Try Not To Breathe by Holly Seddon

This is a thriller aimed at young adults and up.

15 year-old Amy Stevenson is your typical teenager; enjoying life with her friends, working hard at school and generally getting up to mischief. Amy has a nice and safe relationship with her boyfriend Jacob, but what he doesn't know is that Amy is also seeing an older man. Someone who makes her feel "oh so grown up". One day Amy doesn't return home from school, and her body is found having been raped and beaten. Not quite dead, but in a vegetative state where it's doubtful she will ever wake up. Fast forward 15 years and Alex Dale is a freelance writer and barely functioning alcoholic, who stumbles upon Amy in the hospital she has been in since the attack. No-one has ever been convicted of the crime so Alex decides to investigate and uses every connection she has managed not to sever. Will she even remain sober enough to complete the job and how will she get answers from the only witness when she hasn't been able to communicate with the world for the last 15 years?

Considering this is the author's first novel I am extremely impressed with it. Her portrayal of Alex's character is so comprehensive that you feel you are battling her demons along with her. The descriptions get so intense that I could feel the withdrawals her body was going through or empathising with her thirst for the next drink. The author spent just the right amount of word time on the main and peripheral characters-feeding you just enough info about some and letting you into deep and private thoughts for others. The plot was well thought out and logical. The neuroscience part about communicating with those patients in comatose states was very thought provoking, and the whodunit part-well who doesn't love a good mystery? There were a few spelling mistakes and formatting errors but not enough to cause a major distraction.

My congratulations to the author on a fantastic novel, with a crisp storyline that stayed on the straight path and well developed characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review the book.

Now You See Me by Jean Bedford

This is a suspense/thriller novel aimed at adults due to the graphic violence descriptions.

As a journalist, Noel has read her fair share of violent police reports. A suspect has just been arrested for the abuse and murder of his step-daughter, but something seems off to Noel. The evidence just fits too neatly. On a hunch she combs through similar cases and finds what she thinks is a pattern. Can she convince the police that a serial killer is on the loose and that so many other closed cases may have convicted the wrong suspects?

This story really hits you in the gut. Journal entries are scattered throughout the book by the actual killer, and you shudder as the person recounts the abuse they suffered as a child and the ramifications from it. The clues throughout the book point you to a certain person in a group of friends who were previously at university together, and as you think you are joining the dots in your mind, you are pointed in another direction. The idea behind the story is interesting in that we as a society are prepared to believe the worst about someone based on their previous deeds. The level of abuse on so many of these children, so graphically described, was horrific. Horrific to think that this happens every day and people get away with it.

I didn't enjoy the amount of editing mistakes-misspelled words and lack of spaces between words cropped up constantly.

It's a difficult book to read as it deals with a lot of taboo, but makes you realise that sometimes we put on blinkers against the evil in the world and we actually need to stand up for the victims. A well-written book where the ending will leave you feeling very uneasy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review. 

Driven by Kelley Armstrong

This is a fantasy/supernatural novel aimed at mature young adults and up.

Elena Michaels is now the Alpha of the pack. When a psychotic ex-enforcer of the pack turns up for re-admittance, Elena must make the difficult decision  of whether or not to include him with all the rules and regulations accorded to the pack, or leave him as an outcast. In the meantime Davis Cain, a not so bright mutt, has come home from a date to find two of his family murdered while still in wolf form. He approaches the pack for help, and so begins a tale of vengeance and retribution, where in werewolf terms it really is an eye for an eye.

Having read a number of Kelley Armstrong books previously, I thought that I would be able to catch up relatively quickly with previous characters. It turns out I really had to stretch my memory banks to remember some of the names and characters. So much has changed since those books that I felt I was reading a standalone. While the author tries to recap some of the characters in the book, I still found myself confused. I really enjoy her writing though. It flows easily and the story paces itself naturally. Some characters were merely touched on so I wasn't sure why they were introduced to the story-could be part of the storyline I missed in previous books. The story itself is light reading (with a generous amount of wolf violence), and by that I mean you don't have to concentrate too intensely on the plot. What really irked me was the copy I received on my kindle as the formatting was all over the place with some words in a larger font, letters all over the place and sentences broken up for no reason.

An enjoyable afternoon read, nothing absolutely amazing but a good filler in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review the book.

Ghost Heart by John Palisano

This is a horror story aimed at young adults and up.

Rick, a mechanic at a family garage, was at a club called the Universe when he met Minarette. The most gorgeous creature he had ever seen, and way out of his league. Strange events start happening around town when the bodies of some of his friends and family turn up drained of blood. Did his passing interest in Minarette stir up jealousy in her friends when they start targeting him for regular beatings? They seem different to most people-stronger and faster. Minarette then lets him in on the secret. They have ghost hearts and must feed on blood to survive for the short time they have left in this world. But will her friends push it too far and decide that killing him would be more expedient?

I'm very on the fence about this book. The tagline "Live fast, die young and leave a bloodthirsty corpse" really caught my eye. While the story did indeed touch on that, I felt that there were many holes in the plot and lots of questions left unanswered. For example what gets revealed under the club is pivotal to the story, yet goes nowhere. I thought that the characters needed more fleshing out. They seemed 2D and I never actually felt that their lives or parts in the story gelled. Rick is supposed to be the hero of the story and even though he has lost friends and family and has been beaten to the point of death a number of times, he comes across as whimsical and fluffy; pining after a dying girl. And this after he had just been used and abused by an ex-girlfriend. I was hoping for an in your face scary horror, but came across a lukewarm love story with dead end sub plots.

The essence of a good idea is there, it really is, but the execution just does not happen. I have no problem finishing a story with some questions when your mind is able to fill in the blanks with possibilities, but there were so many confusing moments and implausible actions, let alone feelings, that I was dissatisfied when I finished the book. Maybe others will pick up on a gem I didn't, but for me this was just average. A little work on it will go a long way.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review the book.

How to Successfully Kidnap Strangers by Max Booth III

This comedy filled with dark humour is definitely intended for adults only.

Harlan, a rejected author, currently reviews books by a small publishing company, and takes great delight in trashing whatever has been published by them. Standing in line for a cup of coffee one day, Harlan is disgusted by the drugged up kid in front of him. Harlan runs out of the store after being spat in the face (a story for another day) and is accosted by the kid who jumps him. A well-meaning (another story for another day) motorist stops to help and he and Harlan are both kidnapped by the tweaker. So starts a series of events including a gas station robbery, murder and inevitably more kidnapping. Harlan is about to have a very bad day indeed.

This book was crazy. The tie-in of characters to the story and each other as well as the knock-on effect of actions was extremely clever. Personally I found the spoof on religion offensive and flicked passed these sections of the book. Apart from that the book itself was wickedly funny but definitely only for those with a warped sense of humour.

Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to review the book. 

The Lead Cloak-Book One of the Lattice Trilogy by Erik Hanberg

This is a Sci-Fi book aimed at young adults and up (due to violence).

The world is dominated by the invention of the Lattice. A machine that allows all of its users to jump into another person's thoughts. Privacy is a thing of the past as anyone who has access to the technology is able to hone in on a particular person's thoughts, present or past. Colonel Byron Shaw is an ardent supporter of the Lattice and its jumps, and loves to relive old history battles right inside the thoughts of those taking part. Willing to defend the Lattice with his life against those who oppose the technology, he cannot understand why groups would want to rid the world of such an amazing experience. Granted, it can be tiresome when others know important news about you before you know it, but surely all people should love the sharing involved in the Lattice? Shouldn't they?

I picked up this book as a freebie on BookBub and I was blown away by it. It's always been a worry that technology can interfere too much in our lives, but to have every  thought and emotion available 24/7 to anyone who wishes to have access to it is frankly quite scary. As humans we experience so many different emotions and how you act on your thoughts and emotions is often more important than the emotions themselves. In the book's world a person can be judged and condemned on thoughts alone. I can't go too far into the storyline with spoilers popping up, but let's just say that there is always a group of people who want to bring an idea like this down and their reasons are surprisingly good. I hovered between the two sides throughout the story. The different aspects of technology thought about and covered were described so well that I felt I was actually handling the devices or in control of the command centre myself.

A brilliant read, fantastically written. I really commend the author on an amazing idea and so well executed.

Sing me to sleep by Chris Simms

This horror/thriller is a fiction book aimed at adults.

Laura (an ex-professional ballerina) and her older husband Owen have moved out of the hustle and bustle of the city to a quiet country town and a house by the name of Lantern Cottage. Owen is a famous orchestral conductor and is busy prepping for a show, so daily leaving Laura at home by herself. When she starts hearing noises that sound like birdsong coming from the walls she starts questioning her reality. Human remains are unearthed near the cottage,  and as more secrets are revealed about the previous occupants of the house, Laura is struggling to convince a skeptical husband that the strange happenings are not connected to her previous psychiatric break. Why can no-one else hear the noises or believe the physical clues she has found are not just made up by her? How far must she go to prove all is not normal in Lantern Cottage?

A good thriller with a supernatural element. Well written with a conclusion being fed to you oh so slowly. I enjoyed the way that Laura's character was written-you could feel her frustration at not being  believed yet at the same time you start doubting her story yourself. Some questions are not answered when the big reveal happens and some character's stories are not fleshed out enough. While I enjoyed the book I can't really say I loved it as the story has been done before-albeit with a few changes. An afternoon's entertaining reading but not amazingly original.

A cure for madness by Jodi McIsaac

This thriller aimed at adults is a great paced read which leaves you thinking.

Clare Campbell has just found out that her parents have been murdered and she has been granted legal guardianship of her schizophrenic brother Wes, who is just about to be released from a psychiatric facility. After spending most of her life trying to stay away from this side of her family, Clare is sucked into a world of mental illness, delusional rantings and conspiracy theories. As Wes's behaviour becomes mirrored by those around him and people are physically turning on each other, the CDC intervenes and a town is quarantined. Just what kind of nightmare has Clare stepped back into and is there some iota of truth about Wes's crazy ravings?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As you move through Clare's story you alternate at her bravery with dealing with the murders to being annoyed at her selfishness at wanting to run away at the first sign of trouble. I think that the reason given for Wes going into the hospital in the first place was a little strange-firstly because that led to so many years of him being in hospital and secondly because of how quickly Clare jumped into a physical relationship after it. The explanation behind the virus and its spread were a good view on the "contagion epidemic" too. Just enough of a scare factor to get you to believe it and buy into some of the theories.

A few editing mistakes but nothing to detract from the story. So just as you think it's close to the end and things should be working in our heroes favour-BANG; the story finishes. I turned the page and it was definitely done. I went back and checked the previous page-yup definitely finished. Very strange! So I decided to read the last chapter again. Hmm-it took me a day to think about it. Either I got the very clever ending that the author didn't make obvious or the book was just wrapped up in a heartbeat. Personally I would like to believe in the clever ending just because of the first few sentences at the beginning of the last chapter. Either way it was a really good book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review it.