Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

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

It has been a hot minute since I fell so completely in love with a book the way I did with this one.

Their Vicious Games is the story of Adina, a young black woman who has had her future snatched away after an unfortunate incident with a fellow classmate and ex-friend. Desperate to reclaim her spot at Yale, she persuades the richest guy at her school to let her join a prestigious competition that happens yearly to help propel the winner into their ideal future. What she doesn't know is that this year is a particularly special year for the competition, and things are far more deadly and intense than she expected...

This book has a fantastic premise. It is essentially The Bachelor meets Hunger Games in all the best ways. Unlike some YA thriller/horrors, it does not shy away from the dark stuff and I adore it for that. This kind of plot deserves real stakes and horrible deaths, and this book provides buckets of both.

Many YA books have a message but this one is woven so solidly through every detail of the book that is really is executed impossibly well. Every character is deliciously complex, with even those who aren't around for very long feeling like they could be real people. This in turn provides the heart which really propels the message of the book. This is 'rich people suck' done right and, despite the fictional extremities, it reflects the real world chillingly well.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It really is the best YA thriller I've read in a long time by quite a large amount (and might be the best one I've ever read tbh) and I genuinely could not put it down. I am so excited to see what this author does next and I hope this book gets the praise and attention it deserves

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Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain and Ireland by Kevin Crossley-Holland

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I hoped for and more. It is essentially a collection of very readable fairy/folktales, most of which I hadn't heard of before and I thoroughly enjoyed. They are told in such a way that both children and adults can appreciate them and they all run a really good length so you can binge several of them at once. I can't really say much about this collection. If you enjoy reading fairy/folktales, this is a brilliant way to get to know some of the less-common ones. I am British but haven't read much about Irish folktales before so this collection was very fresh to me. Maybe it has slightly less appeal if you're familiar with the tales, but given that I am British and it also contains those stories, I still found it fresh and enjoyable. Definitely worth a try if you want to experience some more obscure folklore.

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My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

 

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

I go back and forth on Stephen Graham Jones as an author and sadly, this was one of the misses for me. I am giving it 3 stars because I think a lot of the reasons it wasn't for me are just personal, and I definitely urge you to give it a try if you like his other work.

My Heart is a Chainsaw is the story of Jade, a teenage girl obsessed with horror films. When a new girl arrives at her school, Jade dubs her 'a Final Girl' and becomes excited that a real-life slasher event is about to begin. The story mostly focuses on Jade trying to determine the nature of the slasher she's in while she copes with finishing school and other aspects of her unhappy home life.

I got about 40% of the way through this book before giving up and skipping to the last 20%. I enjoyed it immensely at first, but there was just too much unfocused rambling and not enough plot happening for me. Normally I love character-focused books (especially with horror) but the writing style made it hard to tell what was going on, something I've struggled with from this author in the past. I liked the elements of horror tropes that were brought up and discussed, but I think the interesting parts did get bogged down by the writing.

Overall, I think if you've enjoyed other stuff by this author then this is definitely worth a try. I loved The Only Good Indians but I think I will stick to trying the shorter works from now on. For me, this book had some great ideas and a lot of promise in the plot, I just sadly didn't gel with the execution.

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The Decagon House Murders Vol 1 by Yukito Ayatsuji, Hiro Kiyohara

 

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

Having read the novel version of the Decagon House Murders earlier this year and being very impressed, I was really excited to see a manga was being produced. I am pleased to report that it did not disappoint! This is a fantastic adaptation of the book's content and a really fun way to experience the story. The character designs are great and, as someone who struggled a little bit with character names in the book, I found it actually helped me tell characters apart much more easily. I also found the subplot a lot more interesting in this format than in the novel. This volume covers a decent amount of the first book and seems like fantastic value as it told more of the story than I was expecting. I 100% recommend this, both as a way of consuming the story and for the story itself. This is a brilliant murder mystery and the manga format only adds to the enjoyability. I am eagerly awaiting the other volumes.

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Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an absolute delight from start to finish. It is very short but I quite enjoyed being able to read it in one setting. Essentially this book is exactly what it says on the tin: a delightful comedy book told in the style of a guidebook parodying all manner of British murder mysteries. I mainly noticed references to Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie, but it covers a lot of mystery tropes so there's bound to be something here for everyone. The illustrations are brilliant and the humour is very reminiscent of Lemony Snicket, which suits the style and genre perfectly. I would be delighted to get this as a gift as a mystery fan and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it.

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The Boyband Murder Mystery by Ava Eldred

 

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

I was a little worried when requesting this book that it would be a bit too ridiculous but thankfully, The Boyband Murder Mystery hit that sweet spot between fun and good storytelling. This is the story of Harri, a megafan of the the fictional boyband Half Light. When one of the members of the boyband is arrested on suspicion of murdering his best friend, Harri and her friends take it upon themselves to try and clear him of the crime by using their fandom expertise and skills.

There was a lot I really liked about this book. I'd say it leans more on the contemporary side than mystery, and the tone remains light and fun throughout. I wish a little more emphasis had been placed on the friendships of the girls within the fandom (only Harri and her best friend Jasmine really get much focus) but the characters are decent and you do get some nice friendship moments. One aspect I really liked was that Harri was at university. I feel a lot of these stories feature high school protagonists so it was nice to both see the uni environment on the page and also have a protagonist who could be a bit more independent without plot issues.

My only real issue with it is that it sometimes goes a bit overboard on the worship of fan culture, which wasn't unexpected and fit with the general tone and plot of the story. I will say there is a surprisingly poignant and heartfelt part about letting fandoms go and how that feels, and that was an incredibly strong bit of writing. I felt genuinely quite moved and I think it's something a lot of people can identify with. It adds a deeper sense of emotion to the book and it was very welcome.

Overall, this is a fun YA romp with a lot to like. It's perfect for not only fans of boybands, but fans of all kinds. If you want a deep or super detailed mystery, then this isn't the book for you but if you're looking for a decent and enjoyable contemporary with some fun heist elements, then give this a go for sure.

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The Dinner Guest by B P Walter

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes thrillers are just okay and sadly I must add The Dinner Guest to that pile. Though it has two narrators, this book primarily tells the story of Charlie, a rich influencer who is struggling to raise his son, Titus, with his husband, Matthew. Titus is going through his teenage years and his parents aren't sure how to handle it when he reveals he is having sex. Furthermore, Charlie feels Matthew is hiding something from him. The plot kicks off properly when they run into our other narrator Rachel, a woman who has engineered herself into their lives for her own unknown purposes. You learn from the prologue that Rachel will turn herself in for Matthew's murder by the time the book is through, but what led to that situation?

For a book called The Dinner Guest, I expected a little more focus on the dinner party itself. This is a very basic thriller with no real theme, which means the title could have been anything from the plot really. If you're expecting the actual dinner party to be significant beyond somewhere for a character to be murdered, then you will be sadly disappointed.

The characters were well-written for a book of this kind, although I wasn't particularly fond of any of them. Rachel probably ended up being my favourite but Charlie was very insufferable. It felt like him and Matthew viewed Titus as a pet rather than a son, and this was something that was kind of addressed but not really in a way which made me satisfied it was a deliberate decision from the author and not just a result of convenience. Titus neatly comes in and out of the plot as needed and might as well not exist when he's not directly being discussed. He seems the least real out of the characters and the book suffered from it.

As this all seems very negative, now is the time to stress I didn't hate this book. It has a decent plot and I couldn't predict what was going to happen, and it also makes a fair attempt to discuss some wider social issues. There was just nothing that really wowed me or made it stand out among the thriller market. If you need a thriller to pass the time, you could do a lot worse than this. It's just a shame it had nothing new to offer readers.

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The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

 

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

There are genuinely few things in the world which can compare with a truly well-written murder mystery to me. Every since I discovered Agatha Christie, I have constantly been looking for other authors which can match her tone and ingenuity. I do not say it lightly when I say that Ayatsuji is up there with the best.

This book starts so strong that it instantly got my attention. A group of college students are part of a club dedicated to mystery stories. Each one has taken the name of a mystery author (including my dear Agatha) and they have embarked on a trip to stay in the infamous Decagon house. This house was previously the site of an unsolved grisly murder, and the students are staying there as a chance to experience something from a real-life murder mystery. As can be predicted when a bunch of people go to stay in an unusual house on a remote island, it soon becomes clear that there might be an all-new murder mystery starring them.

This book does reference Agatha Christie and And Then There Were None a lot, but apart from the basic premise of a murder island there isn't much in common with the book. I really appreciated that as a lot of people lift from Christie without adding anything new, whereas this felt much more like a standalone work with some neat references. Tonewise though this very much felt like the classic mysteries I love, and it was so refreshing to find that from a different author. This book also created some serious tension. I was genuinely scared reading it at times and I never felt like I had worked it out, so it was this delicious combination of not wanting to stop reading to reach the solution whilst also being incredibly tense as I waited to see what would happen next.

Overall, there's not much else I can say about this book without giving stuff away, but if you're a fan of classic murder mysteries then this is one you have to check out. I was gutted to discover that this is the only one of Ayatsuji's mysteries translated so far, and I really hope the rest of them receive the same treatment. For a spooky, intriguing, murderous time, you can't go wrong here.

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.5

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

 

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

It is no secret that I love island-based thrillers and Every Vow You Break is a great addition to the genre. Abigail Baskin has just married a very rich man, one rich enough to whisk her away to a remote island resort for their honeymoon. There's only one problem-days before the wedding, Abigail slept with a mysterious man on her bachelorette weekend. When he turns up at the resort, Abigail begins to panic and soon he's making demands of her that she's not prepared to fill. It starts to become very clear that she doesn't know her new husband very well either, and things quickly go south when an incident at the resort has Abigail fearing for her safety.

Swanson has struggled in the past with making me relate to his characters, but thankfully that's not an issue here. Even with the cheating aspect, Abigail is very likeable and you really feel for her and her situation. A lot of the strength of this book comes from the fact that you really don't know what's going on. Every time I was sure I knew what was happening, something else would throw doubt on that and it meant I was constantly generating theories and changing my mind about characters. It really put you in the shoes of Abigail (who doesn't know who to trust) and it made for effective thriller tension.

I won't spoil the plot of course but I will say that it does lean on the more dramatic side compared to a lot of domestic thrillers. Some people might find it unbelievable and if you prefer stories more grounded in reality, this might not be the book for you. Still, overall I would recommend this as a thriller to check out. Swanson consistently produces thrillers with a classic setup and then puts a unique spin on it, and this is hugely enjoyable to fans of the genre. This is the perfect book for a holiday (or wishing you could holiday if you're stuck inside) and definitely worth picking up.

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Camp Neverland by Lisa Quigley

 

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

The Rewind or Die horror series is fast becoming one of my favourite sources for good horror. I feel like every installment has something new and interesting to offer, and Camp Neverland is no exception. As always this is a standalone book which tells the story of Max, a girl keen to escape her life of being bullied by going to a mysterious camp for the summer. Unfortunately for her, when she arrives she discovers her bully is also there. Thankfully she has a whole host of new female friends who have her back, though soon she realises the camp is not as innocent as it seems when a grisly death occurs.

This book was so interesting to me on so many levels. The story is somewhat predictable from the outset but the exact nature and depth of the horror is kept hidden, so you never quite feel like you know how it's going to turn out. Max was a very compelling character and I found the way she reacted to the camp and what was going on around her really added to the story.

Like the best horror stories, Camp Neverland has plenty to say about people and society. There are strong feminist themes throughout and these are woven effortlessly into the story. It gave me a lot to think about and even though it is relatively short, it felt like it carried a lot of depth to it because of these themes.

If you are looking for something beyond the typical slasher, Camp Neverland is a great book to pick up. It is a quick and entertaining read with great characters, an engaging story and some classic horror imagery. I am a huge fan of these kinds of books and I can't wait to see what comes out in the future.

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