Tag: thriller

Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

After reading two books by Riley Sager and giving them 5 stars, I knew that Riley Sager’s plot twists are something very different and out of this world, which I love. So I decided to pick up Lock Every Door from him. So this book follows a girl named Jules Larsen, who is broke and doesn’t have a place to live until an opportunity comes to her. Basically, she gets the offer to do an apartment sitting at one of the most prestigious yet creepy Bartholomew apartments. Being broke gave her no choice but to take the opportunity, and after living there for just 2 days, one of the apartment sitters, Ingrid, disappeared without a trace. And Jules can’t sit and decides to find out what exactly happened.

First of all, the entire book is from Jules’ point of view. At first, I thought she was dumb because she was looking for a girl whom she had just met. But as we move on and get to the twist, that dumbness saved her life. Which I think is one of the smart ways to write a character in a thriller. I also loved that she suspected the culprit quickly and didn’t try to list out an excuse, given their past relationship.

It’s fast-paced and creepy; however, the plot felt flat for me. I already suspected the culprit, and when the revelation happened, as to why people are disappearing, I don’t know, but it didn’t make any sense at all. I just felt that more could have been done as the vibe of the book and the revelation don’t sit together. The book is creepy, but the revelation made it not good.

The plot, again, was very unpredictable; however, I already guessed the culprit, so it went flat for me. I wanted more, as the setting was so good, so it would be better if something paranormal had been the twist.

I don’t think so, you will miss out on much if you don’t read it, but again, it’s your choice.

Rating: 3/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: Look Closer by David Ellis

This book is truly the gift of my patience because it took the entire 50 per cent of the book to actually feel like I was enjoying it. I kept it going because every single review about this was 5 stars, so I knew I needed to keep going and guess what, it’s a 5-star read of mine, and I am feeling grateful that I didn’t DNF this book. The book follows the story of a wealthy couple, Simon and Vicky, who seem perfect from the outside, but they hide a lot of terrible secrets. Their secrets and the web of lies started to come out when a body was found near their place.

First, I have to start with the plot, which has me rooting for the villain throughout the end, and I was so happy with the ending. The game plan was spot on, as the main characters manipulated everyone in the book, as well as me. No way, I guessed the plot twist because it was not all at once, I was moving through it and got the realisation and the way my jaw dropped. I think this book has one of the best plotlines because everything was simply written, there was nothing out there, but slowly, slowly, we went through it. I guessed one plot twist; I understood it right away, so that was a win for me.

The story is narrated from three points of view, and at first, I was very much confused, but slowly, it made sense. I won’t say it’s a fast-paced thriller as the first 50 per cent book, nothing really happened, or as such we read it, later it made sense.

Then the characters were amazing, actually, all of them are grey, and in a thriller like this, they fit perfectly. Simon and Vicky were perfect partners now, in what you have to read that, as I am not going to give spoilers. Also, the book title is so perfect because we truly need to look closer to see what is going on. Vicky and Simon are some of the smartest characters because OMG, what I loved every second of them. At the end, I was truly happy to pick this one.

Please read it, it’s so good and fun. At first, it will be testing your patience, but in the end, it’s going to be worth it. I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The Eternity Train by M Ahsan Al-Haadee

First of all, I will start by saying thank you, Ahsan, for sending me the digital copy of the book. So basically, as you all know, I love mysteries and thrillers, but what better could it be when magic is also added to the same? The Eternity Train is a book with everything you would ask for: thriller, mystery and magic, and I don’t think I have ever read such a beautiful description of things. The book is about a fourteen-year-old girl named Daffodil who, after an argument, runs away from home and boards an unsettling train at Moor Street Station. At first she doesn’t notice, however, as the journey goes on, Dafoodil realises that the train doesn’t seem normal and she is stuck. The only way to escape is by solving the puzzle and uncovering the secrets.

First, I need to start with the plot. I have never read anything like this before. I am not going to lie, at first it was hella confusing to wrap my mind around what was going on, but later with Daffodil I was also on the wild ride. The book is a part of a duology, so it is still very much incomplete to see how Daffodil will move forward. The description done by the author was so fantastic because everything about this train and the way it was surrounded was out of this world. I absolutely loved all the descriptions; it made me feel that I was in the book.

Then talking about the Character of Dafoodil for a fourteen-year-old, she is one of the smartest girls who knows how to use her brain. I really like her emotional as well as her intellectual mindset. I liked her interaction with other characters, and the way she started to know how to play this game was amazing to read.

