JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Half Moon Lake by Kirsten Alexander

‘They said he was their boy. And so he was . . .’


In 1913, on a summer’s day at Half Moon Lake, Louisiana, four-year-old Sonny Davenport walks into the woods and never returns.

The boy’s mysterious disappearance from the family’s lake house makes front-page news in their home town of Opelousas. John Henry and Mary Davenport are wealthy and influential, and will do anything to find their son. For two years, the Davenports search across the South, offer increasingly large rewards and struggle not to give in to despair.

Then, at the moment when all hope seems lost, the boy is found in the company of a tramp.

But is he truly Sonny Davenport? The circumstances of his discovery raise more questions than answers. And when Grace Mill, an unwed farm worker, travels from Alabama to lay claim to the child, newspapers, townsfolk, even the Davenports’ own friends, take sides.

As the tramp’s kidnapping trial begins, and two desperate mothers fight for ownership of the boy, the people of Opelousas discover that truth is more complicated than they’d ever dreamed . . .

Inspired by the real life kidnapping of American boy Bobby Dunbar, Half Moon Lake by Kirsten Alexander is a fascinating crime novel set in the early 20th century.

This book is about many things, not just a missing child. It’s about class and the treatment of black people in southern America in the early 1900s. It’s about reputation and family, and the opinion of others. It’s about making the wrong decision and then being forced to live with it and work with it, because the ramifications of acknowledging your mistake are too damaging to imagine.

“While he hadn’t expected effusive thanks from a man of John Henry’s stature, Tom had thought his kindness to the man’s wife might have elevated him in his eyes.”

The reader is left wanting more. What happened to Sonny? Where is he now? Who took him? What’s going to happen to Mary and John Henry and Grace? The suspense draws the reader in and keeps them turning the page.

The cast of characters all reflect the time and era that the book is set. Mary and her husband John Henry are upper class, wealthy and implement their influence on those lower down. They get away with what they want. Sure, they have their issues — Mary’s mental state has declined since her son went missing and her father treats her horribly and blames her for the disappearance — but they shield their pain from the outside world and put on this act that they’re coping just fine.

Wealth and status can influence justice in this story, and we see it a couple of times. John Henry is on track for a career in politics and is therefore able to manipulate opinion and processes just because of who he is and where he hopes to go. Other people obey him, and are scared of betraying him.

But how far is he willing to go to keep his wife happy? How far is he willing to go to keep his political career on track?

“Esmerelda felt sorry for Mr and Mrs Davenport sometimes. The reunion hadn’t brought them the peace they’d yearned for. She heard their arguments, barely muted by closed doors. And Mrs Davenport’s mood changed at the whim of the child.”

The blurb of this book makes you believe that this boy could be Sonny Davenport, but in actual fact, it’s made clear pretty early on that Sonny’s mother lies. She desperately wants her boy back, so she convinces herself that this little boy — whose real name is Ned — is actually hers.

When the real mother Grace Mill comes forward and the kidnapping trial ensues, the truth starts to seep out.

The book is rich with emotion and pain, as two women fight for the right to claim this young boy. Grace is an unwed mother and very poor, and she is judged because of her appearance and social standing. Mary, Sonny’s mother, is from a wealthy, well-respected family and therefore more people are likely to side with her.

“John Henry decided to stage the viewing after Christmas. If he had to do it – and it seemed he did – he’d not allow it to ruin the Christmas celebrations his wife had put so much effort into.”

I wondered if more attention should’ve been given to the gossipy nature of the town. Given the time this was set, and the crimes that have been committed, the scope of the gossip around town and the number of people trying to insert themselves into the drama felt kind of small. I didn’t get a strong sense of that ‘small town huge news’ atmosphere where everyone is whispering and passing on news and eavesdropping.

Additionally, I was left feeling dissatisfied with the ending, in a way that made me feel like the ending actually weakened the story. It was too abrupt to seem deliberate, too unresolved to be pleasing.

Recommended for fans of crime, thriller and mystery novels.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Half Moon Lake
Kirsten Alexander
January 2019
Penguin Random House Publishers

The Boy by Tami Hoag

Mother, liar, murderer?

In the sleepy Lousiana town of Bayou Breaux, a mother runs to her neighbour – bloody and hysterical. The police arrive to find Genevieve Gauthier cradling her seven-year-old son in her arms as he bleeds to death.

