I Hunt Killers » Book Review

Apologies for our mini-hiatus! I have been engrossed by various murder-mystery shows on Netflix and Hulu and we all know what a long drawn-out rabbit hole that can be. Naturally, that led me to desire a book called I Hunt Killers, which I discovered through My Guilty Obsession. See Ali's review HERE.

I Hunt Killers

This novel has a fairly unique premise. The child of a serial killer? What sort of crazy, fucked-up shit will we get to see?! Ahem, did I sound too excited there? Oops.

It's supposed to allow us an inside perspective on the mind of an organized serial killer, and how they see the world. As a dedicated viewer of Criminal Minds (though Thomas Gibson, WHY ARE YOU SUCH AN ANGRY FOOL), I've developed a bizarre obsession with serial murders. However, I assure my dedicated readers out there, I have never contacted one or willingly spoken to one. I haven't reached that level of insanity yet.

Jazz Dent

Jasper, or Jazz as he is known to his friends (though this immediately brought to mind, TLC's show about a transgender teen 'I am Jazz'), is the son of the most prolific serial killer America has ever seen. Even though Jazz was raised to follow in Billy's footsteps, Jazz has managed to live a relatively normal life. Kill-free.

It is no secret that I tend to loathe contemporary novels that primarily features a teen male's point-of-view. But I really liked Jazz. While I couldn't relate to him (and hopefully none of you can), I truly felt for him.

When a teen is involved in solving a crime, a certain suspension of belief is typically required. I didn't feel that way at all. The entire story was plausible, provided that the reader accepted the premise.

Everyone Else

Howie is Jazz's hemophiliac best friend. I enjoyed their banter and appreciated their strong bond. That being said, Howie's perspective would have driven me nuts, so I was glad to see him in the best-friend role. Connie is Jazz's girlfriend. I liked how their relationship was portrayed because it was (finally!) a realistic teen relationship. You know, as realistic of a relationship with a serial killer's son can be.

Since this is set in the sleepy town of Lobo's Nod, we also get to know many other characters including Jazz's crazy grandmother, the sheriff that caught Billy Dent, and many more. All of that added to the ambience of the serial crime spree. I shan't touch on the mysterious murders too much because I think it's best to not know too much about it.

I enjoyed how the story progressed and how the overall story arc for the trilogy was developed. I raced to the library to pick up the next book, Game, immediately. I can't wait to read more!

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Do you have a favorite serial-killer mystery book to recommend to me? Let me know in the comments below!

With Malice & You Know Me Well » Mini-Reviews #2

Meh?

With Malice is supposed to be a suspenseful, psychological thriller. Ellen already wrote up an excellent review a little while ago (HERE). I didn't have much to add, so I thought a mini-review would work out best.

At its core, With Malice is a story of 2 girls and their love for each other, and how important of a part the media can play in determining the innocence or guilt of an individual. Jill is a quiet, bookish girl who is focused on her studies while Simone is an outgoing personality who is more focused on having a good time than thinking about college. The other major difference is their families. Jill's parents are divorced but well-off while Simone's parents are religious and still married, but struggle with their finances. Despite these differences, Simone's and Jill's friendship thrives from the time they were little.

Since this had been marketed as a thriller, I was expecting a lot more out of this novel. For one, I didn't realize that most of the book would be Jill recovering from the car accident in the hospital/rehab. We get bits and pieces from her memories as she slowly recovers them. It is interspersed with interviews, transcripts and any other evidence collected by the Italian authorities. It was interesting enough, but it lacked actual action.

Perhaps it is as Ellen said in her review. I'm too old for teen angst and drama. I suppose more importantly, I'm too old to invest and believe in teen angst and drama. Nothing came as a surprise to me.

I rated it 3 stars because I didn't have very high expectations. It was a quick and easy read. After having written this review, I am considering lowering my rating to 2 or 2.5 stars. But I will let my original rating stand for now.

I am glad that I chose to borrow it from my library, however. I don't foresee ever re-reading this one.

[rating stars="three-stars"]

[book-info number="1"]

This was unexpected. It's the only way I can describe my reaction to reading this book. Ellen (as always) has written up a wonderful and more coherent review (HERE).

You Know Me Well is not a work of genius by any means. If I had picked this book up at any other time, I would have given it the requisite two to three stars and moved on. I still decided on the three stars because while I could relate to the book, I didn't feel the magical spark for the entire novel, just for very specific bits and pieces of it.

Kate & Mark

I can see why a lot of people wouldn't enjoy Kate's character. However, I could relate to her. The running away, the questioning of friends and relationships. I'm in a similar position myself, so I could sympathize with the alienation she was feeling with her friends. I could Understand.

