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readwatchdrinkcoffee's Reviews (382)
Maybe it’s because this is the first Will Trent book that I have read and that there were so many characters to get to know, but I found this book very difficult to get into and keep up with. There are various stories that come together, the plot jumps around with flashbacks and flashforwards, and the characters have all kinds of intertwining relationships as Will works undercover with a different persona, just to confuse things all the more.
Once I got my head around who everybody was, however, and as the two ongoing investigations collide, it’s very easy to get stuck into the mystery of how these stories link together. Their conclusions are equally intense and shocking, with the final few chapters being completely unpredictable. There’s one chapter, in particular, that is left on a massive cliff-hanger which is what kept me reading. Annoyingly, it’s a long way off when you find out what Lena had been detailing in her past because of the interchanging view points, but it really does grip your attention.
Slaughter is obviously a very talented writer as the plot and characters are so well constructed, so there’s no doubting why she remains a dominant voice in the crime fiction genre. With themes of child abuse and rape, it is a hard-hitting read with a number of dark scenes involving some sinister characters. Slaughter, however, is always a very compassionate writer when it comes to such subject matters, as she deals with the aftermath of these traumas excellently.
The problem is that Unseen is an incredibly dense book. As part of a series, I know I would have thought much more highly of this book if I knew some of the background. Slaughter has been constructing these characters for 10 years already, so there’s obviously a lot of development that this instalment is built on. With the book bringing in the character of Sarah Linton, as well, who readers of Slaughter’s novels will have met before in her Grant County series, there’s a that new readers won’t be aware of.
The book does do well to touch on most of the character’s previous issues and relationships, but there’s not enough context to know whether we like these characters or not. Because of this, scenes like Sara and Lena finally having their big confrontation don’t have the same impact if you haven’t read about their conflict beforehand. This is definitely a book I would have to revisit if I were to get into the Will Trent series properly, but I’m not sure that it has completely tempted me into giving it a go just yet (Although I am loving Slaughter’s books that aren’t part of this series!)
If you manage to stick around to find out the book’s tense conclusions, then this book will definitely get you hooked by the second half. However, it is a hard book to read as a standalone instalment. I wouldn’t recommend this book if you hadn’t read in the series already, as you might be put off at the start with so much to get your head around, but it will no doubt please fans of the series who know what’s going on.
Once I got my head around who everybody was, however, and as the two ongoing investigations collide, it’s very easy to get stuck into the mystery of how these stories link together. Their conclusions are equally intense and shocking, with the final few chapters being completely unpredictable. There’s one chapter, in particular, that is left on a massive cliff-hanger which is what kept me reading. Annoyingly, it’s a long way off when you find out what Lena had been detailing in her past because of the interchanging view points, but it really does grip your attention.
Slaughter is obviously a very talented writer as the plot and characters are so well constructed, so there’s no doubting why she remains a dominant voice in the crime fiction genre. With themes of child abuse and rape, it is a hard-hitting read with a number of dark scenes involving some sinister characters. Slaughter, however, is always a very compassionate writer when it comes to such subject matters, as she deals with the aftermath of these traumas excellently.
The problem is that Unseen is an incredibly dense book. As part of a series, I know I would have thought much more highly of this book if I knew some of the background. Slaughter has been constructing these characters for 10 years already, so there’s obviously a lot of development that this instalment is built on. With the book bringing in the character of Sarah Linton, as well, who readers of Slaughter’s novels will have met before in her Grant County series, there’s a that new readers won’t be aware of.
The book does do well to touch on most of the character’s previous issues and relationships, but there’s not enough context to know whether we like these characters or not. Because of this, scenes like Sara and Lena finally having their big confrontation don’t have the same impact if you haven’t read about their conflict beforehand. This is definitely a book I would have to revisit if I were to get into the Will Trent series properly, but I’m not sure that it has completely tempted me into giving it a go just yet (Although I am loving Slaughter’s books that aren’t part of this series!)
If you manage to stick around to find out the book’s tense conclusions, then this book will definitely get you hooked by the second half. However, it is a hard book to read as a standalone instalment. I wouldn’t recommend this book if you hadn’t read in the series already, as you might be put off at the start with so much to get your head around, but it will no doubt please fans of the series who know what’s going on.
