Review: Awake by Natasha Preston

 

This is a YA novel. It's definitely not a cozy, but there is plenty of mystery and suspense in it, as well as some romance. I'd probably classify it as more of a thriller. As far as I can tell it's a standalone. 

Scarlett, the main character, is 15 but has a unique situation, which is that she has no memories whatsoever of the first 4 years of her life. One day in school she meets Noah, a new student, and is immediately drawn to him. They begin a relationship and she confesses to him about her lack of memory. To her surprise and delight, he is super supportive and as their relationship progresses, he offers to help her try and regain her memory. 

It's kind of hard to provide an analysis of this book without giving away any spoilers, but I'm going to try! Scarlett does end up getting her memories back and there are much bigger things going on than she had ever imagined. Noah is a big part of the story as well and may not be everything he seems to be.  

Though this book is over 300 pages long, I never felt like it was dragging. The author did an amazing job of keeping up a fast pace throughout. This is definitely a dark and somewhat creepy book, but it is YA appropriate and is not graphic or gruesome. It was slightly frustrating in the beginning to know that there was clearly something going on but have no clue what the heck it was yet. It's probably not something that many people would be able to correctly guess, either; but it is fun to try. 

There were a massive amount of typos and grammatical errors throughout, but since this was an ARC, I'm going to assume that it had not been fully edited yet and not take off points for it. My biggest complaints would be that after taking about 250 pages to build up the story and get to the end, the ending did not take up very many pages and felt rushed. Also, some of the characters' reactions to certain situations did not seem realistic at all. 

With everything that goes on in this story, everything should not have been able to be basically all settled and resolved quickly and then more or less forgotten about. The ending definitely needed to be more drawn out and more realistic for the reactions to things that happened. 

All in all, it is a great story with lots of suspense and intrigue and I give it a 4 out of 5 and would recommend reading it. If you'd like to learn more about the author and/or the book, you can visit the author's website. Awake is available on iBooks, B&N, and Amazon.

Review: The Murderer's Daughter by Jonathan Kellerman

 

I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this title available on Netgalley and got accepted to review it! There are very few male authors that I read. I'm not sure why, I just seem to have a clear preference for women authors. However, Jonathan Kellerman is one of the rare exceptions! I've been a huge fan of his Alex Delaware series for probably close to 15 years now and have read most of his standalones as well. 

Anyway, I do want to state upfront that there is nothing cozy about this book. This is a fast paced, psychological thriller and does contain elements that people may find disturbing. But if you can handle it, it's well worth it!

Grace Blades had an extremely difficult childhood. Luckily, her situation turned out well in the end and she is now a highly successful psychologist. One night, she has a random sexual encounter with a man at an upscale bar. She does not intend to ever see him again, but is surprised and a bit shaken when she realizes the next day that he is her new patient. He is shocked as well, but doesn't want to talk with anyone but her. However, he doesn't really end up talking at all. He gets nervous and ultimately bolts, but he does hint that a member of his family may be a murderer. 

Grace does not hear from him after that, but a few days later gets a call from a detective. The man has turned up dead. He had given a false name to Grace, and neither she nor the cops even know who he is, let alone what his story is or which member of his family he was afraid of. She ends up realizing that he was in fact someone from her past, a past she does not want anyone to find out about and/or expose. 

I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll just say that this sets her on a course to solve the mystery of who he is, who he was afraid of, and who killed him. It is a heck of a ride filled with lots of suspense and danger. Jonathan Kellerman truly is a master of the psychological thriller. This book is extremely fast paced, from beginning to end, and all of the clues are very carefully placed throughout. Not only that, but everything is connected absolutely perfectly, down to the most minute details, which is highly impressive! The ending, while a bit abrupt, is also highly satisfying. I hope to see Grace Blades again. 

I absolutely loved this book and would definitely give it 5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone! To learn more about the author and/or his books, you can visit his website.  You can find The Murderer's Daughter is available at multiple venues, including Amazon and B&N.

Review: Who is Mr. Plutin by Rebecca Strong

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of the cover, but I'm very glad that I didn't judge a book by its cover in this case, as the writing is really good! This book is very fast paced, which I love! I was literally hooked from page one, which happens very, very rarely for me. Right off the bat the main character, Vika, wakes up and discovers she's in a place she's never seen before and, even worse, is suddenly wearing a wedding ring.

She quickly finds out that she is no longer in New York, where she grew up and went to bed last night, she's in Russia, married, and pregnant! Her parents look similar to the parents she remembers, but their personalities couldn't be more different and she has no memory at all of her husband or her friends.

She spends the rest of the book trying to figure out what the heck is going on and gets more than she bargained for. Amidst a web of deception and lies, she truly has no clue who she can or can't trust and almost everyone in her life is hiding something. This was a great read and I could hardly put it down from the first page to the last! There were massive amounts of mystery, suspense, and humor and I loved it all.

There were a few (minor) downsides though. First, this book is in definite need of editing. There were numerous typos and grammatical errors throughout; the most cringe-worthy being where waste was used where it should have been waist. Granted, I did receive a copy through Netgalley, so I am going to assume (hope) that this was not the final, edited version.

Secondly, there were a lot of really long, hard to pronounce Russian names and words. When I read I basically read aloud to myself in my head and it throws me off when there are a ton of words that I can't even begin to pronounce. Absolutely a very minor thing, but still, it threw me off my rhythm a bit. Lastly, it ended with a cliffhanger. I don't much care for cliffhangers, although I am very glad to know that this will not be a standalone book.

Without deducting anything for the typos, I'd give this book a 4.5. I'd never heard of the author before, but I'll be keeping a lookout for her in the future. If you'd like to learn more about the author and/or the book, you can visit Rebecca Strong's website. Who is Mr. Plutin is on sale at many retailers, including Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and Smashwords.

