Tag: Satire

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Audio Books book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BOOK REVIEW: Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

Published February 13th, 2025 by Fourth Estate
Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror Fiction, Suspense, Dark Comedy, Satire

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess. She’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But the longer Winifred spends within the estate’s dreary confines and the more she learns of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family, the more trouble she has sticking to her plan.

Whether creeping across the moonlit lawns in her undergarments or gently tormenting the house staff, Winifred struggles at every turn to stifle the horrid compulsions of her past until her chillingly dark imagination breaches the feeble boundary of reality on Christmas morning. Wielding her signature sardonic wit and a penchant for the gorgeously macabre, Virginia Feito returns with a vengeance in Victorian Psycho.

NOW BEING ADAPTED FOR A MAJOR FILM BY A24

buy the book

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MY REVIEW:

Delightfully dark, psychotic, twisted and haunting, Victorian Psycho is a wonderfully unhinged slice of victoriana that was the perfect read for a dull autumn day. 

When the Pound family welcome their new governess to Enscor House, they have no idea what they are letting themselves in for. On the outside Winifred Nottey is the perfect Victorian governess: polite and dutifully tutors and cares for her charges. But on the inside Winifred is deranged, dark and hell-bent on revenge. And she has a plan for Christmas day that isn’t quite the jolly and merry celebration the Pounds are expecting…

From the moment I read this book’s synopsis I knew I’d love it. And as soon as I read the unnerving opening lines I was transfixed. This is Sweetpea in a corset and I loved every absurd moment  of rage, revenge, dark humour, brutal murder, a high body count, and perfect Victorian politeness. The writing is sinister and witty, the imagery evocative, and chapters short and punchy with hilarious titles. It was my first time reading a book by Virginia Feito and it won’t be my last. I laughed out loud at Winifred’s exploits, got chills as she haunted the halls by candlelight and cheered her on at every step. And that macabre finale? *chef’s kiss*

Winifred is a brilliant anti-hero. I don’t know what it says about me that I love twisted, psychotic anti-heroines so much, but I do, and Winifred has now joined ranks with Rhiannon Lewis (Sweetpea) and Kitty Collins (How To Kill Men and Get Away With It) as one of my favourite anti-heroes in literature. She’s wonderfully disturbed, witty, sharp, scathing, and I loved how she would say and do the most outrageous thing with a smile on her face. She’s also very self-aware and has an uncanny way of perfectly psycho-analysising everyone she meets, including herself. But aside from her wit, I think what I loved most about her was how she was totally remorseless and clearly enjoyed every minute of her long-planned vengeance.

The other characters are all equally well written and compelling and mostly what you’d expect in Victorian society. Although, the Pounds’ daughter, Drucilla, still had some sass that her parents were trying to curtail and force her into submission. But back to the adults, it was the stereotypical smug Victorian men who made me understand Winifred’s murderous rage. These were men who think women are unintelligent, should obey them, and be seen and not heard. Talk about an advertisement for feminism. 

Chillingly atmospheric, menacing, wicked and witty, Victorian Psycho is the perfect read for spooky season. I can’t wait for the upcoming adaptation so I can enjoy Winifred’s story all over again.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A native of Spain, Virginia Feito was raised in Madrid and Paris, and studied English and drama at Queen Mary University of London. She lives in Madrid, where she writes her fiction in English.

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

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Audio Books book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BOOK REVIEW: I Bet You’d Look Good in a Coffin (Kitty Collins Book 2) by Katy Brent

Published January 30th, 2025 by HQ
Thriller, Dark Comedy, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Satire, Contemporary Romance, Humorous Fiction

Welcome to my bookish thoughts on this darkly funny and deadly thriller. Thanks to HQ for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Your favourite anti-heroine, Kitty Collins, is back! Expect more wit, sass, and, of course, murder…

‘I was rooting for Kitty even as she killed more men (oops!). Funny and twisty in the best of ways’ Tasha Coryell

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My name is Kitty Collins and I’m a serial killer.

I don’t want to kill. It’s just so hard to resist. Some men really, really deserve it.

Men like Blaze Bundy, an anonymous influencer spreading misogyny online. He’s making it very hard for me to control my murderous urges.

Meanwhile I’m in the South of France to watch my mother marry a man I’ve never met. I should be drinking cocktails and focusing on my tan, not plotting a murder.

But a woman’s work is never done. Surely one more teensy little kill wouldn’t hurt, would it?

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MY REVIEW:

“But it’s never enough, is it. As long as men exist, I’m going to have to be out there protecting women.”

Kitty Collins is back! I loved Katy Brent’s wickedly funny debut How To Kill Men and Get Away With It, and I was thrilled to see that Kitty was back. Deliciously dark, devious and deadly, I Bet You’d Look Good in a Coffin is every bit as good as its predecessor. I listened to this on audiobook and couldn’t turn it off once I’d started, devouring it in just a few hours. 

