"You Are Not Alone"

 

“You Are Not Alone”

Written by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

“You Are Not Alone” is the third book that the bestselling authors Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks have created in collaboration. Their other collaborative works are “The Wife Between Us” and “An Anonymous Girl”, two psychological thrillers that I loved. Although I was slightly disappointed with “An Anonymous Girl”, I was absolutely delighted to hear of this newest work.

 

“You Are Not Alone” follows our main character, Shay, who has befriended a group of mysterious women after feeling anxious and scared resulting from her witnessing a suicide. The secretive group is spearheaded by Cassandra and Jane, two enigmatic sisters. Cassandra and Jane, along with the others from the group, believe that Shay is more involved in the life of the dead woman, Amanda, more than Shay lets on. The other women in the group assist the sisters in digging up details, spying on, and manipulating Shay. In the great way of Alfred Hitchcock, divulging too much detail about this thriller would be a cause of ruin.

 

In the true fashion of these stellar writers, the story feels incredibly developed, with every sentence, character, and scene created with incisive flair. Every moment evokes an emotion: fear, anxiety, worry, love, warmth, kindness, and anger. The complete story that the writers have written is penetrating and fascinating, almost magnetic. In only part one, the book has already been set up in an incredible way, in a cinematic matter. Part two twists every moment from one on its head and changes the course in a brilliant fashion. The motives of each character become sharper and even further scintillating than before. I found that the last final twists in the climax just blew my mind in a wonderful way.

 

In conclusion, this is a new favorite thriller of mine. I am absolutely astounded at how brilliant this is, created with such intriguing nuance. Hendricks and Pekkanen pull you into a gravitational pull and refuse to let go. Absolutely brilliant. I highly recommend it to any psychological thriller, no matter your preferences. Read it; it’ll win you over, and you’ll never forget it.

 

I rate this novel at five of out five stars.

 

I thank St. Martin’s Press for an advance proof. Thank you for the opportunity.

"Sleep"

"Sleep"
Written by C.L. Taylor
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

"Sleep" is a psychological thriller, that draws from the legendary Agatha Christie to create a well-plotted and thorough mystery. As I have read from Taylor before, I was eager to jump into this. One of my favorite types of thrillers consists of a small group of people in an isolated setting with the suspicion that one of the group members may have sinister intentions.

After a horrific car accident, Anna Willis is healing. She has found it incredibly hard to forgive herself for driving the car, although the accident was not entirely her fault. After breaking up with her boyfriend, Anna moves to a small island in Scotland, to work in an inn, which she will offer hospitality to tourists. The first weekend of the job, seven tourists come and fill up the inn, as an impending storm looms over the inn.

Anna and the owner, David, prepare for cozy indoor activities and fast walks before the storm hits. They meet the guests: Joe, Christina, Fiona, Trevor, and Malcolm, Melanie, and Katie of the Ward family. Some guests are more suspicious than others, and some are just flat out bizarre. The author, Taylor, creates a compelling and atmospheric setting, using strange characters as great tools to build the mystery.

Told in multiple perspectives, we also see the story through other characters' eyes. This appealing technique allows suspicion to be cast on other smaller characters, such as Mohammed, Alex, and Steve.

There are many great elements to this story that create a good book. However, there are some that did bring the book down a bit in my mind. I was first highly impressed with how Taylor creates a very realistic protagonist. Her main fear is not being forgiven, as well as the guilt that she holds from the accident. Additionally, there's a fantastically created red herring, with a brilliant pay-off. Lastly, I just did not enjoy the final reveal. The climax proved effective, but the true villain seemed a bit flat. I did enjoy the final motive and past of the villain, but I would have preferred a few more hints as the story progressed.

In conclusion, I rated this book at four stars out of five. I did enjoy this very well, but the small elements that I disliked did count enough for me to like it less. I absolutely recommend this to fans of Ruth Ware, who is my favorite claustrophobic setting modern writer.

I received an advance review edition of this novel, in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to Avon Harper Collins for the opportunity.

