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ClareR (5542 KP) rated The Rising Tide in Books

Sep 14, 2021  
The Rising Tide
The Rising Tide
Sam Lloyd | 2021 | Contemporary, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Rising Tide is a fast paced thriller, a race against time. Lucy must find her children before something terrible happens to them - provided that the terrible thing hasn’t already happened.

The finger of blame is pointed firmly at Lucy’s husband, but even when he’s arrested the police still can’t find the children, and Daniel isn’t going to tell them. Abraham Rose, who is terminally ill, is the detective in charge of the investigation and the hunt for the children. He’s quite some force of nature: a quiet, dedicated man, he’s determined to bring Lucy’s children home to her. This determination and his now wavering faith, are the driving force for a man who should really be in hospital. He wants to be the one to run and solve the case, though.

There’s a lot going on under the surface of this book. Is Lucy the person she says she is? Is something not quite right in her marriage with Daniel? What is going on with Daniel’s business partner?

This book constantly surprised me, and the tension was immense! I really enjoyed Sam Lloyd’s first novel (The Memory Wood), and this book, whilst completely different, didn’t disappoint at all. My emotions throughout this book were as turbulent as the weather (which was pretty bad!). I loved it!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this and to Sam Lloyd for joining in with the discussion.
  
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
1988 | Horror
7
6.7 (20 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A nice return for Michael.
Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is having nightmares of Michael Myers coming after her. When he returns to Haddonfield, Jamie and her sister Rachel (Ellie Cornell) must fight for survival. Luckily, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) also returns to stop Michael.

Halloween 4 is more of a blunt movie then its predecessors. It lacks the inventive camera work of Carpenter, and Michael comes across less sneaky, he's much more aggressive.
Loomis feels a bit unneeded, the mask is weird looking, the score isn't as good.

But there is still plenty of good. Harris's performance is pretty good, especially for child actor standards. Jamie's nightmares are surprisingly fairly creepy. The various death scenes are brutal and unsettling.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a pretty simple slasher. But it put the franchise on a new steady path, and it gave us Danielle Harris which is a plus. It's definitely not a film you'll hate, and if you like the Halloween franchise it's a must watch!
  
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ClareR (5542 KP) rated The Memory Wood in Books

Feb 27, 2020 (Updated Feb 29, 2020)  
The Memory Wood
The Memory Wood
Sam Lloyd | 2020 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Memory Wood is a phenomenal book. I was on tenterhooks from the first chapter - mainly because I didn't really know what to expect. I usually avoid stories where child abductions are involved for reasons obvious to me (I know people who enjoy these themes, and are better able to detach fact from fiction than me!), but as The Pigeonhole chose it, I thought I'd give it a go - and I'm glad I did.

Elissa is abducted from outside the chess tournament that she's playing at, and wakes up manacled to the floor by a chain. Her only contact with another person is Elijah, a 12 year old boy who lives in the Memory Wood. He calls her Gretel, she calls him Hansel, and the house above the cellar she is imprisoned in is referred to as the Gingerbread House.

Meanwhile, the police have started the investigation, and are trying to locate Elissa. Detective Superintendent Mairead MacCullagh is in charge, and to be honest, Elissa couldn't have a more committed person to lead the hunt. Despite very upsetting personal circumstances, Mairead works hard and persistently to try and find Elissa.

I loved this book - it was non-stop action and so tense! I'm so glad I gave it a chance, because I'm sure it will be one of may favourite books of 2020!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Sam Lloyd for reading along with us.
  
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Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Mammoth in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
M
Mammoth
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Also find my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/mammoth-by-douglas-perry

NOW AVAILABLE IN THE UK!

Thank you to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in an exchange for a review.

Not quite what I was expecting, which I think is the general feel judging by others reviews. Be warned, this isn’t a creepy paranormal, alien type of thing. I don’t think that’s a spoiler either, I wouldn’t want you to pick this up and be greatly disappointed. If you love character focused novels then this will be your kind of book! This gives you some really in depth information about each of the characters, but it can get confusing because there are <i>so</i> many characters! There are <b>eleven</b> main characters, plus more characters that relate to these characters in little sub plots.

<u>Characters: </u>
Tori
Billy & Becky
Jackson & Sam
Hicks & Lloyd
Oscar - “King”
Melvin & Gordon
Winnie Lloyd

If you find it difficult to keep up with lots of different people in books then this won’t be for you. It can get a little confusing at times and I often forgot what was happening to one character by the time we got back to reading about them after having read about 4 characters in between.

I though this novel was superbly written. Possibly one of the best written books I’ve read in quite a while! There is some really grotesque imagery in this book, not in a violent way though, so I wouldn’t give it any trigger warnings, though rape is implied. My only problem with the writing was that sometimes it was really difficult to understand where the characters were in Mammoth View or Bakersfield or what. That was my one annoyance, I wasn’t able to keep a grip on where each character was.

In terms of the plot that there was, which wasn’t much, it was an interesting storyline. Lots of things going on a once which could definitely add to the confusion. I feel as though Perry had created seven(ish) separate short stories and then tried to mash them into one… which in my opinion worked. I felt let down by the ending in a way but at the same time I thought it was really unique. You do find out why panic ensues in the small town of Mammoth View and I can bet you won’t see it coming… Though now I’ve told you it’s not paranormal or aliens then maybe you might…

If you like to really get to know a character and don’t really care about a well developed plot then this book is a definite read for you, but if you’re expecting something scary or creepy form this then don’t bother as it isn’t that kind of thing. I will definitely look out for more of Perry’s work!