"The Missing Years"

“The Missing Years”

Written by Lexie Elliot

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“The Missing Years” is Lexie Elliot’s second thriller, following her fantastic debut, “The French Girl”. Her second book follows suspicious but clever Ailsa, who has inherited half a house, the other half owned by her father. Her father disappeared 27 years ago. When Ailsa and her sister Carrie move into ‘The Manse’, the two become very uncomfortable, feeling a foreboding presence coming from the house.

Ailsa sees neighbor Jamie in her house in the middle of the night and becomes frightened. He gives a strange excuse that he didn’t realize the house was occupied; he was looking for his sister, who often sneaks into the house. Ailsa and Carrie become friends with Jamie, his sister, and a group of other people who all know about Ailsa’s father.

We have two mysteries: what ever happened to their father? Also, what is this mystery behind the creepy house and the odd neighbors? This book brought me back to many different types of books, films, and tv shows I’ve enjoyed over the years. Specifically, I felt reminiscent of “The Amityville Horror”, the “Welcome to Dead House” episode from Goosebumps (ha, ha), “Big Little Lies”, “The Haunting of Hill House”, “Hinterland”, and “I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House”. I also enjoyed that “woman comes back to eerie hometown” vibe that is present in two of my favorite thrillers, “The Roanoke Girls” and “Sharp Objects”.

For the most part, I was a bit disappointed with this book. Not devastated, but I felt that this completely paled in comparison to Elliot’s first book. Elliot’s main brilliant writing elements still rang true, but I felt that the plot and premise were just not intriguing enough. I enjoy her character building, the ensemble cast of characters, realistic dialogue, thorough and visual detail, and brilliant climaxes. Elliot writes a spot-on climax, chilling readers deep to the bone. Readers can barely keep their eyes open and stop themselves from shuddering, waiting to see the villain’s next move. As mentioned earlier, Elliot’s characters are always excellently written. Some characters are more interesting and more necessary to the story than others, but they all weave their way in. Her plots are thoroughly developed, but I feel that the characters really complete the book.

I loved “The Missing Years” and “The French Girl” for weaving past and present story elements together, without using flashbacks. We are told about the past, but not through detailed scenes. I like that the books feel more like diaries than full of intense scenes one after another. I feel that some may feel this is a slow pace, but I disagree.

There are two aspects that I really disliked, but I think I can still push past them. Before every chapter, there is a few paragraphs giving a scenario in which the father could be alive. Some of them include him living in strange marriages or odd countries, but it felt really out of place. I mean, every chapter. The scenarios become darker as the book proceeds, but I felt that they could have been taking out, without diminishing the book in any way. In addition, the second point of dissatisfaction was the Scottish dialect. I understand the want for an American audience to feel more engaged in the story, to make it seem more realistic. In my personal perspective, my fiancé is from England, near Scotland, so when I often visit him, I am already familiar with the accent, so I can read it in my head. Because I visit England often and plan to move there, I love the English / Scottish tidbits. They feel special for me. There are some English things referenced, but I still felt the book was heavily Americanized, sans the dialect. For example, sentences read “I dinnae ken if I want to go,” instead of “I don’t know...” I felt that this jumped me out of the book, leaving me less engaged, because it annoyed me. I’m sure this was done with the author’s intent, but I felt it too distracting, ruining some of my enjoyment.

I find this book hard to rate, because I liked half of the aspects of it. I just did not love it. I cannot wait to read more by Lexie Elliot, but for now, I’ll just re-read “The French Girl”. I recommend this book for the characters and the prose, but just not the plot. I really did enjoy the climax, so if that makes or breaks a book for you, I hope you’ll like it too.

I received this book for free from the publisher, in exchange for reading and reviewing it. Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the opportunity.

"The Hobbit"

“The Hobbit, or There and Back Again”

Written by J.R.R. Tolkien

Review written by Diana Iozzia

As a new fan of the film series “The Lord of the Rings”, I found that reading the source material was vital to my further enjoyment. In reality, reading “The Hobbit” was a completely strange experience to me, because as much as I wanted to like it, in comparison to “LOTR”, I felt that it fell flat for me.

