I didn’t choose to review Day of the Accident based on its description. In fact, having read the description I nearly dismissed the book. I mistrust too entangled stories. There’s always a risk that the author created a head-spinning start that will not be graciously untangled in the end. That is not the case with Day of the Accident. Every bit of this story about a family tragedy, a woman after coma and a missing person gets explained.

What I liked in the book

The writing

What drew me to the book was the provided excerpt. From the first lines I trusted the author and I knew she will tell the story well regardless of the story itself. The writing flows. There’s no silly suspense that interrupts an action, there are no simplistic dialogues, no unnecessary details.

The voice of the main character

It is real. Her emotions are genuine and raw. In thrillers it’s usually the story that grips you but in Day of the Accident it is also the main character’s voice and your wish for her to be fine.

What I liked less

Implausible choices

I had problems with the choices some characters made. Even with all the background information it was hard to imagine a person who would behave this way in provided situations.

Melodramatic moments

I predicted all twists long before the book was over. That’s why I found some of the dialogues dragging and melodramatic. In literature characters tend to sound dumb when a story is obvious to everybody but them.

Final thoughts

Day of the Accident is way better than many other thrillers I recently read. It will be enjoyed by anybody who’s looking for a gripping fast-paced story, and of course by those who value high quality narrative. I’m giving the book solid four stars.

Day of the Accident will be available for purchase on February 21st, 2019. I’m thanking the publishers for my copy that I received in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

December was unusual. I dropped more books than I had ever dropped in one month. Probably, thanks to this attitude I ended up mostly liking all other books I read. Here they are. Click the links for more information about the books.

1. The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

It’s a beautifully written family story and my most favourite book of 2018. It will be out in the summer 2019. I’ve also published my full review of the book and I also talked about this book in my other post.

2. No Motive by Daphne du Maurier

It’s a fast-paced and gripping short story. If you want to know why a perfectly happy woman just shot herself, read the story.

3. The Familiars by Stacey Halls

This is a historical novel about a woman who’s trying to save herself, her baby and her friend. The book will be out soon!

4. Patrick Melrose novels

There are five novels about Patrick Melrose. At least the first three focus on just a few short events that illustrate Patrick’s whole life.

Never Mind is about Patrick’s childhood.

Bad News is about Patrick in his 20s.

Some hope is about Patrick when he’s 30.

5. Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties by Camille Pagán

I didn’t like the book, but I quite liked the protagonist, although Maggie was slightly too needy. People seemed to have enjoyed my review.

6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

A nice story about two teenage boys who are discovering love and life.

7. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

This is a story about a book store owner. It’s basically a library in a form of fiction.

The three books that I did not finish

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb

I hoped it would be a gothic scary story but it turned out to be a not very well written chick lit.

The Dry by Jane Harper

I liked Force of Nature, another thriller by Jane Harper, but I couldn’t finish The Dry. There is lots of fuss but no meaningful action. I got bored by the middle of the book so I dropped it.

The Bette Davis Club by Jane Lotter

I got the book because of a heartwarming introduction. This novel was initially self-published. The author didn’t live to see the book picked up by the publisher. The description is also intriguing. It’s a story about an aunt whose niece ran away from her own wedding so the aunt and the groom set off on an adventure to find her. Unfortunately, the book lost its logic by the middle. It also started focusing too much on unnecessary details and the protagonist started behaving very implausibly. That’s when I quit to give time to other books.

That is it for December. My January already started with something I liked and something I didn’t. I will tell you more soon. Meanwhile, here are some other posts where I mention several books at once.

Books I read in September
Books I read in October
November was awesome!
If somebody asked me what to read

The books I’ve finished

1. The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

I enjoyed absolutely everything about the book: its story, characters, writing. The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt is a story about a family in a little town in the South of the US. The action takes place both in modern times and in the year 1929. The writing is amazing! I’ve collected several pages of quotes! The characters are very realistic, multilayered and alive. If you like literary and historical fiction, and family stories, you will definitely like this book.

The book will be published only in July 2019. I feel bad for making you excited about the book that you can’t get right now. I will, of course, remind you about the book closer to the publication date, when I post my full review of it. If you are not sure you’ll be reading blogs then, maybe it’s a good idea to pre-order the book now.

