bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

Bleak, sparse and pretty dark. A modern dysoptian/post apocalyptic classic.

A Scottish prison set crime thriller debut from Claire Wilson but from the perspective of an Intelligence Analyst who is trying to uncover plots from within the prison whilst realising that there's no one around her who she can really trust.

I love a different take on a police procedural style thriller and following Kennedy Allardyce, our IA under threat, was a really intriguing premise and gave this book an edge over a number of others. Sadly for me it just didn't quite work. My main problem was the character of Kennedy. She made a number of decisions that just didn't read as logical or particularly smart but were needed in order to keep the story moving (returning to the prison after an attack at the start being one of them).

It is also a particularly brutal look at life inside a male prison and the attention to detail for the day to day routines and general life was interesting but as I was reading along I realised that it isn't something that I was enjoying reading about. When this was combined with our lead character's choices and her attitude towards others in the story (poor Jacob), I just found myself being more and more put off.

Genuinely a unique angle on a prison/police crime thriller and if you as a reader enjoy gritty prison settings and a bleaker, rougher procedural story then this will be ideal for you. Unfortunately the style, characters and ultimately the open ending (prepped for a sequel undoubtedly) didn't work for me but I feel that is mainly because of a realisation about my reading preferences rather than the quality of writing on offer.

2.25*

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a digital review copy of "Five By Five" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

An unsolved murder, an isolated, creepy sanatorium setting and a young criminologist's attempt to let the ghosts of the past finally rest.

In a huge nod to Agatha Christie, with Death at the Sanatorium, it seems that Ragnar Jónasson has set out to deliver a book that is reminiscent of the Golden Age of Crime with modern touches to keep it relevant to today and overall he does deliver on that mission.

There are multiple points of view, multiple timelines that flash back and forward to build the story and a number of intriguing twists that all combine to give us a satisfactory crime novel that for most readers will prove to be intriguing, extremely readable and generally well plotted.

I loved the premise of this book and I hoped for a creepy, dark and suspenseful read. For me, the desire to hark back to the classic age of crime meant that it didn't quite deliver at those levels and I think hampered the atmosphere as it couldn't go as dark mystery/thriller as it possibly should have.  For a relatively short novel it also felt quite long as there was a feeling of repetition of story elements. For me the most intriguing elements were the opening few chapters and last few as that's where the most potential for a truly interesting story lay.

Fans of Agatha Christie and crime novels of that era will really appreciate the nods and affectionate references back to the masters of crime as well as the pacing, plot points and character development, but for me sadly it fell a little flat as I wished for a darker, grittier and creepier story than what was delivered.
 
 2.5* rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a digital review copy of "Death at the Sanatorium" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Another enjoyable installment. Love Tyson.

Morgan I love you. What an incredible second installment for this trilogy and one that avoids the 'weak middle book' that you often find.

This one progresses the story but also builds and develops the characters and gives us as many important plot points and as much drama as you'd expect to find in a final book.

This destination thriller sounded like a perfect summer read. Based on the ill-fated Fyre Festival, we meet Jody, Carla and Ari, roommates who have won tickets to a new and exclusive festival on a Greek Island. Eager to get away from reality for a long weekend, they jump at the opportunity to go but what they face when they get there is a mile away from what they had been expecting.

As always with this style of thriller there's the promise of a lush and exclusive setting, of glamour and celebrity and a whole heap of drama. I will openly admit that I read this style of book for a thrill fest that's enjoyable fluff and whips by at a fast pace and based on the premise that's what I was expecting, unfortunately it wasn't what I got.

There is a little bit of that but it was overall pretty slow and much more at front and centre was a domestic violence/abuse and coercive control storyline with a character (Jody) traumatised by her previously relationship and haunted by her narcissistic ex (Nick).

It's an important storyline, don't get me wrong, and should and must be talked about, but it was out of place in this type of book and if I'd known I probably wouldn't have picked it up to read. There is a note at that start mentioning the potential for triggers and the author's afterword is an important insight into the book (with potential spoilers) and I wish I'd read it first so that I was in the right mind set of what to expect.

I also felt let down by the ending which was pretty ridiculous and most of the action of the book takes place in the last 20% but by that point I was tired of Jody who had been an unreliable narrator throughout (a trope that didn't work for me this time) and there had been a lot of repetition and running around in circles. 

Overall, this was a miss for me unfortunately.

Thank you to Avon Books UK | Avon and Netgalley for an eArc of "The Island" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review. 

Writing and story wasn't clicking for me

4.25* 
I saw The Salt Flats being recommended by authors and reviewers that I follow and was immediately intrigued by the story premise of a struggling couple heading deep into the isolated Bolivian salt flats to repair their relationship at a mysterious retreat where things, inevitably, quickly turn to a nightmare.

This was a deeply human story with multi-layered and complicated characters all struggling with their own issues, seeking to overcome them by any means necessary.

I initially saw this being shelved as a thriller but in reality it is a deeply unnerving and hugely imaginative horror. It feels incredibly otherworldly with a tenuous grip on reality that leaves you wondering consistently if what you're seeing unfold in front of you is actually happening or if you, the reader, are also part of the hallucinogenic ride that the characters are going on. 

I struggled a little at the start this with as I just couldn't get a grasp on what it wanted to be but once it clicked that this is as insidious a horror as you're likely to find, I was swept away with the story and the unfolding nightmare of the situation our characters found themselves in. 

I love an isolated setting and this one is as isolated as you're going to find. The oppressive heat and desolate landscape are unforgiving and bleak that helps build a sense of fear and desperation for the characters.

The ending is surprising, sudden, open-ended and left me incredibly uncomfortable at what isn't said for the potential consequences of the actions of the characters. Whilst I never felt connected to them, the reality of what likely happened to them is where the true horror lies.

If you want to feel uncomfortable, intrigued, and out of reality then this is a book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a digital review copy of "The Salt Flats" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Tuva belongs up north, no matter how much she tries to fight it!

The series is really finding its feet now and I really enjoyed this one.

All the stars, one of the top books of 2024 for me.

This is an epic literary crime novel that is a beautifully bleak and yet hopeful character driven study of trauma, loss, regret, searching for the truth and the power of memory.

Like no other crime/mystery novel I've read.

A must read, even at 584 pages, it flies by and not a word is wasted and so much sits in the space between words. I dare you not to get wholly invested and caught up in this huge, sweeping and utterly absorbing story.