In the book, I found some of the interesting characters with such an amazing plot. My favourite thing was definitely the description of things, and the author’s writing made it easy to understand where the story is heading. I was really looking forward to what unknown land the train would take us to, and each time it didn’t disappoint. The ending shocked me, so all I am going to say is.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 4/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

I am really in my thriller era, and the next on my list was The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf, and it was the first book I picked by this author. I wanted to read a one-room thriller with a mysterious vibe, and I think this one did a great job. The book follows the story of a woman, Wylie Lark, who retreats to a small cottage in the middle of nowhere to write her new novel and gets stuck in a deadly snowstorm. Things turned bad when, in the middle of a snowstorm, she received an unexpected visitor, which left her in shock. But she doesn’t know how that visitor is going to tangle her with her own secrets.

Let’s start with the character of Wylie, a woman who is trying to build a good relationship with her son. At first, I couldn’t guess how she would be connected, but OMG, the plot twist. And she is definitely a hard-core thriller main character who would survive it. I saw the plot twist coming from miles; however, when it got revealed, it was so good. There are many characters in the book, and all of them are just mindblowing and the way they got connected. I think that is what I really loved in this book, and perfectly, all of the timelines and POVs got connected.

The plot is amazing. At first, I felt a little confused keeping up with all the POVs, but the way it all got connected in the end was absolutely mindblowing. The storyline is emotional, I won’t say it’s creepy for me, and definitely the curiosity to learn what happened. It is fast-paced, and the writing is really good.

This thriller is in four POVs, and it narrates the story of three different timelines. It was definitely a task to keep up with three different timelines, but the author’s writing really made it easy to focus. There are many plot twists. I saw some coming while others were different and shocked me, and it was amazing.

The ending is beautiful, especially the last line before the epilogue. I prefer ending where it all makes sense.

I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Review: ‘Strangers From Hell’ K-drama (2019)

“It’s better to say what you want…and act how you’d like…rather than bottling it all up within yourself. That’s more human, don’t you think?” – Seo Moon-jo

I was looking for a mystery and a crime drama, and I had this drama at the back of my mind, so I decided to watch it, and I literally had no idea what this drama was all about, because based on the description, one can’t say what the drama is about. However, I just finished watching it and let me tell you my mind is not in the right place at the moment. Let’s just begin with the review, and I will explain it. So the drama is about a young man, Yoon Jong-woo, who recently moved to Seoul because of his job. But he has no place to live and finds every dorm room so expensive until he stumbled upon the advertisement of a dorm room available at a cheaper place at Eden Residence. However, the Eden residence is a very creepy place with other residents who are very bizarre and suspicious.

Let’s begin with the character of Yoon Jong-woo, played by Si-wan Yim. At first, when I saw him, I knew he had been dealing with a lot, and the boy was fed up. With such creepy residents he shares the restroom and kitchen with, his girlfriend is not listening to him, and his boss/friend just bragged about how he got him the job. I feel so pitiful for him and only him in the drama; the residents really brought the hell out of him. He also realises that people who are close to him are also not far away from good. But can we really talk about his acting? It’s mind-blowing.

Then we have the main character of the drama, who actually is a psychopath named Seo Moon-jo, played by Lee Dong-wook. The acting of his is incredible, he truly looked like a psychopath even when he pretended not to be. Just his standing brings creepiness to the scene. His laugh and smile are literally enough to show how big a psychopath he is. His talks were like another level of riddles. His and Yoon Jong-woo’s chemistry is incredible. I loved watching them, especially when Seo Moon-jo uses words like “babe” to annoy Yoon Jong-woo. We can actually see he was obsessed with Jong-woo, loved it.

Then we have the other residents, and let me tell you, without them doing any action or saying any dialogue, just them standing brings so much creepiness to the scene. I think when they do actions, it’s like ewww, but when they just stand in the corner of the room and smile, that legit knocks my breath away.

There is no character in the show except the police officer, So Jung-hwa, who is not suspicious or evil. The plot is incredible, it’s basically about a psychopath who unaliving people for fun and doesn’t regret it. The setting is fantastic, the hallway of the residence and the small, cramped room really brought another creepiness to the drama. The cinematography is top-notch, which really hooks me to the screen.

What I didn’t like was that the action was not in-depth, and only in the last three episodes did I feel the intensity of the drama. I felt that something was missing. I loved watching Yoon Jong-woo’s flashbacks and how much he has kept inside him, but still, I felt something was missing.

The ending, if you are a horror watcher, you will see it coming, and it’s so good.

I recommend it if you want to watch a drama with a psychopath vibe.

You don’t think you fit in here, do you?

“I’m Different from these people.”

But you’re also kind of anxious. – Seo Moon Jo to Yoon Jong-woo.

Total Episodes: 10

My Rating: 7/10 (Please check the trigger warnings)

Genre: Horror, Psychological, Thriller

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The Only One Left by Riley Sager

I think this is my first five-star thriller, and I have been waiting to write this review. The book has been stuck in my mind since last week, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. I never thought I would find a five-star thriller, but here I am. The Only One Left, another book by Riley Sager, I think he has become my favourite thriller writer, because the first book I read, The House Across the Lake, was a 4.5-star for me. This book follows the story of a caregiver, Kit McDeere, who gets an assignment to look after Lenora Hope, who lives at a house situated on a cliff. Lenora Hope is not an ordinary person but someone who has unalived her whole family.

Let’s start with the plot; it is everything I wanted in a thriller. There is a twist at every point, and it’s also horror, which makes this book thrilling and mind-blowing from start to finish. I was unable to get any twists right because when twists happened, I was shaken to the core. The storyline is so twisty, it felt at first that the story was going to be dragged, but what twist upon twist was just pouring. There are not many characters, as well as the setting is just one gothic mansion, but the writer did an incredible job by not just repeating the same thing again and again, but added a twist in almost every chapter.

The setting is definitely creepy, plus the mansion is on the cliff, so it makes the book more intimidating. The character of Kit is one of my favourites; she is actually a mind-blowing person for a thriller. The way she got tangled with Lenora Hope was chilling to watch. Lenora Hope is a character you can’t describe without a spoiler unless you have read the book. The characters are very complex, which made it hard for me to guess the twist, and I didn’t get it at all. I was not thinking about it; it just appeared when Kit found out I was shocked with her.

The ending is so beautiful, it is such an irony to write this about a thriller book, but believe me, when I read the last chapter, I was smiling because it was so heartwarming. I don’t think so, I haven’t read any thriller where the ending is so beautiful.

There is everything that I loved about this book, from its plotline to its characters. If you want to take any suggestion, please take this one.

Rating: 5/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: No Exit by Taylor Adams

Another thriller I picked up was “No Exit” by Taylor Adams. The blurb seemed interesting; however, the book is totally different from what I expected. It’s more intense than a mystery. The book is about Darby Thorne, a college student who gets very badly stranded by a blizzard at a highway rest stop in the middle of nowhere. She is not alone but with four complete strangers, and she has to spend the night with them. Then she discovers that one of the parked cars has a little girl locked inside, and the story gets intense.

OMG, this book is so intense, there is literally no time to breathe in between, nor for Darby, and none for the readers. I felt that this book had a lot of potholes, and the only thing that kept me on the edge was the intensity of Darby running to save her life. Just like any typical thriller character, Darby was an absolute idiot at the beginning. At first, I thought she might be using her brain, but no, my assumption was wrong.

She is with four strangers and she is guessing by their clothes who is good and who is bad, which should never be done because clothes tell nothing, nor do the good behaviour that strangers pretend to have. The second, the stranger started being good with Darby, I knew it was a huge red flag, but Darby didn’t see it. I was so confused throughout the book about whether I should be mad at Darby for sharing everything with the stranger or pray that she survives.

The culprit was revealed very early, according to me, and then the plot twist happened, and I was expecting it after reading so many thrillers. The book is totally about Darby and the girl running away from the culprit and surviving the blizzard. So many times they could have been saved; however, the situation made it worse.

I can guarantee you that throughout the whole book, you are going to scream at Darby to save her life and be out of the situation, as well as pray that she doesn’t get caught. The plot is all about the chase between Darby and the culprit, and it’s too intense; I could feel Darby breathing for her life.

If you are expecting that this thriller is all bout mystery and plot twists, then this book might not be for you, but if you are expecting crazy chase and intense fight, then please go ahead.

Rating: 3/5(please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

The amount of time I have heard people talk about this book, especially the middle plot twist, is what made me pick this book right away. The thriller book I am talking about is I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh. This book is about a mother, Jenna Gray, who, in a tragic accident, lost her son, Jacob. She is not able to cope with being in a house filled with memories of her son, so she decided to move to a small cottage on the Welsh coast. At the beginning, she started feeling better; however, suddenly her haunting past secrets seemed to follow her there.

