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The Passengers
The Passengers
John Marrs | 2019 | Contemporary, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
10
9.3 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Now that was a thriller that had me totally hooked. It's fairly relentless from the beginning and with the audiobook, I listened to read between 6 different narrators (all of a high standard) I couldn't put it down.

You do have to be willing to suspend a good level of belief for this one but, with some brilliant writing and plenty of different moving parts, it's easy to let yourself get swept along. Set in the not too distant future 8 driver-less cars are hijacked and it's broadcast around the world for all to chime in on who lives and who dies.

I tend to find books that try to tackle the issues around social media or that use social media heavily in their storyline painful to read; causing much eye-rolling, but this was so well written I didn't have any issues for a change with its use. Although I felt the end let up too much on the earlier pace I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller.

I'll be checking out some more John Marrs ASAP based on this; it was a great ride (pardon the pun.)
  
Eight Perfect Murders (Rules for Perfect Murders - UK)
Eight Perfect Murders (Rules for Perfect Murders - UK)
Peter Swanson | 2020 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mystery Homage
This book had such a great premise and was a lot of fun to read. Part thriller and part homage to mystery books classic through to the more obscure. It was handy to have the GoodReads page to hand to check out any books mentioned that I wasn't familiar with.

The owner, Malcolm Kershaw, of the mystery book shop "Old Devils" writes blogs for the shop's blog. The blog entry that this book relates to is the list of "Perfect Murders" where he gives examples of books with what he considers to be perfect murders in them. When an FBI agent turns up on the doorstep theorising someone is using his list as a guide, Malcolm can't help but get himself involved in the investigation.

I read this under what I presume is the UK title: "Rules for Perfect Murders" and loved all the book name drops; for an avid mystery/thriller reader it was a great kick. The ending was slightly anticlimactic for me but the story itself is a quick exciting read with plenty of nice little twists.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
  
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ClareR (6037 KP) rated Elevator Pitch in Books

Oct 4, 2019 (Updated Oct 5, 2019)  
Elevator Pitch
Elevator Pitch
Linwood Barclay | 2019 | Crime
8
7.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Elevator Pitch is a fast paced thriller that will have you taking the stairs for a good while after reading it!
An elevator accident results in the death of four people: a pointless, tragic accident. When a second ‘accident’ occurs and a witness survives, it becomes obvious that these accidents are anything but that.

Two NYPD detectives investigating the murder and terrible disfigurement of the victim don’t immediately see a connection to the elevator deaths, but when they discover that he was an elevator service technician, they begin to become increasingly suspicious.

Well, this well-written thriller had me on the edge of my seat from the start. Honestly, I was as clueless to what was going on as the characters in the book. I really liked the gritty reporter, Barbara, who was determined to hold the city’s mayor to account. She was driven, single minded, with a real sense of justice. As were the two NYPD detectives. The mayor came across as a typically corrupt politician: unlikeable and selfish.

I’d really recommend this if you like tense thrillers - this delivers in spades!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.