Author: Christina McDonald

Upgrade by Blake Crouch My rating: 5 of 5 stars What would happen if your DNA was hacked? This is the question Upgrade explores in this mind-bending, fresh and sharp story. The perfect blend of upmarket sci-fi and gripping thriller, I was excited to read Upgrade after reading and absolutely loving Dark Matter. And this…

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone My rating: 5 of 5 stars Loved this darkly elegant international thriller! With breathtaking suspense, a tightly woven plot and beautifully nuanced characters, this expertly crafted story is full of surprises from start to finish. When a woman wakes in a foreign city and her husband is nowhere…

Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey My rating: 5 of 5 stars A compulsive and riveting exploration of trust, obsession and voyeurism, Samantha Bailey knocks it out of the park with this intricately plotted domestic thriller. With dark secrets and surprising twists, this one’s sure to be a new favorite! The story alternates…

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wow! A mind-bending, heart-stopping thriller told in a cinematic style, Stay Awake will make you forget everything until you’ve reached its gasp-worthy conclusion. Ingenious, intriguing and intoxicating, this stylish thriller is a fresh take of an amnesiac’s experience, expertly pulling you in as she…

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie My rating: 5 of 5 stars Stunning, propulsive, and sharp as a knife, Please Join Us is about a secret women’s group and the members determined to get ahead at all costs—just like men do. With a creeping sense of paranoia and full of surprising twists, this smart, feminist…

Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon My rating: 5 of 5 stars Sly and deliciously clever, Hannah Mary McKinnon captivates with this engrossing tale of a missing wife and the devious husband who hopes to inherit her fortune. With dark secrets and surprising twists, Never Coming Home will leave you alternately gasping and giggling.…

The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ominous, absorbing and atmospheric, The Long Weekend is psychological suspense at its finest! A gorgeous thriller about obsession and dark secrets that threaten to destroy a group of close friends who all have an awful lot to hide. As always, Macmillan summons a…

Revenge by James Patterson My rating: 3 of 5 stars A fun, absorbing adventure. After a shocking beginning, the book does slow down a little, but the last 3/4 picks up again. Much of the story centers around men physically fighting, rather than intense psychological action. Overall, a quick, good read with a satisfying conclusion.…

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty What a tricky book to review! The premise is of course intriguing – 9 strangers arrive at health resort Tranquillium House, each for various reasons. The 9 characters all are incredibly well written. In fact, the characters are the reason I kept reading, because the plot just felt…lacking. Like,…

Her Perfect Twin by Sarah Bonner While this one is incredibly clever, I feel like I should start with some trigger warnings. Gaslighting, domestic abuse, violence, covid used for plot. You get a first person POV of a psychopath, and the things he says and does are menacing and pretty evil. The story is almost…

Tall Oaks by Chris Whitaker My rating: 5 of 5 stars A beautiful blend of comedy and tragedy, this book is one of a kind. Written with incandescent prose, this haunting, mesmerising story will leave you reeling. Chris Whitaker has created an unforgettable story of love, loss and deception, with unexpected twists, an unpredictable ending…

Good as Dead by Susan Walter My rating: 3 of 5 stars A clever concept for my September First Read selection. We have a crime and we have a cover-up, but because we have a direct insight into who committed the crime (although there is a mini, sort of unsurprising twist here), some of the…