Tag Archive for: riley sager

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Only One Left & The Lie Maker

 

Happy Thriller Thursday. It’s me, Sharon and I am thrilled to share my thoughts on two amazing books I have read. Riley Sager’s, The Only One Left and Linwood Barclay’s, The Lie Maker. I loved both of these book so much. In fact they are both now in my top five reads for 2023 and even though the year is only half over, I know they will be staying in the top five. 😀

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Only One Left & The Lie MakerThe Only One Left Goodreads

Author: Riley Sager

Publication Date: June 20, 2023

Publisher: Dutton

Riley Sager has done it again with The Only One Left!  I have loved every book he has written, but this one is by far my favorite.

In 1929 the Maine coast was shocked by the murders of the Hope family. The only survivor was seventeen-year-old Lenora Hope, and while she denied killing her family, everyone assumed she did it, even the police, but they were never able to prove it. Lenora has stayed secluded in the cliffside mansion where the murders took place, Hope’s End, and she has never spoken a word about what happened that night.  It is now 1983 and Lenora, who is in her seventies, has suffered a series of strokes that have left her unable to speak and is confined to a wheelchair. Lenora’s new caregiver is Kit McDeere. Kit really didn’t want to take this job, but she had no choice since she is just coming back from being suspended for six months because a patient in her care died. While the police and everyone suspected she had something to do with it, there was no proof. So, Kit and Lenora have something in common. Lenora’s only way to communicate is to type on an old typewriter and one night she tells Kit that she will tell her everything that happened that night. But as Lenora gives bits and pieces of the events that happened the night her family was murdered, Kit realizes there is more to the family’s massacre than people realize and someone is willing to kill again to keep those events a secret.

Guys, nothing I can say about this book will give it justice. This book was awesome! Sager did an amazing job in creating such an eerie setting in Hope’s End. Hope’s End was built on a sea cliff, it is deteriorating, and it is only a matter of time before the cliff completely gives way and Hope’s End is destroyed.  That part right there gave me the willies. I could not even imagine spending any time in a house that could crumble into the sea at any moment. Add to that, the fact that the blood stains from 1929 are still visible, yup creepy ass setting. LOL!

Riley Sager also created great characters that just jumped off the pages.  I had a lot of sympathy for Lenora. The more I got to know her the more I loved her. I went back and forth on if I thought she really did kill her family.  I also loved Kit. Even though she was at first scared of Lenora, I liked how she pushed those feelings aside and did her job and took care of her. The book is told from Kit’s POV, but we also get pages of Lenora’s story.  I loved getting Lenora’s story and learning what happened that night in 1929.

The Only One Left was an amazingly written mystery/thriller, that kept me glued to the pages from start to finish. There were a few twists at the end that I did not see coming and I never figured anything out. If you are a fan of Riley Sager or are looking for a book of his to start off with, then I wholeheartedly recommend The Only One Left. I do not think you will be disappointed.  5 stars

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Only One Left & The Lie MakerThe Lie Maker Goodreads

Author: Linwood Barclay

Publication Date: May 16, 2023

Publisher: William Morrow

I have only read two other books by Linwood Barclay, Find You First and Take Your Breath Away, I loved both of them, so I was very excited to read his newest book, The Lie Maker. I now have to say that Linwood Barclay has been added to my “must read author” list. The Lie Maker was everything I was hoping for and more.

When Jack Givins was a child, his father went into the witness protection program. Jack was devastated when his father went away, he wanted to go with him, but his mother did not want to so they stayed to try and live their lives as best they could.  Years later Jack, now grown and a struggling author, is approached by the U.S. Marshalls with an offer that he cannot refuse. They are recruiting authors to write false backstories for people in the witness protection program and they would like Jack to come work for them. At first Jack is reluctant, but then he realizes that this may be his only chance to find his father. The only problem is Jack’s father has not been in contact with his handlers and they do not know where he is. Jack is determined to find his father, but the clock is ticking because the enemies his father made still want him dead and in trying to find him, Jack is putting his life and those around him in jeopardy.

