The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

HOLY CRAP.

This book.

To say that this was a wild ride would be an understatement. The pacing and plotting of this book is batshit crazy. Pardon my French.

I'll be honest, I didn't care much for Jessica Knoll's debut novel, Luckiest Girl Alive . I felt her characters in that book were vapid, shallow and that overall the book lacked depth. In fact, I couldn't even finish it.

But this book - I absolutely devoured.

Knoll's sophomore effort is an addictive, twisty, thriller that sinks its claws into you and never lets up until the last page. If you enjoyed her writing style in Luckiest Girl Alive - you'll be happy that The Favorite Sister is just as snarky and bitchy, and full of pop culture references that hit the proverbial nail on the head. It's campy, overwrought, completely over the top and absolutely delicious.

I think if you can see this for what it is - it's brilliant and wildly entertaining. Knoll uses a reality TV show as the backdrop for her latest thriller, a murder mystery in which the most popular cast member ends up dead at the end of the season and the question everyone is asking is "What Happened?"

It's a smart move given the public fascination with celebrities and their lives. She gives us an all star cast of women who are supposed to represent the title of the show Goal Diggers. They're all unabashedly successful, young, wealthy and unapologetically ambitious. But behind the scenes we find that the show is scripted, the women are pitted against one another and everyone has a secret to hide. It provides a perfect landscape for Knoll's scathing social commentary on hot topics such as race, violence against women, female comradery, feminism and social image. A big one being women supporting women - but only as long as it serves everyone's agenda. It's exactly the backstabbing content the consumer wants and producers are only too happy to provide.

The reveals come at you fast, but this isn't Knoll's first time around the block and she knows her audience. She deftly gives enough information to keep you turning the pages - I never lost interest and only at the end did I have an inkling of what actually happened. This didn't detract from the book for me though. If past paced popcorn thrillers are your kind of thing - pour a glass of wine and pick this book up because it'll keep you entertained.

This book was read during the Booksparks and Popsugar 2018 Summer Reading Challenge, a free finished copy of the book was provided for review. All thoughts are my own.

Bookgawker's Buy it or Borrow it suggestion: Buy It

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The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

Those who know me - know that Suspense/Thrillers are not my typical reading fare. But I really enjoyed Aimee Molloy's The Perfect Mother .

I read this for a book club and was blown away by the expert pacing and plotting of this domestic suspense novel. I also never saw the twist coming in the end - so points to Molloy for stumping me and keeping me on the hook all the way to the end. It reads similarly to Liane Moriarty's work ( Truly Madly Guilty and Big Little Lies) - so if you're a fan of hers, check this one out.

In this quickly paced novel, a group of first time mothers work together to bring home an abducted baby. On a sweltering Fourth of July night, during a Mom's Night Out, a baby is stolen from his crib. His mother and her friends, members of a mommy group called the May Mothers (named for the month of their children's births) all blissfully unaware that anything has happened until the babysitter calls telling them that the baby is gone. Reeling from the shock that something this tragic has happened so close to home and to one of their own the women work to unravel the events of the evening.

The story is told from the perspectives of three of the women, all with their own secrets to hide. Loyalties are tested, each chapter more revealing than the last. The narrative is clever and wonderfully misleading, causing the reader to second guess every move the characters make. Also, those snarky May Mothers emails that arrive daily in the women's inboxes - man I wanted to push delete so badly!

Molloy does an incredible job of misdirecting her reader - I was stumped throughout and never saw the end coming. She does an amazing job of revealing the insecurities, pressure and judgement that comes along with motherhood - especially the misconceptions we believe about ourselves and other moms out there. The writing is nuanced and never overwrought - the characters are relatable and realistically flawed, each with her own issues. It's very well done.

I'll definitely be checking out Aimee Molloy's next book.

Book Gawker's buy it or borrow it recommendation: Buy It

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All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Once in a blue moon I go through a psychological thriller/suspense/crime novel phase. You may have noticed that I do not read and review this genre often and that is because I have a very hard time finding well-written suspense novels with characters that I actually can care about. I do not like unreliable narrators – I cannot trust them (which I suppose is the point) and I often find that they are ridiculously narcissistic, bleak individuals and in fact, I wrote a blog post about this last year - you can read it here.

So while I don’t typically pick these books up – I do keep an eye out for titles that may interest me and every once in a while I find a book from this genre that I really enjoy! 

All the Missing Girls was not one of them.

Sorry, not sorry.

I did not like this book at all. But I’m going to review it anyway because I would like to tell you why I didn’t like it. Then you can decide for yourself whether to read it or not.

You’re welcome.

So here we go!

Megan Miranda’s psychological thriller, All the Missing Girls, was one of the buzziest books of 2016. Hailed as a twisty, creepy, Girl on the Train or Luckiest Girl Alive (which I HATED BTW) esque suspense thriller that is – wait for it – TOLD IN REVERSE. I was completely intrigued and wanted to give this a shot. I mean it’s told backwards! Something new and different!

Well, friends, I was wrong.
So wrong.

 

 

While this novel had so much potential, the backwards plot structure and shallow character development fell completely flat for me. The writing was tolerable I suppose, but not twisty enough to keep me engaged and the plot was weak, which was most disappointing of all because there truly was potential there.

