 Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter. But Eve may need her mother's cruel brand of strength if she's going to face the reality about her daughter's death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother's trailer for a final lesson. (From the book blurb) My thoughts: If you are thinking of picking this book, you might have read a few online reviews already and my guess is they all describe it as dark and disturbing. Because it is. Dark, heartbreaking, and totally unputdownable. The first couple of pages are heart-wrenching and you know that it isn't going to get better. Izzy Logan and Junie Taggert, two twelve year old girls, two best friends, who are as close to each other as only sisters can be, are murdered in the opening scene. We never really meet them - just see the effect their brief lives had on people who loved them, especially Junie. The rest of the book deals with grief and mourning and trying to survive the worst possible thing that could have happened. Eve Taggert, Junie's mother, had a harrowing childhood. Born and raised by a drug-addict mother, Eve and her older brother Cal didn't know when their next next meal might come, had to hide in the woods from the sleezy men their mother would bring in, wear the the worst kind of hand-me-downs. 'We had a hungry, feral look about us, even on the rare times our bellies were ful, which made us instantly recognizable targets. Or it would have if our mama's reputation hadn't preceded us'. Nobody messed with Lynette Taggert's children, because Lynette's raw, violent, and disproportionate justice would find them. Cal became a police officer against all odds, while Eve changed her life radically when she got pregnant at 17. She became the mother she and her brother never had. A stable job, a roof over her little girl's head, regular food, and above all, love and attention Eve and Cal never had. Eve broke all ties with her mother for fear of Lynette's cruel lessons in life contaminating the new innocent life. Eve, who has always had a sharp tongue and a quick retort, checked what she said and what she did because she kept thinking about how these would reflect on Junie. Now Eve needs to revert to what she used to be before Junie came into the world, she needs to go to 'the familiar dark', because this is the only way for her to survive her little girl being gone. At the press-conference /police appeal to the public, Eve promises she will find the murderer and destroy them. This is a mystery and I won't give away any details. Eve's 'investigation' is dark and depressing as well, as everything in her little town aptly named Barren Springs. Eve is looking for justice, and her upbringing didn't teach her how to forgive or let go. One of the characters points out 'there's a world of space between forgiveness and vengeance. A lot of places you can land'. You can rest assured, Eve isn't going to shy away from facing the truth, even though it might be killing her. She was raised to be strong strong and fight back. Can you ever forget your mother's life lessons that shaped you for better or worse or do you always remain your mother's daughter? The characters in this book are absolutely fascinating. Eve's strength and 'unflinching ability' to be honest with herself and take responsibility for her own actions is what kept me turning pages for hours until I reached the end of the book. I did guess who the murderer was, because the characters were so well-written and so logical that it was the only possible solution. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of shocking endings where completely new information is revealed. Powerful, compulsive, raw, The Familiar Dark is a story of grief and loss, mother's love and survival. Definitely recommended for all the fans of dark psychological thrillers. 'Take a long honest look at yourself and own the darkness that lives inside'. Thank you to Edelweiss and Dutton Books for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.  Will David and Anna be able to reconcile their faith struggles and their love for each other? Beloved Amish novelist Linda Byler once again writes a compelling and surprising love story, showing that even the Plain People struggle with complex feelings, questions, and relationships.
David Stolzfus and Anna Fisher have been best friends as long as they can remember. Sure, it was a bit unusual in the Amish community for a boy and a girl to be so close, but nobody questions it with David and Anna—it has just always been that way. They live on neighboring farms in Lancaster County, they walk to school together (with all their siblings) every day, and when David learns to drive a pony, Anna is the first one to ride with him. Their lives are intertwined, the way the borders of their properties are joined by the Pequea Creek. As they approach their teen years, David and Anna's friendship turns quickly to deep love and attraction. But David is headstrong and full of an insatiable hunger for knowledge and new experiences. When Anna's conservative parents require that he join the church before the two can begin dating, he rebels, eventually taking off to Australia for the adventure of a lifetime, leaving Anna to sort through her feelings alone. When Anna receives a letter from Leon Beiler, a young man she can't deny she has feelings for, everything changes again. How can she reconcile a lifetime of love for David with this new potential romance? And what will happen when David returns home? (The book blurb) My thoughts: This was a very complex book. First of all, there are no good or bad characters in it, and everybody develops in their way by making difficult decisions and questioning their rightness. David Stolzfus is the youngest child of a numerous family. His parents are considered quite liberal in their community, perhaps more liberal than their neighbours, Fishers, woud like them to be. David has a quick temper which isn't checked by his tired mother and his father who believes in letting children learn things by making their own mistakes. David falls in love with sweet Anna Fisher and even begins dating her. Unfortunately for him, Anna's parents disapprove of him and his family and do not believe he'd make a suitable life partner for their daughter. Anna is caught between David's unhappiness and refusal to join the church just to placate Anna's overbearing family, her own strong feeling for David, and her need and desire to be obedient to her parents. I don't want to give away the stor. It is a real saga that spans several decades, although the time flow is very uneven with some events described in a lot of detail and others given a cummulative summary. The ending might surprise some readers, but I believe it shows the characters' deep acceptance of God's will in their life, and the strength of their faith. When I read in the afterword that Linda Byler is Amish herself, and is an acive member of the church, I was not surprised. Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher (GoodBooks) for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.  After a mysterious, silent child is found abandoned on the beach clutching a handheld video game, residents and tourists alike find themselves utterly unable to sleep. Exhaustion impairs judgment, delusions become hysteria, and mob rule explodes into shocking violence. Told from three perspectives: Chief of Police Mays tries to keep order, teenaged tourist Cort and her friends compete in a dangerous social media contest for the most hours awake, while local physician and former Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Sam Carlson battles his guilt over a student's suicide and the blurriness of his own insomnia, to try to treat the sleepless—until he and the child must flee the violent mob that blames the child for the epidemic. (The blurb) My thoughts: A word of warning- don't read this thriller if you are experiencing sleep deprivation yourself. This book is so good in describing this state all too familiar to parents with young children that you will recognize its torture and empathize immediately. The story covers eight days, and although it is written in short chapters, I chose to read each day in its entirety and they seemed endless... On a little touristy island of Carratuck a group of teenagers are playing a game: they are trying to stay sleepless for 48 hours. The participants send tweets every 165 minutes to let others know that they are still awake. Meanwhile an eight year old boy is found alone on the beach. He is obviously scared and refuses to talk. The local police chief Sam Mays suspects it is a misunderstanding and one of his divorced or separated parents is going to turn up and claim the child. He knows from experience that calling Child Services too early can turn out to be a nightmare for everybody involved. He asks the local doctor Sam Carlson give him a hand talking to and caring after the child. Just for a day. Sam used to be a famous psychiatrist in a different life before Garratuck, before he failed to save his patient from suicide. Garratuck is a holiday resort with bars and discos and plenty of noise. A sleepless night or even two is something people can easily explain, but when it becomes clear that nobody can sleep, Dr Sam's clinic is suddenly full of people asking for pills, and there is no way to explain this epidemic. Sam is convinced this is a case of rare mass histeria and sooner or later it will pass and sleep will win over, but not everybody agrees. Some people blame the Boy. After all, his appearance on the beach coincided with the beginning of the Great Sleeplessness. what if he is the reason while they all caught it? The book is extremely visual and cinematographic in its nature. The premise of an insominia epidemic is fascinating and plays on a very common experience and a very common fear of society collapse in the aftermath of a disease outbreak. Although I didn't particularly feel close to any of the characters, I could relate to their growing tiredness. The insomina caused them behave in different ways, some angry and selfish, others kind and altruistic, as any serous life-threatening experience would. It was quite disconcerting to read this book, while the news keep giving reports of new cases of the current coronavirus epidemic. Deprivation does deal with the topic of fear and mass psychology. It also shows how we are all interconnected and how much we influence each other with our words, actions, and gestures. So let us be thoughtful and kind with no exception. Let us care and help each other in this time of need. Thank you to Edelweiss and Meerkat Press for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.  You probably know someone like Shay Miller.
She wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is so isolated. You probably don’t know anyone like the Moore sisters. They have an unbreakable circle of friends. They live the most glamorous life. They always get what they desire. Shay thinks she wants their life. But what they really want is hers. My thoughts: This was my first thriller by these authors and now I understand why their books have been so successful. The writing was absolutely addictive and you will leave aside all your doubts and just go for this compulsive thrilling ride. Shay Miller has been recently made redundant and is looking for another permanent job. She is sharing an apartment with a guy who at some point might have become something more than just a flatmate, but never did. We've all been there- feeling that your life is not going anywhere or at least anywhere you want it to go to and you know you need to make changes to turn it it into something else. One Sunday morning Shay is waiting for a train on a subway platform. She is not alone, because there is a dodgy man who keeps staring at her. Shay is scared, but then the man leaves and Shay notices that there is somebody else. A young woman who suddenly jumps in front of the coming train. When shock of the event begins to wear off, Shay realises two things: she cannot take or even come close to the subway anymore, and she wants to know more about Amanda's life (this was the name of the woman whose suicide Shay witnessed). She finds her address and goes to her memorial service. Shay wants to understand what happened, get a rational explanation that would stave off her fear of being lonely and driven to the most desperate decisions of them all. Shay doesn't know this, but she is also being observed by the Moore sisters. Before Amanda jumped, she dropped her golden necklace which Shay in her shock and dismay picked up and put in her pocket. Little did she know that it had a tracking device, which will lead Amda's mysterious 'friends' into Shay's life. The plot was full of twists and kept my attention all way through. It is possible to guess and predict quite a lot, so instead of unexpected twists and surprises, you get confirmations of the theories your imagination will inevitably keep churning out. The pace was just right- fast enough to keep you turning pages compulsively, but there was also enough space for building characters and providing motivations. Shay's obsession with statistics was something that really made her memorable for me. Recommended for all fans of fast-paced psychological thrillers and, of course, all fans of Greer Hedricks and Sarah Pekkanen, superb masters of creating dark and twisty plots. Thank you to Edelweiss and St.Martin's Press for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion. |
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