I was hooked from the very first page when Jack’s father was waiting for witness protection to come and pick him up. The dialog between Jack and his father had my eyes filling with tears. Especially when his father said “Your dad’s not a good person. Your dad killed people, son.” I immediately loved Jack and just wanted to scoop him up in my arms. During the book we get chapters from before Jack’s father was put into witness protection, so we get to see what he was like and what he did and why. The more I learned about him, the more I liked him and sympathized with him. Sure, he killed people, but he loved his son and was doing what he had to do to protect him and give him a good life.

I don’t want to say too much about what happens because I don’t want to spoil anything. But I will say that as Jack started his quest to find his father, I was on the edge of my seat. I was rooting for him to be able to find his father, but I was also afraid for his safety.

I also loved Jack’s girlfriend, Lana Wilshire. Lana is a reporter, and she is investigating two seemingly nonrelated murders of a retired judge and a nurse. The mystery of these deaths just adds to the suspense of this book.

As the book progressed, the tension ramped up and I could feel my anxiety level increase.  There were twists and turns as well that kept me guessing to a shocking ending that I did not see coming and also put a few more tears in my eyes.

If you are looking for a mystery full of twists and turns, with characters that you will love and be rooting for, then I definitely recommend The Lie Maker4 ½ stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The It Girl & The House Across the Lake

 

Happy Thriller Thursday with Sharon! I hope everyone is doing well and getting some relaxation time in. I am so happy that next week I am on vacation from work, well a staycation LOL!  I plan on just sitting around and relaxing and reading of course 😀  Today I am reviewing two books that I have been very excited to read. Ruth Ware’s, The It Girl and Riley Sager’s, The House Across the Lake.  I am happy to report that these books did not disappoint.

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The It Girl & The House Across the LakeThe It Girl Goodreads

Author: Ruth Ware

Publication Date: July 12, 2022

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

I couldn’t wait to read Ruth Ware’s newest book The It Girl and I am happy to report it did not disappoint. This book was everything I was hoping it would be.

Hannah Jones was excited to start a new chapter of her life at Oxford. Hannah and her roommate April Clarke-Cliveden became fast friends, and rounding out their friend group was Will, Emily, Ryan, and Hugh.  These six friends formed a close bond and were enjoying their time at the university. That is, until April was murdered at the end of the second term. The school porter, John Neville, is found guilty of April’s murder, mostly due to Hannah’s testimony. It is now ten years later and Hannah and Will are married and expecting their first child. Hannah has done all she can to try and put the past behind her and now that John Neville has died in prison, she can truly move on. But when a journalist contacts Hannah and presents evidence that John Neville may have been innocent, Hannah’s world and all she thought she knew is about to come crashing down.

I loved how Ware presented this book in a dual timeline. One timeline was during Hannah’s time at Oxford and we got to see the events that lead up to April’s murder unfold. This was my favorite timeline. I really liked getting to know Hannah, April, Will, Ryan, Emily and Hugh and watch their friendships form. I especially liked learning more about April and how she was not the nicest person all the time. That just made the suspect pool increase for me. The second timeline is in the present, and in this timeline, we follow Hannah as she tries to come to terms with the fact that she may have been wrong about John Neville. Hannah is determined to figure out what actually happened the night April was murdered. I really loved her determination on uncovering the truth; even when she did not like the direction it was taking, she still pushed forward. Hannah owes it to April and to John Neville to make sure the right person pays for the crime.

I was all over the place on who I thought murdered April with all the twists and turns this book had.  The more information Hannah uncovered in her quest to find the truth, the more my suspicions of everyone grew, especially when we learned of some of the mean things April did. By the end of the book I was on the edge of my seat, especially when it was revealed who the killer was.

I really don’t want to say too much because I think you need to go into this book not knowing anything. But if you are a fan of Ruth Ware, then I think you will love The It Girl4 stars

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: The It Girl & The House Across the LakeThe House Across the Lake Goodreads

Author: Riley Sager

Publication Date: June 21, 2022

Publisher: Dutton

Riley Sager is an auto buy author for me. I have loved every book he has written and while The House Across the Lake did not have the WOW! factor his other books had, I still loved it.

Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress, has escaped to her family’s lake house in Vermont. Casey’s husband drowned in the very lake she is now staying at. After her husband died, Casey started drowning her sorrows in alcohol and after being caught by the press in a few drunken states, she retreated to Vermont to hide. With lots of time and liquor on hand, Casey has started watching her new neighbors, Tom and Katherine Royce, across the lake.  When Katherine vanishes, Casey becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. In the process, Casey discovers that not only was the Royce’s marriage not perfect, but there is also something evil lurking in the lake.

When I first started reading I was a bit put off by the whole Rear Window vibe, but then Casey actually started mentioning how she was like Jimmy Stewart’s character and referring to the movie, that I got over the comparison quickly. And while that vibe was there, the book had many twists and turns that took it away from Rear Window.

There is not much I can say about this book without spoiling things. I loved the Vermont setting. I live in the New England area and have been to Vermont, so I could easily imagine the houses around the lake. It actually made me want to take a trip north and just sit out in the woods and relax with a book.

I thought Sager did a great job on creating all the characters, especially Casey. She was a very complex character, and with her drinking, at times she was also an unreliable character. I had a lot of sympathy for her, especially when she was remembering her husband. I also really liked how strong she was and determined to figure out what happened to Katherine. Casey became friends with Katherine when Casey saved her from drowning in the lake. Casey was sitting on her porch when she saw Katherine floating in the lake, and that brought back all kinds of memories from when her husband drowned.

The House Across the Lake was a slow burn read that sucked me in from the beginning. And then just as I was getting all settled in and trying to figure out what happened to Katherine, BAM! There was a plot twist that made me second guess myself and suspect someone new. LOL!  The only issue I really had with this book was one of the plot twists came out of nowhere and was a bit farfetched, in my opinion. I was a bit disappointed with the direction it took, but once I finished reading and thought about the book and that one twist, I let myself suspend reality and my opinion on what I read changed and I decided “Okay, that was actually really good.”   4 stars

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Survive the Night & Mother May I

 

Hi everyone!  It’s Sharon, back with another edition of Thriller Thursday. This week I am sharing my thoughts on Riley Sager’s new book, Survive The Night and Joshilyn Jackson’s new book, Mother May I. Riley Sager is a favorite author of mine, and Joshilyn Jackson is a new author for me. I loved both of these books and I am excited to share my thoughts on them.

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Survive the Night & Mother May ISurvive the Night Goodreads

Author: Riley Sager

Publication Date: June 29, 2021

Publisher: Dutton Books

I have been a fan of Riley Sager since I read his first thriller Final Girls so I was very excited to read his latest book Survive the Night, and I am happy to report this book did not disappoint.

When Charlie Jordan was sixteen she lost both of her parents in a car accident. It was at their funeral that something snapped in Charlie’s brain and she started seeing movies in her mind. Not movies that have been on the big screen, but the real life situations that are happening, only Charlie’s brain makes it into a movie. Everything is more vivid and the people she sees or the actions that she sees happening are not what is actually going on. These movies come when Charlie is afraid or stressed. Fast forward four years and Charlie is now in college. But a couple months ago her roommate was murdered by a serial killer called “The Campus Killer” and Charlie feels responsible because she left her alone that night. Unable to deal with all that is going on Charlie decides to go home to visit her grandmother. At the campus ride-share board she meets Josh and agrees to ride with him. But it doesn’t take long for Charlie to start doubting Josh and suspects he could be the campus killer. And so begins the game of cat and mouse as Charlie tries to figure out if Josh really is dangerous or is it just her movie filled mind.

The story takes place during the 6 hour drive, and I really liked how Sager titled each chapter almost script like, “Ext- Grand Am 10:00pm, Int- Grand Am 11:00pm, Int- Rest stop 12:00 am etc.” And even though the book is only told through a few hours, Sager also does a great job of fleshing out the characters and scenery.  We got a lot of backstories on both Charlie and Josh in the short time we know them and I really liked both characters. Okay I kept going back and forth on Josh lol.

I loved how Charlie was such an unreliable character. I didn’t know if things were really happening or if they were just movies in her mind. I also had a lot of sympathy for her, she has been through a lot between her parents dying and then her roommate’s murder, so she was a very vulnerable character. But I also loved how when push came to shove she became one badass woman.

