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Category: Mystery

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

The Death of Jane Lawrence is one of those books that sounds like it should be good, but then it turns out not to be. Very disappointing, as I love me a gothic novel. The Death of Jane Lawrence definitely is gothic, and there were definitely creepy moments that I read through very quickly because I did not want to scare myself before going to be bed, but in the end, The Death of Jane Lawrence gets bogged down in the science of magic, and I am not entirely sure what I was that I just read.

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Cold Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs

Cold Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs

Cold Cold Bones is an improvement over last year’s The Bone Code with its disappointing vaccine tampering plotline. I read the Temperance Brennan novels because I have become invested in the character and her relationships with Canadian hunky private detective Andrew Ryan, surly North Carolina detective Skinny Slidell and her daughter, Katy, who in this novel has recently been honourably discharged from the army and may be suffering from PTSD, which is causing issues between her and Tempe. But I am beginning to feel that as Kathy Reichs keeps churning out these novels, she is sacrificing Tempe’s intelligence for the sake of plot. Tempe’s behaviour is becoming more and more frustrating as she continues to defy police orders, and just plain common sense, and puts herself in unnecessary danger while acting like she is an action hero instead of a forensic anthropologist.

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The Maid by Nita Prose

The Maid by Nita Prose

If I were to use only one word to describe The Maid by Nita Prose, it would be “cute”, much like the cat in the above picture. Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like the weight of the world has got you down, and you just want to lay on the couch or on a beach and watch/read something light-hearted and enjoyable? Well, The Maid is the novel you want to read the next time you are in that kind of mood.

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The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The first time I read The Historian was way back in 2005 when it was first published. I liked it enough back then to read Kostova’s next novel, The Swan Thieves (which I have read more than once), and I decided to reread it now to see if I would still like it all these years later. If you like historical fiction, The Historian is a fascinating novel, but at the same time it can feel like a bit of a slog to read.

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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I liked Mexican Gothic, but I did not love it. It is a deliciously gothic novel set in a creepy old mansion that may or may not be haunted, but the true horror in the novel is rooted in Mexico’s colonial history and eugenics. The novel takes a bizarre turn towards the end, but I just went with it because it does fit in with the themes of the novel.

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Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

I have read a couple of Sarah Waters’ books prior to Fingersmith: The Little Stranger, which I ended up hating, and The Paying Guests, which I found interesting, but was not overly excited about. Usually at that point, I would give up on Sarah Waters, but Fingersmith is well reviewed, and it sounded like an interesting story, so I decided to give her novels one more chance. I am glad that I read Fingersmith. If you like Charles Dickens, or if you like historical crime fiction, then you will like Fingersmith as well.

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Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

Dark Roads is inspired by the real-life Highway of Tears between Prince George and Prince Rupert where women have been going missing or were murdered since 1970; a disproportionately high number of the victims are Indigenous women. I was expecting Dark Roads to treat its subject matter with more sensitivity, but instead it is a sensationalistic thriller featuring a crooked cop which verges on the ridiculous. This novel left me feeling disappointed with myself for reading it.

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True Story by Kate Reed Petty

True Story by Kate Reed Petty

True Story has an intriguing premise, but I ended up not liking how it was executed. It is a novel about a teenage girl who is sexually assaulted by two teenage boys when she is passed out in the backseat of a car. The thing is, she does not remember anything of what happened to her, and the two boys who allegedly assaulted her insist they did not do it. So, what really happened?

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