Thriller – Page 2 – World of Bai

Book Review: “She Started It” By Sian Gilbert

This is the first and really only book I read in July. I read this as a buddy read with one of my bookstagram friends and surprisingly I really enjoyed it! I listened to this via audio book and I am happy I did as it sparked my interest in audio books again.

“In reality, we all stick together because we know no one else would ever understand what we did in the past. And the trouble is, we’ve all become so convinced that what we did was alright that we’ve accepted an invitation from the very woman we did it to.”
Sian Gilbert, She Started It

About the Book

Author: Sian Gilbert

Publisher: William Marrow and Company

Published Date: June 13th, 2023

Page Count: 352 Pages

Main Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Adult

GoodReads Rating: 3.63

Format: Audio

Synopsis

Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are best friends—or were, as children. Despite drifting apart in adulthood, shared secrets have kept them bonded for better or worse, even as their childhood dreams haven’t quite turned out as they’d hoped. Then one day they receive a wholly unexpected—but not entirely unwelcome—invitation from another old friend. Poppy Greer has invited them all to her extravagant bachelorette party: a first-class plane ticket to three days of white sand, cocktails, and relaxation on a luxe private island in the Bahamas.

None of them has spoken to Poppy in years. But Poppy’s Instagram pics shows that the girl they used to consider the weakest link in their group has definitely made good—and made money. Curiosity gets the better of them. Besides, who can turn down a posh all-expenses-paid vacation on a Caribbean island?

The first-class flight and the island’s accommodations are just as opulent as expected…even if the scenic island proves more remote than they’d anticipated. Quite remote, in fact, with no cell service, and no other guests. The women quickly discover they’ve underestimated Poppy, and each other. As their darkest secrets are revealed, the tropical adventure morphs into a terrifying nightmare.

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

This audio book started off pretty slow which honestly made me super nervous! This Audio had, I believe, Two separate narrators. One Narrator sounded like Alexa was telling me a story which I truly struggled with, while the other narrator really kept my interest. Because of this I pushed through and I am so glad that I did because I loved this book in the end!

Part of me believes the reason I liked this book so much is because I was in a really horrible reading slump for all of July so really any book I picked up would have probably been a 5 star read at this time. I say this because my Friend I buddy Read this with actually rated this book pretty low and we tend to have the same thoughts on most books.

This was a book filled with a lot of drama and a lot of miscommunications which kept the book moving quick with many twists and turns. I feel like most people probably could have expected the twist at the end but if I am completely honest with you it came to me as a shock which I loved!

I Would for sure recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced Thriller to get yourself out of a reading slump!

“Those bitches might have started it, but I sure as hell finished it.”
Sian Gilbert, She Started It

QOTD: What Thriller got you out of a reading slump?

Book Review: “Lock Every Door” By Riley Sager

Look at me, giving Riley Sager a second chance after DNF’ing Final Girls. I only made it about 100 pages into Final Girls before I decided it wasn’t for me, the writing was just so boring! So giving him a second chance wasn’t really on my radar, but Lock Every Door was a book that everyone was saying to give a try so here I am.

“Never take anything you haven’t earned, my father used to say. You always end up paying for it one way or another.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

About The Book

Author: Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton

Published Date: July 2nd, 2019

Page Count: 381 Pages

Main Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 3.91

Format: Physical Book

“Every so often, life offers you a reset button. When it does, you need to press it as hard as you can.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

Synopsis

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

“One time is an anomaly. Two times is a coincidence. Three times is proof.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

Rating

Review

I went into this book with basically no expectations which was probably for the best with this one. The only expectation I had was that this could possibly be a paranormal read and spoiler alert, I was wrong.

This book started off really strong. in fact, I flew through the first 100 pages! But after that we hit a slow part in the book that felt like it would last forever, and it did. In fact it lasted for practically 200 pages, almost till the very end of the book where it finally decided to get good again and man oh man did it get good!

Honestly, this book had a really interesting conclusion that saved this book from being a 2 star read. If you don’t want any kind of spoilers I would stop reading right now, don’t even skim the rest of this paragraph. Ok so the ending of this book reminded me a lot of the movie “The Menu” It talks about how the rich take advantage of the poor and man oh man did they take advantage of these apartment sitters!

