You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
Group Themed Reads: Discussions
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June 2017 - Reporting Thread
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I read The Girl from the Sea. I finished it today.I discussed my thoughts about the book in the appropriate thread (I think). But I'll do it again here.
The story is about a woman who almost drowned and is suffering from amnesia. Slowly she regains her memories, not all at once. I expect a psychological thriller to have tension and have an offness to it for most of the length of the book. Not this one. For large parts I felt it dragged, or was boy-girl dippy. Some parts made me laugh at the character's stupidity, or some of the dialogue. But at the end it picked up. Of course the one the main character least expected was the one the reader knew was not who he seemed to be. Just when I thought I had it all figure out (the who done it part) the twist came. In the end, we can't all be right. The ending didn't feel right for me. You'll have to read it to see why.
All in all, it was a 50 - 50 read. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. I couldn't bring this one up to 4 so I'll stick with 3.
I read and finished The Butterfly Garden. My Review is here.
And I have discussed the psychological thriller Here Posts 93, 94, and 95.
I'll be making more comments after more people finish the novel, Peggy.
Your link to your review doesn't work, Anne.This sounds like a marmite book. The ratings seem to be all over the place.
I read The Butterfly Garden and discussed it in the relevant thread. I am also the discussion leader.I did not like it much, I'm afraid. It was too unbelievable and far fetched for me and I just could not suspend my disbelief. There were too many unrealistic and/or convenient reactions, decisions, twists etc. I probably would have abandoned it if I had not been leading the discussion. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Butterfly Garden and discussed in the appropriate thread.I really did enjoy this book and gave it 4 stars. It was dark and disturbing, but fascinating at the same time. The end was a bit disappointing and was probably the worst part. I had not read this kind of book in a while so it was nice to revisit this genre.
I read The Butterfly Garden and discussed it in the group read thread. I also enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars. It was disturbing, but kept me interested the whole time and I was curious to know more. One part (well maybe two..) of the ending was pretty far-fetched and disappointing, but the rest of the book was good in my opinion. I read through it in just two days. I was fascinated with the psychology of it all. I also read Black-Eyed Susans and discussed in the general theme thread. I also enjoyed this one and gave it 4 stars. Again, I did't care for part of the twist at the end, though for a different reason. I think too many thrillers now try to put in a twist that you won't see coming and sometimes they just don't make sense. I felt a bit letdown by this ending, but otherwise I found the book to be really good.
Both of these authors are new to me and I'd be happy to try another book by either author.
I took part in the discussion for The Butterfly Garden. There was lots of psychology in this book from both the sides of the victims and the perpetrators. It was a good fit for the theme. I liked the writing style and how the story was told. I liked the concept of the garden although dark in nature. It was an interesting story. Like already mentioned, the ending let the story down but I enjoyed the rest of it so ended up giving it 4 stars. I would be interested in reading the next one in the series.
I read Mr. Mercedes and discussed in the other books thread.I never read thrillers and only picked this one up because I had to read a thriller for the survey challenge. I was pleasantly surprised! It was a fast read and a page-turner, and although it was at times discomforting, I didn't lose any sleep over it and it had the exact kind of suspense and on-the-edge-of-your-seat-feel that I can manage. I liked the characters and also the psychological part of the book, but there were alse some parts that I found a bit cliche, predictable and convenient. I gave it 4 stars.
I read The Butterfly Garden. I discussed it in the book discussion thread and reviewed it here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I thought it was ok, although the ending ruined it a bit for me. It was too cliched and felt like the end of a chick-lit novel instead of a thriller. Interesting read, and I'm glad it wasn't as graphic as some other thrillers I've read because I don't have much of a stomach for graphic violence. I gave it 2 stars.
