The One That Got Away by Annabel Kantaria

Book Review

"I'm a damaged woman who has knowledge and power."

The One That Got Away was released in the UK on 21st September 2017. It is written by Annabel Kantaria and published by HQ.

I've been in a bit of a thriller slump recently; reading a lot of mysteries that are only OK. Unfortunately, The One That Got Away falls into this category.  A lot of people have been saying how clever it is, and the concept is I suppose, if a little cliche now, but I don't think it stands out amongst other 'clever' thrillers, like The Girl Before and Gone Girl, though it is clearly trying to follow in those footsteps.

November 2017 Favourite Books

Sorry for the long delay between posts, I've had a hell of a couple of weeks with everything happening at once but the main thing was that my cat had his pelvis shattered by a car. Long, stressful week but he is finally pinned together and home, but I haven't been able to get much work done.

Now he's recovering normal life can sort of resume again, although he does have to be on crate rest for six weeks and is already desperate to come out!

Anyway, onto books.

I read some real stand out books in November. They're all a bit dark this month, maybe something to do with the time of year, and they're mostly concerned with murder and mystery.

10 Great Gatsby Tattoos - Literary Ink Series

I haven't done one of these in a while. This was a fun one to research, it turns out that a lot of people have Great Gatsby tattoos and there are some really amazing ones out there, in fact I might have to do a second post at some point because there were so many that I couldn't include.

I noticed that there are a lot of takes on a few main elements of F. Scott Fitzgerald's book; the green light, the cover and various famous quotes, so I've tried to pick one of each and then search for a few more rare tattoos too.

Also, FYI, you may have noticed that my posts have slowed down a bit; I'm pretty busy at the moment with my own writing and working my part time job which is getting busier over Christmas. Posts will probably be one a week now as opposed to twice a week. I'll try and get my act back together again in January.

Anyway, on to the tattoos.

Copycat by Alex Lake

Book Review

"In untangling the web, she had merely become trapped in it."

Copycat was released in the UK on 7th September 2017. It is written by Alex Lane and published by HarperCollins.

While the premise for Copycat wasn't particularly original, I did like the sound of this book. Unfortunately it just doesn't deliver. The writing is over laboured, repetitive and littered with cliches. The pacing throughout the entire story is off, dwelling too much on smaller incidents and skimming over the important bits. There were also leads and characters that were never followed up on, something which always frustrates me.

The Betrayals by Fiona Neill

Book Review

"The past is a vanished shadow."

The Betrayals was released on 10th August 2017. It is written by Fiona Neill and published by Michael Joseph.

After a very promising start The Betrayals fizzled out in the second half. However, it's an interesting exploration of memory and how different people recall traumatic experiences and the consequences.

The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd

Book Review

"She felt suddenly very alone, as though the person she married had never existed and she had woken up to a life she didn't recognise, in the middle of a story she didn't understand."

The Innocent Wife is out now in eBook format and will be released in hardback on December 28th 2017. It is written by Amy Lloyd and published by Century.

This is quite a timely book, considering the popularity of Making a Murderer. And the plot involves a similar premise, with a documentary crew making a film about Dennis Danson being convicted of murder at 18 on very little evidence. This really attracted my attention; I'm always a  bit fascinated by these did he/didn't he crimes. I'm also fascinated by the men and women who write to criminals on death row and end up dedicating their life to them. So The Innocent Wife felt like a sure hit with me. But, while I did enjoy it, I thought it lost momentum in the middle and didn't delve as deep as I wanted it to.

September and October Favourite Books

I've got a double bill of monthly favourites in this post as I was away when I'd usually post my September Favourites and was too lazy to schedule it. So, this will be quite a long post with a lot of books in it but I'll try and keep the descriptions succinct and not ramble as much as I usually do.

Also, most of the books were either ebooks or library books which have since been returned so there's not much of a photo.