The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

 

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

Grady Hendrix is one of those authors I know is always going to give me a good time, and The Final Girl Support Group is no exception. From the first page this book sucked me in and I loved every second of it. 

This is the tale of Lynette, a 'final girl' of the horror genre fame. For those not in the know, a final girl is the sole survivor of a horror film, usually found in 80s and 90s slashers. She is usually pure, very resourceful and innocent, and often deeply traumatised by her experiences. In this world, famous horror movies are based on true events and our 6 members of the support group are the survivors. Scream, Friday the 13th, Halloween-they are all here under different names, and now we get to see what happened to the protagonists and who they grew up to be. The plot kicks off when Lynette suspects that someone is intent on murdering them all and goes on the run, determined that this time she will survive again.

There was so much about this book that surprised and delighted me. Firstly, the fact that each final girl comes from a recognisable franchise was completely unexpected and I adored it as a horror fan. I loved trying to guess what franchise each girl came from and putting together all the references and clues. Having said that, this book is so much more than a love letter to the genre. As always, Hendrix's characters are on point here. Lynette is ruthless and not a 'good' person, but you are 100% rooting for her as a reader. I think it does a brilliant job of recreating that familiar relationship between a victim and the public. Sure, you feel sorry for her but can you trust her? Is she telling the truth? Hendrix plays on these feelings to the book's advantage and it really is so clever in its execution.

It is truly incredible to have a book like this with a plot like it does and it be one of the most feminist horror books I have ever read. Rest assured, it is not overt and can be easily ignored if you wish. But to have such a strong cast of female characters, to truly poke and prod at the trope of the 'final girl' and how it is perceived by people, to have almost no sexual content or sexualisation of the female characters in the slasher genre: all this is so impressive to me. I think it has some fantastic things to say in the conversation of gender and horror, and these are woven effortlessly into the story so it never feels preachy or like that is the only point of the book.

There's not much more I can say to praise this book without giving things away but truly, it was everything I hoped for and more. If you're wondering what the difference between Final Girls by Riley Sager and this is, they are similar in basic premise and analysis of the trope but vastly different in content and execution. I enjoyed both thoroughly and reading The Final Girl Support Group, I didn't feel like it was being unoriginal or retreading old ground. This is definitely more of a horror than a thriller and it explores a wider cast of characters and situations.

Overall, if you enjoy horror (and in particular, slashers) please read this book. It breathes fresh life into the genre and I know this is a story I will be rereading a lot for many years to come. If you try one of Hendrix's books (and you absolutely should) this is the one I recommend the most.

Overall Rating:

Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Avon Books UK/HarperCollins UK Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Fran never found out what happened to her sister when she disappeared from a self-help retreat two years ago. When the man responsible for the retreat is released from prison after serving time for the deaths of two other people, Fran's mother is determined to find out what happened to her daughter and sends Fran to go investigate. Told between the present day and flashbacks to Jenna's time at the retreat, slowly you begin to uncover what actually happened to Jenna and what might still happen to Fran.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book but once I did, I enjoyed it immensely. There is a lot of information to take in but once the story starts, it really is a cracking plot with plenty going on to keep you entertained. The audiobook was fantastically narrated and I found both easy to listen to and to follow. I always knew which timeline I was in which made keeping track of the story very easy.

The plot focuses on a closed setting with a set group of characters. They were all fairly decent and, while I could see some of the plot developments coming, I was genuinely surprised a couple of times. I think this would be the perfect book to read on holiday as it has that kind of atmosphere which would work brilliantly if you're sat by the pool or travelling somewhere. Overall this was a solid thriller with a believable, enjoyable plot and plenty to keep you interested.

Overall Rating:

Whisper Island by Carissa Ann Lynch

 

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

What a pleasant surprise! It is no secret that I love 'murder island' stories as I call them, even though they can often vary widely in quality. I wasn't expected a whole lot from Whisper Island as the blurb was quite vague but it ended up being one of the best murder island stories I've read in a while.

Whisper Island is the story of four college girls who go to stay on an island, only to be unexpectedly joined by one of the girls' brother and his new girlfriend. One of the girls used to date him and yet another wants him to cheat on his girlfriend with her. It all starts off as harmless teen drama until someone is found dead and things take a far more serious turn.

This book skates the line between horror and thriller in the best kind of way. It never goes into full on slasher territory but there is more gore than your typical thriller, plus a lot of the classic 'stalked by a killer' elements. It made for a gripping read and I loved not knowing what would happen next or who would die.

I think the weakest element was probably the characters. Though they are 3-dimensional and never feel flat or uninteresting, I did struggle to tell some of them apart which disturbed the flow of the story a little. Having said that, I was listening to the audiobook so that might have been a factor. I think the most important characters were identifiable and that's what really matters.

