Category Archives: Penguin Books

January 15, 2020 · 11:57 pm

Review: A Good Man by Ani Katz

Title: A Good Man by Ani Katz
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense
Length: 224 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

A dark and gripping novel of psychological suspense about a family man driven to unspeakable acts, in the vein of The Perfect Nanny and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Thomas Martin was a devoted family man who had all the trappings of an enviable life: a beautiful wife and daughter, a well-appointed home on Long Island’s north shore, a job at a prestigious Manhattan advertising firm. He was also a devoted son and brother, shielding the women in his orbit from the everyday brutalities of the world.

But what happens when Thomas’s fragile ego is rocked? After committing a horrific deed — that he can never undo — Thomas grapples with his sense of self. Sometimes he casts himself as a victim and, at other times, a monster. All he ever did was try to be a good man, but maybe if he tells his version of the story, he might uncover how and why things unraveled so horribly.

Review:

A Good Man by Ani Katz is an unsettling novel with ominous overtones.

Thomas Martin takes pride in caring for his wife Miriam and their eleven year old daughter Ava. He is well settled into his career with an advertising agency. Thomas and Miriam own a lovely home and Ava is enrolled in an exclusive school. But all is not perfect in his world. His childhood was dysfunctional and even now, his mom and sisters live an eccentric life. Ava has made a huge error in judgment. Real world tragedies are unfolding all around him. So when Thomas’s life takes an unexpected turn, his reaction leads him to make shocking decisions that are irreversible.

On the surface, Thomas’s narration of events seems straight forward and honest. His childhood is dysfunctional but he has managed to build a good life for himself. Thomas is deeply in love with Miriam but is their life as idyllic as he presents? His career is on upward swing but his current pitch is stressful. As Thomas’s story unfolds, it becomes clear his impressions and memories might not be quite accurate. As Thomas’s life begins to spiral, can his narration and recollections be trusted?

A Good Man is a dark yet absolutely mesmerizing character study.  Over the course of the story, it does not take long to realize Thomas’s perspective of events is a little skewed. With a heavy sense of foreboding, Ani Katz brings this suspenseful and troubling debut to a completely shocking conclusion. A deeply disquieting read that is as riveting as it is disturbing.

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Filed under A Good Man, Ani Katz, Contemporary, Penguin Books, Rated B, Review, Suspense

January 12, 2020 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Poison Garden by Alex Marwood

Title: The Poison Garden by Alex Marwood
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

A new novel of insidious secrets and chilling revelations surrounding a mysterious cult–the latest gripping psychological thriller from Alex Marwood

When nearly one hundred members of The Ark, a sinister apocalypse cult are found dead by poison at their isolated community in North Wales, those left alive are scattered to the winds with few coping skills and fewer answers. For twenty-three-year-old Romy, who has never known life outside the compound, learning how to live in a world she has been taught to fear is terrifying.

Now Romy must start a new life for herself–and the child growing inside her. She is determined to find the rest of her family and keep her baby safe, no matter the cost. But as the horrors of her past start to resurface, she realizes that leaving her old life behind won’t be easy. Outside the walls of The Ark, the real evil has only just begun.

A brilliantly plotted, page-turning novel from “one of psychological suspense’s best writers” (The Boston Globe), The Poison Garden will leave you stunned.

Review:

The Poison Garden by Alex Marwood is a darkly mesmerizing and suspenseful mystery about the survivors of The Ark, an apocalypse cult.

Following the suicide deaths of the other cult members, twenty-three year old Romy and her half-siblings Eden and Ilo are taken from North Wales back to England. Romy is now living on her own following stints in hospital and a halfway house while Eden and Ilo are placed with their deceased mother’s sister, Sarah Byrne. Eden and Ilo are not having an easy time assimilating to life outside their isolated compound, so Aunt Sarah turns to Romy to try to better understand them.  Romy appears content with their new life, but does she know more about what happened to the members of The Ark than she is revealing?

Sarah and her much older sister, Alison aka Somer, grew up in an extremely religious household.  After falling pregnant with Romy, Alison is forced to leave the family home. After giving birth to Romy, she joins The Ark where the charismatic leader, Lucien Blake,  eventually selects her to impregnate with his child. Somer fall from favor a few years after giving birth to Eden when she becomes pregnant with Ilo. Hoping Lucien will forgive, Somer remains with The Ark and suffers degradation as she is assigned to the worst of tasks around the commune.

Despite Somer’s disfavor, Romy remains an integral part of the cult. Although disappointed by her assignment, she applies herself with fervor to her tasks. She is quite watchful of others and makes several highly intelligent observations that provide her with an edge as Lucien’s eldest son, Uri, insinuates himself within the commune.  Taking Ilo under her wing, Romy prepares herself and her half-brother for the devastation Lucien predicts is coming.

Interspersed with events in the present are chapters that detail life within the walls of the commune for several years leading up the recent deaths of the cult members. While idyllic at the start, an insidious and pervasive attempt to wrest control from Lucien slowly creeps within the walls of the commune. Members disappear without explanation and outside recruitment gradually ceases. Lucien remains a revered leader but Romy eventually begins to realize all is not as it appears. The events leading up to the members’ deaths are revealed in horrifying detail and in the present, the truth about Romy soon becomes shockingly clear.

The Poison Garden is an engrossing mystery that is quite riveting. The revelations of life behind the walls of the commune are difficult to read yet quite informative. Following the suicides, Romy, Eden and Ilo are thrust into a world they cannot understand. Sarah is ill-equipped to help her nieces and nephews leave the teachings of Lucien behind.  Painting a vividly terrifying portrait of cult life, Alex Marwood brings this chilling novel to a stunning, twist-filled conclusion that will leave readers hoping for a sequel.  A brilliant mystery that I highly recommend.

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Filed under Alex Marwood, Contemporary, Mystery, Penguin Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Poison Garden

May 15, 2019 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan

Title: The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan
Cormac Reilly Series Book Two
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

From the author of The Ruin comes a compulsive new crime thriller set in the fiercely competitive, cutthroat world of research and academia, where the brightest minds will stop at nothing to succeed.

When Dr. Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit-and-run outside Galway University early one morning, she calls her boyfriend, Detective Cormac Reilly, bringing him first to the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. The dead girl is carrying an ID that will put this crime at the center of a scandal–her card identifies her as Carline Darcy, heir apparent to Darcy Therapeutics, Ireland’s most successful pharmaceutical company. Darcy Therapeutics has a finger in every pie, from sponsoring university research facilities to funding political parties to philanthropy–it has even funded Emma’s own ground-breaking research.

As the murder investigation twists in unexpected ways and Cormac’s running of the case comes under scrutiny from the department and his colleagues, he is forced to question himself and the beliefs that he has long held as truths. Who really is Emma? And who is Carline Darcy?

A gripping and atmospheric follow-up to The Ruin, an “expertly plotted, complex web of secrets that refuse to stay hidden” (Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King’s Daughter), The Scholar is perfect for fans of Tana French and Flynn Berry.

Review:

The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan  is a fiendishly clever, riveting mystery. This second installment in the  Cormac Reilly series can be read as a standalone but I also highly recommend book one, The Ruin.

Finally freed from working nothing but cold cases, DS Cormac Reilly is the lead investigator of a hit and run death that occurred near the local university. The case is quickly complicated due to the fact that Reilly’s partner, Dr. Emma Sweeney, discovered the victim. Then he finds out the deceased has a connection to Darcy Therapeutics’ research laboratory which is where Emma works. Surprisingly, Superintendent Brian Murphy has no issue with Cormac working the case but he does caution him to tread lightly around the über wealthy Darcy family. Just as the team is making progress on the case, another murder increases the tension for Cormac who is desperate to unmask the killer.

Cormac relies heavily on Detective Peter Fisher as he juggles the current murder investigation and another case he recently inherited from overworked Sergeant Carrie O’Halloran.  Identifying the hit and run victim is not easy due to the damage inflicted by the vehicle. They do have one valuable clue that leads straight to Darcy Therapeutics. John Darcy is quite formidable as he fights to protect the proprietary information in the research lab. Cormac then turns to the lab head James Murtagh who is a little more forthcoming but will the information he provides lead them to the murderer?

Cormac is a well seasoned veteran detective whose keen instincts serve him well throughout the investigation.  While most of his co-workers are eager and hardworking, Officer Moira Hanley is not one to come in early or stay late. She is not at all happy to be working with Reilly but will her resentment harm the investigation and Cormac’s career?

The Scholar is a multi-layered mystery which is set against the backdrop of pharma research and the academic world. Cormac is an engaging lead protagonist who is finally settling into his new life in Galway. Emma is a bit of an enigmatic figure whose past is shrouded in mystery.  The investigation moves at a steady pace but just as Cormac is starting to piece together the truth, a second murder turns his world upside down.  Although savvy readers will most likely guess the killer’s identity early on,  Dervla McTiernan keeps the motive for the murders tightly under wraps until the novel’s stunning conclusion. Mystery buffs are sure to enjoy this newest addition to the fantastic Cormac Reilly series.

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Filed under Contemporary, Cormac Reilly Series, Dervla McTiernan, Mystery, Penguin Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Scholar

February 18, 2019 · 11:58 pm

Review: In the Dark by Cara Hunter

Title: In the Dark by Cara Hunter
DI Adam Fawley Series Book Two
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

From internationally bestselling author Cara Hunter, a riveting suspense novel about the shocking secrets revealed when a woman is discovered held captive behind a basement wall—and no one is who they appear to be

Do you know what they’re hiding in the house next door?

A woman and child are found locked in a basement, barely alive, and unidentifiable: the woman can’t speak, there are no missing persons reports that match their profile, and the confused, elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before. The inhabitants of the quiet street are in shock—how could this happen right under their noses? But Detective Inspector Adam Fawley knows nothing is impossible. And no one is as innocent as they seem.

As the police grow desperate for a lead, Fawley stumbles across a breakthrough, a link to a case he worked years before about another young woman and child gone missing, never solved. When he realizes the missing woman’s house is directly adjacent to the house in this case, he thinks he might have found the connection that could bring justice for both women. But there’s something not quite right about the little boy from the basement, and the truth will send shockwaves through the force that Fawley never could have anticipated.

A deeply unsettling, heart-stopping mystery of long-buried secrets and the monsters who hide in plain sight, In the Dark is the second gripping novel featuring DI Adam Fawley.

Review:

In the Dark by Cara Hunter is a gripping mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. This second installment in the DI Adam Fawley series can be read as a standalone but I HIGHLY recommend Close to Home as well.

Detective Inspector Adam Fawley and his squad are called to the home of elderly William Harper after his neighbors make a shocking discovery during renovations. A young woman and a child are locked in Harper’s cellar.  Harper is immediately taken to the police station but due to Alzheimer’s, Fawley’s interview fails to uncover any details. His attempts to talk to the young woman are hampered by her extreme trauma. During the course of their investigation, unearthed remains hidden on Harper’s property lead back to the earlier unsolved disappearance of Hannah Gardiner. Fawley and his team are soon trying to figure out the connection between the two cases, but will they find the link they are searching for?

Adam makes progress with his interviews with the young woman who finally reveals her name is Vicky.  His team has also recovered Vicky’s diary which provides many shocking details of her time in captivity. As he is beginning to piece together the information about Vicky’s kidnapping, his team is hard at work trying to figure out if anyone else might be involved in the case. Harper’s nephew by marriage is a viable suspect but will they find the evidence they need to charge him?

While Fawley is focused on Vicky’s case, Detective Sergeant Gareth Quinn, Detective Constable Chris Gislingham and Constable Erica Somer are going back over Hannah Gardiner’s case.  Her husband, Rob, is the logical suspect, but his alibi appears to be airtight. However,  Rob’s nanny Pippa Walker might have vital information that could shed light on the truth about what happened to Hannah.

In the Dark is a fast-paced and captivating mystery that is impossible to put down. Fawley and his team are relentless in their pursuit of justice but will they crack these two troubling cases?  With a series of red herrings and well-placed misdirects, Cara Hunter brings this clever mystery to a twist-filled, diabolical conclusion. I highly recommend this outstanding addition to the DI Adam Fawley series  to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Cara Hunter, Contemporary, DI Adam Fawley Series, In the Dark, Mystery, Penguin Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

June 4, 2017 · 11:57 pm

Review: The Owl Always Hunts at Night by Samuel Bjork

Title: The Owl Always Hunts at Night by Samuel Bjork
Holger Munch & Mia Kruger Series Book Two
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 365 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

The thrilling follow-up to Samuel Bjørk’s internationally bestselling I’m Traveling Alone, which The Wall Street Journal calls “tense and smartly constructed”

When a troubled teenager disappears from an orphanage and is found murdered, her body arranged on a bed of feathers, veteran investigator Holger Munch and his team are called into the case. Star investigator Mia Kruger, on temporary leave while she continues to struggle with her own demons, jumps back on the team and dives headfirst into this case: just in time to decode the clues in a disturbing video of the victim before she was killed, being held prisoner like an animal in a cage.

Meanwhile, Munch’s daughter, Miriam, meets an enticing stranger at a party—a passionate animal rights activist who begins to draw her into his world and away from her family.

Munch, Kruger, and the team must hunt down the killer before he can strike again in this sophisticated, intricately plotted psychological thriller by the newest phenomenon in international crime fiction.

Review:

The Owl Always Hunts at Night by Samuel Bjork is a dark yet utterly enthralling police procedural set in Norway. Althought this latest release is the second installment in the Holger Munch & Mia Kruger series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

Investigator Holger Munch and his team are called to the scene of a seemingly ritualistic murder of teenager Camilla Green. Uncertain exactly what they are dealing with, Munch is certain he needs the help of Mia Kruger, a brilliant investigator who is currently on leave for psychological issues. Although Kruger has yet to make peace with the tragic death of her twin sister, Sigrid, she is quick to assure Munch she is ready to return to work. As many of the team members (including Munch and Kruger) struggle with turmoil in their personal lives, the investigation slowly progresses as they uncover puzzling information and a viable pool of suspects. With a predator on the hunt for the next victim, will Mia and Holger unmask the killer before he or she strikes again?

In his mid-fifties, overweight and a heavy smoker, Holger’s dedication to his career resulted in the demise of marriage ten years earlier.  His relationship with his daughter, Mariam, is a work in progress as he tries to make up for always putting his job ahead of his family.  Despite his determination to be there for her and his granddaughter, Marion, Holger is working long hours trying to solve Camilla’s murder.

Mia is going through the motions of therapy in order to return to work but she is not fully invested in actually working through her issues. She relies heavily on alcohol and drugs to cope with day to day life but she is still able to function well enough to contribute to the investigation. While Mia does experience some very keen flashes of insight, she is also somewhat distracted by memories of Sigrid and the loss of the rest of her family.  Will this lack of concentration interfere with her ability to zero in on a motive and a suspect for Camilla’s murder?

Several of the other members of the investigative team are also somewhat distracted as they try to catch Camilla’s killer. Kim Kolso is contemplating significant changes in his personal life that will also have impact his career.  Jon Larsen aka Curry is undergoing tremendous upheaval in his relationship and he is drinking heavily as he tries to cope with his girlfriend’s reaction to his latest misstep.  Cyber expert Gabriel receives a shocking bit of evidence from someone from his distant past, but can his source be trusted?

Living with her doctor boyfriend Johannes and staying home to care for their six year daughter Marion, Miriam’s relationship with her father is much improved.  Feeling a little restless and yearning for her old life, she reconnects with her old friend, Julie, who introduces her to animal activist Ziggy. Although Miriam realizes she has a lot to lose, she cannot resist spending time with the charismatic young man.

The investigation into Camille’s bizarre death yields very puzzling and disparate clues.  Camille has a troubled past and she disappeared from a children’s home run by Helene Eriksen.  Helene is co-operative but both Holger and Kruger feel like she is hiding something from them. After news of Camilla’s death goes public, local man Jim Fuglesang confesses to the murder and while Mia does not think he is the killer, she cannot discount the disquieting pictures in his possession. And what, if anything, does the discovery of a macabre film of the victim have to do with her subsequent murder?

The Owl Always Hunts at Night is an extremely atmospheric police procedural. With a few well-paced red herrings and some pivotal misdirects, Samuel Bjork brilliantly keeps the killer’s identity and motive for the murder carefully obscured.  The investigators’ distractions and Miriam’s questionable choices ratchet up the tension and will keep readers guessing whodunit and why right up to the novel’s stunning conclusion.  This newest addition to the Holger Munch & Mia Kruger series is absolutely outstanding and I highly recommend this spellbinding mystery to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Holger Munch & Mia Kruger Series, Mystery, Penguin Books, Rated B+, Review, Samuel Bjork, Suspense, The Owl Always Hunts at Night