Mystery Novel – Page 2

Publish Date: July 26th 2018
Number of Pages: 290 Pages
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre(s): Mystery

Total Star Rating: 2.75 Stars

While it’s nothing exactly new to the Mystery/Thriller genre, this book is still an entertaining addition that I think a lot of readers can enjoy. I’d say it’s become a bit of a mystery trope for a small cast of strangers to come together, and for someone to begin to murder them one by one (The Agatha Christie trope perhaps?). Figuring out the secrets of all the characters, along with their motives if they were to be exposed as the killer is something that I consider so much fun about mysteries; it’s amazing to see how it still works even all these years later, even when Agatha Christie’s work was first published in 1920. You guys…that’s almost a an entire century as I type this, so I find that absolutely amazing!

What It’s About:

The story takes place entirely at a small, beautiful, remote hotel in the middle of the woods in upstate New York. Cell Service is limited, and there’s no wifi, its the perfect place for people to go to literally escape the hustle and bustle of their lives, relax, and truly enjoy themselves. It’s the middle of an incredibly cold and dreary winter, and a deadly blizzard just over the horizon as 11 guests all converge there for the weekend, not knowing the horror they are about to experience…

The blizzard hits and the power goes out with absolutely no way to contact anyone for help, so all the guests bunker in and expect to patiently wait it out. People had all arrived for different reasons: to escape, to have their own writing retreat, a romantic couples weekend; everyone just wanted to enjoy the soothing, rustic experience that the hotel usually offers.

When the first body shows up at the foot of the grand staircase, everyone assumes its an accident, well, almost everyone. When the second body appears later that afternoon, panic begins to set in, but then a third body shows up and all hell breaks loose. Someone there is slowly killing the guests trapped in the hotel one-by-one, and it’s either someone who’s snuck in, or it’s possibly one of them, but who? They’ll need to band together and find out before the storm wears off and they’re all dead by the end of the weekend…

What I Liked:

Homage to the Queen of Mystery! This book is a classic “whodunnit” style murder mystery, and felt very much like an Agatha Christie novel. The Original Queen of Mystery always wrote her mysteries in a similar fashion; bring a cast of characters together, have them become isolated from the outside world somehow, let them all have dirty secrets that they don’t want exposed, and let one of them be a murderer, and keep the mystery short.
The Buildup! The suspense steadily and purposefully rose in excellent fashion as the story developed. I love a good “whodunnit” style mystery, and it’s always so much fun to try and figure out who the killer is, and try to decipher any clues you might think pop up that the author reveals. I’d say the story is also character driven, and the paranoia and unrest that escalates the suspense was done so well, your curiosity will get the best of you!
The Little Surprise Included in the Ending! Not to give much away, but it’s something that the author had hinted at several times in the book, and I found the whole thing amusing, as amusing as a fictional murder twist can get.

What I Didn’t Like:

Lack of Details…For me, this is specifically for the characters. There’s such little descriptions of them and what they look like, I found myself frustrated with trying to remember all of them and what they may appear as with so little given for me to work with. I’m a face person, not a name person!
Disappointed in the Climax…The buildup was actually impressively done, but then you get to the climax, the killer is revealed…and I found myself put out by it. I was a little disappointed, plus the reveal was something no one could have figured out because the author didn’t give any of the information to help you figure it out until afterwards. I get that some mystery authors do that on purpose, Agatha did it too, but this one just really fell flat for me. I wished the author maybe thought of something a little more clever about how to tie it all together.

Conclusion:

A fun, thrilling, quick mystery for anyone to enjoy; it’s not too graphic or gory detailed, and the characters become an interesting bunch. The buildup is probably what was done best, and you yourself start to feel the paranoia at how little is revealed until it is almost too late. Personally, I was very disappointed in the ending and found it underwhelming compared to the rest of the book, but that’s just me. Perfect for fans looking for an Agatha Christie-esque mystery; this books is fun, modern, but not nearly as impressive of a take on the style that made the OG Queen of Mystery so iconic.