“The Hobbit” follows the first major adventure we see Bilbo Baggins in. There are also great, interesting details about the world of Middle Earth, the history, and the types of creatures that exist in this realm. I found many of the characters to be familiar to me, as I have seen the films. In addition, there are fun and exciting other characters that I was reading about for the first time. The broad spectrum of Middle Earth was very loveable, especially with the wonderful scenery and descriptions.

The book starts out with an ordinary morning for Bilbo, interrupted by Gandalf and rascally dwarves, begging him to accompany them for their next adventure. Their goal is to recover the reign of the Lonely Mountain and treasure stolen by the great and devilishly clever dragon, Smaug. During this great and whimsical adventure, Bilbo and crew run into many interesting creatures.

I felt that I enjoyed this story, in a fun, childlike way. This reminded me of Disney movies I used to love, like “Peter Pan”. I missed, however, the more serious and more truthful aspects about humanity, that I came to love in “The Lord of the Rings”. The horrors and toils of war, evil, the dark sides of humans, and love were absent in “The Hobbit”, save the fifteen pages dedicated to the Battle of the Five Armies.

We have the villain, Smaug, who is a really cool antagonist. His clever dialogue and language are a delight to read. In addition, the initial meeting of Gollum was a really fun one. Gollum and Bilbo engage in a lightning round of riddles that was a really fun portion of the book. As mentioned earlier, this is more of a whimsical and silly book, rather than the hearty balance in “LOTR”. There aren’t many intense and sad scenes, which was strong in contrast to what I was hoping for.

In the end, this was a very entertaining read, but it was not as exciting for me as I expected. Now, onto the daunting task of reading “The Lord of the Rings” and the rest of Tolkien’s work. Tune back in four years, probably.

"This Is Not A Love Scene"

“This is Not a Love Scene”

Written by S.C. Megale

Review written by Diana Iozzia

Reading about a young woman with muscular dystrophy finding herself and discovering her first love sounded like a lovely idea to me. I was very hooked by the premise, thinking this would be a very cute, but serious book about first love and disability. However, I was completely disappointed by this book. Here are some thoughts on the book.

To begin, Maeve, is an eighteen-year-old woman, who has muscular dystrophy. She offers a very interesting perspective into her world and informs us readers of things we didn’t know about being disabled. For that, I felt that I enjoyed those portions of this ‘own voiced’ book. She is interested in seeking out a degree and future career in film, so we see her meet an actor and film with her and her friends. This is the basic story arc, but most of this story is her relationship.

1. I feel that this book is not written for the appropriate age. Yes, I understand that books about sexuality in high school are not very common, but this was so edgy, it felt that it was not appropriate for younger readers. Young adult fiction is often appropriate for students 15 and up. I felt that this book would have been great, if it was for adults, instead of teens.

2. The dialogue seemed very juvenile for me, especially so. I understand that as a 23-year-old woman, my language is not going to be equal to that of a 16-year-old. However, it felt very foreign and alien-like. I guess I have come to grips that I prefer young adults to act a little more adult than this, but there are so many better books for teens with much better and more realistic dialogue.

3. I did not connect with most of the main characters. The characters I did like were barely in the book and given strange plot lines and actions to take. I did like Mags, K.C., and Elliot, but neither of these are the main protagonist and her love interest. Our main character, Maeve, is very self-absorbed and conceited, denouncing others’ actions when she makes similar choices.

4. There is also a very strange dynamic between Maeve and her “old man friends”, who she often meets online. There is an anecdote, where she was at an event, met an old man who bought her ice cream, and spent the whole day with her, before asking if he could kiss her. Also, one of her main communication styles is through e-mail with one “OMF” about her getting ‘action’ with teen boys. Highly inappropriate. I understand that most older gentlemen are completely innocent, but I felt this sent a slightly muddled message.

5. I am a prude. Okay, I said it. But I cannot be the only reader who doesn’t want to hear silly, bathroom humor or sexual jokes in every paragraph. The flirting is strange and out of place. If I found out my (future) child talked like this!

6. I love a good romance. This was not. I did not enjoy the love interest! I feel that a good romance makes you fall in love with the characters a little, or we would not be able to connect and love vicariously. I felt the characters barely interacted, and when they did, it fell flat. This title is right; this is not a love scene. This is just awkward, boring teens + sexual feelings.