"The Network"

“The Network”

Written by L.C. Shaw

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

“The Network” was a highly disappointing read, due to the many tropes of novels in the political thriller and psychological thriller subgenres. After truly loving “The Last Mrs. Parrish” by Lynne and Valerie Constantine of the pen name, Liv Constantine, I had been disappointed by their second thriller, “The Last Time I Saw You”. L.C. Shaw is an additional pen name, created by Lynne Constantine. I had been interested to try out this novel, to see how it would compare.

Unfortunately, “The Network” encompasses so many tired trends from the thriller genre, including big evil corporations called “The Institution”, two main characters that used to love each other, evil corporate villains who want to rid the world of sin, and disinteresting main characters.

Jack Logan is an investigative reporter, who is tasked with hiding his ex-girlfriend, whose senator husband has just been murdered. Taylor, the wife, is pregnant with complications that require her to take certain medication and have as much bed rest as possible, which makes their situation all the more complex. We learn about their previous relationship which is eerily similar to another perspective, of Maya. Maya had been taken in by a super secretive and scientific institute, ruled by the power-hungry and righteous Damon Crosse, who has impregnated her illegally. He holds her hostage in the corporation, to help him take over the world.

As the story continues, we learn more about Maya’s unfortunate scenario and see how her parents’ relic coins with supposed powers tie in with Taylor’s family history. Are they connected?

Very early on, it can be quite predictable to see how this story is progressing. I found myself rolling my eyes at certain dialogue, especially with scenes involving sex. Also, can a dog be trained to bite into a neck artery and kill a bad guy? That was a question no one had ever asked or thought, “Wow, that must be included in a action thriller.

Personally, I felt very disengaged from the story. I never felt connected with any of the characters. I was very surprised to see that this may be the first in an action / political thriller series, with Jack starring as the lead character. He’s not an offensive character, but I certainly would not continue onto the rest of the series. The writing feels incredibly immature, which combines with “The Last Time I Saw You”, makes me wonder if I would still love “The Last Mrs. Parrish” as much as I did when I initially read.

Due to my true disappointment for the story, I cannot recommend it. If you love big, bad government corporations that want to take over the world, I recommend “Recursion” by Blake Crouch instead, which has very realistic science fiction and well-written characters. I was disappointed with the story turning out into more of a Dan Brown / religious conspiracy novel. Lastly, I am not sure if I will continue to read from the Constantine sisters.

I received an advance edition of this novel in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to Harper Collins for the opportunity.

"The Nanny"

“The Nanny”

Written by Gilly Macmillan

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“The Nanny” is a psychological thriller, in which a woman confronts her childhood nanny once again who was presumed either missing or dead. Jo, or Jocelyn, must move back in with her pretentious and conniving mother, Virginia, after both their husbands pass away. Jo brings her young daughter, Ruby, uprooting her from their life in California to go back home in Southern England. Jo is contacted by the nanny, Hannah, who Virginia has a deep hatred for.

We read this slow burn of a book, changing our alliances as the story progresses. We receive the story in various perspectives.

- Third person perspective about Hannah and who she says she is, and who she really is

- First person from Jo

- First person from Virginia

- Third person from the lead detective

I personally enjoyed this book, but I felt the plot to be too slowly paced for my liking. Many similar events repeat, many certain characters reveal facts that were not compelling, we aren’t able to predict most events, and I felt the true reveals were not as great. I felt this was very similar to an Edgar Allan Poe story, in the sense that we are reading from a creepy foreboding house, and we’re not quite sure who to trust. This book also reminded me of many of V.C. Andrews’s stories, “Sharp Objects”, “The Missing Years”, and “The Roanoke Girls”, some of my favorite ‘female character returns to childhood home, reveals family secrets” books.

I personally enjoyed the perspectives from Jo and Virginia’s perspectives most. Hannah’s backstory was important, and it was all too reminiscent of “Lullaby” / “The Perfect Nanny” by Leila Slimani. I felt that the detective’s perspective was completely unnecessary and did not provide enough interesting plot to be useful.

We have an increasing fear of who may be in danger next. We are not sure who could be dangerous, who is telling the truth. This is one of those stories that cannot be explained fully, because there are so many twists and turns.

