It's strange - the thing I liked most about the book is the same thing that cheapened it for me.
The story follows medical student, Amy, who is due to It's strange - the thing I liked most about the book is the same thing that cheapened it for me.
The story follows medical student, Amy, who is due to spend her first night on a psych ward as part of her training.
Long has mental illness been associated with horror, and it's only in recent years that that damaging narrative has started changing, so I wasn't sure how this was going to go.
So I appreciated that Amy's view of the patients is quite compassionate; it comforted me immediately and I was ready for some real twists from a more considerate viewpoint.
Unfortunately, it ends up being quite dull, with most of the 'thrill' coming from questioning who is telling the truth. The story still banks on the instability of the patients, and while I enjoyed questioning who was worth being afraid of, the conclusion soured it all for me. I kept waiting for more.
I did find it an addictive read, but it wasn't as thrilling as others by this author and I felt the treatment of mental illness to be a little contradictory. Still, an interesting read and entertaining enough for a few hours....more
Thought-provoking, but a little too jumbled to hit as hard as it could have.
Another novel that focuses on the women behind crime, this book follows RuThought-provoking, but a little too jumbled to hit as hard as it could have.
Another novel that focuses on the women behind crime, this book follows Ruth as she investigates the three women that may be connected to the murder of her friend 19 years ago.
I did enjoy the angle and I really love the way this author considers the impact of murder from multiple angles. There's some interesting insight here into the women vs women mentality that is so common in today's society, and I really enjoyed turning those thoughts over. Ruth is not a perfect heroine - her thoughts are flawed and coloured by her own traumas, and so it was interesting to try and read between the lines of what she was saying and doing.
That said, involving the other women did make this feel rather complicated, and it was hard to keep the stories straight. There seemed to be a lot of questionable coincidence, and I lost the thread a few times.
The writing was wonderful and lyrical, with some beautiful phrases and a powerful atmosphere, particularly where we met Rose. I did enjoy losing myself in the language, even if the story felt a little stilted.
I felt the idea was really clever and the themes important, but I think ultimately it was too much to keep straight. It was beautifully written for what it was, but I feel the important parts got lost a little bit in an over-complicated story.
Not quite the follow-up I'd hoped for after the standout debut, Before You Knew My Name but still some solid ideas here with beautiful writing. Worth a shot for the crime fans looking for something a little deeper.
Not quite as fast as the first, but equally addictive.
Book Two in the series, this sees Kindaichi returned from war, and traveling to Gokumon Island tNot quite as fast as the first, but equally addictive.
Book Two in the series, this sees Kindaichi returned from war, and traveling to Gokumon Island to share news of the death of his comrade with the man's family. The information he keeps to himself, though, is that the man's dying words requested Kindaichi go to the island to save his sisters from murder.
A noticeably thicker story than the first, this has a lot more detail leading up to perpetration of the crime(s). Clearly a product of its time, the story takes a little time to reflect on war and its consequences. However this is first and foremost a detective story and the author never forgets that.
The pacing was a little slower, but once the first crime happens there's a pretty puzzle to solve with many clues (and red herrings) to consider. There's an extensive cast of characters, all with their own quirks, and Kindaichi himself is loveably strange.
I really enjoy this series, and Kindaichi is a great character. He's smart and makes some clever deductions, but he's not without his flaws and he's not always greeted with open arms.
The story has plenty to think over, and will keep you guessing. Another fantastic installment in the series....more
Kindaichi takes a bit of a backseat in this one, as our narrator stars. He's caught up in the troubling murders happening inSeries still going strong!
Kindaichi takes a bit of a backseat in this one, as our narrator stars. He's caught up in the troubling murders happening in the Village, and Kindaichi's solving of the crime is almost a background feature of the startling story.
Really enjoyed the telling here, and another great cast of suspicious characters to follow. There are some great contemplations of madness and motives that really tangle the story nicely.
I would have liked more puzzles to solve, and for the rhymes to have meant more, but otherwise I followed along eagerly.
Still enjoying this series a lot - won't be getting rid of these books any time soon!...more
It's a book of short stories all tied together by the two main characters, who constantly find themselveOooh this was really fun! Lots of dark twists.
It's a book of short stories all tied together by the two main characters, who constantly find themselves entangled in the happenings of the many serial killers in their town.
Morino is the weirdo 'Goth' that our unnamed male narrator strikes up a friendship with - they're both fascinated by the morbid, so are drawn to one another. As the stories progress, you can see the dynamic is a little different than first expected, and it's quite fun to see things gradually become clearer.
The stories themselves are fantastically twisted and macabre. Some are partially narrated by the perpetrators, too, which is a special treat. The storytelling is done in such a way that the twists sneak up on you and in most cases had me exclaiming out loud - I felt tricked, and absolutely delighted by it.