I cannot say much about what transpired during Charlie and Josh’s drive to make Charlie suspect that Josh was a killer, but I will say I did not see a couple of the twists that took place. I was all over the place on what I thought was going to happen, on whether Josh was a good guy or a bad guy and if what I was reading was true or Charlie’s movies.

If you are a fan of Riley Sager or if you like books that keep you guessing, I definitely recommend checking out Survive the Night.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.   4 ½ stars

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Survive the Night & Mother May IMother May I Goodreads

Author: Joshilyn Jackson

Publication Date: April 6, 2021

Publisher: William Morrow

I have come across other books by Joshilyn Jackson that looked interesting but have never picked any of them up to read. Well I am glad I did not let Mother May I pass by because this book was awesome. I was on the edge of my seat and my heart was beating so fast the whole time I was reading.

Bree Cabbat has the perfect life. She is happily married to Trey, a corporate lawyer, and they have 2 teenage daughters and a 10 week old son, Robert. But Bree’s perfect life is about to come crashing down.  One morning she wakes up and is startled to see a gray haired old lady, all dressed in black looking in her bedroom window. She shakes it off as a trick of the light, but then she sees this lady again in the parking lot of her daughters’ school. When she was watching her oldest daughter’s school play rehearsal with her son Robert in his car seat, she turned her back on him for just a few minutes and when she looked back he was gone. Next to his bottle was a note saying “If you ever want to see your baby again, go home. Tell no one. Do not call the police. Be at your house by 5:15PM or he is gone for good.” Bree assumes Robert was abducted for a ransom, but when the old woman who took Robert calls, Bree learns his abduction is for revenge and this woman needs Bree to perform a task.

I cannot say anything about what the revenge was for or what task Bree had to perform as that is the whole plot of the story and would spoil things. But I will say once Bree performs this task it becomes a race against time to find baby Robert. And Bree and the old lady who took him play a game of cat and mouse.

Bree enlists the help of Marshall, the widow of Bree’s best friend who is an ex police officer, to help her work to try and figure out who this lady is and where she may have taken Robert and why. And it is the why that is about to make Bree’s perfect marriage and life come crumbling down. I will say the more we learn of this old lady and the reasons for her actions, I did find myself having some sympathy for her. That is not to say I thought what she was doing was right. There is no reason to put a child in jeopardy and if she wanted revenge then go to the source and leave the child alone.

I really liked how  Bree went into massive mama bear mode and would do anything to get her son back. She was an incredibly strong woman who just wanted to make sure her children were safe at any cost.

Mother May I is an adrenaline rush book that does not let up until the very end.  I am glad I chose this as my first Joshilyn Jackson read and I look forward to reading more of her books.  4 stars

Can’t Wait Wednesday – SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Riley Sager

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

* * * * *

My selection for this week is SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Riley Sager.  Riley Sager is one of my favorite mystery/thriller authors so I’m very excited to learn that he has a new book coming out this summer.  It sounds like it’s going to be just as wild of a ride as his previous books, so it’s definitely a book I’ll be looking forward to.

 

SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Riley Sager

Publication Date: June 29, 2021 by Dutton Books

 

From Goodreads:

It’s November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana’s in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.

Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father. Or so he says. Like the Hitchcock heroine she’s named after, Charlie has her doubts. There’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t seem to want Charlie to see inside the car’s trunk. As they travel an empty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly worried Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s suspicion merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?

What follows is a game of cat-and-mouse played out on night-shrouded roads and in neon-lit parking lots, during an age when the only call for help can be made on a pay phone and in a place where there’s nowhere to run. In order to win, Charlie must do one thing—survive the night.

* * * * *

I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Can’t Wait Wednesday – HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

* * * * *

My selection for this week is HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager.  I love Riley Sager’s thrillers. They’ve all been 4 and 5 star reads for me, and he’s one of my favorite authors writing in the genre right now.  I was thrilled to hear he has another new book coming out this summer and that it sounds super creepy.

 

HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager

Publication Date:  July 7, 2020

 

From Goodreads:

A woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?