Picking up after the events of the first book, we meet a very different Kitty at the start of the book. Life is good. She’s happily loved up with her boyfriend, Charlie, and has sworn off killing. But she misses it. And – let’s face it – there are some men who just make it so hard not to murder them. One such man is Blaze Bundy, the anonymous and misogynistic influencer spreading his hate online and seeming to taunt Kitty in his posts. Can she keep her murderous urges under control? Or will she go back to doing what she knows best?

I have loved Kitty since the moment I met her in book one. Snarky, sassy, feisty and warped, she’s easy to root for and it is fun to live vicariously through her as she carries out her murderous missions. And while some of that is initially tamed this time around, it’s soon apparent Kitty isn’t enjoying murder sobriety and she’s still the same woman with a thirst for revenge underneath. Katy Brent skillfully portrays Kitty’s inner torment as she fights the urge to kill predatory men. I think all of us can relate to that battle inside as we try to resist the urge that is bad for us. Even if in my case it’s chocolate rather than murder. I also enjoyed seeing more of Kitty’s strained relationship with her mother. It humanised her and gave us greater insight into what makes her tick, especially as their estrangement is all wrapped up in Kitty’s deadly hobby. 

Darkly funny, outrageous, moving and addictive, Brent has once again crafted an unflinching commentary on misogyny, male violence against women and female rage that will have you hooked from start to finish. Perfect for fans of Sweetpea that are looking for a new female serial killer to stan, pick this up now! 

I just hope that this isn’t Kitty’s last outing. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

*I listened to this on Bookbeat. Click here to listen for 2 months for free*

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Katy is an author and award-winning journalist from the UK. She has worked on newspapers, magazines and websites since 2005, writing about popular culture. How To Kill Men and Get Away With It (HQ, 2022) is her first novel.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Bookshop.org* | Watertones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

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book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Squadpod Squadpod Reviews

SQUADPOD REVIEWS: The Murder After The Night Before by Katy Brent

Published February 1st, 2024 by HQ
Mystery, Dark Comedy, Satire, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Adventure Ficiton

Today I’m sharing my review for the fierce and funny The Murder After The Night Before, which is one of the Squadpods Featured Books in February. Thank you HQ for my gifted copy of the book.

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SYNOPSIS:

From the author of How to Kill Men and Get Away With It, don’t miss this wickedly witty and utterly addictive novel, perfect for fans of Bella Mackie, Dawn O’Porter and Killing Eve.

Something bad happened last night.

I’ve woken up with the hangover from hell, a stranger in my bed, and I’ve gone viral for the worst reasons.

But I can’t remember a thing…

My best friend Posey is dead. The police think it was a tragic accident. I know she was murdered.

There’s only one thing stopping me from dying of shame. I need to find a killer.

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MY REVIEW:

Molly wakes up with the hangover from hell, no memories of the night before, a stranger in her bed, and has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. And it only gets worse when her best mate and flatmate Posey is found dead. The police write it off as a tragic accident, but Molly is sure Posey was murdered and sets out to find proof. The problem is, she still can’t remember what happened the night before.

This book was quite the ride! As a fan of dark comedy thrillers such as Sweetpea and  Over My Dead Body I knew I was going to love this one. But what I didn’t expect was to devour it so quickly, how timely it would be, or how Katy Brent would leave my jaw on the floor with her unexpected twists. Opening with Molly waking up after the night she can’t remember, it jumps straight into the action and never lets go, taking the reader along for the ride beside Molly as she tries to piece together what happened the night before and who killed her best friend. It feels claustrophobic, like the walls are closing in on Molly and her world keeps shrinking as she’s increasingly alone and scared to leave the house, and there’s a climate of distrust and suspicion lingers over every page as Molly tries to figure out who she can trust. 

Brent explores some sensitive and timely topics in the book, using black humour throughout to lighten the mood. This is a story that will make you feel every emotion: heartache, rage, fear, joy, laughter. But it is never heavy or bleak and instead makes you feel the many emotions those topics should make you feel. These topics are explored alongside the mystery of Posey’s death, something that I think helps alleviate some of the weightiness of the topics. I liked that Brent included excerpts of some of the tweets surrounding both Molly’s viral incident and Posey’s death at the beginning of each chapter as it felt like I was reading a true story rather than fiction. I was completely invested in both storylines and read on tenterhooks as I tried to figure out what had really happened. 

Molly is a fantastic protagonist. She’s feisty, chaotic, volatile, sloppy and destructive. Quite frankly, this girl is a hot mess. But behind her brittle and spiky veneer is a damaged, fearful young woman who is all alone and I wanted to hug her and tell her it would be ok. She is also the epitome of an unreliable narrator as she can’t even trust her own memories, something that made her even more likeable to me as you know she’s not deliberately being duplicitous. I loved this character and was rooting for her at every step. 