Detective Nick Fourcade finds no evidence of a break-in. His partner Detective Annie Broussard is troubled by parts of Genevieve’s story that don’t make sense. Twenty four hours later teenager Nora Florette is reported missing. Local parents fear a maniac is preying on their children, and demand answers from the police.

Fourcade and Broussard discover something shocking about Genevieve’s past. She is both victim and the accused; a grieving mother and a woman with a deadly secret. Could she have something to do with the disappearance of teenager Nora Florette?

A unbearable loss or an unthinkable crime? Number One New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag keeps you guessing in her most gripping thriller yet.

The Boy by Tami Hoag is a crime thriller set in a small town in the United States; the book follows the investigation of the brutal murder of a young boy, KJ, and the disappearance of the boy’s teenage babysitter, Nora.

The book is set in the Cajun country in Louisiana, and Tami encapsulates the setting perfectly. You can picture the small town easily, with the distinct class systems and the gossip and the hidden secrets behind closed doors.

The Boy works really well as a standalone novel, with only a few brief mentions to previous cases and enough information that you can follow along easily.

“The house looked even worse on television than it did in real life. People would watch this and think she lived in a dump — because she did. They would have no way of knowing it was only temporary, that as soon as Jeff was able to give her an office job and she had managed to scape together enough for a deposit and first month’s rent, she planned to move someplace better.”

The plot is twisted and full of mysteries, with fully fleshed characters and plenty of secrets. Nick is a very unpredictable man, with a lot of anger simmering beneath the surface. He’s snappy and unable to keep his opinion to himself.

His wife Annie is warm and comforting and is a much more approachable character. She helps calm her husband down, trying to make him see reason so that he doesn’t piss off the wrong person and get himself fired. Their dynamic works really well, and I thought they were both great protagonists.

I certainly didn’t see the ending coming, and all my guesses were wrong. I ploughed through this book so fast, completely enraptured by the mysteries of this small town.

The Boy switches between character POV, allowing the reader to find out different information about the victims. Slowly, information is revealed and you can start to form your own opinions about who killed KJ and where Nora has disappeared to.

Tensions builds throughout the whole novel, delivering the reader to a really intense finale. The ending is as satisfying as the lead up.

“As he rose, he reached out and gently touched her uninjured shoulder in a gesture of sympathy and reassurance. She seemed as slight as a bird. It was hard to imagine her fighting off an armed assailant, but people often found physical strength beyond imagining when faced with the choice of life or death.”

The book touches on many societal issues that people will recognise — bullying, suicide and class. Nora is from a poor family that have a very unconventional home life. Her single mother never really knows where Nora is, nor her other children. She cares about her children and she loves them, but isn’t able to always be there for them or support them in the way that they need. They’re left to their own devices a lot, and they’re really irresponsible. Nora’s brother Dean is a bully and really abusive, and a couple of Nora’s sisters are young single mothers who are also struggling.

Most of the people in the town judge them and shun them and refuse to let their children hang around the Florette family. A lot of people also judge KJ’s mum Genevieve because she’s a single mum and she’s poor and living in a rundown rental property.

“Still young enough to be momentarily intimidated by authority, the boy’s expression sobered as Annie walked up to him with her hands jammed on her hips. He was about the same size as her, she thought, and he was still more little boy than young man.”

In the first 100 pages or so, the dialogue between the detectives — in particular, Detective Nick Fourcade — was very cliche and over the top. It was antagonistic and actually made me cringe on many occasions. This seemed to mellow out as the book progressed, though.

Something else I disliked about the book was the unrealistic, overly sensitive inner monologue that both Nick and Annie shared. Sometimes their inner dialogue — in particular when they were thinking about how much they loved the son — read identical, like they were the same character. This was a point in the novel where I felt like the author’s voice, and her own feelings towards her family members and how she’d feel if anything happened to them, was coming through the page. The lovey-dovey thoughts of Annie and Nick actually made me cringe and roll my eyes, and it really jolted against the pacing of the book.

A fast-paced thriller novel with more than one mystery to solve, crime readers will be turning the pages desperate to find out the ending.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Boy
Tami Hoag
January 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson

Four years ago, in the small town of Birravale, Eliza Daley was murdered. Within hours, her killer was caught. Wasn’t he?

