Rachael Tamayo's Blog, page 14

All the Beautiful Lies: Peter Swanson (Audible)

Well he did it again. Another--I can't put this book down winner from this guy. It has a slow start, as many thrillers seem to. But once it gets going... hold on tight! This author seems to love the quiet, twisted femal...

Victory's Secret: Chapters 1-2

Victory is back! Join me in this free chapter by chapter thriller you can only find here!

The Kind Worth Killing: Peter Swanson (Audible)

This book. Is it possible to fall in love with a book? After so many mundane, ho-hum, same old domestic thrillers this one is just.... ahhhh. A breath of fresh air. First off, you just don't know how to feel about Lily....

The Wife Between Us: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (Audible)

I can only describe this book one way. One way that really suits it, the style, the pace, and the ending. This read was a slow burn that led to a bang at the end. Like a slow quiet fuse that leads to an explosion that knocks you out of your chair. Just when you think you have read the quiet ending, you read that epilogue and your left sitting there with your mouth hanging open because you never saw it coming.

What starts out as an ex-wife watching her ex-husbands new fiance…. seems like jealousy. Seems like regret, hate, wishful thinking… but it’s not. It’s not what it seems at all. There were several places in this book that took sharp left turns leaving me rewinding the chapter to ensure that I had indeed just heard it correctly.

I enjoyed this book. Typically i prefer a faster pace, but this one keep me going. My only issue was that with those sharp left turns, I was left a little confused due to transitions that might have gone a bit smoother. I had to turn back because I thought I had missed something. For that, If I gave stars I would take one away. A good read, for sure. I don’t think you will see it coming, I didn’t.

A Divided Mind: M. Billiter

If you have read my book, Crazy Love, then you might already know that I advocate for mental illness. I am pulled in my own reading towards books with a psychological twist, and in my new thrillers I weave it into the threads of the stories. I was eager to get my hands on this one, knowing the history behind it. I picked it up, not sure what to expect, but found myself drawn in and totally fascinated. This book is a page turner. A realistic account of one family’s struggles as a young man descends into mental illness. The struggle is real, and so relatable I found myself hugging my young son just a little tighter after reading it. The depth of the emotions in the mother and her son were heavy, real, and I felt them. I felt the pain and I hurt with them.

This book is an award winner that is for sure. I have never read anything that so clearly explained what it is like to fall into an illness like this, and the effects it has on those around them. Read this book. It’s a game changer. This book is currently available for preorder on Amazon here.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: B.A. PARIS (Audible)

I really imagined this book as your typical domestic violence thriller. I was wrong. There is nothing typical about it. It was one of those quiet thrillers that builds in anticipation and keeps you reading. I could hardly put this book down.

Grace is the seemingly perfect wife, Jack seems to be just as perfect. Gentle, loving, attentive. Joined at the hip. Early on you pick up the fact that it’s not as perfect as they let on, and then bam—you’re smacked on the side of the head with the reality that is the life of Jack and Grace. Talk about nothing being what it seems! I loved this book, and I want to read more of this author as soon as I can get my hands on it. It’s just the kind of read that I absolutely love.

The Silent Patient: Alex Michaelides (Audible)

“The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband―and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.”

This book, which is soon to be a movie from what I understand, did something almost no book or movie ever does.

It surprised me.

The ending got me totally-didn’t see it coming AT ALL. This book takes you into the mind of a woman that seems to have a perfect life. A woman that seems to have killed her husband, a man she loved with all her heart.

So then why did she kill him, or did she?

This was an i cant put it down thriller and I loved the entire thing. I was left literally gasping at the end and in a rush to get to the next page. Simply stunning thriller. I’m so glad that this book was so good. Even books that are on the best seller lists can disappoint, but this one sure didn’t. If you like a good thriller, pick this one up before it becomes a movie.

The Girl on the Train: Paula Hawkins

I really enjoyed this book, very much. The depth of characters was amazing. They were flawed, messed up, good and bad, real. I could see knowing these people they were so real. None of them really good or bad, but a great mix of both, as we all are. Changed by pain, circumstances, making both good and bad decisions. It was a realistic portrayal of people. As a writer, I can’t bear flat characters. I can’t connect with perfection, as many other readers can’t. It’s sometimes a struggle for authors to create people that aren’t perfect.

I had not seen the movie before reading this (still haven’t). I was able to predict the killer about halfway through the book, but don’t go by me I have writers brain and almost always figure out the endings.

Great read, if you love a dark thriller, a good mystery, this won’t be a waste of your time.

The Handmaid's Tale: Margaret Atwood (Audio Edition)

I confess to watching the first season of this show before I ever realized that this was a book. Being a hardcore “books are always better than movies” person, this is not typical for me. In this instance, I’ll say the literary style of the author made this an exception, I’m afraid. If not for the fact that I was listening to this on Audible, I would not have finished the book. It’s hard to read, hard to get into. It’s saving grace was the fact that it was being read to me, and I knew the story. I was curious to see if it would follow the show, or not.

On that account, it did for the most part. Lacking in any graphic sex that you might think this book would have-however. It was a very clean read, save for a few swears. It was like one long stream of thought from the main character, as if we were listening to her ramble away in her own mind. It was strange, and at times hard to follow.

I did like the story, it’s a dark book (which I always gravitate towards). A black dystopian story with a ending that makes you want to go searching for the second book. Ending in a cliff hanger, no problems solved (A literary no-no, actually).

If I was giving stars, I’d give this one a solid 4. I did like it, I did want to pick up the second book, and it did follow the show pretty well.

Book Review: The Outsider by Stephen King

(PSST.. Please forgive me but Victoria’s Secret has been put on hold for now. She will be back.)

It took me quite a while to read this book, and by read I mean listen to it on Audible while I fold laundry and drive home from work. The audio version was outstanding, the voice of Will Patton really made the whole thing. If you know me, then you know that I feel like if there were a writing god, Stephen King would be it. Reading this book got me past my own desperate writers block (as often happens when we sit down and read something amazing.) and plunged me into the dark depths so that I could pick up my proverbial pen, once more.

King plunges us once again into darkness right off the bat. A sick and twisted crime that makes you grimace when you read it, but you still turn the page. A man arrested for the crime, did he do it? And page by page, a slow hell breaks loose and you just can’t stop reading. It’s classic Stephen King with a great modern day aspect that I loved. Not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. I enjoyed this book. His characters are simply amazing, real and deep and human. Flawed, imperfect and sometimes unlikable. I loved how human they all are, people you might actually meet. Not the perfect fairy tale creatures you see in characters in so many books. The characters carry this book through to the end. This book is a long one, but worth the time.

Highly recommend, if you love dark thrillers pick this one up.