“If this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes.”   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   What an incredible mystery novel. The only reason I hadn’t read in one sitting was the fact that it requires a lot concentration. Stuart Turton is a travel journalist and The Seven (and ½ for US readers) of Evelyn Hardcastle was his debut novel. I won’t give any synopsis because the best way to enter Blackheath is by knowing nothing and be surprised with all the twists. All give you this though: several characters try to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle in Blackheath – Hardcastle’s property, where the action unfolds. This could be a typical Agatha Christie mystery crime novel, even though we can see the similarities with the crime master, in Turton’s writing, the author being a huge fan of hers. I can’t see any flaw in this book. I loved it all. The plot has an extraordinary complexity, without making it confusing.  According to the author...

“No one is likable from the inside out.”   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   Who doesn’t know Colleen Hoover?! Readers say that she’s wonderful and, curious as I am, and loving thrillers as I do, I had to read Verity. I’ve read It Ends with Us and Confess, that I had different opinions (loved one, didn’t like the other). Truth be told, I don’t see myself liking Hoover’s books as a romantic or a drama writer, but the girl is good at thrillers! I’d seen that she worked with Tarryn Fischer (I haven’t read anything by her but Mud Vein is on the list) and considering the psychotic vibe of one of the characters, certainly that Fischer gave a hand, that gave me the more reasons to read something by Fischer. About the thriller: it’s very well constructed, such are the characters - fears, anxiety, malice, love etc. – it’s all very well characterized. The only downside is that’s predictable. Me and a fellow buddy reader (username: O Meu Reino da Noi...

“People do go mad, you know, if you stop them from sleeping for long enough...”   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   When I picked up this book, I wanted a quick and light reading and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a thriller that puts in question the supernatural, with a gloomy setting, which I love. Rowan Caine answers an employment ad to a nanny job, taking care of four children, very well paid. Rowan takes noticed of some weird and concerning situations. One of them is the fact that, in little time, several nannies started working there and left abruptly. The other is the children’s weird and quirky behaviour. Despite don’t having the stomach to watch terror movies, I can easily read terror books and feel the suspense building up in me. This book, however, failed to reach what I consider a great thriller. The writing is simple and straightforward yet too descriptive (I could easily sell that house and receive the commission based on the des...

“Belonging’s two things. One who gives and one who accepts what’s given. You don’t belong to me because I can’t accept you. I can’t give you anything back.”   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   This thriller tells the story of Frederick, obsessed with Miranda, an art student, decides to kidnap her. This book has a first-person narrative, through Frederick in the first part and in the second by Miranda’s point of view. I couldn’t help to compare the narrative and main character to Lolita’s, where we can’t trust what the narrator is telling us (excuses, facts, etc.) The autor puts our critical judgement to test by forcing us to accept or reject Frederick’s actions.  All what Fred wants is love?  There we see an irony where we can’t interpret an abduction as a love. Then comes the Miranda’s POV, through her diary.  When we start feeling sorry or any kind of sympathy for Fred, Miranda’s diary makes you change your mind. Fred’s ac...

“The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.”   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   Oyinkan Braithwaite’s first book and it’s been nominated to the Booker Prize longlist in 2019. It’s described as a satirical dark humour thriller, that portraits the life of two sisters – Korede and Ayoola – and Ayoola’s habit of killing her boyfriends and her sister cleaning it up. I was excited with this reading, with the prospect of reading a dark humour thriller and I actually found quite disappointed. Very slow action where there’re chapters simply portraying chores and simple every day actions while trying to use that to create a gloomy atmosphere, wrongly so. If there was just one chapter, I might understand it but I’m talking about 60% of the book. The author could have used it to built up suspense or used Ayoola’s murders but I saw myself r...

“George Orwell was wrong, she thinks. In the future, it won’t be the state that keeps tabs on everyone by extensive use of surveillance; it will be the people. They’ll do the state’s work for it by constantly uploading their locations, interests, food preferences, restaurant choices, political ideas, and hobbies to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites. We are our own secret police.”   ☘      Opinião em Português       ☘   The Chain makes us question: how far will we go out of love for our child? Even put other parents through the same ordeal in order to get your child back?The book is dark to that point. Adrian McKinty based the book on a method that a mexican cartel uses for torture and/or punishment and brought us a fast paced, filled with action thriller, that makes us want to know more. It’s not about money, is about The Chain. This ingenious flawless plan where parents have to go through a series of ordeals, stablis...

