Off the Charts – a Muster of Mini-Reviews of Thrillers

Ahoy there me mateys!  For those of ye who are new to me log, a word: though this log’s focus is on sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult, this Captain does have broader reading tastes.  Occasionally I will share some novels that I enjoyed that are off the charts (a non sci-fi, fantasy, or young adult novel), as it were.  So today I bring ye a muster of thriller reviews.  What be a muster?

Well the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:

1. assemble (troops) especially for inspection or for battle;
2. collect or assemble (a number or amount); or
3. a group of peacocks.

I have been reading some thriller books and these tend to be fluffy, thoughtless reads for me.  I read them to a) find good books to give me sister who loves thrillers or b) because they are the only thing the library has available at the moment I be looking for an audiobook  Here be three such recent reads.

Side note: the book covers come from Goodreads and ye can click on them to add the books to yer Goodreads’ Ports for Plunder List.

behind her eyes (Sarah Pinborough)

I have read a couple books by this author and really enjoyed 13 minutes.  This story follows Louise, a single mom, who kisses a man in a bar one night.  She walks into work only to find out that the man is her new married boss.  Louise ends up intertwined with the lives of her boss and his wife.  It is frankly a mess.  This ended up being a very fun read.  I was engaged the whole time despite thinking all the characters were kinda crazy.  Louise was seriously stupid in her actions and yet I had to know how it would resolve.  This was well-written and I absolutely loved the ending.  This is a rare effect.  I ended up buying a copy for me sister.  I will continue to read books by this author.

It’s not that difficult, I want to say. People cheat all the time. The reasons are always selfish and base, it’s the excuses we make that are complicated.
― Sarah Pinborough, Behind Her Eyes

i let you go (Clare Mackintosh)

I picked this one because I had authors mixed up.  Apparently people love this one.  It has a super high rating on both Amazon and Goodreads.  I didn’t really like this one at all.  I thought the main character Jenna was insipid and annoying.  The cop, Ray, was being selfish.  There was too much focus on his failing marriage and his lust for his younger coworker.  In addition there was a subplot involving Ray’s teenage son that served no purpose and could have been removed altogether.  The investigation aspects are what I tend to like about this genre and this book focused on other things.  I also guessed the twists.  The most interesting aspect of this book was the author afterword with a look into the story behind the story.  It was sad but I loved this insight.

“In the time he’d been a copper, political correctness had reached a point where anything remotely personal had to be skirted around. In a few years’ time people wouldn’t be able to talk at all.”
― Clare Mackintosh, I Let You Go

our kind of cruelty (Araminta Hall)

If ye want to be in a crazy person’s head then this be the book for ye.  Mike Hayes has loved Verity from the moment he met her.  After spending time in America, he comes back to England to begin setting up their perfect life together.  He is physically fit, has a great job, and has found the perfect home.  Okay so V is getting married to someone else and isn’t answering his phone calls.  He knows this is part of an elaborate game they play called the “Crave.”  He just has to wait and figure out what V wants him to do.  I thought this book was fun, quirky, and well-written.  At first I was sympathetic to Mike because of his background but that quickly went out the window.  I didn’t find this read to be earth-shattering.  I thought V was kind of annoying and silly.  But by the end I was sympathetic towards her instead.  This does feel like yer readin’ his journal and it ain’t pretty.  The consistency of the voice is why I liked this one.  I read this in one sitting and would recommend.

‘I’m Susanne,’ she said to me on our first meeting, ‘but call me Suzi,’ which wasn’t too bad until I discovered she spelled it with an i . A y would have been too cozy for Suzi, too normal, too close to who she usually is. And you should never trust people who yearn to be something other than who they are.
― Araminta Hall, Our Kind of Cruelty

Two out of three thriller reads that I highly recommend.  And everyone else liked the third so there ye have it.  Arrrr!!