7. Lastly, there is a very strange side story about one of the characters and a mental health issue. This felt very weird and out of character. We sort of understand, because there is a major reference to a book about romance and disability. So, I see how Maeve’s character is set out to change that stereotype and be a hero, but it felt really odd. I felt it was handled very poorly.

In conclusion, this was not the book I thought it was going to be. I do not mind if a book for teens handles more serious topics, but I would have preferred this book to be different in almost every way.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an advanced reader’s edition in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes.

"The Last Time I Saw You"

“The Last Time I Saw You”

Written by Liv Constantine

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“The Last Time I Saw You” was a disappointing read for me, in stark contrast to the first book, written by the ladies behind this pseudonym. Their first book, “The Last Mrs. Parrish” is a favorite thriller of mine, which is high praise, because I do not often pick favorites.

“TLTISW” follows the immediate grief that our main character, Kate, is sucked into, after her mother’s murder. Kate is also receiving suspicious packages, like dead animals and strange objects in packages with threatening notes. Kate begins to feel paranoid and worried that she and her family will be hurt or killed. We also have a second perspective, from her bizarre, old friend, Blaire, who seems to still hold a grudge over Kate’s dismissal of their friendship. However, Blaire is helping with Kate and her family’s grief and trying to forgive Kate.

To be honest, I had very high expectations, considering the authors and my previous reading experience from them. I was not very interested in the premise initially, thinking that this was a pretty basic, run-of-the-mill psychological thriller. Unfortunately, every typical trope that I do not enjoy in thrillers popped up, also allowing a very predictable ending. There are two main twists, one that was not surprising. The other was not predictable, but it was not very shocking or compelling.

For those who like unreliable narrators, suspicious main characters, gaslighting, and calm resolutions, this might be for you. However, I like big dramatic climaxes that feel satisfying and justify the entire read. I do have to mention that I love the prose, dialogue, and detail. I feel that the authors still crafted a well-written story, by writing style standards. I love the detail that the authors put into every scene. Everything is very visual and allows for a very clear mental image of the story. I remember enjoying those aspects in “The Last Mrs. Parrish”. If you hope for a book that you can “see in your head” like a movie, this is very cinematic.

Sadly, I was still very unhappy and not satisfied with this book. I feel that I was let down in comparison to their first book, so I still highly recommend that one. I’m sure that some readers will enjoy this, but I prefer to stick with “The Last Mrs. Parrish” and hope for a movie or miniseries.

Thank you to Harper Books for sending me an advanced reader’s edition in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes.

"Tell Me Everything"

“Tell Me Everything”
Written by Cambria Brockman
Review written by Diana Iozzia / Bookworm Banter


“Tell Me Everything” was not the book that I expected it to be, which was disappointing. Now, according to the description, we have the main character, Malin, who quickly becomes a part of a strange friend group at a prestigious. Also, we read in the events and secrets that occur in this story will build up to a murder. Then, Malin will fight for the truth to stay hidden. So, I was wrong thinking this book to be a part of the “dark academia” genre, similar to “The Secret History”, “If We Were Villains”, “Black Chalk”, and more. Unfortunately, the entire book is all about the trials and lies each character in the friend group goes through, until the murder occurs at a point that I felt to be too late in the book. The resolution fell very flat for me.

So, after realizing about halfway through that I completely misread the story, I was determined to still enjoy the book. I think I did for the most part, but this book completely let down any expectation I had. For deep details of various college parties, awkward and sinister sexual encounters, and friendship betrayal, look no further.

The novel is told in three parts: as Malin is a child, suffering through the abuse and violence of her older brother Levi, the freshmen year of college, and the last year of college. We see how Malin’s horrific childhood allows her to develop into a secretive and vengeful character. The juxtaposition between the two different years of college also shows hints of positive and negative character development through for each character. However, I think having points of time in each year would have broadened the scope and provided a much richer and suspenseful story.

