M. J. Arlidge's "Gift for dying"

 

This book can be found here.

She heard their screams

she felt their fear.

now she's their only hope ...

This comes from the cover of the book. It's a nice introduction as it shows how a young teenager, Kassie, sees the deaths of anyone she looks in the eye. This is an important part of the character, given there is a serial killer on the loose who seems to be unable to be stopped. 

The other main character of this novel is Adam Brandt, a forensic psychologist. Adam is a character who is not supposed to believe in Kassie's abilities but help her to work through her trauma. The problem is for Adam that the more he hears and sees, the more he believes and becomes involved, which has larger consequences for him than allowing a teenager to live in supposed psychosis.

The book is set in Chicago and has a great gritty feel to it. Whilst I have mentioned the above two main characters, there are other points of view littered through the novel which adds depth to situations and the concept of fate and whether choices can change fate or if free will really doesn't exist because choices do not alter the future.

This theme was the most thought-provoking in the book and was one of my favourite parts about it. Some chapters read a little slower than others, which is possibly because of the shift in points of view of the characters; but the ending is quick, suspenseful and possibly even surprising (even factoring in the strength of its theme). 

I did find some grammatical errors in this book that may be distracting if you are that kind of reader, so just be aware. 

If you are a fan of Arlidge's 'Helen Grace' series, this is definitely a detour you might enjoy. Or you might find a detour from Arlidge's norm disappointing. The only way you'll know is if you read it 😊

Links for you:

Arlidge in the Library:

Pop goes the weasel

Love me not

Author read-a-likes in the Library:

Gone girl

Gillian Flynn

This book is dark and gritty, with suspenseful endings. The focus is psychological suspense like Arlidge's novel with characters that are flawed.

You can run

Steve Mosby

The characters in Mosby's work are flawed and the atmosphere is dark, gritty and psychologically suspenseful. 

Vanessa Savage's "Woods"

 

You can find this book here.

Two girls went in. Only one came out.

This is part of the fairy story Tess's mother used to read to her and her younger sister Bella; but now the line mars her present with a past horror she can't remember.  

Tess's past not only haunts her, but was a haunted experience for her: new neighbours brought chaos to her life; local girls, murdered by someone who was never convicted, and her sister died, but only Tess herself believes someone murdered her. The interesting part of this haunting? Tess herself does not remember what happened to her sister, even though she had been found with her that night. 

As she has to move back to her old home where it all happened, she is haunted by being around people from the past again, not being able to sleep and suffering from hallucinations of her dead sister. Or, is she an actual ghost?

Tess is an unreliable narrator; so this makes the story's progress interesting. It chops and changes in her present, whilst bringing to light her past. Her unreliability comes from the fact that she is so emotionally charged and (to me at least) appears to not see past her own nose, and so you may find yourself drifting between sympathy to strong dislike. 

The novel has a nice pace to it, which helps to keep the creepy vibe going. I was able to pick up on some of the twists; let's see if you think it is predictable. The rest of the characters all have secrets and difficulties with being back where they grew up though, increasing the suspense when reading, which was good to see. So overall, it was a good read for me. 

Links for you

Savage in the Library:

Woman in the dark

Read-a-likes in the Library:

Mother-in-law

Sally Hepworth

This novel has an unreliable narrator as well and focusses on secrets in a psychological suspense genre. The author is also Australian. There is an eBook copy of this also if you prefer, available in the library here.

In a dark, dark wood

Ruth Ware

This book is similar as it is a psychological suspense novel where the protagonist wakes up in hospital and does not remember what happened. And what happened was something horrible. 

Read-a-likes in cloudLibrary:

When the lights go out

Mary Kubica

Is a psychological suspense novel with an unreliable narrator.