2. No Motive by Daphne du Maurier

No Motive is a short story from The Rendezvous and Other Stories collection. I picked it up when I was looking for something really good after a book that had disappointed me. I expected No Motive to be a decent well-written story, but du Maurier, again, did much better than that. I really don’t know how she managed to pick up a shocking idea, to knit it, thread by thread, into a perfect story, and to create not only a gripping plot but a logical and clear ending.

Here’s how the story begins:

Mary Farren went into the gun room one morning about half-past eleven, took her husband’s revolver and loaded it, then she shot herself.

Marry Farren was happy. She was expecting a baby, loved her husband, and no people who talked to her that day suspected that anything that horrible could happen. Why did it happen? Read the story to find out

3. The Familiars by Stacey Halls

I expected to be annoyed by the situations in the story, and indeed I was. That doesn’t mean, though, that the book is bad. On the contrary, it means, the book is very good.

It’s a story about Fleetwood, a 17-year-old wife of a noble person living in the year 1692. She’s going through her new pregnancy, she miscarried all the times before. Fleetwood has reasons to worry that either she or her baby, or both of them, won’t survive the childbirth. She’s desperate to give an heir to her husband. She meets Alice, a girl who knows a lot about herbs that can help, and so now there’s a hope that Fleetwood and her baby will live. Unfortunately, a friend of the family found a way to climb up a political ladder by inventing an enemy for the kingdom (as you can see these tactics are as old as the history itself). This time the enemies are witches, i.e. any clever, peculiar or just uncomfortable women. That’s when the story starts to unfold.

I found the story very gripping. I couldn’t put it down and hated when anything was distracting me from the book. If you are looking for an interesting, historical story about women doing their best to survive in a society that treats them like cattle (it’s my personal interpretation), you will like this book.

The Familiars will be published soon, there are only two months to go. You can pre-order the book now. I will remind you about the book when I post my full review of it (so subscribe to the blog, if you are not subscribed yet).

The books I’m currently reading

1. The first novel about Patrick Melrose, called Never Mind

When I first started reading the novel I was really impressed by its humour and writing. Soon I realised it wasn’t that funny at all. In a witty and cynical way the book describes the lives of several aristocratic and very dysfunctional couples, while Patrick Melrose is still a kid. There are all kinds of abuse and violence going on between family members and friends. It’s not there to merely attract attention to the book. The events that are described, are indispensable for the plot and the characters. Never Mind a very well-written book for those who can stand reading about violence for the sake of a story.

2. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

I was attracted by the description of the book. It’s a story about a blue-skinned woman (and such people really existed!) who’s traveling to distant places with her library, trying to spread the power of books while facing and fighting prejudices. It’s still too early to say something certain about the book, but I’m starting to suspect that I will dislike some aspects of it. I will know for sure by the end of the month so I will tell you if my suspicions were correct.

This is also “a book from the future”. It will be released in May 2019 but you can pre-order it now. The full review will also be published in spring.

3. Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties by Camille Pagán

Theoretically, this book isn’t my type. It’s a chick lit genre, a genre that focuses on a woman manoeuvring through everyday life situations that include troubles with men, children or girlfriends. Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties is about Maggie, an average woman who’s facing quite usual struggles of a not so young anymore person. Her husband left her as a result of his own midlife crisis. Her children are grown-ups and have their own lives and interests. She’s fifty-three, but the last time she felt happy or noticed was when she was in her thirties.

I would have never picked this book up, had it been not for the style of writing. From the first pages I’ve been able to hear a true voice of a real person, and it’s interesting to simply listen to her. There’s a lot of self-irony, and even humour at times. Basically, I’m reading this book because I like Maggie’s personality. I’m not sure what I will eventually say about the book but so far it’s been a good companion.

The book I decided not to finish

It’s Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb. The book is shelved under mystery, gothic and thriller genres but these are not the book’s primary genres. In its core it’s chick lit and romance. There is a woman, betrayed by her husband, a tall handsome stranger with a deep voice, a newborn baby, and some love stories.

