Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Author: Paula Hawkins
Original title: Into the Water
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Imogen Church, Sophie Aldred, Daniel Weyman, Rachel Bavidge, Laura Aikman
Duration: 11h31m
Goodreads

Blurb:
      In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool

My thoughts:
       Firstly, this book is very different from The Girl on the Train. The ads that keeps saying "If you liked The Girl on the Train, you'll love Into the Water" are really far streched. Into the Water does not  focus in-depth on any character, but rather moves between the perspectives of many people.  It took me a while to wrap my head around this book. All the POVs made me confused for the first third of the book, I was trying to remember how they all fitted together.
     Secondly, while both books contain themes of memory and the limitations on its reliability, the mysteries feel very different. The mystery in Into the Water is not as susspense as in The Girl on the Train. It's more like a domestic thriller, with less tension and excitement. It was more of an examination of various ties between people in a small town, and how everyone was in some way linked to the woman found dead.
       I think this whole book was quieter, on the whole, than The Girl on the Train. The people were unlikable, and yet the stories were less dramatic; the climax less reveling. I never felt any excitement at the end, the book just drew gently to a close.
       All of that said, I had a hard time putting this one down and flew through it. It was a decent, worthwhile read, and I can’t say I wouldn't recommend.

Rating: 

         3/5 

A Stranger in the House|The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Author: Shari Lapena
Original title: A Stranger in the House
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Tanja Fornaro
Duration: 9h02m
Goodreads

Blurb:
     Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.
       There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.
      The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

My thoughts:
       I did not enjoy it as much as I was hoping, judging by the popularity of it, because the plot was somewhat predictable and the characterizations seemed to me unrealistic at some points. Also, I could not relate to the characters and found myself annoyed at the decisions they made throughout the novel. The last three pages were quite interesting, the rest of the story was not impressive. I would not recommend it.

Rating: 

         2/5 

Author: Shari Lapena
Original title: The Couple Next Door
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Friederike Kempter
Duration: 6h43m
Goodreads

Blurb:
     Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all-a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.
     Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years.

My thoughts:
       I liked this novel more than the above one, though the characters are also plastic and unrealistic. What I appreciated is the multiple hints in this or that direction, so we could constantly guessing who's done it. I guessed somewhere in the middle, but still I wanted to know why, so the story was going nicely for me. The ending though, was a bummer, which made the whole story pointless.

Rating: 

         3/5 

The Waif of the "Cynthia" by André Laurie and Jules Verne

Author: André Laurie and Jules Verne
Original title: L'Épave du Cynthia
Pages: 432
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Adventure, Mystery
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   1886 novel by Andre Laurie and Jules Gabriel Verne. A novel about a young man's search for his identity leads him through Verne's 5th novel of Arctic exploration.
  
My thoughts: 

      One of my childhood favorites. The Scandinavian setting of this novel was unusual and quite refreshing. The plot revolved around a dark-haired boy called Erik in a family of blond Norwegians. He was discovered by them in the sea as a baby tied to a ship's buoy. The plot concerns Erik's efforts to chase round the world trying to track down a sailor who supposedly knows the secret of his abandonment. We follow Eric’s life from his childhood: all his struggles in finding his own identity as he has no roots. It was a nice coming of age story, but still I liked more the adventurous part of the novel. It was a great sea journey that I followed with a map open, marking their route and places visited. It is true that everything comes together rather conveniently at the end, but I could not ask more from a teen adventurous story. 

Rating:  

    4/5 

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

Author: Clare Mackintosh
Original title: Let Me Lie
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Gemma Whelan, Clare Mackintosh 
Duration: 12h07m
Goodreads

Blurb:
   One year ago, Caroline Johnson chose to end her life brutally: a shocking suicide planned to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with their loss ever since.
     Now with a young baby of her own, Anna misses her mother more than ever and starts to question her parents’ deaths. But by digging up their past, she’ll put her future in danger. Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie…

My thoughts:
   Both of Anna’s parents committed suicide within a few months of each other — or so she thinks. Retired officer Murray decides to try to help her figure out what happened. This will be an exciting, twisty thriller to some, but for someone who reads a lot of this genre, I found it to be a bit predictable. The story is told from multiple points of view which is always interesting, but still it is only 3 stars from me.
  It was a surprise that I found the mental health representation my favorite aspect of the novel. I loved Detective Murray Mackenzie's story. His relationship with his wife, Sarah, was incredibly heartwarming. How he helped Sarah with her struggle; dealing with suicide, anxiety, and depression. I did not think I'd like this book at all without this set of characters.
    Another positive point was Anna's journey as a new mother and all the bittersweet parts that go along with it (breastfeeding, exhaustion, postpartum emotions, etc).
       As for the story: it dragged a bit, but otherwise the plot was solid, thought there were too many twists: none of them particularly hard to predict. Moreover, I found the protagonist somehow annoying and I felt no real connection to any of the characters beyond the two I mentioned above. And, finally, the resolution and the events that happened towards the end left me more disappointed.

