Book Review: “Silent Victim” by Caroline Mitchell

The different perspectives made the narrative shine.

I enjoyed the story. I wasn’t blown away by the plot itself, but I did enjoy the differing perspectives in which the story is told. This is what made this book stand out.

The writing I thought was nice and easy to read, it flowed, and because of the differing voices, the character development was really effective.

The stand out development was from the point of view of Luke. We could really get inside his mind and experience his harrowing plan unfold to devastating effect.

And because the different perspectives were so personal to each character, you didn’t always know who to believe!

As I say, the plot as a standalone isn’t the most original. Saying that, the opening premise of the book is, that hooked me in right away.

Finally, something I didn’t like was a moment where one of the characters has a realisation about an event in the book. The connection they make is almost impossible to make that connection. It made me say, “Oh come on, really!?”

All in all, a good read!

**** (3.8 stars)

Silent Victim Caroline Mitchell - T. J. Blake's book review

Every author wants to read an in-depth review about their book!

If you ask an author what they want to achieve in their writing career, especially a self-published author like me, they might say “to be published and have my book adapted into a TV series or movie“. I would be lying if I denied that this is my long term objective… but we also quite like the idea of entertaining readers and hopefully receive positive feedback on our work.

Weirdly, this is kind of my review of a review… Book review inception!

I’m pleased to say that my novel “DECEPTION: A Love of Lies” has received a fantastic review from a reader. It’s not just any review, it’s a thorough analysis. The reader has taken the time to delve deep into studying the plot, setting and characterisation of ‘DECEPTION‘.

Deception: A Love of Lies by T. J. Blake

It was written to be a suspenseful psychological thriller riddled with clues and dark turns. So I’m very proud to see that this was well received by this reviewer and that they enjoyed the ‘DECEPTION’ experience!

Some key points I loved from the review:

Blake is a seed-planter all right. He knows when and how to drop clues, or hints. When to add to the uneasy feeling these create. When to allow said seeds to burst into sprouting life with the twist you’ve been expecting from the very beginning…

The book keeps on teasing us, building the suspense, adding in odd details until we’re crying out for the Bad Thing we know must happen, to happen. Even though we have no idea what it’s going to be.

“If you like atmosphere, you’ll get it by the bucket load in this book. Ditto if you like a slow build, mounting tension, having questions you just have to know the answers to.”

“For writers, the book is a great lesson in economy of style, internal conflict, and how to write an unreliable first person narrator – where the story we get is different the one in the main character’s head.”

Read the full review from Damien – https://damienseaman.com/2018/10/02/who-says-you-cant-start-a-book-with-the-weather/

Thank you so much for the review Damien if you’re reading this!

Book Review: “Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn

Atmospheric characterisation and narration. *** (3.5)

It’s dark, gritty, and at times, uncomfortable. But that’s what Gillian Flynn creates purposefully and brilliantly through her atmospheric characterisation and narration.

Of course, I wasn’t introduced to Gillian Flynn until I read Gone Girl, which by the way, I loved. It instantly became one of my favourite books. I wanted more from her. This is when I was attracted to Sharp Objects. Her debut novel.

We are introduced to a Camille Preaker, a young journalist trying to make a better life for herself. Her sister Marian died at a young age and Camille has been battling her own demons. Her family is hurting and so is Camille, but she wants to focus on her career. That is until she’s sent back to her hometown to report on the death of a girl in Wind Gap, Missouri, her hometown. Another girl is missing, and this is thought by her boss, Curry, to be a big story told by a local.

This is not a detective mystery where we follow the police. Law enforcement doesn’t exist in this story.

Camille is investigator, reporter and resident. It’s dark, it’s gritty, it’s disturbing, it’s creepy. This is all achieved, in my opinion, from the characterisation.

The story itself is painfully slow. I actually found myself telling my better half repeatedly, ‘nothing has happened’. The last 85% though is where EVERYTHING happens. It came and went as quick as a box of Krispy Kreme donuts!

To conclude, I enjoyed the way the story was told but I thought the book was way too slow.

*** (3.5 stars)

Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn

Holiday Reading – 6 Book Reviews!

