Suspense
Stalking Jack The Ripper Book One
Written by Kerri Maniscalco
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror
352 Pages
Published October 2016
Available from Hachette Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
Seventeen year old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
A victim is found in East London, a commoner woman and sex worker dissected by the perpetrator. Prohibited by her widowed father and reluctantly encouraged by sibling Jonathan, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has an inquisitive perception for forensic science and investigation, assisting her father's estranged brother Jonathon to analyse and preserve evidence, dissecting cadavers to determine the cause of death.
Audrey Rose is a determined, tenacious young woman redefining societal gender roles during the Victorian London period. Since her mother passed, her widowed father is distant, preoccupied and believes son Jonathon is responsible for Audrey Rose in his absence. As the daughter of Lord Wadsworth, Audrey Rose is a character of contrasts. Inquisitive and courageous in the pursuant of forensic science although remaining feminine and aristocratic. Unconventional in young adult literature and wonderfully distinctive.
Thomas Cresswell is a student of forensic science and protege of Uncle Jonathon. An intelligent scoundrel investigating the infamous Leather Apron homicides. Thomas is a handsome, charismatic character and although enigmatic, is conscientious and perceptive. Beneath his mischievous disposition, Thomas encourages Audrey Rose and considers the seventeen year old his equal.
Thomas incites discussion and reasoning as the two investigate the slain sex workers, Audrey Rose is confronted by the gratuitous violence against women and compelled in the pursuit of justice. The narrative also explores the relationship between Audrey Rose and her father Lord Wadsworth, widowed and estranged from his brother. Although Audrey Rose strives for his approval, her father forbades her pursuant of forensic science. Victorian East London is exquisite and atmospheric, societal women accustomed to traditional decorum although the modernist feministic philosophy of Audrey Rose is inspirational.
Stalking Jack The Ripper is a remarkable and meticulous narrative, extraordinary and captivating.
Thomas incites discussion and reasoning as the two investigate the slain sex workers, Audrey Rose is confronted by the gratuitous violence against women and compelled in the pursuit of justice. The narrative also explores the relationship between Audrey Rose and her father Lord Wadsworth, widowed and estranged from his brother. Although Audrey Rose strives for his approval, her father forbades her pursuant of forensic science. Victorian East London is exquisite and atmospheric, societal women accustomed to traditional decorum although the modernist feministic philosophy of Audrey Rose is inspirational.
Stalking Jack The Ripper is a remarkable and meticulous narrative, extraordinary and captivating.
Stalking Jack The Ripper Book Two
Written by Kerri Maniscalco
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror
320 Pages
Published October 2017
Available from Hachette Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★
Bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer... Or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?
Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine... And to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.
But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.
The snow falls softly in Bucharest as the carriage journey reaches Institutului Național de Criminalistică și Medicană Legală, the Academy of Forensic Medicine and Science in Romania. The prestigious program is discerning and only permits astute, ingenious scholars from Europe and abroad. The villagers of Brașov are speculating the return of the Prince of Wallachia as mortal remains are discovered, the institute castle once home to The Prince of Darkness and a region immersed in Strigoi mythology.
Audrey Rose continues to endure traumatic distress often hallucinating, the remnants of her East London experience. The Romanian school of Forensic Medicine and Science suggests no reprieve as Audrey Rose and Thomas observe a young man slain before arriving at the prestigious institute. The ritualistic slaughter continues as victims are exsanguinated and brought to the institute for a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death.
Once again Audrey Rose is challenged by the male dominated environment, headmaster Moldoveanu a misogynistic, authoritarian man and warden to a charming young woman who is lodging at the institute during the winter. Anastasia provides Audrey Rose with companionship and along with chambermaid Ileana, begin a tentative and supportive friendship. Throughout the narration, mental wellness is a point of contention for Audrey Rose and Thomas, impacting their friendship as Thomas undermines Audrey Rose and her capacity at the institute. Thomas often contends with self impassiveness, preserving his sensitivity but in Hunting Prince Dracula, Thomas begins to dismantle those barriers.
Inspired by Romanian folklore and The Impaler, Hunting Prince Dracula is wonderfully composed, opulent and theatrical. Kerri Maniscalco is a remarkable author, grandiose and accomplished.
Written by Ellie Marney
Contemporary, Romance, Suspense, New Adult
508 Pages
Expected Publication August 14th 2017
Thank you to Ellie Marney
Add to Goodreads
★★★★☆
Boozer, brawler, ladies' man, nineteen year old Harris Derwent is not a good guy.
His one attempt to play the hero, helping out his old flame, Rachel Watts, has landed him in hospital. Now injured, broke, and unemployed, he’s stuck back in the country, at his father’s mercy. Harris needs to pay off his dad’s debts, and fast. But working as a runner for a drug cartel is a dangerous path, especially if Harris agrees to narc…
Eighteen year old Amita Blunt is the perfect police sergeant’s daughter, practical, trustworthy, and oh-so responsible. Getting involved in Harris’s case was never part of the plan. But working at the hospital, she’s invisible, which makes her the ideal contact for a boy feeding information back to the police...
Harris and Amie’s connection is sizzling hot, but if the cartel finds out about them, things could get downright explosive. Backed into a corner, with everything at stake, it’s time for Harris and Amie to find out if love really has no limits…
Feeling like a dickhead after telling Rachel Watts he had the hots for her, Harrison Derwent has pissed off back to Ouyen. His leg is cactus after being banged up at the quarry. Harris may be a hot spunk but he's had a pretty shit life, his old man is a shitfaced bastard who knocked him around after his mum nicked of with the ankle biter. So the dunny rat offers him a deal. He'll tell Harris where his mum pissed off to and Harris will put up with his abuse and fuckery. The old prick is sick and Harris being a bit of a softie, says why the hell not.
Big mistake son.
Amita Blunt is a top chick. The daughter of the local copper, it's been Amie and her old man since her mum died. Amie works at the Ouyen hospital mending brawlers, guys knocked about after a night on the piss and the odd ice addict. She's heard the rumours about Harris, a knockabout guy who likes to get his kit off but no one prepared her for the shit that's gonna go down. It'll be fucking epic.
Amie and Harris are a goer. She's treating his leg and he's trying hard not to pitch a tent. Harris needs cash. His old man owes a shitload in gambling debts and bar tabs and being the dickhead that he is, Harris will have to clean up after the fucker. The local weed drongos are offering cash to move up to Mildura and run ice to the junkies. Harris is tempted but he's sweet on Amie and dobs to her copper dad instead.
That Marney chick is sick mate. The eye rooting and pashing is bang on. Amie is an Indian Australian chick and it was a corker seeing a biracial sheila thrown in. Australia's a massive country and we've all mates who migrated here. Even Harris being a bit of a knob at times, Amie's nanna had the hots for him too. When you're sex on legs like that piece of man candy, can't blame a woman for wanting him to put his shoes under her bed.
Look mate, you don't need to read Marney's Every series to give these two dags a fair go but I reckon she'll be right. You'll remember Harris from Every Move when he as trying to give it a burl with Rachel Watts and deadset he's come a long way. Ellie Marney is a fair dinkum Aussie icon. Like Acca Dacca, moccos and flannies. I love this sheila.
Written by Fleur Ferris
Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery
279 Pages
Published July 2015
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
Taylor and Sierra have been best friends for their whole lives. But Taylor’s fed up. Why does Sierra always get what, and who she wants? From kissing Taylor’s crush to stealing the guy they both met online for herself, Sierra doesn’t seem to notice when she hurts her friends.
So when Sierra says Jacob Jones is the one and asks her friends to cover for her while she goes to meet him for the first time, Taylor rolls her eyes.
But Sierra doesn’t come back when she said she would.
One day. Two days. Three...
What if Taylor’s worrying for nothing? What if Sierra’s just being Sierra, forgetting about everyone else to spend time with her new guy? When Taylor finally tells Sierra’s mum that her daughter is missing, Taylor and her friends are thrown into a dark world they never even knew existed.
Can Taylor find Sierra’s abductor in time? Or should she be looking for a killer?
Fifteen year old Sierra was vivacious, a compassionate young woman, beautiful and captivating until an encounter with online predator Jacob Jones. Sierra is sexually active and her behaviour often characterised as destructive, so when she decides to spend the night with Jacob Jones, fifteen year old Taylor is concerned of the consequences of Sierra's lies.
