jenbsbooks's Reviews (2.41k)

This was a short read that I had grabbed as a freebie for my Kindle. I needed another "dark" mood for my Storygraph pie chart ... not really sure why this is labeled dark, as it's really just a cozy mystery. As I've been purposely choosing dark/mysterious/tense for the month of October, I guess it's not surprising that this is the third book this month with a MC woman trying to solve a murder with help from the ghost of the victim. The mood does match the cartoon cover ... this felt cartoonish. I really wasn't a fan, and it was a push even at just over 100 pages. 2.5 stars. 

Present tense can be written well, but when it isn't, it feels so awkward to me. Here, it was awfully awkward. So much so that my brain would "convert" the sentence to past tense and think "yup, it would have sounded so much more natural that way". There is a place for present tense, and there are times I don't mind it ... maybe don't even notice it! Here, I noticed it in every line. 

There were errors ... typos perhaps?  "This cat is character" ... I thinking it should have been "This cat is A character"? Is "steer up trouble" a phrase I'm just not familiar with (stir up trouble, yes ...) One of the characters referring to the the dead in the present "Mabel has been a bit under the weather ..." I realize perhaps that mistake could be attributed to the character, except on the next page she uses "had" past tense, so the continuity, or lack thereof, annoyed me. "She even hid Finn and I from trouble ..." my grammatical understanding is to take away the other person, then check to see which works, I or me ... "She even hit I from trouble ..."   the sentence "I let my mind wonder" COULD be correct, she is wondering, but I still had to wonder if she meant to let her mind wander?  The character's grammar was lacking in places ... which could be part of their character, but with all the other errors, I wonder; for example "... that just finally makes me a real witch, don't it?" 

The whole story just seemed elementary and awkward to me, it didn't flow. Starting off in a chaotic situation where magic (it's not known that the MC is a witch) has "melted" a room and the boss says "I understand that you had good intentions, but I do not see how any of this is good." If I walked into a room where paint was melting off the walls and onto everything and saw my employee pushing paint back into a painting ... I think I'd run screaming from the paranormal activity, not calmly say "this isn't good" ... or did she honestly think this was just a strange interior design choice?

Every meeting ... connecting with "Mean Dean" again - Auntie, always calling the MC "sweetie" and "honeypie" and "sugarbun". The woman who has just been killed saying "Someone killed me. You have to find them!" It all just felt, cartoonish, over the top, Hallmark Halloween. 

It wasn't much of a mystery, and there wasn't much building of relationships (mostly between the MC and best friend Pennie). Not much romance in this one if one was looking for that. This was just the start of a series, but I won't be continuing on. 

I enjoyed [book:Ghost Mortem|51941234] quite a bit more (similar basic premise, cartoon cover, start of a series ... although I probably won't be continuing on with that one either). 

Hmmmm... not quite sure what I just read (I actually went with the audiobook, have an ebook too). I was enjoying it, at the first twist, I wasn't THAT surprised, but then twist, twist, twist. For me, it ended up a convoluted mess and I just wanted to be done. I think maybe I'd appreciate it more if I did an in-depth re-read, had a discussion in a book group, etc ... but I don't really want to. I want to be done. 

No chronological chapters (and as Ted even says, he struggles with differentiating between the now and the then), just the different POVs: Ted, Olivia, Dee, Lauren. This makes it difficult to transition between formats, finding my spot from audio to the ebook.  At first, I liked Ted, I felt maybe it was a bit of a Boo Radley situation? There was definitely some strange stuff from the start.  Then, Olivia's POV .. and I loved it! I'd read Hollow Kingdom not long ago, plus a few other books with talking/thinking animals, so, it was fun. Add in Dee ... and I was confused (maybe in my listening I missed the fact that Lulu had a popsicle, to make that connection), but it was strange, the snakes. 

Ted and Olivia's chapters were 1st person/present tense (some past tense when it's a memory). Dee's chapters are 3rd person, present tense except for the first Dee chapter, which is in the "past" and past tense. 

You can't really talk about this book without spoilers ... funny, looking at the Q&A here on Goodreads, almost everything is marked as a spoiler. So, SPOILERS below as I just get out a few of my own thoughts. I'm not sure I understood and caught everything, but I'm not invested enough to spend more time researching and re-reading ... I did have quite a few questions and I think my face was physically scrunched up for the last half of the book. 

Can you say UNRELIABLE NARRATOR(s)???

So okay ... Ted has multiple personalities after the abuse from his mother. There's Lauren, and Olivia and Nighttime, and even the green boys around. He still "sees" young Ted, there's a "big ted?" ...  and his father and mother. He(and we/the reader) figure out the ted/mom and such, but the Olivia/Lauren is maybe the first big reveal, and at that point we/the reader are still unsure of their 'reality' ... then the confirmation that neither are real, it's all Ted. Then the revelations about Dee and what really happened in the past. And reveals of what happened with momma. The stabbing, the snakes. It was all just a little too much.  I mean, this isn't paranormal, so it's supposed to be something that could really happen, but REALLY? Even just ONE of these things, much less all of them ...

... 

So Mommy took Lulu (thinking she was a boy) and buried her next door because Chihuahua  lady was out of town. How old was Ted then, he didn't see any of it because he was at the 7-11? No mention of Mommy being around or questioned when the house was searched, I thought Ted was older at that time, living alone, that Mommy had died when he was little? So I'm super confused about the timeline of all that.  And how close do dogs have to be (as dogs were called to search the house, and she was just buried next door). Okay - I did reread one of the last TED chapters that "mommy had acted just in time (killing herself). The police came two days later ..." So the dogs not only missed Lulu's body next door, but also Mommy's body in the woods. Unreliable narrator and time distortion made this very confusing ...

Ted and the bug man/therapist ... what was all that? I'm getting that he wasn't really a good therapist, just offering cheap services in hopes of getting material for his book? But he DID write out prescriptions for pills that Ted took to the pharmacy next door ... but later in the hospital the Dr. says that the medication is outdated and haven't been manufactured in 10+ years. So did Ted imagine going to a pharmacy as stated, he does say he got them "in the office" later at the hospital ... so are the pills just a slight contribution to (hallucinations, memory loss) or would all that be happening anyway? Did we find out what happened to the Bug Man (was he dead, hurt? Going to press charges, this going to come against Ted too? Apparently nothing happened, Bug Man was just gone even though many had seen Ted attack him?

Dee ... after all that with the snakes to REALLY have it be a snake in the end, that was dead but she picked it up. Was it still alive after all or was it a death movement? Was her body found did they say?

So Lauren appeared before Lulu ... that was all just coincidence, that Ted had a "young girl" in his house when he was a suspect in the disappearance of a young girl ... who while his mother hadn't killed, had taken her body and then buried it? So many coincidences ...

I didn't really get the NIGHTOlivia in the end ... 

Originally I had thought "why do they have a single/Male narrator when Olivia/Lauren and Dee are female characters?" Generally I prefer different characters to have their own voice, especially in 1st person. But ... it actually makes perfect sense given that they are all Ted. It also is acceptable with Dee because her chapters are 3rd person. 

I have been okay with the author purposely miseading the reader (just saying that is a spoiler in and of itself, but one I liked was [book:Find Us|58275443])  IS it "misleading" when it's outright incorrect memories/moments being described though? Even if you say "they are lying to themselves" I just don't like that in a book setting. I understand the concept of an unreliable narrator, but this goes so much beyond that ... It rubbed me the wrong way. 

There was an interesting Author's Note ... it wasn't included in the Audible version and I feel like it should be!
 
There was no proFanity, and Olivia actually gets angry about "taking the Lord's name in vain" ... the whole religious bent was strange ... I didn't like it at all.  There was torture and pain.

I remember I watched the movie years ago. Honestly ... I don't remember much about it, the story, just that I was impressed with it. Enough so that I bought the audiobook on Audible during a sale (it's an Audible exclusive), yet it still stayed on my TBR. Until this year, and "spooky season" when I purposely going after dark/tense reads. I borrowed a kindle copy from the library. I think I'll be buying a physical copy to add to my personal library shelves.

