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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Broken Promise in Books
May 10, 2018
Promise Falls is a small town that is slowly losing itself. The amusement park has shut down along with the newspaper. Because of this latest incident, David Harwood is forced to move back in with his parents along with his son, Ethan. Eager to find a job he helps his parents with whatever they need around the house. As he takes some food to his cousin, Marla, he makes a startling discovery. She has a baby that she insists an angel has brought to her house. When the mother of that baby is found murdered, David does all he can to protect Marla despite her sorted past.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this title. <u>Broken Promise</u> is the first in a new trilogy by Linwood Barclay. This book wasn't necessarily action packed, but it held my attention completely. By the end of the book there were 23 dead squirrels, 5 dead people, 2 unsolved murders and one strange adoption case. There is a cliffhanger at the end of the book that made me immediately go out and get the second book in the trilogy <u>Far From True</u>. Linwood Barclay is a great storyteller who keeps the reader wanting more.
This book had me asking many questions at the end and wanting to know what is going to happen next. Marla, who is David Harwood's cousin lives alone and posts reviews online for various companies. Less than a year earlier, she had lost her child and her life will never be the same. David was working for the Boston Globe, when he became a single parent, and decided to move back to Promise Falls so that his parents can help him with his son, Ethan. Detective Duckworth is celebrating his 20th year on the force, when these incidents take place. These characters along with the other residents of Promise Fall will spend the three days trying to solve the mysteries that are taking place in their small town. Will Marla be charged with murder? How did this baby really come to be in her possession? Will David be able to get to the bottom of the mystery before he becomes a part of it?
Look out for the rest of the books in the trilogy.
[bookcover:Far From True|25810392]
[bookcover:The Twenty-Three|29429982]
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this title. <u>Broken Promise</u> is the first in a new trilogy by Linwood Barclay. This book wasn't necessarily action packed, but it held my attention completely. By the end of the book there were 23 dead squirrels, 5 dead people, 2 unsolved murders and one strange adoption case. There is a cliffhanger at the end of the book that made me immediately go out and get the second book in the trilogy <u>Far From True</u>. Linwood Barclay is a great storyteller who keeps the reader wanting more.
This book had me asking many questions at the end and wanting to know what is going to happen next. Marla, who is David Harwood's cousin lives alone and posts reviews online for various companies. Less than a year earlier, she had lost her child and her life will never be the same. David was working for the Boston Globe, when he became a single parent, and decided to move back to Promise Falls so that his parents can help him with his son, Ethan. Detective Duckworth is celebrating his 20th year on the force, when these incidents take place. These characters along with the other residents of Promise Fall will spend the three days trying to solve the mysteries that are taking place in their small town. Will Marla be charged with murder? How did this baby really come to be in her possession? Will David be able to get to the bottom of the mystery before he becomes a part of it?
Look out for the rest of the books in the trilogy.
[bookcover:Far From True|25810392]
[bookcover:The Twenty-Three|29429982]
The Grimaldis of Monaco: Centuries of Scandal, Years of Grace
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
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ClareR (5836 KP) rated The Prophets in Books
Jan 5, 2021
I’ve agonised over writing something about this. How can whatever I write possibly do this book any justice? It’s beautiful, it’s haunting and it’s terrible. I don’t mean that it’s bad-terrible. I mean that it’s a book that I wish never had to be written. What is terrible, is mans inhumanity to man.
The story centres around the slaves on the Elizabeth Plantation (also known as ‘Empty’ to the slaves), and in particular, Samuel and Isaiah. They are betrayed by the other slaves, as if by revealing their love, it will make their lives safer. Of course this is not the case, as we see when we read the chapters centred around some of the other slaves. We learn about the inhumane treatment of the slaves by their immoral white owners (or toubabs, as they are called by their black slaves). I felt that the white people in this book had a mad, mentally unhinged quality about them: after all, how else could you reconcile treating human beings worse than animals?
I found the chapters written from the African people’s perspective, as they were free then captured and imprisoned, so interesting. It made them even more real to me. These were real people (as opposed to the animals that they were seen as by the slavers) with families, traditions, lives, loves and beliefs. The scenes on board the slave ships were harrowing.
It has taken me over a week to tackle this review. This book really affected me deeply, and there were many times that I had to put the book down and walk away. Then, I would feel guilty that I had the luxury of doing just that, unlike the slaves who lived every moment of their lives as some white mans possession to do with as he saw fit.
I can’t believe that this is a debut novel. The writing is beautiful, even in the most horrific moments. The magical elements add a suggestion of hope and the indomitable spirit of these people. And the ending is just perfection. I’m sure that this book will win awards - it SHOULD win - and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to read it.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me access to this book via NetGalley. It has been a privilege to read it.
The story centres around the slaves on the Elizabeth Plantation (also known as ‘Empty’ to the slaves), and in particular, Samuel and Isaiah. They are betrayed by the other slaves, as if by revealing their love, it will make their lives safer. Of course this is not the case, as we see when we read the chapters centred around some of the other slaves. We learn about the inhumane treatment of the slaves by their immoral white owners (or toubabs, as they are called by their black slaves). I felt that the white people in this book had a mad, mentally unhinged quality about them: after all, how else could you reconcile treating human beings worse than animals?
I found the chapters written from the African people’s perspective, as they were free then captured and imprisoned, so interesting. It made them even more real to me. These were real people (as opposed to the animals that they were seen as by the slavers) with families, traditions, lives, loves and beliefs. The scenes on board the slave ships were harrowing.
It has taken me over a week to tackle this review. This book really affected me deeply, and there were many times that I had to put the book down and walk away. Then, I would feel guilty that I had the luxury of doing just that, unlike the slaves who lived every moment of their lives as some white mans possession to do with as he saw fit.
I can’t believe that this is a debut novel. The writing is beautiful, even in the most horrific moments. The magical elements add a suggestion of hope and the indomitable spirit of these people. And the ending is just perfection. I’m sure that this book will win awards - it SHOULD win - and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to read it.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me access to this book via NetGalley. It has been a privilege to read it.
Road To Ruin
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Malicious Destruction of Property. Two counts of breaking and entering. Two counts of possession...
dark romance romance contemporary
Rugby League Live for iPad
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Clare Parrott (294 KP) created a post
Jul 24, 2017
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Eat the Night in Books
May 16, 2018
If you’re looking for a good ol’, classic horror tale in the flavor of <i>Evil Dead</i> or <i>Army of Darkness</i>, Tim Waggoner’s <i>Eat the Night</i> is a must-read. It’s fast paced and filled with the sort of material horror fans like me grew up with. Death cult? Check. Mass suicide? Check. Possession? Check. Vivid, gore-filled scenes? Hideous monsters from another dimension? Reincarnation? Check, check, and check. I can’t even begin to describe how hungrily I devoured this book, and though it has its ridiculous moments, I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author!
Thirty years ago, retired rockstar Mark Maegarr and his devout followers, in true Jonestown fashion, committed suicide in tropic Suriname. It was Maegarr’s belief that this ritual would hasten the approach of Entropy, or the total dissolution of the world as we know it. Unfortunately for Maegarr, something went wrong and he spends the next several decades reaching from beyond the grave to finish what he started.
Joan Lantz and her husband, Jon, are first time home-owners. Burdened with a troubled past, Joan is glad to finally have a home of her own. After waking from a horrific nightmare detailing the grisly end that befell Mark Maegarr and his cult, she discovers a hidden basement in her home, which had not been on the house’s plans and was previously unknown to the home’s last owners, who were friends of hers.
Kevin Benecke works for Maintenance, a secretive company that is reminiscent of Men in Black. Aware that they cannot save the world from its fate, their goal is to slow the coming of the end down from the sidelines. He’s an unfortunate sort of fellow and things don’t happen to go the way they ought to in his line of work, but he has his own boyish charm.
Together, these three characters weave a story that is brimming with horrific scenes and action. The plot is fairly solid as well, and Waggoner doesn’t hold back when it comes to the laws of the world he has created to coexist alongside the one we know so well. Maegarr’s cult is expertly crafted, with a belief so plausible it could be defined as chilling.
<i>Eat the Night</i> is easily one of my favorite reads so far this year and is perfect for those looking for a good Halloween read. I would like to extend a special thanks to NetGalley, DarkFuse, and Tim Waggoner for providing me with an advanced copy for the purpose of an honest, unbiased review.
Thirty years ago, retired rockstar Mark Maegarr and his devout followers, in true Jonestown fashion, committed suicide in tropic Suriname. It was Maegarr’s belief that this ritual would hasten the approach of Entropy, or the total dissolution of the world as we know it. Unfortunately for Maegarr, something went wrong and he spends the next several decades reaching from beyond the grave to finish what he started.
Joan Lantz and her husband, Jon, are first time home-owners. Burdened with a troubled past, Joan is glad to finally have a home of her own. After waking from a horrific nightmare detailing the grisly end that befell Mark Maegarr and his cult, she discovers a hidden basement in her home, which had not been on the house’s plans and was previously unknown to the home’s last owners, who were friends of hers.
Kevin Benecke works for Maintenance, a secretive company that is reminiscent of Men in Black. Aware that they cannot save the world from its fate, their goal is to slow the coming of the end down from the sidelines. He’s an unfortunate sort of fellow and things don’t happen to go the way they ought to in his line of work, but he has his own boyish charm.
Together, these three characters weave a story that is brimming with horrific scenes and action. The plot is fairly solid as well, and Waggoner doesn’t hold back when it comes to the laws of the world he has created to coexist alongside the one we know so well. Maegarr’s cult is expertly crafted, with a belief so plausible it could be defined as chilling.
<i>Eat the Night</i> is easily one of my favorite reads so far this year and is perfect for those looking for a good Halloween read. I would like to extend a special thanks to NetGalley, DarkFuse, and Tim Waggoner for providing me with an advanced copy for the purpose of an honest, unbiased review.