A haunting tale about family, love, and grief, We Were Liars is a moving and poetic young adult thriller that is a simple read, but also simply beautiful to read. Full of alluring imagery, I flew through reading this and took it all in, which is exactly how it should be read.
Telling the audience from the beginning that something has happened to Cadence to cause her illness and that there is a period of time that she can’t remember, we know that there is going to be a big twist and that the book is leading up to something. We are constantly given hints to suggest that something much darker is going on. Cadence even suggests that “I suppose that I was raped or attacked or some godforsaken something. That’s the kind of thing that makes people have amnesia, isn’t it?” But just how dark is it going to get?
It is mysterious, not being too obvious in the clues that are woven in, but I wouldn’t say that it is a particularly gripping read. It is developed well and builds up to its climax with a great subtlety, but I wasn’t reading out of anticipation. Instead, I was caught up in the gentleness of the prose and the compelling way that Cadence tells her story.
The trouble is, we know that Cadence is an unreliable narrator. Firstly, the title of the book already suggests that she is a liar. And secondly, she can’t remember what has happened in her past and is on so much medication that we don’t even know if we can trust the story she is telling us now.
Classed as a young adult book, We Were Liars is definitely a story for a teenage audience. The characters are young and quite immature, all dealing with first-time relationships and coming-of-age issues, but there are some very adult themes, as well. With a combination of swearing, drug use, sexual themes, and a heavy emphasis on mental illness and depression, none of these themes are explored too heavily, but the book does take some dark turns that younger audiences may not know how to deal with.
I certainly wasn’t expecting the answers that we are given and found the ending very powerful, so it’s no surprise that this book was winning so many awards around the time of its release.
My only problem with the book relates to the quote I have used at the top of the page. “We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken.” At its core, the book is about a family that comes from money. They have lived privileged lives. They think of themselves as beautiful and almost untouchable. Most of the book’s audience won’t be able to relate to this, making the supporting characters difficult to relate to and even like for the most part.
However, Cadence is easy to engage with because she is a cracked and broken character, showing readers that underneath it all she is just as fragile as the rest of us. There’s a lot going on in her head that gives us the time to get to know her better. This insight into her mental wellbeing makes her character feel very real and allows us to make a more of a personal connection to her as we can relate to some of her struggles.
Some of the family dynamics are explored well, though, emphasising that no matter how well off your family is or isn’t, that the same conflicts can still arise between them. The fact that these younger characters want to bring their parents back together does help us to engage with them a little better in the end, as well, but it’s just their circumstances that make it difficult to emphasise with them in general, often coming across as a little pretentious.
What I did really like about the book, though, is the way that the writing style reflects Cadence’s thought process. She’s obviously on a lot of medication so you can see how her mind wanders as her narration becomes fragmented, taking it’s time with random breakpoints, talking in rhythm and at different paces. This may annoy some readers, but it does reflect on the ins and outs of Cadence’s state of mind really well. The use of fairy tale fables to describe certain situations is a great narrative technique, too.
This is easily a book that you can read in a few hours, but it is also one that you will be thinking about for a few more afterwards. It doesn’t really go anywhere and it doesn’t leave you with a meaningful message to take away with you, but after the big shock of a twist, it does leave a huge impact.
Telling the audience from the beginning that something has happened to Cadence to cause her illness and that there is a period of time that she can’t remember, we know that there is going to be a big twist and that the book is leading up to something. We are constantly given hints to suggest that something much darker is going on. Cadence even suggests that “I suppose that I was raped or attacked or some godforsaken something. That’s the kind of thing that makes people have amnesia, isn’t it?” But just how dark is it going to get?
It is mysterious, not being too obvious in the clues that are woven in, but I wouldn’t say that it is a particularly gripping read. It is developed well and builds up to its climax with a great subtlety, but I wasn’t reading out of anticipation. Instead, I was caught up in the gentleness of the prose and the compelling way that Cadence tells her story.
The trouble is, we know that Cadence is an unreliable narrator. Firstly, the title of the book already suggests that she is a liar. And secondly, she can’t remember what has happened in her past and is on so much medication that we don’t even know if we can trust the story she is telling us now.
Classed as a young adult book, We Were Liars is definitely a story for a teenage audience. The characters are young and quite immature, all dealing with first-time relationships and coming-of-age issues, but there are some very adult themes, as well. With a combination of swearing, drug use, sexual themes, and a heavy emphasis on mental illness and depression, none of these themes are explored too heavily, but the book does take some dark turns that younger audiences may not know how to deal with.