There is something unique about this ... from the first line "The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do." Our MC is Conner, a young boy dealing with a lot. His mother has been sick with cancer. Father is off in America with his new family (this takes place in England). Grandmother is strict. The kids at school are hard to deal with. And then ... there's a monster(tree). A monster who tells stories. 

It's all very lyrical and descriptive. I went with the audio and loved it, but now looking at the Kindle copy I see there are illustrations too, and I feel like I missed out a little, even though I have some images in the movie in my head even though it's been years since I saw it. 

I'm a Table of Contents snob, and sometimes when chronological chapters aren't listed ... as is the case here, it's just the chapter headers, no numbers. But because all the headers are unique, that makes shifting between formats pretty easy still. I definitely want the headers included in the TOC. I love looking over a TOC, seeing headers, and remembering what was in that chapter. 

While this is a YA book (the MC is 13-years old) - it spans ages. I could see this being a very interesting bookclub selection. Lots to talk about and discuss. No questions included in the copy, but I found some online ... https://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763655597.bdg.1.pdf

I'd had this in my Kindle cloud (freebie) since 2021. Trying to pick more dark/tense/mysterious reads for spooky season, I went glancing through my Kindle library to see what jumped out at me (yes, totally judging a book by its cover, and then its Goodreads rating and whether or not it's available in audio ...). This had audio on Hoopla and good ratings, so I pushed it to the top of my TBR.

Two timelines ... I really wish in the Table of Contents, it included the Now (2017) and Then (2007) instead of just generic chronological chapters.  And even though the chapters were marked in the headers, I think I would have preferred more distinction ... like the "present" in present tense, and the "past" in past tense. I'm so often stopping/starting my book, coming in mid-sentence, mid-chapter, and sometimes it was hard to determine if it was the present or the past without going back to the beginning of the chapter to check the heading. 

Ironically, as I'm concentrating on "seasonal/spooky" books for October, I read another recently with a very similar theme [book:Ghost Mortem|51941234] ... Near death experience, and now can hear their friend who has been murdered, does detective work to solve the murder. Ghost Mortem was much more light-hearted comedy though (matching its cartoon cover). 

This was a tad convoluted ... SPOILER

just the fact that there were SO many people out to get likeable young Colby. One set that beat him up, one that finished him off. The whole polluted water thing was big, to have been covered up so well ... and yet still, to the point of murdering family?

The paranormal element was pretty mild.

ProFanity x8. Some sexual content (in the past/between teens), nothing explicit/spicy. 

First in a series, and while I liked this, I'm not hooked enough to continue on. There are just SO many books waiting on my TBR. 

I'm really hit and miss when it comes to contemporary "thrillers" but I'm feeling quite positive about this one. It kept my interest. No real surprises (I did guess the killer early on). Honestly, this felt reminiscent of HBO's The White Lotus. An exotic island, a murder (in the present) then back to the past to highlight all the various suspects. 

This had that annoying (I find it annoying) JUST POV "chapters" ... no chronological chapters listed. This makes it very difficult to move between formats (I had this in all three, audio, kindle and physical). Per usual, NO TOC at all in the physical copy (a disservice).  

It starts out "The Wedding Night" (the present) and this is an omniscient/3rd person. Present tense. Always nice when mother nature happens to cooperate to add atmosphere with a storm/knocking the lights out.  The book then shifts to five different 1st person POVs (Aoife - the wedding planner, Hannah - the plus one, Jules - the bride, Johnno - the best man, Olivia - the bridesmaid). Closer to the end, we actually get Will's POV added in too.  The POVs don't get equal billing, and they aren't much earlier, really just the day before (although there are some memories and such),  there's no set order, and the time shift back to "The Wedding Night" happens 11 times, as the individual storylines catch up to the present. 

Right at the start - it sets up that something has happened, so much blood, we/the reader, assume (from the blurb) that it's a murder, but WHO is the victim? Who is the murderer? Why?

SPOILERS

Will ... will is killed. And it turns out that every POV has a motive. I suspected Aoife right off, just because of the whole "graveyard" and sad family history and how hard she went after getting Will and Jules to have the wedding there. Not really a surprise. Olivia had motive before coming to the island ... although she wasn't really at the "I want to kill him" point. Johnno, Hannah and Julia only discovered things on the island. In the end though, all five COULD have been the murderer.

