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It’s nearly summer time and I decided to a reading challenge! I will be reading 30 books in 30 days! That means I will be doing a review on a book each day for 30 days on a book I finished reading within a day.
I will be posting the 30 day reading challenge in a usual way but let’s see if I can actually read 30 books in 30 days!
Title:- The Quiet Tenant
Author:- Clemence Michallon
Date published:- June 20th 2023
No. of pages:- 320 pages
Genre:- Psychological Thriller
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:- 4/5
Overall rating:- 4/5
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED NOVELS OF 2023 – “A bravura feat of storytelling…a daring and completely satisfying mystery.” –James Patterson, #1 best-selling author
A PULSE-POUNDING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER NARRATED BY THOSE CLOSEST TO HIM: HIS 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, HIS GIRLFRIEND–AND THE ONE VICTIM HE HAS SPARED.
“All…of the expected suspense and psychological tension, but offering a story about women—the ones who didn’t know the evil that lurked within, the ones who tried to placate or fight but still perished, the ones who might actually survive. Haunting but never prurient…truly unforgettable.” — Alafair Burke, author of The Wife
Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate town where he lives: he’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him: he’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed fearing for her life.
When Aidan’s wife dies, he and his 13-year-old daughter Cecilia are forced to move. Aidan has no choice but to bring Rachel along, introducing her to Cecilia as a “family friend” who needs a place to stay. After five years of captivity, Aidan is betting on Rachel being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a fighter and survivor, and recognizes Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a tenuous connection with Cecilia. And when Emily, a local restaurant owner, develops a crush on the handsome widower, she finds herself drawn into Rachel and Cecilia’s orbit, coming dangerously close to discovering Aidan’s secret.
Told through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily, The Quiet Tenant explores the psychological impact of Aidan’s crimes on the women in his life-and the bonds between those women that give them the strength to fight back. Both a searing thriller and an astute study of trauma, survival, and the dynamics of power, The Quiet Tenant is an electrifying debut thriller by a major talent.
This is the debut book of Clemence Michallon and is the most anticipated psychological thrillers. I managed to get a copy of Kindle and thought to give this book a try.
It does deserve to be the most anticipated psychological thriller but there are some hiccups that lowered my rating from a five star to a four star.
This is the story of three women centered about a single person–Aidan Thomas. To outsiders, Aidan is smart, handsome blue-eyed man and is respected by many. But inside, he holds a dark secret–he is a serial killer.
The three women are Rachel, Cecelia and Emily. Rachel, who we know her as “The Woman” as that’s not really her name has been held captive by Aidan and is one of those few lucky ones to be spared from murder. Cecelia is a thirteen-year-old daughter of Aidan and Emily is a restaurant owner who falls in love with Aidan. The story is told from these three women POV’s.
The writing was good and I have to say the author is a very talented writer. The plot of the story is really great–there were some gripping parts in the book. Reading Rachel’s POV was emotional and sad and I am glad that this is one of the books where we focus more on the victim and not on the killer (most of the times, we tend to forget the victims and glorify the serial killer). But there are ones that made me give this book lower to four stars. I did not like the character of Emily at all. I feel Emily is stalkerish, stalking after Aidan but maybe the author did that to give an air of feeling that Emily is going to find Aidan’s dark secret soon. The ending wasn’t so much great–even though I like how the author outlined Rachel (Rachel is the main protagonist here), I wish I know if Emily was intended to be the next victim of Aidan, or the potential to become the next wife of Aidan.
Overall, this book is fast-paced and will keep you hooked till the end–worth four stars!
Clémence Michallon was born and raised near Paris. She studied journalism at City University of London, received a master’s in Journalism from Columbia University, and has written for The Independent since 2018. Her essays and features have covered true-crime, celebrity culture, and literature. She moved to New York City in 2014 and recently became a US citizen. She now divides her time between New York City and Rhinebeck, NY
Title:- Nothing More To Tell
Author:- Karen M. McManus
Date published:- August 30th 2022
No. of pages:- 358
Genre:- YA/Thriller
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:- 3/5
Overall rating:- 3.5/5
Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teacher—a story that made headlines after the teacher’s body was found by three Saint Ambrose students in the woods behind their school. The case was never solved. Now that Brynn is moving home and starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, she’s determined to find out what really happened.
