Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Bride in Books

Jul 2, 2023  
The Bride
The Bride
John Nicholl | 2023 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have enjoyed Mr Nicholl's books before and this was no exception.

Daisy is writing a letter to her unborn child whilst she sits in a jail cell awaiting her trial for murder. The book is written as a series of letters and provides Daisy's account of how she got to where she is but is she a reliable narrator?

I became very quickly engrossed in Daisy's story; it's full of tension and suspense with me desperately wanting to find out just what the heck happened. There are twists that had my mouth agape with the ending of the book causing me to gasp out loud. Written at a good pace, The Bride is a great psychological thriller that I would have no hesitation in recommending to readers of this genre.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Bride.
  
40x40

Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated The Blind in Books

Jun 6, 2019  
The Blind
The Blind
A.F. Brady | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
^^ When Sam James, a highly regarded psychologist at a notorious psychological institute, meets disturbed patient Richard, their lives take an unexpected turn as the lines between sane and sanity blur between them.

^^ As a psychological thriller this story’s different. I’m not sure ANY book will beat ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’, (which this one was compared to), but it’s still a terrific read in many ways.

^^ For a psychologist who is supposed to have her head screwed on right helping patients with their mental health problems, she has a hell of a lot of her own issues to deal with. Sam’s in an unhealthy, abusive relationship, had an unpleasant upbringing and is on the verge of becoming a full-blown alcoholic. On top of all that, she’s overloaded with cases, as all the staff are, underpaid and at risk of losing her job.

^^ Hang on! This sounds very much like the kind of things real healthcare professionals deal with! Especially when it comes to lack of funding, high staff turnover and a never-ending influx of new patients all suffering and needing help. (Can you tell I once worked in a similar healthcare environment?) It’s no wonder we can watch Sam’s health and mental stability decline before our very eyes. Not only that, she digs herself deeper into trouble making awful decisions, putting both herself and her patients at risk.

^^ What niggled me was I guessed what was going to happen quite early on. Is this only me? Or maybe, since I worked in a similar place, I saw the signs sooner? Who knows. Despite this, I still enjoyed the read, but found myself getting a little frustrated towards the end when neither Sam, nor her friend and coworker, David, could see what was happening. I guess you could say it really was ‘The blind leading the blind’.

^^ It’s a pity guessing what was about to happen, for ages, spoilt the shock ending of the last two sentences, which finally gave the game away to anyone who hadn’t already guessed. But hey, ho!

^^ I found this started off, slow, albeit in a curious way, like watching a candle burning at both ends. Then it hit the ground running midway, and by the last third I was staying up far too late at night wanting to read ‘just one more page’. Watching Sam’s life and sanity unravelling, was strangely intriguing.

Overall: For those with an interest in stories which openly talk about mental health issues, I think you’ll really enjoy this. The author shows a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and it’s clear she knows her stuff. She should do. A.F. Brady is a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Psychotherapist. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Brown University and two Masters degrees in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University. That’s why!
  
40x40

Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated Copycat in Books

Oct 6, 2017  
Copycat
Copycat
Alex Lake | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
10
8.0 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
OMG!!!! I bloody loved Copycat By Alex Lake. It was one of those books that when you pick it up it's practically impossible to put back down.
And this is what actually happened to me, I decided to read the first couple chapters at midnight to get a feel for it and Wham!!! that was it, I finished in the early hours of the morning, couldn't put it down, it was such addictive reading. a real page-turner.
So the story is about Sarah Havenant a doctor married to Ben, British and a lawyer living in Maine with their three adorable children, the picture-perfect life.
So Sarah gets a friend request from a girl she used to go to school with and she asks Sarah which is her real facebook profile.
Transpires there is another Sarah Havenant using pictures of her children, her husband and from her own house seriously weird and scary.
As events escalate it turns out this is only the start as Sarah's whole world implodes, people around her including her husband start to doubt her sanity.
Sarah and Ben's marriage buckle's under the strain and poor Sarah has no idea who to trust and where to turn when even her own husband is doubting her.
So this is the sort of Psychological mindtwist I adore and Copycat kept me guessing throughout.
I had absolutely no idea who was stalking Sarah and only just guessed right before the shocking reveal.
And to say I was gobsmacked is an understatement, what a conclusion.
sorry for the vagueness I'm trying to keep this spoiler-free.
I would definitely recommend this to my fellow psychological thriller lovers, this one is super fast, its excellently written and the story just flows brilliantly, with never a dull minute to be had here.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an arc of Copycat By Alex Lake, this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
  
Now You See Her
Now You See Her
Heidi Perks | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
10
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
What would you do if you leave your kid with your friend, and she suddenly lost it? How would you react if they told you she was on her phone throughout that time? Your friend has many secrets, but hey - SO DO YOU!
In a world full of psychological thrillers about missing girls, this is probably the only one that stands out on its own and reigns them all.

