A short and not-so-sweet treat
from one of my favourite writers, The Grownup from Gone Girl author Gillian
Flynn was one of my Halloween reads this year, and for scary thrills, rollercoaster
twists and a spine-chilling ending that left me craving more, it certainly didn’t
disappoint.
As with all of Flynn’s
protagonists, the unnamed narrator of The Grownup is written in shades of grey.
This one is an opportunist who uses skills honed during an underprivileged
childhood to make her way in life by whatever means possible. She’s
working in a shady establishment as a faux-psychic reader of auras when she
meets a troubled woman by the name of Susan Burke. Susan is at her wits end: she lives in a
creepy – and possibly possessed –Victorian house where she’s being tormented by
a definitely disturbed child. It soon becomes clear
that our girl may have bitten off more than she can chew.
This is Gillian Flynn, so you
have to remember that nothing is as it first appears –and everything is dark
and twisted to the extreme. This one kept me guessing, for sure. The ending is
abrupt – and I definitely wished that this was a novel instead of the very
concise short story that it is. Still, it was a spooky read, perfect for
Halloween, and it’s made me even more excited for Flynn’s next as-yet-untitled
novel, whatever that may be.
Four Stars.
Published November 5th 2015 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Purchased.
*****
From one creepy old house to
another in gothic-toned Sweet Damage by Rebecca James. I picked some pretty
good Halloween reads this year, I have to say: This one, The Grownup and Daughters
Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics were the books on my Halloween reading list, and
each one was a hit.
Laidback surfer Tim likes to
coast through life with nothing too taxing on his mind, so much so that instead
of finding his own place he’s been sleeping on his ex-girlfriends couch for the
past while. That’s all getting a bit awkward, as these things tend to, so when
Tim happens on a cheap room for rent in an amazing house in an exclusive Sydney
suburb, he goes for it. It all seems almost too good to be true – but the only catch seems to
be that Tim will have to help out the owner of the house, the mysterious Anna
London, with groceries and such. Anna
never ever leaves the house, which might set off alarm bells for some people,
but not Tim.
Soon, though, creepy things start
happening in the house at night – and everything leads back to Anna. Could it
be that this sweet, fragile girl is the cause of Tim’s unrest? Or is there something
far more sinister – and more ghostly – at play?
A riveting read from the author
of Beautiful Malice, this one is a true page-turner with some really great
twists!
Four Stars.
Published April 1st 2013 by Allen & Unwin.
Purchased.
*****
Best friends Josephine and Freya rule
the roost at their exclusive boarding school where excelling academically means
everything. They are the girls with whom everybody wants to be friends, but
they keep their distance, a clique of two that can’t be penetrated by outside
forces. Jo and Freya share everything – until one night- after which things are
never the same between them again. Eighteen years on, after years of no contact,
Freya gets in touch. She wants to talk to Josephine. Josephine, however, is
determined to avoid her old friend by whatever means possible. The last thing
she wants to do is revisit the past – no matter how insistent Freya might be on
her doing just that.
The Exclusives is an absorbing
debut from Rebecca Thornton with a slowly unfolding mystery that will keep you
guessing throughout. Thornton explores
the theme of mental illness via Josephine and her mother, and to that effect I
was hoping for a bigger twist than this tale turns out to be. However, the
story of Jo and Freya and how their live spiral out of control after one fateful
night is as dark as it is compelling, and I remained invested in the story
throughout.
If you love books about boarding
schools and toxic friendships, then check out The Exclusives – it may just be
the book you’ve been waiting for.
3.5 Stars
Published December 10 2015 by Twenty7 Books.
Received for review | Netgalley.
*****
A found-footage movie in novel
form, Dawn Kurtagich’s The Dead House explores an unsolved mystery via the
discovery of a diary twenty-five years after a fire in which a school burned
down, three people were killed, and one girl, Carly Johnson, disappeared. The
diary of the piece belongs to Carly’s twin, Kaitlyn. The catch: Carly doesn’t
have a twin. Kaitlyn Johnson doesn’t exist. Instead, we come to learn that
Carly and Kaitlyn are two girls with one soul – Carly get the day, while
Kaitlyn gets the night…
The Dead House was one of my most-anticipated
reads of 2015. A mystery that is described as part psychological thriller, part
urban legend, I was sure that this book would be perfect for me. I was wrong.
Hey, sometimes that’s the way it goes. I think, in part, The Dead House didn’t
work for me due to its non-traditional format. This book is presented as a
series of diary entries, videos, interviews and transcripts. The book
constantly flips between formats, culminating in a book that is both frenzied
and incoherent, with a series of underdeveloped plot-points throughout and an ambiguous
ending that did nothing for my reading experience.
For me The Dead House was a case of great idea, not so great
execution.
Note: I read an early ARC of The Dead House. Some details may have changed in the final copy.
Three Stars.
Published August 6th 2015 by Orion Children's Books.
Received for review.
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