Who is ready for Book Review Round 2?! I’ve spent the last month or so trying to find a good thriller that compared to Verity. It was SUCH a jarring read. I shared a bit more about it in my first book review blog post here. I managed to find a few really solid thrillers, and just finished two while in Marco Island. I am excited to share a little book review of each today! Let’s jump right in!
the vacation // water bottle // candle // slippers // the woman in the window // it’s always the husband // then she was gone // barefoot dreams blanket
Then She Was Gone
Then She Was Gone was the most recent thriller I just finished. It is also my favorite out of all the thrillers I am reviewing today in my Book Review Round 2. It was dark.
As a mother, I found a lot of this thriller unsettling, but that only made me keep turning the pages. I read Then She Was Gone cover-to-cover in two sittings (actually, on our flights down to Marco!), and just under 4 hours. Basically, I couldn’t put it down.
The story follows a mother, as her life crumbles apart in the wake of her middle daughter’s disappearance. The book is riddled with foreshadowing, twists and turns, and one hell of an ending! I don’t want to give too much away, but it bounces back between 2005, when 15 year old Ellie Mack vanished and current day (2015). This is Lisa Jewell to a T.
The Woman in the Window
The Woman in the Window was another very quick read for me. My neighbor actually recommended this to me, and she was SPOT on.
The book teases “It isn’t paranoia if it’s really happening…” — did you get chills? This one was a doozey, and threw me for a loop at the end. We follow Anna Fox, who is a severe alcoholic and agoraphobic (meaning she physically/mentally cannot go outside). Anna has endured a trauma, and we follow breadcrumbs throughout this thriller to learn what exactly happened to make her this way – after all, she was a well-respected psychologist herself.
One night, she is looking out her window, when she sees something she shouldn’t. Anna quickly phones the police, but there is no evidence of a crime, and Anna is easily dismissed as a nutcase. You will fall down the rabbit hole with Anna, as she fights to learn what really happened. What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems. I would LOVE to know if anyone else read The Woman in the Window, and if you predicted the ending!!
The Vacation
I had the HIGHEST hopes after reading this first page of The Vacation. I know, RIGHT!?!?
This was a different kind of a thriller, more like a fluffy thriller. Even though there is a death. Or was it a murder? In The Vacation, we meet Kate, as she is embarking on a family vacation with 3 of her dearest and oldest friends and their family. But something feels off. A text leads her realization that her husband is cheating on her. With one of her friends. That she is trapped at this amazing estate in the South of France with. The story unveils so many secrets. But would anyone kill to keep them secret forever?
This was another fast read for me. I found myself immediately engulfed in the story, and a need to find out how it ended. It was not my favorite book on this list, but I did find myself a little sad when it was all done – as if I wanted to keep reading to see what happened next to all of the characters.
It’s Always The Husband
I had high hopes for It’s Always The Husband, but found it to be quite predictable. I wouldn’t say I hated it once I kind of called the ending, but I wouldn’t say this one “kept me guessing”. I also found that it did focus A LOT on the college parties. I found myself thinking, “Ok, I get it, they’re underage drinking and doing poorly in school… when does the STORY start?!” But it picked up about halfway through. I think the ending was supposed to be an “OMG WTF!” moment, but instead, I read it and thought, “callllllled it.” Of the 4 books I am reviewing in Book Review Round 2, this one is last on the list.
3 girls meet as college roommates, and the story leaves some breadcrumbs to a horrible, drama-filled night that changed everything forever. Then we jump 20 years later, and the girls are back in the same city. There is a secret, there is an affair, and there are lies. All of which I did find to be predictable, as mentioned above.
InStyle and Buzzfeed had said It’s Always the Husband was like… “one of the best thrillers of 2020”, but I think that the intended audience to be “wowed” by this book to be much younger than a 31 year old mother of 3. Maybe.
It was another quick read, and if anyone has read it (or is up to picking it up, and reading it), I would LOVE to hear your thoughts, since this book did receive a lot of praise!
Have you read anything you couldn’t put down, or couldn’t stop thinking about? Let me know what I need to read and review next in the comments below!!
