Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

Psychological, suspense thrillers are very much my thing, so I was keen to read Ms Perks novel, which has a missing child as its core, to see if it would meet my expectations...

...I'm pleased to say it did not disappoint. The book is told in two halves, Charlotte's story and Harriet's story...it may seem to be a slow burn to begin with, but I promise you, once you begin to read Harriet's story it will burn fierce!

I enjoyed all the twists and turns and character development of both Charlotte and Harriet, and I took an intense dislike to Harriets hubby Brian (Bill!)

His underlying sneakiness and ability to constantly gaslight Harriet was difficult and frustrating to read at times, but very believable.

This was a good read.

The Library Enthusiast on taking things that don't belong to you....

One Way Street by Trevor Wood

Wood, once again manages to bring his characters to life by giving us a real sense of the community that they inhabit.

Jimmy Mullen is attempting to rebuild his life after the events in The Man on the Street, and he knows he needs to keep out of trouble....but we all know that trouble seems to find Jimmy....

...this time around we learn a great deal more about the back stories of Jimmy's mates, Gadge and Deano, and once again wood gives us the reality of homelessness.

The Library Enthusiast and Homelessness....

Every night, roughly 1 in 200 Australians find themselves without a safe, secure or affordable place to sleep...a home isn't just 4 walls and a roof, it's a foundation for safety and security...access to safe and secure housing should be one of the most basic humans rights.

One third of homeless people in Australia are under 18 years old....we all need to be more aware of what his happening in our community and work together to help find practical and workable solutions.

One Way Street gets

 

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Once again I need to thank my Bestie back in Blighty for suggesting this one....

...I will admit that it took some effort on my part to come to grips with the Glaswegian dialect otherwise known as the Glasgow patter, but that said it was well worth it.

Prankster baffles Londoners with his thick Glaswegian accent

Shuggie Bain is a broken and often brutal yet tender tale of life in working class Glasgow. The bleak and devastating effects of alcoholism are portrayed in convincing and often horrifying detail...it was not an easy read. 

Having said this, know that...

I laughed...

I cried...

I ached for Shuggie...

...and his family.

A raw, heartbreakingly sad, yet hopeful story.

The Library Enthusiast Suggests... 

...Love Libraries 

 

The Inheritance by Gabriel Bergmoser

I am extremely happy to write that I was not disappointed with Bergmosers' sequel to The Hunted...

...The Inheritance is just brilliant, Maggie is an anti-heroine and drifter like no other, we got the tiniest taste of who she was in The Hunted, but in The Heritiance, we might just begin to understand her...

...or maybe not. 

Bergmonser writes thrillers with an edge that goes way beyond just pace and thrill factor. He manages to offer us a tense, exciting, relentless ride without losing the ability stop us dead with moments of deep reflection.

My advice, if you like plenty of shocks with your adrenalin high...

...read it!

Until the next time Mr Bergmoser...

The Library Enthusiasts Fun Fact...

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Did I enjoy this one as much as Michaelides' previous novel, The Silent Patient? 

Actually, I didn't, it all felt a little too hard going and fell somewhat flat for me.

And don't get me started on the twist...disappointing is my one word for describing it.

Oh and a totally random thought, but why Michaelides decided to have the main female character needed to be considered 'hot' and desired by a variety of men throughout the course of this tale is beyond me...can't we have a strong female character without all the unnecessary lusting after?

The Library Enthusiasts Thoughts on ...

Every Waking Hour by Joanna Schaffhausen

Another instalment of the dynamic duo, Boston police detective Ellery Hathaway and FBI agent Reed Markham....

...so we know that Schaffhausen's character Hathaway, has some serious Bad Thing in her past that winds up shaping who she is. So am I the only one who wonders why the good people at Boston PD think it's a good idea to give her a case where the very same thing could have happened to someone else?

Regardless of that, it is a good story with plenty of excellent suspects for us to follow and be confused by.

But lets be straight here, all we are really interested in is the fragile relationship between Hathaway and Markham...

...can it, and should it survive what the world keeps throwing at them?

The Library Enthusiasts Thoughts on True Love...

The Magpies by Mark Edwards

If you struggle with your neighbours because they are a little loud on a Saturday night, or maybe they forget to bring their bins in after bin day, take a moment to breath and appreciate just how much worse it could be...

...time for you to meet Chris and Lucy, the neighbours from hell in Edwards The Magpies, trust me, you don't want to be living anywhere near this couple.

This book does what all good books do, it makes you feel, it allows you to emotionally invest in it. And boy is Edwards clever at dialling up the psychological tension, creating some pretty unpleasant situations and experiences for our other young couple, Jamie and Kirsty.

It is an uncomfortable read at times, and having discovered that Edwards himself has had personal experience of hellish neighbours allows us to appreciate and understand why this is such a good read...

I am the Library Enthusiast and...