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Ross (3284 KP) rated You Die When You Die in Books

Jan 21, 2020

You Die When You Die

Angus Watson | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Fantastic witty pre-historic Viking / Native American fantasy

This is the alternative-reality story of the Hardworkers, a small clan of Viking descendants in pre-Columbian North America. A mentally-damaged young boy in the clan has a premonition that the village will be attacked and they should head west. When the village is indeed attacked by natives (who themselves had a premonition of these Vikings ending the world), the clan quickly up-sticks and head off.
There follows a brilliant, exciting, funny story of this small clan with mixed abilities (some well trained warriors, some powerful yet cowardly warlocks, some useless wastes of space) travelling across North America, hunted by the magically-enhanced warriors sent to end them, and meeting numerous clans and tribes along the way.
The wonderful merging of plausible pre-history America and a more familiar fantasy setting (prophecies, evil empires, warriors) results in this superb story. The dialogue is witty and funny, the world is familiar yet strange enough to make you think, and the action sequences are fantastically narrated, often from different viewpoints.
The characters are all very well crafted and unique, and their interactions and conflicts really spur this story on.
I would urge anyone keen on fantasy to read this book. While the cover, and title, may suggest it is a brutal slobberknocker of a book, it is actually very clever, funny and thrilling.
I cannot wait to jump in to the next book in this trilogy. Wootah!!!

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Christine A. (965 KP) rated I Will Make You Pay in Books

Jan 22, 2020

I Will Make You Pay

Teresa Driscoll | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Teresa Driscoll's most popular book is I am Watching You. Her latest thriller is I Will Make You Pay. Enjoying an earlier book, The Promise, as much as I did, I was excited to have the opportunity to review her new novel.

In I Will Make You Pay Journalist Alice Henderson receives a threatening phone call while at work. Dismissing it as a hoax, she hangs up. Exactly one week later, it becomes apparent it is not a hoax. Alice should be worried. Alice's family should be worried. Alice should be worried for and about her family.

The twists and turns work. The characters are fully developed and likable. The story flows so well it was hard to find a stopping point. I ended staying awake much later than I should have on a work night. However, the story was worth it and did not disappoint.

After thoroughly enjoying both The Promise and I Will Make You Pay, I added other books by Teresa Driscoll to my "want to read" list. If she keeps writing thrilling books like the two I read, I will continue reading them.

Read my review for The Promise at http://philomathinphila.com/2019/02/28/the-promise-by-teresa-driscoll/.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 1/21/2020.

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Murder House (DCI Matilda Darke #5) in Books

Jan 27, 2020

This is the fifth in this series starring DCI Matilda Darke but only the second I have read having previous been lucky enough to read the first in the series "For Reasons Unknown" which introduced DCI Darke to the world. Having missed the books in-between and although I have likely missed out on a lot of back story, I didn't feel it detracted from my enjoyment of this book and I felt it worked well as a standalone.

This book starts with the gruesome and brutal murder of 3 family members on the night they were celebrating a family wedding. This is a seemingly motiveless crime against a perfect family ... but can there be such a thing? What follows is the complex investigation by DCI Darke and her Homicide and Major Investigation Team.

The characters are interesting, likeable (mostly) and believable and I quickly became invested in them and their lives. The plot is complex with multiple layers and lines of enquiry and with twists and turns and red herrings aplenty; it certainly kept me on my toes from start to finish and didn't disappoint.

The Murder House is a dark, gripping, thrilling and well paced story which I have no hesitation in recommending to lovers of crime novels like myself and thank you to One More Chapter (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.