bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

This was a solid thriller, particularly dark and disturbing and a really intriguing premise. The main issue for me was I didn't connect with the characrers aside of Jakey. There were a number of repeated elements  too and overall it felt too long for me but I think that's mostly on me for not really making that connection to the characters.  

DNF at 13% - beautiful writing but thinking about it, I don't like the main character or the person who will fit the enemy to lover trope and I'm not really excited for that storyline.

Love the Sci fi, think the premise outside of the romance is interesting and the writing is lovely but I'm not really interested in committing to a predominatly romance storyline.

Picked this book because of its cover, should have dug a little deeper i think. 

I really enjoyed this closing book in this non-fiction trilogy from Proessor Alice Roberts. Buried was a really interesting look at some of the oldest burial sites in Britain, but there were a lot of supposing and hypotheticals which made it feel a little repetitive at time. 

Crypt goes the other way and is much more rooted in actualities based on scientific findings but still has some of the potentials of what the lives of some of the people mentioned could have been like. I particularly liked the chapters on the Black Death and the Mary Rose but found the whole book to be particularly effective and varied in subject.

Really enjoyed the audiobook, which is well narrated by the author.

3.25* 

In this standalone mystery we meet Agatha Dorn, a cantankerous archivist, grammar pedant, gin afficionado and murder mystery addict. When she discovers a lost manuscript by Gladden Green (Agatha Christie coded), the Empress of Golden Age detective fiction, Agatha's life takes an unexpected twist and overnight fame. This newfound fame takes a nosedive when the novel is exposed as a hoax, and when her ex-lover turns up dead, with a scrap of the manuscript by her side, Agatha suspects foul play.

Agatha turns detective to uncover the sinister truth that connects the murder and the fraudulent manuscript but to do so she has to uncover family secrets and most importantly stay sober for long enough to investigate.

This was a solid mystery story that has obvious great affection for the Golden Age of crime whilst remaining modern, current and also very very bookish which I really enjoyed. The story and mystery as a whole was inventive with a 'denouement' that I didn't see coming which was a great surprise. 

I didn't however like the character of Agatha. She is designed to be an outsider and prickly - a mix in my mind of Sally Diamond (Strange Sally Diamond) and Eleanor Oliphant (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine), unfortunately for me she leaned more towards Eleanor (a book I really disliked) than Sally (a book I loved). I found her lacking an empathetic interior that allowed me to see beyond that stiff and difficult exterior. I think if you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant then this characterisation will work for you but sadly it didn't for me.

Despite that I found the story to overall be an engaging and fun read. There's some memorable supporting characters and I did like how we got to know more about Agatha as the story unfolded. Readers of cosy mysteries and classic crime will likely enjoy this and I was glad that we had a fully self-contained story that was resolved in an engaging, twisting and satisfying way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press | Pushkin Vertigo for a digital review copy of "The Mystery of the Crooked Man" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review. 

My favourite installment of this collection so far. I've never read anything else by Nghi  Vo, but based on this, I need to try her long form works. This is a chilling, paranormal story that could have been a novella or even full-length novel. Wonderful writing, atmospheric setting, and a story that draws you in and keeps you on tenterhooks. The only problem is that it's so short that the ending feels too abrupt and comes too quickly considering the effective build-up and how many elements could have been drawn out and made more fully realised.

Highly recommend the audiobook for this one.

Compelling and macabre this short story is my favourite of the collection so far. My main complaint - too much story for such a short run time. There's an entire world that's been created and a story that is multi layered that deserves to be dug into and fleshed out. 

a really enjoyable read, I thought Chad initially would be unbearable but he's a really effective MC. The world that's built is immersive and realised, as you'd hope for with LitRPG and the supporting cast of characters are fantastic especially the loveable Limmery.

This is a powerful recounting of the 1996 Everest disaster which saw a significant number of lives lost after an untracked storm hit the mountain as multiple climbers had summited or aimed to summit (the events have also been made into the movie Everest, released in 2015/2016). 
Overall it's a fast paced read which probably reflects how quickly Krakauer wrote and released it after the events (which he's admitted was too fast). I would definitely be interested in reading another book recounting the same incident but that has some distance from the events.
You do get to know some of the other climbers and trip leaders which makes the piece empathetic and gives a human piece but for me there was just a little something missing which may be linked to that quick release schedule

not my favourite. As always a fun little read but didn't enjoy the reveal or like the supporting circle of new characters.

didn't quite stick the landing but a really intriguing story and highly enjoyable.