Penguin Publishing Group | February 2020 | 336 pgs
Source: Purchased
In November 1982, twenty-year-old Vivian Delaney had gone missing from The Sun Down Motel. She was working as a night clerk there. She'd always wanted to leave her town in Illinois and go to New York City to become a new person. She often viewed herself as the problem daughter; and after her parents' divorce she figured she could simply leave home but a hitching ride had landed her at The Sun Down Motel. Without much money and the need to find accommodation, she agreed to become a night clerk at Sun Down after the owner learnt about her situation. But Sun Down wasn't a popular place; and Viv was spooked by its creepy atmosphere and some paranormal activities after working there for a few nights. Despite her fear, Viv decided to find out about the secrets surrounding Sun Down and soon learned that there's something more terrifying than the ghosts there.
Thirty-five years later, 20-year-old Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv's disappearance. Since watching her mother grieved in silence and finally losing her to cancer, it dawned on Carly that life is short and she has questions she needs to find answers to -- such as her aunt Viv's disappearance and why there wasn't much media coverage or a statewide search? With these in mind, she decides to move to Fell, NY, and visit the motel where her aunt was last seen at. Despite years have passed and things have changed, Sun Down remains as what it is since 1982. And Carly will soon find herself ensnare in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt. What lurks behind Sun Down and why Viv and Carly decided to stay despite everything?
Creepy atmosphere, unsettling and intriguing. These are the three main factors that had me hooked to this story from the beginning till the end. Reading this book was a treat because it combines a mystery and a ghost story -- two of my favourite genres and on top of it, I adore Simone St. James' writing (she has a knack for writing Gothic stuff.) I've been a fan after reading The Broken Girls (and a few others, too) and I'm glad to report this was as good as TBG. The setting, the characterisations and the plot are all so mesmerising that I couldn't even choose a favourite (even the ghostly parts are good, though they're sad.) The same applies to Viv and Carly since I find both of their life stories and their investigative findings equally interesting through the dual timeline and narratives. While there are some parts which I find to be a bit unbelievable, it didn't deter my reading pleasure so this shows how much I enjoyed the book. As always, it's fun to buddy read with Lark and please do check out her review, too!
Below are her questions to me pertaining to this book:
1. Who did you like better or thought was a stronger character, Viv or Carly? Why?
I thought Viv and Carly are equally strong characters and they stand on their own. However, Viv's voice may be a bit more catching considering she's the core of this story. That said, both of them are special in their own ways and I liked them a lot.
2. Being a night clerk at the Sun Down Motel seems like a pretty bad job to me. Would you do it? What's the worst job you've ever had?
I've to say I'm not much of a night owl so night shift jobs are absolutely out for me. I think my worst job is working as a temporary position selling drinks at a theme park (that theme park was long closed). I was waiting for my GCE O-Level results and like many of my schoolmates, I figured it'd be good to earn some allowances while passing the time at the same time. While it wasn't a bad job, the challenges lie in dealing with some difficult customers and not to mention transporting the beverage cylinders from one point to another (never mind if there's hand trolley. It's still challenging especially if there's a slope!) That said, working in servicing industry is never easy and I appreciate the staffs for their hard work.
© 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.
HarperCollins Publishers | February 2017 | 368 pgs
Source: Library
The Possessions is an extraordinary story of a woman named Eurydice
"Edie" who has an even extraordinary profession that allows her to
reconnect with her clients' lost loved ones. Known as "bodies" among
their profession, they wear discarded belongings of the dead and swallow pills
they called "lotuses" to summon the spirits. Edie has been with the
Elysian Society for five years, which is an unusual record for her. In this
field, she finds success with her careful detachment and avoidance of personal
contact with her clients while she seeks refuge in the lotuses' anesthetic
effects. She has had no problem channelling into the dead world until Sylvia
Braddock.
Sylvia is believed to be drowned in a lake and her grieving
husband, Patrick, goes to the Elysian Society hoping to find a "body"
so as he could reconnect with his deceased wife. Edie should be aware of the
rules set by the society, but for some reason she is drawn to the mystery
surrounding Sylvia and then there is that tube of lipstick passed on to her by
Patrick; an object belonging to Sylvia and that it might help to bring her
closer in channelling Sylvia. As the days go by and the more Edie knows Patrick
through the sessions they have had, she finds herself drawn to him and his
history with Sylvia. What happened to the Braddocks couple and is there more to
Sylvia's death?
Part mystery, part supernatural and part love story, at its core
of this story it is about one's desire and obsession and how it changes not one
but several people's life as the situations arise. Sara Flannery Murphy has
written a very unusual tale in The Possessions; I find her writing and the
premise absorbing and most of all, the profession of being a "body",
in which one could communicate with the dead and this reminds me so much of one
of the Chinese beliefs that it is possible to contact the spirits of the
deceased through a medium among others.
Although I found it to be a little creepy beneath the premise,
surprisingly there are also moments which are filled with hearts and melancholy
despite the darkness/morbidness of death. The Possessions was an original and
an unforgettable tale indeed and I look forward to this author's future release.
© 2017 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.
William Morrow | May 2016 | 768 pgs
Source: Publisher
I have to confess I'm not really a chunkster reader. Thick volumes intimidate me in general. Imagine how many good books I might have missed given this silly mentality, but I have heard so many good things about The Fireman and plus I have the ARC and the Fireman Readalong as motivations, I figured it was time to read it.