I spent 2 weeks chilling in the Lanzarote sun – eating, drinking beer and watching the World Cup. Not only did I gain loads of weight, but I also read a fair few books on my dinky little Kindle.

Without further ado, here are my book reviews of those I read:

Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott: ****

Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott

Olivia is known to the police. But what happens in this will keep you guessing right until the end!

You’re thrown into the mix with someone who is known to Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas. Olivia Brookes has called the police due to her husband and children disappearing.

In an interesting turn of events, the case ends, but commences once again two years down the line in much weirder circumstances. Tom Douglas is put on the case to solve another issue around this family.

I don’t want to reveal any outcomes as I think it’ll ruin your reading experience. You can, however, guarantee a very mysterious read which draws you in, boggles your mind and keeps you guessing.

****

Behind Close Doors by B. A. Paris: *****

Behind Closed Doors B A Paris

I read this on holiday along with 7 other books. This was the best read… proving anything can happen behind closed doors!

Anything could be happening behind closed doors right now – at your neighbours’ home, a place of work or even behind a closed door in your own home!

Behind Closed Doors was an exhilarating experience. It’s cliché to say, but I couldn’t put the book down.

Everything seems pleasant for Grace. She has a handsome and wealthy husband, and an adorable sister. Although all seems great from the outside, we know that something isn’t quite right; we have the intel of her mind and narrative.

Grace and her husband Jack speak fondly of each other. Individually, they are two likeable and strong characters that people desire to be like. So, what’s their secret to happiness? It’s much darker than you think.

Check out this book. Following Grace was a dark, twisted and psychological test!

*****

The Break Down by B. A. Paris: ***

The Break Down B A Paris

After Behind Closed Doors I had high hopes…

After Behind Closed Doors I had high hopes. Sadly, The Break Down didn’t live up to that standard.

Cass is on her way home from a night out. It’s stormy, her husband tells her not to go back through the woods. She does though. On route, she drives by a car. Has it broken down? Someone is sitting inside but they don’t respond to Cass pulling over. So, Cass continues and arrives home safely.

Cass hears the news that someone died in the woods the same night she passed through it. Consumed by guilt that she didn’t get out the car, Cass can’t ignore her guilty conscience. Even worse, she can’t tell anyone that she saw the woman before she died.

And ever since, Cass is being harassed… she receives calls and forgets things, just like her mother did!

It’s full of twists and it’s methodically planned. However, it is slightly far fetched and I was underwhelmed by the end.

***

Survivor by K. R. Griffiths: *** (3.3 stars)

Survivor K R Griffiths

A book which took too long to get going… But once it did, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This horror thriller was a little bit of a weird read for me. The main reason being that, for me, it took way too long to get going. I got to around the half way mark and stopped reading. A couple of days later I picked it up again and loved it.

Although Clive is a dark and twisted killer, I quite liked him – he made me laugh. The author did well to make sure that Clive had both a false and accepted personality combined with his real and dark fantasies (which quickly become a reality). It was great to experience Clive. I began to like Clive most after his clever and witty moves outside the coffee shop!

If I didn’t stop reading this it would be a 4 star, but because I struggled to get into the story from the off, it has to be a 3 star.

***

She Did It by Mel Sherratt: ***

She DId It Mel Sherratt

In the world of business, can you trust anyone?

In the world of business, can you trust anyone? You don’t truly know anyone, even those who you think you have a friendship with.

She Did It offers the view of the two main characters, Esther and Tamara. Tamara hires Esther, little does Tamara know who she has hired.

They both have secrets and there’s no telling what is going to happen between these two very different people.

My criticism being that the plot is quite basic and that it doesn’t hit the highest of heights. From psychological thrillers I expect deeper meaning and especially a personal connection with the main characters.

All in all, a book which made me want to finish but didn’t grip me.

***

The Torment Of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus: *****

The Torment of Rachel Ames Jeff Gunhus

This was tormenting for me let alone Rachel Ames!

A novella which hooks you and ensures sure you read it until the end. It’s dark, it’s creepy and it has a cunning end. I swear there were some parts of this book where I was a bit creeped out and it wasn’t meant to do so. It truly is harrowing.