Fast-paced, fierce, darkly funny, and unflinching, this addictive thriller is a must-read. Just make sure you clear your schedule before you start. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Katy is an author and award-winning journalist from the UK. She has worked on newspapers, magazines and websites since 2005, writing about popular culture. How To Kill Men and Get Away With It is her first novel.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxx

*These links are affiliate links

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Audio Books Beat the Backlist book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

Published July 22nd, 2021 by The Borough Press
Thriller, Supsense, Dark Comedy, Satire

Welcome to my review of the delciously dark How To Kill You Family. This is my first audiobook and backlist book of 2024. Thank you to The Borough Press for the copy of the book.

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SYNOPSIS:
THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘I loved this book’ RICHARD OSMAN

‘An antiheroine able to best villainous male protagonists such as Patrick Bateman any day’ OBSERVER

‘Chilling, but also laugh-out-loud funny. Another corker’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

They say you can’t choose your family. But you can kill them.

Meet Grace Bernard.
Daughter, sister, serial killer…
Grace has lost everything.
And she will stop at nothing to get revenge.

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MY REVIEW:

“I have killed several people, some brutally, others calmly, and yet I currently languish in jail for a crime I did not commit…”

Grace Bernard is currently in prison for a notorious crime that she didn’t commit. Ironically, her real crimes are unknown and Grace is actually a serial killer who has calmly and meticulously murdered six members of her family and will stop at nothing in her quest for revenge.

A deliciously dark and deadly debut, How To Kill Your Family is a gripping story of familial dysfunction, vengeance and murder. After it languished on my shelves for far too long I decided to listen to it as my first audiobook of the year. And I’m so glad I did. Bella Mackie has created a story dripping with jet-black humour and a compelling anti-hero you won’t forget. It was one of those great audiobooks that are easy to listen to because both the story and narration are so good and I got completely lost in this story. I thought I knew where it was headed and listened safe in that knowledge. But I was completely wrong and was left reeling with my jaw on the floor. Also, how could she end it there?! So cruel. 

Mackie takes us deep inside Grace’s mind, allowing us to understand her behaviours even if we don’t agree with them. She’s a fantastic anti-hero: flawed, unforgiving, bitter, emotionally detached, unpredictable, calculated and untroubled by guilt or remorse yet she has a charm and magnetism that makes you root for her. It’s easy to understand why she’d want revenge on those who destroyed her life and I think we’ve all fleetingly considered how to get revenge on those who’ve hurt or betrayed us. But while we’d move on Grace doesn’t and methodically plans and carries out her complex plans, taking her time to avoid being caught instead of acting rashly and making mistakes. She’s consumed by her obsession and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever truly feel satisfied even after her plans were complete. 

Witty, entertaining and addictive, How To Kill Your Family is a brilliant satirical debut that I highly recommend. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Bella Mackie is a former journalist who previously worked for The Guardian and Vice News. She writes a twice monthly Vogue column. Her first book, Jog On, was a memoir about mental health and running. It was a number two bestseller (just underneath Michelle Obama, which is a hallowed spot).

Since then she’s written an accompanying journal to encourage others to try exercise more for their minds than their bodies. Bella’s first foray into fiction, How To Kill Your Family, came out in July 2021 and ended up in the number one bestseller spot. Bella lives in London and spends a lot of time wrangling her large stupid dog.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx

*These links are affiliate links

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Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: Upstairs at the Beresford by Will Carver

Published November 9th, 2023 by Orenda
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Horror Fiction, Horror Parody, Satire

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this deliciously diabolical thriller. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Orenda for the proof copy.

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SYNOPSIS:

Hotel Beresford: a grand old building, just outside the city, where any soul is welcome, and strange goings-on mask explosive, deadly secrets. A chilling, darkly funny sequel to Will Carver’s bestselling The Beresford…
 
There are worse places than hell…
 
Hotel Beresford is a grand, old building, just outside the city. And any soul is welcome. 
 
Danielle Ortega works nights, singing at whatever dive bar will offer her a gig. She gets by, keeping to herself. Sam Walker gambles and drinks, and can’t keep his hands to himself. Now he’s tied up in a shoe closet with a dent in his head that matches Danielle’s broken ashtray. 
 
The man in 731 has been dead for two days and his dog has not stopped barking. Two doors down, the couple who always smokes on the window ledge will mysteriously fall.
 
Upstairs, in the penthouse, Mr Balliol sees it all. He can peer into every crevice of every floor of the hotel from his screen-filled suite. He witnesses humanity and inhumanity in all its forms: loneliness, passion and desperation in equal measure. All the ingredients he needs to make a deal. 
 
When Danielle returns home one night to find Sam gone, a series of sinister events begins to unfold. But strange things often occur at Hotel Beresford, and many are only a distraction to hide something much, much darker…

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MY REVIEW:

“But this is Hotel Beresford. 
It lives, it breathes, it gets to know the people inside.
It knows what has to be done.”

