Be Careful of Who You Invite Into Your Home

Title: I Invited Her In
Author: Adele Parks
Genre: Thriller
Source: Kindle eBook
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars


Out of no where Mel received an email for her old college friend, Abi.  Abi is in trouble and needs Mel's help, a place to stay.  Despite not speaking in over 15 years, Mel invites Abi to stay with her family "for as long as she needs. Mel is overcome with nostalgia and loves having her past come back to her.  But not everything is as it seems as Abi begins seeing a new mystery man.  All of Mel's secrets come out and Abi seeks revenge.

I have to say this book was a HUGE disappointment.  As I kept reading, I kept hoping it would get better, but it didn't.  I guessed everything fairly early so all the big reveals were not all too surprising.  This book honestly made me mad because it was almost laughable at times.


I did not like any of the characters.  I felt they were all annoying especially Mel.  She let her old friend basically rule over her life and take over, to the point of excessive drinking and dare I say neglecting her children.  Her family walked on egg shells to make sure she was comfortable even so far as letting her use the master suite.  It was all just a bit unbelievable for me.  This was supposed to be a thriller, but there was nothing thrilling about it.  It sounded so promising, but it fell super super flat.  There was absolutely zero edge, zero suspense that made me want to keep reading.


The story dragged on and I kept reading hoping it would get better, NOPE.  The characters are too cliched, the plot too predictable.  There was nothing that really kept me interested in this other than to see if the story would pick up.  I should have DNF'd it, but I wanted to persevere through it.  I almost wish I did DNF and moved on to a better book.


I would not exactly recommend this book outright, but if you enjoy a slow paced, predictable novel, then give it a shot but if you want something very suspenseful then move on and pick something else up.

Exciting Conclusion to the Foruth Monkey Killer Trilogy

Title: The Sixth Wicked Child
Author: J.D Barker
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Source: Paperback
Rating: 4 out of 5 paws


The words "Father, forgive me"  could have a multitude of meanings.  For Detective Sam Porter, they conjure memories of a past long buried and forgotten.  For Anson Bishop, they connect his childhood to his present as he reveals the truth that has been hidden for decades.  Written on near each new victim, the words connect multiple victims to the Fourth Monkey Killer.  Though the bodies are found in miles apart, in Chicago and South Carolina, clearly they are somehow connected.  Now Chicago Metro and the FBI are fighting through a cloud of chaos as they try to track down not only a killer, but a rogue officer and struggle to find a solution to potential mass pandemic.  When Anson Bishop, suspect in the 4MK murders he reveals a story that is not only unexpected but couldn't possibly be true...could it?  Finally the Fourth Monkey Killer's motive is revealed and the case is finally put to rest.

What a conclusion to a fast paced trilogy!  I have enjoyed this series from the very beginning with Fourth Monkey Killer and Fifth to Die, and now Barker keeps the suspense and breakneck pace with this chilling conclusion. There is so much going on throughout the novel, that it doesn't seem like much focus is on the bodies, especially after Anson turns himself in.  The novel is lengthy coming in at about 624 pages, there is a lot of action and suspense throughout the story.  While it does take a few chapters to pick up the pace, once it does; readers are in for a wild ride through Anson's past to discover the motive to the murders.


Characters are all likable, even ones that get introduced in this novel, and the antagonist.  You cannot help but like and wonder if Anson could really be the Fourth Monkey Killer or not.  He is very compelling in his case that he isn't the killer.  I liked getting the different viewpoints, and we get a few more than we have in the other books.  While they may seem like too much to some readers, it is needed to grasp the full story.  There are so many unexpected twists and turns that each viewpoint reveals that you don't want to miss something.


Porter I liked from the beginning, and while it started to look like he was either mad, or a part of the crimes, I was rooting for him the whole time.  He is intelligent and knows his suspect inside and out which could at times make things more difficult for him.


Anson Bishop is the perfect antagonist to Sam Porter.  He is cunning, smart, and resourceful.  He knows what he has at his disposal and uses it to his fullest advantage.  The diary entries were a geat addition to the story to give us not only clues, and backstory but an insight to a crazed mind.  You almost want him to NOT be the killer.


This is a trilogy that I would highly recommend to anyone.  Barker has done a phenomenal job at creating a story that is unique and stands our from the other novels in the genre.  I cannot wait for the movie/tv series that are in the works.