One of my main problems with the story is the branding and expectations. When we are told in the book’s description that the events build to a murder, readers either hope for a slow burn or a quick murder and deceitful coverup. Hoping this book was similar to other stories, I expected the murder to occur quickly with a suspenseful chain of events. Unfortunately, the chain of events occurred slowly and painstakingly. To be honest, none of the actions occurring in this story justified the murder. When I read a book for a suspenseful, chilling murder, I want it to be justified. I want to be satisfied that the character received its just desserts. I believe this book broke every expectation, as if it was a parody or satire of books like it. Sadly, this disappointed me, rather than excitingly surprising me. Also, the description describes Malin as a seductive protagonist. I’d describe her as a needy antagonist. She is only out for her own good. She self-describes herself as selfish. I often enjoy an unlikeable main character. One of those characters in which we love to hate them. Nope, I flat out just hated her. I did not really enjoy any of these characters in any circumstance.

To continue, I think the archetypal “tight-knit circle” of friends was not fleshed out enough. I think the exciting aspect of creating a seductive, secretive circle is ambitious, but not many of the characters felt like real people. When I read, I hope that the characters feel real. We bond with them or relate to them. Even if we do not like them, we understand their motives and morals. They feel all too stereotypical, but in the sense that there is no substance behind most of the characters.

Malin, Ruby, and John are the most fleshed out characters. Ruby is the most likeable out of the group, but she is still ridiculously unrealistic. Her diary entries describe every secret she is hiding, which surely would have been well-hidden if she was meaning to hide the secrets. John is the bullying, cheating boyfriend. We have Max, who is the pining, aloof, shy guy, who is a perfectly nice character, but we know nothing about the poor guy. I would have loved to have him be more of a focus. Gemma is the ‘slutty’ character, who had not a single, original thought. So many characters who fall into her archetype are written in much more depth by other authors. Last but not least, Khaled is hardly in the story at all. He’s a prince. He does drugs. That’s it. He flirts with every character.

Now, let’s move on to the things I do like about this story.

I will say that I like that Malin breaks the mold of her character’s archetype. She is described as the shy, less attractive friend who stays in the shadows of the more glamorous friends. She obsesses over the other characters in the group. She ‘doesn’t belong’. However, Malin stands out and becomes her own foil. I like that. 

Also, I love the setting. I love the way the buildings, the landscape, the soccer stadium, the dining halls, and more are described. There is a very realistic way that the author describes this college. It brought me back to the semester I spent at an in-person college, where I lived in a dorm. It also brought me back to the horrors of college and some of the reasons I left and continued my degree online. Cambria Brockman described the lovely, rose-tinted view of a prestigious New England university, but she also examined the dark, evil sides of young adults away for the first time. I haven’t felt so uncomfortable reading about college for a long time. Additionally, I also felt that her characters were very realistic in their dialogue and actions. Although I did not feel each character was developed enough, the descriptions of them felt plausible.

I also really liked that Brockman included a power balance dynamic. Malin and her professor’s TA engage in an illicit relationship. I felt this was portrayed very well and responsibly. The negatives were examined as well as the positives were. I do not always feel that way about these dynamics.
An aspect of the book that I feel a bit mixed about is the red herring style. On a case by case basis, I enjoy red herrings. If they’re done in a certain way. However, I think they should be minimal at best. This book breaks many molds, as I’ve mentioned before. There are constant red herrings, leading us to believe one thing will occur, but the book subverts our assumptions at every turn.

If you enjoy slow burn suspense novels, I’m sure you’d love this. I believe that most of my disappointment of this book was just misplaced expectations and a poor book description. I would really like to read more by this author. I still do recommend this book, but I think I would recommend going into it without any presumptions. I think this was a very ambitious book for a debut author, and I cannot wait to see where she goes from here.

I received a complimentary reader’s edition from the publisher in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to Ballentine Books at Random House.

"All The Beautiful Lies"

“All The Beautiful Lies”

Written by Peter Swanson

Review written by Diana Iozzia

I have found a new favorite author in the psychological thriller and mystery genre. Peter Swanson’s books and I have a new friendship. I recently read his newest book, “Before She Knew Him” and really liked it until the last twist. However, I was still very excited to read “All the Beautiful Lies”, and it really won in my favor.

