Tag Archives: Murder

Saint X, by Alexis Schaitkin

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“By late morning, a mother and fathers faith that their child will turn up any moment has given way to terror.”

While on vacation on Saint X, the body of young Alison is found dead. Several years later living in New York, her younger sister Claire is determined to find out what really happened to her sister Alison that night on Saint X.

The first 36 pages are truly hard to get through because of the lush descriptions. These pages focus on what the island was like during the family’s vacation on Saint X, and it was a tedious 36 pages that felt like 360 pages. But, if you can get through that…it gets better and the story takes off, though it does still contain countless descriptions and stories within stories throughout the novel. I started to get into the night Alison was killed, and continued reading. I was invested regardless of the wordy paragraphs and side-stories. I had to know what happened to Alison, how all the stories being revealed were connected, and find out the truth.

“She was what all the dead are: whatever the living make them.”

The characters are what boosted this rating above a 3 star for me. If you decide to read this, I encourage you not to skim…though you might be tempted because of the extraneous elements. The insights and voices of the characters are worthwhile and perceptive. Most of the characters were not likable, yet their observations were penetrating, intuitive, and emotionally charged.

“Are the things out the van window poverty, or just people living their lives?”

Overall, I’m glad I stuck with it. I enjoyed the book and think the ending has a good thematic message. I read this with a group, and it created great discussion. I recommend reading this with a book club or buddy!

Saint X is Alexis Schaitkin’s debut novel. Visit her website to read more about her book.

Saint X is a top 20 most anticipated book pick for Good Morning America.

Read Entertainment Weekly’s interview with Alexis Schaitkin about writing Saint X.

Follow author Alexis Schaitkin on Twitter.

Thank you to Celadon books for sending me an advance read paperback copy. Opinions are my own.

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Amnesty, by Aravind Adiga

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“A legal is just someone who is unwanted in the same way everyone else is.”

Danny, a young adult in his twenties from Sri Lanka, has been living in Australia illegally for four years as a cleaner. Soon into the novel, one of the residents that he cleaned for is killed. Danny might have an idea of what could have happened, but he internally struggles with the responsibility of this knowledge since the decision to help with the murder case could get him deported. The novel takes place throughout this one day in Danny’s life.

“But whoever did it, and for whatever reason, one thing was almost certain. The killer was a citizen.”

The story pays homage to the thoughts and difficult decisions that immigrants, specifically illegals, make throughout the day. It highlights questions of accountability and examines the echelons of humanity. Danny’s flashbacks and encounters throughout the day also illuminate his own prejudice towards legal immigrants and citizens.

“Rich Asians and poor Asians don’t seem to talk to each other, and that’s how Australians make most of their money.”

The writing was disjointed and made it hard for me to read. I found myself rereading sentences often to make sure I read them correctly. Sometimes that made it hard to process different things that were occurring, which took away from the enjoyment. It is written in an unusual way and Danny was a peculiar character who had eccentric qualities.

Read Seattle Times review for Amnesty.

Click here to read the New York Times advanced praise for Amnesty.

Aravind Adiga is the author of The White Tiger, winner of the Man Booker Prize in 2008.

Visit author Aravind Adiga’s website for more information.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

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Nothing More Dangerous, by Allen Eskens

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“Boady, the men who beat and murdered those people for all those years, do you think they simply disappeared because someone passed a law?”

A colored, divorced woman, Lida Poe, goes missing in the small town of Jessup, Missouri in the 70’s. The town is painted in racism and composed of prejudice beliefs. Growing up in Jessup, teenage Boady Sanden considers himself an average young man and doesn’t realize the segregation and discrimination until he befriends his new neighbors and sees the reaction from certain town members. Boady begins to recognize his own racial thoughts while he and his new friend, Thomas, get pulled into the middle of the Lida Poe murder case. Was there more to her murder case than what was being disclosed?

“You’ll never change what a person thinks in their head or what they feel in their heart by passing a law. If a man doesn’t want to look at who he is deep down, he’s not going to much care what the law says about it.”

I really loved the setting of the novel and watching Boady purge the racial stigmas that he had grown up hearing and believing. The friendship he creates with Thomas, his neighbor, was my favorite part of the novel. While the book obviously centers on overcoming prejudices in the 1970’s, the target for the reader is identifying and conquering our own prejudices, even including predispositions, whatever those might be.

The focus of the story isn’t the murder of Lida Poe, but her murder is used in the growth of the plot and character development. The story centers around Boady and his surroundings; like his peers in school who are blinded by racism and let those feelings drive their actions.

**There is a lot of racial slander in this novel. Violence and hate crimes occur.**

Pictured below is the face of young Emmett Till who is mentioned in the book a few times during the dialogue. Beaten, drowned, and then burned alive, read about the murder of Emmett Till here.