“What was it like? Living in that house.”

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

* * * * *

 

I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Review: LOCK EVERY DOOR by Riley Sager

Review:  LOCK EVERY DOOR by Riley SagerLock Every Door by Riley Sager
Also by this author: Final Girls, The Last Time I Lied
five-stars
Published by Dutton on July 2, 2019
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 

 

 

 

 

LOCK EVERY DOOR Review

 

Set in New York City, Riley Sager’s latest thriller Lock Every Door follows Jules Larsen, a young woman who has had a major run of bad luck. She recently lost her job, discovered her live-in boyfriend was cheating on her, and has subsequently ended up sleeping on her best friend’s couch.  Jules desperately needs her luck to change so that she can get back on her feet financially, and when she sees an ad on Craigslist seeking apartment sitters at the iconic Bartholomew building near Central Park, she applies immediately and can’t believe her good luck when she is hired. The rules are a little intense:  Jules is not allowed to have visitors, she must sleep in the apartment every night, and she is only allowed to speak to other residents if they speak to her first, but the $1,000 a week paycheck makes it well worth it for Jules.

Jules almost immediately befriends another apartment sitter named Ingrid.  Ingrid confides in Jules that strange things happen in the Bartholomew and that she doesn’t feel safe there.  Soon after this conversation, Ingrid goes missing.  Jules is told that Ingrid abruptly quit in the middle of the night and moved out, but Jules is suspicious and starts digging, trying to figure out what really happened. When Jules learns that Ingrid isn’t the first apartment sitter to go missing, she starts to think that her dream job might actually be more of a nightmare.

I really liked Jules right away and so was constantly torn between wanting her to stick around and figure out what’s going on at the Bartholomew and wanting her to hurry up and get the heck out of there before something happened to her.

The creepy atmosphere Sager creates was also a huge draw for me. The Bartholomew itself has a dark, almost Gothic feel to it, with its gargoyles on the exterior and its wallpaper that appears to change from flowers to watchful eyes if stared at too long.  Its physical appearance combined with its mysterious and rumored dark past truly made it feel like something out of a horror story and had my skin crawling as I read.

Another big draw for me was the way Sager weaves together his story through the use of a combination of flashbacks and chapters set in the present to show where Jules is and then to backtrack and show how she got to that point.  That technique created so much tension and suspense. That coupled with numerous plot twists, had me just flying through the pages. The plot twists were a wild ride too, culminating in a reveal that was even more disturbing than I could have possibly anticipated.

Riley Sager is quickly becoming my go-to author whenever I’m in the mood for a thriller that will keep me on the edge of my seat.  As much as I enjoyed both Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied though, Sager’s latest, Lock Every Door, is by far, my favorite of his books yet.  It has everything I love in a thriller – a protagonist that is likeable and easy to root for, lots of tension and suspense, plenty of plot twists to keep me guessing, and an atmosphere that draws me in and creeps me out all at the same time. If you’re into thrillers, I highly recommend giving Sager’s books a try.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story … until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

five-stars

About Riley Sager

Riley Sager is the award-winning pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer who previously published mysteries under his real name.

Now a full-time author, Riley’s first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called “the first great thriller of 2017” by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries and a film version is being developed by Universal Pictures.

Riley’s second book, THE LAST TIME I LIED, was published in 2018 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. It was inspired by the classic novel and film “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and one horrible week Riley spent at summer camp when he was ten. A television adaptation is being developed by Amazon Studios.

His next book, LOCK EVERY DOOR, inspired by a lifelong fascination with the grand apartment buildings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, will be published in July.

A native of Pennsylvania, Riley now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he’s not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is “Rear Window.” Or maybe “Jaws.” But probably, if he’s being honest, “Mary Poppins.”

Can’t Wait Wednesday – LOCK EVERY DOOR by Riley Sager

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

* * * * *

My selection for this week is LOCK EVERY DOOR by Riley Sager.  I loved both Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied, so I can’t wait to get my hands on Riley Sager’s next book.  Lock Every Door sounds like it’s going to be filled with suspense and downright eerie with all of those mysterious disappearances.