This wasn’t my favorite thriller. I felt it to be a little empty, without enough plot and suspense to pull my interest. I read this story very quickly, but I fear if someone reads it slowly, they might lose their focus and not want to read it as much. I do recommend it, and I plan to read more by this author. I gave this book a rating of four out of five stars.

I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for providing reading it and writing a review. Thank you to William Morrow.

"The Crash"

“The Crash”
Written by Lisa Drakeford
Review written by Diana Iozzia


In reading “The Crash”, I found myself wondering a few questions. Why do we decide a book premise is interesting to us? Is a premise interesting if it contains familiar tropes or plot devices that are appealing?  On a similar note, do we also choose books that remind us of others, in hoping that we would feel the same way when reading it? Either way, I’m not entirely sure why I decided to read “The Crash”. As I began reading through it, I found myself like it less and less. Is this a fault of the author or myself? Let’s explore.

The premise of “The Crash” starts when a car with three people destroys the living room of a small family in England, leaving some characters injured and all characters forever changed by this event. The players in this story are:
• Sophie, a simple, ‘average’ teen.
• Tye, Sophie’s best friend, on the verge of coming out as gay.
• Jordan, Tye’s hidden boyfriend.
• Deano, an abusive delinquent.
• Gemma, a naïve girlfriend of Deano
• Harry, protective brother of Gemma.
• Issy, a young neighbor who is abused along with her mother by her evil stepfather.

When Sophie’s living room is crashed into by Deano, Gemma, and Harry, this event sets off a domino effect. Tye becomes so injured he’s in a coma. Harry breaks his ankle and becomes close with Sophie. Issy involves herself, pointlessly. Deano is on the run.

We experience the story through multiple third-person perspectives. Issy and Gemma’s storylines mirror each other. Gemma’s perspective is told two years prior, when she and Deano met. Under his influence, she was involved in a few serious crimes. Under Issy’s stepfather’s abuse, Issy’s young life is affected deeply. We experience the story mainly through Sophie’s eyes as she puts the pieces together of those around her and completes the story to figure out what really happened.

The results of this book are disappointing. This was a very easy to read book without many complex characters or confusing plot lines. This book felt reminiscent of “Big Little Lies”, “The Slap”, “Dirty Little Secrets”, “Never Have I Ever”, and a few other neighborhood-based, dramatic thrillers. I felt the story revealed important details about each character, but I never felt the reveals propelled the plot in any way. There wasn’t a conflict to me, rather than just a mystery that (I guess) needed to be unfolded.

In conclusion, there’s no clear resolution for most of the characters and none of them do seem truly happy. I enjoyed the writing style and dialogue of this story, which lead me to believe I would enjoy more from this author. Hopefully, the characters would be more fleshed out, they would develop, and the plot would be more interesting next time. I do recommend this book to those who enjoyed the books I mentioned earlier. The small-town vibe, the close neighbors, and the character study of a story definitely are reminiscent of those books. I hope to read more by Lisa Drakeford in the future.

"The Perfect Fraud"

“The Perfect Fraud”

Written by Ellen Lacorte

Review by Diana Iozzia

I have not been so fascinated and horrified by a psychological thriller in at least a few months. “The Perfect Fraud” has two parallel plot lines, from two very different characters. However, once the two stories converge, the story kicks off on an even more terrifying road, absolutely driving me speechless.

I have always been very sensitive towards thrillers, mysteries, and horror books and films in which children are in peril. This book absolutely spoke to me, as we begin reading about mother, Rena, whose four-year-old daughter has been sick with many different symptoms her entire life so far. With horrible stomach pains and digestive issues, Stephanie has been through the ringer, needing constant medication, a strict diet, and lots of medical attention. Instantly, after learning a lot about psychology, true crime, and medicine, I was immediately concerned that Stephanie could be a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. This illness affects parents who find a need to fix and heal their sick children, but in reality, the parents make the children even sicker in many different ways. I soon realized that I was right, after finding out that Stephanie had repeated episodes of extremely high sodium levels, which is often the most fatal way parents hurt their children when suffering from M.B.P. This is a very fast realization, within the first 30 pages or so.

