Category: Book reviews

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida My rating: 5 of 5 stars Naoki uses an alphabet grid to construct words, sentences and thoughts that he can’t say out loud. You’ll find answers to questions like: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?”…

Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas My rating: 5 of 5 stars It starts as a lesson in ‘if it looks to good to be true, it is,’ and builds suspense until a fantastic twist a little after midway through. Loads of surprises along the way, a well-meshed plot, fantastic characters, this was a completely…

Our Little Secret by Darren O’Sullivan A slow burner with an intriguing plot and a few twists in it to keep it moving. It’s an easy read and the author did a great job of making you root for the characters. View all my reviews

Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf My rating: 5 of 5 stars Such an intriguing idea to have the protagonist be deaf, and by an author who is a complete master! Amelia Winn has suffered a traumatic accident that made her go deaf, causing her to become an alcoholic and lose her husband and step-daughter.…

Odd Child Out by Gilly Macmillan My rating: 5 of 5 stars Back from Gilly Macmillan’s incredibly gripping debut, ‘What She Knew’, is Inspector Jim Clemo, freshly released from his requisite counselling and assigned a low priority case that quickly becomes high priority. Jim Clemo investigates when an unfortunate accident leaves Noah, a British boy…

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld My rating: 5 of 5 stars I love books set in the Pacific Northwest, so I downloaded this book just because of that. I wasn’t disappointed. The story follows Naomi, a private investigator who has a knack for locating lost and missing children. Naomi has been asked to find…

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch My rating: 5 of 5 stars You know when a book is so good you can’t stop reading, then when you finish it you can’t pick up another because it feels a little bit like cheating on the first book? That’s this book. Like Jason Bourne meets science, this sci-fi…

Anything You Do Say by Gillian McAllister My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book totally blew me away. While it wasn’t an easy read (there are some stark themes and extreme emotions here), it was clever, intense and incredibly gripping. So much that I couldn’t stop thinking about it long after I put the…

The Missing One by Lucy Atkins My rating: 5 of 5 stars An atmospherically stunning novel set amidst the dramatic backdrop of British Columbia, The Missing One is about Kali, who’s emotionally distant mother has just died. She suspects her husband is cheating on her, and as she has a son to look after, her…

The Good Mother by Kim Lock Fairlie is devastated when her best friend, Jenna, is found dead. And then she receives a letter posted by Jenna before she dies… A slow burner, with a solid ending that took me by surprise. View all my reviews

The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin An interesting and thought-provoking story exploring the themes of reincarnation and what happens after death, while unravelling the story of what happened to a child who disappeared years ago. Although the pacing is slow, the story is well structured and the characters believable. A solid debut and an interesting…

The Bones of You by Debbie Howells My rating: 5 of 5 stars A really great novel I read in one sitting. Kate and the small community she lives in are stunned when they learn that Rosie, a quiet, sweet teenager, has been found fatally beaten and stabbed. As Kate becomes closer to Jo, Rosie’s…