Book Review: The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan

A great Doll House book is my white whale.

You never know who’s watching…

Corinne’s life might look perfect on the outside, but after three failed IVF attempts it’s her last chance to have a baby. And when she finds a tiny part of a doll house outside her flat, it feels as if it’s a sign.

But as more pieces begin to turn up, Corinne realises that they are far too familiar. Someone knows about the miniature rocking horse and the little doll with its red velvet dress. Someone has been inside her house…

How does the stranger know so much about her life? How long have they been watching? And what are they waiting for…?

So this book involves a doll house, was my mystery doll house need finally going to be fulfilled after the disappointment that was The Miniaturist. It did fulfil that need better, but not fully. Firstly, the summary fails to at all mention Corinne's sister Ashley who this book is almost equally about.

This book is told from the two sisters POV with a mystery Then Narrator, which happens to be a trend.

Corinne is desperately asinine for a lot of the book. The police are not called till after major incidents and then are not given all the information for plot reasons.

There's great build up and then falls to the ground, smashing into what the hell are you doing?

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for chairs. I'll never find a book that's about creepy doll house that I can fully enjoy. I wrote the majority of this review a year ago and going through books that I meant to write reviews for and deciding how realistically I am to review a book I read two years ago from the library. So not the best review I've ever written, but I did write thoughts so why now share them.

Crossed Posted to Strangeness Books

Read: 9/03/2019-14/03/2019
Reviewed: 14/03/2019-19/07/2020
Medium: Audiobook
Published Date: 4th October 2018
Publisher: HQ Digital
Source: Library
TW: I can't remember (breaking and entering; Stalking;)

Book Review: The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

Why I am a Reviewer?

They say I must be put to death for what happened to Madame, and they want me to confess. But how can I confess what I don't believe I've done?

1826, and all of London is in a frenzy. Crowds gather at the gates of the Old Bailey to watch as Frannie Langton, maid to Mr and Mrs Benham, goes on trial for their murder. The testimonies against her are damning - slave, whore, seductress. And they may be the truth. But they are not the whole truth.

For the first time Frannie must tell her story. It begins with a girl learning to read on a plantation in Jamaica, and it ends in a grand house in London, where a beautiful woman waits to be freed.

But through her fevered confessions, one burning question haunts Frannie Langton: could she have murdered the only person she ever loved?

This book has took me a while to review. There are things in this book that would like to read reviews and discussion about, because I'm not informed enough to comment on. I don't read a lot of Historica Fiction but the premise was intriguing and something I do read about in Contemporary books. Also, the cover has a skull on it which I love.

This book is told in first person reflectively, its meant to be Frannie Langton writing an account of her life as she waits for trial and eventually catches up. It's directed straight to the reader as if you are the lawyer defending her. There are also a few readings straight from the trial. The audiobook has two narrators, a man narrator for the trial parts and the author does the rest of the book. Both do a good job.

I listened to this on audiobook and some parts were kinda confusing, so I'm not sure if it was the text or if I had somehow missed something. I did go back but couldn't work what was meant to be happening. A lot of bad things, mysterious things are a reference and we never get clear answers about. So maybe this wasn't the best book for me to listen to and think that has made reviewing harder for me. I do consider the audiobook to be good. Maybe a duel read.

Fannie is definitely an unreliable narrator, in parts she doesn't remember and things she unwilling to disclose to us yet. This narrative is especially interesting as we have court testament going against her but these testaments are themself unreliable for the most part.

Overall, I give this 4/5 stars for Missing Scissors. There were things that would have liked a better answer on. This is a book that deals with the unvoiced generations of black women and the dominance of White men getting to have the final word on the major history which I appreciate. Part of this book is definitely that the writing is beautiful and deals with a lot of complex things. I guess my actual review, go read other reviews. I've been trying to write this for months.

Read: 24/3/2020 to 5/4/2020
Reviewed: 5/4/2020 – 13/06/2020
Medium: Audiobook
Published Date: 4/04/2020
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Library
CW: Racism; Slavery; Incest; Abuse; Sexual Exploitation; Death; murder; lynching; Abortion; unethical human experimentation; Drug Use;

Book Review: The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell

Should you throw out a whole family? Yes.