Really this was just a popcorn read. Nothing really deep. There were some discussion questions in the Kindle copy, but they didn't really spark much thought for me. 

Content: Quite a bit of proFanity (x97) and some sex, not to "smut" level though ...

I'd picked up a physical copy of the book at a thrift store (for my Little Free Library) and that shifts a book up my TBR. I didn't know much about this, the #1 National Bestseller on the cover indicated that it was popular, ratings were so/so. More than one reference to this as a "non-fiction novel" ... which is an oxymoron! A quick glance at the blurb I knew this would be a true-crime about a murder ...

He was tall ... WHO was? So, are we talking about Jim Williams? Okay ... is this an interview? Who is I? I guess I'm just used to non-fiction along the lines of [book:Columbine|5632446], [book:Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster|1898], [book:The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America|397483] where there is some sort of introduction to who the author is, why they are writing this, what documentation there is for classify this as non-fiction, if dialog is actual recordings, etc ...

This just starts, giving random background and some random guy ... I assume he will be involved in the upcoming murder. The perpetrator? The victim? A witness? Is Mercer House the location of the murder, is that why we're getting background on it. Is this all just two people talking? 

The author gives a little more info on himself in chapter 2 ... still doesn't really explain things. He decided to go to New Orleans because he saw an ad for inexpensive airfare? 

I was listening to the audiobook, but I had to keep stopping to come to the kindle copy and re-read to see if I'd missed something, because I had NO idea what was going on, if there was a story? I'd re-read and, yes I remember hearing that and that ... I didn't miss anything? There's just NOTHING happening? Just random tidbits and people, but no story?

The blurb says "reads like a novel" ... I don't think so.
I suppose I could push on ... I've spent three hours listening, and at least an hour re-reading, and there's TWELVE more hours to go. Methinks not. Looking back at the reviews, it seems many people struggled. Who loved this? Why?

I'm not rating it because I didn't finish. 
I'll put the physical book in the little library, see if someone else wants it. I'll return my digital copies to the library, because it does still seem quite in demand. 

ProFanity x18

So many rave reviews about this one ... and while I am going to give it a 4* rating, my experience with the book is a little more complicated. I didn't really love it, and I'm not certain why. It seems like this should absolutely be up my alley. But it took me two tries, and even during this success, second attempt, I felt like I had to push through and I was glad to be done. I can appreciate the book, and am not surprised others loved it. I think I will remember it. It was unique.

I knew I had tried this one in the past, and I found my record - 2012. I didn't note how far I got, but I saw some highlights quite a ways in before I gave up and DNFed then ... with a full intent to come back and try again at a later date.  Twelve years! I had been reading it then, I went with the audiobook this time, although I had the Kindle copy and a hard copy for reference. Looking back on the text, I think reading it IS the way (although the narration was good) just because some things stand out more in print. Some of the text placement, set apart, is more obvious on the page.

Death rambles ... I think that's what I struggled with most. So lyrical, to the extreme. So many metaphors and similes in his descriptions. That's all well and good, it was just SO much. He was jumping around in time too, something I really don't like. I don't want spoilers, and that's exactly how it starts off, with him telling of three events, so we already know what is coming.

The "chapters" setup was a bit strange too. I think someone ranted in one of my FB groups that this didn't have any chapters! In my Kindle app, that seemed to be the case. As I checked the Table of Contents, all I had was "The Beginning..." and flipping through the text it gave the location and how many hours were left in the book, no chapter options. When I accessed the text on my computer, I had chapters in the TOC (still strange, there were unnumbered chapters at the start at the end, and then 10 Parts, with chronological chapters running through (80 of them) ... 90 total (five at the start, five at the end). Happily the audio had all of the "chapter headings" listed there, so that switching between the formats wasn't too bad. Although the physical book doesn't have a TOC at all (per usual for books today) which is a disservice to readers in my opinion. It's so helpful to see all the headers at a glance, to have a list of the page numbers each is on if one wants to go to a specific section. rather than being forced to flip through the entire book hoping to find the portion one is seeking. 

