Dark Matter

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Published by Random House Audio on Jul. 26, 2016
Genre(s): Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Format: Audiobook / Kindle
Time: 10:18:00

Goodreads synopsis: 

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.

Seth really wanted to read this book, and I had heard good things, so we decided to get it on our Kindles and read it together. The book is definitely more his style of book, totally true to the science fiction genre. Even though these aren't the typical novel I go for, I still love a good mystery every once in awhile, and Dark Matter exceeded all expectations.

The suspense throughout the story was so engaging that I never wanted to put it down. It was so hard to stay on track so that Seth and I were reading at the same pace because I was constantly reading past our agreed upon mark. The story centers around the idea that everything that can happen will, and that our lives are not our own, but instead, our reality is based upon every choice we and others make. It was a strange story, but so engrossing and powerful.

There are a few criticisms I could make about the characters, the plot, and the timing of the various twists, but all in all, I was so satisfied with the overall flow and outcome of the story, that it doesn't even matter. I thought the author did a phenomenal job taking a complicated topic centered around astrophysics and translating it through relatable characters to create an easy and enjoyable read that didn't require turning to google in order to understand.

This is one of those rare books that keeps you thinking and wondering for days after you've finished it. In fact, I feel tempted to pick it up and read the entire thing start to finish again. My mind and my heart were both racing throughout the entirety of the book, and after finishing it, I can't help but look at the world around me and my everyday choices with a sort of skepticism and admiration. Truly a work of sci-fi art, I recommend this book to anyone interested in stepping out of their comfort zone and going on an exciting and thrilling ride through an unreal (yet somehow scarily real-feeling) story.

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Leaving Time

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Published by Ballantine Books on Oct. 14, 2014
Genre(s): Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audiobook / Paperback
Pages: 398

Goodreads synopsis: 

For over a decade, Jenna Metcalf obsesses on her vanished mom Alice. Jenna searches online, rereads journals of the scientist who studied grief among elephants. Two unlikely allies are Serenity Jones, psychic for missing people who doubts her gift, and Virgil Stanhope, jaded PI who originally investigated cases of Alice and her colleague. Hard questions and answers.

The first book I ever read by Picoult was My Sister's Keeper. I liked the book, but I remember having trouble getting through it. i could chalk it up to my young age, inexperience reading long and dense novels, or maybe that it just didn't grasp my attention like Harry Potter. Whatever it was, anytime another Picoult novel came across my radar, I always sort of just waved it off, uninterested. When I think back to My Sister's Keeper, and my reaction reading the book, I know that I liked it, so I'm not sure where the weird, negative association comes from. However, I read Small Great Things earlier this year and I was completely blown away. This isn't a review for either of those books, obviously, but my point is to give context as to why I decided to read one of Picoult's earlier works now. After realizing my mistake of passing up on her books over the years, I clearly have a lot of catching up to do on this brilliant author's work.

I picked up Leaving Time randomly, having no idea what the book was about. I've been doing that a lot lately- going into a story without even so much as reading the synopsis. It can be really exciting for books that grab you right in the first chapter, and this one definitely did. I won't say much about the plot, in case that's your style of reading new books, as well.

In classic Picoult style, the twist at the end rocked me! I didn't see it coming AT ALL, and it made me reconsider the entire book. I had to think back to things that had been happening to the characters and look at them in a different way. It was so well done, I found myself considering similar situations in my own life, wondering if I should be taking another look at the world around me and not just that of these characters.

The story was written with each chapter from a different character's viewpoint, although, I would have liked to see the story from the viewpoint of a couple more characters. I'm not sure if Picoult left the viewpoints of two integral characters in the story out on purpose, or if she just felt that it wasn't necessary. It definitely added more mystery to the plot, but it also left a lot to be desired given their roles in the lives of the other characters.

Overall, the book was an easy, entertaining, and surprising mystery to keep you on your toes until the last page. If you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it to anyone that enjoys Picoult's work or is looking for a new author to love.

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Into The Water

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins
Published by Riverhead on May 2, 2017
Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 388

Goodreads synopsis: 

A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.

Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she'd never return.

With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.

Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath. 