You think you have the perfect life.

You're successful. Attractive. Well liked.

And you've just got married for the third time. 

But that’s OK because everyone’s happy. Your children are happy. You're happy. And so is your new wife.

But one tragic accident smashes your perfect life to pieces. Because everyone has secrets, and secrets have consequences.

Some of which can be devastating.

This was definitely my least favourite of Jewell's work that I have read. I'm glad it wasn't the first of her work I read because I probably wouldn't have picked up more. It is typical of what she writes about. Family and kids. This one is not a murder mystery though. There is a death with questionable circumstances around them. Third Wife of this father with 5 kids between his two wires and whether she intentionally threw herself in front of a bus or was a drunk accident.

The mystery was weak, most of it was just wide goose chases until it suddenly wasn't. The mystery was filluate the character development. However, the characters are problem on their own.

They were unlikeable and uninteresting. It's a character study about this middle-class family, who all take after their terrible father. Even the youngest kids just seem like jerks. Even the five-year-old baby. Maybe they all deserve each other. I guess they are some character development but it took the death of someone for it to happen.

With some of the voice I work, I did wonder if I would have liked the book better if I had physically read it. Some just make characters even more unlikable than they already were

Also, this is set during the 2012 London Olympics, which just seems so random now. I imagine London public transplant being jammed packed now. I wonder if there will be books set during this time. Probably.

Overall, I give this 3/5 stars for Cat Fur. I just don't enjoy family mysteries without murder. This book was a lot like Liane Moriarty books which also books I don't really enjoy. There's nothing that wrongs with them but they just do nothing for me.

Read: 14/5/2020 to 15/5/2020
Reviewed: 15/5/2020 - 16/05/2020
Medium: Audiobook
Narrator: Emma Gregory
Published Date: 21/03/19 (Novel published originally 3 July 2014)
Publisher: Random House Audiobooks
Source: Library
CW: Suicide; Death; trying for a baby; infertile issues; Cyberbullying;

Book Review: Wranglestone by Darren Charlton

In a Zombie Apocalypse, you may as well live next to a Super Volcano.

Winter was the only season every Lake-Lander feared…

In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there’s nothing to stop them from crossing the ice.
Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore and he’s forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he’s always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over.
But as love blossoms, a dark discovery reveals the sanctuary’s secret past. One that forces the pair to question everything they’ve ever known.

This another post-apocalyptic Zombie book but this time it's Queer, therefore better than all the other zombie books. This book did take me a while to read, not the book's fault. I found myself enjoying the book but also having no will to physically read, which is how things go sometimes. I only say that as an excuse to as why I'm realising this review a day away from the publication date and if I get the beginning blurry.

I love zombies and love stories with Queer stories. Okay, I don't love zombies, but I'm was excited to see a Queer genre YA book. I do like zombie stories if done well. It's nice that the characters being queer isn't made a big deal of, and never comes into the plot. It's just character trait and just happens to be a Queer romance. This is M/M I have seen most reviewers calling this book "Gay" but no labels are used within the text and M/M doesn't make the characters gay. LGBTQ+ people, or Queer as an easy, assessable umbrella term when describing people's whose labels you don't know. It's not discussed at all in the book, but its apocalypse you would hope that people would just get on their lives in the best way possible.

Though, don't worry it does sticks to the zombie format of humanity being capable of terrible things.

The romance is really good, even some hot moments which makes me feel odd now that I'm so much older than the characters. I wished we spent more time with character development which I guess is kinda odd for a genre book. I just want character development in the backdrop of zombies waiting to eat everyone.

Peter is a Soft boy who is good at sewing (important skill once clothes shop stop being a thing) and not so much Survivalist skill, despite having spent most of his life during the zombie apocalypse, not remembering a time before.

The setting is a natural park, where people were evacuated to during the start of the outbreak. More specifically, the community lives on a lake in still houses, to keep the zombies away from them. So definitely cool.