I believe that the narrative allows us to find out about Rena as quickly as possible, rather than allow this disorder to be a plot twist. I believe we are to suspect her and become more terrified as the story progresses. Like most doctors, friends, and family, the reader, like myself, wants Rena to not be hurting Stephanie. We want her to be sick but not sick because her mother is poisoning her. We also grow deeply more haunted and fearful as the choices Rena makes towards Stephanie seem to progress more dangerously.

In the parallel storyline, we receive a more ordinary character, named Claire. Claire is quite unhappy in her marriage. She is informed that her father, who had been ill for most of her childhood into adulthood, has had a severe stroke. She was told to come home. We learn more about Claire throughout her beginning arc. Claire had small psychic abilities when she was young. For example, she was able to guess presents perfectly before opening them. In Claire’s current perspective, she meets Rena on the plane and becomes instantly uncomfortable around her. Claire offers to give Rena a psychic analysis and a tarot card reading if Rena were ever to visit Sedona, where Claire lives.

After this chance meeting, Claire begins to see more psychic dreams and visions and is able to accurately predict all of her customers’ readings. Claire begins to spit up salt water. Claire eventually develops her thoughts and begins to confirm our suspicions: she too thinks that Rena could be poisoning her daughter and lying to medical professionals. She jumps into action, knowing she must Stephanie before it’s too late.

There are some aspects that I wasn’t thrilled by, but the entire rest of the story overshadows them. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Claire’s perspective, with all of the psychic readings. I understand the intention, that they are a means to an end, but it certainly felt a little slow at some points. Additionally, Rena keeps a mommy blog, posting about her daughter’s ailments and speaking to other mommies who have sick children as well. I felt these purposely dumb and grammatically incorrect blog posts felt redundant, but I can see why they were included. They have an important comment at the end of each from Rena’s sister, Janet, who constantly seeks out her sister out of fear of danger for Rena and Stephanie. Lastly, I felt the climax and resolution were a bit rushed. I definitely enjoyed both aspects, but I would have preferred a little more time spent.

In conclusion, this is another new favorite thriller for me. It was new to me to read a psychological and domestic thriller that crossed into factious disorders and Munchausen syndrome by proxy. I was worried at first that this would be exploitative, since there are many forms of media speaking about these specific illnesses lately. I worried that it was a bit like jumping on the bandwagon, but my fears didn’t come to fruition. Although the story included these themes, I felt that the story was not exploitative or cruel to true life victims who have suffered the same fate.

I give this book a five star review out of five stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to read and review as part of a blog tour for Harper Collins. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity. I absolutely loved it.

"Cemetery Girl"

“Cemetery Girl”

Written by David Bell

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“Cemetery Girl” is one of the many books that David Bell has written about young female teens returning home after a tragic event. In this circumstance, father and mother, Tom and Abby, have become ships passing in the night, after their young daughter disappeared four years ago. Tom and Abby still hold out hope that she will return, but they are taking actions to move on. They hold a memorial service and adopt out her childhood pet, in hopes that moving on will be swift.

Tom keeps in contact with a lawyer, who gives him advice on how to hold out hope that Caitlin will return. She calls him, saying that she knows someone who believes she has seen Caitlin. Hot on this trail, Tom stops at nothing to find Caitlin. After she is found, all those around Caitlin notice a change. Abby becomes suspicious that Tom’s brother, a strange bird, who was one suspected of hurting Caitlin, could still be the perpetrator. We eventually learn all about who took Caitlin, why, and how she reacts to returning home.

I was not impressed with this thriller. It seemed very cut and dry, very stereotypical of this type of thriller. The overprotecting father who is unhinged, who will make unethical choices to protect his daughter. David Bell has written these characters time and time again, but they do not feel refreshing. I felt that this book was not very exciting, and I felt I had to push myself to read it.

Furthermore, I did enjoy the ending. We have a very unsettling, yet interesting choice for the characters. I felt that this ending was not satisfying, in the sense that the characters are at peace. It’s dark and foreboding, and I enjoyed that unexpected ‘resolution’. Other than that, I really would not recommend this. I would just advise to skip it and read his other book, “Bring Her Home” instead. It has a very similar plot, and I enjoyed that one more.