I did pick this up after reading a comment from another reader stating it was the 'goriest book they'd ever read', so based on that I was a little disappointed, but otherwise this is a fantastically disturbing novel.
Highly recommend for horror fans, particularly for its unusual format and clever turns of phrase....more
Narrated by Michael Puttonen Presented by Post Hypnotic Press Audiobooks
I think I would have liked this more with a different narrator, but it was an oNarrated by Michael Puttonen Presented by Post Hypnotic Press Audiobooks
I think I would have liked this more with a different narrator, but it was an okay listen for a freebie.
This is the true story of Police dog, Brag, and his handler. The author starts with the beginning of their relationship, and how things were rocky at first, but eventually the two developed a close working partnership, which did of course graduate to friendship.
The relationship between dog and handler was sweet, though it was hard for me to imagine such a fierce, cold dog. Brag is tough, arrogant, and clinical in his work. It was quite fascinating listening to the different anecdotes about how a dog fits in with police work, but it was hard to get to like this dog in the beginning.
That said, there's a lot more to being part of a K9 unit than I suspected, and I did get a quiet joy out of knowing these dogs are out there biting bad guys.
There was a great balance of police work and details of the relationship between the two. I found the author's behaviour questionable at times, but the pair seemed to suit each other quite well. The structure of the story was clever and followed a logical progression.
The narration really didn't work for me. He seemed to inject feeling and emotion that didn't match the words, and I found myself thinking about how I would have read it different. I was frustrated with how it kept pulling me out of the story. It's also a bit of a weird complaint, but with this being an autobiography I found it frustrating that the voice didn't really match the person I envisioned. Basically, the story sounded much more hardcore than the guy telling the story. Sorry!
Overall, though, it was an interesting listen. It's not the kind of book I would normally pick up for myself, so I'm glad it was a 'listen now', otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered.
Narrated by Lorna Bennett, Kat Rose-Martin Presented by Dreamscape Media
Pretty thin in the suspense department. I was expecting a dead body at some staNarrated by Lorna Bennett, Kat Rose-Martin Presented by Dreamscape Media
Pretty thin in the suspense department. I was expecting a dead body at some stage though so that's probably on me and my misguided expectations.
The story here follows estranged sisters Catherine and Anna as they come together for a couple weeks at a cabin off the grid. No wi-fi, no electricity, just each other and a bunch of strange happenings. Hmm.
So things get a little creepy for the sisters when someone trashes their outside area early on, and then suddenly their water runs brown. A local explains it's just peat in the water and that this is a regular occurrence after rain, but Catherine is convinced it's something more sinister.
Basically, this book is a lot of Catherine being convinced someone is out to get her with not really much reason.
I found her chapters almost unbearable. She comes across as paranoid and a little crazy, rather than the story seeming eerie and thrilling. Her chapters were slow and frustratingly deluded. I didn't like her at all and I found myself eager to get back to Anna.
Anna was much more fun, and her chapters injected a little more cheer. She seemed a little more logical, and more likely to think things through. She was able to think of solutions, but she was also very boy-focused which does get a little tiring after a while.
Ultimately, I just didn't really like the characters, and there wasn't enough happening for this to feel like a thriller to me. There was an interesting twist but it didn't seem to fit the story at all - it seemed more like the story was built around the twist and, as a consequence, there wasn't a lot of substance.
Narration was kind of awful - Catherine's chapters were morose and slow, hard to understand at times and there wasn't a lot of character coming through her voice. Anna's narrator was a little better, but there still seemed to be times where the emotions didn't seem to match the words.
I thought this would be an eerie murder mystery but it's really just two lonely girls hanging out in an isolated cabin for a little bit. There just wasn't much here for me to get into.
Narrated by Sofia Willingham Presented by HighBridge Audio
Not quite what I was expecting, so a little disappointing, but still some interesting ideas.
INarrated by Sofia Willingham Presented by HighBridge Audio
Not quite what I was expecting, so a little disappointing, but still some interesting ideas.
I thought this was going to be a murder mystery, but it was really more concerned with feminism and the treatment of women as objects during this time period (early 1900s).
The story's catalyst is a party, during which a guest died. Our protagonist, Millie, hosted the party with her husband, Charles, but remembers nothing of it. She awakens weeks later with a pounding headache and no memory of what's occurred.
From the beginning, everyone is very secretive, and it's instantly frustrating how everyone coddles Millie, refusing to tell her the truth. The story that follows seems more a question of whether she's a victim of gaslighting or whether Millie truly is mentally unwell.
I liked Millie as a lead - she's quite intelligent, and not afraid to speak up for herself. She suspects wrongdoing and makes it known, but then is forced to face the consequences of not being quiet and meek and going along just to get along.
