The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell

You live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses.You’ve known your neighbors for years and you trust them. Implicitly. You think your children are safe. But are they really?

I really enjoyed The Girls in the Garden. I decided to read this one after reading Lisa Jewell's novel, "Then She Was Gone" and it won't be the last book of hers I read. Thirteen-year-old, Grace, is found unconscious and undressed in the park's garden after a community party. The story goes back before the assault and is told through multiple point of views to uncover what happened. I especially enjoyed the setting of the story, set in the communal park and garden with all of the interesting characters weaved throughout. Definitely one of those books you don't want to put down. I will say though, the ending was a bit of a letdown with Grace. I found the buildup to be more thrilling than what actually happened. I was expecting more of a twist or finality, which didn't happen. Aside from the ending, The Girls in the Garden, was a great book and lived up to my expectations.

Mailbox Monday

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
You live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses.

You’ve known your neighbours for years and you trust them. Implicitly.

You think your children are safe.

But are they really?

Midsummer night: a thirteen-year-old girl is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden square. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

“The real horror of my life is not that I’ve killed some terrible people. The real horror is that the people I’ve loved didn’t love me back.”

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him. In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend—he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he’s done, he may not have a choice…

Funny story - before "You" became the popular Lifetime/Netflix series, I had read Hidden Bodies several months prior - not even aware that it was a sequel featuring Joe Goldberg, the obsessed stalker boyfriend . And I loved it. Seriously, I was completely drawn into Joe's story and his serial killer ways. After reading "You", I have to say, I did enjoy the first book of the series more..but nonetheless, Hidden Bodies was great. I didn't particularly care for Love, Joe's love interest in the book, and the ending keeps you hanging which makes me wonder - will this be a trilogy? I certainly hope so. It has to be a great book and series when you root for the stalker killer, right? I definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys the thriller genre.

Dark Places

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Libby Day was just seven years old when her older brother massacred her family while she hid in a cupboard. Her evidence helped put him away. Ever since then she has been drifting, surviving for over 20 years on the proceeds of the 'Libby Day fund'. But now the money is running out and Libby is desperate. When she is offered $500 to do a guest appearance, she feels she has to accept. But this is no ordinary gathering. The Kill Club is a group of true-crime obsessives who share information on notorious murders, and they think her brother Ben is innocent.

Ben was a social misfit, ground down by the small-town farming community in which he lived. But he did have a girlfriend - a brooding heavy metal fan called Diondra. Through her, Ben became involved with drugs and the dark arts. When the town suddenly turned against him, his thoughts turned black. But was he capable of murder? Libby must delve into her family's past to uncover the truth - no matter how painful...  

Hmm. So, I definitely have mixed feelings about this book. I haven't read much crime thrillers/mysteries, aside from a few here and there (Stephen King, Paula Hawkins), and after reading Dark Places, now I know why. Well first of all, let me just say that I could NOT put this book down, I felt like I was watching a movie and HAD to find out the ending. But as much as I enjoyed Flynn's writing, I was left oddly disturbed towards the end. Seriously. Is she a secret serial killer or something? Who thinks of this crap? I was not a fan of the cow massacre (traumatized), not to mention the descriptive murder scene of chopping up a little girl's body. UGH. I honestly despised all of the characters, including Libby, and don't get me started on Ben. However, I think that says a lot about what a good author Gillian Flynn is - to have the reader react so emotionally towards characters is pretty impressive. In the end, as disturbing as it was I can't take anything away from the actual story. There were so many twists and turns that kept me reading through the night, and I really enjoyed it (if that's the word for it). I'll be on the lookout for more of her stories, but for now I think I'll go back to my beloved chick lit.