For the June psychological thriller theme, I read The Night Sister and made several comments in the applicable YLTO thread. Unfortunately, I did not like this book at all. Other comments in the thread so far have been more positive, so I think I am alone in my opinion. The story flipped back and forth between three time lines and several POVs; interspersed were a number of letters written to Alfred Hitchcock. Because of this disjointed format, there wasn't any room for significant character development, and I found I didn't care what happened or who did what. The perpetrator of the crime was easy to determine before it was revealed. I generously rated this book two stars.
I also read Blue Monday and commented in the applicable thread. This wasn't exactly a page turner, but it was a quick and easy read and was interesting enough to keep going. It had a couple of good twists that I hadn't predicted. Of the two books I read for this month's theme, I preferred this story.
I could have sworn I already posted . . . but, if my head wasnt attached . . .i have read The Butterfly Garden, and have been participating in the discussion thread.
I was really enjoying the bulk of the book - the development, pacing, was thoroughly engrossed. But, I should have stopped three pages from the end - I simply could not stretch my imagination far enough to not have the rest of the book ruined for me 😩
I read The Night Sister and I am still discussing it in its thread.I gave the book 3 stars (2.75 stars). It is certainly out of my comfort zone, but this is ok. I like to do that from time to time, specially if I can buddy read the book. I thought the story was engaging enough to keep me going, but it had some inconsistencies. I also think the writing was very simplistic.
I realized after finishing the book that it fits my task #33 in the Survey Challenge, so I am still happy I read it. :)
I read The Night Sister and have posted several comments in the thread. I was disappointed in this book. I decided to read it because The Winter People was a very interesting read. I still gave it three stars because I read it very quickly....I guess hoping for more. If the ending had been incorporated into the story the characters might have had more depth. When you finish a book, there should be at least one character you cared about.
I red The Night Sister and discussed it in the thread for that purpose.I also was disappointed in the book. I don't think that it was a psychological thriller. Out of 11,000+ people who rated this book, only 3 shelved it as psychological thriller. The big disconnect for me was that the character development was lacking and I never engaged with any of them. I gave it 3 stars because it was suspenseful.
Finished The Butterfly Garden yesterday and have done some discussing, with more to come as I read everyone's comments. I have mixed feelings about this one. I didn't feel it was very well-written; especially character-development, and coherent flow of dialogue. Even the plot was familiar to me from Kiss the Girls, and James Patterson wasn't shy about revealing graphic/disturbing details in his. This author refrained from sordid details, and that was a bit refreshing, and I'm sure appealed to a wider, shyer, audience. Bold ones like me have been there/done that... except this one's plot WAS unique in how the story unfolded, as if in reverse, slowly building toward a climax. So... it did keep me constantly reading and curious. For that it deserves a higher rating than I originally intended: a 4.
I read The Night Sister and discussed and gave my thoughts in the appropriate thread.Despite my thinking of a long list of flaws (which might actually be in my own lack of attention), I enjoyed reading this novel.
(view spoiler)
I have read The Butterfly Garden and been actively discussing it in the appropriate thread. This was a re-read for me and I am extremely pleased that I revisited it. The conversations we have had in this group surrounding this book have been just as interesting as the book itself.
Re-reading The Butterfly Garden allowed me to pay more attention to some of the little details that I missed when I first read it a year or so ago. Although I still found the ending to be too coincidental and rushed, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I listened to it on audio which I enjoyed. There were two narrators, Lauren Ezzo for the flashbacks and Mel Foster for the current timeline. The flashbacks were all told from the main character's POV and the only problem I had with the audio was the female narrator sounded too sweet for this character.
Overall, this is still a 4.5 star read for me. The loss of half a star is only because of the ending.
I read The Night Sister and discussed my thoughts about it in the appropriate thread. It wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. Too many flaws, dangling (unresolved) questions, and a disappointing ending. I enjoyed The Winter People and have a couple of this author's books on my TBR. I'm not ready to give up on her because of one book that disappointed me. At some point I'll try her again.
I read The Night Sister and discussed it in the thread set up for the book.On the whole I enjoyed the book. I found it a captivating read though there were aspects of it that could have been done better. It was atmosphereic and creepy with a lot of little secrets and mysteries. But there were several lose ends I would have liked to see expounded on. The characters were underdeveloped and on the whole the end was anti-climatic.