What would you do if you leave your kid with your friend, and she suddenly lost it? How would you react if they told you she was on her phone throughout that time? Your friend has many secrets, but hey - SO DO YOU!

<img src="https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Extract-Now-You-See-Her-Heidi-Perks.jpg"/>;

While we have the overrated stories of how a girl goes missing, everyone involved is hiding something, things get intense, and in one moment we find it all out - here Heidi Perks did an extremely great job to spice things up and make this book one of a kind. She blended all these things together so well, that I couldn’t put the book down with intense moments happening on every single page.

The characters were very well formed - I could connect so easily to every single one of them. I loved their backgrounds and the little Easter eggs hidden through that only made sense in the end - PRECIOUS!

The story plot was so cleverly put together, and I greatly enjoyed it! A nice, fast-paced, psychological thriller that will give you the chills constantly, make you start biting your nails again, scroll through the next chapters and forget about your sleep until you’ve finished it!.

Big - intense five-stars from me, and definitely one of the best intense stories I have read in 2018!

A big thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, for providing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
  
40x40

Darren (1599 KP) rated XX (2017) in Movies

Oct 31, 2019  
XX (2017)
XX (2017)
2017 | Horror
Story – The Box is a very interesting horror, it poses a question that would leave the audience much like Susan wondering what changed everything in her family’s life, it has a shock moment, while the rest is filled with the psychological side of horror. The Birthday Party plays out more like a dark comedy that a horror, it does work very well watching how hard the it is to cover up a death. Don’t Fall does seem to be the weakest of the stories here, mostly because it is way too short, it seems to take us to the location, hit night and everything happens and it is over way too quickly. Her Only Living Son does play out a lot like ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ only having a supernatural side to the outcome, it is one that could easily be a longer film too. Overall the stories are different enough, we have little sparks for each sub-genre of horror too which only means if you didn’t like one, you can skip to the next with ease.

Horror – The horror in the film gives us something different in each little story, we have psychological, dark humour, creature feature and satanic, which will give the audience something to enjoy between them.

Settings – The film does use each setting to make us feel like we are in different stories with Happy Birthday using the environment the best through the film.

Special Effects – The effects are strong when needed, we don’t turn to them very often which is nice for a horror film at times.


Scene of the Movie – Dinner with a difference.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Don’t Fall feels too short.

Final Thoughts – This is a nice little horror anthology which highlights the female film makers in the genre, each story will have something for each type of horror fan to enjoy.

Overall: Horror Anthology 101
  
40x40

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies

Nov 4, 2019 (Updated Nov 4, 2019)  
Joker (2019)
Joker (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama
The Killing Joke
I finally saw Joker yesterday with a full crowd of people in the theater. Which i was surpise of because it has been out for a month now. But the crowd and i loved Joker.

This is my favorite movie so far of this year. It is psychological, horrorfying, and it takes the Joker charcter on a whole nother level. Joker takes place in the 80's and as a origin movie, Joker is dark, twisted, moody, and terrorfying movie.

Joaquin Phoenix, Frances Conroy and Robert De Niro are excellent in this movie. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Frances Conroy should get nomiated for the oscars.

Joaquin Phoenix takes elements from Cesar Ramero's Joker, Jack Nicolson's Joker and Heath Ledgar and make its it his own. His laugh is perfect. Its scary and so phenomal.

Lets talk about the plot: Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks -- the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he's part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

The way their protray Gotham City in the 80's is perfect. Gotham City, this time is New York City and I think thats perfect.

Joker is the first live-action theatrical Batman film to receive an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, due to its violent and disturbing content. It is also the best DC film since The Dark Knight Rises.

Joker is a memorizing movie, it is psychological, it is twisted, dark and gloomy.

Joker is a highly reccordmend movie, if you havent seen it yet, than i highly reccordmend you see it.