David Jackson's "Resident"

 

You can find this book here.

Who wants Thomas Brogan living in their loft (or attic)? No one. 

Brogan is a serial killer who is on the run from the police. He finds an abandoned home with a loft that has a secret: the loft joins to three other houses. This of course will make a lot of fun for a serial killer no one knows is living up there. Oh, the games he intends to play with the neighbours!

The book is a first-person narrative; though most of the conversation Brogan has is with the voice in his head. To be honest, without this element, the book would be a boring read because most of the book is him watching and playing games to gauge reactions from the people below him. 

The perspective of a serial killer was interesting. You slowly find out about Brogan as the novel goes on and possibly motivations for why he does what he does. But since he talks to a voice in his head, you also know he's not sane. 

Because the book focusses on a very restricted environment, there is a sense of claustrophobia to it. There is enough information to attach yourselves to the characters in the book; though whether you grow sympathetically to Brogan's situation or not is up to you when you read it. 

Watch out for the black humour; and though the reviews on the cover suggest it is a thriller, I found it a slow burn and not very creepy. This is good though, because it builds tension rather slowly, shows you the state of Brogan and other characters and possibly even the claustrophobia they feel, even though they aren't stuck up in an attic. 

It wasn't terrifying, but it was a little bit of fun.

Links for you:

Read-a-likes in the Library:

Please be aware that I have chosen these read-a-likes because their point of view (POV) of the main character is that of the killer, stalkker, etc.

You and Hidden bodies

Caroline Kepnes

Dexter: an omnibus

Jeff Lindsay

American psycho: a novel

Brett Easton Ellis

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

C. J. Tudor's "The chalk man"

This book can be found here.

Tudor’s ‘The Chalk Man’ is a pretty fast read, and whilst I am going to review it as much as any other book I have read … cloudLibrary classed it as part of the genre “Horror”. Depending on your definition of the genre, you may or may not agree with this when you read it.

Eddie is a kid, part of a “gang” of youths who find a dead body when they are young and then need to deal with the consequences of this once they are older. Seems like a simple storyline; and it is, because we have heard this many times before (even Stephen King’s ‘Dreamcatcher’ does this in part). However, this book has a very different feel to it, even though it follows common tropes. 

The reason I believe this novel is different is because of the characterisation. I found the characters; not exactly interesting per se, but so damaged and flawed that the situation, consequences and the writing sat with me much longer. Perhaps this was why it was placed in horror? The mentalities, attitudes and lives of these characters are so flawed, so pained at times, and seemingly so … off … that perhaps this is the horrifying element all along. Not anything violent that actually happens in the novel: it is the psychology of the characters themselves that is off-putting or creepy. It was what made the book interesting. And sad (not in a crying way, but in a “oh, humans are so pathetic and tormented way”, you know?). It’s also what I take away from this novel the most.

The story itself changes chapter by chapter through the past and present. Mainly between 1986 and 2016. This really worked and made the novel even poetic and cyclical by the end. 

“Everyone has secrets, things they know they shouldn’t do but do anyway.”

You may not see it now, but you will if you read this novel. 

If anyone says they could not connect with the characters; that makes sense. Because it is filled with dark humour and the characters are all flawed, broken and well, human. But the story itself is well written and complete; you have everything you need by the novel’s end. I just kept going back to its cyclical nature and found this part the most enjoyable.

Links for you:

Tudor in the Library:

Other people

Tudor in cloudLibrary:

Taking of Annie Thorne

Title read-a-likes in the Library:

Bone keeper

Luca Veste

Both novels are menacing and have a murder of the past that leaves a mark on individuals into their older selves. However, Veste is more police procedural.

Lying game

Ruth Ware

This was chosen because of the flawed nature of characters and the psychological impact of past events on characters.

Good daughter

Karin Slaughter

Chosen because characters were flawed and shows the impact of small-town life.

Author read-a-likes in cloudLibrary:

Into the water

Paula Hawkins

Girlon the train

Paula Hawkins

Hawkins' work is similarly creepy, complex and nonlinear. These works also focus on the psychology of characters and their unlikeability.