Hotel Beresford is a strange place. Anyone is welcome at the grand building just outside the city, but not everyone can leave. There are many rumours that surround The Beresford, but the truth is more ominous than anyone would imagine. And it is all  observed by Mr. Balliol, the mysterious resident of the Penthouse suite. And we watch with him, seeing snapshots from the lives of some of the staff and residents of the hotel, witnessing the best and worst of humanity as Balliol searches for the souls that offer him the perfect opportunity to make a deadly deal.

He’s done it again. A standing ovation to Will Carver for crafting another deliciously diabolical tale that is impossible to resist. Carver is a genius and he just gets better with every book. He is a master storyteller and dark dream-weaver, making the fabric of reality shift and crack around you as he merges the everyday with the sinister and unexplained to create a world straight out of our nightmares. And he knows exactly how to pull the reader into that world and make them lose themselves there. His writing is sharp, searing, smooth and seductive, striking a resonant chord as he weaves social commentary and complex social issues into this creative and thought-provoking twist on the well-known good vs evil trope. It made me laugh out loud one moment, seethe the next, and kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. 

“There are still rumours about the place. Bundy hid out here for a few days, once, while evading the cops. There’s a tunnel underneath where Kennedy or The Beatles could sneak in through the back. Urban legends that lend an air of mystique to Hotel Beresford. 
But now reality is superseding the myth.”

The second in Carver’s The Beresford Trilogy, Upstairs at the Beresford is edgy, original, unsettling and addictive; a macabre conundrum you are powerless to resist, much like those who signed away their souls to Balliol. It starts out strong, diving head-first into the action from the first page and never lets up, forcing you to just hold on and enjoy the bumpy ride. The hotel is a cesspit of people who are merely existing rather than living and there’s dark secrets, peculiar happenings, nefarious characters, inhumanity and far more death than is normal for any hotel. The desperation, danger, duplicity and dysfunction oozes from every crevice, the lives of those inside becoming one with the building itself. And this is not a building like any other. Beresford is alive. It seems to breathe and feast on the souls of those that cross its threshold, either keeping them for itself or changing them forever and unexplainable occurrences are par for the course for its staff. I loved how it was so creepy, unpredictable, absurd and yet also totally plausible. 

There is a compelling mix of characters in this book that range from the relatable, recognisable, lovable and quirky to the deplorable, menacing and vile. They all have their moments where they shine, but there were a few who I particularly enjoyed reading. Young Odie first comes to mind with his love of books and sweet nature. He was far too good for The Beresford and it was impossible not to love and root for him. I also liked Carol, the widowed hotel manager, and Mrs. May, who I enjoyed learning more about after enjoying her character in the last book. The biggest villain for me was without a doubt Danny. That man gave me the ick and I was rooting for him to get his dues. 

Outstanding, alluring, inventive and devilish, Upstairs at the Beresford is a must-read. And while you’re at it, go and read Carver’s backlist too. I promise you won’t regret it. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series and the critically acclaimed, mind-blowingly original Detective Pace series that includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were ebook bestsellers and selected as books of the year in the mainstream international press. Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for both the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2020 and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for Guardian‘s Not the Booker Prize. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his children.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Orenda Books | Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the tour.

*These purchase links are affiliate links

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Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: She’s A Killer by Kristen McDougall

Published October 5th, 2023 by Gallic Books
Thriller, Dark Comedy, Satire, Humorous Fiction

Happy Publication Day to She’s A Killer and my stop on the blog tour for this deliciously dark debut. Thank you to Gallic Books for the invitation to take part and my copy of the book.

Keep an eye on my Instagram account for a giveaway next week…

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SYNOPSIS:

‘Smart, assured, and extremely funny’ Eleanor Catton

‘A fabulously dark pleasure, delivered in prose of singing tautness’ Luke Jennings

Eleanor Oliphant meets Killing Eve in this darkly funny and gloriously unhinged New Zealand sensation, longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2023.

ALICE: 30-something, IQ of 159 (almost a genius), only communicates with her mother in Morse code. Her imaginary friend is back.

ERIKA: 15, daughter of hot ‘wealthugee’ who loves Russian literature, genuine genius, killer eyeliner and killer instincts.

The climate is in crisis and wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. But Alice has far more important things to worry about: hating her best friend’s husband, getting free wine and quiet-quitting her dull day job. Until she meets Erika.

Now, Alice is about to find herself drawn into action of the most radical – and dangerous – kind. Just what is a slacker to do?

Bold and brilliantly bizarre, She’s a Killer is the satirical dystopian cli-fi thriller you never knew you needed. Until now.

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MY REVIEW:

“I’m a fan of unhappy endings. They’re more honest.”