This book follows many different characters and time jumps. Swanson tells the narratives by separating them in “Now” and “Then” labels for each chapter. We meet our present day, Harry, as he comes back to town after his father’s suspicious death, greeted by his ever enigmatic and attractive stepmother. We also meet that stepmother, Alice, as a teenager, living with her alcoholic mother and her seductive (but welcomed) stepfather. We can see why Alice is strange as an adult, and we see her grow older throughout the story, in a “Lolita” / Mrs. Robinson-like fashion. An interesting age of Alice was as a younger adult in her twenties, fully fledged in her sexual and romantic relationship with her stepfather, Jack. Near the end of the story, we also see a bit through Jack’s younger perspective, as a teen, until we reach the present-day perspective. I imagine if you pick this book up after a few days, it may be hard to remember exactly where you are and who every character is, but I read this in one day, so I found it easy.

In addition, we have a small cast of side characters who still play an enormous part in each aspect of the story. We have Caitlin, Grace, John Richards, Gina, Paul, and more. This is a very cohesive story, although there is so much to remember.

I believe that the time jumps and the backstories help enhance this character. I felt that in “Before She Knew Him”, I noticed how Swanson has a small length for the main plot, but we receive copious amounts of exposition, flashbacks, and insight into each character. This does not feel monotonous, but it does mean that the main plot is short and less of a focus. The main plot twist behind the murder was not my favorite choice, but it led every character receive what was coming to them. Either relief, happiness, or just desserts. I still enjoyed every step of the way and found this to be a very absorbing book with many interesting events. I love Peter Swanson’s dialogue, because it is just enough to get the words across, but they feel realistic and still suspenseful. His prose follows that same fashion; there is enough description but enough lacking that it leads to foreshadowing and eager anticipation.

I also have to explain about sympathy and the ability to relate to Peter Swanson’s characters. 

Although the morals and actions are very questionable for most of these characters, the characters are not unlikeable. We see small facets of ourselves in each character, whether we want to or not. I think this reminds us of our humanity in quite a frightening way, similar to Vladimir Nabokov’s style as well. Now, I do not mean to psychoanalyze and assume that everyone who reads this will have daddy issues or psychosexual tendencies. However, I feel we can all see a little loneliness in at least one character. We can recognize their longing or their sadness. Their desperation. I really enjoyed this story, much more than “Before She Knew Him”, but you bet I plan to read all of Peter Swanson’s past and future books.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to William Morrow and Harper Collins.

"The Good Liar"

“The Good Liar”

Written by Catherine Mackenzie

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“The Good Liar” follows three women, Cecily, Katie, and Frannie, as the anniversary draws near of a tragic event that changed their lives forever. This event was a work building explosion, killing over 500 people, including friends and family of those main characters. We also start to learn the secrets about each of these women and how they were involved in the explosion in more ways than we initially think. We are launched into the three perspectives, but of course, nothing is really as all it seems. We meet Cecily, a widowed mother, who is trying to move on with her life. Katie is a mysterious nanny in Toronto, and we find out many details why she fled New York. Frannie was trying to contact her birth mother and become close to her, but the explosion affected that and prevented that from happening.

It’s very difficult to explain this book without giving away any of the spoilers, because most of the book that I did not like was a direct result of the spoilers. Other than the twists, I really did not enjoy the main characters. I only tolerated Cecily’s character, but even so, she felt difficult to sympathize with and was very naïve. Katie is intolerable and just a terrible person. Frannie is untrustworthy and flaky. So, do not trust any of these characters. Personally, when I read thrillers and mysteries, I do not really like unreliable narrators, because we spend the entire book thinking one thing and then it’s turned around and ripped to shreds. Sometimes, I think an unreliable narrator adds to the book, but all three unreliable narrators led to my dislike of the book.

Unfortunately, I was able to predict every (and I mean every) plot twist that occurred. Now, that does not flatter me or make me think I am the next Sherlock Holmes. It makes me think that the story was just too predictable. I do not mind if I read a thriller and I have guessed one of the plot twists, but every single one? I felt that I was reading Scooby Doo instead and guessed that the creepy, mean landscaper was the monster in a mask.

As I mentioned earlier, I cannot reveal the twists without spoiling everything, but my God, the payoff is not worth it. I really tried to give this book a chance, but there is hardly anything that I found redeemable. I enjoyed Cecily’s interactions with her children. The dialogue was standard. That’s pretty much it.

I received a free advanced reader’s edition in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes.

