YOU by Caroline Kepnes

Rating: ✪✪✪✪✪out of 5 Stars

Release Date:                  UK, Australia, US September 2014

Author’s Website:           Caroline Kepnes on Facebook

Publisher’s Website:      Simon & Schuster  (purchase information)  

AMAZON:                              CLICK HERE

My thoughts:

     I’ve a new obsession that I need to share. I read a lot, but so few books go beyond "pretty good." Maybe once or twice a year I find a book that is a real thrill to discover. Discovering a debut author who has also written the best book I’ve read all year is very exciting. You know the type of book I’m talking about, where you pick it up and flip to the first few pages, thinking: Yeah, what’s so good about you that everyone is talking? Then out of curiosity you unsuspectingly read the first few pages just before you think you’re going to turn out the light. Two hours later you’re thinking: I need to go to sleep—but I can’t. I’m sucked in. Then the next day, the thought of getting back inside that world sends a little tingle up your spine. That’s Caroline Kepnes’ YOU.

     Stephen King’s 1987 Misery was one of those novels, too, that had everyone talking. The insanity and obsession of Annie Wilkes was both mesmerizing and horrifying in equal quantity. In the same year, the film Fatal Attraction gave us the iconic portrayal of obsession with Glen Close aiming her crazy desire at Michael Douglas. They were visceral experiences. Misery and Fatal Attraction spawned a myriad of copycat plots, but I personally don’t think anything has come close to creating their claustrophobic feeling of obsession. That is, until I recently read YOU, debut novel from talented (very talented) U.S. author, Caroline Kepnes.

    YOU is simply brilliant. From the first chapter, you’re sucked into the world of bookstore manager Joe Goldberg, whose instant attraction to a random customer, Guinevere Beck, takes obsession and love to a whole new level. She has a boyfriend, but that’s no problem for Joe. She has a demanding girlfriend who keeps getting in the way. No problem either for Joe. These problems have a way of working themselves out when Joe is around. He tracks the love of his life via social media. (Note, this is, also, a cautionary tale on not revealing too much on your Facebook and Twitter accounts.) Things head down a very dark and dangerous rabbit hole and some people are not coming out alive. That’s love, and Joe will do anything for love.

   Guinevere is a fabulous character, too. She’s not a perfect girl. In fact, she’s self-indulgent, obsessive, and insecure, but Joe still loves her and it’s his hilarious commentary on her and her friend’s failings that make this book so special. Written in second person, we are right inside Joe’s head as he speaks directly in his thoughts to Guinevere, her boyfriend, and anyone else he encounters. This style of writing is unusual, yet it works perfectly in creating the feel for a story that is all about head games. Now you might think being inside the head of an obsessive narcissist with murderous tendencies wouldn’t be the most pleasant of visits, but thanks to Kepnes's witty prose, you actually come to like Joe—he’s kind of cool. Each time you open the pages you are both excited and terrified to discover what he will do next.  I don’t ever want to meet someone like Joe, but boy I sure do love him.

    YOU is one of the most exciting and thrilling reads released this year. A book about obsession will obsess you. When they talk about guilty obsessions this book is it! Great news is that a sequel is on its way.

Thank you to the awesome people at Simon & Schuster Australia for my review copy.

BOOK BLURB

     When aspiring writer Guinevere Beck strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe works, he’s instantly smitten. Beck is everything Joe has ever wanted: She’s gorgeous, tough, razor-smart, and as sexy as his wildest dreams.
     Beck doesn’t know it yet, but she’s perfect for him, and soon she can’t resist her feelings for a guy who seems custom made for her. But there’s more to Joe than Beck realizes, and much more to Beck than her oh-so-perfect façade. Their mutual obsession quickly spirals into a whirlwind of deadly consequences...

  A chilling account of unrelenting passion, Caroline Kepnes’s You is a perversely romantic thriller that’s more dangerously clever than any you’ve read before.

