LADYKILLER
Katherine Wood
First half:
Sexy
Sharp writing
Playful
Exotic
Luxurious
Second half:
Stereotypical storyline
For Gia, it’s champagne toasting on an ordinary Tuesday, island hopping, sex on the beach, and staying in daddy’s summer house for the week rent-free and writing to tell all about it.
For Abby, it’s textbooks, torts, and memories that haunt her. Although best friends their lives have never been the same. Gia had everything handed to her that Abby had to work hard for.
Off the cusp of a quick marriage, her father’s death, and the publishing of her first successful book Gia invites Abby to stay with for a time. Abby is at first hesitant but reluctantly agrees. Gia’s first book was a memoir and Gia told it all. Including what happened to both in Greece 12 years ago.
We follow along as old wounds resurface, secrets that were buried deep are unearthed, and rough times from the past look like a walk in the park in Katherine Wood’s LADYKILLER.
Told in part through excerpts from Gia’s sexed-up manuscript. The story starts out hot, but the fire gets extinguished by introducing a stereotypical storyline. It was a little too easy to pick out the bad guy and unfortunately, once I identified them as such the material never deviated from its original course.
LADYKILLER unraveled as it went on. Tying up all the loose ends was an effort and it felt like reading it. It was such a bummer because I enjoyed the first half. I will check out the next book Wood writes if the timing is right.
Thanks to Netgalley, and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Bantam for the advanced copy and the opportunity to provide feedback!
LADYKILLER…⭐⭐⭐
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME
Alex Finlay
Out next week, Alex Finlay’s new thriller has early readers split.
Let’s talk about it!
Known as Dodge to some, Ryan Richardson to others, but Ryan to most. He’s trying to extend himself beyond the shadows of his past. He wants to remember something he has no memory of and forget all the ghosts that haunt him, including most importantly, Allison.
They met in high school, made a fast connection, and seemed fated for each other. One night, Allison and Ryan are making out in the backseat of Allison’s car and the next thing Ryan knows he wakes up alone, Allison is gone, the car is gone, and there are no clues and no suspects, except for him.
The investigation into Allison’s disappearance leads nowhere. Ryan, cleared of all suspicion, tries to start his life over with a new last name, at a new school, with new friends who know nothing of that fateful night, Allison, or any implications that Ryan might be involved.
It’s years later, and another teen girl is missing. A car is found submerged in water and at first, it’s thought to be related to her case. But surprisingly what they discover is that it’s Allison’s car. And her cold case turns hot again as Poppy, new to the job, tries to solve both cases.
Are they connected and if so, how?
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME is in its most basic form a bro thriller. We’re discussing THOT’s not thoughts and the plot revolves around high school heroes, stick shifts, and ransom letters. It lacks contemplation and cohesion, and I imagined his sentences like Tetris blocks. A little clunky and ill-fitted, not exactly in the right place.
On page, it’s a contemporary thriller set in a small town with a well-meaning detective new on the job, and a tricky case to solve. There are revolving perspectives; at first, you’re not sure how everything and everyone is related. Ultimately, it all comes together in the end, but my reading experience was more tepid than hot.
Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books for the advanced copies!
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME…⭐⭐⭐
ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK
Chris Whitaker
When I talk about Chris Whitaker, I want to start at the beginning, but it feels more appropriate if WE BEGIN AT THEN END.
Someone is missing and she’s not the first. She most likely won’t be the last. There is a hunter in their small town, in their presence. And in the hunting, the hunters become the prey. But that’s just the story’s beginning and I promised to start at the end.
Patch is a hard boy to forget and over the span of decades turns into a man most will wish they never met. But his story is long, and to understand his trajectory we must start at the beginning. At the end he will be forgiven, but his actions will not be forgotten.
ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK is a mystery, a thriller, a crime drama that spans states and decades. But in the end, ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK is a love story.
When the plane took off when the shades were drawn, when it got quiet, and when the lights were low, I went into the dark with Chris Whitaker. And when the plane landed, and I got to the end all I could see were ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK.
Reading over 600 pages in one sitting is not something I normally do but then again, I don’t normally get the pleasure of reading a Chris Whitaker novel. I was on an exceptionally long flight, and I needed an exceptional book to pull me through. ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK was just that.
ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK is not about who you should be, not who you pretend to be, not even who you aspire to be. It’s about who you are. When it matters, when it counts.
With crushing language, a superior grasp of what the English language can do, authentic characters, and a storyline that rivals only his last work, ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK provided an exceptional reading experience and I highly recommend it.
If I could give it ten stars I would!
Thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing | Crown for the advanced copy! It was a pleasure!
ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK…⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