"Dread Nation"

“Dread Nation”

Written by Justina Ireland

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“Dread Nation” is a fantastic and very exciting adventure and sci-fi novel, told in post-Civil War Baltimore and the Western United States. After the Union and Confederacy soldiers perished in the war, they rose up again as the undead ‘shamblers’, which are akin to zombies. This brilliantly created apocalyptic world is full of danger, fear, rebellion, and hope, similar to the hope from a favorite of mine, “Station Eleven”. We meet Jane, our main character: a fearless, caring, and fantastic fighter. In this world, black youths are sent to ‘combat schools’, which are academies to teach them how to fight the shamblers and protect rich white people. The themes that are present in this novel allude to the real-life dislike of blacks after the Civil War.

Jane weaves her story and explains how the shambler plague had begun and how it affects the world at present in this book. We also have her story weaved through letters to and from her mother at the beginning of every chapter. After an excellent beginning, the book does not leave any moments feel dry and endless. Every scene is heart-pounding and exciting. Jane and her friend, Katherine, are fantastic fighters, protecting the high society rich Baltimore folks from certain death at a scientist’s vaccination presentation. We have so many interesting elements in this book that relate to famous and beloved fictions, such as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, “Gone with the Wind”, William Shakespeare’s classics, and even my own personal modern love, “The Vampire Diaries” television program. I also felt a large comparison to the fantastic “Hamilton”, especially with the historical aspect and rebellious, sassy characters.

After Jane, Katherine, and their other friend, Jackson, prove themselves to be a bit of a threat to the conspiracies behind “shamble-free Baltimore”, they are sent to “Summerland”, a Western compound full of cultish characters and evil townspeople. I felt that this part of the story also reminded me of “Westworld”, or well, the theme park that was created to be South-Western, then turned corrupt and evil. Jane, Katherine, Jackson, and a few others begin a plan to overtake the false prophetic preacher and the slimy, murderous sheriff and escape. The town’s “tinkerer” is Gideon, a kind scientist who is trying to vaccinate the townspeople, in the right circumstance. Gideon seems untrustworthy at first, but we realize how he is trying to help. There is a bit of a romantic vibe between Gideon and Jane, but I enjoy that those elements barely come to light in this story. This book does not need a romance, but I like the small foundation that has been set.

I really enjoy the alternative history elements of this story. We see how the real-life events of the Civil War and aftermath are impacted by this shambler plague. We hear of presidents, celebrities, authors, and literature that we are familiar with, so we do relate and feel part of the story. I also enjoyed the world-building in a sense that we have work songs, lullabies, and fight songs created for this, but they feel reminiscent of the world we live in.

To continue, I have to sing the praises of the characterization written by Justina Ireland. Each character is developed just enough in the first book, so that we’re aching to receive a sequel. We can even see the characters develop throughout the story. Jane begins to care and love Katherine, who was her rival at the combat school. Katherine has lost her snootiness and has learned that survival is the more important thing, rather than being better than others. To be fair, she was not unlikeable at the beginning, more just a fun mean girl. However, she is easily my favorite character. We have the villains who are super annoying and dangerous, which make every satisfying ill move towards them feel rewarding. We understand the rebellion. We feel the characters’ anger and fear. We hope for them as they move on to the next step at the end of the book, ready to continue the adventure. I am eagerly awaiting the next book by Justina Ireland, but dear God, I do not want this story to end. I would absolutely adore a television series adaptation of this.

Additionally, a large aspect of this story is social commentary. With the racism these characters endure, we can still sadly see the mistreatment of these types of individuals in society in our real 2019. We have interesting glimpses and perspectives of what it is like to be black, in this story, but these characters and their experiences do not feel like fiction. We have a minuscule representation of bisexuality, but hey, why not? I, a member of the bisexual community, is absolutely thrilled to have a little bit of a mention. (I would personally love to see this explored further. Shall we create a name for Jane and Katherine? Kane?)

Lastly, I could explain every single thing I love about this book, but it would take me a year. It’s fantastic. It’s really enjoyable. Just read it.

"My Lovely Wife"

“My Lovely Wife”
Written by Samantha Downing
Review written by Diana Iozzia


“My Lovely Wife” was an incredible thriller, packed with brilliantly paced chapters, unique characters, well-developed plot points, calculated dialogue, and an exhilarating finale. I was expecting a certain type of thriller but received something completely different. This was terrific and terrifying.