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Horror, LGBT, YA Fantasy

My Review: Sawkill Girls: by Claire Legrand

July 25, 2019October 17, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

Release Date: October 2nd 2018
Number of Pages: 450
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre(s): Young Adult (YA), LGBTQ, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror

Total Star Rating: 3 Stars

One of the worst things of being an avid reader is that it ruins a lot of other books for you. You’ve read so many amazing stories with rich, complex worlds and memorable characters that you followed with along their journey, and seeing anything that either feels like a copy of that or isn’t possibly up to the same standard as that last book that made you fall in love with reading just falls flat in your mind…

This title was recommended to me by a friend, and we’ve read a lot of the same titles and enjoyed them for the most part, so of course I snagged a copy of this when it arrived into the bookstore one day. I had high hopes that I’d found something spooky that would keep me up late into the night and make me jump at every shadow that I thought even slightly moved, but this one just didn’t do quite that.

It’s by no means a bad book at all; any book that has any sort of fanbase with those that are able to explain what they liked about it can be considered a great book to read. Certain writers, of course, are better than others, but thats another topic to get into some other time. The point I’m trying to make from earlier is that I didn’t connect with the book as much as I’d hoped.

Everything about it led me to believe that it would have everything necessary for me to absolutely love it: the beautiful cover design, the exciting blurb, and the personal recommendation from my friend. Unfortunately, for myself at least, it just wasn’t fully able to live up the hype.

What It’s About:

Marion Althouse moves to Sawkill Rock with her mother and older sister, Charlotte, as a way for them to hopefully move on in life after the unexpected death of her father. Sawkill Rock is an island town off the East coast (I believe), and the very day she steps foot on the island, Marion discovers that beneath the seemingly perfect, pristine town hides a deep, dark, terrible secret that goes centuries back into the past, a malevolent presence thats infiltrated the land from its wide trees to the stones and decay. Any sort of hope that Marion had for her and her family is swiftly taken away through the night when Charlotte goes missing, just like the others…

Zoey Harlow, the police chief’s daughter, is continuously haunted by the sudden disappearance of her best friend, Thora, that happened a year ago. Determined to find out what happened exactly happened, she makes the startling discovery that there have been disappearances of girls from the island for many years, and somehow it’s overlooked and covered to the point that hardly any of the townsfolk seem to notice. Somethings not right, and Zoey starts to suspect the elite Mortimer family who may know something, or even be involved…

Val Mortimer has been brought up in wealth and privilege with the generations of women in her family, but beneath the luminescent pearl necklace, the flawless hair, sharp smiles and the spotless, silky exterior hides a secret that they’ve kept hidden that could not only threaten their welfare, but the fate of everyone should it escape…

Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep. He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.”
– Claire Legrand, “Sawkill Girls”

The mysterious, hungry presence has preyed upon the young women of the island for so long, devouring them in its long, scythe-like claws, and it’s been slowly gaining strength to untether itself from its willing host and be able to freely walk on this world in which it doesn’t belong in. It’s a campfire story, a child’s folktale, a myth of an insidious monster that lurks in the shadows of the trees and is always watching, and is always hungry…

What I Liked:

The LGBTQ+ Representation! The three main characters are on the queer spectrum of sexual identity! Zoey is ace (asexual for those not with the lingo) along with being black, so she’s representing multiple groups within the story, and it’s revealed that both Marion and Val become openly queer as well and develop feelings for each other. Their mutual attraction felt somewhat out of the blue, but was still satisfying nonetheless.
The Mortimer Reveal Right Away! So there’s an actual big reveal of Val and her dark family secret rather early on in the story, and part of me was questioning as to why the author would have something like that not wait until later to make a shocking reveal, but as you read the story, it makes more sense for how it develops and Val’s character evolution, which is actually pretty amazing because I felt like her character had the most development within the story, even with her interesting initial position.
The Connection of the Three Girls! They didn’t know it at first, and neither did we to a degree, but the girl’s fates were all connected in a strong way that grew along with the story as more and more happened. All three of them have an initial connection– having lost something close to them from the monster (Marion – her sister, Zoey – her best friend, and Val – her freedom), but also learn that they’re connected in other supernatural forces that play a huge part in how things play out. A theme that sticks out is female friendship amongst these diverse characters, and the author illuminated that in a beautiful, if unorthodox way.

What I Didn’t Like:

The Book Unraveled Along with my Interest…The book started off with a bang; it brought up the main conflict almost within the first couple of chapters of the story, but really became a slow burn towards the middle, and I found myself struggling to keep going on for a lot of it. It’s not exactly a long story, but it took me so much longer than expected to actually finish it. I think honestly that it was because that most of the twists were revealed so early on in the story, and some were kind of predictable too. Everything after that, up until the climax, felt more like repetitive filler. I hate to say it, but part of me was considering to add it to my DNF (Did Not Finish) pile on several occasions. I just lost so much interest in it; it was like how I felt whenever I was assigned a book back in school. Somehow the required reading assignment always made me subconsciously want to read the book less.