Now the big question remains, after DNF’ing one of Riley Sagers books and giving this one a 3.5 star rating, will I be interested in picking up any of the other books from this author? Ummmm, I do have two of his books currently on my shelves, they are House Across The Lake and Home Before Dark. I think I want to try Home Before Dark as I have heard some good things about this and possibly even that it has paranormal aspects which I am here for. SO yes, I will probably try one more book from this author.

“Because here’s the thing about being poor—most people don’t understand it unless they’ve been there themselves. They don’t know what a fragile balancing act it is to stay afloat and that if, God forbid, you momentarily slip underwater, how hard it is to resurface.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

QOTD: Do you have a favorite Riley Sager Book?

Book Review: “The Silent Patient” By Alex Michaelides

This is the first book that I read in over a month…Yikes… how sad! However, I am so glad that my first book of March was this one. This book has been recommended to me several times over the past few years and honestly I am kicking myself over the fact that it took me this long to get to it.

“Remember, love that doesn’t include honesty doesn’t deserve to be called love.”
Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

About The Book

Author: Alex Michaelides

Publisher: Celadon Books

Published Date: February 5th, 2019

Page Count: 336 Pages

Main Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.18

Format: Physical Book

“We are made up of different parts, some good, some bad, and a healthy mind can tolerate this ambivalence and juggle both good and bad at the same time. Mental illness is precisely about a lack of this kind of integration – we end up losing contact with the unacceptable parts of ourselves.”
Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

Synopsis

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….

Synopsis From GoodReads

“There’s so much pain everywhere, and we just close our eyes to it. The truth is we’re all scared. We’re terrified of each other.”
Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

Rating

Review

If I am completely honest with you, I went into this book with low expectations. I have heard a lot of mixed reviews behind this book, either you love it or hate it and I thought I was going to hate this book. To my surprise, I can see this being a contender for my 2023 top books!

This book started off kind of slow only because I wasn’t sure I liked the POV of the psychotherapist but as the story moved on the pace picked up and I flew through this book!

I would hate to spoil anything in this book for you if you haven’t read it yet, but let me tell you this, I did not see the twists coming! My jaw was on the floor for the last few chapters cause I just didn’t want to believe what I just read. If you are looking for a quick page turner you need to pick this one up!

“…we often mistake love for fireworks – for drama and dysfunction. But real love is very quiet, very still. It’s boring, if seen from the perspective of high drama. Love is deep and calm – and constant.”
Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

QOTD: What Psychological Thriller can you not stop thinking about?

“You know, one of the hardest things to admit is that we weren’t loved when we needed it most. It’s a terrible feeling, the pain of not being loved.”
Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

Book Review: “The Sun Down Motel” By Simone St. James

This book was my Book Clubs pick for the month of October and I don’t think we could have picked a better book for the spooky season! I know a lot of my book Club peeps were busy this month so not many of us were able to finish but that is perfectly fine because we are friends first before a Book Club. Over all I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to tell you my thoughts.

“For the odd girls, the nerdy girls, and the murderinos. This one is yours.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

About The Book

Author: Simone St. James

Publisher: Berkley

Published Date: February 18th, 2020

Page Count: 327 Pages

Main Genres: Mystery, Horror, Thriller

GoodReads Rating. 4.03

Format: Physical Book

“I think it’s instructive to be awake in the middle of the night every once in a while. To really see what you’re missing while you’re usually sleeping.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

Synopsis

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

Synopsis From GoodReads

“I’m the one you didn’t kill,”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

Rating

Review

This book started a bit slow to me and took maybe 150 pages to really get into. But by the time I met that 150 page mark I was hooked and did not want to put it down!

At the beginning of this book everything just felt too perfect, like she was out of money and had no where to stay but then she finds a rich roommate, like what? Why was it so perfect? That kind of story telling really gets under my skin. But honestly you forget about how perfect this book started after a little while and just get sucked into the atmosphere of The Sun Down Motel and the story of all the missing girls. You really want to help them figure out the truth!

