Thriller

Past Crimes

By Jason Pinter

Coming soon on February 6, 2024

(4 / 5)

Past Crimes takes us into a not-so-distant future where peoples’ lives now revolve around a virtual world known as Earth+, and one of the favorite pastimes is participating in simulations of famous murders and crimes. Here we meet Cassie, who works for a company that looks to sell victims’ stories to the highest bidder.

This story had an unsettling feel to it, I think because the future it presented felt dystopian but believable. There’s a lot of action, and it was a bit of an adrenaline rush as a “rush against the clock” scenario plays out. There are some twists along the way, some that I saw coming for a while and some that I didn’t expect at all. I liked the main character, Cassie, and that she was a representative of a fairly “normal” person in this future world until she becomes a victim herself. Overall, I found this to be an interesting book to read, and it kept my interest.

Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for the free review copy of Past Crimes. The opinions in my review are solely my own.

The Fury

By Alex Michaelides

Coming soon on 1/16/24

(4 / 5)

A celebrity invites some family and friends to a weekend away on her private island in Greece. While there, one of them is murdered, which means one of the other 6 people must be the murderer. But this isn’t your typical murder mystery.

The Fury is unlike any book I’ve ever read. From the beginning we know that a murder will take place, but we don’t know who the victim is, who the murderer is, or why it happens. The book feels almost like a memoir more than a fictional story. Our narrator is Elliot, one of the people on the island that night, recounting the tale some time later. From the beginning, the voice of this narrator felt unique and somewhat unreliable. Even when you think you have something figured out, it turns out there’s more to the story. The nonlinear timeline definitely adds to the mystery, but what this book really seems to be about is the characters more than the events that happen. Honestly, I was a bit unsure about this book in the beginning, but then it really pulled me in. I had a lot of theories along the way, but there are some big twists that I never saw coming.

All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own. Thank you to Celadon Books and BookishFirst for the free advance copy of the book!

January 2, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Paperback Thriller 0

Baby X

By Kira Peikoff

Coming March 5, 2024

(5 / 5)

In the not-so-distant future, embryos can be created from the DNA of any two people with something as simple as a saliva sample. Most pregnancies begin with the selection of an embryo with optimal genetics. But there’s a new kind of crime happening – stealing DNA from celebrities to have their genetic offspring without their permission.

Baby X follows three women who are connected to embryo selection: Quinn, a surrogate mother; Ember, who is working to protect the DNA of a famous musician; and Lily, an aspiring journalist whose mother is going through the selection process, but Lily feels inferior for being conceived the traditional way. At first it took me bit to feel acquainted with each character since they are going through different experiences, but I quickly grew to like all of them. I enjoyed the various side characters as well, and even the more villainous were interesting – I loved to hate them.

The book has a fast pace to it. Split into four parts, the first part takes place in the span of a year, and the plot gets more complicated as things continue. I’ll admit, I had a hunch about some parts a while before they were actually revealed, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. Things were complicated enough that there were still plenty of surprises along the way.

Overall this was a really interesting book to read. It felt like a future that could very well happen and was an interesting take on genetics and how future generations could be affected. It was different, thrilling, and satisfying.

Thank you to The Quick Brown Fox & CO, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the free advance copy of Baby X. My review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

November 27, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Sci-Fi Thriller 0

The Last Murder at the End of the World

By Stuart Turton

Releasing May 21, 2024

First Impression: (4 / 5)

I’m a big fan of dystopian books, so this book seems intriguing. From the first few chapters, I can definitely feel a sense of mystery and uneasiness about this dystopian world and would love to learn more about it. Since many of the dystopian books I’ve read are young adult, I like that this book is more “grown up” and has a different feel to it. Emory especially seems like an interesting character I’d like to get to know better.

October 31, 2023 by danimae1981 eBook Fiction First Impression Thriller 0

Missing

By Ruby Speechley

Coming soon on September 27, 2023

(4 / 5)

TW: abuse, nonconsensual sex

Missing was one of those thrillers that left me feeling a bit creeped out, hitting me on a level that not many books reach… like maybe I should make extra sure my doors are locked before I go to bed. I really don’t like to give spoilers of the books I read in my reviews, but this was one that I definitely felt like it needed the trigger warnings I included at the beginning. That said, the Prologue hints on these topics, so I don’t feel like it’s a true spoiler.

This book was a quick read. The chapters were fairly short and had a bit of a “potato chip effect” where “just one more chapter” turned into reading many chapters at a time. I pretty much read the last third of the book in a single sitting.

