Melody's Reading Corner: September 2020

Melody

Crooked Lane Books | October 2020 | 288 pgs

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

To many outsiders, Ethan Faulkner may seemed like any ordinary man who leads a simple life with a dog for companionship. He has a successful teaching career and he intends to lead a peaceful life as it is, until his younger sister, Susannah, barge into his life again after all the years she's gone missing on him. Ethan and Susannah have a traumatic past which still haunt them at present and their avoidance of talking about the past has only makes that memory more vivid and painful.

Years ago when they were teenagers, a young woman had knocked onto their door and pleaded for help. Their parents let her into their house, not knowing that she was on the run from two men who were pursuing her. The men barged into the house, and Ethan's father even put in a good fight but alas, Ethan's parents eventually died from gunshots. Susannah was left injured and Ethan's life is never the same again. Their mother's brother, Uncle Gavin, took care of them but his shadowy life often led Ethan wondering about his morality but so far he hasn't seen or heard anything bad about his uncle although he suspected it was all kept under wraps.

While Susannah's return sparks Ethan's curiosity, he is more bothered by Marisa's nosiness over his past. Marisa is simply a random woman whom he'd met in a conference and had a one-night stand but eventually become his new colleague. When he tries to break it off with Marisa due to her persistency in discussing about his past, things become nasty and Marisa retaliated by spreading fake news about him. Ethan is vexed over her actions until she turned up dead and suddenly he becomes the suspect. Ethan doesn't want to confront his past, but Marisa's interest and her death leave him no choice but to dig up the painful memories once again in order to find the truth.

This book surprised me on many levels and it was such a treat to see how the story unravels through the author's engaging writing style and the fleshed out characters. While the pace may come off to be a bit slow and unclear in the beginning, it has a good buildup of suspense and intensity. Towards the middle, the story direction changes, and changes again just when I thought I'd some of the things figured out. This is an intriguing and a well-constructed story about family and friendship, as well as vengeance and consequences. Although this is my first book by Christopher Swann, it definitely won't be my last.

© 2020 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Labels: 4.5 stars, Book Review, Suspense Thriller 10 comments |

I Can't Sleep by J.E. Rowney

Melody

BooksGoSocial | October 2020 | 150 pgs

Source: NetGalley

“I can’t sleep. Not since June 16th, 2018. Not since what happened…”

Becky Braithwaite is traumatised by the accident of her older brother, Jordan, two years ago and the unfortunate tragedy has led her to having insomnia since then. Now a university student at Wessex, she intends to put the past behind her but it isn't as easy as she's thought.

For starters, she keeps receiving calls from an unknown number and when she answers them, the other party refuses to speak. Then, there are times that she thought someone is stalking her and when she turns around, no one is there. And the most troubling is, someone left her a note and a book titled "You Killed Him" and after a wild goose chase, these items have mysteriously gone without a trace after she returned. Is her mind playing tricks on her given her mental condition, or is there someone out to get her?

First off, the storyline was gripping and the unreliable narrator theme always appeal to me. Becky's insomnia condition sounds terrible and this made me worried about her and yet this also led me wondering about her credibility at the same time. The first half focused on her life at the university and her relationship with her flatmates as well with a glimpse of her troubled past although it is vague and not much information is given (which is understandable perhaps due to the pace of the plot). The second half was better intense-wise but I was a bit disappointed with the ending given it was rather abrupt. That said, the author has done a good job in creating the claustrophobic atmosphere of uncertainty and the character's distrust in herself, her fear and anxiety so this made an interesting case of character study alongside the suspense.

Labels: 3.5 stars, Book Review, Psychological Thriller 8 comments |

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Melody

Quercus | January 2020 | 400 pgs

Source: Purchased

Tiffy Moore has broken off with her boyfriend and she needs a flat fast. With her limited finances, she could only rent a cheap flat but most of the units she's seen are either messed up or so run-down that she wanted to give up hope until one ad caught her attention. It's a one-bed flat and though the rental meets her budget, she has to share not only the flat but the bed as well. Before you think otherwise, the rental requirements are pretty decent and straightforward. That is, Tiffy will occupy the flat during the evenings as she'll be at work in the day. She's not met up with the flat owner but she's went through all the necessary procedures with the owner's girlfriend who helps oversee the whole arrangement. Now her accommodation problem has finally resolved and she's happy although her two close friends think she's crazy to accept such an arrangement.

Leon Twomey works as a palliative care nurse and since he mostly work night shifts and that he needs money badly for his brother's legal case (there's a little backstory how he was wrongly convicted), he figured renting out his one-bed flat wouldn't pose too much of an issue. His girlfriend has met up with the tenant personally so there wouldn't be any insecurities or jealousy issue standing between them. Communication-wise, it's simple too as they'll leave Post-it notes to each other. But, as much as these two people trying their best to get on with their lives, fate and circumstances seem to have their own plans and since this book is a romance, you could very well imagine what'd happen next.

Cliché or not, I love it when a romance makes me feel some warmth and romantic (but of course), moved and some humanity that move beyond the characters' relationship. This book has it all. I liked how Tiffy and Leon didn't know each other in the beginning and instead, communicate and get to know more about each other through their little notes here and there. I also liked it that they're able to see eye to eye on several things and being there for each other during their most vulnerable moments despite their differences (never mind if their first meetup was disastrously embarrassing but hey, nothing is perfect, right?) And finally, how helping others (these secondary characters are fun to read as well) together have sort of bring them even closer and made them see through many things in general, including their own. All in all, this book was an entertaining and an escapism read and I welcome this little distraction especially in these gloomy times.

Labels: 4 stars, Book Review, Romance 10 comments |

Flowers for the Dead by Barbara Copperthwaite

Melody

Bookouture | September 2020 | 384 pgs

Source: NetGalley

We've read many suspense or crime thrillers which are often based from the victim's perspective but rarely from the perpetrator's. Flowers for the Dead surprised me not only it is a story about the perpetrator but also, I've learnt the meaning of various flowers at the beginning of each chapter.

Adam Bourne is a serial killer who has murdered a few women whom he thinks they're his lovers. Adam would set his eyes on a particular woman, then he'd start to "serenade" her by leaving them flowers, doing their chores without her knowing that she is being stalked. Adam's initial thoughts is to find love through these gestures but what he's done has crossed the line and sent a danger signal to the victims. But eventually the victims always have no chance of saving themselves, because Adam is always one step ahead of them and the police as well. Laura Weir is his latest target, and he intends to make hers his and this time around, he'd make sure that Laura would begin to see his sincerity behind his every moves.

Adam's sinister mind and acts began to take a turn when the reader read about his past as a boy. Unlike the monster he is at present, young Adam was actually a shy boy who had full of love and admiration of his grandmother. Growing up with a father who was always at work and a mother who always belittle and abuse him, Adam sought solace in his grandmother's fairy tales and learned the language of flowers since she loved gardening so much. Through her grandmother's love and attention, Adam was able to endure all the nonsense and abuse inflicted by his mother but his tolerance and his mind eventually snapped after a love confession to a girl gone wrong and that his grandmother passed from a terminal illness.

In many ways, this book read as a crime thriller but Adam's sad past also made this an intriguing case of character study as we watch how little, shy, eager-to-please Adam gradually becomes an obsessive and a frightening serial killer. Adam was, no doubt, a perpetrator but before that, he was also a victim so the reaction towards him wasn't only one-sided. On the other end, Laura Weir and Detective Sergeant Michael Bishop have their own stories as well so overall this was quite an engaging read and of course the best thing to me was, knowing the meaning of flowers.