Here is my monthly updates on the books I read. Because you liked it, this will come back monthly! I now gave it a place on my blog in the menu under other-monthly book reviews.
Sofie Sarenbrant – Killer deal (Thriller)
This Scandinavian thriller was a bit disappointing IMO. It is a really slow writed story and it wasn’t really exciting either. Also I did’t like that you coulnd’t really guess who was the culprit. I alread mentioned it earlier, but I love to read a book where I can have my thoughts on the suspect.
This could be personal, but I found the many characters difficult to tell apart. If I had put the book away for another day and a name appeared in the book, I did not immediately know to which character this name belonged. Perhaps this also has to do with the fact that some names are also used in the Netherlands, but for a different generation. So I didn’t expect child or young adults to have such names.
Since my blog is bilingual, I went looking for the English title of this book. In that search I found out that in the Netherlands this is part one of a series, but in Sweden part three. This explained to me the “problem” with this book about one of the main characters. I found Detective Emma difficult to fathom. Maybe this is because you are missing some information of the earlier two books.
But positive about this book is, that it is written in a fine writing style, with chapters not too long. The characters are well developed in terms of credibility. They really all have their own personality.
Be sure to read other reviews before you completely write off this book, because this book is well regarded and my opinion is just one of many!
Jenny Bayliss – The twelve dates before Christmas (Chick lit)
Recognizable! That’s the first thing I can say about this book. But I am a single lady with the same age as the main character.
The story is light-hearted, hilarious at times and very recognizable. A nice easy and entertaining story. I have some difficulty with, I think, the translation of this book. It already starts with the title that has been mistranslated and does not refer to the story at all. The original title is twelve dates before Christmas and in Dutch it is twelve days before Christmas. There are several typos and the sentences are really terribly long. But I think this was just a really quick translated book.
What the writer can be blamed for, are the very long chapters. I think it’s best to stop reading at the end of a chapter, but in this book I sometimes stopped in the middle of a chapter. Also there are a lot of unnecessary details in this book.
You don’t get a lot of physical details about the characters. I’m not really sure whether I like it or not. I think I would rather be helped a little by imagining the (main) characters in a book.
But this book is the debut of this writer and all in all I really enjoyed this book. So please read this book, even if only as an encouragement to the writer. And if you’re reading this blog, it might be January, isn’t it a great reason to linger in the Christmas spirit a little longer?!
RaeAnne Thayne – Brambleberry House (Roman)
Wow, I think this is really the best book I have read this year! The latest thriller from Karin Slaughter.
Nicely written, misled several times, surprising to the end and what I also like is that although it is a book from a series, you can really read this book on it’s own.
The nice thing about this book is that in addition to guess a suspect, you can also guess about the motive.
Because the people around me are a bit tired of Karin Slaughter, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book by her before. Too bad, I will definitely change that, because as I said; for me this is the best book I’ve read in 2020.
The story is about a prisoner who has never been convicted of committed murders, but is suspected of doing so. Either he hasn’t done it as he still claims or a copycat is on. The book takes you back to the storyline of the arrest and trial of the prisoner at the time of the first murders and there are two storylines in the present day, the one in which the investigation is reopened and the storyline of the lead-up to another murder. Perhaps it sounds confusing? Three storylines, but it is written in such a good way that it all remains clear and easy to follow.
Yes, I really recommend this book!
Not a single negative point? Yes, the long chapters! That is why I sometimes put the book away in the middle of a chapter.
Next month
I’m not reading a book at the moment, so if you have any tips …….