Now as much as I hate to admit it, I have mixed reactions about The Fireman. I suppose I shall start with the things I liked about the story. For starters, I think the idea of a new plague - Dragonscale (or Draco incendia trychophyton, to be exact) is brilliant. Dragonscale is a highly contagious and deadly spore that tattoo its hosts with black and gold marks across their bodies before causing them to burst into flames. I liked the uniqueness of this theme and most of all, our protagonist, Harper Grayson, who is both brave and remarkable not only in her profession (as a nurse) but also her own righteous self too. I also thought that the opening was very intriguing and introduce readers to the scary world the author has created. Then, there are issues about humanity and survival, which I felt is the core of this story and thought-provoking in many ways.
Now a few things which I didn't like and/or baffled me: While I liked the idea of this new disease and the scary world, the plot seemed to come to a halt towards the middle of the book. This is where it was focused on too many dialogues with little actions and at times I found myself distracted, which also had me skimmed through some pages. There are also a cast of characters here whom Harper would befriend with given the circumstances, and though some of them aren't likeable, they do contribute some highlights to the story. And finally, there is the Fireman, a mysterious and compelling character based on the title though I didn't understand why this story is focused more on Harper than him, until I got to the end and wondered if that was it. And that ending. To be fair, I think I may have expected too much from this story (or perhaps it is the chunkster issue, which is my bad) and given the glowing reviews I have seen around, it appears that I am in the minority. That said, The Fireman has a refreshing theme unlike others and I will continue to check out Joe Hill's future releases.
ISBN-13: 9780385538497
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: February 2014
Format: Hardcover, 336 pgs
Source: Library
"Everyone in town had a story about the Devil's Hand, and though the stories differed in detail, one fact remained the same: it was an evil place, and bad luck to go there." Pg 59
To begin with, The Winter People is a disturbing, unsettling novel. The cold atmospheric setting, the characterisations and there of course the unsettling storyline.
During the 1900s in West Hall, Vermont, there was a woman named Sara Harrison Shea. She had a happy family with her loving husband, Martin, and a little girl called Gertie. When Gertie was found dead one day, Sara went berserk. Martin tried to do anything to help bring his wife back, but Sara was gone emotionally. She was later found dead tragically one day. Nobody knew what happened; and from then onwards there were rumours that Sara's ghost walks the streets after midnight. The townspeople began to leave offerings on their doorsteps to prevent her from coming inside; and that practice continues to the present day.
Present day: 19-year-old Ruthie Washburne never really believes in West Hall's rumours. Growing up in an isolated farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and younger sister, Fawn, her biggest dreams is to leave her sleepy town and live a "normal" life where Internet and phones are accessible. Life is simple and blissful for them until Alice goes missing one night. Ruthie only found out about her mother's disappearance the next morning since she was out late with Buzz, a boy whom she hangs out with. But that is not all, she also found an old journal belonging to Sara Harrison Shea hidden at her house.
On the other end, Katherine is devastated over the loss of her young son, Austin, and her husband, Gary. Gary died in an accident two months after their son's passing. Katherine found out later that Gary visited West Hall on the day he died so she travelled to that place to search for some answers as to why Gary went there in the first place.
What follows is a series of events that linked Ruthie and Katherine together; and through bits of legends and rumours surrounding West Hall as well as Sara's journal, they find out about the dark, horrific secrets which had happened so many years ago and how some people would do anything to get what they want despite the consequences.
The Winter People has all the elements of a great psychological thriller. To top it off, the characters are all intriguing and the premise just blew me away. I wish I could say what most bothered me in this story but that would spoil everything. Suffice it to say it has a few topics worth thinking and discussing and the author pulled no punches when the imaginative is concerned; one factor which I truly appreciate in a story like this. A very absorbing story and an unforgettable premise; this would no doubt make it onto my top reads in 2016.
ISBN-13: 9781474603041
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Publication Date: November 2015
Format: Paperback, 80 pgs
Source: Purchased
This short story by Gillian Flynn first appeared in George R. R. Martin’s Rogues anthology and it won the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2015. With an old Victorian mansion setting, one could easily classified this as a creepy read but there is something more than that - it contains an interesting view of characters and behavioural studies and most of all, I was very intrigued with the author's different take from her other well-known works and I plunged into this book with anticipation.
The unnamed character is a young woman who frauds for a living. To be exact, she gives hand jobs to men and act as a psychic to clients, who are mostly women, to offer them some "guidance" in life and offer solutions. Then one day a woman called Susan Burke came to her, telling her her life is troubled and she suspects there is something in her house. She believes some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home and her 15-year-old stepson, Miles, is behaving strangely and it scares her.
The narrator doesn't believe in the supernatural; she is sure the old house has Susan's imagination running wild and that Miles, being an adolescent, has his issues and nothing more. However, when the narrator steps into the mansion she does feel something weird about the house, and Miles seems to be watching her every move and yes, behaving strangely. Soon the narrator finds herself locked in a chilling battle between Susan and Miles and it is up to her to discover the evil lurking within the old mansion.
Honestly speaking, The Grownup is not something I have expected but I have to say the author has done a terrific job in building up the intrigue and one couldn't help but to get suck into the story. However, since this is a short story there isn't enough characters development but the author has vividly described the characteristic of the narrator and her thoughts so this allows readers to get to know the person as who she is. I wouldn't want to say too much about the story but that the ending bothered me. I suppose that leaves to each reader's interpretation but personally I wished the ending was anything but. Nevertheless, Gillian Flynn's writing style is brilliant and I hope she has a new release out soon.
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