Rating: 

         3/5 

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Author: Karen McManus
Original title: One of Us is Lying
Pages: 360
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Format: ebook
Genres: Mystery, YA
Goodreads

Blurb:    
  On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. 
My thoughts:
        Frankly, it is difficult to say anything about the book, apart from that it was predictable and not very much captivating. On the other hand it was an easy and quick read, but I did not get much from it on the enjoyment level. Forgettable characters and the mystery itself was kind of meh. Again the topic the whole mistery is based on is, I would say, "misused" and that can influence the youth not in a good way. 

Rating:  

    2/5 

Fraterfest Readathon

 It is time to to celebrate love of horror, suspense, thrillers, the paranormal and more together with Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. This is going to be a fun easy readathon with very little requirements to participate. See rules below.

 Official Rules 

•     Linkup

•     Spread the Word Grab the button and/or use social media to share the signup post

•     Read or Listen Between Midnight October 11th and ending at 11:59 pm October 16th read or listen to thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, horror, supernatural, witchy, ghostly, fantasy, or serial killer novels and novellas. (to clarify..these can be cozies and include romance. No need to sleep with the lights on if you don’t fancy a good scare!)

•    Share your progress on Twitter or Instagram using #FraterfestRAT

•    Participate in at least one challenge.

•    Create a shelf on Goodreads  (or blog post) marked FraterfestRAT to share your progress

•    Win, Have Fun, Discuss Books and Make New Friends

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Author: Ruth Ware
Original title: The Woman in Cabin 10
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Imogen Church
Duration: 11h08m
Goodreads

Blurb:
   Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo's desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
My thoughts:
     This book is another proof why I should dive into the book without any idea about its popularity and liking of others. It was too hyped and my expectations were high and I was disappointed when I finished with the mediocre mystery story with another unreliable narrator with some mental issues.
   My biggest disliking was the actually the narrator. The writer went into great details to portrait the main character's mental health issues and her instability and why we should not trust her. I have nothing against; it is always good to read a book from the more diverse point of view, but I do not like when the main character behaves like an idiot and makes stupid assumptions, which should not be done by a journalist.
     Example: Lo suspects that she saw a crime on a luxury liner, in closed environment she decides to lead investigation of what happened and  her primary suspect are the passengers. I do not see the logic here, usually the crew have access almost everywhere, someone has the master key, that can be stolen and used in the crime, but no!, the most logical way is to suspect the guests like herself, who do not have access anywhere and are not familiar with the ship. From this point I was not taking this book seriously and could not enjoyed the unveiling of the mystery.

Rating:  

    2,5/5 

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Author: Libba Bray
Original title: The Diviners
Edition Language: English
Series: The Diviners #1
Genres: Mystery, Fantasy
Format: Audio book
Read by: January LaVoy
Duration: 18h14m
Goodreads

Blurb:
    Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.
    Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.
My thoughts:
     I was going into this book with HUGE expectations as I have heard only positive reviews so far. I have even chosen the audio book format, which was masterfully narrated by January LaVoy. As I was enjoying the audio format I gave a book a higher rating. The book itself left me a bit puzzled. I can see only positive features: the coherent plot development, the characters greatly outlined, the city description is so vivid that it is almost a character itself, the atmosphere of the 20s is depicted colorfully; but still the book did not captivate me and I even struggled through it. Maybe it is because the narration was jumping from one character to another trying to introduce everyone who will be playing roles in later books. Maybe because of constant repetitions of passages, or maybe because Evie's incredible egoism.
      The crime/horror plot line was not very interesting as well. Though the murders are quite horrific, I was not terrified and could not feel the suspense; and the ending was flat and crumpled. So thought the book did not grip, it was solid and entertaining read and I will continue with the series.

