Thriller

It would’ve been nice to end 2023 on a high note with my last read for 2023, but unfortunately it was not meant to be with The Sun Down Motel. At a first glance and for the majority of the book, there was nothing inherently wrong with the story. A murder mystery told via a split narrative perspective switching between Viv Delaney in 1982 and her niece Carley Kirk in 2017. Feeling listless after the recent death of her mother, she goes on a spur of the moment trip to Fell, New York. Looking into the great family mystery, Carley retraces Viv’s movements 35 years later in an effort to uncover what led to Viv’s sudden disappearance. Carley finds herself eventually working the night shift at the rundown and empty Sun Down Motel, the same job Viv occupied and happens upon some rather unusual and supernatural entities. Sounds interesting right? Unfortunately, the execution and contents are better suited and were probably written for a Book Club type of genre read. On the plus side, the Sun Down Motel itself (as in the actual building) is described well and is a great setting. I don’t know why the book cover design…

It’s done purposely to avoid giving away spoilers and the core plot of this novel, but honestly the synopsis of this novel really doesn’t do a good job at selling how ambitious and high-concept this sci-fi thriller novel is. Minor spoiler alert but the synopsis fails to mention the multiverse-hopping quantum mechanic physics that makes the plot far more interesting than what it says on paper. However in retrospect I see that it was probably done this way for fear of alienating certain readers who may be off-put by a synopsis sounding big brain (it’s quite easy to follow and not big brain at all). Dark Matter is for sure a definite page turner especially once things get going once Jason Dessen is kidnapped by a mysterious man and I can see this making an excellent movie/tv-drama; the plot is excellent. As a novel though, I had some minor nitpicks holding this back from a 5-star read. What I loved about Dark Matter is its explanation and mechanics to the alternate reality/multiverse plot. Instead of just throwing in a random portal to another world or futuristic device (cue most time travel stories), Dark Matter uses an interesting interpretation of Schrodinger’s Cat…

A strong opening chapter followed by a lot of slow plodding around sleepy Wakarusa, Indiana, I had my doubts about All Good People Here being able to close things out and salvage itself after a very lackluster first half. Fortunately I thought it did just that once Ashley Flowers’ background in True Crime podcasting pick up in the last third of the book and lends itself to a successful and at times exciting resolution. My biggest gripe with All Good People Here lies with the main protagonist leads and the perspectives of Margot Davies in the present 2019 and Krissy Jacobs in the past beginning with her childhood and the sequence of unfortunate events in 1994. For me personally it felt like the two women were in constant competition of who was more insufferable to read about and who would make the unintelligent emotion-driven decision at any given moment (which is quite counterintuitive for a supposedly successful journalist). I realize this is to show character development and growth; for Margot it’s to show growing validation for her initially off-base preconceived assumptions on the case and for Krissy, to show a young adult trapped and spiraling in a life she never…

Not sure if it’s because I’ve watched endless true crime documentaries, procedural dramas like Criminal Minds and Mindhunter, or I just have high standards for the murder mystery genre, but A Flicker in the Dark did not catch or hold my attention. I felt like I was coasting while reading the first 1/3 of the book and the overall reading experience went downhill the farther I progressed through the story. Most of my negative impression can be chalked up to Chloe Davis’s personality and trauma attributed to her upbringing and exposure to the media/local community associated with her Dad’s arrest. I liked the concept of her backstory and how it affected her mindset, career choices, and paranoia, however the execution felt clunky and off-putting. I hate to stereotype novels into specific demographics, but the Chloe’s monologue skewed so heavily toward a female audience I felt like I was being beaten over the head repeatedly for 100 pages about how dangerous and unfair life can be for an independent woman. Her character’s personality and background as a psychologist with a phd also constantly conflicted with the choices she makes and thoughts she has. The book makes an attempt to highlight anxiety…

This is a chaotic novel and not in an exciting bombastic way; rather a mess that feels made up on the fly. Described as a violent and unpredictable noir, the unpredictable part is the only aspect that hit the mark for me (and that’s not a good thing as you soon will see). Perhaps I have high standards as a crime/mystery thriller is one of my favorite genres to read, but the tone of the book didn’t work for me. It jockeys between trying to be a darker grisly man on the run story and a buddy cop/anti-hero slapstick comedy and doesn’t do a particularly good job in either direction. The plot is also nonsensical with things happening with no rhyme or reason and it has a habit of throwing in random flashbacks that derail whatever story is happening in the present instead of seamlessly transitioning back and forth with context. After the first 100 pages or so I stopped reading this as a mystery/crime investigation and as a “what ridiculous things from left field are they going to throw at the wall next”. How a soldier’s training allows a retired veteran to kill someone by impaling them with a…