Cannonball Read 14

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Don’t move into this murderous building

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

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In the words of June Diane Raphael, I do love a thriller. I found this book at my local thrift store after seeing posted on Book of the Month Club’s Instagram a few months ago. Decided to pick it up and give it a read. I’ll be up front here and say it was fine. Same predictable beats as other books of the genre. Same troubled, single, female protagonist with a dead family, this one comes without a drinking problem though (I’m looking at you, […]

Oh my god. If they say “movie in my mind” one more time, I’m gonna lose it!

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

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Uuuuugggggghhhhhh. I have really got to take a break from thrillers for a while. This book sat on my TBR for about a year before I finally checked the audio version out from the library. The premise seems strong: Charlie, our heroine, needs to get away. Her college roommate and best friend, Maddie, was murdered, and Charlie is not doing well. This being the early 90s, Charlie finds a ride on her college ride board from Josh, though right away there seems to be something […]

No more Riley Sager books *pour moi*.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

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I do not understand why people like this author so much. Is it the guaranteed twist at the end? The cliched story elements? The flavorless writing? The overblown dialogue? I’m sorry, everyone who loves this dude* (which is like 90% of Goodreads apparently), but his whole thing just does not work for me. Everything in this story has been done, and done better, in other books. For me, this book wasn’t scary or thrilling at all. I finished it because it’s the literary equivalent of […]

The House, It’s Haunted

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

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I did not intend to follow one Riley Sager book with another, but since what I was reading wasn’t working for me, and since my rental of this one was due to expire soon, I decided to give it a go. This one is weird. In some ways, it’s better than what Sager has written but in others, it’s probably my least favorite. It’s a haunted house tale and he gets the atmosphere of a haunted house down pat. I’m not a horror guy; I […]

Screen-To-Page

Final Girls by Riley Sager

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My second Riley Sager book and I think I understand now why I’m coming around to his work… He’s the Lee Child of these kinds of thrillers. I kind of mean that as a compliment (he says with some trepidation in his voice). Child is far from my favorite author and I find Jack Reacher to be a stereotypical character in broad strokes. But Child is a talented writer who knows how to craft a thriller. Every book is the same yet the story still […]

The Rich Eat You

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

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Read as part of CBR13Bingo: Home. The book takes place in an apartment complex where the protagonist is house sitting.  Riley Sager’s thing never seemed to be my thing. I tried Final Girls but quit after thirty pages because it gave me that airport bestseller page-ripper vibe. Nothing against those kinds of books but they’re not for me. I don’t fancy myself (hah!) as a high brow sophisticate when it comes to my reading tastes. But I usually enjoy stuff with more substance than what you get […]



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