Let’s begin. Our characters are the dimwitted and strange husband and the enigmatic, neurotic wife. Together, he lures in the victims that she kills. We run into an immediate problem: our characters need to find a way to keep the suspicion away from them and keep their family from falling apart due to fear of ‘the local serial killer’, Owen, who has ‘come back after years of inaction to seek further revenge’. Interesting premise, interesting execution. We hit the ball out of the park right away with an exciting exposition, intriguing beginning, and I do not think we hit a slow point throughout the entire book. Every moment is carefully planned to invite multiple interpretations. Who is happy? Who is manipulating whom? Who is more innocent? Are we, the readers, the bystanders in the horrific crimes?

As with any book, there will be aspects I personally do not enjoy. However, they are completely overshadowed by my love for the great aspects I found to be excellent. I think this is a stand-out thriller and deserves positive praise. Let me explained what I loved, then I’ll explain what I didn’t love.

Loved:
1. I thoroughly enjoyed the characterization. I thought the children were well-created and were given appropriate dialogue and actions. All too often, children are the weak points in books for me, acting either too young for their age or too much like adults. In addition, I thought that both husband and wife are phenomenally written. I love that we know every inner most thought of the husband, while we are never sure if we can trust him. In fact, we only know him by his alias, ‘Tobias’, since the novel is told in first person. We know about his wife, Millicent, but we only know what he tells us about her.

2. Our perspective through the words and thoughts of ‘Tobias’ allows us to remove ourselves. This takes us out of the murder and into the mind of the bystander. We are the ones who hear about Millicent and her horrific actions, but we really do not feel any sympathy for the victims. We do not see the crimes, so we are desensitized, as ‘Tobias’ is. We are complicit. The murders are all the more terrible, because we barely know what happened. Our imagination runs wild.

3. We receive a very satisfying ending. Oh, yes.

4. Do you know much about Anton Chekhov’s gun theory? Yes, please.

5. There is an aspect that I found to be very predictable about Millicent’s decision to place blame on Owen for the murders. However, after one of the final twists, I see why the author chose this route.

Didn’t Love:

1. I do not love the comparisons to “Dexter” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” that are plastered all over the book and in every description created by the publisher. This book does not remind me of either; it does not really remind me of any books or films.

2. As much as I loved the ending, I didn’t. I felt as satisfying and carnal as it was, it begs about four hundred other questions to which we will not have answers.

3. The beginning was not full of action. Slow, thorough and clever build-up, but I could imagine some readers would find this monotonous.

4. The ending is deeply unsettling. Wonderful for me, but I imagine some readers would not enjoy ambiguous conclusion.

In conclusion, I fell in love with this book. This will definitely be a new favorite for me. I cannot wait to read more by this author. And discuss this with every reader I know. Not even every reader. I’ll even talk to my neighbor’s dog about it.

I received a finished copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing.

"Before She Knew Him"

"Before She Knew Him"
Written by Peter Swanson
Review written by Diana Iozzia




"Before She Knew Him" is a homage to many wonderful types of mysteries: the who-dun-its, the "neighbor next door"s, the true crime fictions, and more. This book is especially familiar and rings home to my love of "The Twilight Zone" and Alfred Hitchcock's creations. At a young age, I always enjoyed Alfred Hitchcock's bomb rule: introduce a bomb strapped to the underside of a table, but only let the audience know. This creates a deep level of suspense, when the audience has an acute knowledge of the mystery, but we have characters completely in the dark. This technique is apparent in "Before She Knew Him".

This book is not described and billed well, in my opinion. We are told about our main characters, Hen and Matthew. Hen and her husband live next to Matthew and Mira. We know from the blurb and description in every press release and on the back of the book, that Hen believes that Matthew could be a murderer. In chapter two, we find out that Matthew is a murderer. And we are in on this massive secret. This is a fantastic thriller and storytelling technique, to allow us to know the innermost workings of Matthew's mind but also allows us to worry about Hen. If we did not know Matthew is a killer, we would be wondering about Hen's mental state but her sanity alone. When we understand that she is in a deep threat of danger, we wonder how dark and deep this cat and mouse / bomb underneath the table game will go.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first three quarters of this book. I loved the witty and very clever dialogue. This is one of those thrillers that it seems every specific line was curated and carefully written to have two meanings. This is one of those thrillers that you need to read again. We are reading through characters' perspectives that we should not take at face value, but should we ever do that with thrillers? We beg and ask the questions: How much do you really know about someone? Yes, someone could be suspicious, but what do you do when it could put yourself in danger? How much revenge could a person take, before the point of no return?

