#Thriller – Page 2 – Donna's Reading Chair

Sunday Funday! Bestselling Books The Year You Were Born!

It’s Sunday. Time to relax and take a break from reading by doing something reading related, haha. I recently came across this website on Facebook and I thought this was the COOLEST thing ever!

There’s an article that Mental Floss did recently called What Was the Bestselling Book the Year You Were Born? Wordery’s Online Tool Tells You and they tell you exactly that!

Simply click on the link above (it will open in a new window) and type in your age! Then it will tell you what the bestselling book was that year! I was born in 1984 and my book is…

The Aquitaine Progression by Robert Ludlum. Here’s the synopsis…

It begins in Geneva. There, American lawyer Joel Converse meets a man he hasn’t seen in twenty years, a covert operative who dies violently at his feet, whispering words that hand Converse a staggering legacy of death: ‘The generals…they’re back…Aquitaine!’

Suddenly Converse is running for his life, alone with the world’s most shattering secret. Pursued by anonymous executioners to the darkest corners of Europe, he is forced to play a game of survival by blood rules he thought he’d long left behind. And only Converse, and the woman he once loved and lost, can wrest the world from the iron grasp of Aquitaine…

I love thrillers and this spent 12 weeks as a New York Times Bestseller. I plan on reading this book sometime in the near future, I just think it would be a cool thing to do! What book was the bestseller the year you were born??

Book Review: Saving Meghan

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy of Saving Meghan. I told you guys in my last post I am behind, behind, behind on writing and posting reviews! I did actually read this BEFORE it’s release date and have spread it around to a few people at work. The consensus? Read this book!!

This story is told from 2 perspectives; the mother, Becky, and the daughter, Meghan. Meghan is sick, but no doctor can figure out what is wrong with her. Becky is convinced there is some underlying disease and no doctor can find it. Her husband starts to get fed up and thinks she may be making everything up.

Meghan gets sick, but only for quick periods of time. Anytime vitals are run on her after an episode (fainting, blacking out, etc) they come out fine. The doctors start to suspect it may be a case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy and given Becky’s history with her mother, it may very well be the case.

Becky’s mother worked the system and faked illness in order to get money. She taught Becky how to lie and what to do as a child so she could catch a free ride. Maybe everyone is right and the mother is just making Meghan think she is sick…

A doctor listens to Becky and thinks that Meghan may actually have a serious rare illness. It happens to be the same serious rare illness his son died of and the hospital feels he over diagnoses. The testing to verify the illness is also difficult. Essentially, no one can determine for certain if she has this crippling, life-threatening disease.

The tale keeps weaving and eventually Becky and her husband lose custody of Meghan. Their relationship is tested as they try to get custody of her back. The doctor that gave Meghan a diagnosis is fired from the hospital, but decides to help Becky out and win custody back! He really feels he is right with his diagnosis.

Things get ugly. You will question everyone involved in this case. Ok, I am stopping here. This book gets JUICY and has a twist where your jaw will drop. Who saw it coming? I didn’t! It was a superbly told tale that will leave you not quite sure who to believe. I doubted myself so much as I read this book, flip flopping between what I thought was happening. For what it’s worth, I was way, way, WAY off with what was happening.

Originally I gave this a 4 star read, however, upon reflecting on this book, I feel it’s more of a 5 star in my eyes. I doubted everyone at one point or another in this book and I wasn’t really sure what was going on. I never liked, or was on one’s side long enough, because the author kept the pace that fast. Truly this is a wonderful book if you are a fan of thrillers! Have you read this one? What do you think??

Title: Saving Meghan

Author: D.J. Palmer

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: April 9, 2019

Find it here on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Once A Liar

Thank you to Netgalley for access to reading Once A Liar in exchange for my honest review!

I don’t think I have ever disliked a protagonist as much I have in this book. Almost immediately I could not stand Peter Caine; egotistical, disrespectful, liar, cheater, and borderline psychopath are words I would use to describe him, but, I couldn’t get enough.

The book flips between then and now and we follow Peter from a marriage to his law firm partner’s daughter, birth of his son, cheating on his wife, death of his law firm partner, divorce, new girlfriend, death of his ex-wife, and then the death of his side girl, Charlie Doyle. Did you get all that?