A snarky genius, mother issues, murderous rage, feminism and the end of the world. Put them all together and you’ve got the recipe for She’s A Killer. Satirical, bizarre, unexpected and macabre, this deliciously dark debut is dripping with black humour from start to finish.

30-something Alice has an IQ of 159 but is stuck in a dead-end job, struggling to make ends meet, and only communicates with her mother through morse code. Though she’s almost a genius, Alice has always struggled to empathise with others, isn’t interested in friends or relationships, and is totally unbothered about things that seem to worry others such as climate change and the wealthy immigrants flooding into New Zealand. She’s more worried about why her imaginary friend has come back. 
But when Alice meets fifteen-year-old Erika – the daughter of a hot ‘wealthugee’ she has a thing for – everything changes and she soon finds herself caught up in extreme actions that could have devastating consequences…

Well, this book was quite the trip! As soon as I read the tagline describing it as ‘Eleanor Oliphant meets Killing Eve’ I knew I had to read it. From the opening pages it was clear this wasn’t going to be like anything else I’ve read, but I was sure I had an idea where it was going. I was wrong. This book turned me upside down, twisted me round, and then shook me up for good measure. It was an unpredictable thrill-ride of crazy twists and turns I never saw coming. Kristen McDougall is a new author to watch. Her writing is witty and sharp, engaging the reader with her characters whilst also heightening the tension and keeping them guessing. And while it’s entertaining, the story also feels timely and urgent; like a warning or a call to arms. It’s quite the show. And McDougall pulls it off with finesse. 

Vexatious, snarky, intelligent, and darkly funny, Alice is the sort of unlikeable protagonist I love. She’s a bitch to everyone, including her imaginary best friend, and I got totally sucked into her world. After all, who doesn’t enjoy watching a ‘bad girl’ do or say  things that you’d never dream of doing. I’m fascinated by people who are highly intelligent yet have little common sense or understanding of others, and that certainly applied to Alice. She thought she was superior because of her intellect but she missed so much because she was all IQ and no EQ. Her conversations with Simp, her imaginary best friend, had me laughing out loud and I’d sometimes forget it was herself she was talking to. The secondary characters were all fun to read but it was Erika who stole that show and really challenged Alice. She is bright, fierce, self-assured, and quite frankly, intimidating. I loved the banter between her and Alice, especially as they had totally different values, outlooks and goals that often caused them to clash. You could tell that Alice isn’t used to being around people who are more intelligent than she is and it was quite funny to watch her be so unnerved by this unusual teenage girl. 

Quirky, original, thought-provoking and gloriously unhinged, She’s A Killer is a debut that will make you laugh while your heart is also pounding with tension. Highly recommended. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Kristen McDougall is a novelist, short story writer and creative writing lecturer. Her 2017 novel Tess was longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards and shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award. She’s a Killer was longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards 2022. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the tour.

*These links are affiliate links

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: You’d Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace

Published September 21st, 2023 by Viper Books
Thriller, Mystery, Dark Comedy, Ghost Story, Satire

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this darkly funny debut. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part, and to Viper Books for the finished copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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SYNOPSIS:

‘Refreshingly original and laugh-out-loud funny’ – CLARE MACKINTOSH
‘Delightfully shocking and irreverently funny’ – JANICE HALLETT

I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die.
Of course, it helps that I’m the one killing them.

The night after her father’s funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn’t know it, but it’s not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But even before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby.

The thing is, it’s not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Claire will do anything to keep her secret hidden – not to mention the bodies buried in her garden. Let the games begin…

Dexter meets Killing Eve in this superb thriller, perfect for fans of How To Kill Your Family and My Sister, the Serial Killer.

‘I doubt I’ll read a more original thriller this year’ – JACK JORDAN
‘If Bret Easton Ellis ever went to grief counselling, this would be just the kind of brilliant book he’d write’ – PHILIPPA EAST

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MY REVIEW:

“I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die.
Of course, it helps that I’m the one killing them.”

Have you ever heard a better tagline? I don’t think I have. And that title is probably my favourite of all time. Whoever came up with it deserves a raise as even without reading the synopsis I was desperate to read it. Add the striking purple and red cover, sinister tagline, and a hammer-wielding murderess, and I was all in. But be warned; this isn’t for the faint of heart. 

I’ve been in a very murdery mood lately, and this darkly funny, deliciously unhinged, and devilishly addictive debut was just what I was craving. Joanna Wallace’s storytelling is scalpel-sharp, funny, and compelling, and the plot is mysterious, vengeful and macabre. It’s my idea of book heaven and I couldn’t get enough of Claire’s deadly deeds. I haven’t loved a serial killer so much since Rhiannon and the Sweetpea series and never wanted the book to end.

“… I smile, enjoying my favourite part of the process. The part when I know they’re going to die soon. The part when I can anticipate every moment of their deaths. The part when I already see them as ghosts.”