So reads the opening titles of Jack Quick’s new true-crime documentary. A skilled producer, Jack knows that the bigger the conspiracy, the higher the ratings – and he claims Curtis Wade was convicted on flimsy evidence and shoddy police work. Millions of viewers agree.

Just before the final episode, Jack uncovers a minor detail that may prove Curtis guilty after all. Convinced it will ruin his show, Jack disposes of the evidence and delivers the finale unedited, leading to Curtis’s eventual release.

Then a new victim is found bearing horrifying similarities to the original murder. Has Jack just helped a killer walk free?

Determined to set things right, Jack returns to Birravale looking for answers. But with his own secrets lurking just beneath the surface, Jack knows more than anyone what a fine line it is between fact and fiction. Between life and death.

Now there’s only one option left. The truth.

Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson is a rural crime thriller about the long-solved murder of backpacker Eliza Daley.

It’s an interesting premise — a well-known television producer and presenter helps cast enough doubt on a convicted killer that he is released from prison. But perhaps this man was indeed the killer after all?

Benjamin’s writing is polished. The dialogue realistic, the characters are three dimensional and well-developed, and the mysteries of this rural town are enticing enough to keep the reader turning the page. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and churned through the pages of this book.

“The shoe grew heavier in his mind every day. Jack knew what it was like to make a decision that you can’t take back, even if you want to. Some small, inconsequential choice that grows and grows into something monstrous when everyone is watching. Why had he been fine with hiding the shoe?”

Jack Quick is flawed, but he’s also determined and compassionate and desperate to find out the truth. He puts himself in dangerous situations and is able to see things that others probably wouldn’t be able to see.

He starts to piece together what happened to Eliza Daley, and also the second victim who is murdered after Curtis Wade is released from prison.

Greenlight does follow a bit of a stereotypical trope found in rural fiction — someone arrives in a small town and they are neither a policeman or a detective, and yet they’re able to solve a crime that the cops couldn’t? I’ve read quite a few crimes novel lately that feature a protagonist like this.

“Jack scanned the paper. The front page had a close-up picture of Curtis, red letters splashed diagonally across him. Of course, the sub-editor had added the question mark — The Nailbiter Killer? — to protect from defamation.”

The prologue of this book is completely unnecessary. It’s from the point of view of Eliza, shortly before being murdered and it gives away too much. It makes it very clear that she’s being kept underground, which allowed me to guess one of the twists in the novel long before it was revealed.

Despite that, this is one of my favourite crime novels from this year. There are many different mysteries to solve, not just the murder of Eliza Daley, and tension builds slowly until the reader grows very anxious about what’s going to happen.

Greenlight is utterly compelling and engrossing — an absorbing mystery with more surprises than I thought possible.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Green Light
Benjamin Stevenson
September 2018
Penguin Random House

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton

Juliette loves Nate. She will follow him anywhere. She’s even become a flight attendant for his airline, so she can keep a closer eye on him.

They are meant to be. The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to win him back. She is the perfect girlfriend. And she’ll make sure no one stops her from getting exactly what she wants.

True love hurts, but Juliette knows it’s worth all the pain…

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton is a psychological thriller about a sociopathic flight attendant named Juliette Price.

Even though Nate has broken up with her, she’s created an elaborate plan to win him back. It’s twisted and sadistic, and she’s clearly deranged. But it’s actually quite a fun read — you go along for the ride, eager to see how Juliette’s crazy scheme will unfold.

The novel is both brilliant and terrifying. Juliette is so deluded that you feel sorry for her, but she’s so determined that you almost hope that she succeeds. Karen Hamilton has weaved a very intricate story to entice all readers, particularly those who loves thrillers and mysteries.

“Bedrooms are always the places I find secrets, and Amy’s is no exception. Burglars must love the general public’s lack of imagination.”

Juliette has been damaged ever since her younger brother drowned when they were kids, and Juliette has carried guilt around her entire life. Additionally, a chance encounter with Nate when they were teenagers means that she feels connected to him. So, when he dumps her after only a short time dating, she is distraught.