About the author:

Caroline Kepnes is a native of Cape Cod and the author of many published short stories. She has covered pop culture for Entertainment Weekly, Tiger Beat, E! Online and Yahoo. She wrote episodes of 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her directorial debut short film Miles Away premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festival and took third place in the Audience Award for Comedy Short. Caroline is a Brown University graduate who splits her time between Los Angeles and Cape Cod. Her favorite beverages are vanilla latte and root beer flavored vodka. She doesn't do well with flies, needles or freeways.

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Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

Rating: ✪✪✪✪ ½ out of 5 Stars

Release Date:                 June 2014

Author’s Website:         http://stephenking.com/ 

Purchase in Australia:   QBD Bookstore & other good book stores

Publisher’s Website:       Hachette

My thoughts:

Stephen King has been talking about this book for ages. He came up with the idea after hearing about the true story of a woman who accidentally crashed her car into a crowd of people waiting outside a store.

In his story, of course, it’s a psychopath that crashes the car, and he’s not a bit sorry. In fact, he planned it. He’s so proud of it, and so surprised that he gets away with it, that he writes a letter to retired cop, Bill Hodges, outlining what a thrill it was to kill all those people.  Retirement hasn’t treated Hodges so well, and he’s playing should I-shouldn’t I with his revolver.

This case, which he calls Mr. Mercedes, after the stolen car used in the crime, is one of his unsolved cases and still weighs heavily on him. Receiving the letter, reignites his will to live and thus begins a cat and mouse game between the detective and Mr. Mercedes, who despite his protestations, isn’t done yet with his killing spree.

If you enjoy Stephen King’s style, then you will enjoy this book. There are no supernatural nasty creatures in this one. It’s just a plain old homicidal maniac. Stephen King calls it “his first hard-boiled detective book,” but he certainly brings his flourish for creating the insane, evil mind to the party. Mr. Mercedes is filled with King’s neat way with words and a story that will keep you travelling along way past the speed limit until the very end.

Here's a link to Stephen King talking about the book. CLICK HERE

About the author:

Seriously if you don’t know who Stephen King is, where have you been living for forty years, but just on the remotest chance that you have never heard of him… Stephen King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and many of them have been adapted into feature films, television movies and comic books.

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill ★★★★★

A HELLUVA RIDE

NOS4A2 in USA (pronounced Nosferatu)

NOS4R2 elsewhere

This is one of those stories where fifty pages in you realize you’re having the best reading fun you’ve had in ages. You don’t know where it’s going and you don’t care. It’s a ride, and you realize you are in the hands of a capable author.

It’s no surprise that Joe Hill’s “NOS4A2” is so captivating, as many have felt the same way when reading one of his Father’s books. Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, has entered his father’s domain. And, like his Father, he can tell a mean story and create characters with rich inner lives.

This is his third novel (“Horns” and “Heart Shaped Box”). This story is comparable to the best work of King, and at near 700 pages it’s just as weighty. It’s such a great read, though, you will be glad for every page.

We meet a young tomboy, Vic McQueen, who has a special gift. When she cycles fast enough, while thinking about a lost object, she magically crosses over the no-longer-in-existence “Shorter Way Bridge.” The bridge always takes her to the geographical location of the lost object.

Charlie Manx is a nasty creature who kidnaps young children whom he believes are at risk of an unhappy future. Creepy sidekick, Bing, relishes his role which is killing the children’s parents. The kidnapped children are transported to the strange, magical Christmasland, via Charlie’s 1934 Rolls Royce Wraith, number plate NOS4A2. Along the way the children’s goodness is stolen, so they arrive no longer human sporting little, sharp teeth.

When Vic and Charlie’s paths cross, she becomes the only child to ever escape him, and Charlie finds the adult Vic a determined, dangerous adversary.

The depth of the characters, who are flawed, broken people struggling with huge issues, make this a superior horror story. In “NOS4A2” Hill has created a comprehensive, well imagined world. If you love horror, if you love great writing, if you love reading a story where you can’t predict the end, then climb into “NOS4A2.” It’s one helluva ride.  