"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.

"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.

"The New Neighbors"

“The New Neighbors”

Written by Simon Lelic

Review written by Diana Iozzia

I received a free advanced reader’s edition for reviewing purposes. Thank you to Berkley Publicity.

“The New Neighbors” was a novel that was completely different from what I expected it to be. It’s branded as an exhilarating thriller that hinges upon a body found on a back porch, of our two unreliable narrators Jack and Sydney. As we begin their perspectives, we notice a little arguing back and forth, as if they know what the other is saying in this perspective. This does not particularly break the fourth wall, but it leads to a bit of intriguing narration.

“The New Neighbors” is not a thriller to me, in the typical sense of the genre. This is first and foremost a love story, or well, falling out of love story. Jack and Sydney are complicated people in complicated situations. They are busy with their own lives, while they are falling apart. As they move into a weird new house, we learn more about Sydney’s abusive childhood and Jack’s difficult job dilemma. I really enjoyed this story for the parts that weren’t involved in the murder on the back porch. We only really find out the ‘thriller’ aspect during the last 75 percent of the book. Naturally, we read through their unreliable narration, but it’s different to me than regular unreliable narration. Often, we read denial, lies, and it’s clearly overt who is unreliable. Until we reach the climax and resolution, I personally did not distrust either Jack or Sydney.

I think this was a very complex thriller with much more aspects and fragility than I expected. I think this is a hard book to brand, because yes, there is abuse, rape mentions, drug addiction, and murder, but the most interesting aspect is the relationship failure. I beg you to read this; this is absolutely a new favorite.

"Little Darlings"

“Little Darlings”

Written by Melanie Golding

Review written by Diana Iozzia / Bookworm Banter

I received a free advanced reader’s copy in exchange for reviewing purposes.

“Little Darlings” is a fun psychological thriller that blends in dark fairy tales, like that of the Grimm Brothers. We meet Lauren, who believes that her twin boys were almost kidnapped at the hospital on the day of their birth. Her paranoia increases until one day, she shuts her eyes at the park, and the boys are taken.

We are enraptured in a horrific way as we see the eerie fairy tale elements. The dark shadows, the witch-like woman, the singing twins, and more build to a creepy atmosphere, that makes this book reminiscent of “The Babadook” and “The Changeling”. This is an absolutely fun and entertaining psychological thriller. As fun as it is, it’s still written very well with great suspense and well-written characters.

Everyone is suspicious, of someone else or in their own way. We are not sure who to trust. Are the creepy apparitions real or are they imagined by Lauren? Is she crazy? Or is she seeing something that no one else does? Our other main protagonist is police officer Jo who is unraveling the mystery and finding out the truth, as Lauren struggles to keep her head above water and her wits about her.

No big twist ending, but this is a really fun ride! I highly recommend this for those readers who are looking for a little bit of fantasy and supernatural, mixed in with their psychological thrillers. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I imagine others will too!

"The Silent Patient"

"The Silent Patient"

Written by Alex Michaelides

Review written by Diana Iozzia

Like other people, I have enjoyed reading many psychological thrillers and mysteries. To the point where when I have a plot twist ending revealed to me, I find myself either satisfied that it was a good twist that made the book completely new to me, or extremely dissatisfied that the ending ruined the book for me. In the odd case of “The Silent Patient”, I disliked the book until the ending, enjoyed the ending and how it connected the two narratives told to us, but still disliked the book. The ending was satisfying, because it explained everything, or so I thought. In the recent days after reading this book, I hesitated in writing my review, because I felt too many contrasting thoughts. Did I like this aspect? Wait, no I didn’t. Did I like this character? Well, not when I realized the truth.

