Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a tricky one for me… I have tried reading science fiction before and (usually) didn’t like it. It was all too often dark, gritty and bleak, set in a dystopian universe in which pretty much everyone acts completely self-absorbed. Thus, I disavowed science fiction in books because I’m a closet optimist: I’ve subscribed early on to the philosophy, the idealism and...
Black Bear Alibi by J.C. Fuller My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have no idea how this book actually made it onto my to-read list. Anyway, it was a quick and sufficiently satisfying read. It’s a rather simple mystery with an interesting premise: A ranger, our local hero Philip, finds the mangled corpse of a young local woman. Together with the new sheriff, Lane, he tries to find out what happened. This is a topic we’ve often read about bef...
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager My rating: 3 of 5 stars I came to this book immediately after having read Sager’s “Home Before Dark” which I devoured breathlessly. Sadly, “Lock Every Door” didn’t live up to my expectations. It starts out interesting enough: Jules, 25, has lost her parents some years ago, now she has just lost her job and left her boyfriend because he cheated. While she tries to put her life back together,...
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager My rating: 4 of 5 stars “I freeze, my sense of relief gone in an instant. Because although their words differ, my parents’ message is the same. Never go back there. It’s not safe there. Not for you.” Damn, this was good! I knew Riley Sager from his second book, “The Last Time I Lied”, which I really liked. This one is even better! “Home Before Dark” tells the story of the Holt family who m...
Peace Talks by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars Here we go again… Yet another Harry Dresden and yet it’s both more of the same as well as different. The first nine books were all mediocre to me – three stars because I felt generous – and ridiculously stupid for reading nine ok’ish books in a row till the Stockholm Syndrome set fully in with book 10. So, we’re at number 16 (!) now and most series have become bland,...
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert My rating: 1 of 5 stars Wow, this was such an annoying read! Chloe Sophia Brown comes across as a pampered, snobby whiny, weak damsel in distress who needs rescuing. From this outset, I already didn’t like her. Someone who describes herself like this… “This mind-blowing bore had zero friends, hadn’t traveled in a decade despite plenty of opportunity, liked to code on the weekends, and nev...
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng My rating: 5 of 5 stars Celeste Ng hit me unexpectedly hard with her debut novel “Everything I Never Told You”. I was blown away by that book and afraid I might not like this one as much. That fear was completely unfounded as I loved this book as much as its predecessor. Maybe a little more even since Ng has improved upon both her writing style (which I already liked the first time!) and her sto...
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Lydia is dead.”, these three words mark the beginning of Lydia’s journey which we’re about to embark upon. These three words make you think it cannot possibly get worse. Right until it gets worse. A lot worse. I can relate to this book on so many levels: First and foremost, I’m a father. I’m not prone to nightmares but there’s one that has haunted me countl...
Hemmersmoor by Stefan Kiesbye My rating: 1 of 5 stars “Hemmersmoor ist der Eingang zur Hölle.”, so endet der Klappentext und genau so ist mein Eindruck nach der Lektüre dieser Ansammlung von lose miteinander verwobenen Erzählungen über das fiktive Dorf Hemmersmoor und seine mehr als eigenartigen Bewohner. Leider ist die hier heraufbeschworene “Hölle” jedoch eine literarische, denn im Grunde ist das, was Kiesbye sich hier au...
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon My rating: 1 of 5 stars This is a strange book. From what its protagonist, Christopher, says about himself, it sounds like he’s somewhere on the autism scale. Once confronted with criticism about how he portrays Christopher, the author, Haddon, (from now on: The Weasel) takes the easiest possible way out: “2) curious incident is not a book about asperger’s. it’s a ...