Just a quick note: I'll be on holiday from Monday. I have finished the badges but I won't be able to post them until I get back home (after July 14).
I have finished The Butterfly Garden for the theme which I feel it did fit into. I have rated the book 2 stars as I felt the book required me to suspend my disbelief too much for me to enjoy it, that and the quality of the writing, I felt, wasn't the greatest. I discussed this in the discussions forum. It genuinely was a struggle to get through and if it wasn't part of this month's reading material I would have abandoned it long ago.
I read All the Missing Girls and discussed it in the appropriate thread. I gave it 4 stars even though I'm not a big mystery reader. The style of the writing was intriguing (view spoiler).
I finished the The Butterfly Garden and discussed it in the appropriate thread. I wish I would have read it earlier in the month, as some said it was quite the active discussion, but since I didn't want to read spoilers, I couldn't participate as much as would have liked. It's kind of hard to play catch-up later, but I tried. Oh well, lesson learned for future monthly reads, I'll try to read earlier, lol. Anyway, I really enjoyed the book. The story unfolded in a unique way, which at first kind of disappointed me, cause it wasn't what I was expecting from a thriller, but I actually liked how it flowed. As others have said the ending was a little disappointing, but it didn't affect my feelings about the book overall and I gave it 4 stars.
I read The Butterfly Garden and joined the group discussion. I'm not sure what the most sleazy, cringe-worthy thing about this book was; a grown man with an insect fetish, the paedophilia, the plot conrivances or the massive inconsistencies.The gardener kidnaps beautiful children, tortured and rapid them, and finally "preserves" them. There are twenty-something girls at any one time. They are allowed to roam freely within the confines of their prison, a large, enclosed garden (view spoiler)
I found the story a bit luscious and would have given up were it not a group read. I kept hoping to the last pages that something would happen that would make it all make sense, but, for me, it didn't. None of the characters were were not very believable. The victim too belligerent and the cops too smug. And exactly why only one survivor was being interviewed was never adequately explained. The twist at of the book was ridiculous.
I listened to the audiobook which was read by two narrators. The address of the cut-offs between the readers were very jarring.
I also read In the Woods and discussed it in the reporting thread. Excellent Dublin based mystery story.
This book focused on Detective Rob Ryan, his troubled past and his intense relationship his work partner Cassie Maddox. Ryan is very much the flawed hero. His inability to form/maintain relationships forms much of the basis for this novel. What I liked most about it was that the murder investigation became very much secondary to the development of the character dynamics.
Very well written and expertly paced. A great read.
Tammy wrote: "I read All the Missing Girls and discussed it in the appropriate thread. I gave it 4 stars even though I'm not a big mystery reader. The style of the writing was intriguing [spoiler..."Could you explain a bit more what you thought of the book?
I read The Night Sister and discussed it in the appropriate thread. The book started out creepy and with so much potential. I couldn't put it down for the first half. Sadly, it did not live up to it's potential. There were lose ends, irrelevant story lines that didn't go anywhere and the ending was disappointing.
I've read the book Blue Monday by Nicci French.You can find my review in the thread for 'psychological hriller': https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
When I started reading the book, I was almost immediately hooked. The book was very well written and it had another style than the previous books. I liked it when the writers give a hint and then let the reader think on what it would say. it also revealed a couple of pages later. For me it was hard to read the bits about Matthew, the little boy who was abducted. I couldn't hold myself and looked at the end if he would survive or not. I think I'll like the serie about Frieda Klein more than the other books. It feels like a higher level of their writing. But I missed a little bit more of explanation about mental states of persons. maybe that's because I work in a mental hospital.
Saar wrote: "I've read the book Blue Monday by Nicci French.You can find my review in the thread for 'psychological hriller'."
Saar wrote: "I've read the book Blue Monday by Nicci French.
