Book Review: Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

 As a kid, I had always preferred teddy bears over dolls. Dolls looked creepy. And the cover photo of Just Like Mother reminded me of the serial killer doll, Chuckie.

So why did I pick up this book? Well, although Chuckie the movie freaked me out more than any other horror movie, I had this perverse curiosity to see if the doll in this book would go on a killing rampage.....and the verdict?

No, the dolls in the book were not killers though they were creepy enough on their own. They were life-like, and reacted like real babies. 

That said, the dolls were not the focus of the plot. Instead, the plot revolved around two cousins, Maeve and Andrea, who grew up together in a cult community.

Maeve escaped from the cult one night, and that was the last Maeve saw of Andrea. For twenty years, Maeve worked hard at establishing a life of her own, keeping everyone else at a safe distance.

And then, one day Andrea reappeared in Maeve's life. As the cousins reunited and Maeve spent more time in Andrea's home in a remote area, the childhood memories which she had buried were triggered. She had to confront her childhood terrors if she wanted to stay alive.

The plot wasn't bad, quite well-written. It just wasn't gripping enough. I could put the book down at will, and there were even days when I forgot to continue reading it. As a result, it took me weeks to finish this book instead of a day or two like some books which had even more pages than this.

Book Review: Ask For Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli

 This was a fun read. Ask for Andrea was written from three women's POV: Brecia, Meghan and Skye. Their POVs after they're dead. Murdered.

Yes, they're ghosts, and they're coming after James Carson, the serial killer who ended their lives. They're not your typical menacing, vengeful ghosts though. 

After Brecia was murdered, she haunted James with the intention to prevent him from killing other women. She was sometimes successful, sometimes not.

When she failed to help Meghan, she stopped following James out on his killing sprees. Instead, she stayed home with James' wife, April, and his two young daughters. 

Until one day when Skye, who was haunting her mother, followed the police to James' house and met Brecia. Then, they met Meghan, who had stayed by her remains, desperately wanting someone to find her. And that's when they joined forces to help the police catch James.

Unlike other horror genre, this book didn't attempt to frighten its readers. Instead, it devoted much of its time to fleshing out the three main characters. It had suspense interspersed with some heart-wrenching moments and comical relief.

I read that there is a short sequel to it, titled The River, to be published in January 2024 (should have been published now - it's already 3rd February 2024). If I could find it, I'll give it a read to see if it's as good as its prequel.

Book Review: Verity by Colleen Hoover

 I finally read Verity by Colleen Hoover, which was published two years before McFadden's The Wife Upstairs. The irony is, Verity was on New York Times Bestseller list for months and yet, I didn't feel inclined to read it until after I've read The Wife Upstairs, which wasn't even on a bestseller list! 

I'm not a fan of Hoover's work. I've read some of her books (It Ends With Us being one of them), and I haven't really liked or disliked them enough to write a review on them. 

But the reviews raved about Verity, and said The Wife Upstairs was just a fan fiction. Verity, apparently, was the first thriller Hoover ventured into. A personal Indie project, her website said. For a first attempt at writing thrillers, I must say it's really good. 

Now, how does it compare with The Wife Upstairs? What's similar?

1. The Characters.

Verity: Lowen was a struggling writer who could no longer afford to pay rent. She was commissioned to finish the remaining three novels out of a nine-novel series by Jeremy, the husband of Verity, a best-selling author who was semi-comatose after an accident. 

TWU: Sylvia was about to be turned out on the streets. She was hired by Adam Barnett, a best-selling author to be a companion to his wife Vicky, who was semi-paralyzed after an accident.

2. The Location.

Verity: Lowen had to stay in Verity & Jeremy's house to go through her notes and story outlines for the remaining three novels. The house and Verity creeped her out.

TWU: Sylvia had to stay in Adam and Vicky's house, a huge, gated mansion in a remote area. The house creeped Sylvia out.

