Stalker is my first venture into the crime duo Lars Kepler's Joona Linna world, and I'm so glad that I was given the opportunity to dive right in,Stalker is my first venture into the crime duo Lars Kepler's Joona Linna world, and I'm so glad that I was given the opportunity to dive right in, because it's fabulous. For those living under a rock, Lars Kepler is the pseudonym for real life Swedish couple Alexandra and her husband Alexander. While Stalker is the fifth in the Joona Linna series, you don't necessarily need to read the previous installments to get caught right up to speed. Now that I finished Stalker, I may as well drive backwards into this series, because I'm hooked!
The Swedish National Crime Unit is currently investigating a series of murders that are unconscionable—the culprit is sending voyeuristic and sadistic videos of his female victims prior to their brutal murders, in a deliberate slap-in-the-face to the police force. Detective Margot Silverman is struggling between her dedication to the force, and her personal life (as her wife is pregnant and wants Margot to spend more time with the family). After finding out that former Detective Joona Linna has been in hiding, she recruits him to join the investigative team, in hopes of using his expertise in finding this demented murderer. At the same time, hypnotist and psychologist Erik Maria Bark is retained by the Swedish National Crime Unit. Similarities with this new serial killer correlate to crimes that happened earlier in Erik's career. The problem is that Erik presided on a trial for the culprit and the criminal has been in a mental institution for years. Is this the work of a copycat killer, or something worse?
Stalker is over 500 pages of fun-filled, mystery, and thrills! You really never put the book down once you crack the cover. The book is translated from Swedish, but you'd never know it—it fits the vernacular of what I'm used to when reading crime-fiction quite perfectly. At times, I was seriously on the edge-of-my-seat shocked at what was happening as I reading. The crimes featured in this book took me back to a time when I read Sharon Bolton's Now You See Me, but the subject matter in this case is much more profound. Stalker allows the reader to enjoy a deliciously dark detective procedural, while also enjoying the characterization of the main players at hand. We start to learn the intricacies on each character, and the roles they play in continuing the story. There wasn't one moment throughout the book that I felt wasn't necessary—it's a complete and well-rounded story that I would recommend to any crime-fiction aficionado....more
Hi everyone—this will be my first blog tour post ever, so I'd like to thank Atria Books for choosing me to participate!
I'd be lying to you if I didn'tHi everyone—this will be my first blog tour post ever, so I'd like to thank Atria Books for choosing me to participate!
I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you how real, honest, and raw Tell Me Lies is. Lucy Albright, young Long Island twenty-something year old has moved across the country to California to enroll in college. Embracing her new chapter at life, Lucy makes new friends, enjoys the college lifestyle of partying while balancing school work, and venturing into romance. Lucy stumbles across Stephen DeMarco one night and the duo's chemistry is magnetic. While Stephen isn't as physically attractive as the stunners that Lucy typically dates/hooks up with, she is intrigued by Stephen and his charm.
Stephen begins investigating into Lucy's life—in hopes of tailoring his personality to match hers and win her over. (I can't even hate because I've definitely done that in college as well). Stephen's antics end up winning Lucy over and the two forge a romantic relationship. The duo's relationship, at best, can be deemed problematic. Lucy knows that Stephen isn't the right man for her, but she just can't let him go.
The one aspect of why Tell Me Lies is such a profound and shockingly (I typically don't read romance) compelling story for me is because it's so relatable, while also maintaining it's entertainment factor. We have all been in Lucy's position before; dating the wrong person, knowing how bad the match is, but refusing to let go. As the token gay best friend in many of my friends' lives, I have seen my girlfriends date horrendous excuses for boyfriends countless times. I have tried time and time again in helping them ditch these losers to no avail. Seriously ladies, what's in the water?! #LoveYou #GotYourBack #GBFF
Tell Me Lies should be introduced to young women everywhere (either as a summer reading for High Schoolers or promoted on college campus book clubs) because this all too real situation between toxic men with serious personality disorders. Carola Lovering, I am buying a copy for my younger sister and telling her to learn from Lucy's mistakes so they don't happen to you.
I resonated with both Lucy and her friends so much because I used to be them. Partying, hooking up, dating the wrong person—this coming of age story is not too unfamiliar for me. The likability of these characters is hard, because at some point of another you've been them. I ended up finishing Tell Me Lies, questioning myself as a person, but also how to work on myself and learn to prevent missteps in the future.
Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I've just launched my blog at www.scaredstraightuplate.wordpress.com if you'd like to see my latest reviews....more