Conclusion:

Overall, It wasn’t my favorite book, but it does hold quite a bit of potential, and my lack of excitement about it doesn’t mean it’s a bad book, or not worth checking out! The author’s style of writing is gorgeous and so well done in some areas, but this story just felt like it was missing something, like Claire Legrand needed to go another step further with it. I wish I could say what that was exactly, but unfortunately I can’t. All I can say is that I just didn’t connect with it as much as I’d hoped, which makes sense since it doesn’t exactly fall under what I normally read.

I recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a thriller with strong diverse female lead characters, anyone wanting to add to their LGBTQ stacks of books, or those looking for a great feminine read.

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Mystery/Thriller

My Review: And Then There Were None: by Agatha Christie

July 3, 2019October 17, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

***All info is for the this edition***
Publish Date: May 3rd 2004
Number of Pages: 264 Pages
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Genre(s): Mystery

Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

The mystery to inspire many mysteries, And Then There Were None is perhaps the masterpiece of the Queen of mystery herself, Agatha Christie. Never before has a murder mystery novel like this been referenced as much as it has, even almost 70 years later, and no writer ever can quite match the harsh, blunt and rigid words of Agatha Christie and her dark tales.

This book is no different. it’s not soft, or warm, and it’s about as charming as a graveyard. It’s strange yet fascinating how the author was able to tell such iconic tales with the level of simplicity that she brought. if you look at most of her work, you see that they aren’t exactly thick pieces of literature. You could easily read her works in one sitting, and I appreciate the fact about it is that it’s because the author was so no nonsense, and just got straight to the point in her style of writing. Despite the light amount of pages and her delicacy with her prose, her stories are so dark an harrowing, they rarely allow yourself to get comfortable. As soon as you even begin to stop and catch your breath, something happens that takes the rug out from beneath your feet, the floor crumbles and takes you out and forces you forward, deeper into the depths with no hope of seeing light ever again.

What It’s About:

Ten Strangers end up on a small island off the coast of England, all at the invitation of a reclusive and eccentric millionaire who none of them know. Even as they all arrive, they begin to wonder what could possibly be the reason that brought this random assortment of people together? Each person seems to be hiding something, keeping everyone at a safe distance, and figure out why they’re all there.

A framed nursery rhyme called “Ten Little Soldiers” (or titled something else, based off what edition you read) is hung in every guest’s room, and the dining room table set with ten little figures. Later that night while all attending a dinner party and awaiting the arrival of their host, a gramophone recording plays out and reveals a terrible deed that every person has been involved with. It turns out that they’ve all been accused of murder, and so very few of them are actually willing to admit it.

Shortly after, the first guest dies, poisoned by cyanide.

The next morning, another is found dead, and the weight of their situation fully dawns upon all of them; someone on the island wants them all dead. The millionaire never existed, and someone tricked all of them to come onto the island so that they could kill off each and every one of them with very little chance of escape or rescue. No one has left or entered the island, so the killer is one of them. The even creepier part? Every death follows the nursery rhyme that constantly shows up amongst the paranoia, the rage, and the fear:

Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Soldier Boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Soldier Boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Soldier Boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none…

Every time theres a new victim, a figure on the dining room table mysteriously vanishes along with them. No one is safe, everyone has a price to pay, and soon, all of them could fall victim to this unknown terror. They accuse each other of being the killer; the only ones innocent are those that are already dead. Can they figure it out before they’re all dead by morning?

What I liked:

The Sheer Creepiness Factor! The factor of the nursery rhyme is sheer genius. I don’t know what kind of nursery tale talks about killing people, but the fact that its used so much in the story and referenced often is so freakin’ creepy. The idea of someone actually coming up with ways to kill people that matched up to the rhyme is also absolutely terrifying. How they’re executed, and how the victims are selected for each act is unknown, but still, it’s something that could keep someone up at night just thinking about how it was all done.
No Clues Whodunnit! There are hardly any clues that the author gives out to allow readers to try and figure out who was behind all the gruesome murders. It felt like even self professed “Murder Mystery Pro’s” wouldn’t be able to figure it out based on what the author gives them within the pages. The only thing you can really do is ride it out and wait to see the big reveal of who was the killer after all, as sad and depressing as it sounds.
The Dark Characters! Agatha Christie doesn’t waste time getting attached to her characters. Each and every one of them are morally dark characters; only a very select few have some lighter, redeeming qualities. It helps in adding tension to the story and keeps you from ever having any idea is behind all of it. The only character who seems truly likeable in any regard is Vera Claythorne, but even that isn’t all that secure as you read on and wonder if she was ever truly sorry for the crime that she committed. In fact, the moral lesson of this story makes me think about the dark side of our society and how we all are guilty to some degree, and whether we can admit it to ourselves, or keep it hidden and hide behind facades that we create for ourselves.
How Short It Is! How is it that such an iconic story is so short? While I’m someone who usually loves well round, developed characters and a well thought out world, Agatha Christie doesn’t waste time with any of that. She doesn’t need to give out a ton of background information to explain her characters and their moral code, and it works. Its simple, its no nonsense, and straight to the point, and its quite successful without any non essential information anyways.

What I Didn’t Like:

The Characters Kept Splitting Up…Whenever there’s a killer in the house, in any sort of horror setting, when is it ever a good idea to split up? It’s pretty much asking for the killer to come find you, making it so much easier for them to kill them off one by one. If I was in this situation, I’d freakin’ barricade myself in my room, away from all these other crazy mofo’s and possibly adding to the chances of me making it out alive. Sure, it doesn’t make for all that great of a story, but logic triumphs over entertainment!

Conclusion:

Overall, this is perhaps the most referenced murder mystery of all time, And Then There Were None is perhaps a title that sticks with readers more than any other. It’s bleak and dark tone haunts you for days afterward, filling you with dread and remorse and questioning everyone that comes into contact with you. It’s not a happy book by any means, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to read.

I also have to mention that other than reading this book, I highly recommend checking out the BBC 3-part special thats based off the book. It’s so wonderfully done; the cinematography is a work of art that expertly captures the essence and tone of this book even all these years later with an amazing cast to breathe new life into these characters. It stars Maeve Dormody, who I’ll admit I have idea who she is, but she played the role of Vera terrifically. There’s also Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones), Aidan Turner (Kili from The Hobbit Trilogy), and Sam Neill (Grant from Jurassic Park).

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Mystery/Thriller

My Review: The Last Time I Lied: by Riley Sager

June 27, 2019October 17, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: July 3rd 2018
Number of Pages: 371 Pages
Publisher: Dutton Books
Genre(s): Mystery/Thriller

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

Who else went to sleepaway camp when they were younger? Imagine it for yourself: the old, weathered, paint-chipped wooden buildings throughout the area, the tiny bunk bed cabins, the massive fire pit that overlooked the lake in the woods , the latrines for the communal showers that everyone fought over before the water went cold, the cobwebs in just about every corner of any given space, the massive mosquitos, the early morning roll calls that ended up in the cafeteria with the long tables with benches, and that hot, older camp counselor that all the girls (and me) had a crush on? His name was probably Trevor, Jake, Luke or Josh? God, I love nostalgia.

This book was a great reminder of my younger summer years spent at a camp with everything included above; it brought back the amazing weeks that I truly didn’t appreciate when I was younger. I still remember dreading it on the long bus ride to Amery, WI, but was sad to go by the end of the week.

I am happy to say that no one ever went mysteriously missing or possibly brutally murdered in any of my trips, thank god…but that does bring me more into the book and what it’s about.

With the setting of a seemingly innocent summer camp grounds, Riley Sager managed to cast a shadow upon it and give it an eery edge as he wrote this story. His prose caused a certain level of unease and anxiousness as the mystery developed and more questions stirred along the way; whether the author reveals yet another secret that the camp kept hidden, or with the flashback scenes provided to gain some sort of perspective on it all. It read like a creepy as hell ghost story told around a campfire, causing goosebumps and absolutely no sleep to anyone who listened in.

What It’s About?

15 years prior to the current day events in this story, Emma Davis goes to Camp Nightingale for the first time ever. The camp was an elite, all girls site that catered to only the wealthy and privileged. Emma is not thrilled at all to gather around the campfire and sing some songs, as she’s a couple years younger than the majority of the other campers. She meets her cabin-mates Vivian, Allison, and Natalie. Vivian, who is Regina George level HBIC, takes a liking to Emma and takes her under her wing, to which Emma is thrilled with . Who wouldn’t want the prettiest, most popular girl at camp to befriend her?