Was this book better written, I would have still carried on with it. Unfortunately, it’s not. For example, it has a bad case of “somehow” infestation. Here are a few examples:

…a voice she had never heard but somehow knew…

…she knew somehow that she would always be safe with it.

Somehow, he always knew.

…these small stones somehow carried the spirit of the lake…

… the harsh winter that surrounded the town but somehow didn’t penetrate it.

… her ghostly shape, somehow translucent and solid at the same time.

It feels dangerous, somehow.

It smelled of the past somehow.

I had both audio and digital version of the book. The audiobook is even worse than the actual book. The narrator smiles through the book, even when something boring or dreadful is happening.

Wendy Webb published many novels, which makes me think people need her books, so I’m just not the right reader for her stories.

That’s how my December is going. I’m off to compose a list of noteworthy books that I’ve read this year, so come back soon!

PS: Do you like the forest photo at the top? It’s mine . I took it years ago. The one at the top of the post about books I read in November is also mine.

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson enraged me more than I ever expected to be enraged by a book. I had to keep myself away from any social media in order to decompress first and only then to reform my indignation into a more coherent review.

Spoiler free story of The Darkness.

The Darkness is the first book in a series about a detective in Iceland. Her name is Hulda Hermannsdóttir. She’s about to retire but is given an opportunity to investigate one last case of her choice. She picks up an old case about a Russian immigrant found dead in the river.

What’s good about The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson.

The protagonist is well crafted. Hulda Hermannsdóttir is quite a likeable character. It’s easy to root for her and to sympathise with what she’s going through.

The writing (and I guess the translation) is decent. Nothing is too simplistic yet the story is easy to read.

All the elements of a good detective story are there. There are no holes in the plot, all dots connect in the end.  The plot did sometimes depend on the stupidity of some characters but this stupidity looks quite plausible.

There are two dramatic background stories, one of which had a very unexpected twist, that’s when I thought I might like the book eventually.

What’s really bad about The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson.

The ending of the story is a disaster! How could one tell a story like this?! Why?! Books are supposed to bring some level of satisfaction. Sure, not all books do. But this is the first book I’ve ever met that intentionally betrays the reader. Is it done for the novelty or the shock effect? It’s not only that your expectations are not met, it’s also the way the details of the betrayal are savoured. You are shown more than you need to see just to disgust you even more.

I’m seriously suspecting The Darkness started a phobia in me. How many books are out there that will use me this way?  How can I choose the right book if good writing, well-developed characters and a well-knitted plot are no longer indicators of a good book?

Final thoughts on The Darkness.

Obviously I cannot recommend the book as I wouldn’t want to put anybody through a similar experience. That being said, there are tons of positive reviews of The Darkness. I even saw readers being happy about being shocked this way. Thus, even though I will never pick up the second book in the series you might still like it. Consider yourself warned and choose for yourself .

Big thanks to the publishers for the copy in exchange for my obviously honest review!

What will happen if something as innocent and usual as dreams is placed in the middle of an apocalyptic story? What if dreams can change your life and who you are? The Dreamers by Karen Thomson Walker shows you such story. The book is much deeper than just a catastrophe scenario. It makes you question your own beliefs and reality. The ideas stay with you even after the book is finished.

The Dreamers is so seamless and complete it’s hard to dismantle and analyse it, but I’ll focus on some details. I loved how the characters are never explained or described. Everything you learn about them you learn from their actions. That’s why they are able to genuinely horrify or amuse you. Even though you never feel like you know them completely, you feel real emotions towards them.

The writing style is a unique element of this book. The sentences have their own rhythm that build a particular atmosphere for the book. It feels like slumber. The last time I watched an author use a language so skilfully was in the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Perfectly created visuals constantly change, so although you feel no dynamism of actions, the story itself is progressing. This too makes it feel more like watching a dream rather than reading a book.

I’m sure The Dreamers would make a wonderful movie. It could be similar to Interstellar, but better because it would have a concise and solid plot.

The Dreamers is for those who are looking for more than just a story. I also think everybody should read it just to experience a book that has its own unique melody. The book will be available for purchase in January 2019.

I’m very grateful to the author for such a beautiful book, and to the publishers for providing me with the copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. I will be looking forward to other works by Karen Thomson Walker.