This book is set up for a series, with a lot of plot elements that happen m. There are things I would like explored.

I can't comment on how gory this book is because I don't notice gore unless someone is being distractedly over the top with it. This is a zombie apocalypse so there is some gore.

Overall, I give this 4/5 stars for Car Holes. This a debut and I know I didn't read it in the best way for full enjoyment. I will stick with the series, a book two has been confirmed by the author and will buy my own copy of this book once I recover from investment in concert tickets.

Read: 21/12/2019 to 2/2/2020
Reviewed: 4/2/2020
Published Date: 6th February 2020
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
Source: Netgalley
I received this book as an e-arc from the Publisher, my reviews are always honest and my own opinion.
Content Warning for Book: Sexual Assualt referenced; Violence; Violent Death; enslavement; murder;

Book Review: The Child by Fiona Barton

Book CW: Child abduction; Death of a Baby; Rape, Rape drugged; sexual assault; child abuse; paedophilia (a young teenager); sexual crime ring; consent issues; child grooming; grooming; mental illness from trauma; parental negotiate. 

People are the worst.

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.

This is the second book by Fiona Barton and the second following old school reporter Kate Waters, now on to another case. I did review the first one. This time the body of a baby is found. This book deals with just as heavy subjects as the last book (hence the content warnings). I think pretty well, revalent to real-world events so not a great book for escapism.

Because we've given three POV almost from the start, you know there's a reason why we're hearing these two women. Obviously, Kate Waters is a reporter and slowly come across the other two and their connection to the baby. Once again, I wouldn't call this a thriller, because it's mostly characters reflecting back and there's no urgency to what is going on, besides the slow death of Journalism. Kate is the only one whose present day is the big factor of this story. This for people who like fictional crime cases and exploration of characters dealing with consequences far after the fact.

This deals with lots of characters including ones who are very unlikable. I don't think I really connected to these characters as people, which is not an issue for me. Maybe if I had that would have added stars.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, as read by Finty Williams, Steven Pacey, Adjoa Andoh, Clare Corbett and Fenella Woolgar. This book had a bigger cast with three main voice actors, Clare Corbett is back the Kate Waters character I think. The cast was good, and distinct from each other.

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Journalist Ethics. Once again a well-crafted novel; I am planning on listening to the next book in the series, I'm curious about how that will go with it being set in another country from these ones.

Finished reading 5th January 2020, Reviewed 8th January 2020.

Book Review: The Widow by Fiona Barton

Book CW: Child Abuse, paedophilia, computer grooming, murder, child murder, infertility, unhealthy relationships, minor domestic abuse (isolating, being in control of life decision, gaslighting), mentally unstable characters, questionable consent porn, sexual crime ring;

This is a case where you shouldn't stand by your man.

When the police started asking questions, Jean Taylor turned into a different woman. One who enabled her and her husband to carry on, when more bad things began to happen …

But that woman’s husband died last week. And Jean doesn’t have to be her anymore.

There’s a lot Jean hasn’t said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was too busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with the accusing glares and the anonymous harassment.

Now there’s no reason to stay quiet. There are people who want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell them that there were secrets. There always are in a marriage.

The truth - that’s all anyone wants. But the one lesson Jean has learned in the last few years is that she can make people believe anything …

This is a book dealing with crime and investigation. I wouldn't call it a thriller as I think it's too slow pace and there's no big surprise at the end. Yes, there is that climax at the end but no real tension building up to that. I often do read books where I figured out the ending page one, so I don't mind that, but this could be a bit misleading as this is sold as a thriller. I get why the publisher has done so but it's more like a slow exploration through the past of the characters, rather active present as its told.

This is told in multiple points of view: the Widow, the Reporter and the Officer. All talking about their connection to a murder case. The widow, Jean is the wife of a man accused of killing a child and going through their relationship. Kate the reporter is the one who this series turns out to be, as she does her own investigating. She basically what reporters should be like and her best pal the officer who gives her inside information. All the characters are on the older side and near to the end of their careers which is an interesting insight as Journalism and Police investigation have both changed a lot in the past 30 years. Fiona Barton is a retired Journalist which probably why Kate became the stand out character.