I was reading this with no idea what was going on. I couldn’t decide on whether this was going to be a horror kind of ending or a dark fantasy ending. It’s a clever story which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rachel isn’t the typical kind of protagonist you might follow in a book, but that’s simply another element to this book which makes it what it is. There is a lot of underlying genres and themes in this book, which you can piece together after the end.

This was tormenting for me let alone Rachel Ames!

*****

 

The last book I started whilst away was Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – I will be publishing my review of this one soon!

Have you written or read a book that you thought was amazing? Recommend it to me!

Book Review: “Secrets and Lies” by Lynda Renham

New home, new village, old secrets… and a haunting spirit?

Flora and Adam McIntosh move to the country. It’s a setting they’re not used to, but they absolutely love it, or at least Adam does. Flora isn’t so keen. She’s torn. She can admire the home’s charming quaintness, but she can’t shake off the feeling of a presence in the home.

The proud villagers are welcoming, but they’re also suffocating. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone knows everyone’s business. Everyone’s doors are open, literally, even if you don’t want them to be.

I did enjoy this book. The premise was great. Wherever Flora was, she wasn’t safe. Nowhere was safe for her. This added a lot of mystery and fear of what was going to happen next. The mix of overfamiliar villagers, secrets, Flora’s inquisitiveness, and a haunting spirit made this story addictive.

There were however a few things about the narrative I didn’t enjoy. Reflection and thoughts. Flora has many of them during the story. They were mostly following the line of questioning of: Is it this? Is it that? Could this happen? Or could this? Maybe this person did this. Maybe that person did that. It was a little much. Let the reader think about these questions, not Flora. Or not Flora as regularly as she does throughout the book.

There was also a twist which I DID NOT see coming. But as I reflect (not as much as Flora) on it, I feel the author cheated a little bit here and there to make this twist impossible to guess, which kind of ruins the fun. A character can’t react a certain way to something and then later in the book it’s revealed that same character already knew about it. Unless I’m misunderstanding the scenes, I would say that’s cheat storytelling. I can’t say too much more without giving away this twist (it’s not the big twist). Hopefully those of you who have read it know what I mean.

Overall, a fair 3 star rating. 4 star for the premise itself, brought down by my little doubts. 

Secrets and Lies by Lynda Renham

Review: “Lost Child: A Gripping Psychological Thriller” by D. S. Butler

You’re safe at a local summer fete. Right?

Having a child snatched from you is unthinkable, especially when that child was under your supervision. It not only affects you, but the entire family. Trauma, guilt, sadness and emptiness rock the Farrows, until there’s a glimmer of hope dangled in front of Beth.

This was a good, easy read. It kept me guessing and I enjoyed the mind games Butler played!

3 stars

Lost Child by D. S. Butler

‘It’s the first time I have encountered using setting observations as characterization.’ – Another 5 star review for Deception

You’re probably asking yourself the question, ‘what exactly can I expect from Deception?’ Well, I can tell you that it’s not your typical thriller novel. I would describe it as an intricately detailed psychological thriller, which will have you following clues and trying to piece the story together; along with trying to understand the behaviour and past of the main character, Billy Allen. 

The latest 5 star review on Amazon and Goodreads, posted by justafarmer4, has given an appreciative nod to the extremely detailed story telling and rare characterisation technique of Deception

This one will keep you wondering from the very beginning.

I don’t often read an entire novel in one sitting, but this one kept me turning pages until 2 a.m.

The story begins with an excruciatingly detailed description of walking in the woods. Extremely, minutely, detailed and I thought, ok, get on with the story already!

Then I realized: this was a most central facet of the main character, Billy. It’s the first time I have encountered using setting observations as characterization. And it’s done brilliantly because Bill’s attention to detailed observation is who he is, how he has let it take over how he views his life, and it is how it ultimately fails him, thus leading to this twisted tragedy.

His “peeping tom” episodes concerned me tremendously, and initially put me off feeling any sympathy whatsoever for Bill, but they were also an important part of the characterization and understanding the hows and whys of his mental state.