The kids who found Mr. Larkin are her way in, and her ex–best friend, Tripp Talbot, was one of them. Without his account of events, the other two kids might have gone down for Mr. Larkin’s murder—but instead, thanks to Tripp, they’re now at the top of the Saint Ambrose social pyramid. Tripp’s friends have never forgotten what Tripp did for them that day, and neither has he. Just like he hasn’t forgotten that everything he told the police was a lie.
Digging into the past is bound to shake up the present, and when Brynn begins to investigate what happened in the woods that day, she uncovers secrets that might change everything—about Saint Ambrose, about Mr. Larkin, and about her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot.
Four years ago someone got away with murder. More terrifying is that they might be closer than anyone thinks.
This is I think about the fifth book I have read of Karen McManus.
The story starts with Brynn who returns back to St. Andrews and working for a true crime newspaper. She was determined to find out what really happened to Mr. Larkin, who was her eighth-grade teacher and who was found murdered in the woods. His body was found by three other students–Tripp, Shane and Charlotte, Tripp being Brynn’s friend. And Brynn with her investigative journalistic skills start investigating what really happened to Mr. Larkin on that day.
The story is told mainly from Brynn’s and Tripp’s POV. It started out interesting but it kind of grew a little boring although it started getting interesting and gaining momentum towards the end. I do like how Brynn and Tripp couldn’t get along with each other and in the end romance develops between the two. I also like the action and all the drama that is described towards the end. There’s still a cliffhanger in the end, as still the person who murdered Mr. Larkin is not solved yet and I thought the ending was a little confusing.
Overall this was an OK book–worth 3.5 stars!
Title:- Her Last Tear (Nikki Hunt Book 7)
Author:- Stacy Green
Date published:- will be published on 25th July 2023
Publisher:- Bookouture
No. of pages:- 285 pages
Genre:- Thriller
Rating:-
Plot:- 5/5
Writing:- 4/5
Overall rating:- 4.5/5
Color explodes in the night sky, every boom and spray of lights getting louder cheers from the happy crowd. But two little girls are hiding in fear. “I want my mommy,” Abby whispers. A tear falls down her cheek as she clutches her sister’s hand and darkness finally falls…
When six-year-old Abby and nine-year-old Thea are snatched from a crowd at a fireworks display, Detective Nikki Hunt is determined to return the sweet sisters, with golden curls and laughing smiles, to their desperate mother Britney . The last person to see them alive witnessed the girls being led towards the docks by someone they seemed to know.As Nikki begins her interviews, she’s shocked to learn that Britney has a dark secret .
Ten years ago she ran away from Thea’s biological father, a man Britney claims was controlling and dangerous. Certain he must have taken the girls, Nikki urges the state troopers in nearby Thief River Falls to search the isolated ranch where he lives. But he is devastated to hear the girls are missing, and had no idea that Thea was even his daughter…
Then a witness comes forward claiming they saw a young boy clutching Thea’s little pink backpack at the fireworks. Nikki knows he’s the key to finding the girls alive, but she has no idea that someone on her team will do anything to keep his identity a secret. Unable to trust those closest to her, can Nikki unravel the truth and save Thea and Abby before their innocent lives are lost? An absolutely gripping and totally addictive thriller from USA Today bestseller Stacy Green that will keep you racing through the pages all night long.
Fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh will devour this thriller in one sitting!
Agent Nikki Hunt is back with another case–this time the case involved the disappearance of young girls.
Thea and Abby goes missing when their mother Brittney went to the restroom–the family were watching the fireworks. Nikki Hunt was also at the scene when the girls were discovered to be missing. Initially, the main suspect was Britnney’s ex-husband who also happened to be Thea’s biological father involved in a cult that believes in polygamy. She believes that her ex-husband may have kidnapped her daughters. However soon, Nikki Hunt realizes that the ex-husband may not be involved but Britnney’s current husband may have something to do with the disappearance. Thea’s body was found and Nikki knew that she must find Abby before it was too late.