Allen Eskens is the author of award-winning book The Life We Bury.

He is a best-selling author. Nothing More Dangerous is his sixth book. To view all of his books, and the order to read them in, click here.

Follow Allen Eskens on Facebook.

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Sin Eater, by Megan Campisi

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“Sins of our flesh become sins of hers through the Eating, praise be.”
After committing a crime, 14-year-old May is condemned to be a sin eater. She begins to follow the elder sin eater to learn her new job. While learning, a deer heart is placed at someone’s Eating although the dead didn’t confess to the sin that matches that food. May decides to discover the truth of the murder mystery, but she finds secrets, witchcraft, and lies along the way and her world is quickly and quietly turned upside down. “My soul carries the sins of this town. I’ll carry them with me until I die.”

Throughout the story, May examines her new purpose and the new freedoms it provides. She internally ponders the meaning of her identity: does the role of a sin eater define her?

“I wish you could show folk your insides the way you show your face. Then they’d know I’m not wicked at all.”

I really enjoyed taking this journey with May. She was a very unique character, and it was both bleak and fun to be inside of her head.

Overall thoughts:  The 16th century setting was phenomenal. It was eerie, dark, and I was easily transported there. The ending was fantastic. I thought I had the mystery all figured out, but I was wrong! Of course, there are a couple of things you might figure out along the way, but the final twist at the end totally caught me off guard. The main character is unique and her burden as a sin-eater is interesting to follow. I love how May names the people that she encounters; she is a quirky character and I loved her. My only complaint is that in the middle it started to get repetitive with May going to someone’s house who was dying, listening to their sins, and then eating the foods to carry on their sins for them. This made the pacing in the middle get a bit slow.

There are several old English words, so you might consider reading this on a Kindle to translate the words that are unfamiliar.

I recommend this to historical fiction lovers who don’t mind imaginative elements. May was awesome and I miss her already. This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley and Edelweiss for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

More about this:

What is a sin eater? -According to Wikipedia

Sin eaters and the lost sacraments

Sin eaters eat your sins

Visit her author page on Simon and Schuster.

Visit her website for events, books, contact info, plays and other stuff!

Read Publisher’s Weekly review for Sin Eater.

Click here to visit Pan Macmillan’s page for Sin Eater, by Megan Campisi.

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The Wife and the Widow, by Christian White

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“If they didn’t talk about the monsters in this world, then they wouldn’t be ready for them when they jumped out from under the bed.”

Chapters alternate between The Widow, Kate, and The Wife, Abby.
Within the few first chapters, Kate’s husband goes missing without a trace. She finds out he quit his job months earlier without telling her and lied about the trip he was supposed to be on. Where is he? Why did he lie? What is he hiding?“…are some monsters better left hidden.”
Abby’s chapters start off slower in the beginning. But then a something happens on the island she lives on and she notices that her husband has began to act different. Does he have something to do with Kate’s husband’s disappearance? What is he hiding?

As a reader, I kept trying to piece the connection together between the two of them (Kate and Abby). I had so many guesses. But when it hits you, it hits you HARD! O-m-g.

“What now? she thought. What the fuck now?”

The suspense was incredible and I could not put it down. This is not your average mystery/thriller; there is a powerful message buried in the end that surpasses just a thriller ….and I recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Visit Affirm Press to read more.

Read Christian White’s top tips for authors and screenwriters.

Christian White is the co-creator for the thriller series on Netflix, Clickbait.

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The Other Mrs., by Mary Kubica

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“If it wasn’t for you, I said, leaning in to whisper the words in his ear, I’d be dead.”

A lot of twists and turns in The Other Mrs. takes readers on a thrilling ride. Within the first three chapters, Sadie and her family move into her husband’s sister’s house in Maine to take guardianship of her husband’s niece because his sister committed suicide. (Yes, they move into the house his sister killed herself in.) Sadie thinks about how her husband was having an affair back in Chicago and is grateful for the move, but then uneasiness creeps into her life as events begin to unfold. She wakes up in the morning to find the word “DIE” written on her car. They find out the neighbor has been murdered, a case is opened, and Sadie is on edge. ALL WITHIN THE FIRST 3 CHAPTERS!

I kept trying to figure this one out, but there were so many twists it really made me keep guessing. Did Sadie just black out?! What is up with her son’s behavior? Did Sadie’s husband murder their neighbor Morgan? Did Camille? Was he cheating again or was it Morgan’s suspicious husband who killed her? Who the heck is Mouse…which girl is it?!?

Netflix has recently signed a film deal for The Other Mrs. Read more about this here!

Visit Mary Kubica’s website to learn more.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

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