Rating:  

    3/5 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Author:  Paula Hawkins
Original title: The Girl on the Train
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Format: audio
Read by: Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, India Fisher
Duration: 11h1m
Goodreads

Blurb:
EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My thoughts:
      What would I say? I was wrong not to read the book for such long time. Actually, after all those movies based on books I am afraid to pick up the original. I was not taken nor by the book description neither by the movie trailer. How wrong I was.
       The first thing I liked is the 3 women narration. I actually quite love this technique in books, it refreshes the narration and abrupt changes from one character to another keeps you on edge and helps brush up everything you know about the character. Though, in this book only narration of Rachel and Megan were audible and had character development, Anna’s part was rather weak and not credible.
         This book has been compared to "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn but honestly, I don't see any comparison at all besides from them being written within the same genre. Maybe that is why I liked this book so much. I was impressed what with the author’s creation: Rachael – such a miserable drunk head, broken, without self-esteem, useless and paranoid character.  I liked the inner monologues in her head, the perception of reality and despair and loneliness that surrounded her. It felt so real. The hopelessness she felt all of the time and such a severe desolation worked her in a state that the touch of a stranger made her shiver and her stomach flip. Everyone in this book is terrible, especially a drunk and unstable Rachael and as a result, this book delivers good work in character study and development.
       As for the plot itself, it was not so complicated or mysterious: a murder, attempts to get away with it and one unreliable witness – nothing new. But I liked the way the story was revealed: a big deal of manipulation and mistrust, every page throws suspicion on a different character (I actually was suspecting even Anna); the ending fell a little flat for me though.

Rating: 

    4/5     

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author:  Ransom Riggs

About himself:
" I grew up in Florida, went to Kenyon College in Ohio, then film school at USC in LA, where I still live. I write books and screenplays, blog daily for mentalfloss.com, and make short films."
taken from Goodreads

            I have already written about the first book in the series which I read in June. In addition I must say that the impression was so strong and good that I’ve bought right away the other 2 books in this sequel Hollow City and Library of souls.
          I extremely like the format of the books. First of all the cover is black and white, which gives them kind of retro look. Secondly, the pictures integrated in a story are a good and fresh move. In the first book Jacob discovers a lot of old photographs and I am as a reader able to see them too. In the 2^nd and 3^rd book the pictures are already part of the narration of what Jacob sees on his journey, they are not presented in a physical form in the story, but aim as additional description of people and places Jacob meets and visits during his quest. I would say that photos lost their appeal and are starting to be quite “unpeculiar” in 2^nd and 3^rd books.
          I like how Ransom Riggs tells the story. He goes in many details describing new characters and places throughout the story. The plot of the series is also very wisely constructed, it seems like it is getting speed from book to book: quite slow and descriptive narration in the first book with just a few major actions; quite eventful 2^nd book, where quiet pieces are 50/50 with the battled ones and the change of scenery is also quite quick. In the 3^rd book the narration gains its full speed and one battle-like episode follows by another. It just does not allow you to rest until the story is finished and it comes to a calm and down-to-earth ending with a little magic at the end.

Original title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Pages: 352
Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #1
Year:  2012
Goodreads

          The story starts in our time and describes the ordinary 16 year old boy Jacob Portman, who was raised on his grandpa's mystical stories and but not believe in magic anymore. Grandpa seems to be disappointed, but does not try to change his grandson's mind. And then grandpa suddenly dies, presumably killed by the pack of dogs, but Jacob is not so sure, as he saw a monster from his grandpa's stories at a crime scene.
After quite intensive psychological therapy, Jacob persuades his farther to go to the small British island where his grandpa was hiding during World War II, to the school of Alma Peregrine. There he gets through the time loop to 1940 to real school full of strange and peculiar children.  Miss Peregrine explains that Jacob’s grandpa and him are peculiar people and have a distinct gift which he needs to develop.
          In the meantime the strange killings occur in the village and children realize that their loop has been breached and the wight known as Dr. Golan is on their track. As Jacob is falling in love with a girl Emma and decides to stay in a loop with her to fight on their side. Dr. Golan manages to bring ymbryne Peregrine to the see where U-boat is waiting for him, but Jacob kills him first and together with Emma they save the cage where Miss Peregrine is kept in the form of bird.