I love an anti-hero, and with her murderous rage, bloody hammer, and body parts hidden in her garden, Claire certainly fits that bill. She’s feisty, sassy, sarcastic, witty, intelligent, doesn’t take anyone’s crap, and I loved her. Murder is her coping mechanism. Her way of chasing away the pain and finding peace among the chaos. And she’s totally blase about it. Unapologetically herself as she revels in being a predator and feeding on the fear of her victims as she slowly tortures and kills them. Wallace has written her brilliantly, refusing to create a caricature of a killer, instead writing a morally complex, nuanced and deeply human character you won’t be able to forget. The flashbacks are a vital part of this as they give us a glimpse into how she became the killer she is today. We learn that her father was her only real parent and that her mother should never have had children. I loathed that woman and really wanted to slap her! Another aspect I liked was the humanity we see in her grief after her father’s death. After all, we expect serial killers to be emotionless psychopaths not struggling to focus and attending bereavement groups.

Dark, chilling, gruesome, and laugh-out-loud funny, You’d Look Better As A Ghost is easily one of my favourite books of the year. Perfect for fans of books such as Sweetpea, My Lovely Wife, and Death of a Bookseller, this is an absolute must read. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Joanna Wallace worked as a solicitor until an autoimmune condition took away some of her sight. She now volunteers at a charity helpline and runs a family business with her husband. She was partly inspired to write You’d Look Better as A Ghost following her father’s diagnosis of early onset dementia. Joanna lives near London with her husband, four children and two dogs.

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx

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book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2023 Support Debuts Tandem Readalong

REVIEW: No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby

Published: Mach 2nd, 2023
Publisher: Aria
Genre: Satire, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Romance Novel
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook

Welcome to my review for No Life For A Lady. Thank you to the Tandem Collective for my place on the VIP readalong and Head of Zeus for the gifted proof.

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SYNOPSIS:

The most joyful book of 2023!

Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in 1896, can make things a little complicated…

At 28, Violet’s father is beginning to worry she will never find a husband. But every suitor he presents, Violet finds a new and inventive means of rebuffing.

Because Violet does not want to marry. She wants to work, and make her own way in the world. But more than anything, she wants to find her mother Lily, who disappeared from Hastings Pier 10 years earlier.

Finding the missing is no job for a lady, but when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off a chain of events that will put more than just her reputation at risk.

Can Violet solve the mystery of Lily Hamilton’s vanishing before it’s too late?

A delightfully quirky and clever book club read, perfect for fans of Dear Mrs Bird, The Maid and Lessons in Chemistry.

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MY REVIEW:

“Detective work is no life for a lady.”

A joyous romp with lashings of humour, No Life For A Lady is an original and uplifting debut. It follows Violet, a delightful new heroine who I absolutely adored. She isn’t your typical Victorian woman, going against social conventions by not wanting to get married and pursuing a career instead. But more than anything else, what Violet wants is to find her mother, Lily, who vanished 10 years ago. But there is no such thing as a lady detective, so Violet hires a professional to help, sparking a chain of events that risk not only Violet’s reputation, but unearths shocking secrets that some people will do anything to keep hidden. 

I’m a big fan of historical fiction, mysteries and uplift, so this was the perfect mix of genres for me. It was an absolute joy to read and I couldn’t get enough of Violet and her antics. The mystery unravels slowly, with some twists and surprises along the way, but what I particularly liked was that this is also the story of Violet’s journey of self-discovery, author Hannah Dolby weaving the two storylines together so they are inextricably linked. I loved how Dolby injected so much heart, humour and joy into the book, making a story that could have been very dark into one that radiates fun and hopefulness. 

Violet is a great protagonist. Inquisitive, tenacious and full of charisma, she was easy to like and root for, though I would sometimes cringe at her naivete that is a product of both her sheltered upbringing and the times they lived in. Violet lives in a time where autonomy for women is still an alien concept and there strict moral and societal codes she is expected to adhere to. But Violet rails against this, wanting to make her own way in life and pursue a career, rather than making marriage her priority and only goal in life. At 28 she is deemed pretty much over the hill and the idea she might not actually want a husband is unthinkable to most. She is a new favourite heroine of mine and I can’t imagine anyone not loving her. 

Funny, quirky and addictive, this marvellous debut is one you all need on your TBR. I’m hoping Ms. Dolby will turn this into a series so I can return to Violet and her antics again and again. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Hannah’s first job was in the circus and she has aimed to keep life as interesting since. She trained as a journalist in Hastings and has worked in PR for many years, promoting museums, galleries, palaces, gardens and even Dolly the sheep.

She completed the Curtis Brown selective three-month novel writing course, and she won runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print Awards for this novel with the price of a place on an MA in Comedy Writing at the University of Falmouth. She lives in London and her debut novel, No Life for a Lady, will be published in Spring 2023.

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxx

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Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: So Happy For You by Celia Laskey

Published: August 4th, 2022
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Mystery, Literary Fiction, Lesbian Literature, Satire
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this hilarious, addictive and outrageous novel. Thank you to HQ for the invitation to take part and the gifted hardback.

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SYNOPSIS:

Bridesmaids meets Black Mirror in the most twisted and entertaining thriller of 2022.

Robin and Ellie have been best friends since childhood. They’ve been through everything together, from Robin coming out to the death of Ellie’s dad. But when Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honour, Robin is reluctant.

It’s not that Robin isn’t happy for Ellie, she just hates everything about weddings and marriage – plus the guy Ellie’s engaged to. There’s also the matter of the crazy (not to mention dangerous) wedding rituals that couples are resorting to in the hope of securing a lifetime of happiness.

Despite her misgivings, Robin finally says yes. But as the wedding day approaches, she gets the feeling that everyone in the bridal party is out to get her. And it seems Ellie is willing to do anything for the perfect day. After all, marriage is about sacrifice…

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MY REVIEW:

“If you want to know the story of how my best friend and I ended up trying to kill each other, I should probably start with the night she asked me to be her maid of honor.”

Opening with such an ominous and foreboding first line, So Happy For You packs a punch from the start, letting you know that you are about to embark on one of the craziest rides you’ve ever had.  I am the first to admit that a book about a crazy bride and a best friend who hates weddings might not seem the ideal read when in the middle of planning my own wedding but I loved this book.  Unique, outrageous and wickedly funny, it had me hooked.  I liked that while the ending is established immediately there is still a big air of mystery as we have no idea how they get to the point of trying to kill each other or what the outcome is, keeping me guessing until the final page.

“It kind of feels like we’re at the beginning of a darkly comic horror movie.” 

Celia Laskey is a skilled storyteller who has crafted a sinister literary thriller with some deeply vulnerable moments intricately woven in.  She brings up interesting and timely topics such as feminism, abortion, homosexuality marriage and friendship, exploring them with sensitivity but never shying away from their harsh truths.  As the blurb suggests, it is marriage that she delves deepest into, examining the assumption that all women want to be wives and mothers and picking it apart piece by piece: the societal pressure, the sinister side of the institution and the history behind the familiar customs, something I found both fascinating and thought-provoking.

 “Years later I would remember this moment and ask myself if Ellie really knew the reason she wanted me as her maid of honor, or if she didn’t decide until later.”  

The story is told in the past tense directly to the reader and moves between the events leading up to the wedding and flashbacks that tell the story of Robin and Ellie’s friendship. It is set in an undated future that is so believable it is terrifying.  In this reality the government offer incentives for getting married – even organising monthly blind-dates, women are viewed as ‘leftovers’ by the age of twenty-seven and ‘rotten’ by thirty-five, and abortion is severly restricted.  Then there’s the wedding charms.  These really disturbed me and the lengths some couples would go to in order to try and secure future happiness was frightening.  I may want my own wedding to go off without a hitch but I can honestly say I’d never even contemplate such extremes, something I’m sure my guests will be happy to hear!

“Friends didn’t even feel like the right word. It felt like our DNA was tied together in a mess of knots so complete that we wouldn’t be able to untangle it even if we made it our life’s work. At that point in our friendship, it didn’t occur to me that the knots would loosen due to forces beyond our control. “

Robin and Ellie have a very intense but toxic friendship.  While neither are really likeable, I did find Robin easy to root for.  Witty, cynical, inquisitive and tenacious, she is more vulnerable than she admits and struggles to balance standing up for what she believes with supporting her best friend’s life choices.  Our view of Ellie is biased and she is offered up as the traditional villain and I enjoyed seeing our view of her change as Robin began to understand her more.  I liked how the author explored the intricacies of friendship through their relationship, asking what it is that makes a good friend, how far we are willing to go for them, and what we are prepared to forgive.

Addictive, unflinching and charged with tension, So Happy For You is a hilarious romp that would be perfect for the big screen.  It was unlike anything I’ve ever read and I can’t wait to read more from Ms. Laskey.  Highly recommended, just keep it away from any bridezillas  😉

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Celia Laskey is the author of So Happy for You and Under the Rainbow, a finalist for the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her other work has appeared in Guernica, The Minnesota Review, Day One, and elsewhere. She has an MFA from the University of New Mexico and currently lives in Los Angeles with her wife and their dog Whiskey.

She enjoys gossiping about closeted celebrities, dissecting Taylor Swift lyrics, singing the praises of probiotics and diva cups, learning the names of plants via an app on her phone, rewatching Mad Men for the 43728th time, and picking up her holds from the library.

Website

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles 😊Emma xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the tour.

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Love Orange by Natasha Randall

Published: September 3rd, 2020
Publisher: Riverrun
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Humor, Satire, Psychological Fiction, Humorous Fiction

Thank you to Riverrun for my gifted copy of the book and invitation to the readalong.