The truth finds its way into the light, no matter what you’ve done to contain it

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

 

 Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired…and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb was an enjoyable read for me. That being said, I wasn't necessarily blown away. I decided to read this book leading up to Halloween, hoping it would give me a few scares, but in the end nothing really frightened me. I'm a complete horror movie buff, so maybe I'm biased, but given the setting of an old creepy haunted mansion, I would expect the author to live up the setting and create a spooky atmosphere. Honestly, for me that didn't happen. I wasn't scared or surprised at all throughout the story (some of the scenes were cliche and corny). Still though, I'd say I liked it. Maybe not as a horror novel, but definitely as a thriller or suspense read. I enjoyed all of the twists and turns throughout the novel revolving around the main characters Julia and the eccentric, Amarise Sinclair. Overall, I felt it could be better but still an enjoyable read for a rainy day.

Cover Love - Halloween

My Heart gave one appalling lurch and stopped beating altogether

The Seance - John Harwood
Wraxford Hall, a decaying mansion in the English countryside, has a sinister reputation. Once, a family disappeared there. And now Constance Langton has inherited this dark place as well as the mysteries surrounding it.
Having grown up in a house marked by the death of her sister, Constance is no stranger to mystery, secrets, and the dark magic around us. Her father was distant. Her mother was in perpetual morning for her lost child. In a desperate attempt to coax her mother back to health, Constance took her to a seance hoping she would find supernatural comfort. But tragic consequences followed, leaving her alone in the world— alone with Wraxford Hall. Saddled with this questionable bequest, she must find the truth at the heart of all these disappearances, apparitions, betrayal, blackmail, and villainy, even if it costs her life.

Hmm... so this book was just okay for me. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really love it either. More than anything, I was left feeling disappointed. I got the impression that it was going to be a classic Victorian ghost story, but really it was a thriller more than anything else. When I think of a Victorian ghost story, I think... spooky mansion, weird noises, ghosts, supernatural occurrences, etc. And although certain parts definitely gave me chills, the story mainly revolved around the history of Wraxford Hall and it's descendants, as well as it's very sinister and deceiving heir. I also didn't care for the whole 'Seance' experiment and alchemy references.

I did enjoy the Gothic feel and atmosphere to it, however. Harwood is an excellent writer and I will definitely be looking out for his books in the near future (The Ghost Writer has amazing reviews!). I also liked the different character narratives of Wraxford Hall and how they all intertwined with one another. There were more than a few surprising twists and it's actually a great book.. (I'd recommend to any fans of the Gothic genre or novels set in 19th century England).. but for me, it was just a good read. Not great, but good. It just wasn't what I was expecting..

"--I was sitting up in bed reading when my grandmother came into the room and sat down in the chair beside me, looking exactly as she had when I was a little girl....The Chair creaked as she settled herself in it, smiled at me and took up her work, just as if she had only been gone five minutes, rather than resting in Kensal Green Cemetery for the past fifteen years." p104

Waiting on Wednesday - Dead in the Family

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

My "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris
Pub. Date: 05/04/2010
Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place …or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives…

Seriously, maybe I should start a countdown since I can barely contain my giddiness over this release!! Eric = HAPPINESS.

Teaser Tuesday - The Seance by John Harwood

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

Though I was, in waking life, far bolder than Sophie, I had been prone to nightmares, as well as sleepwalking, for as long as I could recall. As I grew older, I walked less frequently in my sleep, but the nightmares became more frequent and oppressive"

p. 102 -- "The Seance" by John Harwood

JANUARY WRAP UP

Books read in January: 10

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
The Notebook
Everlasting
The Choice
Body Surfing

Pick of the month : Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris
Okay, so first of all, I love, love, LOVE the Sookie Stackhouse series! I have actually read the whole series before, but since receiving the box set for Xmas, I decided to re-read them all. A bit obsessive, I know, but I'm sort of..... addicted to vampires (especially 6'5" viking vampires named Eric Northman, but that's beside the point), I'm working on it, okay? Dead to the World is the 4th book in the series and possibly my favorite as well. It revolves around Eric getting amnesia and having no memory of himself or his life. Sookie takes him in and inevitably, chaos ensues including a witch war, a kidnapping, a murder and a VERY hot romance. Seriously, amazing! If you haven't read the Sookie Stackhouse series yet I highly recommend you go out right NOW & pick yourself up a copy of Dead Until Dark - you will not regret it!