The book is divided into two parts as well as two points of view. One, we have Jenna’s point of view from the first person and then the detective working on the case from the third person. I won’t lie, it took me some time to get the hang of different pov’s. I can’t really talk about the characters as there are spoilers pretty much in it. But the characters are not what we expect them to be, and it’s obvious that it’s a thriller book.

I went into this book thinking something absolutely different, and you might as well, but OMG, the middle plot twist. What was even that? I don’t think anyone could get it because it is so distinct and extraordinary. The plot twist happened so randomly that I read that again and again in order to understand what happened. There are many suspects which make it impossible to guess the plot twist. The plot is definitely confusing as there are two points of view, and the author did a great job of adding elements in a way that we can’t get the plot twist.

The storyline, as I said, is something totally different because I felt it was mostly romance, with thriller being a sub-genre. I think that the book was a little long, as most of the time there was just romance and not any thriller. I had to make sure that I was reading a thriller, not a romance book. Some detective parts felt unnecessary as they mostly focused on romance rather than solving the case.

The plot twists and the story are pretty good for a thriller book, as it gave me a headache, but the romance part killed it for me because I felt that it was unnecessary at some point, which made the book feel long. But the plot twists are really good, so maybe give it a try.

Rating: 3/5(please check trigger warnings)

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager

Yes, I am in my thriller era and will be in it for a long time. The next thriller pick of mine was The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager. I read so many good things about his writing, so I knew I had to pick, and I started with this book. The book follows the story of Casey Fletcher, an actress whose husband recently passed away, and she is trying to escape the press. So she retreated to her family’s lake house to find peace. However, the house across the lake was recently bought by a couple, Tom and Katherine Royce. The couple from outside seemed glamorous; however, as Casey from her house started spying on the couple through binoculars, things went absolutely crazy.

Let’s start with the character of Casey Fletcher, just like everyone says, never trust anyone in a thriller book. Even when the story is told from the main character’s point of view, that doesn’t mean they are not crazy. I couldn’t believe what I read when the plot twist happened; my jaw was on the floor, and I’m not exaggerating. I don’t think so, anyone would get the plot twist because the writer, through his writing, made everything so clear yet clever. I will just say Casey is absolutely crazy, but in a good way for a thriller book.

Then we have the couple, living across the lake and just like the description, there is a problem going on between the couple; however, I would say it can be deceitful. I don’t think so, I can say more otherwise it won’t be fun. However, it’s so good, the plot twists OMG what?!?!?! I really want to talk to the writer because what was he thinking writing the plot twist?

Then we have the plot, basically a drunkard girl who is trying to find peace, finds that the couple across the lake is not what they seem, as Katherine goes missing, and Casey thinks it’s Tom who has unalived her. And now she is trying to investigate, simple, right? No, it’s all deceitful in a good way. I absolutely couldn’t get the plot twists, and I don’t think anyone could because it’s so different and jaw-dropping. No, I seriously want to talk to the writer because the plot twist was mind-blowing and nobody can guess it because it’s so out of the world. And all the plot twists just come out at the same time, connecting the story, that’s my favourite part.

I highly recommend it if you want to read something different and jaw-dropping.

Rating: 5/5(please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: Confessions by Kanae Minato

I just watched a recommendation for this book, and the synopsis was so intriguing that I immediately read it. This was originally written in Japanese and then translated into English. When I tell you, my mind went crazy after reading this, because it’s truly a psychological thriller. Yuko Moriguchi is a single mom of a four-year-old girl, Manami. She is her everything until an accident took Manami away from her. But Yuko knows it was not an accident, but her pupils killed her daughter, and now she is out for revenge.

The book is from many points of view, which makes it very interesting for me. When I say it’s revenge, it doesn’t mean physical harm, but mental harm. Yuko is one of the best characters because she took her revenge in such an interesting way without any physical torture, but mental torture. I was shocked on every page because the book is written very clearly and simply. The character tells the story in a letter or lecture manner, and OMG, it’s phenomenal.

The plot is simple about the incident of the child, and the people who are related to it are talking about the same. However, it’s very unique and unexpected because revenge is all about the mental and psychological way, which I loved.

I went into this book thinking something else and more like a detective vibe, however, it’s all psychological. My head was spinning the whole time I was reading this book, and the plot twists made it more intriguing. There are many characters; however, I do not want to spoil anything, that’s why I am just talking about Yuko. The book talks about mental issues and how they relate to the incident, and it’s so freaking interesting. I don’t think so, I have read such a unique book in my life.

I highly recommend it, please just read it.

Rating: 4.5/5(please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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