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Wendy Walker is a very popular and widely enjoyed mystery/thriller writer that I had never read from before. I believe her previous publication was a YA mystery, which I don’t typically read. However, when I heard about Walker’s newest novel, Don’t Look For Me, I immediately knew I wanted to give it a try. And after I got approved for it on Netgalley, I picked it up on my Kindle right away!

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life.
She doesn’t want to be found.
Or at least, that’s the story.
The car abandoned miles from home.
The note found at a nearby hotel.
The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.
They called it a “walk away.”
It happens all the time.
Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.
But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

You know that fulfilled feeling you get after you have just finished a great book? That’s how I felt after reading this one! I have not read a mystery/thriller recently that shocked me like this one did, and I was so incredibly impressed by practically every aspect of this novel.

While this book is obviously very plot driven, the characters are very important in the story. Nicole, the daughter of Molly – the women who “walked away” from her family, is the main and most important character in this story. The plot follows her footsteps, as she is the key in deciding how the story will unfold. Her character was written so well, and she makes huge strides and develops a crazy amount in this novel. I also really enjoyed most of the other important side characters. There were quite a few of them to keep track, but that could have been because I was reading this novel alongside another one, which is something I rarely ever do.

Like I mentioned earlier, the plot twists in this book shocked me. I have not read a book in recent memory that boggled my mind like this one did. The twists and turns in this book were so well crafted and so unexpected, yet, they all made perfect sense in the end. Nothing seemed unrealistic, which is something I take into consideration when reading and reviewing thrillers. There was a point near the 70% mark of this novel where I sat right up in my bed when reading this, simply because I could not fathom one of the twists!

The writing in this novel is really fantastic and unique. The story is written in two perspectives, the perspective of Molly and her daughter, Nicole. Molly’s perspective is in first-person, while Nicole’s is written in third-person. This change in writing style was subtle, but made perfect sense once the story reached the last few scenes. I was never confused by the writing style, and appreciated how distinctive each perspective read.

Overall, I loved every aspect of this novel, and gave it 5/5 stars. If you consider yourself a well-read thriller reader, I would highly recommend this one, as nothing was easy to predict!

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Ever since I purchased my very first Kindle (more on that soon!), I have been making a significant dent through my 2020 Netgalley eARCs! Most of my Netgalley eARCs are made up on Mystery/Thriller novels, and one of my most anticipated from the bunch was The First To Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

What happens when an undercover reporter gets in too deep? And when a practiced liar has to face off with her own truth—how does she choose her true reality?
Who will be the first to lie?
Bestselling and award-winning author and investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan delivers another twisty, thrilling suspense novel that will leave you breathless.

Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my high expectations. It was the book equivalent of the word “inception”, which initially sounds intriguing, but ends up being very confusing, exactly like how this novel played out.

One of my favourite, yet lesser read tropes in thrillers, is to read about individuals trying to shut down a shady or secretly bad company. That was my favourite aspect of this novel, as I enjoyed reading about the different secrets the main characters were uncovering surrounding Pharminex – the drug company they are trying to shut down.

I also really enjoyed the numerous twists and turns. About 40% through the novel, a major twist is thrown at the readers. Unfortunately, I was able to predict this twist. However, if you are new/newish to the mystery/thriller genre, you will probably not see it coming!

The writing in this novel was done very well, which could have been a problem in this book since there are multiple POV’s and timelines involved in this novel.

For me, what my 3/5 star rating came down to was the execution of the plot. While I enjoyed reading this novel, I found it way too unrealistic. There are certain twists in this novel that occur at the very end, and while I found them surprising, I also found them very strange and unrealistic. Since I enjoyed the writing of this novel, I would be interested in picking up another future novel written by Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC to read and review!

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Ruth Ware is one of the most well known mystery/thriller authors in the genre. She has written and published seven mystery/thriller novels, all of which have become hugely successful. Her newest novel, set to be released in September 2020, is already receiving high praise. I had never read a Ruth Ware novel before reading The Turn of the Key, her 2019 publication.

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.
It was everything.
She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

Truthfully, I was very disappointed in this novel. I had expected great things from Ruth Ware, and this novel did not live up to the hype, in my opinion.

The pacing of this novel was very confusing. It was a quick read for me, but that could be because I am a fast reader in general (especially at a time like the one we are currently living in). However, I was very engrossed in the story and constantly wanted to know what was going on. I was genuinely scared at times, and had to flip my lights on during some chapters when I was getting creeped out – especially because I read this book over the span of two late nights!

Something I did enjoy was the writing style. This book is written in letters to a potential lawyer that Rowan, the protagonist, wants to use for her trial. She is essentially convincing him to come and help her case. However, I wish the letters were a bit shorter and more urgent sounding. It read as if she was just re-telling her side of the story, when in reality, I wish she would have done more convincing.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the ending. Believe it or not, at around the 75% mark, I saw it coming, but I enjoyed how Ruth Ware revealed it, and specifically how she wrote it. However, the main plot twist pertaining to the main character and the real reason why she applied to be their nanny I did not see coming at all!

I think what it came down to was the fact that I did not care about any of the characters. I am not someone who needs to read about likeable characters, in fact, I am a big fan of unreliable and unlikeable narrators. In this particular book, since I did not care about any of the characters, I found it hard to emotionally care about the plot line and the events that happened.

Overall, I gave this book a 2.25/5 stars. I do not understand all of the hype surrounding this novel, but I hope her 2020 release makes up for my thoughts on this one! Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending an eARC of this book my way!

Good Night Book Owls!