This was a fast-paced thriller–abductions of children actually will make you feel like you are on the edge. As I mentioned in the above, there were so many suspects and so it wasn’t clear who could be the abductor–which is a good thing as the reader was kept in suspense. There were some twists and turns and the ending was totally unexpected. I always read Nikki Hunt series as this series is one of my favorite series so far and the author did not disappoint me at all with this book–cannot wait for the next case! Worth five stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Title:- The Perfect Girlfriend
Author:- Hayley Smith
Date published:- 332 pages
Publisher:- Bookouture
Genre:- Psychological Thriller
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:-5/5
Overall rating:- 4/5
He loves me. He trusts me. He shouldn’t.
Jay and I have only known each other a short while, but whenever I gaze into his deep green eyes I tell him he’s the one. His little house by the deep forest’s edge is perfect for the two of us – there’s no internet, no phone signal, and no neighbours. I’m about as far from my past as I could be. No one knows where we are, and I need to keep it that way.
He wants me to stay here where he can keep me safe from the outside world. I don’t question him, I won’t challenge him. I have him exactly where I want him. He has to think I’m the perfect girlfriend, far better than the one before. Because I know what he did.
All I have to do now is play my part and bide my time. So I tell myself Jay doesn’t have a clue who I really am. I’ve been so careful. Haven’t I?
A completely addictive psychological thriller packed with incredible twists you won’t see coming. Perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Split, and The Serial Killer’s Wife.
This book kind of gave a hippie feeling throughout the book.
Lauren meets Jay at a music festival and it was a passionate love affair at the first sight. Lauren moves in to live with Jay and as soon as she moved in, Jay started the things that Lauren owned to get money. Lauren finds out about a girl named Ruth who was Jay’s ex-girlfriend. But Lauren wants to know what really happened to her friend Nell who also happened to know Jay.
This was kind of slow paced but nonetheless it was actually a good story. It has sort of a creepy feeling, like a serial-killer vibe in it, although there is no serial killers in the book. There were some twists and turns but towards the middle and towards the end is where the story started getting juicier and more interesting that I couldn’t wait to see what is going to happen in the end. Jay has gorgeous green eyes while Lauren has luscious black hair–description that seem to embed the reader. The ending was unexpected so overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book. I cannot believe that this was the author’s debut book and cannot wait to read more of her books! Overall, this book worth five stars!
Many thanks to Bookouture for making me a part of this blog tour. Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Hayley Smith is married with three children and lives in a north Derbyshire village. She has worked as a graphic designer, youth worker and musician, and has been involved for many years in organising music festivals and gigs. She studied English Language and Creative Writing with the Open University and is an avid reader of psychological fiction. Having a penchant for all things alternative, she often dips into the counter-culture scene for writing inspiration, producing quirky rough-edged characters and dark, unpredictable twists, turns and moral dilemmas.
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Buy Link:
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Audio:
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Title:- The Inmate
Author:- Freida McFadden
Date published:- June 13th 2022
No. of pages:- 302 pages
Genre:- Psychological Thriller
Rating:-
Plot:- 3/5
Writing:- 4/5
Overall rating:- 3.5/5
There are three rules Brooke Sullivan must follow as a new nurse practitioner at a men’s maximum-security prison:
1) Treat all prisoners with respect.
2) Never reveal any personal information.
3) Never EVER become too friendly with the inmates.
But none of the staff at the prison knows Brooke has already broken the rules. Nobody knows about her intimate connection to Shane Nelson, one of the penitentiary’s most notorious and dangerous inmates.And they certainly don’t know that Shane was Brooke’s high school sweetheart—the star quarterback who is now spending the rest of his life in prison for a series of grisly murders.
Or that Brooke’s testimony was what put him there. But Shane knows. And he will never forget.
Have you read the Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden? If you haven’t, you should check it out as it took me only 48 hours for me to finish that book! So this book, the Inmate is also written by the same author but I feel this book wasn’t as good as the Housemaid’s Secret.
The good things about this book is, the story divides between the present and the past, a murder that happened eleven years ago when Brooke testified against her boyfriend Shane that puts him into Riker Prison. The “go” was there in the book, meaning it was quiet a page turner. The epilogue part was kind of unexpected.
