Tag: thrillerbook

Book Review: Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan

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What secrets lurk in the Hanging Woods?

PLOT SUMMARY:


On the night of the Summer Solstice in 1999, nine-year-old Roisin O’Halloran marched into the Hanging Woods, the mysterious copse that had inspired fear in decades of children in the small Irish town of Bannakilduf. She was never seen again.

Twenty years later, two women are drawn together to discover the truth of what happened to Roisin: Roisin’s older sister Deedee, a rookie cop who’s barely hanging on to the appearance of keeping it all together, and Roisin’s childhood best friend Caitlin, a petty criminal who was the last person to see the young girl before she disappeared, now returned to her hometown after her mother’s death.

With old wounds made fresh after decades of mistrust, Caitlin and Deedee must reckon with their shadowy pasts, the monsters that still haunt them, and the role they each may have played in Roisin’s disappearance. The secrets of that long-ago summer rise to the surface, and they will expose the truth that many in the small town are desperate to keep buried.

The siren of the Hanging Woods rings out once more. After all, nothing can stay hidden forever.

GRADE: B+

REVIEW:

This story leans more into emotional mystery than edge-of-your-seat thriller, exploring grief, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

Years ago, Roisin vanished without a trace. The last person to see her was her friend Caitlin. In the aftermath, Caitlin’s mother takes her away to London, putting distance between them and the whispers back home in Ireland. Caitlin stays away for years—until her mother’s sudden death pulls her back.

Now, Roisin’s older sister Deedee is a police officer, still carrying the weight of her sister’s disappearance. She’s determined to uncover the truth, no matter how much time has passed. When Caitlin returns, the two women are forced to confront each other—and the silence, suspicion, and unresolved pain that’s lingered for years.

I can already see some readers finding both Caitlin and Deedee difficult to like—and that’s fair. But for me, their flaws made the story feel more real rather than less enjoyable. The mystery unfolds at a steady pace, and the way everything comes together in the end is genuinely satisfying.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, high-stakes thriller, this might not fully deliver. But if you enjoy character-driven mysteries with emotional depth, Darkrooms is definitely worth picking up.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley & William Morrow for the audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Book Review: The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim

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This is the meal I’ve been waiting for, and I’m going to savor it.

PLOT SUMMARY:

Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing.In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment. He brags about his puffed-up consulting job, ogles Asian waitresses while dining out, and acts condescending toward Ji-won and her sister as if he deserves all of Umma’s fawning adoration. No, George doesn’t deserve anything from her family. Ji-won will make sure of that.For no matter how many victims accumulate around her campus or how many people she must deceive and manipulate, Ji-won’s hunger and her rage deserve to be sated.

GRADE: A+

REVIEW:

I devoured this book in two days (probably would’ve read it in one sitting if I didn’t have to do life things like work, eat, and sleep). I love how unhinged this book was. When we meet Ji-Won her father has just left his family to get with another woman, leaving her and her sister to deal with her grieving mother on their own. Ji-Won is also beginning her first year of college and once her mother starts dating a new man George (who she’s certain has an Asian girl fetish) things begin to to truly escalate. First of all, Ji-Won becomes obsessed with George’s eyes and her nightmares explore that obsession. As Ji-Won’s life begins to derail (she’s failing in college – her relationship with her sister and mother is strenuous and trying to fit in at college is difficult) – the book takes a very dark and twisted turn that I highly enjoyed.

I don’t want to say much about the plot because I wish you to experience this book the way I did – totally diving into it blind and staying for the wild ride. This is one excellent horror thriller with one of the best endings I’ve ever read (and I’m very picky when it comes to endings – I’m rarely satisfied by them).

Read this if you’re a fan of unhinged female characters ala Maeve Fly or Bunny.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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