I enjoyed that aspect of it - exploring the discrimination from someone willing to speak out against it, but also seeing those consequences of being so outnumbered. At the same time, I thought there would be more about the events of the party than there was, so I was a little disappointed in that regard. Still, I was kept curious about the truth of what had happened and was happening.
The romance didn't do a lot for me, and I was disappointed in Millie a bit for her actions at times. Some of it made her a little hypocritical I felt, even if it made sense.
The narrator did a decent job of invoking sympathy for Millie, and differentiated the characters well. I did listen at 1.75x speed, so lots of pauses, but otherwise she read it okay.
This was an easy listen - not quite the murder mystery I was expecting, but an interesting historical fiction providing a glimpse into the discrimination women faced during the early 1900s.
Narrated by Aure Nash, York Whitaker Presented by Dreamscape Media
A slow start, but otherwise this was rather entertaining.
I enjoyed the dual timelinesNarrated by Aure Nash, York Whitaker Presented by Dreamscape Media
A slow start, but otherwise this was rather entertaining.
I enjoyed the dual timelines (not the narration of dual timelines, but I'll get to that later) and our two protagonists. I really loved Estelle - she seemed so switched on and I was quite sad for how things went down for her. Shanice bothered me a little, but I think a bit of that was to do with the narration. She's a strong character but I thought she was a little dense at times.
The narration was a real pain for me. I loved Estelle's narration - the voice was easy to listen to, it was expressive, and it was easy to tell characters apart. However, the narrator for Shanice was awful. She paused in weird places, added emphasis in strange spots, and often the way she expressed the words didn't match up with what the words were actually saying. She read slowly, with many pauses, and unfortunately had a slight speech impediment that became quite irritating to me by the end. I feel like a d*ck for mentioning it because it's not something I'd normally care about, but along with everything else from this narrator it just ended up pulling me out of the story.
I listened to Estelle's parts at 1.5x speed, but had to bump Shanice's parts up to x2. That was incredibly annoying, especially when my hands were busy with other tasks.
The story itself, though, was really fun. There's 'Godmother', who is the quietly menacing patron that is supposed to be looking after Estelle but is quite clearly swindling everyone. Both girls became acquainted with new fellas and I didn't really like either of them, but I also tuned out the relationship bits a little so that's probably on me. I was sucked into the mystery of what had happened to Estelle and how the painting came to be in Shanice's family.
The atmosphere is sufficiently creepy, and this progresses along with the story, leading to some decent chills towards the end. The historical parts shed some decent light on treatment of black women at this time.
I found the pacing a bit off, and my mind did wander at times. But I did enjoy the mystery and atmosphere.
An interesting, quietly creepy story that kept me entertained throughout.
Narrated by Penelope Rawlins Presented by Dreamscape Media
A slow start for me but it did finally hook my interest.
Wasn't a huge fan of the narrator - hNarrated by Penelope Rawlins Presented by Dreamscape Media
A slow start for me but it did finally hook my interest.
Wasn't a huge fan of the narrator - her voice was quite soft making it hard to hear at times, even at a higher volume. That said, she still did a decent job filling the characters with life and differentiating between them.
The story jumps back and forth in time, which was a little confusing at first since I was tuning out some of it. But once it hooked my attention I followed it okay and appreciated the glimpses at the past as it related to the case in the present.
I was surprised by how long this went - it covered many more years than I anticipated and took a bit of an odd turn, I felt, towards the end. I started to lose interest again.
I think this is one I would have enjoyed more if I'd read it physically. The premise really interested me but the audio lost me early on, making it a little harder to commit to. But the mystery did eventually pull me in and I enjoyed listening along.
Historical fiction fans will no doubt take special delight in the arsenic angle, but on the whole this is still an interesting murder mystery tale.
Narrated by Nathalie Buscombe Presented by RB Media
This was good fun!
A feminist novel about murder and mayhem - yes please!
The story sees serial killerNarrated by Nathalie Buscombe Presented by RB Media
This was good fun!
A feminist novel about murder and mayhem - yes please!
The story sees serial killer Saffy taking a break to find love - and she'll do whatever it takes to bag him.
A truly intriguing premise, and I loved getting to know the characters. Saffy is smart and sassy, and makes some wise observations from the female viewpoint. Jon is an interesting fellow, and the two together make an interesting couple.
There are some clever, tongue-in-cheek moments, and a great blend of action, story and character development.
Narration was fantastic - Saffy's accent put me off at the start, but references to it in the text helped out a bit there. Otherwise it was lively and fun, and easy to differentiate between characters.
There's a fun crime story here, but the feminist stuff often caught me by surprise and actually boosted the story for me. It was quite subtle, but hit home when things came up. So bonus points there from me.
Delivery was excellent, and I think there'd be extra enjoyment in reading this one physically, just based on the structure at times. I really enjoyed the audio, but I think physical suits this book.
