3.5/5. Another solid suspenseful thriller by Ruth Ware! My favourite parts were the creepy descriptions of the house and the jarring juxtaposition of t3.5/5. Another solid suspenseful thriller by Ruth Ware! My favourite parts were the creepy descriptions of the house and the jarring juxtaposition of the old Victorian home and the new technological smart home. The sense of dread and surveillance that Ruth Ware created by setting this story in a smart home was amazing. I found the epistolary format of the novel a bit unbelievable at first (who would actually write letters like this?), but I could suspend my disbelief after a while and it didn’t bother me for long. The twists and turns this book took were fun, if not entirely surprising, and I had a good and wonderfully creepy time reading this. Would recommend! Thank you to Harvill Secker for sending me a free copy of this novel for review!...more
3.75/5. Domestic suspense about a recent widow, her chaotic, tangled (step-)family and a mysterious accident/murder. There are many funny and poignant3.75/5. Domestic suspense about a recent widow, her chaotic, tangled (step-)family and a mysterious accident/murder. There are many funny and poignant observations on the intricacies of family relations and I loved the way this played with perspective, but I thought the ending was a bit of a letdown....more
„Ayoola summons me with these words—Korede, I killed him. I had hoped I would never hear those words again.“
This is the story of two sisters, Ayoola an„Ayoola summons me with these words—Korede, I killed him. I had hoped I would never hear those words again.“
This is the story of two sisters, Ayoola and Korede. Ayoola is beautiful and turns heads in every room she enters. Unfortunately, she has a bit of a violent streak and has come into the habit of killing her boyfriends. Her elder sister Korede works as a nurse. She’s the one Ayoola habitually calls to clean up her messes, both figuratively and literally.
On one hand, this book works as an exploration of the dysfunctional and intensely co-dependent sibling relationship between Korede and Ayoola. It’s a pretty short read and while I definitely feel like I got a good grasp of the psychology of the characters fairly quickly, I ultimately wish it would’ve delved a bit further into the intricacies of the family dynamics and the motivations of the characters.
On a more subtle note, this story also examines social media, how we use it to broadcast our lives and how shockingly disproportionate online representations of ourselves can be to our real selves and daily lives. While mentions of Instagram, Snapchat and Co. can sometimes seem a bit heavy handed in books, I feel like it made complete sense in this context as it perfectly tied into the way Ayoola views herself and is perceived by others. Social media has become such an essential factor in the ways in which we relate to ourselves and our surroundings and this book captures that perfectly.
Even though the story isn’t fast-paced necessarily, the short chapters and simple, sharp prose had me flying through the pages. The author really knows how to balance witty and wonderfully sarcastic moments with more heavier explorations of abuse and co-dependency. Even though I think the story would’ve benefitted from 5o more pages to really examine the psychology and motivations of its characters, I would definitely recommend this book for a darkly funny story of murder and obsession....more
This book should've been pitched as: "If Hitchcock's Rear Window swallowed the DSM-5" – this is probably not a good pitch (it definitely isn't), but iThis book should've been pitched as: "If Hitchcock's Rear Window swallowed the DSM-5" – this is probably not a good pitch (it definitely isn't), but it's this comparison that I couldn't stop thinking about while listening to the audiobook. The Woman in the Window is a psychological thriller that puts its emphasis on the first part of that descriptor, focusing on the psychology of its main character much more than on the development of its plot. While I ultimately appreciated this book for that, I expected something more fast-paced based on most reviews I had read. Ultimately, I think the book’s strength comes from its focus on introspection though and I enjoyed getting to know the protagonist so well. I've always loved Hitchcock movies and I really liked how this book felt very much like an homage to the whole noir film genre, but it did verge on the brink of simply stealing plot points from well-known Hitchcock movies. Apart from the fact that the basic premise is extremely similar to the plot of Rear Window, the main character also watches black-and-white noir movies within the book. Sometimes what was happening in the movies worked as a direct mirror of what was going on in the protagonist’s life, which I think was a little too on the nose. I also found one "plot twist" (view spoiler)[the fact that the main character's husband and daughter aren't simply "away", but dead (hide spoiler)] incredibly predictable to the point of being shocked that this was presented as such a big reveal after about two thirds into the book. I wouldn't call myself a particularly attentive listener that usually picks up on these things, but man, that was so obvious. The final twist(s) did surprise me though and overall, I think this is one of the better hyped thrillers out there....more
4.5/5. After having read one of Celia Fremlin’s short stories in this collection earlier this year, I knew that I wanted to read more of her work. The4.5/5. After having read one of Celia Fremlin’s short stories in this collection earlier this year, I knew that I wanted to read more of her work. The Hours Before Dawn is often described as one of the original, but sadly largely forgotten works of domestic suspense, a genre that has become increasingly popular through the works of authors such as Gillian Flynn or Shari Lapena. And even though this book was written and is set in the 1950s, I was shocked by how incredibly timeless it felt.
