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The House Swap
The House Swap
Rebecca Fleet | 2018 | Thriller
8
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.
  
One by One
One by One
Ruth Ware | 2020 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Corporate Retreats are Murder
When the key employees of the internet startup Snoop show up at a chalet in the French Alps, they are expecting a week of presentations and skiing. However, there is tension brewing just below the surface thanks to a buyout deal that has split the board. The tension only grows worse when heavy snow and an avalanche cuts everyone off from the rest of the world and one of the members of a group goes missing somewhere out in the snow. As the hours pass, it becomes clear a killer is in the group. Will help arrive before they are all dead?

While the cast of isolated characters trope is not new to the mystery genre, Ruth Ware quickly makes it her own in this page turning thriller. I love how she so successfully isolated the characters. The plot is wonderful with tension rising early before the characters fully realize the danger they are in. The twists kept me engaged the entire way through the nail-biting climax. The characters could have been a little stronger overall. Don’t get me wrong, I cared about them and the outcome, but I felt like many of them stayed two dimensional and those we got to know better bordered on the cliché. Being a thriller, I expected more foul language than in the books I typically read, but it was a bit excessive for my tastes. Still, these are nitpicks in an overall wonderful thriller.
  
Don't Breathe (2016)
Don't Breathe (2016)
2016 | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Tension is insane (0 more)
A couple of clichés (0 more)
Scared the sh*t out of me
Director: Fede Alvarez
Writers: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues
Stars: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette

What's it about?
Alex is a young carer for his father who has resorted to burglary to pay his way. He and his two friends decide to hit the house of a blind man who is sitting on a potential $300k so they can give up crime for good. What they get however is a deadly surprise.

Is it scary?
Gripping, tense and suspenseful. Stephen Lang is on top form.

What were the best bits?
If you ever want to see a man embody a murderous animal then this is for you.The way in which Silence is used to build tension is fantastic. The sense of dread for these helplessly out matched burglars is terrifying. All I'll say is "the pitch black scene"

How does it compare to other horrors?
It's right up there with the best
  
After an especially tension filled Township Board meeting, paramedic Zoe Chambers is called to an abandoned car with a dead body in the front seat. That discovery on a cold winter night plunges Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams into a complex mystery that hits too close to home. Where will it end?

I shouldn’t have put this debut off for so long. It’s an amazing book full of great writing. The characters are strong, and they pull us into the story quickly. There are so many twists and turns along the way, but everything makes perfect sense by the time we reach the end. Zoe and Pete share third person narrator duties, something the author uses perfectly to let us get to know the leads and build the tension in the story.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/07/book-review-circle-of-influence-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
Murder Notes (Lilah Love #1)
Murder Notes (Lilah Love #1)
Lisa Renee Jones | 2018 | Thriller
10
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was fast-paced, full of tension and suspense and I just could not put it down!
Oh so good but can I just start by saying MAJOR CLIFFHANGER!? Another fabulous, yet totally different read from Lisa Renee Jones!! This story follows FBI Profiler, Lilah Love, a tough, cold, foul-mouthed agent who is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and lets everyone know it. Having grown up in the rich Hampton's lifestyle (something she tries desperately to forget), she suddenly finds herself back in the Hampton's on a case and a growing list of questions about those closest to her. This leads her not only back to the family drama she left behind and that of the Hampton's elite, but her ex, Kane and one very large secret shared between them.

This book was fast-paced, full of tension and suspense and I just could not put it down! Highly, highly recommended!
  
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Ed Helms recommended Rear Window (1954) in Movies (curated)

 
Rear Window (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
1954 | Classics, Drama, Mystery

"Rear Window. A little Hitchcock action. It’s just a hell of a good thriller. It’s so simple. It’s such a simple idea. It’s beautifully constructed as a story, and it’s Hitchcock at his best, where it’s kind of scary and building tension, but then also lots of laughs throughout the whole thing, lots of second guessing — Where are we, who’s right, who’s wrong? — and Jimmy Stewart is at his best. He’s wheelchair-bound with a giant cast on his leg, but it’s still one of his great physical performances. I just love how the tension builds and builds, and it’s a real kind of filmmaker’s film because the themes of voyeurism and projecting your own narrative onto things, I think, are baked into filmmaking as a form, and Hitchcock recognizes that and had a lot of fun with it, and I think we can all see ourselves in that a little bit."

Source
  
Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk (2017)
2017 | Action, History, War
Production value is dramatically immersive. (4 more)
4 different POVs about one historic event complimented the story nicely.
The quality of the actors was incredible, although I wish Cillian Murphy's character had more of an arc.
Remarkable special effects!
Brilliantly & patriotically British.
I understand that it's a factual event, but the ending was an unsatisfying portrayal. (1 more)
The soundtrack built too much tension which created a few anti-climatic scenes.
Where time is the true enemy.