This book is extremely difficult to discuss without explaining the plot twist. I think this is why the hype is so dramatic. How can you discuss a twist ending that completely changes the book from the first line to the last? This idea is fantastic! It could be a completely new way to write a book. Only then we remember many thrillers that are exactly like this. I compare this book to “Murder on the Orient Express” or “The Sixth Sense”. Once we understand the truth, we dive back into every character’s sentence or motivation. We dive back into the two perspectives and look for inconsistencies, complications, and plot holes. Boy, I am not so sure I enjoyed the second read through. Granted, I did not read every line, but in remembering how the book progressed, I found myself aggravated. When creating a twist ending, I believe that you should create an ending that disrupts the story and turns it on its head. Then, you should have created a story that cohesively glues both the explained narrative to the twist, allowing no questions or holes. Everything should match back together like a puzzle piece. Perhaps this is wishful thinking, as I have enjoyed reading thrillers and mysteries for most of my life. Perhaps it can be difficult to create a unique twist ending nowadays. However, I have read many, many fantastic psychological thrillers that are more enjoyable and more consistent than this.  

We question the motives of both main characters, Dr. Theo Faber’s and Alicia Berenson’s, as we look back into his narrative and then Alice’s diaries. We question how on Earth did this character think like this, once we know the truth? Why did this character think this way? There are so many aspects of this book that do not connect properly once you read the story. We do not comprehend why characters chose certain actions, even though we know understand the truth.

To continue, the main character is first and foremost the narrator, Theo. We have his storyline: him grappling with his wife cheating in addition to his budding career helping Alice as her psychologist. When we read through his perspective, he is unlikeable, irritating, and obsessive: to a point that I found myself not enjoying his character’s perspective. Alice’s diaries slowly progressing, explaining her husband’s behavior and her increasing dislike for him makes us wonder why she has decided to kill him. We also have side characters that we question their motives and decisions as well, but I do not think they received the attention they needed in the story. They did not feel fleshed out or realistic.

In conclusion, I personally do not recommend this novel. I enjoyed Alex Michaelides's writing, but his talent was not a match for the story. I would still happily read his next book, but "The Silent Patient" just did not do it for me. Perhaps this could be a good psychological thriller if you enjoy going back into every single sentence and picking apart each meaning, but I do not. I enjoyed the ending, because I did not see it coming, but it still does not make this an enjoyable read for me. I am glad I stuck it through, but this is just not the book for me. Perhaps I'll read it again in five years.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for reviewing purposes.

"No Exit"

“No Exit”

Written by Taylor Adams

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“No Exit” was a surprising thriller for me. I have not read a thriller in a while in which I felt my heart pounding and my eyes wanting to shut to hide from the horror. Let’s begin.

Darby Thorne is a young woman driving home to see her mother who is very ill in the hospital. A major, dangerous snowstorm forces her to pull over, into a quiet rest stop, in which four other people are holed up: Susie, Ed, Lars, and Ashley. She feels apprehensive to all the people in the rest stop, but she tries to ignore her niggling suspicion. Outside in the parking lot, she notices that one of the trucks has a little girl kidnapped in the back. Darby kicks into super hero, action speed and decides she will fight to save this little girl, Jay.

Once Darby discovers who the kidnappers are out of those in the rest stop, she begins to fight for her life and Jay’s. In many fantastic and cinematic action sequences, we see Darby protect herself and the others, while kicking some butt. She’s tough physically, but she is also very clever. Now, she is a new role model for young adult women. Be like Darby.

I have to say, there are some gruesome, grotesque parts. Although this is an action-packed thriller, do not be surprised by the horrific parts. This book reminded me a bit of Stephen King’s writing style, the loud and vivid and gross imagery. Do we need to know what everyone’s breath smelled like? No. Do we find out? Yes. I read this all in one night. It was pretty dang good. I could imagine this as a fun suspense film, certainly helped by the great dialogue and vivid descriptions. I have to say, I would have hoped for more of a psychological thriller type mystery, but this action payoff was a breath of fresh air.

We are absolutely rooting for Darby and Jay at all costs. I have to say, I’d love to see more of Miss Darby Thorne. Cool gal.

I received this book as a complimentary advanced review copy for honest reviewing purposes. Thank you to William Morrow and Harper Collins.

"Necessary People"

“Necessary People”

Written by Anna Pitoniak

Review written by Diana Iozzia

Ambition is a powerful thing. So powerful that it can become consuming, but it also can manifest in ways that we do not typically expect. This psychological thriller is first and foremost about ambition and jealousy, but not in the way that we usually find in this genre. This book is eviscerating; it consumes everything you could possibly imagine and the fire just keeps spreading.

