As a rule, I don't peak ahead at the ending of novels.
But there are some books for which exceptions have to be made. And Shari Lapena's The Couple NeAs a rule, I don't peak ahead at the ending of novels.
But there are some books for which exceptions have to be made. And Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door turned out to be one of those.
When their babysitter cancels at the last minute, Marco convinces his wife Anne that they can leave their infant daughter home alone while they attend a dinner party next door. If they take the baby monitor with them and take turns checking on their daughter every half hour, nothing could possibly go wrong.
Coming back home from the party, they discover the door ajar and their baby kidnapped. The police are called in and things just aren't adding up on how and who could or would have kidnapped the little girl. As the investigation deepens, secrets about not only Marco and Anne are revealed but also about their neighbors and Anne's parents. In short, everyone has something to hide when it comes to the kidnapping.
I have to admit that about a tenth of a way into the novel, I had to skip ahead and see how certain events played out. I didn't want to ruin any of the twists or character revelations (I luckily didn't) but instead wanted to find make sure the baby didn't come to any harm. As a new parent, the idea of someone kidnapping an infant daughter gave me the cold sweats and I didn't want to continue the story if the outcome was extremely negative.
I'm happy to report by the end of the story, the daughter is returned. But before we get to that point, we find out a LOT of dirty laundry about everyone involved. Marco's business is failing, Anne is hiding secrets from her past and her parents aren't above reproach either. The neighbors next door have some interesting peccadillos and may know something more about the kidnapping than they are willing to tell for a variety of reasons. Like the layers of an onion, you keep peeling them back to reveal more and more as the plot unfolds.
For the first three-quarters of the novel, it works extremely well. Lapena's pacing and willingness to have us mistrust every one of her characters is an effective, engaging hook. But it's once we reach the last quarter of the novel and things start to go sideways quickly that I began to be pulled out of the novel and wondering if she wasn't piling onto the misery of the characters and the situation. There are a few twists too many in the final pages, which ultimately kept me from loving the book as much as I did in the early goings.
On the day she was supposed to marry her best-friend, Aimee Turney attends his funeral instead. Her fiance, James, went on a trip to Mexico before theOn the day she was supposed to marry her best-friend, Aimee Turney attends his funeral instead. Her fiance, James, went on a trip to Mexico before their big day and vanished without a trace. Missing and presumed dead, Aimee must now attempt to pick up the shattered pieces of her life.
Her depression isn't helped when her parents reveal they're closing the family restaurant, leaving without the life she knew and counted on building.
With a hook like that, Kerry Lonsdale's Everything We Keep boasts a strong opening and a great deal of potential. But once you get past the first quarter of the novel, things quickly begin to go awry. A mysterious stranger claiming to be a psychic warns Aimee not to give up on James. Meanwhile, there's that mysterious new artist that catches her eye and Aimee slowly begins to explore the world of a relationship outside of James and the life they imagined together.
But something keeps holding Aimee back from fully embracing this new relationship as more than friendship. And it's that something that drives the last half of the novel.
The story of a woman putting her life back together and figuring out who she is and what she wants should be a compelling one. The mystery twist of what happened to James (his body is never recovered) should add something to the story. And yet, as the novel progressed, I found myself become less and less interested in Aimee's journey and less curious about where things were going. The new boyfriend has an infinite amount of patience, even as Aimee sends mixed signals to him. The questions surrounding James' death quickly begin to mount and honestly, it was easy to deduce where things were going to go long before the story begins to reveal details of what happened.
It's a shame really because this novel has a lot of potential in its early chapters. I found myself intrigued by Aimee and her situation. But the more time I spent with her, the less engaged I became by the story being told. I stayed until the end only to see if my predictions were correct and what, if any, type of happy ending we might get....more
My first exposure to this classic story came by way of the annual Halloween episode of The Wonderful World of Disney and clips from the animated versiMy first exposure to this classic story came by way of the annual Halloween episode of The Wonderful World of Disney and clips from the animated version of this story. The images from those clips interested me enough to seek out the original story as a young reader -- and to not necessarily love it.
