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Isabel Smith (34 KP) rated The House Swap in Books

Jun 26, 2018

The House Swap

Rebecca Fleet | 2018 | Thriller

6.5

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Tension, tension, so much tension!

From start to finish The House Swap is a taut and edgy examination of the rocky marriage between a young English couple, Caroline and Francis. When the opportunity arises for them to swap their city flat in Leeds with someone else’s suburban home in Chiswick they eagerly plan a week-long getaway for two so they can focus on repairing their relationship. Caroline soon starts finding signs that the owner of the suburban home she and Francis are currently occupying may very well be the person she’s tried so desperately to put behind her: her ex-lover, Carl. Francis, who knows about Caroline’s past affair, begins to notice that his wife is acting strange and inattentive; it’s putting him on edge, which is no place for a former pill-popper like himself to be. With both of their past obsessions threatening to burst back into their lives, Caroline and Francis brace themselves for the ultimate test in their marriage.

This psychological thriller definitely delivers on nail-biting suspense, calculated misdirection, and hair-raising shocks. There were more than a couple of well-placed red herrings which made the plot twists all the more juicy and exciting. Some of the content was a bit difficult to stomach, but it added to the domestic noir feel of the novel. Overall, The House Swap is a solid option for anyone looking for a fast-paced and multilayered novel that goes behind closed doors.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) in Movies

Dec 4, 2018

The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

2018 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

6.2

(27 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Another attempt at converting Stieg Larssen's very-popular-about-ten-years-ago characters into viable English-language multiplex fare. Film opens with implied child abuse followed by implied domestic violence (there's a lot of implication, in order to avoid the 18 certificate that scuppered the box office of the Daniel Craig/Rooney Mara movie), but this is mainly to set an authentically grim tone - the plot could fairly easily be retooled for one of the Bourne movies, as evil secret organisation tries to get its hands on apocalyptic McGuffin, hero gets framed for doing nasty things, and so on.

Not sure about Foy's 'Allo Sven, I got a Volvo' accent, but on the whole this is a decent, watchable thriller even if it does look a bit like an Ikea advert with extra gore. But the thing is that it is terribly generic. If the only way to bring these books and characters to the screen is to basically fillet out everything that makes them distinctive and memorable, one wonders why anyone should bother. (The producers of the film may be able to name 31 million reasons (at the time of writing), but this still hardly qualifies as a hit movie.)

(And I know it's a bit ungallant to say this, but Foy is 34 - at what point does she become *The Woman* with (for example) the Dragon Tattoo? The point seems pertinent.)

Kudos

Allison Knapp (118 KP) rated Public Secrets in Books

Jan 22, 2019

Public Secrets

Nora Roberts | 1990 | Fiction & Poetry

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Well written and complex characters (7 more)

Covers a broad range of social topics such as addiction, domestic violence, and homosexuality in a way which is both well written and accurate with the times

Strong character dynamics

Not nearly as cheesy as the romance novels of which she is known for writing

At times creepy or psychologically disturbing in a way which makes you care even more about the life of the main character

Strong ensemble cast

Great nostalgic look at music and cinema from the 60s up through the 90s

Excellent and unpredictable plot twists

Murder Mystery set in the world of the Music Industry

The illegitimate daughter of a young rock star witnesses the accidental murder of her baby brother when she is still very young, and due to a case of isolated amnesia, cannot identify the murderer. As she grows up under the public eye, amidst the tragedy and its effects on her family, struggling to let go of her nightmares of that fateful night while struggling to find her own identity aside from the shadow of her father and the legendary status of her family, she faces many struggles and challenges just to prove an identity of her own. Yet as she grows up into a mature young woman, she learns that there are some tragedies from her past which were worth suffering through if she were to finally help bring justice for her brother and their family.

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Cutting Place (Maeve Kerrigan #9) in Books

Apr 12, 2020

I absolutely devoured this book and, once again, I find myself sounding like a broken record in that I haven't got enough different words to describe how much I enjoyed it and despite it being the ninth in the series, it continues to feel fresh with the partnership of DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent being a particular highlight of mine and one which I absolutely adore.

Here we find the team investigating a particularly brutal murder when a body part is found by a mudlarker on the banks of the Thames; the ensuing investigation leads to a missing journalist and an exclusive gentleman's club ... are they related? Amongst all this is a look into the private life of Maeve and the importance of strong friendships and trust.

This is a compelling and engaging story line and not just a police-procedural; it delves into the murky world of "gentleman's" clubs, domestic violence, blackmail, privilege and power. I'm not going to lie, it's a dark story full of tension that is all too plausible but there are lighter moments that provide some occasional relief.

Highly, highly recommended and you don't have to have read previous books in the series to appreciate just how good this is but you will certainly want to after reading this.

My thanks and appreciation go to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.