Tag: thriller

4 star

Review: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

I know I’m pretty late to the game on this one, as there’s a movie out for it and everything already. However, if you haven’t read it already, I can definitely recommend it! It’s been on my TBR for so long and I’m glad to have finally gotten around to it. It didn’t disappoint! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I enjoyed this one.

The Girl on the Train revolves around a few of the characters in the thriller. A lot of it takes place in Rachel’s POV who is probably the closest thing to our protagonist, though I struggle to really say that she is. Nevertheless we mostly follow her storyline as she watches a house day by day on her commute on the train; longing after a life she once had as she watches a couple from the train every day.

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3.5 star

Review: Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Just before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border, a man murders a young woman. At the same time, a hot-air balloon crashes out of the sky. There’s just one survivor.

She’s seen the killer’s face – but he’s also seen hers. And he won’t rest until he’s eliminated the only witness to his crime.

Alone, scared, trusting no one, she’s running to where she feels safe – but it could be the most dangerous place of all . . . 

I had so much trouble placing this one. Even now as I write this up I’m really not sure how to rate it, but I gave it the top of my scale, just to give it the benefit of the doubt. There were so many ups and downs, high points that I loved, low points that I didn’t, and honestly so many things that were both good and bad…I was definitely left confused as to whether I was satisfied with the book or not. Let me explain more below

Dead Woman Walking is about sole survivor of a hot balloon crash, after its riders witness a most grisly murder. The murderer and the sole witness now know each other’s faces, and she knows he’s hunting her down. The problem is, where does she go? Nowhere feels safe, and the killer is always right on her tail.

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4.5 star

Review: The Girl Beyond the Gate by Becca Day

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Welcome to Kensington Grove, the safest place to call home….

Jodie Madison can’t think of a better place for a fresh start than the exclusive, gated community of The Grove. But from the moment she passes through the wrought iron gates, she starts to suspect she’s made a mistake.

Despite her vow to keep apart from the other residents, Jodie can’t help but feel drawn to her unnerving neighbour Norah Williams and terminally ill daughter, Lacey. Jodie knows she should stay away, but something draws her in.

When a murder shocks The Grove, Jodie vows to do everything in her power to save Lacey from her mother. But as more secrets emerge from Norah’s shadowy past, Jodie is faced with the unthinkable – Norah’s not so different to herself, and neither woman is innocent.

The past won’t stay hidden forever. And The Grove will be an unforgiving witness.

Another long wait at the library, so I picked up a quick copy to read through to see what the fuss was all about. Needless to say, I was not disappointed and I will definitely be looking for more from this author in the future. As far as mystery/thrillers go, this has been one of the better ones that I have read recently!

The Girl Beyond the Gate takes place in a typical “idyllic” gated neighbourhood, where people have come to live a nice life…or perhaps a secret life? The story revolves around the newest neighbour, Jodie Madison, who moves into the neighbourhood and gets to know the various characters who form the little town. As usual, before we know it, problems start to arise, and it appears that many people have secrets in this little community. The story takes place all in the timeline of “x number of days before the murder” and the suspense starts from the prologue all the way to the very last page.

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