Now that I'm a little (OK, a lot!) older and with an audio reading featured on last week's Audible Channels, I decided to visit the story again. This time, I came away with a whole different appreciation for the story.
As a younger reader, I grew impatient with the background and set-up for the story. Back then, I was all about getting to the headless horseman and the chase sequence. But as I listened to the story this time, I was impressed by the character and world-building done by Washington Irving. Horror stories are scarier when we have an investment in the characters -- and Irving does a masterful job of creating the characters and situation of the story. Irving paints an interesting portrait of our hero, Ichabod. Listening to the story, I couldn't help but wonder if Ichabod really loved the fair Katrina or instead loved her for her father's wealth and land. And while we certainly are meant to root against Brom Bones Van Brunt, I couldn't help but feel like he might be a better suitor in the long run because his intentions could have been more true than those of Ichabod.
With three-quarters of the story devoted to set-up, the final quarter pay-off when Ichabod finally meets the headless Horseman (or does he?) turns out be even more suspenseful and edge-of-your-seat than ever. Even knowing how the story ends and the questions that remain unresolved, I was still on the edge of my seat (or in this case, running a bit faster as I listened during a workout) as the story reached its final paragraphs.
The story also follows the adage that "less is more." Irving gives us enough details to tell the story, but allows the reader to paint in some of the finer strokes ourselves.
I've got to admit I loved visiting this story again. It's creepy, atmospheric and spooky. A perfect way to celebrate Halloween....more
I suppose I should start this review off with a few confessions. The first is that while I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, I have seen the movie. TI suppose I should start this review off with a few confessions. The first is that while I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, I have seen the movie. The other is that I'm not usually the type of reader who picks up romance novels.
That means if you're a reader who loves either or both of those types of thing, take the following review with a huge grain of salt.
Annabelle Coffey has had a huge crush on her British fellow Charles Douglas for a long time. With graduation on the horizon and realizing she'll regret not telling him about his secret fantasy to sleep with him, Annabelle puts herself out there. And it soundly rejected. It's not that Charles doesn't believe there is "a thing" between these two. It's just that he respects the boundaries of their professional relationship.
That is, until, Annabelle finishes her work and his no longer under his professional care. Then, the two begin to (for lack of a better term) screw like rabbits. Finally acting on this pent up sexual tension brings out a new side to Annabelle and Charles.
For the first few chapters, I have to admit I was secretly enjoying Emily Foster's How Not to Fall. First-person narrator Annabelle has a quirky voice and is so self-deprecating that watching her entirely logical approach to why she and Charles should give into their "thing" is kind of fun. It helps that, for these chapters, the novel subverts expectations a bit by having Charles not leap at the chance to jump into bed with Annabelle.
It's one the hurdle to their romance (such as it is) is removed that things began to falter a bit for me. The novel establishes that Anna is a virgin before she and Charles begin their relationship and I'll give the story credit for stretching out the inevitable coupling by having the two agree to only get to one base per day in the early portions of their relationship. And while I find that Annabelle having an active imagination believable, I can't necessarily buy that she goes from virgin to sex kitten almost overnight. (Even if Charles is there to guide her as it were).
I also have problems believing that Charles goes from reserved professor type to Christian Grey in the course of three or four chapters.
And it was once I realize that I had an issue with Charles channeling his inner-Grey that it began to dawn on me where I'd seen this type of story before. Once the romance begins, Charles and Annabelle's relationship trajectory follow that of the one I saw in Fifty Shades of Grey, right up to and including the cliffhanger ending.
Once that thought got into my head, it was hard to enjoy the novel as much. It's also made difficult by the way that Annebelle goes from a quirky narrator in the first four to five chapters to a sex kitten who focuses only on Charles in the last three quarters of the novel. I kept finding myself wondering where that character had gone and wondering if she would return any time soon.
Again, I'm probably not necessarily the target audience for this novel. But I honestly found it had a great start but petered out (pun unintended) as we got to the final pages.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more
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