Month: May 2024

Title: The Manor House

Author: Gilly MacMillan

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’ve been meaning to read this author for a while, so when I saw this one on NetGalley, I was excited to venture into her world. And I was pleased with how well-written and fun this book was.

Nicole and Tom won the lottery and bought the house of their dreams. The bought land from the owner of the Manor House and have loved their new space. However, Tom dies and the police think it was a homicide. Everyone is a suspect, including Tom, the neighbors, and Tom’s old friend, Patrick.

The story had a lot of fun twists that kept the plot moving forward. The characters were either easy to like (Tom, Nicole, a housekeeper, the police) or easy to hate (neighbors, Patrick), which means they were fully fleshed out. This was a great thriller and I’m excited to read Gilly MacMillan again.

Title: The Traitor

Author: Ava Glass

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I loved Alias Emma, but it’s been awhile since I read it, so I was a little nervous if I was going to be able to dive into this one. Definitely had no trouble since Glass does a great job of refreshing the readers’ memory of who Emma is.

Emma Makepeace is a member of MI-6 and has to go undercover on a yacht to discover who is behind the murder of a fellow spy. The Russian who owns the yacht is a member of a three-man criminal team. However, one member of the team is unknown. Emma has to uncover that person’s identity as well as bring the criminals to justice.

These books are so much fun. They are well-written, Emma is awesome, and the plot moves quickly. I definitely recommend both Alias Emma and this sequel.

Title: Whalefall

Author: Daniel Kraus

Genre: horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I recently read Bent Heavens and loved it. And since I’m headed to StokerCon, I wanted to read another by Kraus since he’s a guest of honor. I had this one from NetGalley so dove right in (pun intended).

Wow! This book is just outstanding. Jay’s dad was rough on him as a kid and died in the ocean, so Jay uses all his scuba diving knowledge his dad gave him to try and find his remains. Jay gets wrapped up in a giant squid’s tentacles and then both are swallowed by a sperm whale. Jay has to figure out how to get out.

The story is absolutely terrifying and Jay is running out of air. The present story is interspersed with stories from Jay’s childhood with his dad. I was so enthralled by this book. You cheer for Jay because he’s just a kid, but you quickly realize what a near-impossible situation he is in. I absolutely loved this book.

Title: The Future

Author: Naomi Alderman

Genre: dystopian

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I wasn’t a big fan of The Power but was willing to give this author another chance. Once I found out it was a dystopian novel, I was excited since this is my favorite genre. But, ugh, this book was a slog.

The story follows several characters, but mostly on Martha and Lai, who are random lovers but look back fondly upon their time together. Martha gives Lai a “gift” that turns out to be a valuable piece of tech. The story is also about several billionaires and their contributions to society. I was just so bored. I wanted to like the story, but it was just not interesting at all.

Title: The Night House

Author: Jo Nesbo

Genre: YA horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. I’m a big fan of Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, but I’ve never read anything outside of those. I know he writes other YA books, but when I found out he had a YA horror book, I knew I would be reading it.

What a fun book. Richard is a foster kid who tries to make friends. His first friend is eaten by a pay phone. His second friend turns into a cockroach. Clearly, something is going wrong in Richard’s world. No one believes him except his friend, Karen, who wants to help unravel the mystery. To say much more would contain major spoilers, but I will say the twists weren’t unique but they worked for me. I really enjoyed this book.