Thank you to the great people at Hachette Australia for my copy of Joe Hill’s NOS4A2.

INTERESTING INFORMATION

RELEASED: May 2013

For more information about this book: Click HERE 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Joe Hill is a recipient of the RAY BRADBURY FELLOWSHIP and the winner of the A.E. COPPARD LONG FICTION PRIZE, WILLIAM CRAWFORD, WORLD FANTASY, BRITISH FANTASY, BRAM STOKER and INTERNATIONAL HORROR GUILD AWARDs. 

His short fiction has appeared in literary, mystery and horror collections and magazines in Britain and America.

     Previous Books: NOS4R2, Horns, Heart-Shaped Box, 20th Century Ghosts

Watching You by Michael Robotham ★★★★

NOTHING BEATS A ROBOTHAM THRILLER

Last year, Michael Robotham’s book, “Say You’re Sorry” was the must-read book

among my friends. Many of them stopped their lives for a few days while they read it, and some reading it in one sitting. It was so good that Stephen King named it in his top three reads for 2012. I wholeheartedly concur with the master of suspense. This is all to say that Michael Robotham comes highly recommended and writes a great story.

He writes dark killer thrillers and “Watching You” is classic Robotham. He really puts his protagonists through the wringer, and again we meet another poor character who is dealing with great adversity. Robotham brings back our favorite psychologist, Joe O’Loughlin, who is also dealing with his own personal physical and emotional adversity, .

Marnie Logan has good reason to be depressed and in need of O’Loughlin’s services. Her husband disappeared over a year ago, without a word, leaving her a poverty-stricken single mother. She has been forced into prostitution in order to pay off her husband’s debts to a money-lender. And she, also, has this strange feeling she is being watched.

When a book of Marnie’s life is discovered which includes pictures, interviews with friends and old teachers, and other people from her past, she believes her husband was creating a birthday surprise. But something is not right. In order to help Marnie, O’Loughlin interviews some of the people from her past, and discovers their stories of Marnie seem to be of a darker and entirely different person.

Robotham writes suspense with the best, and he weaves the story of Marnie’s misaligned past beautifully with the added tension of an unknown stalker. Who is the stalker and, in fact, who really is Marnie?

“Watching You” is another thrilling book in the O’Loughlin series, and while “Say You’re Sorry” is still my favorite. You cannot beat a Robotham thriller.

My review copy of “Watching You” supplied by the very nice people at Hachette Australia

Read my 2013 interview with Michael Robotham on "Say You're Sorry"

Read my review of "Say You're Sorry"

INTERESTING INFORMATION

RELEASED: 

Australia & New Zealand: August 2013

USA: Hardcover March 11 2014

For more information about this book: Click HERE 

Read a sample: First Chapter

Visit Michael Robotham’s Website: Click HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Australia in November 1960, Michael Robotham grew up in small country towns

that had more dogs than people and more flies than dogs. He escaped in 1979 and became a cadet journalist on an afternoon newspaper in Sydney.

For the next fourteen years he wrote for newspapers and magazines in Australia, Britain and America.

In 1993 he quit journalism to become a ghostwriter, collaborating with politicians, pop stars, psychologists, adventurers and show business personalities to write their autobiographies. Twelve of these non-fiction titles were bestsellers with combined sales of more than 2 million copies.

His first novel 'The Suspect', a psychological thriller, was chosen by the world’s largest consortium of book clubs as only the fifth “International Book of the Month”, making it the top recommendation to 28 million book club members in fifteen countries. It has been translated into twenty-two languages.

His second novel 'Lost' won the Ned Kelly Award for the Crime Book of the Year in 2005, given by the Australian Crime Writers Association. It was also shortlisted for the 2006 Barry Award for the BEST BRITISH NOVEL published in the US in 2005.

