6:40 to Montreal by Eva Jurczyk
To be honest, I’m not sure whether 6:40 to Montreal is a bad book, or if I’m just deeply annoyed with the ending. Multiple things can be true at the same time, of course, but I like to go into a review with a clear head and pure motives. Writing fiction is hard, and I myself can’t do it. Trust me, I’ve tried. There will be no snarking here for the sake of scoring points or looking clever. Just sound advice on whether or not you […]
Heatstroke (2020) by Hazel Barkworth
Heatstroke (2020) is clever–cleverer than its cover, certainly cleverer than its title. I remember that the review blurbs on the covers of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2006) and Megan Abbott’s Dare Me (2012) signposted how terrifying teenaged girls can be–and this is certainly a thing, the way teenage girls are inscribed with contradictions of power and anxiety, and Heatstroke does deal with that–but I remember thinking, well, it’s actually the mother that is fairly fucking monstrous in Sharp Objects, and parental figures are pretty absent […]
A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
Lizzie Kitsakis is working late in her office one night, at the prestigious New York law firm Young & Crane. It’s not the job she pictured for herself, she was perfectly content working as an underpaid federal prosecutor, but her husband’s alcoholism has forced her hand into taking this better paying, yet less rewarding job handling white-collar cases. She’s about to head home when she receives a collect call from Rikers Island. On the line is Zach Grayson, an old friend from college, now millionaire, […]
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Book four of five that I should have reviewed weeks ago… Rachel Hawkins’s The Wife Upstairs follows a woman named Jane who has found her way into the upper-crust neighborhood of Thornfield Estates in Alabama as a dog-walker to the rich and occasionally famous. One day she bumps into the neighborhood’s most eligible bachelor/widower, Eddie Rochester. He is recovering from his wife, Bea’s mysterious death. Soon, Jane is walking Eddie’s dog. And staying in Eddie’s house. And wearing an engagement ring. The only problem is – […]
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alex Feeney
One of my favorite kinds of novels – toxic couple tries to fix their marriage with an ill-advised trip. Adam and Amelia are on an anniversary vacation that Amelia won in a raffle. It’s in an old chapel that was previously turned into a home. It’s on the shores of a Scottish loch. The nearby town is deserted.It’s snowing. And they are trapped. Also, Adam has face-blindness, which just complicates things. Things are already tense with the couple, and the mysterious experiences at the chapel […]
The Other Woman by Sandie Jones
This is my “Pandemic” book for CBR13Bingo. Also, I give it 3.5 stars. What is it about guys named Adam in domestic thrillers? This is the second book in a row that I’ve reviewed featuring a man named Adam in a troubled couple at the center of a narrative. This couple is very different, however. Emily and Adam are dating, and their relationship has moved fairly quickly. Before they’ve even been dating for a year, they are engaged and planning a wedding. Emily is beautiful […]