I certainly wasn’t expecting the answers that we are given and found the ending very powerful, so it’s no surprise that this book was winning so many awards around the time of its release.
My only problem with the book relates to the quote I have used at the top of the page. “We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken.” At its core, the book is about a family that comes from money. They have lived privileged lives. They think of themselves as beautiful and almost untouchable. Most of the book’s audience won’t be able to relate to this, making the supporting characters difficult to relate to and even like for the most part.
However, Cadence is easy to engage with because she is a cracked and broken character, showing readers that underneath it all she is just as fragile as the rest of us. There’s a lot going on in her head that gives us the time to get to know her better. This insight into her mental wellbeing makes her character feel very real and allows us to make a more of a personal connection to her as we can relate to some of her struggles.
Some of the family dynamics are explored well, though, emphasising that no matter how well off your family is or isn’t, that the same conflicts can still arise between them. The fact that these younger characters want to bring their parents back together does help us to engage with them a little better in the end, as well, but it’s just their circumstances that make it difficult to emphasise with them in general, often coming across as a little pretentious.
What I did really like about the book, though, is the way that the writing style reflects Cadence’s thought process. She’s obviously on a lot of medication so you can see how her mind wanders as her narration becomes fragmented, taking it’s time with random breakpoints, talking in rhythm and at different paces. This may annoy some readers, but it does reflect on the ins and outs of Cadence’s state of mind really well. The use of fairy tale fables to describe certain situations is a great narrative technique, too.
This is easily a book that you can read in a few hours, but it is also one that you will be thinking about for a few more afterwards. It doesn’t really go anywhere and it doesn’t leave you with a meaningful message to take away with you, but after the big shock of a twist, it does leave a huge impact.
A book about secrets, The Accident is the thriller that started it all for C.L. Taylor. Full of twists, dark pasts, and an engrossing mystery, it is everything that you would want it to be, even if a little write-by-numbers.
Taylor is obviously an incredibly talented writer, but you can tell that this is her first book. However, she has created such a well-rounded story with increasing tension that it totally absorbs you into Sue’s situation. Alternating chapters between Sue’s present and her past, with a twenty-year lapse between the two, it is quite dark at times as it details Sue’s abusive past, but Taylor never makes you feel too uncomfortable with too many details.
It does follow quite a strict formula, ending every chapter with a cliff-hanger and starting every new chapter with an intriguing scene, but it works. It keeps the pace fast and ensures that you keep turning the pages. You can tell that the thriller has been dragged out a little as Sue doesn’t ask the questions she should straight away, but you can also tell that Taylor has gone through this story many times to ensure that she hasn’t missed out any details or left any questions unanswered. She spends time on each and every character, no matter how small, making sure that they each add something to the story and that their purpose is obvious.
This isn’t C.L. Taylor’s best book, so if you are new to her as an author then I would recommend her more recent work, but if you are a fan already then you are going to enjoy the familiar feel to this mystery and to see where it all began.
Taylor is obviously an incredibly talented writer, but you can tell that this is her first book. However, she has created such a well-rounded story with increasing tension that it totally absorbs you into Sue’s situation. Alternating chapters between Sue’s present and her past, with a twenty-year lapse between the two, it is quite dark at times as it details Sue’s abusive past, but Taylor never makes you feel too uncomfortable with too many details.
It does follow quite a strict formula, ending every chapter with a cliff-hanger and starting every new chapter with an intriguing scene, but it works. It keeps the pace fast and ensures that you keep turning the pages. You can tell that the thriller has been dragged out a little as Sue doesn’t ask the questions she should straight away, but you can also tell that Taylor has gone through this story many times to ensure that she hasn’t missed out any details or left any questions unanswered. She spends time on each and every character, no matter how small, making sure that they each add something to the story and that their purpose is obvious.
This isn’t C.L. Taylor’s best book, so if you are new to her as an author then I would recommend her more recent work, but if you are a fan already then you are going to enjoy the familiar feel to this mystery and to see where it all began.
The Lie is the perfect example of why C.L. Taylor is one of the best authors of the thriller genre. Haunting and compelling, this addictive psychological thriller draws you in from the very first page, when Jane receives an anonymous note saying that somebody knows who she really is. From that point onwards, you’ll find it difficult to put this book down.
