Book Review-Skin-and-Bone

 

Skin and Bone

(Dr. Anya Crichton, #3)

by

Kathryn Fox

June 18, 2015

I listened to the audio version of this book.

The narrator did an excellent job with her

character voicing as it was very easy to dislike

or like the characters accordingly.

There was certainly a couple of surprise endings

to the book and I look forward

to more Kathryn Fox novels.

I may be generous awarding four stars…

but I did enjoy the story and characters.

However, Skin and Bone is much better

than many other three star reads.

 

A

star read.  

As of May 04, 2018

Goodreads readers have rated

Skin and Bone

an average of 3.74 stars, from 687 ratings

and 76 reviews

 

Skin and Bone

can be purchased on-line at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

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Book Review-Creep

Creep

by

Jennifer Hillier

 Creep was my second book by Jennifer Hiller, however it appears to be her first published book…in 2011.

Creep is a psychological thriller and is not as gory or macabre as The Butcher, Hillier’s third book.  However, it did have me asking why or how a teacher and student become so ‘close’.  The Butcher was almost more believable than Creep.

There was only three, maybe four, main characters for about two-thirds of the book.  During the last third some of those peripheral characters, mentioned earlier were developed, or introduced entirely, to help solve the mystery and hence provide a conclusion to Creep.

It was interesting to read how an academic could have similar problems or weaknesses as her students.  I may have led a sheltered life as I have never heard of her addiction before although she treated it like I image all addicts treat their addiction.  It’s not the addict who has a problem, it is everyone else.

If it is blood, gore, and terror you are looking for, read The Butcher.  If it is a psychological thrillers you devour the Creep is the novel for you.  I must admit that after The Butcher, Creep was a bit tame, but still a good read.  And as it appears to be a first novel, and The Butcher being so good, I am looking forward to reading Freak, which may be a sequel or similar story-line to Creep .

I was thinking three and a half stars.  However the lack of the half star in Goodreads left me debating whether to round-up or round-down.  It  is a better read than many other novels and it has a ripper twist at the end, which pushed it into the four star category.

  Goodreads Readers have rated

Creep

an average of

3.73 stars from 6,342 ratings

and 781 reviews 

 Aread.

Creep

can be purchased on-line at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

 

Book Review-The-Butcher

The Butcher

by

Jennifer Hillier

The Butcher is my first Jennifer Hillier novel and one in which the central character is a serial killer who manages to get away with murdering many people, although he mainly targets young, innocent, teenage girls.

Gruesome and sickening were two words which came to mind when thinking how to describe this book.  This description is not to be taken as a reflection of the author’s writing ability.  On the contrary Jennifer Hillier has turned a gruesome story line into a page turning novel.

Gruesome and sickening is the only way to describe what The Butcher did to his victims; and his state of mind at the time of committing crimes.

Whether family, romantic or platonic, all relationships in this novel are severely strained, some to breaking point.  Even The Butcher’s friends and family are not exempt from his gruesome practices.

As usual I have included very little character detail as I believe it would reduce the impact of the book.  Also too much information would spoil the end.

Whilst I have stated The Butcher is gruesome, it is still a fascinating read and look into the mind of a serial killer.   I’m not sure how or where Hillier obtained her research for this novel or whether she has a fertile imagination.  However, I really do hope that this is the product of an active imagination and not based on real life scenarios.

The Butcher is certainly worth adding to my FIVE Star read collection.

Again I must thank another Goodreads reader, Fiona, for recommending this book.

 Goodreads Readers have rated

The Butcher

an average of

3.79 stars from 1,874 ratings

and 322 reviews 

Aread.

The Butcher

can be purchased on-line at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

 

Book Review-Double-Cross

Double Cross

by

James Patterson

Another of the Alex Cross series and very typical of the Cross adventures…if you could call them adventures!

This time the serial killer likes loves to have an  audience which is a slight twist on usual serial killer story lines.

While I enjoyed  Double Cross, I felt the characters were more gruesome in this book.  I don’t know where or how James Patterson would have researched this story line.

The brevity of this review is due to the fact that I first read Double Cross five or six years ago…long before I commenced these reviews.  My review from that time mainly indicates I liked the book, characters were gruesome and it was a three star read.

I have rated Double Cross a three star read.

 Other Goodreads Readers have rated Double Cross an average of 4.0 stars, from 38,09 Ratings and 1,411 Reviews.

Aread.

Double Cross

can be purchased on-line at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

 

Book Review-Death-Wish

Death Wish

by

Linda Huber

Death Wish was recommended by a Goodreads friend.  I had never heard of Linda Huber, however, after reading Death Wish I will be seeking out more of her novels.

Death Wish is a rather gruesome story about neighbours who have family problems.  Both have an elderly parent living with them.  And while sympathising with one parent’s wishes it is hard to feel anything but annoyance towards the other.  And if the latter’s son-in-law had not been so greedy many of their issues would not have arisen, which means no story to tell.

