Nowhere
Allison Gunn
I can take you to heaven, but I’ll have to kill you first.
This book will hit different for different people. It reminds me of when I got really into Labrinth songs. All I hear is the music and all I see are the videos I’ve seen filmed to it. It’s not a matter of the material being different, its the experience that goes along with it that changes everything.
If you have religious trauma, if you have sexual orientation trauma, if you have an addiction that brought out the very bad parts of yourself that you wish never existed, if you’ve ever knelt on a kneeler literally or figuratively, this will hit different.
Rachel is the chief of a small Appalachian town, somewhere in the middle of NOWHERE. She is queer which she has always known but that she and her husband are just recently figuring out. He is a writer and is known around town for an article he wrote about the devastating ineptitudes of the town inhabitants. The article didn’t go over well with them and it is part of what makes Rachel’s difficult job, tenuous.
Rachel is called to the scene of a murder and I’ll spare you the horrifying details. It left an imprint in my mind I still have not ironed out. On the scene she hears a song, lightly but distinctly and the more we hear about it the less we want to.
The Karma they have, their children pay for. The only way to really hurt them is through them. The only way to learn the lesson is to watch it play out in the ones you love. Because the perspective is different, it hits harder and sticks longer.
This book is described as a a mix between THE OUTSIDER and TRUE DETECTIVE. It does remind me of season one. It is the interesection where heaven and hell meet, where the Devil preys and God prays.
I cannot wait to see and adaptation of this which I’m sure is coming.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the advanced copies!
NOWHERE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Outsider (2020) Series Horror Thriller
True Detective Season One (2014) Horror Thriller
The Coffee that gets me through each book:
Tarrazzu Costa Rican Blend
YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED
Ande Pliego
A group of thriller authors are invited to a writers retreat by someone known as J.R Alastor. Every author has their own theory of who Alostor is and why they were each invited.
One of them in particular has motives of their own and before the sun sets one of the invitees ends up dead.
Who is the murderer and who is responsible? It may not be the same person and it is certainly is not who you think.
This is my first experience with Pliego and I would happily revisit. It wasn’t a perfect book for me but there was enough there that I believe revisiting their backlist would be beneficial.
For the most part I enjoyed my reading experience. However, I felt like things were being explained to me and that was a big turnoff. It was as if the writing without the over explanation wouldn’t make sense.
There were a lot of bookish references and movie tie ins that made it interesting to me.
I believe if the author had left a little unsaid it would’ve shortened the material to a more succinct length and it would’ve been a more enjoyable read.
Ultimately, I found the dinner party mysteries to be a lot of fun. And trying to guess at who the bad guy was, was even more so.
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Bantam for the advanced copy!
YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED…⭐️⭐️⭐️
LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER
Neena Viel
Viel is my new favorite author, talk me out of it!
What parts of us step out when we step into the role of someone else and where do all of those fractured versions of our selves go?
I can’t be me and you at the same time. And I will win every time.
Calla is tired. And you would be too. She is now guardian to her younger brother after being persuaded to by her older brother. It was the best and only thing she could do at the time. But her brother is causing trouble and has made it harder on her than he should.
And she has her own life to handle, which unfortunately has taken a backseat with her brother at the wheel.
Now her brother is in trouble and they have to flee the city. Try as she must Calla just can’t seem to meet every one of her needs with her one and only self.
And all those other selves end up being absolute nightmares.
I loved every part of this bumpy ride. It was not only entertaining from start to finish but there was a HUGE nugget of commentary right in the middle. You can read it at either level or take them both on as I did. Either way it is an ensured good time.
I gave it five stars. I recommend it to readers who like to talk about the reality of our nightmares. Who like to know more about why we do the things we do even though we know it’s bad. And all of the things we do in the name of good that end up doing us harm.
What a great debut!
Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin for the advanced copies!
LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
