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The Close (Maeve Kerrigan #10)
The Close (Maeve Kerrigan #10)
Jane Casey | 2023 | Crime, Thriller
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
We’re back with Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent in The Close, and they certainly have a full case load!

Maeve starts investigating the murder of a hospital consultant, whose body is found in his car in the hospital car park. She is also roped in to helping Josh on another case. One where they have to go undercover as a house/ dog sitting couple, whilst they investigate the death of a man with a learning disability. Oh, what a bind - to be stuck in a house with Josh Derwent for weeks!

Well, all doesn’t go quite as expected, but the tension is high with both Maeve, Josh and the case!

There are some great interactions in what appears at first glance to be an idyllic neighbourhood. It really isn’t.

The crimes are shocking, and it comes as no surprise that outwardly good people do terrible things.

I can’t wait to see what happens between Kerrigan and Derwent in the next book, but I suppose I’ll just have to!

Highly recommended!
  
TA
The Assistant
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
43 of 235
Book
The Assistant
By S.K. Tremayne
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Newly divorced Jo is delighted to move into her best friend's spare room almost rent-free. The high-tech luxury Camden flat is managed by a meticulous Home Assistant, called Electra, that takes care of the heating, the lights - and sometimes Jo even turns to her for company.

Until, late one night, Electra says one sentence that rips Jo's fragile world in two: `I know what you did.' And Jo is horrified. Because in her past she did do something terrible. Something unforgivable.

Only two other people in the whole world know Jo's secret. And they would never tell anyone. Would they? As a fierce winter brings London to a standstill, Jo begins to understand that the Assistant on the shelf doesn't just want to control Jo; it wants to destroy her.


This book was a very good reminder of why I do not have an Alex in my home! Very dark very mean and chilling to the bone. Well worth a read!
  
40x40

ClareR (5841 KP) rated Violeta in Books

Apr 14, 2023  
Violeta
Violeta
Isabel Allende | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’m late to Isabel Allende, and so this is only the third book I’ve read of hers (A Long Petal of the Sea and The Soul of a Woman are the others).

Violeta tells the story of a woman’s life over 100 years. It starts during the Spanish flu and it’s terrible repercussions, and goes on through both tumultuous political times and Violeta’s own turbulent past - her life and her country’s history pretty much mirroring one another.

I felt consumed by this story and I’d come up for air, wondering why on Earth I hadn’t heard of Allende before A Long Petal?!

This, I believe, is the history of Chile and there are a fair few autobiographical bits of Allende’s own life thrown in for good measure. What a life the fictional Violeta and her family experience - and what a force Violeta is. She needs to be as well.

I can’t believe that 100 years could be fit into such a relatively short book without it feeling rushed.
It really is a wonderful read.
  
The Blue Lagoon (1980)
The Blue Lagoon (1980)
1980 | Action, Drama
Charming (1 more)
Enjoyable
Acting (3 more)
Aged Badly
Story
Clichés
Absolutely terrible, but somehow good!
This is probably one of the most difficult reviews I've written. I mainly bought this film because I wanted to watch the sequel, Return to the Blue Lagoon (I'm a big fan of Milla Jovovich).

I'm going to start with the negatives, as somehow this film has very few redeeming features.

Brook Shields (to be fair, only 14 at the time), and Christopher Atkins are absolutely awful actors at this early stage in their careers.

The story is highly predictable for the most part, it's very much the typical "stranded on a desert island" film, with somehow every single cliché included, apart from the ending (which remains somewhat ambiguous), and the scenes featuring the two learning about their bodies as they hit puberty.

Despite all this, the film is really enjoyable! It's not a good film by any stretch of the imagination, but somehow it has a certain charm and innocence that will keep you watching, and want to watch it again.

Overall, definitely worth a watch :)

Enjoy everyone!
  
AD
A Dowry of Blood ( Book 1)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
119 of 220
Kindle
A Dowry of Blood ( Book 1)
By S.T. Gibson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

Not sure what I was expecting but I really really enjoyed this. Gothic vampire story full of that old feeling. The characters were so intriguing. Well written gave me Angel and spike early days vibes ( if you know you know).