3. The Plot.

Verity: Whilst going through the stacks of notes that Verity had in her office, Lowen discovered Verity's autobiography, which revealed horrifying and evil secrets.

TWU: Vicky pointed to a drawer and gestured with her hand that she wanted Sylvia to read her diary, which detailed a troubled marriage between her and Adam.

With the similarities out of the way, how do these two books really compare, writing-wise? In my personal opinion, I find Hoover's Verity to have a stronger voice. The autobiography was savage, for want of a better word. No doubt it had too many pages of explicit sexual act (think Fifty Shades of Grey), just like McFadden's TWU had too many pages of adoration for Adam, but the voice was strong and demanded your undivided attention.

Vicky in TWU had an easily dismissed voice, by comparison. I couldn't help thinking why she didn't just ditched Adam. 

Although there was extra-marital sex committed in the marital home in the marital bed, in TWU the protagonist had a conscience and decided to end the affair.

In Verity, Lowen had no such qualms. She even suggested that Jeremy placed Verity in a nursing home so that he could move on and have a life (with her, Lowen). Talk about a home-breaker! I had no sympathy for her, nor did I care about her being creeped out by Verity. 

And the ending? TWU had a more believable twist. Verity's twist left me in disbelief. Not disbelief in a good way, but disbelief as in, what evidence was there for me to believe that crap? I read and re-read, but no, it just didn't do it for me. That letter in the end wasn't a twist. The autobiography was the truth, the voice was real and authoritative. The letter was a feeble attempt to manipulate Jeremy into believing her innocence.

Read also: The Wife Upstairs

Book Review: The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden

 Before I start on a book, I checked out the reviews first. Just to see if a book is worth my time. All the reviews had the same thing to say: The Wife Upstairs is just a fan fiction, that it is similar to Verity by Colleen Hoover which was published two years earlier, and that even the dialogue is similar.

Well, I haven't read Verity by Colleen Hoover yet, but I shall do so after I'm done with this review.

This book gripped me right from the very first page. The narrator is Sylvia Johnson. She is about to become homeless and is desperate. She is offered a dream job by Adam Barnett, a New York best-selling author, to take care of his wife, Victoria, who is semi-paralyzed from a fall down a long spiral staircase.

The Barnetts live in a huge, gated mansion at the tip of Long Island, a remote and isolated area with power cuts during a storm. The house gave Sylvia the creeps, she felt she will be doomed if she stays there. Yet, she has no choice. It was either accept the job or be turned out on the streets.

The diary was a little lame at first, it went into great detail on how much Victoria loved Adam, and the wonderful sex they had together. The story only picked up after the second half of the book, when Victoria started writing about how Adam was an obsessive, jealous control freak which sent warning tingles down my spine.

I would have gotten the hell out of the house, homeless or not. But both Victoria and Sylvia were women blinded by handsome men. Instead of running away from Adam, they stayed on with him. Sylvia even comforted herself with the thought that Victoria hadn't mentioned that Adam was violent.

McFadden tried to make the reader wonder who the true villain was by putting out some red herrings, but I wasn't fooled one bit. That said, this book is still interesting enough for me to recommend it. 

And now I'm off to start on Verity.

Read also: Verity

Book Review: The Klone and I by Danielle Steel

 

The Klone and I is a story about a love triangle that develops between Stephanie and Peter, and his clone, Paul Klone. 

Peter is a bionic genius, and he sends his clone, Paul, to Stephanie to entertain and amuse her when he goes away on business trips. 

Mayhem ensued when Paul Klone arrives at Stephanie's doorstep. Paul is the very opposite of Peter. While Peter is a conservatively dressed businessman, Paul is loud and flashy. He likes tight-fitting neon leotards, thinks nothing of enacting a real fart in Charade and likes to do triple flips whilst making love (giggle).

It is one of those light, fluffy, entertaining books that serious-minded readers should give a miss.  There is nothing substantial here, it's just lots of fun rides, much like going to a theme park. I went away feeling entertained and amused, with my brain cells preserved and unused.