The primary focus of this book is who killed Charlie Doyle, the daughter of the district attorney. The district attorney who would pimp her out to people to bribe them. The district attorney who so desperately wanted Peter to join his side and work for him. The district attorney who wasn’t aware of the affair Peter was carrying on with her, in fact, only his ex-wife knew. How long had the affair been going on? Well, let’s just say it hadn’t really stopped…

Peter has no remorse for anything he does and is just so focused on being on top and making money. The job of being a criminal defense attorney has taken a toll on him and turned his heart into stone. Someone could absolutely be guilty on all counts, but, Peter would make sure they would walk away without a slap on the wrist. He even walked away from his own son, never forming a relationship with him.

I had to see how this ended because I had to see SOMETHING happen to Peter Caine. I found the book to be fairly predictable early on with who killed Charlie. If *I* could guess who did it, I don’t see how anyone couldn’t predict it. You guys know I never see endings coming. The book reaches it climatic part right at the end of the book and gets resolved quickly. I felt a little conflicted about the end because I ended up hating a lot of people, ha! That’s all I will say! I used to feel bad for everyone who knew Peter and then, nope, I take back all of my sorrow I once had for all of you cold, heartless people!

I am going to give this book 3.5 stars which I will round up to 4 on sites like Goodreads and Amazon. It was pretty predictable and it felt odd to read a book where you can’t stand the protagonist the entire read. I also felt like the death of Charlie wasn’t justified enough. I mean, I get it and the whole point of the book was revenge, but, I just didn’t enjoy how the death of an innocent person was used for it. It felt a little much for me. Does that make sense? The writing was great, I just did not particularly care for the way revenge took place. Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?

Title: Once A Liar

Author: A. F. Brady

Publisher: Park Row

Release Date: January 29, 2019

Find it here on Goodreads and Amazon

Stacking The Shelves: February 9th

Here’s my usual blurb about today’s post…I stumbled across Stocking The Shelves on Jill’s Book Blog (check it out). This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Here’s what they say about it…

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

I actually bought physical books this week!! Not for me, but, for my 7 year old son! I ended up buying him 7…yikes! But hey, if he is reading and won’t stop reading, I don’t care!! Here is what we bought him…

The Ballpark Mystery Series box set 1-4 (and then subsequently 5, 6, & 7 after he blew through 2 books in 2 days). He has been struggling with reading lately and has read all of the books we have. My husband stumbled across this series by David A. Kelly which is a mystery series for kids ages 6-9 (grades 1-4). Each book takes place at a different MLB stadium. The box set was only $13 on Amazon so we risked it and I am so glad we did!! He read the first book in a day, he couldn’t stop (ut oh, he takes after me). He HAD to know how it ended! Hahahaha. We are so happy to find out he enjoys mysteries and we plan on buying this whole series for him. I am happy to take recommendations for more mystery books you think a 7 (almost 8) year old boy would enjoy!

Now for my books…first, I’ll highlight the freebies!

One S’More Summer by Beth Merlin

Get Lucky by Lila Monroe

All Eyes On Me by Linsey Lanier

The Day I Died by E. B. Black

There Are No Men by Carol Maloney Scott (for a short time it was offered free)

I did pay for 2 books this week…2 books I am **VERY** excited to read! They are both by the talented Teresa Driscoll! As soon as I finish the 2 books I am reading right now I am diving in to these bad boys!!

The Friend

The Promise

What do you think of the books I got this week? Do you have any? Did you get The Promise this week??? Let me know!! As always, thank you for stopping by!

First Line Fridays: February 1st

As always First Line Friday comes courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews.

This week I have started & finished reading this lovely advance reader copy courtesy of Celadon Books!

Amazon //\\ Goodreads

“July 14

I don’t know why I’m writing this. That’s not true. Maybe I do know and just don’t want to admit it to myself.“

Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads…

Promising to be the debut novel of the season The Silent Patientis a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive…

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….

Should be a good one (*note: I wrote this and scheduled it before I finished reading it…see previous post, haha)! What are you reading right now??

Book Review: I Am Watching You

Woah. I need a moment to process what just happened. Everything I knew that was happening just changed in a split second!

