone is gathered in the same room by request of the investigator so that they could go through who they thought had 'dunnit'!
Very entertaining and I had fun trying to work out who the killer was and their reasons why (with no success whatsoever!).
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the publisher and the author who read along and commented on our comments!