This story follows Elle, a single mother in England with a 3-year-old son, Tyler. Elle feels a bit “weak” in the beginning, as she obviously lacks self-confidence, only has a couple people she can consider friends, and is still in love with Darren, who broke up with her 4 years ago. It’s pretty early on that a missing poster that shows a picture of her son starts circulating, and this is just the beginning of a chain of disturbing events that happen in the story. I found myself questioning the intentions of almost every character at one point or another, though I managed to piece together a lot of what was going on (and who was responsible) a while before it was all actually revealed. I was glad to see a decent amount of character development along the way, and I grew to like Elle more and more as the story progressed. The book ended in a way that left me feeling satisfied with the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the free advance copy of Missing. All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

September 17, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Thriller 0

Thieves’ Gambit

By Kayvion Lewis

Coming Soon on September 26, 2023

(5 / 5)

After providing a First Impression review through BookishFirst, I was chosen to receive a free advance copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own and this review is voluntary.

This was a really fun book to read, with tons of action and twists along the way that I did not expect at all. The book had me hooked right from the beginning, where Ross, the main character, is in the middle of a heist with her mom. I never expected to like a character who is a thief, but I actually enjoyed Ross and several other characters in this book.

The book is told from the point of view of Ross Quest, who is really going out on her own for the first time, since her family has kept her pretty isolated beyond the heist jobs that they do. When Ross’s mom is kidnapped, Ross joins a competition called the Thieves’ Gambit, where teens compete for the chance to make a wish. Some of the competitors were likable right away, while others were more of a “love to hate”. It was interesting to see Ross’s relationships develop with the various characters.

Through the course of the competition, the contestants participated in multiple heists, so the action and thrills were endless in this book. The book was fast-paced and kept me engaged throughout. There’s some light romance along the way, but it’s really not the focus of the story. There were a few twists that I didn’t see coming at all, so it was fun to get some surprises along the way. It definitely didn’t end how I was expecting.

Overall, this was a well-written book, and I’m glad I had a chance to read it. I would love to see more from this author!

July 20, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Paperback Thriller Young Adult 0

Sneak Peek: Thieves’ Gambit

By Kayvion Lewis

Coming Soon on September 26, 2023

First Impression (5 / 5)

I had the opportunity to read a sneak peek (the first 7 chapters) of Thieves’ Gambit, and this is definitely a book I’d like to continue reading!

This book pulled me in from the first chapter, which drops us straight into a heist. I never expected to like a character that’s a thief, but Ross, the protagonist, feels relatable and I really like her so far. This book looks like it will be filled with action and thrills. From what I’ve read so far, this definitely seems like a book I’ll really enjoy.

June 24, 2023 by danimae1981 eBook Fiction First Impression Thriller Young Adult 0

An Egypt Affair

By Will Patching

(3.5 / 5)

I’ve previously read The Hack trilogy by Will Patching and enjoyed it, so I was excited to read his newest book. An Egypt Affair definitely has a different feel to it, but I think that’s at least somewhat expected since it’s a book adaptation of a screenplay. The book is written in the third person and alternates views between several of the main characters. I could quickly pick up that some of the characters’ opinions of each other were not so great. I think that’s why I ended up not feeling strongly attached to most of the characters, which in turn made me not feel as engrossed in the book as I could’ve been. The story definitely had an intricate plot, though I could sense the direction most things were going long before they were officially revealed. All that said, it was still a good read with an interesting setting and complicated relationships. I’m interested in watching the movie to see how it compares and contrasts to the book adaptation.

I received a free review copy of this book directly from the author. My review is voluntary and completely my own.

June 1, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Thriller 0

Freezing Reign

By L.A. Goff

(4 / 5)

Freezing Reign is a young adult dystopia book with elements of romance, sci-fi and thriller. The book is divided into 3 parts, the first taking place during an apocalyptic disease, and the next 2 parts taking place 12 years later.

The story follows the perspective of 18-year-old Mirari. She’s a relatable character that I enjoyed following over the course of the book. The book is well written, and the action throughout kept my attention. I thought the concept was interesting, and I enjoyed that I was able to experience the actual apocalyptic event in the first part of the book. The resulting world was also very interesting, and experiencing from Mirari’s perspective worked well. Some of the parts felt a little too hard to believe, but given the nature of this type of book, I guess I can’t expect everything to be completely realistic.

The book is the first in a series but does not end in a cliffhanger. However, it does have an epilogue that hints at what the next book will be about. Overall, I enjoyed this book and am interested in where things go next in the series.

I received a free review copy of this book from Hidden Gems Books, but my review is voluntary and contains my own opinions.