Original title: Hollow City
Pages: 428
Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2
Year: 2014
Goodreads


            After fleeing in a boat from the hollows the children are trying to hide in the mainland from wights who are on their tack.  They accidentally discover the loop full of peculiar animals. There they get to know that the ymbryne of this loop is in London and that they need to find her as Miss Peregrine cannot be kept for long time in the form of a bird, because she will lose her ability to turn into person and her human personality.
          Children are heading to London and meeting a lot of difficulties on their way: country destroyed by war, wights attacks and loneliness. In London they try to find peculiar pigeons, as only they can bring them to Miss Wren, the ymbryne. They finally reach a time loop under the pigeon's guidance that leads them to Miss Wren, who is hiding in a building coated in thick ice to prevent wights from entering. She promises to help Miss Peregrine to gain her human form again. Finally Miss Peregrine is able to change form, but it is not her but her brother Caul, a wight. He imprisons Miss Wren and all peculiar children and is going to transport them to wights’ fortress. The books ends with Jacob finding himself in present London together with Emma and talking dog Addison and discovering he has the ability to speak to and control hollowgasts.

Original title: The Library of Souls
Pages: 458
Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #3
Year: 2015
Goodreads

           From the beginning of this book Jacob and Emma are separated from the rest of the team and they need to continue their quest alone. They both after reunion with the Addison, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children cross from modern-day London to wretched Devils’ Arche.  A boatman named Sharon serves as sort of a tour guide through the terrors of Devil's Acre. After unsuccessful attempt to get to hollowgast’s fortress Jacob is seriously injured and is brought to the house of Miss Peregrine’s second brother to recover.  
          From this house they rebuilt the loop to fortress and attack. Thought Caul’s army is destroyed by Jacob’s hollowgasts, he manages to take Miss Peregrine as a hostage and forces Jacob to follow him to the ancient Library of Souls where souls of old peculiar people are kept.
          I would definitely say that this final book is much better than the 2^nd. Unfortunately the author does not concentrate on old characters – they are imprisoned, but introduce even more and more new ones. All narration is concentrated on Jacob, as he gaining more power it seems he gains more attention. None of the peculiar children can compete, so this is almost one hero book, even the valiant Caul is kind of flat. But altogether it was a fine conclusion and nice ending, which is not really too soppy and logical.

Rating of the series 

    4/5 

June 2016 Wrap up

June turned out to be the worst month for reading. Only one book was read so far. I really do not know what has happened. I listen more now, but still I had an impression that I am reading enough and at the end of the month there is that big oops: one book only!

Read books: 

So the only book read is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs
Original title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Pages: 352 pages
Edition Language: English
Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery 

What is interesting about that story is that it was not planed as a story, but a picture book featuring random and strange vernacular photographs collected by author Ransom Riggs. He was persuaded however to use the pictures as the base to build up as a story. Ransom Riggs needed more photographs for the novel, so he got to know other collectors and this book appeared as collaboration between storytelling and visual images.

         The main story starts in our time and describes the ordinary 16 year old boy Jacob Portman, who was raised on his grandpa's mystical stories and who grew up and does not believe in peculiar children anymore. Grandpa seems to be disappointed, but does not try to change his grandson's mind. And then grandpa suddenly dies, presumably killed by the pack of dogs, but Jacob is not so sure as he saw a monster from his grandpa's stories.

        After quite intensive psychological therapy, Jacob persuades his farther to go to the small British island where his grandpa was hiding during World War II, to the school of Alma Peregrine. There he gets through the time loop to 1940 to real school full of strange and peculiar children.
       Though it is YA book and maybe even children’s book it was not a dull read. After a description of the next character you are waiting to see the photograph to check if your imagination pictured it so. I find it a grand idea to make a story out of your hobby. The book had quite a successful reception and film adaptation will be released Sep. 2016 with Eva Green and Asa Butterfield a star from "Ender's Game". So we will see what differences there are from the book. 

Movie watched:
Warcraft (2016) I am afraid that was the biggest disappointment this month. So long awaited the movie did not provide any bit of enjoyment. Seems like it is a mixture of "Lord of the Rings" grandiosity and "Game of Thrones" 'everyone dies' attitude. The whole plot just promises that there will be a sequel, but not giving anything to grasp at the moment. I will not even going to review that and give it 6 out of 10 points.

Theater visited:
 none 

Sport events watched: 
1. Staropramen Cool Cesky Pohar Strahov Praha 18.06-19.06
2. UEFA Euro 2016 (France) ongoing from 10.06 football completion (75% matches watched). The biggest surprise and the greatest warriors of the tournament is the team from Iceland. Those have been fighting with every favorite not give up and not showing any laziness. Greatly appreciated by all fans for spirit and striving for the victory.