There is, thankfully, only one child in this story, eight-year-old year old Joya who is treated like a mushroom (kept in the dark and feed….).  Joya is sensitive to the verbal and non-verbal cues which are all around her.   And yes she does draw the incorrect conclusion in many instances.  Death Wish portrays a gross lack of real communication between, and within, both families.

From the prologue to the epilogue, Death Wish kept me intrigued.  Death Wish does not sound like a crime story however it is.   Death Wish also deals with the social issue of elderly and infirm parents moving in with their children and, in particularly, parents making unreasonable demands and manipulating the lives of their off-spring.  How both these families deal with their individual and combined problems will keep you turning page after page.

Goodreads readers have rated

Death Wish

4.24 stars from 91 ratings and 30 reviews.

I rated Death Wish

 a solidread.

Death Wish

can be purchased on-line at 

Fishpond, Booktopia, Amazon,

Book Review-Death-of-a-Blue-Movie-Star

Death of a Blue Movie Star

(Rune, #2)

by

Jeffery Deaver

 

Death of a Blue Movie Star is the second Jeffrey Deaver’s ‘Rune’ series of novels.  It was, as always with Deaver’s books an enjoyable, if somewhat dated, read.  By dated I am referring to the fact that every time a phone call needs to be made Rune needs to find a public/pay phone…which, wherever Rune is, always works!  It is a pity that authors or publishers do not see fit to re-publish a book with updated versions eliminating old technology (pay phone) for contemporary equivalents, particularly when there are still people reading these older books.

 

Enough of my opinion!  In Death of a Blue Movie Star we again we find young Rune barely able to hold down her job despite appearing to be very capable.  This time Rune wants to make a documentary and is able to borrow her ‘Australian’ employer’s video camera for said project after hours.  Supposedly Australian employers sounded very much like a Cockney accent as I read the book.   The vernacular was not quite right, in my opinion.  To me this was so with many movies of the 1970s and 1980s which contained an ‘Australian’ character which often sounded very British.

 

Young Rune’s project soon sees her involved with murders which only she wants to solve.  Generally, the police are not all that inclined to pursue these crimes because they occur and involve persons making Adult Movies.  The only person who considers her crusade worthwhile is a member of the bomb squad and is nearly twice her age.  Does he have an ulterior motive for helping her?   Read the book to find out!

 

Death of a Blue Movie Star is an enjoyable read, as are all of Deaver’s ‘Rune’ books; however Death of a Blue Movie Star had a totally unexpected twist near the end.

 

I have rated Death of a Blue Movie Star a solid three star read.

 

Other Goodreads Readers have rated Death of a Blue Movie Star an average of 3.49 stars, from 1,282 Ratings and 54 Reviews.

A definiteread.

Death of a Blue Movie Star

can be purchased on-line at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

 

Book Review-Ash-and-Bones

Ash and Bones

by

Mike Thomas

Ash and Bones by Mike Thomas is described as a crime and thriller book.  And to a degree it is.  Before I go any further I must state that this was an audio book, not a read.

I have stated several times that I think a narrator can make or break an audio book.  In Ash and Bones, it was the latter.  I nearly stopped listening to it in the first few chapters as it seemed to be a continual drone with no audible difference between characters. This may have been me not being ready for a new book.  However, I did persevere as nearly three hours in a train gave me plenty of time to concentrate!

Somewhere in the latter third of the book, the narrator says something along the lines of ‘…then McCready said, ‘Has the cat got the biscuits’…..’  That was when I realised I could not hear any difference between the narrator’s voice and McCready’s.  McCready was a lead character, or at least one of them so we heard a lot from him.

Many of the male characters and even female characters also sounded like the narrator.  Also in the latter third an elderly lady was introduced and her voice sounded ‘old’.  From that point I began to notice slight, very slight audible differences, among other characters.

I have seen school teachers reading all characters in their own voice and noticed the glazed look upon the students’ faces.  I strongly believe that each character should be recognisable when the narrator is reading their lines.   Heck, recently I was reading in a Scottish accent…to myself!!

As for the book…it seemed to be a mixture of crime, drugs, murder (I think) and family dramas all rolled into one with no rhyme or reason to any of it.  For example, one chapter ended in London with detectives talking about their case.  The next chapter commenced in Nairobi followed by a jump back to London.  There was no other reference to an African country until near the end.  Similarly, a family drama about two thirds of the way through the book was resolved in the last sentence.

I listen to audio books while driving and so it is impossible to “go back a page…or three” to re-read any tenuous connection there may be between chapters.  It may be a better ‘read’ than the audio version.

I did not like the audio version of Ash and Bones.  I read for enjoyment and the only thing I found enjoyable about Ash and Bones was working out why I found it so boring and lifeless.

Really should have been a one star rating, however, it earned and extra star because I did complete it.

I have rated

Ash and Bones

 

as aread.

Goodreads readers have rated

Ash and Bones

an average of 3.59 stars from 59 ratings and 28 reviews

Ash and Bones

can be purchased on-line at

Fishpond, Booktopia and Amazon