Hello, hello!
So, I missed Blogmas yesterday. Apologies for that!
I've been a bit under-the-weather and just couldn't get myself to do anything much yesterday apart from reading a bit.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I am not feeling too good, I like to read thrillers! Fast-paced whodunnits that keep you engaged and diverted. So, I thought why not share some of our (my sister's and my) favourite thrillers from 2017.
Here we go:
1. Penumbra by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
3. Death Under the Deodars by Ruskin Bond
Our Verdict: A series of murder mysteries by Ruskin Bond based in Dehradun and Mussoorie! What is not to love?! Read our review here.
4. City of Death by Abheek Barua
Plot Summary: On a muggy monsoon afternoon Sohini Sen gets a call from the chief minister's office. A young woman from a well-connected family in the city has been found brutally murdered. Sen is brought back from a bureaucratic wasteland to the thick of the action.
An intelligent and intuitive investigator who struggles with addiction and depression, Sen is ill-prepared for an investigation that is a political minefield with TV anchors and tabloids baying for blood. As various interested parties, armed with power and money, try to manipulate the murder enquiry. Sen is forced to question the very possibility of justice.
A moody atmospheric novel that is as much about the Indian city and the dark depth of the human mind as it is about crime and investigation, City of Death marks the debut of a brilliant new voice.
Our Verdict: Loved this book. So steeped in all the chaos and wonderfulness that is Calcutta. Read our review here.
5. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Plot Summary: When editor Susan Ryeland is given the tattered manuscript of Alan Conway's latest novel, she has little idea it will change her life. She's worked with the revered crime writer for years and his detective, Atticus Pund, is renowned for solving crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s. As Susan knows only too well, vintage crime sells handsomely. It's just a shame that it means dealing with an author like Alan Conway.
But Conway's latest tale of murder at Pye Hall is not quite what it seems. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but hidden in the pages of the manuscript there lies another story: a tale written between the very words on the page, telling of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition and murder.
Our Verdict: This is a fantastic book! You get two books for the price of one and the mystery is really, really good. Read our review here. Highly recommend!
6. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind.
But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped.
And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool.
Our Verdict: We were conflicted about this book. It is an interesting book but our expectations were set by all the marketing around this book, which called it a psychological thriller, which it isn't. We would suggest that you read this as a story about complicated people and relationships in a small town rather than a thriller! Our review is here.
7. Here Falls the Shadow
For one woman, it’s a reminder of the worst thing that ever happened to her.
So, I missed Blogmas yesterday. Apologies for that!
I've been a bit under-the-weather and just couldn't get myself to do anything much yesterday apart from reading a bit.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I am not feeling too good, I like to read thrillers! Fast-paced whodunnits that keep you engaged and diverted. So, I thought why not share some of our (my sister's and my) favourite thrillers from 2017.
Here we go:
1. Penumbra by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
Plot Summary: In the middle of one of the worst storms to hit the city, a mysterious letter arrives for Prakash Ray, an out-of-luck journalist, inviting him to a quaint, suburban bungalow, to celebrate the 60th birthday of an uncle he has never heard of . . . As Prakash reaches the venue, he is introduced to a motley group of people, all gathered there for the old man's big day: his son, his reticent brother, a dignified middle-aged lady who once owned the bungalow, a listless lawyer who manages his legal affairs, a mild-mannered young man who works as his secretary, his beautiful, young biographer, and his mysterious friend, who has never lost a game of chess to him. As the storm lashes on through the night, one of the people in the bungalow is murdered! In a game of cat and mouse that follows, Prakash soon finds out that under the surface of apparent warmth and friendliness, nothing is as it seems and that the bungalow holds one shocking secret after another! In a bid to save his own life, Prakash hunts for the truth, which lies in a mysterious penumbra of shadows and lights, covered in a sheath of deceit and guile, only to realize that the worst is yet to come!
Our Verdict: A fantastically atmospheric read. We reviewed it here. Highly, highly recommend!
2. Monsters by Emerald Fennell
Plot Summary: A blackly comic tale about two children you would never want to meet.
Set in the Cornish town of Fowey, all is not as idyllic as the beautiful seaside town might seem. The body of a young woman is discovered in the nets of a fishing boat. It is established that the woman was murdered. Most are shocked and horrified. But there is somebody who is not - a twelve-year-old girl. She is delighted; she loves murders. Soon she is questioning the inhabitants of the town in her own personal investigation. But it is a bit boring on her own. Then Miles Giffard, a similarly odd twelve-year-old boy, arrives in Fowey with his mother, and they start investigating together. Oh, and also playing games that re-enact the murders. Just for fun, you understand. A book about two twelve-year-olds that is definitely not for kids.
Set in the Cornish town of Fowey, all is not as idyllic as the beautiful seaside town might seem. The body of a young woman is discovered in the nets of a fishing boat. It is established that the woman was murdered. Most are shocked and horrified. But there is somebody who is not - a twelve-year-old girl. She is delighted; she loves murders. Soon she is questioning the inhabitants of the town in her own personal investigation. But it is a bit boring on her own. Then Miles Giffard, a similarly odd twelve-year-old boy, arrives in Fowey with his mother, and they start investigating together. Oh, and also playing games that re-enact the murders. Just for fun, you understand. A book about two twelve-year-olds that is definitely not for kids.
Our Verdict: This is an interesting, disturbing book about child sociopaths! A very interesting read. Read our review here.
3. Death Under the Deodars by Ruskin Bond
Our Verdict: A series of murder mysteries by Ruskin Bond based in Dehradun and Mussoorie! What is not to love?! Read our review here.