You can find my review in the thread for 'psychological hriller'."
Please link to book review in your reporting post in this thread or alternatively write a few sentences of what you thought about the book as per the instructions in message 1.
Is it okay like that, Sarah?
Saar wrote: "Is it okay like that, Sarah?"Not exactly. That's a link to your discussion over in the discussion thread. In this thread when you report, you must either include a link to the book review that you have written when you marked it as read in GR (if you write reviews) or just write a few sentences in this thread about what you thought about the book.
We like participants to include a few sentences in this thread of what they thought of the book so people can just check this thread to see what people read and what they thought of it.
I've written my thoughts in my post, but the review I wrote when I marked it as read in GR is in Dutch.
I read The Body Reader and discussed it in the general psychological thriller thread. It turned out to be different from my expectations as, despite moments of violence, mostly the book is introspective and about the search for clues. The clues have to do with the protagonist's kidnapping and imprisonment, what happened to her mother when she was young, what happened to teen girls in the present and the past, and whether she can adjust to being back in the world, function well, and find meaningful work. The author did a really good job at creating a sense of limbo--the protagonist knows herself, but isn't sure how her imprisonment has affected her, and there are cases with almost no clues yet a sense of urgency to find answers. I gave it 5 stars based on it's complexity (though I did figure out one aspect midway through).
I read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn and discussed it in the discussion thread. I had hoped this book would be more like Gone Girl as I found that novel fit the category of psychological thriller aptly. As Lara stated with The Body Reader, this book too is more a search for clues and understanding of past events. I found Dark Places less thrilling and less intense. It definitely has it's creepy aspects but I found the story itself more predictable.
I read The Woman in Cabin 10 and discussed it in the thread. It was a good whodunit mystery. But the MC was very unlikable. Though I thought it will change as the book progresses, that was not the case. If there was some answers to questions such as (view spoiler) then it would have been a satisfactory read.
I read Jamaica Inn and discussed it in the psychological thriller thread. While I am glad to have finally read it, I didn't enjoy it to the same extent as other Daphne Du Maurier books I've read, namely Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, that I dearly loved. Something I did love was the writing about the landscape. The moors were such a presence that they were almost like another character in the story. However, the plot on the whole was a bit thin to support a full-length novel, but this first venture into the gothic genre set the stage for Du Maurier's next novel to come two years later, the superlative Rebecca.
Badges have been posted! Let me know if I missed someone.
What a beautiful badge, Peggy. Thank you!
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
Rebecca (other topics)My Cousin Rachel (other topics)
Jamaica Inn (other topics)
The Woman in Cabin 10 (other topics)
Dark Places (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Gillian Flynn (other topics)Nicci French (other topics)
Nicci French (other topics)
After you have read your chosen book(s) for this month's group theme read, please report in the thread below.
Please state what book you read (and link it), that you discussed it (and where), and briefly summarise what you thought of the book and/or link to your review if you have written one.
If you lead the discussion, please state this in your post.
Here is an example for how to report your read:
“I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and discussed it in the [Harry Potter/Buddy Read/Other books in theme] thread. I really enjoyed the book. I watched the film first so I already knew the storyline but I was surprised how much I enjoyed the book more as there was more detail involved. Plus I listened to the audio which was narrated by Stephen Fry who is a superb narrator. 4 stars.”
If you read more than one book which fits the theme, please report all your reads in the same post rather than in separate posts.
Please note, there are THREE different badges that can be obtained for group reads. Those reading and discussing one of the two chosen group reads will receive a colourful badge similar to those for previous group reads. Those reading and discussing any other book in the theme will receive a stamp. The discussion leader for the two chosen group reads will receive a badge stating they led the discussion. Maximum amount of badges you can receive for the group reads is TWO - one for the chosen group read/discussion leader and one for any other book in the theme.
In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book(s) before or during June 2017.
2. discussed it in the relevant thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in that thread.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread below, along with a brief summary of what you thought.