The night of the Fourth of July, Emma is woken up in her cabin to witness the three girls sneaking out; Vivian even doing the Pretty Little Liars-esque pointer finger to her lips motion with a mischievous wink as she closes the door behind her.

Emma had no idea that she would never see any of them ever again.

It became the mystery of the summer; three rich girls disappear without a trace, lost in the woods or taken by the lake. The police get involved, volunteer search parties are formed, but no one is able to find any trace of them except for a hoodie found on the opposite side of the lake. With no luck towards their whereabouts, the camp is closed down, and everyone is sent home with their lingering fears and questions that would never be answered…

15 years later…Emma Davis has become an up and coming artist that is making her name amongst the New York art scene with the gallery opening of her large canvas paintings that were inspired by that summer; girls in white dresses lost in the woods, being buried behind dark, elongated and warped branches that were as black as a midnight sky. It had been her way of grieving her loss, but she never expected to come face to face with Camp Nightingale’s owner, Francesca Harris-White, to show up at her gallery and invite her back to the reopening of the camp, but this time as a counselor. She too wants to be able to move forward, and maybe all this time later having one last summer away would help them get a sense of closure on the terrors that still haunt them. Reluctant at first, Emma can’t help but be drawn by the answers that she seeks, so she agrees to return.

She sets foot back on the campgrounds, and all the memories of that summer 15 years ago comes rushing back, including Francesca’s oldest son, Theo. Theo, the counselor that all the girls, including Emma, had a crush on, but also the man who Emma accused the disappearances on and had listed as a prime suspect. That’s not even the weirdest thing though; Emma discovers a hidden security camera looking in on her cabin one night, watching whoever comes and goes. From then on, strange things begin to happen to her, and she believes that someone, or some supernatural force, is threatening her and stopping her from digging any further…

What I liked:

The Writing Style! Like I said earlier, I really connected with the author’s prose and how he told the story. He wrote in such a way that puts you at unease, adding more and more tension into the story as it escalated, expertly building the anticipation like a horror movie; viewers anxiously waiting for something to pop out at them, all the while dread builds in the pit of their stomachs. It was chilling to see a place as innocent as a summer campground become dark, ominous, and sinister as more secrets are dug up, revealing more going on behind closed doors than you ever thought imaginable.
The Switch from Present to Past! Normally, I’m not a fan of flashback scenes because of how they usually can disrupt the pace of the story. It may just be me, but I do know for sure that they’re not my cup of tea. This story is an exception, because the scenes are at least consistent, and gives you an answer to the question that the previous chapter from current day presents you. They also gave you just enough information to help you make your own connections , like pieces of a puzzle, but not make it super obvious, thus allowing you to find everything out with the main character.
No One Can Be Trusted! The author created a great cast of characters in the sense that they all are incredibly questionable when you meet them throughout the story. Some are more warm and welcoming than others, but you get the sense that everyone is keeping secrets, and you don’t know who’s as innocent as you initially thought, and wonder how much everyone actually knows.
The Ending! HOLY SHIT…the last chapter, or actually, the very last three pages just add such an over the top, shocking reveal that was equally heart-pounding as it was unexpected and made me hope for a sequel that will never happen, but could seriously become a whole new thriller on its own. I didn’t see it coming at all; I had to reread it several times in order to absorb what happened as the shock slowly wore off.

What I Didn’t Like:

Lesser Developed Characters…While they certainly add to the many mysteries that sprout up like weeds in the story, the characters fall flat in terms of feeling fleshed out and well developed. I wish the author put more time into them, but you could possibly overlook this with the overwhelming thrills that the plot gives to the overall story.
Untrustworthy Narrator…Emma, of course, is the narrator of the story, but it became frustrating at times because she withheld valuable information until the very last moment, and also just seeming judgemental of the other female characters when she described them, only focusing on the negative aspects. It’s obvious that she still suspects Theo may have had something to do with the girls disappearance, it also becomes apparent that the other characters may in fact actually suspect her, and with you getting an inside look into her mind and how it operates, you yourself even wonder at some points…

Conclusion:

This book is a chilling thriller that is perfect for anyone wanting to find a fun summer read. It can transport you back in time and remind yourself of the camp you went to when you were younger, or paint a vivid and realistic picture of what it was like for those that didn’t share that experience. The story may not be for everyone who considers themselves a mystery/thriller fan, but the author does a great job of driving the story forward with his prose, making it a fast, easy read that may make you stay safe inside as things go bump in the night.