I have recently been on a reading binge (especially with thrillers), and here are reviews of two thrillers I read. I am familiar with the writing styles of Shari Lapena and Paula Hawkins and pretty much know what to expect from their books.
The end of her
Shari Lapena
A slow fire burning
Paula Hawkins
The end of her
When a woman from Patrick’s past drops in on them unexpectedly, raising questions about his late first wife, Stephanie supports her husband wholeheartedly. She knew the car accident all those many years ago was just that–an accident. But Erica is persistent, and now she’s threatening to go to the police.
The end of her is fast-paced and thrilling. I read it over the space of a night. It is also very forgettable, though.
When I look back at the notes I took, there’s not much to say about the book – the reason why I have clubbed both these book reviews into one post.
I can say that it was suitably twisty; I loved the over-the-top style of the femme fatale – Erica. She makes a fabulous vamp (not giving away anything here, it’s pretty clear from the beginning of the book) and makes an average book more intriguing.
One of those better-quality airport reads.
A slow fire burning
When a young man is found gruesomely murdered in a London houseboat, it triggers questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt, already mourning the recent death of yet another family member, and Miriam is the woman with a mysterious past who finds his dead body.
This book wasn’t bad, but it does not fulfill the promise that the author Paula Hawkins showed with The Girl on the Train. Her books after that have been somewhat underwhelming, and A slow fire burning was eventually just a bit too slow for me. The fire also was a damp squib, and there was hardly any tension or suspense.
I also found the book confusing. There was too much going on (most of which just felt like filler). Hawkins knows how to write unreliable young female characters, but I think she went too far here. I ended up being quite confused, unable to root for anybody, and eventually didn’t care about the murder.
Overall, I give it four ratings because there wasn’t anything technically wrong with the book, but it didn’t fit my mood or meet the high expectations I had from it.