Literarycat Review: Death Is In The Details by Heather Sunseri

Title: Death is in the Details
Authors: Heather Sunseri
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Source: Kindle eBook
Rating: 3 out of 5 Paws

Faith is a forensic photographer who is haunted by vivid memories of the night her mother and step father were murdered.  Twelve years later a string of fires are eerily similar to the one that took their lives.  Oddly enough the fires seem to correspond with the release of Faith's stepbrother from prison.  Ethan was convicted of setting the fire that killed his father and Faith's mother, but new evidence proved his innocence.  So who set the fire all those years ago and why are they trying to frame Ethan now?  FBI agent Luke Justice will not rest until he catches the serial killer who uses arson to mask his murders. What does he do when the evidence points to someone close to Faith, a woman he is growing fond of?  Can Faith and Luke find the truth behind it all before the flames eat them alive?

I keep going back and forth on what I think about this book.  There are moments when I like and other moments when I felt like it isn't a book for me. It progressed rather slowly for me and took a while for any of the action or clues to really make an impact on the feel of the novel.  I didn't feel attached to any of the characters, though the idea of Faith having a condition that makes her recall every moment that has happened to her with vivid clarity, as if it is happening at that moment.  For a good chunk of the book it wasn't as suspenseful or thrilling as I would have expected it to be, and I figured out the killer fairly early on in the novel.

I did like the motive behind the the murders.  There were some things that still didn't make sense when I finished the novel; things that were never truly explained with the big reveal.  The romantic part was unrealistic and was not needed.  Thriller/suspense novels do not need a romantic interest for them to be engaging and this was definitely a novel that would have been better without it.  It didn't feel like it added anything relevant to the story.  The main character solves everything by turning to alcohol and making really bad choices.  I simply could not connect with her as I absolutely hated her and Luke.  Luke just quickly gets into bed with her and just barely does anything to keep her safe and seems a little caustic as well.  He's a little too protective for only knowing her a short time, ready to fight for her after what a week?

Sunseri has a writing style that I could get into, but sadly it was the drull and boring story and very unlikable characters that made the novel feel like it was lacking something.  I am not sure if I would read anything else from her.

The Liar's Girl

Title: The Liar's Girl
Author: Catherine Ryan Howard
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Source: Kindle Ebook
Rating: 3.5 out of 5




A young woman's body has been found in the Grand Canal in Dublin.  The body is that of a female student at St. John's College.  The local Garda detectives believe it is the work of a copycat of the Canal Killer, 10 years ago, so the visit the original serial killer.  He tells them he will talk, but only to his ex-girlfriend Alison.  Alison thought she left all of this behind her when she moved to the Netherlands, but once the Garda show up on her doorstep, she knows she needs to help.  Alison and Detective Malone work together to put the pieces together to stop the current killings and possibly free an innocent man.  Alison is forced to relive her past and face the demons she has been hiding from.

I am not sure what made me pick up this novel.  It spoke to me for some reason. Once I started reading it, I could not stop.  I couldn't get enough of them.  I felt as if I had known the characters personally and wanted to wrap my arms around Alison.  It is a clever use of today's technology and the dangers associated with sites like Facebook or twitter.  It really stands out form other novels in this genre, and is a fast paced read.  If you love thrillers, you would definitely love this one as well.


The premise is appealing to me, lately I have gotten into thriller/mystery novels a lot.  While it really stands out from others, it doesn't seem to compare with some of the other novels I have read.  Catharine Ryan Howard is a phenomenal story-teller.  She knows just how to grasp her readers and hold them hostage until the very end.  She gets into her readers minds and sets up camp, but I almost feel like more could have been done.  Some aspects were almost too predictable and a few things that drew away from the enjoyment factor of this novel.  One of which being that the murderer wasn't fully fleshed out.  His motive of teach women a certain lesson didn't seem all too plausible because how would they know that that was his motive.


While the book is a page-turner and held my attention  until the very end I still was wondering on a few things, like if Alison was careful to not post on the web and kept herself secret, how did the Garda find her in the first place?  The cops seems a little inept at their jobs and were more interested in flirting with Alison (at least Malone was), they didn't contribute anything to the case other than what Alison provided them.  She was a better detective than the actual detectives.  One thing I did enjoy was that there was nothing gory or sexual.  It was a clean mystery which I highly enjoyed.


Overall it was a good novel, I enjoyed the story and felt like I was helping to piece together the puzzle.  I would recommend it if you enjoy this genre.

Silent Child

Title: Silent Child

Author: Sarah Denzil

Genre: Thriller, Suspense

Source: Ebook: Amazon

Rating 5 out of 5 paws

Summer of 2006 torrential rain caused the river to flood.  School called and notified parents to come get their children before the flood got worse.  Once Emma got to the school she discovered the unbelievable.  Her son was not there, her son had slipped away from the class and no one knew where he was.  Amid the search efforts, Emma stood by and watched as her son's red coat was fished from the river. Young Aiden was declared dead, drowned in the river flood, despite no body being found.  Ten years have gone by and Emma has learned how to move past her grief, she is married again and about to give birth to a baby girl.  But then....Aiden is found wondering out of the woods.  Unable to speak, his body shows signs of abuse, and neglect.  The truth is revealed, he never drowned but was taken.  But who would take a helpless young body?  Emma does everything she can to reconnect with Aiden and encourage him to talk, but he remains at a distance.  What will it take for Emma to get Aiden to talk?  Who took her son?  Who has been lying to her all these years?