Let me set this book up for you…read it. Ok, ok, ok…but just a little because this book is a page turning, nail biting thriller that will leave you speechless. It is a story about a young teenage girl who goes missing on a trip to London. It is told from multiple perspectives; a witness who saw her traveling to London on the train, the father, the friend she was traveling with, and a private investigator that the witness hired. The case ends up going cold and unsolved for over a year until…well, just know that the case gets solved and you find out whodunit…and if you can guess who did you must be a psychopathic serial killer.

I read this as a buddy read with my friend and we finished this book within days. I took off running and then she surpassed me and was cheering me on to finish. You should see the text I sent her when I finished reading chapter 46. I would show you, but, then I’d have to kill you. Honestly we didn’t know much about this book except that I have heard rave reviews about it and it was highly rated.

We almost didn’t read it because she kept seeing reviews where people drone on about the witness describing flower arrangements…ok…so to those reviews I say, yeah, not quite what it seems. I will say that Driscoll does an amazing job at stringing you along and giving you just enough details to keep you hooked and wanting more.

This earns a solid 5 star rating from me. It was just…amazing. I have since added her other 2 thrillers (one out and one coming out soon) to my want to read list because that’s how amazing this read was. I am telling you, my mind was absolutely blown! And for what it’s worth, my friend who can usually predict everything in a thriller, did not see the ending coming. Read it. Tell all your friends. Then come back and TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS BOOK! OH EM GEE!

Title: I Am Watching You

Author: Teresa Driscoll

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Release Date: October 1, 2017

ASIN: B06Y1264PX

ISBN-10: 9781542046596

Amazon //\\ Goodreads

BONUS: I want to share a quote from this book that speaks VOLUMES to me. Also, after reading this book, good luck to my kids to ever getting them to allow me to go anywhere by themselves! 😉

Because once you become a parent, you learn that love can involve more fear than you had ever imagined, and you never quite look on the world in the same way again.

Doesn’t that just hit right home for my fellow parents out there??? Anyway…pick up the book, trust me, it’s a GREAT one!

First Line Friday: January 25th

My first First Line Friday courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews.

This week my friend and I decided to do a buddy read where we would read the same book at the same time. She walks around and listens to book on audible (and is trying hard to convert me over, haha) and I read them (either physical or ebook form), but, we always enjoy discussing them the same! This week she happened to pick out this one, which we both happened to have in our libraries…

Amazon //\\ Goodreads

Here’s that opening line that hooked me in…

“I made a mistake. I know that now.”

All I will say is my poor children. After reading this book I do not think I will let them go anywhere, at any age, without me present. Look for my review coming soon! Until then, what is the first line of what you’re currently reading right now?

Book Review: The Innocent

My first read of 2019! My first box checked on the 2019 Popsugar Reading Challenge as well! I actually started this book in 2018 and had every intention of finishing it in 2018, however, life happens and here we are 2 weeks in to January and I just finished it. Oh well, at least I get to check off a box for the challenge!

I would like to note that I read his book The Hit first, not realizing it was part of a series. I am glad I read this book next so I could get a little background on some of the characters that were present in that book. But on to this amazing read!

This is the book where we first meet agency employee Will Robie. He gets called out to make a kill and when he walks in to an apartment where it’s a young mother, he freezes and can’t do it. Something seems off. Bullets fly through the window, killing the mother and her child, and threatening Robie’s life. It turns out Robie’s gut feeling was right and the young mother should have never been killed. Now Robie is being hunted by someone in his own agency to be taken out.

Who went rogue within his agency? This book takes us on a twisty, turny tale to find out. Along the way Robie ends up helping a 14 year old, Julie, who has just lost both of her parents. He notices a man about to kill her on a bus and when he intervenes, saves her life. They both get off the bus and as soon they do it explodes, killing everyone on board except them. What is going on?

I was highly intrigued the whole story. It was interesting to see how various events intertwined together and how Robie and Julie end up needing each other. It was thrilling, intoxicating, and a joy ride that I did not want to see end. It was action packed

Overall I am giving this book 5 stars. When I read a book and go, “just one more chapter,” for 5 or so extra chapters, it’s a great read. I enjoyed how Robie and Julie worked together and the ending was one I did not see coming. Not even from a mile away. It just came out of left field for me. Wow. It also left any loose ends tied up and made me smile. I cannot wait to read the 3rd book in this series! Any fellow David Baldacci fans out there?