 

LOCK EVERY DOOR by Riley Sager

Publication Date: July 2, 2019

 

From Goodreads:

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

 

 * * * * *

 

I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Review: THE LAST TIME I LIED by Riley Sager

Review:  THE LAST TIME I LIED by Riley SagerThe Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
Also by this author: Final Girls, Lock Every Door
four-half-stars
Published by Dutton Books on July 3, 2018
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
Pages: 370
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 

 

 
 
 
 

MY REVIEW:

 
Last year I read and loved Riley Sager’s suspenseful thriller, Final Girls, so when I heard he had a new book coming out this summer, The Last Time I Lied, I couldn’t get my hands on it fast enough.  I got my hands on a copy and sat down one evening to read what I thought would be just a few chapters before bedtime, but instead, ended up being about half the book.  I remember the same exact thing happened to me when I read Final Girls.  There is just something so addicting about Sager’s writing – he draws you into his tale so thoroughly that you just can’t even come up for air until you’ve followed every plot twist and devoured every clue.

Like Final Girls and other thrillers, The Last Time I Lied is one of those books that I think is best to go into knowing as little as possible, but what I definitely want to share with you are some reasons why I think you’re going to want to read this book.

 

4 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD ADD THE LAST TIME I LIED TO YOUR READING LIST:

 

  1. Complicated Protagonist. If you like your characters complex, Emma Davis is your girl. Emma, an up and coming artist in New York, attended Camp Nightingale when she was 13 years old. When the older three girls in Emma’s cabin decide to sneak out in the middle of the night, they leave Emma behind, telling her she’s too young to come with them.  That was the last time anyone saw the girls.

Fifteen years later, Emma is still haunted by their disappearance so much so that she includes the girls in each of her paintings, burying them beneath layers and layers of paints so that only she knows they’re there.  She realizes that she can’t continue like this forever, that it’s becoming an unhealthy obsession. When the opportunity to return to Camp Nightingale unexpectedly presents itself, Emma decides that she needs to go.  If she can figure out what happened to the girls, maybe after all of these years she can finally get some closure and move on…

What makes Emma so complex is that even though I felt tremendous sympathy for what she must have gone through as a 13 year old when those girls went missing and for what she has continued to go through as an adult, I still sometimes got the vibe that she wasn’t being completely honest, that she was keeping secrets.  I found myself skeptical of her version of events, which had me turning the pages even faster, because I wanted to know if I could trust her or not.  Not knowing if I could trust Emma or not really added to the overall suspense of the novel.

  1. Creepy Camp Setting. This is such an atmospheric read.  Sager does a phenomenal job of creating the eeriest girls’ summer camp ever.  Everything about the setting has a real horror movie vibe. The unsolved mystery of what happened to those girls casts a huge shadow over the camp and creates tension and suspense around every corner.  Even though it has been fifteen years, it still feels like something could happen to anyone at anytime.  The land the camp is built on is also the subject of legends and folklore that will make your hair stand on end and wonder if something supernatural is afoot on Camp Nightingale’s  lands.
  1. Dual Timeline.   The Last Time I Lied is presented to the readers in a dual timeline format.  Emma is the narrator in both timelines, the present day one and the one from fifteen years ago.  The modern day timeline follows Emma as she returns to the camp and plays amateur sleuth, trying to see if she can solve the mystery that alluded police detectives all those years ago.  The other timeline follows Emma while she was a young camper at Camp Nightingale. It follows her from her arrival at the camp up through the disappearance of her cabin mates and the ensuing investigation.  Sager does a brilliant job of weaving together these two intricate storylines, revealing key details in the modern timeline and then revisiting the past and showing why exactly the details we’ve just seen are relevant.  I found the story all the more compelling watching the details unfold in this manner.
  1. Web of Secrets and Lies. If you enjoy a mystery that is filled with plot twists that keep you guessing, The Last Time I Lied should be a book after your own heart.  There are so many secrets and lies swirling around throughout the novel that it gets very difficult to know who can be trusted, if anyone, and the lies just further the suspense and add intricate layers to the plot twists.  A popular game the girls played at the camp is Two Truths and a Lie, and the more I read, the more appropriate the game seemed because this is a book filled with people who cannot be trusted.

I especially enjoyed the detective story aspect of the novel as we follow Emma playing detective, trying to uncover some of those secrets and lies and piece together what happened to the girls fifteen years ago.  Emma even requests to stay in the same cabin she stayed in all those years ago in hopes of uncovering some clues that were overlooked that could possibly lead her to the truth of what happened to her friends.   In many ways, the story reads like a modern day Nancy Drew novel.

 

MY FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE LAST TIME I LIED:

 

As much as I enjoyed Riley Sager’s Final Girls, I actually enjoyed The Last Time I Lied so much more.  Maybe it’s the timing – reading a book about a creepy summer camp in the middle of the summer – or maybe it’s just Sager’s superior storytelling abilities, but whatever the reason, this is one of my favorite reads of the year so far.  It kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, which is all that I could possibly want from a thriller, so I definitely look forward to reading more from Riley Sager.

 

 

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she–or anyone–saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings–massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it’s immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp’s twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.

And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

four-half-stars

About Riley Sager

Riley Sager is the award-winning pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer who previously published mysteries under his real name.

Now a full-time author, Riley’s first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called “the first great thriller of 2017” by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries and a film version is being developed by Universal Pictures.

Riley’s second book, THE LAST TIME I LIED, was published in 2018 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. It was inspired by the classic novel and film “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and one horrible week Riley spent at summer camp when he was ten. A television adaptation is being developed by Amazon Studios.

His next book, LOCK EVERY DOOR, inspired by a lifelong fascination with the grand apartment buildings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, will be published in July.

A native of Pennsylvania, Riley now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he’s not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is “Rear Window.” Or maybe “Jaws.” But probably, if he’s being honest, “Mary Poppins.”

ARC Review – Final Girls by Riley Sager

ARC Review – Final Girls by Riley SagerFinal Girls by Riley Sager
Also by this author: The Last Time I Lied, Lock Every Door
four-half-stars
Published by Dutton on July 11th 2017
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Goodreads Synopsis:  Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

MY REVIEW

After seeing more than one comparison to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, I’ll admit I was a little hesitant about whether or not I wanted to read Final Girls.  That just seemed like hype that few books could live up to. That said, however, when I then saw that Stephen King had dubbed Final Girls “the first great thriller of 2017,” my entire perspective changed. I mean, seriously, when Stephen King says I should read a book. I’m darn well going to read the book.  And let me tell you, that man knows a great thriller when he reads one.  It took me a few pages to really get into Final Girls and connect with the main character, but once I did, I literally could NOT put this book down until I reached the end.

Final Girls is a psychological thriller that follows Quincy Carpenter, a young woman who is known as a ‘Final Girl.’  A ‘Final Girl’ is a young woman that is the sole survivor of a mass killing.  Sounds like something out of a horror movie, right? Well, it basically is.

Ten years ago, Quincy and five friends went to Pine Cottage, cabin in the woods, to celebrate her best friend, Janelle’s, birthday.  Instead of the weekend of fun they had planned, however, their time at Pine Cottage quickly turns into the stuff nightmares are made of as all of Quincy’s friends are brutally murdered.  Quincy remembers little or nothing of what happened the night of the attack; all she knows is that she was being chased through the woods, while drenched in blood, and thankfully was found by a police officer, who killed the man who was chasing her.

Although Quincy is the primary focus of this novel, she is actually one of three ‘Final Girls’ who have a presence in the story.  There’s also Lisa, who was the sole survivor of an attack on her sorority house that left nine sisters dead, and there’s Samantha, who survived a late night, massacre-style attack at the motel where she was working.  Dogged by the press and a cult-like following, as well as haunted by survivor’s guilt (Why did they survive when no one else did?), all these three women really want is to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on.

When we meet Quincy, she appears, with the help of a Xanax prescription, to have mostly moved past this traumatic incident in her life and now has a successful baking blog and a devoted live-in boyfriend named Jeff.  She has also maintained a somewhat friendly relationship with Coop, the officer who rescued her that fateful night.