His social skills are so depressed that he has difficulty interacting with other people. Fortunately for him, this dreadful inadequacy doesn’t extend to canines. He carries on lengthy discussions with his own dog, who adores him, and he gets on well with other dogs. And the other dogs like him as well, so that was a major point in his favor for me. After all, anyone who really knows dogs understand that dogs are almost infallible when it comes to which humans are trustworthy. Almost always…

Bill isn’t the only “peeping tom”. Other characters made me feel like a ping pong ball as my sympathy for each swung back and forth while they did their own peeking and sneaking around; well, except for one particularly nasty piece of work who enjoyed terrifying everyone else…no sympathy for him, at all, ever. (Boo! Hiss! Hide yer children and dogs from this bully!)

I’ll wrap this up by returning to the topic of excruciating details. The novel is jam-packed with them, which lends extremely well to the constant misdirection. All of the clues are there, hidden in plain sight. Such a cliché for me to say, but it is indeed very close to “not seeing the forest for the trees”.

This has been one of the more difficult reviews for me to write because I’ve tried to avoid including anything remotely resembling a spoiler. Trust me. Any one of the characters could ultimately be revealed as “the one”. I encourage the reader to take up the book and enjoy the ride or, in this case, the walk through the woods.”

This reader has a great reading of Deception,and fully embraced the book for what it stands for. 

Get your copy of Deception either as paperback or on Kindle/eBook now. 

Deception is compared with Gone Girl

Is there a better way to praise a book? I’m extremely pleased to see that my readers are enjoying Deception, with more 4 & 5 star reviews popping up – but a comparison with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is really impressive. 


I enjoyed reading this particular review, the reader has clearly enjoyed getting to know the characters and thoroughly enjoys the ‘Deception’ of the story. You can see their full review on Amazon. 

If you want to read a psychological thriller which will have you looking over your shoulder and questioning your loved one, then Deception is for you! 

Get your copy today on Amazon and Smashwords

Deception Exclusively Free on Story Cartel

Deception: A Love of Lies is exclusively ‘free’ to download on Story Cartel – https://www.storycartel.com/books/deception-a-love-of-lies

You may have heard of the website Story Cartel – it allows readers to download free books online, and authors to receive honest reviews from those readers. With this ideal combination, I am utilising the service of Story Cartel. This means that for just three weeks, my new psychological thriller Deception: A Love of Lies will be free to download, in return for an honest review – this is all I ask.

You can find out more about Deception and Story Cartel by continuing to Deception‘s Story Cartel page.

If the link above does not work, use this one here to download Deception – https://www.storycartel.com/books/deception-a-love-of-lies

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Currently reading ‘Disclaimer’ by Renee Knight

At the moment I’m reading an addictive book called ‘Disclaimer’ by Renee Knight – it’s great. For a long time I’ve been hungry for a book that constantly has me predicting, has me wondering (even when I’m not reading) and more importantly keeps me hooked. If this is what you desire from a book, then get your hands on a copy of Renee Knight’s Disclaimer!
If you’re dying to find out more, than below is the blurb for Disclaimer.

“Imagine if the next thriller you opened was all about you.  When an intriguing novel appears on Catherine’s bedside table, she curls up and begins to read. But as she turns the pages she is horrified to realize she is a key character, a main player. This story will reveal her darkest secret. A secret she thought no one else knew…”

With some great story telling from Knight, the book immediately hooks you in and introduces you to the main character, Catherine, and into her personal life – a lot of stress, a deep secret and of course, the mysterious book.
With so much hunger to discover Catherine’s secret and the identity of the book placer, you just find yourself wrapped up in the book; hungry for answers. I struggle to stop reading Disclaimer at the moment and I’m not far from the end. I cannot wait to finish it hopefully over the weekend!

A great part (for me personally) of reading Disclaimer is that it shares a similar theme and main plot to my own novel ‘The Author‘ – allowing me to see how Renee tells a story using a book as one of the key aspects of the plot.

Writing DECEPTION!
As a side note, I have also been working on my new thriller ‘DECEPTION’ – why am I mentioning this in a post about Disclaimer? Well, because DECEPTION is currently the same size as Disclaimer (367 pages), everyone loves a fun fact!

I’m so close to the end of writing DECEPTION, before I then begin the editing process.