Overall, if you love closed setting thriller or horror books, then Whisper Island is definitely worth a try. It's relatively short and would be a perfect companion for a holiday or journey somewhere. The destination might not be all that surprising but there is plenty to enjoy along the way.

Overall Rating:

Just My Luck by Adele Parks

 

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

Just My Luck is a fantastic domestic drama book about what happens when one family wins the lottery. That sounds like a fairly simple premise and it is, but therein lies the strength. When Lexi wins 18 million in the lottery, she can't believe her luck. Unfortunately just the week before, she was part of a syndicate with her friends who now feel that they are owed a share of the money. On top of that, her husband seems unable to control his spending and it is causing cracks in the relationship. Determined to use the money for good, Lexi must weigh her own values and desires against those of the people around her.

I wasn't sure going in if this book was a thriller or not, and to be honest I'm still not entirely sure. It lacks 'someone messing with the main character' or other hallmarks of a thriller, but there are definitely twists and turns to be found here and many of the characters have secrets. I think if you usually enjoy thrillers then you should check this out, although be aware it's not entirely typical of the genre.

This book had a great sense of pace and it always felt like there was something going on which was very engaging. The main drama of the book is actually not entirely focused on the syndicate and I very much appreciated that as it would have been a bit weak to drive the whole story. Instead there are a lot of different intricate personal dramas going on and plenty of stories driving the plot, with each character feeling fleshed out and like they had their own motivations. I never quite knew how things were going to play out and that was very enjoyable. My only complaint is that one particular plot point is benched for most of the book and I kept thinking about how interesting it would be to see how the characters involved in that were reacting to what was going on. It felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Overall, Just My Luck is a great summer book and a gripping story with a lot to offer a reader. It's not too heavy if you're not a thriller fan but it still manages to create a sense of tension and keep you invested with the story. I'm very glad I took a chance and requested it.

Overall Rating:

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

 

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

Christina Henry is back in full form! After being a little disappointed by The Ghost Tree, I am pleased to report that Near the Bone is a truly fantastic creepy tale.

It tells the story of Mattie, a young woman who lives with her husband William in a remote forest cabin on a mountainside. A strange creature appears on the mountain one day, something which is like a bear and not. It soon becomes clear though that things have not been right long before that. William is a very controlling person and he doesn't like that the arrival of the creature appears to be affecting his tenuous hold on Mattie.

I was utterly mesmerised by this story. Henry knows how to build tension and there were absolute piles of it in this book. The relationship between William and Mattie is one of the main driving forces and it was harrowing to see the unpleasant reality of it slowly unfurl as I read on. As with many of Henry's books, Near the Bone has a strong focus on feminism and gender roles and this is handled extremely well. I felt such a strong connection to Mattie and everything she goes through broke my heart a million times. Every character was so real to me and they all had depth which made you either love or hate them.

So I have covered the characters and relationships side but what about the horror? Well rest assured, this book has plenty of that. There are some particularly gruesome scenes here and also a lot of the slower, more tension-based horror that I mentioned earlier. I think this book is particularly effective because it has both domestic horror (from the threat of William) and the horror that comes from being hunted by a supernatural creature. It provides a variety in the kind of fear you feel as a reader and as a bonus it appeals to all tastes.

Christina Henry is one of my favourite authors and with books like this, it isn't hard to see why. If you want a tense, absorbing horror with brilliant characters and a heartbreaking plot, I urge you to check this book out. You will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating:

 .5

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 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.

Overall Rating:

Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake

 

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

This was so close to being a fun, if totally ridiculous romp. Then there was a healthy dose of transphobia and no thank you.

Most of this book can be described as a bunch of women working on a soap opera, backstabbing each other and having a lot of graphic sex. It's very ridiculous but not in an offensive way. Almost every sexual encounter starts with the woman not wearing underwear and the man noticing and then they bang. I was fairly engaged in the story and I enjoyed it a lot for what it was.

Unfortunately this book was ruined for me by a scene where someone is revealed as trans, and then the other characters proceed to threaten to out them. Every character is morally grey so it's not entirely portrayed as a triumphant moment, but the narrative does suggest we are meant to be on the side of the people doing the blackmailing. The trans character is what I would consider to be the most villainous presence and so it left me feeling very unhappy that in 2021, someone could write this with zero consideration for all the 'trans people are evil' tropes the media has used for years. It was bitterly disappointing.

Without that, the book could have easily gotten a 3.5 star rating from me. I am giving it 2 stars in an attempt to be fair because it could have been worse but dear god, it's such a shame.

Overall Rating:

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.

Overall Rating:

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.

Overall Rating:

.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.

Overall Rating: