Thoughts on : The Favorite Sister / Bring Me Back / A Noise Downstairs

Posted by Kay on October 2, 2018 10:48 pm in 2 stars reads, 2.5 stars reads, 3.5 stars reads | 2 comments

There were many thrillers I was interested in reading this summer, but mixed reviews and a limited budget meant I had to make some tough decisions. Lucky for me, my library had many of them on audio. Though life, right? 🙂

I’m briefly reviewing 3 of these books today, because two of them didn’t work for me and I don’t really enjoy writing negative reviews. Let’s go!

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The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll
Narration : Ashlie Atkinson, Jenni Barber, Aja Naomi King
Genre : Mystery
Stand alone

About the Book  :

Five hyper-successful women have agreed to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers;

Lauren is Goal Diggers’ recovery narrative—everyone loves a comeback story. Jen, made rich and famous through her vegan food line, plays a holistic hippie for the cameras, but is perhaps the most ruthless of them all.

Brett’s the fan favorite. Her success and her recent engagement to her girlfriend have made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her cast mates. Kelly, Brett’s older sister, is the most recent recruit and defers to Brett—a role which requires her to protect a shocking secret.

Stephanie, the first black cast member, is a successful bestselling author of erotic novels. There have been whispers about husband, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett—and resentment soon breeds contempt.

But what the producers never expected, was for the season to end in murder…

My Thoughts :

I read The Luckiest Girl Alive some years ago and didn’t really like it, but something about Jessica Knoll’s writing was compelling enough that I wanted to give her a second chance. Sadly, this one didn’t work for me either. The book felt unnecessarily long, and I felt as though many scenes/chapters could have been cut without impacting the story of the characterization. I felt bored for most of it, but I wanted to know how it ended – which is pretty much of how I had felt about the author’s previous book.

I think fans of reality shows like “The Real Housewives of…” might enjoy this though. It’s not my cup of tea, but the concept and the relationships are clearly inspired by the popular series. Sadly, I think Jessica Knoll just isn’t the author for me.

Bring Me Back by B. A. Paris
Narration : Kevin Hely, Cathleen McCarron
Genre : Psychological thriller
Stand alone

About the Book  :

Finn and Layla are young, in love, and on vacation. They’re driving along the highway when Finn decides to stop at a service station to use the restroom. When he returns Layla is gone—never to be seen again. That is the story Finn told to the police. But it is not the whole story.

Ten years later Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister, Ellen. Their shared grief over what happened to Layla drew them close and now they intend to remain together.

Then, not long before he and Ellen are to be married, Finn gets a phone call. Someone from his past has seen Layla. There are other odd occurrences: Secret messages, clues, warnings. If Layla is alive—and on Finn’s trail—what does she want? And how much does she know?

My Thoughts :

If you have a look at the ratings I give to books on Goodreads or on my blog, you’ll notice that I rarely give a book 5 stars. It’s a rating I keep for favorites and very special books.

Over the years though, there’s another type of rating I’ve been giving even less : the 1 or 2 stars rating. It’s not that I never stumble upon bad books, but in the past decade I’ve learned to give up on books I don’t enjoy, and I don’t rate book I don’t finish.

This is a book I should have abandoned, but I kept hoping some twist would come up and save it for me. Nope. The plot was ridiculous, the characters acted in a ridiculous way, I just. No. Did not like it at all. I felt completely irritated by everything about it.

I know many other readers I follow on Goodreads, blogs, etc., have enjoyed it, so please don’t let my extreme reaction stop you if you’re interested! I had enjoyed Behind Closed Doors, so I’ll at least give The Breakdown a chance.

A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay
Narration : George Newbern
Genre : Psychological thriller
Stand alone

About the Book  :

Paul Davis is a normal guy with a normal life. Until, driving along a deserted road late one night, he surprises a murderer disposing of a couple of bodies. After nearly losing his own life, he finds himself battling PTSD ans depression. His wife, Charlotte, brings home a vintage typewriter to encourage him to get started on that novel he’s always intended to write.

However, the typewriter itself is a problem. Paul swears it’s possessed and types by itself at night. But only Paul can hear the noise coming from downstairs…

Paul believes the typewriter is somehow connected to the murderer he discovered nearly a year ago. The killer had made his victims type apologies to him before ending their lives. Has another sick twist of fate entwined his life with the killer—could this be the same machine?

My Thoughts :

Now let’s finish on a positive thought! A Noise Downstairs surprised me. It had a bit of an old school psychological thriller/horror vibe. I really wasn’t sure whether Paul was going crazy or if something else was going on.

In the end, the final who/what  did it was pretty much what I had guessed, BUT! The author took a few tricky turns to get there that I hadn’t expected. One twist in particular had me go, “Wait, WHAT!??”, and I actually pressed the back button to listen again. I was shocked!

I still thought there were a few flaws in the book. I feel there were actions/decisions that, normally, the characters would have taken, but then I’m guessing that would have complicated the story. This being said, even though there were huge plot holes on the road, the story was a lot of fun.