Review: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Release date: September 26, 2006
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Brooks
Pages: 254
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Gift
Links: Author • Goodreads • Amazon

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.

Review:

This is my third Gillian Flynn book (and I believe she only has three) and while I can't say I loved it, SHARP OBJECTS was one crazy read. I am a huge fan of a good mystery/thriller and Gillian Flynn has proved herself adept at coming up with some pretty messed up characters, so I figured this would be an intriguing read. Camille Preaker was certainly messed up, but in a way that made me feel so sorry for her. Other than her boss, Camille did not have anyone on her side and she was dealing with people even more messed up than she was. SHARP OBJECTS was a dark and, at times, painful read and while the ending was a tad predictable, I think this was an overall solid mystery.

Flynn has a gift for creating some nasty characters and showing the worst sides of human nature. GONE GIRL was my first introduction to Flynn and I have enjoyed working through the rest of her books as crazy and dark as they are. SHARP OBJECTS follows Camille Preaker as she returns to her hometown to write a story on two mysterious murders. We quickly realize most people, including Camille and her family, have something to hide and that there is way more to these murders than the reader may initially realize. This was a slim book, so it is easy to devour in a few sittings, especially as you start to put clues together and get closer to the end. The darkness and evil contained in this short book was definitely intense and there are some fairly graphic descriptions of cutting and self harm.

Unfortunately I found the ending to be a bit predictable, but I thought SHARP OBJECTS was unique in the way it presented such a damaged main character. I have recently begun reading more thrillers and that has made me much more critical of how the endings play out, but I still recommend SHARP OBJECTS to fans of darker and more twisted thrillers.

I don't want to give too much away, but I have recently discovered this novel is being made into an eight-part series on HBO starring Amy Adams. If you want to read the book first you still have time, the show just started airing.

Review: The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1) by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper
Release date: January 10, 2017
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 326
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Source: Gift
Series: Book 1
Links: Author • Goodreads • Amazon

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.
Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.

Review:

I'm torn between 4/4.5 stars because I did genuinely enjoy this one. I've been flying through thrillers lately and this one had some of the best reviews I'd seen. Right off the bat, one of the most unique aspects of THE DRY was simply the fact that it was from the male perspective. I realized I have not read many thrillers with a male main character in awhile. I liked it! Aaron Falk lives in Queensland, Australia and works as a federal agent, having left his small town out in the country many years ago. A funeral with mysterious circumstances brings him back and Aaron quickly becomes caught up in the action. Not only because the victim is his childhood best friend, but because of his own secrets that are starting to come to light.

Now, I understand if that description makes you hesitate a bit. There are quite a number of mystery novels (SHARP OBJECTS and ALL THE MISSING GIRLS immediately come to mind) in which the main character returns to their hometown and become caught up in the current situation all while battling their past. And yet, THE DRY felt different. Perhaps it was the setting that stood out. A small town in Australia facing the worst drought in years. The secondary characters are all very well-developed and it was neat to see the intersection between the new residents that were unfamiliar with Aaron's past and the old residents who were not too welcoming.

Aaron becomes involved in the case at the request of the victim's parents. It was a little strange how easily Aaron was able to "unofficially" get involved even if he was a federal agent, but maybe that's just how things work in the middle of nowhere Australia! He assists a local police officer in gathering clues and determining what actually happened. I liked seeing how each new twist was revealed and I have to say I was definitely surprised by the ending. Aaron faced quite a few challenges and lost the trust of almost every character at one point, but he persevered. I liked Aaron's toughness and how diligent he was in focusing on solving the murder even while his past was coming back to haunt him. THE DRY did have quite a few flashbacks as this was a sort of "two mysteries in one".

Overall, I enjoyed THE DRY. It was twisty and suspenseful and a start to a series I am definitely interested in continuing. My only faults were that some aspects of the plot seemed a bit unbelievable and there were a few overused mystery tropes.

Review: The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines
Release date: July 19, 2011
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pages: 352
Reading level: Young adult
Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
Series: Book 1
Source: Gift
Links: Author • Goodreads • Amazon 

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars 

Iris Anderson is only 15, but she's quickly mastering the art of deception in this YA novel for fans of Veronica Mars.
It's the Fall of 1942 and Iris's world is rapidly changing. Her Pop is back from the war with a missing leg, limiting his ability to do the physically grueling part of his detective work. Iris is dying to help, especially when she discovers that one of Pop's cases involves a boy at her school. Now, instead of sitting at home watching Deanna Durbin movies, Iris is sneaking out of the house, double crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till all hours of the night. There's certainly never a dull moment in the private eye business.

Review:

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years and I am surprised at that. I love mysteries and historical fiction, plus the cover is very alluring. I can't say for sure whether I would have enjoyed this more if I had read it when I was 15, but I felt that it had a lot of promise that didn't ultimately deliver. THE GIRL IS MURDER is supposedly the first in a series, but I think this could have been a standalone. At 15, Iris lives alone with her father in New York and longs to be involved in his private detecting work. He forbids her, but Mr. Anderson's war injury combined with the fact that his latest case involves a missing student from her daughter's school, makes it hard for him to completely keep his daughter uninvolved. What follows is a quick read that involves Iris sneaking out and immersing herself in the case all while trying to help her dad without his knowledge.

