Book Review: Rattle by Fiona Cummins

Rattle

by

Fiona Cummins

This book was given to me by Katie Green from Pan Macmillan books to read and give an honest review. Firstly a massive thanks goes to Katie for this. This is Fiona Cummins debut novel so I had no idea how this book would be and what her style of writing would be like. I had heard great reviews though and was really looking forward to reading this.

"A creepy but cracking read, with a psychopath of a serial killer making this stand out from most books"

Précis (taken from the cover): 

He leads an ordinary life - some of the time.
He has a past which explains his behaviour - most of the time.
He has a hobby too terrible to understand - all of the time.
Etta is a detective who suspects him.
Erdman and Lilith are parents who fear him.
And Jakey and Clara have something he craves.

The Collector has come to rattle their bones and he won't stop until he is caught.

In this deadly game only one thing is certain. FINDERS KEEPERS. LOSERS GRIEVERS.

Review:

This book started really well and you were hooked within the first few pages. I believe this is because you were so curious as to what type of thriller this will be. In the author's notes you read about a disease called Stone Man Syndrome (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva) and I know.. I have never heard of this either. As the book goes on you find out more about this and what connects it to the story itself. The story contains children being kidnapped which can be quite an upsetting storyline for some so if this affects you in any way I would probably not read this this. The detective in charge is Etta Fitzroy and specialises in missing people. Etta has cold cases and deals with her own problems throughout the book which I really like. When the good guys have demons and are not perfect it has a real feel to it. Not only do you get to follow the story through Etta you also get to feel and learn what the parents are also going through which keeps the story at a fast pace as you are always wanting to read on and find out what happens next. I read this book in under two weeks which is quick for me. One of my favourite TV shows as mentioned in previous blogs is Criminal Minds. If you have never watched this show it has some of America's most nasty, horrible & terrifying serial killers in it week in, week out. The "baddy" in Rattle would fit in great in this show. The collector as he is called is disturbed, cruel and messed up. I'm not saying serial killers are good, I know this.... But from a readers point of view I loved how this character was written and really stood out from a lot of books you read that include serial killers. The story itself was really original and was really clever so a big thumbs up to Fiona for this and you can tell time was taken to research.

The characters in this book were greatly written to be honest and all had their parts to play. Etta was a great detective to follow and as mentioned above The Collector was one of my favourite baddy's I have read about in a long time. 

Was there anything I did not like about the book? Well... There were a few small chapters about Erdman (Jakey's dad) and his story which I felt you did not really need in the book but that is such a small thing and does not ruin anything at all. This was just my opinion.

Overall this was a fantastic book which I really loved. I scored this book a 5 out of 5. Considering this is a debut novel it certainly had a feel like a veteran had wrote this. Fiona Cummins follow up book The Collector is out in 2018 and I will definitely be buying and reading this when it is out.

If you love thrillers then I fully recommend that you read this book. I hope, like me you will love it.

Has anyone else read this book?? Do you agree with me or not? Let me know your thoughts...

Speak soon

CBailey31

Book Review: The Kills by Richard House

The Kills 

by

Richard House

The Kills was a book I bought a few years ago in my local book shop. I had seen it a few times whilst I was in there and always thought it sounded really good. I decided to pick it up but it had been sat on my TBR shelf for a long while. This past August I decided that it was to be my big summer read. It also turns out that this was to be the biggest book I have ever read with an epic 1033 pages altogether!

"Strong start, but then goes downhill and never stops"

Précis (taken from the cover):

The Kills is an epic novel of crime and conspiracy.

It starts with an explosion, a man on the run and the theft of over fifty million dollars. It moves from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, around mainland Europe via the sleazy underworld of Naples, and across America. It ends in a locked room.