*Spoiler alert*

That said, I felt the ending was a little unexpected. The author had led me to believe that the protagonist was falling in love with the clone. Paul had more attention and pages given to him than Peter. You would be forgiven for forgetting that there is a Peter in the story. There was hardly any character development where Peter was concerned. He remained a familiar stranger till the end. Paul was the one who had all the character development. 

And with all that was going on, the ending felt a little rushed. Like as if the editor said, ok, you've reached your maximum number of words.

Book Review: Famous Five Series by Enid Blyton

Like most kids before the digital world took over, I grew up with Enid Blyton books. My mother thought the late Enid Blyton's books were sufficiently interesting despite having out-dated sets of rules by my time. She started me on the younger children's books like The Three Golliwogs, Amelia Jane, etc before progressing to the older children's books as I grew into a teen.

So, when I came across an article that said the Famous Five books are worth a small fortune now, I was naturally curious to read the books again. Just to see what the fuss is all about, to look at them with an adult's eye, so to speak.

What I found after reading the entire twenty-one books in a month was interesting. The series had inconsistencies. We were told, in the first book "Five on Treasure Island", that George lives in Kirrin Cottage, and that her mother had given Kirrin Island to George. It had belonged to her mother's side of family for decades if not centuries. We were not told, in the first book, what George's last name was, but we could safely conclude that George's mother's last name was Kirrin (Kirrin Cottage and Kirrin Island had belonged to the Kirrins since time memorial).

Before I proceed any further, it must be stated that Enid Blyton published one Famous Five book a year, which made the entire series a twenty-one-year effort.

Perhaps it was because of that very fact, and maybe Enid Blyton was getting on in years, about ten or so books down the line Enid Blyton suddenly mentioned that it was George's father who gave Kirrin Island to George, that Kirrin Island had belonged to her father's side of family. And, *drum roll*, George's father became a Mr Kirrin.

Move forward another eight or so books later, it went back to George's mother who gave Kirrin Island to George, that it had belonged to her mother's side of family from day one. However, George's father was still a Mr Kirrin, and Julian, Dick and Anne were now referred to as the Kirrins too.

What gives?? The man takes the family name of the wife after marriage and his brother (Julian, Dick and Anne's father) followed suit?? Or had Enid Blyton lost track of who the original Kirrin descendant was, considering the series took over two decades?

And is it because of these inconsistencies that the Famous Five series is worth a small fortune now? Like currency notes and coins which have defects?

Book Review: The Humans by Matt Haig

The Humans by Matt Haig takes a fun, irreverent look at the human species, our appearances and way of life.  The novel revolves around the narration of an alien species called the Vonnadorians, in the form of a report to his superiors.

The author did not tell the readers what the alien looked like, but from the alien's horrified reporting of humans, one can allude that Vonnadorians most likely resemble a round ball with huge eyes. "Their faces alone contain all manner of curiosities. A primitive external auditory organs known as ears, tiny eyes and unfathomably pointless eyebrows." It went on to describe the "primitivenesss" of having external limbs, and the unfathomableness of the law requiring the human species to wear odd things called clothes.

This description of humans resonated with me as I had, between 2008 and 2010, written another blog from the perspective of my cats. I had wondered what my cats thought of us changing our clothes all the time, our activities, our going-in and going-out of the house and coming home with bags of groceries or new household items. So, from my cats' point of view, we were constantly changing our skins, we sometimes hanged our skins on coat hooks, put them into a square looking contraption that washed and tumbled-dried our skins and we went out to hunt for food at fixed hours daily, but were only successful at weekends.

But I digressed. Back to the novel, the nameless alien was placed on earth to take the place of a brilliant mathematical professor, Andrew Martin. It was hinted that the said professor was abducted and killed by the Vonnadorians for a breakthrough mathematical discovery that would threaten the universe.

The narrator alien's job was to find out who Andrew Martin had revealed the mathematical evidence to, assassinate those who knew, and destroy the evidence.