Highly recommend for crime fans looking for something a bit different!
Narrated by Kate Dobson Presented by Bolinda Audio
Oh this was such a delight!
From start to finish, I was immersed in this one. The characters are fantaNarrated by Kate Dobson Presented by Bolinda Audio
Oh this was such a delight!
From start to finish, I was immersed in this one. The characters are fantastic, there's an intriguing mystery regarding murdered werewolves, and there's enough character stuff to get me invested without slowing down the action.
Sage is a Werewolf who wants to be a detective, Oren is a warlock detective who prefers to work alone. When a friend of Sage turns up dead, the two must work together to solve the case.
I just loved all of this. The premise was so original, and the characters so full of life (despite some of them being dead). The story flowed so neatly, and the narration really brought the characters a lot of warmth. There's a decent pace that keeps the story moving forward, while still making time for us to get to know everyone.
I really enjoyed the narration, too; I thought it was done well.
This was a unique urban fantasy and I'd love to read more set in this world.
Narrated by Chris Abernathy Presented by Brilliance Audio
I really wish NetGalley would advise when a book is not the first in a series.
That said, this Narrated by Chris Abernathy Presented by Brilliance Audio
I really wish NetGalley would advise when a book is not the first in a series.
That said, this seems like it still would have been terrible even if I had knowledge of this 'lighthouse incident' that they kept referring to.
The story is about two troublesome teens who steal an occult book and travel across the country to sell it. Harlan Winter, hero occultist of the series, chases after them, since its his book they stole.
I honestly just could not get invested. I didn't care about any of these characters, and the book constantly referred to the 'lighthouse incident' and I, not knowing this was a sequel, kept waiting for the book to delve into what had happened at the lighthouse. So maybe those who have read that first book will appreciate this more than I did.
The plot seemed really weak to me - I don't recall what made this particular stolen book special at all, and nothing particularly interesting happened along the journey aside from bad guys getting their comeuppance as violently as possible. The ending seemed strangely brutal and I'm not at all sure why it was necessary. Basically, a lot of violence for minimal payoff.
Also, why do I keep reading books that seem to deliver the message: 'having a baby will ruin your life'???
I don't think there was anything particularly redeeming about this one, but maybe those who have read the first book in the series will appreciate this more.
This is exactly how I like my detective novels - clever and straight to the point!
The story is set in late 1930s Japan, in a small town where a murderThis is exactly how I like my detective novels - clever and straight to the point!
The story is set in late 1930s Japan, in a small town where a murder has been committed.
This book sets it out perfectly: set up, crime scene, clues, suspects, resolution. There's no side story about the tragic past of the grizzled detective on the case, there's no romance, there is no empty apartment with a lone cat for companionship. It commits to being a murder mystery with no extra fluff and I honestly could not have been happier.
The storytelling is quite fun, with it being penned by an unnamed chronicler, much like John Watson told the stories of Sherlock Holmes. Our detective Kosuke Kindaichi bears a strong resemblance, too - he's determined to use logic to solve the puzzles of crime and often notices the minute details others easily miss. He enjoys the thrill of solving a well-perpetrated crime and, as a consequence, often expresses joy at the most inappropriate times.
The crime itself was fascinating, with many random clues that didn't at all seem to relate. I loved how random it all seemed, and thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion. It's nice to read such a tangled, unpredictable story after so many crime novels with the same formula.
I picked this one after listening to book #5 on audio and enjoying it thoroughly, and I wasn't disappointed. It was great to read the first book introducing Kindaichi, and I've got the second one ready to go!
Highly recommend to lovers of detective novels and crime puzzle-solving....more
Narrated by Akira Matsumoto Presented by Bolinda Audio
This was so good I now want to read the whole series. Minus a star for over-enthusiastic narratorNarrated by Akira Matsumoto Presented by Bolinda Audio
This was so good I now want to read the whole series. Minus a star for over-enthusiastic narrator.
Murder and intrigue in post-war Japan sees detective Kindaichi interviewing the noble Tsubaki family after the death of one of their own. Things become complicated when the dead man seems to reappear to cause all kinds of drama for the family.
So many murders, so much drama! God, it was so addictive!
There were so many elements to the mystery and I just could not figure any of it out. I knew things would be connected but I couldn't figure out HOW and I LOVED that!! It just kept twisting and getting stranger and stranger and WOW. Did not see any of it coming.
Narration was okay but just ... too much. It didn't seem to fit what the author was describing and he had a habit of making the female characters sound ridiculously emotional. I didn't like it. Flawless Japanese pronunciations, which was appreciated, but over the top performance.
I enjoyed listening, but I think I would have got more out of this if I'd read it. I'm keen to go back to book 1 and see how it compares.
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