And Mark just broke my fucking heart. I'm sure many of you out there have gone through the process of unrequited love. It's awful. It's always there nagging at you in the back of your mind and you just wish you could STOP. It appears at the most inconvenient times. It pops up as a painful reminder just when you wonder if you're finally getting over it all. As you might be able to tell, I'm in the midst of that process myself.

Mark's sadness made me relive my own sadness. It was cathartic, and much needed.

It's time for me to go wallow in ice cream guys...

The Butterfly Garden » Book Review

The Butterfly Garden was my first read for Booktubeathon 2016, and it made for a wonderful start! I started it at around 10pm and finished it a few hours later (around 1 am). So I have officially completed challenge #2, which is to read a book after sunset.

The Butterfly Garden

Trigger warning for rape and abuse.

I found this book to be an eerie and suspenseful read. I've always had a bizarre fascination with crime cases, especially those that involve long-term kidnapping and cults. Perhaps that would explain my dedication to Criminal Minds. This is a story about a girl, who identifies as Maya. She is a survivor of the horrors of the garden.

I'd highly recommend not going into this book with too much information or expectations. It's how I personally prefer to read thrillers, and it has served me well so far. But if you prefer to know a little more about this book, then keep on reading!

"Some people stay broken. Some pick up the pieces and put them back together with all the sharp edges showing."

The novel is told in two alternating perspectives. First we have the FBI agent (in third person POV), followed with Maya's perspective told in the first person. I really enjoyed that structure because it kept me guessing about Maya's motivations and her reliability as a narrator.

I LOVED this novel, as much as you can love a book that has such triggering and horrifying contents. I really connected with all the characters, and the story was moving. The pacing was excellent. I could not put this book down! I made my sister bring me dinner so I wouldn't have to go downstairs and take time away from reading. Yup, I'm that kind of big sister.

This was on its way to being a stellar 5-star book for me. Unfortunately, the ending was little... underwhelming. I expected more from this story and was left wanting. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for an engrossing thriller-esque read. You won't be disappointed!

This book is currently available for free via Kindle Unlimited.

July 20th, 2016
UPDATE: There will be a companion novel out next year, entitled Roses of May, and while it’s not a direct sequel, we will be following our Butterflies and FBI team for a time. The bulk of the story shifts to a new case, a new story, but some things don’t leave us so easily. Is it surprising if Butterflies have a way of lingering?

I'm so excited for the sequel! I will be grabbing it as soon as it releases.

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What are your favorite mystery/suspense/thriller books? Let me know! I'd love to check them out.

The Assassin Game » Book Review

I'm so disappointed! The blurb had me practically salivating right before I requested it on Netgalley. A boarding school? A secret society? A game of assassin? SIGN ME UP. I foolishly thought this would be a darker version of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.

I couldn't have been more wrong. And dear friends, I must confess a grave fault of mine. I HATE BEING WRONG. My blood seethes, I plot out the most epic of revenges, I... I should stop now. *waves* I'm normal, I swear!

Begone Tropes!

The Assassin Game features two of my hated tropes, lack of parental presence and the absence of authentic female friendship.

I know the story is set at a boarding school, but that's not an excuse to completely ignore the parents (unless it's more of a reform boarding school, I suppose). Our main character, Cate, goes on and on about how her parents don't care for her. That they got rich and suddenly left their old life behind and had no use for their daughter. It just didn't make much sense to me. There didn't seem to be a reasonable explanation for their absence and lack of interest in her.

I also found myself quite appalled at the lack of strong friendship within the story. Isn't that the pinnacle of an excellent boarding school tale? Cate is supposedly best friends with Daniel and Marcia. She is on the outs with Daniel because she kissed him last year while rebounding off another quasi-relationship. Marcia, on the other hand, is her roommate but is practically absent in their friendship throughout the entirety of the book.

I'm also going to briefly mention the setting. The school is located on a remote island (owned by Cate's family) that can only be accessed by the mainland during low tide. The headmaster of the school has banned recreational use of technology and internet. I believe all this was written to maintain an aura of intrigue and mystery. But it just came across as a little over the top and ridiculous.

The Game

The premise of the story is that an elite secret society is playing a game, The Game. And Cate has finally been invited to join. There is a Killer amongst their midst, who will ingeniously target his/her fellow players via harmless pranks that will 'kill' them until someone manages to unmask him and 'win' the game. Vaughn, Cate's childhood friend (from before her family got rich), joins the game as well. But suddenly, people are starting to get seriously hurt.

This was supposed to be exciting and thrilling. I just found it lackluster and long-winded. Cate didn't play much of a role in this mystery until the very end. For the most part, she was a witness. Or the occasional sidekick. She wasn't the driving force behind the story. Just an unfortunate participant. Which, unfortunately, made reading from her perspective quite dull.

