Slap Happy Fun Time

 Mine - Robert R. McCammon                                                                   I've heard a lot about McCammon yet the only experience I've ever really had was with Blue World a short story collection. I can only remember bits and pieces of it and I have tried, and failed to read Swan Song. Mine was picked up on a whim and I thought I was going to read a straight up horror novel but to be fair, it's not, but that's not a bad thing. What we have is a story with multiple threads weaving the plot together while the core focus is on Mary Terror and the baby she's stolen to present to a cult leader. As I read about how easy it was to kindnap the baby it was unsettling and couldn't happen these days. You simply can't go into a hospital wearing a nurses uniform and just snatch someone's kid. There are two st...

The Woman In Our House - Andrew Hart 3/5 stars                                                                           I’ve often said that books like these are a bit like junk food and there’s nothing wrong with that. Junk food is what we all need from time to time and no matter what people say, we all love junk food. The more the better. A Woman In Our House is exactly what I love in a good thriller. It ticks off all the boxes that make a book like this a good, but predictable read and I swear the writers of these must have a checklist tacked up somewhere so they hit all the right spots. The important thing here is the characters. They are the glue that holds these books together, and the plot may be predictable, but it has to connect with the reader somehow. Without the connection, and the cha...

       Bring Me Back - B. A. Paris  2/5 stars                                                               I received an arc of this book from Netgalley       After finishing Bring Me Back I am frustrated and swore way too much at the ending of this book. The problem begins immediately and doesn't really get any better the more you read. There's potential here, a lot of ways to make this novel great, but instead, it plays it safe which is fine if you've never read a suspense thriller before. It's a decent enough read to get you interested in the genre, but for the seasoned fans, there's not a lot here that's new or exciting. Paris is a decent writer, but the plot twists become glaringly obvious and the characters are lifeless cutouts that you merely read about, yet have no interest in. ...

Find You In The Dark - Nathan Ripley 4/5 stars                                                               I  received an advanced copy from Netgalley.              Just from reading the blurb of Find You In The Dark you know right away that you're in for something special. Not only do you have a guy harboring his own secrets, but then, he gets attention from someone who doesn't like his own secrets coming out. It's an interesting premise and one that can only work if the writer is talented enough to make you care about the story. The story here is creepy enough, but when you add in Martin Reese's weird hobby and then The Ragman it becomes even creepier and way more interesting. It's the dark aspects of the story that make it so good. We all have secrets that we would like to ...

      I've read a lot of thrillers before. but this one frustrated me to no end. There's no doubt that  Kaufman is a talented writer, but the novel feels like a bunch of ideas thrown together without any real thought to how it's going to turn out. The plot seems pretty straight forward, but the thing is by the middle of the book you begin to wonder why this is all happening. Sure, we all like plot twists, but this just left me scratching my head wondering how no one saw any of this coming. Let's be honest here and admit that it's kind of clever, but it couldn't really happen. How in the hell didn't anyone see any of this happening? Riley's sister is pretty much useless here, and Riley is pretty sketchy as a lead character which shouldn't really surprise us. It's not the story that frustrated me. it's the ending that left me practically throwing my Kindle across the room.       The truth is, I really liked this book, I did, but Kauf...

The Daughter - Lucy Dawson 5/5 stars                                                                         The Daughter is an interesting book with an interesting premise, but I don't think you can call it straight up a straight up suspense thriller despite there being moments where it does follow the pattern. It's a novel filled with emotion, and decisions that no one should be forced to make especially after losing a child. When you have a book like this it's easy to latch onto a specific theme to hook your readers, and toward the last half of the book we find Dawson switching gears a bit and hit us with an interesting twist. Of course at th...

Keep Her Safe - Richard Jay Parker 5/5 stars       Here's another book I received from Netgalley and I should point out right away that nothing in this book could really happen. None of it, but Keep Her Safe isn't the type of book you gain anything from, and you don't read it to look like an intellectual. I know it sounds like I'm about to tear this book apart, but no, it's just a warning to those who want a book that does something more than entertain you. The plot is simple enough. Woman comes into kill another woman and things escalate pretty quickly. What would you do to protect your child? Turns out these women would do quite a bit because after all, we love our kids and would do anything to protect them.        So, as soon as things pick up you're going to need to suspend your disbelief for the remainder of the novel. Just strap your self in and enjoy the ride because that's what this is. It's a fast moving thriller tha...

     The Doll House - Phoebe Morgan 5/5 stars                                                                       I received a copy of The Doll House in exchange for an honest review       Phoebe Morgan is on hell of a writer. She has a talent here for creating characters that you can relate to even when they become slightly annoying. We know what's happening to Corinne, but no one believes her, and let's be honest, if we were telling people things like this were happening, who'd believe us? Are these the ravings of a woman slowly losing her mind? What's going on with her sister Ashley? Is her husband having an affair? These plot lines add to the underlying tension of the novel, and then you have this creepy third person who appears truly insane. It's clear she and her mom ar...