We meet Violet, our ruthless protagonist and antagonist. She is tired of being eclipsed by her beautiful, outrageous, exciting best friend, Stella. Violet is becoming successful in her position at a popular newsroom. We see almost a relationship similar to Nick Caraway and Jay Gatsby: that loving admiration hiding a secret jealousy and judgment. We see cracks form early on, especially through memories and secrets that the characters taunt each other with. Violet is extremely likeable. We feel for her. We encourage her as she continues to stand up for herself. She receives better promotions, makes more money, builds new and healthy relationships, while Stella has remained the same immature woman she always was. Stella holds money and power over Violet’s head. Dangling like a mobile. We hate her for Violet, as if we want to protect Violet from Stella’s malevolent friendship.

The story builds as each character fights to be more successful. We reach an absolute fever pitch when one of them makes a decision they can finally not take back. How we see our characters continue afterwards changes how we think of ourselves, in fact. We excuse a heinous crime, because we would do the same. We are manipulated in this story, to excuse something so horrible. We do not feel guilt, as the character feels happier after. We do not want a consequence; we want the character to be free. This was a twist that floored me, halfway through.

My favorite part of this thriller was the characters. We enjoy the side characters. They’re fun. We support them. We hate them. We wish they were out of the picture. But we also are sympathetic in the worst ways. Have you ever read a book where you should not want someone to win? That we like them so much we excuse their horrific acts? We understand them, because we have thought the same way.

I really cannot reveal anymore information. This is a thriller unlike anything I have read in a very long time. We not only have a character study, but we have ambition at its peak, in the high-speed, cutthroat setting of a newsroom. This book is so much more than I expected. I will be waiting with bells until Anna Pitoniak writes her next book. I cannot praise this book anymore than I already have.

I received a complimentary reader’s edition for reviewing purposes.

"The Hunting Party"

"The Hunting Party"
Written by Lucy Foley
Review written by Diana Iozzia



Please do not get me wrong. I absolutely love an isolated, claustrophobic, cabin-in-the-woods type story but absolutely do not give me that many plot twists. So many plot twists that only a few short days later, I can barely remember them all.

To begin, "The Hunting Party" has a few different perspectives. We have quiet, awkward Katie. There's loud, slightly immature, and wild Miranda. We have reserved and unsure Emma. We read through their perspectives, as well as the gamekeeper Doug's perspective as we build up to the climax. We also have the perspective of Heather, the director of the lodge resort.

In this story, we have a group of friends and their spouses all on a Scottish highland trip for New Year's. We all know the holidays can be stressful, but my God, this is one to remember. In a vein of classic Agatha Christie meets the modern Ruth Ware, we unfold the mystery. Who is the dead body in the snow? Who could have killed them? Is the killer planning to kill again? As we read through the perspectives leading up to New Year's Eve, we do not really have any irksome red herrings. We become suspicious of certain characters, but the motives are sort of thrown in there as secrets unfold. Personally, I would prefer a slow build with red herrings and clues, rather than opening Pandora's box and unleashing all of them in one fellow swoop. I personally like reading a mystery, in which I sort of figure out who could possibly be the killer or victim. This did not give me the option. It was more like a volcano erupting.

I enjoyed the twists as they came, but I found myself reading back certain sections. We have unreliable narrators, we soon learn, as details and clues manifest themselves late in the story, rather than when it would have made sense early on. Surely, if we are told the story in a sane-minded perspective before the secrets are revealed, we would understand certain details that characters would not have been hiding in their own minds. Does this make sense? Perhaps not to a person who has not read it yet. Please sign off once you have.

In all, I do rate it four out of five stars. It was a fun, exhilarating ride. Am I wrong to now want to go on a little wintry cottage trip like this? Hopefully it would not end in an icy body... but we'll see.


Oh, I also received an advanced reader's edition for reviewing purposes! Thank you to William Morrow!