I did really enjoy all of the characters in this book, and there were many. They all played a pretty important part in this book and really made the story. Carly made some really good friendships which was a really cute part that I enjoyed a lot, I was afraid she wouldn’t know anyone and be doing all this research on her own.

If you are looking for a paranormal book that actually gives you chills, I highly recommend picking up this book.

“The person who could be truly alone, in the company of no one but oneself and one’s own thoughts—that person was stronger than anyone else. More ready. More prepared.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

QOTD: What are some good paranormal books?

Book Review: “The Perfect Child” By Lucinda Berry

October has been such a great reading month for me! I have had many four and five star reads and this one was no different! I had heard nothing but good reviews for this book so I went in with High expectations and it really did live up to the hype.

“Parenting a traumatized child is horribly difficult. Most of them suffer from severe attachment issues, and mothers are usually the targets of their rage. It can get pretty awful.”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

About The Book

Author: Lucinda Berry

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Published Date: March 1st, 2019

Page Count: 371 Pages

Main Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Horror

GoodReads Rating: 4.10

Format: Audio

“She crawled up on my lap and whispered in her sweet voice, “I like hurting people. Do you?”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

Synopsis

Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.

But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.

Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“What are you talking about? We can’t just give her back—we’re her parents. Her parents, Hannah. Whether you like it or not, that’s what we signed on for.” His body shook as he tried to control his anger. “You can’t just give your kids away when it’s rough.” “You can if your kid is a monster.”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

Rating

Review

If you are going to read this book I highly recommend the audio book! I loved the cast of voices they had and it just made the book really come to life!

Before diving head first into this book like I did, I really recommend checking out the trigger warnings. If things about child abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse and death happen to be triggers for you then I highly suggest not picking this one up. When reading this book I found myself comparing it to “The Push” by Ashley Audrain which I believe I also gave five stars. So if you liked one of the above maybe try the other!

This book made me cry and a lot of that is due to the specific trigger warnings I mentioned above. The author describes these situations in ways that really get to you which is great writing! This really added to the suspense of the book and overall horror element. This is probably the most unsettling book I have read in quite some time.

“It never crossed anyone’s mind that someone else might be in trouble. I wished it would’ve. Maybe then things would’ve ended differently.”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

QOTD: Give me a recommendation such as “If you liked this book then you will love this one”.

Book Review: “Hidden Pictures” By Jason Rekulak

This book has been read by everyone under the sun, Ok maybe not really, but it does feel like it. I have seen it everywhere with raving reviews so I was extremely excited to finally get my own copy and devour this book and what better time than the beginning of spooky season?!

“hardest things about recovery is coming to terms with the fact that you can’t trust your brain”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

About The Book

Author: Jason Rekulak

Publisher: FlatIron Books

Published Date: May 10th, 2022

Page Count: 373 Pages

Main Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery

GoodReads Rating: 4.25

“I’m grateful to the judge who sent me to rehab instead of prison.”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

Synopsis

Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves this new job. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, and his stick figures steadily evolve into more detailed, complex, and lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to suspect these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell’s house.

With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy—while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past—before it’s too late.

“seemed so epic. But I mentioned the challenges to Adrian’s mother and she gave me some good advice. She said I shouldn’t try to write a book, I should just sit down at my laptop and tell the story, one sentence at a time, using the same language I’d use to tell a friend over coffee. She said it was okay not to sound like J. K. Rowling. It was fine if I sounded like Mallory Quinn from Philadelphia.”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

This book was everything I hoped for plus so much more!

I used to be a nanny so while I was reading this book I was imagining this happening to me and how I would have handled the situation, and I don’t think I would have made it out of this house alive.

I really loved that this book had pictures because without them I don’t think it would have been as scary as it was. The pictures just really helped you see that something was really weird with this situation. I think I stared at each picture for a good five minutes a piece just to get a real good look at what was going on.

The one thing I want to shout out is that this wasn’t as predictable as most thrillers I have read and I really appreciated that. I think this book is probably the scariest thing I have read in my whole two years of being on bookstagram and I am so glad I was able to finally read this one! I highly Recommend it!

“I see her every night,” Teddy says. “She sleeps under my bed so I can hear her singing.”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

QOTD: What is the scariest book you have read?