Book Review: Remember Me by D.E.White

Ava Cole, wanting to stay in Wales like a adult and not a seventeen year old.

Fifteen years ago Ellen Smith vanished from the woods near her small Welsh village. Never to be seen again.

Eight people were in the woods that night: eight splintered lives, eight people hiding a terrible secret. But who can remember the truth?

Now, Ellen’s best friend, Detective Ava Cole is all grown up back in the village where it all began, and everyone is asking the same question.

What really happened to Ellen?

Filled with shocking discoveries and traumatic memories this fast paced thriller is perfect for fans of Friend Request and Close to Home.

A woman originally from the states, moved to Wales as a kid, had a baby and left him there, went back to the states, the kid's dad is dying so she goes back and deals with the terrible thing they did in the woods. Then plot happens.

Everyone has this shared secret, this secret is also used to threaten Ava Cole by a person who has this secret also, so Ava Cole justifying her shitty behaviour with this was kinda dumb. Maybe if this character was introduced as being more spiteful than sense. The thing is the more you know about this whole situation, the more you're like: "hur, well you really were all the place at 17, Cole". Her actions are explained by having postpartum depression and not having a support group. A much of bad parenting happens in this book.

This book has two narrators, one the antagonist in first person and close follow third person of Ava Cole wandering around Wales, I know it was a specific area of Wales but I have terrible memory, and this was library book I no longer have. This works well, it wasn't frustrating obvious who the unknown narrator was but also you're able figured it out.

The audio book has single voice actor, she does a decent job, especially when she has to do Welsh, American and Southern English because Southern English is obvious the standard narrator voice we all must adopt (okay, I get the choice of using newsreader voice over fun accents for the narrating parts but I will still make unhelpful digs about it).

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Reality TV. This feels like a set up for a series with Ava Cole investigating, but decided to start with the middle book of the series, where MC goes back to their roots after their first big mystery. This does appear to be D.E.White debut, but it's just the debut of the pen name, she writes as Daisy White. Not sure what I think of this if it is a series, maybe I would read the next one if it is the start of a series.

Book Review: Dark Room by Tom Becker

The Sleepaway Camp Twist? Really?
 
The camera never lies…

Darla and her dad are looking for a fresh start. But when they wind up in affluent Saffron Hills, Darla stands no chance of fitting in with the beautiful, selfie-obsessed teens at her new school.

Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, she starts having visions. The gruesome snapshots flashing into Darla’s mind seem to suggest she’s going crazy… until she realizes they’re actually a horrifying glimpse into the future. 

With a killer on the loose, can she make sense of what she’s seeing before it’s too late?

This is a horror where I did not guess the ending, mainly because it's not at all foreshadowed and is one of the worst twists to ever feature in horror. Part of the twist would have been okay, but the other part is just dumb and undermines the rest. Frankly, it was a twist that I didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to execute it in this decade. I won't say what the twist is and I can't at all talk about my main issue with it without spoilers but I feel I won't be the only who one to see fault with it. While being problematic, it's also lazy and unnecessary.

The summary of this book is misleading and left me disappointed a few chapters in. It is in third person and I felt detached from what was going on, so not at all scared. Though, there was only one scene I thought worked in terms of suppose terror.

The main character Daria is likeable and I felt for her. It still lack in the fear and tension, I think that does have something to do with the supporting characters. They all mostly distasteful, though I don't hate any of them.

The book is second of the Red Eye Books set in America. When someone writes a setting in another country from their own, I always questioned it, especially when that setting is the USA. The plot does involve a beauty pageant and underage drinking, which are both big deals in America. I guess it works but America is such a boring setting. But the setting is more about the town than the country so it doesn't matter where it was set globally.

Overall, I gave this book three out of three stars for Echoes. I enjoyed this book right till the climax. The twist was just kinda cheap and bad 80s horror film. The execution was decent with a likeable protagonist but that ending took too much away from it. I've read one other book by Tom Becker (While the others sleep which has a review). The ending and twists were what let down that book as well so maybe this is a pattern for him.

I got this for review off NetGalley and it is being publish by Stripes Publishing on 10 September 2015.