"My Sister, The Serial Killer"

“My Sister, The Serial Killer”
Written by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

“My Sister, The Serial Killer” sheds a comedic but dark light on the side of serial killing we do not often see depicted: the effect on the family. This fun but unsettling thriller is an enjoyable read. I read this during the holiday season, days after moving into my first home in a different country. So, perhaps I read this at the optimal time.

This is not a detailed story, with descriptions that are enthralling. This is short book, with a small plot. Our main character, Korede, has to repeatedly clean up after her sister’s killing. Her sister, Ayoola, is an immature serial dater, whose boyfriends mysteriously die. To others. To Korede, she knows everything her sister is doing and is the best woman for the job to clean up the blood.

This book encompasses all of the amusing and not-so-serious parts of “American Psycho”, “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, and reminds me a lot of “Jennifer’s Body”. We have a childlike curiosity to see how the story will progress. I enjoyed this, because I did not have to look for plot holes, poor dialogue, red herrings, dramatic choices, and more. This book took all of the grave and solemn parts out of a mystery and thriller, by making it entertaining in other ways. I really enjoyed this, and I hope that it will be made into a film.

Also, I have to mention that I enjoyed the location of Lagos, Nigeria. I do not personally know all that much about Nigeria, so it was interesting to learn about the food, the dialect, the police investigations, and the culture. I hope to read more of this author in the future. 

"An Anonymous Girl"

“An Anonymous Girl”

Written by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

“An Anonymous Girl” is a gripping, psychological thriller, centering around Jessica Farris. Jess agrees to participate in a morality psychology study but soon realizes she does not trust the tester, Dr. Shields. Jess becomes paranoid and nervous, as she begins to act in ways that are most certainly not angelic. However, her ideals and beliefs about morality procure her actions that are not so ‘moral’.

I do not believe that this novel is easy to explain, without spoiling a major part of the story. Once we figure out the motivation behind Dr. Shields’s study, we understand a whole new perspective of her. We also learn of a second antagonist. This understanding envelopes the reader into a complicated cycle of confusion, paranoia, and deceit.

Initially, I enjoyed reading this thriller, because it stepped away from other tropes of this genre. However, as I continued on, those tropes I do not enjoy surfaced. I do not often enjoy domestic thrillers, meaning thrillers surrounding a marriage or family.

I enjoyed reading this perspective of Jess, because she has a very honest and genuine sounding ‘voice’ in the story. Her dialogue, her thoughts, and her actions can be questionable, but I have no doubt that they are impossible.

I further implore you to read this. I did not expect the ending. I enjoyed that it was not the typical domestic thriller ending I usually read. I can see that perhaps the climax and resolution might be lacking for some, but this thriller was great, because it was not violent and action-packed.

I received a complimentary reader’s edition for reviewing purposes.

"The French Girl"

“The French Girl”

Written by Lexie Elliot

Review written by Diana Iozzia

Wow, to have found a book that I enjoyed so much more than I thought I would. I had heard about this book for months, but I did not know much about it. After receiving it as a Christmas gift, I found myself very excited to begin it.

“The French Girl” is narrated by the character, Kate. We read a bit about her current friendships and job concerns. She is contacted by an old friend that she had not seen for a few years. Tom tells her that this fateful summer ten years ago resulted in a girl’s death, a girl that they and their other friends had spent time with. Severine was found in a well, with broken bones and signs of a terrible death.

Kate hallucinated seeing Severine, around her apartment, following her around, and accompanying her wherever she goes. We see Kate navigate the investigation, as we slowly suspect her and her friends of killing Severine. There is no clear suspect as we read, but we learn that everyone has a secret motivation and dislike towards the Severine they knew that summer.

This is an incredibly written mystery. We have the cinematic scenes of friends interacting, social parties, meetings, investigations, and intrigue of a great thriller, but we do not feel in danger for the characters. We are absolutely thrown as we slowly figure out, with Kate, who the killer is. When we finally know for sure, we are affirmed, but also confused. There is a bit of an ambiguous ending, because of the burden of proof and evidence.

To say much more in detail of this book would give it away. I highly suggest that if you are looking for a great thriller that sticks in your mind, has a great plot, and is incredibly written, pick up this book. It’s worth every word of hype spoken.