Gaslight (1940)
Movie
Gaslight is a 1940 British film directed by Thorold Dickinson which stars Anton Walbrook and Diana...
The Sleeper
Book
Lara Finch is living a lie. Everyone thinks she has a happy life in Cornwall, married to the...
Thriller Mystery Fiction Crime
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
Movie
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces is a 2014 feature-length compilation of deleted and extended scenes...
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Retreat in Books
Jan 17, 2023
Initially it looks like a tragic accident, but it transpires that the victim shouldn’t have even been there. And then it’s followed by a diving accident.
There’s loads of mystery, action and secrets on the island, and Detective Elin Walker is the one to solve the crimes.
I felt that Elin was much more together and confident than she was in The Sanitorium, which I think is the reason for her boyfriend Will’s behaviour (honestly, it’s not great behaviour 🤷🏼♀️).
I loved how the secrets were slowly revealed - lots of deep intakes of breath on my part!
Absolutely NOT somewhere I’d want to be going on holiday, but a fabulous read!
FALLEN RACE: The Celestial Clock
Book
When heiress Kaira Munroe and world-renowned Oceanographer Jonathan Bell are summoned to a remote...
mystery thriller
Midge (525 KP) rated The First Time I Died in Books
Feb 4, 2019
Garnet McGee returns to her home-town in Pitchford, Vermont, at the suggestion of her college professor, who thinks she needs some time away from her studies so that she can re-evaluate what she wants to do with her life. Whilst there, she vows to solve the mystery of a murder which shattered her life ten years ago. But after dying in an accident and being brought back to life, she starts hearing voices, seeing visions and experiencing strange sensations. Are these merely symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and an over-active imagination, or is she getting messages from a paranormal presence?
This is the first of Jo Macgregor’s novels I have read and as always when reading a mystery, I started guessing who the main suspect was. Well, I was wrong because it was someone else…
THE FIRST TIME I DIED is unusual in that I had imagined that it would be about Garnet's death, but it was, in fact mostly about someone else’s. I found that this gave the novel an edge that was both engaging and enjoyable. I found it easy to empathise with Garnet and I wanted her to succeed in what she was looking to achieve.
I loved Jo Macgregor’s writing style and some of her descriptions in the novel were so atmospheric, especially those about Plover Pond. The first half of the novel is written in alternating chapters of time, giving the reader clarity, which really worked for me. "Then" referred to a time period of ten years ago, when Garnet was a seventeen-year-old schoolgirl.
Jo Macgregor brought everything together for a fabulous conclusion even though I never did manage to accurately guess who was behind the murder. I haven’t got anything negative thing to say about this book. I loved it and it has left me eager to read more from this author. THE FIRST TIME I DIED is an exciting and action-packed crime/thriller that I highly recommend.
Thank you to Hidden Gems and the author for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Pretty Little Wife in Books
Jan 7, 2021
Lila Ridgefield's husband is missing. A beloved high school teacher, his boss, colleagues, and brother cannot believe that Aaron Payne would just disappear. He's certainly not the type to simply not show up for work one day. As for his wife, Lila is known more for her cold and quiet demeanor (and, let's be honest, her beauty). She's also pretty confused, because the last time she saw Aaron, she was rather convinced she was looking at his dead body. So where's his car she left behind--and the body? Investigator Ginny Davis is called to look into Aaron's disappearance. At first it seems unrelated to that of a missing local student. But the more Ginny digs, the more she starts to wonder. And the more Lila digs, the more she fears her husband is still alive.
"Despite all her careful planning, he was gone. She had to find Aaron before he found her."
Well, this was quite a book. The beginning was a bit slow for me--it took too long to get to the exciting part, and it was repetitive. It felt like bits and pieces were rehashed over and over. I wanted to shake Lila and tell her to get on with it!
But, once everything gets moving, this is quite an exciting thriller. The last fourth of the story especially is incredibly electrifying and, for the most part, keeps you guessing. (I had a decent idea about whodunnit, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment at all.) I loved the concept of a mystery where the woman kills her husband, yet the main story is, surprise: he disappears anyway. The dynamic between cunning Lila, whom you're never sure you can trust, and Ginny, who is a straightforward and honest investigator, is excellent. I enjoy a book with strong female protagonists and these two are excellent.
Overall, even though this dragged for a bit, it's certainly worth a read. For one thing, it's different, which is so refreshing in the thriller genre. It's also dark, intriguing, and surprising. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 here.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins Publishers and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Beneath the Mountain: A Novel
Book
In Luca D’Andrea’s atmospheric and brilliant thriller, set in a small mountain community in the...
suspense thriller
Fragments of the Lost
Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger comes a...
thriller
Our Little Lies
Book
How far would you go to protect your perfect life? Marianne has a life others dream of. A...
Psychological Thriller Fiction Mystery Suspense stand alone novel female lead