There are aspects about this book that I dislike, but if I explained them fully, they would ruin the book. I will say that I did not enjoy the twist ending. A character was revealed in a way that made us completely question them and another character as well. This type of twist works in some books, but I do not feel that it worked in this one. I think it was a poor representation of mental health and trauma. I would still read this book, and I am very excited to read more books by Peter Swanson, however, the reveal and the climax were well, anti-climactic.

I do recommend this book, and I hope those who do read it enjoy it. There is just that one plot twist trope that I really dislike in books, and when books have it, the writer disappoints me.


I received a free advanced edition of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to the publishing house, William Morrow, for the opportunity.

"Luckiest Girl Alive"

"Luckiest Girl Alive"

Written by Jessica Knoll

Review written by Diana Iozzia

 

This book is very difficult to describe, because of the unlikable characters, unreliable narrator, over-used plot devices, possibly exploitative plot twist, lack of plot-driving conflict, misrepresentation of mental health, profanity, and the anti-climactic ending. With all of these going for it, I still take away that I enjoyed the book. Allow me to explain my reasoning, and perhaps you'd still like to read this.

"Luckiest Girl Alive" does not fit into any genre for me. When I read a book, I expect a plot devised of exposition, rising action, the catalyst, the conflict, the climax, and the conclusion. This book does not follow this typical story line format, which befuddles me but also intrigued me. We see our cruel, heartless main character, Ani, as she prepares to speak as part of a documentary for a tragedy that she survived. I disliked her, right off the bat. I believe this book's description should not have called her a "heroine". She is not running away from anyone, out to kill her. She is not succeeding in stopping a villain. She is coming to grips with her past, as someone from her past reemerges. The book's description also asks if Ani will speak out and break her silence, which is not something completely necessary. Yes, she's a successful career woman, but I do not believe the secret would unravel her life and her new persona.

We are told all about her growing up, a horrible event occurring to her at a party. This affects her and she becomes guarded as a young teen. Then, we find ourselves constantly shifting from memory to reality as she makes unethical choices behind her husband's back. He, of course, is a very supporting character and is not doing anything wrong. I disliked her for this. I believe that one of the main moral questions we readers ask while reading this book is: does your personal negative experiences and tragedies excuse your future behaviors? Surprisingly, we find out that after the first tragedy at the party, there is a second one, that would be spoken about in the documentary.

We eventually build up to the climax, which is not told in the present Ani’s life. We find out the tragedy, the catalyst for this story, at the end, which is a unique and interesting literary choice. I felt this different than most thrillers that offer a plot twist that impacts the characters’ opinions or actions in the present. However, this plot twist allows us to understand why Ani is the way she is. I believe that this plot twist was not surprising, as details were revealed by memories involving characters. I personally do not enjoy books, films, and television that involve this sort of tragedy, because using this tragedy feels exploitative. There is a line between speaking about an important topic such as this and exploiting the victims of these types of horrific events. Our media is over-saturated with fictional accounts of this type of tragedy, so when I read them in books, I find myself confused. Is the author using this plot device because they care about the subject, or because it would be a great plot twist in the end? Is it misuse and misrepresentation for personal gain? I will be curious to see what other people believe about this topic, those who have read the book of course. Then, after we find out the truth, our book ends, leaving our characters in a complete lurch, without any interesting or meaningful conclusion.

I recommend this book for certain reasons. The writing: the prose, the dialogue, and the pacing are great. I highly enjoy the author’s style of writing. She created an interesting and inventive plot style, which marvels other great films and books of years gone by. I do not recommend this book for those who want mental health portrayed correctly. I do not recommend this for those who are easily affected by teen tragedy, violence, and death. This was a very grotesque and uncomfortable book to read. As someone who has not experienced something similar to this, I was not permanently affected, but I could see someone who had been very impacted. This book does not pull any punches, and the tragic sequence is harsh and terrifying.