Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Rabu, 26 April 2017

Penguin | December 2016 | 368 pgs

Source: Library

14th November, 1980. Annie Doyle is murdered while she is out discussing a deal with Andew Fitzsimons, a High Court judge who would do anything to please his wife, Lydia. Annie's body is quickly buried in their garden, after all nowhere else is safer than your own property, isn't it? Avalon is their luxurious house and no one has access without their permission, especially when the Fitzsimons' reputation is concerned. Avalon is an old estate which has passed on by Lydia's father and her grandfather, and Lydia would hang onto it fiercely no matter whatever the circumstances is. Little does they know that their only teenage son, Laurence, got home early on that fateful night and has questions about their lies.

Karen Doyle isn't convinced that her sister, Annie is dead and is adamant of finding her on her own. The investigations have long been ceased after there wasn't any lead on the case and with Annie's notorious behaviour of a wild loose girl, everyone believes she might have flee her Dublin home and move in some other places with a new identity. Karen thinks otherwise; she knew her sister plus there isn't anything missing from her rented place. The years go by and some circumstances led Laurence and Karen befriended each other. And what happened in the past would begin to unravel slowly and by then the wheels of motion has been set and it is not stopping until another tragedy strikes.

Told from three persons' POV, Lying in Wait was an absorbing read about an unplanned murder go haywire. While this story doesn't have a cast of unreliable narrators, many of them are not particularly likeable. This whydunit kind of suspense has a strong sense of foreboding and intrigue that made this an unputdownable book. As the story progresses, readers will get to know more about these three narrators and their history, and what they would do to protect the person they loved. The ending would absolutely chill you and set you thinking at the same time.

� 2017 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Little Black Lies by Sandra Block

Rabu, 19 April 2017

Grand Central Publishing | February 2015 | 352 pgs

Source: Library

This first novel by Sandra Block is a story about Freudian nightmare and the dark side of memories, family and the strain and bond that connect us all, as well as the discovery of one's own empathy. 

Dr. Zoe Goldman is a resident in training in a psychiatric ward in Buffalo, New York. Aside from tending to troubled patients, she is intrigued by a new patient who murdered her mother. While Sofia's case is disturbing, Zoe on the other end has her own baggage; she was adopted and she wants to know why and how her biological mother passed, especially she has been plagued by nightmares of a fire during her childhood. To complicate matters, her adoptive mother loses her memory to dementia and she has to rely on her own to search for the answers. 

Of course we all know that the truth might not be pleasant and what we know might hurt us; so ultimately Zoe would find out the truth surrounding her past and well, what a surprise it was. 

I read Little Black Lies with no idea where this story would take me so I enjoyed that moment of having the story unveiling itself to me. Zoe was an interesting character with some emotional baggage. Overall, the story was intriguing but I thought there's still room for improvement concerning the characters' development. That being said, Little Black Lies was an intriguing read and I am curious where the author would take us in her next Zoe Goldman series, The Girl Without a Name. 

� 2017 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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This Is Not Over by Holly Brown

Minggu, 02 April 2017

HarperCollins Publishers | January 2017 | 400 pgs

Source: Library

It all started with the stained sheets. Dawn and her husband, Rob, had rented a vacation house by the beach for four days and when Dawn later found out that she would lose $200 of the deposit due to the stained sheets, she lost her cool. Miranda, the host, thinks otherwise and thought Dawn has agreed to the terms since she has not heard from her. From there, they started firing each other with accusing emails and texts, calling each other names and proceeds to stalk each other's life online.

But behind these battles hide a bigger fa�ade as Dawn and Miranda each has their family history and secrets to hide from their spouse respectively. For Dawn, she came from a family who offered her minimal love and attention and her teenage life was a mess; hooking up with boys and such until she met her current husband, Rob. Rob didn't know about her past and Dawn sees her marriage as a new start, until she sees Miranda as a threat and she feels she needs to resurrect the old Dawn as she was.

Miranda, on the other end, is a doctor's wife and though her financial status is far better off than Dawn, she relies on the rental income so that she could continue to send money to her 27-year-old son, Thad. Miranda knew Thad is still using drugs on and off and that he also requires money for his art works but she is not willing to cut him off completely the way her husband, Larry, did. Thus, she views Dawn as a threat after the latter has left several nasty and negative reviews on websites and defame her reputation as a trusted host.

As these two different women are set to ruin each other's life, what they didn't realise is their behaviours and the deeds they have done are spiralling out of control and in no time their secrets would be laid bare and would shatter everything they have built all this time. This Is Not Over is a refreshing multi-layered tale about a mundane domestic disagreement which has gone haywire and though what Dawn and Miranda did to each other are way overboard, in some ways some of their behaviours are relatable as at times we will encounter some frustrating or annoying matters and people and whether or not we would let things slide or keep them to heart and make ourselves miserable. Dawn and Miranda aren't likeable characters, that's for sure but they are unforgettable and their stories will remind us about causes and consequences.

� 2017 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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