There's the story ... I've read a ton of WW2 books, and there's always something to learn. It took a while but I finally became connected to the characters and cared about them. 

There's the unique narration presentation ... DEATH. He's first person, past tense for the most part, but the majority of the story feels like 3rd person because Death is telling the story (just like an omniscient narrator in most 3rd person presentations) ... he just then jumps in and inserts himself here and there too.  The text was presented differently in print too, lots of white space and little asides ... honestly, it reminded me a bit of [book:Greenlights|52838315] in some parts (as Mr. Matthew would stop and do notes to self or "bumperstickers" ... Death's little spotlights had a similar feel to me.  Centered, In bold type.

There was some bonus material in the Kindle copy that was very interesting (just some of the author's information on how he wrote the book, including some sketches/images). The print copy had discussion questions (not sure why these weren't in the Kindle copy!) but the Kindle copy had a  Q&A with the author. I really like all these extras, and it's one reason I check out each format, because (like here) sometimes one will have something the other does not. 

The dominoes on the cover ... I did note when dominoes were played, and I can sort of understand  the choice. 

So overall ... my experience with this book wasn't that positive. I'm actually unsure why I didn't like it, love it as so many others did. I didn't cry. I'm glad I read it. I feel like it was well-written. 

I debated just leaving a review without rating ... should anyone be rating a book that wasn't really completed, published posthumously, without finalization? This wouldn't be normal choice for me to read either, but it was one that Hubs had listened to. I'll try to read what he or the kids are reading to have any possible discussions with them, some commonality.

This was interesting - Christopher Hitchens isn't someone I'd heard of before. I haven't read his other works or seen any of his interviews. Hubs said that compared to another audiobook of his that he narrates himself, that this felt lacking. I liked the audio, but felt like I needed a re-read in Kindle format to really catch and absorb a lot of what was said. 

This was mainly the author talking about his life, his diagnosis and struggle against cancer, his reflection on experiences and other writings.  There were eight chapters, the last being more small paragraphs, jotted thoughts, not yet (although some WERE familiar, that he had expounded on in the earlier chapters) finished up. An intro by an associate, and afterword by his wife, both added more detail. 

I'll often highlight (and look up) words that are unknown to me, or not as commonly used ... SO many of those in these small pages; mordant, inanition, fatuous, solipsistic, ecumenism, polemics, extirpate, attenuated, etiolates, facile, obviated, averred, quotidian, punctiliously, vertiginous ... banal, while not that uncommon, was used five times in under 100 pages.

I'd always pronounced Carnegie Car-nuh-gee until one book pronounced it Car-NEG-ee ... here, the narrator did both pronunciations, almost back to back (so I think if it's referring to one of the official organizations, ie Carnegie Mellon it is the first, whereas if it's in reference to a person, it's the second?)  

Often serious, but with quite a bit of humor as well ... TumorTown.

Much discussion of religion and prayer and death. Some thoughts/discussion on pain ... no holds barred when denigrating those opposing stem cell research "The politicized sponsors of this pseudo-scientific nonsense should be ashamed to live, let alone die."

This did bring up many a thing to think about. 

My Little Free Library has changed my TBR somewhat ... I shop library sales and thrift stores, grabbing books that I wouldn't get just for myself. I check the ratings and if they are 4* then maybe I will give them a try before sending them out in the LFL.  Such was the case here. I picked up the physical book at a library sale. It had been a "Reader's Choice" ... and I don't know exactly what that means with the library, but it's usually one the library gets more of, has on a list, has readers vote on. Because I'm a digi gal, I grabbed the audio and kindle copies (my library had several copies in that format as well). 

HEAVY New Zealand accent ... which I enjoy. Lots of Maori words, which in text, had little translations at the bottom of the page. In audio, I missed out on this (as audio was my primary format). This caused a slight disconnect at times, so many words I didn't know/understand.  I have only a limited knowledge of the Maori people. This had some similarities to writings about Black/Indian/Latino racial issues, using a story to showcase tragedies and problems still happening today. 

3rd person/Present tense ... it felt a little awkward to me (past tense feels much more natural especially with the 3rd person, just my opinion).  Two narrators in audio, as the POV was mainly Hana (female narrator), but then there were some chapters from a man's POV (the killer ...). 