The bad thing about this book is, this was highly predictable and unrealistic in my opinion. Brooke was one of those stupidest and naive characters I have ever read (who would want to work in a prison where your ex-boyfriend whom you testified against is locked up in that prison???). I feel like you are watching a horror/slasher movie. Someone in the Goodreads review commented on how this book is very similar to the movie Scream and yes, I agree with that comment. If you have watched the movie Scream and then read this book, you will find some similarities between the book and the movie (won’t give further details)
Overall, this book worth 3.5 stars!
#1 Amazon bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.
Title:- The Lifeboat Sisters
Author:- Tilly Tennant
Date published:- July 14th 2023
Publisher:- Bookouture
No. of pages:- 425 pages
Genre:- Romance
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:- 4/5
Overall rating:- 4/5
Escape to candy-coloured Seaspray Cottage on the Cornish coast, with its stunning views of honeycomb sand beaches and aquamarine seas, where Ava is about to make a brave new start…
When Ava Morrow’s beloved father Jack is killed on his lifeboat at sea, the Cornish village of Port Promise unites in grief. Jack’s twinkling eyes and warm smile are remembered by the whole village, and Ava is determined that he will never be forgotten.
Inspired to follow in her father’s footsteps, Ava quits her job and begins to train as a lifeboat volunteer, alongside her best friend Harry , who was with Ava’s father the night he died. As they work side by side every day, Ava begins to see Harry, with his sea-green eyes and his sandy blonde hair, in a different light. Ava’s mother and sisters are worried about Ava’s safety and want her to stop, and Harry is the only person who really understands what she needs to do. Still, she pushes her feelings to one side, afraid to risk their friendship.
But when, one summer’s evening, Harry reveals a tragic secret about the night that Jack died, Ava’s world is turned upside down once more. Will his secret drive her away from him and the new life she loves?
If you love golden sands and crystal waters, picture-perfect Cornish villages and books by Jessica Redland, Jo Bartlett and Nicola May, you will fall in love with this romantic, heartbreaking read.
The first few parts of the story was gripping. The story starts with Ava’s father being killed while in the sea and Ava wanted to follow her father’s footsteps. However when one of her childhood best friends reveal a secret, Ava’s life seemed to have turned upside down.
I really enjoy reading Tilly Tennant’s books and so far, this book is one of my favorites. I do like the bond that was shared between Ava and her sisters and so it was interesting to read about their sisterly bond with each other. This was a long book but nonetheless you can read it in one sitting. You can actually feel sorry for Ava and I liked reading about Ava’s relationship with Henry. I do like the descriptions of the village and that made me as a reader feel like I was a part of the story. Overall, thi book worth five stars!
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Title:- Second Chances for the Lifeboat Sisters
Author:- Tilly Tennant
Date published:- 14th July 2023
Publisher:- Bookouture
Genre:- Romance
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:- 5/5
Overall rating:- 5/5
In the tiny village of Port Promise, where the wind tangles your hair and the cobbled streets twist down to the honeycomb beaches, Clara Morrow is planning her wedding.
After a whirlwind romance, Clara is excitedly planning her wedding to her handsome fiancé Logan in the picture-perfect Cornish village of Port Promise, with her mother and three sisters at her side.
She will never forget the day when she first caught sight of artist Logan, the sea-mist curling the ends of his dark hair, as he strode across the gorse-covered cliffs near the village. She feels so lucky that Logan seems happy to make her home his own, painting on the windswept Cornish beaches and calling in for lunch at the fish shack where she works with her best friend.
But when Logan inherits a beautiful house in London and reveals that he wants them to build a life there, it’s a huge shock for Clara. She knows it could be an amazing new start, but when she thinks about leaving her family behind, her heart aches.
Suddenly it seems like she and Logan have very different dreams. Can they find a way back to their happy ever after or will the mismatched lives they want threaten everything they have built together?
A beautiful heartbreaking read about love, life and starting again, Second Chances for the Lifeboat Sisters will whisk you away to a place where you can watch the sun set and feel the sand beneath your toes.
This is the second book of the series and this time, the focus is on Ava’s sister, Clara.