She remains unhinged and unpredictable throughout the entire novel, stalking Nate and breaking into his apartment. She leaves things behind to remind him of her, and carefully enacts her plan to win him back. As you can imagine, it doesn’t really go to plan.

“Miles turns over in his sleep. I should leave something in his suitcase for her to find, a little memento to make her concerned when he travels for work. Something to turn her into a neurotic woman, with less self-assurance and a little more humility.”

Gripping and addictive, the plot is fast-paced and we move through time really quickly. The book is set over the period of at least 12 months, and yet the transition between months and chapters is seamless.

I do think the book dragged on a little. The first half of the novel is careful and measured, and yet the second half seems to take a nose dive. The pace quickens and the plot becomes quite chaotic, and the narrative loses its believability. I continued reading because I wanted to find out what happened, but the actual story was quite nuts and overdramatic.

“Nate is in Shanghai. Wondering what he’s up to, I sit up, take out my phone and head for a shady spot beneath a nearby tree. I scroll. I keep expecting Nate to change his passwords. I’ll be pissed off when he does. But, as yet, I am free to keep tabs on him to my heart’s content.”

The Perfect Girlfriend explores obsession and the very thin line between love and hate. Juliette is conniving and manipulative, and this psychological thriller will entice readers and keep them on the edge until the very end.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Girlfriend
Karen Hamilton
March 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.

You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement.

You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves.

You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her.

You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.

Assume nothing.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen is a chilling novel about the complexities of marriage and what we fail to see when we’re so blinded by love.

Vanessa Thompson has recently split from her husband, hedge fund manager Richard. She is devastated to hear that he’s now engaged to the woman he left her for. She’s a bit of a mess. She can’t seem to hold a job, she’s living with her Aunt, and she’s obsessed with Richard’s new fiancé. Vanessa becomes so obsessed with Richard’s fiancé that she starts to stalk the two of them. And then just when the reader feels like they understand what’s going on, the story starts to twist and turn and you realise that what you thought you knew was wrong.

“I hurry across town, ignoring the man who tries to shove a flyer into my hand. My legs feel shaky, but I press on toward the entrance to Central Park…Maureen is probably at the restaurant by now. Richard would have ordered a nice wine; savoury bread would be placed on the table. Perhaps the three of them are clinking glasses, toasting to the future.”

This novel is not what it seems, with more surprises than I thought there would be. Vanessa is broken; Richard’s new girlfriend is hopeful, happy and in love. The two characters seem to be pretty stereotypical at first, Vanessa being the bitter wife and the new girlfriend being the victim.

But as the reader continues to delve into this tale, they learn that things are not as clear cut as they first appeared to be. These women are not as clear cut as they are first portrayed.

I won’t give anything away, but I will admit that I guessed the first twist. About halfway through the novel, the reader realises something about these women, and I saw it coming. Not because of the writing, though. Greer and Sarah have done a marvellous job of weaving this tale. I saw the twist coming because of the blurb (above). The way the book is described means that I was on the lookout for any way that this plot could be misleading. And as a result, I was able to guess one of the major twists within the first couple of chapters.

“This is good.”
“I remembered you told me once lamb vindaloo was your favourite dish.”
“I said that?” Richard bent his head to take a forkful of rice.
I’d felt puzzled. Hadn’t he?

Greer & Sarah have done a great job with the pacing, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat and enticing us to turn every page hastily. I was desperate to find out how they would wrap up the book, and I found it rather satisfying.

This is a quick read, with short chapters and a lot of shifting back and forth in time. Interwoven throughout the books are flashback scenes so that we come to understand why Vanessa’s marriage to Richard ended so abruptly. After a series of failed attempts at conceiving a child, their marriage deteriorated and Vanessa started drinking a lot and Richard ended up having an affair and leaving her.

The Wife Between Us reminded me of The Girl on the Train, and just like with that book, any reader who picks up this book will have no trouble following the story. The Wife Between Us is haunting and harrowing. All of the characters are flawed, and we are also dealing with an unreliable narrator so the reader has to work hard to determine what is real and what is fake. All of this allows for an addictive read!

I recommend this to readers of crime and thriller fiction. But if you’re a frequent reader of that genre you may see the twist coming like I did, so perhaps don’t think too much of the blurb or the twist will be spoiled for you as well.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Wife Between Us
Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
February 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers

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