 Reading the synopsis of this book draw me into it. It sounded interesting and the cover gives it the air of being incredibly creepy and chilling.  And it was.  It is sometimes rare to find a book that completely draws you into the story without even beginning the story yet.  I couldn't wait to begin reading this one, and boy am I glad I did.  I couldn't put it down, and needed to know what happened next.  It is one of those books that I have to recommend to others and it shot right to the top of favorite books of the year so far.

It all began with a flood, in a single moment everything changed for Emma.  She didn't know how she could survive with the loss of her soon, and then her parents soon after.  In her darkest moment, she meets Jake who seems to put her back together again like she was Humpty Dumpty.  He was there when no one else was.  But is he the man he claims he is?  Rob, her ex, Aiden's father abandoned her in her time of need.  Too consumed by his own grief.  Now that Aiden is back, so is he.  And he seems to have changed, but did he really?  Emma finds herself looking at everyone around her differently, wondering who knew what happened to Aiden, a boy who was too traumatized to tell her what happened all those years ago.

There is so much in this book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, anticipating what will happened next.  Just when you think you have everything figured out, something will happen that will change everything you thought you knew.  You have a character who doesn't speak, but he says so much through his actions and reactions to certain situations. There is so much depth to this one character than he seems to overshadow some of the others.  There are a few things that didn't fully get answered like why Aiden remained silent, but then again why are kids who are traumatized silent?  I do wish we went more into the psychology of it, but still enjoyed the read and that aspect of the novel.

One aspect is rather predictable, but not in a way that you would think which is what threw me for a loop.  I didn't think the people it ended up being were possible suspects despite clues that I didn't realize were clues.  Emma had a LOT of inner dialogue which got tedious for a bit, but doesn't fully take away from the story.  I can see why the author did it this way, I would have almost liked some more from Aiden other than the one chapter we get towards the end. Like maybe something with him battle with himself at telling Emma everything as opposed to remaining quiet.

Don't be surprised when you read this book in one sitting.  I read it in two, only because I needed to go to bed despite not wanting to.  It may have been a little longer than it should have been, but that's okay.  If you can get past the length (417 pages) you would enjoy it.  Especially if you like thrillers, or suspense.  The material may seem dark, but the author tackles it in a tasteful way that isn't too difficult to read.

Dead Girls

Title: Dead Girls
Author: Graeme Cameron
Genre: Mystery
Source: Netgalley ebook
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws


Two months have past since detective Alisha Green was left for dead by a serial killer.  Her mind no longer feels like it is her own.  While the killer thinks she is just another dead girl on his list, Ali is determined to show him that he did not destroy her.  But now she not only has to fight with the man who attempted to kill her, but she also has to fend off her failing memory. As new evidence arises, everything seems to be compromised now and Ali begins to question herself and her memory.  She must force herself to remember the horrors she went through in order to catch this killer.

 **As mentioned earlier, I received a copy of this book for an honest review from Netgalley and the Publishers**


Everything about this book promotes and screams chilling tale.  Gripping and suspenseful, the cover art is what originally drew me into the story and made me want to read it to see what will happen within this tale.  When I read the synopsis, I thought it would be a book right up my alley lately, but it seemed to fall a little flat for me.  I am not 100% sure why it seemed to fall flat for me but unfortunately it did.  I wasn't able to get into it as much as I had hoped I would.


The book starts out fast, right into the action.  Normally this is a good thing, but I didn't feel like I was able to get to know the character well enough before being thrown into the mix of things.  I like a little bit of complexity of my characters before we are thrown into the story without fully knowing her background.  It gives the feel of not having enough time to know everything or everyone that is related to the story.  This makes it harder to really get engrossed in the story, because sometimes readers will have to go back a few pages just to be able to understand what is happening.


After a while characters began to run together and I lost track of who was who, I struggled to understand what was happening in the story, and I felt so disconnected from the story.  I like a story that compels me to read more, one with depth to the characters.  I expected more from Ali, more depth as she struggled with her self and what was real or imagined.  It felt disorganized and choppy as it jumped from one scene to another without much of a smooth transition.


While it felt well written the novel just fell short of my expectations.  There is too much going on and too many characters in the story to keep my interest going beyond wanting to finish the book. While I may not have been a fan other mystery/thriller/suspense fans might enjoy this novel.