The Good

Fortunately, there were some redeeming aspects to the novel. For one, this kept me guessing till the very end. However, I did hit a certain point when I stopped caring and just wanted everything to be over. Cate also had some redeeming qualities to her that helped keep me interested. Even though she mostly remained a passive character, there was a moment when she stood up to all the people that she was trying to impress in order to do the right thing by a friend. She also displayed moments of startling maturity when it came to handling some traumatic experiences with Daniel. And I enjoyed her relationship with her art teacher, especially because it was a close yet appropriate connection.

Closing Thoughts

I wish I had enjoyed The Assassin Game more. But as I come to the end of this review, I just feel a profound sense of relief. That I can finally move on to something else, and not have to think about this book anymore.

Ciao, my friends! Have a wonderful (and safe) 4th of July!

Pretty Girls Review » A Day In the Life of Karin Slaughter, Horror Novelist

In lieu of an actual book review for Pretty Girls, I'm going to share with you some thoughts I had post-read about its author.  While I was reading the book, and for a good while after, I found myself wondering — really, thinking with wonder — about what kind of person Karin Slaughter is, and what kind of life she must lead to be able to take her mind such horrific places with such attention to detail.  I started creating little scenarios in my head of what her day is like.

8:00 AM: Karin Slaughter gets out of bed.

8:05 AM: Karin Slaughter pours herself a cup of black coffee in a mug emblazoned with the words: FUCK COZY MYSTERIES.

8:10 AM: Karin Slaughter watches the daily news and takes notes with black, black ink.

9:00 AM: Karin Slaughter logs in to the dark web.

10:00 AM: Karin Slaughter receives a visit from the FBI.  She apologizes for being in her pajamas.

11:30 AM: Karin Slaughter walks the FBI to the door.  The agents clutch their signed books, as they apologize for the confusion.

1200 AM: Karin Slaughter retrieves her mail.  She finds a letter addressed to her old name, Karin Darling.  She sets it on fire.

12:10 AM: Karin Slaughter begins to write.

12:30 AM: Karin Slaughter turns on her white noise machine to muffle the sound of her neighbor's chainsaw.  She picks the heartbeat option and is pleased when the machine malfunctions and the heartbeat starts to stutter.

3:00 PM: The combined sounds of the faltering heartbeat and distant chainsaw inspires Karin Slaughter.  Her fingers fly across the keyboard.

5:00 PM: Having written 10,000 usable words, Karin Slaughter stops writing for the day.

5:10 PM: Karin Slaughter goes into her basement and doesn't come out for several hours.

8:30 PM: Karin Slaughter eats rare steak for dinner and cuts her meat into tiny little bloody pieces.

9:00 PM: Karin Slaughter watches Dateline with a bowl of popcorn.

11:00 PM: Karin Slaughter flosses very thoroughly.

11:30 PM: Karin Slaughter sleeps like a baby.

 

 

Code Name Verity Review

Giving this book 3 stars makes me feel like I have no class.  Certainly, this book deserves a higher rating.  But although I appreciated the novel for its meticulous research, daring plot, and unusual narration, it just did not capture my heart.

I'm heartless along with having no class!

The story opens bleakly, with our narrator captured by the Gestapo. We are reading her written "confession" as it were.  She spins a tale of two young women — one is from Manchester, the other is a Scottish noble.  Maddie and Queenie meet during the war effort in 1936, on an air base. The two quickly become friends, but are separated as they take different paths.  Then, they are thrown together again unexpectedly, as both are needed for a top secret mission in France.

I'm not entirely sure why this book was marketed as YA.  Although the ages of these women are never discussed, they're certainly not teenagers.  The only reason I can think of is that the book has a less mature tone.  This sounds bad, I know.  What I mean is, I found the premise to be slightly implausible.  Certainly women took on a more significant role in the war effort during World War II, but I found the story of Maddie and Queenie to be such that is only possible in fiction.  It's the kind of wish fulfillment frequently found in YA literature.

One thing is undeniable, however — the book is incredibly well researched.  So much so that there's a bibliography at the end of the book.  The detail is superb; the voice is solidly of the period. It was extremely impressive.  That being said, I did think that the language was at times overly clogged with this period detail. This made my progress through Code Name Verity somewhat labored.

Another aspect that disappointed me — I can't seem to stop myself — was the friendship between Maddie and Queenie.  I guess I was expecting more chemistry.  But, apart from the fantastic early stage of their relationship, the reader doesn't get to experience the two together so much.  This was a bit of a letdown, since I was looking forward to reading about a solid friendship.

All of this is to say that I expected more from the book than I experienced.  Somehow, though, I feel more disappointed in myself than in the book.