Clara is planning a wedding after a whirlwind romance to Logan with her sisters and her mother at her side. But her fiance, Logan inherits a house in London and wanted to start their new chapter there. However, even though Clara wanted to move to London, the thought of moving away from her family overwhelmed her. Now it seems that both Clara and Logan each have different dreams so can they have a happily ever after?
You first get to know Clara in the first book, but you don’t have to read the first book in order for you to read this book. Once again, I was transported back to the dainty Cornish village, the small town of Port Promise. The vivid descriptions of the place made me feel as if I was also living in this scenic Cornish village. This time the focus is more on towards Clara and personally, I like Clara more than I did towards Ava. She has to make a decision if she wanted to leave Port Promise or not but I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to leave! I do like the sibling relationship and her relationship with her own mother.
So overall, I rate this book as five stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Thank you Bookouture for making me a part of this blog tour!
From a young age, Tilly Tennant was convinced that she was destined for the stage. Once she realised she wasn’t actually very good at anything that would put her on the stage, she started to write stories instead. There were lots of terrible ones, like The Pet Rescue Gang (aged eight), which definitely should not see the light of day ever again. Thankfully, her debut novel, Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was not one of those, and since it hit the Amazon best seller lists she hasn’t looked back. Born in Dorset, she currently lives in Staffordshire with her husband, two daughters, three guitars, four ukuleles, two violins and a kazoo.
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Second Chances for the Lifeboat Sisters: https://geni.us/B0C1CW2S3Lsocial
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‘I’m sorry, Sam’s not available,’ says the woman who answers my husband’s phone. I can’t place her voice, so I politely ask who she is. Her answer sends my world spinning out of ‘I’m his wife.’I know I want to marry Sam the moment I meet him. After I lost my beloved mother so suddenly, this charming, softly spoken architect with his deep-brown eyes is just the fresh start I’ve been searching for.I’m delighted to be expecting our first child before we’ve even had a chance to plan a honeymoon. I want our family to work so I try to ignore his long work trips. I turn a blind eye to the private calls he takes and I listen to his excuses about why the money keeps disappearing from my bank account. After all, he has no idea what I’ve been doing in our house whilst he’s away or how I really made that money.Then I find out Sam’s got more to hide than I ever imagined was possible. Because my husband is leading a double life. He’s already married to someone else.But what Sam doesn’t know is that he’s not the only person keeping secrets.And he has no idea how far I’ll go to protect myself…A totally unputdownable, twisty, will-leave-you-gasping story of marriage, guilt and lies. If you love Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins, you will not be able to sleep until you’ve finished every last page of The Bigamist.
This was such a great psychological thriller!!
The story starts with Emma meeting a man named Sam and the two start a relationship. Soon Emma gets pregnant and one day when she calls Sams number, a woman answered the phone claiming she is Sams wife. Is Sam leading a double life?
This was a fast paced thriller with lots of unexpected twists and turns. The author has written very well that the reader feel like they are watching some thriller movie and being on the edge of the seat. All characters are highly unreliable and untrustworthy which made the story bit compelling as to who is actually telling the truth. Emma is an unreliable character and so this made the story enjoyable. The ending to me was a bit confusing but unexpected. Overall this thriller worth five stars!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc. This review is based on my honest opinion only
Rona is the bestselling author of psychological thrillers published by Bookouture. She loves to turn domestic storylines on their head to keep her readers guessing what the heck is going on.
She has been a bit of a nomad during her adult life, moving around the north of England, before settling in Snowdonia, North Wales where she brought up her family while working as a business mentor. She now lives on the Isle of Man with her little nutter of a Border Collie, Maid. You’ll find all the places she’s lived in her stories!
She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring the wonderful glens and beaches on the Island while she’s plotting her next book. She has three children and two stepchildren who are all grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of material for new stories.
To find out more about Rona and her novels, visit her website: https://ronahalsall.com/ and sign up to her newsletter to get the latest info on new books and offers.