The plot seemed promising and I loved the idea of a mystery set in Manhattan in the early 1940s. The author seemed intent on clearly defining the setting with a lot of slang and other references to the time. Iris did seem to want to actually help her dad, but it seems she might have been more helpful if she wasn't always sneaking out and lying to him and her friend(s). I can't imagine how difficult it was for Iris to know her father was struggling financially and thinking his only option was her help. Iris was adventurous and an entertaining main character, but the plot often fell flat. I wasn't particularly invested in learning what happened to the missing boy, Tom, and the ending also seemed a bit too easy, while definitely not what I was expecting.

There were a multitude of supporting characters and I enjoyed reading about what they did for fun and hearing the slang they used. All in all, this was a fast paced and entertaining mystery that doesn't get too in-depth. Iris was sweet in her dedication to solving the mystery and helping her family, but beyond that I do not think I will be picking up the sequel. Reviews do mention that it was much more plot driven than this one so that is a bit appealing.

Review: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Release date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 256
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Source: Publisher
Links: Goodreads

Overall: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.
The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.
I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.
All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.
From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

Review:

I didn't read much about The Vanishing Season before I picked it up, so I had no idea what to expect. It was a beautifully written and mysterious read that I was able to finish in one sitting. While it did leave something to be desired, I enjoyed the uniqueness of the story, the characters, and the writing style.

Maggie and her parents move into an old house in Door County just as winter is arriving and girls are beginning to disappear. Maggie was not your typical teenager. She was quiet, well-behaved, and respectful. She had never had a boyfriend and spent most of her time saving up for college and being home-schooled. A lot changes when she meets the free-spirited Pauline who lives next door. Maggie and Pauline become fast friends, but little do they know how much can change over one frozen winter.

Pauline and Maggie both frustrated me in different ways. Maggie needed to grow a backbone and Pauline needed to stop thinking she deserved everything without working for it. I still felt for them when everything became very dark in Door County and they had to face some serious situations.The mystery angle with all of the missing girls was very creepy and I was always anxious for our two main characters. The ghostly narrator was another unique and mysterious aspect of the book. We also don't find out their identity until the very end. I do wish we got more closure on the criminal aspect-we never really get a full answer of who was responsible. The paranormal side was less in your face, but the ghostly presence definitely played an important role.

The Vanishing Season was very beautifully written; Jodi Lynn Anderson has a way with words that can make almost any story worth reading. There wasn't necessarily a plot to The Vanishing Season, but it is a quick read that drew me in. This book will certainly not be for everyone, but I did like it as a whole, mostly because it was so different from everything else I've been reading lately.

Review: Killer Instinct by S.E. Green

Killer Instinct by S.E. Green

Release date: May 6, 2014

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 272

Reading level: Young Adult

Genre: Mystery

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Links: Author's Website/Goodreads 

Overall: 2.5 out of 5 stars

She’s not evil, but she has certain... urges.
Lane is a typical teenager. Loving family. Good grades. Afterschool job at the local animal hospital. Martial arts enthusiast. But her secret obsession is studying serial killers. She understands them, knows what makes them tick.
Why?
Because she might be one herself.
Lane channels her dark impulses by hunting criminals—delivering justice when the law fails. The vigilantism stops shy of murder. But with each visceral rush the line of self-control blurs.
And then a young preschool teacher goes missing. Only to return... in parts.
When Lane excitedly gets involved in the hunt for “the Decapitator,” the vicious serial murderer that has come to her hometown, she gets dangerously caught up in a web of lies about her birth dad and her own dark past. And once the Decapitator contacts Lane directly, Lane knows she is no longer invisible or safe. Now she needs to use her unique talents to find the true killer’s identity before she—or someone she loves—becomes the next victim...

Review:

I went into Killer Instinct without knowing anything about it, except for the brief summary I read on the back. It sounded like something I would be into- a dark contemporary read that reminded me of Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves. Unfortunately, while the idea had promise, I ended up being disappointed by this debut.

Lane is a quiet teenager who spends much of her time alone. During this time alone, she acts on her fascination with serial killers. Lane collects information on these criminals and thinks about ways she would get back at all the evil people in the world. There was no level with which I could connect with this character-- her obsession was creepy and I couldn't understand why she got off on the thought of hurting others; even if they might have deserved it. Also, Lane's treatment of her younger sister was very disturbing. Lane referred to her sister as a slut several times and was very judgmental of her.

Some aspects of Killer Instict often seemed a little unnecessary. For example, Lane's best friend, Reggie, was simply there to be the "hacker". Reggie was able to find information on various criminals and other individuals that Lane asked her to research and that was her entire role in the story. Since Reggie was away at college we literally never even met her in person. Also, Lane's job at the animal hospital and "relationship" with one of the vets there never seemed to play any important role.

I did like the role of family in Killer Instinct and how we really got to know her parents and siblings. Lane's younger brother was one of the only characters I really liked. The suspense and mystery was also a redeemable aspect of this debut. The ending was very surprising and not at all what I was expecting. The author did a good job of limiting the clues and keeping me guessing right until the very end.

All in all, I was disappointed in this debut because I didn't like the main character and some aspects of the plot were not believable, but I did like that I was completely surprised by the ending.

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