Claire S Lewis' "She's mine"

 

You can find this book here.

This is Lewis' first novel (though the publishing company has signed her up for a 3-book deal; so if you like her book, more will be seen of her in the future). 

The book follows Scarlett; who tries to solve the disappearance (or murder) of Katie, her charge, whilst being pinged as a top suspect at the same time. The plot in this way is rather simple and straightforward for psychological thrillers, though there are twists and turns I am not mentioning 😉

The narrative is very descriptive and dense. I found that there was a lot to follow; but unlike a lot of thrillers where I have no idea what may be coming, some of the twists and turns were more obvious to me. 

The character is something else. To be honest, I did not enjoy Scarlett. Whilst every character has flaws to make them more human, I found Scarlett more entitled than I would like her to be. Mix that with her lack of skill and knowledge as the amateur detective, and some of the weirder moments she encounters or puts herself in, and it may be hard for some readers to like her. 

In saying that, this book was not a bad read. I just disliked the character. And sometimes we need characters we don't like, or cannot completely relate to, so that we step outside our comfort zones when reading. 

I found the few twists I did not see coming, inventive. The ending of this book also was possibly the most impacting part, whilst also fuelling my dislike for the protagonist. Again, this is not a bad thing, because the book still left an impression on me. And that makes it something worth talking about. 

Or giving a shot at reading it.

Links for you

Read-a-likes in the Library:

The girl in the mirror

Rose Carlyle

Stuart Turton's "Seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle"

This book can be found here.

Turton’s novel is his debut. It won the First Novel Award at the 2018 Costa Book Awards and is a Sunday Times bestseller; so head’s up, it won’t be bad. As an aside, before I get into the book, in the United States it is known as ‘7 ½ deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’. Whether that gives anything away or not to you; I don’t know.

‘We have work to do,' he says. 'I have a puzzle which requires a solution.'

'I think you've mistaken me for someone else,' I say. 'I'm just a doctor.'

'You were a doctor,' he says. 'Then a butler, today a playboy, tomorrow a banker. None of them are your real face, or your real personality. Those were stripped from you when you entered Blackheath and they won't be returned until you leave.' 

Great quote, right? That’s why I used it. And it will draw you in to the story you are going to want to read.

The story is about a character called Aiden who has been told he needs to solve a murder at Blackheath House. As simple as any crime novel? Except that at the end of each day, the day repeats and Aiden finds himself in another guest at Blackheath House, with what clues he has remembered. That is correct. He inhabits the bodies of guests at Blackheath House to solve a murder.

As far as the plot goes, it can be disorientating, but it is very solid. There is an historical setting to the novel, which is interesting given the way the main character Aiden moves through the novel (science-fiction-like, if you will). However, it is well-paced, and it isn’t drenched in description. In fact, the plot is much denser than the description, which helps the pace. This therefore makes it more complex than an Agatha Christie novel, though the same “whodunnit” theme can be found across. But it is a nice step up from Christie if you are used to reading her.

In terms of character … because of how Aiden works, and so I do not give too much away, I cannot say much about Aiden himself. However, all the characters at Blackheath are well-developed, different from each other and sordid. Surely that’s a Christie word, right? Most characters have dark secrets and character traits that make them unlikeable; so, it also makes it hard (at least for me) to really tell who did commit the crime until the end. Yet it also adds depth to the characters, the setting and the plot, as all these characters appear multi-layered.

This book was a very solid first novel; and reads like it isn’t. There is crime, action, deception, science fiction elements, mystery … it’s almost an all-rounder, making it a good suggestion for any reader.

Links for you:

Title read-a-likes in the Library:

Life after life

Kate Atkinson

This novel has an historical setting, is structurally complex and has a main protagonist who lives days over and over again. It is more humourous than Turton’s and removes the mystery / crime element from it.  

Author read-a-likes in the Library:

Minette Walters’ books

Tends to write in a similar style with stylistically complex writing, intricate plots and a creepy tone. A lot of the items in the list (there is a trilogy there) have historical settings; and others are more suspenseful.

Author read-a-likes in cloudLibrary:

Into the water

Paula Hawkins

Hawkins tends to write in a similar style with stylistically complex writing, intricate plots and a creepy tone.

New Poirot mysteries

Sophie Hannah

These were chosen as Hannah was commissioned to write new Poirot novels in the vein of Christie (she also writes her own suspense / thrillers). These will be typical “whodunnits” with the crime and mystery elements similar; though possibly less suspenseful, yet with historical elements and intricate plots.