Tag: bookreview

All the Sinners Bleed Review

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  • Author: S.A. Cosby
  • Series: Standalone
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Star Rating: 5 stars
  • Gifted by Publisher: No

Plot: Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, Charon has had only two murders. After years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. Those festering secrets are now out in the open and ready to tear the town apart. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon. With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.

 haven’t read a thriller this dark in a very long time. Most of my mysteries tend to be cosy crime or historical crime so it’s been an age since I picked up a contemporary thriller that focuses on the darkness of humanity rather than the cosiness of English village life.

I picked this up after watching a video of an author event on TikTok and I found Cosby to be very funny and engaging. After that, I saw loads of my mutuals recommend this book so I knew it had to be my next read.

This book follows the first black sheriff of Charon County who tries to serve his community, many of which don’t support a black sheriff, and also to locate a mysterious killer who had been hiding under the radar for years. This book is full of secrets, darkness and at one point I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish it as Cosby really gets into the depths of how evil humanity can be.

The pillar of this book is our main character Titus Crown. A stalwart ex FBI now Sheriff who is dealing with his own personal demons finds himself in the middle of the most horrific case in his home town. Following him as he tries his hardest to follow his code of honour, respect the badge and deal with the racist part of his community was a very powerful read. He was the kind of character that you would want supporting you and having your back. I normally find ‘down and out detective’ characters can be a hard read, and sometimes quite boring, but I really enjoyed Crown as a character. Titus is a character of complexities trying to make a change in a community dead set against change.

The plot itself had me questioning if I had the mind or the stomach to finish it as Cosby gets to the core of how awful humanity can be and I was unsure if I could continue but I was so drawn in by Titus as a character that I kept on reading. This book was full of twists and turns where you truly didn’t know what was going to happen next and I found myself unable to put it down. I would read it on the bus to work and spend the entire day thinking about when I could pick it back up as I needed to know how it ended. I ended up reading the last 100 pages in one sitting.

Cosby’s writing was incredibly engaging and I have to say I loved how he ended most chapters with an amazing one liner that would send shivers down your spine. This book required a lot of nuance, detail and care as the themes in this book tackle racism, death, grief and other awful things I can’t write down. Cosby managed to get across all the complexities of both our main character, religion and our feelings towards it after death, what it is like being black in a community that was raised on racist ideology.

This was just an incredible read out of my comfort zone that I was so glad I have read.

The God of the Woods Review

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Some said it was tragic, what happened to the Van Laars. Some said the Van Laars deserved it. That they never even thanked the searchers who stayed out for five nights in the freezing forest trying to help find their missing son. Some said there was a reason it took the family so long to call for help. That they knew what happened to the boy. Now, fifteen years later, the daughter the family had in their grief has gone missing in the same wilderness as her brother. Some say the two disappearances aren’t connected. Some say they are.

The Art of a Lie Book Review

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  • Author: Laura Shepherd-Robinson
  • Series: Standalone
  • Genre: Historical Mystery
  • Star Rating: 5 stars

Plot: Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. Her confectionary shop on Piccadilly is barely turning a profit, her suppliers conspiring to put her out of business because they don’t like women in trade. Henry Fielding, the famous author-turned-magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husband’s bank account because he believes it might have been illicitly acquired. And even those who claim to be Hannah’s friends have darker intent. Only William Devereux seems different. A friend of her late husband, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his death. He also tells her about an Italian delicacy called iced cream, an innovation she is convinced will transform the fortunes of her shop. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip and draws Henry Fielding’s attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything she can imagine.

his is the second Shepherd-Robinson novel I have read in my life and the last book was a 5 star and made it to the top read of that year. So going into this book I had high hopes. I expected a well-researched historical period, a layered mystery that would keep me guessing until the final page and characters that struggle under the weight of the world and societal expectations. And I got all of that and more!

Writing a review for a book like this is hard as the nature of the book is lies and deceit. The title of this book is not lying when it says “the art of a lie” because S-R really delves deep into the intricacies of lying, the perils of lying and the dangers of lying. You find yourself questioning every single character in this book, even the ones you thought you truly understood. Trying to review this book is hard because by page 35 (yes I checked) S-R drops a bomb on you so astounding you question whether you as the reader are supposed to know this! Writing a review for this book is so hard because the lies and twists and turns are woven so incredibly well into this novel that trying to explain any facet of book has you teetering into spoiler territory. But I will try my best.

S-R is a master at work with this novel. Highly researched and realised historical setting, a great look into the psychology and motivations of all of our characters, from trade apprentice all the way to Countesses, and again, as is expected, a deeply layered mystery. But it’s truly her characters and their lies that set this novel up. Despite everything you read and learn you can’t help but understand these characters and why they do what they do. You can’t help but feel for them and root for them despite the very huge cloud of retribution shadowing over them. I devoured this book purely because despite the initial draw in of the murder mystery I just want to follow these characters and I wanted desperately to know for good or for bad what happens at the end. 

I couldn’t look away from this book and neither should you!

House of Roots and Ruin Book Review

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Plot: Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia. When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it. Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms. But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade. . . .

I first read House of Salt and Sorrow, the first book in this series, 5 years ago and it blew me away. A dark gothic re-telling of the 12 dancing princesses that left me thinking about it for half a decade. Last year, while perusing Forbidden Planet London I stumbled upon a 99p paperback copy of House of Roots and Ruin. I didn’t know there was a sequel let alone already out in paperback. I snatched it up quickly.

There is always a pressure with follow up books to out perform the original or, in my case, prove to me that my taste has not changed that much in 5 years. There is nothing worse than realising your faves don’t resonate with you as much as the years go by. But there was no reason for this worry as House of Roots and Ruin enveloped me in an amazing story of ghosts, strange plants and curious patriarchs.

Going into this book knowing nothing as amazing as I truly was a blank canvas of knowledge. I did have to remind myself of the events in Book 1 but I truly think you don’t need to have read book 1 to enjoy book 2. They feel very standalone in nature but I do feel that you would get a better reading experience if you did read book 1 first.

Verity as a character was steadfast, brave and in a way whimsical. At the beginning of the book she dreams of leaving her ancestral home and traveling the world, meeting new people, finding purpose outside of being a Thaumas girl. She ends up running away to the small Duchy of Bloem to paint the portrait of the heir Alexander. I really enjoyed Verity as a character and I felt she was incredibly relatable despite her very unrelatable circumstances. She has a big heart, a lot of compassion but also stands up for what is right no matter what. I just found myself really engaging with her as a character.

The main setting of Chanteleilie is a fascinating one of mysterious flowers, confusing hallways and an amazing lake that the reader gets to visit about halfway through the book. I love a creepy Manor House, always have and always will and this house was no exception. I enjoyed watching Verity explore it and try understand its history. The inhabitants of this grand house are not all as they seem and as you read Verity interact with them you have a sense of unease throughout their scenes but an unease you can’t identify. It’s this uneasy tension that really elevates the novel as you can’t put the book down because you need to know all the mysteries and the secrets the characters and the house are holding back. I guessed a couple of things right but also was completely taken a back by some of the reveals in this novel.

Overall this was an amazing sequel to an already great series and I am excited to read the next book in the series out next year!