If you’ve been following my reading journey on this blog, you know I love a good thriller read. After going through a kind of a slump (after a particularly boring read), I decided to turn to my favourite genre to get back on track with reaching my reading goal this year (30 books). I also decided to make it a read-off between three of my favourite thriller authors. If you’ve read my previous book review posts, you probably already know who these authors are. <drum roll> The three authors I chose were Alice Feeney, Ruth Ware & Lisa Jewell. Lisa Jewell used to be my favourite thriller author before Alice Feeney dethroned her earlier this year but I tried to be impartial in my judgement of the books. And the winner of the read-off was –
1st Place – Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Plot: Daisy Darker arrives at Seaglass, her family’s ancestral home, to celebrate her grandmother’s 80th birthday. Seaglass stands on an island that gets cut off from the mainland during 8 hours of high tide. Her entire family and a surprise family friend slowly arrive on the island to celebrate her Nana. At dinner, her nana announces her will leaving most family members miffed. They all retire for the night only to be awoken by a loud scream and when they rush to the source, they find Nana murdered in the kitchen with a cryptic poem on the wall. Suspicions rise as they realize they are locked in a house, unable to leave with a murderer amongst them. Who is the murderer?
Review: The twist at the end of this book makes this book really stand out but who the murderer is (without giving spoilers) makes absolutely no sense and that made it a bummer for me. But it was a fun Agatha Christie like whodunit thriller which kept me on my toes till the end. (If you want to pick up one book by Alice Feeney, I’d definitely recommend Rock Paper Scissors.)
Verdict: 7/10
2nd Place – None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
Plot: Alix Summers is a popular Podcaster whose paths cross with her ‘birthday twin’ Jose Fair on their 45th birthday. What makes this coincidence even weirder is that they were born in the same hospital as well. Josie leads a somewhat quiet, mundane life on the surface and reaches out to Alix to strike a friendship by offering to share the hidden parts of her life’s story for her podcast. Alix is vary in the beginning but soon gets sucked into Josie’s tale but is Josie telling her the truth or leading her down a path of destruction?
Review: I honestly liked the first half of this book. It was creepy and had me completely freaked out but the second half was kind of a bummer and a lot of things didn’t make total sense to me. I also didn’t enjoy the cliffhanger of an ending. The book is written very well but it could have been better. I loved her book The Family Upstairs but none of her other books have come close to that book.
Verdict: 6.9/10
Third Place – In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Plot: Leonora is surprised to find an invitation to her school friend Clare’s hen party in her email. They haven’t seen each other in 10 years since she left school. While they were best friends in school, she isn’t sure what to expect when she accepts the invite. But as the weekend unfolds, secrets are revealed, buried memories brought back and soon something dark befalls the hen party.
Review: This book was so disappointing. I found it really slow and dry. The whole plot was just absurd and I just wanted to get done with the book as soon as possible. I love Ruth’s other books but this one just wasn’t one of the good ones. (Instead, check out her book – The Woman in Cabin 10)
Verdict: 4.5/10
Overall the three books didn’t come close the the best books written the respective authors but I enjoyed doing this challenge and love that it got me out of my slump. If you are looking to get out of a reading slump, definitely set yourself up with such a challenge.
What is the best book you’ve read in 2023 so far?
If you haven’t already, check out my other recent posts –
Happy Panda 