SYNOPSIS:

A disturbing portrait of a modern American family.

An extraordinary debut novel by Natasha Randall, exposing the seam of secrets within an American family, from beneath the plastic surfaces of their new ‘smart’ home. Love Orange charts the gentle absurdities of their lives, and the devastating consequences of casual choices.

While Hank struggles with his lack of professional success, his wife Jenny, feeling stuck and beset by an urge to do good, becomes ensnared in a dangerous correspondence with a prison inmate called John. Letter by letter, John pinches Jenny awake from the “marshmallow numbness” of her life. The children, meanwhile, unwittingly disturb the foundations of their home life with forays into the dark net and strange geological experiments.

Jenny’s bid for freedom takes a sour turn when she becomes the go-between for John and his wife, and develops an unnatural obsession for the orange glue that seals his letters…

Love Orange throws open the blinds of American life, showing a family facing up to the modern age, from the ascendancy of technology, the predicaments of masculinity, the pathologising of children, the epidemic of opioid addiction and the tyranny of the WhatsApp Gods. The first novel by the acclaimed translator is a comic cocktail, an exuberant skewering of contemporary anxieties and prejudices.

MY REVIEW:

Jenny Tinkley lives with her husband Hank and their two sons, Jessie and Luke, in a quiet suburban town. They’re a picture-perfect family living in the picture-perfect smart home. But behind the glossy, perfect sheen there are cracks: Jenny feels bored and stuck in her life, Hank is frustrated by his lack of professional success and their children are each facing their own worries and challenges.

To try and escape the monotony, Jenny begins a correspondence with a prison inmate named John. She finds excitement in their letters, but things start to unravel when Jenny agrees to become a go-between for John and his wife and develops a strange obsession with the orange glue that seals his letters.

The characters are the driving force of this story. They are compelling, relatable, and instantly familiar as someone who could be your neighbour. Jenny is a typical suburban mum. I found her relatable but did struggle to warm to her, particularly as the story went on and her actions became increasingly selfish as she spiralled into addiction. I hated Hank. He was misogynistic, toxic, controlling, and just generally awful. I thought the author did a great job of writing him and managing to evoke such strong feelings of dislike in not only me, but every other reader I’ve spoken to. For me, it was the kids that drew me to them most of all. My heart broke for them and the things they went through. I think one complaint I have about the book was that I would have liked the children to have featured more.

I also liked how the smart house was like another character. Jenny sees the house as spying on her and controlling their lives. She gets a kick from outwitting it and managing to do things unnoticed. She even tells Hank to ask the house if he has any questions at one point. I would hate to live in a house like theirs and can understand why she felt the way she did. Sometimes you can have too much technology.

I did have two issues with the book that I would like to address. The first one was how the therapist told the family that Luke wasn’t autistic because he showed a high level of empathy. This perpetuates the false narrative that autistic people aren’t empathetic which is completely wrong. While they can struggle with processing and expressing emotion, people with autism are often highly empathetic, my own son included. Second of all was how it portrayed everyone who takes pain pills as addicts. While I liked that the book raised the issue of opiate addiction, I did feel like the portrayal spiraled into harmful stereotypes. My biggest issue was with the following quote:

“The thing about pain pills is that they take away pain. Any kind of pain. It gets so that people can’t even get out of bed for the pain that life becomes… compared to the high.”

As someone who uses opiates for chronic pain, the idea that we all become addicted and care only about the high is harmful, offensive and factually incorrect. I don’t get high. Pain medication is the ONLY reason I can get out of bed and live a life that has a sliver of normality. Dependency to help ease pain is not addiction, and while some people do unfortunately spiral into an addiction, I personally know many more who are languishing in agony with no life because they’ve been tarred with the same brush as an addict and denied any relief from their chronic and debilitating pain. For me the quote above is like saying all people who drink alcohol do so to get drunk and become alcoholics. But these are personal feelings and I don’t think everyone reading will feel the same way. So I encourage you to read for yourself.

But I don’t want this to come across as sounding like I didn’t like the book, because I did. Love Orange is an absorbing and addictive debut novel that explores family, secrets and addiction in modern society. It is beautifully written, immediately draws you into the the Tinkley’s world. I also really liked the quirky humour that runs through the story. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments that made this a joy to read.

I read the book as part of a readalong organised by the publisher and really enjoyed the chats where I got to see the different things others noticed and the varied ways we can interpret the same book.

A beautifully written look at a fractured family and life in suburban America, I would recommend this novel and can’t wait to read more from the author in the future.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Natasha Randall is a writer and translator, living in London. Her writing and critical work has appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, The Moscow Times, BookForum, The New York Times, Strad magazine, HALI magazine and on National Public Radio (USA). She is a contributing editor to the New York-based literary magazine A Public Space. Her debut novel Love Orange will be released by riverrun (Quercus, Hachette) in September 2020.

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