mystery

After the Crash by Michel Bussi

~ SamanthaWho ~ 3 Comments

After the CrashI really enjoyed After the Crash, a mystery thriller, by Michel Bussi. A popular French author, this is the first book of Bussi’s to be translated into English so that more of us readers can enjoy his work! A very well written story that’s nicely translated, it’s filled with intriguing characters, some of which I enjoyed and others that I was disgusted by, and surprising plot twists.

Right before Christmas of 1980 a plane crashed into the Swiss Alps killing all 169 passengers besides one… A baby was found to have miraculously survived the crash. Against to odds, there were two baby girls of similar age and with similar features on board meaning that the found child’s identity was unknown. Officials were unable to determine which of the babies on board, Lyse-Rose and Emilie, was the child found at the crash site.

A private detective is hired to investigate the case and has spent 18 years trying to find the real identity of Lylie, the name the baby goes by, a combination or Lyse-Rose and Emilie. Over the years he has compiled a journal full of clues explaining his inability to find the real identity of the baby, who has now grown into an 18-year-old woman. On the eve of Lylie’s 18th birthday, the same date that his contract ends, the detective claims to have come across a case-solving clue…

I really enjoyed this book because it switches between the perspectives of multiple characters (including members of each family and snippets from the detective’s journal of notes) as they all race to answer the ultimate question: who is Lylie?

Thank you to Hachette Book Group for sending me an advanced reader’s copy of After the Crash in exchange for an honest review. The book will be released on January 5, 2016!

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

~ SamanthaWho ~ 3 Comments

In a Dark Dark WoodI refuse to waste the time I spend commuting back and forth from work so I’ve been listening to audiobooks over the last few months. In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware is the latest of those audiobooks. A creepy murder mystery, this one had me sitting in my car once I arrived home just to keep listening to the story.

Leonora, a crime novel writer, finds herself in a situation just like one of her plots when she goes to the bachelorette weekend of her old friend Claire. Leonora and Claire lost touched many years ago and haven’t spoken since they went to school together as teenagers, so Leonora is confused about her invitation to the weekend. Despite having a bad feeling about the whole thing she goes anyway. A couple days later she wakes up in the hospital with scratches and bruises all over her body and doesn’t remember how she got there. Someone has died, that much she hears from the police outside her room, but she doesn’t know who has been killed or how she’s involved.

Leonora describes the house they stay in next to the woods as a glass castle with the feeling that something or someone is outside watching which creates a creepy tone for the story.

At times I was frustrated by Leonora for going to the bachelorette weekend when she didn’t want to and for not standing up for herself when she felt uncomfortable. Her character did grow on me a bit throughout the book though and I really enjoyed the story. Definitely pick up In a Dark Dark Wood for an engaging and descriptive mystery!

The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg

~ SamanthaWho ~ 8 Comments

The Ice PrincessI’ve been waiting to read The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg for a while now, the eerie blue cover taunting me every time I pass my bookshelf. I don’t know what I was waiting for though because this book is a great mystery novel! One filled with seemingly unconnected characters and horrifying hidden secrets, I couldn’t put it down.

A scandal rocks Fjällbacka, Sweden, when a woman is found dead in her childhood home with her wrists slit open. No one knows what Alex was doing back in her hometown and why she would take her own life until details come out that it couldn’t have in fact been a suicide. Erica Falck, the childhood best friend of Alex, is coincidentally in town when the tragedy hits and is quickly pulled into the murder investigation. The more she learns, the more Erica realizes that Alex has changed in their 25 years apart, becoming distant and elusive over time. Clues pointing to the killer elude police until Patrik, a local detective, and Erica work together to piece together the mystery. As the story goes on, it’s clear that this murder isn’t the only scandal in the small town’s history…

A novel full of characters and storylines, I was fully engaged until the very last page in an effort to sort out how each story is intertwined. I really enjoyed this book and plan to read many more by Läckberg in the future!

The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz

~ SamanthaWho ~ 5 Comments

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As a huge fan of the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson, I was very excited to read The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz. This fourth book didn’t turn out to be as good as the original three, but I didn’t really expect it to be with a different author. Either way, I was happy to see some of my favorite mystery novel characters come back in a new story!

In The Girl in the Spider’s Web, trouble strikes again for Mikael Blomkvist when his magazine starts to go downhill and another mysterious case lands in his lap. When it turns out that Lisbeth Salander, his previous partner of sorts, is involved in the case already, he decides to take it on. Once again, Blomkvist and Lisbeth work together to unearth an entire series of crimes that hide just below the surface.

Through this book we get more insight into Lisbeth’s background and her very troubled childhood. She is a very interesting character whose good intentions hide behind her tough exterior. She is a defender of women and children and I can’t help but root for her. She might just be one of my favorite characters because she is so intelligent (her computer hacking skills are beyond anything I can comprehend) and simultaneously such a badass (in a good way).

Unfortunately, there wasn’t as much character interaction and depth as in the first three. For example, while the first three had me gripping the books in anticipation, I wasn’t quite as engaged in this one. It’s also shorter than the original books; which may have had something to do with it.

While it didn’t hit the same mark as the original three, The Girl in the Spider’s Web a good book and I’m always happy to read a lively mystery novel.

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

~ SamanthaWho ~ 2 Comments

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia HeaberlinJust in time for Halloween this weekend, I finished Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin. An eerie murder mystery, this is a great one to pick up on a dark fall evening. While Black-Eyed Susans is a haunting story, it doesn’t have the chilling tone of a Stephen King novel that can leave a reader feeling jumpy and full of nightmares.

The scenes switch between Tessa, a mother in her mid-thirties, and Tessie, her teenage self twenty years earlier. When Tessie was sixteen she was found nearly dead, along with a pile of bones, in a patch of black-eyed susan flowers. As the lone survivor of the serial killer, police turned to Tessie for the murderer’s identity… the only problem is that she can’t remember what happened.

Throughout Black-Eyed Susans it is clear that Tessa has not been able to move on from the horror of that night. When a patch of black-eyed susans are planted under her window, Tessa fears that she and her daughter Charlie may have to face her monster once again nearly two decades later.

I enjoyed this mystery novel and it kept me pretty hooked. There were a few questions that I felt were left unanswered, but maybe that was Heaberlin’s intention all along, no matter how frustrating!

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

~ SamanthaWho ~ 4 Comments

The Keeper of Lost CausesWhen a friend of mine asked for a mystery book recommendation before heading out on a road trip this weekend, one story instantly popped into mind. I told her that she needed to read (or in this case, listen to on audiotape) The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen right away. Despite reading this novel a couple years ago, I still find myself recommending it to many friends asking for recommendations because it is a story that has stuck with me.

For a haunting page-turner, choose The Keeper of Lost Causes. Jussi Adler-Olsen has written a seriously excellent page-gripping story here. This is the first book in the Department Q series centered around Carl Morck, a Copenhagen homicide detective whose life had been shattered when two of his fellow cops were shot on the job.

After finally coming back to his career, he gets to work on a series of old case files before becoming stuck on one in particular. A politician, who has all but disappeared into thin air and is thought to be dead, lingers on Carl’s mind. By following a hunch he finds something that has haunted me to this day. I don’t want to give anything away, but there is such a TWISTING finish here!

An incredibly thrilling mystery novel, The Keeper of Lost Causes is fantastic!