"Solitude sharpens your perception of things"   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   This is the third book of the Mila Vasquez’s series, preceded by The Whisperer and The Vanished Ones . We enter Mila’s world from Bruno Genko’s point of view. Genko is a private detective that investigated Samantha Andretti’s disappearance 15 years ago. Samantha was help captive in a sort of maze where she had to go along the captor’s trials. The chapters are intertwined with Genko’s investigation and Samantha’s testimony. Samantha tell her accounts to Dr. Green, a psychotherapist who works for the Federal Police, in an effort to try to catch the captor that left her injured near a swamp. This isn’t a typical Carrisi thriller where there are full of forensic technics. Genko doesn’t have the know how therefore, the author couldn’t out that in Genko’s work. However, Carrisi explores the everyday persuasion techniques: clothing, mannerisms, etc. – and that is w...

“Some people’s good always coincides with other people’s evil, but the opposite is also true.”   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   The Vanished Ones is the second book of the Mila Vasquez series, preceded by The Whis perer ,  Carrisi’s first work. The Vanished Ones is the third work. We can see an evolution of his writing, especially on human interactions. Carrisi received a fan’s email explaining that he was exasperated and tired with the life we were having, so he simply vanished from the face of the earth. In this book, Mila, and Missing People’s detective, is called to solve a murder committed by a man, who disappeared without leaving a trace 17 years before. After what happened with the Whisperer’s case, Mila tries to struggle to move on as darkness keeps pulling her back. So, she decides to stay in Limbo (Missing People’s Department). It’s a slow start and a bit confusing with all the information and twists but we have to keep i...

“Evil generates only more evil. That has always been its chief characteristic.” ☘      Opinião em Português       ☘   Donato Carrisi is an Italian author, with a degree on Law and specialized on Behavioural Sciences and Criminology. The man knows that he’s talking (writing?) about! The Whisperer was his first work and it was published in 2009.  Six arms were found in the middle of the woods and five of them are from five missing girls. Violent Crimes Unit from the Federal Police get help from Mila Vasquez, the best detective on Missing People department, to find the sixth girl alive. This thriller is a complex web of murder masterfully combined by Carrisi. Essentially, the book makes us wonder how far will evil go and our choice to do it – the Good is silent, is witnessed, and Evil is always present and is alluring, it’s up to us to choose and take the leap towards the Light or Darkness. Carrisi makes several references to psychological trait...

“Everything is a game, Em. Whether you know it or not. Which means that sometimes a lie is more than just a lie. Sometimes it's the only way to win.” ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   This thriller is Riley Sager's second book, pseudonym for Todd Ritter, being the first one Final Girls. Emma Davis is a 28 yo painter that had a traumatic past: when she was 13, her roomates from her cabin at Camp, disappeared with just one trace: a sweater. 15 years later, Franny, the Camp’s owner and mother of one of the suspects, asks Emma to return as monitor to reopen the Camp after that event. Because of the event that happened 15 years ago, we have two timelines: present and 15 years before. The writing is set in the first person, Emma, and from the start, the author makes us question Emma’s innocence. I couldn’t help to notice that the first half is very slow paced and the second very fast. In the first half the author attempts to create suspense but fails...

Hey ho! Let's go! Oh wait... wrong book!   ☘      Opinião em Português      ☘   I've been reading Stephen King's books chronologically but the curiosity got the better of me and I couldn't wait any longer. Through the 1272 pages (portuguese edition) we fight alonside the Losers Club against some entity called IT, which terrorizes the children from Derry every 27 years. There's two timelines - 1958 and 1985 -that they're simple enough to follow. The first part takes us in first recent deaths that open up It's cycle, following to the calls to get the Club back together to Derry, in 1985, and each one remenisce the enconter each had with IT. The second part, the timelines are joined together more frequently but they're simple enough to the reader to follow. As a matter a fact, it becomes more interesting therefore inscreses the suspense. Between the timelines, there are the Interludes, pieces of one of the Losers investigation on It's cycles pri...