This week, Jeff Popple reviews three entertaining books for the start of spring! More of Jeff’s reviews can be found on his blog: murdermayhemandlongdogs.com
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
Simon & Schuster, $32.99
A reality TV show goes terribly wrong in this latest thriller by Ruth Ware. Lyla reluctantly joins her boyfriend at an isolated resort in the Indian Ocean where a new show is being filmed. The rules of the game seem simple. Ten strangers have to survive together on the island, with the last couple standing scooping the prize and fame. But when a tropical storm cuts them off from everything, and the bodies mount up, Lyla realises that someone will stop at nothing to win. An enjoyable piece of spring reading that also takes aim at the rise of misogyny in social media.
Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman
Quercus, $32.99
Also featuring an idyllic tropical setting is Look In The Mirror by actress and author Catherine Steadman. It opens with Nina making the surprise discovery that her recently deceased father owned a secret vacation home in the British Virgin Islands. Perplexed, she decides to visit. Meanwhile, former medical student turned nanny for the super-rich, Maria, is idly waiting for her new client, and his children, to turn up at the luxury island holiday house he is renting. For both women, the horror is only just beginning. This cleverly plotted and highly exciting thriller is one of my favourite reads of the year.
Safe Enough by Lee Child
Bantam, $34.99
Safe Enough is an engaging collection of twenty short stories by the creator of Jack Reacher, Lee Child. The stories range in theme and style, but all of them have that tough, almost cynical, edge we have come to expect from Child. The writing is crisp and sharp, and the stories are not laden down with long descriptions. They all move quickly along and there some neat twists. Although Reacher does not appear in any of the book’s main stories, he is in the bonus one at the end, which is a collaboration between Child and popular author Tess Gerritsen. Recommended.