 

Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

 The Silent Patient opened with Alicia Berenson's diary. It began with "I don't know why I'm writing this. That's not true. Maybe I do know and just don't want to admit it to myself." And she went on to write about how much she loved her husband Gabriel so much so that she.....here she stopped and wrote "No I won't write about that. This is going to be a joyful record of ideas and images. No crazy thoughts allowed." 

With that, I was reeled in hook, line and sinker. With such an introduction, you knew there were going to be layers in the story, with plot twists.

At thirty-three years old, Alicia shot her husband five times when he came home one night after work and then went completey silent while her therapist, obssessed at finding out her motive, continued to work on her.

The story is told from the therapist's point of view and the silent Alicia's diary. At a certain point in the story, I started to wonder if one of the narration is reliable. Did Alicia kill her husband or did someone else do it? If so, why did she keep silent? Who was she protecting? Or who was she afraid of? Those were my questions as I kept reading. 

The answer wasn't what I expected, but it explained everything neatly. A well-written story, it kept me glued to the end.

Book Review: Tales From The Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The only reason I read the second installment of Before The Coffee Gets Cold is my curiosity about the resident ghost in the cafe.

In the seat that takes you back to the past is a woman in a white dress. She had gone to the past to meet her dead husband and failed to return to the present. If you try to forcefully remove her from the seat, she curses you. You can only occupy the seat when she leaves the seat to use the toilet once a day. Yes, this ghost uses the toilet!!

While I did find out the identity of the ghost, it was just a few short sentences. The author did not explain why she failed to return. The reader is left to assume that she lost track of time and her coffee went cold.

I will not go into detail what the theme of the book is about. You can check out my review of the first book here. 

The second book has the same flaws as the first book, excruciating repetitive details of clothes, appearances and re-introduction of characters, with permanent thought bubbles above their heads. 

The method would have worked better with a play than a novel. The actors could step up to the front of the stage and whisper their thoughts to the audience.

Related topic:

Book Review: Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Book Review: Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

 If you could go back to the past, who would you want to meet? That is what a basement cafe in a back alley in Tokyo offers. A chance to go back to the past to meet someone for the last time.

Before you think "oh, another time-travel book", let me tell you this is not your regular time-travel piece. There are four rules in this time-travel cafe.

First, no matter what you do while you're in the past it will not change the present. Even if you warned the person who had died in a car accident to avoid a certain route, that person would still die by some other means. 

Second, you may only meet people who had been to the cafe. 

Third, there is only one seat in the cafe that takes you back to the past. You must remain seated in that seat the entire time you're back in the past. If your butt so much as leaves the chair by just 0.001 millimeter you would be wrenched back immediately to the present. And since you have only one chance to travel back to the past in your whole life, you wouldn't want to waste that chance.

Fourth, you are transported to the past when the coffee is poured and returned to the present when you finished the coffee. You must return to the present before the coffee gets cold, or you would turn into a ghost.

Now, with those premises, the book sounds like fun, right? That's what I thought. Unfortunately, the author failed to deliver. I skipped through more pages than I could count. 

Before The Coffee Gets Cold has four stories that are interconnected. If I have to liken the stories to food, then the plots are mere side dishes. 

The main dishes are long narratives of repetitive description of the cafe, undue emphasis on the clothes and appearance of the characters and what everyone is thinking. It is like everyone inside the cafe has a permanent thought bubble up there in the air.

Now, if those thoughts help move the story along, fine, I can accept that even if it leaves out all the mystery. But they don't. Not all of them, at any rate.

But the worst is that each story re-introduces the characters, the cafe and how things are done in great detail. I felt insulted. It was like as if the author thought his readers have Alzheimer's and needed reminding. Either that or his readers are exceptionally slow and dim.

The only thing I was curious about in the book was the identity of the resident ghost in the cafe, a woman dressed in white. And it was that curiosity that compelled me to read the second installment, Tales of the Cafe. 

Related topic:

Book Review: Tales From The Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi