Idol by Louise O'Neill

 

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

Idol is such a hard book to describe. On the surface, it is the story of Sam, a wellness guru who has become popular with lost, broken women. One day her world is shattered when her childhood friend accuses her of sexual assault when they were teenagers. Desperate to clear her name, she rushes to visit her and effectively tries to force them to become best friends again.

This is a complicated book. It is hard to say I enjoyed it. Sam is a deeply unlikable character (entirely intentionally) and the subject matter is equally bleak. As the story goes on, it builds into an absolute mess which is incredibly interesting but not easy to read. Having said that, I really was gripped by this book. I would say it was well-written and, although I felt like the other characters could have been developed more, Sam made for an unusual main character.

With all this praise, there are a few caveats however. The overall message of this book is...uncomfortable. It ends in a bit of an odd place and I almost wish we'd spent more time near the end of the book to truly dive into the emotions and events that were going on. Josh and Lisa were begging for more of their side to be heard, and I think that would have really added some clarity and depth to the issues being talked about here. As it stands, something is missing. It's not huge but it is there. I also think some people will struggle with what this book is saying, and I think that's a fair interpretation.

Overall, I 'liked' this book as much as you can with this kind of deliberately uncomfortable read. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next, and it held my attention throughout. It wasn't perfect but it's definitely worth a try, particularly if you're a fan of Louise O'Neill's previous work.

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The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Hodder & Stoughton, in exchange for an honest review.

I have come to realise that I love sci fi thrillers; that is, the unique blend of domestic thriller but with some sci fi elements thrown in. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from The Echo Wife and honestly, I think the blurb is a little misleading. This is the story of Evelyn, a scientist who specialises in genetic research. In particular, she has perfected cloning through a brutal and not entirely legal method. The problem is, Evelyn's ex husband has stolen some of her research and cloned himself a new Evelyn, one who won't talk back and will be his perfect wife.

To say anymore of the plot would begin spoiling stuff, but this really is the bare bones. I feel like the blurb is misleading because you know Nathan's new wife is a clone from the start and there is no mystery or sense of tension from that. The main focus of the story is Evelyn, her scientific ethics and her relationship with this clone of herself (and by extension, her husband's attitude towards her). It's an interesting and unique way to tell a story that, although it does have thriller elements, is not quite the 'mess with your mind' experience you might be expecting from the summary. The thriller elements are more related to the body horror and nature of existence type stuff.

Overall, I definitely recommend giving this thriller a read, especially if you've not read something like this before. It does have such a unique and interesting story to tell, and it is told extremely well. Evelyn is a compelling protagonist and all of the characters are flawed but intriguing. I never quite knew where the plot was going to go in a really enjoyable way.

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Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Books (UK) in exchange for an honest review.

Our Little Cruelties is the story of three brothers. In the present day, we know one of them is dead but we don't know which one. Most of the book focuses on flashbacks told from each of the brothers' POVs, building up the relationships between them and the various things they have gone through  in their lives. Luke is a famous popstar, Brian is the deadbeat son with money problems and Will is a filmmaker. Their mother was also a famous singer in her day which albeit was a long time ago. Between all this there is a lot of drama, both public and within the family.

I'm gonna be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by this thriller. I read a lot of thrillers and it's quite hard for one to stand out, but this managed to do it in a really interesting fashion. It is very much a domestic exploration of one family and the intricacies of their relationships to each other. You learn how they respond to each other and betray each other, and this deep character exploration is really what makes this stand out. It's the kind of book which can sound very basic on the surface but it's all about that excellent execution. There were some predictable story beats here but also a lot of unexpected stuff, and it was all woven together nicely.

I will say, I listened to the audiobook and I can't fully recommend it. While it was enjoyable, the similarities between the narrators' voices made it incredibly hard for me to tell when POV swapped, which in turn made the story much harder to follow. For this reason, I only really connected with Luke as a character because it was easiest for me to tell when he was narrating. I'm sure this is entirely down to how I listen to audiobooks though and I think with a physical/ebook version, it would be easy to tell them apart.

There's not much else for me to say except that this book is well worth checking out. It's a strong story with even stronger characters and its sure to hold your attention.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Invitation by A.M. Castle

 

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

What a lovely surprise this book was! I am a huge fan of Christie-style mysteries and I was expecting much more of a traditional thriller based on the cover of this book. To my delight, it is most definitely a murder mystery with a lot of elements of the old school genre.

The Invitation is the story of three female friends and their families. The wealthiest friend, Rachel, invites the others to her island for a reunion. It soon becomes clear that a lot of bad blood has built up over the years with the various dramas culminating in the murder of one of the group at dinner. There is no 'main character' of the book, with the narration instead rotating between the majority of characters throughout. Through this method you really get to experience the different dramas and secrets each of the characters are going through.

This book definitely has more of a humorous, light-hearted tone than a serious murder mystery. There's a lot going on in this and some dark stuff is mentioned, but usually it is lightened by the tone. I found some of the characters a bit lacking and I did tend to confuse a couple of them. Particularly with the main three women, I felt their backstories blended together to me so I was often confused as to who was partnered with who etc. Having said that, a lot of the characters were more unique than those in your typical murder mystery and I definitely appreciated that. There was an interesting cast and it added a lot of depth to the story.

Overall, this book is great if you're looking for a fun murder mystery with a sharp sense of humour. It doesn't have the most complex or intricately plotted murder around, but there's a lot to like here and Castle is a distinct and welcome voice in the genre. I am excited to see what is in store for them as an author.

Overall Rating:

.5

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

 

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

There is a bit of a trend towards social media thrillers and it's a trend I am all for. Something about these books draws me in and, for the moment at least, I find them generally new and interesting. Sadly People Like Her was a bit of a mixed bag.

The plot is focused around three characters: our influencer Emmy, her husband Dan and a mysterious third presence who is both stalking Emmy and hates her for some past transgression. This is a decent enough set up but somewhere, the plot just loses its momentum. It felt like it took me a long time to get through this book even though I was reading it relatively quickly. There just wasn't much happening for the thriller aspect, and I found Emmy and Dan's day-to-day problems not compelling enough to carry the story.

I will say, I did like how Emmy being an influencer was explored in this story. I felt she was both extremely mercenary and also still sympathetic to an extent, and it made for an interesting dissection of the darker side of being an influencer. She was an interesting character if not always a likeable one, and while there wasn't enough to carry the whole plot, I do think she was a good character to center a story around. It would have been nice to see how she dealt with more direct pressure if she had encountered her stalker or the idea of them earlier on.

Overall, People Like Her is a decent thriller but one that just falls a bit short for me. Ultimately the elements didn't quite come together and therefore the climax felt unearned and disjointed from the rest of the story. However, there was still a lot to like here and it does have some interesting points to make. If you like social media thrillers, it's worth giving a go.

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