turningpagesmm's reviews
611 reviews

Murder Road by Simone St. James

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, I thought I would because I have read a few of St James’ books in the past. I did have to suspend my own beliefs a bit because I haven’t entirely come around the the supernatural themes yet but the way it was written, made it work for me.

April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn, they’re newly married and are on their way to a 5 day honeymoon in Lake Michigan. They take a wrong turn, ended up on a dark road late at night, and they see a woman up ahead, clearly in trouble.

They stop and pick her up. It's only once she's in the car that they see the blood. And then they see the headlights - far in the distance, but coming up fast. And at last, terror in her eyes, the woman speaks. "I'm sorry, he's coming.” An hour later, she’s dead.

There is nothing I like more than a thriller but a fast paced thriller by a good author is just *chefs kiss*. I admit, I’m currently watching an episode of Below Deck to get over the creepiness before I go to bed but that’s what makes this book so good. 

Stranger Danger by Maren Stoffels

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

A very quick read. 

I read this book after reading ‘Escape Room’ by the same author and if you saw my review of that one, you know that I didn’t love it and this one was just confusing. 

3 teens are staying in a secluded farmhouse while studying for exams while being threatened. I don’t really understand the title ‘Stranger Danger’ after reading the whole book, I expected an absolute thriller but didn’t get it. 

The characters were quite unlikeable, everyone is wrong and none of them are good people. There are so little descriptive details and some of the names are unisex so for most of the book, I thought the main character was male and that they were all older then they are, when I realised they were teens then one of the main storyline’s became A LOT more problematic. 

I will admit that the twist at the end was good, very good but that might be the only redeeming quality. I am surprised that I got some sort of review out because I didn’t even know where to start when describing this book. 

The red flags and triggers in this book is off the charts. 

Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of locked room thrillers so when I read the description I knew that I would be a fan. I started at finished this book in about 24 hours. 

Basically 7 employees get stuck in a movie theatre after their last shift because the theatre and the mall attached have been marked for development. 

When one of their coworkers ends up dead in the locker room and their manager ‘Clayton’ starts hunting them, there is nowhere to go and to make it even worse, there was a no cell phones on shift rule so they have no way of communicating with anyone. 

An abandoned mall and movie theatre was the perfect setting for this book, I was so anxious and on the edge of my seat. I don’t often get freaked out about books but as the employees were being hunted and picked off one by one, I was nervous. The fact that I couldn’t figure out a motive made it even worse. I actually got up to go to the bathroom and jumped because I thought I saw the shadow of a man 😂

100% recommend this book! 

She Won't Leave by James Caine

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for my review. 

Wow, trust no one especially in this hook. Not only were most of the characters quite unlikable but you can’t trust a single one of them, these qualities go hand in hand and I have to commend the author on this. The way these characters are written makes the reader so frustrated to the point where, I wanted to throw my kindle across the room. 

A short but thrilling read with plenty of twists to keep you guessing

The Girls Next Door by Anita Waller

emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. At the start I was really interested and I liked the feel of it but the pace was just so slow and it took ages for anything to happen. For about 3/4 of the book I actually wondered if I was just going to be reading about these women’s lives, that wouldn’t have been a problem but I went into this thinking it was a mystery novel. It turned out to be a mystery novel with a twist at the end but it was just too slow for me.

The Therapist by S.A. Falk

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

I am so excited about how much I LOVED this book! I just finished this and I immediately had to get all of my thoughts out. This thriller kept me guessing the whole time, every step of the way. 

I read this in less than 24 hours, what a psychological journey!

Sovereign by Raya Morris Edwards

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Yellowstone meets Fifty Shades of Grey 🥵 


I LOVED this book. That’s it. That’s the review. 

It’s been a while since I’ve read a romance let alone a spicy one and this book did not disappoint. What a roller coaster of emotions. I’m a strong independent woman but give me a bossy bad boy in a book any time. 

The Couples Trip by Ulf Kvensler

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

The only reason this book got 2 stars is because of the potential, I should’ve DNF’d this book when I had the chance but I got too far in, I was skimming by the end.  Turns out I should have just stopped because the ending had no explanation anyway.  

Unlikeable characters, a storyline that had so much potential and an ending that left a lot to be desired. Throughout the whole book the ending is building and building and then it just died. The ending just ruined it all, the book would’ve gotten a 3 without the ending. 

Escape Room by Maren Stoffels

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

This book begins and ends with a verse from an Eminem song and that’s all you need to know. 

I had this book on hold and waited for so lo no to get it that I forgot it was a novella so I was through it within an hour. I love escape rooms so this was a book I was really intrigued to read, however, it was a let done. The plot was there, the characters were there but it wasn’t enough. The plot twist was supposed to be shocking but the author had given too much away already so I knew what was coming. 

I didn’t realise that I have another book by this author on my TBR so I will give that one a go. 

Murder in the Pacific: Mt Yasur by Matt Francis

adventurous challenging lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you to @bigskypub for sending me a copy of this book in return for my honest review. I loved the first book in this series so it won’t come as a shock that I loved this one too. 

This is the definition of a cosy mystery, short, fast paced and mysterious. I loved that it felt so familiar but also there was something new on every page to keep me guessing. 

Less humour in this book but I think since we knew the characters better it wasn’t needed, we had already warmed up to them. I really enjoy that even when the native language is spoken and there is no immediate translation, it is easy to tell what is being said. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and this series as a whole and can’t wait for me.