Nicolette Farrell left Cooley Ridge ten years ago – and never looked back. Until now.

Ten years ago, on a night that seemed like any other, Nic’s best friend Corinne vanished. Plucked from the face of the Earth, and never seen again, Nic and her friends attempt to make sense of their friend’s disappearance. In the days following, the police investigation targets Nic, her boyfriend Tyler, her brother Daniel and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson as suspects in the disappearance – but with no evidence and their young neighbor, Annaliese Carter, as their alibi, there isn’t enough information to make a charge stick and the case remains unsolved.

Now ten years later and fifteen days ago – Annaliese Carter (who happens to now be Tyler's girlfriend) is missing. As the residents and law enforcement of Cooley Ridge begin searching for Annaliese, old ghosts reappear and old wounds reopen as Nic and those who were with her the night Corinne disappeared try to find, yet, another missing girl. 

As I stated earlier, this story is narrated in reverse beginning on day fifteen and working backwards to day one. While this mechanism definitely adds an additional layer of intrigue – it actually hinders the plot construction more than helps it – and in my opinion served only to keep the reader from solving the puzzle early on. Honestly, I don’t think there would be much of this book if it wasn’t told in reverse. So while I absolutely love the concept of starting backwards – it just wasn’t executed well enough for me.

I felt that it aided in confusing me just enough that I wouldn’t catch on and nothing more. Some readers may really enjoy this set up, I didn’t.

Nicolette felt shallow and predictable to me, as did the supporting characters around her. They were utterly unmemorable - enough said.

But this is the most important thing I look for when reading these novels:

I want to know if the author can trick me.

I LOVE to try to solve the crime before everyone else. And I realize that this is probably presumptuous of me, but I want the author to be smarter than I am. Seriously, doesn’t everyone want to solve the crime before the characters do?

I will rate a crime/suspense/thriller novel by the amount of shock value it has. I am absolutely looking for the plot twist in the book – and this book did not deliver. It just felt flat and predictable to me on every level. It was tired, pointless and to be honest, I'm bored writing this review!

Maybe I’m asking too much of this genre – but if I’m going to get worked up over a suspense/thriller I want it to be well done. If you’re like me, you’ll want to pass on this book. Maybe this type of book is right up your alley – if so, that’s great – you do you.

 

Have you read this book? What did you think about the plot structure and story? Did it work for you?

Also, help a girl out – I’m looking for some really interesting/crazy/twisty suspense thrillers to read – give me your recs!

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Book Review: Don't You Cry, Mary Kubica

Title: Don't You Cry, Mary Kubica

Print Length: 320 pages

Publisher: MIRA

Publication Date: May 17, 2016

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

S Y N O P S I S

Quinn's roommate Esther is missing. Rudely roused from sleep on a Sunday morning by her roommate's errant alarm clock - Quinn stumbles into Esther's room to find that she's not there. Window flung wide open and cold air striking her into wakefulness she thinks perhaps Esther just left the window open and forgot her alarm. But when Sunday turns to Monday and still Esther hasn't returned she begins to worry - where has Esther gone? Is she coming back?

Miles away from Chicago in a small depressed Michigan town, Alex Gallo is at the diner where he works as a dishwasher when he encounters a mysterious young woman. Drawn by her good looks and mysterious origin he attempts to befriend the nameless girl - whom he affectionately dubs Pearl.

While Quinn attempts to locate her roommate she begins to wonder how well she knew the girl she was living with and Alex, miles away, finds himself befriending a stranger who may be more dangerous than he can imagine.

M Y  T A K E

In her latest novel, Don't You Cry, Mary Kubica showcases exactly the type of storyteller she is. Methodical and detailed, Kubica creates dynamic characters and intricate storylines that keep the reader engaged and engrossed throughout. Truly a page turner, Don't you Cry will keep you guessing all the way to its conclusion.

I'm typically critical of the suspense/psychological thriller genre (it's not my favorite) but Mary Kubica is my go to author when I need a good mystery (The Good Girl was one of my favorites last year - that ending?! #OMG #didntseethatcoming). Like her other novels, there is varying point of view which serves to enhance the storyline and give life to the details that are critical to the plot. I like this type of narrative and really found myself drawn to Alex's experience as he befriends the new girl in town, trying to figure her out. Kubica's characters are usually relatable - and the characters in this book are no exception. Quinn is flawed and insecure with herself, Alex is frustrated with his small town life and bleak opportunities. I imagine that there are many readers who could identify with both narrators. My one criticism is that the ending of the book felt a little rushed to me. There was a lot of plot build up throughout the beginning and middle of the book - so much that as I neared the end I was wondering if the story could actually be wrapped up in forty pages. So while the ending did answer my questions - I wish there had been a little more "umph" to it.

Overall I found the book to be well written and suitable for any type of reader. I enjoyed it and believe that other fans of Mary Kubica will enjoy this as well as her other novels.
It's a fast paced, fun read for anyone's summer book list.



A B O U T  T H E  A U T H O R

Mary Kubica is the New York Times bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL and PRETTY BABY. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter. Her third novel, DON'T YOU CRY, was released in May of 2016.

Visit Mary at http://www.marykubica.com/



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