I was hesitant to start this book because I was less than impressed by Hawkins's first novel, The Girl on the Train, but after thinking about it, I decided that was unfair. In the beginning, the story starts out pretty straight forward, giving background to the eerie history of the town setting and the deaths of women that seem to always have mystery associated with them, but always involve the water. As things move forward, you learn that the lives of the people in the town are all entwined...to an overwhelming extent.

Hawkins writes each chapter from the perspective of a different character, which in most novels adds a lot of value to the plot and to the progress of the story for the reader. However, there are so many characters that at times, the story feels so confusing, and remembering who is who becomes daunting. This made it extremely difficult for me to get through the book. I didn't want to stop reading, because I really did want to discover how the multiple twists and mysteries would unfold, but the confusing nature of the book's organization hindered my focus and interest.

Toward the end, the story got a little annoying in how things began to pan out. And, in my opinion (obviously) the final twist of the book was completely unrealistically far-fetched. This may be because I didn't really feel a connection to the character involved, but I blame Hawkins for that due to the excessive amount of characters in the story. A few storylines seemed to remain a mystery in the end, never fully explaining what happened, which was definitely disappointing, even if I did lack a connection to the character involved.

This was an easy enough read, so anyone looking for a simple, quick beach-read or otherwise will likely enjoy it. However, for my high expectations in terms of mystery/thriller/suspense, it wasn't my favorite.

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The Good Girl

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Published by Harlequin MIRA on Jul. 29, 2014
Genre(s): Fiction, Suspense, Mystery, Thriller
Format: Audiobook/Kindle
Pages: 352 

Goodreads synopsis: 

I've been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she works. I don't know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she's scared. But I will.

One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.

When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of delivering her to his employers, Mia's mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter.

An addictively suspenseful and tautly written thriller, The Good Girl is a propulsive debut that reveals how even in the perfect family, nothing is as it seems.

This book was recommended to me- as it likely was to many others- preceded by the question, "did you like Gone Girl?" I decided to give it a try because I did like Gone Girl, but I also liked Gillian Flynn's other novels of the same Suspense/Thriller genre, so I guess I was kind of hoping this story would fall in line with those...It didn't.

From the moment the story started to unfold, The Good Girl was predictable in almost every way. The mystery genre was lost on this one when nearly nothing was surprising. The characters had depth, but in a very far-fetched way such that the author described many of them to be one way, yet in their actions, they appeared completely- almost unbelievably- different. This definitely added to the unreliability of the suspense and shock-factor. Characters were doing and not doing things that just plain didn't fit to the point where it wasn't surprising because apparently anything goes.

The pace of the novel was slow, which also didn't help the suspense factor. On the other hand, the slow pace might have been the only reason I kept reading. Even though the story was boring at times, chapters were short, making it easy to keep going. Before I knew it, the book was over. I read a portion of the book on my kindle, which shows percentage in the bottom corner. At about 91%, I could tell things were wrapping up, and there was still so much unexplained. However, by the time the book ended, those explanations were somehow thrown in. Needless to say, the last 9% of the book is where things got a bit fuzzy for me. For how much was supposedly going on in between pages, trying to thoughtfully explain the plot from the beginning in one last chapter just didn't work out. I found myself rereading sentences because it was that unbelievable-- not the explanation itself, that I did see coming, but the way the author wrote it off in a few short paragraphs.

Overall, the story was highly predictable for me, but because it was short with quick chapters, it was still an enjoyable read. With more nuanced characters and plot details, I think it could have been a lot better.

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The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Published by Riverhead on Jan. 13, 2015
Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Suspense,
Format: Paperback/Audiobook
Pages: 325

Goodreads synopsis: 

The #1 New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Book of the Year, now a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt. Don't miss Paula Hawkins' new novel, Into the Water, coming May 2017.

EVERY DAY THE SAME Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good? 

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Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Published by Little Brown in Aug. 14, 2012
Genre(s): Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 330
Goodreads synopsis: 

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

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The Last Anniversary

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
Published by Harper Paperbacks in Jan. 1, 2006
Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 388
Goodreads synopsis: 

Sophie moves onto the island and begins a new life as part of an unconventional family where it seems everyone has a secret. Grace, a beautiful young mother, is feverishly planning a shocking escape from her perfect life. Margie, a frumpy housewife, has made a pact with a stranger, while dreamy Aunt Rose wonders if maybe it's about time she started making her own decisions.