Jean is both a sympathetic character and sometimes dislikable. She has let a man dominant her life, which is sort of understandable for her generation, but it also goes to the extreme lengths in the divorce age. The author talks about in an interview included with this book, that she wanted to explore the wives of these men accused/who have done terrible crimes. I believe this woman exists, but not sure if I like her, which is fine as you don't have to like a character for their story to be worth reading. I hesitate to say enjoy because of the terrible subject matter of this book.

I listen to this on audiobook. It's a well-done production, Clare Corbett does a good job of distincting each POV character. Also does announce whose who every time, I know some audiobooks don't. Listening to this book would be a good way to consume this book.

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Locked Computers. This is a well-crafted novel, with characters slowing building up a case together and was an interesting idea. I think the idea is strong enough that other writers would do something completely different while both having good books come out of it. I would read a book with this same premise but more importantly more by Fiona Barton.

(Though, her having worked for the Daily Mail is off-putting). I now have reviewed the sequel.

Finished reading  29 December 2019.

Book Review: House Swap by Rebecca Fleet

We going to have an accidental theme.

‘No one lives this way unless they want to hide something.’ 

When Caroline and Francis receive an offer to house swap, they jump at the chance for a week away from home. After the difficulties of the past few years, they’ve worked hard to rebuild their marriage for their son’s sake; now they want to reconnect as a couple.

On arrival, they find a house that is stark and sinister in its emptiness – it’s hard to imagine what kind of person lives here. Then, gradually, Caroline begins to uncover some signs of life – signs of her life. The flowers in the bathroom or the music in the CD player might seem innocent to her husband but to her they are anything but. It seems the person they have swapped with is someone she used to know; someone she’s desperate to leave in her past.

But that person is now in her home – and they want to make sure she’ll never forget . . .

This book is sadly not really a thriller, it tries to have a twist but especially doesn't work and with the audiobook production I was more annoyed than anything. It mostly dances around the facts of the story, or things that they no reason to dance around other than laziness and to drag this thing out. The characters are very bland, they work in marketing kinda bland (they might not work in marketing, it just reference to obsession with marketing as a job in film. I don't know what they work as). I think this lacking important thriller elements as well as the characters not having much development. I guess we're meant to feel sorry for them, but I don't know who they're meant to be.  The audiobook performance was fine, not sure why they decided to spend the money on four narrators for this book. Frankly, it would have worked better with just one, with the dumb twist. It's probably OMG moment when the narrators switch but as soon as the POV was introduce it was clearly not going to be who she thinks it is, otherwise they couldn't market this as Thriller.  This book does have Thriller elements, like an obvious mystery that you know will be solved as soon as you know what terrible secret the MC has, so it's not thrilling at all. There's also the Husband's mystery drug problem, that he started because of stress, so it is a prescribed drug. I know it's not antidepressants but imagining it was and his wife was just being an arse about him still taking it, it would really fitted with this book. It's never stated so feels very McGuffin. I guess it's a sleeping pill, he's a therapist, so maybe he's meant to have self-prescribed them but that would be a scandal on it's own.  If this is not a Thriller what genre is it? I guess Drama, or just fiction for what it would be market in bookstore or library. The idea of that's promised on the back is a Thriller, but its more about petty relationships. Most of the relationships were sex scenes: have an affair and it's love because the sex is good. I'm Ace so if this meant to have been some great love story with tragic ending, it's okay if you say so. The one time it goes to back to a thriller, it sways away again. I got really excited that something was going to happen but then it didn't so back to petty nonsense.  Overall, I gave this book 2/5 stars for Dead Hamsters. If want something that's actually a thriller then go for You Let Me In (I will review this book soon, I read it first and probably should have review it that way.). It's actually a thriller and I didn't question not finishing it. It has a similar feature of someone renting their House to someone while they away.