Louise would give anything - anything - for a good night's sleep. Forget the girls running errant in the garden and bothering the neighbours. Forget her husband who seems oblivious to it all. If the baby would just stop crying, everything would be fine. Or would it? What if Louise's growing fears about the family's new lodger, who seems to share all of her husband's interests, are real? What could she do, and would anyone even believe her? Maybe, if she could get just get some rest, she'd be able to think straight.
As Louise grows increasingly delirious from lack of sleep, the novel blurs the lines between dreams and reality. Is Louise an unreliable narrator? Is Vera Brandon, the family's lodger, really behaving suspiciously or is Louise imagining it? How do you even distinguish between what’s real and what isn’t when you’re stuck in a constant state of exhaustion and delirium? Louise’s frustration with her husband, her neighbours, her children and herself felt entirely real and palpable to me. The writing built up tension and dread so effectively that I could practically hear the baby screaming from the pages of this book.
Furthermore, The Hours Before Dawn is not just an exploration of the strains of motherhood and domestic life, but also works as a really engaging mystery. It’s maybe not as fast-paced as more recent domestic thrillers, but I thought the rather slow pacing worked really well to convey Louise’s unease and confusion. I think the way (or rather the medium through which) everything was revealed in the end wasn’t ideal and could’ve been handled a bit better, but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book that much.
I really liked the social commentary this book offers and the way it plays with perspective and the (un)reliability of its characters – I can't wait to discover more of Celia Fremlin's novels!...more
3.5/5. Not a new favourite Highsmith, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. In an interview included in my edition of the book, Gillian Flynn (the author o3.5/5. Not a new favourite Highsmith, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. In an interview included in my edition of the book, Gillian Flynn (the author of Gone Girl fame) praises Highsmith's ability to make you sympathise with her psychopathic yet likable characters. She also talks about the sense of impending doom that's so prevalent in Highsmith's fiction and compliments the ways in which Highsmith creates a subtle atmosphere of suspense in her books and in Deep Water specifically. I agreed with everything Flynn said about this book, but in this case, the fact that it's an incredibly interesting character study couldn't quite make up for the fact that the plot was very predictable from the beginning. I don't need to read a twist every few pages, but I wanted a little more surprise and intrigue. Apart from that, this had everything that makes Highsmith's suspense novels so great and I'd definitely recommend it if you want to try a classic suspense novel....more
4.25/5. Some good old murderous fun! This is about a thriller writer who starts to slowly unravel and lose his grip on reality when his wife goes miss4.25/5. Some good old murderous fun! This is about a thriller writer who starts to slowly unravel and lose his grip on reality when his wife goes missing and others start to wonder if he had anything to do with her disappearance. If you like classic suspense novels and books that make you continuously question what's real and what's imagined (not in a confusing, but in a fun I have no idea where this is going kind of way), then this is for you. I had a great time listening to this on audiobook and I generally enjoy Highsmith's stories, I just always wish she'd take more time to focus on the female characters in her books....more
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