Stalker by Lars Kepler

from goodrerads

5 stars

I don't know what it is about Nordic Crime novels, but I can't get enough. I try to read a variety of things, you know, to keep things fresh. But, I think if I was stuck on a desert island and only had one genre of books to choose to have with me, it would definitely be Nordic Crime. Perhaps I like it so much because I secretly (okay to anyone who knows me it really isn't that secret) wish I lived in Norway or Sweden. I think their government set up is neat, the landscapes are amazing and come on, ABBA is from Sweden. How much cooler can Sweden get. It is the birthplace of IKEA, another love  obsession of mine.

I think I really like these novels because they are creepy but not in a horror movie way just in a ick way. I love how the main characters have complex back stories (at least the ones in the series I have read do). They are not your run of the mill beefcake cop. They have troubled pasts, issues they are trying to get over themselves, secret lives. I like that. It makes it all the more real.

So, if you haven't picked up a Nordic Crime novel in awhile I definitely recommend it. I really like the Department Q series, the Rebecka Martinsson series, and of course the Joona Linna Series.

Synopsis

There is a serial killer on the loose in Stockholm. Joona Linna, comes out of hiding and is on the case.

My Thoughts

I loved this book. I had been waiting a while to read it. It had been on order at my library for a long time and I put it on hold so long ago that it got to the point where I wouldn't have been able to delete it or freeze it or anything. (I didn't know the that could happen). The publisher must have been pushing back the date. But after the long year or so of having it on hold I finally got to read it and man, it was worth the wait. It was definitely Lars Kepler at their finest.

This book was a perfect blend of character development, twists, and creepiness. Just when I thought I knew how something was going to happen, a twist happened and I was like whaaat?! In some books the amount of twists and turns would definitely get annoying and old, but in this book they were awesome and kept you on the toes. They held your interest.

The book was suspenseful and scary. It was little bit graphic in the mode of murder but nothing that made me feel too icky. I may never look into my backyard at night in the same way again, but other than that I am not loosing too much sleep over some plot points.

I liked how the beginning wrapped up the previous book. It allowed all the characters to move on. I wasn't sure how they were going to wrap it up because they could have gone down a completely different path and story line with the characters. In the end I am glad they did what they did, it made everything that much more believable.

I wished there was more about Joona's personal life, but then it makes sense that there wasn't. He is just getting back into the swing of things and hasn't established a personal life again yet. So I'll just wait for the next book.

This was a thoroughly engaging, edge of your seat book. Definitely read it. While it is in a series you don't need to read the other books to enjoy this one. Though you should read them because the rest of the books are pretty awesome too!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

from goodreads

3 stars

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. It is crazy to think that I have been married for a decade. I feel like I can't be old enough to have come up to that milestone.

Looking back over that time I would probably do the same things all over again. It had been a pretty good 10 years, even if my husband does infuriate me sometimes. The thing is when you are together with someone for that long and you throw kids into the mix you can get caught into a rut and just go through the motions. So, it is important to try to keep things fresh and make time for each other. Easier said than done, but worth it.

Synopsis

It is Nick Dunne and his wife Amy's fifth year wedding anniversary. Things are a bit rocky in their marriage. But when Nick comes home and finds signs of  trouble and Amy gone his life gets turned upside down.

My Thoughts

Going into this book I had no idea what it was really about or anything other than I assumed  a girl would be gone. I know it seems hard not to hear or know anything about the book, but, I seemed to manage it. So I really didn't know what I was getting myself into.

On the whole I liked it. It did keep me reading and I wanted to know where this crazy roller coaster was going next. I was not over the moon with it as others were, I don't know if that was because there was a lot of hype about it or if it just wasn't for me.

I found the characters to be fairly unlikable. I am trying to think of one character I liked and can't think of any. But, I don't think the point was to like them. I think the point was to show that we are all human and have craziness in us or flaws that do not shed us in the best light.

This book was sort of like a cautionary tale of what happens if you do not have open communication with your partner, when you stop putting their happiness on your list of priorities and when one or both of you are just crazy sociopaths. It shows that we all have the ability to be cruel and vindictive and what can happen if we let those feelings of cruelty and vindictiveness rule our head. Sometimes I wish there could be books about normal relationships where people are genuinely concerned about each other and work together as a team and show us what a truly healthy relationship looks like. I know it wouldn't be the most interesting read, but I think if we saw that demonstrated more we wouldn't have as many messed up relationships as we see in this book.

So all in all, it was an interesting read with some interesting plot elements, I just wasn't a huge fan.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

from goodreads

4.25 stars


The past few days has been wave of sickness days. I thought we were going to be done with all this coughing and sneezing and throwing up now that spring has actually sprung. But, alas, it seems that is not what the cosmic forces have in store for me. This has been the most sickly winter we have had in a long time. Possibly ever. It all started after we ate at Harvey's so the only conclusion I can come to is that we should eat at Harvey's again and that will bookend the sickness and we will be all done with that. Seems like a win-win to me!

Synopsis

This follows the tale of Mia, a twentysomething from Chicago. She is kidnapped. The tale is told from three different perspectives Mia's mother, the detective in charge of finding her, and her kidnapper. It is quite the psychological masterpiece.

My Thoughts

This was a really good read. I found I kept on wanting to read, which made for a few very late nights.

The characters are very diverse but believable. I love that the story is told from different vantage points. It is neat to get the different perspectives and views of what is really going on. I felt sort of invested in the characters and would love to see what their lives are like now that this part of their story is over. I also liked how the book is a mishmash of before and after. At first it was a bit confusing but, you get used to it and it makes for a brilliant telling of this story.

Books like this make me so happy to be living a relatively normal, simple, happy life where mind games don't abound and we don't feel like we have to fit in or perform to a certain level.

If you are looking for a great psychologically thrilling book I would highly recommend this book. It was great!