Sierra isn't answering her phone. As the hours pass, the four young friends begin to speculate where Sierra is. While Riley is skeptical, Callum is concerned for Sierra's well being. Yet, her absence is unreported. Forty eight hours since Sierra disappeared with Jacob Jones and detectives are desperately searching for the fifteen year old. In retrospect, Taylor is left to speculate whether she was a friend to Sierra by allowing her to engage Jacob Jones unaccompanied. Taylor held resentment for Sierra's popularity but is she partially culpable? Mutual friend Riley is venomous, her character continuously shamed Sierra for her confidence and tenacity while Taylor compared herself to Sierra. Neither responsible for Sierra's choices but the toxicity of their friendship resulted in the delay in reporting her disappearance.
Jacob Jones doesn't exist. The online predator perused websites for vulnerable young women to manipulate into online relationships, using the young victim's social media accounts to accumulate information. Technology has introduced unwelcome communication throughout our safe spaces, predators potentially have access to children, posing as teens whilst creating an online persona. In Sierra's situation, the man posing as Jacob Jones used a proxy which allowed the predator to engage with both Sierra and Taylor anonymously.
Sierra's abduction is confronting and the ramifications reverberate throughout the community. Taylor believes she is culpable for Sierra's disappearance and creates a cautionary website to warn other young females about predatory behaviour online, encouraging teens to share their stories. Risk is inundated with young women with similar experiences.
Risk is compelling, exploring the anguish of despair and the cautionary narrative of communicating online often with concealed predators and pedophiles. A distressing realism facing adolescents as lives migrate online. Fleur Ferris examines the consequences, often within safe spaces that are infiltrated and provoking discussion within our adolescence communities. Distressing, poignant and captivating until the final page.
Written by Suzanne Young
Mystery, Paranormal
Published October 4th 2016
304 Pages
Thank you to Simon And Schuster Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★
Stay tonight. Stay forever.
When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.
Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions, including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.
The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She's torn in different directions, the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an inbetween in a place that is so much more than it seems…
Welcome to the Ruby.
Amid the silence, Audrey Casella remembers her mother. After her mother passed mere months ago, Audrey and older brother Daniel were emotionally abandoned by their father, a man unable to come to terms with his despair and have arranged for both Audrey and Daniel to live with their estranged grandmother. Weary travellers, Audrey and her family check into the Hotel Ruby, an opulent hotel offering the illusion of contentment and indulgence. For just one night, Audrey wants to forget.
Truth is, Dad stopped seeing us. he looks through us like he can't bear our resemblance to our mother. Like we're invisible. Daniel and I have lost both our parents, even though one is sitting next to me now.
The Ruby is breathtaking. The lavish invitational grand ballroom soiree, her gilded and ornate suites and the dashing Elias Lange who has captured Audrey's curiosity. Her glamour and prestige, the essence of the Ruby is exuberance, indulgence and passion that mask the mystery of the grand old hotel and Audrey is determined to discover her secrets.
My Thoughts
Hotel For The Lost is haunting and peculiarly entertaining, a concoction of mystery and paranormal with the opulence of a charming historical fiction novel. The hotel was magnificent, the protagonist, not so much.
Audrey's destructive behaviour after her mother's passing sees Audrey and Daniel being taken in by their estranged grandmother, their father not able to care for his children and since the death of his wife months prior. Audrey and Daniel continue to emotionally support one another, their own grief internalised while their father continues to withdraw from society. Audrey was incredibly judgemental of others, her honesty was often disrespectful and not as charming which may have been seemingly intended.
Weary, Audrey's father decides to reserve three rooms at the grand Hotel Ruby, continuing with their journey once the sun rises. The Hotel Ruby was vividly imagined, beautifully breathtaking and indulgent, her colourful patrons a blend of wealthy elites or travellers resting before their final destinations. The hotel herself is a mystery, captivating my interest until the final page. Intoxicating for both patrons and readers alike.
The secondary characters and hotel personnel were cursory but incredibly charismatic and engaging, breathing life into the old establishment. Elias was absolutely lovely, a boyish rogue and philanderer who's family once owned the Ruby. Although Audrey had only recently ended a long term relationship with a young man she disregarded, she now finds herself attracted to Elias, a handsome distraction for the night. The romance didn't appeal to me unfortunately. I enjoyed the passion and attraction between Audrey and Elias but Audrey conceding she was falling in love after only a few moments together felt insincere. She was generally more concerned with Elias and gallivanting around the Hotel Ruby, than the absence of emotional responses from her Daniel and her father, besides her hallucinations.
Nevertheless, Hotel For The Lost was engaging, entertaining and unexpected, holding me captive until the final page.
Nevertheless, Hotel For The Lost was engaging, entertaining and unexpected, holding me captive until the final page.
Yet To Be Titled Series Book One
Written by Mark Smith
Apocalyptic, Survival, #LoveOzYA
Published June 27th 2016
240 Pages
Thanks to Text Publishing
Add to Goodreads
★★★☆
Since a deadly virus and the violence that followed wiped out his parents and most of his community, Finn has lived alone on the rugged coast with only his loyal dog Rowdy for company.
He has stayed alive for two winters, hunting and fishing and trading food, and keeping out of sight of the Wilders, an armed and dangerous gang that controls the north, led by a ruthless man named Ramage.
But Finn’s isolation is shattered when a girl runs onto the beach. Rose is a Siley, an asylum seeker, and she has escaped from Ramage, who had enslaved her and her younger sister, Kas. Rose is desperate, sick, and needs Finn’s help. Kas is still missing somewhere out in the bush.
And Ramage wants the girls back, at any cost.
In the sleepy coastal town of Angowrie, they had thought the isolation would have protected the community from the virus that has spread throughout Australia. As the population diminishes, sixteen year old Finn and his companion Rowdy are surviving off the land while hiding in his small off road abode. In an act of defiance against the new world, Sam finds peace in the turbulent waves in between storm fronts crossing the coast and it's there where he discovers Rose, a girl on the run.
Rose is a Siley, an asylum seeker who arrived in Australia with her younger sister and was sent to work on the mainland. After society begun to break down, Rose and her sister are being hunted by the Wilders, a group of violent, rogue men. Females are scarce, the virus having effected mostly women and girls as it spread across the country which makes the liberated sisters a valuable commodity.
But when Rose falls ill it'll be left to Finn to find Kashmala, before the Wilders take her captive or find Rose first.
My Thoughts
The Road To Winter was a wonderful read that lured me in with it's premise and left me wanting more. Finn is a remarkable young man. Having lost his mother two years ago to the virus spreading across the country, his father passing as a result of a violent outbreak in town, Finn's only company is his canine companion Rowdy and the sound of the waves which beckon him. He's self sufficient, hunting, fishing and trading his fresh catches with a local farmer in exchange for fruit and vegetables. It's a meager existence and he's simply surviving rather than living. Until he meets Rose.
Rose's fear is palpable. She's on the run from the Wilders and escaped when she and sister Kashmala were separated and is desperate to find her before the viscous Ramage and his Wilders find them both. Although weary to share her story, Rose's life has been a traumatic struggle of imprisonment and ownership. Having arrived in Australia as an asylum seeker, the girls were given to a local family while adults were placed in detention centers. Siley's are owned by Australian families, used to work on the land and denied an education or a basic duty of care.
I loved the social messages woven throughout the storyline. It touches on the social injustice of basic human rights and the plight of refugees within Australia, gently and with care. The barren Australian coastline was vivid, a simple existence that captivated with so few words. But as much as I had enjoyed the storyline overall, the backstory felt lacking.
As a reader, I need to know how the portrayed world came to be, why does the virus effect more females than males? Before communication was left abandoned, how far did the virus spread? Finn himself also talks about how his town assumed there would be government intervention, a cure or precautions to help stem the deadly virus from spreading. Were capital cities effected? I can understand that a character of sixteen is unable to provide answers, apart from bigoted speculation that those seeking asylum had brought the virus to our shores. I hope that book two in the currently unnamed series is able to provide more information as the storyline progresses.
Overall, it was a quick, yet entertaining read. Although Finn's character is likable, I wanted to feel an emotional connection to his character but couldn't quite get there. It could be that I tend to find the female perspective more enjoyable as a narrative, but that's simply personal preference. Regardless, a wonderful debut and I look forward to reading the next series installment.
A Toaster on Mars
Written by Darrell Pitt
Middle Grade, Humour, Science Fiction, #LoveOzYA
Published 30th May 2016
Thank you to Text Publishing
Add to Goodreads
★★★
Badde plans on using a device to wipe out all technology and electrical devices on Earth, plunging the planet into a Dark Age unless his demands are met. But after his last investigation resulted in a near death experience, Blake will be forced to take on a partner and none other than Special Agent Nikki Steel.
Nikki is no ordinary agent, she's a cyborg, with golden skin and a thirst for fighting crime and it isn't long before the two agents discover that Badde wants more than monetary gain when he takes Blake's daughter Lisa captive. To secure her release, Blake and Nikki must break into a secure underground facility where they are to steal a computer super virus simply known as Maria.
Along with the help of his former wife, Blake and Nikki have but only days to pull off the impossible heist or risk losing Lisa forever.
The humour is silly slapstick, groan worthy dad jokes and eye rolling cliches but if the intended middle grade audience can forgive the abundance of adult characters, it's still an enjoyable read. With the only likable character being the villainous Badde, the humour didn't work for me unfortunately. I did enjoy the simplistic world building, especially Elvisworld, where Elvis impersonators have been imprisoned.
But strictly for the intended audience though I'm afraid.
Written by Darrell Pitt
Middle Grade, Humour, Science Fiction, #LoveOzYA
Published 30th May 2016
Thank you to Text Publishing
Add to Goodreads
★★★
Teenagers on skateboards jumped off walkways, dropped a dozen floors and activated rockets to safely land walkways below. Blake took a deep breath, inhaling something that smelt like a cross between burnt plastic and toffee apple.Blake works as an agent for the Planetary Bureau of Investigation, solving temporal crimes that are beyond the realm for the local law enforcement. A recent divorcee, middle aged and balding, Blake works in the busy metropolis of Neo City where his career has been spent trying to capture notorious criminal Bartholomew Badde, who aspires to be history's greatest villain.
Neo City, 2509.
After a series of operational bungles, as well as the accidental death of his partner, special agent Blake Carter’s career at the Planetary Bureau of Investigation is in trouble. To make matters worse, he’s just been assigned a new partner, and the beautiful and brilliant Nicki Steel happens to be a cyborg.
When universe famous criminal Bartholomew Badde steals a weapon capable of destroying whole planets at a time, Blake and Nicki must work together to recover it, an investigation that takes them to all corners of the weird and wonderful galaxy. But things get serious when Badde kidnaps Blake’s teenage daughter, Lisa. Can Blake prove he’s still a first rate agent, not to mention father, and save Lisa in time?
Badde plans on using a device to wipe out all technology and electrical devices on Earth, plunging the planet into a Dark Age unless his demands are met. But after his last investigation resulted in a near death experience, Blake will be forced to take on a partner and none other than Special Agent Nikki Steel.
Nikki is no ordinary agent, she's a cyborg, with golden skin and a thirst for fighting crime and it isn't long before the two agents discover that Badde wants more than monetary gain when he takes Blake's daughter Lisa captive. To secure her release, Blake and Nikki must break into a secure underground facility where they are to steal a computer super virus simply known as Maria.
Along with the help of his former wife, Blake and Nikki have but only days to pull off the impossible heist or risk losing Lisa forever.
A Toaster on Mars was a satirical and fun space adventure that will appeal to lovers of slapstick comedy. Set in the year 2509, it follows the storyline of Blake Carter, middle aged gruff agent who investigates universal temporal crimes and those beyond the capabilities of local law enforcement. Seeing Blake isn't all that likable as a character, thank goodness for his new partner, cyborg Nikki Steel. Nikki is a tough, no nonsense agent who plays by the rules. Thrown together, the two must hunt down the galaxy's most notorious criminal who plans to annihilate Earth through destroying all technological advances. But when Badde kidnaps Blake's daughter, they must work together with wanted villain or his daughter faces a life of torture.My Thoughts
'That's right', Badde said.Although written as a middle grade slash early teen adventure, the main character is a middle aged, gruff man and his cyborg sidekick and unfortunately I tended to lose interest throughout. The reader experiences brief glimpses of Lisa's point of view as she's being held captive, but the main focus was placed on Blake's interstellar adventure. Like most readers, children and teens also enjoy being able to place themselves within a storyline and I feel as though that probably isn't the case here.
'I have an entire box set of The Brady Bunch and I'm prepared to use them.'
The humour is silly slapstick, groan worthy dad jokes and eye rolling cliches but if the intended middle grade audience can forgive the abundance of adult characters, it's still an enjoyable read. With the only likable character being the villainous Badde, the humour didn't work for me unfortunately. I did enjoy the simplistic world building, especially Elvisworld, where Elvis impersonators have been imprisoned.
But strictly for the intended audience though I'm afraid.
Written by Jessica Warman
Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
Published July 1st 2016
288 Pages
Thanks to Bloomsbury Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★☆
Ten years ago, in the early hours of New Year's Day, seven year old Samantha and her next door neighbor, Remy, watched as a man broke into Sam's home and took her younger sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag. Remy and Sam, too afraid to intervene at the time, later identified the man as Sam's sister Gretchen’s much older exboyfriend, Steven, who was sent to prison for Turtle's murder.Now, Sam's shattered family is returning to her childhood home in an effort to heal. As long buried memories begin to surface, Sam wonders if she and Remy accurately registered everything they saw. The more they reexamine the events of that fateful night, the more questions they discover about what really happened to Turtle.
Neighbours Samantha and Remy were only seven years old when their world irrevocably changed. It was New Year's Eve and while the adults were upstairs partying long into the night, a man in a Santa suit smelling of alcohol slipped through the sliding basement door and took Samantha's younger sister Tabitha, sleeping between the two children. A manhunt was in place, but the child affectionately known as Turtle was never found.
Ten years later, and Sam and her family have returned to the house in which Turtle was taken, with a new sister who is now the light of her mother's life. Her father is unemployed, her mother is resentful and as Sam and Remy rekindle their friendship, they start to revisit the night Turtle was taken. As a man fights for his innocence on Death Row, they start to realise that the man convicted may not have been the one who had taken Turtle.
So if he isn't guilty, then who is?
My Thoughts
The Last Good Day Of The Year was an incredibly compelling read. The storyline begins on New Year's Eve ten years prior, when a man in a Santa costume lifted then four year old Turtle from her sleeping bag, lying between Sam and next door neighbour Remy while their parents celebrated the new year. By the time her parents understood what had happened through their drunken stupor, Turtle had vanished along with the man who had taken her. Ten years later, and the family are once again faced with the distress of Turtle's disappearance as they move back into their former home due to financial hardship. With a new family member, five year old Hannah who is seen as Turtle's replacement.
Sam's mother harbours resentment for older sister Gretchen, now married but experiencing marital issues. Although back living at home, Gretchen spends most of her time with neighbour and best friend Abby as she cares for her ill father. Her former boyfriend was convicted of Turtle's disappearance but remains absolute in his innocence. Even though the storyline follows Sam's before and after perspective, her family unit is a pivotal part of the storyline. Relationships are broken as Sam's parents attempt to pick up the pieces of their lives ten years later, resuming their friendship with the neighbours, Remy's parents who were present on that fateful night. But it's Sam's friendship with Remy that she wants to rebuild. Torn from one another as seven year olds and having not stayed in touch. Remy has moved on and now has a girlfriend, but it isn't long until their shared experience drives the two now seventeen year olds back together.
The storyline was incredibly unnerving. A child brazenly taken but no body was ever found. The family still live in hope that Turtle may still be alive, the man having been committed still pleading his innocence even days before he is to be sentenced to death.
I couldn't tear myself away. The storyline left me feeling both restless and anxious, the emotion of Turtle's disappearance and both Sam and Remy reliving that night having taken a toll on my nerves. Among the main storyline, we also see glimpses of the unsolved case from crime author David Gordon, who published a book about the trauma of the four year old's disappearance. It adds an extra element of emotion as the reader can see how others have perceived the case, rather than just from the family that remains behind.
More mystery than thriller, the storyline was completely engrossing. I really enjoyed the switch from before to after the event as it added to the tension throughout the storyline. But unfortunately it was the crescendo of the storyline which left me feeling disappointed. Although disturbing, it was anticlimactic and confusing. Turtle deserved justice and as a reader, I don't feel as though it was achieved. Those who knew what happened to the then four year old, not one person had spoken up and lacked the action slash reaction growth and learning curve. The epilogue was unexpected and I still don't know why it was truly needed, as it raised more questions than answers.
The Last Good Day of The Year is an engrossing read, a pacified mystery that will leave readers feeling uncomfortable and unnerved. Although the ending felt rushed and lacked the shock factor that most readers will expect, it's the emotional journey of The Last Good Day Of The Year, rather than the destination.
Contains very mild spoilers
Once Upon A Crime Family Book One
Written by Tiffany Schmidt
Contemporary, Romance, Mystery
Published in Australia July 1st 2016
416 Pages
Thanks to Bloomsbury Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★
In Penelope Landlow's world, almost anything can be bought or sold. She's the daughter of one of the three crime families controlling the black market for organ transplants. Because of an autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise easily, Penny is considered too delicate to handle the family business, or even to step foot outside their estate.All Penelope has ever wanted is independence, until she's suddenly thrust into the dangerous world all alone, forced to stay one step ahead of her family's enemies. As she struggles to survive the power plays of rival crime families, she learns dreams come with casualties, betrayal hurts worse than bruises, and there's nothing she won't risk for the people she loves.
Penelope has always been the darling of her family, born with a rare autoimmune illness that leaves bruises upon her skin when touched. Her family own a cartel of illegal underworld organ donation clinics, saving lives of the wealthy. Penelope spends her days drinking tea, visiting her very own house physician and pining for a glimpse of her brother's long time best friend in Garrett. Penny is a paper princess locked in her tower, dreaming of fairy tales and a life beyond the estate grounds. Until the only world she's ever known is destroyed and Penelope is forced out into the streets of New York.
Determined to not only survive but thrive, it isn't long until Penelope is immersing herself within the bustling city streets and it's there where she meets Charlie. Keeping her identity a secret, Penelope and Charlie explore the city while beginning to fall in love. But Penelope is about to discover that her past cannot be outrun.
My Thoughts
Hold Me Like A Breath is a difficult read. Despite the poor reviews and multiple cautions, but seeing reading is subjective and there are so few book in young adult that feature organised crime and in this instance, illegal organ trafficking. But even having lowered my expectations, I was mildly entertained. Hold Me Like A Breath promises an enthralling read and delivered little more than a thinly veiled mystery and instant romance.
Penelope suffers from a rare autoimmune disease known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, where her body destroys its own Platelets. She is kept within the secure estate due to the nature of her condition and is never to be touched. But lately she's been restless and although her health fluctuates, she dreams of a life outside of the estate which she now sees as a compound. Although I couldn't connect to Penelope as a character, I understood her frustration at those around her being overly protective and the freedom she longs to experience. But it's how she's perceived on an intellectual level in which I took issue. Physically she's unwell, but she's an intelligent girl who is simply brushed aside when she attempts to ask questions, wanting to understand what the family business entails. It doesn't aid her that she's referred to as Princess.
The storyline doesn't delve into the family business beyond Penelope's understanding, with the focus is placed upon the attraction between she and her brother's best friend Garrett. They share a flirtatious friendship, stolen moments of almost kisses and it's then when Penelope's brother discovers their connection. But before they can explore the new boundaries of their tentative relationship, Penelope is forced to flee the compound for New York City, with her life barely intact.
This is where the storyline took an unexpected and unwelcomed twist. Up until that moment, I was enjoying the storyline for the most part and had expected Penelope to develop self confidence and begin to be treated as an equal. But as she explored the city, she meets Charlie who is also seeing the city as a tourist. Charlie is secretive, but latches onto Penelope to the point of waiting outside of her apartment for a glimpse of the girl he's already falling in love with.
The romance was terrible, not to mention predictable. While pining away for Garrett, she's falling in love with Charlie despite having only known him for days. As a reader, I found it painfully obvious what Charlie was hiding and although she had lead a very sheltered life, Penelope seemed to have forgotten her family and spent her time making the most of her time in the city.
Indeed. That's when the storyline had lost my attention. For a girl so frail she wasn't allowed to leave her estate, her health is failing and yet she strangely has time for a whirlwind romance. She barely gave a second thought to her family. Although Penelope has very little experience with affairs of the heart, being able to trust Charlie so easily was dubious at best considering her family's illegal business. The romance was a deal breaker. It was obvious, predictable and lacked chemistry or any genuine connection between Charlie and Penelope.
Writing a less than positive review gives me no joy, because as many issues as I had with Hold Me Like A Breath, the writing wasn't one of them. I found the overall storyline engaging with an incredible amount of promise, but I just couldn't move beyond the romance. I felt cheated out of what could have been an epic read from a genre in young adult that seems lacking.
Written by Tara Altebrando
Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary
Published June 1st 2016
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★☆
Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back, with no idea of where they've been.It's been eleven years since six five year old children disappeared from their first day of Kindergarten without a trace, an event locals have called The Leaving. leaving behind broken families and grieving parents, the now sixteen year old teens find themselves only minutes from where they were taken, all wearing the same outfit and all with individual maps in their pocket to ensure they reach home safely. But not all the children have come home.
Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to.
Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are... Fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back.
Everyone wants answers. Most of all Max's sister Avery, who needs to find her brother, dead or alive, and isn't buying this whole memory loss story.
Avery's brother Max who was also abducted that day is missing, while the others have returned. Avery remembers clutching her teddy bear during the press conference and growing up in a shadow of her brother that may never come home.
The five returned teens each hold one memory from their time in captivity, but all have been educated, in good health and have been taken care of physically. Where have they been and why can't they remember? But as shock turns to skepticism within the community, the teens begun to piece together moments from the last eleven years of their absence and left to decipher what is real and what they've been lead to believe.
The Leaving was a bizarre blend of contemporary and intrigue that will leave readers wondering what is real and what we're manipulated to believe. Told from several points of view, Lucas and Scarlett who were both taken at five years of age and from the perspective of Avery, who's brother Max was taken and has yet to return with the other five teens. Scarlett is returning to a single mother, a former alcoholic who believes her daughter was abducted by aliens and has immersed herself in a support group of other returnees. Lucas returns to a tragic accident and now being questioned by the police. Based on how they gravitate towards one another, Lucas and Scarlett believe they may have been once in love, but the memory has been altered upon their return, along with Kristen, Sarah and Adam. It's Avery who is waiting for her brother Max to come home, the sixth child stolen and now seemingly missing. Avery doesn't believe that the returned group can't remember where they've been or who Max is, and is determined to conduct her own investigation fueled by jealousy and anger.My Thoughts
The core storyline of the children being taken and returned eleven years later was brilliant. I loved the intrigue as the storyline unraveled as to why the children were taken and where they've been. What did disappoint me was Avery's character. She fluctuated from being jealous of not only the attention the group were receiving, but also of Scarlett and her relationship with Lucas. She's one of the most narcissistic characters I've come across in young adult and I found unable to tolerate her attitude. She could have been forgiven, as her brother is still missing while the others have returned with an unlikely story but in the same breath, she's disappointed that a body recovered was not that of her brother.
Each point of view is vivid and uniquely told using the page formatting to represent each character of Scarlett and Lucas. With memory loss comes confusion and voids within their thoughts and is formatted to give the reader a sense of their inner turmoil. Scarlett's thoughts are scattered with dashes reaching across paragraphs and pages, often in the middle of her thoughts or sentences while Lucas's memories are heard in sounds, such as a gun being loaded and formatted as large black boxed quotes.
It was the final few chapters that left me bewildered. Avery determined to lure Lucas into a romantic relationship even though her brother is still missing was awkward and uncomfortable. It didn't feel genuine and that she pined away for Lucas only because she wanted what she believed Scarlett held. The disappearance of Kristen, Sarah and Adam from the storyline, we see brief updates of their lives only to fade into obscurity and of course the conclusion. It felt almost unplanned and I didn't fully grasp what was happening without having to reread due to it being so utterly random.
Overall, I really did enjoy it despite it's issues. But the ending left me unsatisfied and Avery's character, who also let the storyline down with her constant narcissistic attitude and indulgent personality.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)