The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher HQ in exchange for an honest review.

The Wife Who Knew Too Much is the story of Tabitha, a woman who reunites with her first love only to discover he is married to millionaire. When his wife mysteriously dies, Tabitha is free to marry him. However, her new life is not all it's cracked up to be and the ghost of Connor's first wife hangs over Tabby whatever she does.

I really wanted to like this book but honestly, it's very mediocre on the whole. Firstly, this is essentially a retelling of Rebecca (at least for the first 50/75%) with little new to keep you interested. Once married, Connor leaves Tabby alone in his large house with a creepy housekeeper who is obsessed with his first wife. I've seen this before and there was nothing to keep me engaged or invested. This book is also not advertised as a retelling so it feels less like an intentional homage and more like a cheeky ripoff.

Secondly, this book felt very long. The plot and premise are relatively simple and the characters simply aren't strong enough to justify its length. I had guessed what was going to happen very early on and, while I didn't have all of the details, I wasn't wrong. This left me reading a thriller with a plot which felt stale, characters who were flat and no sense of stakes or excitement.

Overall, while I may be quite harsh on this book, I have read much worse. The writing itself is not bad which stopped me from putting it down. There's real potential here, I just think the characters needed to be stronger in order to give the reader something to care about.

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Lock the Doors by Vincent Ralph

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Random House Children’s UK in exchange for an honest review.

Lock the Doors is a bit of a hard book to categorise. It is a mix somewhere between a thriller and a drama, and it skews on the younger side of YA fiction. It tells the story of Tom, a young teenager who moves into a new home and gets creeped out when he sees the remnants of locks on the outside of the bedroom doors. When a new girl starts at his school and he realises she used to live in his house, he becomes determined to get answers from her.

I did enjoy this book a lot. I think the plot is interesting and unpredictable, and that really packs a punch in terms of the thriller aspect. The characters were likeable (if a little basic) and I was mostly engaged throughout.

There were however a few issues. Firstly, the writing was a little simplistic at times. I get that it is meant to mimic the writing of children but I felt some of the tension was lost. I also had mild problems with the pacing, with the last section in particular feeling like the book had overstayed its welcome a little bit. This definitely wasn't a huge issue but it was a bit of a shame as I feel like the ending of a book like this should be snappy and fast-paced.

Overall, this is an interesting story and I'm sure if I was the target demographic, the issues I pointed out wouldn't bother me at all. I really like that it was unpredictable and I think the direction it went in resulted in a great story. Some of the emotions are conveyed really well here. It does cover quite a lot of difficult topics so just bear that in mind.

Overall Rating:

.5

Ski Weekend by Rektok Ross

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher SparkPress in exchange for an honest review.

This book was intense! Ski Weekend is the story of Sam and her group of friends who get stranded on their way to a winter ski break. Stuck in their car while a snow storm rages outside, things quickly turn south as it becomes an intense survival situation.

I was really impressed with how this book managed to suck me in. I'm not the biggest fan of survival stories but I thought the closed location premise and the wintery setting would make this the perfect read for my Christmas break, and I was right. The real strength of this book is its characters. When you have a bunch of people stranded together, their relationships and dynamics are what really drives the story and Ross has done a fantastic job of creating nuanced and realistic teenagers. Sam was a perfect main character and I found her interactions with the other two girls (Lily and Brittany) particularly compelling.

This book also does not shy away from the gruesome. It definitely reads as a YA and is more survival than thriller or anything else, but some of the things the teenagers go through are pretty graphic and provide a good dose of physical and psychological horror. Again, there's a real sense of dread and desperation that just sucks you in as a reader, and I genuinely didn't know what kind of an ending there would be which I think is particularly great. Usually you know the protagonist is going to survive no matter what, but I never felt that sense of security with this book.

Overall, this is a great read for those colder months. The characters really carry the survival concept and there are some interesting, if brief, examinations of human nature found here. I really enjoyed it and I recommend giving it a try if you want that kind of experience.

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Auld Acquaintance by Sofia Slater

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Swift Press in exchange for an honest review.

Auld Acquaintance is the story of Millie, a woman who receives a mysterious New Year's Eve party invitation to a remote Scottish island. When she arrives however, the old friend who invited her is nowhere to be seen and instead she is surrounded by strangers, with one notable exception-someone from her past she really doesn't want to see. Things start to go wrong and before long, Millie is trapped on the island and in very real danger.

I must confess, it took me a while to get into this book. The first 20% is structured a little oddly, with one of the most interesting characters being killed off almost immediately, leading me to wonder why Millie was bothering to stay on the island (she was not yet stranded by the storm). Unclear motivations was an ongoing theme throughout the book, and while the plot was decent, the writing felt like it could use another draft. It quickly takes the structure of a typical 'murder island' mystery which are some of my favourites, but the characters aren't quite relatable enough to carry it properly. There are some good gruesome deaths and an interesting sense of foreboding, but not much else to keep you reading.

Having said that, once I got used to the writing style I did enjoy this book quite a lot. It works well as a themed seasonal read that you can enjoy full of turkey and Christmas pudding, without needing to focus too hard on it. I found the character of Winston really interesting, and I think if they'd all been as developed as him then this book would have been a lot stronger. Ultimately though, not being able to understand the motivations of the main character is quite a big problem. This book also borrows quite heavily from And Then There Were None, a recent trend which really bothers me because it is starting to feel more like ripping off than homages. I am a huge Agatha Christie fan but unless you have a really good spin on the formula, you will always just be stealing her plot in my eyes.

Overall, I still recommend picking up this book if you want a decent seasonal read with some genuinely cool deaths. Just set your expectations for fun rather than a genius mystery.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre in exchange for an honest review.

I could not be more in love with this book if I tried.

The Christmas Murder Game is the story of Lily, a girl whose aunt has just died but has left behind one last puzzle. The owner of a large manor house, her aunt was responsible for designing cryptic Christmas games for them to play as children. Now she has designed one last game for her relatives to play. The prize? Inheriting the entire estate. Lily herself isn't interested until she is told that solving the game will also help give her additional information about her own mother's death many years prior.

This book is an absolute blast to read. It's perfect for fans of old school murder mysteries and there are plenty of staples of the genre to be found here (large house, bickering relatives, cryptic riddles). There is also plenty to keep it fresh and interesting. I think a book like this can live or die by its characters, and every single one of these felt like real and interesting people. This really helps the book be a nod to classic murder mysteries without feeling tired or cliché.

Another delightful bonus is the puzzles woven throughout the text for the reader to spot. The framing of the novel is the 12 days of Christmas, and fittingly there are anagrams of each of the lines of the song hidden throughout. There are also the names of murder mystery novels set in old houses hidden throughout as well. I did find these interfered somewhat with my immersion, but ultimately it was a very fun idea and I did get a delightful sense of smugness whenever I managed to spot one.

Overall, if you like the idea of this book then you will not be disappointed. It is rare to find a modern murder mystery which captures the atmosphere and intrigue of a classic one, and especially for a seasonal thriller I haven't read anything which comes close. It's an absolute must read for fans of the genre.

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