   Disturbed - Jennifer Jaynes 5/5 stars                                                             I received a copy of Disturbed from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review       You ever read a book that totally blows your mind, and leaves you wondering what the hell you just read? This is one such book. Seriously, Disturbed is the kind of book that dares you to figure out the who and the why, and even gives you some clues. Turns out, none of it matters! This is all about pacing, and creating characters that not only enhance the story, but keep the reader guessing until the very end. What happened to Chelsea that night? Why did she survive? Those are the recurring questions, and Jaynes even gives us a character from the past to enhance the mystery of it all. Disturbed slowly pulls you along slowly ...

Just Another Week In Suburbia - Les Zig 5/5                                                                                                                                       I received a copy of Suburbia from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review        As I sit here trying to figure out my review, all I can say is this is a must read. It's anything but a typical week anywhere, and to think this all started over a condom that fell out a woman's purse. It's the catalyst for everything that suddenly goes wrong in Casper's life. This a meek man who slowly sees his entire life slipping away from him, and there's no way to s...

Dead Certain - Adam Mitzner 5/5 stars                                                          I got this on the Kindle first looks program, and I'm glad I didn't follow any of the reviews of this. If I had, I would've missed out on a pretty decent thriller. There needs to be a disclaimer about Ella, this has nothing at all to do with her double life, and it's only mentioned once in the book and it's a moment that makes no sense, but then later it does. The main thing to remember here, is it's a novel that really fits into the current trend of fiction. There's a dark undercurrent running just below the surface, and what I liked most was just how effective Mitzner was able to keep the momentum of the story going while keeping me guessing as to who was responsible for Charlotte's dissappearance. I love books that are layered with different ...

     The Memory Box - Eva Lasko Natiello 2/5 stars                                                             There are a lot of books on my tablet. Way, way too many and the Memory Box was a book I had stumbled upon, but just never read. It seemed promising, so I began to read it, and then I began to question my judgment. Caroline is sucked into Googling herself, and finds that there are only three hits, but then she Googles her maiden name and that's where the fun begins. Things quickly unravel, and she finds out that she's forgotten some very important parts of her life. These are things no one should forget. I instantly wanted to stop reading because I didn't like Caroline all that much. As a character, she's weak, and boring. It's the way she reacts to things that annoyed the hell out of me. She volunte...

      Chaotic Oddities - John Ledger 5/5 stars                                                                     If you're easily offended you should stop reading this review now. Find something else to read because there isn't anything in this book for you to enjoy. If you have an open mind and enjoy a collection of short stories that are both bizarro, and horror, then you're going to be fine. After reading Oddities I can't help but wonder if Ledger has escaped from a mental institution, or should be locked up in one. This is a writer that clearly has a couple of screws loose, and whatever fuels his imagination should be stopped immediately. Actually, on second thought they should be allowed to roam free so we get more collections like this.      I don't like picking apart short ...

    Don't You Cry - Mary Kubica 5/5                                                                          After reading The Good Girl I became a fan of Kubica. She knows how to tell a tale and packs enough detail suspense to keep your eyeballs glued to the page. Take Don't You Cry which is her second novel I believe, and just from the description alone you get a sense of what to expect. It seems simple enough right? One woman disappears in Chicago, and another appears, but there's something else going on, something that seems easy enough to figure out. Looks can be deceiving, not everything is what it appears to be. What makes the book so unique is that the story is told from two viewpoints. You have Quinn who wakes up to find her roommate suddenly missing, and then you have Alex a guy...

    The Good Girl - Mary Kubica 5/5                                                               When I borrowed this one from the library the librarian told me this was a little bit like Gone Girl, and I couldn't disagree more. Gone Girl burrows into your head kinda like a tapeworm, and refuses to leave, but the Good Girl is a different animal entirely. For a debut, this is quite strong and has the usual likable, and not so likable characters. James for instance, is a cold feeling father that makes the perfect villain. He's a horrible father, and a terrible husband so anytime he enters a scene you can almost hear a few boos and hisses. While the similarities to Gone Girl are no doubt popping up everywhere this one has sort of the same ideals, but Gone Girl is a much better novel and the surprises there are mouth drop...

    Amnesia - Matt Hickman 5/5 stars                                                                           Matt Hickman owes me some sleep. I stayed awake to finish Amnesia and by the time it was all over it was almost three in the morning, and I blame Matt because Amnesia is the sort of novel that allows you to think you know what's going to happen and then you realize that you're wrong and it sucks. No one likes to be wrong especially when you're reading a book and you think you know what's going to happen, but then the author decides to throw in a massive twist. It's a great novel that gives you just a hint of what's to come. The biggest question here is why do these people have amnesia? What's going on that we're not being told. Not only is this a decent plot but you have well dra...

  The Dinner - Herman Koch  5/5 stars                                                                                                                                       Have you ever read a book and then sat and thought about it for a minute trying to decide if you liked it or not? That's exactly what happened after I finished The Dinner. The book itself isn't hard to follow and the message itself is up for interpretation. How it leaves you feeling is where the trouble lies. Is that the mark of a good writer, or is it something else entirely? Koch has written a novel that leaves you exhausted and confused. I wanted to hate the Dinner. I ...