Review:

This has been one of the toughest reviews I have ever had to do. You will see why as I go on. The Kills as mentioned above is a massive 1033 pages long but is actually split into 4 books, Sutler, The Massive, The Kill & The Hit. I was actually really looking forward to reading this as my "Summer Blockbuster" where each year I choose a large book to read around summertime. The book itself started really well and got straight into the action. The main character was interesting and it had a James Bond/Jason Bourne feel to it. For me, this is a great mix and I felt this could have been a cracking read. There were a few pages that were a bit too long but you could cope with that as you got more into the story. Book one (Sutler) finished on a cliff hanger and you set yourself up for the next chapter to see how the story progressed. Sadly this is where it started to go downhill. Book two was literally like reading a new book with a different story altogether. I thought that it was scene setting for the main story to continue but no, the main character from book one was only mentioned a couple of times and before I knew it, it was the end of book two and nothing. Book three started and Yes! you guessed it... A completely different story, and Yes! Book four again was also different. In each book it made a slight reference to the first book but that was it. None of the books flowed and went on way too long and I'm afraid very uninteresting with very little action. I was so disappointed. My wife asked half way through, why I didn't give in and stop reading it. I did not want to be beaten and kept hope that it would be tied up at the end. This I now know was a mistake of my behalf. Ahhhhhhhhh So frustrating..

I have never felt like this after reading a book. I know lots of people that start books and then give up but I have never actually done this. This book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013 and I have to ask myself why? After reading this book I went on the internet to see what other people thought and can see that there is a lot of other people like me that were very disappointed.

To be fair to the author, I actually thought the characters were well written and really likeable and is probably the best part of the book for me. Even if the stories were different the people in each of these books were great. Unfortunately I am unable to find many other positives.

I scored this book a 1 out of 5. My lowest ever score and I really feel bad because this is someone's work and they are really proud of this, but this is just my opinion and I am being honest on how I felt this book was. I don't think I will be rushing out to buy a Richard House book in the near future and if I did, it would have to be under 300 pages long so I don't make the mistake I did on this one.

Has anyone else read this? Do you agree with me or not? Let me know.

Speak soon

CBailey31

Book Review: They All Fall Down by Tammy Cohen

They All Fall Down 

by

Tammy Cohen

I was sent this book from Alison Barrow (@alisonbarrow) of Transworld Books for a read and honest review, so firstly I need to give a huge thanks to Alison for this. I have been aware of Tammy Cohen but I have never read one of her books before so I had no knowledge of her style of writing before I started.

" A cracking psychological thriller where everyone is a suspect"

Précis (taken from the cover):

She knows there’s a killer on the loose.
But no-one believes her.
Will she be next?

Hannah had a normal life – a loving husband, a good job. Until she did something shocking.

Now she’s in a psychiatric clinic. It should be a safe place. But patients keep dying.

The doctors say it’s suicide. Hannah knows they’re lying.

Can she make anyone believe her before the killer strikes again?

Review:

When I received this book from Alison I was so excited to read it. Books, and films for that matter that are set in a psychiatric clinic's tend to be really good but very dark. This book had you hooked on the very first page, someone had died and someone else was very frightened. What more do you want from page 1. I find there is nothing worse than a book that starts off very slow and nothing really happens. The pages turned at a fast pace and the writing was very easy to pick up. I loved how each chapter swapped narrators which meant that you got to read different views of so many different characters. What were they at the clinic for? What relationship did they have with other people and what was going on in their mind added to the mystery of who the killer was. Because of this you changed your mind on a regular basis as you were trying to figure it out. I am sure at one point I had thought it was every character at least once.  The story itself was brilliant, in a way there were two stories you followed, the first of course was who is the killer and secondly what had Hannah done to get herself in the clinic. This was kept secret till towards the last part as well.

The characters were really good and interesting, from the patients to the carers and nurses that worked at the clinic. Each patient had their own reasoning for being there which of course can be very dark and alarming but also can make for brilliant reading. I Thought Tammy did very well with these characters which made the book as good as it was.

Was there anything I did not like about this book? No, nothing really. I was a huge fan of this book and can't say there was anything which I would have changed.

As we are now entering the winter month's and the cold weather starts to kick in (Depending where you live of course) I would recommend this book to anyone who loves psychological thriller's. Switch the TV off, put the fire on and curl up on the sofa with a drink and some chocolate and get lost in this wonderful book. This book would also make a cracking Christmas present.

I scored this book a 5 out of 5. I loved it and so glad that because of Alison, I have now been introduced to Tammy Cohen. I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.

Have you read this? what do you think? do you agree with me or not? Let me know...

Speak soon

CBailey31