As Sophie's life becomes increasingly complicated, she discovers that sometimes you have to stop waiting around -- and come up with your own fairy-tale ending.

As she so adroitly did in her smashing debut novel, Three Wishes, the incomparable Liane Moriarty once again combines sharp wit, lovable and eccentric characters, and a page-turning story for an unforgettable Last Anniversary.

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The Grownup

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Published by Crown in Jun. 17, 2014
Genre(s): Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Adult
Format: Kindle
Pages: 64
Goodreads

A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, doesn't help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.

“The Grownup,” originally appeared as “What Do You Do?” in George R. R. Martin’s Rogues anthology.

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Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Published by Berkley on Jul. 29, 2014
Genre(s): Contemporary, Adult, Fiction, Mystery
Format: Kindle
Pages: 458
Goodreads

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

I read this one in just three days. AMAZING! A thriller-mystery tone with a casual/suburban setting and plot made this story very intriguing. Moriarty really has a knack for keeping readers interested. I read through it so quickly because I often found myself up hours at night continuing through chapter after chapter because it never seemed like a good place to stop- I had to know what happened next!! The story reminded me of Moriarty's novel The Husband's Secret because it had an umbrella theme- little lies- and it looked at how small little lies happen in different way yet all end up tangling together and have a way of always coming full circle in the end. I loved this one. It might be my favorite of her lot thus far... a toss up with What Alice Forgot. 

To see a full list of my current and upcoming reads, join me on Goodreads! Also, check out my FAVORITE website ever, Paperback Swap- the online book-trading marketplace where I get most of my tangible books. Feel free to add me and check out my shelf here.

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Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Published by Broadway Books in 2006
Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 254
Goodreads

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows, a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.

I decided to read Flynn's debut novel after loving Gone Girl and Dark Paces so much. When I first opened it, I had no clue what it was about or what I was getting into, but that wasn't at all why this thriller had me so on edge to know what was going to happen next. The relationships Flynn creates between characters as well as how she writes to describe their feelings, thoughts, and personalities is so incredibly impressive. To say that this first release is exceptional is an understatement. After reading these three novels of hers, I do think Dark Places was still my favorite, but I think Sharp Objects beats Gone Girl. I definitely recommend this title. Quick, exciting, and easy read that packs the punch of a juicy, intimidating family/small town drama.

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The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriary

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
Published by Berkley on Jul 30, 2013
Genre(s): Mystery, Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 396
Goodreads

At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read

My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . . Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves.

This book was very good. I recommend this for a sort of suspense/drama. It had a couple interesting twists and I quite enjoyed how the storylines that in the start were seemingly separate became intertwined and were all related somehow or another. Moriarty seems to do that a lot in her novels, which always adds an element of surprise as the characters continue to develop and meld into each other’s lives. This wasn’t as exciting a some of Moriarty’s other reads, but still definitely worth the time. It’s an easy read and very entertaining.

Coming up in January:
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

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Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Published by Broadway Books on Apr 25, 2009
Genre(s): Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
Format: Kindle
Pages: 370
Goodreads

From The #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Of Gone Girl

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

I had to read Dark Places after how much I enjoyed Gone Girl and I'm so glad that I did. I realized that I liked it so much more not only because the story was much more interesting to me, but because it was (in my opinion) a little bit better written. I realized after reading this book by Flynn that I didn't love Gone Girl as much as I thought, I still love it, but Dark Places kind of took the gold for me in the line up of Flynn books read thus far. Sharp Objects still to come...

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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Published by Broadway on May 24, 2012
Genre(s): Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller
Format: Kindle
Pages: 578
Goodreads

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

I loved this book, but who didn't? I haven't yet seen the film, but I do hear it's a good adaptation. (Is it?)... This was probably the first mystery/thriller I've read aside from Harry Potter (no, seriously), so I was on-the-edge-of-my-seat/uneasy-with-the-lights-out/paranoid-on-the-sidewalk into it. I'm not one of those people that can sense what is going to happen next, either, so the twists and turns that Flynn laid out took me very much by surprise EVERY TIME. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing for an exciting step out of reality but doesn't have a ton of time or focus. This book only took me a few days and was a pretty easy story to follow.

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