Title: The Innocent

Author: David Baldacci

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Release Date: April 17, 2012

ISBN-10: 1455519006

Buy It On Amazon

Book Review: The Girl Without Skin

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have ever read that has been translated. While reading this book I could tell it had been translated as some parts didn’t quite make sense, but, it did not detract away from this book. There are a lot of Greenlandic names as this book takes place in Nuuk, Greenland. Those names took some getting used to and by the end of the book they were a breeze!

The story begins with Matthew Cave, a journalist who has sought out a new life in Nuuk; one where he doesn’t have to remember his pregnant wife. He gets called to go out and report on the uncovering of a Norseman (pre-Viking) mummy. Little does he know what he is about to stumble upon.

Slight spoiler alert: the mummy is not that of a Norseman, but of a recent murder.

Trigger warning.This book details sexual abuse in young girls. As the story progresses we find a link to this mummy and a few unsolved murders from years ago. Matthew meets Tupaarnaq, a young woman accused of killing her family (her time was served in prison), and together they dig deeper in to what is really going on. The mummy disappears and another is murdered as Matthew starts to investigate. The story begins to be told in 1973 and present day (2014) as Matthew believes the current murders are connected to the disappearance of police officer Jakob Pederson and a sex abuse ring he was investigating. I won’t delve any deeper as I don’t want to ruin the book for you!

Overall, I am giving this book a solid 4-star rating. It is a true Scandi crime novel and an alluring one at that. I could not put this down. Nordbo does a beautiful job at painting amazing details in the surrounding environment in this book as well, I felt as if I was in Greenland myself. I did predict the ending of the book, however, there is enough action going on to keep you happy even with the predictability. If you are a fan of crime novels this is a must read for you! The Kindle edition is out now and the paperback version will be released on June 11, 2019!

Title: The Girl Without Skin

Author: Mads Peder Nordbo

Translator: Charlotte Barslund

Publisher: Text Publishing Company

Release Date: Kindle Edition- October 1, 2018

Paperback Edition- June 11, 2019

ASIN: B07DZL7PSD

IBSN-10: 1925603830

Book Review: An Anonymous Girl

This review was previous published over at Book In The Bag Blog where I guest write a review every Thursday! I wanted to start 2019 off with a bang and what better way than with my review of An Anonymous Girl??

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this advance copy in exchange for my honest review! This book officially comes out on January 8, 2019, pre-order it today!

As soon as I heard Hendricks and Pekkanen were penning another novel I could not wait to get my hands on it. The Wife Between Us blew me away (by the way, go get that book NOW if you haven’t read it) and I could not wait to see what else could come out of their 2 minds. I was not let down.

The story is about a young woman who ends up in a research study to make some extra money. The research is all about morals and ethics and is put together by a professor at a local, well known university, who should probably have her own morals and ethics checked out.

This psychological thriller is told by Jessica, the young woman, and Dr. Shields, the professor. They alternate chapters so it gives us a unique perspective and keeps up guessing throughout the novel. Just when you think this is going to be a predictable read, it’s not. There are not many twists and turns but enough to keep you interested. As we get further in to the book the characters grow and show us sides to them you just cannot predict to see. The book really picks up in the second half after the stage has been fully set.

I will say I was a little let down with the ending. I expected it to end with some big bang and it just fell flat for me. It felt rushed at the end and it just, ended. I did not get the closure I would have liked; however, it does let you know what happens with the relationship Jessica and Dr. Shields have. I would have like just a little bit more at the end to satisfy myself.

I am giving this book 4 stars. It keeps you going and guessing. I did think I had the book figured out before I got to the halfway point. That’s where the book really picks up and has left you with enough little pieces you have to read to see how they all fit together. I will say, Greer and Pekkanen sure do have some twisted minds! I hope they collaborate yet again, these ladies know how to throw you for a loop! Have you read either of their books?? Let me know if you’ve read either book or if you’re looking forward to this one!

Title: An Anonymous Girl

Author: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: January 8, 2019

ISBN: 1250133734

Quick Link To Amazon Here