Michael's subsequent novels 'The Night Ferry' and 'Shatter' were both shortlisted for UK Crime Writers Association Steel Dagger in 2007 and 2008. 'Shatter' was also shortlisted in the inaugural ITV3 Thriller Awards in the UK and for South Africa's Boeke Prize. In August 2008 'Shatter' won the Ned Kelly award for Australia's best crime novel. More recently, 'Bleed for Me' – Michael's sixth novel – was shortlisted for the 2010 Ned Kelly Award. His latest novel 'The Wreckage' has won universal praise and was described by Nelson De Mille as 'one of the best novels to come out of the chaos of Iraq.'

Devil in the Hole by Charles Salzberg ★★★★

Into the mind of a murderer

Reviewed by Tracy Harris

          James Kirkland is not your typical nosy neighbor. So, when he notices all of the lights blazing in his neighbors house, he’s curious but not curious enough to knock on the door and inquire after their health.  He is inquisitive enough to notice that the lights are slowly burning themselves out. 

          
         A phone call to the police results in the discovery of the gruesome murders of an entire family including the dog, minus one member. John Hartman, husband, son and father of three is missing and all evidence points to him as the prime suspect.

          We are given an unusual insight, discovering the story through the eyes of a cast of characters who have their own individual opinion on the man who is John Hartman. From the senior investigator who has become obsessed with apprehending Hartman, to his former mistress, to past work colleagues and even his postman.  Even Hartman's side of the story is revealed through his viewpoint; a man who has committed the unthinkable crime and managed to elude authorities but not himself.

          Based on a true story, the John List murders, reading the first page to Devil in the Hole is like having just one potato chip. You simply must have more.

        Read this book if you want to treat yourself to a novel that is different, a novel not told from the traditional single viewpoint, but through multiple character’s viewpoints. I felt this allowed an opportunity to discover each individual's opinion of Hartman, through their own distinct and unique interactions.  This way we have an opportunity to attempt to understand how such a horrendous crime impacts everyone.

Thank you to author Charles Salzberg who contacted us directly and supplied a copy of his novel. 

PURCHASING DETAILS:   Click here
IN AUSTRALIA: Click Here
                                                          

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Charles Salzberg is a New York-based novelist, journalist and acclaimed writing instructor.

          A celebrated and popular creative writing teacher, he has been a Visiting Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and has taught writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Hunter College, the Writer's Voice, and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a Founding Member. He is a consulting editor at the webzine Ducts.org and co-host, with Jonathan Kravetz, of the reading series, Trumpet Fiction, at KGB in New York City.

          Visit Charles' website here.

THE HIT by David Baldacci ★★★ ½

Reviewed by Tracy Harris

     Will Robie is a killer. A professional killer, but a killer nonetheless. One  of the US Government’s top assassins, Robie is the man you call to eliminate threats, existing and potential, to national and international security with no questions asked.

     Until it comes to this mission. When ordered to take down one of his fellow assassins, Agent Jessica Reel, who supposedly has gone rogue and killed her handler and is targeting members of their agency and the US Government, Robie finds himself questioning his task. Nothing, and no one, is as they seem. Fighting a battle against misinformation, false trails and double-crosses, Will Robie does the one thing no one ever expects.  He starts to think for himself.

     David Baldacci fans will love this novel. Complex, intriguing, well written, it ticks every box when it comes to a novel with a powerful story and action filled ending which lures the reader in and leaves them wanting more.

     I, personally, found the start to this novel a little slow. Whilst the characters themselves are exceptionally well crafted, it wasn’t until the last third of the novel that I found the pace rapidly quickened, as did the action and my heart rate.

     David Baldacci has created two amazingly sympathetic characters, especially considering their career choice, in Will Robie and Jessica Reel. It is these two characters that drive the plot and, regardless of any shortfalls I might have found, will bring me back for more.

     Thank you to the wonderful people at Pan Macmillan for providing our preview copy.

     For more information and purchasing details for THE HIT, please visit the publisher's page here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David’s first novel, Absolute Power, was published in 1996 beginning a writing career which has seen his books published in over 43 different languages and in more than 80 countries. David was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1960. He received his Bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1982 and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1986, after which he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C.A

A lifelong resident of his native Virginia, David and his family are involved in several organisations which support family and adult literacy programs, including the  Wish You Well Foundation established by David and his wife Michelle.