4. City of Death by Abheek Barua
Plot Summary: On a muggy monsoon afternoon Sohini Sen gets a call from the chief minister's office. A young woman from a well-connected family in the city has been found brutally murdered. Sen is brought back from a bureaucratic wasteland to the thick of the action.
An intelligent and intuitive investigator who struggles with addiction and depression, Sen is ill-prepared for an investigation that is a political minefield with TV anchors and tabloids baying for blood. As various interested parties, armed with power and money, try to manipulate the murder enquiry. Sen is forced to question the very possibility of justice.
A moody atmospheric novel that is as much about the Indian city and the dark depth of the human mind as it is about crime and investigation, City of Death marks the debut of a brilliant new voice.
Our Verdict: Loved this book. So steeped in all the chaos and wonderfulness that is Calcutta. Read our review here.
5. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Plot Summary: When editor Susan Ryeland is given the tattered manuscript of Alan Conway's latest novel, she has little idea it will change her life. She's worked with the revered crime writer for years and his detective, Atticus Pund, is renowned for solving crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s. As Susan knows only too well, vintage crime sells handsomely. It's just a shame that it means dealing with an author like Alan Conway.
But Conway's latest tale of murder at Pye Hall is not quite what it seems. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but hidden in the pages of the manuscript there lies another story: a tale written between the very words on the page, telling of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition and murder.
Our Verdict: This is a fantastic book! You get two books for the price of one and the mystery is really, really good. Read our review here. Highly recommend!
6. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Plot Summary: In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help.
Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind.
But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped.
And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool.
Our Verdict: We were conflicted about this book. It is an interesting book but our expectations were set by all the marketing around this book, which called it a psychological thriller, which it isn't. We would suggest that you read this as a story about complicated people and relationships in a small town rather than a thriller! Our review is here.
7. Here Falls the Shadow
Plot Summary: THINK OF YOUR SINS. PREPARE TO DIE.
On the edge of the forests of Deoghar, in the sleepy little town of Nimdeora, novelist Sangram Talukdar’s peaceful life is unexpectedly shattered when he receives an anonymous death threat.
At first, he dismisses it as a cruel joke. But when two of the family’s beloved dogs, guardians of the estate, are found killed with a clean, swift arrow to each of their throats, Talukdar calls in the astute detective Janardan Maity to investigate.
To uncover the dark secrets of this quiet town, Maity must dig deep into the past – into the Talukdar family’s bloody history, and a dreaded curse that has haunted the family for generations. But he must act quickly, because someone, or something, is lurking in the shadows of the forest, watching, waiting to claim their prey.
Our Verdict: We LOVED this book. Highly, highly recommend it! Read our review here.
8. The Child by Fiona Barton
Plot Summary: When a paragraph in an evening newspaper reveals a decades-old tragedy, most readers barely give it a glance. But for three strangers it’s impossible to ignore.
For one woman, it’s a reminder of the worst thing that ever happened to her.
For another, it reveals the dangerous possibility that her darkest secret is about to be discovered.
And for the third, a journalist, it’s the first clue in a hunt to uncover the truth.
The Child’s story will be told.
The Child’s story will be told.
Our Verdict: A fantastic book that tells the story of three different women brought together by the tragic discovery of the skeleton of a tiny baby. A very topical book to read these days, especially, because of the brave disclosures of the #metoo movement. Our review can be found here.
9. I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen
Plot Summary: I have a secret. And someone wants to make sure I never tell . . .
In a house decorated with horror movie posters, a young woman’s body is found. She lies on her bed, two bloodied objects clutched in her palm. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles are called to the murder scene, but even faced with this gruesome sight they are unable to identify the immediate cause of death.
Their investigation leads them to a high-profile murder case that was seemingly solved years before. But when another body is found in horrific circumstances, the link between the two victims is clear. Was the wrong person sent to prison? Is the real killer out there right now, picking off new targets?
One woman knows the killer is coming for her next. She’s the only one who can help Rizzoli and Isles catch him. But she has a secret that she has to keep.
In a house decorated with horror movie posters, a young woman’s body is found. She lies on her bed, two bloodied objects clutched in her palm. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles are called to the murder scene, but even faced with this gruesome sight they are unable to identify the immediate cause of death.
Their investigation leads them to a high-profile murder case that was seemingly solved years before. But when another body is found in horrific circumstances, the link between the two victims is clear. Was the wrong person sent to prison? Is the real killer out there right now, picking off new targets?
One woman knows the killer is coming for her next. She’s the only one who can help Rizzoli and Isles catch him. But she has a secret that she has to keep.
Our Verdict: Highly, highly recommend this book because the story- past and present- and the twist in the end are all fantastic!! Read our review here.
10. Black Water Lilies by Michel Bussi
Plot Summary: Giverny. During the day, tourists flock to the former home of the famous artist Claude Monet and the gardens where he painted his Water Lilies. But when silence returns, there is a darker side to the peaceful French village.
This is the story of thirteen days that begin with one murder and end with another. Jérôme Morval, a man whose passion for art was matched only by his passion for women, has been found dead in the stream that runs through the gardens. In his pocket is a postcard of Monet's Water Lilies with the words: Eleven years old. Happy Birthday.
Entangled in the mystery are three women: a young painting prodigy, the seductive village schoolteacher and an old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream. All three of them share a secret. But what do they know about the discovery of Jérôme Morval's corpse? And what is the connection to the mysterious, rumoured painting of Black Water Lilies?
Our Verdict: Highly, highly recommend! This is a wonderful book with a nice psychological thriller storyline and a nice little story about love, friendship and just the very human need for personal freedom. Highly recommend this book!!! Our review can be read here.
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