I often wonder why an author makes something a prologue instead of chapter one, or an epilogue instead of a final chapter. Here, it does start with a chapter 1 ... when I felt this one DID feel more like a prologue (happening in 1863, 160 years before the main storyline). This intro was quite dry, although I realize essential to the story, but as I was listening, I just wasn't sure I would end up continuing with the story. Once chapter 2, Hana, came on the scene, it drew me in more. Still, it took a while for things to come together. The male POV doesn't come in until chapter 6, and he only has a few chapters, Hana is the main. There was an odd shift (chap23) where it was 2nd person, YOU (it was still Hana) but this change in style threw me. I had to stop the audio and check out the text to see if I had missed something. 

It was easy to switch between the audio and kindle formats - clear chapters with topic headers. I'll never understand current publishing standards that don't bother to give the physical copy a TOC. That's a disservice to readers of the physical book, leaves it lacking.

I did eventually get pulled into the story, and grew to care about the characters. It was interesting to have a serial killer who, while doing awful things, has some call for sympathy. I liked the title tie-in ... and that would make an interesting bookclub discussion - "Better the blood of the innocent than no no blood at all ..."  I wish this had bookclub questions included, those almost always make me think and appreciate a read even more.  

There were a few random connections - quite a bit of talk about the volcano, and the fertile land created by it. I had read an educational book on volcanos recently.   I enjoy baking (and liked the book [book:Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking|30753841] to learn more of the science of food) so the "The start of a homicide inquiry is sugar meeting yeast. The reaction is instantaneous."  The was mention of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - referencing their genealogical efforts (and how that helped the serial killer in this case).  There was a character named PLUS 1 ... if you've seen the show IT Crowd, which is a family favorite, there is a character named Negative 1 and I could NOT shake that association, and it was distracting to me! 

Content: ProFanity (x68) and some sex/rape, although it wasn't explicit. There is murder and the violence/gore that goes with that (although again, not overly explicit).   Other words I note: cacophany, jerry-built (usually jerry-rigged or jury-rigged). 

This sets up a series, but this story completes the arc, nothing left hanging, which I was glad for. I likely won't continue, more as detective/murder stories aren't really my jam. 

I grabbed the Kindle copy via Amazon Prime, and the audio was on Hoopla. This story kept me engaged and yet ... the "evil stepmother" character was SO over the top it pretty much spoiled the whole thing. I understand the concept of "suspension of disbelief" but  Suzette was unreal. I don't think anyone could be that mentally unstable and still pull off normal (even successful) to the outside world.

One thing I struggled with was the multiple POVs. Not so much that there were multiple perspectives, but couldn't the author give a header indicating who's POV it is that chapter? Yes, the reader can figure it out, but why can't it just be listed, and then listed in the Table of Contents too? Often times I want to go back and review things, and if I know what I'm looking for is during a chapter with a specific POV, then this helps find it more easily than randomly flipping through the entire book. Looking at a TOC with headers/POVs prepares me so I know what to expect (that there will be shifts, that there are several POVS).   Chap1 - Wendy,  Chap2,3,4 - Sharon,  Chap5 - Mia,  Chap9 - Niki ... we also get Jacob and Suzanne.  The Wendy chapters were confusing, as they didn't seem to have anything to do with the main storyline (yes, there was eventually a connection). 

3rd person/Past tense.  Definitely NOT horror (one of the genres listed on Goodreads), really not even thriller. Suspense ... okay. 

The interaction of Sharon/Amy/Niki was a refreshing change to so many foster stories ... hopefully there really are good people out there (both adults helping kids, and kids in the system). Amy's "I thought you two would be good for each other, not get into so much trouble together" (my paraphrasing, I didn't go look to find her exact quote) made me laugh. 

I had to wonder at Mia too ... could/would a child be so "perfect" at that age? Even with fear and intimidation? At what point is taking in a child to be a servant more work than it's worth? Wouldn't they have had to care FOR her for quite a while before making her Cinderella? 

I think I liked the book more while I was still in it ... the more I think back on it, the more unsatisfied I become. 

Content - clean, no proFanity or sex.