David and his wife are the very proud parents of two terrific teenagers and the generally proud owners of two not-so-well-behaved dogs. They live in Northern Virginia.

More on David Baldacci: http://davidbaldacci.com/

WOOL by HUGH HOWEY ★ ★ ★★★

READ MY FASCINATING INTERVIEW WITH HUGH HOWEY: CLICK HERE

A WORLD WORTH VISITING

If you haven’t heard of ‘Wool’ or Hugh Howey, hold on to your e-reader, you soon will. The hype around his journey from indie author to major book deal is making publishing headlines.

‘Wool’ was first published as a novella in mid-2011 but reader demand from Amazon reviewers had Howey hurrying back to his apocalyptic world to spin out some follow-on stories, five self-published over the next six months.  In January 2012, he released the ‘Wool Omnibus’ containing the stories and shortly later the publishing industry courted him with a seven-figure publishing deal. As well, Twentieth Century Fox and legendary Director Ridley Scott bought the film rights. 

Were there many changes from the self-published e-book to the publisher’s paper-book? “Minor revisions and localization edits,” says Howey.  “The biggest rewrite came from a small request from my extraordinary editor, Jack Fogg. He thought a couple of characters should get an earlier mention. The next day, I sent him a brand new chapter, which we slotted into the original book two. It’s now my favourite chapter in the entire book, and I was excited to record a reading of it for readers who had read the original.”  Howey sees the 550 page Omnibus as “a director’s cut”. 

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, ‘Wool’ tells the story of inhabitants of a two-hundred-level Silo who are bound by strict rules.  Breach them and you are sent outside in a specially made suit to participate in a ‘Cleaning’.  You then clean the only wall-screen that allows the inhabitants a view of the desolate world, before your suit disintegrates and you die.

‘Wool’ opens with the Sheriff who has lost his wife to a ‘Cleaning’.  Then we move through the volumes to view the Silo habitat through the eyes of various characters including Juliette, an engineer who begins to question the values and laws of the Silo. Then the fun really begins.

‘Wool’ is an extraordinary, rare gem. Howey has a talent for creating character depth, pacing, and his world-building is all encompassing. Putting ‘Wool’ down unfinished each reading session felt like I was leaving good friends in peril. The ‘Wool’ saga continues with ‘Shift’, already available on e-book and just released in paper-book.  Go visit the Silo. You won’t want to leave.

My review copy of Wool thanks to the hardworking people at RANDOM HOUSE Australia.
For more information please visit http://www.randomhouse.com.au

Release Dates: Australia and New Zealand: January 2013

To purchase:   click here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hugh Howey is the author of Wool, a bestselling novel that has appeared in the top 5 of science fiction on Amazon. He is also the author of the award-winning Molly Fyde Saga. He lives in Boone, N.C. with his wife Amber and their dog Bella.

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An Interview with Sara Foster

DEEP CONNECTIONS

An Interview with Sara Foster the Author of Shallow Breath

Whilst most non-Australians struggle mimicking the Aussie drawl most readers of Sara Foster’s latest mystery Shallow Breath, set predominantly in Western Australia, would be surprised to learn that the author of this quintessential Aussie story has only lived there for eight years. 

English-born Foster has always felt the land down-under was her second home. Thanks to her Australian stepfather there were many childhood family visits to the sun-burnt country.

The best-selling psychological suspense author credits her “Aussie” friends and her travel around the country for her insight in creating authentic Australian characters in her latest mystery. “I’ve enjoyed talking to many different Australians with interesting stories from similar backgrounds to many of my characters before I began writing.”

Shallow Breath, set in the present day, with flashbacks to the early nineties, tells the tale of Desi, a woman who has done something terrible in her past and now returns from prison to her seaside home hoping to reconnect with her teenage daughter Maya. Maya is finding it difficult to forgive her Mother for her inexplicable actions.  

