Trees of Reverie July Read-A-Thon Day Three

Create a music playlist for a book!

I totally lucked out on this prompt because I started making a playlist the other day specifically for when I listen to thrillers. I was reading Trust No One and really wanted some creepy music to go with it.

Therefore, this playlist is not for any specific book, and you don’t have to listen to it in any order. However, it will get your heart pumping for those mind twisting plots.

My playlists are always works in progress–I’m always adding songs to them, so don’t be surprised to find it changed whenever you pull it up!

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Under the Lake

Can I just tell you, it feels REALLY good to be caught up? I’m writing this post way ahead of time–I already have a post scheduled every day this week, and so you’re going to be reading this almost a week after I finish the book! That almost never happens! I’m so glad my slump is over.

My latest library pull was from the very oldest TBRs. We are talking from back before Goodreads, when I kept everything in an Access Database. I got pretty suave at using that program because my TBR list was so crazy detailed. Do you know how happy I was when Goodreads came along? Phew. So much easier. It basically saved my life. Or at least my sanity.

Two of the books didn’t make the cut. Sometimes, a book is on your TBR for so long you really don’t remember why you added in the first place. And they were pretty bad. But, Under the Lake was just the thing for this week, when I was starting to catch my stride in my reading come-back.

Under the Lake is a thriller from the 80s…which can either be really great or really terrible. This, thankfully, is one of the great ones. It has all the hits:  small town sheriff, rich guy who runs that town, newspaper man down on his luck, spooky mystic old lady, and a mystery that everyone tries to dust under the rug. Or in this case…UNDER THE LAKE! *badaching*

Here’s the thing. This is a bit of a man’s man fantasy. As in, the main character gets everything he ever wants.

• Easy escape from a lame marriage. Check.
• Hot friend sex with no strings attached. Check.
• Hot sex with mystic woman’s sexy mystic daughter. Check.
• Isolated cabin in the woods with boats and unending supply of booze and chili. Check.
• Easy writing gig where he makes money but you never see him do any work. Check.

All this for a middle age balding guy with a bad back? mmmmmk….

Some of it does seem a little flat, I will admit. But, I took it with a grain of salt, that it was a guy thriller set in the mid 70s (published in 87). Let’s face it. This isn’t the most modern of books. However, once I got beyond that thought, I really enjoyed the mystery of the town of Sutherland, and what was going on under the lake. Digging around in history always gets me interested, so the story itself was very intriguing, even if I found the characters themselves lacking a bit.

I’m giving this a 3. It’s not perfect. I’m not jumping up and down, but this was “quality entertainment” for a couple of days, and it was an easy thing to read.

 

House of Echoes

Good thrillers are hard to find. That genre seems to be overrun with cop dramas and murder mysteries, and to me, that isn’t really what a thriller is. A great thriller should be psychologically complicated–something that tweeks that part of your brain to keep you guessing. A thriller should keep you up at night, wondering what exactly the “monster” is–human?not human?

Brendan Duffy’s first novel is a fantastic example of the thriller pedigree. The characters have their own psychological issues to begin with, so you don’t know if they are imagining things or if there really is all this strife going on. The book has freakin’ creepy kids. *shudder* And the combination of giant old house and tiny isolated town is something right out of The Shining and The Village. You even have a “monster” in the forest, lurking around causing trouble.

I couldn’t put this one down, and it definitely interrupted my sleep patterns. House of Echoes comes out next week, April 14, and if you like being on the edge of your seat as much as I do, this is a must read for late nights!

 

NetGalley provided this ARC for an unbiased review.

Rosemary’s Baby

It has been a little while since I’ve read a book that really gives me the heebeejeebees, but Ira Levin sure sent shivers down my spine with Rosemary’s Baby.

I knew this was going to be a creepy one, just based on the movie clips I’ve seen, but holy damn the suspense in this book is so well written. I was a little skeptical about it at first, just because I don’t generally like books written in this time period, but I think that added to the uneasiness I felt while reading.

From the very beginning of the story, you know that something is very very wrong. Even though the couple is moving to what should be a much nicer apartment, you can’t help but screaming noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I think we read too many books, guys. What do you think?

NAH!

Rosemary’s Baby is a classic horror story that is often referenced in pop culture, so I’m glad I’ll finally understand the references. I can see where a lot of modern thriller writers have pulled inspiration from. I probably won’t read the second book, though. I think it needs to end here.

 

Fulfills PopSugar #10:  A mystery or thriller

NOS4A2

HO-HO-HOoooooooooooooly shit!

NOS4A2 is basically a Christmas Story from hell, that should only be read in October.

Joe freaking Hill. Wow. This is another horror masterpiece. Guys, if you haven’t read his work yet, you NEED to get on it, right now. Especially during Halloween month. He does not mess around with his psychological thrillers. They blow my mind.

Imagine if Santa Claus and the Grim Reaper were essentially one and the same. This twisted, evil psychopath creature captures kids and kills their mothers, all for the “good of the children,” ushering them away to Christmasland. Combine this chilling world with tesseract bridges crossed by British motorbikes, a Rolls Royce Wraith, and stuttering Scrabble tiles.

There were so many geeky references in this book I was almost giddy. Nathan Fillion is somewhere wetting his pants over the Browncoat nods. Kudos Joe Hill. Kudos. It was like a bit of comic/geek relief spattered throughout the craziness of the book, and it was much appreciated. In a world where even Christmas music is sickening and Scrabble tiles are sinister…geeky things are heroic.

Am I maybe laying it on a bit thick? Perhaps. I’m totally typing this with the Movie Trailer guy in my head.

I’m pretty sure I said this when I read Horns, but READ THIS BOOK. At least, if you are in any way inclined to love freaky psychological scary thriller type horror. Do it.

And put on your favorite holiday playlist. You won’t regret it.

Gave Me Chills

BookClubFiction is reading Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 this month, which I was super excited about because of how much I loved Horns. And this book is JUST as freaky, if not more so.

I’m not going to give too much away, because I’m going to be doing the review in the next day or so, but holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.

This book is totally creepified.

Thriller Thriller Night

I LOVE Thrillers.

They are the books that keep me up at night, not just because they are scary, but because they keep me turning the pages until I get to the end. I have to know what is next. I think, “Just one more chapter.” But at the end of every one, a cliffhanger.

The characters are always fascinating, brilliantly written, and often bat shit crazy.

These are just the few that I’ve read that I own. We have so many more Kings that I haven’t gotten through yet, and that needs to change soon. I totally plan on reading IT this month.

Favorite Series

Series are becoming more and more popular these days, both with publishers and readers. We get to see our beloved characters continue on, and the publishers make boukou bucks from returning fans. It’s the same reason movie houses try to stretch one book into a trilogy (cough cough Hobbit cough cough).

Not that I am not completely onboard with book series…I love most of them! Unfortunately I just don’t OWN many of them! Sigh…

So, for this picture challenge, while my favorite series is probably Harry Potter or Kingkiller. I went with what I own.

Thomas Harris gets left out of the series list often these days…probably because his books are older, and they definitely aren’t for everyone. But man are they sooooooo good. Brilliant, really. I’m probably due for a reread of at least Red Dragon before Hannibal starts back up again this fall, since the show is catching up to the start of that book. Hmmmmm…need to fit that in somewhere soon.

If you like thrillers, freaky deaky stuff, or interesting people with fascinating brains–you really need to check these books out. I’ve never read anything like them.