Tag Archives: Thriller

Book Review

Review: Bird Box

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Bird Box

Bird Box
By Josh Malerman
Ecco Press, 9780062259660, February 2015, 272pp.

The Short of It:

Tense, and absolutely riveting.

The Rest of It:

I don’t know where I was when this book first came out a couple of years ago but I am so glad I finally discovered it.

The world has changed. There are monsters. If you see these creatures with the naked eye or even through a lens of any kind, you instantly go stark raving mad and kill yourself. How does one survive such a world? By living behind a blindfold for the rest of your life.

Now add children.

Now add animals.

Now add people who buck the system and want to “test” the different theories out on their own even though they’ve been warned that the outcome will not be good.

Food is running out. Potable water is an issue as well. As these people live behind blindfolds, these creatures live among them. They stand over them. They toy with them. They try to lure them out of darkness.

This is a terrifying world and I loved every tense moment. I picked this up for the RIP Challenge but it is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Have you read it? If you love “end of the world” type stories but also love a good, suspenseful tale, then I beg you to run out and find a copy. Go. Right now.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Book Review

Review: The Passenger

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The Passenger

The Passenger
Lisa Lutz
Simon & Schuster, Paperback, 9781451686647, November 2016, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Classified as a thriller but it really falls into the “what the heck is going on?” category because there is really no telling what these characters will do.

The Rest of It:

A man is dead. His wife Tanya flees the scene but it’s not clear exactly what has transpired. She heads across the country, stopping here and there to assume new identities as she attempts to run from those looking for her. It should be noted that there are plenty of people looking for her. The story is peppered with letters from a mysterious “Ryan” but it’s not clear how he fits into the story except that he knows Tanya as Jo. Why is she running? Who was she in the past?

Honestly, this story is all over the place. The beginning was a little disjointed but I gave it a little more time and eventually got into the story. Mostly, because I wanted to know why this woman needed to assume all these identities. If she truly wanted to stay hidden,  why was she so careless with details? Tanya/Debra/Jo is not good at assuming identities which makes for an amusing read but also makes her slightly annoying.

There were parts of this book that worked better than others but the most frustrating thing is that you really don’t find out the “whys” until the very end and then you are like, really? THAT’s the reason for all of this?

I think the story had potential but it seemed very orchestrated and overworked and perhaps a bit underdeveloped as far as plot. I’m not entirely sure the author knew where she was going with the story until she got to the end. Even the title didn’t make sense until the very end so the entire time I kept thinking, who is the passenger?

Plus, the main character’s personality is never truly revealed. Sometimes you’re led to believe there is goodness there. Other times she seems to not care what she does or how many laws she breaks. It’s hard to have empathy for her situation when A) you don’t know why she is running, and B) she seems to switch back and forth between having morals and not having any.

Would I read Lutz again? I probably would given that there were parts that I was really into but as far as this one goes, expect a quick read with a thin plot line.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.