Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

January 6, 2024

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Lucy and Savannah were best friends, until the night that Savvy is murdered, and Lucy is found wandering the streets covered in Savvy's blood. Because of a severe head injury, Lucy has no memory of what happened, so her friends and family immediately suspect that Lucy killed Savvy. She relocates to Los Angeles and starts a new life, until a popular podcast called "Listen for the Lie" announces that their next season will investigate Savvy's murder.

So many lies here. There is a lot going on: we have an unreliable narrator who has no recollection of events due to a head injury; the small town of Plumpton, TX, is a twisty little place, with everyone focused on projecting the image that life is perfect, when in reality, everyone is having an affair with everyone else; a couple of men that everyone loves are actually very violent and abuse their partners regularly. I hated Lucy's parents for automatically believing the story that Lucy's lying husband was telling - they also did not see that Lucy received proper care for her injuries (my mother would have been the same way, more concerned what the neighbors and the people at church would think, and telling me not to make a fuss). As one of the characters notes, people always prefer to believe a man's version of events. Grrrrrrrrr. This is a good mystery with well-developed characters - not sure it was necessary to toss in all the adultery and domestic abuse.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

A small town in Texas - don't be fooled by the polite, perfect surface appearance

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

July 3, 2022

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

A woman wakes up in a taxi with no memory of how she got there. She goes home but a stranger is living in her apartment. Her phone and purse are missing, but she does find a bloody knife in her coat pocket. Also, her hands and arms are covered with words, including STAY AWAKE. The last thing she remembers is from two years earlier. When she sees a news report about a stabbing murder with words written on the walls much like the ones on her arms, she realizes that she has to piece together what is going on, and who she can trust.

A fast fun read, great for vacation or the beach. The main character's backstory is slowly revealed. The plot and good pacing and keeps you turning the pages. The main character in S. J. Watson's Before I Go To Sleep has a similar malady. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

 September 12, 2020

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi lives by the sea in a vast house filled with statues.  There is only one other inhabitant that he refers to as the Other.  Piranesi has contact with him only twice a week, when the Other issues his latest request for Piranesi's help with his research.  Piranesi's life work is to map the vast halls and chambers of the place where he lives, drawing the statues along with his maps, and to chart the tides.  But when the Other warns him about a third person in the house, Piranesi begins to suspect that there is something going on that is not right.

I'm not even sure what to say about this book.  It is vastly different from Clarke's previous novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.  The beginning of the novel is very confusing, and while the story does come together eventually, it takes about 200 pages to get there.  There are also a lot of things that aren't explained.  Not sure who I recommend this to, if anyone.  A reader would have to be a huge fan of speculative fiction to really enjoy it.  I admit it, I like books that have characters and a story line.

Piranesi knows that that is not his real name, it is just the name that it amuses the Other to call him.  Giovanni Batista Piranesi was an Italian artist who lived in the 18th century, known for his etchings of fictitious and fantastical prisons.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.