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Book Details
Title:- Lessons in Chemistry
Author:- Bonnie Garmus
Date published:- March 31st 2022
No. of pages:- 392 pages
Genre:- Historical Fiction/Feminism
Rating;-
Plot:- 5/5
Writing:- 5/5
Overall rating:- 5/5
Set in 1960s California, this blockbuster debut is the hilarious, idiosyncratic and uplifting story of a female scientist whose career is constantly derailed by the idea that a woman’s place is in the home, only to find herself starring as the host of America’s most beloved TV cooking show. Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman.
But it’s the 1960s and despite the fact that she is a scientist, her peers are very unscientific when it comes to equality. The only good thing to happen to her on the road to professional fulfillment is a run-in with her super-star colleague Calvin Evans (well, she stole his beakers.) The only man who ever treated her-and her ideas-as equal, Calvin is already a legend and Nobel nominee. He’s also awkward, kind and tenacious. Theirs is true chemistry. But as events are never as predictable as chemical reactions, three years later Elizabeth Zott is an unwed, single mother (did we mention it’s the early 60s??) and the star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s singular approach to cooking (‘take one pint of H2O and add a pinch of sodium chloride’) and independent example are proving revolutionary. Because Elizabeth isn’t just teaching women how to cook, she’s teaching them how to change the status quo. Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
So this book is already going to be released as a movie (or Tv show?) with Brie Larsson as Elizabeth Zott! While I cannot wait to see the movie, let’s talk about the book.
Elizabeth Zott reminded me of the female version of Sheldon Cooper. It was 1960’s an era where the women’s place is at home. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist, her career often derailed due to the fact that she is a woman. She works at Hastings Research Institute where she meets Calvin Evans, a Noble Price nominee. She and Calvin then live together, adopt a dog named Six-thirty and one day Calvin dies and Elizabeth is pregnant with Calvin’s child. Flash forward, Elizabeth is an unwed single mother to a girl named Madeline and soon, she become a sensation among women when she runs a successful TV show named Supper at Six.
I actually enjoyed reading this book. There were some funny parts that will make you laugh out loud, the writing was really great and engaging and I like how the concepts of chemistry was used in the concepts of cooking (add sodium chloride or add H20). The fact that Elizabeth Zott is combining chemistry with cooking was kind of fascinating to read. I also like Elizabeth’s character–her character is blunt, no-nonsense type who believed that women should be treated equally. I also like how Elizabeth befriends her neighbor Harriet and the TV show producer Walter and how she was a good friend to both of them. Overall, if you are someone who like a science setting in the book (not science fiction) I recommend this book to you all–worth five stars!
Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who’s worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.
Book Details
Title:- Vera Wong’ s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
Author:- Jesse Q Sutanto
Date published:- March 14th 2023
No. of pages:- 339 pages
Genre:- Cozy Mysteru
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:- 4/5
Overall rating:- 4/5
Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?
Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).
But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.
Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.
Have you read Jess Sutato’s Dial A for Aunties yet? If not, you should read Dial A for Aunties!
Vera Wong is a typical Chinese-American sixty something year old woman, who owns a tea house that is basically non functional. But one early morning she discovers a body of a dead man named Marshall Chen lying on the floor of her tea shop. Though the police rule out as an accident, Vera believes that foul play is involved and she meets Riki, Sana, Julia and Oliver who all had some troubles and connections with Marshall, making each of them a likely suspect for Marshall’s murder. And Vera’s nagging style soon brings all four together with Vera.
This was really a quick read and interesting to read. There were some funny parts in the book which made me laugh out loud. The story is told from Vera’s, Oliver’s, Julia’s Sana’s and Riki’s POV and I really like Vera’s character in the story. I also liked the diversity of the characters in the story–Sana is Indian-American, Riki is Indonesian, Julia is Caucasian thus bringing much diversity into the story. I felt like I was reading a comic sort of mystery rather than a thriller and it was predictable as to what is going to happen in the end which lowered my rating to a four star. However, if you are looking for a quirky funny comedy cozy mystery then I recommend Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Worth four stars!
Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore and sees both cities as her homes. She has a Masters degree from Oxford University, though she has yet to figure out a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. She is currently living back in Jakarta on the same street as her parents and about seven hundred meddlesome aunties. When she’s not tearing out her hair over her latest WIP, she spends her time baking and playing FPS games. Oh, and also being a mom to her two kids
Tropical Girl Reads