Having read all of her other books before divulging in this one, it is The Lie that gripped me the most. Taylor completely absorbs you into her story as a group of friends become entangled in a dangerous cult. It’s a plot that I haven’t seen explored before so I was immediately intrigued by it. An incredibly haunting encounter, one that makes you want to shout at the characters to warn them of whatever it is that lies ahead, you will find yourself hurriedly turning every page, wanting to find out more.
Like many of Taylor’s books, she uses a narrative technique of switching backwards and forwards in time between each chapter, changing from the present day, in which Jane is being stalked, to the past, five years earlier, when Emma (her real name) and her friends begin their trip to Nepal. As you are gradually given pieces of the puzzle bit by bit, the suspense is built up incredibly well, as Jane’s past starts to catch up with her present day.
This is definitely Taylor’s darkest book yet. It is revealed early on that only two of the four girls return home from the trip, so we are constantly left wondering what awful event must have led to something so catastrophic. But nothing prepares you for the trauma and torment that Emma has suffered.
There are many themes explored, some of which Taylor uses frequently in her books, including alcohol, sexual abuse, mental illnesses, and depression. You can tell that Taylor studied for a degree in Psychology as she really gets inside the minds of these characters and their many, many issues.
Taylor normally emphasises the strengths of women in her books – their resilience, their powerful instincts, their determination to do whatever must be done. But with The Lie, we also see their many weaknesses. Highlighting the tug of war conflict between this group of young females, this constant power struggle comes to full blow when the worst things that could happen on a girls’ holiday, happen in the most extreme possible ways.
All of the characters are explored in great detail. They may have a lot of history together, but bubbling under the surface is a lot of anger, jealousy and mistrust, all of which are waiting to be unleashed. With betrayal and resentment lying in wait, it’s more than just their friendships that are at risk; it is also their lives. There are already many cracks in their fragile relationship, as their friendship is put to the test in an intense and jaw-dropping way.
Despite being a very grim and twisted story, it does end with a message of hope. The final couple of chapters don’t have as much of an impact, however, as they feel rushed in comparison to the amazing setup, but this book will definitely not leave you disappointed.
Having read all of her other books before divulging in this one, it is The Lie that gripped me the most. Taylor completely absorbs you into her story as a group of friends become entangled in a dangerous cult. It’s a plot that I haven’t seen explored before so I was immediately intrigued by it. An incredibly haunting encounter, one that makes you want to shout at the characters to warn them of whatever it is that lies ahead, you will find yourself hurriedly turning every page, wanting to find out more.
Like many of Taylor’s books, she uses a narrative technique of switching backwards and forwards in time between each chapter, changing from the present day, in which Jane is being stalked, to the past, five years earlier, when Emma (her real name) and her friends begin their trip to Nepal. As you are gradually given pieces of the puzzle bit by bit, the suspense is built up incredibly well, as Jane’s past starts to catch up with her present day.
This is definitely Taylor’s darkest book yet. It is revealed early on that only two of the four girls return home from the trip, so we are constantly left wondering what awful event must have led to something so catastrophic. But nothing prepares you for the trauma and torment that Emma has suffered.
There are many themes explored, some of which Taylor uses frequently in her books, including alcohol, sexual abuse, mental illnesses, and depression. You can tell that Taylor studied for a degree in Psychology as she really gets inside the minds of these characters and their many, many issues.
Taylor normally emphasises the strengths of women in her books – their resilience, their powerful instincts, their determination to do whatever must be done. But with The Lie, we also see their many weaknesses. Highlighting the tug of war conflict between this group of young females, this constant power struggle comes to full blow when the worst things that could happen on a girls’ holiday, happen in the most extreme possible ways.
All of the characters are explored in great detail. They may have a lot of history together, but bubbling under the surface is a lot of anger, jealousy and mistrust, all of which are waiting to be unleashed. With betrayal and resentment lying in wait, it’s more than just their friendships that are at risk; it is also their lives. There are already many cracks in their fragile relationship, as their friendship is put to the test in an intense and jaw-dropping way.
Despite being a very grim and twisted story, it does end with a message of hope. The final couple of chapters don’t have as much of an impact, however, as they feel rushed in comparison to the amazing setup, but this book will definitely not leave you disappointed.
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