Interview with James Raven

How long have you been writing? 

I started writing 20 years ago and had three books published in quick succession. But then I gave up for a long time to concentrate on my career in television. I started writing again about five years ago and since then I’ve had another five books published.

What made you want to write thrillers?

My late mother, bless her, was a big fan of Agatha Christie and the great Mickey Spillane. It was through her that I got hooked on thrillers and crime novels. I enjoy writing them because it’s so much fun to develop plots and create really nasty characters.

Is it emotionally difficult to write some of the more disturbing/graphic scenes? 

The more disturbing scenes can be a real challenge and you have to be careful not to go completely over the top. My publisher has on occasion asked me to rewrite sections that were deemed too shocking and graphic. However, I like my books to be realistic and hard-edged, so I try to strike an acceptable balance.

What genres do you like to read and/or who are some of your favorite authors?

I only ever read crime books. Top authors are James Patterson, Harlan Coben and Jane Casey.

Are any of your characters based on you or anyone you know?

I don’t base any of my characters on real people.

Which book did you enjoy writing the most and why?

The book I most enjoyed writing was Malicious. It’s set in Houston, where one of my three daughters lives. So it gave me a good excuse to spend time there. Also, it deals with the topical subject of web cam hacking. It’s been my most successful book so far and was an Amazon bestseller.

What does your writing process look like? 

I don’t work to a fixed regime. I always write first in longhand before transferring what I’ve written to the laptop. I do most of my writing in coffee shops rather than at home. For some reason I find that much easier.

If you could actually meet Jeff Temple, what would you do and/or ask him?

If I ever met Jeff Temple I would ask for his autograph. After all, I’m his number one fan!

What's the craziest thing anyone ever asked you about your books?

My book Random Targets is about a psycho sniper who shoots at drivers on Britain’s motorways, causing death and destruction on a massive scale. One reader called up to berate me for writing it. She asked me how I’d be able to live with myself if it gave someone the idea to actually do it! Needless to say I didn’t really have an answer.

Do you think you could actually solve a real life murder mystery? 

I doubt very much I’d be able to solve a real murder mystery. We writers make it look so easy but I know that’s far from true.

Is writing your only career? If not, what else do you do?

I now write full time. Until recently I ran my own TV production business making documentaries and sports programmes. Before that I was a television news producer. However, I am a part-time close-up magician.

If you had 24 hours left to live, how would you spend those hours?

I’d try to get my family together in one place and spend it with them.

What's your favorite food?

I’m addicted to cakes and chocolate. I also like French fries and chicken.

If you could pick an actor to play Jeff Temple in a movie, who would you pick and why?

David Tennant who appeared in Broadchurch.

Is there a particular time of day or place you prefer to write? 

In the mornings. That’s when I pop out to the coffee shops!

What would you do if you were the last person on earth?

Kill myself.

Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate of course.

Salty or sweet?

The sweeter the better.

What's your favorite movie? Song?

Best movie: The Godfather. Best song: Frank Sinatra’s My Way.

If you wrote a book about your life, what would it be called? 

‘I DID IT MY WAY.’

Is there anything else you want us to know? 

I’ve just discovered how to use Twitter so feel free to follow me on @JimRaven1 

Thanks for the fantastic interview James! If you'd like more info on James or his books, you can check out his website www.james-raven.com. 

Review: Dying Wish by James Raven (#4 in the Jeff Temple series)

Disclaimer: Let me start by saying that this book is definitely not a cozy! This is a hardcore thriller that contains disturbing elements such as rape and torture. There is also a good bit of cursing. So if you prefer to stay with more light-hearted reads, this one probably isn't for you. But if you, like myself, like a good thriller now and then and are not bothered by disturbing content or foul language, this could be a great choice for you :) 

Dying Wish is actually the fourth book in this series. I traditionally do not read a series out of order, but this sounded good and the author advised me that it can stand alone, so I figured I'd give it a shot and I'm glad I did. I can now confirm that yes, this book truly does read perfectly as a stand-alone. I have no idea which characters and/or plot-lines were or were not in the earlier books (though I can make a pretty good guess) but I did not in any way feel as if I was missing anything significant by not having read any of the earlier books. 

The writing is in UK English, not US English. So US readers may not be familiar with all of the terms and sayings used. I'm familiar with quite a few UK terms but some of these still threw me.

The main complaint I have about this book is that it starts off slow and does take a good 50+ pages to really pick up the pace. In the beginning, author Grant Mason realizes he's having a heart attack and asks his assistant to promise to burn down his house in the event of his death. His assistant thinks it's a bizarre request and instead of complying with the request, she asks Jeff Temple to go to Grant's house and investigate. This is a good start and it did draw me in enough to make me persevere until it really got going. However, in my personal opinion it could have been tightened up so that the pace picked up much quicker than it did.

Regardless, once it gets going, it gets going! There was one sub-plot involving Jeff and his girlfriend Angel, but aside from that it was almost exclusively Jeff and his team trying to figure out who Grant's accomplice was and catch him. Along the way there are a few suspects in the mix and for a while I truly had no clue which one, if any, was actually the bad guy. I did finally manage to put the breadcrumbs together and figure it out, but not until a few pages before Jeff figured it out himself, which I really liked. I also thought that the twist at the end was thoroughly plotted and brilliantly executed! I'm not going to give away any spoilers, but the end will probably blow your mind! 

So overall, I give this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good thriller. Have patience with the slower-paced parts and you'll be rewarded once you get into the real meat of it.

Dying Wish can be found on Amazon UK and it's also being released for the US in September. It's available both as a Kindle edition and as a hardcover. To learn more about James Raven and/or his other books, you can visit his website.