Quincy’s life is turned upside down once again, however, when she learns that Lisa, one of the other two Final Girls, has apparently taken her own life.  Quincy had occasionally been in contact with Lisa because of their shared bond as survivors of such terrible attacks, and so she really can’t believe that after all she went through to survive, that Lisa would then commit suicide.  And then when the third Final Girl, Samantha, suddenly shows up on her doorstep, even though she had dropped off the grid and disappeared years ago, Quincy’s life is yet again rattled especially because Samantha seems intent on forcing Quincy to confront and relive that night at Pine Cottage.  The more Samantha pushes, the more Quincy questions what her real motives are for seeking her out after all these years. And then when new information comes to light about Lisa’s death, all bets are off.  Quincy has no idea who she can trust, who she can turn to, and especially no idea if she can handle possibly remembering the details of what really happened the night her friends were murdered.

And believe it or not, all of that barely even scratches the surface in terms of what happens on this wild ride!

LIKES

Flawed and Complicated Characters.  Just by virtue of what they have been through, both Quincy and Samantha are flawed characters.  Sager does a fantastic job of fleshing them out, adding more and more layers to each character the further we move into the story.  I was especially fascinated to watch Quincy’s seemingly together life practically crumble around her the more Samantha kept trying to push her out of her comfort zone and confront her past.  Even though Quincy seems to have her act together, it becomes clear pretty quickly that it was more of a façade than anything else and that without that healthy daily dose of Xanax, she would be a real mess.

Samantha is such an enigmatic character.  It’s impossible to tell what’s going on with her, what her motivations are for seeking out Quincy after all this time, and what her end game is. She’s also very evasive about where she has been for all these years – “here and there” and what she has been doing – “this and that.”  It becomes a little unnerving that she won’t offer up any real information about herself, especially when she’s pushing Quincy like she is.

Endless Twists and Turns.  Final Girls is one of those wonderfully well-crafted thrill rides that constantly keeps the reader guessing about where the story is going and who the bad guy really is.  Every single time I thought I had things all figured out, I ended up being dead wrong.  Sager is an incredible story teller and takes you on a journey that is full of suspense and twists and turns, and never once, even remotely predictable.

Past vs. Present.  Sager has structured the story so that most of what we see comes from Quincy’s perspective.  The chapters basically alternate between Quincy’s present day life and what happened when she and her friends went to Pine Cottage.  So while we’re following Quincy’s day-to-day life in the present – how she’s coping, especially in light of the new interest in “Final Girls” following Lisa’s death, etc., we’re also being fed bits and pieces about what happened at Pine Cottage.  It added so much suspense to have both stories, – the past and the present – unfold this way. I thought it was very effective storytelling.

The Ending.  All I’m going to say here is OMG, I never saw it coming. Wow.

DISLIKES

This is so random and nitpicky, but the constant mentioning of the grape soda drove me a little crazy as I was reading.  I have no idea why it bothered me so much, but by about the halfway point, I just kept thinking “No More Grape Soda!”  This is obviously a quirk with me and I’m sure thousands of other readers will have absolutely no issue with the soda, haha!

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you’re looking for a well written thriller with a unique and unpredictable storyline, this is your book.  And if you don’t believe me, you can believe Stephen King since he is the master when it comes to thrillers.

 

RATING:  4.5 STARS

Thanks so much to Netgalley, Riley Sager, and Dutton Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  This in no way shapes my opinion of the book.

four-half-stars

About Riley Sager

Riley Sager is the award-winning pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer who previously published mysteries under his real name.

Now a full-time author, Riley’s first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called “the first great thriller of 2017” by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries and a film version is being developed by Universal Pictures.

Riley’s second book, THE LAST TIME I LIED, was published in 2018 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. It was inspired by the classic novel and film “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and one horrible week Riley spent at summer camp when he was ten. A television adaptation is being developed by Amazon Studios.

His next book, LOCK EVERY DOOR, inspired by a lifelong fascination with the grand apartment buildings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, will be published in July.

A native of Pennsylvania, Riley now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he’s not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is “Rear Window.” Or maybe “Jaws.” But probably, if he’s being honest, “Mary Poppins.”