Told in five parts via multiple view-points, Desi recounts her life in the nineties whilst working at the West Australian iconic Atlantis Marine Park just as it was shutting its doors. It was there she met American Connor, a passionate marine biologist, with whom she develops a friendship which changes her life forever.

Foster spent months researching Atlantis and the true-life drama and public fascination surrounding the releasing of its tamed dolphins back into the wild upon the 1990 park closure. 

Foster continues, ‘I chatted to a lady who lived locally and had worked in the restaurants there who filled me in on extra details.  I also talked to a lot of people who had been visitors and remembered the dolphin shows well and provided their own photos.”

Ironically, one of Foster’s friends with whom she had lost touch approached her on her launch night telling her she used to work with the dolphins there. “I had no idea,” said the surprised author.

Strange connections like this were actually the inspiration for the book. The most relevant to the book reminisces Foster was not of the human-kind.  “In 1999 when I was diving on the Great Barrier Reef, I returned to the boat and was hanging on to a rope waiting to be helped out. I put my face underwater and found myself staring at a ten to thirteen foot minke whale less than an arm’s length away just watching me curiously.”

Instead of being frozen with fear, as Foster had expected to be on encountering an enormous creature, she was instead filled with wonder. “I certainly felt that there was an assessing, intelligent eye watching me.”

Foster counts this underwater encounter, as well as her ”travel to some amazing places”, as the fuel that has steadily grown her passion for conservation over the past twelve years. “Without that experience I don’t know if I would be quite so passionate about saving all the minke whales harpooned every year in the Southern Oceans,” she adds.

She also reminisces of “fabulous encounters” with wild dolphins and an hour-long play session with a baby sea lion in the Galapagos – “this little animal just bolted around me and mimicked whatever movement I made.”

          Readers of Shallow Breath will find themselves bang in the middle of an eco-warrior drama and Foster’s fervor for animal conservation shines. Foster often highlights conservation issues through her Twitter and Facebook accounts and a visit to her website www.shallowbreath.com provides information not only on her book but issues as wide-ranging as the dwindling orangutan population, horrific treatment of dolphins in Japan, and the plight of orphaned Kangaroo joeys after their mothers are killed in culls.
          “I’ve realised just how fragile so much of life is,” says Foster “and how an enormous swathe of the natural world is under threat today from industrial development without respect for nature or regard for long-term sustainability. Shallow Breath developed out of this interest, and I plan to continue talking about it and supporting different causes as much as I can.”

This book is Foster’s third and she admits that it can become “quite intense” juggling her family life in a northern Perth suburb with her young daughter. “Basically, whenever my husband isn’t working he is looking after our daughter while I am locked away with the laptop and piles of draft chapters. I try not to take on too many deadlines so our family life isn’t pushed aside for too long but it’s definitely a challenge.”

With the rise and rise of e-books, and the changes in the industry, Foster believes that “the terror of physical books ‘dying’ is probably a bit of an overreaction.”  Instead she hopes the flexibility offered by e-books may create earning opportunities for writers. “I really admire people like Hugh Howey, whom I think has been particularly savvy in the way he has published his books in different territories.”

Despite her mastery of the Australian vernacular, and without ruling out a future sequel to Shallow Breath, Foster won’t be returning immediately to the island continent in her next book. “I think I’m going to go for some more dark and unusual family secrets in a psychological suspense set over the course of one night in the Lake District in England. Watch this space!”

Read our review of Shallow Breath. CLICK HERE

Review Copy supplied by RANDOM HOUSE Australia. For more information please visit http://www.randomhouse.com.au

For a FREE First Chapter of Shallow Breath CLICK HERE

Visit The Shallow Breath Website to learn how Sara blended fact with fiction to create SHALLOW BREATH.

Release Dates: Australia and New Zealand: December 2012

PURCHASING DETAILS 
You can purchase Shallow Breath from all good books stores in Australia.

E-Book for Australians and International: Amazon   Amazon UK
if you are overseas or in Australia, you can ALSO purchase direct from the author's website.
CLICK HERE.